[Very nice writing, Sean!  But please forgive my contradicting it slightly -- there is no way that Luke could be so distracted that he would ignore a roar so loud.]

((Rest of post moved to Luke's thread. Tom makes a good point though try not to RP other player characters for them, NPC's are fair game until taken over by Dm Fiat.-The Voice from the clouds))

His mind settled by venting to Luke have calmed him.  Nadarresh looks at the goods and calls out to Luke, "15 wagons worth of trade goods (flour, iron,  preserved fruits, cloth, dried fish, tar, charcoal, a few bricks of salt) can be recovered.  Far to much to carry without draft animals pulling wagons, so we will need to get my father's group or another to some out here and recover the goods before the brigands come to claim them."

"We can get supplies here, carrying what dried goods and provisions we can carry comfortably.  Get the others and then continue on together, apart if necessary, although with all the evil we have faced I think it best we stay together!"

He smiled then and continued working.

Before leaving, Nadarresh goes back to the common room of the last place they stayed while in Brix.  He's wondering if anyone has heard about or from his brother who had nothing but contempt for him the last time they saw each other.

Nadarresh is worried if his brother Kell took on too much or was just too drunk and boastful.  It has been several weeks since this happened.  He asks the bartender and bar wenches if they have seen anyone matching his description, hoping that someone has heard something.  Mentioning as well the mine and the map.

Nadarresh makes a realization...

While recovering from his wounds under the stars and thinking about his searches of his brother through the town Nadarresh recalls seeing a well dressed gnome with ladies of questionable morals on each arm skip out of a tavern while still awaiting a roast pig. He thought nothing of it at the time but with a food shortage it didn’t make sense to order and not eat, even for the lust crazed! Another thing, the gnome had something wrong with him.... He was missing a hand.

“Why is that striking me as familiar?”  Nadarresh sits up from his rest and notes from the position of the moon it’s not his watch yet.

Suddenly more worried about his brother and more so about the Gnome he spotted in town, he thinks about how these past few months have moved him along in his life.

Responsibility has been something he never shied away from and his parents always pushing him to be strong of will and to work hard all of his life.  He never doubted he could achieve what he wanted as long as he worked to get there.

His path had been set as he learned about hunting, tracking, and the outdoors, he realized how much more there was to experience in life and the world.  Kell, a friend as well as his brother with subtle big brother attitude intact all the time, made it his duty, like their father did to teach him about finishing what you started but most importantly knowing how to finish a task by looking at as many options as possible and then choosing the best path.  As they moved down an unbroken set of leaves, covered in a layer of mist, moving as silently as possible towards their goal: a young boar.  The day was near to its end, the air cooling faster as the sun created long shadows and the tracks to their left were fully pressed into the soft dirt.  It was leading to a dense underbrush that wound around a section of jagged & rocky outcropping.  He had been near here and also knew that some caves were close by and figured that the young boar was heading towards them.

A section of the "trail" would turn to the left and then towards the river.  He knew if they pushed themselves that they could make it to the caves before the boar and ambush him.  They ran quickly towards the caves and in fact came out by a thicket within fifteen yards downwind from where the boar would be coming.  Twenty, long minutes later, they were well concealed and spotted the boar coming up the trail.  Aiming carefully,  below the tusks, above the shoulder joint, one single shot would bring it down.  No wind, good enough lighting, just a few more feet...three seconds later the arrow pierced the boars skin, felling it without so much as a squeal. 

His path had been set when his father asked him to join them on the road as a caravan guard.  He gladly accepted knowing it would show him more of the world than he had seen thus far.  He was welcomed by the dwarven companions and those that knew him through his father.  the others were a bit wary at first but soon realized that he was a kind soul that worked hard and was a good cook.  His first duties were foraging for extra food and preparing meals.  In truth he rarely ever served as a guard except when they were in the deep trails and wilderness where he and his brother were scouts making sure the pathway was clear of debris and obstacles.

His path had been set when his friends were slain, when they were attacked by the wolves and when one had been dragged away.  He met some good friends and companions who he had trusted and still was trusting with his life.  He knew that the people of the area were worth saving and that the wolves were as well.  Luke needed help as did his fellow followers of Heironeous and he'd do his best to make sure their task was completed.

The gnome had something to do with his brother Kell or with him and he would tell the others and see what they thought because it was not unlike Bahamut to guide his faithful.

“So how is my favorite Lizardman eh? “ With a laugh the drunk gnome hits Nadarresh's back with a hearty slap.  “Shame about Kell then eh?” the gnome takes another swig of mead finishing the oversized flagon and throws 1about 10 beat up silver coins on the bar. “Another one for me and one for scaly here and I'll be pulling a coin back from the pile every second I wait!” The gnome lets out a belch fit for an ogre never mind a one-handed gnome. “That gets them hurrying. Like I said lets have a drink to err.....err... Kell thats right.  You know we found it, yep Kell's map was right, just too bad that tunnel  sealed him in there or he's be drinking with us.”  A bottle of expensive looking wine is placed on the br. “Spidersilk eh? Thats good stuff!” the gnome takes a hearty gulp but doesnt offer any to Nadarresh. A second drink never comes.

Nadarresh learns that Kess had an old map to a mine that was abandoned during some war and then forgotten. The gnome was part of an expedition to the mine and was one of only two who survived a cave in. He didnt mention the name of the other survivor. Apparently the rest of the expedition was sealed inside the mine. Ropple assures Nadarresh that Kell is most certainly dead and is all to willing to fill in details though as the night progresses the story makes less and less sense. Still the braggart gnome tells more and more stories until at last he passes out. Nadarresh goes to move him hoping to learn more when the gnome sobers up only to find him stiff and cold to the touch.  A quick search of the gnomes belongings finds a small scribbled note “ Little boy mountain” with a  bit of math “8X 50 = 300 silver!”

"Well he wasnt bright and he had a big mouth, still he seemed to now something of Kell and someone wanted him shut up."  Naderresh decides he should probably relocate inns before someone does "buy him a drink" besides the watch will come soon and he'd likely get arrested for being big and scary.

Long after rest and recuperation heals the nagging infections of his friends Naderresh remains ill. The journey through the sewers did not sit well with him….perhaps it was his bare feet? In any case his persistent cough and fever has kept not only him but his companions up at night and the staff of the Filthy Ore have begun hinting that the sick lizard is bad for business. At one point Dayereth had taken to magic “just to keep the sickly lizard quiet” though everyone is concerned. Towns fear the plague as much as fire and none of the locals seem to be adept enough to handle this illness. 

Naderresh’s fever filled dreams are of a large rock outcropping rising above a jagged terrain. The dark clouds stream by with flashes of heat lightning but no rain. The only sounds are the snap of a whip and bestial grunts.

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