Reunion

I wake early, tired and very bruised.

I bring my breakfast fruit outside and patiently await Shen Po and Luban. I wonder if Luban is even still all there in the head after the dream spell.
Long after everyone else—even Shen Po—joins me outside, Luban finally emerges, a pensive look locked on his face.
"He wasn't there." Luban begins. Everyone but Shen Po and myself have confused looks on their faces. "Shen Po used dream on me, to get me in contact with Gesh. But... it- it was the Elder Brain that I reached. Gesh wasn't there at all." He takes a deep breath in. "They're only keeping him alive because he gets all of us there—as a trap. Gesh is bait."
Wonderful. The Elder Brain knows we're coming. I exchange looks with Shen Po, who then looks at Luban. He's right; we can't leave Luban to try and rescue Gesh on his own. Yet, it feels unfair. Where's this support for finding Arslan? Not there because it's not actually important. You have other priorities.
Mordax clasps a hand on Luban's shoulder. "We'll save him."
Sure, by some miracle.

---

Clair guides us through the couple of days through the forest. It definitely wasn't this large before. Once out of the forest, we set a brisk trot for five days to the Rusty Spear. And by dusk on the fifth day, we finally see it. And it looks like it's got a new paint job, as the sun shades the white coat of the building a gentle orange. I guess Qiq has been rather busy. Though there's still no stable for horses, so we tie them off on a piece of wood that's either a hitching post or a tall bench next to another horse. Did Qiq also get a horse, or is someone else here?
We step through the front door, and stop. Feng Da is here, painting at a table in the corner, several cups around him.
"Feng! Where have you been?" I ask, stunned.
He turns to us, smile spreading across his face. "Finding you!" I wince at his wispy beard and mustache. Oh, he does not look good with that hanging off his face.
I chuckle. "Well, I think we found you fir-"
"Come, sit," he gestures wide. "I was hoping you'd come here. I lost you guys a while ago."
Shen Po puts his arm out, stopping Mordax from moving forward. "The last time this man gathered us all in bar, we ended up in the worst part of the world." I blink. There is the slightest hint of a smile on his face. Was that a joke from Shen Po?
"Not the worst place I've been." Mordax ducks under Shen Po's arm and takes a seat next to Feng, grabbing the pitcher on the table and taking a swig from it.
Feng over-dramatically puts a hand to his chest. "I would like to note that I never asked you to come with me, I merely said where I was going." A warm smile breaks over his face and the air fills with small chuckles. We grab extra mugs from the bar and pull more chairs around the table.
"I'm glad to see you all..." he stops.
" Wander has... passed," Mildred says. Mordax downs his drink and sets his cup down hard on the table.
Feng's face drops. "It sadden me greatly to hear this. I will add her to the portraits." There's a quiet moment of reverence as people drink or merely run fingers over the rim of their cups. "So," Feng says, "I heard you won the tournament. Congratulations!"
"I- we only saw one of your fights. How did you fare?" I ask.
"I made the finals but in a long and honorable bout, I lost to Aemillius." I can't keep a small smile away. Aemillius is quite something. I sigh internally, disappointed that I'd missed watching that match. It would've been a delicious sight. "After that, I... loosely looked for you all in the city, but mainly searched for answers of my own." Before anyone can press him further, he continues. "After getting just about nowhere on that task, I made a more active effort to rendezvous with you, but learned you were no longer in town. I figured you'd make your way back here to the Rusty Spear eventually, so I wandered my way here. I only got here the day before yesterday." He downs the remainder of his drink.
We begin by introducing Morgan, who relays to Feng information about the Bimonastery. Luban chimes in about the Glasslands. Mildred and Shen Po start to explain about how souls are getting trapped in the Shadowfell, though I make sure to note that's where Arslan is trapped as well. Alto very quietly adds we should refrain from killing, but Feng isn't too keen on avoiding combat plans to avoid feeding the Elder Elemental Eye. I sigh. It will be hard to convince him, especially when we all know how impossible that ask is. The conversation winds down to more casual talk and jokes. Mordax gives Feng another mug of ale and challenges Feng to drink both at once. Feng lifts both mugs, starts to chug, and then spits it all out. The mug he grabbed was his paint water. Laughs fill the tavern. I smile, genuinely. It's nice to see him again.
Laughs die down, and Feng asks what the next move is. "We're going to get Gesh back from the illithids, but they're waiting for us." Shen Po says.
"Then we shouldn't keep them waiting," Feng says without hesitation.
Once again, I disagree with him. If he wasn't so irritating sometimes, then maybe—ugh. "I don't think it'd be wise to march in there."
"If you have another strategy, let's do it," Luban says, trying to keep from snapping at me.
I lift my hands in peace. "If we can, on our way up there, come across a cloudfrond, it might afford us safety from the illithids and we can trade it for Gesh. The illithid representative from the faction meeting seemed rather keen in having one." And if we find more than one, then even better.
Luban slowly shakes his head. "I'm not sure that's a worthy enough trade. Will the illithids want that over more bodies?"
"If I may," Feng interjects. "Saving Gesh is the clear present course of action. However, you say they are keeping him alive, so it sounds like they are in no rush to end him. I wonder if there's anyway we can get more knowledge on the illithids before we go there."
"There probably is," I say. "We mentioned before, about talking with the Nacylites before going to the Weird." I meet everyone's eyes. "It seems even more like the course we should take now." And maybe, maybe, there's a cloudfrond on the way. I won't give up on that option.
Luban frowns, considering for a moment. "Fine."
I nod. "I'll try and reach Barumn tonight; let her know we're coming. And ask for any travel advice."
I finish my cup of water and head to the baths. I'm very glad the baths is what Qiq prioritized in setting up here. I sink into the warm water, and reach out with my spell. No connection. I frown. Maybe I didn't do it right. I try again, focusing and reaching out, seeking Barumn. Nothing. No, no this can't be right. This is worse than reaching out to Myuon. I try once more, breathing a steady breath, concentrating on the message...
No connection at all.

