The Road East
cy 4850 Jul 4th – Jul 9th
In the aftermath of Caldron’s death Malethrax carves the heart from the dead demonologist as well as a sharp-looking canine tooth. He dons a silky black cloak and places a magical ring on his finger, he also slips three scrolls into his backpack for later study. Zavien takes two small vials of magical poison but the rest of the demonologist’s equipment is left to rot in the Abyss, under the watchful eye of the demon lord Morash.
As a Menelothian the Astral Plane is like a second home to Malethrax. His entire race has led an interplanar nomadic existence and he believes he can find his family. This brief search proves futile so they decide to head back to the Prime Material Plane – to Grayhawk.
They emerge back on the North Drenai road where Danat Peres and Elkin, an enormously strong Tilean Martial Artist, await them. Only two hours have past and soon the party head east once more, their destination the seaport of Dros Yali. Malethrax summons an air elemental to help the horses travel faster (tail wind etc) and they make excellent progress in the hot summer sun. Whilst on the road Malethrax turns his attention to the three scrolls he took from Caldron. Two of them he is able to read into his repertoire but one is just beyond his skill at present. He absorbs Caldron’s Decay and Combat.
Each night on the road Malethrax is able to create a sheltered bunker (earth elemental) where the party are secure. But since the death of Caldron the feeling of oppression, the feeling that they are being watched, disappears. For the first time in weeks they can enjoy the ride.
But on the fifth day of Jultar Zavien is troubled in his sleep. Half awake he opens his eyes to see Malethrax and Danat on guard talking quietly. But there is a woman dressed in black next to them with undistinguished features! He wonders why his companions cannot see her. His attempts to move are futile. His muscles are like solid granite – is it a dream?
To his horror she reaches out for him. The more he tries to move the harder it becomes…he feels a tingling sensation as she reaches through his chest (as though she put her hand in water) and touches his heart. Zavien snaps awake. Malethrax and the others are unaware of the woman or his apparent ordeal…the assassin turns his senses inward.
He feels healed – as though the woman reached not his heart but his soul and swept away an influence. Zavien cannot fathom the woman’s identity and for the rest of that days ride ponders who she could be.
The next day a Drenai patrol led by a young officer stops the party. Despite Malethrax displaying the letter with the king’s seal the youngster is out to cause trouble. Malethrax is adamant that the officer will not get his hands on the letter…even the soldiers fear where the Drenai’s attitude is going. The ten guards try to explain to him that the katana at his side reveals much about the sorcerer. Just when it seems that there is going to be a fight the soldiers manage to persuade their leader that attacking this party would be a bad idea. As a parting gesture Malethrax casts Caldron’s Decay on the man and they move on.
Zavien has his attention elsewhere during the conversation with the patrol. In the distance, deep in the shadows, he spies the woman who came to him the previous night…her gaze is focused on him alone.
The next morning they meet a young mercenary captain called Grimbor, fresh from Dros Yali where he has picked up twenty mercenaries. "The war is that way," Grimbor quips to Malethrax. The two men share information but after a brief chat the party continue on their easterly trek. The road climbs steadily but the excellent horses make good progress and the weather is kind to the party.
That night Zavien – whose skill at the manufacture of noxious substances is greatly enhanced - brews a nasty poison he calls Scourge of Drenai – a lethal ingested poison.
As the road climbs into the hills Breeze – Malethrax’s familiar – spots a band of outlaws waiting in ambush along a narrow ridge overlooking the road. Forewarned is forearmed – Malethrax takes the entire party down into the rock via an earth elemental and he manoeuvres them slowly above the potential attackers. They overlook a band of twenty ruffians, ten on each side, Malethrax forms arrow slits in the rock via the elemental.
Zavien, Elkin and Malethrax himself draw their bows. In a deadly volley they cut down five of the outlaws before their enemies even realise they are in trouble. Even when they do manage to form some kind of resistance the deadly shafts find their targets easily, a further six outlaws fall to their deaths on the road below before their morale collapses and they make a run for it.
Further on they can smell the clean air of the sea as they reach a mountainous forest ahead. Through this greenery is the road down into Dros Yali. As night falls the temperature drops. Accustomed to warm humid nights their suspicion is that something is close…something unnatural?