Witness Me, Black Wind!

Written by Chrundle_the_Great

General Summary

After two months in the Beacon of the East, the party are finally getting their bearings as agents of Marshal Nestra Vendri. Although the Dragon Armies threaten Ansalon as a whole, Istari-built Kalaman remains a sanctuary for the displaced people of Vogler and all others who call the city home.
After their first successful mission, the party is given leave to explore the city and attend to their own matters. Dimitri seeks an appointment with the Stonemaster, to explore the mysterious ruins beneath the city. Hari "trains" with Wyhan to control, contain, and keep secret his sorcerous powers. Finally, Fëandil forages, meditates, and offers his assistance to Dimitri.
On the day of the meeting, much happened. By night's fall, festivities were had, allegiances tested, and tempers flared. Not two hours later, lives were taken, divine wills interpreted, and conspiracies overheard.
Below is a summary of the events, recovered from Fëandil's journal.

A Day of Many Changes

To whom it concerns, my name is Fëandil. I commit the events of a tearful day to the hide of a willing and industrious tree. May my words grant you, dear reader, wisdom and understanding. They are comprehensive, I think.
After morning meditation with Jevev, I bid him farewell before he ventured north to uncover news of Cudgel. Although my chain-smoking friend was pessimistic about her condition, I was reminded of the feats of strength and endurance I saw Cudgel perform when I was but a little sapling. I have little doubt that Jevev, talented as he is, will find her, and Cudgel, stubborn as she is, will survive. It is comforting to have hope, I think.
Shortly after, I met with Dimitri, who suggested checking in on Ms. Rookledust. Sage advice from a seasoned soldier. Leaving one's home is seldom easy, and Titina seemed the sort to become enraged by small changes. We two headed to the Forge District where the inventor now lived. Already, from some six or seven blocks away, I could hear hot-tempered shouting and the clashing of metal. Dimitri and I feared some poor fellow had invited Titina's wrath, so we increased our pace.
As it turned out, the noise came not from Ms. Rookledust, but from her neighbors, the Hammerstrike cousins. Kadmos and Tiria, both polished blacksmiths, postured and traded insults over who was the better craftsman. While Kadmos extolled the virtues of sturdy armor, Tiria shook his head and gestured to an assortment of vicious weapons. We chatted with both, and although I was impressed by the products of their labor, I am still confused by their argument.
Without considering the user's skills, shouldn't offense be the best offense, and defense be the best defense? Dimitri seemed to agree, and I respect his opinions in these matters. Still, Hari would enjoy a visit to these forges, I think.
As we entered Titina's home, the walls shook on both sides with the cousins' squabbling. Ms. Rookledust fixed us with an acid glare and thanked us for convincing her to leave her peaceful riverside cottage. I believe this was sarcasm. Dimitri pledged to put an end to their arguments, but Titina waved us away with only her middle finger extended. She told me it meant "may you be at peace."
She was having fun at my expense, I think, but I did not protest. She has been through much.
The Hammerstrikes proposed a competition: a champion in Kadmos's armor would weather blows from a champion wielding Tiria's weapons. It seemed a narrow challenge, but Ms. Rookledust deserved respite, so Dimitri offered himself as Kadmos's champion. He thought either Gadrick Stonefoot or Serafina of the city guard may agree to represent Tiria, so we set out to find them.
We returned to the Wanderer's Rest, a bar stewarded by Brock Helmstream. I like this place; the wood, glass, and stone there are quite the conversationalists, and all speak very highly of Brock. We lunched on savory steak sandwiches and spoke to Brock, who suggested checking for Dimitri's friend's in a more "straight-laced" establishment. From context, I believe it means "lawful," but I am finding it difficult to juggle all these new phrases.
Before we left, a satyr confronted a man in a wide-brimmed hat. This "Dresi" had apparently killed the satyr's brother in the service of the Unseelie, and now the Summer Court sought vengeance. Dresi and his friend, a guard who did not share her name, handled the situation swiftly and left. I was curious about this pair but, at the time, thought it better to avoid the notice of more mages.
We sat with Gadrick and Serafina in a guard's tavern, where the patrons laughed and insulted each other's mothers and sisters. I was confused by this, but Serafina explained that, when guards spoke this way, they actually meant it in good nature. I cannot fathom why someone would say the opposite of what they mean. I am trying to learn to recognize the difference.
While Dimitri and Gadrick discussed the Hammerstrike challenge, I spoke with Serafina about Ms. Rookledust's inventions. When I mentioned Titina's "passion," Serafina seemed to grow dejected. I know not the reason, but I've found that confronting these feelings in public rarely helps, so I held my tongue. In any case, Gadrick told Dimitri he would gladly be Tiria's champion if there was a prize being offered. Before we could return to the Forge District to inquire about this, Gadrick asked Dimitri why he wasn't at his meeting with the Stonemaster.
What followed was a frantic, desperate, trampling charge through the city streets. We snaked between food stalls and carts, and we avoided seedier places where Drake's lackeys might have been lurking. I saw Dimitri shove through crowds of fellow pachova, so desperate was he not to lose this appointment with a member of the council.
We were ten minutes late, and Greygut was nowhere to be found. Instead, we met two pachova: Marakov, a rail-thin alchemist who blew more smoke than a forge, and Alexei, a bulkier spearman who regarded Dimitri with a bright-eyed wonder. While we spoke with them, Marakov "took the piss out of" both Dimitri and Alexei, that being a phrase I learned from Drake when evacuating the people of Vogler down the Vingaard. Anyway, the two informed us that Mayor Thorne was hosting a chili festival outside. Marakov convinced Greygut to check out the festivities.
As we searched for the Stonemaster, the liveliness of the festival reminded me of the Kingfisher Festival in Vogler. People, not a settlement, are the foundation of a community, I think. In any case, I told the story of the Red Teapot, and we ate much chili and spicy pachovan dishes. When my belly was bursting, we narrowly escaped another course, for Dimitri had finally tracked down the elusive Snadmamli Greygut.
Having eaten his fair share of chili, the poor Stonemaster prayed for death from inside an outhouse. Crafty Marakov produced a vial with an abnormal pink concoction within; it seemed to soothe Greygut's upset stomach, for he emerged after two hours of wounded howling. The Stonemaster agreed to bring us on his next delve and bade us to meet him outside the city at midnight.
We spent an hour or two greeting the Voglerites. Briefly, I saw Hari, but he was otherwise preoccupied on a moonlit stroll. I attempted to lift Yalme's spirits by listening to her observations about other women; she has been described to me as a gossip, but she soured when I once used that word, so I shall not use it again.
When we finally gathered for the rendezvouz, Dimitri and I found our weapons replaced with old boots. Already, I heard the snickering of the hinterling, but Dimitri had gone a ghostly pale as he searched for the two missing spears.
Many seem to regard Mr. Brighthelm with some amount of fear, but the quartermaster has been nothing but patient with me; I would count him among my closest friends in the castle. That I make much of my own equipment is an advantage, I think. Nevertheless, Lysander was apalled by the theft of our weapons and retrieved them (and the thrashing hinterling) in what felt like the blink of an eye. He gifted me a pouch of lead sling bolts and gave me permission to leave with a genuine smile.
I requested that he not belittle Dimitri, but I am fairly certain he did that and more. I am not blind to Lysander's reputation, nor do I think he should change, but I do feel some guilt that Dimitri endured his wrath.
In any case, he arrived on horseback with young Darret, another face we see too rarely. He asked after Hari, and my heart burned to conceal truths from a friend, but Hari's dreams rely on my discretion. Darret knew I hid something, I think, but he did not press us any further. I only hope that Hari becomes a Knight of Solamnia, even if I lose Darret's trust.
Before Greygut arrived, Dimitri and Marakov argued fiercely about the vulpin and their hand in the tragic history of the pachova. I do not recall what lit this fire, nor do I feel comfortable commenting on a history that is not my own. What followed was Marakov storming off, while Alexei stayed behind.
In morose silence, we marched to a sewer pipe Greygut often used to enter his tunnel network. However, a rusted metal grate had been installed, without Greygut's knowledge. After some conversation, the grate told me it had been installed by the Sea Dogs. In any case, Greygut merely carved into the pipe's side.
The Stonemaster quickly proved the underground was his domain. He guided us through winding pathways, and he even contorted his body to squeeze through a thin crack in the earth. I followed, and Dimitri, unable to push both spears through, left one in the care of Alexei, who stayed behind.
We found a peculiar set of ruins, marked with strange symbols. From what Istari I could decipher, I thought it might be an old religious site, but Dimitri was convinced of this before I translated for him. I know not what he felt in this place, but it seemed to call to him, because he began acting differently.
We entered a room with carved walls and a prominent centerpiece. The icons depicted a cloaked figure and interspersed rats; when Dimitri looked upon this, black winds whooshed through the chamber. We studied the centerpiece and found seven goblets, which, when filled with varying amounts of liquid and struck at the stems, formed a heptatonic scale. As we did, the pallid back wall, probably bone or ivory, shuddered with an organ's music, and a new script was revealed.

