Once a Rat Always a Raven
Written by Ben (Camping notes by Kasey)
Following their fight in the Battletower and afternoon of shopping, the team spent the rest of the day around Lorecliff. On the following morning, Vance and Tagg stayed with the cart to rest a little more after their tough battle while Nohki, Drez, and Xerxes turned towards the AGI for some side questing. After a brief reading of the quest board and inquiring with Holli about a specific quest, the trio took a quest to retrieve an egg so the quest giver, a raven that could speak and had gold enough to post a quest, could complete a task of some kind.
The trio left the AGI for the meeting spot listed on the quest, Room 17 of the Precipice Tavern. Upon entering, the trio was greeted by a shout of recognition and *mild* disdain. The talking raven called himself the Baron von Ravensworth, formerly the Baron von Ratsworth the Talons had attempted to assist in Boymin when he was just a rat.
(Un)Pleasantries now aside, the Baron explained the nature of the quest. He needed a Roc (pronounced rock) egg retrieved from the nearby nest to be delivered to him so he could complete a potion to turn himself back to his original being (what that was, he denied to explain). The Roc nest was down the cliff toward the beach, perched atop a 200 foot tall tower of rock (spelled with a K), and the egg needed to be delivered to him in absolutely perfect condition: "UNDAMAGED. PRISTINE. ALIVE".
Nohki remembered learning about Rocs at one point and explained to the group that Rocs were gargantuan sized creatures, typically live as couples, and are incredibly aggressive, territorial, and protective.
Remembering the confusion of the last quest, Xerxes inquired as to the shape, size, and color of the desired egg, which the Baron described as gnome-sized, chicken-egg-shaped, and beige tinted with brown spots.
Thinking ahead as always, Drez asked about the reward for completing the quest, at which point the Baron reminded the trio that the reward he gave the Talons from the first quest was the Ring of Borrowed Skill, which was currently at the Wiltspar on the finger of Amelia Rexford. Promising an upgrade to the ring as payment, followed by a large amount of gold should he return to his natural state, the trio and the Baron struck a deal and the trio left, planning how to approach the coming heist.
The first problem was getting their. Nohki used his newly purchased Figurine of Wondrous Power - Ivory Goat to get himself and Xerxes to the tall rock formation, while Drez, the Ever Nimble On His Feet, carefully followed behind.
Upon arrival, Nohki cast Locate Animals and Plants through his Staff of the Woodlands to identified the presence of one Roc approximately 4 miles to the southeast and three Rocs 200 feet directly above them. Drez sent Dr. Hoo up the investigate, but the owl was sent back to his home plane, aka "died". Thus, the second problem: how to get up the rocks safely and quietly. After much deliberation, the trio decided on a plan: Nohki would turn into a Giant Eagle and carry Drez and Xerxes most of the way up the rock tower, at which point they would climb quietly to the top, Xerxes would identify the required egg, Drez would throw down Nohki's tree token to immediately grow a tree, Nohki would take the egg and Tree Stride through said tree to another tree on the ground, Drez would go smokey and float away, and Xerxes would create a portal to escape.
Like all classic Talon plans, they followed the first step and then improvised.
Nohki turned into a Giant Eagle and carried Drez and Xerxes 150 of the 200 feet up, at which point he deposited them on the rocks and Drez cast Pass Without a Trace for cover (the stealthy kind). Nohki proceeded to quietly fly up the rest of the way, Drez, being the Ever Nimble On His Feet And Hands, proceeded to climb an obscene 55 feet in 6 seconds, and Xerxes crawled a crisp 30 feet before running out of breath.
Upon reaching the top, Nohki saw a nest with 6 egg-shaped objects, while both he and Drez realized it wasn't just warm atop the rocks in the sun, it was volcano hot. Drez discovered that not all the 6 objects were eggs, some of them being really hot rocks put there to keep the real eggs warm. Xerxes finished his climb to the top and noticed that 4 of the 6 objects matched the size, shaped, and color described. Before the trio could act on this newfound information, a flame Roc appeared, but, luckily for them, the Roc failed to push them off the top.
Working fast as to not die on this gods-forsaken boiling rock, Nohki attempted to pick up one of the four maybe-eggs, accidentally scratching it and discovering it was indeed one of the two eggs. After realizing his portal would allow the Rocs to follow them, Xerxes opened a portal that would take them to the Wiltspar Sapling on Amazon Lily, thus they could escape the Rocs by using both the portal and the Sapling. Drez took a guess at which of the remaining 3 was the 1 remaining actual-egg and managed to get a net around it for Nohki to lift. At this point, a thunder Roc appeared, but only had enough time to get close and realize what was happening to its nest.
Nohki picked up the maybe-egg with Drez's net and escaped through the portal, Drez discovered one of the last two maybe-eggs was a rock and escaped through the portal, and Xerxes discovered the last remaining maybe-egg was also a rock. Realizing Nohki must've escaped with the real egg, Xerxes followed behind.
Now on Amazon Lily with a rapidly-cooling Roc egg, Nohki thought fast and used a cantrip to heat the egg just as the thunder Roc appeared through the portal, facing away from the trio and likely very confused with where it was to the point it failed to notice the trio hiding behind a tree that only they could see.
