Session 28: The Daughter of Bel

Game Date: 02/09/2008
In-Game Date: Mansday, Disander 14, afternoon – evening.
The week of Horfang.

Sheltered in the temporary sanctuary of Amrauthlen’s grove, the group discusses their next course of action. Also, the group tells Grumble of their misgivings about his sister Glorwyn. Grumble does not take well the suggestions that she could be anything other than what she seems.

However, now that the group has a quiet moment to spare, they haul out the fried corpse of the Blessed, decide what questions to ask the corpse, and have Audric cast speak with dead. Despite the best efforts of the group to come up with direct questions, the knowledge gleaned from the memories imprinted in the corpse is not terribly helpful. Apparently, the Blessed met with this Speaker in Dreams only in her dreams, and never face to face (if the speaker even has one). Rowan mentions her dream where Potter was killed, his brain devoured by a hooded figure with large, pale luminous eyes, thinking that perhaps the figure from her dream and the speaker in dreams are the same entity.

Everyone also realizes that they had similar dreams where they opened a gate in the ruins of Brindinsford and a voice spoke of doom. Well, Audric didn’t have the dream, since he was still awake while everyone was having their nightmare.

Setting out from the grove, they travel a short distance to the university librarium to speak with Kartharine. En route, they encounter a patrol of human militia that seems either frightened of the party or frightened of something else. Either way, with no weapons being openly displayed by the heroes, the militia does not hassle them.

A brief search of the university grounds finds Kartharine, who has been closing up the various buildings of the university as the faculty has dismissed its students temporarily in the wake of the baron’s proclamations. The party shares what little knowledge they’ve gleaned, and Kartharine seems to think that the Speaker in Dreams could very well be one of the Illithid, also known as mind-flayers. Arrogant, evil and cruel, the Illithid are masters of psionic power as well as arcane magic. Whether such a being is being brought back to life here in Brindinsford by parties unknown, or if a living one is here exerting its mental influence over the townspeople, is unknown.

Armed with this unsettling knowledge, the group sets out to visit Glorwyn at the warehouse housing the wagons of her caravan. Traveling down the nearly-deserted main streets of the city, Nialia’s nostrils flare as she catches the scent of something following them. All her senses are screaming at her to be still. Glancing behind her, she sees nothing, but her nose tells her something is there, and moving slowly closer. She stops the party and tells them that something’s stalking them. Audric stares intently in the direction Nialia is looking and pales suddenly. The shapeshifter tells them that the Elf is right, and that something wants to kill them. Grumble pulls his axe out of the bag of holding and tosses it to Rowan, who just has time to grab a pair of swords out of the bag when Audric cries out.

Something tears into Grumble a fraction of a second later, rending his skin and armor nearly effortlessly. Badger and Rowan spring to the dwarf’s aid and Nialia manages to cast faerie fire on the thing, outlining the form of a gigantic predatory cat shape. Now able to see their enemy, the party has a slightly easier time actually landing blows on the thing. Even so, its hide is thick, and even strong blows seem to have little effect. But less than a minute after the attack the creature lies dead at their feet.

The party takes off, fleeing the scene and stowing their weapons in the bag once more. The rest of the walk down to the warehouse is uneventful. The door to the building stands slightly ajar, and Grumble calls out a hello as he enters. Everyone else follows, but Nialia, smelling the air, catches a few strange scents: death, dwarf, and … elf? She can’t figure the smells out, so she enters with the rest.

Glorwyn sits by herself at a small table, apparently the only one there. She says that she believes the other caravan members have either fled town, or perhaps have gone out drinking once they realized they were stuck here in the city.

Grumble, as delicately as he can, suggests that his companions have doubts as to who she is, and why she knows about the house of Bel. Glorwyn denies having heard of the house of Bel, let alone saying something about it to Badger. She shrugs, asking Grumble to quiz her on something from their childhood that only they would know about. He does, and she supplies the correct answer without hesitation.

Suddenly, her eyes narrow, and Glorwyn suggests that the shape-shifter stop trying to surreptitiously circle around behind her back. The party is a bit surprised that she knows what Audric is, and asks her how she knows. She shrugs in reply, and looks at Audric, musing aloud if he’s all hot and bothered because he can’t read her mind. At Grumble’s confused look (as well as Rowan’s and Nialia’s), Glorwyn seems puzzled, telling them that of course all shape-shifters can read minds whenever they want; it’s an innate ability of theirs. As three sets of eyes narrow and fix on the ex-assassin, Glorwyn smiles sweetly, but her eyes are cold.

“I’ve read yours easily enough, murderer.” She says, her voice now edged with a simmering malice. “Everything you’ve ever held close has been taken from you … violently. You think this “love” you’ve found will be any different?”

Audric goes pale and Badger takes a step towards Glorwyn, her hands balling into fists. “Stop!” the gnome commands.

“You can fight it,” continues Glorwyn, “but how do you really think a trained killer like you can hold out? Tell me, do you think she’ll die by your hands directly, or will she perish in some dungeon somewhere and you won’t even remember why you should care?”

“STOP IT!” screams Badger.

“That’s enough!” growls Rowan, pulling her swords out of the bag of holding.

“Tough talk from someone whose daddy isn’t around to help her out when she’s in over her head,” spits the dwarf maid. Suddenly her expression changes to one of interest. “Now, what do you have in there?” she asks the ranger, her face full of an unsettling hunger.

Grumble overturns the table in front of his sister. “All right, Glorwyn, what the hell are you playing at?!” he barks.

She turns to him at last, and Grumble sees that though her face is unchanged, her eyes seem different in the dim light of the warehouse. Now they seem older, more sinister, and full of cruel laughter.

“You poor, misguided dwarf. I know your family, and not just from what I pulled from your head. I suppose you still think everything was your fault.” Glorwyn clucks her tongue. “Poor Mordi…”

Unable to restrain themselves any longer, Rowan and Grumble make nearly simultaneous lunges for the dwarf-girl, their weapons drawn. Glorwyn snaps her fingers, and they all freeze, finding themselves unable to do anything but breathe, and only that with some effort.

Glorwyn stands up from the chair she’d been sitting on, and as she does so, changes her own form into that of a tall, stately elf-woman. She is beautiful, but in the same way that an iceberg is beautiful: cold with a world of hidden danger lurking beneath the surface.

She tells them she wanted to see the people that thwarted her brother’s plans. She’s been watching them fumble around the city for days. She says that she’s read all their “little minds” except for Nialia’s. There’s something blocking her thoughts, something that seems familiar about Nialia, but nothing the evil elf cares too much about.

“I have no more interest in you,” she says, as if dismissing them as utterly unimportant and uninteresting. “There was a spark, yes, a hint of power… but nothing more. If I were you, I’d get out of the city before things really get bad. That, and pray to whatever gods you cling to that we never meet again.”

So saying, she takes the bag of holding and opens it wide, removing the chest holding the Book of Vile Darkness. She breaks the lock on the chest with her bare hands and flips up the lid, drawing a deep, satisfied breath. “Can’t have one of these wandering around the place,” she says with a cruel twist of her mouth. “It might fall into the wrong hands.” With that, she waves her hand and vanishes with a dull clap of inrushing air.

Once she’s gone, the party can move again. Grumble shakes so badly that he nearly falls as he walks away from the rest of his comrades, then goes berserk, smashing and hacking everything he can sink the blade of his axe into.

Faces ashen, the party eventually makes their way back to the library, where they tell Kartharine that they just met the sister of the three siblings of the House of Bel. Kartharine goes pale, and demands that they recount every possible little detail, no matter how insignificant. She groans when she hears that Rannah seized the Book of Vile Darkness, but seems genuinely pleased to learn that Rannah and Amroch are in contact with each other, though she does not say why.

As the shadows lengthen, the discouraged and emotionally ravaged party heads toward the temple district, where Badger hopes to be able to do some reconnoitering around the temple of Pelor once night falls. Along the way, they encounter another squad of militia, this one accompanied by the tall gaunt creature, still wrapped in his cloak. It grins at them as they pass, but does not issue a challenge.

