With Vara exhausted but resting safely, the Rovers, along with their hired “marries” Stinger and Bean, hunkered down for a long rest in an abandoned barn in the otherwise deserted town of Valonara. Desmond and Bean took the first watch, and as usual Desmond morphed into an owl to improve his night vision. Despite being warned of what to expect, simple-minded Bean found this transformation very distressing, and it wasn’t until Desmond assumed a different form selected by the half-orc that he really understood. The eyes of a chicken are far less useful for spotting dangers in the dark, but fortunately for Desmond the only surprise was earning Bean’s affection and a spooning.
Aengus took the second watch and used the opportunity to reflect on the coming tribulations. Only a couple days’ travel from where they rested, his cousin Gren slaved away under cruel taskmasters, the dark elven shadar-kai, led by a mad man seeking godhood and cursed with avian features. Though three of his kin were on their way to help with a rescue mission, they would still be greatly outnumbered on their enemies’ turf. What’s more, Gladys’s prophecy that duergar marauders would eventually take his ancestral home appeared to be unfolding as he received reports from his sister Ailsa that assaults on Clefthome had increased in his absence. As Aengus reached out to his god in prayer, the dying campfire roared back to life, and Moradin spoke from the flames: “What do you want of me?”. Aengus’s meek and vague request for protection and guidance was met with impatience, and the All-Father required that he first clarify his purpose. The flames settled down once more, and Aengus was left only with his thoughts. His watch was punctuated only by a sighting of a dark elf, but the scout was gone as quickly as they appeared.
Urs and Stinger took the final watch. The ursine shifter was more than willing to carry on a one-sided conversation with the mute halfling, who he was sure was taking a fancy to him. That Urs’s manhood survived the night unscathed by Stinger’s dagger suggested he could be on to something.
In the morning, they continued preparing for their planned assault on the shadar-kai’s base of operations. Vara sparred with Bean, who had little experience fighting against magic users. At Desmond’s request, Aengus messaged Vitas and secured for the whopping sum of 100 platinum pieces the mercenary skills of a novice spell caster named Johnny, whom they were warned could be difficult to work with. Finally, they devised a plan for Stinger to go ahead of them and scout out the base, watching for patterns of the guards and looking for alternate entrances.
With still some days remaining before the dwarven reinforcements arrived, and with no plan for Johnny’s hasty transportation to Valonara, the Rovers had time to kill before what could be a very dangerous and deadly mission…