(OOC: Torvek could have sent a wizard eye but would have most likely turned himself into a bird to survey from the sky and travel easily.  Also I had not initially prepared mount but we could have got them going after the first night).

As they walk through the town, Torvek looks at the damage trying to understand what happened here.  Since Kali appears to know Tosta well, he decides to let her get the information, ready to ask for clarification when needed.

In response to Yngvar introduction, Torvek offers his hand and say "Torvek Ragdar, Wizard of Silverymoon. Happy to help if I can but could you tell us more about this evil you talk of?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:33, Sat 22 July 2023.

Yngvar takes his hand and shakes it, "Greetings, I'm not sure what is happening, but a malevolent evil is spreading over the lands including the Reaching Wood. We are under siege, so many have died fighting it. Our numbers are dwindling."

Tosta sighed. "It feels like I've walked straight into a wasp's nest. Triel was attacked by a few ogres and hill giants, and I figured that was all it was. Now I'm not so certain, especially with the dark hints Yngvar's been dropping. But at least a dozen people were taken, including the mayor. If they're going to survive, they'll need to be rescued soon." She waves a hand helplessly at her legs. "And I'll probably be stuck in this useless village all winter."

Kali nodded at Tosta's predicament. "Think of a winter here as charity work to pad your resume, or your karma, your choice. Any idea the direction the hostages were taken in? How organized were the rabble? Did it seem like they came with the sole purpose of taking people or was it a by-product of the chaos?"

"It's a day and a half into the Trielta Hills." Tosta waved a hand at Elion and Yngvar. "They can guide you. There were only ten or twelve ogres and giants. In and out." She frowns. "I didn't think anything of it, because the attack was very much the usual chaos, but they left..." She trails off and waves a hand vaguely. "Well? On time? I feel ridiculous applying 'at the opportune moment' to a bunch of hill giants, but that's what it was. And that maybe means coordination."

"That...that is highly disconcerting."

She mulled the information over for a moment.

"Well, I take that as good news and bad news. Good news being that there is a decent chance some of those people are still alive until a sacrificial ritual or some such needs to be conducted. Which is definitely better than being considered dinner or entertainment. Bad news is there is something powerful enough to control ogres and hill giants in the middle of a frenzy."

She sighed and flashed a genuine smile to her friend.

"Sounds like fun!"

Kali turned her attention to the people Torvek was addressing and approached the group.

"Forgive me interrupting, Torvek, but time really seems to be of the essence."

She turned her full attention to Yngvar and Elion and bowed slightly.

"My name is Kali Xilrora and I'm a friendly associate of that lovely woman, Tosta, there. She's filled me in on some of the details and I agree with your assessment that some thing very dark is playing a major part in this attack. I am also very interested in rescuing those people since very few deserve death by ogre. Is it possible to discuss details while we walk the kill the vermin?"

Kitheras survey the wreckage with a detached sort of concern one might see from an insurance adjuster. The highborn elven ranger wears fine--if travel worn--leathers over a glittering suit of elven chain. A fur mantle is draped over his shoulders anchoring his cloak.

"The Mayor is kidnapped, but who is the Lord of these lands? In whose name does the mayor govern?"

Kitheras clearly thinks that someone failed these people. It is unclear whether he is more upset about that dereliction of duty or the actual massacre.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:42, Sat 22 July 2023.

"I doubt if they have one at all, Kitheras. Like so many of these rural towns, these are essentially freebooters.  Eager to plow land they can call their own, with never a mind as to why the land was unoccupied to begin with."

Corym seems decidedly bored.  No wizards, no ruins, no architecture or ancient secrets. Hasty humans getting killed by gore-soaked giants. He cut a strange figure beside Kitheras, in odd clothes of a decidedly dwarven make, silky black gloves, and a leather harness for climbing that he had just remembered he was still wearing and began to slip out of.

Still, he was a friend to Kali and she had saved his life more than once. This seemed important to her, so it would be important to him.

Tosta nods. "If you mean overlord, like Azoun in Cormyr, there isn't one from here to the ocean. And with Tethyr the mess that it is, none to the south til you reach Amn. Just cities and towns holding what they can at the end of a blade, and miles of grass between them."

Taking everything in, the devastation, the still standing walls and the people. Acknowledging each person in turn as he listens to the report from the Lady Tosta and these others that attend her, his smile cheery yet concerned, he grabs his Ioun Stone from a pouch and holds it out to the Lady.

"Lady Toska, I am Krackor, Lord Protector and Barakor of Gorm, Protector of the Dreams of the Ancients Adventuring Company whom Kitheras is the current Captain. If I may be so bald, take this Magical Ioun Stone that will regenerate your wounded legs in no time, although the pain management may feel like it has much to be desired." He offers Toska the Rhomboid, pearly crystal of Regeneration.

