A Rude Interruption

During our rest we discussed options to gather these items in the flooded room with the crocodile. It took some convincing but finally I was able to dissuade them from trying to fight this monstrous creature. Had it been a direct threat to the city or its people that was one thing but here it was no real problem. We decided to use Dram’s net to dredge the bottom and bring the items up. The dwarf went up to the roof and knocked some holes in there from which we hung some lighted stones and Sorin kept an eye on the beast. We would use the bodies of the frogs and salamanders to distract the beast and move it out of way while dredging.
 
I shifted back to mage sight and noticed one item had moved. No issue the crocodile must have knocked it out of its original position. They dropped the first frog in and the croc went right for it tearing into it making a loud disturbance. I used basic apportation to move his net in place and sink it directly on top of the item and Dram pulled it in. The first item was a very nice wand and came in quite easily. While we were doing that I was watching the third item that had moved and it continued to move along with the croc. Like it was in the crocodile's head? I couldn’t see anything, just that there was something magical there. That one we might just need to skip. The next item came in with a bit more difficulty but we were able to finally get it. It was a very nice chain hauberk. Along with all this we were pulling up various coins from the bottom. I thought that was quite fun so we continued to do that until I was just exhausted again and needed to rest.
 
Dram said there was a room off to each side as well and one of them had a large stone chest. Durbin put a hole in the roof above each room. We lowered Dram into the first one that had the least water. The croc was busy with a salamander creature we had thrown in so he should be fine. If not we could pull him up. While he was down there he tried to grab what he thought were pearls and got stung by a rock fish and his hand started to swell up. He tried to grab their eggs so it was just defending its young. Always trying to do things the hard way. I told them to lower me down and I would take care of it. They were worried the croc would come after me but I assured them it wouldn’t be an issue. They lowered me down to about a yard above the water. I froze it and then shaped two items from the ice. First an ice door to block off the entry and second a wall around the chest and pulled the water away so when opened the water didn’t gush in and ruin anything. The lid was heavy but simple apportation allowed me to lift that off. Inside was a bunch of nicely folded clothes and a matching sword/knife combo in nice condition. The chest was actually wax sealed so everything was nicely intact. Dram wanted to pull the chest out too for some reason. Always trying to make things difficult.
 
After that I needed to rest yet again. Then we attempted the other side as it seemed like it may be a matching room? This one had a lot more water then the other one so I decided to try something different this time. I shaped the stone from the floor to cover the door but left a small slit at the top and then shaped water to move it out of the room. After a few minutes the water level did not move at all which I thought was odd. I figured some water would seep in from the floor or cracks but not enough to fill it up as fast I was emptying it. I swung my staff at the stone door i created on a hunch and sure enough it disappeared. Sometimes magic just doesn’t work as you think it should. Moving dirt is not too difficult but moving this worked stone floor is exhausting so I had to rest yet again. This was getting quite tiresome, literally. This time I had no issues. I created the stone wall with the slit at the top and moved the water out. The room was exactly the same as the other. I pulled the lid off and this chest had clothes again (not nicely folded like the other i should note) and a satchel with papers inside. They pulled me out and it turns out it wasn’t paper in there, it was messages written on some kind of skin.
 
I was exhausted. Continuously casting and resting had taken its toll on me throughout the day and we needed to get back before dark anyways due to trolls. The trip back was fairly easy. We unloaded everything relevant to the mission and took that to Pickman’s. We took our spoils to my room at The Sarcastic Goat which made it quite cramped. Dram was worried about someone called Black Thom? We got some food and a drink but the tavern was becoming quite crowded so I decided to head to the Commons. Rhiannon had given me some ideas to add some emotion to my songs that I wanted to work on anyways.
 
The next morning was fairly uneventful except Dram believed that Black Thom broke into our room but didn’t steal anything? Perhaps, I don’t know. I didn’t have much to really do until Pickman went through all his information and met with his patron so I went to meet Rhiannon. I did buy the last bottles of her favorite wine from Birna. Since no caravans had been in there was simply no more stock. That was saddening as I had grown to like it as well. We had a fantastic few days and were able to finally finish our duet. She didn’t seem keen on finishing it as quickly as I would have liked. Our peace was broken by Dram finding us walking on the waterfront. I broke away to speak to him and he told me something had happened to Grandma Gertie. That was enough for me to know that I should head back and to my surprise Rhiannon wanted to come as well. She knew Grandma Gertie quite well and wanted to help. Dram headed back alone and we grabbed our gear and she picked up Buttercup and we headed back to Melinir.
 
