Post by Dead Greyhawk on Jan 6, 2007 13:45:11 GMT -5
Al is put in charge of packing the dragon horde, a job for which he is uniquely suited. He arranges the coins by mint and type, packing them in small, tight bundles in marked sacks. While Al chortles and stacks the coinage, Otto suggests that he send Bran, his raven animal friend, back to speak with the griffons or the bird-people, telling them that the dragon is dead. The idea of sending the bird off with news is thought to be a good one, but Jasper and Cedrus both agree that the griffons probably would just eat the bird. The bird-people will have to be the recipients of Bran’s message. After a long talk with Jasper, Bran is ready to go, flying up and out of the chimney vent overhead.
The mages heal Otto’s armor, so that it has some protective value and will not shatter if struck hard. Otto is discontented though, having not really wanted to be out hunting dragons to help griffons to help bird-people. He decides it would be best for him, and for the Company, if he took guard watch alone, up at the top of the chimney, where the dragon must have come in and out of the cave. Oaklock arranges to fly Otto up to the top of the chimney.
The view from the top of the chimney is magnificent, if cold. The air is crisp and somewhat thin. Otto finds a secure spot and sits guard, watching for any aerial enemies. With the cloud cover below him, Otto can see the snow-covered shapes of the surrounding mountaintops and a large glacier to the north northwest. The glacier is a stark contrast to the dark forests on the mountainsides below.
As Otto watches over two days, the glacier draws his attention more and more. At night, strange lights sometimes play over its surface, while during the day, the glacier glows as if with an internal blue fire. When Oaklock brings him more food and warmth, he requests Winthrop’s telescope. With the magnifying lenses, he can see small spots of darkness on the glacier. At first Otto thinks that it is just the beginnings of snow blindness, but the small spots do not move as he moves his vision about. They appear to actually be objects on the glacier, objects that move under their own power.
Otto squints at the glacier, convincing himself that what he sees is a large sledge being drawn on the glacier, met and surrounded by larger creatures. Otto muses about the glacier, wondering where it is relative to the ogres at the Davish headwaters. Perhaps the creatures are ogres or giants, and the sledge is the shipment sent up from the ogre camp. When the Company is ready to travel again, the coinage stacked and placed within Winthrop’s chest, Otto believes he has a new target for the Company.
The Company hikes back towards the griffons, wending their way back through the mountains. The griffons’ canyon still appears as before, lorded over by the god-bird and the harpy chicks. This time, rather than simply rely on luck to cross the gap, Winthrop enchants the Company into invisibility. Once he is in the griffons’ cave, Winthrop calls out to the griffons, wand at the ready in case the griffons do not come in a friendly manner. Nothing responds to his call, and he carefully strides forward, alert to the slightest of motions. When Raven and Otto appear beside him, Winthrop whips around, wand in hand, and only the firmest of mental discipline stops him from steaming Raven and Otto.
The griffons appear to have vacated their cave. Nothing, not even small rodents, stirs within the cave. Bones of largish animals, including human-sized creatures, possibly simply humans, fill the back end of the cave to a sizeable depth. A dozen large nests, made of twigs, grasses, bones, and tufts of hair and fur, dot the cave. Otto cautiously approaches the nearest nest, while Raven, remembering the giant ticks in the chimera lair, decides to let Otto approach alone.
No ticks leap out on Otto. Instead, he turns back and hisses, “It’s empty and has been so for at least two days. I think they’ve moved on. But look what they’ve left behind!” Otto reaches into the nest and pulls forth a large chain belt, intricately worked with gold. The three of them search through the other nests, Winthrop taking the time to enchant his vision to detect magical auras. No other treasures are found, but one of the weapons stuck into a nest, a scimitar, radiates magic. They pack up their new found treasures and leave, hurrying out from under the god-bird’s bright gaze.
The Company retraces its steps again, heading back to the aerie of the bird-people. The trail is well-worn, and the Company grows somewhat lax in their awareness of their surroundings. It is only when they are next to a giant, furred snake that they realize their danger. As the twenty-foot long, two-foot thick snake rears up, hissing, to attack, Jasper quickly hisses out, “We’re not easy food, and there are many of us! If you leave us alone, we will do the same to you!”
