All of The Solutionists are in the library with Lord Fowler, except Qhortho, who remains at the tavern.
The conversation continues with the Solutionists trying to talk less about the hostage and more to what jobs they might do for profit.
Instead, Lord Fowler brings the subject back to the Selmy kid and says asks why he shouldn’t just take them, The Solutionists, all hostage now and hand you over to Yorick Yronwood as spies for The Reach.
Burton says that they may have miscalculated the need for a solution in this case, “an arrow not loosed will not strike its target.”
Lord Fowler continues to dig at the matter, sensing there is still more to be divulged. The tension ratchets up. Burton suggests that what Lord Fowler may be sensing is that they lost their comrade Max at the onset of their journey. Lord Fowler does not believe this, ratcheting the tension a little higher.
Tholannan jumps in with what might be considered to be a misstep at this point, suggesting that it is strange for Skyreach to have such strong allegiance to Yronwood. Given that Yronwood is the capital of Dorne, this statement would be traitorous had it been with most people in the region, perhaps leading to execution with the wrong audience.
Lord Fowler questions him about this and, whether by luck or by some subconscious sense, Tholannan doubles down on his statement by saying that Yronwood may seem like they are for Dorne, but it’s hard to tell really where allegiances lie. After a long pause, and the tension extremely thick, Lord Garrison Fowler agrees with this statement and The Solutionists feel slightly at ease.
FOWLER: I see we are at least slightly aligned here and so I’ll tell you a secret. I’ve never liked Yorick. He’s a pretentious arse and his damned animal tournaments are mad!
I have to say, your story is quite unbelievable, but at the same time… plausible.
I know there is more here. Does anything I’ve just said change what you are willing to divulge? Do you agree with the sentiment of my words?
SHADOW: I have a tendency to agree. I think that Yorick is just out for himself and Yronwood.
FOWLER: Even with him gathering troops from all parts of Dorne to fight off the Reach?
SHADOW: I think there needs to be a fight to protect against the reach but I don’t think his way will ever see an end to the battle.
FOWLER: We find ourselves in agreement again. As you may know by now, we are the watchers of the wide way; we are the guardians of the main road to the north. I would like to see peace so we are not so strained as a region. It seems that Yronwood regularly remains bountiful while the rest of us are drained.
SHADOW: They take everyone else’s troops and use them for their own profit. Some of it may trickle out, but most of it remains in Yronwood.
FOWLER: Some might say that they are the reason we have stability at all in Dorne.
SHADOW: Some might say that but we are Solutionists and we seek to find answers that are less simplistic when the situation is not black and white.
FOWLER: Now we’re getting somewhere. Let me ask once more. How does the Selmy kid fit into your… solution?
After a few moments of silence, the group trading glances, Shadowsilver asks if it would be acceptable for them to discuss amongst themselves. Lord Fowler obliges.
The group discusses the situation and decides that Qarzdaq will try to persuade the Lord that they do not need to divulge their entire reasoning but that they are against Yronwood for peace in the region and they are searching for allies.
FOWLER: What is your end game here?
BURTON: To bring peace!
QARZDAQ: Peace to the entire region.
SHADOW: And we do realize that this may be overly optimistic, but we do feel there is a greater use of diplomacy and less militaristic approach that may yield better results than the status quo. We’re not so blind… pardon the phrasing, My Lord… to presume we can end all wars, but there has to be a better solution.
Lord Fowler slams his hands down on the table. “Aha! Now we have arrived at the point where our interests align.”
The Solutionists never knew how close they had been to death or prison. Had they decided to threaten or kill Garrison Fowler, they would have faced 12 armed crossbowmen, who were waiting in the rooms adjacent to the second floor balcony. Alas, they chose wisely.
FOWLER: I cannot make public that I am for this alignment, but as we were getting to the point of your visit toady, I’ve determined a solution that may make even the Solutionists proud. I’ll give you the Selmy kid if you take him back to his home in Harvest Hall, and tell Ser Kevan that he was given to you voluntarily in exchange for joining this plot.
