Chapter 2 - Easy Come, Easy Go

"The strangers voice howled in the storm - one, two, three, four, five." - Malzara Ayj-Iarud, Master Historian

The Chronicle’s humble beginning proves an auspicious twist of fate as the traveling gnomes and dwarf secure comfortable passage to Gwyllipelta nigh immediately upon arrival in the port of Ralgan. Inside a shabby carriage driven by the well-dressed Roland DeLille and Raghleen – Rock – awaits a young boy around the age of ten. The stalwart gnomes Daphinia Marigold Spindlebolt Rixilla Gummers Nibi Bigglegloms and Donella Niniana Mardnab Nyx Elbi Twyla Avantika Biggleboms join the boy, Tsippinsee Ba’bzhowar – Zip – and Janna Ariantrus, the dracophile dwarf, for a mysteriously comfortable carriage ride out of Ralgan. Images of the ill-fated elvish resistance illuminate the drizzly sky as wondrous music dances on the wind, carrying the party beyond the city’s gates. The journey halts, abruptly, as the human girl Maja Damar, seemingly lost in thought, appears before Rock and Roland. An equally auspicious opportunity for her indeed, as she settles into the cabin now sheltered from the rain. Their conversation, lost to time, presumably fades to rest for the weary as the carriage traverses Ralgan’s plainlands down the High Road. Barely within the bows of Sheigh Cyth, the sprawling green forest which spans nearly the length of the Northlands, fortune withdrew its warm embrace. Arrows fired, a horse cut loose, and the young party faced something of an elven ambush. Rock, their bodyguard, abandoned the scene – perhaps in pursuit of a greater danger – leaving the cabin’s inhabitants to fend for themselves. With strength, bravery, and an unusual burst of magic, the attackers laid slain. The bloodied travelers began searching their assailants for valuables, perhaps hoping to find anything to explain why they seemed so keen on the gnomish woman. As the rain poured down on the scene, a mysterious and vengeful figure appeared further down the road. His rage made manifest, searing flames licked and burned the remains of the now-smoldering carriage which once brought such promise for these five adventurers. The strangers voice howled in the storm - one, two, three, four, five. The path ahead cut, a bridge over a wandering river, the five travelers decide to leave the High Road and turn northward, up the waterfall following the stream and a gently trodden path to what made for shelter in the wilds of Sheigh Cyth.