Ahhh, the wonders of new alcohol. A group of merchants arrived at the Bastion of the North, touting their wares to the tired guards standing watch within the Pillars of Ashtan. They were more than thrilled to enjoy a secret drink while on the job, and after ensuring the coast was clear, gorged heavily.

They awoke with an ear-splitting headache and a significant amount of confusion, each checking on the others to ensure none were out of sorts. Surely their previous indulgences had left them with a higher tolerance than that? The confusion quickly turned to embarrassment at having been put out by so small a shot, which quickly intensified the moment they saw the empty space occupying the circle between the Pillars.

The Statue of Zarathustra was gone!

The city was immediately alerted, and the citizenship arrived quickly on the scene. Overseer Dunn Lichlord took the lead on questioning the guards, discovering that the thieves had replaced their wares with the statue and covered it in their cart before departing the city. As they searched the surrounding areas for clues, Peak Moliuvia went to Sethrin, the ore merchant to discover he had recently hired his own cart out, and was all too happy to see if he could identify tracks made by it for the promise of gold.

Taken back to Ashtan, Sethrin lead the gathered Ashtani to Thera, where the local Therans reported a similar group moving through the village to the south and speaking of ships. Cathy Cobra and Fendrel Azon quickly surmised that their destination may be the Thraasi harbour, and the Ashtani set off once more.

Overseer Dunn rapidly paid off the dockworkers to learn of a recently departed ship that was destined for Polyargos, and they were off again. He came upon the thieves being attacked by harpies, the cart overturned and his city's statue lying upon the ground. However, he was not the only one attracted to the sounds of the altercation.

"You foolish men dare to tread upon my island and agitate me with your petty squabbles?"

The thunderous voice of Yudhishthira preceded his arrival, where he immediately laid waste to the embattled harpies and thieves, ignoring the attempted reasoning by the Overseer. His attention was all upon the beautiful marbled statue, and he took it as his own, taunting the Ashtani as he returned to his lair.

Dunn immediately summoned all of his available warriors and assaulted the peak of Polyargos, where the dragon waited. After a short but bloody battle, the Ashtani stood triumphant, though the dragon's work had been done: the statue was surrounded in rapidly cooling magma, about to become a permanent addition regardless of Yudhishthira's presence.

After some deliberation regarding the best course of action, Peak raised his forging hammer high and brought it crashing down on the magma, splitting much of the already cooled substance, while Jhui Ta'sa utilised his own dragon breath to ensure it no longer cooled. The rest of the Ashtani, lead by Kross da'Navi, secured the statue with rope and hauled it onto the back of the dragon Overseer, who transported it down to the harbour where Kinilan Demaxx waited with his ship.

It took some time and the blood of some angry wyverns to finally get the statue back to its rightful place inside Ashtan, but finally Lukia DeGage oversaw the return. Better yet, she promised the proper restoration to its former form, and also some potential retribution so that the Corsairs would never forget their lesson.

Penned by My hand on the 9th of Valnuary, in the year 646 AF.