The spring salt caravan begins forming in the city of Coranan in the Thardic Republic at the beginning of the month. Despite the mild winter, the chill of early spring is in the air, snow still lurks in the shadows and at night ice forms in pools of snowmelt. The spring caravan is slightly larger than normal and because of relatively calm relations with the Chelni, the size of the caravan gaurd isn't much larger than last year.
The previous Fall, Lady Illeana Thimarc of Tonot had been spent to Heroth, Kanday to escort Melonadi of Hebon (and more importantly, a small chest he was carrying) to Tashal. Melonadi was late arriving after delays caused by attempts to take the chest and as a result Illeana was forced to winter in Heroth. At the beginning of Nuzyael, she and Melonadi travel to Coranan to join the spring salt caravan. Lady Illeana carries enough money from her employer Baron Pierstel to pay both she and Melonadi's caravan fees.
Likewise, in the Fall of 719 Palindor d'Frenzo had just been promoted to Satia by his mentor Gwydion of Aleath. To earn some money, Palindor agreed to deliver a message to Gwydion's brother Rydion at the Chantry in Aleath. Palindor arrived in Aleath, only to discover that Rydion had left for a stint of study at ElKall-Anuz. However, Palindor was offered the opportunity to stay in Aleath for the winter and study, if in return he was deliver a second message to Rydion. With the coming of spring, Palindor made the long (and cold) walk to Coranan to join the spring caravan. He is hired as a scribe in case the caravan master needs to negotiate contracts en-route, along with a daily task as a guard.
Kaelyn of Shiran has spent the past couple of years with his Uncle Lessorir in Coranan. His time has been spent performing, studying under his elderly Jarin tutor Deqora the Harpist and taking a tour of as many bedrooms, Inns and sleeping quarters as possible. In the Winter, he performs for (and sort of befriends) Sir Sedera, a Kandian knight of Larani (Order of the Checkered Shield) that has been injured and is making a pilgrimage to see his brother at a Larani abbey in Kaldor. The heat of spurned lovers and the thrill of the road convinced Kaelyn he should [act surprised now] join the spring salt caravan and travel to Tashal. Kaelyn convinces one of his father's buyers that his cloth goods won't be safe on the caravan unprotected and is "hired" to keep an eye on the clothes.
The spring caravan is managed by Havril of Charney and the caravan guards handled by Dernil of Hort. There are 28 merchants, 35 guards and 20 animal handlers tending to the 112 animals. The "party" are all grouped together [another surprise, eh?] around the wagon of Isstvan "Jolly" Joline and his son Thorvold (from Bekar, Rethem). There are two guards (other than Palindor) assigned to Jolly's wagon, two borthers named Lon and Tor Lorismeth. Also in the group are the merchants Red Zorna from Coranan, Lindor "the Lion" Yalanis (a friend of Jolly's from Rethem), Capoli of Golotha and Vamali of Thiri. Additionally, the NPCs of Melonadi, Sir Sedera Giruval of Korri (and his squire: Detoca Tetasilo of Ganraldy).
Nuzyael 13th, the caravan finally starts moving, taking a slow day to get to Moleryn.
At Moleryn, Sir Sedera retires to the Larani temple for the night while the caravan sets up on the grounds. Late that night, Havril heads into town, as does Jolly's son Thorvold. The party decides to venture in as well, with Kaelyn and Lady Illeana heading to the Whistler's Inn, while Palindor heads to the lexigrapher. Palindor buys a "treasure" map indicating where in the Mimea Hills the Gozyda hide waylaid taveler's belongings. Kaelyn and Illeana meet a wide variety of mercenaries, many of whom hope to hire on as caravan guards in the morning. Kaelyn also earns a few pennies by singing a few tunes. Palindor gets to the Whistlers but avoids the baudy mainroom, instead meeting Frederick the Elder, a scholar that will be joining the caravan to travel to Tashal to study at the Temple of Save K'nor.
