Once More Into the Breach

Kaldmont 26-28
 
We all took a trip to Hearth-Home. This time I actually felt some eagerness to go with my sense of dread of being underground for so long. I told Melwin she could stay behind if she wished, perhaps stay at Rhiannon’s place amongst the trees which she happily agreed to. I really wanted to finish this song so we could play that but I just couldn’t get some parts right I felt. I’m sure the Dwarves would have some assistance there. We took two of the casks of scotch we found in the area that the hill giant was guarding to help the restock their cellar. Rhiannon wanted to go of course as she loved talking to the dwarves about their stories and history.
 
Our brief stay was not terrible actually. Although I can feel the weight of all the stone overhead being focused on wrapping up my song helped me get through the time. Adding a dwarven touch to my songs was more difficult than I thought. It’s almost like a foreign culture that is almost impossible for me to feel. I understand it but that doesn’t translate to my music. It’s very odd. I was able to finally be satisfied with all parts, the introduction being the trickiest for some reason. Spending time breaks here and there with Rhiannon also helped comfort me from the unease being in Hearth-Home gave me. Between the focus and her the time there was almost bearable.
 
Kaldmont 28 990AC - Nuwmont 6
 
We left Hearth-Home the morning of End of Year day to make it back to Melinir in time. Rhiannon asked about how we elves celebrated the end of year and new years. I explained the rituals of the end of year to hold reverence for what has happened the year up to that point. The new years day was a day of celebration and thinking on what to do with the new year. She seemed excited and wanted to experience it for herself. Of course we could do that, though I did suggest if we stayed with the elves this year that next year I would like to experience the human celebration. She agreed and thought it would probably be for the best as I would be part of her family at that point and the rituals for humans were centered around family.
 
Knowing now that Rhiannon followed the way of the Druids it made so much sense why she loved being here and why her home was literally in the woods built around a tree. It also explained the sense of calm I felt in and around her home. So my initial feeling from meeting her was definitely correct, there was more to her than what was on the surface!
 
We spent a week with my clan, well I suppose soon to be our clan as she would be part of our family too, before heading back to Melinir. I was finally able to work on some spells I wanted to learn which came quite easily to me actually. I was also able to work on being able to shape earth and water into artistic forms rather than just basic forms. Turns out I am fairly decent at that as well and picked it up quite easily. The rest of the time was quite relaxing. We actually spent more time out in the woods now that she had finally revealed her “secret” to me. Still a bit baffled why she wouldn’t just share it with me before. It’s not like I would be offended or tell the human Church. In fact I don’t understand why the human Church would even care. It doesn’t really matter, I'll just leave it alone and not dwell on it.
 
Nuwmont 6 - 8
 
We left Silvercrest and headed back to Melinir. After going through all the items we recovered from our last trip I had another large stack of coins. We also had plenty of wine. I was able to keep most of the good stuff in the crates and a good portion of the barrels. We decided to donate some to the Sarcastic Goat. The beautiful dragon hilt sword was of course a bane to dragons, since no one else wanted I added it to my collection alongside Ghost Cleaver. One day I would need to learn to wield these. The wand Holly found was a wand of might which could definitely come in handy. Some of the finer items the others relinquished to me for our home. The rest both Durbin and Dram expressed interest in buying the old general store. I wouldn’t mind helping but I still did not have the best grasp on human economics.
 
After that was sorted I went to meet with the jeweler to pick up the hair piece I commissioned and to bring him more work. The piece was finished and turned out beautiful as always. I showed him the sapphires and supposed they would make very good earrings. He agreed and after some back and forth we agreed on a design and price. He was a bit concerned about getting them done before the wedding but was sure that he could make it happen. I am going to have to find other types of gifts although I'm sure people don’t mind large collections of jewelry.
 
After that I had to find one of these people that has a sled since Rhiannon thought a sled ride would be fun. I found one of the drivers and at first he was a bit taken aback that I was asking him to do something dangerous. I assured him no, I just wanted a sled ride around safe areas. This seemed to confuse him as I suppose no one had asked him for this before. He said he could do it no problem for only a few silver coins and could use a smaller sled and would put a bench in the back. Excellent, I asked him to meet us tomorrow outside town and we would be ready.
 
That night we played my new song together at the Sarcastic Goat which went over quite well. Rhiannon puts on a much better performance than I can, perhaps something I should work on in the future. I told her I had a surprise in the morning so we should be ready mid morning. That night I did some work on my ice shaping/sculpting out in the common grounds. I shaped a very beautiful Melwin but one of my proudest was a tree guardian mourning the loss of his brothers. It is a bit taxing so I did these two and returned to meditate inside as it’s still cold outside.
 