The snake is oddly accepting of Jasper’s logic and hisses briefly with him. The furred snake tells of several large, grey two-legged creatures in the area, probably stone giants from the description. The snake thought to take one, but, like the Company, there were too many and likely not easy food. With a small amount of rations, the snake is bribed and slithers off into the mountains.
Somewhat tired by the exhausting hikes over the sides of mountains, they are pleased to be able to rest on the ledge beneath the bird-people’s aerie. Again, the deputation of bird-people spiral down to the Company. Their former guide is accompanied by Bran, who appears somewhat indifferent to Otto’s presence, until he is offered some juicy dragon bits. The five reticent bird-people gather at the far end of the ledge, while the iridescent bird-woman and her two guards speak with the Company through Bran.
When the Company confirms that the dragon has been slain, and the lion-birds have moved back into their old hunting grounds, the bird-people are ecstatic. They were uncertain whether Bran was trustworthy or not, as some ravens are known to stretch the truth. The rest of the Company looks at Raven and choruses, “No, of course not! Ravens never stretch the truth!”
The bird-people throw a festival for the Company, bringing them small animals to be cooked and sharing a fine fermented drink. The Company decides it wiser not to know what was fermented. During the festival, which involves much interpretive dancing on the part of the bird-people, first Raven and then Winthrop are approached by the iridescent-plumed bird-woman. To Raven she gives six small, clear gems, quartz, apparently the bounty of the bird-people. Jasper translates that she wishes the Company to take them as tokens of their appreciation. Raven graciously accepts.
To Winthrop, she gives a small, clear gem that appears to glow from within with a bluish light. The light pulsates slightly and is very faint. Jasper is unable to translate for the bird-woman, so Winthrop falls back on his magic, creating a common language for them to speak again. The bird-woman tells Winthrop that the gemstone is a blessing from the great air goddess. “When the need is great, the gemstone should be used, releasing the spirits within in the glory of the great air goddess,” she says, bobbing and ducking to Winthrop. Winthrop, while not understanding exactly what the gemstone is, or how to use it, thanks her and pockets it.
In the morning, the Company suffers a massive collective headache. Whatever was in the fermented drink is not treating them well. The Company staggers down off the mountain and works their way back towards the trolls’ cave. In a foul mood, they struggle against the bright skies and steep hills. Otto sees a pair of large creatures on the far side of a mountain ravine, separated from the Company by almost a thousand feet and a climb of two hundred feet. The hill giants seem to be blissfully unaware of the Company, and they continue to trod through the mountain air. Otto grinds his teeth together, partly from the headache and partly from the presence of the giants.
“Oaklock, I want to fly,” grunts Otto. Oaklock looks at him with a typical flat, elven stare, and then he casts an enchantment on Otto. Otto takes off through the air at the hill giants. The others in the Company are startled, but Winthrop recovers quickly, transforming into a gargoyle and chasing after him.
Otto’s lead increases when Winthrop takes a moment to summon his wards, and so Otto faces the two hill giants alone. Some strange gust of wind or odd sound must betray Otto, because one of the giants, clearly with greater than average intellect, detects his invisible flight. The giant grabs his comrade and swings him around, pointing at the invisible Otto. Boulders fly through the air at Otto as he flies in at them. Two of the four boulders hit Otto, knocking him somewhat askew and battering his now-repaired armor, but they do not dissuade him.
After weathering their boulder attacks, Otto repays them. His bastard sword strikes deeply, and Otto is not interested in prolonging the battle. Two quick blows finish off the first giant, and then two quick blows finish off the second giant while it turns to futilely flee. As Winthrop flaps up, Otto is chopping the giants’ heads free from their bodies. “Here, maybe they know something,” says Otto, as he tosses one of the heads to Winthrop’s stony form.
As it turns out, the giants don’t know much. Cedrus interrogates their souls, using Winthrop’s magics to question them. News of Nosnra’s defeat seems to be percolating through the mountains, but, rather than giving up on raiding from the Jotens, the Mountain King Groorg has been taking in those former clansmen of Nosnra. These two hill giants, Bloor and Reeto, were hiking to the Jotens, being bored and having run out of money, alcohol, and food, to join Groorg’s men.
