"My dessert tastes like ash," remarks Narcel'Uss on the eve before we depart.  She has been rather ill and incapacitated since.  Ildan seems to have performed a magic trick of his own in making the bottle of elven wine completely disappear.  We suspect the delirium of intoxication will last quite a while.  The group has decided it best let them be, especially after encountering Narcel'Uss dry heaving and arguing with the drunken Ildan that "yes in fact your contract does include holding back my hair".  We shall move on.

Vani steals away in the night, having collected a disguise for Elaine.  The rest of the party will meet her at the edge of town.  Her disguise is elaborate but efficient.  Elaine carries herself well in the new older persona.  There is a brief farewell between Elaine and her father before she and Vani slip out of town very early in the morning.  The sun is shining but there is a dark cloud over the town with so many thugs hanging out.  Elaine and Vani slip by them unnoticed.

The rest of the party awaits outside of town.  It should be of note that Dorian has been very distracted upon receiving not one but two "dear john" letters from lovers in a distant city.  As Vani and Elaine arrive, Elaine is introduced as Elsa.  There is some worry that Iskandar has not yet arrived.

J heads back into town to find Iskandar.  J finds him arguing with a couple of hobgoblins, rather verbosely.  Note he appears once again a Minataur but the hobgoblins are not intimidated by his bluster.  J keeps a distance watchful eye, listening closely.  Eavesdropping, J overhears the hobgoblins state they have an offer to make him.  This piques Iskandar's interest and they retreat into a nearby bar.  J waits a few minutes then follows them in.  It's a wizard bar, there will be no eavesdropping here, magic or otherwise.

Meanwhile (and by 'meanwhile' we mean 'at the same damn time as J is at the bar'), Iskandar arrives to meet the rest of the party just outside of town.  Vani is super excited for his arrival "yay you're here! Can you do some magic?" He puts on a show much to the little one's delight.  Elsa fidgets nervously but keeps her composure.

Back at the wizard bar, J is getting nervous about the best way to proceed.  Not wanting to gain unwanted attention, J heads back to the edge of town.  J scowls upon finding Iskandar already there.  Magic detection reveals nothing to indicate that this Iskandar is an illusion.  "When did you get here?"

"Just now, I was showing them a magic trick."
"Say were you just at the Angler Fish bar by any chance?", J is unhappy about the situation.
"Why yes, to tell the truth I am a bit hung over."
"Okay ... so I was just there and didn't see you."
"Because I always leave out the back."
"Oh, okay then.  Off we go."  J sets foot on the road and the rest of the group shrugs and follows.

As we wander along the dark glass road, we pass several abandonded pits where the TSR have been trying to unearth the secrets of the road.  Vani is continually disapointed that she cannot break off a tiny piece of shiney rock.  Carnation's tallons keep clicking against the smooth road, the sound drilling mercisly into the brain of the slowly sobering Ildan.  Carnation is about six feet behind the skipping Ren, Vani, and Elsa, facinated by the motion.  She keeps trying to mimic the joyous little dance but can't quite get her legs to move in the same manner the human types do.

J keeps an eye on our surroundings.  During the day, the road is safe and quiet.  We pass several caravans and patrols all without interest or incident.  As the sun sets we come up to the Olde Road Hostle and we need to make a decision to stay.  The decsion is quickly decided as Dorian proclaims he needs his rest and Narcel'Uss pushes past him and finds a bed to fall on clutching her stomach.  The rest find a room where we can stay together, and Carnation scouts a perch on the roof where she says she can look up at the sky.

There are several people in the common room, including several hobgoblins.  One is mumbling about numbers and places, some we recognize from Theringrad.  Ren gathers a few beers and takes them to the hobgoblin's table, clanking them down, "you look weary, let's drink this and be merry!" hoisting a single tankards in one hand and gesturing for them to drink with the other.  The hobgoblin freaks the fuck out but is brought to calm by his bodyguard.  J face-palms from a nearby table.  Carnation has snuck in through a window and is now hanging somewhat upside down from the rafters, watching wide-eyed at the going ons below.  She has a fascination, and talent, with Traveler's game but has never actually been allowed to play.  Vani, J, several farmers, and a likely a professional sit down to play.  Vani is a bit too excited "are we gambling?", the professional let's slip a smile across his lips.

