OOC: We will probably be joined by another player shortly...<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Xarces</span><br/><br/>Asking around in Lizardton, Xarces is able to learn some rumours of Blackscales terrorizing the population lizardfolk in certain portions of the jungle. Opinion is split, between those who’ve fled the blackscales, and those who see them as a bulkwark against the human colonisation of Q’barra. Especially, those who’ve lost resources to human settlers, been duped by human traders, or outright robbed by human bandits, see the Blackscales as a necessary evil.<br/><br/>At the docks, Xarces is able to learn that, whilst Dura was certainly a ringer, the Emerald-Claw thugs were more-or-less locals, native to Q’barra if not Adderport itself, and made a fair ruckus on their way through. The Adderport underworld will be a more peaceful and profitable place without their presence. Despite the decimation of their ranks, and the loss of their most powerful fighters, its clear the Emerald Claw presence in the city has not been entirely rooted out. More than once you’re forced to wonder if a contact might report your conversation to some operative of the Claw in exchange for a fistful of gold, and for a time it seems as if a hooded figure pursues you through the Dockside taverns, bordingrooms and bawdyhouses...<br/><br/>OOC: I’d intended to RP some of this stuff, but I think it’s better to move on now. Sorry…<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Group</span><br/><br/>A little later you regroup at the Duke’s Arms - where you find Surkil has left word that you’re to join him on the Swiftwind, the elemental galleon that bore you to Adderport.<br/><br/>The ship seems ready to sail, her bound elemental churning the water abaft. At the rail, Surkil seems pensive. Finally, he turns to you. “I have determined that this group of explorers of which I spoke were led by one named Jheamast, a Sarlonan. No direct account hints at Jheamast or his<br/>band having visited the Temple of Kha’shazul, but the congruence of his party’s manifesting the same strange marks that you have manifested seems clear.”<br/><br/>“Jheamast was said to have sought a weapon for use against some foe in his homeland of Sarlona. It is my belief that he must have claimed the missing relic—the one referred to by those Emerald Claw thugs as the Dragon’s Eye—from the Temple of Kha’shazul prior to your arrival. More than a thousand years prior, to be precise. If you are amenable, I would like to procure your<br/>services for another few weeks. I will increase your wages, providing you with an additional 500 gp each.”<br/><br/>DC25 Sense Motive<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">“The full truth of what happened to Jheamast and his party is long since lost, but I have heard one rumor that I must share with you. Jheamast is said to have died in the Lhazaar Principalities some years after his time in Q’barra, but the Sarlonan’s companions who manifested these new and changed marks were all dead within a year of their entering Khashazul. It is said that at least one was apparently consumed from within by the power <br/>of the mark she bore. Dark legends surround many who carry the so-called aberrant marks, and these tales of Jheamast’s party could be no less fanciful. However, if the legends are true, discovering why Jheamast lived might be your only chance for survival. I regret the danger your lives have been placed in. Whilst I’m not in a position to provide additional payment immediately, I can provide a further 500gp apiece as a hazard bonus - should you survive.</div></div></div><br/><br/>If you agree to continue in Surkil’s employ…<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">“Seeking clues of Jheamast’s activities in the principalities will no doubt take some time. This galleon remains chartered for your use, and I will leave a supply of sending stones by which you can keep me apprised of your progress. <br/>I cannot accompany you, for I must make my way east in order to undertake further research on your new marks.”</div></div></div>