The Company continues on to and camps at the trolls’ cave. Nothing and no one have taken possession of the trolls’ cave, and the slowly eroding pile of goblin ash stands as an imposing mark of the Company’s power. Seeing no sign that Dell has made it to this cave, they choose to carry on in the morning towards the Gnome Vale.
Only a few hours out from the trolls’ cave, Jasper alerts the Company to the sound of marching feet. Soon, everyone can hear the boots marching through the mountainside, an impressive feat given the lack of roads or wide trails. Al suddenly relaxes as the first of the approaching army comes into sight. A warband of dwarves appears over the next rise and then halts as they spot the Company.
The dwarves challenge the Company and their right to be here in the Crystalmists until Al steps forth. Al and the leader of the dwarves, Clangor Heavyhand, exchange insults about each other’s heritage, Al being called a hill rat and the other dwarf a stumpy stalagmite. Once normal relationships are established, the Company is invited to join the dwarves in their delving, only a half day away to the east. Since that is nominally the same direction as the Gnome Vale, the Company accepts.
The dwarves are from the Blackrock Clan, a clan of dwarves making its living mining burnable rock, rather than metal ore or gemstones. They sell their burnable rock to other dwarves in the area, such as the Iron Chasm Clan, and to those humans that make the trip up from Sterich. The dwarves have not seen those humans that usually come in a great caravan to purchase burnable rock and wonder what might be keeping them. The Company is awkwardly silent before Diego finally bursts out, “They’re probably moaning zombies by now. Sterich is full of dead and undead.”
The dwarves take the news poorly. They have heard what happened at Iron Chasm Steading, as Mongo Crushstone has been collecting young warriors to him in order to exact vengeance for the harm done to him and his brethren. To hear that even more ill has befallen the humans of Sterich saddens them greatly. As in all such circumstances, great sadness requires great drink, and the dwarves and the Company drown their sorrows in somber talk and a very heavy porter.
The dwarves of Blackrock Clan agree to take up the cause against the giants and humanoids and give succor to any humans they encounter. They are curious as to the plans of the Company though. Otto explains about the glacier and the ogre caves found at the Davish headwaters. He shows a chalice to the dwarves, and they are quite complimentary of the metalwork. The Company and the dwarves come to an agreement, trading the chalice and some coins for gemstones and mountaineering gear for the Company.
The Company rests a full day with the dwarves while the mountaineering gear is made and sized for humans. At the end of it, Clangor Heavyhand provides the Company with a rune-engraved stone about the size of a fist. “This stone will identify you as a friend of the Blackrock Clan to all dwarves in the Crystalmists. If you need introduction, or run afoul, show the stone, and you shall be treated as well as we would be in a similar situation. If you are not, those who mistreat you will answer to us. We wish you well in your fight against the giantkind and may see you again,” says Clangor Heavyhand, as the Company leaves.
The Company reaches the Gnome Vale a mere two days later, entering through the barricade at the front of the vale. As was the custom the last time they were here, the Company is bedded down in one of the stables in the vale itself, rather than in the warrens. Thus, they are both surprised and somewhat angered when Dell strides out from the warrens to meet with the Company. Looking well-rested and clean, Dell makes a much better impression than the beaten, scorched, and dirty Company.
“Heard all about the ruckus you raised the last time you were here. Do you think you can all behave?” smiles Dell at the others. Raven is torn between watching a battle erupt between the mages and finding out what happened to Dell and where Pavel is. In the end, his curiosity outweighs his wish for entertainment, and he restrains Winthrop from summoning grievous harm upon Dell.
Dell tells of his travails since fleeing Nosnra’s steading. He had flown invisibly down the road leaving the steading, searching for a way out or a hiding place that the Company could rest in and avoid undead pursuit. One minute, the Company was following him. The next, he looked back, and the Company was gone. Dell claims that he spent many hours looking for the Company in the forest, avoiding giantkind and cloud demons, until his magics could no longer keep him aloft.
He fled through the mountains, chased by unseen creatures, a lurking menace that stayed out of sight. Dell is confident that only his magical invisibility and native stealth kept him alive during that time when strange creatures stalked him. Dell headed west, further into the Jotens, hoping that his unconventional approach would throw off pursuit, and apparently it did.
