Saturday, December 8, 652 AU, continued

After Lythienne and the two guards depart with Calvin and Leander, the party is approached by a new face in the main atrium of the temple. He introduces himself as Thaldohr Broadbuster, a dwarven sword-smith and cook who has been wandering the land, offering aid to those unable to defend themselves. He couldn’t help overhearing the party talking about their adventures, and would like to join them.

“Excellent. We were just talking about the hydra in Kyasha’s Pass,” says Aurelia.

“A hydra? I’ve always wanted to slay a hydra,” says Thaldohr.

“That’s perfect!” says Valya.

Aurelia sizes Thaldohr up. “He seems much more capable than the captain,” Aurelia says to Valya.

“Everyone is more capable than the captain,” says Valya. “He’s just a bureaucrat—he barely knows how to hold a sword.”

“Killing the hydra is something we need to do eventually,” says Aurelia, “but we have a few other tasks to handle first—we’ve heard about the undead in Silverdale, and we were planning to head that way soon. But it is our duty to eventually defeat the hydra. It would do much good for the entire kingdom.”

“That’s Aurelia… She’s sort of the heart of our party,” says Valya. “My name is Valya. And…” she looks around, suddenly confused. “Where are Qhask and Abundance?” The two are nowhere to be seen.

“We can look for them later,” says Aurelia. “First, we need to talk to Cedric about the… item we acquired. Then we have to go see Jonas and Dusk—we promised we would give them half the profits from the delivery.”

“What are we going to do with the… item, though?” asks Valya.

“I’m not sure. Maybe Cedric will have an idea.”

⁂

They ask the priestess Arabella if Cedric is free. She excuses herself to check, and then returns a minute later and tells them that Cedric will see them now. Arabella leads them down the halls to Cedric’s office, where they find him reading some parchments.

Cedric looks up. “You asked to see me?”

“Yes. This is a bit of a sensitive matter,” says Aurelia. Cedric nods, and Arabella leaves the room. Aurelia closes the door behind her. “We seem to have come across a very concerning artifact.

“An artifact?”

“It seems to contain the soul of a devil.”

Cedric takes his glasses off and puts them down on the table. “Are you certain?”

“Yes. We spoke with her, and she seemed very keen on being released. Of course, we did not release her.”

Cedric is at a loss for words for a moment. “A devil. Surely you mean an imp, or a quasit, or…”

“She seems to be quite powerful and quite old. Her name is Valspira.”

“That doesn’t ring a bell…”

“She seems to have last been loose in the world several hundred years ago.”

“More than six hundred,” Valya adds. “She knows of Raymond Fentris, but didn’t know he became king.”

“How did you come across this orb?”

“There was a job posting—the Red Eagle shipping company needed help transporting a package,” says Aurelia. “One of our compatriots was concerned, because the party originally hired to transport it was attacked on the road. He wanted us to check what we were transporting. So we opened it, and discovered the devil. We don’t know why it was being shipped.”

“We should bring this up with the guard—discreetly of course.” Cedric rubs his forehead. “And someone needs to investigate the Red Eagle.”

“We’ve gotten some information about them,” says Aurelia. “According to some local merchants, the Red Eagle may be a shell company for the Daykin family. And I know we shouldn’t be involved in that kind of politics, but it is very concerning, especially if it means whoever sent it was trying to harm the royal family.”

Cedric doesn’t respond immediately, appearing deep in thought. “…And now there are rumors of imps flying out of the Daykin estate when it was burning.”

“I wanted to ask about that—did you ever suspect anything about the Dakyins?” asks Valya.

“No… but if they’re dealing in fiendish pacts, it’s certainly a cause for alarm.” He sighs. “May I see this orb?”

“I guess,” says Valya. She gets the small lacquered box out of her pack, places it on the desk.

“She will try to bargain with you,” warns Aurelia.

Cedric cautiously opens the box.

“Ah, finally, my rescuer!” says Valspira, smiling at Cedric.

Cedric closes the box. “The first rule of dealing with fiends is never to listen to them for longer than you have to. I will consult the archives—perhaps Valspira is mentioned somewhere. It takes powerful magic to create something like this. Surely someone must have recorded its existence.”

“What should we do with it?” asks Valya.

Cedric thinks for a moment. “Does anyone know that you have this?”

“Just us,” says Aurelia, “and another group of adventurers that we took it from.”

“They didn’t know what the box contains,” adds Valya.

“But we must assume the Red Eagle knows what the box contains,” says Cedric.

“But they don’t know we have it,” says Valya.

“So you’re certain that nobody knows where it is, right now, except for your party… I’ll leave it up to your judgement. The vault here is not so well protected as the vault in the temple in the Shining Citadel, but it does have some protections.”

“There have already been attempts to steal this artifact—I wouldn’t be surprised if someone was smart enough to break in,” says Aurelia.

“If you believe it is safe with you and your friends, I would prefer not to endanger any members or patrons of this temple by housing such an artifact here. I don’t mean to say your lives aren’t valuable, but if someone tries to take it from you, perhaps you could learn something.”

Valya looks at Thaldohr. “Are you fine traveling with a trapped devil?”

“As long as it stays trapped. I’ve dealt with monsters before, but not devils.”

Valya turns to Cedric. “Has there been any news about the expedition to Vargrath Keep?”

“A small group of clerics was sent there two days ago—they returned last night. I have not yet heard their report, but I’ve been told there will be a public announcement at the guardhouse this afternoon. I would be there, if I were you.” He reaches for his glasses. “Now, I have some paperwork to catch up on… I’ll set some of the sages here in the temple to work researching Valspira. If we don’t find anything in our own records, we’ll search the other libraries in the city.” He looks gravely at Aurelia. “These are darkening times. I pray to Soleil it is but a passing cloud.”

⁂

Outside the temple, Valya explains the importance of Silverdale to Thaldohr.

“Blacksmithing and hunting monsters—my two favorite subjects,” says Thaldohr.

“Apparently,” says Aurelia, “they had quite a few record books lost during the tragedy. We need to bring them back. But we need Abundance to cast the spell to transport them, right?”

“I learned how to cast Tenser’s floating disk as well,” says Valya.

Aurelia turns to Thaldohr. “We have some, uh, arcane magic users in the party… They’re not exactly licensed.”

“It’s hard to get used to the rules here,” says Valya, shaking her head.

“As long as you don’t cast them on me!” says Thaldohr.

“Well, probably just healing spells from Aurelia,” says Valya. “You know, if we’re going to use magic to transport the books, it would be even better to find a bag of holding… But the only way to get such items is through Remy.”

“He won’t be happy if we don’t bring him the shipment.” says Aurelia.

“I have an idea!” says Valya. “Remy knows us, but he doesn’t know our new friend.”

“Ah, excellent!” says Aurelia.

Valya turns to Thaldohr. “If we give you some coin, would you like to try purchasing some illegal goods from a suspicious character?”

“If it helps the party, sure, I’d be willing to do that.”

“And you’re not going to run away with the gold right?”

“I have nowhere to go.”

“While you do that, I’ll visit Jonas and Dusk,” says Aurelia.

“And I can buy rations for the trip,” says Valya. She holds out a small pouch to Thaldohr. “Here’s 500 gp. You can find Remy at the Drunken Goblin.”

⁂

Half an hour later, Thaldohr is sitting in the Drunken Goblin, looking around for a halfling matching Remy’s description. After a few minutes of waiting, he sees a halfling come in, look around, and sit at the bar. The halfling takes out a small notebook and begins writing in it.

Thaldohr finishes his drink, hops up to barstool one seat away from Remy, and buys Remy a drink.

“That’s kind of you,” says Remy. “Do I know you?”

“No, I’m new to these parts. The name’s Thaldohr.”

