We go for breakfast with the Heldannic Knights. We, Thora, Zim, and I, go over. Breakfast is on the deck.

We make innocent small-talk for a while. Captain Rolph is a relatively charming man, and also polite.

We discuss the stone eggs. We agree to an alliance. We inform them that the eggs are headed to Myoshima, probably as a staging point.

We coordinate, with difficulty, where they might be coming from. The Heldan navigator becomes somewhat frustrated.

After some discussion, Captain Rolph deduces that I wrote the book about the Hollow World. Apparently he found it quite an enjoyable read.

We start to get over our suspicions of each other. Thora uses a rune, and determines that the Captain is trustworthy, but does not wish certain information on the void to be passed out to other parties.

He will pass us information, but only if we are geased to not tell said parties. We agree, as apparently to discover the information by our own would possibly end in our deaths.

The captain has been to the Hollow World. And he knows Neathar, which is one reason why he figured we had been to the Hollow World: the current Party Common includes Neathar.

We reveal the (until now invisible) Falcon to him. He then reveals his (until now invisible) third ship, a galley, to us. Aha!

We get geased over the next few days.

Also, over the next few days, we deal with four more of the eggs. Minora's maximised Dispel Magics, followed up by my Wall of Forces, work fairly well.

We also capture one of the eggs. We used a Major Creation to create a chain net, which was then used to capture a dispelled egg. We dragged the egg over to Captain Rolph's ship, and opened the door. Even outnumbers by massive odds, the snake-men refused to surrender. However, we captured them regardless.

With them captive, we confirm they detect as shapeshifters.

We tell our Rakastan friends of our alliance with the Heldans. It goes down acceptably. Incidentally, the Heldans indicated that they by accident offended the Rakastans during first contact, and that the Rakastan belief that the Heldans were attempting a takeover of the moon is entirely incorrect. The Heldans did speak to the Empire first, which may explain the Xenophobic reaction that they by all accounts received.

In return for being geased, we have been informed that in the space around Mystara, and the other planets, there are winds that allow vessels to travel fast. However, if one enters one of these invisible air currents incorrectly, one gets destroyed. A spell, find the air current, allows one to find such air currents and make the transition correctly.

Myoshiman political groups:
1) The Empire. These guys wish to conquer all of Myoshima, and by all accounts aren't a friendly group. 2) Rajahstan, itself made up of 12 different kingdoms, much like Sind. A Theocracy of sorts.
3) Loosely allied petty kingdoms and principalities. The four largest groups are the Valley of a Thousand Temples, Selimpor, Malacayog, and Surabayang.

The latter two groups are allied against the Empire.

We continue to patrol.

There seem to be no more incoming eggs at this time.

Captain Rolphs inquisitors interrogated the prisoners we took.

Interestingly, the snakemen were grown in the eggs we've been destroyingwhich they have spent their entire lives, if the inquisitors are to be believed.

One of the captured snakemen is a breeder. It's purpose is to grow more snakemen. This is not good, should we have missed intercepting any of the stone eggs.

We decide to use a Legend Lore on the egg, and receive an unusual response: "From broken ring to broken ring, Hord's hoard calls the brood one step at a time."

Thora does a divination on this: In Ostland, the King of Ostland, is called King Hord.

Interestingly, recently the King of Ostland died. His wife has decided to act as regent, until their son is of an appropriate age. She is a surprisingly strong-willed woman, and has decided to "drag Ostland into the new millennium".

Perhaps we should speak with this regent?