The next morning I was able to get some extra blankets and warm spiced wine for the ride. I showed her the sculptures I made overnight and she thought them wonderful. She wanted one of Buttercup and a bunch of flowers which I assured her I would work on tonight. She was pretty excited for the sled ride and even more so when I presented her with the hair piece. We had a nice ride through the snow though it was a bit bumpy. I also used a few cantrips to keep the snow off of us so it was more pleasant. It was a very good day together. That evening I showed her the process of making the ice sculptures. It’s not very difficult, just time consuming to work on the details.
 
Durbin wanted to speak to Pickman about selling magic items in the store he and Dram purchased. I wasn’t sure about that as Geoffrey seemed to have a solid grasp on those types of items but I said I would go with him. Holly came along as well and Dram showed up to head there for his studies. Before we even knocked the door opened and Pickman said he was expecting us and had a serious look on his face. Upon entering there sat Geoffrey at the table and he looked terrible. As if he had not slept in days and was unable to rest at all while awake. This put me on the defensive a bit as he was the last person I was expecting to be sitting there. He asked us to sit as he had something to discuss with us and Pickman said he had some tea ready for us. Well I suppose there wasn’t much backing out of this at this point so I sat down and told Pickman I would love some tea.
 
Geoffrey said he requested our assistance with a certain problem of his. There was a puzzle he was trying to solve, we brought him one piece but he needed another. He couldn’t discuss it here in town as it was not safe. We would need to go to Mage Island to continue the discussion. I believe we were all leery of this invitation, though a part of me was actually very interested to see what was there on the island. There was only really one way to get to the bottom of this. The Quadrial seemed to think he had no ill intention and Rhiannon seemed to put some trust in him as well. Eventually we came to the same answer. The only way to move forward was to see what Geoffrey had to say so it was on to Mage Island. He said to meet him at the docks in an hour and bring weapons and armor. He didn’t really explain much to that part though. He struggled to stand and walk out but was able to do so. He really looked exhausted.
 
We went back to get our items and I also stopped to let Rhiannon know what was going on. Of course the others followed and I just haven’t seemed to learn from this yet. Of course she knew something was going on right away. A dwarf wouldn’t be going there, I wouldn’t be learning magic from Geoffrey, Holly didn’t seem to have casting so that really only left Dram to actually go there to study. Then someone, I forgot who, said oh yes and he told us to bring weapons! With that i believe she was just left a bit speechless. I reassured her we would be safe but it didn’t seem to help. I gave her a hug and told her no matter what I would be back. With that we went off to meet Geoffrey at the docks.
 
He met us right on time and had a boat waiting for us to take us there. He still looked pretty tired and worn out. We boarded the boat and sailed out towards the island. Of course we had to take an oath not to reveal what was on the island which was a strong magical bond. I suppose for some people it would be needed. Once the oath was complete and we got closer to the island a mist enveloped us and obscured vision. Once we made it through and docked the mist lifted and the island looked totally different. Lush and green with many buildings and people moving about their daily life. They all seemed to really hold Geoffrey in high esteem as we walked towards his keep.
 
Once inside it was very grandiose. A large orrery of the planet and moons circled it, Geoffrey assuring us it was precisely in sync. It was actually quite amazing the detail that was put into it. He led us up the stairs to the third floor where his study was. It took him a lot of effort to get up and into his study. Inside there were books everywhere and seemed a bit messy. He called upon some chairs to literally walk over to his desk so we could sit. He told us he knew where Zanzer Tem is and he wanted us to bring him back alive to him. He was actually back in the salt mines where we were taken when captured. When we asked for answers he said he wanted them to but needed this Zanzer here to question him to get the answers. He wouldn’t really answer much else. He did say there are things in the rift that need to stay a certain way lest everyone could be in danger. It was obvious we weren’t going to get anything out of him so I just said plainly you have to know we’re suspicious of this. Without any reassurance you expect us to run this errand for you? He did show us a covered up sphere of crystal in which we could see Zanzer Tem who looked as bad as Geoffrey but he quickly covered it back up. He said he could pay us which I suppose helps but it doesn’t take away the fact that he could be the ultimate problem in the rift. Logically if he wanted to kill everyone in the rift he could so I don’t think he is the ultimate puppet master for what’s been happening. Everyone here seemed happy. So I told him access to his awesome library for research and if he has power stones that would be great. He pulled out a blue stone (of course!) and said I could have access for six months if that was agreeable. I told him life would be better which he initially scoffed at but we were able to come to an agreement. He wanted certain knowledge Barrik had so if he could access that I could access his library. Seemed like a simple deal to me. I let the others decide on their own rewards. I did also ask him next time he spoke to Rhiannon to assure her what we are doing is important.
 
Once everyone had their reward chosen it became apparent why we needed our weapons, he was going to send us right there. Apparently the cavern had been sealed up and there was no way in or out. He would be able to send us right in and we would have the element of surprise. He also gave us an amulet to bring us back once we had Zanzer Tem. We would need to bring back Zanzer alive and confiscate his amulet. Anything else we found would be ours to keep which seemed reasonable. Since we may be delayed I had to ask to let Rhiannon know that I wasn't going to be back very soon as anticipated. He assured me he would get word to her. With that he took us to where the ceremony would be held to send us off to, hopefully, get some further answers on what is going on. The spell was well done and we found ourselves in a very dim room with the sounds of snoring around us.
 
