When Past, Present and Future Meet

Early in the morning of the 14th of Flamerule, I met up with Grum, Gundren and Nundro. Together we gathered all the hired miners, mostly humans and dwarves, and set out for the mine which we reached after half a day of travel. I imagine, Archie had prepared some device that allowed him to know if someone was approaching the mine as he came running towards us the moment we stepped into the caves entrance shouting to us to be careful with his traps. He showed us the safe way in, and it became obvious that our friends had done an excellent job the past two days in removing skeletons from the hallways, clearing debris and in general making passage safer. As we went deeper, a small shadow was hushing at Archies side. With a great amount of excitement, he told us about a particular metal he had found which he described as star gold. With this he was able to construct himself a mechanical vessel in which he focussed some magic to summon a fey spirit named Voithos to aid him with any tasks. Truly astonishing, how this young man manages to combine his craft and Mystra’s gift. And I admire his dedication to the thing he loves most. I am eager to see, where his life will take him. It is quite interesting though that after what we had faced in the mine, he chose the shape of a spider…
As we met with the other two, I took Nysqwen aside to return her necklace to her. Her brother had protected us well. I promised her once more to do whatever I could to help her finding Urodar and her family again if she would let me. All around us, the miners were unpacking bundles, setting up tents and starting to distribute different tasks. Somewhere I could already smell a fire foreshadowing dinner. Yet first, Grum convened all of us to gather at the large lake to the northeast. He was keen on finding the source of the undying current and the rhythmic pattern we had witnessed. Understanding these natural occurrences was important to him and I knew that there also might be a slight chance for him to find what he ultimately sought in one of these remote biomes. Thus, without spending a second thought on any dangers that might come with diving into the unknown, he changed his shape into the one of the giant toad. Kyla insisted on fastening a rope to his body for being able to draw his body out of there should anything unforeseen happen but as soon as she was finished, Grum jumped right into the current. After five heartbeats, the rope had already extended to its full length. Seeing how nimble the animal shape had proved in its natural habitat, Kyla and Nysqwen gave up on holding the rope but rather let Grum do as he saw fit. Then, we could only wait.
A few moments passed. I could not take my eyes off the turbulent black surface, frightened for my close friend. But eventually a toad shaped shadow emerged from the swelling waves and leaped up onto the stone ridge we were waiting on. Grum recounted that the water had continuously grown warmer as he dove deeper into the cave until it reached a temperature too high for him to stand any longer. In regular intervals, bursts of even hotter water rose from the depths causing the rhythmic pattern of the crashing tides against the stone wall. Yet he did not find any underwater passages.
Our return to Gundren, Nundro and their employees was greeted with a merry mixture of conversations and laughter as everyone settled at the huge makeshift table from old wooden beams the workers had found. For this occasion, we had brought additional food from Phandalin and the evening faded with a proper banquet. Probably the first in these halls in half a millennium! Gundren and his brother reassured that they were convinced of the security of the mine, given the huge number of workers around. Therefore, we decided to depart on the next morning for Phandalin and then further on to Neverwinter to deal with some of our affairs there and fulfil the promise we had given to Reidoth – something I was definitely not looking forward to! But a promise is a promise and for Nysqwen’s sake alone we would have to deal with the creature. With everything we had learned on our mutual journey, we might at least stand a chance.
 
The next morning, we were shaken from our sleep from the noise of hammering nails into wood, shouts and pickaxes, somewhere clearing out tunnels. Work in the mine had begun. We found Gundren in the main room of the forge hunched over the map, filling in new hallways and markings of his plans of expanding the existing shafts. After a heartfelt farewell and the promise to meet again at some point, we ventured forth to the small town. Archie and I immediately went to sister Garaele to bring her the promised tome. She almost lost herself in browsing through the pages with Archie commenting what he had read so far. It seemed to be of great importance to her and the Harpers to learn more about this civilisation as she bade us to bring the book to Neverwinter where a man named Nissan Murnik would make contact with us and accept the book. Maybe this will give us a chance to get more insight into the organisation we are dedicated to now. The rest of the day was spent with idle preparations for our journey north and the evening once more a feast in Toblen’s tavern. After a good night’s sleep, we found ourselves on the road again.
 