---

"I couldn't reach Barumn last night. She's... probably dead." I say, sitting down for breakfast.
"Dead? Are you sure?" Mildred asks, spoon halfway to her mouth.
"The spell failed, multiple times," I say with slight irritation. "It wouldn't connect at all. So, likely dead, yes." Morgan confirms my statement. I snatch a bowl from the table. Mildred will believe Morgan no problem, but question my expertise? I try to calm down by shoveling food into my mouth.
"Is it still a good idea to head to Nacyl Rock then?" Feng says while holding his head. Oh, thank the winds. He shaved off the facial hair.
All eyes turn to Luban. "We'll go to Nacyl Rock, but then straight to the Weird. We either learn more from the Nacylites or we don't. Either way, no more detours after that."
We finish eating, saddle the horses, and head east.

---

The ruins actually fade away the closer to the mountain we get, though the underlying scenery doesn't change. About halfway through the fourth day of riding, the silhouette of a mountain peak graces the horizon. I try, once again, to use Julius's gift to see if there's a cloudfrond nearby. But nothing happens. I exhale, riding in frustration as the mountain grows closer, showing itself to be made of two peaks with a river cutting through it.
We head to the north side of the mountain, hoping the slightly more elevated terrain would make it easier for us to cross the Scorpine River. We slow our pace as we approach a small village. Hm, I don't remember this from Barumn's map she handed me. But that might be because this place hardly seems worth mentioning. About nine mud huts sit here on the banks of the river. A few out and about see us and immediately retreat into nearby huts, though there's no door on any of them. The best some have is a thick curtain. At least their farm work is better than their building construction; their plots are better built and maintained than most I've seen out here.
We dismount, leading our horses. "We're just traveling through. We mean you no harm," I announce.
A very young woman in a long, simple, brown dress shuffles out of a hut ahead of us, closer to the river.
I bow to her. "Hello."
"Hello, travelers. What brings you to our very, very humble village?" She brushes aside some of her long brown hair and looks us over. "Are you here to fight the dragon?"
I blink in response. A dragon?
"What kind of dragon?" Morgan asks.
"Mount Betsukei is home to a terribly dangerous red dragon."
Mildred and Morgan mutter about the lack of dragon territory signs in the area; they would've expected more. Luban and Shen Po mutter about Red and the experiments using red dragon scales.
"We weren't aware there's a dragon in the area," I manage to stutter out, trying to politely decline her inquiry. I spy a small dock and a boat and clear my throat. "We're passing through to Nacyl Rock. We would appreciate passage across the river, if you'd be able to assist?"
She looks crestfallen. "Of course. Allow me to retrieve the boatswain." She walks into another hut. After a brief conversation, a rough-looking man with so much hair on him it's hard to tell where the beard ends and the chest hair begins comes out.
"Okay, who's first?" He swings himself into the boat, a single oar at the ready. Mordax leaps into the boat, and we guide his horse in. The man brings Mordax and his horse across the river and paddles back for the next passenger. Feng goes next, followed by Morgan and then Mildred.
But as Mildred is disembarking, an enormous roar echoes from the peaks. Of course, the terribly dangerous dragon of Mount Betsukei is swooping in to greet us.