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Arrival at Kunark
Firiona Vie and her friends arrived near the tiny Elven stronghold in the new lands. Tired from their journey, they stepped off of the elven ship that ferried them to the continent on the long and tiring journey. The morning air was cool and a stiff wind was blowing from off shore. High, jagged cliffs and rocky beach stretched out before them as far as the eye could see. Firiona knew that there was forest somewhere up above them but she could not see it. The elves were happy to be off of the boat and to finally have a chance to stretch their legs. Cold and a little wet, Galeth led them all up a treacherous and rocky path. Stones under their feet sought to trip them up. Thubr Axebringer stumbled a few times on the stones but a quick arm lent from the Paladin, Sir Jevik, kept the dwarf from being dashed to pieces on the rocks below. Al`Kabor snickered to himself as he hovered magically, roughly a foot in the air, avoiding the small stones and uneven footing all together. Dagda's keen barbarian senses alerted her as the wind shifted slightly. "I smell smoke. Let's hope that these are your friends, Galeth." Dabner piped up for the first time in over two hours, a personal record for gnomish cleric of Brell Serellis. "I hope they made something to eat. I'm starving." Galeth's ancient elven features betrayed no hint of being hungry or tired. Looking briefly over his shoulder as he led them up the path he said, "This is the settlement up here. It isn't much right now but we will find rest and respite from the elements there." As they crested the hill the party got their first glimpse of the new continent. The trees were strange and the flora was unfamiliar. In the distance, smoke from a campfire could be seen. Lyirae's eyes were wide with excitement. "This place is so beautiful. It's so very different from Faydwer." She stopped briefly to inspect some tracks on the ground; "These tracks are fresh. They resemble a wolf's yet whatever made these walked upright. Definitely not a gnoll though. And it was very large," she added looking a bit frightened. "Lycanthropes perhaps? Galeth, you mentioned that they roam the continent," Sionachie asked. At her words, the halfling rogue Dreezil began to walk a little bit more closely to the half elven bard, as if to hide in her shadow. Galeth replied, "Aye, it is most likely Lycanthropes. Horrible magical creations. Half man and half beast." Ognit looked up at Galeth. "Perhaps we should hurry along then?" The gnomish wizard looked a little frightened and quickened his pace a bit. Grimly, Galeth said, "If there are Lycanthropes in the area, they've known about us for quite some time. They have unnaturally strong senses. It's said that they can hear and smell prey miles away from them." Dabner stopped dead in his tracks. A figure was running toward them at incredible speed, "Lycanthrope!" the gnome shouted. Galeth barked back immediate, "Stay your hands, this is most certainly not a lycanthrope!" It was immediately apparent to all, save the air-headed gnome, that the figure running toward the group was a wood elf. Stopping abruptly about 10 yards from the group, the young elf saluted crisply. "General Veredeth. Lieutenant Thorn at your service. I hope your journey was a pleasant one." Galeth smiled back and said, "At ease Lieutenant. The journey was a long but an uneventful one and for that we are thankful." "It's refreshing to see you again, sir. You trained me at the academy some time ago. Do you remember?" Galeth nodded, "Of course I do, I never forget a student! Particularly such an adept as yourself." In truth, Galeth did not remember the young elven soldier as he had trained perhaps thousands in his lifetime. However, a small untruth was a lesser sin then crushing one's morale, particularly in such a hostile and unpleasant environment as these soldiers endured. The Lieutenant smiled broadly, "Follow me then everyone. We have dinner prepared. We've even made a hearty stew with meat for those heartier folk in your party that want to something a little heavier then what we usually serve." Thubr grinned and said, "Good, good! I'm glad to hear we don't have to survive on yer elven granola the whole time! Thanks for the hospitality friend." The settlement had several small, semi-permanent structures of wood and straw. No stones or masonry lined any of the paths between the structures but hard packed earth swept clean served to make wheeling the carts used to haul materials between huts slightly easier. The banners of Felwithe and Kelethin waving noisily in the wind at the edge of the outpost were the only indications that the inhabitants here were "civilized". The settlers had come with nothing save tools and had done an amazing job making do with what supplies they could gather from the local surroundings. In the center of the encampment were several fire pits ringed with stones. Over the pit, a pot simmered filled with the stew and a delicious aroma (to those of non-elven lineage) filled the camp. Making themselves comfortable on the ground, the group sat in a circle around the fire and ate their fill. The party rested for a bit after