Session 19 — On the Road
The Blades of Strangeways leave Valinport under a sky heavy with winter promise.
Each of them dresses for the cold, for distance, and for the quiet tension that follows those who carry artifacts best left forgotten.
- Corwin Thorne wears a leather cloak treated to wick rain and snow, brown stitched through with familiar blues. His horse, High Legate, moves with the confidence of something accustomed to long roads.
- Torvold Alric rides fully armored, his cloak lashed tight against the wind and his bridle bound carefully due to his missing hand. His gray dapple draft horse, Isard, bears the weight without complaint.
- Leda Gebhart layers cold-weather clothes beneath her armor. Her black horse, Princess, steps carefully, three white boots stark against the road.
- Zel Cunningham rides with a fur-lined cloak loose around her neck. Her horse, Mournsong, keeps its head low, ears alert.
The Road Check
Before the first day is done, the party is halted by a small group of soldiers performing inspections—ostensibly for the safety of the realm and the containment of dangerous artifacts.
Corwin quickly realizes they are inexperienced.
Their leader, a woman named Junior Warden Sella recognizes Torvold at once. She serves as a clerk for the Southern Sea Mercantile Co. - Valinport and speaks openly of unrest to the south.
Kentish is starving.
Rumors of elves run wild.
Anger simmers against the Duke of Kentish himself.
Torvold tells her they are bound for the Iron Kingdom to provide support. She accepts this without pressing further, though a few soldiers in the rear stare too long at Zel—whispering, pointing, noticing her ears.
The inspection ends without incident, but the unease lingers.
The Tower on the Hill
Near the end of the day, Corwin spots a shape against the horizon.
A ruined stone tower crests a low hill. At its base stands a weathered statue of a man. Above, perched atop the tower itself, looms a massive gargoyle.
Zel feels it immediately.
Something is wrong.
Torvold inspects the statue: granite, but not local. Leda confirms it—stone from hundreds of miles away, possibly even from the Iron Union. The gargoyle is worse: its stone is unfamiliar, foreign in a way Leda cannot place.
Inside the tower, a fire pit still smolders. The logs are freshly cut. A large metal bowl filled with glittering crystal fragments explains the light that drew Corwin’s eye.
Zel detects magic.
Corwin steps forward—
—and the statues move.
The Tower Awakens
Stone grinds against stone as the gargoyle unfurls its wings and the soldier statue animates with brutal intent.
Steel, spell, and claw clash within the ruined tower. Zel’s magic warps and weakens the constructs. Leda takes bear form, then later returns to herself to unleash crackling thunder. Corwin abandons arrows for steel once he realizes piercing weapons are useless. Torvold stands his ground, shield raised, taunting the constructs into focusing on him.
Eventually, stone shatters.
Silence returns.
What Remains
Within the tower, the party finds:
- A fragment of star-metal
- An unusual crystalline focus
- A horn carved with ancient elvish script
- A box of rare coins
None of it feels accidental.
None of it feels abandoned.
Mother Lyssa
The following morning dawns clear and cold.
By the roadside, beneath a tree, a woman stirs a pot over a small fire. The stew smells sweet and nourishing.
She calls herself Mother Lyssa
There is no meat in the stew, yet it is deeply satisfying. She offers tea and small potions freely. Leda tells a story of the Wildsong, the music of the land itself. Zel speaks of Gideon Kael, his courage, and his loss.
Corwin examines the tea. It is rare. Imported.
Tea of the Quiet Hour.
The party sleeps deeply that night.
When they wake, Lyssa is gone.
Ashes on the Road
Later that day, the party discovers a burned house.
Elvish runes are carved crudely into the door: Horseshoe. Copper. Spoon.
It is a lie.
The arson is obvious. Bodies are piled inside. Leda studies the tracks—at least a dozen horses. Heavy loads carried in and out. Someone staged this carefully.
On a distant hill, nearly a mile away, riders watch before disappearing.
Stonewake Crossing
By dusk, the party reaches Stonewake Crossing where the River Lornwater cuts the land in two.
The Nightwake Ferry offers passage—for a steep price. It is 5 gp per person and horse. It is run by Jorren Pike.
Nearby stand Rook & Line Provisioners, a general store, and The Broken Span, the only inn in town. It is run by Mara Fenlock.
The party observed Lord Aderic Fenrow in the inn but did not speak with him.
The party hired Cask Alder to take them to The Drowned Observatory in the Greymere Fens. He charged 1 gp to get there and 2 gp to get back.
A few miles outside of town the party was ambushed by bandits.
To be continued…