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5 Kythorn, 1371
Dear Master Zorthaster,
I am scared. I have not been sleeping well, with nightmares every
night. Please write to me to tell me that Mom, Dad and the girls
are alright. I fear that Cormyr may be a more dangerous place than
Daggerfalls at present. Our journey back to Daggerfalls started
out as I expected, with Katan leading us to the road. As we were
told, it was the Way of the Manticore and indeed, we were close
to the Sembian border. As soon as we got to the road, things took
a surprising turn. Oriseus suddenly started acting like on of those
War Wizards that has more ego than sense. He had been real decent
up to that point so we cut him some slack and tried to figure out
what he was trying to accomplish. It boiled down to his need to
resolve the remaining questions about the Bleth family and Artur's
role in the disarray in Tilverton. He demanded that we turn over
our weapons to him and that we follow him to Wheloon. When we tried
to understand what caused this sudden demand, he simply stated that
he was arresting Artur, that we were too close to the border, and
that he refused to either accept any discussion about how to travel
back to the heart of the kingdom. We were to march to Wheloon. We
could not consider a short hike to a nearby port town and then hop
a ship to the capital. There could be no alternatives. As soon as
Oskar decided that the weapons needed to be surrendered, I made
a point of handing over my crossbow and trying to support the dwarf's
decision.
Things worked out well. Oriseus took us through a gate in Wheloon
that took us straight to Arabel cutting days of travel off our trip.
It would have suited me a lot better if the War Wizard had thought
it worth his time to explain about the gate so we would have known
up-front that his route would actually save us time on our journey
back north. I find that increasingly I have difficulty being patient
with people who want to keep information from me for no good reason.
On the road Oriseus learned about the King's expedition to Arabel
from Lord Wyvernspur who was leading troops to guard the Sembian
border. Oriseus wanted to report the Fire Knife resurgence directly
to the King, so his plan, as we learned after the fact, was to gate
from Wheloon to Arabel, catch up to the King and report. As it turned
out, the King was already away into the Stonelands by the time we
reached Arabel, but we were able to resupply in Wheloon and Arabel
and follow the royal force rather quickly.
In Arabel Xan was able to find an exquisite longbow in a very exclusive
weapons shop. The lines of the bow were so elegant it was hard to
believe that it was a weapon and not a purely beautiful work of art
for art's sake. After one attempt to draw it, I was convinced that
this indeed was a serious weapon. Xan was elated to find such a masterful
weapon but was disappointed that he was unable to learn anything about
the artist that created the bow. I told him that this only meant that
the bow would be a clean slate for him to write upon with heroic deeds.
I also suggested that it would be a fantastic blank canvas for a spellcaster
to work upon.
On our way to catch up with the King we encountered Andalara the ranger
and his companions. He told us that they had discovered a scouting
band of goblins that was threatening to catch the King's forces unaware.
Andalara told us to hold off the goblins long enough for him and his
men to alert the King to the this threat and the location of the main
goblin army. He and his small troop raced off, leaving us in a clearing
amongst rolling hills and small copses and wood lots. Appearing out
of the distance was a band of goblins and worgs.
I was absolutely terrified. I did not know what to do. I have to admit
that I was preparing to run and cast defensive spells. Before I could
move, Oskar stepped forward and shouted to the Goblins. "Come and
die in Moradin's Forge!" I gulped and was persuaded to hold my ground.
If he was going to stand, I couldn't very well abandon him. Instead
of running, I launched a fireball into the small troop of
goblins mounted on worgs. The riders died horribly but the burned
worgs kept coming. I nearly failed again after that. I would have
but Shane joined Oskar on the line while Kerith created a rhythmic
clanging of a hammer and anvil from an arcane source. I steadied again
as Oriseus read a scroll launching a fireball into a rushing mass
of goblins. I followed with another fireball that exploded into another
mass of goblins. They fell screaming and burning and creating a horrifying
stench. Surviving goblins and worgs rushed in with terrible speed.
Xan's arrows were nearly perfectly deadly. Where ever they struck,
bodies fell. I don't think he missed a shot. Far off, we could hear
the booms of arcane battle magic. I prayed that Mystra watch over
both our small band and the royal expeditionary force.
As all this was happening, we were plagued with a cloud of stinging
and biting insects. It took careful concentration and focus to get
off my final fireball. It did no good though. I learned later
the gazneth, attacking the King less than a mile away, injured the
weave even here. The result was a failed spell.