BURTON: I believe we can do that, and very happily so!
FOWLER: There are some stipulations on which I must insist to protect myself and my people.
I am going to expect you back here in no more than 2 fortnights. If you are not back by then, I am sending scouts to Yronwood to inform them that the Selmy kid was taken and that we have been infiltrated.
I’ll also be sending one of my knights, Jorah Pryor, with you. If he senses anything amiss, he has orders to kill the kid.
SHADOW: Is he a skilled swordsman?
FOWLER: One of my best.
QARZDAQ: We just don’t want him to slow us down.
FOWLER: If he does not return with you in 28 days, I will inform Yronwood that the Selmy kid was taken and that we have been infiltrated. You’d better keep him protected.
THOL: I am a healer and I will make his protection my top priority.
FOWLER: Well, that’s good, because for your sake, you’d better keep him protected.
We’ve just had some three wagons of supplies arrive from Yronwood and 100 troops that just finished their training. They are scheduled to be off to Kingsgrave today, so you will go behind that shipment. This will provide some cover as you approach Kingsgrave.
SHADOW: Is Kingsgrave aligned with Yronwood? Do they have any hesitations like those you hold?
FOWLER: Kingsgrave is on the frontlines, which softens the gray areas and hardens the heart.
Lord Fowler lets them know that they will be taking a civilian wagon with Jorah Pryor and Ronard Selmy will remain out of view inside the wagon.
FOWLER: If you alert Kingsgrave to your presence, they will search this wagon and I don’t know how they’ll respond.
If you are stopped for any reason, it is up to you to get out of it yourselves. I will deny any involvement. So if you are captured, I will inform Yronwood that the Selmy kid, and my guard, were taken and that we have been infiltrated. If I were you, I wouldn’t stop for any reason except to relieve yourselves and rest, lest you be caught.
I hope I’ve been clear.
As collateral I will require 50gp each. This will be refunded to you upon your return, assuming everything goes off without a hitch.
SHADOW: We need some amount of funding just to live, is this really to be a quest without payment? At the least, could you supply us with provisions for the entire ride plus 30 days thereafter?
FOWLER: This is to further your goals, you came to me, I’ve nothing but risk in this relationship. But I understand your point – I will supply you with provisions for your ride to Harvest Hall and back, but that is the termination point of our agreement.
QARZDAQ: How about we do 100sp each instead of the 50g then? We do take much risk ourselves, My Lord, even in coming here to treat with you.
FOWLER: Fair point. I have burdened you with plenty of stipulations and you do have quite the task ahead. I will waive the collateral entirely.
QARZDAQ: Thank you Lord Fowler, you are clearly a wise and a …. [Qarzdaq begins to mumble]
FOWLER: I assume you’ve said something quite flattering; it is clear to me that this group before me possesses these same traits.
SHADOW: Since you keep such a close eye on the Wide Way, we would like to contact you now and again to keep up with the comings and goings to and from The Reach, even if passersby seem inconsequential.
FOWLER: These would be sensitive messages in sensitive times, so we will need to encode them. I will give you a personal one-time cipher.
Lord Fowler flips an oversized coin to Shadowsilver.
QARZDAQ: Would your maester give us a raven?
FOWLER: Sure – just be sure to keep him well-nourished and play with him every so often.
BURTON: We will treat your raven with the utmost respect.
QARZDAQ: What’s the raven’s name?
FOWLER: Carthage
SHADOW: How far is Kingsgrave from here?
FOWLER: About 5 days or so.
A loud click is heard from the entry door, which then opens by the hand of Maester Fransys. The group decides that they better be on their way.
FRANSYS: I won’t ask of the topics spoken, but it seems as if it was a beneficial meeting.
SHADOW: Yes, it was. All we need is a raven, 30 days of rations, a civilian wagon, and we need to be introduced to Jorah Pryor.
The maester leads the group to the training grounds where a swordsman is training against a dummy. It is quite obvious that this man is adept in battle.
The maester interrupts the swordsman. “Jorah…”
JORAH: Yeah?
