34/07/5-10

Milivoj walked with his father towards the Janske estate, as the group proceeded towards the House of Law. Milivoj was lead to the sitting room that he and Valeyo had seen previously and his father sat down, gesturing for him to do the same. After a moment of silence, his father looked up at him and asked "Why are you disowning our family name". Milivoj said he hadn't abandoned anything, but his father insisted he had heard it from a clerk in the castle. Milivoj countered by saying that if this clerk knew his business, he would have explained that the Emisar had simply granted Milivoj his own house. His father said he had a house, but Milivoj said that was a family, one that had asked him to leave. His father spoke about how he had brought back the corpse of his brother and he was still trying to figure out what happened. Milivoj began getting angry, he told his father that he had shared the story already, but the man wouldn't believe it. The Khert acknowledged the fact that Milivoj was a great fighter, as he had recently seen, but told him he was no diplomat like his brother, so he should just speak the truth. Milivoj exploded at that, saying that he had told him the truth, that he hated not being able to save his brother, despite being this "great fighter". He had no reason to lie about what had happened. The two of them went quiet for a while, before the Khert breached the silence.

He wanted to know why Milivoj had stuck Mr Novak, but his son just shrugged, saying he deserved it. Milivoj wanted to know why he was brought there. His father said that even if Milivoj wanted to abandon his house, he was still his son, so his actions impacted him as well. He was worried he would tarnish the reputation of the house and even the kingdom. Milivoj just laughed, asking what he could do that his father hadn’t already, by hiding in the corner while he and his friends had leapt into auction. In a couple weeks, the decree would be official and his father wouldn't need to worry about. His father asked if that meant he would be representing himself at the next melee. Milivoj insisted that is what he always had done, his father just drew on his accomplishments to enhance his name, and he didn't owe him anything anymore. His father temper rose and began asking in a raised voice, if he didn't owe him his money, his armour, his education , his connections, everything that made him what he is. Milivoj asked if he meant the armour he took from an enemy, the weapon he claimed from the Sahuagin or the horse he had taken care of since he was a child. His father said one day, when he fails, he will return to his family and then they will find out how much he truly owes him. Milivoj then rose to leave, on the way out he heard smashing of glass and as he went past Mr Novak he said that he didn't owe his father for the window either.

35/07/5-10

In the Foy estate, Cassini brought the telescopes together and waited. Nothing happened and he said that was uneventful. Valeyo remarked that they will need to wait for the evening to test it and asked if they can be separated. Cassini tried, but he was unable to do it. Osrin told him he could find details of the site where he found it in the journal and Cassini promised to share any discoveries that they are able to make. The group left and they discussed what to do next, while waiting for the Stormstrike Clan to think on their offer. Shiek talked about the displacer beast he had purchased and wondered about the law regarding having it around and determined that it would be best to ask Janske. They soon returned to the Storm's Scion and began their research.

There, Cassini began reading the modern version of the book on Arvandor. It appeared to be an academic journal, talking about the moonlit twins. It listed a lot of theories and ideas that Cassini had seen before, so he quickly flicked to the part that had been missing in the Dragomir copy. There the author theorized about what happened to the twins and one idea was that the Spider Queen was behind the Twins' separation. A feud had broken out between Lolth and the Twins and she had forced the twins the split apart, by unknown means and had hid the information from the world at large. The fact that nobody remembered Arvandor, was part of the reason he was so weak and of low influence. As a god, he should affect he material plane, but his lack of popularity mean he was ineffectual. The Twins used to be treated as a god of balance, a single divine being in the past, which had long since changed. The source for most of this information was ironically the other book in his possession.

Valeyo read the Book of Stories, which was an anthology of stories from his travels with his companions . It was them three, the bard Ver-nik Kunchrom, the druid Amandra Artigas and the cleric Raya Svetlana. The first story of how they met in a small village that was being harassed by a minotaur warlord. They tried to convince him to leave, but when talks failed, had to defeat him and became known as adventurers. Another is their pursuit of a outlaw giant Kargit Nimrod, who had murdered the then lord of Otusta, they found yetis and fire-breathing centipedes, before fighting the giant at the peak of the mountains. The third was of a giant subterranean monster having emerged at the Stendolin Valley, which they had fought for days. It was an enormous bipedal reptilian beast. The final story is of the founding of Stendolin, built atop the tunnels which had collapsed in the fight with the monster.