One afternoon, while attempting to rest, Dell saw a figure walking up the trail after him. Even though Dell was still invisible to sight, it seemed not to dissuade the thing tracking him, and Dell prepared for battle. Knowing he would only get one surprise attack, Dell waited for the creature to get close to him before unleashing his magics. Fortunately, the figure waved a glowing short sword before Dell electrocuted him. Pavel had found him.
Pavel told a similar story, though he was much more evasive in his description of avoiding the undead and the cloud demons. Dell had not pushed, knowing Pavel’s sensitivity to certain topics. Dell and Pavel agreed to head south, trying to strike out of the Jotens, possibly behind enemy lines, but into an area where more food might be available. Pavel seemed disturbingly well fed for having wandered the mountains for days, but Dell was significantly more peckish.
They had only traveled south for less than a day when Dell heard Winthrop’s message telling them about the Gnome Vale. Perhaps other messages had been sent, but in the din of events, or perhaps due to simple distraction, Dell had not heard them. In any case, Dell and Pavel turned back to the north to try to find the Gnome Vale. Pavel seemed more annoyed and distressed by this reversal of plan, and, two days later, Pavel was gone in the morning when Dell awoke.
Raven eyes Dell. Pavel disappearing seems quite unlike the strange creature who had taken man-form. Pavel had stood beside the Company in Beoll-Dur against a dragon, had shown his true form while fighting with the Company, and seemed a valued henchman, well compensated and respected for his acting skills. For Pavel to simply leave one morning is incongruous, but Dell seems quite open and honest in his explanation. Perhaps Pavel has a darker reason, like possibly imitating the members of the Company and taking their valuables from the Hall of the Blue Sun or from any of the moneychangers with whom the Company has a relationship. Raven files his concerns in the back of his mind for further reflection.
Dell continued north up towards where he guessed the Gnome Vale must be, but quickly got lost among the mountain peaks. Only his superior intellect, and the fact that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, allowed him to keep at all on track. When a small band of heavily armed gnomes, chewing their cedar chips, appeared out of nowhere around him, he knew he was saved. The gnomes captured him as a possible spy, but Dell has convinced them that he’s the leader of the Company of the Blue Sun, and that the aberrant behavior shown by the Company on their previous visit is the result of them lacking his clear vision. Winthrop turns some interesting shades of purple after Dell’s outrageous statement, but the others chuckle while Dell attempts to needle Winthrop some more. Dell seems relieved and pleased to see the others, and the feeling appears to be mutual.
The mages heal Otto’s armor, so that it has some protective value and will not shatter if struck hard. Otto is discontented though, having not really wanted to be out hunting dragons to help griffons to help bird-people. He decides it would be best for him, and for the Company, if he took guard watch alone, up at the top of the chimney, where the dragon must have come in and out of the cave. Oaklock arranges to fly Otto up to the top of the chimney.
The view from the top of the chimney is magnificent, if cold. The air is crisp and somewhat thin. Otto finds a secure spot and sits guard, watching for any aerial enemies. With the cloud cover below him, Otto can see the snow-covered shapes of the surrounding mountaintops and a large glacier to the north northwest. The glacier is a stark contrast to the dark forests on the mountainsides below.
As Otto watches over two days, the glacier draws his attention more and more. At night, strange lights sometimes play over its surface, while during the day, the glacier glows as if with an internal blue fire. When Oaklock brings him more food and warmth, he requests Winthrop’s telescope. With the magnifying lenses, he can see small spots of darkness on the glacier. At first Otto thinks that it is just the beginnings of snow blindness, but the small spots do not move as he moves his vision about. They appear to actually be objects on the glacier, objects that move under their own power.
Otto squints at the glacier, convincing himself that what he sees is a large sledge being drawn on the glacier, met and surrounded by larger creatures. Otto muses about the glacier, wondering where it is relative to the ogres at the Davish headwaters. Perhaps the creatures are ogres or giants, and the sledge is the shipment sent up from the ogre camp. When the Company is ready to travel again, the coinage stacked and placed within Winthrop’s chest, Otto believes he has a new target for the Company.