Oriseus got off another fireball scroll, thinning out the
last big mob of goblins just as we caught a glimpse of the gazneth
heading off through the sky. Fortunately the spells and arrows had
killed many of the horde. Flaming spheres and more arrows
finished off the remainder before they could approach within melee
range. In a frightening development, when the gazneth passed over,
dozens of the dead goblins rose and continued to advance. Primula
had taken an advantageous position on a hillside and called on Corellen's
power to destroy many of the newly created undead. I fired magic
missiles in desperation as the zombies shuffled closer. I was
nearly out of spells. Shane and Oskar stood firm, forming a solid
wall that allowed none of the enemy to pass though. As the quiet of
the Stonelands crept over the battlefield, the sickly sweet smoke
of burning flesh drifted over us.
We caught up with the King and Oriseus got an opportunity to report
his findings. Oriseus was shocked to learn that Artur and His Majesty
were old adventuring buddies. Artur was, at least to some degree,
an agent of King Azoun's, guarding the frontier. He was told to return
to Tilverton to finish off the Fire Knives. I was bursting with questions
and comments. I have made some very small progress holding my tongue
in the presence of my betters and was able to avoid embarrassing myself
by addressing the King. It was difficult though. His Majesty was pleased
with the aid we had been able to render and grateful for our preventing
the ambush on his force. They had been hard pressed by the gazneth
and the goblin army. A strike to the rear of their formation might
have been devastating. In recognition of our service, King Azoun awarded
us all with silver rings with finely worked inlay of a purple dragon.
Rings symbolizing the gratitude of the crown. I was both proud of
this unexpected honor and embarrassed by reward after the fear and
uncertainty I felt during the fight.
After our audience with the King we got put to work helping with the
wounded. Many warriors were badly bitten by the clouds of stinging
insects following the gazneth. Many brave warriors died from the enormous
number of bug bites, never getting close enough to the enemy to fight
back. I helped several priests by working up poultices and other herbal
aids for the victims of the swarming bugs. Over campfires later that
night we learned that there were rumored to be 5 gazneth out plaguing
the countryside.
Early the next morning we joined Oriseus in carrying out the King's
orders regarding Tilverton. We gathered up our gear and got on the
road for Tilverton. Thanks to the skillful guiding of Alandara and
his scouts we were unmolested by goblins along the way. I was plagued
by other troubles though. I have had a recurring nightmare where the
goblin horde is attacking. I stand behind Oskar and Shane but my spells
fail. A horde of gaunt, evil creatures rush over my friends. I fire
powerful spells but I've already failed my friends. Somehow the goblins
are then all dead. As they start to rise, I fire more spells at the
undead horde. They fall but when I examine the corpses I find the
bodies of my friends, my sisters, you, the King, and Alusair. They
are bloated and covered with the marks of bug bites. I try to run
away but I am tied to the dead bodies of Shane and Oskar. They look
at me and ask why I did nothing to help them. I wake each time crying,
begging for forgiveness, and shouting out the names of my sisters,
saying I'm sorry.
By the 19th we had returned to Tilverton. Oriseus had a
rather tense meeting with his commanding officer. It was clear that
our War Wizard was not happy that information had been withheld from
him regarding the relationship between Artur and King Azoun. I bit
my tongue. Artur seemed to enjoy it all. When the verbal fireworks
were over, Artur handed the commander a list of prime suspects and
locations where the Fire Knives would likely be found.
We spent an long night with a very anxious Artur Grossman. He did
not relax until nearly dawn when Money arrived with a report. It had
been an eventful night. Between the Rogues of Tilverton and the Purple
Dragons, there were many prisoners and the Bleth family was either
dead or in chains. Artur was relieved, but he confessed that his whole
series of events was not the storm he had seen predicted by his dreams.
That was something else. In the end he agreed to come with us to Daggerfalls.
We left Tilverton with Artur. We kept looking back, talking, mostly
to himself I believe, about how he would never see his city again.
It seemed a bit silly. Tilverton is just a short journey from Daggerfalls.
A return trip was not that unlikely. Oriseus saw us off. He was generous
in his thanks and offered his assistance in gaining an adventuring
company charter in the Kingdom if we should desire to obtain one.
Our acquaintance Welcar found us as we reached the Shadow Gap on the
21st. He was returning from a brief visit to Daggerfalls.
He was unhappy, apparently rebuffed in his attempt to establish one
of those seedy little Thavian enclaves in the dale. He said that Daggerfalls
did not appear to be as promising a prospect as we had led him to
believe. I think he was merely dismissed. As we were saying our goodbyes
I asked him if he happened to know the Red Wizard Arnulf who had been
imprisoned in Excelsior. Welcar claimed to have never heard of the
wizard before. I couldn't tell if he was lying or not. I suppose it
was petty of me, but I just felt like I had to try to annoy him a
bit by suggesting that we had previously encountered Red Wizards before
and they had come out the worse for it.
