Riddles and New Friends

After finishing our lunch, the five of us made our way east of the wall in the direction of the ominous chasm cleaving through the city. Easily enough we found our way through the familiar streets of the worn-down district. The Beggar’s Nest had always been the stuff of cautionary tales to scare children, but with the opening it grew too dark for even such stories. This is the home of those who cannot afford anything else- and those who are escaping the law.
Thus, it was with much caution that we proceeded towards the open plaza, which according to Nysqwen’s memory was pointed out as being the epicentre of the lightning occurrences. As with the rest of this district, the buildings lining the streets here were crumpled, crooked and dark at best and utter piles of rubble at worst. Everyone but Kyla was taken by great unease, being this close to the damned chasm. She rather went ahead and without a second thought began dealing silver pieces to each dubious beggar sitting around the streets. Remarkable! Such innocence and kindness might well be interpreted as naivety or even ignorance by someone who does not know her. Yet after our time of travel, I am rather sure that she simply puts her service towards others above all else to make Faerûn a better place. She uttered her confusion and frustration as to why people were simply dropped by society and had to resort to begging or worse to make a living. It was a concept she had not encountered in the convent in which she was trained.
After a small bribe, well picked words and a little help of Mystra’s gift, we managed to convince a man called Herbert to tell us about any happenings around this square. Apparently, a former store was owned by a woman he had heard of as Martha but closed since the chasm opened. Yet, now and then some strange folk seems to wander in and out of the house. Not two days ago, Herbert had noticed two hooded figures heading in the house early in the morning. On the lapel of one of the two, he caught a glimpse of a small silvery harp – the sign of the harpers.
 
Since this was our best bet, we approached the building with its barred windows after thanking the beggar for his information with two further silver pieces. Upon knocking repeatedly and calling for Martha, the thin, female voice of a child told us Martha was not there and that she was not allowed to open the door to strangers. She introduced herself as Zanna. When I mentioned my name, her tone immediately changed. I have heard this mixture of fear and disdain too often to hold up any kind of hope she would continue speaking to us or even letting us in. Yet to hear it from someone that young hurt deeper than I had expected at this point.
This unfortunately left us nothing but to await the return of the woman known as Martha. We withdrew to the corner of the square from which we would not lose sight of Martha’s shop. Suddenly, lightning cracked from the sky and into the street next to us. Yet no thunder accompanied it. We ran to the place of impact only to find an ordinary charred patch in the street, where the electricity had melted some lose earth. A few paces south, the street abruptly ended as the chasm opened up at this point. Heading over there however, gave us no new clues, nothing around here was stranger than usual. And with sharp whispers from within the crack and something that looked like an approaching tentacle formed from pure darkness, we quickly backed away.
We could see further lightnings now shooting in the vicinity. Grum and Archie developed a bold idea: they wanted to get a closer look at the origin of the phenomena. Thus, Archie affixed a small device at Grum’s boots and with a strange clicking and humming sound, our dwarven friend levitated into the sky. And very quickly we learned that it is a very fine line between bold and stupid. For the next lightning cracked right in Grum’s elevated body. With a cry of pain and shock he fell to the ground as Archie lost control over the spell and crashed hard into the street. Immediately, I ran up to him, kneeled at his side and felt for the pulse of my old companion. I panicked, when I did not feel anything. And just before I could call out for Kyla, there was a strong current of blood passing through the vein beneath my finger. I froze. And then: another one. Incredibly slowly, but steady and powerful. Grum opened his eyes and grumbled into his beard that he felt like kicked by a horse. But the sturdy dwarf righted himself and admitted to this perhaps being not his best plan. He was determined to continue this investigation, however he winced at every movement. Thus, Archie offered to take him back to his brewery to recover properly. The poor boy himself was quite pale after the experience. I am just glad that nothing worse happened to anybody.
 
