Session 3 - Of Cats and Men

20/04/5-10

The walk back to Konkraimor took a couple of hours, but soon the party was back in town. The group spilt up and purchased camping supplies and rations as well as a wagon and a horse, paid for primarily by Milivoj.

21/04/5-10

The sun rose and an overcast morning arrived. The party assembled at the northern road, Valeyo driving the wagon, marked with the symbol of the Konkraimor stables - a horse swimming through rough seas. Some introductions were in order, as the group met with Milivoj's retainers for the first time.

Ysomir - Majordomo of Milivoj, bound to him by oath.
Zbignev - A 17-year-old stableboy, turned squire, excited for this adventure.
Blazh - A towering man, slightly older than Milivoj, who looks after the horses. After an childhood incident in the stables, where he was struct by a horse, he was left with limited intelligence, but became a capable stable hand.

Milivoj and Ysomir rode slightly ahead of the wagon, with Sapphira riding by its side. Much of the travel was spend in conversation , as the party got to know each other better. Conversation turned to Konskirav, and Milivoj explained that his clan were the only ones to keep a semi-permanent residence there, most of the other clans only coming it for the Mass Market, every 18th on the full moon. A few hours in, the road was blocked by a herd of bison, but Sapphira managed to rustle them off the road, by summoning a sward of bees.

The encounter with the beasts, prompted Shiek to ask Cassini about his druidic powers, since the man didn't seem very confident in them before. Cassini revealed that his druidic knowledge was largely self-taught and while he did have a tutor at some point - an older man, they have since parted ways, leaving Cassini hesitant to Wildshape. His specialty lay more in astronomy, being a final year student in Elwesbor’s University, up in Itaceay in elven the Chillwood. This journey of his was part of his dissertation and from his briefcase, he produced his notes book, as well as a beaten-up telescope. His interest was first sparked, by the Moonrise and so he focused his studies on the Ruby Moon, a shared interest with Otto. The telescope was recognized as something very valuable by Valeyo, who suggested getting it fixed in Dragomir or Skalenvru, before returning to his university.

Valeyo shared that he himself, had graduated from university a year and a half ago, having studied history. Milivoj suggested that he talked with Ysomir, who was a student of history himself and served as Milivoj's tutor for many years. Eventually dusk arrived and the party prepared for camp, with Milivoj saying that should they keep this pace up, they would reach a hovel tomorrow where they could stay. A fire was lit and watches were take, the only notable occurrence being the sound of a Roc hunting bison. At the final watch, a group of wild horses were moving towards the party. Despite Cassini's attempts to shoo them away, they entered the camp and began grazing, startling the others who awoke soon after.

Back on the road, Valeyo asked Milivoj, why he served the king, since from his knowledge, many of the clans didn't care for the king's rule. According to Milivoj, the Yuzhen clan, has always been more closely related to the King. Their riders served as the core of the king's army when he conquered the north and Milivoj's ancestors were some of the first granted nobility by him. Milivoj did admit that his grasp on modern politics is loose, something that his late elder brother excelled at. From there the topic moved to the new railway being constructed. Valeyo explained the concept of a train to Shiek, who had not heard of the fabulous machines. From what Milivoj knew the creation of the railway was controversial amongst the Clans. Some, like his father and the king, believe that they could bring prosperity and riches to the land, while other leaders find the m sacrilegious and would have their people attack the engineering crew laying down the rails. This has caused Milivoj's father to dispatch patrols, to prevent sabotage. The minor nobles of the Yuzhen clan were upset at having their land seized and many of the commoners were afraid of the machines, but it wasn't as extreme as the opinions of the Northern and Eastern clans.

Suddenly, up ahead a saddled horse could be seen. when Milivoj inspected it, he found no signs of a rider anywhere nearby, the only tracks being the horse's. In the saddlebags were an old journal, some rations and a gold pouch. The journal's contents revealed that it belonged to a woman named Mary, who having been faced with a difficult decision, had set out to find a soothsayer, who could help her out. One lead that she had had, was thee owner of the nearby hovel, the party had planned to visit - an old tabaxi woman called Rosa. From what Milivoj had shared, soothsayers and shamans were still present in some of the other clans, but the Yuzhen clan had priests now.

