Possible Allies with a Possible Quest

05/18/2014

18, Fifthover, Dragon's Agitation, 190th Kings Age, Sun Descending
Yaotl is awoken by Aloria, who is dressed and carrying her backpack. Yaotl looked at her, confused.
"I have to go." Aloria whispered.
"Why?" Yaotl asked.
Aloria shook her head, "I cannot stay here, I have things that must be done. Private things."
Yaotl nodded, "Very well. Just remember that you are always welcome here."
Aloria nodded, turned, and walked out of the door.
Ren continued to stare at the compass as Tamar interjected, "I don't think there's much you can do about the portals at this point in time."
Ren nodded in agreement.
Tamar whispered, "The Elemental Lords believe I spend too much time here, so I do not know when I will return. Also, there is a battle coming and I must be ready for it."
Wind swirled around him, forming braces, grieves, and a breast plate. A portal open beside him.
"Farewell and good luck." Tamar said as he stepped through the portal.

Ren looked at the compass again, then Aziza took it from him. She looked it over and then handed it back. They both laid back down and relaxed.
Yaotl, meanwhile, got up and began cooking breakfast for Nora, Basheera, and himself.

Why do we let the Fire Cleric cook our food?

As he was cooking, he heard someone shouting outside. He couldn't make out the words, but it sounded angry. He stepped outside to investigate.

 

"They obviously want to rule over us! Make us slaves again!" Yaotl saw a villager, named Mulek, shouting to a few other villagers. He had not drawn a large crowd, but it was growing.

Yaotl walked up to Mulek and listened.
Mulek saw him, pointed and continued, "One of our new masters has decided to show himself! Look at this manor they've built for themselves, while we sleep in hovels! The think they're better than us! They think of themselves as our new masters and we as their slaves!"
Yaotl was insulted, "That is not true and you are a fool."
Yaotl turned and walk back inside, while Mulek continued, "They don't care about us, about what we think! Insults and dismissals! We're not worth their time!"

Yaotl walked into Ren and Aziza's room, "We might have a problem."
Ren and Aziza got out of bed and moved outside.

Mulek's shouting continued, "Here they come! They're coming to shut me up! They're coming to threaten me into acknowledging their lordship over us!" He turned toward them, "Masters, should I kiss your feet? Should I bow down before you?"
"They bought us goods from the caravans!" Ishak shouted in support of the group.
Mulek turned and pointed, "Is that the cost of your loyalty, your freedom? Are we kanks, or are we men?"
"They're heroes!" Ishak shouted again.
Mulek pointed at them, "They're not heroes! They play at heroes to earn our trust, right before they enslave us!"
"We only wish to improve your lives." Ren stated calmly.
"Yes, but taking our goods to build your manor house! You improved our village alright, by pillaging it!" Mulek shouted.
"Do you want a larger house?" Ren asked, remaining calm.
"It'll take more than that to buy me!" He shouted back.
"They saved our boys!" Ishak shouted.
"They didn't save my boy!" Mulek shouted.

Pictured: Mulek

There was a few moments of silence.
Mulek continued, "They brought back your boys, but they let mine die!" He turned to Ren, "Did Fenuku know of your plan to enslave us? Did he threaten to tell the others? That's why you killed him! Admit it!"
Ren stood like a rock, "A cloud ray killed him."
"You let a cloud ray kill him! You let him die!" Mulek shouted in response.
"We went after Fenuku, to try to save him." Yaotl began, "Where were you?"
Mulek punched Yaotl in the jaw. The crowd quieted. Yaotl looked Mulek in the eyes.
"Are you done?" He calmly asked.
Mulek kicked dirt at him and stormed off. They watched him go and the crowd began to break up. Ishak approached Yaotl and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Do not be upset with Mulek." He began, "Fenuku was all he had. Gith killed his wife before we met you and with Fenuku gone, he has no one."
Yaotl nodded, "I will not take it personally."
Yaotl went back inside and explained the situation to Nora and Basheera. Then, he went to his converts and preached of the flame. He told them not to lash out at Mulek, that he was entitled to his opinion and his grief. They agreed. He then went to other villagers to assist in anyway he could.
Ren began practicing his meditation and fighting techniques. Rata left to go help with the villages fields. Aziza spent half the day assisting with the fields and the other half working to train the villages to shoot a bow properly.

19, Fifthover, Dragon's Agitation, 190th Kings Age, Sun Descending

The group was woken up, when Jabrek came into their hut, screaming about a caravan. Aziza and Ren wondered what the big deal was, caravans came to the village semi-regularly. Jabrek explained that this caravan was not coming from the south, like all caravans, but from the north. Deciding it was odd, Aziza, Yaotl, and Ren went outside to investigate.
They could see the caravan in the distance, rounding the mountain and heading in their direction. From their distance, they could make out some wagons, but not the exact number. The caravan did not look large, however.
Ren used psionics to change into an Aarakocra and flew toward the caravan. Aziza and Yaotl looked at each other as Ren flew off.
"Did you know he could do that?" Aziza asked.
Yaotl shook his head, "He didn't mention it to me."

