6 Alturiak, 1372

Dear Master Zorthaster,

We have beaten the Undying Temple and restored the weave! The Wandsmen are victorious over the forces of evil that have infected the world.

After spending the night safely in the luxurious accommodations of the magnificent mansion, we emerged ready to confront the tower. Through a complex weaving and layering of Art, we enhanced Oskar's ability to affect undead, and with the grace of Moradin and Corellon, the evil black energy of the tower and its malignant sphere. The tower attacked with a variety of tactics, but most of them were either ineffective or blunted due to the protections we had established around ourselves. It tried horrid wilting and summoning spells today, something that it had not done yesterday. It also employed several things from its repertoire that it used yesterday, things like destruction and finger of death.

Additionally, we discovered that the sphere either housed or manifested a wraithlike creature that clearly was intensely evil and very dangerous. Fortunately, I had prepared a force cage spell and succeeded in trapping the wraith inside the spell's windowless cell of force. That effectively kept the monster away from Oskar long enough for the paladin to blast the orb with the positive energy he can wield with Moradin's will. It took several attempts, each of which diminished the size of the sphere a fraction. After Oskar blasted the sphere four or five times with energy much as if he was destroying undead, the orb faded to the size of a small dot and winked out of existence.

As the orb was destroyed, the oily looking black tower turned to a crumbling crystal stone that became extremely brittle. At that same instant, the frightful orb wraith let out a keening wail that we heard even through the walls of the force cage. We surmised that it was destroyed along with the orb and the sentience of the Undying Temple for when the cage faded, the wraith was gone.

The battle lasted little more than a few breaths. Even so, I expended an enormous amount of spell power in preparing for the battle and dealing with the attacks of the evil forces we encountered. Everyone was jubilant but exhausted so once again we retreated to the magnificent mansion. Before entering, I used the crystal skull to scry on Randall Morn and his surviving force, still on the road between Battledale and Dagger Falls It was clear that he had kept his priests busy probing the damage to the weave, for soon after the orb was destroyed, the priests there began to be successful once again in their healing spells. I witnessed a great flurry of activity as the priests got to work curing injuries amongst the most grievously injured.

We could do little more to aid the Freedom Riders just then, so we entered our sanctuary to rest and prepare for our return home. We planned and schemed for a long while before settling on a plan. My suggestion had been to mirror walk back to Dagger Falls After puzzling out how the spell works, and consulting a great deal with the Mimir Tuskgrin, I am confidant that I can create mirrors in the mansion that will be suitable for use by the spell. Then, once walking, a second casting (as suggested by the ancient wizard Queebs of the Woven Tower) would open the possibility to 'jump' mirror constellations, allowing us to exit through just about any large mirror as long as I was familiar with it and kept the destination mirror firmly in my mind during the excursion through the plane of mirrors.

Sadly, my companions believed that the risks were too high to undertake the journey. A couple of them got scared off when Mr. Tuskgrin talked about dire consequences for a failure to concentrate sufficiently on the destination mirror. In the end they were probably correct in choosing another plan. Not because of the danger, if in fact there was any significant danger, but because the approach we settled on allowed us to arrive at the Freedom Rider camp rather than days away in Dagger Falls To accomplish this, Primula would take us first to the ethereal plane with one elegant bit of Art and from there we would plane shift directly to Lord Morn's position.

It sounded like a beautiful plan so we filled the time until we were sufficiently recovered to put it into action with hot baths, fine food and a long, restful bit of pure relaxation. That is where we are now and I'm happy to be able to catch up on my letter writing and studies. Tomorrow, with a bit of Tymora's grace, we should be back on the surface world in the company of the Freedom Riders of Daggerdale.

Sincerely,

Cedar

 

26 Alturiak, 1372

Dear Master Zorthaster,

My apologies for the long interval without writing. Our stay two rides past in the Magnificent Mansion was the last bit of real relaxation we have enjoyed. The troops returning to Dagger Falls have kept us crazy-busy, but finally we have made it back to the relative comfort of Shadowhold. It's a place filled to overflowing, but we are back and it almost feels like home.

Our plan to rejoin Lord Morn worked perfectly. The only rough spot was a moment of tension and danger when we arrived out of thin air in the midst of the Freedom Rider Camp. No one panicked and no one was injured, but it might have been better had we arrived outside the pickets and dealt with the guards rather than appearing unexpectedly in the middle of the army camp.

