Home Game Adventure Summary
A summary I wrote up for the guys in my home game, after my most recent adventure as DM (we rotate judges). Sometimes flowery, sometimes purely informative *shrug*
Once upon a time, far, far away in a tavern named Grommet's in a little town called Drat, there were a bunch of adventurers trying to unwind, trying to figure out what version of their favorite game that they'd been playing for twenty-six years they should continue to use. While Serek and Dieter were busy extolling the virtues of the new Bones 3.5, Honda and T'eosha were arguing that the original Bones 1.0 was a much more fluid game. Pach Nor and Lo-Pan listened on with interest, there heads swiveling to and fro between the two factions like they were watching a thonis match. Kander and Roger soon arrived to join the discussion, siding with those in favor of the newer, more structured rules; Heinrich was conspicuously absent, though he had already made it quite clear which version of their favorite game he preferred. Serek was of the opinion that the cavalier had all but made up his mind not to participate in their favorite pastime anymore, but hadn't yet mustered the courage to tell the others. And unreliable Balin was likely off drinking alone again, drowning his sorrows over his mistaken assumption that his friend Marillion had perished from the magic of evil Xilian, the lich.
At any rate, the members of the Drat Patrol had taken a short break from their discussions to order up another round of Jeb's. T'eosha's attention was drawn to a sole patron that had been sitting in the corner, hooded and cloaked and smoking some strange sort of pipeless tobacco. Before he could act upon his discovery, Roger's keen senses noted some strange activity near the batwing tavern doors. At the same moment he leaned to Pach Nor and the others to suggest they be on their guard, several cloaked and masked humanoids appeared and attacked the strange newcomer.
Pausing for mere seconds to ascertain the situation, the members of the Drat Patrol quickly decided to side with the apparent underdog, attacking the cloaked humanoids with their typical skill and gusto. Once a pair of babau demons revealed themselves to also attack the newcomer, it was obvious our heroes had made the right choice. In less than a minute, the demons and masked humanoids had been dispatched and stripped of their gear, and conversation with this newcomer, Tyr Derr, ensued. It soon became obvious that he was also a drow, but appeared to be a bit friendlier than the other crew.
It seemed this Tyr was in town looking for an adventuring company to help him with a little problem - he claimed to be a commander of a drow fort north of Marseilles, but had recently been replaced by a Hag Queen, also referred to as the ‘Grand Shiarra’. This replacement didn’t sit too well with Tyr; not only had he lost his command, but it seemed this Hag Queen was both insane and planning to destroy Marseilles, which was NOT in the drow’s best interests at this time. Tyr became remarkably frank, stating that he wanted to kill this Hag Queen and stop her plans - the Drat Patrol seemed to agree that saving Marseilles would be a ‘good thing’. They therefore entered into a contract with Tyr, as follows:
"I, Tyr Derr of Highwall Dam, do hereby enter into contract with the Drat Patrol. The Drat Patrol agree to enter Highwall Dam in order to provide a distraction of the main force so as to aid Tyr Derr’s dealing of the Grand Shiarra as he sees fit, at which point this contract shall be considered fulfilled. Tyr Derr shall then provide to the Drat Patrol what information he has regarding the lich Xillian, her whereabouts, and the Academie Necromica, and then both parties shall be allowed a twenty-four hour separation period.
During the terms of said contract, the Drat Patrol will be responsible for all combat. Tyr Derr will aid them as he sees fit, and will provide what assistance he deems necessary to promote their longevity. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of a fully-charged wand of cure light wounds.
Signed, Tyr Derr and the members of the Drat Patrol this fourth day of July, 2437"
Their affairs in order, Pach-Nor, Kander, Honda, Lo-Pan, Roger, and Dieter headed out from Drat, following Tyr’s directions toward Highwall Dam. The drow explained that while Highwall was a ruined fort on this plane, it was an active dam on the plane of Twilight (also referred to as ‘Shadow’, or ‘Faerie’ - the same plane that they had traveled to earlier when infiltrating the castle of Avalon back in the past). The Grand Shiarra was planning to unleash the waters of the Rhone river from the dam on Twilight onto the Marseilles of this plane, subjecting it to mass flooding. In addition, her wizards were breeding a hybrid monster - a demonic version of a kuo-toa - and a horde of these creatures would ride the floodwaters to finish destroying whatever parts of Marseilles survived the flooding. Rather than join his allies, T’eosha decided to pay the Twisted Sisters a little visit, and Serek chose to accompany the wizard, thinking he might be able to unlock the secret of the nagging feeling that there was something familiar about Tyr.