The party finds the closest tavern to the temple and sits, pecking at food and drink, none of them really saying much as they wait for night to fall…

Session 27: The Speech

Game Date: 01/19/2008
In-Game Date: Mansday, Disander 13, late night – Moonsday, Dis 14, noon.
The week of Horfang.

Grumble receives several more wounds inside the cloud of darkness, including a flaming ball to the side of the head. Madly flailing about with his axe, he can tell that he’s striking objects, but none of them cry out in pain.

Badger and Audric, meanwhile, fly over the flaming wall with no ill effects, but Audric swoops up suddenly as he spies a cluster of city militia bearing crossbows and pikes. Fortunately, the militia recognizes them before any of the frightened guards open fire. Audric lands and releases Badger, who begins to explain what’s happened to the guards. The shapechanger then takes off again to go and bring one of the other party members over the fire wall. But as soon as he crosses the wall a second time, it vanishes, leaving only heat radiating from the walls and flagstones. The militia sends a detachment around the block to come through the warren of alleyways from the opposite direction, while half a dozen or so charge into the alley that was recently blocked by fire. Badger shrugs and follows after them.

About the time the fire wall vanished, the cloud of darkness around Grumble lifts and is gone as well. Grumble looks around him for any sign of his foe, but sees only several deep gouges in the stone wall, and a partially collapsed awning strewn about with several broken barrels. One barrel remains miraculously unharmed by Grumble’s axe, and he smashes it as well in frustration. The barrel gives way under his blade, and the contents spill out over his feet. Grumble looks down.

“Shit,” he growls, because it is.

Both groups of militia meet up, neither having encountered any additional assailants. The watch commander checks to make sure the party is not in danger of immediate death, and provides an escort for them back to the Shield and Shingle. Once there, Grumble doesn’t even pause, but goes straight up the stairs and into his room. It could be due to the fatigue, or it could have been because as their escort left, another guard ran up to them and says that they found a stash of the were-rats’ gold in the sewer beneath the bell tower! There must have been at least 10,000 gold from all the extorting they’ve been doing the past months, or so the guard reports. The party sighs, to tired and sore to even groan at the news. Audric mutters something under his breath that sounds like: “Don’t scream until they’re gone… don’t scream until they’re gone…”

Nialia and Rowan make to follow Grumble’s lead, but Audric hesitates. He decides to go to the temple of Pelor, and hopefully wrangle some potions from the priests for healing and for curing Grumble of the effects of the negative energy trap he stepped in. He changes his shape to appear as just an ordinary citizen of the city and departs, even if he is still limping slightly.

While he’s out, the party learns that whoever the Speaker in Dreams is, it isn’t someone they’ve dealt with yet. Each of them has a nightmare about walking through various parts of the ruins of the city. Each hears a hissing, a great susurrus of sibilant speech, alien yet full of malice. Each stands before an opening door or gate of some kind and hears a deep, sepulchral voice intone, “The bells toll! The gate swings wide! Doom has come to the world!” The scene that greets their eyes cannot be later remembered, but it is one of horror, and the sleeping heroes sink fitfully into deeper sleep.

Except for Badger, who is shaken awake by Audric, who has returned, looking grim. Blearily she asks if he was successful as Audric strips off his armor and crawls gingerly into bed beside her. He mumbles that the temple was closed to the public; militia were keeping everyone away from the gates by order of the baron. There was also a glow from within the temples that could be seen through the window, almost like a fire was burning within. Audric says that he tried to play the “hero of Brindinsford needing aid” card, and nearly got his head handed to him. Badger doesn’t tell Audric of her dream, but holds him close until she can once more drift off.

Just before dawn, Grumble awakes to find Auger sitting patiently across from his bed. Wit every muscle in his body screaming, the dwarf staggers into his clothes and heads out for training. When he gets back, dawn is just breaking, but the Grumble heads back upstairs and tries to get a little more sleep.

Just after eight in the morning, heralds' trumpets sound throughout the town, and a crier announces the baron's desire to speak to his people. The speech will be repeated around the city by criers for those unable or unwilling to attend. The party, rudely awoken by the pronouncement, decides to attend the speech, but will do so trying to keep a low profile.

Soon they join the crowd forming outside the baron's keep around the northeast tower. Less than half of the town's nearly five thousand citizens are here, but the crowd looks enormous... and agitated. The morning sky seems agitated as well, with heavy black clouds blocking the sunlight, and a light drizzle wets the faces of those who look up towards the tower.

The noisy crowd begins to hush as the heralds' trumpets sound again, and the figure of the baron appears on a high balcony near the top of the tower. He is dressed in a white tunic and purple cloak, and sporting a close-trimmed black beard. He raises his hands, and silence spreads over the throng.

His speech is oddly emotionless, despite his protestations of sadness and regret. He speaks without pause, regardless of the interruptions and cries of alarm and dismay arising from the crowd.

"Good people of Brindinsford, I address you today with a heavy heart, standing amid the chaos that has befallen our town. Lawlessness and disorder have reigned since this street fair began, and even the valiant efforts of a heroic band of adventurers have not put an end to the madness. Even while we celebrated these heroes and feasted in their honor, assassins plotted to end their lives.

"The guards of our fair city have been decimated. The streets are not safe to walk at night. Therefore, I am forced to call upon a new force of law, one that can and will restore order to Brindinsford. Let it be recorded that I, Baron Euphemes the Second, have decreed this day these new edicts, most of which will become effective upon the first stroke of noon:

"The street fair is over. All booths must be removed from Eastgate Way before sundown tonight. Any booths, carts, or wagons found on Eastgate Way at sundown will be seized and destroyed.

"The gates of the city are now closed. No one shall enter or leave Brindinsford until further notice.

"The carrying of weapons in the city is prohibited. Anyone seen to be in possession of a weapon will be attested and tried for treason.

"The temple of Pelor, whose god has not seen fit to defend our city, is hereby closed, and its priests are declared outlaws. A warrant is hereby issued For the arrest of High Priest Forgrim of Pelor and Sun's Champion Marial, as well as all acolytes who have served in the temple.

"In order to maintain this new order in our fair city, I summon to duty all able-bodied citizens who have enlisted in the militia. They are to report to the barracks immediately.

"Let the forces of lawlessness know that we will brook no disobedience of our law. Defiance will be punished by death, and justice will be executed without delay."

The baron turns without another word and disappears into the tower. As the baron leaves, a figure appears on the balcony. The creature is humanoid, about 9 feet tall, but gaunt to the point of being skeletal. A heavy cloak hides his body, but he places two large, clawed hands on the railing and leans forward, as if savoring the fear and dismay of the gathered crowds below. Even the two bodyguards of the baron seem to quail in the presence of this creature. After a moment, the gaunt being turns and stalks back into the tower with a harsh noise that could have been a laugh.

Still wondering what the hell that tall thing was, Grumble hears a female voice from behind, speaking in dwarvish. “That’s quite a pronouncement. I was going to be on the next caravan out of this hell hole, too.”

Grumble turns to see a dwarven warrior maiden in filigreed but sturdy-looking plate armor. A cloak is pulled over her head, obscuring most of her face in the light drizzle. At her side is a dwarven Urgosh engraved with the family runes of the Nock’kern clan. Grumble starts as he recognizes the runes.

A smile plays about the lips of the dwarf girl. “It’s not my clan. It’s a gift from a… friend.”

Grumble raises an eyebrow (the only one he has, since the other one burned off last night, along with half his mustache). “Some friend.”

“What are you going to do about the edicts, warrior?”

“I don’t know,” replies Grumble, “but I’m not giving up my axe.”

“Well, I don’t want to give up my steel at some baron’s whim either, but I’d rather not face the headsman’s axe, either.”

Nialia makes a crack about dwarven language in Elvish under her breath to Rowan, and the dwarf girl looks up and snarks right back in Common, evidencing an unmistakable understanding of the Elven language.

Grumble laughs. The girl smiles at him, continuing to speak in Common now. “Want to decide what to do over a drink? I’ll buy for your friends, too, if they want to join us.”