The Company hikes back towards the griffons, wending their way back through the mountains. The griffons’ canyon still appears as before, lorded over by the god-bird and the harpy chicks. This time, rather than simply rely on luck to cross the gap, Winthrop enchants the Company into invisibility. Once he is in the griffons’ cave, Winthrop calls out to the griffons, wand at the ready in case the griffons do not come in a friendly manner. Nothing responds to his call, and he carefully strides forward, alert to the slightest of motions. When Raven and Otto appear beside him, Winthrop whips around, wand in hand, and only the firmest of mental discipline stops him from steaming Raven and Otto.
The griffons appear to have vacated their cave. Nothing, not even small rodents, stirs within the cave. Bones of largish animals, including human-sized creatures, possibly simply humans, fill the back end of the cave to a sizeable depth. A dozen large nests, made of twigs, grasses, bones, and tufts of hair and fur, dot the cave. Otto cautiously approaches the nearest nest, while Raven, remembering the giant ticks in the chimera lair, decides to let Otto approach alone.
No ticks leap out on Otto. Instead, he turns back and hisses, “It’s empty and has been so for at least two days. I think they’ve moved on. But look what they’ve left behind!” Otto reaches into the nest and pulls forth a large chain belt, intricately worked with gold. The three of them search through the other nests, Winthrop taking the time to enchant his vision to detect magical auras. No other treasures are found, but one of the weapons stuck into a nest, a scimitar, radiates magic. They pack up their new found treasures and leave, hurrying out from under the god-bird’s bright gaze.
The Company retraces its steps again, heading back to the aerie of the bird-people. The trail is well-worn, and the Company grows somewhat lax in their awareness of their surroundings. It is only when they are next to a giant, furred snake that they realize their danger. As the twenty-foot long, two-foot thick snake rears up, hissing, to attack, Jasper quickly hisses out, “We’re not easy food, and there are many of us! If you leave us alone, we will do the same to you!”
The snake is oddly accepting of Jasper’s logic and hisses briefly with him. The furred snake tells of several large, grey two-legged creatures in the area, probably stone giants from the description. The snake thought to take one, but, like the Company, there were too many and likely not easy food. With a small amount of rations, the snake is bribed and slithers off into the mountains.
Somewhat tired by the exhausting hikes over the sides of mountains, they are pleased to be able to rest on the ledge beneath the bird-people’s aerie. Again, the deputation of bird-people spiral down to the Company. Their former guide is accompanied by Bran, who appears somewhat indifferent to Otto’s presence, until he is offered some juicy dragon bits. The five reticent bird-people gather at the far end of the ledge, while the iridescent bird-woman and her two guards speak with the Company through Bran.
When the Company confirms that the dragon has been slain, and the lion-birds have moved back into their old hunting grounds, the bird-people are ecstatic. They were uncertain whether Bran was trustworthy or not, as some ravens are known to stretch the truth. The rest of the Company looks at Raven and choruses, “No, of course not! Ravens never stretch the truth!”
The bird-people throw a festival for the Company, bringing them small animals to be cooked and sharing a fine fermented drink. The Company decides it wiser not to know what was fermented. During the festival, which involves much interpretive dancing on the part of the bird-people, first Raven and then Winthrop are approached by the iridescent-plumed bird-woman. To Raven she gives six small, clear gems, quartz, apparently the bounty of the bird-people. Jasper translates that she wishes the Company to take them as tokens of their appreciation. Raven graciously accepts.
To Winthrop, she gives a small, clear gem that appears to glow from within with a bluish light. The light pulsates slightly and is very faint. Jasper is unable to translate for the bird-woman, so Winthrop falls back on his magic, creating a common language for them to speak again. The bird-woman tells Winthrop that the gemstone is a blessing from the great air goddess. “When the need is great, the gemstone should be used, releasing the spirits within in the glory of the great air goddess,” she says, bobbing and ducking to Winthrop. Winthrop, while not understanding exactly what the gemstone is, or how to use it, thanks her and pockets it.
In the morning, the Company suffers a massive collective headache. Whatever was in the fermented drink is not treating them well. The Company staggers down off the mountain and works their way back towards the trolls’ cave. In a foul mood, they struggle against the bright skies and steep hills. Otto sees a pair of large creatures on the far side of a mountain ravine, separated from the Company by almost a thousand feet and a climb of two hundred feet. The hill giants seem to be blissfully unaware of the Company, and they continue to trod through the mountain air. Otto grinds his teeth together, partly from the headache and partly from the presence of the giants.