FRANSYS: We have some guests here to see you. It seems they have some business with you on some trip involving a wagon. I don’t know much else about the specifics, except that I am to also supply a raven and some provisions.
After some introductions, Jorah Pryor takes leave to meet with Garrison Fowler to get the details of the mission while The Solutionists go to the tavern to pick up Qhortho. They plan to meet back at the training grounds in relatively quick time.
Upon arriving, Qhortho is groggily waking up and sees the rest of the group enter.
QHORTHO: My drink must have been poisoned. A Dothraki is no Dothraki if he cannot ride. But I am able to ride again!
Burton gives him a wink and buys some drinks.
After some discussion about the best way to proceed, they decide to ride together behind the military caravan and once they are within an hour of Kingsgrave, Tholannan and Qhortho will wait about 30 minutes then continue their ride, to alleviate suspicions around the civilian wagon.
Before setting out, the group attempts to soothe the child.
Qarzdaq says that it is Ronard’s job to keep care of Carthage the raven. Ronard likes this.
Shadowsilver says they are embarking on an adventure and that he’ll love it. Ronard is excited by this.
Burton says “You’ll have fun!” then prestidigitates a little horn and proceeds to honk it. Ronard is in awe at this point. “Trust me, you’ll have fun with us. We’re a cool crowd.”
Shadowsilver, never missing an opportunity to screw with minds, says that Ronard should “watch out for this one.”
And as quickly as the group had made Ronard comfortable and ready for this adventure, he now looks around nervously and says, “I don’t know if I like this guy. He makes my tummy hurt.”
Burton says that he’ll “make more than that hurt too.”
Ronard hides behind Shadowsilver, seeking a maternal comfort.
Qarzdaq tells Burton that he should stay up front.
Ronard is more uneasy now than before he was taken from his friends and loaded into this wagon.
They wait until the troops and their supplies get about 1500 feet ahead before instructing the horses to walk. Burton dons his child makeup, and the journey has officially begun.
As they ride, Burton continues to perform magic tricks for Ronard, which eases the child enough to not be scared of Burton but still a bit nervous.
As they approach Kingsgrave, 5 days later, it looks similar to Blackmont and Horn Hill – archers line the battlements on the wall, keeping watch for threats and suspicious activity.
The troops and their supplies turn towards Kingsgrave and the archers on the wall draw their bows. The archers furthest from the gate continue to watch the civilian wagon pass by, eyeing it intently. The wagon continues on course until out of sight of Kingsgrave and pulls off to the side of the road and wait. Shadowsilver and Qarzdaq decide to make it look like they are fixing the wheel; Burton decides to keep Ronard (and Jorah) company.
Tholannan and Qhortho decide that when they pass Kingsgrave that it would be best if they act as if they do not understand the common tongue. To do this most effectively, Tholannan casts Tongues, allowing himself to understand and speak Dothraki.
As they pass the gate to Kingsgrave, Tholannan acknowledges the guards’ existence; Qhortho keeps his eyes on the road. Qhortho and Tholannan continue with their current pace and after a short while longer, meet up with the rest of the group.
They continue along the road together for another 5 days, after which they see a fully-staffed nondescript tower – 10 guards and 2 scouts. Much later, this simple tower would be birthplace of one Jon Snow.
After another day, a bloodied man comes running up the road towards you. “HELP ME, HELP ME, PLEASE!”
A group of men attacked his family – himself, his wife and his son – as they were traveling south. They were being held and he was able to break away and run for help.
As the man is pleading for their help, Tholannan cures his wounds. Zone of Truth is cast on the man and The Solutionists ask him probing questions about the men who attacked and why they may have attacked him.
QARZDAQ: Jorah, we’re going to help this guy’s wife and kid, but you should stay with Little Ronnie.
JORAH: Are you sure that’s a good idea?
QARZDAQ: Yeah, we can handle this ourselves.
JORAH: When I spoke to Lord Fowler, he told me that we weren’t to stop for any reason. But, I do agree that this is a worthwhile cause. Seldom do plans remain unchanged once they go into action.
