Bonie is in an agitated mood this morning, and gathers us to recount her discussion with Dabria, and the strange woman's words leave us all unsettled. Bonie seems more angry than worried, clearly not liking Dabria, and Selben seems especially off-balance, sharing his sudden desire to see Sinjun and his folk "in the cold ground."
Vonn, Audric and I convene to discuss our options. Berigaard's occupancy of the isolated keep came to a sudden, bloody end, and it stands to reason that the keep’s previous occupant, the frost giant, also put an end to whoever claimed ownership before him. Sinjun's stories seem to indicate a similar pattern in the past—it doesn't take long for us to come to the conclusion that we do not wish to suffer the same fate and be forever entombed in the keep. We decide that abandoning the keep is the most rational option, and to return to Fireshear and seek our fortunes there. Our discussion turns towards plans for our eventual departure.
Audric expresses his concern over the secret door and its key—such a construction is not made easily, and the effort to secure the tomb within still strikes Audric as strange, strange enough that he wants to complete his work to conceal or spoil the portal so that it cannot be easily accessed by others. The only curiosity for me is the inscription within the tomb.
A traveler from afar
Of a world beyond the world
Lost in ours
Rest peacefully, my friend
It's potential relation to our temporal plight seems too much to be coincidence, even so far away from the site of our own unlucky journey to this time, but there’s not enough to keep me here with the growing unease of being so vulnerable and isolated.
Later, I track down Bonie, and find her near our bedroll fiddling with her weapons and our meager possessions. She's clearly still uneasy from her discussion with Dabria but seems to have started to rationalize it in various ways. Perhaps it was merely an awkward conversation, or perhaps the woman's words of prophecy are little more than the ramblings of someone with a broken mind. Seeing her so unsettled galvanizes my desire to leave this place.
"If we leave the keep," she warns, "regardless of what we think Sinjun's intentions are, he may claim it for himself, and our situations may be reversed if we ever find ourselves in the position that we want or need to return." I explain that our intention is indeed not to return, that we shall seek some gainful venture in Fireshear while we await Moonmaiden's repairs, and if we have to winter over in this harsh land, it should be within the relative security of Fireshear, not on our own in these old, stone walls.
With everyone in agreement, we split up watches for what will hopefully be our final night in the keep and gather our belongings in preparation for an early departure. Having settled on a course of action, we are all tense with anticipation, almost as if expecting something to occur that will foil our plans. We awaken the next morning, however, the night having passed uneventfully.
Audric attends to his morning prayers, petitioning Mystra for the powers needed to finish his task in Berigaard's chamber. Shaping the stone with his hands as if it were soft clay is an amazing feat of magic, beyond anything I'm able to do myself, or even comprehend. Lom lifts the heavy key and sets it into its final resting place, a small compartment crafted into the wall. Audric passes a hand over it and the key disappears from view, the stone sculpted by his will. While the deformed stone concealing the compartment is still noticeable, it would only be such to a keen eye, or to someone who already knows what they're looking for.
Audric’s work accomplished, we gather our gear and exit the keep, laden with packs and supplies for the return trip. Sinjun’s company can’t help but notice, and the warrior steps forward with Dabria. His contingent, meanwhile, cast curious and suspicious gazes our way, trying to hear what words pass between us.
“Our supplies are short, and we have business in Fireshear,” I announce, explaining our intention to return to the village to resupply and attend to private business matters. We share no details of our intentions to reconnect with Dame Azurris, nor do we share that we intend abandon the keep completely, though it is clearly implicit.
Sinjun seems surprised, and more than a little alarmed. “So suddenly?” he asks, struggling to find words. We do not acknowledge that there are yet wounded among his company, nor that the keep will be at half strength in this cold, desolate environment once we have gone. Sinjun grasps the situation quickly, but before he can confront us with more questions, Dabria steps forward, her eyes full of accusation and ire.
"I know that our supplies are short, and that we have business in Fireshear,” I repeat calmly, not wanting to force a confrontation. Though I don’t mention Dabria’s conversation with Bonie, I wonder if Sinjun is aware that it occurred, and how it may have informed our plans. “I know nothing more, but I feel it is time for us to leave this place."
"I don't believe you," she says, acid in her tone. "Evil is to befall this keep."
Sinjun steps in to explain. "One of our men found something while patrolling early in the morning, just outside the walls. Large, fresh tracks—not a giant, but an ogre perhaps, seemingly drawn to our path from the Somber Vale." Sinjun admits that he shares some of Dabria's fears about what may befall the keep, these no doubt amplified by Dabria and her rants.
"It doesn't stand to reason that you would depart so hastily and leave the keep to us simply to resupply,” Sinjun admits. There is suspicion and awkwardness in his tone, not quite going so far as to accuse us of abandoning them as Dabria had, but not far from it.
"Then you both know more than we do,” I retort, eager to conclude this conversation before it ends in drawn blades. Massacring Sinjun and his company were not part of our plans this morning, however uncomfortable Dabria may make us all feel. “Our dwindling supplies are no secret. If there are threats nearby, then perhaps we have chosen our departure wisely, and perhaps you should consider the same.”
