Chapter 1: The Road to Dagger Falls

[Jenara]

Pulling Maria close Elianna gives Jain a glance, and pulls her reins slightly. "My lord, it was good to meet you, we should trouble you any longer."

[NoTrammeling]

At a low whistle from one of the men looking backward Morn takes his reins in hand, playing them out to give his mount room. "If the Zhents got hold of you Maria, why, they could make me do anything. But they don't know who you are, praise Lathander. I'll not have you harmed for my sake."

He's beginning to look distracted again, replacing his helm where it was and glancing over his shoulder. "I wish I had more information for you, truly I do. The sleeping can be fed and cared for after a fashion, but they waste away and die all the same. The disappearances... well, I know nothing. Test subjects for the creation and spread of this plague is my guess."

"The first case? It is hard to say. No less than four months ago, but we had no inkling of its severity or its virulence when it first began. The first to be effected was a goodwife, Jacinda, but she now lays buried outside the city... The first to fully succumb to the disease." Randal's face and voice are grim.

"We must be off, my friends. Fear not you will be rewarded should you lift our curse! Go to the Red Rock Inn and seek out Loudon the Cooper if you have any information or wish to seek a reward, he is my right hand in the city."

With that, and a wave of his hand to the party, he heels his horse forward cutting around the party and off into the wood his men following closely.

[Jenara]

"That was.... unexpected..." Elianna comments, lifting Maria back on the horse. "We will talk about that later." she suggests, glancing over at Jain for a brief moment. "Shall we ride?" pulling herself on the horse she watches the man depart

[JadedDM]

"He's a wanted man," Gimak points out. "Makes sense that he can't stay in one place too long, shooting the breeze."

He turns toward the others. "We were lucky it was Randal Morn, and not some bandits or orcs or who knows what else. Maybe we should start sending a scout ahead of us, someone who can ride swift and warn us of anyone or anything else coming toward us, so we don't get caught unawares again."

[Jenara]

"It was him." Elianna says softly. "I could scout, or Raina."

[Faeryl Nhiikira]

Seraphina comes back up out of the hollow once the seemingly important Big Person leaves.

[JadedDM]

"Raina then," Gimak says. "You'll ride ahead of us, and if you find anything--including the town itself--don't engage, just ride back and tell us."

[Breila]

When the man mentions Jacinta as the first victim of the disease, Eringard's hand passes to her mouth as she stifles a gasp. Her mother had a friend with that name, and the name was not that common. She quickly says the words of passing, then pulls herself together.

"Why are you sure this really was Randal Morn, Elianna?" Eringard asks the ranger.

[Jenara]

"Trust me.. I know." The half elf responds, with confidence, "Its difficult to explain, but I just feel it."

"And go ahead, take point, I'll stay back here." She says to Rania.

[NoTrammeling]

Jain vaults easily onto Cloud's saddle, fondly patting the plafrey's neck to calm him. "It was him alright. Though what he's doing running the southern border of Daggerdale I've no idea. Seems like they were nervous about something."

He walks Cloud near to the group's halfling. "You had the most wits of all of us, Seraphina. If the constable's men had come upon us casually chatting with Randal Morn we'd be in irons at best and a grave at worst. Or the other way around, most like." He laughs at his own joke.

[Jenara]

"I had to know." she says to Jain, "let's ride." kicking the horses side with her heel she spurs the horse to move gently.

[HorizonsDream]

"It could be she knows it was Morn mostly because everyone in these parts knows what he looks like," Raina points out to the priestess as she gets back on her horse. She looks between Gimak and Elianna. "I hope I don't continue to have two people bossing me around because I can really only handle one," she says as she has her horse start to trot ahead of the rest of the group.

[onlie2005]

As Maria remounts behind Eilhana she mentions, "My mom used to fight for Randal Morn when she was an adventurer. She helped fight off the Zhentarim."

[NoTrammeling]

The party remounts and continues on their way north after the meeting with Randal Morn and his rebel band. The forest is damp and dismal, the sky overcast, but the ride is practically pleasant compared to the morning's rain-soaked jaunt. It's only an hour before they leave the Rimwood behind for the rolling hills of southern Daggerdale. The scenery is marked by desolate rocky soil dotted with the odd farmhouse where families try to eke out a living raising sheep or goats on the unforgiving land.

The going is slow, you spend more time going up and down the hills then moving forward. The sun is just beginning to touch the Desertsmouth Mountains when you draw near to the ruins of Castle Daggerdale, saddle-sore and hungry. Jain Longleague looks back toward the party, shouting "We're not like to find a better place to weather the night!"

[Breila]

Eringard moves closer to Jain. "Are there reports of undead in the Castle?" she asks quietly, her hand unconsciously clasped around her sunburst pendant. Her eyes scan the ground, looking for aromatic herbs to burn.