From the Journal of Sadun Dorgona:
Day 28? Of my time in this strange land. It has been difficult to track how long we've been here, not only because the days have seemed to be a non-stop blur of running after or away from our enemies, but because somewhere in there we missed six months due to the time portal of the dragonling Aeros. I have finally found some time to sit and reflect and write. Well, I'll be fair, Vivi made me take some time, they teleported me away to their safe haven, found during the six month gap in my own experiences.
In any case, this morning we made it through the portal in the beholder's lair, inspire of Wretch somehow destroying all the magic in the place. The alchemist Trick was able to use his potions to recharge the portal anyway, but we certainly did not end up where we'd intended to be. Instead of the lair of the Beholder we sought, we found ourselves in a woodland realm. After a short walk we came upon a large, walled city filled with trees and flowers and growing things, but still definitely prepared for a fight.
Somehow we talked our way past the guards at the gate. Trick pretended to be a traveling dignitary or royalty or something, and a badly forged note Arnick provided him was enough. I think the city may need to take a look at who they're hiring to watch the gates, but to our benefit we got in.
The people living in this city all seemed to be well dressed and well fed, so a prosperous place. Arnick asked about a library, so Trick began asking around, claiming we were his entourage to all who questioned our presence. The guards on the street were happy to oblige with directions, though they were eying Wretch suspiciously. When confronted about this, Trick was informed that there was a murder recently, and that Wretch fit the description of the culprit. Cass managed to convince them to wander off by flexing his muscles though, which... was odd.
We decided to split up so that Arnick could check out the library with Vivi and me, while the others went shopping. We walked through a large plaza with a gorgeous fountain in the center, a large statue of a leaping buck in the middle with water flowing our around the plinth it stood on. On one side of the plaza we noted a building with a large sign indicating it was an Adventurer's guild; but while I saw Trick and Wretch walk over to the posting board it was not of concern to those of us heading to the library so we continued further up one of the roads leading away from the plaza. Little did I know how important that building would be a few hours later.
Eventually we found the library itself, located in a well lit cave. At the entrance were three large tomes, nearly my height from top to bottom. There were lines leading up to each tome, which apparently were the library's indexes. While Arnick and Vivi stood in line, I decided to try my own foray. I found a librarian who spoke common (the only one in the place, everyone here seems to speak some sort of fey dialect,) and asked after books on the history of the city. Fortunately there were a few written in common, rather than Elvish, so I was able to read them.
It seems the city of Silverwalls, where we were, was once a gateway from the lands we had been traveling to the Feywild. It still is, after a fashion, but some time ago (based on what we know of the Beholders in the rest of the land it was several centuries) a green-skinned Beholder came and subjugated the city. While the Beholder was distracted working on ways to bring back the dead, however, the people of the city retaliated, using a special rock that dispelled all magic in a small area to prevent the Beholder's magical eye-rays from being used. The section I was reading ended with the words "The Beholder was taken care of, and the city separated dimensionally from the rest of Pangea. We have lived here in the Feywild in peace and prosperity ever since."
I copied that out, because I know Arnick was looking for information on the Beholders here. Since there was no useful information on our foe, I looked earlier. It seems our friend Tella was once the main ambassador to Silverwalls from the rest of Pangea, but after the Beholders came they lost contact with Tella. There was a brief mention of the first group of Champions, but that is all. I took this information with me back to Arnick and Vivi, where they had located the only book in the library on the nature of Beholders. Before we could learn anything from it however, we heard a commotion, and went outside to learn that Wretch and Cass had been arrested for murder.
After asking for directions, we made our way to the courthouse, but could not get in the door. There was a line of people with going inside and then coming back out with bags of gold. We could hear Trick's voice raised in protest from where we stood though.
"This is my bounty! You can't give these fools my money! I'm the one who brought them in, these weaklings just followed me!"
I'm learning that Trick is not the most subtle nor circumspect person.
So instead of going inside, we asked one of the city guards standing outside what was going on. Apparently Wretch and Cass had been identified as the murderers of a satyr by the satyr's brother. They had used some sort of fiery explosion after erupting on the brother from some sort of magical portal. That explained why Wretch had us chase after that satyr, I suppose. But it had been an accident, none of us knew where that portal was going to lead us. Trick had brought the two in for the bounty, but the bounty was being shared out because a guard present at the time noted that Trick only did so after a large group of adventurers had them surrounded. The guard then helpfully explained that there would be a public trial with a magical Zone of Truth to ensure no duplicity, and that Cass and Wretch would be afforded someone to defend them. I was pretty satisfied with that, so when Whistle caught up to us, we decided to go shopping while waiting for the trial.
As we walked, Vivi split off, explaining they had some business of their own to take care of. Shortly after we arrived in the market street. Whistle was enthusiastic: "I'm going to buy both of you new clothes!" she pronounced. "The stuff you're wearing is so worn and threadbare, I can't understand how you keep warm in all these cold dank caves we end up in."