Grumble leads her and everyone else back to the Shield and Shingle. He asks her about her clan, since her accent seems very close to his own. She says that she’s about to marry into the Nock’kern, since she was betrothed a few days before her father died. She has spent the past four years (four dwarven years, anyway, which works out to about ten years on the common calendar) getting the traveling bug out of her system. She was about to head back to the dwarflands on the caravan she’s guarding when all this happened.

She seems nice enough, though Rowan clearly is wary of any new faces that want to be friendly. Something about her manner and voice reminds Grumble of home, in a good way. Nialia, on the other hand, feels like every word the dwarf girl utters is like the rasp of metal on her ears. She can’t understand why, but the hackles on her neck are up, and she has to fight the urge to change into her wolf form and attack. She feels an odd pressure behind her eyes, like a headache that gets steadily worse the longer she’s around the girl.

The girl is cordial enough to them all, and talks easily with Grumble, though every once in a while her speech changes, and an undercurrent of strange animosity towards him slips out, as though he wronged her grievously in the past.

Finally, something she says gets Grumble’s dander up. “Thanks for the drink, but maybe you should get back to your caravan,” he says flatly.

The dwarf maid, her cloak still on, rises to her feet. “Maybe I will,” she says evenly. “See you around, Mordi.” With that, she heads for the door.

Grumble’s head snaps up and around at that. He looks like he just got punched in the… well, in the everything. Everyone else remains still but ready as Grumble calls out to the strange girl.

“Wait!” The girl stops, but does not turn.

Grumble steps up to her, and now she turns to him. “How do you know that name?” he whispers.

In answer, her hands slowly rise to her head, and lift the cloak away from her face. She is younger than Grumble, and her hair is a pale yellow, but the family resemblance is unmistakable.

Grumble goes as pale as a cave-toad. She looks just as she did when Grumble saw her last. A scar here and there, and her skin is a bit more weathered, but there’s no mistaking the eyes.

“Glorwyn? You’re dead. How…” he trails off, unable to continue.

“Who is this?” asks Audric, confused.

“This is my sister,” says Grumble, unable to take his eyes off of her. “I thought she was dead. She was dead… and it was all my fault…”

The party is silent, and Glorwyn’s face betrays not a single flicker of emotion as she watches Grumble.

Stumblingly, haltingly, Grumble tells his companions at last of the story of his banishment. How he failed in his charge to protect the tribute money from his and several other clans to a raid, and how his sister perished in the attack. How he dug himself and his sister’s body out of the rubble of the tunnel that had collapsed around him, and how he built for his sister the pyre of a fallen warrior. How he was stripped of his name and rank and banished from dwarf lands.

After he finishes, Glorwyn fills in a few blanks for his brother. Days before the raid, their dying father had accepted a proposal for marriage from a minor but wealthy noble in the Nock’kern clan. Although Orderik, their brother, was against the arrangement, and urged their father not to pay the rather large bride-price, their father insisted, wanting his daughter taken care of. Glorwyn hadn’t found time to tell Grumble about it before the attack. After Grumble’s banishment, Glorwyn’s fiancé used his influence with the clerics of Moradin to return Glorwyn to life with a powerful resurrection spell.

She tells Grumble that she begged her fiancé for a little time to go find her brother, to see him one last time before she left her clan forever. She’s been searching for him for almost ten years now, traveling both alone and in the company and employ of others. She’s learned to fight well, and has even mastered some arcane magic.

She glares into Grumble’s tear-filled eyes as her voice becomes harsh.

“You know, for the longest time I hated you. Part of me wanted you to suffer the way I had. Dying was horrible, but it wasn’t that bad. But being brought back to life? That was by far and away the most horrible thing I’ve ever experienced. Do you know what happens? No? I’ll tell you: my soul was brought back into the charred remains of my body. It was a horrifying matter of seconds before they could heal me back to full health. D’you have any idea what it’s like to try and draw breath into lungs that are cracked and crusted? To feel a heart that’s been completely incinerated try to beat? To try and feel with nerves that have been blasted away by fire? Those seconds seemed like an eternity! I still wake up screaming some nights, dreaming that I’m trapped in that charred body, only no one’s around to heal me.”

Glorwyn stops a moment to regain her composure, and then continues in a softer voice. “But as time went by, and I couldn’t find you, I began to worry more that you were dead, and I would never see you again. I realized that it mattered more to know that you were all right. After these four years, I had given up hope. I hired myself onto a caravan heading north back into the dwarfmounts. We got into town here in the middle of the fair, and started hearing about these heroes who were solving all the town’s problems. I think I nearly died of shock when I realized that one of them was you.

“You know, Mordi, I must have rehearsed a thousand speeches, played out a thousand scenarios in my mind of what would happen if I found you. And of course, now that I’m here, I have no idea what to say to you.”

Grumble can contain himself no longer. He throws his arms around her and sobs into her pauldrons. For a moment she seems frozen, but then her face softens and she embraces him back.

She listens to a brief outline of their adventures, and their encounters with powerful dark forces. She is impressed by her brother’s exploits, though it is apparent that Rowan and Nialia are not happy with Grumble telling her of their adventures, even if he doesn’t go into details about anything he shouldn’t, or mention names that she shouldn’t know.

About this time, the voice of a crier, walking the streets and repeating the baron’s speech can be heard approaching the common room of the inn. A citizen bursts in, yelling “You guys have GOT to see this!”

The adventurers look at each other. Audric gets up and heads for the door. “I’ve gotta see this,” he says with a shrug.

The rest of the party follows him onto the street. The crier recites the baron’s speech in a loud, carrying voice. He looks terrified, though not so much of the dark reactions of the crowds on the street, but of the two creatures clad in the garb of the city militia that flank him. They look like goblins, but stand about eight feet tall, and carry naked blades. They grin nastily at the frightened onlookers, as if daring any of them to start trouble. Finally, the sweating crier finishes the speech and moves on down the road. The creatures follow him like wraiths, their beady eyes darting about and their toothy maws twisted into cruel smiles.

After heading back in and reseating themselves, they all discuss their options, with the noon deadline coming in less than an hour. As politely as possible, they shove Glorwyn away from the table to go chat with Badger while they discuss a few options best kept to as few ears as possible. Grumble has an idea to procure magical cloaks that would enable them to conceal their weapons on their person. Audric muses that the Thieves’ Guild might have such items available, or know where to procure them. The idea that the Shield and Shingle is no longer a safe haven for them is brought up as well. Plans are made to spread rumors that the party is still staying there while they obtain lodging in secret elsewhere. The places that seem best are Amrauthlen’s grove, or a safe-house known to the Thieves’ Guild. Rowan and Grumble agree to head to Shooma’s to try and obtain helpful magic items, while Badger and Audric will head to the Gold Tabard Trading Company to do the same, as well as inquiring about possible lodging. Nialia heads off to Amrauthlen to ask if the party can shelter there as well. Glorwyn heads back to the warehouse where her caravan is stationed, seeing if she even has a job, since in all probability the caravan will be stuck within the city walls along with everyone else. She makes Grumble promise to come by and see her after he finishes doing what he needs to do. Though he doesn’t want to deceive his sister, he tells her that he and his comrades will be staying at the shield and shingle. Lastly, everyone removes their weapons and place them in the bag of holding. The exceptions are Grumble, who refuses to remove his axe until he absolutely has to, Badger, who won’t tell anyone where her kukri is hidden, and Audric, who likewise say he will have no problems concealing his longknife. The party splits up and heads their separate ways.

Grumble and Rowan arrive at Shooma’s smithy to find that she has been forbidden to sell or take commissions for any weapons of armor without the express permission of the city authorities. She wishes she could help them, but her shop has been here for a hundred years, and she doesn’t want to risk seeing it destroyed. With a sigh, the two head towards the city’s grove, where everyone agreed to meet next. As they walk back up Eastgate Way, the bell tower tolls noon. Rowan glares at Grumble. With a heavy and angry sigh, the dwarf removes his axe from it’s place on his breastplate and shoves it angrily into their bag of holding.

