RealmsToowoomba Recap # 82 [RPG]

[30 Flamerule 1372 continued]

On Startop Mountain, another wave of undead monstrosities pours forth from the shores of the lake. Dripping water and slime, and covered in tattered remnants of clothing and armor, two of the figures call out in agonized whispers “Where is Brightheart? Why have you forsaken us?”  Though their war-leader is absent (Truehammer having descended to the base of the mountain to inspect their fortifications), the guards of New Nesme are quick to leap into the fray.  Jygil Zelnathra uses her connection to Waukeen to force some of the invaders to flee back into the depths from whence they came. At the same time, she calls for nearby refugees to flee to the relative safety of the keep.

Tunak, Urist, and Markus react quickly to the shouts and screams, and rush to defend the camp. Tunak strikes down the abominations with his enchanted quarterstaff, while Urist and Markus bare steel and cut down their foes.  In the heat of battle, Urist’s dwarven battlecry is so loud that she deafens herself!  The defenders suffer another setback when Markus’ new blade catches on a metal tent pole and is damaged.  The enraged swordsman sinks his sharpened teeth into the rotting flesh of the undead, but quickly spits out the repugnant mouthful. As the fight wages on, he feels an inner fire burning and belches fire to incinerate his enemies.

In seconds, the battle is over. The camp has suffered a few casualties, but given the number and speed of the attackers, the defenders clearly acquitted themselves well. Zelnathra again thanks Markus and Urist for their intervention, noting her confusion that the camp has been attacked so many times in just the past few days.  Urist, still bereft of hearing, speaks loudly and confuses the words the others are saying. Markus grasps her head in his hand and looks her over, spotting the blood trickling from her ears. With her condition apparent, all present attempt to restore the dwarf’s hearing to no avail.

Meanwhile, an hour’s walk northwest of Silverymoon, Mellia and Cain arrive with Ralkin and Gideon in tow. As they walk towards the city, the affianced couple discuss their shopping list and agree that Cain will attempt to locate any other priests of Kossuth who might be in the city. Mellia tells him that if necessary, she is prepared to use several of her teleport spells to transport them to Thay to pick up an officiant, but that this will severely deplete her capabilities for other tasks. She also informs Cain that traditionally, any plans for the wedding night fall under the purview of the groom and he promises to give the matter due consideration, though their options may be limited by time and circumstances.  Finally, they agree to a later private discussion on the long-term strategy for Nesme and Cain’s upcoming duel with Felix Ruul, as Mellia intimates that she has a few ideas for both.  When they arrive at the gates of the city, Mellia asks Ralkin to accompany her on her errands as she would value a second opinion. She whispers to Cain that she also sees this as further opportunity for her soon-to-be husband and her former mentor to get to know one another better. The four agree to meet back at the gate in several hours’ time.

In the High Forest, Rufus has located the pack of dire wolves that he set out to find. Still using the form of an eagle, he convinces them that he is no threat and the wolf pack ignores him. Quickly resuming his human form, Rufus appeals to Silvanus and uses his magics to rebuke several of the dire wolves, persuading them to accept his commands. Three of the wolves fall under his influence, though the halfling rejects the runt of the litter in favour of two more impressive specimens. Using the larger of the two as a riding mount, Rufus heads back to the village he had helped to defend earlier in the day where he spends some time helping to bury the fallen and dispose of the remnants of the mysterious attackers. Once that task is accomplished, he and his new dire wolf companions speed back to where his companion, Sheila, eagerly awaits him. At sunset, Rufus, Sheila and the two dire wolves assume gaseous forms and begin flying toward the Evermoors rapidly and at high altitude.

On Startop Mountain, Markus takes Urist back to Mellia’s conjured mansion and suggests that she self-medicate her condition with strong drink. Urist is quick to comply. While the dwarf is thus occupied, the swordsman returns to his party preparations. Seeing that Tunak has carefully stacked the undead corpses away from the camp, Markus bolts a shot of the pure alcohol he obtained earlier and lights the corpses on fire. He then starts to choreograph a dance routine with the help of Nik, Nak and Nok. In the mansion, the increasingly frustrated El Capitan calls out loudly for someone to respond to his pleas, but in vain; the only residents of the mansion are himself, his mephit guards, and the deafened Urist.

In Silverymoon, Cain completes his errands accompanied by Gideon. Though the diviner makes sporadic attempts at conversation, the cleric is typically terse and the shopping trip proceeds under mostly awkward silence. Cain is unable to locate another priest of Kossuth in Silverymoon, but he is pleased to see that the specially ordered cloak he commissioned has arrived. With that and assorted wedding preparations complete, Cain drafts a letter and seals it, along with 40 platinum, in a small package he arranges for an eastbound caravan to eventually deliver to his friend Renold in Thay.  Later, Cain is surprised to encounter several of Markus’ Marauders who themselves are disappointed to learn that their hero has not yet returned from his adventures. They tell Cain that they have a package at the inn for their champion, sent by Markus’ father. Cain agrees to deliver the package to Markus on Startop Mountain and adds the long box, adorned with a scroll, to his burdens.