QHORTHO: It seems they are in our path anyway, so there’s not really much choice.
Sensing that the man is hiding something, they tell him that he should lead the way on foot and they will follow.
The man protests this, as his family is in danger and timing is of the essence, but seeing no other option, does as they say.
They travel the road another 15 minutes before arriving at the scene. Three horses dressed with the banner of House Caron of Nightsong stand beside five other plain horses. Two sellswords are holding a young boy, forcing him to watch three others taking turns raping his mother. 5 yards away, three well-armored veterans stand with their backs to the rape, speaking nonchalantly. The family’s wagon is at the side of the road. All of the men are facing towards the north to some degree, allowing our protagonists to get the jump on them.
The Solutionists unleash magical fury alongside poisoned arrows and horse trampling.
Burton yells out, “Let’s keep one alive!”
A veteran rushes at Qhortho, armed with a longsword and a shortsword, and crumbles to his death as he runs too close to Tholannan’s bubble of protection.
Burton yells at the last man standing, a badly beaten sellsword, “if you value your life, cease your attack, drop your weapons, and hold your hands above your head!”
The sellsword looks across the group and his fallen comrades. The man throws his weapons at the ground in front of him, “Fuck this!”
“Grab him guys…,” Burton instructs to no one in particular.
Qarzdaq says, “Grab him Qhortho.”
Qhortho walks his horse up directly behind the man, the horse’s side at the man’s back. Qhortho draws his arakh and places it at his enemy’s neck, pinning him against the horse.
Burton proceeds to interrogate the sellsword:
BURTON: Why did you attack this woman and child? What business is it of yours other than your own perverse pleasures?”
SELLSWORD: We were just hired to do a job
BURTON: Hired by who?
SELLSWORD: Don’t those horses over there tell you anything? [he motions to the horses with the banners]
QARZDAQ: What was the job?
SELLSWORD: All I know is that they’re smuggling some type of weaponry, we were hired for the job, and that’s it.
SHADOW: Smuggling weaponry huh? So were you supposed to bring the weapons back with you?
SELLSWORD: I know no other details other than we were intercepting this wagon.
QHORTHO: So where’s your proof? Where’s this so-called weaponry?
SELLSWORD: It’s got to be inside the wagon.
Shadowsilver draws her sword and approaches the father of the family and manages to place it up to his throat despite his physical and verbal protests.
SHADOW: It’s time we get to the bottom of this.
FATHER: What do you want? What do you want??
SHADOW: I want to know everything. I want to know where they came from, I want to know who you’re working for, I want to know who you’ve talked to, I want to know everything.
FATHER: What guarantees do I…
SHADOW: You have none! I’m going to kill you right now if you don’t…
FATHER: My son and my wife, my son and my wife…
SHADOW: We’ll kill them all if you don’t do exactly what I say right now.
FATHER: But what if I do tell you?
SHADOW: Then they’ll be safe. We don’t want to kill people.
THOL: We are brokers of information. It would be in your best interests if you let us know what we need to know. We may even be able to help each other.
FATHER: But how do I know? How can I be certain that my son and wife will be safe?
SHADOW: You’re about to get your throat slit by me. If you say one more thing about “how do I know,” it’s happening.
The man looks defiantly at Shadowsilver, “Well, then you’ll never know.”
Shadowsilver slices the man’s throat and he falls to the ground, bleeding out where he lies. The man’s wife lets out a blood-curdling scream.
Shadowsilver approaches the recently beaten and raped woman, her clothes ripped and barely covering her skin.
SHADOW: You’d better know what he didn’t know.
The woman is sobbing, “I don’t know anything!”
SHADOW: Where would he have hidden something?
WOMAN: I don’t know! Please leave us alone!
The Unlikely Assembly searches their wagon and finds a cache of weapons and armor. Knowing what it takes to break the weapons and armor they tainted in Yronwood, they test these weapons with extreme force. Although this gear is unremarkable, they do not break.