En route to the fort/dam, our companions were attacked by a fiendish tyrannosaurus rex, and then its mate. Pach-Nor nearly lost his life, swallowed whole by the beast, but the others heroically cut the beast open in time. On the second night, they were assaulted by an assembly of undead - wraiths, ghasts, ghouls, and pair of gravehounds with their zombie handlers. The zombies and their ghast leader were wearing a strange medallion, that Tyr explained was the insignia of Highwall, and aided in the transport of its bearer between Twilight and this plane. Grabbing up these three medallions, the adventurers continued on their way.
Arriving at the ruined fort of Highwall, Tyr revealed that he could more easily transport the others if they waited until midnight, when the spatial fabric separating our world from Twilight was at its thinnest. While waiting, they searched the ruins and came upon a clutch of monstrous spiders, discovering a magical silver dagger in the process. Also while waiting, the party was joined by T’eosha, who told his allies that Serek had finally remembered something about Tyr - he was apparently not who he said he was. Once midnight arrived, Tyr used the shadow-walk ability of his longsword along with the medallions to convey them all to Twilight. Warily, they decided to follow Tyr.
Crossing over, the adventurers noted that they were inside a long, barren hallway, presumably inside the dam. Exploring, they cam across a skeleton at a registration desk, expecting them tot sign in. Tyr explained it would be best to do so, to avoid setting off the alarms. They then ascended the eastern side of the fort, needing to temporarily return to their home plane to avoid a huge fight with a roomful of skeletons, and encountered Elamien, the drow commander of the South Citadel. The Drat Patrol easily defeated him with a lucky shot from their Rod of Wonder, turning the drow to stone, but not before he was able to summon a pair of abyssal eviscerators. After a tough fight (which alerted the guards atop the dam, due to Roger’s enthusiastic use of fire and lightning), the eviscerators were defeated and they hurried along.
While crossing the top of the dam, our heroes were slowed up by the skeletal catapult crew, which further alerted the drow defenders and their guardian, the shadow dragon Umbralee. Tyr took advantage of the alert to leave them, telling the party that they should seek shelter in the temple one level up, while he would use the opportunity to seek out the Hag Queen. In a harrowing struggle to cross to the far side of the dam, the party was subjected to several strikes from the dragon, including being severely weakened by its energy draining breath weapon.
Finding the controls to open the dam’s massive sluice gates, the party created a further distraction for Tyr, and simultaneously delayed the Grand Shiarra’s destruction of Marseilles by prematurely releasing the demon kuo-toa before they had fully developed, killing most. Suffering another blast of Umbralee’s devastating breath, they fought through to the far side of the dam, fleeing the dragon while forcing their way past the skeletal defenders. Avoiding the drow patrols, the adventurers sought refuge in the drow temple, barring the doors behind them as dragon gave chase.
In the comparative and temporary safety of the temple to Lolth, they discovered that they were not alone. While the dragon battered at the doors behind, they were attacked by a prototype of the demonic kuo-toa. After a short battle, they discovered a strange but beautiful creature held within a cage. She was a small, pale-skinned humanoid with cat-like eyes and dark, furry wings, and she identified herself as Nightlilly, a gloaming seer. It seemed she was being held against her will by the Hag Queen, and was the reason that the drow commander had been prepared for the Drat Patrol, summoning the shadow dragon to deal with them while preparing for Tyr’s assassination attempt. When they expressed an interest in warning Tyr, Nightlilly informed them she could show the party his fate by scrying on him. She also told them of another prisoner, a spider-like chitine web-rider she called Chitter, who might be able to help them escape from the temporary safety of the temple.
While Umbralee continued to bash at the doors, making little headway, Nightlilly revealed a gruesome scene in her magical font. By the way the gloaming's scrying sensor soared, it could be discerned that the scene was unfolding as they watched, on the level of the dam directly above. They saw an unholy ritual being performed, where an old crone tottered into view, aided by what they knew from past experience to be the pastel-haired and exotically dressed witch-elves. A pair of them helped the crone climb into a huge cauldron of some reddish liquid that could only be blood, the hag wincing as her old bones settled into the vile liquid.
