Mac Kodiac's story

Mac reaches into the pouch at his side and pulls out a whetstone. From 
his pack at his side he pulls out a bladder that has a tie at the top and 
from within pulls out a well oiled rag. He puts the bladder away and 
pulls out his katana. 

"I hope I don't bother you with this, but since all we have is time and 
I'm interested in what you all have to say, or your thoughts on this 
predicament. Maybe what brought all of you here."

He starts to clean and sharpen his sword. And begins a story. 

"I recently read a diary of a mercenary. There really wasn't much 
interesting in it except for this story. I'm going to recite it as I read 
it because it makes it more interesting. It was after reading this story 
and some others like it that I took an interest in the politics and 
relations between the elves and the humans. It would not be a good day if 
there was another war."

Mac pauses as if remembering something else. And begins to speak.

"We caught up with the group before they got to Kryndar. I recognised 
someone in the group and met with him as our groups faced off against one 
another. It turned out that the Guild in Kryndar was given the task of 
stealing the Ankh. They were to be paid a kings ransom to do so. My group 
and the other group were fairly balanced and a fight at that time would 
have meant the demise of my group. So I got enough information to be able 
to prevent the ankh from leaving Kryndar."

"A group of dark elves had paid the Guild in Kryndar to steal the Ankh. 
The Ankh itself was a powerful artefact, but the power itself was not the 
reason for the theft. The Ankh was a gift of peace from the elves after the 
wars between the humans and the elves. It was proclaimed that as long as 
the Ankh remained in the hands of the humans, there would be peace."

"It was our opinion the dark elves had wanted to steal the Ankh to 
restart the wars between the races. The dark elves and the fairer elves 
do not have much love between them. But the dark elves are known for 
their ability to lead troops and have a good mind for war and tactics. 
This way the dark elves would have armies to send against the humans, who 
they hate even more than their elf cousins."

"We had a pitched battle in the streets with a group of dark elves. Not 
exactly what you want to happen. We eventually recovered the Anhk and 
returned it to Richport." 

Mac looks up from his work and his story.

"There have been other stories like this. And some strange rumours from 
Thessaly. I've heard that dark elves haven't been seen in nearly 30 
years. I realise that elves have a long life span and can easily stay 
away from human contact for a long time. But it seems strange. It is like 
they walked off the face of the earth. That is what brings me here. I'm 
here to find out about the comings and goings of the Elves and Humans here."