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| Firbolg, image from the 5th Edition Monster Manual |
Now I admit she had a point. My clothes are the same I was wearing that day the mists carried me off to that land of vampires. We have had a few opportunities for new clothing, but it never seemed a priority. And I admit a bit of nostalgia and staving off homesickness with clothing from my home. But they were full of holes from where I've been cut or stuck with blades and arrows... so I agreed. The three of us walked into a clothing store run by a friendly firbolg.
As Whistle discussed clothing options in more detail than I can remember, I noticed that Arnick was gone. A moment later, Whistle picked up an empty bottle that rolled near her feet. Seeing that, I pushed some garments aside and found the gnome passed out behind the rack. What was this? The flask did not smell of alcohol. Arnick's breathing was shallow, so I picked him up and asked the firbolg where I could reach aid. "The adventurer's guild is the closest place with any sort of medicine," he explained kindly. I moved swiftly out of his shop and began running. Arnick coughed and jerked in my arms while I moved, then stilled again. Still breathing, thankfully.
At the guild, I yelled for help, and a young woman came down the stairs to the lobby. "I'm the healer of the guild, what is the problem?" she asked.
"I found my friend passed out. We think he was drinking from this bottle," I explained, shifting Arnick in my grip to hold out the bottle Whistle had found.
"I am glad you had that, if I can identify the poison it will be easier for me to figure out a remedy," she explained. "In the meantime please follow me, I have a bed you can put your friend on while I work." I followed her upstairs and gratefully set Arnick down on the cot in a small room she led me to, while she went to a table cluttered with books and alchemical tools and set to work.
I waited impatiently, tapping my foot and watching Arnick for any signs he was getting worse for what felt like days but was probably no more than an hour. Finally, the healer walked over and poured a shiny white potion into my friends' mouth. She paused a moment, then shattered the vial into a bowl she held in her other hand. A fine silvery vapor rose from the shards in the bowl and flowed into Arnick, and the woman turned to me with a satisfied look.
"I don't know where your friend got that vial, but it contained a powerful mind altering substance. The remedy I've given him should mend his immediate troubles, but please don't let him have anything like that again. People who drink that sort of stuff once often become obsessed with getting more, until the poison finally builds up enough to kill them, as happened here. As it is, physically your friend will be better in a few hours."
"You have my deepest gratitude," I said. "I'll try to keep an eye on him."
"He can rest here while he recovers. If you would, it will be twenty gold for my services today."
I handed her the money with more words of thanks, and seeing nothing more to be done headed back to the market to find Whistle. Arnick has been acting strangely recently. He's been fine for awhile and then suddenly get oddly loopy, running around doing strange things, or looking entirely lost in our own camp sites. I suppose this would explain that behavior.
I found Whistle quickly, and after explaining the situation, was soon encumbered by a mound of clothing she had purchased in my absence. We proceeded to a shop purporting to sell magical wonders, and thankfully Whistle procured a magical bag to hold all of the new outfits. We wondered the area for another hour or so before finding ourselves back in the magic shop, where I was eyeing a javelin with fascinating description when Arnick caught up to us, still apparently in a haze and occasionally vomiting. Once again I was running, this time to a bakery for something to calm Arnick's stomach. When I got back Whistle was interrogating the gnome about the source of the poison.
"I just found it somewhere," he explained. Obviously hiding something, but I can't figure out what. And he did not seem likely to be any more forthcoming in the near future.
Giving up, we went back to the magic shop so Arnick could ask some questions about the coin with the Beholder's likeness on it. The shopkeeper explained that the coin was a guide, and with a source of power could lead us to and from a location. If we were to locate a portal that accepted it, it might lead us where we wanted to go.
As we walked outside, we heard another commotion in the direction of the courthouse, and hurried over. Cass and Wretch's style was about to start, and would apparently be held in a coliseum so that the populace could watch. Whistle and Arnick began to walk inside, but as I was about to follow them Vivi grabbed my arm.
"Sadun! Come with me, you need a break."
"What do you mean? I need to make sure my companions are ok."
"You've been running yourself ragged trying to keep these companions out of trouble, but every time I find you again you're exhausted and not thinking straight after another companion has died despite your efforts. You need some time apart to relax and get your head on straight again."
I suppose I couldn't well argue with that. I have been feeling very exhausted lately. Reluctantly, I agreed, though only with their promise to return me here in the morning.
And that's how I finally find myself with time to write something down about what has happened recently. Looking back at what I wrote, I can hardly believe it all happened in one day. If only I thought we could afford to slow down. But the Beholders are still out there, and we are charged by the Ancestors themselves to right this world. So in the morning, I plan to get right back to work. But this rest is nice. I can almost feel the tension leaving my muscles, sitting here in the sand next to the small oasis Vivi has been calling home.
TO BE CONTINUED
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