There was an odd familiarity to the ancient woman, but her form became concealed as cloud of steam rose up from the cauldron. The witch-elves in the chamber began to dance about suggestively, a part of the hedonistic ritual that involved the drinking of drugged blood-wine and much touching and tonguing of each other. Eventually, the mists from the cauldron receded slightly, and the scryers were treated to a vision of the dangerous and exotic beauty that stepped forth. Her smooth, dark skin shimmered as the last dregs of blood trickled between the rounds of her breasts, the figure’s hair inexplicably a shining snow-white and apparently dry of the reddish liquid. Two of the witch-elves rushed toward the woman to help her descend from the cauldron, one with a handful of silks and the other with an obsidian staff topped with a demon-skull. As they attended the woman, clothing and equipping her once she reached ground level, the revitalized Hag Queen caressed their eager faces with a young hand and favored each with a long and sensual kiss.
It was at this point that this woman known as the Grand Shiarra suddenly broke off her second kiss, seeming to sense that she was being watched. Looking up to the ceiling of the chamber, she suddenly smiled, almost as if looking directly at each of you. There could be no doubt now that you had seen this beauty before - that smile belonged to none other than Tal’Shiar, the priestess of Eilistraee that you left behind back in Avalon, and cousin to T'eosha.
Just then, a movement at the edge of the magical scrying font caught your eye. As Tal’Shiar continued to stare up at you, the form of Tyr emerged from the shadows, yet remained cloaked within them; as he approached the woman from behind, she seemed completely unaware of his presence, or her danger. Caught up in the excitement of the continuing ritual, none of the witch-elves seemed to notice the assassin either. Silently drawing forth his deadly blade, Tyr raised it for the killing strike. Just before it struck her exposed neck, the assassin was bathed in a bright light, clearly revealing his presence to all; almost simultaneously, his eyes exploded from their sockets and his very pores began to shed his lifeblood as he fell to the ground in obvious agony.
As he lie writhing on the ground, wracked with unimaginable pain, Tal’Shiar turned her back to the vanquished threat, then again looked up and grinned evilly. From within her silken robes, she drew forth a platinum circlet and placed it upon her brow, seeming to look directly at T’eosha this time. Understanding her meaning, your aspiring trickster donned his own circlet, nodding at several points and cocking his head as if listening to something.
After several moments, T’eosha’s face paled, not a small feat for the dark-skinned elf. He removed the circlet and quickly stowed it away, looking about at the group with fear in his red eyes. “We need to get out of here... now!” Before Nightlilly ceased the scrying, it could be seen that the form of Tyr had changed, besides the fact that his eyes and skin were covered with blood - the assassin no longer appeared as a dark elf, but was instead an olive-skinned and dark-haired human.
Meanwhile, those of you not watching the failed assassination had found Chitter and released him from his confines. The short humanoid blinked his multi-faceted eyes at the group and timidly approached, two of his four extra-jointed arms holding a wound in his belly. The creature made several clicking sounds with his mandibles, and Nightlilly replied to him in a similar tongue. She then looked to the group, switched to the Common language, and asked in her tiny little voice, “Can any of you spin a web? If so, I think Chitter here can provide us with a means of escape.”
Lo-Pan quickly complied, a web spell unused and still memorized, causing a web to form right before the temple doors, which had finally started to buckle with Umbralee’s efforts. The webs not only impeded the shadow dragon’s progress, but, as Nightlilly explained, gave the heroes a means of egress. She told the party that Chitter could use the webs to dimensionally travel between the planes, including from Twilight to their home plane, but that his spinner had been seared by the drow to prevent him from forming his own webs.
Urging the adventurers and Nightlilly to enter into the webs, Chitter began to spin rapidly about within them, wrapping himself and the others in their sticky strands. As your view of the room began to fade, you saw the shadow dragon finally burst through the door; her keen senses detecting your fading presence, she breathed her draining cloud once again, but the webrider’s efforts had already moved you far enough to avoid their effects.
The sun shone brightly as you looked about, seeing once again that you were standing amongst the ruins of the fort. Regretting leaving your dark ally behind but resigning yourself to his fate, you sadly ran from the ruins, fearful of what Tal’Shiar might be mustering to pursue you this very moment. You would have to obtain information on Xilian some other way; Tyr, or whoever he really was, would not likely be able to fulfill the rest of your contract.
