27 Heat

We left Vindemar to make our way back to Bliss. We stopped for the evening at the Troll Bridge to see what assistance we could provide. The battle there left many dead, both goblins and Guardsmen. Stephen spent a good part of the evening moving amongst the wounded, singing and uplifting their spirits. His song was quieting, comforting, and healing. I provided what healing I could as well, moved on by Stephen’s song as much as the rangers were.

I was distracted for a moment by a movement from Jaden. He stood suddenly, his face enraptured, but I could not see what he envisioned. As quickly, he fell to his knees on the ground and seemed overcome by his vision. I made my way over towards him to be sure that he was alright. He was distraught by his vision and told me of it. I shall not go into detail here, for such personal encounters should be given the respect of privacy. Suffice to say, Jaden fears that darkness stalks him, but I feel that he is learning to see beyond seeing.

We set up camp near the ruined fort. Many of the Guardsmen are here, preparing to the area against any further incursions. Dorian and his apprentices are still missing. BlackHawk is anxious and worried about Dorian, and he keeps wondering if we should go after him. We debate it for some time, and in the end deciding that we have not the mountain climbing equipment to effectively go after them. Reluctantly, BlackHawk concedes and his hope lingers on Dorian’s capabilities.

The next morning we awake and are surprised and glad to find that Dorian and his apprentices have returned! Other than some injuries, they are safe. After a breakfast made hearty by the return of lost comrades, we decide that the best thing now would be a speedy return to Bliss. Dorian and Valgard have decided to join us on this journey home and we all depart quickly. One of our few stops is to be in Tooley, where Stephen hopes to speak once more with Baron Kandarius.

As we approach Greenhill, we are disturbed by screams and sounds of pain. We discover the noises are emanating from the protective fog that lies about Greenhill. An illusion to drive away the goblinid armies; it is effectively disturbing. Dorian enters the mist and appears to move off the hill and cliff. We follow in his footsteps, as I did when I followed DeVal the first time through this hazy trap. We stop at the entrance to Greenhill, leaving the apprentice Valgard and Jaden to watch over them. Valgard is still quite traumatized by the ride from the night before in which she lost her companions to goblins, and only barely escaped herself. We meet a hobbit who takes us into Greenhill. It is sunny and clear on top.

The Halflings have sustained no real injuries. Dorian greets Roscoe, and asks of the apprentices who made the journey to deliver the message to Cymric. The apprentices make it this far ­ delivering the message, and went on. Stephen offers to carry on any messages to Bliss or any other town on the way. We have lunch and return to Jaden and the others with sandwiches for them, then continue on to Tooley.

Tooley has closed to all “non-essential” personnel. I do not quite understand what this word means, but at the border we did meet a fearsome looking contingent. Dorian greeted them, and convinced them that we were “essential”, and we were escorted in. The great Gate is adorned with Gnomes armed with crossbows. We enter and see that everywhere, even common folk, are prepared for battle.

Despite this preparation, we are given the usual gnome hospitality. We have a chance to bathe, and we are fed well for their mealtime called ‘Tea’. Stephen requests an audience with the Baron once again. We are told we must wait and see what Sir Sedryn says.

Élensûl takes the axe head and mail armor to Dran Fog, the gnomish proprietor of Fog and Sons. (His trademark is the rose.)

We greet Dran Fog, and ask for his services in identifying the items Élensûl recovered from Glimmermoore. He tells us that the axe head is Dwarvish, but he haft is Elvish for the wood could come only from an Elvish forest. The axe head has Celtic designs and gold runs. “Worth a small fortune,” he tells us. It is not an heirloom piece, but quite valuable.

The armor is also Dwarven, not mithral, but one of their better alloys, plated in gold. Two of the lumps that Élensûl also recovered proved to be rings. One was gold, with a device of a shield and hammer and a red semi-precious stone. The second ring was small, and childlike. It had the form of a pelican on it.

Dran Fog offered to purchase the axe head, but Elensul declined, thanking him for his service.

We return to meet Dorian and Sir Sedryn. We are told that we may see the Baron, but Sir Sedryn warns us that if we upset the Baron at all, he will end the meeting. We head toward the hall where the Baron holds court. The gates of Tooley suggest that there is something powerful, or valuable, here in Tooley.