After some more interrogation, the woman says that they were coming from Storm’s End and that we were going to sell our wares. She soon reveals that she is from Vaith, in the red sandy heart of Dorne.
Shadowsilver’s next move is to go to the sellsword, still pinned by Qhortho, and stabs him dead. The man falls to the ground.
THOL: Whoa, whoa, whoa…. Why are you going around killing all these people when they could have valuable information? We don’t even know why they were smuggling weapons in the first place.
SHADOW: Well, it’s done now
QARZDAQ: Well I agree that you shouldn’t have killed him, but I also agree that it is done. I also think we should burn the wagon and the weapons because they will only slow us down and it is wholly unrelated to our mission.
QHORTHO: I think we should make the wagon of weapons a gift to Harvest Hall to gain their trust.
Tholannan stabilizes the husband and his slit throat closes and no longer oozes blood. The man’s heart begins to beat.
SHADOW: Maybe this is what was needed to get him to talk. Maybe this is what we should do from now on as a negotiation tactic.
Tholannan looks at her, disgusted, and then stabilizes the sellsword who was Shadowsilver’s latest kill.
The sellsword coughs as he regains consciousness. The group interrogates him about the weapons. He tells them all he knows about where the weapons came from, where they were going, and that they were in the right to stop the shipment because this is traitorous action against The Reach.
The sellsword is then killed… again…
The conclusion is drawn that Yronwood knows it needs good weapons. They agree to take the weapons with them.
After some discussion, the group decides to let the family go free as long as they do not tell anyone about what happened here. They inform the man that the group may call upon him for aid in the future. Burton generates an illusion of thunder and lightning for emphasis.
The man says his name is Vorian Garth and that he lives at the center of Vaith and that he would be glad to help.
Qarzdaq takes the Nightsong banners off the veterans’ horses and scares the horses off to the north. They find 25gp across the soldiers and 100sp in the wagon of weapons. Qarzdaq then burns the banners and the bodies.
Each member earns 520XP.
Burton approaches Little Ronnie and, as if the kid had not yet seen enough to traumatize him, takes the steps to thoroughly creep him out with a joke about a grumkin, some small illusory fireworks, and the sound of giggling in the distance. Qarzdaq is even a little troubled by this.
Continuing along the Wide Way, the mountains eventually give way to fertile grasslands and forest. Up ahead along the road you see a small keep surrounded by farmland. The grain-centric sigil of Harvest Hall waves in the wind above the keep.
Qarzdaq decides to stay back and guard the weapon wagon while the rest of the group advances on the keep. Tholannan will message him once they are ready for Qarzdaq to ride in.
The few archers posted on the battlements take notice of the group as they approach the gate. The level of security here is on the more relaxed side.
Shadowsilver quickly learns to dislike Harvest Hall after she is met with sexist comments from the archer in charge of the main gate.
As they take stock of their surroundings they notice this town is not nearly as militaristic as Horn Hill and realize that this is mainly an agricultural town.
The group mentions to their greeter that they have business with Lord Selmy and he leaves to find The Lord.
Burton does some cartwheels and shows off some slight visual trails – just enough for people to question their sobriety, but not enough to accuse him of magic.
A few minutes later, a chainmailed man appears from around a corner in front of you, his hand on the hilt of his blade.
The child yells, “Daddy!”
The man in front of you, obviously Ser Kevan Selmy, motions to the boy to settle down and be quiet.
Over the course of the next few minutes of conversation, the sexism exhibited by Ser Kevan drives Shadowsilver to pure hatred of the man.
Burton and Kevan enter the keep and go into a conversation room just inside to the left.
Burton showcases true diplomacy and politic with Kevan Selmy, managing to get him to understand how peace in the region would be the best help for the residents of Harvest Hall and of The Reach, more broadly.
Selmy then leaves Burton in the room and goes back to the gate so he can bring Tholannan in to corroborate Burton’s story.
Tholannan shows off his diplomatic skills when he confirms Burton’s story and asks for payment to cover their journey.