Milivoj took another crack at the Violet Flame book. The weird crawling text filled the pages, words and sentences shifting out of place. For one reason or another, this time Milivoj managed to follow the text better and learned some new information. The book was an instruction manual on how to build a thriving civilization. The writing was very egotistical, it pushed the reader to strive for greatness, at any cost. It put forth the long gone Temerian Empire as a case study. An empire that was so powerful and grand that it collapsed under its own weight. From what little he remembered of his education in statesmanship, this book was the guide to build an empire, but one with cracks at the foundation, one that will inevitably fall. It suggested that the empire of Temeria fell in Violet Flame and wanted to push the reader to build another phenomenal empire, only to have it fall.

Later in the day Valeyo spoke to Milivoj about his conversation with his father. Afterwards he checked on Cassini. Cassini told him of his findings and the two considered using the telescope tonight ,before opting to wait, until they left the city. Cassini continued his reading, switching to Albert's journal. He found to book quite well written, in accordance with the academic style. There was good diagrams and illustrations of the temple's walls and even detailed the way he had found the telescope, under the altar, he had destroyed. There was an even image of Albert as a bear smashing it to pieces. Amongst the depictions of the carvings was one of the Twins circling each other in the night sky. Cassini noticed that at the corners the carvings, were also depictions of spiderwebs. Further in the book was even a floorplan of the observatory, which resembled that of the one Cassini had been in.

In the mid to late afternoon, the Stormstrike members entered. The female dwarf, who was the leader spoke to him. She said they were happy to accompany them up the mountain, assuming what they said about the phoenix and the cult was true. It did mean the share of the money for accompanying Janske up the mountain would be smaller. As for leaving, they were to meet Janske at Velidol, in the Valley of Giants.

Besides rumors of the fire giant, the trip to Velimos should be mostly safe. Further north, in the Valley of Giants itself, there was a large Hill Giant population. They mostly fought amongst each other,. But you could be caught in the crossfire. She did mention that everything in the Valley was huge, horses the size of houses or rabbits that of cattle. Shiek asked what the plan for afterwards was and Valeyo said he would like to return back south, but they would have plenty of time to figure it out later. They asked about how the Stormstrike were going to cross the valley and they said stealth was their choice, skirting the edge of the forest until they get to a town. The main road, according to them, the main road was littered with boulders, from giants "hunting". The dwarven woman, said they would speak to Janske and arrange the departure. When they are back, they will also give them their share of the upfront payment. Then they departed.

The group talked about the Violet Flame and Valeyo made a point that if this is related to the Dragotaina, he will be heading south to Dragomir again. Milivoj agreed with the idea and soon the others nodded as well. Valeyo also asked Otto to send a message to Diane Atanasoff to ask about the elections. She said it went quite well, saying they were speaking to the new Mayor of Stendolin. Milivoj pointed out how this was just switching from the noble to the rich and Valeyo agreed, but argued that was still better. He reminded Milivoj that in theory any person could become rich, but you couldn’t change your blood, as Milivoj was quick to point out when they were in Dragomir. That being said, he agreed that he considered his mission in Stendolin a failure, his goal having been to teach people to solve their problems themselves, not do it for them. One of his worries is that Diane was being used by the devils, but it wasn't something to dwell on now.

Shiek headed to Janske to arrange the transfer of the displacer beast. He asked Janske how walking with the creature worked and wondered if he could take it to Velidol for them. Janske said he would rather not, as bringing it on a sky ship was troublesome. The law in the kingdom was that dangerous "pets" were considered to have the same legal status as their owner. Any of their action, are considered to have been performed by the owner and they will be punished accordingly. Shiek agreed and paid him in full. Janske prepared the documentation before stamping it with his seal - two crossed lion claws. He thanked Shiek for the business and lead him to the cage, before handing him the keys and returning to the house. Shiek approached the creature and touched it and the dagger. He closed his eyes and listened. The beast suddenly spoke, saying: "While travelling east, in the forest to the south, there is a unicorn you need to speak to." Shiek told it not to attack anyone, unless told otherwise and the beast agreed. He made his way down towards the Storm's Scion, attracting attention of everyone on the way. Soon after everyone went to bed.