Nialia, meanwhile, finds Amrauthlen more than willing to shelter her and her friends for as long as they need. He tells her that he had a disturbing dream wherein he was walking through the ruins of the city. Before his hands, the gates to the Temple of Pelor opened, and a voice cried out the same words from Nialia’s dream. Nialia tells him that she shared a very similar dream. Still pondering the implications of this, they head towards the entrance of the grove to await the arrival of the rest of the party.

Badger and Audric have slightly more luck than Grumble and Rowan. They talk to Arch, the co-head of the Thieves’ Guild. While he does not know of any magic items that would match the description or function Grumble had envisioned, he does provide them with an address and a password for one of the guild’s safe houses. Thanking the man, the two depart for the grove.

Audric asks Badger what she and Glorwyn talked about while the rest of them were making plans. “Oh, just girl stuff,” replies the gnome. “I wanted to know what Grumble was like before… you know, everything else.” Something is bothering her, though. Something at the back of her mind is screaming to be paid attention to. Finally it hits her, and she stops suddenly, feeling suddenly much colder than the wet weather would normally make her. Audric stops as well, and his eyes narrow as he sees the look on her face. “Badger, what is it?”

“Audric,” she breathes. “She mentioned the House of Bel. I didn’t say the name, and I don’t think any of the rest of us said it. Do you think there’s any chance Grumble let it slip when he was talking in dwarf?”

Audric shakes his head. “No. I speak it, and I was listening to them the whole time.” He sighs. “The entire time she was there, I was trying to read her mind. I would have had better luck trying to read the thoughts of the table instead. She admitted to being a magic user, so I had to be very careful, but I cast a few low-level detection spells her way. She could be wearing some kind of magic amulet to protect her thoughts from being read, but I can’t tell if any of her gear is magic. Hells, I couldn’t even detect if she was good or evil. Again, she could do that with the right set of items, but why would a caravan guard be sporting that kind of anti-magic gear?”

The two resume walking, their thoughts full of dark questions.

“We have to tell Grumble,” sighs Badger.

“WE? You tell him. I’m not pissing off Ragey McSlaughterAxe by telling him something is really wrong about his sister!”

Badger invokes the sacred problem-solving rite of Rock, paper, scissors, and Audric loses. Seeing the crestfallen look, she squeezes his arm. “Oh, we can tell him together, silly.”

“Tell who what?” asks Grumble, for the two gnomes have arrived at the entrance to the grove.

Amrauthlen bows to them all, smiling gently. “Enter, friends of the forest, and be welcome within my grove. I offer you sanctuary within these walls, and what protection leaf and bough can afford. I promise you that while this place will not stand against a determined assault, its power will keep most evil at bay. For evil has indeed come to this city, and I fear that it will take power beyond your abilities to cleanse the foulness from within the walls of Brindinsford.”

With that, the party enters the grove, wondering what to do next, and whether they will find this Speaker in Dreams before it finds them …

Session 26: The Deathtrap

Game Date: 01/26/2008
In-Game Date: Mansday, Disander 13, late night.
The week of Horfang.

The party has staggered perhaps seventy feet from the alley when they here a low and sultry woman’s voice call out to them: “Hey, heroes!”

The party turns to see a tall, powerfully built woman in loose chainmail. She blows them a kiss from the mouth of the alley she stands in, perhaps 30 feet away from the party. Then with a complex twirl of her fingers, she blows a cone of cold at them as well. Laughing, the woman skips backwards down the alley, not taking her eyes off the stunned group as they shake off the pain and freezing chill of the spell’s effects. She draws a greatsword from it’s sheath on her back as she moves.

Badger takes off after the woman, with Grumble right behind her. Audric cries for Badger to wait, but charges in after her nonetheless. Nialia gives chase as well, leaving Rowan out on the street. Rowan draws her bow and fires several shots at the woman, none of which hit. Sighing, the ranger heads into the alley as well. The moment she does, a wall of purple and red fire erupts behind her, completely cutting off their retreat.

While that goes on, the woman has turned to face Grumble’s charge, as he’s pulled ahead of Badger and Audric. Her free hands move again, and suddenly Grumble feels as though he’s known this woman forever. She’s a close friend! Surely this is just a misunderstanding. Curiously, his other friends are trying to attack her! This can’t be right! As gently as he can, Grumble restrains Badger from attacking the woman, and argues with his friends, wondering aloud why they’re being so unreasonably hostile to this friend of his. The woman tells him that she has healing supplies just around the corner, and if he just follows her she can fix the wounds from that little accident at the mouth of the alley. Grumble thinks this is a good idea, and is confused by Audric, Nialia and Badger all trying to hold him back from following her. He shakes them off, and heads around the corner. The woman’s voice shouts “Take them!”

From the rooftops around them, snipers unleash a barrage of crossbow bolts at the party. Grumble snaps out of his mental haze and realizes that he’s been duped. A second flight of crossbow quarrels descends through the night air. Badger activates her slippers of spider climbing and scales the closest wall, while Audric grabs a nearby drainpipe and climbs up after her.

A figure materializes in front of Grumble. It is the woman, but in her true form of a nine foot tall ogre mage. The first stroke of her greatsword catches the dwarf off guard and wounds him badly. However, now Grumble has something he can attack, and the two of them begin to trade devastating blows. The she-ogre goes down under Nialia’s bite, Rowans’ swords, and Grumble’s axe, but Rowan knows that it’s only a matter of time before the ogre’s regenerative powers restore her. In the meantime, Audric and Badger have their hands full with the snipers on the roof. All Badger has is her Kukri, and all Audric has is his longknife, but they’re slowly making headway, and are providing a decent distraction for the snipers. This proves to be useful, since two assassins who’ve become invisible take this opportunity to strike at Grumble and Rowan. The heroes battle doggedly on, bleeding and bruised, but fighting for their lives in the dark warren of alleys. Miraculously, the party manages to take down all of their assailants without dying themselves.

As Audric and Badger send the last sniper tumbling off the rooftops to smack wetly on the flagstones below, Audric quickly sheathes his blade and grimaces. Like everyone, he is stuck and bleeding from a score of wounds. Badger has been hit once or twice, but not seriously, though her kirtle may now be a total loss. Audric takes her in his arms and flies her towards and up over the curtain of fire blocking the mouth of the alley.

Down at ground level in the alley, Grumble, Nialia and Rowan notice a cloud of ink blackness has spread across a nearby alleyway. Grumble, who is in the throes of his barbarian rage, runs yelling into the darkness. Rowan has emptied a flask of lamp oil onto the head and torso of the ogress and has set her alight. She keeps a close eye for any signs of the ogress awakening while the fire hopefully does the trick of putting her down for good.

Grumble can find no enemies to fight within the blinding darkness, but something is in there with him, for he can hear mocking laughter as some unseen weapon opens wounds on his body. Soon Grumble’s rage will be over, and Grumble will be grievously wounded as well as suffering the fatigue from having used his rage ability. His knows his only chance is to keep swinging and hope to strike the thing attacking him before Grumble is too weak to carry on the fight…

Session 25: ". . . but someone’s gotta do it."

Game Date: 01/19/2008
In-Game Date: Mansday, Disander 13, mid-morning – late night.
The week of Horfang.

Leaving the two paladins in the back room of the Reality Wrinkle, the party heads up the stairs to the second floor. The floor, essentially one big room, shows signs of having been occupied recently, though no one can be seen. Doors to small, cell-like bedrooms line the walls of one side of the main room. Each room is empty, containing nothing but a small cot, desk, and chest full of various personal effects. Several of these chests carry robes worn by students of the University.

The last door along the wall stands slightly ajar, and is pitch black within. The light from the room does not seem to penetrate it. Rowan, Nialia and Badger, with their low-light vision, can make out the shape of what appears to be a caved in tunnel. A figure appears to be trapped in the tons of collapsed rock. Grumble, with his darkvision, can make out the face of his dead sister as she reaches out to him, her eyes pleading. Before anyone can move, the trapped figure becomes wreathed in flames. The party can feel the heat, and is appalled as, seconds later, the rocks themselves ignite. The party stumbles backwards just in time to miss a massive fireball exploding out the door at them.

