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11 Hammer, 1371
Dear Master Zorthaster,
Everything was going very well after our discovery of the telstang
and return to Daggerfalls. Now, however, I am not sure where we
are or how to get back home. I am writing without knowing if I will
be able to send this letter to you. I don't know how we are going
to get home but where we are sure looks interesting!
We left the dwarven safehold by a route south by south east to
the edge of the forest and then skirted the edge of the woods. On
the way we happened to come across a fight in progress. An adventuring
band and a raggedly equipped band of goblins were battling in a
clearing. Both sides were getting hurt pretty badly. We thought
to help out the adventurers, so our archers, led by Aramil and Xan
sought good vantage points and fired on the goblins. Their arrows
were having great effect. But then the adventurers started attacking
us. A sorcerer or wizard cast a spell at us and one of their archers
began to shoot at our group.
I crept up to within range of my spell, taking advantage of the
priestess' spell protected form for cover, and cast a sleep spell
at their spell caster. She and the archer both shrugged off the
effects. I learned later that they were both half-elven. Oskar and
Shane moved in to engage the two I had targeted with my spell. The
goblins were dealt with very effectively by Xan, Kerith and Amaril.
Oskar went down from a brutal hit in the melee. The priestess and
I rushed up to aid him. Thanks to the priestess and the power of
her elven god, the dwarf was back up and into battle for its end.
We were all shocked at the events that had unfolded, and were debating
how best to handle the remains. We found a very well made longbow
on the archer and some potions (Darkvision, Hiding, and Cure
Light Wounds) in a pouch on another. Unfortunately, there were
no spell books. We gathered a huge pile of dead wood for a pyre
and prepared to burn the bodies. While we were busy with that, Aramil
tracked the party of half elves back to their last camp site. There
he found, carved on a tree and blackened with soot, the Black Hand
of Bane. It appears that these adventurers were the followers of
the evil god of strife. I did not feel so bad about their passing
after that. We lit the pyre and watched for a while to ensure that
the distance from the forest edge was right and that the foot and
a half of snow on the ground was sufficient to prevent the fire
from spreading. When we were sure the fire was safe and would consume
the bodies, we left for town.
It took us another couple of days to get back to Daggerfalls. The
snow slowed us down a bit, but mostly we took our time to scout
out a good return route for when we had a sledge on which to load
the telstang. Tramping through the snowy wilderness is a lot more
enjoyable with amiable companions and warm clothing. This expedition
was so much better than that cold, lonely trek north from Tilverton.
We made it back to town about mid morning of the 11th
day of Hammer. Daggerfalls was bustling as usual. As we passed the
Red Rock Inn we happened to meet an enormous person with a gigantic,
grey fleshy head. He was dressed in a very official looking uniform
and decorated with many ribbons and awards. One was the Hero's Badge
of Daggerdale. He had at his side a very large wheel lock pistol.
He said something to his companion, a slight, greyish colored elven
woman about looking for recruits elsewhere. We stopped them to talk,
thinking that we might find a lead on a good quest or two. They
were recruiting for ship-board body guard duty. The details were
deliberately sketchy, but we learned that it would be a voyage of
8 to 10 days and we would be paid 300 lions each plus expenses.
This did not seem to make any sense to me as were we several days
travel from any real water body except the river. It hardly seemed
likely that a river trip lasting 8 to 10 days would be worth 300
lions in fees. In the end we told the man (First Gunnery Sargent
Potulous) that if we were interested we would report in 10 days
to Master Wu's compound. He also asked us to bring a reference if
we had anyone that would speak for us.
As we got to the north gatehouse, the guard asked us if we were
Peraus Wand's Boys. Somewhat confused by the question, we admitted
that we had done some work for him. The guard directed us to see
Commander Galthammer at the garrison right away. We took ourselves
off in that direction. On the way we stopped in at the Print Shop.
Master Wands was sick with a cold but invited us in for tea. We
described our adventure and he was quite pleased. He identified
the dark winged demons as Kir-lan and said they were related to
gargoyles. They appeared during the Time of Troubles as fallout
from the Godswar.
Master Wands also gave us another job. He copied a map to a cliff
about one and a half days east of here. Partway down the cliff is
a gap in the rock that leads into a cavern or cave complex. Inside
he believes are some old books that he would like recovered. Before
we left, Master Wands gave us a written recommendation for Sargent
Potulous.
Our trip to the garrison involved a lot of shouting, most of it
by the blonde haired Captain Brigah. He told us to leave our weapons
in the racks and go inside. I don't know if he really even heard
our explanation of who we were. Inside we met with a clerk and then
were ushered into the office of Commander Galthammer. The Commander
was much quieter than his Captain. Quiet but stern. He told us,
in no uncertain terms, that he did not want us causing trouble and
he did not want to see us back in his office for causing trouble.
Before we could say a word he cut off our protests and went on with
laying down the law. Everyone that does any adventuring is subject
to a three percent tax on their earnings. A record of items needs
to be prepared identifying the value of all the things we recover.
