Mordantyr was “accidentally” born in the Year of Aza Guilla. It was not supposed to be this way, but due to a particularly difficult pregnancy, his mother was very late in delivering him. His parents were rather morose about his birth during this year. However, later, his sister, Narya was born. Due to the beliefs surrounding children born in the Year of Aza Guilla, she was clearly the favored child. This did not matter to Mordantyr, despite not being favored, they were still a family and did familial things together. However, around the time Narya was 10, the Enclave came through the Smoke Ward, where the al’Corvus’ lived. People were surprised that they came in. They were always envisioned as a high stationed group that would not enter a place such as the Smoke Ward. They were quite the curiosity and people came to the streets to watch them. The Enclave started selecting young girls to go with them. Certainly not many, but it seemed as if families had no say in whether the girls could go with them or stay. As it happened, Narya was one of the girls selected to be taken.

This devastated Mordantyr’s parents. Over time Mordantyr came to realize that at that time, not only had the favored child been taken from them, but now the “tainted” child born in Aza Guilla was all they had left and they did not hold much hope for him to live a long life or be overly prosperous.

The family Mordantyr knew had been permanently changed. No longer was the family together, his parents were almost completely despondent, now only going through the motions of holding the family together. Mordantyr held the Enclave as the direct cause of this and grew to deeply resent the Enclave and their methods.

As time passed, one of the older people, Guarnay, in the ward started to talk to Mordantyr while he was out on his own. He was known in the ward…not a Mul, not a beggar, more of a recluse and certainly eccentric. Not having much in the way of conversations at home, Mordantyr enjoyed talking to him and began to look forward to their meetings. Eventually, Guarnay started bringing up the Enclave and magic. Mordantyr learned more about the Enclave during these discussions: girls were taken due to sensed magic ability by the Enclave; once taken, the girls are rarely seen again by the people they knew; girls that show magic ability but are not part of the Enclave are hunted; males are never allowed into the Enclave and any that show magic ability are hunted. This was all fascinating to Mordantyr. Then Guarnay told him that magic ability can run in families and that he may have the ability. If that turned out to be true, life would probably be difficult…hiding from the Enclave, hiding the use of magic to all but the most trusted of friends. Guarnay asked if Mordantyr wanted to discover if the ability in him existed. After little thought, Mordantyr agreed, figuring life could not get all that much more uncomfortable, and being on the opposite side of the Enclave was alluring. It turned out that there was an affinity for magic in Mordantyr. Guarnay had been keeping a damaged writ that was dropped by a mage friend of his that died. Mordantyr and Guarnay worked at repairing the damage as much as possible, then Guarnay gave Mordanty the writ. One day not long after that, Guarnay told Mordantyr that it was time for him to move on. With being male and using magic, it is best to be on the move and not spend very long in one place. Mordantyr would need to practice in secret, as often as he could. With his mentor gone, he was left to practice on his own. His methods were crude and disordered…he fell into the use of Chaos Magic.

Mordantyr thought about the best way to go about practicing without prying eyes and his thoughts turned to Northgate. He knew that the Enclave does not hunt or fight demons, and has even heard that the Enclave may be a cause for the demon incursion. Being unusually bright, he approached a demon hunter clan and petitioned to be brought along from Eadwald to Northgate to study demons. There was a couple in Northgate that had a place to stay, he was allowed to travel with the hunters. His parents did not give him an argument, maybe even seemed relieved to have him leave the house.

Upon arrival in Northgate, so much information was thrown at him. He spent a lot of time organizing, categorizing, deciphering and rewriting. Mordantyr was very good at this and fell into the role of a demonologist easily. He was fascinated by the lore and the anatomy of demons, it was a hard choice, but he wound up focusing more on the lore: the beliefs, the hierarchy, origins, and when time allowed, the language. The anatomy and biology was interesting, but an alternate agenda was that if the Enclave was involved, he felt that the lore would be a better way to prove that.