Picking themselves up off the ground, they peer at the doorway once more. This time, the room contains a larger version of the other bedrooms. Obviously this room belonged to the leader of the cult. A search of the room reveals nothing but a book that might be a diary of the cult leader. Written in at least twelve different languages, often switching languages in mid-phrase, the text is difficult to interpret. A few discernable passages deal with prophecies of coming doom and insane, rambling nonsense. The party pockets the book and moves on to the stairs leading up to the top level. Badger leads the way, checking carefully for traps.

As soon as Badgers foot touches the steps leading up to a closed door at the top of the stairs, an inhuman eye opens in the wooden door above them. Blinking, it looks around and focuses on the party as they charge up the stairs at it. They attack the eye, but it disappears back into the wood of the door. Opening the door, they find the room filled with a heavy mist that obscures their view of the room’s interior. Standing in the doorway, the group considers their next move.

Suddenly a glowing dot appears on Audrics’ chest. Half a second later, a fireball comes hurtling out of the mist and detonates on the poor gnome. Nialia summons a wolf and sends it into the narrow tube burned in the fog by the fireball’s passage. It gets perhaps fifteen feet in when something large and unseen grabs the wolf. There is a sharp yelp and a crunching sound, then nothing. Burned and angry, Grumble charges into the mist in the general direction of the noise, brandishing his axe.

Meanwhile, spell after spell hammers the group. Nialia and Badger notice that the eye in the door is back, and is still watching them. They attack it as Grumble runs into something in the fog. Something with large, powerful claws and a stinger. He can barely make out it’s shape in the mist, but images of a giant scorpion come to mind. Grumble has his hands full fighting blindly against a monster that seems to have no trouble telling where he is when he smells and hears something terrifyingly familiar from behind him. He turns as claw-tipped tentacles stab out of the mist at him, tearing into his armor and flesh. Grumble cries out as he is jerked off his feet and up into the air. Audric hears the cry and fires a spell blindly in that direction. Miraculously, the bolt of magical energy hits, and Grumble breaks free of the worm creature’s grip.

By this point, Rowan has crept along the wall of the room, and is now engaged with the scorpion. Badger and Nialia finally succeed in destroying the eye. There is a curse from the far end of the room, and the fog suddenly clears. Three figures, all clad in identical robes, stand at the end of the room. The one in the middle is a woman, and the light of madness practically burns in her eyes. The fighters charge the magic users, who fire off spells in a panic as the warriors converge on them. Grumble finishes the worm creature, and Nialia activates her Python Rod, sending the giant constrictor snake to attack the giant scorpion. The scorpion fights, but is no match for the crushing coils of the massive python, and soon there is a horribly final sound of chitin cracking. Though the sorcerers are practiced in the art of offensive magic, they are soon cut down. The leader fights to the death as well, hitting Audric with a particularly vile spell as he tries to do the same with less success. But she, too, finally falls under the blades of the party (technically, she’s mortally wounded by the blades of the party. The killing blow takes the form of a bolt of lightning that incinerates her, courtesy of Nialia).

A search of the room reveals a false wall with some treasure, but nothing providing any real answers as to what the cult was up to. It seems a reasonable assumption that this is the woman who “smells like parchment,” as the grimlock leader said.

Audric suggests that tomorrow, he can cast a spell allowing him to communicate with the corpse, and literally pick its brain for the knowledge it held. So they stuff the still-smoking corpse in the bag of holding and head out of the building.

The paladins thank the party once more, and then head off for some healing and rest. The party is about to head back to the inn when they are accosted by a nondescript human man. He looks at all the party, then focuses on Audric.

“Mother wants to talk to you,” he says in a monotone, his face blank of emotion.

Audric goes very, very still. “I’m out,” he says.

The man does not react at all to this statement. “Mother wants to talk to you,” he repeats.

“Fine,” says Audric.

“Do you know where the door is?”

“Yes,” replies Audric. At that, the man wanders off into the crowd. Audric turns to the party. “I’m sorry, everyone, but I have to take care of this. I shouldn’t be away long, no more than a few hours at most. If I’m not back by sundown… well, I shouldn’t be long. See you back at the inn.”

“Hey, Audric,” calls Rowan, “you got a gold piece I can borrow?” Audric flips one to her, and then sets off without a backward glance.

The party splits up, Grumble wanting to sell off some of the spoils of recent battles. Rowan and Nialia head to Amrauthlen’s grove, and Badger returns alone to the Shield and Shingle to wait for Audric… and maybe have a drink or two.

Grumble, having sold off most of the gear he’d obtained recently, is accosted by a shady-looking man who notes that he seems like the kind of dwarf who’d be interested more in bargain prices on magical weapons than in where the weapons came from. Wary but eager, Grumble follows the man into an alley, where, hidden from view, another man waits with several large, open crates. Within them, all kinds of weapons lay loosely packed. They appear to be as high-quality as promised. Grumble looks them over with a practiced eye and tries not to drool. Then he notices that a huge rat has crept silently up by one of the men, who reaches idly down and strokes his head. Then a blade crashed down, slicing into grumble from behind. Grumble, howling in pain, whips out his anti-shapechanger axe and cuts both his assailants down in a matter of just a few strokes. Rolling his eyes at the temerity of his now-dismembered opponents, he gleefully sets about stuffing as much of their weaponry as can fit into the bag of holding.

Rowan and Nialia spend a few pleasant hours at Amrauthlen’s grove. On their way back, they notice two lanky, greasy looking men following them. Nialia remembers suddenly the men who followed her the day before! The two women slip into an alley, letting themselves be seen doing so. Nialia shifts into a wolf form and hides in a pile of rubbish, while Rowan ducks back behind a corner. They don’t have to wait long before the two men come literally sniffing into the alley. One carries a crossbow, the other has drawn a rapier. They come closer, and get between Rowan and Nialia before the two women spring their ambush. The two men quickly change into wererats, but are still cut down by Rowan’s silver sword and Nialia’s fangs (enhanced by a silver spell of her own). Worried, the two women head back to the Shield and Shingle, where other things have been happening in the meantime…

Badger is on her fourth drink (give or take), staring forlornly at the door, when a handsome young human man asks if he can sit beside her and buy her a drink. She waves expansively, and the man sits down beside her. He flirts, but respectably, and backs off a bit when she tells him about Audric. Still, he’s pleasant company, and Badger finds the man easy to talk to, despite his obvious disappointment over her being spoken for. After he buys her a second drink, they toast, and Badger begins to really feel her booze. The room seems to spin and dip for a few minutes, and Badger wonders if she’s going to keep it all down. The young man politely offers to render aid if she wants, but Badger declines. After a few more minutes, the man tells her, “Hey, isn’t that your friend right there?” Badger looks over, eager to see Audric, but the man coming through the door is no gnome. She turns back just in time to barely dodge the knife that slashes at her throat. She whips out her sword and begins fencing with the assassin. Even drunk and half-drugged, her skills are more than a match for him, and the man turns into the hybrid form of a wererat to best her. It makes no real difference, and Badger presses her attack even harder. She takes a few cuts and one nasty bite from the wererats’ jaws. Finally, bleeding from multiple cuts, the were-rat would-be killer scrambles for the door. A tall, swarthy man blocks his exit and punches the were-rat in the face. Staggering backwards, he is run through and killed by a final thrust of Badger’s sword.

Breathing heavily, Badger turns to thank the tall man. To her surprise and delight, the man shrinks in height, taking on the familiar features of Audric. Hugging him, she asks what happened.

Audric tells her that he went to the “house” the secret organization that maintains the legend of the Shadowspawn. He learned, to his surprise, that he is not the only Shadowspawn, although only one Shadowspawn is ever active at any given time. He argued that the contract on Badger and Grumble’s life was violated due to misrepresentation on behalf of the client. While normally such an act would result in the client’s termination, the von Hawkmoor family is powerful enough that even the Mother does not wish to antagonize them unnecessarily. Audric tells Badger that he is in a kind of “holding” status as Shadowspawn while his fate is decided. However, he assures her that neither the Shadowspawn nor any of their agents will be taking a contract with the von Hawkmoors ever again.

