Quantium Dog...

Arriving in Quantium, the crew find rooms at the Rusalka tavern and take the opportunity to do some long outstanding shopping.  Moretta gets a replacement composite bow and Nazel visits the neglected Library in the poor district and meets Chadwick the scribe, learning a spell to allow him to contact the Inevitables as he gains in knowledge and power. 

Tay Vorn decides to learn about firearms and joins Inego Montoya’s school to learn the musket and flirts with Lissa, a precociously talented seventeen year old woman.  Lissa’s father runs the Black Dagger tavern and while visiting this dive, Tay Vorn discovers that Lissa’s father is Kurgan, the brutal head of the Black Dagger thieves’ gang.

Laris visits the Temple of the Sun and has his wolf-spirit possession suppressed by a magical ring provided Lady Reatha, the local High Clerist.  He is quite romantic towards Gith’orl and buys her flowers as a thank you.

Talum demonstrates his skills with the lyre to the local Bards guild but they still seem reluctant to open up to him yet.  Talum also searches for signs of Sergio the Vizier but despite hearing that Kolgot is in town, Talum is unable to trace either of them.

The team finally visit Nerith Alia, mage leader of the Nexian Shadows and she hires them to investigate the Star Cairns in the south of the country, where just over 160 years ago, a group of wizards set up five concealed magical research laboratories, based on an ancient arcane tome.  Tay Vorn tries to foment trouble between the Shadows and the Black Dagger Gang.

The girls, Moretta and Gith’orl, track down the Inn of Eleven Delights, a brothel and gambling house where anything can be had for a price.  Here they meet Hero, a corpulent fixer who can arrange most things if a value can be agreed upon, and purchase military uniforms and passes, stolen from soldiers in the north of the country but probably safe to use in the southern areas that the group are going to.

Visiting The Black Dagger, Tay Vorn convinces Kurgan to allow his daughter to accompany the party but lies about where the group are heading to.  He also tries to drive a wedge between Kurgan and Willen, Kurgan’s second in command and a cleric of Norgorber.  Willen tries to cast a divination regarding Tay Vorn but for whatever reason, his god refuses to enlighten him.

Gathering together in the morning and preparing to leave, Talum spots some ne’erdowells spying on the party but loses them in the crowds.  Not knowing about Kurgan, Talum suspects that they were working for Sergio; only time will tell whether he is right.

Once on the road, the troop make good time in their wagon, with Lissa sharing Tay Vorn’s horse, but once into the southern swamp area the group are attacked by a bridge troll.  No relation of true trolls, bridge trolls are a sort of elemental spirit that combines wild magic and local belief to incorporate as creatures out of children's stories.  Taller than a man on a horse, its sudden appearance is initially shocking but Gith’orl paralyses it with a quick spell allowing Tay Vorn to finish the beast off with a terrible blast from his musket.  Nazel appropriates the creature's hide, knowing well that he can use it to make a magical jacket or cloak.