The professional introduces himself as Owen. They play several rounds but lose out to Owen quiet a lot.  Carnation keeps flapping her wings trying to get J's attention - later J will find out that Carnation is very well versed in the game and was trying to help.  J just thought the bird was itchy.

At the other table, Ren continues to attempt to ply the hobgoblin and bodyguard with ale talking them up "wanting to make friends".  They suggest they are "part of book club".  The bodyguard continues to stonewall each and every conversation point Ren attempts to start.  There is a brief stare-down between the two stoic women before Ren drowns the bodyguard's pint and cheerily takes her leave of the two and joins the Travelers Game table.

This whole time, Elaine/Elsa has been sitting quietly yet visibly fixated on the hobgoblins.  J starts to get nervous about the aura she's projecting and suggests they retire for the night.  The bodyguard and hobgoblin head outside about the same time J and Elsa retire.  Ren convinces Vani to stay up until those two return.  Carnation overhears Ren's concern and slips outside to spy on the two.  The bodyguard makes notches in a nearby post and lays two stones near by.  They go back inside, Carnation drops down to look at the post, the notches are unremarkable.  Carnation picks up and pockets the stones as the looked to deliberately placed.  Going back inside, the two have retired for the evening.  Carnation drops a white feather beside Ren signaling that she wants to talk.

Ren meets Carnation outside where the bird girl is quite literally perched atop the post, and seems to be smiling.  Ren recognizes the post is covered with carvings, mostly old, but there are some fresh ones.  It's clear these are some kind of message markings, but Ren does not have the skill to read them?  Ren attempts to ask Carnation what had happened out here, but she offers little insight "maybe secret lovers?"
"Oh no ... these are very bad people," replies Ren, only confusing the bird.  "VERY bad people, slavery and other horrible things".
Carnation digs her talons in the post, nearly shattering it.  Then she remembers the stones and holds them out for Ren, "one stone for you, one stone for me">
"Where did you get these?"
Carnation hops off the post and scratches in the dirt where the stones were laid. Ren furrows her brow in concern.

J has been talking to Elsa trying to discern if she knew the hobgoblins or was just nervous.  J attempts to comfort her but her own nervousness about the siuation is making them both worry more.  J reasons with Else, making it very clear that death is on the line "a good way for people to figure out who you are is to stare directly at you". 

Carnation and Ren skitter into the room.  Ren is worried that Elsa is pale as snow.  J assures them everything is fine.  Carnation shows Vani outside to the post "this is mine, this is theirs" pointing out the fresh notches in the post.  Vani recognizes the markings as a signal .... she takes it upon herself to change the indicators to a party of caravaners instead of travelers.  Vani scampers off to sleeping quarters and Carnation flys to the roof and watches the road.  There are many different travelers but nothing of note or concern.  Carnation difts off to sleep for the night as J sets up watches for the rest of the evening.

Unsurprisingly Elsa does not sleep well.  The whole party in fact is a little bit ragged come dawn as they set off again.  The caravaners  are setting off at the same time.  The gambler is taking his time.  The hobgoblin and bodygaurd seem to have left before dawn.  We decided to wait for breakfast to be served before leaving.  Iskandar seems a bit unusual, too quiet as he orders breakfast... "I'll have some eggs ... and what's that beef hash? Sounds great.  What? I'm a half cow man that eats beef, it's nothing."  "I like eggs!" proclaims Carnation. "See? The bird girl gets it."

Iskandar chats with Vani about a possible show trick where he disguises her as a hat.  As a result, Vani spends most of the day on Iskandars head, crouched between his horns, doing flips every so often.  She uses her new found height to keep an eye on the road for any more thieves cant.  Vani is much more focused that she ever appears to be.