On his way back to the inn, Audric noticed that he was being followed. He too, lured his followers into a trap, identified them as wererats, and finished them off without undue fuss. Realizing that the others could be in similar danger, he hurried back to the Shield and Shingle, which is where he found Badger kicking ass.

The two wait anxiously for an hour or so, but finally Grumble arrives back at the inn about the same time as Rowan and Nialia. They share stories of being attacked, and Grumble gleefully brings them upstairs to one of their rooms to show the party the cache of weapons he obtained.

Spreading them all out across the bed and floor, the party is astounded. All of them look to be at least masterwork quality, and most appear to be magical. However, Audric turns to Grumble with a look of extreme nervousness and apprehension on his face. Having just cast detect magic on the weapons, he has realized that they’re all glamored to look more valuable then they really are. As if on cue, the spell ends, and the weapons are revealed to be a collection of useless metal scrap.

The party looks at Grumble worriedly as the dwarf stands there, one eye twitching. Finally, he growls, “All right. I can forgive a lot, but this is going too far! Let’s get to that bell tower and kill those rat bastards.”

Well, that makes sense to everyone, but the party does grab a quick evening meal before heading out. The sun is setting over the city walls as they knock on the door to the 150-foot tall bell tower.

A viewing slot in the door slides open, revealing a pair of eyes set in an old, wrinkled face. The keeper of the tower will not let them in so late, and haughtily refutes the rumors of a rat infestation in the bell tower. He bids them goodnight and slams the view slot closed. Grumble takes rejection badly, but the party stops him before he can open the door his way. Instead, they open the door Badger’s way. Within the first set of doors is a small antechamber and then another set of doors. These get opened the same as the first, and the group steps cautiously into a large open chamber. Wooden stairs wind up the inside of the wall and disappear into the ceiling some 45 feet above them. Ropes dangle from a central shaft, no doubt attached to the bells. In one corner of the chamber, a small living area is set up where the old man who maintains the tower is eating a scanty meal. Grumble charges. The man drops his food, screams and changes into a dire rat. The rat scampers up the wall towards the safety of the stairs. Grumble slides to a halt, hefts a javelin and throws. There is a brief, final squeak as the javelin pins the rat neatly to the wall for a moment. Then the javelin returns to Grumbles hand, and the rat tumbles back to the ground, turning back into his human form before hitting the ground.

Unsure as to whether or not the commotion was heard by the other tower-dwellers, the party heads cautiously but quickly up the stairs. Grumble takes point over the protestations of Badger, who warns him of traps.

Grumble turns to the gnome and assures her that the were-rats are too stupid to set traps in their own house when a glowing rune appears on the boards under his feet. Before the warrior can react, a strength-sapping cold shoots through his body and leaves him weakened and gasping for breath. Audric shrugs, remarking that tomorrow he can use his spells to remove the negative energy that has weakened Grumble. Grumble mutters barely audible words that might have been something like “Badger, why don’t you go first and check for traps.”

The next floor is comprised of a series of interconnected rooms. The rooms house a few were-rats, but the party cuts them down quickly and easily. The next level teems with swarms and swarms of dire rats. Things look bad for a moment, but Audric just laughs and casts repel vermin. The rats are forced away from him, and Audric, along with Rowan and Nialia help him push the seething mass of rodents through the rooms and back against a wall. With a series of concerted pushes, the group crushes the rats against the thick stone walls of the bell tower. With that floor clear, the party heads up to the top floor.

Here is the bell room, a chamber almost as tall as the ground level. Wooden beams run at varying heights along the room, supporting the weight of the massive bells. Ropes and pulleys weave around the upper parts of the room like a cat’s cradle. Amidst the beams and ropes stand a group of were-rat warriors, all in hybrid form. The leader snarls at them and his troops begin firing arrows and crossbow bolts down at the adventurers from their strategically advantageous position. Grumble makes for the closest ladder, trying to get up to where he can swing his shifter-bane axe. The were-rats swing from position to position, keeping up a steady stream of missile fire. Nialia fires charge after charge from her wand of magic missiles, and Rowan shoots silvered, poisoned arrows at the wererats hiding in the rafters. The battle is fierce, but the heroes manage to bring down one were-rat, then another, then another. Finally, the leader falls, though Audric is quick to stabilize him. The group ends up with a few survivors to turn over to the city militia, and they rouse the leader after tying him upside down from one of the ropes suspended over the central shaft of the tower. He answers most of the questions to the best of his ability, but the party learns little that they did not already know. They learn that the were-rats, like the grimlocks, were under the orders of a mad sorceress who called herself the Blessed. The were-rat leader believes that the Blessed was getting orders from another, but has no idea who that could be. Lastly, he smiles, telling that the party that they may have killed most of his clan, but that one rat always escapes. And that rat will make more rats. And those rats will be back to have their revenge…

Shrugging, Grumble slaps the leader in the head with the flat of the shifter-bane axe, sending the thug back into unconsciousness. The party searches the bodies for anything else useful. Finding very little, they take the survivors down to the base of the tower, where the milita is waiting for them.

Shella arrives on the scene with the Baron’s sister Eriana. Seeing the wererat hybrids captured, both women are impressed. Eriana tells the party that for their efforts a feast is being held in their honor later tonight at the Stony Gaze Tavern. It won’t begin until after Bruge’s play is over, so the party agrees to attend.

The heroes do the best they can to clean themselves up before the play. Badger puts on her newly-repaired kirtle, and Nialia wears her nicest robes. Grumble wipes most of the blood and hunks of fur off his armor. Audric finds a clean tabard and Rowan puts on something nice as well.

The play is as good as expected, with the added surprise of the Baron himself showing up! The group gets a halfway decent look at the man as he sits in his own box to the right of the stage. The baron is tall, resplendently clad, but with deep worry lines etched into his commanding features. Behind him sits a robed figure. Halfway through the play, the figure bends forward and whispers something in the Baron’s ear. The Baron gets up and makes to leave. The players onstage stop the scene awkwardly, but the baron waves them to go on irritably before leaving.

After the play, Bruge and Chylra greet them warmly. He makes mention of a surprise coming to Rowan in a day or two, but will say nothing other than perhaps she won’t need it after all, now that the primary threats to the city have been dealt with. He promises to try and get to the feast later on, but will be busy at the theatre for quite some time.

The party takes a coach from the theatre to the Stony Gaze Tavern, which lies nearly at the other end of the city. They arrive, and almost every merchant and proprietor they have interacted with or assisted in some way is there to celebrate the group’s exploits. Ample food and drink is provided, handshakes and cheers seem to go on for hours, and there is even a decently competent bard that has put their exploits to song, even if some of the deeds are a bit exaggerated.

The Baron does not attend, to no-one’s great surprise, but Eriana is there and presents each member of the part with a cunningly wrought brooch made of silver and adorned with precious stones. Eriana confides later to Audric and Badger that the Baron’s new advisor seems to be wise in his counsel, but gives her the creeps. It doesn’t help that she has never seen his face. Her brother seems different of late… colder, more aloof. But Eriana admits that the past week has been incredibly trying, and she des not think the city would have survived as well as it did without the aid of the party.

Boxar and Grumble have a “friendly” drinking game, while Shella loosens up after a few drinks and admits to Rowan that the new militia members they’ve gotten to replace those slain in the recent attacks are a bunch of “scary bashtards.” And she should know, because she’s a scary bastard herself.

Despite these few forebodings and changes in affairs of state, the party is enjoyed by all. Eventually, well after midninght, things begin to wind down. Feeling fat, drunk and happy, the party stumbles out the door of the inn and into the crisp night air. Exhausted, they make their way back towards the Shield and Shingle Inn, and towards the promise of soft beds after a very, very long day.

Session 24: The Reality Wrinkle

Game Date: 01/05/2007 (Happy Birthday, Cat!!!)

In-Game Date: Mansday, Disander 13, early – mid-morning.

The week of Horfang.

While Grumble dreams of torture, and Rowan is dreaming of Potter’s brain getting extracted, Audric and Badger finish their midair make-out session and return to the Shield and Shingle. In the low light of the dying fire in the common room, the two make out the forms of two human males and a Halfling female. Badger recognizes the Halfling as the one who tried to pickpocket her the day before yesterday.