“Remy Wanderfoot, merchant. I sell goods from all over Castalia, purchased at fair prices and sold at even fairer prices.”

“What have you got for wares these days?”

“Oh, I have all sorts of interesting items. Mostly books, fine china, household goods… Ask, and I probably have it!”

“Hmm, could you tell me what kind of china you have?”

“Only the finest quality, used by nobles of the Gemra Empire.”

“Wow!. I’m just a lowborn dwarf, don’t know if I could carry such fine items on my person…”

“They’re quite sturdy—let me show them to you! My wagon is just outside.”

Remy hops down from the bar and escorts Thaldohr to his wagon in the stables. He begins pulling out various drawers. Surprisingly, he does have actual fine china. “From the Gemra Empire. I was just there last month, and can assure you that it is on the cutting edge of current fashions.”

“Oh, I don’t know that it would survive my journeys—I travel a lot, you see. In fact, I’ve been looking for something that could, I don’t know, contain things.”

“I have all manner of bags and boxes and pouches, but that wouldn’t protect such fine china… You’re looking for something more exotic, aren’t you? I have some items that you might say are… wondrous.”

“I do have a sense of wonder…”

Remy takes a key from around his neck, opens the lowest drawer of his wagon, rummages through it, and pulls out a fine embroidered leather pouch. “You seem like someone who values quality over all else. Perhaps even over some…. arbitrary restrictions, that I remind you are local to this country. This is a bag of holding. It’s bigger on the outside, and it won’t feel the bumps of the road.”

“That’s fascinating! Sounds like a portal tummy, but outside of a person instead of inside.”

If Remy is confused, he doesn’t show it. “Well, I haven’t heard of such a thing myself, but this is certainly outside of a person!”

“Excellent! You know, I’ve never been one for restrictions made by people who certainly don’t follow them themselves.”

“Exactly, exactly! They say they try to protect people from the dangers of magic, but they don’t think about the lost convenience. We all want convenience, don’t we? Now, I have to ask: What do you think a bag of holding is worth?”

“Maybe 250 gp?”

“Oh. Well. It took me quite a bit to procure this. The fellow that I bought this from—well, I didn’t exactly buy it from him, more like relieved him of it—let’s just say I took it off of his body after he was killed in a dungeon. What can you do? Adventurers die all the time. I mean, he’s not using it anymore. But it was a personal cost to me to enter that dangerous dungeon to relieve him and his fellows of their no-longer-needed goods. I think I would rather see 450 gp for this.”

“That does seem reasonable, given the great cost to you, but I was thinking, maybe we could meet in the middle? What would you say about 375 gp?”

“375 gp… I’ll tell you what—375 gp for the bag of holding, and if you buy some china for 25 gp we’ll call it a deal.”

“Hmm. I like this bowl here, it seems like it would be good for my soups.”

“You have a discerning eye! That’s one of the most prized pieces in this collection. Let me wrap that up for—” Remy stops, then dramatically snaps his fingers. “Why, I don’t have to!” He places the bowl into the bag of holding and hands it to Thaldohr. “Nice doing business with you, Thaldohr. If you ever need anything else, just ask for me around the Drunken Goblin.”

“Of course! See you soon, friend.”

⁂

Meanwhile, Aurelia walks to the Blue Griffon to talk to Jonas and Dusk. The inn is in a not-so-nice area far from the center of town. She enters, and finds it dimly lit and half-empty—it’s mid-morning, so there are only a few patrons present. Jonas and Dusk are not among them. Aurelia asks the bartender about their whereabouts.

“The human and the tiefling? Yeah, I remember them, they looked a little beat up. You want a message sent to them?”

“Yes, tell them Aurelia is waiting downstairs.”

Aurelia takes a table, and a few minutes later Jonas and Dusk come down the stairs. Dusk is walking with a limp.

“I take it you completed the shipment, then,” says Jonas. He looks around. “Where are the rest of them?”

“They’re off shopping, but I thought I’d come by and give you your share.” Aurelia hands Jonas a pouch with 25 gp.

“I guess you’re true to your word,” says Jonas.

“Are you faring well?” asks Aurelia.

“Can’t complain,” says Jonas. Aurelia notices that Dusk furrows her brow, but doesn’t say anything.

“Did you experience any trouble on the road?”

Dusk speaks up. “We think we’re being followed, ever since we got to Crystalport.”

“You’re so paranoid, Dusk,” says Jonas, rolling his eyes.

“No, it’s true! There’s a figure in a grey cloak, watching us from alleys, from crowds… I don’t know who it is, but I’m worried it has something to do with the shipment. We were attacked on the road, after all!”

“And you would have been attacked again,” says Aurelia. “We encountered some foolish students who were hired to intercept the shipment.”

“Good that you had it and not us, then,” says Dusk.

Jonas looks perturbed. “I guess you were right, Aurelia.”

“I’m sorry for the loss of your companions.”

“Us too,” says Jonas. “We’re going to return to Basinglen soon. Alix’s family was there, so… have to tell them what happened. Thanks again.”

“Of course. perhaps we’ll meet again sometime.”

“Perhaps,” says Jonas. “We won’t be back to Crystalport any time soon. I guess we’ll try to lose whoever is tailing us.”

“That seems wise,” says Aurelia. “I’ll be on the lookout for them as well. May the goddess look after you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jonas dismisses.

“Thank you again, Aurelia,” says Dusk.

Aurelia leaves the Blue Griffon, and looks around the square for anything suspicious. She notices a man sitting on a stone bench. He appears to be reading the daily paper, but his eyes aren’t moving, and every so often he glances at the inn. Aurelia ducks into an alley and begins spying on him, but fifteen minutes later Aurelia herself is noticed—the man locks eyes with Aurelia, then looks back at the paper. Aurelia decides to approach, sitting down next to him. He ignores Aurelia.

“Good afternoon,” says Aurelia.

“Afternoon, miss,” says the man, keeping his eyes fixed on the paper. He turns a page.

“I see you’ve taken an interest in that inn.”

“Don’t rightly know what you’re talking about.”

“How much does the paper go for these days?”

“A silver piece.”

“Just a silver! Any interesting news?”

“Article here about the fiasco at the gala last night. Lots of crazy speculation. They say it was the Wood Scorpions.”

“Would you happen to know anything else about that?”

“Are you insinuating something, miss?”

“Just curious.”

“I’m not so curious. Read that article, moved on to the next one. More interested in trading.”

“What goods do you trade?”

“Not goods, so much as betting on future prices. Need to stay on top of things if I want to make a profit.”

“So that’s why you’re interested in Jonas?” Aurelia notices a slight flinch at that.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, miss.”

“Of course. Is that why you’re interested in the package they were transporting? Prices?”

For the first time since Aurelia sat down, the man looks at her instead of the paper. “I suggest you leave before I call the town guard, miss.”

“Let me give you something for that paper, as an apology.” Aurelia flips a silver piece at him. “Perhaps you should move on. I think you won’t find much more of use here.”

Aurelia gets up and walks back the way she came. She notes from the corner of her eye that the man stares after her as she leaves.

⁂

A town crier in the main square of the city informs them that there will be an announcement at the guard house around three, so early in the afternoon the party reconvenes there. Outside the guardhouse is a large courtyard, and it is now quite packed. Along the side of the courtyard closest to the guard house entrance, a platform has been set up.

A middle-aged man wearing shining silver armor climbs up the platform and stands at a podium, escorted by half a dozen guards. Based on the insignia, this must be a high-ranking general of the Castalian military. Behind the man is a woman. She has long brown hair, rust-colored robes, and wears a blindfold over her eyes. There’s something disturbing about her.

“Hey!” Valya whispers to Aurelia. “Doesn’t she match the description of the woman Qhask saw in Tavin?”