“Oaklock, I want to fly,” grunts Otto. Oaklock looks at him with a typical flat, elven stare, and then he casts an enchantment on Otto. Otto takes off through the air at the hill giants. The others in the Company are startled, but Winthrop recovers quickly, transforming into a gargoyle and chasing after him.
Otto’s lead increases when Winthrop takes a moment to summon his wards, and so Otto faces the two hill giants alone. Some strange gust of wind or odd sound must betray Otto, because one of the giants, clearly with greater than average intellect, detects his invisible flight. The giant grabs his comrade and swings him around, pointing at the invisible Otto. Boulders fly through the air at Otto as he flies in at them. Two of the four boulders hit Otto, knocking him somewhat askew and battering his now-repaired armor, but they do not dissuade him.
After weathering their boulder attacks, Otto repays them. His bastard sword strikes deeply, and Otto is not interested in prolonging the battle. Two quick blows finish off the first giant, and then two quick blows finish off the second giant while it turns to futilely flee. As Winthrop flaps up, Otto is chopping the giants’ heads free from their bodies. “Here, maybe they know something,” says Otto, as he tosses one of the heads to Winthrop’s stony form.
As it turns out, the giants don’t know much. Cedrus interrogates their souls, using Winthrop’s magics to question them. News of Nosnra’s defeat seems to be percolating through the mountains, but, rather than giving up on raiding from the Jotens, the Mountain King Groorg has been taking in those former clansmen of Nosnra. These two hill giants, Bloor and Reeto, were hiking to the Jotens, being bored and having run out of money, alcohol, and food, to join Groorg’s men.
The Company continues on to and camps at the trolls’ cave. Nothing and no one have taken possession of the trolls’ cave, and the slowly eroding pile of goblin ash stands as an imposing mark of the Company’s power. Seeing no sign that Dell has made it to this cave, they choose to carry on in the morning towards the Gnome Vale.
Only a few hours out from the trolls’ cave, Jasper alerts the Company to the sound of marching feet. Soon, everyone can hear the boots marching through the mountainside, an impressive feat given the lack of roads or wide trails. Al suddenly relaxes as the first of the approaching army comes into sight. A warband of dwarves appears over the next rise and then halts as they spot the Company.
The dwarves challenge the Company and their right to be here in the Crystalmists until Al steps forth. Al and the leader of the dwarves, Clangor Heavyhand, exchange insults about each other’s heritage, Al being called a hill rat and the other dwarf a stumpy stalagmite. Once normal relationships are established, the Company is invited to join the dwarves in their delving, only a half day away to the east. Since that is nominally the same direction as the Gnome Vale, the Company accepts.
The dwarves are from the Blackrock Clan, a clan of dwarves making its living mining burnable rock, rather than metal ore or gemstones. They sell their burnable rock to other dwarves in the area, such as the Iron Chasm Clan, and to those humans that make the trip up from Sterich. The dwarves have not seen those humans that usually come in a great caravan to purchase burnable rock and wonder what might be keeping them. The Company is awkwardly silent before Diego finally bursts out, “They’re probably moaning zombies by now. Sterich is full of dead and undead.”
The dwarves take the news poorly. They have heard what happened at Iron Chasm Steading, as Mongo Crushstone has been collecting young warriors to him in order to exact vengeance for the harm done to him and his brethren. To hear that even more ill has befallen the humans of Sterich saddens them greatly. As in all such circumstances, great sadness requires great drink, and the dwarves and the Company drown their sorrows in somber talk and a very heavy porter.
The dwarves of Blackrock Clan agree to take up the cause against the giants and humanoids and give succor to any humans they encounter. They are curious as to the plans of the Company though. Otto explains about the glacier and the ogre caves found at the Davish headwaters. He shows a chalice to the dwarves, and they are quite complimentary of the metalwork. The Company and the dwarves come to an agreement, trading the chalice and some coins for gemstones and mountaineering gear for the Company.
