Ever North Goes the Road

It’s funny, when you think about it, how contrasting two consecutive days can be. One day, you spend barely escaping a flaming death, descending from the sky, the next you idly talk with your friends about if an ideal house should have one or two floors while lazily riding through the warm summer sun.
After finishing our rest in this most hostile-to-life of all places, we skimmed through the remains of what our battle left behind. Strangely, the armour and sword of the second creature had vanished but in the ashes we still found some gold. The coins showed a different minting than what we are used to, it appeared to be a figure with a humanoid upper body but where legs should be it just became a formless mass, almost like a cloud. With all our objectives accomplished, we then set out on our way back to the place where we were expecting to travel back from.
We found the small crevasse in the mountain very much portal-less which prompted me to once more begin to summon the protective dome around us. My efforts were interrupted however, when Nysqwen suddenly cried out, warning us of an approaching enormous red dragon that just broke through the smoke cloud of a neighbouring peak. I hasted my unfolding spell as best as I could but when there is one crime in music of course it is trying to force something into being. Unsurprisingly, my endeavours were therefore met with little reward whilst the beast gained on us with alarming speed. It was merely a few hundred feet away from us when Grum yelled that a portal was opening through which I felt myself ruggedly flung by Nysqwen which finally collapsed the last strands of my magic. Looking back, I just saw her being thrown to the ground by the thunderous beating of the red dragon’s wings. Then the plateau on the other side of the portal was bathed in roaring flames. The emanating heat was indescribable and for a short but terrifying moment I was sure that I would never again lay eyes on my dear dragonborn friend. Thankfully, a smoking Nysqwen emerged from the inferno and tumbled through the rift where she collapsed just as the portal closed. Wordlessly I offered her the remains of my wine skin which she accepted with shaking hands. As I touched her claws, I offered her as much relief as I was capable of by imbuing her with some mental fortitude against the barely survived trauma.
Finally, we dared to look around where we had landed and relieved concluded that we were in the same space where we first entered this plane in. After but a brief moment of respite, two azers appeared who led us into a room we had not been in before. The room was dominated by a tall bronze statue that looked like a five-headed hydra. Each set of eyes was made of artfully cut rubies that felt almost alive as they stared down at us from their high vantage point. The statue emerged from a small pool of molten rock in front of which Pyro seemed to be deep in prayer. Every now and then, small snouts broke through the surface of the lava pool, not too different, albeit much smaller, from that of the large salamander.
We reported to our questionable ally that we had accomplished all the tasks we had set out to solve but that there were some unexpected hinderances along the way. Not least of which was the appearance of the dragon. Pyro explained that he was known as Ysolphur the Devourer of Worlds around these parts. Of course. Devourer of Worlds. And we were just standing on an open plateau completely oblivious of what was flying our way. As we were exchanging terrified glances, Pyro continued that all the ingredients for Grum’s requested remedy were gathered and he was willing to conduct the ritual now.
The rest of us were asked to leave the chamber. We were brought to a different room nearby to wait and immediately slumped to the ground. In an effort to distract myself as much as my friends from the nightmare we had lived through and the fact that we left Grum alone in a room with Pyro whose alliances are still questionable, I picked out the old lyra. A remarkable instrument indeed, as it was perfectly in tune despite the horrendous temperatures around us! Letting my gaze wonder over my companions, I used the opportunity to attempt and lift their moods as best I could. The calming melody was instilled with little hints of magic to ease the burden of heat on my three friends and remove some traces of dust and ash that had crusted all of us. Thanks to Mystra’s gift, traces of reassurance entered the song, the occasional croaking of a watching raven, the sound of waves rolling over calm shores and the image of majestic wings on Teynos’s shadow. The small hints of relief on their faces heralded at least some success of my efforts.
Eventually, Grum and Pyro entered the room. Grum was carrying a richly ornamented chest that, according to our host contained the healing salve resulting from the successful ritual. With all agreements fulfilled, we said our goodbyes before Pyro released us through a portal back onto our own, much cooler plane of existence, where we were greeted by a clear, night’s sky and the reassuringly familiar soundscape of the forest around us. We walked back to where we had left our mounts to make camp. Still devouring the recent events, we spent the evening debating all manner of more trivial things although one time, Kyla took some more notes on what we wished in terms of burial rites should we fall before her. After some further Elvish lessons, we all bedded down for the night, surrounded by the protecting dome my song had created.
 