In between his study, research and categorization, he would find a private place to practice his magic. One day, he was followed, a demon hunter named Tragan had tracked him to see what he was doing. Tragan surprised Mordantyr in a clearing in the forest outside Northgate. Tragan said he had tracked him a couple of times, wanting to see if Mordantyr was doing anything that might be in concert with demons. Tragan was not surprised by Mordantyr’s use of magic and said that Mordantyr was not the only male that has come up here, away from the Enclave. Tragan invited Mordantyr to travel in his group. Being a little young to join a clan and especially not being a hunter, that was the best to be expected. Mordantyr agreed and became a demonologist that also went into the field to see demons first hand. This was also Tragan’s way of introducing Mordantyr to another male mage or two that also was part of Tragan’s team.

The other mages Mordantyr met helped him refine his methods so they were not so disordered, while still using Chaos Magic.

Tragan’s team was discreet in their conversations and interactions with the mages and knowledge of who was a mage in the group. At a social gathering, where many people of Northgate got together, one of the people in Tragan’s group, Carson, came up to Mordantyr and started talking about, what he called the darker side of the Enclave. It was loud at the gathering, Mordantyr was sure that no one but the two of them could hear each other, but also noticed that the two of them were being watched by a few people Mordantyr did not know. Carson explained that on the surface, the Enclave does much good for society, however, behind the walls of Gaddel it is quite different. He went on to say that Gaddel is not an independent city-state, but is controlled by the Enclave; the people in power and highly situated citizens are threatened by the Enclave to do what they want and say what they want them to say; female magic users, the girls that are brought there, die in the mage trials; some girls that survive the trials but do not show a strong aptitude are used as servants to those stronger in magic, some of them have been disfigured by the trials; these girls are held as prisoners within the Enclave because the Enclave cannot allow them to leave once they have witnessed the trials and have seen the mages in power. Mordantyr knew that he did not trust the Enclave, but this was more than he expected. Carson said there was more, but he had said enough. He said that he was part of a group that worked against the Enclave called the Price of Magic. Members of the group were here and knew that Carson was talking with Mordantr. They knew of Mordantyr’s affinity to magic and he had been in Northgate long enough to be trusted with information about the group. He said that the members of the Price were not all mages and not all male, they were people that held a common belief of what the Enclave actually was. There were even female mages as part of the group. This intrigued Mordantyr more than just a little, some of what Carson said seemed like myths, but some of it rang true. Mordantyr felt that he should become a little more involved with the group to be able to tell fact from fiction and would be able to use some of the information Carson told him.

There were many times that groups from Northgate would travel to Eadwald and vice versa, Mordantyr would travel when he could or needed to. This particular trip was a little unusual in that the group from Northgate was travelling to Eadwald ahead of a Great Storm. Typically, travel was done after the storm passed, but this time it was a race to get to Eadwald ahead of it. The trip went well and everyone arrived in Eadwald in time to get to a public bunker to wait out the storm. It was in this bunker in the Gate Ward that Mordantyr found himself in the company of several people around the same age from various walks of life in Eadwald.

Mordantyr sat with his legs crossed. His eyes were open, but he was not in this place. His mind was in a meditative state. He could hear all the sounds in the room. The slight drip from the rain outside. He could feel the Writ hanging around his neck. He heard the soft footsteps as Guarnay came into the room. He heard his voice as it moved across the room and entered his ears., “that’s it. You are masking it well. Your task is to mask it by instinct. You must always mask it.” Mordantyr opened his eyes. Guarnay was standing in front of him. He smiled, “now I want to show you why you must mask your writ.” He started to pace, “Now I want you cast detect magic.” Mordantyr cast the spell and scanned his teacher. He could see energy pulsing form his chest. He could see the Writ even through his clothes. Guarnay turned his back, “with me not masking my writ anyone can tell I am caster. You can even read my aura.” Even when he turned Mordantyr could see the Writ through his very body. He could see colors surrounding his teacher.

Guarnay moved to mask his Writ and it all went away. His could no longer see it. His aura was still there but it calmer.

The next day they practiced casting detect magic within the city to just see people’s auras.

You arrive in the caravan camp as normal. The camp is alive with movement. You have seen this before, the camp almost like a living entity preparing to leave. It takes a couple of days to move the caravan. They are starting to gather packages for the horses, and prepping the animals for long travel. They are clearly going to be taking the road north and not the river. They will start that road north in a couple of days.

