The Journey North

The rest period passed without incident. Upon waking in the morning, both Vater and Aura were missing. At first, I was concerned that two more of our companions had gone missing again, but before we broke camp Aura returned. She told us that Vater had gotten up in the night and went off from the camp. She followed Vater and found that he was preparing to leave without saying anything to the rest of us. Aura told us that Vater said something about having urgent business somewhere else. I found this statement very odd, what could be more urgent that the quest that we were on at the present? Vater has always been rather odd and impulsive. I hope that he accomplishes what it is that he is about. Perhaps as Andar did, he will return to us and help us finish this quest that he helped to begin.
 
There was concern about our traveling method since we were one horse short. As we were deciding who would double up on their horse, Willow solved the problem for us. She detected a group of wild horses nearby and using her Druid abilities convinced five of them to join us. She even convinced them to allow us to ride them without all of the difficulty of breaking and training them. I guided her in the creation of appropriate tack to use on these fine creatures so as not to harm or discomfort them. With that, we were off on the next leg of our journey.
 
We decided to head east to Huxford before heading north to our out-of-the-way destination. We encountered a pair of young kids praying at a makeshift altar to Voltura. We waited until they finished their prayers before approaching them. Willow and Enna approached them first so as not to startle or scare them. We learned that they were from a small village that turned out to farther than expected and escorted them back to ensure that they returned safely. The village was small consisting of only three houses with a central well. The children took us to their home where we were warmly greeted by their mother who offered to share their dinner with us. We accepted and Willow soon filled their house with flowers. After a meal of meager stew, Willow and I entertained the children with tales of our adventures, edited to make them appropriate for young children. We soon retired for the night and made our camp outside their home so as not to intrude on their privacy or to overcrowd their small dwelling. Willow spent the night using her Druid abilities to help the community be more prosperous in their farming in the coming year. She also purified the water in their well to aid in the health and wellbeing of the whole village.
 
In the morning, some of us bestowed gifts upon our host in gratitude for her hospitality to wayward strangers. The boy, Tomas, asked to see my sword as he was insistent with the thought of becoming a knight of Voltura. I safely showed him my sword and stressed the fact that any weapon should only be used as a last resort. Diplomacy and words should always be used first and foremost in any confrontation. The girl, Melga, was enamored of Willow and said that she wanted to be just like her when she grew up. Willow gave her a brief explanation on the ways of nature to start her training. Then we continued our journey east toward Huxford.
 
We arrived at Huxford early one evening but made camp a half mile or so outside its limits. We were not sure of the situation in the town or whether our reputation had proceeded us here. It was decided that Andar and Enna would enter Huxford in disguise to ascertain any information that they could about the current situation and turn of events. They found a town divided from those opposed to Voltura and those that still worship Her. The Silver Cloak presence was increased, and they had new uniforms. It was a good thing that we did not enter the town as a group, or our quest may have ended prematurely.
 
Enna and Andar returned to us as night was setting in. After a cold camp meal we all settled down for a night’s sleep. We set our usual watches for the night and as it turned out, it was a good thing that we did. During my watch, I detected a shadowy figure lurking about our camp. I stood up and stretched, produced light to see by, and revealed a human man skulking by a tree. I confronted this person and he started to give me a sob story that I did not believe was the whole truth. With the aid of Voltura, I invoked a truthful zone about us and questioned him once again about why he was here. This time the truth came out. He said that he had intended to rob us of our valuables as we slept. I lectured him on the virtues of honesty, goodness, and the righteousness of leading a good life. I gave him a gold piece and sent him on his way. After I was assured that he had left the area, I roused the rest of my companions. We traveled for a few hours to the north west of our position and settled down to finish our night's rest.
 
We continued our journey north but now angling more toward the east. During one of our night's rest, Willow managed to befriend three wolves and convinced them to join our group for payment of a good supply of food as long as they do not eat us or our horses. Seems that even wild animals have a price for servitude. The wolves gave their names as Tooth, Claw, and Fang. Five horses and three wolves; in my opinion Willow is the most prolific member of our companionship. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and Willow's is her ability make friends easily with whomever or whatever she meets.
 
The rest of the journey was uneventful, and we soon found ourselves in the area that we surmised we would find the cave that we were searching for. We soon located the landmark of the three piercing stone daggers pointing to the sky. These formations seemed too perfectly smooth to be natural, but we could not detect anything unnatural about them. It was an easy job to find the cave that should be the entrance to the Ruins of Elendon, the ancient city buried deep within the earth. We corralled our horses with the aid of Willow’s Druid abilities and left two of the wolves, Tooth and Claw as their guardians. I fully trusted Willow’s judgement that the horses would be safe from the wolves and that the wolves would protect them from any harm from any natural creatures.
 
The way was dark once we reached the tunnel in the rear of the cave. My companions had concerns about traveling in the light, so against my better judgment, we traveled in the dark. I have never had an issue with seeing in the darkness, the same could be said of the elf and half-elf in our group. The two who could not see in the dark came up with their own method of traversing the dark tunnel. Willow was able to use her Druid abilities to give her the ability to see in the dark as the three of us could and Aura chose to use me as her seeing-eye-dog by placing her hand on my shoulder. Although others in our companionship have trepidations about Aura, I can see the good in her and did not have any problems with her close proximity to the back of my person.
 
As Andar was told, the tunnel soon ended with no obvious means of continuing. Andar stepped forward remembering what the voice in the sphere told him and spoke the word, Alamandra. With a rumbling and a cloud of dust, the cave wall in front of us moved aside revealing the way into the depths of the earth.