by Floyd Fiftynames, Licensed Bard
So it was that Lothar and company found themselves in an isolated village in the days leading up to the Empowering, and they decided to stay in this hamlet to celebrate the important religious festival with the community. Herein, they met Amel, the local priest. Amel, as fate would have it, was an old friend and schoolmate of Father Fhaerris, the former pastor of Oakshadow. Although Amel was wary at first of the Band of the Red Oak, he quickly became a friend to the group, and from him, they gained a deeper understanding of Salem's old mentor vis a vis stories of his youth. Amel had even visited Oakshadow, and had met the parents of Lothar, Riordan, and Ajanni.
That night, while on watch, Lothar and Elke heard noises, and Lothar spied a figure sneaking into the church. The barbarian woke up Lioto (he did not want to rouse his spellcasting brethren without necessity), and the two of them pursued the figure, encountering him in front of the church altar, but through clever subterfuge and magic, the figure escaped capture. Lothar and Lioto alerted Amel, and brought in Salem and Riordan for consultation that morning, whereupon they discovered that the figure had placed an Arcane Mark on the altar, with a message to whomever it was intended for that the town was to be sacked, and no survivors should be left.
It didn't take long for the party to realize what this was all about - everything about the doings here reminded them of the night of the Becoming in Oakshadow, when everything changed for our heroes. The meaning of the mark was unmistakable - it signaled a return of the Order of the Night, or the so-called "Beak Men."
Lothar did his best to steel himself, and consider the situation with his head and not his heart. Riordan put it more eloquently, but Lothar agreed heartily - the first whiff of an opportunity for revenge made him very hungry. It would be important to put that energy to sensible use, and the first item on the agenda involved evacuating the townspeople - no easy feat, but the combined efforts of Amel and the party convinced them that their lives were in danger. Amel himself felt responsible for this development (Amel and Fhaerris shared certain philosophies when it came to religion), and decided he would stay behind and fight with the party.
Salem took the opportunity to go into the church and pray to Regius for guidance, and his prayers were answered with the gift of a dozen solars to help with both the evacuation of the townspeople (providing guidance and protection), and to aid in the terrible combat that was to follow. The gift provided Salem with much needed renewed optimism, and the group began to prepare themselves for battle in a little more than a day's time.
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