We arrived back in Daggerfalls on the 26th. Feris almost
immediately arranged for a big deal at the Merry Dale Delvers Guild
hall. It turned out that he is a masterful storyteller. He went on
for over a glass about our exploits, embellishing and exaggerating
some facts while covering others almost completely. His story contained
no lies, but tended to focus on only the best parts of the real tale.
I was embarrassed by the exaggerated parts of the tale and intrigued
by how some of the most crucial parts of our mission's purpose remained
undisclosed. The crowd was impressed, but that only lasted a moment
until Slash and Burn arrived, looking battered but victorious. They
approached the wall where a record of Miraun's challenge was kept.
With a flair they put a marker on the wall showing that they had reached
level seven of the challenge. Everyone in the room cheered and the
attention remained on them. That was fine with me. I was embarrassed
and felt like a liar and a coward even though I tried to deny the
exaggerations of Keith and Primula who were the worst.
Following the tale we were unanimously voted into the Merry Dale Delvers
Guild. Feris, once the unobtrusive observer was now a talkative, friendly
comrade. He told us how hard it was for him to play the observer when
he really wanted to step in and help out. Most of us readily accepted
his change of personality. Xan seemed most reluctant to start treating
Feris as an adventuring buddy. Primula also seemed a bit cool to him
as well.
We stumbled across a murder the other day. It was at the Merrydale
Inn where we sometimes go to socialize. There is a serving girl there
that seems to like me, her name is Marilee. I don't know if I have
mentioned her before. At any rate, as we were heading in, Briggah
was coming out with the body. The man who had been killed had a Zhentarim
badge stuck in his mouth. I was not sure if that meant that the Zhents
shut him up or that he was a former Zhent that someone had just silenced.
We learned from Marilee that he was a caravan master out of Tethyamirside.
She did not like him or the people he sometimes met with. Later we
took a short trip to the site where he had a warehouse in Tethyamirside.
It had just burned down. Four or so rather disreputable guys either
died in the fire. (Or just before the fire?) This company did not
seem to have a history of losing shipments to the bandits along the
road like the other companies. Primula cast a divine spell that allowed
her to converse with one of the dead men's spirits. He confirmed that
they were working for the Zhentarim and that they had been killed
because of it. None of us were particularly upset about the death
of Zhent spies, but it made us wonder what was going on. Who was responsible.
Artur may be behind it, but how to know? I have not seen any of his
people in town yet, but on the chance I do, I penned a note as follows:
Great Sir,
We happened to arrive at the Merrydale Inn just as the watch was
removing something unpleasant. Being inquisitive, we happened to travel
to a neighboring community and noted the recent fire. It turns out
that dead men can tell some tales. Capt. B was interested to hear
of the color of the network in this tale. To be certain, we do not
wish to get in the way of your business dealings. If this was something
involving you, we will be happy to leave it at that. If it is not,
you may be interested in more details. Please let us know.
The Fellowship of the Musical Mushroom
I will be on the lookout for one of Artur's people to pass the
note on. Artur himself seems to have disappeared once we arrived
in town.
Marilee noted the ring I received from the King. I pointed out that
we all had one. She wouldn't rest until she heard the tale. Keith
told things far better than I could have except that the entire group
seemed bent on exaggerating my role. I don't know why they did this.
If you have any thoughts, I would sure like some insight on this strange
behavior. The crowd seemed skeptical about the story until Tellarus
stood up and confirmed that only friends of the Crown could wear that
ring. Once again I was embarrassed by the attention but again attention
soon shifted away from our tale as people learned of Slash and Burn's
accomplishment.
Keith socialized easily and worked the room for information about
items of interest. He discovered a few rumors about Miraun's Challenge,
including the following:
- There is a corridor of solid white stone and anyone who walks
its length is lost forever;
- The temple to Orcus no longer exists. It is a lie to keep others
away.
- A great priest is entombed behind a door with seven seals. If
he is released, the powers of good will be greatly aided;
- beware of purple worms.
We also received a note from Sharantyr. She and the other rangers
are scouting the Spiderhaunt. We were to wait on exploring there
until we heard from her. Sgt Potulous was looking for a crew again.
He was shipping out in about 40 days. Master Wands is off on his
own business. Or at least he is not answering his door.
For now I am doing some lab work creating potions for Xan and beginning
to work on enchanting Oskar's Urgosh. I'm also thinking about creating
a staff for myself. I have some ideas and perhaps you would be willing
to look them over and give me some suggestions. I will try to give
you a sketch of my thoughts soon. Until then, please keep yourself
safe.
Your student,
Cedar
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