Our first day of travel was pleasantly uneventful. Around noon a cart came our way and to our surprise we recognised the prospector we had tasked with fetching Barthen’s cart from Neverwinter. The man apparently had had some difficulties convincing Osrik, Archie’s master, that he would rightfully take away the barrow but clearly succeeded ultimately. Other than that, nothing seemed to have changed in the city since our last visit. We wished him safe travel for the rest of the road and continued our journey. The mood was high, many jokes were made and stories told. And as the sun settled, we reached the high road which we followed for another couple of miles.
It was dark as we finally set up our camp for the night and as was custom this time of year, to the north and south of us other campfires already could be seen as small specks of light in the darkness. We all went about our usual tasks, but Archie said something to Voithos upon which the spider enclosed our space with a slightly translucent thread before building something like a spider’s web for itself. According to the boy, this precaution would alarm him should anything be able to sneak up on us without the respective guard noticing. As it was quite late already, after a simple meal we arranged our watches for the night and went to sleep.
As my shift came about, I settled against an old tree stump, silently spinning the melody to a new song. Suddenly, a soft crack was audible from the west. I got up silently and using the shadows cast by some surrounding trees tried to get out of range of the fire to surprise whatever might be approaching. Before my eyes, a shape emerged from the darkness. Almost as black as the night itself, the huge creature had the basic shape of a panther with an additional pair of legs and two long tentacle-like appendices sprouting from its foremost shoulders. Internally cursing I made myself invisible to safely return to our camp and one by one woke my companions.
Nysqwen was the first to be on her feet, quickly closed in with the monster and swung her glaive in a deadly arc. In the belief that such a creature might rely more on its instincts rather than some higher form of sentient reasoning, I projected a twisting pattern of shifting shapes and colours all around the creature. In response it led off Nysqwen and seemed frozen in place, unable to move. Too late we realized that the beast was not alone as from all around us three more of these creatures charged and slashed at us with their heavy and razor-sharp tentacles. In answer, the night abruptly grew bright as Grum murmured something and a vertical beam of silvery light engulfed one of the attackers before he veered into the familiar bear shape. Archie summoned Ori and together they managed to deal devastating attacks against a second cat while Kyla called forth her spiritual weapon, shaped as the mace we had found in the mine with an added raven figure at the pummel and attacked the final unimpeded enemy. Nysqwen realised that her current opponent was otherwise occupied and charged back to aid us against the monsters. The last weeks had made all of us far stronger than perhaps we had realised. Within mere moments Kyla sliced her target almost in half at the same moment that Grum tore a tentacle from his opponent with his bear teeth. Archie and his metallic beetle spewed flames against seemingly all attackers at once while Nysqwen and I disposed of the third cat. None of us had taken severe injuries from the fight as all five of us turned towards the remaining cat, still caught in the hypnosis I had left it in. Archie pointed at the beast with the butt of his staff and slowly the creature began to levitate off the ground almost 20 feet into the air. It followed a quick death for the helpless creature. I quickly disposed of any blood on the ground and on us, for one to keep other wild animals at bay and second to allow us to fall to sleep again without the horrible metallic stench in our nose.
 
As I woke up on the next morning, I could smell the scent of grilled meat. Kyla, who had taken over the final watch, had cut up one of the beasts and was preparing something that oddly looked like dark bacon. As well as the smell was, as bad was the taste, however. While being a nice gesture on her part, I am not sure whether the meat should be consumed outside of life-threatening starvation. But still, it was enough to give us strength to continue our travels. The kind weather allowed for us making good pace this day and the faint smell of saltwater in the air seemed to bring especially Nysqwen’s mood to new heights.
In the afternoon, we saw two more carts approaching. As I recognized the figure next to the charioteer of the leading one, I wished I had made myself resonate out of the perceivable spectrum again. Halia Thornton regarded me with a long, cold look, before she greeted the rest of our party. Grum mentioning he recognized her smell certainly did warm things up. We tried to explain to her what had occurred with the black spider while as well as possible dodging the fact that she was one of our prime suspects. Rather I tried to suggest she might be the scapegoat for some crime involving other powers. If she believed anything of what I said, I could not tell. Her cold regard did not falter once, I am just glad she took her leave after a while. I could not stop myself from subtly waving her farewell with an obscure gesture in the vain hope that it might resemble the ‘secret gesture of the Zhentarim’. But for what it’s worth, I do not believe I could have made the situation any worse by this than it already had been. At least she had shown some surprise at the mention of the black spider. But if that alone proves her innocence… I doubt it.
 
