Downtime 9-28th Harvest

General Summary

Janora

Went home and found that the village was mostly recovered, although the elder reported that they were still changing at Rilar’s fullness and without minds. Troubled, he also reported feeling the same pull that had ended with the death of Master Dark, but this time it seemed to come from the south-east, perhaps Dreford or even Haven. Janora spent the next 14 days, puttering around their cottage and tending to the things that had been put off too long. The witch used part of the time to study the Binder and get intune with this greater bell. They also brewed up a pair of potions and created a magical drum that could play by itself for up to three minutes a day.
Three days before the set meeting, Janora, now feeling much more settled both in themselves and in their witchcraft, used the All Forests are One spell to transport themselves to the Swamp of Bothe’ll where they sought out the Baba Yaga. The old crone greeted Janora with a sliver of civility and invited the witch inside, commenting obliquely about the touch of the Raven Queen upon Janora now.
Spending the day with the Yaga Janora learned a bit more about the problem with Kelveran. It seemed that he had found a way to build a shelter and tether both it and his soul to a hidden part of the Weave. The act of dying itself sends the spirit back to that shelter. The only way to truly kill him is to destroy his spirit, directly or by finding some way to anchor in the body so Death may claim his wretched soul.
The next morning, having spent a sleepless night watching the Yaga snore splayed out over her stove, Janora took their leave and headed toward Dreford. Before leaving however, the witch noted that there was a 4” tall egg in the cauldron on the hearth. The trip to Dreford would take 4 days to walk, but only two days to fly.

