The Artifact's Puzzle

[Jaigan]

[INDENT]I spend much of my time chasing false leads and dead ends. My career as a Treasure Hunter is not all I'd of expected it to be, I mean actually finding the treasure is all but a dream in most cases. I've mostly found gold and gems, though I have been gathering information about artifacts as of late. It seems that they can fetch a rather nice price once found and auctioned within the merchants circle. So far I have setup contacts within Port Hempstead, and Fort Vehl they feed me random bits they hear in the Pubs and on the streets that's how I ended up investigating these latest artifacts.

 It turns out that there is a group willing to pay top coin to anyone who can find the missing pieces to this Artifact Puzzle. I myself am rather fond of puzzles, but I would never drop an Ox load of coin down for one. My contact in Port Hempstead assured me that these artifacts where the real deal and that the competition would be fierce with all the top Hunters  taking up the search, I can't blame them whenever the merchants circle makes a fuss and puts their coin on the line things get found one way or another. For now I'm just going to hang low and collect whatever tidbits I can no sense rushing into a tomb only to find bones, I've done plenty of that already.[/INDENT]

[Jaigan]

[INDENT]Looks like James, my contact in Port Hempstead is starting to hire out adventurers to chase a bunch of leads we have been finding. It's all the better for me I can focus on some of the bigger jobs and after the incident a few days ago I've been keeping low and avoiding Fort Wayfare.
 
 I need to find Sall and figure out what had happened the other day not to mention what roles those other guys played. As far as I can tell they were not part of the group of suspicious people that's been following me around. That's another reason I need to find Sall so I can warn him about them as he was with me that night. I'm sure they'll start having him followed too.

 This whole Artifact's Puzzle thing is getting deep and it looks like some real power players are getting involved. I've already caught word of a few murders up near Hlint over a Map I hope James don't get himself into trouble.[/INDENT]

[Jaigan]

[INDENT]I finally got word from my contact at Fort Wayfare about the dealings that night with Sall. Seems that their target wasn't me and I was unexpected. Well at least they were kind enough to drop me off outside of town with a nice gash on my head. I knew that bloody goblin was trouble but I can't help but laugh because I'm sure he's got suspicious eyes following him around now too. Haha serves him right the little gremlin.
 
 Travie, that's a name I won't forget he snagged my treasure and the goblin busy guy if I say so myself and definitely has someone supporting him. The one called Narketh who was in league with Travie in the abduction turned up dead a few days later, I'll leave it at that he's dead and not my problem anymore. The third guy I don't know anything about accept he was with Narketh trying to get Sall alone. It's odd I should be trying to solve this mystery when I should be tryingto get as far away from it as possible; I guess it's my habbit for puzzles.
 
 I was talking to James earlier today and he informed me that someone had done a job for him and it turns out he matched Sall's profile. Least I have a ruff clue as to where he is now I'll find him soon. James was also telling me that there seems to be some sort of organization getting involved in the search for the missing pieces of the artifact. Says he was questioned about what kind of stuff he found lately but managed to shrug him off. I hope he watches his back when I'm not around I don't trust this organization got a bad feeling about them.

I guess the later part of my week was ordinary accept for meeting up with Sil'via, that girl is something else, I ended up heading over to Mariner's Hold with her.  After some time I ended up meeting Flynn there nice seeing him again and met a man named Erik as well. Oh right this is where my week gets ordinary.. We ran into some sort of Lich and a shade nothing abnormal there right? Light! Who runs into a lich? Maybe my grandfather but he's a crazy old wizard people expect that sort of thing with them.  I guess it was not a Lich more like a vision of one then it was gone. The shade was the real mystery.

This Shade had a very odd and mysterius staff and it held it out like it wanted one of us to take it, to be honest I almost took it. Well it was interesting and if it was giving it then hey! Thanks be seeing ya right? guess not turns out our ever so cheerful Sil'via walked right up and grabed it. Things got weird at that point Sil'via stopped moving I tried to pull her from the staff but when I did I seen flashes of images, heard screams and a skull then fire it was all fast and confusion. Finally the shade disappeared and she came too.
 
When we finally got her back and able to talk to us she kept babbling about random things and after much fumbling with questions and trying to put things together we concluded that she had imprints of someone else's memories stuffed into her head. She was saying she felt a pressing need to find some women and I think something about a book. Then suddenly she blurted out "An Elf, Key, Brother, Leringard Arms".  So that's why I'm now journeying to this Laringard Arms to see what I can dig up. I've also asked James to keep an ear open as well.[/INDENT]

[Jaigan]

[INDENT]  Much has happened in so many different directions it's becoming more of a task to keep them properly documented, I met up with Sil'via the other day I wanted to ask her more about those visions but she was rather busy trying to explain the whole ordeal to some of her relatives.  I am considering writing to my grandfather about what happened to her but I'm afraid he will snatch her up and drag her to the Tower and make a proper lab rat out of her, even I can't condone to that.  While I was on the docks with her though I noticed some dodgy looking men walk past, the others was too involved in their own ordeal to notice so I followed them keeping out of sight until they went onboard a ship.  As I got a closer view and within earshot I heard them telling the captain that they was taken her ship and unless she wanted to be gutted like a fish she would have nothing more to say about it.  Well that's the gist of their bargaining anyway.  

I went back to where Sil'via was and her relatives and told them what had just occurred on the docks they looked puzzled, Light I mean when someone say's hey there are some men taking a ship and they don't intend to pay for it what else would that mean?  Yeah pirates.  Oh well they ended up going and sorted it out , though there was a nice size crowd that turned up and the pirates leader was called Old One eye or something like that, I guess he dealt with ores and other trade goods.  Seems his operation was to follow out a merchant ship and steal their cargo then sail it to some drop off spot for it to be sorted and sold.  The ship's captain told us he's done it before and she really couldn't stop him, he would normally only be gone about a week so it could not be that far I was really interested in where he was taking the goods.  

With James out on some business venture I've been out of work so I ended up tagging along with random people trying to take a better look at the lands and see what else I could unearth about the Artifacts that are meant to be hidden or lost and forgotten I found out some rumors saying that there are 7 pieces to this puzzle and 1 of them a wealthy merchant already has.  So there are 6 more pieces out there.  Another rumor is that when you put all the pieces together it unlocks a magic and creates a map to some great treasure.  There is nothing known about the treasure most people say it's a kings bounty and others say an ancient weapon able to kill a god, the truth is nobody really knows so their imagination runs wild.  

I shared a campfire with a strange bard the other night I was out traveling with Talia and he popped in and told us this most interesting Tale, a poem of sorts and it was rather dark and gloomy talked about elves and basically suggested that they was at their downfall and it was too late.  I've been meaning to find Flynn and have a discussion about what it could mean.  So far I've not heard this tale from any other bards or in books so it's most concerning for this bard to show up share his tale and then run off yelling back that he was never there.  Just another curiosity tossed on my growing pile.  I really should do something about my weakness for treasure and mystery it's going to get me killed.[/INDENT]