Selmy then leaves the room a second time to retrieve Qhortho, Shadowsilver, and Jorah. Little Ronnie is whisked away to safety.
When they enter the room, Burton mentions that another member of their party is outside of town.
Shadowsilver then makes her go at politics and is successful despite her harsh tone with Ser Kevan. Qhortho serves his part by cheerleading certain lines after Shadowsilver says them the first time.
Lord Selmy hatches his plan:
This is something I had been hoping to do at some point, but we never had a way to pull this off.
If you can get into Wyl, and signal the primary beacon fire for the Dornish-controlled tower crews to attack, we can be ready and ambush them with all of our forces, decimating Blackmont and, more importantly, Kingsgrave.
I can get word to Nightsong, Blackhaven, and Horn Hill.
With those two threats removed, we can focus on Wyl. And if we wind up doing this, we’ll do this 2 fortnights from today. That will give you the time to get back to Skyreach and make your way up to Wyl along the southern road so you are not suspected.
Shadowsilver says that if they agree to do this, The Reach must not continue to advance beyond Blackmont and Kingsgrave.
He agrees and says that The Marches should not be settled by either side.
The group then mentions the cart of wagons with their friend, and Burton says, “We have the greatest weapons. Believe me. We got them from murderers and rapists.” Ser Kevan raises an eyebrow, recognizing that the best weapons do tend to come from murderers and rapists.
He is mostly uninterested, but agrees to take a look.
Tholannan rides out to meet with Qarzdaq, intentionally not using magic to message Qarzdaq in case it would draw unwanted attention. They ride back to the keep with the wagon of weapons and armor.
Ser Kevan has two of his men fight using weapons from the wagon, which apparently is the perfect time for Qarzdaq and Tholannan to bet on the victor. Qarzdaq chooses wisely and wins 10gp from Tholannan as one man calls out, “I yield! I yield!”
Ser Kevan inspects the weapons and notices they are in great condition. “I would call that ‘legit shit’.”
During the negotiation for the weapons, Shadowsilver misspeaks some words, suggesting Skyreach is an ‘enemy’ rather than a peacemate. The conversation quickly escalates allowing Qhortho to become, somehow, the sane one by cutting Shadowsilver’s bowstring and attempting to talk Ser Kevan down from a battle.
Qarzdaq tries to persuade Shadowsilver to stop talking; her will prevails.
Tholannan attempts to Calm the situation, by making everyone non-hostile; both Shadowsilver and Ser Kevan remain unaffected.
Burton Charms Shadowsilver and we re-learned that the Spell Save DC is calculated correctly on the papyrus of their minds. He asks that she drop her weapon and be cool. She agrees, and says that she just wants to get a fair price.
They finally agree on 350gp for the entire shipment.
After the deal is made, Shadowsilver asks about some of the other towns around the area.
Ser Kevan tells of Nightsong, the lead of organizing military operations, and High Garden, the primary house of the Reach.
The group decides that, since they have enough horses, they will each ride their own and leave the Skyreach civilian wagon at Harvest Hall.
Qarzdaq sends an encrypted message by raven to Skyreach: “Mission accomplished. We are on our way back.” And they depart to the south along the Wide Way.
After just a few days, they are passing the fully-staffed Tower of Joy again. Burton transforms into a dog standing on his horse.
All of the guards watch and stare as they pass by. Qarzdaq notices that a few ravens were released and are flying south. None of the guards followed after them.
A few days later, they are within visibility of Kingsgrave. A few guards on horseback are outside the gates, but many others are on the wall, watching this party ride past them to the south.
After they are out of sight of Kingsgrave, Burton returns to his normal self.
Five minutes later, the group realizes they are being followed by eight guards on horseback.
The First Rider of the guards ride up next to the group, “Hold up!”
The group slows down and turns around to see eight mounted armed guards. Burton chameleonizes to look like a part of his horse’s leg.
QARZDAQ: So what can we do for you fine gentlemen?
FIRST RIDER: Who goes there?
QARZDAQ: We are just travelers from the north heading south.
FIRST RIDER: What is your business?