Lord Morn was pleased to see us and even more pleased when we delivered the lifeless corpse of Irea T'sarran. I don't think he had smiled much in the previous several rides, but he broke out into a huge grin when he saw that his enemy had truly been defeated. He started a cheer that spread throughout the camp and became nearly deafening before it faded away. He has a way of stirring his followers' blood that is impressive. It would be scary to see that kind of skill in a less goodhearted leader.

We did not pause for long to tell our tale, but set to work on assisting the healers and priests as best we could. Mostly we just supported Primula in her healing efforts. She was amazing and it was invigorating and a bit intoxicating to watch her intensity as she healed hundreds of injured soldiers in the course of a half glass. She is another powerful personality with the potential to be a great leader. So too is Kerith. He told the story of our journey into the depths of the underdark and the climactic battle with the forces of pure evil with a skill and a passion that brought listeners to the pit of despair and the heights of joy. He had men and women alike on their feet cheering by the end of the tale. It is a story that will not soon be forgotten. Now he is gathering the threads and bits of information needed to create a similar masterpiece to tell the story of the battle for the surface against the forces of Kiransalee. I have no doubt that by the time we are back to town he will have an incredibly moving story prepared to relate to all those who remained behind and all those in the future who will not want to forget the terrible loss of the southeastern dales.

Soldiers were not the only people we helped over the next two rides as we made our way slowly back to Daggerdale. Along the way we collected a staggering number of refugees. We learned that Battledale, Featherdale and Tassledale had been lost to the Kiransaleeans and almost completely depopulated. The few stragglers and refugees that survived generally linked up with our column and made their way to Daggerdale with us. Everything they once had was gone; there was nothing for them to return to, and the harsh weather of late winter would not be kind to those who tried to remain.

You have likely heard the other news that reached us on our return to Dagger Falls. Word came from the great sage of Shadowdale that war has broken out on the borders of Anauroch and in Evereska. The Sharn wall has been breached and phaerimms are boiling out of the desert, attacking the once hidden elven enclave. Evereska is fighting for its life. So far it appears that the Shades are either aiding the elves or at least remaining neutral. From what we know and what we speculate, I do not trust that the residents of Shade Enclave will remain neutral or ever be trustworthy allies to the people of Faerun. They have dark plans, I'm sure of it. I just don't know what they are. What do they want? Why have they returned after all these years?

Upon reaching Daggerdale, Lord Morn presented us with a bit of a surprise. He gave us substantial land grants for the old, abandoned farmsteads and estates in the Dordrien lands. In exchange, we would travel with a large number of refugees and keep them safe and fed and busy in the shelter of the ruins of Shadowhold. The lower levels of the castle would serve well as emergency shelter and between the three priestesses of Eilistraee and our own Primula we should be able to ensure their survival through the end of the winter. Lord Morn also promised to see that other needs we would have would be met from a large cache of emergency stores that had been assembled below the reconstructed temple of Lathander in Dagger Falls He would help as best he could but depended on us to keep as many of the refugees as possible safe through the remainder of the cold season and provide supplies to begin reclaiming at least some of the old fields of the Dordrien Lords. I think we shall see a new hamlet or village emerge in the spring. Perhaps we should call it New Dordria.

We split off from the main column just outside of town, leading our band of refugees on toward Shadowhold. We were pleased to find that several of the Bladebright dwarves had already been at work completing some of the most pressing tasks to get the place ready to accommodate the flood of people. They also had lots of plans for keeping people busy and warm with hard work in the cold days ahead. Kerith with his songs and tales and irrepressible good humor kept morale high despite the terrible losses and suffering experienced by these people.

We have returned to our ruined castle, now bursting at the seams with new residents. It is fortunate that the chambers below-ground are spacious. So far I have only had to accommodate a few lost souls and misfits in the library area. A couple of them even show signs that they have some aptitude for the Art. They give me a newfound appreciation for the pain you must have gone through, dealing with thickheaded apprentices such as myself. I have a sudden keen sympathy for the difficulty we caused as you kept us from doing too much damage in the shop as we thought we were being helpful. I only hope that I can maintain half the patience that you have shown.

With gratitude,

Cedar