I will be honest here. I may not have been paying the best of attention as my friends planned to infiltrate the warden’s tower to find Tristan. I felt my performance of the telling of the “Legend of the Sandstorm’s Revenge” was lacking. So while my friends discussed a plan I contemplated how I could improve my performance next time I shared a story. As luck would have it, this plan involved some acting on my part, so great time to practice! I would become Raphael, a guard to Rainer and Arden. That sounded a little boring, so I made it better.

Raphael Tortuga Disfrazada, Manservant to the great and powerful Arden, the Magnificent Wizard! Yes, that would do.

Now it was time to put into practice these acting skills. As our party approached the compound, I, as a proper manservant would do, announced Arden, the Mighty Wizard, using the magic sand he so conveniently provided. Gaining the attention of the guards we were able to convince them to bring us to Kraynik, the leader of this place. This would be a great opportunity to see if we could ‘trade’ Asar or Mossy for Tristan. This did not work out quite as well as I thought it would. 

We met Kraynik, and apparently I was not the lowly slave he thought I should be. What would he know of manservants anyway? He was much too crude to ever warrant the respect of a loyal manservant. Raphael on the other hand was fully loyal to his master Arden for the great respect and civil treatment he had received over the years as a slave. Seeing his master struggling to prove to Kraynik that he is the Mighty and powerful wizard that he is, Raphael attempted to help. Apparently my acting was not entirely convincing. It’s hard to pretend to be hurt on the shell when all you feel is a tiny thump. In the end, he seemed to believe in Arden’s magic strong enough to give us our leave, with Arden and Rainer now part of his army. 

We headed to the barracks. While Arden and Rainer went in, Mossy, Altan, Asar, and I made a plan to check the dungeons where we think Tristan might be. Altan seems to have gained the ability to change his appearance, so he took on the guise of a guard. He will take Mossy and Asar as prisoners to the dungeon and hopefully find Tristan. I, as Ardens Manservant, will stay behind and inform them of where the rest of the group has gone. This should go well.