In the evening, we came upon the familiar farm of Bor and his family. This would mean a roof over our heads for the night and the certainty that we would reach Neverwinter on the next day. We were welcomed with open arms and a fine meal as they had held us in good memory. Again, I tried to repay their kindness in kind by amusing the whole staff with tales from our adventures. Yet, theirs had been a long day on the fields and therefore it was not long before all of us went to sleep.
Breakfast featured freshly baked bread, aged cheeses, sausages, and fruit paste; the best one can hope for when on the road. The morning was spent by Nysqwen helping with various physical tasks much to the relief of the oldest son of Bor, Archie doing his best in mending door hinges and the like and Kyla offering her magical healing to the people who needed it. Grum wandered off a little, it had been a long time that he had the chance to be alone with mother nature. He was visibly relaxed as he returned. I, lacking the practical skills of my companions, did as best I could in entertaining the younger children. Young Pia certainly enjoyed for once having a chance at hide and seek by being invisible. We thanked Bor once again for his most welcome hospitality and indemnified him for his troubles. Then we headed off again.
 
The sun had settled as we came within sight of the gates of Neverwinter and arrived just in time before they were closed for the night. Once inside the city, Grum and Archie took their leave until the next morning, as they were keen on returning to their brewery and workshop respectively. In the meantime, Kyla, Nysqwen and myself went to the very tavern where our common journey had begun, the Singing Anvil. As was to be expected around this hour, the room was quite populated, the smell of fresh fish and ale omnipresent and a trio of three bards saw to the amusement of the guests. We managed to find a table for the three of us, ordered our drinks and toasted to Gundren and his success. For a while, we dabbled in some light conversation as Nysqwen’s gaze wandered more and more frequently to the three men playing their music. Judging by their skin colour and dusty cloaks, they were traveling folk, likely from the east, and could only have arrived shortly before us. Their music was good, a joyful tune that suited the overall mood in the room perfectly. I knew the look, Nysqwen gave these men quite well, as I had seen it many times when people regarded certain colleagues of mine. Not one you would give a tiefling, but Nal for example had always been good with women. I offered her to go over to the group and maybe arrange for a meeting with the artists, if she so desired.
And so, I made my way over to the group in one of their breaks, approaching them with a warm smile on my lips and asking for the opportunity to share the craft in a quartet for the next song. There it was again. This cold, dismissive regard, speaking volumes of the distrust my kind evoked in most people we came across. In a rather demeaning fashion and a smug grin he accepted my appeal, asked however, if I would be able to keep pace. As I did so often, I shrugged off the ice around my heart with a smile and said I would do my best. Regardless of our first impression of one another, Anataea’s teachings quickly proved their worth once again as I added my lyra to their pipes, percussion, and vocals. Halfway through the first song, I saw their expressions change into wonder, then shame and then joy, as I just smiled and urged them on with the melody. Starting with the second song I added a bass line to the vocals all the while taking care not to steal their show. In the end, they were new to the town and I knew how hard it was to earn your living if no one knew who you were, and the local musicians would shut you out. Bards shall stand united, only then can we stand the test of time. When music becomes only about the popularity of an individual, all hope is lost. We played for nigh another hour, me pushing them to their best and being contempt to work my craft in the background. As we finished and took a drink at the bar, Fesur, their leader apologised for his rude behaviour earlier and admitted that they should have known better given their foreign looks and difficulties that such a minor difference already presented to them. There was honest regret in his voice, therefore I bore them no ill will. It’s not their fault that the descendants of fiends have a bad reputation after all. I introduced Fesur and his two friends Rardef and Joh to Kyla and Nysqwen, praising especially the latter as Kyla gave me a hidden gesture that she was not interested. I asked Nysqwen if she could maybe go with Fesur later on, as I did not want the orphans at Anataea’s to witness something they were not supposed to think about so far.
 