The next morning came with the pleasant smell of frying mushrooms, Teynos had chosen to prepare breakfast for all of us during his watch. Whilst we were eating, Adrik approached and invited himself to our meal after reassuring himself of all our plans and deals having gone well. We now began contemplating how to continue. Of course, there was still the issue of Iarno Albrik. But there did not seem to be any trace of him or whatever else might have awoken the plants on our last trek through this forest. Our best bet for the moment therefore was without a doubt Mirabar, Grum was quite keen on bringing this new remedy to his treant friend, plus we had to report to their higher-ups about the happenings around Lystramon and the culminating reports of drow-involvement in several of the recent developments. Kyla took a moment before she looked up to a spectral hand, traced by the faint outlines of raven feathers. It seemed to be pointing northeast, straight into the forest and towards the peaks of Mount Hotenow and Gauntlgrym. She explained that this would be the straightest path to the northern city. This path might lead rather close past her home as well and the prospect of maybe seeing the dear temple of her family again seemed to greatly excite her. Adrik mentioned, he knew of the place but tried to avoid it as much as possible to no one’s surprise. The dwarf seemed about as sociable as a rock. Still, given the unknown dangers of the forest and surrounding lands, we finally decided to try our luck by sticking to the road along the coast and avoid Luskan by diverting eastward just before the city. Adrik now got up, seeing that there was not much more for him to contribute and turned into a squirrel that quickly ran back towards the Neverwinter Forest. In his wake, he left what appeared to be a ring. The ring itself seemed not to be made from metal but rather something like amber. On it’s front is a purple gem inlaid, covered by a mesh of golden bands that almost give it a brain like appearance. After some sarcastically romantic shenanigans of me putting the ring on Teynos hand, accompanied from appropriate jesting comments from everyone involved, eventually the others agreed that perhaps I should try and test out this potentially magical item.
When we set out on our way north again, Kyla therefore hobbled my horse to hers to allow me to study the ring. I still don’t fully trust the beast and I get the sense that the feeling is mutual. Animals in general seem to get nervous around me, except for cats of course. But this horse at least so far had not attempted to trample me to death so I suppose we are in a truce of sorts. But with all this reservation towards riding, it took me still until after our lunch break to figure out that the ring seemed to ward the bearer’s mind from unwanted prying or magical detection of thoughts or intent. Quite useful so, this would have come in very handy in a few of the more precarious situations I had found myself in before encountering this new group of friends.
For the night we found a roadside inn that aside from food and lodging also provided the opportunity of taking a bath and properly scrub off the remaining ash.
 
The next day, a caravan of traders joined us for the majority of the time. They were led by a human couple and their daughter that sought trade with the smaller settlements along the forest edge. The four other people were hired swords for protection. Kyla spoke to them for a while, but they knew nothing of Glassatff or other things that were going on in the area but mentioned that they were stuck in Neverwinter for a while whilst a rat plague was going on. They parted ways with us in the late afternoon but recommended a tavern along the way where we could pause for the following night.
The next three days passed fairly uneventful. On the fourth day, a cart came towards us, down the now less developed road. A single man sat on the coach box yet somehow, there was no draft animal to be seen. As he came closer, Nysqwen, Grum and myself recognised him as Tiblen Stonehill, the brother of Toblen, owner of the Stonehill Inn in Phandalin. The travelling merchant similarly appeared to recognise us from our last encounter on the Triboar Trail and joyfully jumped down from his cart to greet us. After brief introductions of our companions, he asked if were in need of any particular goods and seemed to indeed have something for any need that was stated in his covered cart. Teynos now is the proud owner of a new loincloth, this one with several pockets and therefore far superior to its predecessor according to the half-orc. Grum finally got his newly forged hip flask filled with some strong-smelling dark liquid whilst Kyla purchased a small silver figurine of a raven that accordingly to Tiblen could turn into a real animal that would stay connected with Kyla at all times. I myself managed to get a set of brand-new tarot cards so it might be time to hone the good old charlatanry skills. When Nysqwen showed him the axe we had found in Venomfang’s hoard, he took a scrutinising look over the object, not too dissimilar from dear Archie and sure enough seemed to identify it to be a weapon of respectable magical qualities! When all these oddities were reason enough to wonder where this Tiblen got all his wares from, he pulled out a handful of other objects when he turned around one last time after already saying goodbye. He held up a small chest asking if any of these items were ours. Our astonishment was great as we saw all the little gifts and knickknacks we had left in place of the bag of holding in the cave consecrated to Moradin. Surprised and baffled, we replied that these were a gift in thanks to the gods that were watching over us and if anything should aid the ones that might find them eventually.
Even long after we had left him behind, we still had no clue what to make of this odd encounter. It was a long debate, whether he was in leagues with the god, a priest perhaps, or just a wanderer that collected anything that might be worth a good price on the streets. Perhaps he even was following an entirely different agenda. The only one fully unperturbed by all this was Teynos, who simply found tremendous joy in the newfound practicality of owning something that contained pockets. Our attempts of trying to convince him that clothes with more fabric might be able to contain more pockets however seemed to fall on deaf ears.
 