Tragon is packing some bags. Gerald is helping him. It looks like he has settled in well and working with Tragon. His scars look even worse in the shadows of the camp fires. As distraught as he seemed, he looks stronger now. As if finding a place was all he needed to be good again. Tragon see you as you approach, "did that messenger find you? I was hoping for some steel pieces from Fira".

what do you do, and Roll Perception: 18

Hey Kiai...not sure how the Thumb got there, I must have miss clicked earlier. In any event: I tell Tragan that the messenger did find me, but it was late in the day, too late to go get the steel. I am planning on going in the morning to get it and bring it back here. (I rolled an 18...12 on the roll, +6 for Perception, including Eagle Eye)

Mordantyr had a soft bored look on his face as he responded to Tragon, "Yes yes, the messenger found me. It was too late in the day to take action. I will get your package in the morning." Tragon smiled with a lot teeth as if this was information he could devour. He looked over to his traveling wagon, "Gerald will get the three of us some food?" Gerald nodded and headed out. Tragon walked over to his wagon and pulled up a wood plank. It revealed a long compartment that would be hard to find. It was lined with some metallic material. It was empty. He turned back to Mordantyr, "Getting that early is better. I need to stash it before we load the cart. Gerald is starting to wonder why I have not loaded up yet. My excuses are starting to seem weak."

Mordantyr started to move about the space. He found his bedroll and laid it out. He stopped for a minute when he came across Gerald's gear. His weapon and armor were leaned up against the wagon. Something about the armor was slightly off. Tagon noticed he stopped, "What is it Mord?" A friendly sign came from Mardantyr, "I asked you to not call me that." Tragon silently laughed, "okay Mord...Dant..Tyr, I will for sure not call you Mord." Tragon was clearly feeling good about himself, "what is it?" Mordantyr circled back, "I just noticed that Gerald removed all his guild insignias. ... I guess that means he is not going back to Demon Hunting." He moved over and sat on a stool next to Tragon. Gerald came over with food for all three of them sat around the fire eating.

After a little mead Gerald opened up about the death he saw in the village to the north. People ripped apart, half eaten. The size of the demon was unbelievable in his story. Was it real or just his mind justifying the carnage, it was impossible to tell. He is clearly broken.

Do you want to do anything before the morning?

I want to find the mage contact I spoke to when I was there before and tell him the Enclave is in Eadwald. (I would not offer up information on the fight at first, but if he pressed, I would tell him) Questions: What guild did Gerald belong to? Does Tragan belong to a guild? Which one?

Why does Tragan need to hide the metal? From thieves on the road?

Some quick answers: What guild did Gerald belong to? You do not know Does Tragan belong to a guild? Which one? He is part of the Demon Hunters Guild but not a specific clan Why does Tragan need to hide the metal? You do not know, but you do not think it is to hide it from Thieves

Do you want to try and get answer these questions. If so roll Persuasion. Roll an Arcane roll just for fun

Mordantyr was eating some meat from a cooking stick. He knew to be afraid to question where it came from too much. It could be anything. Caravans travel with a flock of goats and it could be goat, but from his experience the goat count often stays constant as they traveled. Scouts go out in all directions and bring back wild game of all types. This close to the city, it is likely some large number of rodents, cleaned, sticked and cooked over open fires. It was overly seasoned and tasted good, so why worry about what it was. He knew his thoughts were processing something and it was not the meat. The thought flooded into his mind. All of sudden he understood the construction of the secret stash. It was metal lined. It was made to hide magical energies. He still did not know why Tragon would need that for some metal but he knew what it would do. It was to hide it from the Enclave. He made sure to share it with Mordantyr when Gerald was not around, so he did not trust him yet.

Mordantyr wanted to find Sammy. He wanted to make sure he knew about the witches. He was not sure yet if he would tell him about the child, and the fight, but he needed to talk to the only other Mage in the area. He leaned over to Gerald, "I know you are heading back north. Do you need me to tell anyone in the guild or a clan that you are heading out"? Gerald lowered his head as he hard swallowed a large chunk of meat, "no. I am no longer feeling a part of the Hookclaw clan." He paused for a long moment as he stared into the fire. He was in another place, "I do not think I am part of them anymore." Tragon first looked over and then kindly rested his hand on Gerald's shoulder, "I have never been in a clan. You stay with me and we will be our own clan." Gerald jerked away, tears streaming down his face, "My clan died out there. I am no clan at all." He jumped up and headed to the edge of the fire. Tragon gave Mordantyr a look, making sure he knew that Gerald needed to be alone for a minute.