An old woman standing next to them in the crowd turns to Thaldohr. “Can you believe they’ve called in General Turlin Dahr?”

“From the capital?” asks Aurelia.

“Yes indeed! They say Atris of the Hammer teleported them in this morning! Something big must be brewing if the Hammer is getting involved.”

Valya gulps. “The Hammer?”

The general clears his throat and begins to speak, his voice magically magnified. “Last night, the organization known as the Wood Scorpions led an attack on the Daykin Estate with the aim of assassinating Prince Calvin, who has been enjoying the hospitality of the Duke and Duchess for several months. This was not the first attempt on the Prince’s life. His bodyguard, Lythienne Pazana, as well as a group of adventurers present at the time, were able to bring the prince safely to the temple of Soleil, where they remained throughout the night. The Wood Scorpions fled soon after launching their attack. Three people—Lady Cressida Octalis, Lord Nash Grelburn, and a servant Irene Foote, were killed in the chaos. Several others sustained severe injuries. One Wood Scorpion was apprehended alive and is in our custody. He refuses to talk—we are waiting on the Queen to grant permission for Atris of the Hammer to read his mind. Discovering their hideout is our top priority. Troops from the capital are also being sent to deal with the rebels in the Osorin Forest—Crystalport has tolerated their interference with the trains for far too long.

“I wonder if they captured Fergus,” whispers Valya.

“Are there any questions from the crowd?” asks the General.

A dwarven woman standing near the party, holding a quill and notebook, shouts out “What about the imps seen flying out of the estate?”

“That appears to be merely rumor,” says General Dahr. “All accounts we’ve heard are secondhand at best. If anyone personally witnessed these imps, I urge them to come forward, but until then, we are treating this rumor as baseless.”

Someone else asks “Wasn’t the prince’s fiancé taken into custody as well?”

“I cannot comment on that at this time,” replies General Dahr.

Valya raises her hand. “What about the rumors of necromancers in Vargrath Keep?”

The general turns to look at Valya. “I also cannot comment on that at this time.”

Valya gets a creeping sensation on her skin, and is suddenly sure that Atris is staring right at her through her blindfold.

Aurelia gets the same sensation, and then hears a voice in her mind. It’s a very quiet whisper, and it says “The general would like to speak with you when this is over. Please, come. Bring your friends.”

“What’s happening?” asks Valya, seeing Aurelia’s expression.

“I heard a voice—I think it’s Atris. You attracted attention with your question.”

Valya then talks directly to Aurelia’s mind: I wonder why she’s talking to you, then, and not to me.

Aurelia, caught off guard by Valya’s telepathy, quickly regains her composure. Maybe it’s because I’m a priestess. I do tend to stand out.

When there are no further questions from the crowd, General Dahr and guards return inside, followed by Atris.

The party head after them. They’re met by a squire at the door. “The general has asked to speak with you. You are the adventurers, yes?” He looks them over, then frowns. “Is this all of you?”

“A few of our group are elsewhere,” says Aurelia.

“Ah. Well, nevertheless. Follow me.”

The squire leads them to the war room where they first spoke to Captain Woodmore. General Turlin Dahr, a half-elf, sits at the desk at the far end of the room, brooding and serious. He looks up. “You are the adventurers involved in the events of last night, yes?”

Thaldohr raises his hand. “I wasn’t there, but I am an adventurer.”

General Dahr raises an eyebrow, then motions the party to gather round. He turns to the other guards. “Please, excuse us.” They filter out of the room. Once they are alone, he continues. “Thank you for protecting the prince last night. The royal family is quite grateful to you. I was sent this morning to take control of the situation here in Crystalport, which seems to have gotten out of hand. Captain Woodmore has been asked to step down, temporarily—I will be taking charge of the city guard until the situation is under control.”

“By situation, you mean…” says Aurelia.

“The Wood Scorpions of course.”

“Ah.”

“I’ve heard rumors about you,” says the general. “Rather, rumors that have been spread by you. You claim that there is a lich in Vargrath Keep. You claim there is a hydra in Kyasha’s Vale.”

“These are truths,” says Aurelia.

“Well. Clerics were sent to Vargrath Keep to investigate. They returned yesterday, and they report that the place is abandoned.”

“What?” asks Valya.

The general continues. “There is no sign of this supposed lich, no dungeon in the wine cellar where your friend was kept, or any of that. Merely some signs of recent vandalism, which is to be expected in any old ruin. I must ask; did you intend to help the Wood Scorpions in any way by spreading these rumors? Captain Woodmore was obsessed by the idea of fighting this hydra. He’s known to be a… gullible man. Was it your intention to lure the guard away from the city?”

“Of course not!” says Aurelia. “We have proof that the hydra exists!”

“We only have your word.”

“We have proof!” exclaims Valya. She procures the scale and the eggshell from her pack. “These are from the hydra!”

“You claim they are from a hydra.”

“We have no ties to the Wood Scorpions,” says Valya. “Our only intention is to bring peace to Kyasha’s Vale.”

General Dahr looks very seriously at Valya. “You claim you have no ties to the Wood Scorpions. But that simply isn’t true.”

“We don’t!” Valya protests.

“Fergus,” says Aurelia. “Is that what you’re talking about?”

“Indeed.”

“We had no idea he was connected to them.”

The general sighs. “You must understand how suspicious this all looks, from our perspective. We have the Prince’s fiancé, Leander, in custody. He is a vampire. As it seems you knew. As it seems the prince knew. Prince Calvin is asking for leniency and for him to be remanded into his personal custody.” General Dahr leans in towards the party, clasping his hands together. “I’ve spoken to some witnesses this morning. There were two guards present during your altercation with Leander in Prince Calvin’s private quarters last night. They both claim that your Khorsirian friend, Abundance, cast a spell on Leander moments before he confessed to working for this supposed lich. I’ve checked with the Andirune Institute and the Crystalport Academy—neither of them have authorized Abundance to use magic. I also checked the city’s registry of mages—he didn’t register as a magic-user upon entry to Crystalport. This is a very serious matter.”

Aurelia looks at Valya. “I thought you and Abundance had started at the academy?”

“They have started at the academy,” says General Dahr, “but they have not yet earned—”

“I’m still, waiting for my test, yes, but I haven’t yet made use of any magic!”

“Be that as it may, but your friend Abundance, according to these two guards, did.”

“Well then you should be—” Valya is at a loss for words. “I’m tired of these accusations. We saved the prince and his fiancé! If we were with the Wood Scorpions, would we have done that?”

“All I want to know is the current whereabouts of your friends Fergus O’Toole and Abundance.”

“We don’t know where they are,” says Valya.

“Abundance left our party this morning,” says Aurelia. “We don’t know exactly when he slipped out.”

“And you don’t find that suspicious?”

“I mean, sure, that could be suspicious,” says Aurelia.

“I believe,” says the general, “that we have to assume that Fergus and Abundance are working for the Wood Scorpions. They have been spreading rumors of liches and hydras to destabilize Crystalport and pave the way for an attack on Prince Calvin.”

“Why is it so hard to believe there are other threats besides the Wood Scorpions?” asks Valya.

“The clerics sent to investigate the keep report it abandoned.”

“That can’t be possible!” protests Aurelia. “We were just there!”

“Leander could have passed along a message?” Valya ventures. “He’s working for the lich, and he’s a spellcaster.”

“Leander has a valid license. Until we have Abundance in for questioning, we don’t know if Leander is subject to outside forces. Everything Leander says is suspect right now.”

“Do you really think Abundance forced a false confession?” asks Aurelia.

“Based on the evidence, that is a strong possibility.”

“We’ve only traveled with him for a brief period of time, but we can tell you he’s a decent person,” says Aurelia.