Our troupe is on the road for about half the day before we hear fighting up ahead on the road.  The distinct sound of swords, spells and shouting are about 200 yards in front of us.  It is off the road, but only a little ways.  We decide to detour to investigate what sounds like the end of a fight.  Ren beckons Elsa to stay close to her, instructing her that she'll be safe.  J instructs Carnation to go up and look.  Ahead there is a triangle of caravans, not much is going on but the flash of metal in the sunlight show signs of the lingering confrontation.  Vani stealthily rushes (why yes, I did write that correctly) ahead to see what's going on.  There are several warriors there, humans, orcs and one hobgoblin.  It looks like they have just finished slaying a group of caravaners. Vani recoils with tears in her eyes as she recognizes the dead.  This is our fault.

Vani returns to the group at the tree line and tells us "we shouldn't go any further".  She's very upset.  
"What happened?" asks J.  
"I don't want to talk about it," replies Vani.  
J hustles us off the road a bit.  Vani retreats to Iskandar's head and curls up.  We wait.  The caravans and their "new owners" eventually carry off down the glass road and our group walks up to the carnage, surveying the dead.  Ren keeps pestering Vani "what happened."  J is very stoic about the situation "well there is nothing to be done now".  We take the time to investigate the dead.  J swears to one of her many gods as she recognizes the men she played Travelers Game with last night.  Vani is crying, hiding in the tall grass.  Ren tries so hard very hard to comfort Vani.  Elsa remarks sheepishly "you're all fighters... they were not".  

J instructs the rest of the party that, regardless of their current physical or mental state, they should start digging.  Carnation walks up to Ren, head down, holding out the marker rock in her hand, "bad stones."  She drops her stone and then points to Ren, "bad stones."  Carnation flys off to start collecting body parts.  Ren grips her stone very tightly in her hand then throws it to the ground in great anger.  We check the bodies before burrial, there are no real identifiers or materials left on the looted bodies.  As we are laying the bodies to rest, we are in view of the road- other travelers do take note of our actions, no one stops.  Our burden done, we return to the road and continue on.

As we walk, Vani is curled up on Iskandar's head but he regrets to inform her that he doesn't feel like performing any magic right now.  Carnation flys along the road, high above and slightly behind the group.  She can clearly see the cracked and crumbling walls of Tachros at the end of the road.  We arrive at the gates in the early evening.  The city opens up to the trade quarter where, despite the late day, it is still bustling with activity.  Vani finds herself overwhelmed with the amount of thieves cant in the market and can't make heads or tails of the markings.

Iskandar directs us to the best Inn for us to stay... "welcome to the Wet Cat Inn.  What? What's in a name, am I right?".  Elsa is nearly frozen with shock and awe, Ren does her best to assure her we will be leaving as soon as possible.  Carnation is loving the sights and sounds of the city, reminding her of where she grew up.  The Wet Cat is a shabby inn that is down by the water line.  Vani is freaking out over the garbage in the water.  Plans are set in motion with Rax, the propritor, of a magic show to be performed.  Vani negotiates with Rax that if we fill the bar with customers for the show he will give us room and board.  J is annoyed "can't we just pay five copper and get on with our lives?"  J stays with Elsa and just rests and writes letters for the afternoon.  Ren is concerned that this isn't the right time for the show, she's confused about Vani's quickly changing emotions.  Ren asks Carnation "isn't this wrong? People died..." her reply ... "Vani" Carnation shrugs and gives Ren a pomegranate.  Ren eventually coming around to supporting Vani and setting up for the evening's performance.

The Wet Cat is very far below the city, it is not a particularly popular bar.  They water their beer, or beer their water, it's hard to tell.  The bar's name doesn't help either.  Thus the turnout for the show is sparse.  The show is outstanding ... the three people in the back actually clapped.  We get to stay for free but our drinks aren't covered.  There is an audible d'oh from Ildan who is surrounded by empty tankards.  We head to bed.