QHORTHO: [yelling over everyone] I am Khalakka Qhortho, son of Khal Zhavorso, the Khal of the Grass Sea and Dragon Khal, the Unlikely Assembly, the Busters of Ghosts, and Gang of Solutionists of High Hermitage. Who might you be?
FIRST RIDER: High Hermitage?
QHORTHO: Yes, friends, we are of Dorne, we are on your side.
FIRST RIDER: From where are you traveling now?
QARZDAQ: Our travels are our business.
FIRST RIDER: And mine.
QHORTHO: We are merchants on a trade route.
FIRST RIDER: Look, my men and I have better things to do. We want you to be on your way, so we can be on our way.
SHADOW: We were on a private infiltration mission to the north that was less than successful.
FIRST RIDER: Charged by who?
After some more back and forth, dismounting their horses, and showing credentials, the Gang of Solutionists explain how they passed by Kingsgrave on their way up to the north just one fortnight ago with a wagon full of goods and are now on their way back, having sold the goods and the wagon. The First Rider mentions that he doesn’t have a report of any travelers from one fortnight ago. Qarzdaq blames the man’s shoddy guardsmanship. The entire group busts into various shouts blaming the guards and trying to be on their way. The Rider hushes the Solutionists, and pleads with them not to tell his superiors.
FIRST RIDER: I believe you. Let’s just let this go, you can be on your way. We won’t bring this up again, let’s just drop it and go our separate ways.
QARZDAQ: Listen, I respect your position and your authority, and I hope you guys have a wonderful day.
FIRST RIDER: I appreciate that.
He then shouts to his group that they are done here. The First Rider mounts up and leads his men to the north.
Elated by the result, Qarzdaq and Qhortho decide to eat shadowcaps in celebration.
They are then tied to their horses for safety.
After several days of mundane travel, the group arrives back at Skyreach, and makes way for the keep to meet Lord Fowler.
They dismount outside the outer walls of the keep and leave Qarzdaq and Qhortho tied to their faithful steeds.
Jorah Pryor dismounts and joins Burton, Shadowsilver, and Tholannan.
Maester Fransys is analyzing the clouds and taking notes on parchment. He notices the group, “My Lords, you’ve returned! This is splendid indeed!
BURTON: We certainly think so.
FRANSYS: Jorah, what have you to tell?
JORAH: We have succeeded in our charge.
FRANSYS: Fantastic news! I will alert The Lord. Please wait here.
A few minutes later, Maester Fransys returns and directs them to enter the keep. Burton asks for the maester to find lodging for the two tied up companions, as they are in no state to do so themselves. He agrees, but leads you into the keep first.
The group enters the room where they met with Lord Fowler just a month prior, although under very different circumstances. For one, the door is left open when the maester hurries off to take care of the other two travelers.
Garrison Fowler is sitting at the same table, at the same chair, drinking what might be the same wine for all they know.
JORAH: Everything went off with a hitch.
FOWLER: That is great news.
BURTON: Lord Selmy was pleased to have his son back.
FOWLER: Excellent. So where do you go from here?
SHADOW: We’re going to Wyl.
FOWLER: Wyl?
BURTON: Lord Selmy has asked that we light the beacon fire and they will be waiting for the troops.
FOWLER: Aha! [he slaps his hands together with a single loud clap] What a splendid idea!
SHADOW: Can you have people ready on your end? Or does that make sense?
FOWLER: I can’t do anything from here, but is there anything that would help you on your way?
BURTON: We would like you to send word to High Hermitage and Starfall that they should not reinforce Blackmont.
FOWLER: Fair enough, fair enough. Consider it done.
Lord Fowler showcases his strategic mind by laying out what he believes Lord Selmy is planning. He states that Selmy knows that the Gang of Solutionists came directly from Skyreach. He also knows that they hold their credentials from High Hermitage. And since High Hermitage and Starfall are of the Dayne bloodline, all three of our Houses must be aligned with the same goals. Knowing this, he would expect all three of our Houses to actively NOT reinforce the front lines. This means that the only reinforcements can come from Wyl and Yronwood. Selmy will instruct Lord Caron to reconvene the troops of The Reach here after the initial ambush.
