Wild Coast, Coast, 60 miles south of Safeton. Just after nightfall.
The party set up camp. Rondo and Lucien go off to hunt for game to supplement their supplies. Aurin goes off seeking herbs in the wild. Both return to camp empty handed. The night passes without incident.
The next morning the group travel to Tek, a small village of about 200 inhabitants on the coast. They pass a few travellers on the road heading north. Toward the end of day the group arrive at the turn off to Tek. Tellius and Rondo hide at the intersection to see if the suspicious peddler is following them, while the others travel on the the village and secure lodgings at one of the two inns. At the village Saab's unusual eyes and the presence of the elf attracts the usual stares from the few patrons present in the small inn. Eventually one of the patrons questions the travellers for news from the north. The party talk guardedly of the Sevon raid. Tellius and Rondo eventually join the others at the inn after a very uninteresting watch over the intersection. They all retire for the night.
The next day the group resume their journey south. Shortly after noon the group follow the road into a forest that stretches from far inland right up to the waters edge on their left. Having being warned that the forest is dangerous the party strings their bows and proceed warily. They are not long in the forest when by remote chance Rondo notices movement far into the woods ahead and to the right. Rondo, being a little ahead of the group, signals to those behind him to take cover. The party disperse into the woods on either side of the road Lucien leads the pack mule off the road. Rondo stalks toward where he spotted the movement and is soon out of sight of the rest of the group.
Creeping through the woods Rondo is suddenly faced by three individuals garbed in forest green and brown, their faces hidden in hoods. Each has a longbow with an arrow knocked, though pointing to the ground, and short swords at their sides. Rondo speaks with them and learns they are rangers patrolling this part of the forest. They warn Rondo of recent orc activity in the area, of companies of orcs moving north, before melting back into the forest. Rondo rejoins the group and they resume their travel. As sunset approaches it is apparent that they will not exit the forest before dark and so they find a place to make camp some fifty yards off the road in a small dell.
No fire is lit and the usual routine of hunting and herb gathering is suspended. Watches are set and the party rest for the night. In the middle watch Tellius spots movement down by the road. Four orcs are seen stalking along either side of the road. Tellius warns Rondo and the two on watch keep silent and let the orcs pass. Familiar with orc methods Rondo suspects they are the advance scouts of a larger band. They decide not to wake the others trust in their hidden position. About an hour later a company of approximately a hundred orcs pass by their hidden camp. After another hour a couple of rear guard scouts move along the road. The orcs stop briefly where the party left the road to make their camp but quickly move on.
In the morning the party break camp and continue south down the coast road. Around noon the party exit the forest and push on late into the day making it Fax shortly after dark. Over the next few days the group make their way to Elredd. As they travel the land becomes more populated and meeting travellers on the road becomes more common. At night of the third day from Fax the party Eight days after leaving Safeton the fortified harbour city of Elredd lies before the party. The road twists through some badly managed fields to the open gates of Elredd. A few guardsmen lounge around, not particularly interested in who enters or leaves. Passing through the gate the party get their first view of city interior. Inside the city has all the charm of an impoverished trading center. As soon as the party clear the gate a small boy jogs up to them and offers his services as a guide. He justifies his daily rate of 2 copper pieces as value for money as he will be able to direct them to the inns that are reasonably priced, warn them of the many dangers and scams awaiting newcomers, and source anything the party want to purchase. Rondo tosses the boy a few tin pieces as down payment of possible hire and asks him to recommend a reasonably priced inn. Jack lead the party to a nearby inn, the Hammer and Anvil.
At the inn the party secured lodgings for the night. Over a meal in the common room they paid the balance of Jacks fee and hired him as their guide. Jack asked what they came to Elredd and in what way he could help. The party was guarded with their answers until Tellius used his magical abilities to question Jack whether he would sell information he learned of the party. Jack replied that he had no intention of 'selling out' the party as it would ruin his reputation as a trust worthy guide. The party then retired to their rooms and invited jack to join them. In the privacy of the rooms the party asked Jack if he recognised the name 'Rag'. He did not. They also asked if he knew of a man named Tom with a mermaid tattoo on his upper left arm. Again Jack replied that he did not. He offered to make enquiries but the party were cautious and asked him only to make discreet enquiries about Tom.
The next morning Jack goes off to make his enquiries. Lucien attempts to shadow him but is soon detected by the streetwise child. Discovered, Lucien openly accompanies Jack. The two spend the day walking about the city as Jack often stops to speak with various people. At the end of the day there are no solid leads regarding Tom but Jack explains that it will take a day or two for information to get back to him. In the meantime the rest of the party take the opportunity to rest at the inn and recover from the arduous trek down from Safeton.
At sundown Jack and Lucien return to the inn and join the party for the evening meal in the common room. Jack reports that they have not learned anything yet about Tom but that enquiries were in motion. Jack also mentions something that had since occurred to him regarding the name 'Rag'. There is a homeless drunk that lives in the dock quarter of the city known as 'The Raggedy Man'. It is a long shot, but perhaps he is the 'Rag' the party is seeking. With no other leads at this time the party leave the inn to seek him out with Jack as guide.
The group travel the dark streets of Elredd to the Dock quarter. There they eventually find 'The Raggedy Man' in a narrow alley, passed out drunk, lying among garbage. The party rouse him and offer him money to answer some questions. After heaving his last meal at the feet of Tellius he eagerly accepts the tin pieces tossed by Rondo. The party ask if he has seen anyone matching Tom's description. He has not. When the line of questioning steers toward slaver activity in the city the drunk becomes fearful, tosses the at the feet of the party, refuses to answer anymore questions and tries to leave. At the mention of slavers Jack becomes noticeably quiet and his perpetual smile is gone. When Rondo prevents him from leaving he starts yelling at the party to leave him alone. This attracts the attention of passerbys. Those who linger to witness the disturbance are warned off by the stern words and looks by Edgaar and Saab. Lucien slips away from the party to follow the onlookers. A nervous Jack warns "This is not subtle enquiry. We are attracting attention!" Once again Tellius invokes his magical abilities to question the drunk. "Tell me everything you know about the slavers!" The drunk tells that it is common knowledge that slaver agents infest many levels of government. There is no open slaver activity in the city though slavers probably control many businesses. There is one inn in the dock quarter that is rumoured "to have something to do with the slavers". The Broken Rudder.
Lucien follow an onlooker into a nearby tavern, the Rope and Spike. Assuming the party is headed there after questioning the drunk, Lucien goes to the Broken Rudder, asking directions of a passerby. The Broken Rudder is a large inn in the worst area of the dock quarter. Like most buildings on the narrow street it is a run down two story structure built right up against it's neighbouring buildings. After waiting some time and realising the rest of the party are not coming Lucien returns to the Hammer and Anvil.
Having finished questioning the drunk the party wait for Lucien to return. After waiting a while they go in search of him in the direction he was last seen departing. They briefly look for him in the first tavern they come across, the Rope and Spike. When they fail to locate him they return to the Hammer and Anvil assuming he has returned there.