Denye

The wizard spent most of her time in Haven using Aubergine's workshops. After Janora headed off, Denye and Vellikar headed over to the enchanter's shop. The copper dragonborn was happy to see them as always and even had a letter for Denye. This turned out to be the awaited reply from Secret of the Bluff. The letter was almost three pages long, mentioning several students and projects, but boiled down to she and her friends are more than welcome to come through. He also mentioned two of the fellow students that Denye considers friends, Tanyln Enberos and Stratz Modessa. It seemed Tanlyn had summoned something bigger than a breadbox and had a dickens of a time banishing it after. They got him to a healer in time and he'll live but he may walk with a limp and need a cane after. Stratz, on the other hand has a promising new ward design that looks like it may not need nearly the upkeep. She's currently working on the paper and seeking collaborators to verify her work.
With that out of the way, Denye turned her attention to the darkvision goggles for Velikar. The lenes themselves seem to be functional, but the wizard spent a few hours cleaning up the incantations and tighten the spells. With Vellikar's help, the pair reworked the frame, taking some inspiration from Vellikar’s mask from the party and creating a wooden frame of golden owl eyes.
At dinner that evening, Ell asked Denye for some help in fixing one of Master Dark's talking coins onto a candlestick. This didn't seem like too much of a challenge, and said she could take care of it in the morning if Ell wanted to come with her. That seemed like a good idea, so the next morning it was Denye, Ell, and Tear who appeared in the Celestial Dragon, stepping through the Haven door and into the magical demi-plane.
True to her word, it only took Denye a few hours to do the work. Rather than trying to change the actual shape of the candlestick with it's strange angular branchings, the artificer wizard chose to create gold finials and a larger centerpiece affixed to the neck of the candlestick which could hold the square brass coins. The design was quite lovely with curly waves that provided a pleasing counterpoint to the angularity of the obsidian.
Ell took the candlestick, thanking Denye and complimenting her work. Leaving Tear with the wizard he headed off to take care of other matters. Denye, with some assistance from Tear, spent the rest of the day working on the new set of earrings. The small goblin wasn't a huge amount of help, but he was more than game to move or hold things and it gave Denye a chance to work on her Goblin.
It took the wizard two more days plus a bit to finish the set of seven, but having completed them, Denye did not waste any time, instead turning her attention to mastering both Teleportation Circle and Teleport. While she did not yet have enough energy to cast spells of the seventh circle, it seemed like a worthwhile thing to add to her spellbook while she had the opportunity.
The next item on Denye's project list was the broken force pistol. That only took a day or so to repair. Once Denye got the casing open, it was clear that several of the interior pieces had slipped out alignment and it was a simple, if tedious, matter of realigning those components. Once that was working, the wizard moved on to studying the power crystals that were used in these magitech devices of the Second Age. While Denye was familiar with aligning the crystalline matrices of gems to hold spells, she had never seen such uniformity as that between the crystals, even the cuts and shape were exactly the same. Not to mention that these crystals were not a naturally occurring mineral of any kind. The recovered, working Slate of Delkin, held the answer. The power crystals were grown and shaped through a magical process.
This was exactly what Denye had been looking for. The issue was that there was little she could do with the knowledge as present. The process took time and special equipment and there was none of either on the road. The young wizard shared this with Aubergine one afternoon and smiling enigmatically the dragonborn reached into a pocket and handed Denye a small ring box. Inside was a brass ring, etched with dragonmarks, each one filled with gold. The elder wizard explained that it was a Ring of Homesteading sometimes used by journeymen wizards when they want to keep working on things while traveling.
The ring could be enlarged into a hoop and thrown on the ground. An invisible ladder leads up 15ft into a demiplane room, already set up with a couple of workbenches, a small forge, and even a cot in the corner. Aubergine warned that it's magic could only connect the spaces once per day and only for twelve hours. He also explained that if any living creatures are inside when the time limit is reached they are pushed back out into the material plane and will fall 15ft. Denye was both thrilled and touched that Aubergine would give her something like that and spent a day setting the space up to her liking and stocking up on magical supplies.
With a couple more days before she was supposed to teleport herself and Vellikar, Denye decided to spend the time going over the metallic spellbook the party had recovered from Fangkeep. Denye was able to unravel two of the spells; a 2nd circle enchantment spell called Hypnotic Missive and a 3rd circle abjuration spell called Shield of Starlight. The ambitious wizard spent some time working on a third spell, but it was the most complex of the spells within the book and proved to be quite beyond Denye's ability to grasp. She was able to ascertain that it was a 9th circle necromancy spell, but not exactly what it did.
Vellikar reappeared at the inn on the evening of the 26th and the pair spent one last evening in Haven, Vellikar saying very little about what he had been upto for the last fortnight or so. On the morning of the 27th, Denye carefully inscribed the teleport circle in chalk on the floor, inserting the sigils for Karobark Waverider's tower. Just before she drew the final mark, Denye warned Vellikar that as soon as the circle flashed, they needed to jump in. The druid nodded, wide-eyed, and took up station just at the edge, careful not to smudge the drawing.
The elder half-orc wizard was delighted to see Denye again and to meet Vellikar. Since the pair had left Haven so early in the morning, Karobark offered them breakfast while he discovered what boats were in and who was going to Dreford. As they ate, Denye shared some of what she had been working on and showed off the ring of homesteading. Karobark was quite interested to hear about the bird wizard's work with the magitech.
By the time the meal was finished, the runner had returned from the dock to report that one of the fast clippers was headed to Dreford and the captain was willing to take two passengers if they were onboard within the hour. Thanking Karobark once more for his hospitality, Denye and Vellikar headed down into the village in search of The Greenfly.
It wasn't overly difficult to find and the pair were soon stepping onboard to be greeted by a middle-aged half-orc who introduced himself as Captain F'hazial Isslingail. The ship was a sleek design, and Captain Isslingail promised that they would be docking in Dreford in about six hours, less if they can catch a good wind. It wasn't the most comfortable ride, the ship was cramped and narrow and not really built for passengers. But true to his word, the Greenfly was pulling into Sefrial Harbor by midafternoon.
Following the directions Ell had been given, the pair found the Three Bells. Denye spoke to the innkeeper, Kif Lonewhirl and procured a suite of rooms for the party, consisting of 4 double rooms and a private common room. When Denye asked about other members of the party, the innkeeper told them that an elf fitting Jilken's description came in last night.