“If you’ve only known him a short time,” says the general, “then you don’t really know what he’s capable of or where his true intentions lie. How well do you really know your friends?”

Everyone looks around awkwardly, especially at Thaldohr.

“Well. If either of them attempt to contact you in the coming days, we would like to know about it. Priestess, I am sorry for dragging you into this. You three are not officially suspected of committing any crime. But any information you have about Abundance or Fergus would be invaluable.”

“I know your focus is on the Wood Scorpions,” says Aurelia, “but these other threats… We’ve seen them with our own eyes.”

“If you have any convincing evidence, I’d love to hear it. But in the meantime, my job is to get the Wood Scorpions under control. Find their hideout, root them out, arrest all of them. I have much work to do. You are dismissed.” With that, General Dahr calls the guard back in to the war room, and the party is escorted off the premises.

⁂

“Sorry to drag you into this,” Valya says to Thaldohr as they walk back to the temple.

“Do you think either of them were actually using us?” asks Aurelia.

“Fergus and Harmony asked us to go to Vargrath Keep in the first place…” says Valya.

“And it is odd that Fergus and Harmony met up again in Crystlport…” says Aurelia.

“He did have some radical tendencies… And he spread propaganda in Kyasha’s vale…”

Suddenly, someone says “Excuse me!” They all turn around—it’s the dwarven woman who asked the general about the imps. “Katavrena Steelgrip, with the Citadel Sentinel, but you can just call me Kat. Do you have a few moments to answer a few questions?

“I’d prefer not to speak to—” begins Aurelia, but Kat interjects.

“Surely you’d like the people to hear your side of the story?”

Valya speaks to Aurelia telepathically: I’d prefer not to talk publicly. I don’t want people to know who I am.

“All I will say is that we are glad to have helped protect the prince,” Aurelia tells Kat.

“Wonderful,” says Kat, who begins scribbling furiously in her notebook. “But just one question: Multiple eyewitnesses say they’ve seen you in the company of the younger sister of the notorious Wood Scorpion assassin Dylan Grove. You took a boat to Vargrath Keep together, is that correct? Is that a Wood Scorpion hideout? Did you meet Dylan there?”

Aurelia is flabbergasted. “That is slander!” She begins to walk away.

Kat walks after her. “I don’t think it is; you were seen with Harmony Grove, were you not? They say you met her in Kyasha’s Notch. During this time of year its completely blocked by snow—why were you there? Isn’t that suspicious? And you took a boat ride with her? To fight a lich, if the rumors are to be believed? Is the lich a Wood Scorpion?”

“What?” asks Valya.

“How do you respond to the accusations that you’re spreading rumors about hydras, demons, and the undead in order to instill panic, destabilize the city, and pave the way for a hostile Thamorian invasion?”

“Excuse me?” say Aurelia and Valya at the same time.

“I’m not accusing you of anything,” says Kat, “I’m just asking the questions that our readers want answered.”

“Well,” says Aurelia, “you should tell your readers that they should apply their imaginations to more useful ends.”

Kat continues to scribble furiously. “Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I have one more question. Why were you in the prince’s private quarters during the attack?” The party remains silent in the face of Kat’s further questioning. Kat smiles. “Well, I think I have enough for now. Thank you for your time! If you’d like to talk further, ask for me at the Citadel Sentinel’s Crystalport branch near the city center. It’s been great talking to you!”

Aurelia and Valya are stunned. Thaldohr follows Kat. “Hi, I’m Thaldohr. Nice to see a fellow dwarf in these parts. I wasn’t with them last night, but could you tell me, who is asking you about these rumors?”

“Well, Thaldohr, I have to protect my sources.”

“Oh. Well, you see, I’ve just met this group, and you have me concerned a bit. I’d like to know a little more!”

“If you want to have a further conversation, just ask for me at the branch.”

After Kat leaves, Valya sighs. “The traditions of this land escape my understanding… We’ve been helping people.”

“Sorry if I came across as untrusting,” says Thaldohr. “I was just trying to figure out where these rumors are coming from so we could investigate ourselves.”

“I just don’t understand why anyone would seek to slander adventurers who are just trying to help,” says Aurelia.

“The crazier the story, the better it sells, right?” says Valya. “I’ve seen similar things in Thamior. But being involved is not something I was expecting.”

“Well,” says Aurelia, “we should try to stay out of the public eye for a bit.”

“I agree,” says Valya, “but this does confirm that Harmony was a terrorist. Maybe she inducted Fergus, and they were planning to meet in the city all along?”

“I can’t believe we had a Wood Scorpion in our party. Perhaps we should leave town for a little bit. We were talking about going to Silverdale?”

“Yes,” says Valya, “we should go as soon as possible, or I might lose my brother’s trail. Oh! I just remembered, I bought clothes for you two!” Valya begins pulling various articles of clothing out of her pack.

Aurelia gives Valya a stare. “I thought you were getting supplies.”

“Well… I got distracted.”

“How much did you spend?”

“Money comes and goes, it’s irrelevant! …only a few hundred.”

Aurelia sighs. “I was hoping the funds from the prince would last us quite a while.”

“Well, once we find out what I…” Valya looks at Thaldohr. “What happened to my family, I’m sure I can use my family’s treasury… I’ll be more than happy to personally fund our journeys.”

“Well, let’s go shopping for supplies before it gets too dark.”

“Oh!” says Thaldohr. “Speaking of shopping, look at this cool bowl I got!”

“Is that from the Gemra Empire?” asks Valya.

“It is!”

“It’s very fashionable,” Valya says approvingly.

“You used our money to buy a bowl?” says Aurelia, barely containing her panic.

“Right! I also bought this.” Thaldor holds out the bag of holding. “And here’s your change.”

“I’ll take hold of that,” says Aurelia. She takes the bag of holding. “It’s less likely that they’ll search me.”

With that, they head to the market to buy supplies and rations before the shops begin closing.

⁂

They also return to the Blue Griffon to warn Jonas and Dusk about the man Aurelia confronted.

“I found someone watching the inn,” Aurelia tells them. “There’s definitely someone following you. And I think it’s about that package.”

“What have we gotten ourselves into?” asks Dusk. We’ll leave in the morning for Basinglen. Thank you for the warning.”

Outside the Blue Griffon, Valya opines that they should eat at a restaurant that night. “I’m tired of rations,” she says.

⁂

They head to a restaurant Valya had heard of called the Mithril Spoon, with influences from Amyanthalas’s fruit salads but also from the local Crystalport seafood. It’s quite pricy—5 sp each. Valya covers the cost of the meals. Like many of the more traditional Whitestone Valley restaurants, they sit at low table, with no chairs.

During the dinner, Valya asks the waitress about rumors of imps at Daykin estate.

“Oh,” says the waitress, “my brother’s friend says he saw them with his own eyes! Quite scary, he says. Flapping bat wings. Do you think the Wood Scorpions trained them? Or what if Asmodeus is involved! What if devils are conspiring against the royal family?”

“Do the Daykins come to this place?”

“I heard they did last year, but I wasn’t working here at the time.”

“Do they go anywhere else?”

“I wouldn’t know—I’m just the waiter. And I’m not supposed to talk about that.”

“But waiters hear things…” Valya passes her 1 gp.

“Oh! Well… I have heard some things, what do you want to know?”

“Anything interesting about the Daykins. Surely there’s something you could tell me?”

“Well… you didn’t hear this from me, but my friend Elyse works at the Golden Goblet, and she says, a few months ago the Duchess and several of her friends had a meal there, and, well, no one said anything about it to their faces, but my friend says the Duchess smelled like sulphur.”

“What was your name again?”

“Marie.”

“Thank you, Marie.” Valya hands her 10 gp.

Marie’s eyes go wide. “Thank you!”