It turned out that she had been kidnapped by a group of orcs and horsemen? Dram and Sorin were quite distraught over the whole thing but Pickman assured us that the Quadrial was looking into the matter and we needed to steer clear. They were still going with Durbin to the base of the Quadrial. I declined to attend as they were going to be denied entry and Rhiannon was with me. We went back to the Sarcastic Goat and had a wonderful dinner together and after dark went to the commons by the fountain. We sat down and she lamented that the town was nice but the light took away from the stars. I agreed the stars were beautiful. I played a piece I had worked on from last night that she had inspired. As she looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes it all suddenly hit me like a boulder. The time together, the late nights, the playful flirting, dragging out our duet, an endless list of things anyone else would probably have realized sooner. This was not just simply two people enjoying each other's company, it was a much deeper connection than that I believed. I embraced her and kissed her deeply and I could feel a difference between us after that, as if she was saying ‘finally!”. I suggested we get our own room at the Sarcastic Goat and she agreed.
 
One oddity on our way to the fountain that night Black Thom stept out of the shadows and it seemed like he knew Rhiannon. She admitted that there was something between them long ago but it was over and that he was a scoundrel. I dropped it as she was clearly not comfortable or was embarrassed by it. He said he would see me around but of course he would, I’m usually in Melinir? Perhaps Dram is right to be worried about this man?
 
Rhiannon slept late and I stayed with her reflecting on our time together. When she woke we went down and had breakfast and I let her know I had some errands to run this morning. I can’t tell if she genuinely dislikes Dram and the others getting me into these adventures or if it’s just a playful thing? Perhaps both? I’m not sure, I’ll leave it for another day to figure it out. I went to Pickman’s and the others were actually there and had tea made. Delightful. He reviewed all the documents and was able to clear the Commander’s name. The second stone chest that had the documents had explicit instructions to put the water elemental orb/tether in the keep to destroy it. We received quite the payday for the information. He also had identified the items but they were all fairly trivial. The wand was just a detect magic enchantment from a kingdom called Glantri. Apparently it was ruled by Mages. If we are able to make it out of the valley it could be a grand place to visit some day.
 
The others still wanted to meet with the Quadrial but I again declined the invitation to join. If they were looking into it there wasn’t going to be much we could do. I did ask about some power stones. I’m tired of using my own energy constantly, it would be nice to have some mana stored for emergencies. He had a small one he could sell me but for larger ones I would need to contact Geoffrey on Mage Isle when he came in. Pickman did say he knew him and could talk to him and even purchase them in my stead. It sounded fairly simple to me so I gave him some of my coins for the next time he came to Melinir. Hopefully it won't be too long.
 
I went back to The Sarcastic Goat since we had no other pressing issues. Rhiannon and I began playing together and drew in quite a large crowd. It did make me a bit nervous to have all this attention although since it was mostly men I am guessing most of it was towards Rhiannon. I saw Dram in the crowd trying to get my attention but this was something I had been greatly looking forward to. He was also probably still looking into the Grandma Gertie issue which the Quadrial was handling so I paid it no attention and focused on playing. Next thing I know, Dram and some well dressed human next to him try to get my attention after we finish a song. I was actually slightly angry. I told him The Quadrial would handle the issue and to leave it alone, I was busy!
 
Well this had nothing to do with that and was something else entirely. The wealthy patron from our previous mission apparently needed our assistance urgently. Odd. I put my arm around Rhiannon and pulled her closer looking out over the crowd (it may have taken me awhile to realize her feelings but I’m not blind) and whispered to her that the wealthy patron needed more assistance, had a fine meal ready and I would assume a well stocked wine cellar we could peruse for assistance. This seemed to pique her interest though I did suggest we play one more song. To my surprise she suggested we play the first half of our duet! It went over quite well but she did say it was a good time to end as the staff were all looking quite exhausted. We wrapped up and all took the coach outside to Torlynn.
 
The unnatural winter here was very depressing and most had left the area. The patron believes he knows the cause of the winter and wants to restore his town’s prosperity. I did question the reasoning to drag us out in the late evening as we were in the middle of a set. He was apologetic but firmly wanted us there as soon as possible as he worried about the people who stayed behind and put their trust in him. That was all fine. I was just slightly irritated at the whole ordeal. I did request that part of my payment would be wine and that Rhiannon be able to go through the collection to pull out some suitable vintages. The interruption may well be worth it then if we can settle this issue in Torlynn as it has been very friendly to the elves and add to our dwindling wine collection!