A. Speaking With Duran.

Along the way to Halveet, Cassick and the others give Duran the notice that was posted for him at the Vind Hall in Tarrish and question him about it. Duran tells them that he killed Chief Lares’ son in a legal duel over a girl. Cassick questions Duran about whether the duel was lawful, and concludes he is telling the truth.

B. Handing Off Maeva.

Boeden and Athron are admitted into the building that houses the local cleric of the Temple of Hamal. Joy, the acolyte, welcomes them and gives them rooms to sleep in until Father Ethan Seer rises the following morning. The other PCs spend the evening carousing. In the morning, Athron meets Seer, a bookish man, who tells them that Daned Thand (the person to whom Maeva is to be delivered) belongs to the Temple’s small congregation in Halveet. After breakfast, Boeden, Athron and Broc all take Maeva to the offices of James Laibrook, where Thand works, startling Laibrook’s pretty blonde receptionist. Thand is surprised to find Maeva at his doorstep, alive and well, and tells them he will make sure she is placed in a safe and secure location, where her father’s enemies cannot find her.

Meanwhile, Vermillion spends the day checking out Laibrook’s warehouses. He sees Laibrook and can tell that he treats his clerical and manual workers well. Vermillion approaches Laibrook and asks whether he deals in any Antazos gems. Laibrook responds that Antazos’s gems are generally well beyond his price range; when Vermillion says he would like to purchase a small ruby, Laibrook points him to his office. Vermillion travels to the office, where he is sneered at slightly by the blonde receptionist, and purchases a ruby worth 150 gp. He tells the receptionist and another guard to relay a message to Thand, that if either Thand or his employer needs assistance in retrieving anything, they can contact the Nightsong security agency in Tarrish.

C. A New Assignment for Athron.

Boeden, Broc and Duran head for a bar that Boeden frequented when he was stationed in Halveet. Boeden and Broc start a drinking contest, while Duran goes to the local Vind Hall to retrieve the notice posted for him in this city. Athron goes to see Father Seer again, who questions him about Retta Pierce’s papers. He tells Seer that the leather piece contained a message in an unknown language regarding the “Eye of Hamal,” with a partial symbol .

Seer, in turn, tells Athron that Pierce was a member of the Temple’s historians, the Storico. The Storico believe that Hamal is not a new god, but an older one – a god over all who wore “Viersiring,” which some translate as relics or artifacts, others as vestments. There is one such vestment for each of the four elements – one to call fire from the heavens, another to summon the oceans, a third to make the earth tremble, a last to give voice to the winds. This scrap of leather is the first solid evidence gained from the Storico’s search for the Vestments. The note indicates that the “Eye of Hamal” may be located somewhere on the western edge of the border between Torei and Sa’iph.

Seer says that taking up Pierce’s search is beyond his capabilities and asks if Athron would do so. He points Athron to the WayStation of Kalle, on the old trade road between Tarrish and the East Redding, which is within a few weeks travel of the area where the note indicates the Eye of Hamal may be found. Kalle, an older god of the roads, under decline, has overseen the WayStation for centuries; over the years, the Waystation has compiled a high quality, though small, library.

Athron approaches Cassick, Duran, Boeden and Broc in the bar, and they all agree to undertake the journey to the Waystation with him. Cassick, whose family travels the north/sound road, is even familiar with the WayStation. Vermillion says that if he does not have another job waiting when he returns to Tarrish, he will also join them. Soon after, Boeden and Broc pass out within moments of each other. The other PCs prop them up in the corner, Broc cradled in Boeden’s arms.

D. Treefall.

In Tarrish, Vermillion reports to the Nightsong offices and is told that they want him to head north along the trade route. A number of merchants have reported that small, but very valuable, items have disappeared from the caravan shipments heading south. The DM inexplicably forgets to mention to Cassick that his own family has experienced such losses. Further (though the DM failed to remember this hook, as well, until after the evening ended), a former Nightsong member, Cyrus Fletcher, who has been serving as sheriff in a town called Obber’s Mill along the route, has been reported missing.

The PCs set out, and for a week and a half travel through farmland, surrounded by merchants and farmers also using the road. One evening, about an hour or so from the WayStation, the PCs find the road empty, and round a curve to see a rather dusty bard kicking a pebble from his shoe. Raz greets them a bit warily, but is friendly and talkative as they continue north. Before long, they round another turn to see a large oak blocking the road.

Immediately suspicious, the PCs set Duran to watch Raz, and Athron calls out to the bandits that they suspect are hiding behind the tree. Duran is knocked flat by a sleep spell. Boeden and Broc rush the tree to engage in melee, while Vermillion and Cassick sneak around to attack from the sides. Three male bandits, and a female rogue/thief are killed in the fight.

The PCs continue on to the WayStation with Raz in tow. The bard had spent the fight cowering behind Athron’s wagon, and is clearly shaken by the bloodshed. The party arrives at the WayStation after nightfall, and are admitted by a graying-haired man and three attendants dressed in cleric’s robes. The front hall, lit with candles, is adorned with six portraits of past keepers of the WayStation. Another wall bears a huge mural of the local area, for a 50’ radius, from 1000 years past. The PCs note that at least one of the attendants wears muddy boots – not the slippers of a cleric.

(DM’s notes: Cooperative player’s won’t mind if you give them their character’s “hook” late in the game.)

Note: Elements of the adventure this week and next week (namely, the treefall and the WayStation) were borrowed from The Vessel of Stars by Robert Holzmeier.