Carnation spends her night time outside instead of trying to nest in the tiny beds.  While she's never been this far underground before, she's used to big citys and tiny alleys.  While everyone is worried that she will freak out without the starlight (it's a bird thing), she's actually relieved that she can't see the sky for one night.  Carnation is fascinated by the canals, and she flys along the canals and level to level, stopping to kick the garbage in the water.

A young boy of about eight waves her over - curious Carnation lands on the railing close by.  
"I have been chasing you for like 5 levels" the child speaks, clearly out of breath, "I was waving the whole time. My names Jeffery, my dad would really like to talk to you."
"Not for sale" replies the bird.
"I ... I don't know what that means"
"Daddys usually want to buy me.  I'm not for sale."
The boy is very confused "okay.  I don't think my dad wants to buy you.  He's a crafter, he makes silver wear like this"  the boy flashes a very shiny buckle that glints in the street light.  This captures Carnation's attention.  The young boy isn't sure if the bird girl has decided to follow him, or is just chasing the sparkly thing.  He leads her to an inn on the 2nd level, The Archers Candle.  It's a tavern for the Practicers of Taloom ... the art of the bow, the life of the bow, devoted to the bow.  

As she enters, Carnation checks for open windows, planning an escape route just in case.  They are are all open ... well, broken open, possibly by arrows, probably by arrows, definitely by arrows... after all, the sign on the wall reads "If you put out all 3 candles with one arrow you get a drink."  With a safe escape plan, she goes in.  Carnation is led by Jeffery to table where a man and woman are arranging quivery buckles on a black cloth.  "Well done Jeffery" the father is affectionate and seems proud of the boy, a nice change to see in these rough towns.  The father introduces himself as Calibre the archer and his elven wife Teru.  He attempts to have a conversation, but Carnation being herself, doesn't say much back, so he rambles a bit.  "We saw your group on the road... I was late you see... we couldn't stop... but I wanted to thank you... I spend my life on the road you see, and compassion is not often seen... time for the fallen is not taken as it should... so I wanted to thank you." Calibre hold out a small coin purse for Carnation to take but the bird hesitates to take it.  Calibre isn't sure if she understand.
"Not something to be paid for" she finally says.
"Ah, not payment, but a gift, please please, I insist".
Carnation simply says "no" then points to the table of shiney buckles "maybe yes?"
Calibre smiles, "very well, that is a better gift, here choose any one you like."
Carnation selects a very specific buckle.  Calibre takes it and pulls out his tools, and proceeds to make a very specific mark on the back of the buckle before giving it to Carnation.  "There, now it's unique.  Say Jeffery," the father turns to his son "How do you catch a unique rabbit? Unique up on it!"  Calibre lets out a hearty laugh and Carnation giggles in delight.

Carnation puts the buckle away, keeping it close to her heart.  She pulls out an arrow, a special one fletched with her own feathers, and while holding it, she plucks a rather large, bright blue feather from her own wings and splits it into the reed.  She hands it to the boy and simply says "unique", then flaps up to the rafters and sits and watch the hapless archers for a while, rather amused at their antics at the bar.  On her return to the Wet Cat in, Carnation finds Ren on watch who seems somewhat relieved that Carnation has finally returned.  She tried to ask her about her night, and Carnation simply smiles and says "unique rabbit" , Ren is confused.  Carnation seems to go to sleep but really sits and contemplates the silver buckle until sleep overtakes her.

The party wakes in the morning and heads on our way, clear of the Tong (presumably).  The road leaving the town is unremarkable and dirt, riddled with Thieves Cant.  There are many people passing us going in the opposite direction.  Several members of the house of Du'DeBros are returning from a championship fight covered in scars and bragging about how hard they fell of thier horses.  While the people watching is fascinating, their inane banter is exhausting and we do our best to avoid them altogether after a while.