Taking the moment to travel through the Sapling to Wiltspar, Xerxes broke away to borrow the Ring of Borrowed Skill from Amelia while Drez and Nohki Sapling-ed back to Lorecliff with Drez carrying a massive egg awkwardly while Nohki repeatedly used a cantrip to keep it warm.
Returning to Precipice Tavern, Room 17, Drez and Nohki delivered the egg and Xerxes, wheezing, arrived with the ring for upgrading. The Baron, after previously stressing how important it was that the egg be in PRISTINE condition, spent an awful lot of time upgrading the ring and chatting with the team. Realizing the time-sensitive nature of the case, Xerxes took the moment to remind the Baron of the importance and the trio left the Baron to fix up his potion, promising to return the next day.
Handing in the quest back at the AGI, the trio again spent the remainder of the afternoon strolling through town and admiring the architecture before deciding to have a good, old fashioned campfire just outside of town for a guys' night.
Around the fire, Nohki, Xerxes and Drez took the night to relax and learn a little more about each other.
Drez and Nohki talked about the pain of losing their home, and how they have spent much time in their lives honoring that memory. Drez said that meditation while in his trance state has helped, along with trying to hold onto the good memories of his friends and family that he lost. The connection of this loss brought the men closer, and Drez expressed that the people they loved are somewhere better and that they would want him--and he is sure the same goes for Nohki's kin-- to live his life the best he could.
Nohki reflected back on the years since he left his home, saying that he had many times brought himself close to returning to visit, but that he could never follow through. Drez asked him if there were any good memories in Nohki's past, and the druid responded that he used to spend his days with his brother in the forest, "hunting orcs," which had been fulfilling to him, to them both, then, but that is now felt a bit tainted. He wihed that he didn't hold the hatred of a group of people in his heart that way, especially knowing now that it was not the Orc people, but the organization ORC (Order of Righteous Conflict)
Xerxes felt compelled to interject a bit then, having previously experienced both Drez and Nohki's conflicted feelings about his mother's people. He was glad to hear that they were bth able to reconcile some of that bias and hatred, and Nohki mentioned that it had helped to know Xerxes, a half-orc who challenged the views he had about the people.
Xerxes then asked them both what they are looking for in terms of revenge against ORC. They both responded that they are looking for closure of some kind. Nohki mentioned that he thinks fondly on the tree that held him and kept him safe that his mother put him and Darien in when the village was attacked. He paused then, remembering now that the tree that held him was, in fact a Wiltspar sapling. And then he remembered, in Brimhold, learning how the saplings were formed when his dying friend BOJO became one. It then dawned on Nohki, in a sudden moment of clarity, that the tree that held him and kept him safe was not conjured by his mother, but, in fact, WAS his mother.
As Nohki reeled from this realization, his friends joined in with their own reactions of surprise.
After the shock from this revelation had calmed, Xerxes then told them that he started on this journey, not because of the Order, but because the Masked Man killed his uncle. And he still wants to find the man who did that.
Drez told them about his struggle growing up as a ranger, and how the other elves in his clan teased him for his "uselessness." He explained that it left with him a sense of inferiority, and that he doesn't necessarily feel valuable unless he feels that he is being useful to the group. As he explained that he doesn't always feel very powerful or useful, he could feel the mark of the Kraven Guard burn. He reflected on his connection to Nocturne and how easy it was for him to hide in the shadows because of the voice inside of him that tells him that "no one bothered to see him anyway." He told his friends that he just wants to be appreciated for who he is and to not be looked down on. From around the campfire, his friends begun to sing his praises. They told him about all the times they would have died if it weren't for him and his skills. Drez remarked that being with the Platinum Talons has made him feel useful in a way he never has before, and he found his spirits lifted.
The last thing the group of men discussed was the idea of "crossing a line" that would be hard or impossible for their companions to forgive. For Nohki, he believed this line to be about blind ambition-- letting your goals change or get in the way of the person that you are. He felt that someone who followed a path of vengeance to "its furthest point" could be something that crossed a line for him. Drez said that killing innocent people without cause, or having a complete disregard for the lives and wellbeing of others would cross that line for him.
Xerxes struggled with this question, taking a moment to tell his friends about his past as a soldier in a group called the Dire Wolves, about how he had engaged in actions that he regretted now, or at least knew had gone too far. He said that it was because he was allowed to act "outside the rules," and that the idea that he could do whatever he wanted made him forget that actions can still hold moral weight. He felt that, knowing how he had made mistakes, that it would be hard for him to hold his friends to a standard that would begrudge them the right to make their own, but that, in the end, he wanted Nohki and Drez to hold him to their standards because he knew that being with them on this journey was changing him for the better. He worried that getting the power they did, and being given the mission they were felt very similar to being "outside the rules" again, and he hoped his friends would help him stay the man he wanted to be, one that respected the life and autonomy of others and that was true to himself.
As the campfire began to dim and the wood burned away, the three Platinum Talons agreed that was the best thing they could do-- help each other grow into stronger, better people who cared about what happened to the people in the world around them.