After a long day of teaching the Bardic arts, Folken left the Guild's hall to seek merriment at the 'Tross. He could hear a commotion as he approached the tavern, but as drunken brawls were quite a common occurrence, he thought not much of it. That is until just after seating himself, prepared to order his first drink of the evening, he noticed the signs of a struggle more chaotic and damaging than was typical. There was a conspicuous trail of violence leading out of the establishment. Being a master of peacemaking through song, the bard intended to find the drunk brawlers and prevent them from further harm or at least tend to the wounded. (Robinson couldn't hold his liquor) Following fresh tracks south of The Albatross along the coast of the Salt Lake, he deduced a party of at least a half dozen and a horse or two. The tracks ended at a stone bridge that led to the Submerged Caverns underneath the city. It was there that Folken observed a group on foot being harassed by mounted ruffians. The wanton aggression displayed by the riders made it clear they had to be pacified, not by the catchy tune of a lute but by force. (nor onto his mount) After a prolonged engagement among the denizens of the Caverns... ... and with the help of benevolent passersby ... ... the party was able to find a moment of respite in the sewers underneath the city. Introductions were made, an objective conveyed, and a fellowship bolstered. The quest to locate the missing marshal of Yew resumed and a long, bloody engagement underneath the city of Ocllo followed. Dark forces were at work and had the help of not just human hands but also of mouths that could utter words of power. The party fought their way to the base of a stairwell leading upwards, into the belly of tower filled with magicians of a markedly evil nature. With a hastily assembled plan and all the bravery they could muster, the adventurers stormed the tower. The mages did their best to repel the intruders, but being caught by surprize, many could offer nothing but unbridled malice before they were struck down. After reaching the highest tier of the tower, the party was stumped. Their quest had led them to this apparent dead end: a space of evident preparation, filled with crates and provisions. As the group debated what to do next, a shadow began to grow from a corner of the room. Hands reached for weapons, but before they could be wield the light of the room was enough to reveal to all the exhausted yet overjoyed face of a woman. The missing marshal of the High Court of Yew had been found! The party's celebration of the discovery was warm and sweet but stifled by the context of their surroundings. They quickly unsealed the crates in the room to find weapons, armor, and inscriptions of magical incantations among other treasures; packed for a journey to an unknown destination. Taking all that they could carry, the party fled the tower, returning to Ocllo to digest the events that had transpired.