Well, I guess we’ll make plans at the Golden Goblet,” says Valya. This is why I wanted to go to dinner. If you’re going to move among high society, you need to know how to get information this way.”

Aurelia raises an eyebrow. “We’re moving among high society now?”

“Once I find my brother, I’ll be able to act openly again. I’m tired of hiding,” says Valya.

Sunday, December 9, 652 AU

The next morning, Valya tells the rest of the party about a vision she had overnight.

Fergus and a middle-aged man with short brown hair and the look of a mercenary are sitting on opposite sides of a desk in a cramped office lit by a single lantern. Fergus has his back to the door, which is guarded by two hooded figures.

“I am displeased that you and Harmony went behind my back,” says the older man. “I told you to abandon the teleportation plan, and yet you two persisted. The truth is, Fergus, we can’t let the hydra be killed.”

“What?” ask Fergus, confused. “Why not?”

“If the Pool were restored, Crystalport would do everything in its power to bring it under their control, to ‘protect’ it. Such powerful healing magic… It would end up under the control of the very people we are trying to fight. That is an advantage I am not willing to let them have.

“I was wondering what to do with you… You disobeyed my direct orders. Ordinarily…” Perrit trails off and stares.

“But it seems fortune has smiled upon us both. You can still be useful to us after all—Captain Woodmore has invited you and your friends to the upcoming gala.” He opens a drawer of his desk, reaches in, then pushes a small dagger and a wooden figurine shaped like a scorpion across the table to Fergus.

Fergus stares for a moment at the knife. “I see.”

“The dagger is laced with wyvern poison as an extra measure. The figurine is a token of refuge—snap it and you will be instantly teleported to our safe house. They won’t suspect you. You’ll have done the people of Castalia a great favor, Fergus.”

He pauses. “This will be a clean operation. But if, for whatever reason, you were to fail to kill the Prince, we would have a strike team ready and waiting outside. I’d prefer not to have to use them. They tend to be… messy.”

“…I’ll do what must be done,” Fergus says slowly, and nods.

“I haven’t had a vision like this before,” says Valya.

“Perhaps it is Soleil helping us?” offers Aurelia.

“Why would she send a vision to me?”

“I’m sure she has her reasons. Do you know where the vision took place?”

“It was a basement, I think. But I don’t know where.”

“I can’t believe anyone would withhold healing magic from the people for such terrible motives.”

“Remind me to tell you something of the politics in Thamior sometime.”

After breakfast, they head out from Crystalport along the road to Rimehollow around Corentin’s Mirror. It’s a chilly morning, their breath visible in the air. They pass farmers bringing gourds and other late-season vegetables to market before winter truly sets in. After a few hours, they make it to Rimehollow. Rather than stop, they decide to pass right through on their way to Silverdale.

Half an hour north of Rimehollow, they’re stopped by an elderly peasant. “I would avoid the north if I were you, travelers. Surely you’ve heard the rumors?”

“Of walking dead?” replies Aurelia.

“Oh, yes, and even worse!”

“What do you mean?” asks Valya.

“There are things there worse than the undead; shadow people, undead animals, don’t think there aren’t undead wolves! You can hear them howl from time to time.”

“Do they ever come near town?” asks Valya.

“By the grace of Corentin, no.”

“We appreciate the warning,” says Aurelia.

“Not enough to heed it, it seems.” The old man sighs. “Well, what can you do with adventuring types.”

“Has anyone else come this way recently?” asks Valya.

“Now that you mention it, a boat went up the river maybe a month ago. I just hope they went up the Lune at the fork, and didn’t continue on the Blackwater. Good hunting in the western forest. But the boat was curious—as far as I could tell, it was unmanned. Figured it was wizards from Crystalport.”

⁂

They continue north for an hour and a half. The trail hasn’t been maintained in decades, and as the farmland gives way to forest, the trail turns into mud and then disappears entirely into the underbrush.

After another hour of walking, Thaldohr notices that up in the canopy, through the thinning brown and orange leaves, there are giant spiderwebs.

“Those must be large spiders,” says Aurelia.

“Hopefully they have better prey than us,” says Valya.

After another few minutes of walking, Aurelia and Valya are each suddenly hit by a spray of web from somewhere up in the trees. Aurelia burns the web with a fire bolt, freeing herself, but a giant spider skitters down from the trees and bites her. She manages to resist the majority of the poison, so the spider swipes at her with its claws, barely missing.

Another spider descends next to Thaldohr, who narrowly avoids getting bitten, but the spider successfully slashes Thaldohr with its claws. Thaldohr swings his warhammer at the spider in retaliation, cracking its carapace.

Valya casts sword burst to free herself from her own web, then rushes next to Aurelia and casts hex on the adjacent spider. Aurelia casts burning hands at the spider then casts healing word on herself. The spider, seeing that Aurelia is more damaged, swipes at Aurelia again and attempts to bite her, but misses with both attacks.

The other spider manages to get a claw through Thaldohr’s armor, but misses with its bite. Thaldohr swings his warhammer again, but misses.

Valya casts booming blade and stabs at the spider with her rapier, but it dodges out of the way. She then drops her rapier and brings out Soul-Snatcher, her double-bladed scimitar.

Aurelia casts another healing word on herself, then casts sacred flame at the nearest spider. The spider, though badly wounded at this point, is undaunted, and ensnares Aurelia in another web. It then drags Aurelia up the nearest tree, shrugging off Valya’s retaliatory attack as it passes by. “Help!” shouts Aurelia.

“You monster! Give Aurelia back!” shouts Valya.

The other spider shoots another web and ensnares Thaldohr, skittering up a tree with him as well. Thaldohr swings his warhammer wildly, but fails to hit the spider.

Valya casts lightning lure, pulling the spider and Aurelia back to the ground and singing the spider with electricity. Aurelia, still trapped in the web, casts sacred flame at the spider, but misses, so she casts shield of faith on herself. The spider attacks Valya, but misses.

Thaldohr continues to swing his warhammer, and this time he manages to crack the spider’s exoskeleton.

Valya swings Soul-Snatcher at the spider, which shrieks and falls to the ground, motionless. Then Valya swings at the web around Aurelia. Unfortunately, as the scimitar does psychic damage, the web is entirely unaffected, so Valya runs toward the other spider instead (“Hey!” says Aurelia), climbing the tree to chase after Thaldohr.

Aurelia tries to burn her web with fire bolt again, but this time she is only able to burn part of it—she is still trapped.

The remaining spider shoots another web at Valya, hoping to skitter away in peace, but Valya dodges it and continues climbing. Thaldohr, meanwhile, tries to free himself, but his warhammer does nothing against the web. Valya drops Soul-Snatcher and uses another lightning lure, pulling the spider down to a lower branch and bringing it near death.

Aurelia finishes freeing herself with another fire bolt and runs to the base of the other tree, picking up Valya’s dropped scimitar. The spider turns around and bites Valya, but Valya resists the poison. Thaldohr swings at the spider, but misses again. Valya teleports Soul-Snatcher back to her hand, then casts booming blade and slashes at the spider, which explodes and falls to the ground.

Valya lowers Thaldohr’s web to the ground, where Aurelia cuts him free with a dagger.

“Thank you!” says Thaldohr.

“Are you injured?” asks Aurelia.

“It’s just a bruise.”

“More than just the undead, indeed.”

Aurelia casts a prayer of healing to restore some of their health.

Meanwhile, Valya inspects the webs in the nearby trees. It seems the spiders have been eating small birds and squirrels, but in one web, she notices some movement. “Are you okay?” asks Valya. There is no response. Valya cuts the web, and out of it falls an undead rabbit, which hisses at Valya and lunges at her. Valya quickly casts another sword burst and the zombie rabbit dies.