The Company rests a full day with the dwarves while the mountaineering gear is made and sized for humans. At the end of it, Clangor Heavyhand provides the Company with a rune-engraved stone about the size of a fist. “This stone will identify you as a friend of the Blackrock Clan to all dwarves in the Crystalmists. If you need introduction, or run afoul, show the stone, and you shall be treated as well as we would be in a similar situation. If you are not, those who mistreat you will answer to us. We wish you well in your fight against the giantkind and may see you again,” says Clangor Heavyhand, as the Company leaves.
The Company reaches the Gnome Vale a mere two days later, entering through the barricade at the front of the vale. As was the custom the last time they were here, the Company is bedded down in one of the stables in the vale itself, rather than in the warrens. Thus, they are both surprised and somewhat angered when Dell strides out from the warrens to meet with the Company. Looking well-rested and clean, Dell makes a much better impression than the beaten, scorched, and dirty Company.
“Heard all about the ruckus you raised the last time you were here. Do you think you can all behave?” smiles Dell at the others. Raven is torn between watching a battle erupt between the mages and finding out what happened to Dell and where Pavel is. In the end, his curiosity outweighs his wish for entertainment, and he restrains Winthrop from summoning grievous harm upon Dell.
Dell tells of his travails since fleeing Nosnra’s steading. He had flown invisibly down the road leaving the steading, searching for a way out or a hiding place that the Company could rest in and avoid undead pursuit. One minute, the Company was following him. The next, he looked back, and the Company was gone. Dell claims that he spent many hours looking for the Company in the forest, avoiding giantkind and cloud demons, until his magics could no longer keep him aloft.
He fled through the mountains, chased by unseen creatures, a lurking menace that stayed out of sight. Dell is confident that only his magical invisibility and native stealth kept him alive during that time when strange creatures stalked him. Dell headed west, further into the Jotens, hoping that his unconventional approach would throw off pursuit, and apparently it did.
One afternoon, while attempting to rest, Dell saw a figure walking up the trail after him. Even though Dell was still invisible to sight, it seemed not to dissuade the thing tracking him, and Dell prepared for battle. Knowing he would only get one surprise attack, Dell waited for the creature to get close to him before unleashing his magics. Fortunately, the figure waved a glowing short sword before Dell electrocuted him. Pavel had found him.
Pavel told a similar story, though he was much more evasive in his description of avoiding the undead and the cloud demons. Dell had not pushed, knowing Pavel’s sensitivity to certain topics. Dell and Pavel agreed to head south, trying to strike out of the Jotens, possibly behind enemy lines, but into an area where more food might be available. Pavel seemed disturbingly well fed for having wandered the mountains for days, but Dell was significantly more peckish.
They had only traveled south for less than a day when Dell heard Winthrop’s message telling them about the Gnome Vale. Perhaps other messages had been sent, but in the din of events, or perhaps due to simple distraction, Dell had not heard them. In any case, Dell and Pavel turned back to the north to try to find the Gnome Vale. Pavel seemed more annoyed and distressed by this reversal of plan, and, two days later, Pavel was gone in the morning when Dell awoke.
Raven eyes Dell. Pavel disappearing seems quite unlike the strange creature who had taken man-form. Pavel had stood beside the Company in Beoll-Dur against a dragon, had shown his true form while fighting with the Company, and seemed a valued henchman, well compensated and respected for his acting skills. For Pavel to simply leave one morning is incongruous, but Dell seems quite open and honest in his explanation. Perhaps Pavel has a darker reason, like possibly imitating the members of the Company and taking their valuables from the Hall of the Blue Sun or from any of the moneychangers with whom the Company has a relationship. Raven files his concerns in the back of his mind for further reflection.
Dell continued north up towards where he guessed the Gnome Vale must be, but quickly got lost among the mountain peaks. Only his superior intellect, and the fact that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, allowed him to keep at all on track. When a small band of heavily armed gnomes, chewing their cedar chips, appeared out of nowhere around him, he knew he was saved. The gnomes captured him as a possible spy, but Dell has convinced them that he’s the leader of the Company of the Blue Sun, and that the aberrant behavior shown by the Company on their previous visit is the result of them lacking his clear vision. Winthrop turns some interesting shades of purple after Dell’s outrageous statement, but the others chuckle while Dell attempts to needle Winthrop some more. Dell seems relieved and pleased to see the others, and the feeling appears to be mutual.