Once upon a time, far, far away in a tavern named Grommet's in a little town called Drat, there were a bunch of adventurers trying to unwind, trying to figure out what version of their favorite game that they'd been playing for twenty-six years they should continue to use. While Serek and Dieter were busy extolling the virtues of the new Bones 3.5, Honda and T'eosha were arguing that the original Bones 1.0 was a much more fluid game. Pach Nor and Lo-Pan listened on with interest, there heads swiveling to and fro between the two factions like they were watching a thonis match. Kander and Roger soon arrived to join the discussion, siding with those in favor of the newer, more structured rules; Heinrich was conspicuously absent, though he had already made it quite clear which version of their favorite game he preferred. Serek was of the opinion that the cavalier had all but made up his mind not to participate in their favorite pastime anymore, but hadn't yet mustered the courage to tell the others. And unreliable Balin was likely off drinking alone again, drowning his sorrows over his mistaken assumption that his friend Marillion had perished from the magic of evil Xilian, the lich.
At any rate, the members of the Drat Patrol had taken a short break from their discussions to order up another round of Jeb's. T'eosha's attention was drawn to a sole patron that had been sitting in the corner, hooded and cloaked and smoking some strange sort of pipeless tobacco. Before he could act upon his discovery, Roger's keen senses noted some strange activity near the batwing tavern doors. At the same moment he leaned to Pach Nor and the others to suggest they be on their guard, several cloaked and masked humanoids appeared and attacked the strange newcomer.
Pausing for mere seconds to ascertain the situation, the members of the Drat Patrol quickly decided to side with the apparent underdog, attacking the cloaked humanoids with their typical skill and gusto. Once a pair of babau demons revealed themselves to also attack the newcomer, it was obvious our heroes had made the right choice. In less than a minute, the demons and masked humanoids had been dispatched and stripped of their gear, and conversation with this newcomer, Tyr Derr, ensued. It soon became obvious that he was also a drow, but appeared to be a bit friendlier than the other crew.
It seemed this Tyr was in town looking for an adventuring company to help him with a little problem - he claimed to be a commander of a drow fort north of Marseilles, but had recently been replaced by a Hag Queen, also referred to as the ‘Grand Shiarra’. This replacement didn’t sit too well with Tyr; not only had he lost his command, but it seemed this Hag Queen was both insane and planning to destroy Marseilles, which was NOT in the drow’s best interests at this time. Tyr became remarkably frank, stating that he wanted to kill this Hag Queen and stop her plans - the Drat Patrol seemed to agree that saving Marseilles would be a ‘good thing’. They therefore entered into a contract with Tyr, as follows:
"I, Tyr Derr of Highwall Dam, do hereby enter into contract with the Drat Patrol. The Drat Patrol agree to enter Highwall Dam in order to provide a distraction of the main force so as to aid Tyr Derr’s dealing of the Grand Shiarra as he sees fit, at which point this contract shall be considered fulfilled. Tyr Derr shall then provide to the Drat Patrol what information he has regarding the lich Xillian, her whereabouts, and the Academie Necromica, and then both parties shall be allowed a twenty-four hour separation period.
During the terms of said contract, the Drat Patrol will be responsible for all combat. Tyr Derr will aid them as he sees fit, and will provide what assistance he deems necessary to promote their longevity. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of a fully-charged wand of cure light wounds.
Signed, Tyr Derr and the members of the Drat Patrol this fourth day of July, 2437"
Their affairs in order, Pach-Nor, Kander, Honda, Lo-Pan, Roger, and Dieter headed out from Drat, following Tyr’s directions toward Highwall Dam. The drow explained that while Highwall was a ruined fort on this plane, it was an active dam on the plane of Twilight (also referred to as ‘Shadow’, or ‘Faerie’ - the same plane that they had traveled to earlier when infiltrating the castle of Avalon back in the past). The Grand Shiarra was planning to unleash the waters of the Rhone river from the dam on Twilight onto the Marseilles of this plane, subjecting it to mass flooding. In addition, her wizards were breeding a hybrid monster - a demonic version of a kuo-toa - and a horde of these creatures would ride the floodwaters to finish destroying whatever parts of Marseilles survived the flooding. Rather than join his allies, T’eosha decided to pay the Twisted Sisters a little visit, and Serek chose to accompany the wizard, thinking he might be able to unlock the secret of the nagging feeling that there was something familiar about Tyr.
