Now learned, the party prepares to make the trip to the southern continent. The trip is three weeks of sailing, so Thourin Stonefist used his wealth to hire a ship cook, a green dragonkin chef. They stock up on food and begin their journey.
The voyage passes by uneventful, and arrive at the port city of Venture Bay, a city of dwarves and half-orcs. They set their ship up in a drydock for six months and purchase a wagon with a pair of oxen to drive it. Once set, they head south, through the Ruined Plains, the land of dwarves and half-orcs, among other creatures.
After a few weeks, they arrive at the grand dwarven fortress city, Anvil Hold, home of a great dwarven hero. They stay there a night before heading to their next destination, the Old Forest.
Their journey through the Old Forest does not go uneventful. They encounter a pack of pixies whom cling to Sibyll Demier, praising her as a "dark one." Nervous of the fairies, Thourin communes with the trees for information, and his conversation is interrupted by a voice coming from the trees, demanding he identify himself. In his confusion, Silvertooth Dreadwind and Elenya Lindale notice cloaked figures seemingly popping out of trees. Elenya recognizes them as her kin, the forest elves. Before she could speak, the elves draw back their bows and surrounded the party.
Elenya speaks to them in their tongue. Their leader, the female Celin, pulls back her cloak and converses with Elenya. They discuss why the party is moving through the forest, and Celin expresses mild discontent for having a drow present. She says she would allow the party to pass through the trees, but to let a drow do so is unprecedented. The elves chase away the pixies. Elenya asks about her family, and Celin says she is of the North Tribe, and the Lindales were of the South, but she has met with them and traded with them. Celin promises to pass along Elenya's words regarding her well being. Before they part ways, Celin warns the party to avoid caverns in the woods, as they are the home to the gorgon. The party makes their final trek through the Old Forest, and have to physically stop Thourin from going in to a cavern, longing for familiar stead.
At long last, they reach the human kingdom of the south. They make their way to the Great Wall and beyond, searching for the home to the Vorpaltusks. The ride the main road, Thourin and Silvertooth driving the wagon, V2Z4 and Kirin Drakos walk along the right side, Elenya rides and the earth elemental slides along the left, while Sibyll Demier rides her horse at the rear. They find a man upon an elephant blocking their path.
They attempt to go around the man and his elephant, while Silvertooth tries to speak with him, to no answer. When he moves the elephant to block their path, they come to a stop. The elephant and man are covered in red war paint. He points to Silvertooth, and asks, "Are you Silvertooth Dreadmist?" To the response of, "No, Dreadwind!" The man reaches down and pulls up a piece of paper, reads it, and goes, "That's right. You're the one. GET THEM!"
Six barbarians spring out of their hiding places, closing the rear in a semicircle. The elephant charges straight in the V2Z4, who get cut by the tusks, but rolls away from the trampling feet. V2Z4 stabs the elephant, with little effect. Elenya's horse bucks her as one of the barbarians charge her. Kaz tackles the barbarian. Thourin and Silvertooth, having the height of the wagon, attack the rider of the elephant, Thourin with thrown battle axes, and Silvertooth with his crossbow. They wound him greatly before his elephant rears in fear and knocks him off. Kirin turns and charges those int he rear, covering Sibyll as she dismounts and makes her way around the enemy to attack from behind. V2Z4 is attacked by a barbarian, with the elephant looming over head. The earth elemental and a massive barbarian meet, the barbarian swinging a giant axe, worthy enough to make the earth elemental falter from the blows.
The elephant swings its head widely, narrowing missing one of the oxen pulling the wagon. The oxen panic, and begin to rush forward. Before they do, Thourin manages to bury an axe in a barbarian's chest. Sibyll urges her hyena Mordred to charge one of the two barbarian archers. She and Kirin begin to dispatch a pair, while Elenya gets to her feet and rushes to aid the crumbling elemental. She, too, suffers the wrath of the mighty axe, and V2Z4 rushes in and stuns the man. Thourin and Silvertooth try desperately to calm the oxen as they speed away. The elephant backs up, crushing its former rider, before turning and fleeing the battle. After a few rounds of fighting, all that remained of the barbarians was the one wrestling with Mordred, who pleads for reprieve.
Mordred is called off, and the party surrounds the last barbarian. He willingly tells them what ever he knows when they ask. They learn that Silverfin One-eye has tracked them down her, and has put out a bounty on their heads. He says to look for a green gremlin captain, two dwarves and an elephant, and living pile of stone and dirt, a elven ranger maiden, an elven sorcerer, a woman assassin, and a knight. He tells them there is a second party that heard of the bounty and came looking. He says they are a group of lizardmen, wearing a brand of a black skull. They turn him loose.
After an almost four month journey since leaving the port, they arrive at the village of the Vorpaltusks. The party is brought in council with the chieftess, Evanessa Vorpaltusk. She listens to their story, and they show her the drawing they made of the Abyssal ritual circle. She tells them that the ritual was to open a portal to the Abyss. She also tells them she had a visitor who would be interested in meeting with them. She introduces a dragonkin in glorious red armor, trimmed in gold, with a large flaming axe on his back. He is Kelvor, the Avatar of the Fire Demi-god. He, too, listens to their story, and they tell him they are being hunted by a band of the servants of Icurnas. He and Evanessa decide to let them stay the night while he does his own investigation. He leaves, and they spend the night listening the the war stories of the Great War, eating steamed vegetables and drinking stout ale.
The next morning, Kelvor returns, dragging a pair of lizardmen corpses. The party identifies the black skull. Kelvor tells them that he and the Fire Demi-god were powerless to fight the forces of the Abyss at Icurnas, but they would not leave the party empty handed. Kelvor says he and the Fire Demi-god spent all night in the Great Forge, crafting them tools to fight Icurnas. He strikes Kirin's sword with a hammer, placing a rune of fire upon it, allowing Kirin to light it ablaze with magical fire. He seals a rune in to V2Z4's chest, making him utterly immune to magical fire. He draws a rune in to Elenya's quiver, so that should she choose, any arrow drawn from the quiver will be shot from the bow as a ball of flame. He gives Silvertooth a set of lock-picks made by the Fire Demi-god himself. For Sibyll, he gifts her a cloak that can surround her in fire harmless to her, but deadly to those around her. He had no gift to give Thourin, but he consulted the Earth Demi-god and was delivered a charm necklace, granting Thourin a better mastery over his earth magic. He tells them to tread carefully, and find allies if they want to battle Icurnas.
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