#38: Past Be Damned

I recover quickly in the days after our encounter with Rale Cotchen, and with a clear goal in mind, we devote ourselves to various tasks around Dagger’s Deep.  Selben cloisters himself away somewhere in town, deep in study over a new enchantment.  In a turn of events, I become the student, studying over his fastidious notes to try and master the spell myself.  I find his notes to be thorough and meticulous, and though the type of magic is somewhat foreign to me, I am able to commit his spell to memory, translating it into my own rather haphazard and comparatively sloppy arcane recipe.

My young apprentice devotes another two nights to research of yet another spell, this one beyond my ability to comprehend; his success is evidenced by several strange, spectral sounds which emanate from the river keep throughout the night as he learns to harness and control the new magic.

When not at our studies, we share company with Zargon and Audric, and our conversations inevitably turn toward our plans to rendezvous with Dame and his crew aboard Moonmaiden.  We very much want to avoid confrontation with Rale as well as any encounter with the Axe of Mirabar; given our desperation, there are few scenarios where it doesn’t end with either our incarceration or several dead Mirabarran guards.  Neither result is what we’re looking for, so we focus instead on ways to communicate our situation and our intent with Dame. 

The safest plan seems to be to send a neutral messenger—perhaps Selben, nearly unrecognizable after having been made over by Seirsha, Lom, or even Abram, the acoloyte of Gond—all seem like reasonable options to get into and out of Mirabar without raising too much suspicion.  We decide to approach Abram, as he is the least associated with us directly, and see if he will deliver our message.

In the meantime, Perhegan arranges an encounter with us to share his own feelings regarding the tension between us and Rale, and how that may grow or may have already grown into a problem between Dagger’s Deep and Mirabar itself.  If Mirabar decides to send soldiers to take over Dagger’s Deep, there is little that he or the residents can do to prevent that, and while on our side, he has legitimate concerns about the situation and what it may mean for Dagger’s Deep, its residents, and his investment in the burgeoning settlement.

We share that our intent is to honor Rale’s ban while still honoring our commitment with Dame.  Should the issue of our association with Dagger’s Deep become an issue, he can claim that he has severed ties with us or even expelled us from the settlement.  It’s not an ideal solution but provides him options to reduce tensions and continue to conduct his business.  We are all sympathetic to his cause and regretful that we’ve provided him this struggle, but we explain again that we intend on a plan that has the least chance of any encounter with Rale or the Axe of Mirabar while still allowing us to honor our commitments.  He seems satisfied with the resolution.

As time passes, we’re able to examine Dagger’s Deep in a more detached fashion.  Slowly, tents are beginning to turn into masonry huts or small houses.  Construction on the river keep continues, the trades continue to develop, and we’re struck by the notion that when we eventually return to Dagger’s Deep, it will likely be a much different place.  Relationships have been built, new lives created, others ended, sometimes by violence.  We have grown to care for and be cared for by the residents of Dagger’s Deep and thinking about leaving it all behind brings a certain remorse.

Our reminiscing, however, is interrupted by the clarion call of horns announcing a visitor.  As such visits are exceedingly rare, we rush to that side of town to investigate.  Along the trail approaches a single individual on foot, trudging up the road carrying a large sack on his shoulders.  Though there doesn’t appear to be any threat, we let Perhegan know that we will greet the traveler, and the town’s leader assents.

As we draw near, we can see that it is a young man; younger than Selben, perhaps in his early teens.  He sees us approach, and we send forth our ambassador, Zargon.  The bard steps forward to represent the town’s interest, and upon greeting the young man, he responds that he’s looking for honest work.  When asked where he’s from, his reply is cryptic.  “I prefer not to say, m’lord.”

The boy explains that he heard of this place on his travels and that he’s looking for a new place to call home.  “Did you break out of jail in Mirabar?” Zargon interjects gruffly, which seems to cause the boy some alarm. 

“No m’lord,” he stutters in response, as Audric interceds to defuse the situation, asking about the boy’s skills or trade.  “I have none, m’lord,” he replies dejectedly.

The decision is made to bring him to Perhegan.  “We’re not the right group to make this decision, but Perhegan is.  Follow us,” Audric instructs, and we turn back towards town.  Perhegan asks a similar line of questions, and the boy answers with equally equivocal responses.