Deciding to take the horse with them, the party soon reached the hovel. A two-story house with ivy covered bricks stood next to to road. On the field next to it, multiple campsites were setup, only 2 of them occupied. After pulling up by one of the empty camps and preparing for the night, the group wandered to the house finding the door open. Inside was a old tabaxi woman, who greeted them excitedly asking them if they are hungry. Valeyo asked what it would cost to stay the night and the woman simply pointed to the donation box, saying that they run on good will. She looked very satisfied when Valeyo donated 10 gold. Milivoj, then asked her if she had seen Mary, to which she non so subtly glanced at the donation box and back at him. Getting her hint, Otto donated 1 gold and Rosa shared that she had seen Mary last night. She had asked about Rosa's soothsayer friend, but since she failed to donate, Rosa didn't help her out.

After some more conversation, the group got the impression that Rosa, would only answer the questions of those who had donated - seeming to like Valeyo and Otto best and completely ignoring everyone else. During this time, Milivoj, spotted a cat walking around the room. When he tried to pet it, the creature moved away, scowling at him. Rosa quickly grabbed the cat, revealing it's name to be Etke and apologizing for its behaviour.

The group left the house, Valeyo and Cassini going to different camping groups to ask about Mary, while the others returned to where the wagon was parked. Cassini approached a group consisting of a couple of humans sitting by a prone dwarf, whose left leg was in a splint. Following some conversation, he found out that the group had been staying here for almost a week, as their friend's injury made it hard to travel. They had seen Mary yesterday and she had seemed concerned with Rosa not liking her, despite everyone else thinking that Rosa is wonderful. There seemed to be some issue between Mary and Rosa related to Mary looking for someone.

Meanwhile, Valeyo found himself in the camp of a group of ale traders. A few men, together with 2 half-elf rangers, stood by a wagon full of ale barrels. The leader said that his brother was a brewer up in Konskirav and they were on their way to trade their goods in Konkraimor. When Valeyo shared that his own mother was a brewer the man lit up and offered a jug of ale for him and his friends, which Valeyo accepted. Asking about Mary he found out that she had met with this group on the road. They described her as a red-haired young woman, who appeared quite well off. She was often seen drawing and was quite a talented artist. On the road she would sometimes overtake them, before falling behind and then catching up, but she mostly kept to herself. Even still, the man recalled that she had been a good shot with the bow, hitting a rabbit from over 50ft away. When asked about rosa, they said that they had stayed here multiple times. The found that it would be all good, as long as they donated, otherwise, the food would be less than ideal.

Having grown wary of Rosa, Milivoj headed back to the house to try and find out more about her. Sneaking up to one of the windows, he was surprised to see their conversing with a cat. Not Etke, but a different one, which appeared capable of human speech. They discussed Valeyo's generosity and Rosa said that soon it will be time for the cat's supper as well. Milivoj ran the entire way, arriving at the group's camp at the same time as Valeyo and Cassini, who were sharing their discoveries. Otto suggested that at least one person's dinner will taste different, after hearing their story. Milivoj, seemed besides himself saying that Rosa must be a witch. Suddenly a bell rang out, and Rosa's voice could be heard beckoning everyone for dinner.

As they reached the house, Cassini donated 5 gold just in case and the group saw that the food was being served from the same pot. Everyone got their portion and Otto noticed that there were 3 cat bowls in the corner with names - Aarin, Etke and Zariel. From his religious knowledge, Otto knew that those were the names of Solars - the most powerful amongst angels. Valeyo had dinner with the brewers and Cassini went to the dwarf with the broken leg and used Lesser Restoration to ease his pain. However when Cassini went to the house to return his bowl, he saw the hind end of an enormous cat going through the basement door. When asked about her cats, Rosa said that they like to wander, with Zariel enjoying the view from the upstairs windows.

Back in the camp, the group discussed the meal, Valeyo, Cassini and Otto finding it delicious, while everyone else thought it was vile, despite all of them having been served from the same pot. Ultimately after some discussion, Valeyo and Otto were worried about the "meal" that the Rosa had promised the cats, something strengthened by Cassini's discovery of this other large beast. They managed to convince Shiek to sneak into Rosa' house and check the basement out, in case Rosa was there. However, upon approaching the house, Shiek heard Rosa's voice talking to someone. After looking through the window he saw her talking to Etke, who expressed that she "Couldn't wait to eat her.", before they both went into the basement.

Sheik sprinted back to the group, confirming their suspicions and they all entered the house barging into the basement to see Rosa, two normal sized cats and one as big as a man, standing before a chained up, red-headed woman.