Coming down from the uplifting ceremony we make plans to celebrate Solstice in the woods outside of town. We are now official journeymen of the Adventurer’s Guild, and feel that we have a double cause to celebrate and perhaps forget for a while the troubles that have crossed our path. We make arrangements plus food and drink and begin our trek out of town.

We stop in the offices and see Moira, you informs us that our caravan contract is set to go soon. We should make contact with Dorian, a ranger, and the stables when we return to town.

A second stop is at the church. Jaden dashes in to see if Fara is present, as we did not see her at the ceremony. Brother Josephus allows Jaden to leave her a note saying we will be back tomorrow. Brother Josephus suggests that if you are coming back tomorrow you can meet her at mass in the morning. Jaden did not see that one coming, and whether he really wanted to go to service or not, he agreed that going to the service would be a good way to ensure he got to meet her.

We followed Raven’s lead out into the forest. What transpired there I will leave for our Druid to explain. She would know best to explain the significance of the celebration and as I stood guard all evening I can not relate to the experiences of the participants. Whereas I had felt more relaxed during our recent Beltane celebration, I took my duties very seriously for we have all seen what these forests contain, but alas the night passed without incident.

Upon our arrival back in town, Jaden and Blackhawk tried to ensure there were no remaining leaves in their hair and clothes and walked up the steps to the Cathedral. We had made plans to all meet again at the Elfsong in about an hour and a quarter. I made a pretense of going off on a short run, knowing Stephen and Raven might want to go off and talk, but I was in no mood for a run after a restless night. I made my way to the pier and took a quick swim. I spent the next hour drying on a stone block of the pier trying to recharge my spirit. The cathedral bells sounded much too soon, and I pulled myself to my feet and headed toward the tavern. As the cathedral loomed up in front of me I could not but help think of Fara’s letter she sent us. She was worried that her research was beginning to suggest that the Blackcloaks may have been always evil, even before they split off of the Angelican church. The news we brought her would likely prove her theory right, but I knew she would take no joy form that fact. The creature is still vivid in my mind and if I could explain it correctly, I could still feel it on my skin. How could anybody willingly allow that creature to inhabit their body? I still think I may have heard Saba’s voice in my ear yelling “Evil, foulest Evil, kill it now!”. It was a night best forgotten, but we must dredge it up once again I fear and not for the last time.

My mood is instantly better upon stepping into the Elfsong. The smell of the breads and frying meats quickly changed my thoughts to breakfast. Everyone was already seated at a table in the back. I made my greetings to Fara, grabbed a mug of the strongest tea available and settled down in a seat. Jaden was relating events of the past few days to Fara, with occasional pauses to look over his shoulder to ensure no one was listening. By Fara’s expressions as the story went on, it was clear that she was very troubled by the news.

At the end of our tale, Fara related that her mission for us was almost finalized. She would be able to provide us details when we return from our caravan duty.

Jaden went on to quiz Fara about the different sides of revenge and justice. I do not quite remember Fara’s response, but it involved voices in the choirs and dissonance, I was intent on willing the effects of my tea to kick in quicker. I could have shorted to conversation, revenge outside the law is murder, revenge within the law is justice. And revenge need not always end in death as there are many ways to punish the guilty. I chimed in once, but it was Fara’s words that were needed to calm Jaden.

We also bandied about the identity of the creature Raven and I killed. Fara suggests that it was a shapechanged imp or devil bound to the holy symbol. This seemed likely, as no of us had had seen one to contradict her.

From there we made our way over to the Guild’s stable. The stable master, a white haired balding gentlemen with a huge handlebar mustache. We learned the rates for renting are steep. The deposit equals the cost of the horse and rental is 10% of the cost a day. With our trip planned for over ten days, it will be cheaper to purchase horses outright. We also get prices on saddles and feed. Everyone proceeds to examine light warhorses with Raven and Blackhawk speaking to various mounts to ensure healthy and willing choices. I examined the horses but at this moment had no plans on purchasing one, as due to the caravan speed I could easily keep up on foot.

While we are at the stables, we also are revisited by a familiar spirit, Carlotta. Raven spotted her riding full dressage in a ring. The stable master soon exclaimed that his favorite horse was missing. The stable master heard our conversation about Carlotta and assumed she was a friend of ours. We denied taking his horse, and the three others that later disappeared, so he sent the bill to the guild. Later Roderick was less than pleased, but the horses did show up and a stables across town, so the fee was reduced to a night at the stable for four horses.

With the horses picked out, we set out to meet Dorian and get details on the upcoming mission. Dorian is a high ranking ranger. He tells us we will be transporting non-perishable goods to Fort Vindermar and mail and gold to the mayor of Sprucebluff. The gold will be used to by perishable food from the communities to supply the forts. There will be four wagons each with two drivers accompanied by seven guards and Dorian. We will be one mile ahead, flushing dangerous animals out of the forest, clearing the way for the caravan. A bounty will be paid for all dangerous creatures that are slain by our group. A mile behind will come a group a guild apprentices, a mixed group of Humans, Gomes, Elves, and Halflings. There will be various defensive structures, a few larger compounds, and a few towns with a citadel half way down the trail.

As to dangers we can expect monsters but not many thieves. Manticores, gryphons, hippogryphs, and dragons can not be ruled out. Aerial threats will be the greatest, but wolves and other wild animals are also threats. We can expect no help from the caravan because the guards will stay with the wagons. Dorian continues by stating that we can expect up to 3 or 4 attacks a day. This will truly be a test of our abilities. We have done well in isolated encounters, but now we will have to ration spells and special abilities. It will definitely be interesting.

Blackhawk and Dorian work out a system of trail markers to let the caravan to know what is coming up. Dorian warns us that the time of the caravan’s departure is a secret, so he will come inform us the evening before it leaves. We then go our separate ways.

The following day Raven escorts me down to the stables. I decided to follow Dorian advice and get a horse for a time when speed and endurance are needed. I took Raven up on her offer to help pick out a good one. I end up selecting a grey riding light horse, I have no need of a warhorse for I do not plan on fighting on horseback. The others show up later intent on training on their mounts.

Horse training takes up most of the next few days. Then at 10:30 on the 18th Dorian shows up at our door, the caravan leaves tomorrow at 4 am. We have been packed for days, so it is just a matter of trying to relax a few hours before we set out.