Jilken

Not really sure what she wanted to do during the break but decides some time out of the city. After confirming that Ell and the others would be around for at least the next few days, she packed up a tent and headed out to do some hunting and exploring, heading north and following the river. Around noon on the second day, she stumbled upon a wild boar and her half dozen piglets. Between her skills and those of Ironheart, the Aiel managed to bag them all. From there she found a small village on the river and surprised the halfling innkeeper by dropping three of the piglets on the bar and offering the entire kill in exchange for a bed and a roast piglet.
The next day with another of the piglets and some sharp, tangy cheese in a saddlebag, Jilken headed back down to Haven. Returning to the Three Sheets, she found that there were two letters waiting for her. The first was from Prince Leafblade, saying that he had been told by the Starry Eyed that she were in need of assistance and it was well within his powers to aid Jilken, though he knows not what is needed and invites her up to the palace at her convenience to discuss the matter.
That relieved one worry. While they had been out, Jilken had realized that the Shin'a'in battlemare would not fair well on the sands of the Muspait. But who could she trust to care for Ironheart while they were gone? The Prince at least would recognize the mare's value and could be trusted. But that left the question of why this Starry-Eyed had intervened
The second letter proved even more interesting, it was from Mark Edie, the guard captain from the party. His shieldbrother, Ahler Bammo, had been running as guard captain for a caravan driver for the last two years. The caravan just returned to Haven and Mark had learned that Ahler had broken both legs. The healers say they will be fine in a couple of weeks, but the caravan needs to leave by the 15th for Dreford. Ahler expects to meet them there, but needs someone to take his place for this leg. Mark was impressed by Jilken's skill and thought she might have some interest in this run.
That sounded perfect and within a day Jilken had spoken with both Mark and Alder, as well as the caravan leader, a half-elf named Myrrh Valvaris and taken the job. The train consisted of 20 wagons of iron ingots and 10 wagons of octorite. The guard squad was a pack of 30 mounted fighters of varying strength. They would be going by the Emotha road and switching out the iron for timber.
The Prince was more than willing to host Ironheart in the royal stables while the party was away. Jilken took some time to designate the Tayledras along with a trio of trusted grooms as trusted handlers as well as giving the horse a chance to smell the stable and enjoy a good brushing-down to cement the idea of place. Once in Dreford, Jilken could release the mare and Ironheart would find her own way back to the royal stables.
With things settled, the caravaan took to the road on the 13th. The trip to Emotha was uneventful as was the visit, but Jilken did notice a group of a dozen Sunpriests in red robes in town. The rest of the trip to Dreford was fairly uneventful except for one incident involving a dozen bandits and a pair of tigerpedes. Jilken lost a half-dozen guards in the fight, but at the end of it, both beasts were dead as were the bandits and none of the wagons or brollachs were hurt.
The caravan arrived in Dreford on the 26th. With two days to explore the city, Jilken got a room at the Three Bells.

Vellikar

Spends some time with Denye but then wandered the city, watching the people. In those wanderings, he ran across many beggars, street vendors, and gamesters, including a few who were excellent at telling people whatever it was that they thought the person wanted to hear. One in particular caught Vellikar's eye, a begger that he had seen several times and always seemed to claiming something different about how he had been blinded. He seemed to do pretty well for a begger and always seemed to know when someone was passing by.
Intrigued Vellikar followed him for a couple more days and caught the man ducking into an alley and peeling the layer of wax from his eyes! Shocked, but realizing this might be an opportunity to learn from someone who could lie convincingly, the druid rushed up and asked, "Can you teach me how you do that? I really want to learn how to lie to people.
The man looked shocked and would have run, but Vellikar grabbed him by the arm as he asked. The beggar narrowed his eyes and scanned the firbolg from head to foot. "Sure, why not," he said sarcastically, "You can join my school...we have an accredited training program for becoming a con man. It's a steal at only 50gp."
He was even more shocked when Vellikar pulled out the coins, dropping them in the beggar's hand as Vellikar excitedly poured out his story about why the druid wanted to learn to deceive people. Sighing the con man shook his head and said, "Kid, you are too honest by half. I should just take this money and vanish...you ain't with the city guard, are ye?" Vellikar denied this and he went on, "I suppose I could teach you a few things...but really it's about the mindset. Argh, alright, come on back to our place."
The con man introduced himself as Sif Malesk (human) and his pet rat is Gloria. The rat it seems was the secret to his grift. Sif was able to share the rat's eyes and see the folk passing by and know how to tailor his story to garner the most sympathy. His place proved to be a largish basement room under a warehouse that had been turned into tenements. Sif shared the space with six others, and while it was a basement, there was a good fireplace and it was surprisingly comfortable.
Vellikar was a little surprised to discover that the Sif and his friends considered themselves a family. All seemed to skirt the laws in different ways, and were somewhat suspicious of the the druid. Still no one objected to when Sif told them that he was taking a temporary apprentice. Sif was very impressed with Vellikar's ability to change his appearance and commented on how that would be helpful. As he said, "You're quite tall and fairly unique looking. When you are working somebody, ya dunna want to be easily memorable."
A couple of others tried to teach Vellikar some of their skills, but both Zezer Pilol, a lithe halfling pickpocket, and Rind of the Hard Cheese, a goblin roof runner and B&E artist, quickly realized that Vellikar didn't have quite the dexterity to do the lifting. A close call on a two-story drop convinced the druid that he would be better staying on the ground.
Vellikar spent the next week and a half, learning from Sif and some of his friends. It took a lot of work, but Vellikar did make some progress on their deceptive abilities. Sometimes you didn't even have to say anything. A quiet beggar out of the way is easily forgotten and setting up shop near the proper window meant that someone could learn much with enough patience. Reconnecting with Denye on the morning of the 27th, the pair Teleported to a wizard's tower off the coast near Dreford.
Vellikar was quite impressed by Denye's spell and happy to meet one of her teachers. As they shared breakfast the firbolg druid spent much of the meal practicing his listening and being unobtrusive. From the tower, it was only an afternoon boat ride to Dreford.

