Red Talon issues

A neatly printed sign on the community board in the Dragon.

May or may not be relevent: Talon was the name of the Black Dragon who used to reside in the docks district of Macedone, and betrayed and attacked Macedone and the Vale, and was slain by a coalition of adventurers.

Red Talon rumors have begun in the Vale.

We killed several Red Talon warriors outside Greyskull castle. Crideas managed to interrogate the leader.

Stefan's Story: Fram and I had just managed to find the wanderers valley and were experimenting with the portal when all of a sudden the Avatar of Kalas appeared. He told of a Phrophecy that an evil beast would bring destruction to Aenea. But the Beast wouldn't be the most powerful evil behind this threat. A child would follow the beast and the Childe would control it. He gave Stefan and Fram the task to gather knowledge to prepare for the evil. Wondering what this all had to mean and what actions needed to be taken they discussed near the portal when all of a sudden a mountain giant stumbled through. He told us he met a strong giant woman near another portal, they wrestled in some sort of mating ritual and he ended up in the Vale. The story is a bit unclear since he didn't speak common very well. So they could not tell if she sent him through on purpose or not. How she was able to use the portal and how she came to the portal, ROCK (the giant) was unable to tell us. He had never seen her before. Note, do NOT mate with strange giants.

The location he described sounded like Dawnholm so they traveled to Dawnholm. THey found more Red Talon minions and dispatched them. After the battle, Silvermane's Ruby Blade was laying on the ground. They took and identified the blade, but I feel legend lore by Crideas or Angeliina or Lyann would not hurt any.

With the aid of Stefan,Fram, Kaliria,Nonia,alundaio,astaria,alaro and Velvet we searched for more clues to no avail.

Velvet currently holds the sword in trust for Crideas.

If I left anyone or anything out, my deepest apologies, use the attached pen to add corrections and additions.

Velvet Stormcaller, who seems to have lost her title!

Never mind, title is back. Hey I have killed over 5K undead, can we add Tomb Raider to my title?

Added to the bottom in a strangely grey-ghostly ink...

I do believe Talon was an ancient Red, not Black. His rampage did indeed smash through Macedonia and Nektaria. It finished in the Vale. I was one of the group that helped to slay the beast. For ages his bones resided in the Vale, just outside Bluebeards Tower. I still have one of his magically enchanted Scales in my possesion.

It would sound to me that if the avatar of Kalas mentioned the beast would be controlled by an evil child, and if a fight did indeed break out in Dawnholm, then we should all be on guard. I'm refering to two books of ancient lore titled "The Shadowing" and "The Great Dawn". These put reference to the Great War of Balance that saw the Lands of Balance turn into the "Kingdom of Night" and then the liberated "Kingdom of Light" once the shadow-veil was lifted.

The mastermind behind all that was the vampire child Veleron. A being of immense evil and unmatched intelligence , trapped within the body of a child. We should all be on our highest guard, we do not need another repeat of that war to wage throughout Aenea....

~ Jay Braysin

an answer to the above message is written in small-sized letters underneath

That is excately the conclusion Astaria, the first adventurer to answer the call for help, draw as well. That is the second reason beside the giants story why we investigated Dawnholm.

in Dawnholm itself we were able to counter-ambush a taskforce that was meant to attack anyone that would enter through the wanderers portal. searching through the city however we found it to be completely empty. only at the docks we found one division that attacked us on sight. we don't know if they were trying to leave or were left there to halt our progress. After defeating the forces we took the ship from Dawnholm but the rest of the Talons was nowhere to be found in all the Kingdom of light.

the situation is grimm Adventurers! we know they have in fact been to Dawnholm, they have all gone into hiding and they know how to operate the portals throughout the land. Even if they don't have the two most dangerous monstrosities of Aenea in their company this is a serious thread to every inhabitant of the continent. it seems like we have to be ever vigilante and unfortunatelly we have to wait for their next move, if we can't find them.

in the meantime we should try to obtain as much information as possible from the relic we aquired.
And maybe the Portals near the bigger cities should be disabled and burried for the next months.

signed Stefan Bernhard Wolfgang, Hin-Warrior and Seeker of Knowledge

Another parchment is attached to the board, penned in a fluid script:

I've kept my ears open for tales on the roads about these events. While I don't toss spells around like Crubus, I can shed some light on the sword. Rumor has it the blade is marked with the name Silvermane. I don't have details about the battle in which this blade was acquired, but I am doubtful it will yield any significant clues. The items of Silvermane belong to some angry lout in Macedone, and were stolen from him during a stay at the Red Carpet Inn, and the items have become somewhat of a collectors item, a joke by the blackmarket on mister Silvermane. I myself am in possession of his shield and helm. Will lend them to Crubus though if he wishes to use them in any of his spells and hocus pocus.

I will of course keep apprised of events as they come to me through the taverns and merchant roads, and lend my knowledge when possible

~A. Synge.

Another message appears below those here, the script appears to be stenciled, perfect in form and alignment, a very faint golden glow emanates from the letters:

I am devising a plan and preparing some magical tools that may allow us to glean more information. Due to the serious nature of these events and a hightened need for security I will not share more details publically. If and when I am ready and able to put these to use, I will request whatever aid is needed, and disseminate what information is gained. We are running short on time.

~Crideas

Written on the bottom of the parchment that contains A. Synge's words:

After a little scrying of my own, I was able to determine that the name "Silvermane" does not match up with the missing items of a certain spoiled adventurer known as "Silverstorm".

Further research pointed me to a very old account of a warrior-mage from Alatha with the title "Silvermane", said to wield both sword and spell with the skill of the greatest heroes. The man was never seen without his blood-red blade and draconic familiar. The written account was made more than 300 years ago.

- Madara Dreamwatcher

A small note is attached underneath Madara's writing:

Bah, that'll teach me to listen to drunk gnomes, even the wealthy "smart" merchant ones. Be so kind as to send parcel to Synge Manor on your findings so I can update my journals at some later date? Misinformation is bad news for bards. Will be even worse news for one emporium owner once I get my mits on him.

~A. Synge

An additional page has been posted, obviously in line with the previous missives.

Printed neatly, it proclaims a minor defensive victory. The forces of Good have won the day, and hold the field, and even hold the object the dark draconic forces sought. But we are no closer to finding the reasons they sought the item, and we are still unsure of the shadowy mastermind, though the presence of many undead and outsiders indicate we face an evil much worse than Talon!

We averted disaster, and Mountainhome stands, but we will never win by fighting defensively. We must agressively pursue the Red Talon wherever we find it. Anyone finding knowledge relating to Dragons, Undead, and especially Red Talon is urged to communicate to all others involved in the defense! We must all work together in defense of our home!