Aurelia tries to extract venom from the spiders, but without alchemist’s supplies or a poisoner’s kit, she just punctures the poison sack, dribbling poison all over her dagger.

⁂

They continue through the forest, and soon they find themselves on the outskirts of Silverdale. Among the trees are old farmhouses, covered in vines, and partially collapsed. A pile of bricks lies nearby, the remains of a collapsed chimney. Although the cobblestone streets toward the center of town prevent the trees from growing as thickly, the trees appear to be winning long-term. A chill breeze passes through the town, but they don’t see any movement, living or undead.

Aurelia offers to scout ahead, removing her brooch of living essence in case it helps her blend in with the locals.

Valya links with her mind. This should let us communcate for a short while.

Did you learn this at the academy? replies Aurelia. How are you doing this?

I’ve always had a knack for this sort of thing. This will only last a few minutes.

Aurelia sneaks further into town while Valya tells Thaldohr about Aurelia’s encounter with the gelatinous cube, theorizing that Aurelia actually died at the time but was brought back by Soleil.

Aurelia notices dead bodies on the streets. Most of them appear to be former undead townsfolk, each peppered with arrows, presumably by the Crystalport city guard. As she turns a corner, she comes across the town square. Standing in the square are around thirty zombies. She quickly darts back behind a building, but the zombies are all just standing there, motionless, and don’t seem to have noticed her. But Aurelia notices that each of the zombies has a shiny ring on their finger, untarnished by rust.

More importantly, she also notices that on the opposite side of the square is a luxurious estate with a large smithy connected to its western side! The Kildares must have been quite wealthy. Aurelia begins walking around the town square, giving it a wide berth, to get closer to the smithy. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she feels ice-cold claws rake across her back. She stifles a scream to avoid attracting the undead, turns, but doesn’t see anyone before she faints from the sudden shock.

Valya notices that her link to Aurelia has suddenly dropped, so she and Thaldohr run after her. They see the undead in the town square, but Aurelia is nowhere to be seen. Valya looks for footprints, and after searching around for a few minutes finds fresh bloodstains on the ground, along with signs that Aurelia’s body has been dragged into a nearby house.

Valya sneaks up to the broken window and sees a very strange scene.

⁂

Aurelia, waking up, finds herself in an decaying room, propped up in a chair. In front of her, on a table, is a set of chipped teacups and a teapot, all empty. Sitting in a chair across from Aurelia is a set of clothing, seemingly worn by an invisible person—a moth-eaten floral hat, a string of pearls, and a mismatched set of various layers. Aurelia hears “Huhh. Huhhh,” as a teacup floats in the air towards her. “Huhh! Huuuuhh!” Whatever it is, it seems to want Aurelia to take the teacup.

Aurelia takes the teacup, not wanting to anger the creature, and another teacup soon floats up to the invisible creature’s face. It pretends to take a sip from the teacup, and says “Uuuughhhgh”. Aurelia also pretends to take a sip, and the creature makes a noise resembling a laugh and then starts to mumble unintelligible nonsense. Aurelia sees Valya watching through the window.

“What the heck?” Valya whispers to Thaldohr. Then, reconnecting telepathically with Aurelia, Are you okay? What’s going on?

I have no idea! replies Aurelia. This creature attacked me and I woke up here.

The creature continues to babble at Aurelia while pretending to sip tea. Then, another invisible creature wearing once-fancy clothing enters the room. It, too, picks up a teacup and joins in the nonsensical “conversation”.

What should we do? Valya asks Aurelia.

Help me!

Can you try talking to these things?

They only grunt!

Aurelia tries to pantomime finishing her tea and getting up as if to leave, but an invisible clawed arm pulls her back into her seat and forces the teacup back in her hands. It then pretends to pour more tea from the teapot.

Valya, having seen enough, kicks open the door next to the window, shouts “Let her go!”, rushes into the room, and kicks over the table. The teacups and teapot fall to the ground and shatter. This greatly upsets the creatures, one of whom grabs Aurelia and pulls her close, as if to protect her.

Suddenly, Valya feels claws along her back—she has been attacked by a third creature that wasn’t wearing clothes.

Thaldohr climbs in through the broken window, and notices that he can see the creatures’ reflections in the shattered glass on the floor—they’re grotesque, faceless shadowy humanoids. He swings his warhammer at one of the clothed creatures, but misses.

The creature retaliates by slashing at Thaldohr, and the other one slashes at Valya, dealing massive damage in a critical hit. Aurelia channels divinity to cast turn undead, dealing enough radiant damage to destroy the creatures.

Shaken, Thaldohr tells them about the glass, and Valya uses a shard to look at the invisible bodies. Aurelia thinks they might be skulks—soulless shells of travelers lost in the shadowfell, pantomiming their former lives.

Aurelia casts another prayer of healing, and they decide to rest for a while in this abandoned house. Aurelia explains that she saw the smithy on the other side of the square. They take a look around the house—it appears to have been the home of a moderately wealthy merchant family. In an adjacent room are three bodies, shredded to death by claws. They appear to have been adventurers. Valya thinks they’ve been here a year. On their bodies they find rope, pickaxes, crowbars, and a collapsible shovel—it’s likely that they were raiders, looking for loot. Aurelia performs last rites.

⁂

Twenty minutes into their rest, they hear the fluttering of wings, and then a thump on the roof. A minute or so later, there’s more fluttering, and then nothing.

“An undead bird?” asks Aurelia.

“It could be a regular one,” says Valya, though she knows it probably wasn’t.

It’s late afternoon by the time they finish their rest, and they make their way toward the smithy. “We should be quick—best to be out of here by sunset,” says Aurelia.

They approach the smithy—really, a manor with a smithy attached to it—from the east to scope it out. The south-eastern corner of the manor is an enclosed area surrounded by a tall wall. It’s a garden, judging by the vegetation spilling over the walls. Aurelia hears a low, persistent sobbing coming from somewhere within the garden. She gets up on Valya’s shoulders to peer over the wall, but can’t see anything through the dense, overgrown foliage.

The front of the manor, to the south, faces the zombie-ingested square, so they try the back of the manor to the north. They find another enclosed garden, running along the entire back of the manor. The wall has collapsed in several places, giving them easier access. There’s a servants’ entrance to the western side of the back wall, and several picture windows, the glass long since broken.

The largest window, in the middle of the north wall, looks into what was once a luxurious sitting room. Valya boosts Thaldohr and Aurelia through the broken window, then follows in after them. On the floor are two bodies—former undead, cut to pieces. The door on the opposite side of the room is slightly ajar. Peering through it, they see that it opens up onto a large hall. Two staircases on either side of the hall lead up to the second story, and the walls hold the remains of tapestries displaying various scenes of dwarven smiths. The floor is decorated with a colorful mosaic depicting the Kildare family crest. Over a dozen bodies are scattered around the hall.

The bodies, many of which are missing limbs, prove inert. They open a few more doors on the northern side of the mansion, looking for a library or an office, but they only find guest rooms. To the west, they find a door with a glass window, long since broken, that opens onto the outdoor smithy. Anvils, forges, and the remains of wooden tables clutter the area, interspersed with more bodies. However, since the smithy is directly open to the main square where the zombies are, they decide not to open the door.

Sticking her head out of the door’s broken glass, Valya can see another door in the north side of the smithy, leading back into the manor. Curiously, this room seems to be inaccessible from the rest of the manor. “That could be important,” says Valya.

“I’d rather not attract the zombies,” says Aurelia. “We can explore it later.”

They head back to the main hall and take the stairs to the second story. At the top of the landing are an ornate set of double doors, ajar. Inside are two animate zombies! They moan and begin stumbling toward the party. Valya rushes foward and slashes at the closest zombie, and Aurelia casts sacred flame. Thaldohr bashes the other zombie with his warhammer, knocking the head from its shoulders in one swing. However, the head, still animate, rolls over to Thaldohr and bites him in the leg. The headless body continues stumbling around as well.

