[DH] Scouting for Jurls – 7 May 2019 – Heret

2 Mirtul, 1396 AR
at the Gilded Mirror, Daring Heights

After morning run, inspected lumber camp & warehouse. All working smoothly. Foreman asked for improvement to the logging road: replacing current dirt track with paved road would speed transport from the forest to the warehouse. TASK: tomorrow – discuss with L. Arrived at warehouse as G was working on the circle, intercoursed with him a little. Amiable fellow though unrefined.

Tomorrow is the day for Jurls’ mysterious expedition. Shall go myself, perhaps – a new challenge to test my skills. In any event shall attend when he meets his hirelings so I can learn the nature of the business.

5 Mirtul, 1396 AR
at the Gilded Mirror, Daring Heights

Unable to write until now. Very weary, shall be brief. Yesterday we proceeded into the mountains, passing by a goblin cave whose inhabitants had all been slaughtered, apparently by gnolls. R, a bloodthirsty fellow indeed, wanted to hunt down the gnolls and kill them – to make the way safe for other travellers, said he, as if a single pack of gnolls were the only danger in the Sunset Spine. Good sense prevailed & we passed by.

After noon, came to a cavern wherein Jack and some smaller mechanical fellows were to be found. Jack – a bizarre & unnerving creature, and quite mad – was induced to talk, not least by Pieni’s amiable disposition and former service to the creature, having raced up Mount Selwyn on his behalf.

Jack’s story: once from plane of Mechanus, he became enslaved to Sarastra by means he did not care to confess, save that he had paid too scant attention to the words of a contract. Should he win the fey Games, he may appoint someone – himself – to the fey nobility and thus free himself from servitude. To secure victory, he had come to the mountains to have some to-do with a large stone in the cave decorated with arcane symbols. More than this he would not explain, and none of the party could understand the nature of the stone (though T & R thought it perhaps similar to stones they say rest in the Feywild in the place corresponding to Daring Heights, placed there by the Bear King).

Feigning departure, we waited while P took the form of a mouse and returned to the cave to observe. Jack buried the stone almost wholly in the floor of the cavern, then departed. From words exchanged between him and his servant mechanisms, P learned that the stone, and two more, will somehow cause the victories of the other contestants in the Games to be attributed to Jack.

We (save for P, who remained behind for reasons I did not apprehend) rode hard back to town and arrived late this evening, immediately giving report to Jurls, who was most perplexed and troubled. He knows not quite what Jack is doing but observed that other players of the Games have tried to interfere with the Bear King’s stones to change the ‘value’ of Daring Heights in the contest, and it’s believed that such ‘revaluing’ was also the goal of those who created the Lassitude. Perhaps therefore Jack is doing something similar with his mountain stones. Jurls was grateful for the information and gave us each a further 50 gp above the agreed fee.

I fear these Games may not be good for business in this town. But now I must sleep.

Gains:
150 gp
1 elixir of health

Own conduct:

• In brief skirmish with mechanical creatures before Jack called them off, failed to do them much damage. TASK: more combat training; consider ways to train for combat against strange creatures / constructs.
• Initial conversation with Jack not wholly successful as I believe he distrusted my words. TASK: more practice to persuade and mislead.