Sinjun admits that he still has an injured man, and that they had hoped to fully recuperate before leaving. "My Angel, however, has raised other concerns that it may not be safe to remain here another night. Your sudden desire to leave is highly disconcerting." I can see Bonie tense at this revelation, and Selben has not blinked since Dabria stepped forward, his eyes never leaving Kelemvor’s acolyte.
"Well met then," Sinjun concedes finally, when it becomes clear that we either have no information to share, or that we do not wish to share what we know, and that we will not be deterred in our plans. Audric and I take turns shaking Sinjun’s hand, both of us relieved to have avoided bloodshed. Dabria stands rigid beside him, seething, her eyes locked with Selben’s.
"Consort too closely with the dead," he spits in a whisper at Dabria, just loudly enough to be heard, "and…”
Whatever Selben was going to say, however, is interrupted as Lom grabs Selben from behind and places a hand over his mouth, stifling his words. Selben struggles against the restraint but is no contest for Lom’s strength. "Well met indeed!" Lom says, dragging Selben away.
Sinjun returns his attention to Dabria, attempting to calm her. Though Selben was not able to give voice to whatever he intended to air, his meaning was clear. We back away cautiously, not wanting the situation to escalate, and even as we depart, we see Sinjun dispatch men-at-arms to lock the gate behind us. There is a sense of finality as the heavy bar clatters into place and we find ourselves outside the walls of the keep.
We put enough distance between us and the keep that hoofbeats would likely not be perceived by Sinjun’s men, at which point we summon forth a herd of mounts to speed our return to Fireshear. We can’t help but look over our shoulders to see if we were followed, but after several hours we find ourselves alone in the Frozenfar wilderness. We traverse the well-worn trail to Fireshear, keeping careful watch of our surroundings as we gallop.
Dusk arrives as our mounts begin to expire, and our arrival is uncontested. We send Lom to consult with Dame Azurris to make sure our quarters are still available—he returns quickly with the news that they are, so we fill our packs with wine and the best food we can find and afford—something to make our sudden return a little less of a burden on the captain and others aboard Moonmaiden.
We share a little of our tale when asked, though leave out our encounter with Sinjun's group. He asks several questions, curious why we would abandon the keep. "It was isolated and remote, bad weather is coming, and our supplies were low." That is as reasonable an explanation as could be asked for, and Dame says he's glad to have us back. It is good to be among trusted allies again, and we uncork several bottles of Fireshear’s finest.
"What are your plans?" he asks, and we admit that we haven't thought that far ahead. Though we could likely survive the winter on our takings from the Mirabar Run, it seems unlikely that we would remain idle for so long.
"Do you believe that the repairs and resupply will be done before winter?" Audric asks. Dame admits that it's unlikely. “Moonmaiden lost a mast, and the damage to decks and hull was substantial.” Dame explains that repairs are in process, though with no sponsor for a return trip, there is little urgency and Dame seems resigned to spending the winter in the Frozenfar.
I explain that I plan to reconvene with Revenant—though relations between Dame and Revenant were strictly professional, Revenant has contacts in Fireshear that may provide gainful employment while we wait out the winter. There is also the chance that he might provide an eventual cargo and destination for Moonmaiden and its crew, though when we last spoke Revenant was in no particular hurry to arrange such an expedition.
Audric enters Vonn's room in the tower. He and Lom move the bed to the middle of the chamber exposing some stone on an inside wall. Audric sits, crossing his legs, and begins a prayer while Lom retrieves the stone key. After a couple of minutes, Audric begins weaving a spell around the stone near the floor on the wall. The stone in the wall starts to reform creating a hole in the wall. "Now," he says as is far off. Lom takes the stone key and a folded piece of parchment and places it in the wall, sticking his hands through the stone and removing them.
ReplyDeleteAs Audric finishes the spell, the stone reforms. Anyone looking can see that the stone does not look the same as surrounding stone, but it is close. Audric takes a scrap piece of metal and quickly carves a small 8 pointed star into the stone where the secret chamber is located. Once complete, he and Lom move the bad back to where it originally resided.
The men rejoin the party and Audrics speaks up, "It is done." He tells everyone exactly where the chamber is, but explains that anyone but him attempting to get back on the key runs the risk of destroying the key. He also reminds them all that in the event they retrieve the key, and he is not with the group, to just ignore his note.
Audric smiles a bit as he thinks to himself about the note. He devised it as a way to keep others out of the room. He created it to look like someone's translation of the words on the key. He chose a scrap of parchment from Berigaard's chambers that was ripped, bloody, and a bit burned. He copied the letters from the key onto the note. Below those are words of his own, "When daylight falls, the animal that flies must fall." He folded the note, and used a bit of wax borrowed from one of the mages to close it. Before the wax though, Audric cast Fire Trap on the note as well, as a nasty surprise for any but himself. The specifics on the note, known only to himself, were not shared with anyone else. Simply a warning to ignore the note.