Some time passed, before a plainly dressed woman with long, brown hair hurried to Martha’s shop. I recognised her as Melissa, a kind soul who used to occasionally come to visit Anataea as she cared for homeless children in a similar fashion. After multiple knocks she opened, a short flash of recognition on her face. She indeed revealed herself as a member of the Harpers organisation and told us, that Zanna was the one, who started calling her Martha for some reason. And upon us stating our business, she explained that the small girl indeed seemed to be the origin of the lightning events! She apparently arrived on one of the last ships, no parents with her and the guards were the first to witness her magical potential. From there on, they entrusted Zanna to Melissa who cared for her since. Rumours told that one of her parents was a powerful wizard from the eastern lands. Kyla mentioned that her seemingly uncontrolled displays of magic might be caused by some form of psychic stress. We promised to keep an eye out at the harbour for the ship or such a wizard to find a way to help the girl with her powers.
Melissa sent us upstairs as we asked about Nissa, who we were still wanting to meet, and told us we would find there what we were looking for. After a moment of investigating the five doors on the second level, Kyla found a minute harp engraved on the hinges of one of the doors. The room behind was completely empty except for another door on the opposite side. Within the wood, five settings were placed, two of which held small gems, one red and one orange. Beside the door were three more of these jewels, a yellow, a pink and a purple one. And, obviously, the door was locked. While I was still looking for a keyhole on the door, Kyla and Nysqwen rather took a look at the colourful contraption. They tried various combinations of colour patterns with the gems in the frames, but to no avail. In frustration, rather than anything else, Kyla finally removed all jewels from their settings. Something clicked in the door. And it swung open. If this was some test, devised by the Harpers to identify the potential of new candidates, I failed miserably here. If only Archie would have been there… He for sure would have known what to do right from the start.
 
Behind the riddle-door, a very small room opened up. The only piece of furniture present was a very intricate box. On its top, an array of seven by seven gears was protruding from the lid. Next to the box lay a circular chain on the ground, its links just large enough to fit on the teeth of the gears. And on its side was a wooden crank. At a closer inspection, small numbers became visible on some of the metal gears, ranging between zero and three. While we quickly came to the conclusion to the principle of this second riddle, it took us an embarrassingly long time to finally find the pattern in which the chain had to be placed around the gears to allow the crank to be turned and the box to open up. At least I solved this myself, maybe I am not entirely unworthy of joining this organisation in the end. But again, I feel this would be something, Archie would truly shine in.
Within the box we found only a small card with the image of a badger. On its back side however was written “Twirling Alley 1, 27th of Flamerule”. Thus, we had a place and a time for when to meet up with what I can only assume will be Nissa. Well, the Harpers certainly could have chosen worse areas to settle down, but also more low-key ones…
When inspecting the chest and the room for further secrets of the faction, I noticed that the box had a false floor. Once pried open, a small clay disk was discovered. It featured a face, depicted as if speaking. We had no idea what this might be for or what to do with it. So, we took it with us for now, maybe Grum or Archie will know anything about it.
 
Finally, we made our way back to the harbour to gather some information about the little Zanna. On our way there, when we were about to enter the protector’s enclave through the south-eastern gate, a strangely out-of-place looking half-orc was watching the lively hustle and bustle of folk traveling in and out of Neverwinter. His green skin was clearly visible as he wore nothing but a simple loincloth. He did seem oblivious to the watchful eyes of the guards, who these days are suspicious towards anything only remotely related to the occupants of the northern part of the city. When thinking about it, we realised that this guy actually had been standing there already when we left the city this way earlier this day. Knowing full well that I would draw the guards’ attention myself, I could not resist the urge to stand next to him and wonder loudly what he was doing here watching all these people. He introduced himself as Teynos, a monk of a close-by monastery. He said that after his mother abandoned him there, he had not seen much of the world and was intending to change that. While he was very open and forthright in his replies and seemed genuinely baffled by the mere passing of people through a gate, his full intentions were hard to gauge. While seeming simple of mind, I am still not sure how much of this might just be a façade.
Teynos expressed his desire to enter the city yet explained that the guards previously were unwilling to grant him passage. He did not understand why everybody else seemed to have no issues with this whatsoever and could make nothing of their comments that his outfit would be inappropriate. I have experienced enough discrimination based purely on outward appearance. Therefore, we decided to take him with us. And sure enough, the guards would let him pass in our company if we swore to take responsibility for him and see to give him proper clothing. As we entered, the half-orc flicked some coins to the beggars in front of the gate from his seemingly very small pouch. I suspect, he and Kyla will get along quite well in their shared belief in just distribution of wealth. Although if he keeps giving so freely, he might have to learn the hard way that you don’t get very far in the world without money…
 
