Cal the 22nd started off with the party splitting up there in Aboris'shifa to accomplish various ends, including bathing. Jena and N'Kara went out to do some shopping, but along the way, were nearly cut down by a Seeker with inflict serious wounds cast into his scimitar. Coupled with a wand that let him turn invisible, until he attacked, the Seeker forced them to run for cover, back to the Temple of Mikindim.

In the Temple of Mikindim, Lucian had discovered the Sheik's spy and aid to them – a lizard called a Seyer. Actually, it was a priest of Galanus among the animals – intelligent enough to pray and be granted prayers, though still, basically, an animal. Seyers are apparently are well-respected in Al Fahim, and offer anyone with them instant access to Aboris from Aboris'shifa.

Seamus skillfully interpretted Jena's discription of the Seeker, and drew a picture of the man's face for all of them to recognize – including the familiar, Alora.

Splitting up, again, Lucian was sapped by other Seekers, and taken deep into the sewers. Alora led the party after Lucian, but as soon as they had him, they withdrew. A near miss with a hidden ballista, and the invibisible nature of their assailants, gave them plenty of pause.

After searching through Ye'amen's effects, they discovered a number of maps of Rakore and the Choranil Desert. Ye'amen's family, however, had called down Komedan upon the party. Komedan meant that a blood feud existed, and champions must take up a duel; the winner would determine who was right, by Galanus and the rules of the Komedan. The family felt that the party was responsible for the death Ye'amen, but should the party's champion win, the family would understand that Ye'amen's death was the will of Galanus. Gunju fought brilliantly, but his zest to win the duel nearly cost him – only quick work by Jena and N'Kara saved the family's champion. Komedan is never to the death, and so Gunju was placed under house arrest, instead of serving jail time, thanks to quick-talking by Jena.

Very late that night, a seyil (prostitute) slipped in to visit with Seamus. Nearly stealing his heart with her womanly charm, her questions rang warning bells in his head. Sure that he as about to die, Seamus closed his eyes and prepared for death-by-succubus – only to discover that she was an operative for Rakore, seeking to help the mages.

(N'Kara, in heat because of her cat's blood, decided that Xzax would make an acceptable mate to ease her urges. Poor Xzax never stood a chance, when she practically raped him. Though sated, N'Kara has apparently decided that Xzax is fair company, and she would stick by him until her heat subsided. Xzax wasn't complaining, either, for his ranger's side, and her druidic side, were also compliments to one another.)

Fatima and Jena talked until nearly dawn, and it turned out that Fatima had contacts with someone that could help the party – but that someone (a man by the name of Jynx) would need help, in return. She would introduce them, perhaps a mark after dawn.

Just as the day started, and they all roamed the city, Seamus and Lucian were attacked by the Seeker, but the two managed to kill him with a pyrotechnic display of arcane magic. Calling in an obscuring mist, they looted the body as quickly as they could, and fled through the mists before the guards could arrive. The wand of invisibility was left on the corpse – and retrieved by others.

Jena, N'Kara, Xzax, and Seamus went to meet with Jynx and his Chillean friend, Ariko. Jynx outlined a need to get into Aboris, so that he could rescue a mage being held in the Temple of Lul (North). Jena and the rest agreed to help in whatever way they could – especially since Jynx knew someone in Rakore that could help them with the quest, and he had a ship standing by in the harbor that would leave Al Fahim as soon as the Inquisition-held mage was aboard.

Just before the mission that night, Jena and Gunju went to visit Ye'amen's family. They had a wonderful time, and Gunju – perhaps unconsciously – proposed to Jena in a round-a-bout way. One of Ye'amen's sons, Sha'rael, asked Gunju if Jena's dowry was for sale. Gunju said in a dead-serious tone, “She's spoken for.”