Greeting the two gnomes, the strangers introduce themselves as Arch and Thos, co-owners of the Gold Tabard Merchant Company, based in the Eastgate district. Their associate (the Halfling) is named Thelva, who gives them a bawdy wink. Arch compliments her on the picking of the “unpickable” lock, and has heard other favorable tales of her exploits. Badger realizes, as Arch is talking, that he is idly tracing the sigil of the thieves guild on the table top with a bit of spilled ale. Badger, eyes narrowing, wonders aloud what any of this has to do with her.

Arch calmly and cordially replies that first, they appreciate her handling of the unfortunate pick-pocketing incident. The city guard is a bit edgy of late, and have been treating criminals much more roughly. Secondly, when Arch learned of the relationship between the thugs who’ve been extorting businesses in Brindinsford and the infestation of wererats, he put two and two together, thinking of the bell tower rumored to be crawling with rats. He sent a few men to the tower to investigate this past morning, and the men haven't been seen since. These men were quite capable, Arch assures her. So consider this a fair warning for anyone thinking of heading into the tower.

Badger thanks him coolly and bids the three of them good-night. Thelva gives Audric a resounding smack on his butt on her way out. Badger grinds her teeth, barely restraining herself from sinking a kukri between the little rogue’s departing shoulder blades. Muttering darkly under her breath, she stomps upstairs to bed.

“What?” calls Audric. “So we both got our asses spanked today. Big deal.” The door to their room slams in response.

Meanwhile, Nialia has entered her meditative trance under the naked boughs of the old oak tree in Amrauthlin’s grove. Clearing her mind of the day’s trials, she sighs in pleasure, feeling the tree’s slow pulse beneath her. Suddenly an image springs to her mind, unbidden. She sees the party struggling and screaming, dimly lit by a fiery red glow. The scene flashes to another, as if jumping forward in time by a few seconds, then jumps again. Then there is a pearly bright glow that fills her vision, then nothing, only crying, as if heard from a long way off.

Nialia’s eyes snap open. Coming out of her trance, she feels a pull towards the tree. Just like the night before, she steps through the tree and emerges into the silent darkness of the Old Forest. This time, Araven stands there waiting, in elven form. Araven sees Nialia’s expression and asks her what the matter is. Nialia tells Araven of what she saw in her mind during her meditation.

Araven’s eyes grow wide. “You’ve had a vision? Such are not unheard of. Your visits to the forest might have sparked them. We see things in our minds; sometimes things long past, some things that happening now. Some are things that have yet to be. I had a vision, years ago, of you. I saw myself giving you the ceremony that awakened you Lythari blood. I saw Burn…” and here Araven trails off, and a look of resignation flashes across her face like a wisp of cloud over a full moon. “Well, I have seen other things as well,” the wolf queen finishes.

“Will this vision come to pass?” asks Nialia

Araven steps close to Nialia and takes her hand. “I have had visions of calamity before,” she says softly. “Some I have been able to circumvent. Other times fate runs its course despite my strivings.”

Nialia nods. Araven smiles, releasing her hand and stepping back. “I have more pleasant news for you, my young cub. There is someone wants to see you.” Across the clearing steps Bristle! Nialia squeals with joy, and Bristle trots over and nuzzles Nialia’s head with his own, snorting happily.

Bristle has been hunting down the last of the twig blights with the Bear Clan. They are fairly certain they’ve gotten the last of them; none have been sighted in the forest in over a week. He tells Nialia that he has been missing his druid companion, Kinna, but that he has also been thinking much of her. Lythari and unicorn walk together through the woods, until the eastern sky brightens and the birds begin to sing to the first rosy hints of dawn. Reluctantly Nialia goes back to the oak tree and heads into the beckoning portal. Once more she emerges in Amrauthlen’s grove. Amrauthlen greets her, and the two eat breakfast together before Nialia heads for the inn.

Rowan wakes from her nightmare feeling sick with dread. At first light, she throws on her clothes and heads out into the frosty pre-dawn air. She rounds on the first person she sees, stopping just short of grabbing them by the collar and shaking the hapless fellow.

“A silver if you can tell me where I can get a scrying done!”

“Ah… have ye tried the university? The wizards there do powerful magicks, I hear tell,” he stammers.

Rowan flips him the promised coin as she sets off in the pointed direction. She arrives at the librarium to find the lights on, but the great front door locked. She paces impatiently for perhaps ten minutes or so before she sees Kartharine approaching the steps of the library, a steaming mug of some liquid in her hands.

“Can we help, you, miss?” Kartharine enquires. Rowan explains who she is and what she needs.

“Rowan Liadon…” the loremaster repeats. “Your father is Larren Liadon? Hmm. I never met him, but I know of him. Follow me.”

She takes Rowan across the courtyard and into another building. They enter a large room that is part classroom, part wizards’ lab. Rowan has Potter’s letter to her to give Kartharine as a focus for the spell. Kartharine steps up to a crystal mirror and performs the incantation. The surface clouds up, and Rowan nearly pushes Kartharine aside to get a look as the cloudiness fades to reveal…

Potter rising from a bath, his skin steaming in the morning air. As Kartharine’s eyebrows arch, Rowan blushes furiously. “Uh. Sorry. Yeah. He looks fine.”

Kartharine’s demeanor cracks slightly as the corners of her mouth twitch upwards. “Yes, I should think so.” She watches Rowan’s discomfiture with amusement for a few more seconds, then breaks the spell, and the mirror returns to reflecting normally. Rowan, still apologizing, thanks the loremaster for her help, and prepares to leave, relief and embarrassment fighting for domination over her face.

“If you see your dwarven companion,” says Kartharine, “tell him I have found information that he may find useful.” Rowan encounters Nialia on her way back to the inn, and the two of them fall silently into step with each other, both lost in their thoughts.

Audric and Badger are downstairs plowing through a hearty breakfast and wondering where the heck their companions are. Grumble comes down the stairs as if in a trance and begins to eat in stony silence. The gnomes stare at him. He ignores them.

“Sleep well?” asks Badger brightly.

“No, and I don’t want to talk about it,” says Grumble. Audric’s eyes narrow slightly. He stares intently at Grumble, then nods to himself.

“I got some errands. You guys hanging around?” asks the dwarf.

“I’ll be here, at least,” says Audric. “Toreal may need further healing.”

“Fine,” barks Grumble, and leaves.

He walks past Rowan and Nialia on his way out.

“Hey Grumble,” calls the ranger, “Kartharine has some information for you!”

“Whatever,” replies the dwarf without slowing or turning his head. Heading to the moneylender’s guild for some of his savings, he then heads to Shooma’s for an enchantment on the silver waraxe he purchased. Shooma tells him to come back in an hour. Grumble heads to the library, but on the way asks a few likely suspects who might know what to do with a redcap’s tooth. He encounters a strange old man with a bulging eye and a crooked cane who claims to have been a mighty hunter of the fey in his youth. He tells Grumble that a redcap’s tooth can either be used to make the fey more amenable to you when dealing with them, or it can be ground up and used in powder form. Alchemists usually pay good money for them, due to the fact that killing redcaps is a risky proposition at best.

Thanking the weird old man, Grumble heads to the librarium.

Kartharine smiles at Grumble. “I did some research last night. Apparently, the last Goldenaxe’s weapon had a large topaz in the center of the blade. The fact that your axe does not would seem to lend credence to the theory that it’s an enchanted replica.”

“Yeah,” says Grumble, “I know about the topaz. I watched the Goldenaxe put it into my axe, then I dreamed about an orc cleric ramming the gem into my skull. I think it killed me with it.” He laughs. “I’ve had a rough night.”

Kartharine studies him for a moment. “Come with me,” she orders, and leads Grumble to the room where she led Rowan. This time she lays a circle on the floor and has Grumble stand in the center. “Now,” she commands, “tell me what happened.”

Grumble does, telling her of the dream and the fight, and the fact that he’s been seeing Augur every morning for a week now, and how Auger turned out to be an “echo” of the Goldenaxe Aukraugrimmer. Kartharine is silent except for a few pointed questions for clarification. Grumble concludes his story, telling Kartharine that he thinks the soul of the last Goldenaxe is trapped in the axe somehow.

