Arriving in Silverymoon

Arriving in Silverymoon

The party stagger on, Lucretia offers for some of the more injured to have a ride on Thunderbolt, and the afternoon wears on. Occasionally, the Knights of Silver are seen, crossing hills a mile or so away, and at one point, close to the road is what looks like the scene of an old battle. The ground is torn up and there is the broken remains of a wagon, literally smashed into splinters by a huge boulder that is wedged in the remains. There are lots of hoof prints, and drag marks around the area, and Ceely spots a few foot prints that make her gulp from their size.

Beyond that, there is not a lot to see, and after a short break, the party continue their plodding along the Quaervaar road towards Silverymoon.

It is late afternoon that finally the Rauvin River Valley spreads out before the party, and in the middle of the valley straddling the river, is Silverymoon, Jewel of the North. The glint of the river crosses the city from east to west, and beyond the far side, the land rises steeply, covered with Silver birch trees - the Silverwood - and probably what has given the city it's name. On the eastern side of the city, the land rises again, the first rocky hills of the Nether Mountains. The Rauvin can be seen, winding it's way northward towards the city, caught between the Silverwood on one side and the Nether Mountains on the other.

Closer, the Quaervaar road leads down a gentle slope between farm fields to what looks like a large gate house in the tall city walls. Although still a half mile away, a number of knights can be seen dismounting near the gate. There is some traffic in and out of the gate - though none is travelling on this road - instead it is confined to the road that circles the city on the outside of the city walls. Small clusters of buildings, some of which must be farm houses and barns, lie close to the city walls.

With weary limbs, the group make their way down the last stage of their long journey, and with every step, the pains and aches of the journey seem to fade away with the sudden realisation that they have made it.

As the group get close to the gatehouse, a small group of armoured men approach through the open massive iron bound gates. "Well met and welcome to Silverymoon!" says their leader, a handsome clean shaven man of middle years. His breastplate has the emblem of Silverymoon emblazoned on it, and he greets the party with a broad smile on his face. "My name is Holdheart, and I am Captain of the City Watch. Captain Glandril of the Silver Knights warned me of your arrival!" he says pleasantly. Behind him, the half-elf knight in question looks on, pleased to see the party. His eyes lock for a moment with Serena. "Obviously, you have had a hard journey" continues Holdheart, "and I am sure you will want to complete your *mission* as quickly as possible, so I have taken the liberty of arranging an audience with the Lady Alustriel already." For a moment, a look of puzzlement flits across his face. "In fact..." he says slowly, "...I got the impression she was expecting you!"

<Milo aka Steve wrote>:
> "Well met sir" Milo says, as enthusiastically as he
> can muster.. "I am Milo Daviston of Neverwinter.. We
> appreciate your assistance in the arrangements. When
> are we expected for our audience? Will we have time
> to at least make ourselves presentable?"

"We will escort you there immediately" he glances at Captain Glandril, his face showing uncertainly for a moment. "Erhm Captain Glandril did indicate that it was an urgent mission..."

<Cleo aka Dan wrote>:
> "Uh," she starts slowly, feeling her cheeks redden,
> "It seems I owe you an apology, Sir. I was weary
> from our long and dangerous trek, and wounded from
> our last battle. I'd like to make it up to you later,
> perhaps tomorrow if you'd like. How does that sound?"

Glandril looks down on Cleo with a stern face. "You have a temper on you lass that you need to get a rein on" he says. Then his face softens, and he smiles. "But I'm glad you made it here in one piece." He looks at her wound. "That's a fairly nasty injury you have there. May I take a closer look?"

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "Thanks pal, <Lucretia says to Holdheart and extends
> his hand to the man.> "Holdheart was it?" I'm Lucretia
> Trollcleaver and we appreciate you and Tyr's right hand
> man there <He indicates Captain Glandril> taking care
> of things for us." It has been a trying journey for us
> all and to complete it today would be the one thing in
> this world that I wish for."

Captain Holdheart shakes Lucretia's hand and smiles. "As I said, Welcome to Silverymoon Glad you are all here."

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> <Extending his hand.> "Thank you...for watching our backs
> out there."

Glandril shakes Lucretia's hand and nods in acknowledgement. He then takes Cleo to one side of the gatehouse to examine her injury.

<Cleo aka Dan wrote>:
> "Oh," Cleo grimaces, "Th-this wasn't hurting so badly
> before I started messing with it! Not your fault, Sir,
> not suggesting that, it's just.... ooo, I didn't know
> it would start hurting like this!"

Glandril winces as he sees the state of the injury. "I guess the Painbearer part healed this..." he mutters. "I am sorry my lady - if I had realised you were quite so..." he shakes his head a moment. Seeing Cleo struggling with the torn mail shirt, he takes a step closer. "Let me help..." he says. A moment later, he places one of his hands on Cleo's side, and starts to murmur to himself. A sudden warmth floods Cleo's side, and the pain is washed away. Even the pain in her leg is washed away, and she staggers and nearly falls as her legs go weak beneath her, but finds herself instead caught in Glandril's arms. He smiles down at her, and helps her back to her feet. "Is that better?" he asks.