their meal, talked with the men and enjoyed the meager comforts afforded to them by the elven settlers. Dagda, Lyirae, Thubr and Dreezil all napped for a while in the warm afternoon sun, not bothering to leave the spot where they had eaten. Afternoon turned into early night and not quite tired, Firiona Vie took a walk around the perimeter of the encampment. In the distance she noticed what appeared to be an enormous statue. She had heard stories of the amazing ancient ruins that dotted the continent, evidence of what was once an immense and prosperous nation of great power. Curious, she inquired about the statue to Galeth. Galeth suggested that perhaps it would be nice to go on an evening hike. He called for Lieutenant Thorn and asked that he show all of them the surrounding area and give them a tour. The Lieutenant was more then willing, "It would be my honor to take you all on a hike. There are many very interesting sights to see and I'm quite familiar with the area." Dreezil spoke up. "It won't be dangerous will it? We saw some footprints on the way up t'here an I'd hate to meet whatever made 'em." The Lieutenant answered back confidently, "We'll be just fine, don't you worry. We are a small army and I don't think anything would be fool enough to attack us." Al`Kabor laughed, "I pity anything that comes between me and an enjoyable walk tonight. Don't be concerned Dreezil." The party set out into the wilderness and towards the ruins of what must have been a great port city at one time. Walking along an ancient stone path Lyirae, Al`Kabor and Firiona stopped several times to examine some varieties plant they had not laid eyes on before. Lieutenant Thorn pointed out that some of the rare herbs had medicinal properties and perhaps magical ones as well. Al`Kabor took notes of this all, enjoying a chance to research in the field again. The Lieutenant then led them to the base of an enormous statue. The statue depicted a race of lizard creature. This one held a sword, his arm raised above its head in triumph. Their guide spoke, "The Iksar are an ancient race. The ruins that lie all about the land show that they were once a great empire whose influence seemed to stretch the length of the continent. 1900 years ago, the Iksar attempted to attack and take control of Faydwer but the navy was wiped out by a terrible storm and they were not successful. Later, something terrible happened to cause the once great empire to crumble and disintegrate. Whether it was natural disaster, civil war or enemy attack is unknown." They marveled at the size and craftsmanship of the statue. The soldier then bid them to follow and again they made their way along the ancient stone path. They walked for several minutes and then Lieutenant Thorn turned to them and began speaking. "None of the local inhabitants seem very friendly with the exception of the Drixies. The Drixies are very friendly to most folk and have actually been known to come to the aid of those under attack." He then gestured far off into the distance and spoke in hushed tones, "Drachnids, a twisted hybrid of Spider and Elf prowl the area. They live in a cave very close by the area. They are unnatural creations spawned from the foulest of magics." Sir Jevik struggled to see in the darkened forest. The final hint of sun was nothing but a purple smear low in the sky. Noticing the human paladin squinting, Dagda reached into her pack and produced a vial. She spoke quietly to him, "Here. Drink this Jevik. It will improve your eyesight." "What is this?" he asked. "It is a potion brewed by our shaman in Halas. It lets us see in the dark, as do these elves. We use it often when we must hunt at night. It is safe. Drink it," she urged, nodding her head at him. She spoke softly, not wishing to call attention to their shared human weakness of night blindness. Jevik nonchalantly drank the potion. His eyes took on a barely perceptible purple glow. Suddenly, he could see as if it were mid-day. Everything suddenly looked crisp and well defined but his field of vision took on a violet sort of hue and it took a few moments before he was accustomed to the change. He gasped when he caught a glimpse of the Drachnid scuttling grotesquely back into its cave. As Jevik and Dagda caught up to the group again, Lieutenant Thorn was continuing his discourse on the creatures that inhabited the region. "Frogloks are widespread across the continent, more so even then our homeland. The Frogloks seem unhappy with our settling the area. They are skittish towards us at best." The Lieutenant gestured toward a ruined building in the distance near where the stone path came to an end. In the darkness, the familiar form of the frog people could be seen moving about in the building, their heads poking up now and then to peer worriedly at the large group through a hole in the wall of the building they had no doubt made their own. "Well my friends, darkness falls. I think it is probably best if we make our way back to camp now. I'm sure you could use a good night sleep after all." Everyone nodded in agreement. They turned and began to head back down the stone path back toward the encampment.
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