In the middle of the night, at around 1 A.M Sapphira was woken up by a tap on the shoulder. Turning around, she saw none other than the Baron of the Deep stood over her. He said he needed her help. Following the recent calamity, he was not welcome in the city. He couldn't travel south, because of the river and the port and he couldn't go north, because it was all open and the sun would kill him. He was hoping he could use their wagon for cover, to make his escape. Sapphira asked what it was that she stood to gain from taking this huge risk. The man just asked what it was she wished for. She wanted information about their time with Tilda Lundstrom, mostly if he knew Sapphira before their meeting there. The Baron said he didn't know she had been collected or experimented. There were many others who were and had died, but he didn't know of her. She asked what he knew of the giant skull, but he seemed unfamiliar. Sapphira wanted to know how he escaped, but he reminded her that he hadn't. He had been made as a spy, and so he spied. When Tilda was killed, her hold on him had broken and he was free. Then next inquiry was about him knowing her mother. He just said they were neighbours and friends. While he seemed genuine, she questioned if he was certain that his memories were entirely correct. He just shrugged, saying that Tilda was a powerful wizard, able to manipulate people with magic, so he couldn't really be certain. Sapphira then shared her recent visions, including seeing him being experimented on. She stood up, looking him in the eyes, before asking if he was truly certain he was free from her control. The Baron, said he hoped that was the case, but if it wasn't, it hadn’t been made apparent. Somewhat reluctantly, Sapphira said she would talk about it with her party. The Baron asked where they were going and when Sapphira said it was north, he said it was the worse option, but he would take it. As for where he was staying, he wanted to stay there in the Scion, until they leave. Sapphira didn't want him in the room, so she took him to Shiek's and brought him up to speed. Shiek agreed they would need to talk to the others first. Sapphira said she brought him to Shiek, because he was a light sleeper and had backup, pointing at the displacer beast. Shiek said after seeing that the Baron ruin away in the auction, he wasn't scared of him. The Baron said he should be, but asked if he had seen who entered? Vampire hating, celestial monster Kalen Hornraven. He would have killed him instantly, regardless of what he said. Shiek then asked why he was wanted. The Baron scoffed saying that they were ones to ask. Since their arrival, there had been an assassination attempt a robbery and the auction all on the top floors, all things he is meant to prevent. The question turned to their reward. The Baron pointed one that he was broke, not exactly able to walk into the bank and withdraw some cash. As for other things, he was well-connected in other cities and good in a fight, so long as no sun was involved. Shiek wondered how useful that would be in the mountains, but the Baron said he wasn't looking to join their merry band, he just wanted out. Shiek said he may need to come with them for a bit as payment, but they would see about it later. They asked how he entered and he said he could travel through shadows and become invisible, Sapphira pointed out that the vampires usually turned to mist. He scoffed, saying he wasn't a vampire, like her he was an abomination made by a vampire to serve her needs. He then pointed at Shiek, saying he wasn't sure what he was, but he also reeked of death. With that Sapphira left the room and the Baron went to the corner, sitting down with his arms around his legs.

01/08/5-10

In the morning Valeyo came down, earlier than the last two days, but still later than he used to before the incident. Sapphira was waiting there and told him there was a situation, Milivoj soon joined and she told them that there was a visitor in Shiek' s room. The three of them headed there and saw the Baron in the corner. Valeyo sighed and asked Byron what he was doing there. He also wondered if Byron was his real name. He confirmed that he was called Byron. The name was originally Byron of the Deep, the Broken Chain was called the Deep when he first bought it. Over time it evolved into the Baron title. He explained that he needed out of the city, at least to the closest forest, out of the sun. Valeyo asked Sapphira why they were doing this. She said he had some information, but that was it. Valeyo admitted that the Baron was less vampiric than they had expected. The Baron interrupted, saying he was not a vampire, the sun still hurt him, water did as well, somewhat. As for sustenance, he did need blood, but any would do, even animal. Valeyo asked about the checks on the way out and wondered if the local authorities had the Baron's blood. He said that they didn't, have his blood. When he was under Tilda's thrall and was first assigned to Skalenvru, she had used some poor man's identity to get him there. Then after he was free, he began working less reputable jobs and eventually make his informal deal with the crown. At that, Valeyo perked up, he asked if he would be willing to enter a zone of truth and confess to all of that and he agreed. They discussed how to get him out and settled on the following plan:

Make the Baron invisible to get to the stables. Then polymorph him into a small animal and put him in the bag of holding. Once out of the city bring him out. They continued with that plan and soon they were approaching the gate of the city.