The bride-to-be is also successful in her shopping excursion. Mellia’s first stop is a silversmith where she arranges for a rush order to transform her father’s silver dagger into a wedding ring for Cain (complete with an engraving in Ignan). She also purchases a wedding trousseau with the help of Ralkin, who offers his unvarnished opinion to assist his friend in her search for the perfect wedding dress. With that accomplished, Ralkin leaves Mellia to shop for her wedding night in private, while he visits an alchemists’ shop (Rorfarrel’s Concoctions and Conundrums) he has frequented previously. He inquires about the availability of smoke powder and is disappointed that only an ounce is presently for sale. The kenku buys it, telling Rorfarrel that he may be placing a large order in the near future.

Some distance from Startop, in Nesme, Wrex encounters an unusual site: A strange and theatrically-attired gnome wandering down the street loudly seeking an alchemist.  Wrex is approached by the stranger and asked for assistance.  Despite pretending that there is a language barrier, Wrex learns that the stranger’s name is Shirloch and that he arrived in Nesme courtesy of Wrex’s former companions. Realizing a vital source of information has fallen into his lap, but that Shirloch is far too indiscrete to talk to in the street, Wrex takes him to a nearby tavern.  Shirloch seems immune to Wrex’s emphatic hints to be more discrete, and speaks freely about the people who brought him here (a wizard named Mellia), where he came from (New Nesme), and his opinion of their intentions after watching the previous night’s raid (burning down the city). Wrex agrees to keep an eye out for the alchemist (Jorizondo) that Shirloch is seeking and sends the fellow on his way.

In Silverymoon, with the shopping complete, the adventurers regroup and Mellia teleports them back to Startop Mountain.   When they arrive, the sun is starting to set. Realizing that the time has come for her appointment with the herbalist Borgea to confirm her pregnancy, Mellia quickly conjures up a new mansion and asks Ralkin to show Gideon around. Though she and Cain briefly discuss the need to move the remaining party members (particularly the mephits and their prisoner) to the new dwelling, the couple decide that the appointment takes precedence. Cain offers Mellia his arm and they make their way across the camp with Mellia’s nervousness increasingly obvious. Along the way, they spot Markus in the party tent, engaging in his dance practice. Realizing that this is not the sort of event that her betrothed would normally frequent, Mellia apologizes for pushing the party idea with Markus, explaining that given the haste of their wedding planning she did not want Cain to miss out on anything. The cleric wryly observes that the party is something he might not have minded missing out on.

They arrive at Borgea’s tent and find her ready to greet them. Observing Cain with a knowing eye, Borgea tells Mellia “It is as you suspected.” Mellia lets out a long, slow breath, but before she can take in the news, the wise woman continues speaking, telling Mellia that she carries two sparks of life within her.  “One shall be a force mystical,” she says, “a devotee of things esoteric and arcane.  The sibling will embrace faith, and grow in the knowledge of things spiritual and transcendent.  A day shall come when the twins are ruptured by their own folly, and the land shall be covered in bother and blight until such time as they are reunited by grace.” Once she finishes speaking, Borgea pushes Mellia and Cain out of her tent and retreats inside. The expectant parents have vastly different reactions. Cain takes the news that he will soon be the father of not one but two infants in stride, instead focusing on the herbalist’s prophetic words. Despite her background in divination, Mellia seems unconcerned with what the distant future may hold, finding it much more pressing to learn that she is carrying twins, staring down at her own abdomen in disbelief.

Seeing that Mellia is severely rattled, Cain escorts her back to the entrance to the original conjured mansion and attempts to soothe her nerves. Cain points out to Mellia that she is babbling, as she habitually does when flustered, and she ruefully agrees, noting that she has found herself rattled more often of late. However, one particular phrase in her muttering has caught Cain’s attention and he calls her out on making a statement that she thinks she is ruining his life. Mellia admits to it, telling him that she knows it is a big adjustment to transition from a lone adventurer, free to choose any path, to being tied to a wife and children. She asks him to acknowledge the extent of the change.  Further, Mellia says that she knows she was the one who initiated their affair and she still worries that Cain might have second thoughts or feel trapped. Cain firmly reminds Mellia that he welcomed her advances and is as responsible as she is for what happened between them. He also asks her if she’s considered that this sort of life change might be exactly what he wants. Reassured, she kisses him, just as Markus stops by to remind Cain to get ready for the party and to suggest that the guest of honour wear something comfortable. Cain pointedly tells Markus that he will definitely do that.