When asked about where weapons might be store in Wyl, Lord Fowler tells of weapons caches near the barracks in the training grounds at Wyl. It is nearby the beacon tower. He does not have a layout of the town, so that is the best information he can produce.
FOWLER: I wish you the best of luck. I would be glad to cover your provisions for the night if you’d like to stay in town and rest before setting out.
The group gives their thanks, bids farewell to Lord Fowler and Jorah Pryor, and leaves the keep.
The three Solutionists make way to the local jeweler.
Shadowsilver sells a few items to the jeweler for 685gp.
Tholannan asks if the jeweler knows anything of the arcane arts, to which the jeweler dismissedly says that he does not. Tholannan expresses his disappointment, but shows the magical orb to the jeweler in an attempt to inspire a more helpful answer.
THOL: Would you happen to know anything of the types of gems that might be usable in a device such as this?
JEWELER: This is amazing! It’s so perfectly spherical! It opens up you say?
THOL: Yes.
JEWELER: May I?
THOL: Please.
JEWELER: I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m sorry.
He attempts to close it, not knowing exactly how to do that, and as he brings the two halves together, they attract one another and seal shut with no seam.
Tholannan learns that the man has gems of all types for sale, including diamonds.
Tholannan asks if the man would be willing to test the device with some diamond dust at no charge, just to see if it works. If it does work, Tholannan says that he would be willing to pay to have more of the dust. He opens the orb, the man drops a few pinches of dust inside, and they seal it up. Tholannan uses Detect Magic, but receives no indication that anything magical had happened. They then open the device, to find the dust sitting inside the bottom of the sphere.
Tholannan empties the orb and closes it back up.
BURTON: Well you know, let’s try this.
Burton pulls out his own Tiger Eye gem and hands it to Tholannan. He places it inside the orb and closes it. Tholannan uses Detect Magic again and again, nothing happens. He opens the orb and hands the gem back to Burton.
Perhaps it was the gem, or perhaps it requires higher quality or rarer gems.
Tholannan asks the price of three sapphires. The jeweler says that he normally sells them for 1000gp a piece, but would be willing to part with three of them for 2900gp.
After hearing the value, Burton gives the pile of sapphires behind the glass a second look. Then a third.
The group leaves the jeweler to visit the alchemist.
You notice as you enter that many of the window cases are empty.
ALCHEMIST: Greetings. How may I help you?
SHADOW: I have a Fire Resistance potion, it’s worth 80gp. I was wondering if you’d like to purchase it from me. Also, are you interested in a maester chain?
ALCHEMIST: The maester chain, definitely not. I don’t know where you got that, I don’t want to know, please do not tell me. You may want to return that to the Citadel, you’d probably get a reward for it; they don’t let those things go lightly. Now for the Fire Resistance potion, I am interested in that – as long as we can settle on a price, of course.
The alchemist purchases the Fire Resistance potion for 80gp.
They leave the alchemist shop and go to the tavern and go over the plan for after leaving Skyreach:
The Unlikely Assembly will light the beacon at Wyl to signal the Dornish-controlled towers to attack The Reach.
Nightsong, Blackhaven, Horn Hill are going to ambush those troops, dealing a severe setback to the Dornish front lines.
The Assembly will continue as originally planned, along the coast to the north, into the Stormlands through Cape Wrath to Weeping Tower, where they will light a signal fire. A friendly ship will arrive and take the group across the Sea of Dorne due south to Ghost Hill, which should be on Martell’s side by that point, so The Assembly can safely travel back to The Sandship and meet up with their friends, Mors Martell, Nymeria of Ny Sar, Tirius Granes, and Tyrone Bannister.
Now, on day 175 of their journey, 145 days since leaving The Sandship on their current quest, they have earned a total of 11,755XP and are still going strong – well most of them are… two of them are a few days from awakening, if Tholannan can find a couple of shadowcaps!