Kartharine fetches a comrade of hers, a small, stooped gnomish wizard. Together they cast several spells over Grumble’s axe. After a few long minutes of careful study, they pronounce the axe to be soul-free by all means of detection they possess. The gnome leaves, and Kartharine sighs and sits down on a nearby bench.

“If your dream was a true sending,” she says slowly, “then I don’t think the soul is trapped in the axe, but in the gem, the family jewel of Aukraugrimmer’s family. Let me tell you another tale I came across. This comes from from the reign of Goldenaxe Angbahar. He was only Goldenaxe ever assassinated, poisoned by his enemies. He was resurrected the next day later by dwarven clerics of Moradin.

“Even though he had been dead for close to a day, his weapon did not disappear.

According to the accounts, Angbahar claims that when he came before the Hall of Valuation (the dwarven pearly gates), he was denied entrance by a figure shrouded in wisps of smoke. Angbahar insisted that he was worthy to enter the great hall below, where the valorous dwelt forever. The figure responded that Angbahar’s soul would not yet be allowed to rest, for there were those calling it back to the world above.

“Thus did Angbahar awake, still tightly gripping his weapon. When he did die, some 85 years later, his weapon disappeared in a few scant moments. The next night, his grandson, Angramman, underwent his vigil, and emerged with a new weapon as the next Goldenaxe.”

“I believe there is but one weapon in many forms, and each time it is released when the soul of the Goldenaxe reaches its spiritual rest after death. It is entirely possibly that you are the first dwarf to hold the axe in thousands of years. The gods alone know how the weapon got from the clutches of those evil clerics to that druid you killed¹.”

Grumble, his head spinning, picks his weapon up from Shooma and heads back to the inn. The enormity of the quest that seems to be unraveling before him sits on his chest like a weight.

Meanwhile, Toreal awakes just after Rowan and Nialia arrive. They fill the druid in on everything that happened last night. Toreal is impatient to be off to the bookstore. As Grumble does not return, Toreal’s restlessness spreads among the others. Finally, Toreal heads off to her shrine to prepare to “investigate” the bookstore, telling the others to meet her at her shrine in a little less than an hour.

The time crawls by, and still no Grumble. Everyone but Audric heads to the shrine. Audric waits in the common room for another half hour before Grumble returns. Audric fills Grumble in on the plan. Grumble was all set to bust some were-rat heads, but really just wants to hit something hard.

En route to the shrine, Grumble decides to test his newly enchanted weapon. “Check this out,” says the dwarf, and whack’s Audric in the butt with the flat of the axeblade. Audric flies forward, sprawling facedown on the pavement.

“Ow.” Rubbing his backside, Audric stands up gingerly. “Grumble?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you enchant that axe to be magically damaging to shapechangers?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, that’ll come in handy. Come on, we’re late.”

They arrive at the shrine to find everyone there waiting for them. Toreal is practically foaming at the mouth. It is a tense walk to the Reality Wrinkle bookstore.

The Reality Wrinkle is a fairly non-descript store, much like those around it. The first floor is stone, and atop that sit two more stories made primarily of wood. Upon arriving at the store, it is decided that Grumble and Toreal, the two people who would look very, very conspicuous in a bookstore, should remain outside until a signal is given. The rest of the party heads in to “browse”.

In the store, waves of disorientation sweep over everyone. Nialia realizes that the sensations of wrongness she’s been feeling are focused here in this place. Everyone else feels varying degrees of unease. A pallid, spindly man with a badly-shaved head approaches them. His eyes are filmy, and he all but drools as he asks them if he can be of assistance. The party distracts the shopkeeper while Badger sneaks behind the counter and investigates the back room. She finds another man sitting at a table, and staircases leading up and down.

Back in the store area, the shopkeeper displays a surprising amount of wherewithal as he notices the gnome’s disappearance. He looks at them suspiciously. Out of the corner of his mouth, Audric whispers to Rowan, “when I give the signal, ask the guy where they took the Paladin.” Rowan raises her eyebrows, but agrees.

Fearing that someone may have gone back behind the counter, the shopkeeper becomes increasingly agitated. Audric nods at Rowan, and shuts his eyes as she asks the question.

The shopkeeper glares at them. “I think you all better leave,” he slurs in a growl.

Audric’s eyes snap open. “They have him downstairs!” he yells, sliding his mace from its holder. Toreal charges up the steps and bursts through the wooden doors of the shop. Grumble comes in and clocks the shopkeeper in the head, knocking the poor man against a far wall. Toreal charges over the counter and rips aside the curtain that separates the bookstore from the back room. Unfortunately, this was what the man in the back room had been waiting for, and he zaps Toreal with a spell. Badger slips down the staircase in the confusion and tumult, noting with some displeasure that the feelings of disorientation are worsening as she enters the basement. Also, she can hear a strange gibbering that is really, really getting on her nerves. Finding no one in the immediate area of the first basement room, she sets to picking the lock on the only door in the basement. The disorientation affects her lockpicking skills, and it takes her several tries to succeed. By this time, the party upstairs has taken down the magic user in the back room and has followed in Badger’s footsteps down the steps. They crowd around the door, ready for anything. Badger throws open the door.

The source of the gibbering becomes horribly apparent, as a grayish mass of seething, amorphous eyes and mouths sways between two chanting men. In the far corner of the room lies a partially armored man, curled in a ball, covering his ears and rocking back and forth. This would seem to be Alaine.

The sorcerers attack the newcomers as they enter the room, and the aberration between them assaults the minds of the party with its confusion effect. Oh, and it spits acid at everyone’s eyes.

The room itself is an affront to the very nature of reality. Space is not what it seems in this room, angles that should not exist clearly do, and everything seems to be spinning in several directions at once, at different speeds.

The magic users don’t seem to be hampered by these effects, and fight desperately against the party. Toreal seems especially susceptible to the gibbering madness of the aberration on the floor. Half of the fight the young paladin’s squire is reduced to babbling incoherently herself. Even Badger is overcome for a moment and starts to flee out of the bookstore before the effect wears off and she rejoins the fight.

Evidently the sorcerers saw the gnome flee and gave her no more thought. This proves to be a costly error, for when she returns, she creeps up behind each sorcerer in turn and takes them both down with cunning sneak attacks.

Grumble finds himself fighting off the advances (and more acid spittle) of the aberration. Slashing weapons seem to do it little damage, and poison seems to have no effect at all. But together the party does manage to hurt it, and it retreats back towards a corner (for a given, non-Euclidean definition of “corner”), softening the ground around it into a morass akin to quicksand. Grumble, Audric and Badger are forced back away from the thing in order to avoid being sucked into the mire. Toreal, however, charges in, unaware of the treacherous footing. She trips, plunges into the morass, falls to one side and knocks herself senseless against a bookshelf. The aberration eagerly envelops the poor paladin in training, and the party looks on in horror, unsure that they can strike at the thing without hitting Toreal.

Finally, Audric sighs, and sticks a glove hand into one of the things questing mouths. He winces with the pain as it bites him, but with his free hand he casts a powerful inflict spell, bursting the thing open like the skin on soup that’s been left uncovered for a day or so. The thing is clearly dead, and they pull the paladin out from it’s innards.

Taking the two paladins with them, the party is only too happy to go back upstairs to where the laws of physics don’t seem to be so grossly violated. Rowan has broken her wrist in the fight and was hit by a ray of enfeeblement, so Audric sets to work curing all these conditions.

The party eyes the stairs up to the next level with trepidation. Alaine and Toreal aren’t going to be fit for fighting, but they can at least serve as a rear guard to warn the party if someone tries to get up the stairs after them. The party realizes that none of the sorcerers they’ve fought so far have been women, so their primary foe has yet to be encountered. The heroes rest for as long as they dare, then, with the blessings of Alaine, they make ready to head up the stairs to the two floors above…

¹though it makes you wonder if Belak knew what the axe was, considering his promise of making Grumble a king among dwarves. Creepy how the GM ties all this stuff together, huh?