Þū hæfst wel gedon,
Þū hæfst þone stæf swā gecræft.
Ac þǣr is ān māre fandian,
Ic bidde þæt þū ne abealie.
Þū canst þā swēglo,
Nū sing þone sang,
And secg mē, hwa is þæt
Ic mid rǣde spricce.

— The Organ's Song

In my best translation, the last two lines read:

"And tell me, whom dost I, in secret council, speak unto?"
With only seven notes to construct our answer, Dimitri and I were long unable to come to a decision. However, when Greygut called us outside, returned with spoils from a graveyard, Dimitri again got that focused look in his eye and swifted back to the chamber, while I bade Greygut to show me all he had found.
I have gathered bits and pieces of what Dimitri experienced while we were apart. Some were whispered in his sleep, others shouted while he thrashed and ripped at the bandages applied to his wounds. Perhaps I should not share much, lest the others think him a madman. All I will say is that "he descended to a rushing river" and "saw Alexei reflected in a dark pool."
That was before the Sea Dogs beat him to death, Dimitri's second spear splintered and tossed aside.
Dimitri emerged from a then-hidden chamber and sprinted past myself and Greygut. We found him cradling Alexei's bloodied corpse, hot tears streaming from his eye. Greygut collapsed a tunnel to prevent him taking revenge, but he found another way around.
By the time I arrived, Dimtri was fighting off three bruisers, while their ringleader, the Ballroom Boxer (or Ballbiter), barked commands from a distance. I stalled as long as possible, but, when they heard the approaching guards, Ballbiter and Alexei's killer stomped on Dimitri's ribs and made off with his holy symbol.
It was a day of many changes. I worry that the city is not as safe as we thought.

Character(s) interacted with

Jevev Veldrew
Titina Rookledust
Kadmos Hammerstrike and Tiria Hammerstrike
Gadrick Stonefoot
Serafina
Brock Helmstream
Dresi
Makarov
Alexei
Mayor Thorne
Stonemaster Snadmamli Greygut
Yalme
Lysander Brighthelm
Darret Highwater
The Ballroom Boxer

Carving in the altar of the Black Wind

Report Date

06 May 2023

Related Characters

• Dimitri Borislav
• Fëandil