"Please take care of this crystal, The Vigilant Host, The Bronze Mask." at which point he pats the Blazen Eye on his Shield.

He didn't talk much, as though waiting for something major to be said, he also looks around for any actions being taken.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 01:09, Sun 23 July 2023.

Tosta stares at Krackor. "Thank you?" Her eyes are losing a bit of focus, and it's clear she isn't really certain what Krackor just said. She leans back in her bed, exhausted.

Kitheras presents himself to Yngvar and Elion.

"Fortune has placed us in one another's path.  Shall we work together to save this Mayor?"

"He is but one of twelve, but yes, we shall work together, and pray we are strong enough against so many! Giants are a brutal and dangerous foe."

In reply to DM (msg # 26):

Krackor helps Tosta hold the stone and helps her as he casts 2 Cure Light Wounds (I'd not updated spell list, my bad, never mind). He also casts Cure Disease, just in case of infection. He encourages Tosta to focus on the stone.

Tosta sighs in relief as Krackor's magic takes hold. Her eyes close, and she sags bonelessly into her bedding as sleep tackles her. Her breathing is slow but steady, and Krackor's ioun stone orbits her head in graceful arcs.

With Yngvar offering some of Silvanus's blessings in the form of a nap spell, the group hunkers down in the warehouse. It's not remotely the most comfortable place you've ever taken a nap, but it's not the worst, either. And with the village settling down and tending to their own, you're relatively assured that you can spend a bell in enchanted sleep without anyone bothering you.

And that is precisely what happens. All of you drop off to sleep, and then, seemingly just a moment later, you all wake up again. Full night has fallen outside. You are rested and ready to go, the side effects of two days of forced marching wiped clean by your sleep.

Tosta, not included in the nap, is still sleeping. There's a bit more color in her face, and some of the stress lines have faded. The ioun stone continues to make its slow circles around her head.

((ooc: All spellcasters can memorize/change out their full set of spells. Everyone is at full hp; please update your bio lines. You can leave Triel when ready.

Krackor, are you leaving your ioun stone with Tosta, or taking it with you?))

Ministering to Tosta, Krackor forgets how tired he really is until the Nap Spell takes hold and he wakes in the morning feeling better than he has in 5 days, since arriving in Myth Drannor.

Calling to the Bronze Mask, Old Fire Eyes, the Priest asks for aid in their mission and spells to match.  He also will leave the Ioun Stone with Tosta so it can fix her broken legs quicker, a day or two instead or a few weeks, but with no scarring.

He trusts Kali's judgement of the lady, since she doesn't seem to trust many, so this lady must have done something really good.

Corym wakes from his restful nap, and sets about memorizing his spells.

"While the wizards are preparing their Art, lets see how many horses we can round up. Similarly, I'd like to conduct a quick investigation of the Mayor's office to see if there's any hints as to the origins on this situation. Kali, perhaps you could accompany me on that note?"

Yngvar packed what needed packed to get ready to go, then he prayed to Silvanus for his spells.

Just before memorising his new spells, Torvek asks for a bit of advice. "What do we need for travelling?  I can summon up to five horses and could also summon phantom horses.  Corym, are you planning to summon some horse too?"

Triel is ruled by Elvar the Grainlord from a sizeable central building that is almost entirely given over to granaries, deep storage cellars, and tall stacks of crates and barrels. His staff consists entirely of a single person, an older man name Calland who has a perpetually-harried look that the last half-ride has done nothing to improve. He appears at the door when you knock in a long robe with well-patched sleeves, a club made from what looks like the leg of a chair raised. "Eh, what? Are we under attack again?"

Kitheras considers the vast agricultural wealth of Triel and the comparably non-existent defenses. It doesn't take a prophet to see this coming.

"I'm Kitheras Sunblade.  I'll be riding to recover Mayor Elvar, but I want to have a look around.  Hill Giants can be hired as easily as soldiers, and I need information before I place my people in harms way. Can you tell me anything?"

While Calland gives answer, Kitheras looks over the granaries to see how many and which of them had been pillaged.

Yngvar quietly listens for now, looking around. He wasn't real comfortable here in Triel, preferring the forest!

"I believe you were introduced to me as Yngvar. You're a druid?  I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure--a bit of a cosmopolitan myself. Are you familiar with these giants?"

"Not really, they appear to be a more recent threat I think. They seem to have come out of the north, not sure if it was their idea, or they were driven by something stronger. I was sent here to investigate what is behind this."