Mordantyr stood up, "I will be back, I need to walk off that dinner a little." Tragon laughed, "The privy is off that direction." He walked off into the shadows of the night. He found a private place and took several minutes to cast Detect Magic. He was hoping to use that to find Sammy. He knew Sammy knew how to mask his magic but even hidden you could be detected from time to time. As the hues of auras came to his vision. He noticed his own magic was leaking a little. He refocused to hide his own writ. He came out of the shadows and started to move around the camp. The last time he saw Sammy he was near the timber caravan. They were now going to carry grain north, so he headed over to the grain carts. Grain was important enough that much of it would be loaded on the barges.

He almost missed him. He actually did the first time. Sammy was in disguise now. He was working on one of the barges. His magics were well hidden. It was more that Sammy came to him, "Hey friend, are you traveling north." Mordantyr took a moment to process the voice and now younger new face of Sammy, "likely yes. I think the weather in the city is going to be a little warm". Sammy waved his hand along a board, "come aboard, if you know your barge work, I might be able to get you a job." They both smiled and moved to a back corner of the barge. Mordantyr told him about the Enclave being in Eadwald. Sammy did not seem surprised. He just always presumed they were in Eadwald. Mordantyr did not tell him about the fight, it was not important. He did finally tell Sammy that they were killing boys. Sammy looked down into the darkness of the water, "they are always killing boys". He spit into the water creating waves, "I hate them all." He then looked up as if hopeful, "I am thinking of heading to South Morely, to the foundry."

The foundry was a great complex in South Morley where the constructs and writs are created.

Mordantyr headed back to Tragon's camp. They were starting to lay down for the night. He took his spot and went to sleep. He woke early and was back into the city even before the other two were up. He arrived at Bexley's office just as she came out. Nugget took off on her own. They headed into the Smoke Ward together.

Bexley stepped out of her office just as Mordantyr walked up. Nugget slipped by her and ran off on her own. She did not take his normal supplies with her. Bexley presumed that meant she was planning on coming back. She smiled to Modantyr, "good to see you this morning. I was worried when we all split up." He looked at her with almost no emotion on his face, "I think I am safer outside the city then within in it." He spun towards the Smoke Ward, "It is good to see you too." The two of them started to head towards the clouded ward. Both looked slightly uneasy as they moved around each corner. The last couple of days have been very stressful. They had seen more trouble in the last few days then the year before in the city. 

Bexley had agreed to help but she really wanted to go into the Entertainment Ward. She had cleaned her maul. She had crafted it or had someone else craft it to look like a stickball bat, a common game played in the streets in the afternoon. She thought about Micah and Suk. She really needed to investigate his missing wife. She really needed to make a few quick Guilders (gp), "Hey when we are finished with all this, I need to head into the E-Ward."

Mordantyr was home as he walked into the Smoke Ward. He could not decide if he should visit his family. Would they even want to see him. He walked quietly in his own thoughts. Would he bring the hell of the witches upon his family if he went there. Do they already know who he is, and will they use his family against him. He was going to get the metal and worry about his family afterwards. In his thoughts he barely processed Bexley was even talking, "sure....  no problem."

Finding the Guild hall and finding Fira took almost no effort at all. Mordantyr was glad he brought Bexley with him. She instinctively knew who to ask and how to ask. She brought them to the right location without effort. She was good at getting people to talk. Even Mordantyr found himself trusting her and talking to her more than he normally did. She had a way to draw out inner words. 

With the two packages in hand they started to head back out of the Smoke Ward. They turned a corner to find Sinikka. She was pushing a hand cart. With her was Carl and what they presumed was his family. There was one extra man walking mostly with Sinikka. He looked quite strong and had metalworking burns on his hands and arms. You think it must be her father, Henrik. She waves to you, as you approach.

Before you can exchange pleasantries, a man steps out and says, "you look like you have some coin that belongs to me." He taps a dagger with his finger, "hand it over." Almost out of nowhere Henrik throws a dagger and gets the man in the shoulder. Unseen by him or all you, your group is surrounded. Bexley drops the package with a loud smack, and pulls her Maul that she had stashed under the package.

This is where we will start the next game.