When Kyla and I left the tavern, our friend had already been taken by the bard to his room for the night. Thus, the two of us wandered through the alleys of my hometown while Kyla recounted what she and Nysqwen had overheard when I was playing. Taverns were always a good place to gather the newest rumours and apparently there were plenty going around. The first bits seemed of minor immediate import to us, some talk of a new sculptor whose craft ran rings around his competitors and his statues were sought after by many of the rich families of Neverwinter. Next was some talk about a ship going missing on sea while sailing from some southern port towards the city. That I could see having some meaning for Nysqwen, giving her nautical background but I failed to see how we as of now might do something about it. Ships went missing all the time it felt like.
Then, Kyla mentioned something closer to home. Two scholars had been talking over a map of the districts on which one had marked several occurring lightning bolts near the chasm, some of which aligned almost perfectly in a circle. Kyla and Nysqwen were granted a look on the map and extrapolated the centre of said circle as it might be the epicentre of the lightning phenomena. The scholars apparently were arguing if the pattern found by one of them was pure coincidence or if it indeed followed some greater design. Maybe it will be worthwhile to have a look at what is going on if we stay for a few days in the town.
The final piece of gossip Kyla talked about clearly excited her the most and shocked me more than I care to admit after hearing it. Earlier on this day, a drow had been seen walking through the protector’s enclave. Her silvery hair was contrasted by a dark cloak which could not hide her beauty. On her hip hung a memorable sword. Accompanied was this woman by a female half-elf, beautiful in her own way, with whom she seemed to discuss something important. Kyla’s excitement originated from the fact that the description she had heard aligned perfectly with what she had seen in the vision she had received from the Raven Queen just before being told my name and about the end of the world. Therefore, she was eager to find these two figures and confront them with their supposedly ill intentions. For a half-demon’s blood to run cold as ice is quite the feat yet this was exactly what happened to me upon hearing the description of the half-elf. A description I knew far too well, from the colour of her hair to the kind features of her face. Anataea! Was this the ominous benefactor she had mentioned at our last meeting? What had she gotten herself into? I trust this woman more than anyone else, she knows absolutely everything about me. Yet, in this moment my whole world began shaking. Too late I realised that I had stopped walking and lost control. Judging by her face there was no way, Kyla had not seen it, if only for the fraction of a heartbeat before I collected myself and was able to fix it. When she asked about what she had seen I was quick to dismiss it as just a trick played on her eyes by the diffuse light around us and she seemed content for the moment. However, she also mentioned that I was sleeping with my eyes open. How could I be so careless? There was a reason after all for not sharing a chamber with friends on the regular. The same excuse of shadows on red skin served to shift the topic elsewhere but still… I won’t be able to hide much longer from these friends. If friends they will remain… Who could blame them from turning on me all together if they knew my true nature. I was foolish to believe it would remain unnoticed. But I am not ready, to reveal what might appal them.
I told Kyla about my suspicion that the woman she had seen and described was the same that I owed my life and so much more to. There was no point in denying it, yet I also told her, I could not believe that she would have any ill intentions and how much I trusted this woman. I offered to speak to her and ask about these strange accusations. If she agreed, I would introduce Kyla to her as well so she could take her measure for herself. This seemed to satisfy her temporarily. I pray that I am right to trust in Anataea. I cannot afford to lose another person. Especially not her!
When we arrived at the new house, a few of the orphans were still up and greeting us merrily. There were free rooms for both of us with fresh bed sheets and small troughs of water so that we may wash the dust of the rode off. My dreams this night were plagued with shadowy figures, knifes in my back and layers upon layers of deceit. Sheathed in sweat, I rose early in the next morning.
 