“Dagger’s Deep could be a home for you,” Perhegan states, “as it could be for anyone with honor and honesty.  But in order to join us, you have to be truthful and tell us who you are.”  Sensing that the boy may yet refuse to answer Perhagan’s questions, Zargon takes him aside.

The bard shares a story of his own experiences with the Axe of Mirabar, and while we are all perplexed by the tale and its relevance to the situation, the boy nods and seems to understand that he’s not going to be allowed entry without coming clean.  “My name is Milter.  I hail from Grunwald, m’lord.  I have no family, no wealth to my name.  I took in with a band of highwaymen north of Longsaddle, heard tale of this settlement while in Xantharl’s Keep, and made the journey here, after I escaped.”

Perhegan seems convinced of the boy, and his story.  He will find work for Milter and asks us to find a suitable place for him to camp.  “Welcome to Dagger’s Deep,” Zargon says in introduction, grabbing his arm, “but alright, listen—I don’t buy your story.  Do not mess with Dagger’s Deep or its citizens.”  Though we can’t hear all the words they share, the tone of threat in Zargon’s voice is obvious, and Milter pales as Zargon points to me and Audric, clearly overcome with fear. 

“Yes m’lord, I’ll work hard.  I won’t let you down,” Milter replies, shaken.

Audric breaks up the conversation.  “Zargon here is no lord,” he says flatly, and escorts Milter away.  The boy has little in the way of belongings, so we gather some extra supplies to make him a tent and a small place to call his own.

After settling in the boy, Perhegan approaches us to elaborate on his decision.  Milter came clean about falling in with the wrong crowd, Perhegan explains, and while he can’t necessarily be trusted, neither should his story be outright discounted.  “We’ll have to keep an eye on him,” is his resolution, and we agree.

In the days that follow, Milter keeps to himself but attends his duties well.  His first real connection seems to be a young teenager whom we recruited from Mirabar, one of the stonemason’s apprentice.  He takes Milter under his wing, and we’re glad to see him fit in.  Our initial worries that he might bring harm to Dagger’s Deep seem unfounded.

As our scheduled departure draws nearer, we present Abram with our plan, and the acolyte seems agreeable and glad for the chance to see his family again.  We intend to send Lom and Selben with him on the journey; Selben will conjure mounts for the group, the pair will wait for Abram outside the walls of Mirabar while Abram delivers our message to Dame, and Abram will spend the night with his family before meeting up with Selben and Lom again to make the return trip.  The message for Dame is simple—that we have encountered difficulties that prevent us from entering Mirabar, but that we will send Lom the day of the journey and meet up with Moonmaiden a mile downriver.

When Abram returns, he explains that he was questioned at the gate why he’s traveling alone—he explained that it was to visit his father, though Abram lied and said he was from Xantharl’s Keep, not Dagger’s Deep.  We trust Abram’s intuition on the matter, and it is a clever lie to deflect any attention.  Abram was able to deliver our message to Dame, and the captain does not seem overly concerned about the unforeseen obstacle; our plan is set.  There were no encounters with guards with the exception of those at the gate.  The return trip is completed without incidence, and we count the venture a success.

We decide on our final course of action.  Lom is to be left north of Minstrel’s Glade to complete the rest of the journey to Mirabar himself, while we cut west overland and then north to meet the river while staying out of sight of Mirabar’s walls.  If all goes as planned, we will rendezvous with Dame and board Moonmaiden before it continues downriver through Post South.  Though the Axe has a presence there, we are not worried about any conflict as long as we keep our heads down.

We complete our final preparations a few days before Moonmaiden is set to depart.  We share our goodbyes with Perhegan and the other residents of Dagger’s Deep, and there’s a weight to the departure, as if we might not ever return or see them again.  Bonie takes her farewells with Edine, Seirsha and Odesia especially hard, as they have become close over the months spent in their company.  Perhegan, Tarrsh and Kallevir share their own words of thanks, and their hopes that we’ll someday return.  There’s a gravity throughout the settlement, and the magnitude of our decision begins to set in.  We visit the shrine to share one last blessing with the town and request one of our own from our respective deities, and with heavy hearts, we turn our backs on Dagger’s Deep.