Valya and Aurelia finish off their zombie, while Thaldohr takes another swing at his, knocking off one of its arms. The arm, as feared, remains animate, trying to grab at Aurelia’s ankles. Valya stabs the head with her scimitar, Aurelia disintegrates the severed arm with a sacred flame, and Thaldohr finishes off the torso. Thankfully, none of the remaining body parts remain active.

The room, the now notice, is a library. Many of the books lie rotted on the floor, damaged by water dripping through the ceiling. Searching through the remaining books, they appear to be romance and adventure novels.

“Oh, my favorite,” says Thaldohr.

Aurelia looks through the drawers of the desk in the back of the room, but the only contain office supplies. The top-right drawer is locked. Valya picks the lock, and opens the drawer. Inside are several pieces of parchment and a nice, leather-bound green book, safe from water damage. It’s title is Kildare, 558-II, and inside is a sales log, detailing all the smithy’s orders in the summer of 558 AU. It’s completely filled—presumably there is a III somewhere.

“This must be one of the books we’re after!” says Aurelia. “But where are the rest?”

They take the time to more thoroughly search through the library. Valya finds, in-between an elven romance novel and a list of the great deeds of Castalian heroes, a book titled The Great Smithies of Castalia. She pockets it. Then Valya searches through the corpses, finding coins, a bracelet with several pieces of sardonyx, and an elixir of some sort in one of the zombie’s pockets. The elixir’s label, long faded and hard to read, says “For your cough. Dr…”. Most importantly, she finds a keychain.

The other rooms on the upper floor prove to be guest rooms, wash rooms, and closets. They find more gold and jewelry, including a pair of star rose quartz earrings. As Valya removes the earrings from a corpse, Aurelia admonishes her: “You shouldn’t be stealing from the dead!”

“They’re not using it anymore,” replies Valya. “And look how pretty they are!” She holds them up to her own ears.

“Please tell me you’re not going to wear earrings taken from a dead body.”

“If the person was alive, and then killed, but then turned into a zombie, and then un-animated, is it actually a dead body?” asks Thaldohr. Aurelia sighs.

Back downstairs, they head toward the front half of the manor. Attached to the main hall is an entry hall, which connects to another sitting room. The back wall of the sitting room contains a window, opening onto the enclosed garden. Valya cautiously approaches the window, and hears the quiet sobbing. She peers through, trying to remain unseen herself. Half-hidden in the undergrowth, Valya spies something—a patch of human skin, visible through the weeds. Is someone lying on the ground out there? But as soon as she blinks, it darts further into the underbrush. The crying abruptly stops. Valya also sees a door into the manor on the north side of the garden, mercifully closed.

Valya pulls away from the window and explains what she saw. “Well, that’s disturbing,” says Aurelia. Valya and Thaldohr agree.

They’re left with two more areas to explore; the kitchen and servants’ area to the west, or a few more rooms to the north of this sitting room, which seem to connect to the garden. They opt for the servants’ area.

The kitchen doesn’t prove interesting, so they move to the coat room next to the front entrance. Valya starts rifling through the pockets of the tattered cloaks. Suddenly, something shakes her hand! She quickly pulls her hand out, to find a disembodied hand grabbing it. Four more crawling claws jump out of the pockets of the cloaks, each clawing at Valya. Everyone is surprised, and the claws each take an extra attack, bringing Valya almost near death. “Get these things off of me!” she shrieks.

Thaldohr swings his hammer, crushing one of the claws against the tile floor. Valya casts sword burst, which thankfully destroys the remaining hands.

“I hope this serves as a lesson about robbing from the dead,” says Aurelia.

“Nope!” says Valya as she resumes rifling through the pockets. She pulls out a beautiful bracelet of translucent green chrysoprase beads.

Beyond the coat room is an antechamber, and beyond that is the front entrance to the manor. On either side is a small guard room. Each room contains the body of a zombie—presumably guards who were turned during the catastrophe, trapped in their tiny rooms until the Crystalport city guard killed them through the arrow slits.

Valya and Thaldohr each take a chair from the guard rooms and wedge it under the handles of the main entrance, in case the zombie horde is later attracted to the manor.

“I guess the only place we haven’t looked is the small hall near the garden,” says Aurelia. They back to the sitting room and explore the northern hall, which has three doors. One door leads into the garden, while the other two, which are slightly ajar, lead to more rooms. They hear a soft growling coming from the room on the left.

Leaving the room with the growling for last, they choose the other door, and find a master bedroom. A corpse in the room, wearing the tattered remains of expensive clothing, is wearing a ring with the crest of the Kildare family. Valya pockets it. The room itself has several dressers and the remains of a fancy canopy bed. In the back of the bedroom is another door. Valya peers in and finds a washroom. Disturbingly, the tub is filled to the brim with severed limbs. She creeps back to Aurelia and Thaldohr, waiting outside the bedroom.

“The bathtub is full of limbs,” says Valya. “Why is the bathtub full of limbs?”

“There’s some very dark necromancy in this place,” says Aurelia.

They look through the crack in the door of the other room, where the growling is coming from, and see another bedroom. A limbless zombie is twisting on the floor, growling and sputtering to itself. They decide not to make any noise, walk around the impotent zombie, and quickly search the room. Thaldohr finds a fancy bottle containing some sort of oil.

“We still haven’t found an office,” says Aurelia. “Do you think it could be that detached room north of the forge?”

“Should we distract the zombies?” asks Valya.

“It’s strange that their office would be inaccessible from inside the manor… Maybe there’s a secret door?” suggests Aurelia.

They return to the hall adjacent to the room in question, and after a few minutes Thaldohr discovers a crack hidden in the mortar. Some more searching, and they find that one of the stones in the wall can be depressed. There’s a click, and the wall swings open, revealing an office!

The walls are decorated with shelves upon shelves of antique blacksmithing tools. There’s a beautiful walnut desk in the center of the room, and two doors—one with thick glass opening up onto the forge, and another heavy wooden door reinforced with iron bands on the opposite wall.

Additionally, they notice that all noise of wind immediately stops when they cross into the office. It seems the room is magically shielded from outside noise.

There is another green leather-bound tome lying on the desk, titled Kildare 558-III, but no other books. Inspecting the shelves more thoroughly, they find three crystal vials, each containing a small amount of liquid, which they take. The keys they found open the desk drawers—inside, they finds sketches and blueprints of weapons. Valya flips through them, looking for anything similar to Grieving Edge, but doesn’t see anything familiar. She stows the parchment in her pack to inspect more thoroughly later.

The keys don’t open the iron door, so Valya tries to pick the lock with her thieves’ tools. However, her hand slips. Abruptly, they can hear noise from outside the office again. “Did the silence spell drop?” asks Aurelia. As if in response to her question, an ear-piercing alarm begins to sound from the door. Fearing the worst, Aurelia looks out the door and sees that the zombies in the square are moving toward their location. Worse still, they all hear what sounds like a crowd of stomping and slapping limbs rushing down the halls of the manor toward them. “That’s the tub full of limbs,” Valya guesses, a grim expression on her face.

Aurelia reacts first. She casts bless on the party, then swings the secret passage shut. Valya tries to pick the lock again, and this time, thankfully, she manages to open it. Beyond, she sees a spiral staircase descending somewhere below. She rushes down the stairs. Thaldohr follows behind her, and Aurelia takes up the rear. They hear a loud boom as something crashes into the secret door, and Aurelia swings the wooden door closed behind her.