As I climbed down the stairs, I was welcomed by the familiar smell of fresh bread that somehow every morning found its way to us and the first children being awake. They told me, Anataea was here and I could find her in the adjacent room. As I opened the door, my heart was warmed by the smile that paved its way on her face upon seeing me but immediately cooled as I remembered what I had to discuss with her. Following my request, we left the chamber and exited the house through the back onto a small backyard. A bench looked over the streaming canal, already bathed in the light of the morning sun. There we sat as I recounted her what Kyla had told me and about her suspicions of the connections in her vision. Anataea regarded me with an indecipherable look. Her only response was a thoughtful “Interesting” followed by a long silence. I truthfully explained to her that my trust in her was diminished in no way but that I was rather eager to help with any problems that might present themselves. When hearing that, the warmth returned to her face. I hope I did not say anything stupid… She knows me well enough to understand my confusion and my unbroken loyalty and love, I would think. After a few moments she then contemplatively asked whether I recalled the night in which Vivis had vanished. Nothing could let me forget the darkness that had reigned then, the beginning of a long period of fear. Finally, she recommended I should pay another visit to the old window. Perplexed of the kind undercurrent this comment had, I nodded and murmured that I might do so this very night. Then we sat there, each lost in their own thoughts. But the feeling of home, of safety prevailed.
After some time, the door behind us opened and Kyla came to join us. I introduced the two women as they took each other’s measure. I told Kyla that I had spoken with Anataea about everything and she should feel free to speak as she saw fit. Still wary, Kyla expressed her concerns without making them sound as a direct accusation. Something else was underlying the conversation of the two women but I could not figure out what it was. Kyla demanded to meet with the drow, Anataea had had business with to which she replied that she was no longer here. Should she return however, Anataea would arrange a meeting. Mystra, please provide a good end to all of this. There must be a reasonable explanation somewhere. I flinched as Kyla mentioned with my charm, I should be great with women after some talk about my eyes, to which Anataea of course said nothing untoward; it was her idea in the first place. That comment hit much deeper than she probably intended, thus I quickly changed the subject. After a few more brief words, Kyla and I took our leave for the day. I passed a telling glance at Anataea before we stepped out onto the street and made our way back towards the Singing Anvil. On our way, Kyla said something quite puzzling as she offered an ear to anything I might want to talk about. I thanked her for this very kind offer. I will come back to this. Later. When I know how.
 
At the tavern, Grum, Nysqwen and Archie were already waiting for us after having had their breakfast. Grum reported that his apprentice finally showed some progress in the intricate art of brewery and that within a few more years he even might be able to finish his training. He just might have to settle some business affairs there over the next few days. Meanwhile, Archie had caught up with both his father and his master. From the latter he learned that he indeed had a grandfather, also named Osrik, that took up the life of an adventurer. Hence, it feels rather likely that this is the same dwarf whose map and book we had found in the mine. All the more reason to see what he deemed so important as to seal it in a magically preserved tome. Furthermore, the boy had spent the morning commissioning a new armour for himself with the same blacksmith Nysqwen had rather fond memories of from our last time around.
To my surprise, Kyla mentioned nothing of our realisations regarding the drow and the half-elf. With a meaningful look towards me, she agreed with Nysqwen to spend some of the day in the prospector’s enclave to look out for randomly bypassing dark elves. While we were at this, we figured, we might already see to refilling our supply of healing potions and afterwards take a look at the presumable source of the lightnings. After a short while of asking around, we were pointed to the potion shop of Merreck Proudfoot. As we entered, a halfling shopkeeper was behind his counter mixing some ingredients together. He seemed not to notice us or ignored us at first, deeply concentrated on his work. Suddenly, something pink exploded right in his face. Surprised and visibly disappointed he turned around, greeted us, and showed us around his wares. After quite a bit of bargaining, we managed to buy four such small potions immediately and order four more which we could pick up two days later at a reasonable price, to which Archie added the mushrooms he collected in the mine. It also gave us a better idea as of what to expect regarding the price of alchemy.
 
It is past noon now; we just finished our lunch. It is remarkable, how much food Grum can consume in such a short amount of time but the litres of ale he had with it certainly helped washing everything down. Next up will be checking about the lightning. I have recessed slightly in my seat, scribbling these lines while they are in a heated debate over the exact anatomy of dragonborn and their ability to copulate with other races, following Nysqwen’s nightly adventures. She seems to rather enjoy keeping them in the dark and argue amongst them over something she could easily settle. I am still thinking mostly about Kyla’s revelations and my conversation with Anataea. I don’t know what to make of this. And I have to come up with some way to explain what I have not spoken about with these people around me. For within a very short time they have become family to me, almost as close as Cor has. And Chant once had. And in family, there shall be neither secrets nor distrust. But it’s so damned hard…