We are not long in our journey, however, before our solemn procession is interrupted by movement in the woods ahead.  Our horses instinctively slow to a trot.  Those with bows draw them as I dismount and head towards the disturbance, unwilling to leave any potential threat this close to Dagger’s Deep uninvestigated.  From the foliage, a trio of small spears is hurled at me while another volley is loosed at those on horseback.  I am struck by one but dodge the others; Zargon is grazed, but the rest of the spears miss their mark as our archers loose arrows.

If these are not goblins, then they are certainly close kin.  Most of the arrows from our group miss due to the heavy cover provided by the foliage, though one of Bonie’s shafts strikes true, eliciting a squeal from the victim, confirming that our attackers are indeed goblins.  Zargon draws a bead on one of the foes and is satisfied by a squelch as he too strikes flesh.  Selben slings a bullet that explodes against a tree as I charge into the brush, finding one of the goblins, and send my maul crashing into its spine.  Nearby, three lean, serpentine creatures appear with beady eyes—conjured by Audric—and they focus on our attackers and attempt to bring them down.  Only one succeeds, but it stands atop the goblin hissing victoriously as it drives its spear repeatedly into the goblin’s head.

“Stop shooting, there’s only a few of them!” I cry out, trying to prevent the waste of arrows, and the others dismount to join the fray, leaving Bonie and Selben to tend the mounts and cover our flanks.  The two remaining goblins turn towards me and charge, and though I fend off one of them, the other shivs me with a small, serrated blade that grinds across a rib.

Audric and Lom each barrel into one of the enemies, Lom staggering his target while Audric cuts into the goblin that struck me, severing it from mid-torso to clavicle, the head and arm landing on the ground several yards from the rest of its corpse.  Audric turns on the last remaining goblin and cuts it down.  We make a crude spectacle of our encounter by severing heads and placing them upon the goblins’ javelins before continuing our journey.  The rest of our trip to Minstrel’s Glade is uncontested, twilight setting in as we approach Mirabar.

We decide to camp off the road a few miles from the fortress and eschew a fire, hoping to prevent any encounter with the Axe.  We split into three watches, Audric administering healing to our wounds before settling in.  During my watch with Bonie, we hear hooves along the road and see the dim light of torches in the distance; having chosen to camp without fire, however, they pass without stopping or seeming to notice us.

The next morning, Selben conjures a mount for Lom and we dispatch him to Mirabar as we part ways, the rest of us heading west.  We catch occasional views of the fortress city to the north in the distance, though we’re far enough away that we’re confident we can avoid being seen.  Fortunately, our travel across the plains is relatively easy—it’s open ground with few places for enemies or threats to hide.  As the sun begins to set, we make our way north to meet the river and wait, all of us hoping that Lom was able to complete his part of the mission without any problems.

We decide to wait the night out on the south bank of the river, opposite the road, choosing to camp without a fire again in case anyone might pass nearby on road.  Anxiety makes our night restless, and we find it hard to sleep with general unease of being separated from Lom and uncertainty over any potential interference Rale may have had with Moonmaiden.  We rouse with the sun and are rewarded by the sight of the approaching ship.  It’s hard for our spirits not to be raised, and we gather near the bank.  It takes several long, tense minutes as we wait for its approach.

Moonmaiden lumbers downriver; it’s not suited for river travel, being kitted out for the open sea.  A rope ladder is extended down from the side of the ship and a small rowboat is lowered, which paddles to shore allowing us to board.  We can see Dame and Lom aboard the vessel, and share several congratulatory slaps on the back and cheers. 

“I present to you your Archguard,” Dame calls out once we’re finally aboard, and we’re greeted with cheers from the crew.  It is a warm, and very much welcome, reception.

“There is one more order of business,” Dame says solemnly, presenting us with the formal roster of Moonmaiden’s crew for us to sign, consummating our deal with captain.

I share details with Dame of our conflict with Rale Cotchen, the ban imposed upon us, and of a potential encounter with Rale and his men in Post South.  Fortunately, Captain Azurris is not concerned, especially when I assure him it would take a small army to arrest us or attempt to halt our passage.  With Dame’s authority and support, we feel confident that there will not be a problem, and take satisfaction in starting our relationship with the captain and his crew with honesty.

We are shown our quarters and stow our gear, taking a few moments to take in our new home, encouraged by our success and ready to confront what the future holds.