In the newly conjured mansion, a sardonic Ralkin finishes giving Gideon a very thorough tour, during which he takes special care to point out to the diviner that Cain and Mellia are already sharing a bed. The kenku finishes the tour in the bar where he suggests that Gideon ‘drown his sorrows’. As the master diviner does just that, Ralkin keeps an eye on him and uses his scarf of disguise to continually alter his appearance to assume a more demonic look. Gideon, very impressed with the mansion but intimidated by his escorts appearance and mannerisms, asks Ralkin what exactly the adventurers do with their time. When the Kenku, with fierce enthusiasm, proclaims that “we kill things” Gideon says that is what he was afraid of and continues drinking.

Markus heads off to the absent Shirloch’s wagon in search of additional theatricality for his party venue. However, his attempt to cobble together a concoction to create fog results in a small chemical fire. He is eventually able to douse it and with this latest embellishment for the party in hand, hurries to the mansion to prepare himself for the event. When he is finally ready, some significant time later, he has dressed himself with special care and is prepared to awe his companions with his style and presence.

Cain tells Mellia there is something else about the ceremony that he wants to talk to her about. Cain reminds her that he has no family and no family name. He tells her he would be honoured if she would allow him to assume her surname after they are married. Mellia is very touched. She takes him by the hand and leads him to their room upstairs, passing a loud and drunken Urist in the bar. When they arrive, she carefully unwraps one of the packages she bought in Silverymoon. Mellia tells Cain that though she does still have some living family-- a mother and brother that she no longer chooses to be in contact with--the only family she wishes to remember is her late father.  Mellia tells Cain that she had only one heirloom from her father, a silver dagger which she has had transformed into a ring that she would like her future husband to have because she believes her father would have approved of him. With shaking hands, she presents Cain with the ring, engraved in Ignan with the words “Everburning”.  Mellia adds that when she started her new life as a mage she chose the Nightflower name for herself and for Allia and that she would be proud to share it with him and with their children. Cain accepts the ring with pleasure and the two of them take advantage of the moment alone to engage in an impromptu tryst. Afterward, as thoughts of their many responsibilities come flooding back, Mellia reminds Cain that this conjured mansion will soon dissipate and before it does, they must move their resident suspect into the other mansion.

At the same time, some distance away, Rufus and his companions fly northwest and broach the Evermoors. The darkened landscape below seems to undulate with waves of undead creatures, but in time a pattern can be discerned: most are marching in roughly the same direction that Rufus is flying.  After several minutes additional flight, something strange and hostile brushes against the halflings’ mind. Though he is able to resist it, before he can react he comes under further magickal attack and finds his windwalk enchantment dispelled!   The druid plummets several hundred feet and smashes into the ground.   Although severely injured, the hardy halfling remains alive and conscious.  He calls out to the powers of good and summons a trio of unicorns to heal him.  The unseen attacker or attackers strike again, and a freezing blast of cold covers the area.  The last thing Rufus sees before slipping into death is the silhouette of a massive bat-like creature barely visible against the stars.

Meanwhile, in Mirabar, Fargrim Trollslayer awaits the arrival of the Knights of Kelemvor promised by Ardanac. He is surprised to receive a sudden missive from Lord Feldspar, requesting his immediate presence. Fargrim opts to bring along two bodyguards: Ramin, a man with an unkempt beard and the constant whiff of alcohol, and Brick, one of the so-called stone-children born of the union between a mortal and an elemental.  Fargrim and his companions are quickly transported to Feldspar House in a large and opulent carriage.  As they approach, they observe a lone light in an upstairs window. Escorted inside the lavishly-outfitted mansion, his companions are plied with refreshments while Fargrim is told that the master of the house would like to see him alone. Entering the room that the servant directs him to, Fargrim hears a strange wheezing sound. When he pushes the curtains of the canopy bed aside, he is shocked to see a gaunt, ghastly figure that he recognizes as Nakor, the rogue and former companion last seen by the others months ago.

For his part, Nakor is surprised to find Fargrim looking so hale and hearty. He demands to know if Fargrim still suffers from ‘the dreams’. Though Fargrim confirms that they are having the same dreams about a beast rising to claim the Crown of Horns, it is obvious that these dreams have had a devastating impact on Nakor. The supposed ‘Lord Feldspar’ has used his purloined fortune to hunt for a cure, but it has all been in vain. Nakor begs Fargrim for the release of death, claiming that nothing can stop his torment and that nothing can stop the behemoth. He advises Fargrim to kill himself as well. Fargrim finally, reluctantly agrees to the first request after confirming that “Lord Feldspar’s” servants are unlikely to raise a fuss. As Nakor offers his last words, Fargrim snaps his neck. Standing over the body of his former companion, Fargrim swears to Uthgar to avenge him, and the others who have fallen due to the Crown of Horns.