(OOC: You are now back on full, and a well hard paladin has officially "laid his hands on you" :-)

As the warmth fades, Cleo realises that all pain has gone, strength returns to her legs, and she even starts to feel refreshed. Even the blister that was starting to chafe on her left big toe has gone.

<Cleo aka Dan wrote>:
> "Now, for sure, I owe you at least a meal and
> a drink! Will you dine with me tonight, kind Paladin?"

Glandril smiles kindly at Cleo. "There is no need for that lass, and
unfortunately I do have other duties still this night" he replies kindly.
"But thank you for the offer... Perhaps if we meet again, another time..."

As Glandril steps back from Cleo, he sees Lucretia waiting to speak to him.

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "Is there any place I can stable my horse until our
> meeting with you lady is over...he has been fiercely
> loyal and has a nasty wound from a Troll to show for
> it...and I wish him looked after by the best."
> <Looking over the man's shoulder at his warhorse>
> "You are obviously a man who knows mounts...could
> you perhaps suggest someone to look after him while
> I'm in the city?"

Glandril mouth quirks into a smile. "The palace has stables who will look after your horse during your audience" he responds. "And after that, if you are looking for somewhere to stay in the city, there are many places you could go, but I would recommend the High Horn - it is an inn not far from the palace, and should have room to accommodate you all."

>> Serena makes an innocent face and asks Glandril, "But
>> we are strangers to Silverymoon, and know not its ways.
>> We would be honored if you could guide us to the Lady's
>> palace . . ."
>
> "My associate has a point, we are new to Silverymoon..
> will we be escorted to our audience with the Lady? If
> not, then perhaps some directions?" Milo asks hopefully..

Captain Holdheart nods. "An escort will be provided" he confirms. He nods to the third man in the group, who turns and walks back through the gate. Once there, he starts to yell commands, arranging the escort.

<Merrel aka Mike Br wrote>:
> "Well met Captain, I am Merrell Greenwood scholar,
> and sometimes adventuring mage. And though I have
> traveled with this lot helping them on their mission,
> I am here for another purpose."

Captain Holdheart turns his attention to Merrell, as the mage speaks. His eyebrows rise in mild surprise at Merrell's statement. As Merrell goes to speak further however, another figure steps up to his side and speaks instead.

"I too am merely travelling with this group," begins Blondung. "Having spent several weeks on the trail with them, I have an understanding of their mission, but my own goal is simply to visit this wonderous city, and perhaps make it my home." He smiles pleasantly. "Thus, I personally have no need for an audience with the Lady Alustriel."

Holdheart frowns slightly as he sees Merrell spoken over, but waits till Blondung has finished. "My orders are that the whole group should be brought before Lady Alustriel" he says firmly, before softening. "I hope you are not to put out by this arrangement - I am sure that once the Lady has spoken, you will be free to roam the city for your own purposes."

"Pah!" mutters Larz.

Through the gate house, a number of armoured men can be seen gathering, presumably in anticipation of escorting the party to the palace.

<Merrel aka Mike Br continued>:
> "I am seeking a woman, she was last seen travelling in
> the company of an older gentleman with a long white
> beard. He was last seen wearing long flowing white
> robes and black boots." Merrell paused drawing Aran's
> face to memory.

OOC: Previously, Merrell has had a sketch of Aran - showing a reasonable likeness. I will assume that he gets this out and shows it to Captain Holdheart.

<Merrel aka Mike Br continued>:
> <SNIP description>
> He opens his eyes, a look of determination on his
> face. "The man she travels with kidnapped her and is
> druging her to keep her docile so she won't escape.
> Have you seen them?"

As the scholarly mage describes his kidnapped friend, the escort finish assembling, and stand to attention awaiting Holdheart's command. As Merrell finally reopens his eyes and mentions the kidnapping, Holdheart's impatient expression vanishes into surprise instead. "Kidnapped!" he exclaims. "Hmmmm... you must tell me more. Perhaps we can speak more whilst on route." He glances over at Captain Glandril, seeing that he has now finished with Cleo. He turns back to the main party, and speaks again, raising his voice slightly so that all can hear.

"We will now go directly to the Palace for your audience with Lady Alustriel." he says. "I realise that some of you have injuries etc, however I am sure that you will be able to have them tended to those after speaking with the Lady."

So saying, he barks out an order. The Knights form up an escort and the party finally move through the gates into the city proper.

As the group pass through, a slight tingling can be felt. "That's the City Ward" mentions Holdheart in passing. He grins at the party. "Keeps the undesirables out..." he says cryptically.

