Mysteries Solved, Mysteries Uncovered

Kaldmont 20-25
 
The song Rhiannon gave me had no lyrics to it but looking at the notations and signatures it seemed to be portraying some type of emotion. When she returned to the table she explained it was a love/romance song and she wanted an elven feel to it. That I can definitely help with. It was nice to be back finally and just sit peacefully and discuss regular life. After some time and the Inn was a bit louder, though still not really busy, conversation had to steer back to what was happening. I told her I expected her to break no oaths but we met a younger version of Geoffrey in the mines and the “Mad Mage” was an older version of him we met near the Wizardspire. She wasn’t sure what to do with that information and I honestly told her neither was I, I just wanted her to know something is awry and I just want her to be safe. She understood but said Geoffrey was a great mentor. I didn’t press at all as I’m sure if she knew something and could tell me she was able to.
 
After that since we were already somewhat on the subject I told her I’m sure Dram is going to want to return to the Grakkenwood where we came from. She asked why we would need to return when I just got back? I started explaining a bit vaguely what was happening and she seemed very interested. A few times she let out a loud WHAT when I spoke of the dangers we encountered. Since she seemed so interested and there was a lot of history there I asked if she would like to come with us. We had already taken care of all the creatures there so it was perfectly safe now. She agreed. She said she needed to gather her things but I should stay and rest. I said I was fine and could come with but she insisted and said her brother could escort her. That was sufficient. I could stay here and relax, review her song and make some suggestions.
 
Due to the cold and snow I did not want to meditate outside. I did take a stroll out there but the snow covering the ground was very peaceful and I didn’t want to disturb anything. There definitely was a lot going on. Why had the Mad Mage taken an interest in us and used us to stop the threat by corrupted Nockwurt? What was the deal with these replicas and this Met Reiznaz and Geoffrey? Were there any more crystals out there? So many unanswered questions. After some time I realized I had been strolling outside for hours deep in thought and was somewhat cold. I returned to the Sarcastic Goat and rested until morning.
 
In the morning Dram and the others were in a rush to get out and start making arrangements. He had to go to these people, then another group of people and so on. It was all frustrating. Our clan would simply get it done. There would be some coordination yes but no exchange of coins or hassle going back and forth. For their short time they sure do make simple things far more complex than they need to be. Rhiannon showed up in the morning as promised with her brother armored and ready to go with us. Obviously her brother is very protective of her so it makes sense he would come along although I could protect her just as well.
 
I went over her song suggesting revisions to give it an elven touch and my own suggestions as well which may be elven influence as well or just perhaps my own personal taste. After some time the others were able to get what they needed and Dram had covered getting everything setup to recover the goods. It was quite a large party now. We had horses and sleds, Rhiannon plus her brother, Valum plus his men, Pickman, the priests from the Church and others I'm probably missing that I do not recall. Rhiannon was actually quite excited about the sled ride. She said had she known she would have brought some blankets and warm drink. I made a mental note of that for a future outing.
 
The trip there was pretty uneventful. We had to cross the river by raft with all the horses and sleds and then finish the trip up to the cave. Once we got there the hired men were a bit…afraid or in awe of the place. They said it was a sacred place and did not wish to be here. Rhiannon told me quietly this place was called the Moon Grove Clearing. The men wished to wait outside the clearing while the rest of us went in. The roots parted as normal allowing us entrance and we made our way to the cliff of roots we can call it. Dram was very concerned about Pickman getting down, I suppose he forgot I can assist him with a simple spell. Pickman had heard of the spell so I made the simple gesture and told him to test it a bit before going down. I asked Rhiannon if she wished the same but she wanted to actually climb down. So be it, I was just going to walk as well.
 
At the bottom Valum immediately went to take care of the Iron Ring prisoners. My kin had already been at work identifying the plants. They were all dangerous and had to be destroyed. This was to the dismay of Holly who wished to study them. The elves assured her that these were dangerous and we could not risk them getting out into the wild. The first stop was pointing out the darkness in the cell to the Priestesses. Of course the Ettin was on the way there and Rhiannon elbowed me in the ribs. You had to fight this?! I assured her I was in no danger, I literally brought the ceiling down on the thing crippling it. I feel that didn’t convince her at all though. Once in there they set up their ritual to banish the thing.
 
Of course Pickman was very interested in the books so that was our next stop. Of course we had to go through the large chamber where we battled the corrupted Nockwort and Dram had to mention he nearly died. Of course this spun Rhiannon up a bit. I told her it was all under control, Splinterleaf gave us the time we needed to crack the crystal and save his life. I don’t think this calmed her though, again. He was very interested in seeing the large books written by the corrupted Nockwurt. Rhiannon was curious about them too. Pickman explained he couldn’t translate the language, even a spell to translate would not work at all. Dram and I got a book down and opened it up so Rhiannon could look. She didn’t understand it though I know she knew multiple languages. With no way to read them the best we could do is take them back and study them later. While the others were engaged in other things Rhiannon grabbed my arm and pulled me away. She quietly told me [a section of the text is thoroughly inked out].
 