The following day we agreed we could not be too far from the fork in the road anymore, at which we knew we could circumnavigate Luskan. Around midday we found ourselves diverting a little from the forest edge and passing through a canyon. Much to our surprise, halfway through the gorge we saw the rough outlines of faces carved into the rock wall about four feet above our heads. From our brief encounter with them, we figured that this might be the remains of some passing giant but if it was meant as a warning, some other message or merely an expression of creativity none of us could tell. The grooves showed definite signs of wear from wind and rain and there were no further traces to be seen in the greenery around us, leading us to assume that the creator of these carvings had moved on a long while ago.
That evening we camped next to a well at the fork we had been aiming for. The night passed by with only a single rider hastily rushing southward, coming from the direction we assumed Luskan to be. We continued our travels the next day until we reached the Blackford Crossing of the river Mirar. The humans manning the ferries that granted passage demanded a hefty sum to bring us across and with every attempt of talking some sense into them they seemed to just up the price. Grum and Kyla mentioned they could potentially help out with our crossing on the next morning after having prepared the correct incantations and allow us to simply walk across! Even this prospect did not seem to change the ferry men’s mind however. Then Grum seemed to remember something and started braiding his magnificent beard. The man we had been talking to suddenly seemed to brighten up a bit, telling us that for friends, the journey would only cost ten gold pieces between all of us and our mounts. I reckon this has something to do with the rivalry between Luskan and Mirabar that Grum mentioned before but what the significance of the hairstyle was in all this, I have yet to ask him.
We travelled until nightfall now on the northern bank of the river. Despite the time of year, it was notably cooler once the sun sank this far north with cold winds occasionally blowing down from the mountains to our left. All the more welcome was the pleasant atmosphere the little shelter we had our hands was when we eventually settled to rest. Grum this time had gathered a couple of mushrooms that he made into a simple stew. Whilst the taste was excellent, unfortunately, he must have mixed up something on his search as we all ended up with rather upset stomachs and only thanks to Kyla’s healing magic were herself, Nysqwen and myself spared to share Grum’s and Teynos fate of… often interrupted sleep. Teynos, who would not hear otherwise still thought it a good idea to stuff some of the mushrooms into his loincloth for some obscure purpose. An apparently rather itchy rash the next morning did not necessarily lighten his mood but at least might have taught him that in fact not all mushrooms are good for you. Kyla’s aid was required once again although her face displayed a fierce mixture of annoyance, bemusement and compassion.
 
The terrain grew more mountainous around us as we continued on our path. Soon we found ourselves surrounded by stone walls once again yet these seemed not to open up again any time soon. After a while, Grum was the first to notice a strange bestial roar somewhere in the mountains ahead of us. An odd amalgamation of a lion’s roar, a ram’s cry and something that almost sounded like a dragon and woke chilling memories in all of us. Quickly we readied our weapons. Sure enough, mere heartbeats later two creatures with large leather wings descended from the rocks in front of us. I have heard of such creatures in tales before but this was the first time I had laid eyes on a chimera myself. The monsters each had three heads, one of a lion, one of a ram and one of a dragon, explaining the unique noise that had hurried ahead of their arrival. Immediately, Grum raised his wooden staff and mumbled something upon which the clouds above our heads seemed to grow darker and a blinding flash of lightning stroke into one of the monsters. Kyla summoned a black axe made of radiant energy, whose blades uncannily looked like unfolding raven wings, as Nysqwen threw one of her javelins against the same beast that Grum wounded before. I myself attempted to take the two chimeras out of commission by sending them into a hypnotic trance but unfortunately that was not met with any success. Then they were upon us. The first one lashed out with a claw towards Nysqwen before clamping it’s lino’s teeth around her shoulder and bathing her in dragon flame. The second split its onslaught between Kyla Grum and myself though we thankfully managed to avoid the brunt of the flames. As Teynos joined into the fray, fists and staff flying faster than I was able to comprehend, Grum veered into his trusted shape of a giant elk and began trampling down on the creature that Teynos had just sent to the ground.
It was a fierce but short fight in the end. With some whispered infernal words, I sent them running right into the blades, swings and hoofs of my friends which ended the skirmish as we stood in shallow puddles of a strangely thick blood. Grum commented, that chimeras tended to inherit the draconic greed for treasure and thus if we could find their nest, we might also find a decent reward for this encounter. With an exciting flicker in her eye, Kyla pulled out the small figurine she had bought from Tiblen. Upon uttering something, the statue seemed to grow and shake off it’s stiffness until a raven with silver-black wings sat on her wrist, keenly looking around us as she told it about what we were looking for. With it’s help and our own peering around, eventually, we indeed found a shallow cave in the side of a rock formation slightly off the road. The floor was covered with all manner of animal bones, though some looked unnervingly humanoid. Amidst an assortment of branches and greenery, we indeed came upon several leather pouches with some gold and a single polished piece of amber. Additionally, there was a single vial filled with some sort of orange potion that was warm to the touch.
We are about to set out again, hoping for maybe a clearer path going forward. Perhaps Kyla’s new companion can help scout ahead and prevent any unwanted surprises.