Stephen recites the tale of the battle of the Toll Bridge. Kandarius tells us that the Troll that we encountered was ancient and had been there for a long time ­buried? ­guarding? The presence of the Torc and Bracers, the Taoiseach, enraged the Troll and awakened the Dark Forces.

Stephen offers to play for Kandarius as he had promised to on our last visit. Kandarius is glad for the music and enjoys Stephen’s performance. Stephen plays extraordinarily well, and later I join in with song. His talented playing heightens my own adequate performance.

Kandarius seems to have truly enjoyed the music. When Stephen finished, I asked Kandarius if there was any healing I could do for him, for he is ancient, and his very bones seem to radiate his age. But I was surprised by his answer. His eyes, rheumy with age, suddenly came into focus and were as sharp and clear as fine gems. “Lady, you will do so much for me that I will never be able to repay you,” was his answer. I did not know how to respond, and so I was silent. As suddenly as they had cleared, Kandarius’ eyes became bleary, and Sedryn asked us to leave the hall at that point.

As Sedryn escorted us out, we informed him of the Eye Tyrants that were released from the Bore. He told us that they were already well aware of them, as some Gnomes have died from them. They had been seen heading north.

We retire again to Nina’s and go to our rooms. BlackHawk suggested that we perform a spell that might detect the presence of magic on the artifacts we had analyzed. I did this, and fount that there was some magic on the armor, and strong magic on everything else. We then wondered if a detect magic spell would identify the Taoiseach’s Torc and Bracers. I decided to try that on Stephen.

With a smile at our Bard, I suggested it might be easier if the others were not in the room. Not perceiving my humor, they all left anyway. I did not even realize that, as I started to meditate on the task at hand. What happened next, however, I only have Stephen’s account for.

Apparently, my attempt at detecting his magical items was not unlike a newborn opening its eyes for the first time and gazing into ten suns. I felt a force like a great impact, and remember nothing after that. Stephen had picked me up and laid me on the bed. Sometime later, I recovered, but I felt weak and disoriented. Stephen was kind enough to attend to me and play his harp until I felt that I had regained my composure. It seems that I will not be attempting any sort of detection on those artifacts again. I had known that they were magical, but I had no idea that they held such great power. Perhaps they draw power from more than one plane of existence, or they have power on more than one plane. I do not know at this point. But considering all that has occurred so far, we cannot underestimate their potential and their power.

The next morning I was fully myself again, and we continued onward to Bliss. We stopped at Falling Rock Keep. I had hoped to find the answer to the mystery of how Cymeric got word of the Bore and was able to respond so quickly. He was gracious enough to answer our questions. He told us that as an Earth Elementalist, he has the ability to travel ‘through’ the Earth. This made sense to us, and though we respect his powers, it answered our question well enough. But to the next question, he gave us an answer that was itself another mystery. Oddly, he did not receive word from the apprentices, but rather from a noble woman that was passing through, in particular, a woman that fit the description of the finely dressed, pale woman we passed just north of Troll Bridge. But how could it have been her? For Cymric said she arrived right after we left Falling Rock. And how would she have known about the breach of the Bore? For she had passed that way before it had occurred. This left us puzzled and concerned.

We left Falling Rock Keep, thanking Cymric for his company once again. I said farewell to his dire dog companion, who seems rather curious about me. We reached Sea Breeze the next day, and then went on to Arbor. We stopped in the village of the wine country, so that Stephen could return the Hunting Horn we had borrowed. There, we learned that things had changed considerably in Arbor. There was a shift in the governing seat, and the attitude toward the Guild had improved significantly. The presence of rangers during this troubling time was not the sole reason for this. Stephen’s letter to the Guild informing them of the attitude of the local citizens was cause for this change. It is quite something to see Stephen’s work, the work of the Foxe, actually amounting to some positive changes.

One more thing occurred to add to the mystery of the noble woman. We heard that in the tavern in Arbor two women had stopped in for drinks. One woman’s description fit that of the pale noble woman that Cymric and we encountered. The other woman’s dress and garb was described in such a way as to remind us of the Fianna that we passed ­ the one in search of “The Summoner”. The two women drank in the tavern together, we were told, and then left together.

We were greeted at the gates of Bliss by the Guardsmen, and we were escorted right away to the Stronghold to give our accounts of the Battle at Troll Bridge. We fulfilled our duties there, and then retired to the Elfsong Tavern for dinner and drink for the evening.

Raven Fox

30 Heat