After we purchased a pair of trousers for Teynos, we made our way to the coast, avoiding very crowded streets to not raise alarm by some of the more easily scared people at the sight of a half-orc. Once there however, we found ourselves in good company as the harbour featured people from every race, profession and origin imaginable. It is a noisy place, smelling of fish, wet wood and salt water. Nysqwen felt right at home. We went straight to the dock master, who told us that the captain of the “Arielle” had reported strange lightning phenomena on their last trip. Unfortunately, the ship had left Neverwinter this very morning towards Waterdeep, from whence it came. He ensured us however, that she should be back within a few days, maybe a week.
With this information, we decided to have a further look around the docks and see if we might find some talkative sailors. We had not to look far for a bunch of men of different races playing a game of “Jacks and a King”. Gladly, I joined in, followed by Teynos who visibly was excited by the presence of another half-orc in the round. With the game going for a few rounds, the men warmed up to our presence and were willing to share the latest sailor’s yarn with us. They told us that business was going well with the end of the winter storms from the north, bringing with them the cold breath of the Icewind Dale. This was followed by the usual tales of new reports of sightings of the kraken, arguments over the fastest ships and other tales. A new song recently has made its rounds, telling of a fisher king who managed to singlehandedly catch a twelve paces long fish with nine eyes in the midst of a harsh storm. While sounding hard to believe, I gladly adopted this new piece and amused the gathered bunch with multiple renditions of the song to which they sang fervently and terribly flat. Nysqwen learned, the name of the captain we were looking for was Alwin Oneshoe, who regularly travelled along the coast as far south as Baldur’s Gate. He would return within the next two weeks. But none of the people had heard anything about a little girl summoning lightning through sheer willpower.
 
With nothing more to accomplish there, we left the harbour just as an errant boy ran into Nysqwen. He came with a message from a master Khalid, whom she was required to meet in the Twirling Alley. She and Kyla went there, while I went home, Zeynos still trailing behind. This most likely would be his best option for a night in this city. As we arrived at Anataea’s, we were greeted by a wide-eyed Sven. He immediately took to questioning poor Zeynos about every aspect of life. The young orc finally had found someone to talk to about racial discrimination and how our new guest was coping with the issue.
As dusk was already at hand, I quickly departed to fulfil my promise to Anataea. The handholds in the back alley were still where I left them, the climb to the rooftops as familiar as walking the streets of the city, perhaps even more. Across from her window, I found a position to lean against a chimney and take in the tiny room. In the light of a single candle, Chant was mending her light green dress, another patch on the hole-riddled piece of clothing. The only difference to my last visit was the absence of the otherwise ever-present bottle. And while she was working, the old tune she hummed took me back to simpler times while my stomach turned. I closed my eyes, sunk against the stone at my back… I did not even notice her stop and snuff out the candle. I sat there long after she went to bed, long after all other sounds of the surrounding city faded. Time flew by unnoticed. Yet I dared not approach. Not yet.
When I came back, Teynos and Sven were still talking. It gladdened me to hear their happy voices, exchanging stories and experiences. And before long, I fell asleep.
 
This morning, we were all woken by the children shouting in play through the house. Teynos had already helped preparing breakfast and Kyla and Nysqwen appeared shortly after myself. Master Khalid as a member of the Lords’ Alliance had entrusted Nysqwen with a small quest for their faction, to which she was welcomed to take her allies with. A small farming community in the east was having trouble with nightly disappearances of cattle and so far, no one had cared to look into the matter. Teynos offered to accompany us as we were his best bet to see something of the world. When we stopped by, Archie and Grum respectively had to decline the small trip, as they were busy with their work.
 
When we arrived Nysqwen immediately started asking around for master and mistress Kulinov, the foreman and forewoman in charge of the six farms. Soon, a young woman pointed us in the direction of one of the buildings where we met the burly, brown haired and bearded man. He introduced himself as Bor and his wife as Tana, both of them were rather agitated over the recent events and said it was about time that someone would deal with this problem. Since almost a fortnight, every night there was the sound of crashing wood at one of the farms and the next morning one or two cows or a handful of sheep were missing.
With his consent, we set out to the farm of the most recent victim to inspect the area for any helpful tracks. We did not have to search for long. Footprints almost the size of one of us were leading in gigantic steps to and from the back side of the paddock, the wood splintered at the point of entry. Nysqwen said this would most remind her of storm giants, yet they were not native to this area. Else, the city would have much worse problems for quite some time. From the back, suddenly Teynos mused that there indeed used to live hill giants in these parts. They were known to travel the lands on the constant search for new food sources. For all his unfamiliarity with social conduct, he apparently had spent copious amounts of time in his monastery between books. I cannot wait to properly introduce him to Archie! They will be getting along great.
 