En route to the fort/dam, our companions were attacked by a fiendish tyrannosaurus rex, and then its mate. Pach-Nor nearly lost his life, swallowed whole by the beast, but the others heroically cut the beast open in time. On the second night, they were assaulted by an assembly of undead - wraiths, ghasts, ghouls, and pair of gravehounds with their zombie handlers. The zombies and their ghast leader were wearing a strange medallion, that Tyr explained was the insignia of Highwall, and aided in the transport of its bearer between Twilight and this plane. Grabbing up these three medallions, the adventurers continued on their way.
Arriving at the ruined fort of Highwall, Tyr revealed that he could more easily transport the others if they waited until midnight, when the spatial fabric separating our world from Twilight was at its thinnest. While waiting, they searched the ruins and came upon a clutch of monstrous spiders, discovering a magical silver dagger in the process. Also while waiting, the party was joined by T’eosha, who told his allies that Serek had finally remembered something about Tyr - he was apparently not who he said he was. Once midnight arrived, Tyr used the shadow-walk ability of his longsword along with the medallions to convey them all to Twilight. Warily, they decided to follow Tyr.
Crossing over, the adventurers noted that they were inside a long, barren hallway, presumably inside the dam. Exploring, they cam across a skeleton at a registration desk, expecting them tot sign in. Tyr explained it would be best to do so, to avoid setting off the alarms. They then ascended the eastern side of the fort, needing to temporarily return to their home plane to avoid a huge fight with a roomful of skeletons, and encountered Elamien, the drow commander of the South Citadel. The Drat Patrol easily defeated him with a lucky shot from their Rod of Wonder, turning the drow to stone, but not before he was able to summon a pair of abyssal eviscerators. After a tough fight (which alerted the guards atop the dam, due to Roger’s enthusiastic use of fire and lightning), the eviscerators were defeated and they hurried along.
While crossing the top of the dam, our heroes were slowed up by the skeletal catapult crew, which further alerted the drow defenders and their guardian, the shadow dragon Umbralee. Tyr took advantage of the alert to leave them, telling the party that they should seek shelter in the temple one level up, while he would use the opportunity to seek out the Hag Queen. In a harrowing struggle to cross to the far side of the dam, the party was subjected to several strikes from the dragon, including being severely weakened by its energy draining breath weapon.
Finding the controls to open the dam’s massive sluice gates, the party created a further distraction for Tyr, and simultaneously delayed the Grand Shiarra’s destruction of Marseilles by prematurely releasing the demon kuo-toa before they had fully developed, killing most. Suffering another blast of Umbralee’s devastating breath, they fought through to the far side of the dam, fleeing the dragon while forcing their way past the skeletal defenders. Avoiding the drow patrols, the adventurers sought refuge in the drow temple, barring the doors behind them as dragon gave chase.
In the comparative and temporary safety of the temple to Lolth, they discovered that they were not alone. While the dragon battered at the doors behind, they were attacked by a prototype of the demonic kuo-toa. After a short battle, they discovered a strange but beautiful creature held within a cage. She was a small, pale-skinned humanoid with cat-like eyes and dark, furry wings, and she identified herself as Nightlilly, a gloaming seer. It seemed she was being held against her will by the Hag Queen, and was the reason that the drow commander had been prepared for the Drat Patrol, summoning the shadow dragon to deal with them while preparing for Tyr’s assassination attempt. When they expressed an interest in warning Tyr, Nightlilly informed them she could show the party his fate by scrying on him. She also told them of another prisoner, a spider-like chitine web-rider she called Chitter, who might be able to help them escape from the temporary safety of the temple.
While Umbralee continued to bash at the doors, making little headway, Nightlilly revealed a gruesome scene in her magical font. By the way the gloaming's scrying sensor soared, it could be discerned that the scene was unfolding as they watched, on the level of the dam directly above. They saw an unholy ritual being performed, where an old crone tottered into view, aided by what they knew from past experience to be the pastel-haired and exotically dressed witch-elves. A pair of them helped the crone climb into a huge cauldron of some reddish liquid that could only be blood, the hag wincing as her old bones settled into the vile liquid.