Later that night, after Jena's head stopped swimming, the entire party met up inside Aboris itself. Jynx and Ariko joined them, and outlined their plan en route to the Temple of Lul (North). The temple itself turned out to be an unassailable fortress. The party was convinced that there was no conventional way to assault the temple. It turned out that Jynx's escape plan – through the sewers – could be used as an assault plan.

Working back through the city, they found an alleyway with a useable grate down into the sewers, some thirty feet beneath the surface in Aboris. From there, they were able to make their way through the darkness to the temple itself, using N'Kara's, Seamus', and Xzax's innate direction senses. Once under the temple itself, they found themselves in luck – for the sewer grate used by the prisoner they sought was assessible from beneath.

Working quickly, they manage to extract the prisoner – a mage named Sheree – and high-tale it out of Aboris. With N'Kara's spells of entangle slowing pursuit through the sewers, Jynx's enchanted blades cut through the grates between Aboris and Aboris'shifa with little time to spare. From there, they boarded a ship called the Skate.

The Skate helped ferry them out of Aboris in a hurry, understanding that the entire city likely knew of the mage's rescue. Indeed, even as the ship sped away from the docks on an arcane wind, Lucian's detect magic abilities could make out a fist-full of invisible stalkers stranded on the jetty, unable to pursue their quarry.

Jena and Jynx told the captain, a man named Fourth, of their quest. Vowing to help them, Captain Fourth set sail for Chirin Isle – and Ye'amen's grave. Once there, the party set out for Shir Amanod, the fortress atop the mountain, where Ye'amen lay buried near a flowing stream. Seamus gently pushed Jena away from the grave before she sullied her soul, as well as her hands, disturbing the dead – and found nothing. The diamond pendant they had hoped was with Ye'amen was not there. Returning to the Skate, they had no choice but to puzzle out the rest of the prophecy, and the location of the pendant.

Jena inspired Seamus to have a riddling contest, and the contest went well – until Seamus asked, “What can be found where the Golden Dye and the Cerulean Bolt adorn the Virgin Wind…?”

The answer, according to one sailor, was confusing. For yellow dye on a blue bolt of cloth, yields green. But a green virgin wind? Gunju had the answer, in his faulty translation of the word 'virgin' into his native tongue. 'Virgin' can also mean 'maiden', and the Virgin Wind was referring to a ship. The Green Maiden.

Jena was dumbfounded, and smacked herself on the forehead. She had used the Spin Stone on board the Green Maiden, just outside Aboris, to no effect. It meant that the crew of the Green Maiden had returned to Chirin Isle and pillage Ye'amen's grave.

Worse, the Green Maiden was overdue from Dankel, across the Aboriac Sea. A scrying by the ship's First Mate and Cleric of Olorin, Nathamra, found the Green Maiden caught on a tiny rock in the middle of uncharted territory, somewhere in the Aboriac Sea. A second scrying, with helpful hints from the party, found the ship's exact location. Setting sail at top speed, Captain Fourt and the Skate sped off through the night of Cal the 27th.

Barely a half mark later, towards midnight, came a call from the crow's nest: “Ship astern!” The fastest ship in the world was being followed by a ship that could be seen in the dead of night – and dark chills ran down the whole crew's spines as they rushed to the rails. Only one type of ship could overtake the Skate – a ghost ship.

We played at Brandy and Mac's, again. Poor Mac had just gotten off a 24h duty, so he was hurtin for caffeine. Took us awhile to get started, because he couldn't seem to shift out of 'Army Mode', into the game. I think Brandy had to promise some noogy, or something, to get his mind off of duty.

Dinner was a couple of pizzas, but that didn't stop Brandy and Pam from offering me bribes at every turn. It's quite legal, by our House Rules – and it may have saved their butts once or twice. I still had it out for them, that night, but they got smart and started working as a team.

Kudos to Pam. She used an entangle spell inside a sewer, to give her tiger companion a way down and then back up the thirty-foot drops that led into and out of the sewers. The Most Creative Spellcasting award of the night goes to her. Good job, kid.

XP Awarded: 1,500 (total to date is 5,650)