The stairs descend fifteen feet, ending in another door, this one made of metal. It does not have a visible lock, but has the crest of the Kildare family etched into it. Valya tries messing with the two sconces on either side of the door, but they appear to be bolted into the wall and not part of any secret mechanism.

In a flash of insight, Valya takes the ring with the Kildare crest out of her pocket and touches it to the door—it flashes and swings open. Inside, they find another library. The walls are filled with shelves of green leather books, each marked with a year. They rush into the room and start picking up books and throwing them into the bag of holding.

Meanwhile, up above, the zombies begin pounding on the door to the forge, and the mass of limbs continues to throw itself against the secret door to the office.

One of the shelves, in the corner, holds a shortsword resting in a stand—it’s quite fancy, encrusted in emeralds, and has the Kildare family crest on the pommel. Thaldohr takes it. “This is very good craftsmanship!”

Suddenly, they hear a deafening boom as the secret door above them collapses into a pile of rubble. They freeze, trying to hear what’s going on, but curiously, the only noise they can hear now is the alarm and the pounding of the zombies on the outer door. Whatever the limbs are doing now, they can’t hear it.

Ten minutes later, they’ve thrown all the books into the bag of holding, and the alarm stops sounding. The only noise is the distant, incessant pounding of the zombies.

“Are we ready to go back up and fight that thing?” asks Valya.

“It’s almost night—maybe we should rest in this vault for now, and escape in the morning,” says Aurelia.

They close the vault door, barricade it with the now-empty shelves, and set up camp for the night. “You know,” says Valya, “it’s a good thing we got this bag of holding. If we had to transport the books with Tenser’s floating disk, I don’t think we could move fast enough to escape.”

Before they retire for the night, Aurelia takes some time to inspect the door to the vault. As expected, it’s magically protected. “I think,” says Aurelia, “that if Valya hadn’t thought to touch the ring to the vault door, it would have cast flesh to stone on anyone who attempted to open it.” A disturbing thought.

Monday, December 10, 652 AU

The following morning, they hear the pounding of the zombies less frequently. It sounds like there are only a few left—the others must have wandered off throughout the night. The mass of limbs hasn’t made any noise the whole night. They wonder what it’s doing.

They remove the barricades and exit the vault. The stairwell empty, so they cautiously make their way to the top of the stairs. Aurelia studies the magical sigils on this side of the door, and confirms that the alarm won’t trigger if it’s opened from this side. Valya casts armor of Agathys on herself as a precaution, then opens the door.

Unfortunately, the mass of limbs is waiting for them in the office. As soon as Valya opens the door, the tangle of severed body parts, known to necromancers as a soul shaker, begins stomping and clawing toward her.

Thaldohr rushes ahead of Valya and swings at the soul shaker, but misses. In return, the soul shaker lunges at Thaldohr, kicking and punching, and grapples him in the process. Valya teleports to other side of the soul shaker—not for positional advantage, but simply to gain resistance to damage for a round—and attacks, but also misses. Aurelia casts bless on the party.

Thaldohr brings his warmhammer down on the soul shaker and makes contact, crunching some of the bones. He swings a second time, landing a critical hit, but the soul shaker is unfazed. It reaches for Valya, but Valya dodges out of its grasp. Suddenly, Thaldohr feels the hands grappling him turn ice-cold as they channel necrotic energy—he manages to resist whatever the soul shaker was trying to do.

Valya swings her scimitar at it twice, and Aurelia casts guiding bolt, dealing a massive amount of radiant damage. All the while, the zombies outside continue to batter the door ineffectually, their interest renewed by the sounds of battle.

Thaldohr crushes more of the limbs with his warhammer, but again feels the hands turn ice-cold, and this time he takes necrotic damage, sapping him of his vitality and also healing the soul shaker.

Valya slashes twice more with her scimitar. The limbs of the soul shaker are flailing, broken, and bloody, and Aurelia thinks the unholy abomination is close to death. She casts sacred flame, but misses.

Thaldohr brings his warhammer down on the center of the soul shaker, and with that final blow, it collapses into a pile of limbs… out of which burst six more crawling claws! Three claw at Valya, but they are each destroyed in retaliation by her armor of Agathys. The other three jump at Thaldohr, but he dodges out of their way. Valya destroys two of the remaining crawling claws with one swing of her scimitar each, and Aurelia destroys the last one with a sacred flame.

The battle won, Aurelia glances out of the door’s small window frame and notices that each zombie is indeed wearing a silver ring. She also notices that on the other side of the square, on the balcony of a ruined building, is a woman. She seated at a table, wearing all black, including a floral hat of black roses and ravens’ feathers, and is watching Aurelia through opera glasses. She puts down her teacup and waves at Aurelia. Aurelia ducks back out of view.

“We need to leave,” says Aurelia. “Now. There’s a woman out there, and she seems to be either a more advanced undead or a necromancer.”

“Almost certainly a necromancer—these limbs aren’t your average undead.” Valya searches through the limbs, and finds a silver ring on one of the arms. She inspects it—it’s a plain silver band, with an inscription; M. and F. Talos. “Oh! This is the same as the ring we found at Vargrath Keep!” She pockets the ring.

“We can investigate this further once we return to Crystalport,” says Aurelia. “She knows we’re here, but perhaps we can lose her in the forest.”

“If she’s just drinking tea, how do we know she’ll even attack us?” asks Valya.

Aurelia looks back out the window—the woman is nowhere in sight. “Oh dear.”

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” says Valya. She casts armor of Agathys again.

They sneak their way back out of the manor, around the town square, and back into the forest toward Rimehollow. However, ten minutes later, they hear howling behind them. The wolves, or whatever they are, are close, and getting closer.

Knowing they can’t outrun wolves, they decide to climb the trees and wait. A minute later, the wolves appear. They’re definitely undead. One is missing its lower jaw, and the other looks strange, but no one can quite place it.

Thaldohr shoots at them with his crossbow, but they swiftly dodge out of the way. One of the wolves then runs to the base of the tree, and begins climbing—they now notice it doesn’t have normal paws, but instead has strange mucus-covered suction cup-like appendages. It snaps at Thaldohr, but Thaldohr pulls his leg out of the way.

The other wolf, with the missing jaw, gurgles, and ejects a spray of acid from its mouth that hits the entire party. “Gross!” complains Aurelia. She casts spiritual weapon, placing it next to the jawless wolf. The weapon swings at the wolf, but misses. She then casts fire bolt, which hits the wolf and singes its fur. Finally, she climbs a little further out onto one of the tree limbs, so they don’t all get caught in an acid blast again.

Valya jumps down the tree to attack the jawless wolf, striking it twice with her scimitar. Thaldohr strikes the other wolf in the face with his warhammer. It attempts to bite him in retaliation, but can’t get its teeth through Thaldohr’s armor. The jawless wolf swipes its claws at Valya, catching her in the leg and knocking her prone, but takes damage in return from armor of Agathys.

Aurelia casts bless on the party again, then attacks the jawless wolf with her spiritual weapon, which hits this time. Valya slices the jawless wolf with her scimitar, which whimpers and collapses to the ground. She then strikes the other wolf with her second attack. Thaldohr slams the remaining wolf with his warhammer. The wolf again retaliates, but again cannot get through Thaldohr’s armor.

Aurelia misses the remaining wolf with her spiritual weapon, but follows it up with a fire bolt that hits true.

Then, in the distance, they hear a female voice. “Yoo-hoo! New friends! Please don’t make me come after you. Have you met my pets? They’ll bring you back to me. Maybe not all in one piece, but I can stitch you back together!”

Valya, distracted by the voice, misses with both of her attacks, but Thaldohr manages to crush the wolf’s head in. It falls to the ground, motionless. The wolves taken care of, Thaldohr jumps out of the tree, and they all start running as fast as they can toward Rimehollow… ❦