Ell

Ell spent the rest of the 9th going over all the information that the party had learned over the last few days, but his thoughts kept getting pulled back to Madame Starspire's vision and what it could possibly mean. Who or what was Rose...could he have only imagined her? But no, even the seer had acknowledged there was something there. The room she had described had clearly been the main chamber of the family crypt where Orvali Darlington's sarcophagus lay. Deciding that a stop in Duskcairn was in order, Ell sat that aside to deal with the other matters.
After consulting with Denye that evening, Ell sent notes to both Linira Darnet and Elise Horlung-Darnet letting them know he would be stopping by the manor house tomorrow around noon and was hoping to speak to each of them.
The next day, Ell and Tear went with Denye over to Aubergine's and spent the morning crafting some golden accents to the obsidian candlestick and affixing one of Master Dark's coins in the centerpiece. Leaving Tear with Denye for the afternoon he headed over to the Darnet manor, stopping along the way to pick up a bouquet of Ivary and Pray Bells.
Linira wasn't home yet, but Elise was in her private office working at her desk and was pleased to see Ell. Setting aside her quill, she stood and gave the young man an airy hug, "Ell, my boy, I do miss seeing you. If only you and your father could see eye to eye, but you do keep finding ways to provoke him. Are you eating enough, you look thin?"
Ell returned the hug and tried to avoid the question by presenting his mother with the candlestick. She was quite pleased with it, but set it aside to focus on Ell. She was worried about the rumors she has been hearing regarding his travels, not to mention a few of his traveling companions. The young man assured his mother that his friends were quite trustworthy and it wasn't that the group went looking for trouble, it's just that trouble seemed to find them.
While Ell was in town, Elise asked him to stop by the office of Relzirra Graysnow and sign some paperwork that she has waiting for Ell. The young man flashed his mother a quizzical look at the request, and she explained that it was the final p, only acknowledging that he would do as she asked. They spent a few more minutes making small talk and before Ell could escape Elise reminded Ell about the annual Longest Night holiday at the country manor.
Excusing himself, Ell left his mother and ran into Linira. She smiled and said, "Ell, I hear you all had a good time at the masquerade. Let's go into the library, we can have tea and you can tell me all about it." Taking Ell by the arm she directed their steps in that direction, she settled them on a pair of couches. A servant appeared only a moment later with a tea set and as he vanished, Linira leaned forward and asked, "So how was the party, successful I hope? I've heard some stories...your friends certainly know how to make an impression."
Ell only laughed but confirmed that it had been successful venture and quite pleasant to mingle with the nobility after spending so long in the country. He shared what they had learned regarding Count Longdew and being interested in wool due to plague affecting the sheep in Caisia. Linira accepted the information with a thoughtful moue, but did not say further.
In an effort to fill the silence, Ell asked after events in Haven, as he has been out of town for so long. Linira did have some recent gossip from the court, but nothing that seems serious. She did take a moment to brag that she's taken on all of Gorscha's responsibilities and is working quite well with their father. Eventually Ell extricated himself from the conversation and after a short visit to his rooms to pick up a few new books, left the house and his family problems behind. Sighing, he recalled his mother's request and headed in the direction of Greysnow and Littlebottom Finanical Planners.
Relzirra Graysnow proved to be an older human woman in a prim dark suit with curly gray hair and horn-rimmed glasses. She did indeed have a number of forms and documents for Ell to sign, all of it related to his inheritance from his grandfather Horlung. Some of the more complex business ventures had been divested for simplicities sake, but the estate included the townhouse here in Haven, as well as several shops and warehouses in the city, all of which produced rental income. There were also several cattle farms in the Uplor province, a pair of vineyards in southern Eskar, and several properties in Port Frost. The way things had been structured, the estate would be held in trust until Ell reached the age of 30, but the young man would begin receiving a monthly stipend of 10,000gp.
The young man was suitably impressed and asked a few questions about what sort of control there was over the inheritance, learning that most of that would be handled by the trust, which was of course administered by Greysnow and Littlebottom. Ell was of course welcome to bring proposals to the trust's attention if he were interested in some venture that required more capital than his stipend and savings could accomplish. Ms. Graysnow was quite knowledgeable and efficient but still the appointment took much of the afternoon.