It needs to be included with the payment of the tax. He stressed
that being honest was important. He did not want to have to deal
with any dishonesty.
After picking up our gear outside, we headed off to see Gadlyn
Brightblade. He was happy about our success and wrote out a writ
so we could collect a pony and winter sledge for the trip back up
to the safehold. He gave us 250 lions for the work we had done so
far and promised another 250 when we returned with the telstang.
I asked why he was eager to get the metal now, after so many years.
He said it was because the Brightblade clan was really starting
to move into the area again, reclaiming some of what was once theirs.
His services had also been called upon to create something that
required the telstang now.
We spent some time selling some of our recovered goods and took
a break to divvy up the treasure. After taxes, I got 333 lions and
3 falcons as a share. As part of that share I selected the potion
of hiding and the potion of cure light wounds. That
left me with enough gold to replace my traveling clothes, buy a
light crossbow and bolts (including a few silvered ones), the materials
I need to summon a familiar, and some supplies. I picked up some
tinder twigs, more oil, rations and parchment. The others also bought
more supplies and a few special adventuring items. We found the
Tooka's shop when we were out shopping. It is an amazing place with
the feel of old, strange things. He agreed to trade us a pile of
"bandages from the mortuary" in exchange for the dragon blood, teeth,
scales, claws and other odd bits we collected. We decided to think
about it.
The Tooka, a curiously over-wide man with a tentacle in place of
his left arm also offered us a job. Sitting atop his counter was
a big jar filled with purple fluid and red threadlike veins. Every
once in a while an eyeball would press up against the glass, peering
out intently before disappearing deep inside. Green leaves floated
on top of the jar, just under a metal cover. The Tooka said he would
give us 600 pieces of gold if we delivered the jar to someone across
town. We all thought that a quick jaunt across town for 600 gold
was well worth our time. Even if someone tried to stop us, we did
not think that the dangers would be too outrageous as long as we
stayed in Daggerfalls. Humph. Little did we know. We agreed but
went off to lunch first.
Lunch turned out to be very exciting. We met with Broder for lunch.
He had his arm in a sling due to a scuffle at the Red Rock. He was
saddened to hear about Dravis, for indeed it was the Far Ranger
that we found in the beaver lodge. He asked about Dravis' sword.
When we told him it was not found, he asked about the necklace.
Shane still had it and showed it to Broder. He studied the knotted
pendant, spoke a command word and the chain rose up and pointed
to the south west. He explained that the sword and necklace were
linked and that sometimes Dravis would leave his sword somewhere
he wanted to return to. It was a way of marking the location of
something he wanted to find again.
Broder tossed the necklace back to Shane and asked if we would
go find out what was so important to Dravis that he would leave
his sword with it. If we can find it, it is ours. Broder himself
was going to head north to bury his friend. We told him that we
were headed back that way and he could travel with us if he liked.
We agreed to meet the following day to head back up to the safe
hold.
We lingered over our food for a while, enjoying the feeling of
being able to purchase quality meals for a change. Marlee, a very
attractive serving girl kept glancing at me and being almost flirtatious.
I was very flustered by her attentions, but I enjoyed them as well.
She giggled and accused me of playing a trick on her. She brought
over an old candle holder with a flame that she tried to blow out.
It wouldn't go out. She showed it to me, and to my horror, I saw
the little burning pearl of a fireball. It was a delayed
blast fireball sitting in there. I gasped, thought furiously
and then, grabbing it, ran for the door. Thankfully the street was
empty so I could hurl the thing into the clear. The blast went off,
melting the snow in a huge area. The warmth of the heated air washed
over me. I had gotten it far enough away that it did no damage.
I turned back to my companions, my knees buckled and I fell down.
The place became filled with shouts and questions. My friends wanted
to know what had just happened. I tried to explain. Almost immediately
the very loud Captain arrived on the scene. He was all business
now. He questioned everyone and learned that a guard, Grainer, had
been seated at that table last. Another guard burst in. Grainer
had been found dead out back. He had been dead for hours. The Captain
told us not to leave town for a day or two so we decided to postpone
our trip north for a bit.
In the room with us was Tellerus. Feris, the guard at the Delvers'
Guild had suggested we talk to this man about adventuring. He was
deep in thought about what had just happened, but when we told him
we were doing some work for Peraus Wands he said that "Peraus is
a good man." He also may have a thing or two to keep us busy, we
should come back to see him another time.
With excitement over and all the questions asked several times,
we decided to get our job for the Tooka done. We met him at the
shop and he handed over the big jar and a parchment with a name
and address. He said going out the back door would be quickest,
and since we did not really want to be seen carrying the jar of
purple goo by anyone watching the shop it made sense. When we stepped
out of the door, we all stood gaping and in shock. We were not in
Daggerfalls anymore. It was a huge city that curved up at the horizon
to disappear into the distance. The sights and smells are completely
alien. We found ourselves in an alleyway. Behind us was a blank
wall. The busy street ahead was populated with hundreds of strange
beings including demons and celestials!
I think we are in big trouble.
Your Student,
Cedar
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