Ren flew north and scouted the caravan out. Five wagons, fourteen kanks, and a few people walking. He was so high that he could not determine their race, but he knew they were too small to be Half-Giants and too slow to be Elves. He landed a good distance from the caravan, deciding to let it approach him.

Yaotl and Aziza began jogging out to meet with them. The caravan became more clear to Ren and he could see that the people driving it were Dwarves.
"Hail!" Ren shouted.
The lead Dwarf halted the caravan and approached Ren.
"Hail!" The Dwarf replied.
"I am Ren, son of Pirro." Ren began.
The Dwarf nodded, "I am Fhavrye, son of Kendrick."

"What brings you to our village?" Ren asked in a friendly tone.
"We were driven out of our mines by an undead horde. We would seek only to resupply at your village and continue on our way."
Yaotl and Aziza came jogging up to Ren and Fhavrye.
"Greetings!" Yaotl exclaimed.
Fhavrye nodded to Yaotl and Aziza.
"You are welcome to accompany us back to the village of Kalidnay." Ren offered, gesturing south.
"Kalidnay?" The Dwarf asked.
"Yes." Ren answered proudly.
The Dwarf shrugged, "Okay, give me a moment." He walked back to the caravan and began speaking with the other Dwarves.
"Who are they?" Aziza asked.
"Miners, driven from their mine by an undead horde." Ren answered.
The caravan began to move forward as Fhavrye shouted, "Lead on Ren, son of Pirro."
The group discussed the Dwarves situation. Yaotl despised undead and wanted to destroy the unnatural creatures, Aziza thought undead might mean a defiler was behind it, and Ren just wanted to help the Dwarves.

"Quick everyone, the Dwarves need our help!" - Ren

The caravan parked near the village and the villagers and Dwarves mingled a bit, once Yaotl told them the Dwarves weren't hostile. An old Dwarf could tell Yaotl was a Fire Cleric, by his bright red hair, and teased him about how Earth was more important than Fire. Yaotl took it in good humor and laughed. Ren talked with Fhavrye and discovered that they mined tin, a necessary component of bronze.
Ren and Yaotl told Fhavrye that they would go to the mine and rid it of the undead horde. Fhavrye offered them a reward, 25 pounds of tin, which the group refused. Fhavrye increased the reward to 30 pounds of tin, but the group refused again and explained that they would free the mine for nothing. Fhavrye was confused and offered 35 pounds of tin, which the group refused again.
Yaotl came to the conclusion that Fhavrye did not believe the group would do it for free, so he asked Fhavrye for a favorable trade agreement in exchange. Fhavrye agreed immediately. Ren and Yaotl then spoke to Ishak and told him what was going on. Ishak said that the village would have to vote on whether the Dwarves could stay for an extended time and that he would call a special meeting that night.
Ren turned into an Aarakocra and flew to his fathers home in the mountains. There, he found his father speaking to a tree. Ren landed and turned back into himself.
"Lacking intelligent conversation father?" Ren asked jokingly.
Pirro nodded to his son, "I see you've nearly mastered your metabolic abilities."
Ren smiled, then turned to the tree, "Oh, my apologies, please excuse my interruption."
The tree did not reply.
Ren continued, "Father, a large group of Dwarves have come down from the north. I was wondering if you wanted to come down and meet them."
Pirro rose, "It has been a long time since I've been to the village. Very well."
They both turned into Aarakocra and flew to the village.
During the meeting, Mulek argued against letting the Dwarves stay, stating that food and water were strained enough. The group promised to buy them more and leave enough coin for the next caravan, in case they don't return. It came down to a vote and the village agreed to let the Dwarves stay.
Fhavrye introduced an old Dwarf named Hedgar to Yaotl. It was the same Dwarf that was teasing the Fire Cleric earlier. Fhavrye explained that Hedgar would be their guide back to the mines. Yaotl said they would leave in the morning.
Pirro and Ren took a walk under the moons together. They spoke of Ren's progression on the path to perfection. Ren complained that perfection of the body was easy, compared to the perfection of the mind. Pirro admitted to the continued struggled he was having perfecting his mind too. Ren asked his fathers advice on the upcoming trials. Pirro explained that silver is made pure by being exposed to incredible heat and acid.
"Like the silver, we must be put through our own trials to become purified, to become perfect." Pirro explained.

See, you have to burn yourself with fire and acid to become perfect! Isn't that what he said?

Ren believed he understood. Before retiring, Pirro gave his son a club. The club had been enhanced with psionics and could be used against certain undead creatures. Ren thanked him.
"Be careful, my son." Pirro whispered as they went to bed.