Having a couple of more days before they needed to leave, the young man spend the time taking Tear, taking him around the city and getting to know a bit more about the goblin's life before meeting the party. Tear was more than happy to talk about his past and even more excited to explore such as amazing a place as the capitol city. One of the things Ell learned was that Tear loved all things food related. Most of their days were spent going from street vendor to street vendor, the young goblin getting to try all kinds of new treats.
On the morning of the 14th, Ell and Tear set off, promising to see Denye and Vellikar in Dreford. The trip through Englemarket and down to Duskcairn was uneventful. Passing through the town, Ell made sure to stop at the Lazy Root so he could get the latest local gossip from Nomo Foamweaver, the older half-orc woman who ran the place as well, as giving Tear a chance to try cinnamon rolls, one of Nomo specialties and one of Ell's favorites.
The large sticky bun was nearly the size of his head and after an appreciative sniff, he gave it a first test nibble. Tear's eyes went wide amd like a maniac he devoured the entire thing in a matter of moments. Turning those wide eyes on Ell, and with a wide, sticky grin the goblin asked for a second one. Ell was hesitant at first, but relented when the goblin promised that he would take his time with this one.
None of the family were in residence at the Hall, but Ell took a room with Nomo, just in case Lord Byron had left any sort of instructions with Ms. Coldren. On the morning of the 19th as the sun was still rising and a streamers of fog filled, Ell and Tear slipped onto the grounds and over to the family mausoleum and down into the crypt.
As they descended the stairs, Ell gave a bit of a shiver. This wasn't his first time in the crypts, but it wasn't his favorite place by a long shot. It always smelled musty and Brio Moonstone, the bonekeeper always creeped the young man out. Luckily, it seemed that Brio was not around and Ell looking around considering. From the doorway, five other doors were visible, each with a brazier providing light in the rooms beyond. A large marble sarcophagus sat in the middle of the room and six angel statues stood between each of the doors, each in a different pose. Starting to the left and going clockwise; hands folded in prayer with a set of beads, holding a book, holding a urn, holding a crook, holding a lantern, and number six holding a shield.
Remembering what Madam Starspire had said, Ell went over to the one holding an urn. Pulling out a waterskin he filled the urn. As it filled, it settled slightly and there was a click, but nothing else happened. Unsure of what else to do Ell began to look around while Tear worked his way around examining the statues for other clues. The large sarcophagus, the final resting place of Orvali Darlington, founder of the family caught Ell's eye, in particular a string of Celestial that was worked into to the scrolling around the cover. It read, Angel of mercy, light my way. Pour out before me the river to death. Your blessing will carry my house until the end of days.
Armed with that information, Ell moved over to the statue holding the lantern. The door of the large lantern swung open easily enough, but it was empty. Ell called Tear over and asked him to try putting the alchemical lantern inside, but it wouldn't fit. Frustrated, Ell began patting down pockets in search of something to use, eventually resorting to pulling out several sheets of paper and rolling them up into a makeshift torch. Setting it inside, Ell lit the paper and closed the lantern door. Holding his breath for a moment, the pair were rewarded with another click and the statue holding the prayer beads slid forward several feet, revealing a stone staircase leading down into the dark.
Taking a breath, Ell lead the way down the stairs for 100 or steps before coming out into an almost perfectly square room. The room was empty other than a stone altar on the far side. The stone was draped with a cloth and upon it stood a statue on the altar of a winged woman with the face of a lion, face lifted in a snarl. Laying on the altar at her feet was a polished wood stand holding a two foot rod of adamantium with caps of rose gold.
Something about the room seemed very familiar to Ell, but he just could not put his finger on it. Tear seemed to feel it as well, asking who the lion lady was. Ell didn't have an answer to the question, but then realizing that he had a similar looking statue that he had picked up when the team got transported to that strange Starfall place. They had called her the goddess Milani, but Ell hadn't been able to find much information on her.