The steps were leading away further into the east, accompanied by much smaller but still relatively large paw prints. This giant seemed to have a pet dire wolf. We followed the trail which cut straight through the surrounding forest, the giant seemed to have found it easier to walk through trees instead of around them. As we left the woods, we came face to face with a large cave, from which as if in greeting a large boulder came flying straight towards Teynos. Faster than I had thought humanly possible, he dodged to one side, avoiding the brunt of the hit and getting away with a few minor bruises. And with that, combat had begun. Within the cave, a massive shape moved about, grotesquely long arms, as thick as me grabbing for the next rock. The malformed grin contorted in what can only be described as a perverted grin, he spoke in a language none of us understood. At his feet, a grey wolf snarled at us.
Teynos and Nysqwen quickly ran towards the threat with Kyla and me giving support from the back. As they were running, for the first time I wondered how exactly Teynos was planning to attack. I did not have to wait for long, as with a flurry of blows, he punched the wolf with his bare hands too fast to follow his exact movements. He rushed past in the same movement, leaving the once fierce wolf a pitiful bloodied mess, barely standing. Nysqwen finished it in passing and then they were on the giant. A massive blow caught our new companion right at the temple, leaving him unconscious on the ground. Nysqwen just laughed in the giant’s face, dealing wide swings with her terrible glaive to the monstrosity. I did my best to keep the creature at bay yet right as I was about to send him into a fit of laughter, three more wolves showed up all around Kyla and myself, startling me enough to let the notes fade without any effect. Kyla cried out in rage, summoning again a spectral version of her mace, clutching her holy necklace and begging her goddess for aid for the poor young monk. With great relief I saw movement return to his body, just as Kyla shot me an apologetic look. As she later explained, she felt sorry for not helping more with the approaching wolves, as immediately two of them tore into me. But I would rather she helped Teynos then me in this situation any day of the week!
Bloodied from two ferocious bites into my flanks, all I could do was to send two of the wolves into a stupor, while my friends took care of our other foes. With Nysqwen carving wound after wound into the giant’s front, the freshly healed Teynos managed to land the finishing blow against the giants back. Kyla in the meantime made short work of the remaining wolf, before all of us together opposed the still hypnotised final foes. Wherever this half-orc had trained, I would love to pay it a visit some day! His competence in the fight was astounding, were all of us previously convinced, we would have to look out for him constantly.
 
Thus, relieved, tired and seemingly grown a little closer together, the two of us went about burying the wolves, while Kyla and Nysqwen started burning the body of the smell. Afterwards, still trying to ignore the stench that emanated from the cavern, we investigated it for any further spoils. It seemed to have been a mine of some sort, as a few mining carts lay strewn about, old and rusty tools were piled at one end and some of the walls showed definite signs of work. Yet what exactly had happened here and if it was abandoned before the giant arrived, none of us could tell. In a slightly remote part of the cave, Nysqwen however came about two small wooden boxes, which we took with us for further inspection.
 
When we returned to the Kulinovs, Bor first refused to believe our story. He seemed unconvinced that our ragtag group would be capable of dealing with such a threat and was even less willing to believe that something as dangerous as a giant had been roaming these lands. Therefore, he sent one of his men to look for the cave and confirm our story. After this man eventually reported back that he indeed found the charred remains of a gigantic body, and freshly dug graves with wolves in them, Bor’s harsh demeanour softened a bit and he bade us to stay for the night. As thanks, they offered us all they could afford. A cow. None of us knew what we should do with her but Teynos gladly accepted this. He named her Martha and told the farmers he wanted her to stay here and live a happy life as he had nowhere to take her. Slightly confused, they agreed to this proposition.
Now, the four of us are lying in our offered beds in the farmers’ homes, tomorrow we will make our way back to Neverwinter. Hopefully, Grum and Archie will be less busy and more inclined to continue our pending quests together.