There was an odd familiarity to the ancient woman, but her form became concealed as cloud of steam rose up from the cauldron. The witch-elves in the chamber began to dance about suggestively, a part of the hedonistic ritual that involved the drinking of drugged blood-wine and much touching and tonguing of each other. Eventually, the mists from the cauldron receded slightly, and the scryers were treated to a vision of the dangerous and exotic beauty that stepped forth. Her smooth, dark skin shimmered as the last dregs of blood trickled between the rounds of her breasts, the figure’s hair inexplicably a shining snow-white and apparently dry of the reddish liquid. Two of the witch-elves rushed toward the woman to help her descend from the cauldron, one with a handful of silks and the other with an obsidian staff topped with a demon-skull. As they attended the woman, clothing and equipping her once she reached ground level, the revitalized Hag Queen caressed their eager faces with a young hand and favored each with a long and sensual kiss.
It was at this point that this woman known as the Grand Shiarra suddenly broke off her second kiss, seeming to sense that she was being watched. Looking up to the ceiling of the chamber, she suddenly smiled, almost as if looking directly at each of you. There could be no doubt now that you had seen this beauty before - that smile belonged to none other than Tal’Shiar, the priestess of Eilistraee that you left behind back in Avalon, and cousin to T'eosha.
Just then, a movement at the edge of the magical scrying font caught your eye. As Tal’Shiar continued to stare up at you, the form of Tyr emerged from the shadows, yet remained cloaked within them; as he approached the woman from behind, she seemed completely unaware of his presence, or her danger. Caught up in the excitement of the continuing ritual, none of the witch-elves seemed to notice the assassin either. Silently drawing forth his deadly blade, Tyr raised it for the killing strike. Just before it struck her exposed neck, the assassin was bathed in a bright light, clearly revealing his presence to all; almost simultaneously, his eyes exploded from their sockets and his very pores began to shed his lifeblood as he fell to the ground in obvious agony.
As he lie writhing on the ground, wracked with unimaginable pain, Tal’Shiar turned her back to the vanquished threat, then again looked up and grinned evilly. From within her silken robes, she drew forth a platinum circlet and placed it upon her brow, seeming to look directly at T’eosha this time. Understanding her meaning, your aspiring trickster donned his own circlet, nodding at several points and cocking his head as if listening to something.
After several moments, T’eosha’s face paled, not a small feat for the dark-skinned elf. He removed the circlet and quickly stowed it away, looking about at the group with fear in his red eyes. “We need to get out of here... now!” Before Nightlilly ceased the scrying, it could be seen that the form of Tyr had changed, besides the fact that his eyes and skin were covered with blood - the assassin no longer appeared as a dark elf, but was instead an olive-skinned and dark-haired human.
Meanwhile, those of you not watching the failed assassination had found Chitter and released him from his confines. The short humanoid blinked his multi-faceted eyes at the group and timidly approached, two of his four extra-jointed arms holding a wound in his belly. The creature made several clicking sounds with his mandibles, and Nightlilly replied to him in a similar tongue. She then looked to the group, switched to the Common language, and asked in her tiny little voice, “Can any of you spin a web? If so, I think Chitter here can provide us with a means of escape.”
Lo-Pan quickly complied, a web spell unused and still memorized, causing a web to form right before the temple doors, which had finally started to buckle with Umbralee’s efforts. The webs not only impeded the shadow dragon’s progress, but, as Nightlilly explained, gave the heroes a means of egress. She told the party that Chitter could use the webs to dimensionally travel between the planes, including from Twilight to their home plane, but that his spinner had been seared by the drow to prevent him from forming his own webs.
Urging the adventurers and Nightlilly to enter into the webs, Chitter began to spin rapidly about within them, wrapping himself and the others in their sticky strands. As your view of the room began to fade, you saw the shadow dragon finally burst through the door; her keen senses detecting your fading presence, she breathed her draining cloud once again, but the webrider’s efforts had already moved you far enough to avoid their effects.
The sun shone brightly as you looked about, seeing once again that you were standing amongst the ruins of the fort. Regretting leaving your dark ally behind but resigning yourself to his fate, you sadly ran from the ruins, fearful of what Tal’Shiar might be mustering to pursue you this very moment. You would have to obtain information on Xilian some other way; Tyr, or whoever he really was, would not likely be able to fulfill the rest of your contract.