Finally, after checking for traps, Ell reached out and picked up the adamantium rod. As he did so, a young goblin girl with stringy black hair and a wilted crown, appeared looking up at the now grown Ell, "Hello Ell...it's been some time. You seem to have grown well...and you haven't lost your heart. That's important."
Ell spared a glance at Tear, but the small goblin had fallen to his knees, forehead pressed to the floor. Smiling down at the goblin girl he said, "Hello Rose, I had almost forgotten you I think. What is this place?"
Rose looked around the small room and smiled, "this, a shrine. A promise. A hope. This shrine and the devotion that I get from these goblins when I can do so little for them. It is a flickering flame threatening to go out. but you may have a chance to set all right."
Ell just looked shocked and pointing a finger at his chest asked, "Me? I'm supposed to be some sort of Chosen One?"
Rose shrugged, "I hope so...but it all comes down to your choice."
"What do I do?" Ell asks nervously.
"You must find a way to clear the taint of Ollamaas and Tharizdun," explained the goblin girl, "from the greater part of myself. If this can be done and you could return me to the world, even I have seen the darkness on the horizon. But I can't do anything from here. I tried to do right by your grandfather but even that I twisted in the end. You all still carry my power but it is the tainted power of pain and despair."
Ell swallowed hard a couple of times, but her words enflamed something in his heart and he was filled with a sense of mission. With a dry mouth he asked, "What do I do first, where am I supposed to go?"
Rose only shook her head, "I don't honestly know how to cleanse this taint from a power. Perhaps I could have once when I was whole. But no, you must search elsewhere. All I can tell you is that you will need my mace, the mace of Milani. You have half of it in your hand. You must find the other half. I have no idea where it has been hidden. The other half is a large amulet 6 inches long that is in the shape of an open palm made of gold with a large opal set into the center."
Ell nodded before stepping over to kneel next to Tear and asksing, "Do you have anything you could share with Tear?"
Rose held out both hands toward the prostrate goblin, "I am so sorry Tear, I wept when I saw what became of your village, your clan ,your people. I can do nothing but stand witness but I do that. I am beyond thrilled that these people were able to help stop what happened. I may not be able to do much but know that I always hear you."
Tear looks up and his eyes are kind of huge and glistening with tears. "Thank you lady. We hang. All Hang Together"
The goblin girl began to fade away, her voice echoing softly in the small room, "I do not know how often I can appear in that form, but I always listen."
Ell and Tear took a moment, staring at each other in shock. In a dazed voice, Tear exlaimed, "That was Momma Sorrow. No goblin has ever seen her outside of dreams before...what does this mean, Boss?"
"I'm not sure yet," replied Ell shaking his head, "This has been quite a lot and I need some time to absorb it all. But you seem to know her better than I do? We should leave an offering of some kind. What do you usually leave when you pray at home?"
The small goblin shrugged, "Pretty flowers, or shingy rocks, things that we like that we want her to have." Ell nodded and pulled out a small amulet on a silver chain and left it as the base of the statute. Tear added his own offering and the pair headed back up the stairs. The statue slid back easily enough and latched into place with a pair of clicks. The water had drained out of the urn and all that was left of the paper were some bits of ash.
Feeling accomplished, but now only filled with more questions, Ell led Tear back to the Lazy Root. The business in the crypt had only taken an hour or two, but Ell's mind was reeling and he decided that spending the day in Duskcairn was probably a good idea. The next morning, Ell and Tear took off for Dreford following the Shipward Road. There was one close call, two days out of Duskcairn. Needing to camp, Ell found a cave that looked like promising shelter, but Tear pointed out evidence that it was a current lair for a bear and they quickly found somewhere else to camp. 
Tear is very helpful when it comes to camping in general, and he's a much better cook than Ell is. Tear likes to cook and helps forage. H
Tear proved to be quite helpful when it came to camping in general. Ell had certainly picked up some skills while traveling with the party and he could start a fire, like no one's business. But when it came to cooking, it seemed that Ell still hadn't pick up much in the way of cooking skills. Tear on the other hand kept them fed and did quite a bit of foraging to add to their supplies. He even found some really nice fat grubs. Tear offered them to Ell who declined. The pair got to Dreford late in the day on the 27th and found that Jilken had beaten them there by a day and Denye and Vellikar having come in a few hours ago.

