Woad Whispers and Watery Warnings

This week, our intrepid adventurers began their journey with a trip to Summerford Farms to drop off the bandit who had attempted to rob them at the Descent. Though she was remorseful for her actions, the party wasn't quite convinced that she was completely honest about her desire to repent. Most bandits are immediately put to death in Limsa Lominsa, as the chaotic society doesn't like dealing much with prisons, especially not in the wake of the Calamity. Ririka managed to convince the party that she wasn't worth killing, however, on the trip to Summerford.

On the way to Summerford, the party encountered a very aggressive water elemental that attacked the bridge to the Descent as they were crossing. After a long battle, the party emerged victorious, though the bridge was destroyed as a result. Upon its death, the creature dropped a shard of corrupted unaspected aether, a very dangerous substance often found in craters where pieces of Dalamud fell. The party's Chemist safely tucked the crystal away.

The party eventually made it to Summerford with Ririka, and they gave her to Summerford Farms as a refugee rather than as a bandit. She promised the party that she would join the Storm and turn her life around - perhaps they'll meet again someday? Regardless, they had a nice chocobo breast dinner and spent the night in relative comfort.

The next day, the group headed to the Descent. After a perilous river crossing with the bridge being destroyed, the party safely made it to the bridge down. A small lalafell with odd-looking features had been following them for awhile, but it wasn't until the party went down the bridge that they found out who it was. The Lalafell decided to join up with the party after they realized that he was headed for the same place - although he would not give a reason why.

After that, the party made it to the area that Ririka had described to them - Woad Whisper Canyon. A small, rocky path ran next to the swift-flowing river, making travel somewhat dangerous. Eventually, they stumbled upon an area that looked to be recently habitated, with a bandit and his group keeping watch there. The party battled the bandits, including one who was literally caught with his pants down, and secured both some loot and a boat. The next place they were headed - a small cavern located in a fissure on the side of the river - wasn't a place they could get on foot.

The Journey Begins

Our heroes' journey begins a mere seven months after the Calamity. Each of them were in Limsa Lominsa for their own reasons, but they were all recruited as mercenaries - and potential recruits - by the Maelstrom. La Noscea has been ravaged by both the Calamity and Leviathan, and these local recruits have become a necessary evil in order to allow the Storm to secure the island and provide safe land passage between La Noscea's settlements. 

Our heroes are Luluru, a Lalafell Gladiator whose thirst for justice is only matched by her love of wrestling. Mikey, a slightly deranged Conjurer from Gridania, who came to La Noscea just because. Finally, we have Keshalyi Jinx, a "half-Hyur half-Elezen" who hails from parts unknown, who throws around potions in battle like no one has ever seen. (She's a Chemist.)

Our intrepid group of adventurers were joined by Mistral Ki'tea, a newly recruited Storm Archer tasked with leading the group of recruits into battle against the Maelstrom's foes. After being tasked with looking into disappearances around the Descent, the group left the Maelstrom Command Center and Lifeboat Storage Facility and encountered a rather bedraggled old Hyur farmer, begging them to find his missing chocobo. Our stout adventurers negotiated with the poor old farmer, agreeing to bring the chocobo back alive - for a price. 

As they set off on their brave first steps into Middle La Noscea, our intrepid explorers stumbled - literally, in Mikey's case - into a nest of devastating wharf rats. Although Mikey was severely wounded by a critical hit to the neck, the group soldiered onwards, taking only several rounds to dispatch the CR 1/3 creatures. 

They soon stumbled onto their quarry: a bull chocobo, his beak wet with blood. The beast walked up to Luluru and stuck its beak directly into her chest, creating a rather nasty wound. Mistral forgot that she could calm the beast without fighting, and shot an arrow straight into its skull. Mikey summoned a beetle from the forest, and Jinx healed Luluru's impressive wounds. Eventually, the beast was put to sleep, and with a few slaps to the head, they transported the bird to Summerford Farms in hopes of getting transport to Limsa. They also eviscerated a bandit along the way. 

Once there, they spent the night and defended the chocobo from the innkeeper. They eventually sold the chocobo to the person in charge of Summerford (the 'deranged old farmer' had hired help and lost the chocobo four times, and had only a male chocobo to begin with, so Aric just wanted to get the thing to a safe place), and learned more about the disappearances they were to investigate. They also heard about a strange orb - interrogating and shocking random animals in its path. 

They eventually stumbled upon the orb, which spoke in bad American-sounding Spanish - the official canon language of the Allagan people. After many tense rounds of negotiation, the orb accepted the party as members of the Allagan Empire, and dispatched unto them some magical boots, as well as a small worthless rock with some markings on it. An interesting diversion, to be sure. 

After the popped open the fun ball and got their prize, the intrepid party moved on to the Descent, and there found a bandit gang disguising themselves as the Storm. They saw through the deception easily, and quickly dispatched most of the gang. The gang's most skilled member, Ririka, surrendered to the group. She explained that some sort of mage hired her and her band to kidnap individual travellers, and that they had been robbing any group that looked like they couldn't put up much of a fight. She gave them her weapons, surrendered herself to their custody, and told them where to head next - Woad Whisper Canyon...