On the way back to the caravan grounds, Illeana detects that she is being followed but the mysterious shadow escapes before she can determine who or what it is. As the caravan gradually falls into slumber, the party returns and prepares their own sleeping kit. Illeana and Melonadi decide to swap out watches, to insure the protection of the chest. Palindor reads for a short while, then crawls under Jolly's wagon to sleep. Kaelyn, aided by the ale consumed at the Whistler, is already asleep and likely dreaming of a beautiful Thardic maiden (or two).
Nuzyael 14th With the coming of dawn came the fog. The temperature was slowly working its way above freezing but the fog was thick and abundant. At some point during the night, Thorvold Joline has slunk back to the wagons. He woke in the morning with a huge bruise over his left eye, the product of a bar fight as he explained it.
Soon (much to soon, for the late sleepers), the caravan begins to pack up. Before leaving Moleryn, more guards are hired for the dangerous trip through the Mimea hills and the Ramala Gap. Frederick the Elder, the scholar that Palindor had met at The Whistler, joins the party travelling with Jolly's wagon. The wagon ahead gains two new guards in the form of the Ivinian's Grimgeld the Red and Ferji (they had harrassed the party (and everyone else in the Whistler) the night before). As the caravan begins rolling, the weather is still bitter cold with snow and ice covering the road. The mild winter might have allowed the caravan to get through the mountains but didn't guarantee the trip would be comfortable!
The day passed slowly as trail conditions, breakdowns and frequent Gozdya scares held up the caravan. Near evening, a pair of Gozdya scouts approached the caravan and requested a offering for safe passage. Havril refused and threatened them if they returned. With the coming of night, the caravan set up camp at a small clearing where a road to a copper mine met the Salt Route trail. The party opts not to set up any additional guard watches (relying on the normal caravan guards for safety) and goes to sleep. The night passes uneventfully and in the morning they crawl from beneath their blankets cold and sore.
Nuzyael 15th Havril is anxious to pass through the Gozdya territory as quickly as possible and gets the caravan off to an early start. A cold, early morning mist covers the trail, making both the scouts and guards nervous. A few sightings of Gozdya scouts are reported but each time after the caravan is thrown into a frantic defensive position, no further sign is found. By the noon break, the foothills are in sight and the weather is clearing slightly. After another delay due to a broken wagon wheel, the caravan finally reaches its resting spot for the night. An apparently often used clearing with a small pond and old fire circles. Havril sets a doubled guard for the night and orders bonfires burnt in the fire pits.
With the coming of night, the party (along with Frederick the Elder and Goltandri Car, a caravan guard that owed Frederick an undisclosed favor) goes snooping about following the "treasure map" that was sold to Palindor in Moleryn by the lexigrapher Jozay of Virime. The map leads along a small creek to a strange cave some hour's walk off the caravan trail. Once the party starts to explore the shallow cave, they discover strange smudge marks made from a mixture of clay and ash decorating the walls both inside and outside the cave. The smudges seemed to resemble human skulls. Inside was a small altar made from a large stack of stones and surrounded by various human skulls, burnt candles and small trinkets (buttons from clothing, non-precious jewels, etc). Behind the altar where a small collection of items, apparently taken from travellers. Palindor and Frederick checked the packs while Illeana and Goltandri guarded the door. Kaelyn examined the shrine but was unable to determine anything except that it didn't seem like anything the Gozdya would build. After about thirty minutes, Goltandri hears a noise and the party makes a rushed exit from the cave, narrowly escaping detection by the group of shadowy figures carrying something large and approaching along a hillside. Once the mysterious figures reached the cave, a few split off and chases the party down the hill to the creek but then turned back. Along the way back to camp, they found footprints which looked like five people had passed through wearing boots and carrying something heavy. The party returns the caravan undetected and later notices Havril returning to his tent in the early hours. In the morning, a caravan member is missing and was presumed to have been kidnapped by the Gozdya during the night.
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