Ranunkel

On Ell's suggestion, Ranunkel stopped at the Dizzy Quill and was able to purchase three Envelopes of Sending for 10gp. The halfling shopkeeper, Pimton Flawrick threw in a dozen sheets of decent paper. Returning to the inn, Ranunkel spent several hours trying to figure out how to tell his grove of his travels so far. In the end, he kept it brief writing, "Very esteemed Archdruids, and esteemed Mentor, I have made progress upon my quest. As I traveled with a group of adventurers, I have learned some things about the Stone of Connection. A seer has told me I must go to a mountain surrounded by ice. I will greet this mountain as one of Tak’s great eruptions, like our own blessed Bel Redon. By the strength of the earth and with the assistance of these kind adventurers I am sure, that I will be successful in this task for our grove. We are already very far traveled, and many dangers fought. May Tak’s strength be your foundation."
After much thought he did not mention the recent reading from the fortune-teller. Sealing the letter inside one of the envelopes, Ranunkel pictured the head of his order and wrote the name in the panel on the front. A moment later there was a flash and the letter was gone. Troubled and needing some time in nature, Ranunkel consulted a few maps and headed out on the 11th along the Eastern Rd before heading off northeast toward the southern tip of the Whispering Hills.   While not nearly as tall or as rocky as his own Summerburg Mountains the Hills were the closest thing the stone druid has found where he felt truly at home. Not really having a set agenda Ranunkel spent a few days wandering and exploring the countryside. Having the time to be alone and think through everything he had learned, this sojourn reminded the young dwarf of some of the trips he had taken through the mountains, and he felt a sense of peace that had been missing for a while.
That peace only lasted for a day or two, when Ranunkel stumbled onto the remains of a stone circle. There wasn't much left, only the central stone and two standing stones remained, but it was clear that this had once been a circle that matched the one in Bel Redon. That just raised more questions for the young druid. These circles held a special place in his grove, but no one could remember what it actually did...just that it was important. His entire quest was based on the thing after all. Supposedly the Stone of Connection will activate the circle, but activate it to do what? And what made Archdruid Arschgeige decide that Ranunkel should be the one to go find it, was it really the will of Tak or did they just want to get rid of him?
Filled with more questions than answers, Ranunkel continued traveling, eventually finding an abandoned quarry. Deciding that this would be the perfect place to meditate, the stone druid made his way down and after setting up a rough camp, he began to brew up a special tea. Once the tea had finished, he drank it down and settled himself into a comfortable seat. Slowly his breathing the druid reached down into the stone around him, connecting with the heartbeat of the planet, listening for the words of Tak. 
It was three days before Ranunkel stirred and shook himself awake. He had not found answers to all of his questions, but his heart was at peace. Tak had heard his plea and several things had been made clear. Regardless of the reasons why he had been sent, Ranunkel was on the right path and he would find what he was looking for in a dormant volcano wrapped in a glacier. More than that, the road that the druid had found himself on led to a greater destiny, and while there were many dangers, there was also hope.
On the morning of the 22nd Ranunkel headed down to Emotha and picked up the Trade Road headed south towards Dreford. The trip was uneventful and he arrived in the large trade city late in the day on the 28th.

Report Date

05 Sep 2022