The main road slowly opens up into a large market. Although it is late in the afternoon, it is a busy place, and there are lots of different people going about their business. Compared to the streets of Neverwinter, this is a cosmopolitan place, and folk from all the civilised races can be seen in harmony together. To the east side of the market place looms a large fortified building. The front is dominated by a large stone gauntlet with a carved eye in it's palm. Many of the knights make signs of respect towards the building as they make steady progress through the market place. It is obvious that the crowd respect them by moving aside, and it is not long before the group turn left off the market place, and head up a main thoughafair towards the large palace. On route, they pass a huge temple with tall towers to the south of the road. The building is covered with carved scrolls, the symbol of Oghma, the Lord of Knowledge. Holdheart describes it as the Halls of Inspiration. On the other side of the road is a much smaller building, a spinning silver coin about 3 foot across constantly flips above the entrance. "Fortune Hall" smiles Holdheart "Tymora" he says by way of explanation.

Reaching the Palace

Finally, the Palace is reached, it's towers taller than even the temple to Oghma, the stone pale and fresh as if built only yesterday. The troup under escort enter through the main gate house into the palace grounds, pass under a large arch, and into an inner courtyard, where they are greeted by a contingent of the palace guard. Holdheart has a few words with one of them, and a runner disappears, only to reappear a few moments later with stableman, who comes quickly forward and takes Thunderbolt.

"I'll take care of your horse personally sir" he says to Lucretia, nodding a bow in respect to the young warrior.

<Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> "Thanks..." <he pats the horse on the rump, then
> takes in the man's appearance> "Your name..."

"Smith sir" replies the groom.

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "Thank you...Smith" "I am Lucretia Trollcleaver,
> well met." "Thunderbolt here has a nasty wound
> where a troll mauled him...if you could pay it
> some attention I would appreciate it.."

Smith nods. "We'll take good care of him sir, don't you worry!"

LINK TO SCENE OF AUDIENCE WITH LADY ALUSTRIEL

AFTER THE AUDIENCE WITH LADY ALUSTRIEL

Captain Holdheart leads the group down to a reception area, where he asks them to wait. Whilst waiting, Holdheart makes small talk about Silverymoon, telling the group roughly where all the major shrines/temples are, and where to go to get things.

Eventually, an official clerk type arrives, holding a small suede leather bag. He heads to a side table, and starts to pull coins out of the bag.

The coins he pulls are strange looking, bright shiny blue crescents with darker silver filling the gap to make round coins. Seeing the party look at the coins in trepidation, the clerk explains. "Eclipsed Moons" he says. "Worth five moons (OOC: 5 x electrum = 2.5 GP) each." He counts out 10 coins for each member of the party. "Value, 25 gold pieces each person!" he says with a smile.

As the clerk heads back into the depths of the palace, Holdheart leads them back to main courtyard through which they entered. "A pointer to the wise" he says. "Use the coins here in Silverymoon. The clerk was right in their worth, but traders in locations other than Silverymoon may not consider them worth quite as much, so for best value spend them here." He half laughs. "I'm not surprised that Lady Alustriel wants to try to keep things within the local economy!"

A stable hand brings Thunderbolt for Lucretia. The horse has been well tended, his wound now looks very much better. Holdheart leads the party out of the palace, his troop of knights walk behind the party - no longer escorting the party, merely now heading back to their barracks.

"You'll want to stay in an inn tonight", says Holdheart. "I recommend the Inn of the Wayward Sages, if you're looking for somewhere comfortable to rest up tonight. The atmosphere is good, they have lots of rooms, and it's not too far from here." Glancing over his shoulder, Holdheart smiles at them. "I'll lead you there to save you getting lost!"

Holdheart continues to chat as the party wend their way through the still fairly busy streets. Although the sun has now set, the streets are lit with globes of light that float gently, casting soft yellow light and illuminating the walkways below. Businesses are now closing, and as the group cross the large market area, the stall holders can be seen closing up their stands. The smells of evening meals cooking permeate the air, and revived by Alustriel's potions, the group hasten their paces towards a warm meal, a hot bath and a soft bed.

As the group reach the Inn of the Wayward Sages, Holdheart bids them goodnight. "If you need me, ask for me at one of the city gates - though generally I can be found at the Hunters Gate, the one you entered."

<Herod aka Scott wrote>:
> "Captain, before you leave could you tell me of a
> smith that might allow the use of his forge by one
> that is familiar with the use of the tools?" Herod
> asks the guard before he leaves.

Holdheart shakes his head. "There are several smiths in Silverymoon, but I don't imagine they'll want to lend their tools out." He shrugs. "I guess it won't hurt to ask though." The Watch Captain suggests a couple of nearby smithies whom Herod could approach, then bids the party a good night. "If you want to get in contact with me, then leave word at the Hunter's Gate - that's the one you entered. I'm normally stationed there" he says before striding off down the streets.