There were three orcs in here and Durbin, Dram and myself made very quick work of them. Once I lit up the room though all the horrible memories flooded back in and nearly took my breath. The pain of betrayal flared up briefly but I quickly extinguished it. With that we checked the large cell room which was just full of goblins now. Seems they had to switch slaves since they were not able to procure anymore. We secured the rest of the immediate area and even saw that my tunnel was still there! Holly went out to scout while we waited listening to the familiar sound of cracking and crushing rock. This was not a good place to return to in even the best circumstances.
 
Holly returned and the operation seemed to be in full swing again. Of course Dram wanted to create a battle plan to take all this on. I suggested we simply sneak by and explore the rest of the areas we didn’t get to before. It took a little convincing but I’m sure they saw that my suggestion was for the best. These foes couldn’t escape and if we could find Zanzer Tem it would stop one major threat immediately. We went to a hall we hadn’t gone down before and Holly did an excellent job thoroughly scouting out. That was until curiosity got the best of her and she picked up an obvious trap that shot out large darts. Thankfully she was able to dodge out of the way and was not injured. She told us of the passages up ahead, a large set of double doors and prison cells with perhaps one live person inside.
 
I suggested we go right through the double doors, which usually leads to an important area. Dram wanted to help the prisoner that was actually still alive but I told him we had important work here to do. They were not going anywhere and we could help them once we were secure ourselves. He relented and we went through the double doors. On the other side was a large room and a gnome in shackles sleeping on a rough mat. More gnome prisoners! The ceiling seemed to be very ornate but we did not have much time to look at it now. Holly went up to try and quietly wake the gnome who was seriously beaten down into doing what he was told. We approached after a minute and went on about getting back to work and his master wasn’t expecting guests. He pointed to the doors in the corner and said that was the Masters chamber. Assuming this was Zanzer, what great luck to get straight to what we needed?
 
We got in our typical position and swung open the door to complete blackness and someone shouting out “who’s there!” in a very familiar voice. I pulled the wand of dispel magic out of my satchel and started dispelling the darkness. Thankfully I only needed the three castings it had within its embedded powerstone but that is when the fireball hit. Dram was able to take it on his shield and dissipate it so there was no real harm. He started shouting at us “why were we here” and “why did i hire you?” Durbin and Dram went in to try and knock him out but he was a slippery one. I attempted to make a hole under him but the first try I was too far away. The second try was successful but now I started shouting stop fighting you fools! There was something strange going on here. Was he just crazy or was Geoffreys thoughts bleeding into his?
 
Dram jumped into the hole behind him and put his arm around his neck. I created water and sprayed it into the hole yelling at them to stop fighting. It didn’t take long for Zanzer to pass out and Dram to crawl out of the hole. I was a bit frustrated as something very odd was happening here, even more odd then what we already knew. Dram asked me for the healing potions and I turned to look at him and now I saw he was deathly pale. I grabbed them right out of my satchel and opened it up for him and Durbin did what he could as well. We pulled Zanzer out of the hole and he started to wake up. I gave instructions to Holly on how to bind him. He could not see, speak or move any limb or extremity.
 
Once he was fully bound we ungagged him to speak. He said he knew he sent us to get him. He said he learned his magic by defeating other mages and taking their spellbooks. The other version of him was his apprentice (the one that melted brought back from the salt mines) and he was training him. He begged to be let go and he would flee the valley and let us know where his treasure was. He was probably worse off then Geoffrey as he had been tormenting this one, destroying his library and alchemy lab. I don’t know that questioning him would lead any further, at least the questions we were asking. We gagged him again and spoke about what to do next. We could try and tunnel out with Durbins expertise and my casting but that could take awhile. This could be a scheme for us to bring Geoffrey exactly what he wanted and eliminate his problem for him. I still don’t think Geoffrey is evil and doing bad things though. The whole situation was very odd but I think all we can really do is take him back to Geoffrey and see what happens.
 
We did decide that we needed to check around and see if there was anything else. At least get the prisoner out alive if we could and the Hin remains that Holly found in another cell. To add onto that the ceiling was a full topographical map of the Rift complete with all the secret dwarven tunnels so Durbin did not want that info to get out. The Gnome was making etchings of the ceiling with paper and charcoal. Initially I figured he should finish his work if possible but since Durbin said there were dwarven secrets I suppose we could destroy the etchings. I offered to shape the stone and destroy the whole thing but he said that was not necessary. If no one could get in or out of here it could give the dwarves time to find this place and take care of it themselves.
 
Once again we found ourselves in another dangerous situation not sure who to trust. The one thing I know is I feel sorry for Geoffrey if he betrays us because Rhiannon knows we specifically went to Mage Island to help him!