After checking out the books there was more cleanup work to be done. Dram wanted me to assist him up the cave ceiling to cut down the crystals which I could easily assist with. It would take a few rounds of that and resting though. In between that we went back to the storage room I had sealed off. Dram was going a bit crazy about there could be a vampire in there from the sarcophagus. In order to quell his fears I said I would simply open a small opening so we could look in to ensure it was safe and it was of course so I opened the entry the rest of the way. Of course on the way here we passed the giant and I got another elbow to the ribs. I wasn’t even involved in that in any way!
 
Everything was as we left it. I showed Rhiannon all the items like the paintings and the armoire which she liked very much. Even though we didn’t open the sarcophagus at this moment I’ll still explain it now. It was just a skeleton inside magical plate armor inside. That’s all. Not a vampire or anything crazy. We put the cover back on and locked it back up. The sarcophagus, the horse and the cart were all likely supposed to be entombed together but had been waylaid by the bandits that resided here so we decided to leave it behind. Everything else we would take as there was no sense letting it waste here.
 
We decided to double check the rest of the dungeon so I opened the other sealed opening. Working our way down we passed the mirrors which I had totally forgotten about with everything going on. Those would definitely need to go out. The pile of dead bugbears in the last room earned me another light elbow. Yet again though I was perfectly safe! There wasn’t much else here and we left Holly and Durbin to go through and search while the rest of us went back to the main chamber as Dram wanted to go up and do another round of gathering crystals from the cave ceiling.
 
We made our way back up taking our time. I spent a few minutes catching up with my kin before casting and allowing Dram to walk up. A few minutes later Holly came running at full speed towards where the Priestesses were set up. She said Durbin said there was danger and to get them immediately. I told Dram he had a minute to get down, looked at Rhiannon and told her to wait here and I would be back shortly. She called back to me, “Perfectly safe now right?” I ran down to the room they were in and they had found a secret opening and something was trying to come out. Us and the priestesses readied for battle. As we were engaged Rhiannon came in and shouted at us to stop and to the Priestesses to do what they needed. Durbin didn’t seem to hear as he broke the thing almost to pieces. It turned out this hidden room was a secret burial area and this thing was awoken when the door was opened. We placed the corpse back as best we could and closed the door. Dram was very confused why this was here. Well who can identify the motives of the people who came before us?
 
On the way out I asked Rhiannon [another smaller section is thoroughly inked out here]. We resumed our duties but realized we were going to need more help to get all this out here. Dram was worried about how much to pay them to come in here and work and suggested one gold coin? I know a bit more about negotiation now but I guess one of those coins was enough for one person. Once they saw what we were paying they said they would help. I didn’t want to spend much more time here so I told them to find six more men. He asked something about a finders fee. My guess was he would take my 6 gold and pay the men hired less so I gave him another gold for his finders fee to pass on the gold to the men coming here. They said no problem and would bring the extra men tomorrow.
 
With that things went fairly smooth. My kin started burning the plants and trees here but it was late so the others needed to sleep. The apples were exploding in the fire and I had to ask them to do that later as the others needed to sleep. We also stopped by and saw Sullen. Rhiannon was astonished that I didn't tell her about the dryad. I don’t see what the big deal is. She’s a forest dryad but Rhiannon was focused on the dryad’s outer beauty. Yes she is but that’s not something that entrances me so I just don’t see the problem. Maybe it was a mistake inviting her down here… With all the burning Rhiannon again pulled me aside and asked me [small section inked out]. I told her I would speak to Elladin about it but we would need to discuss all this later. Some good news is Splinterleaf was coming around now so he would make a full recovery.
 
We destroyed the stones using the pulley contraption Durbin procured and a large shaped stone and some rope so that the after effect did not harm us. There were a lot of stones to destroy and the final one was very large. We had to gather some extra rope and lengthen it so we could get far enough back to not be harmed. Durbins calculations were pretty exact as we could feel it but it did not harm us. With the extra men we were able to get everything out fairly quickly though it still took a few days. After speaking to Rhiannon I had them bring the large books to our manor as she said she knew of some texts and perhaps assistance from Geoffrey she could assist here.
 
With that it was finally time to leave as we pulled out the last of the items. My kin would stay behind and finish up healing the guardians and taking care of the rest of the plants. The princess was also able to convince the stone elemental to move Sullen’s tree back up to the sunlight! It was quite a sight to behold to see the thing move the tree back up where it belonged and I was happy for her. I told Dram see he could have easily made that promise. He retorted with she was a fae creature and was trying to ensnare him. I knew he was correct, of course she was. I just simply did not have interest in her that way so I am guessing she couldn’t affect me but I was not about to admit he was right about that! Plus it was fun to pick on him a little about it.
 
I did forget to mention that Holly found a magical wand in a tunnel one of the prisoners was trying to escape in. She offered it to me and it was a custom make and had no Glantrian symbol on it. Which reminds me as well we found two crates that said they were bound for the Glantri Museum which seemed to be two crates of bones. I suppose they were all the bones of a single creature. Durbin and Pickman had a go at trying to puzzle it together.
 
Leaving the cave I felt a bit of despair. Four forest guardians dead and the people of Garlands Rest gone. We saved Melinir and the other towns but so much damage had been done. I have a feeling I would be returning here at some point though as there was a lot of history. It seemed right to try and preserve it or fix it somehow. That was for another time though. Right now there were other things on the horizon I had to worry about and questions I needed answers to.