Coia: 41 - Brother Can You Spare a Dime?
General Summary
Stephan returned to his cottage to get something while the others wander around the library for a bit while waiting. Getting impatient, Nym cheks on Stephan who says he has an idea on how to detect where the portals will be. He thinks he can make a homing device and asks if Nym by chance has an Amulet of the Planes? Remembering that we did come across one of those at some point, Nym tells Stephan to hold that thought and checks with the rest of the group. Lucy remembers that Gerhart said it was broken and they gave it to Diophenes Jug before sending him back to Candlekeep. Hoping to catch Retta before she returns, Nym contacts Yaldra via a sending stone.
Meanwhile... At Candlekeep
Yaldra questions Retta about what she knows of the demon Mephisto. Retta can tell her little more, so Yaldra mutters an incantation and a portal opens in front of her. She steps through and Retta follows to find herself in the arboretum of Candlekeep, with a long stone walkway surrounded by a series of portals. Yaldra directs Retta to a portal that will take her to Upper Lachis to join back up with her friends. Just after she steps through the portal, Yaldra hears the sending stone. She shrugs and continues on her way.Back at the Library
Retta appears almost immediately after Nym's realization. She has 3000 Platinum for each of the group for the three portals they've destroyed since last meeting Yaldra. After catching up with Mithac and relaying what she knows from Nicodemus, the group realize that there is a 6th portal, one side of which was located inside the castle in the Shadowfell. The location on the material plane is unknown. Flush with cash and realizing they really need that homing beacon, they decide to shop for some goods and teleportation spells. We buy some bling.Candlekeep Redux
Retta casts the teleportation spell and we walk through a portal to find ourselves in the arboretum in Candlekeep. As this isn't the normal or approved method of entry, guards quickly surround us, but Retta says "We're with Diophenes" and this seems to quell them temporarily. One of them leads us to his office where we find him looking a little worse for wear. He apparently looks so different that Mithac doesn't even recognize her beloved tutor that she's known all her life and is greatly indebted to. But he recognizes her and when we request the Amulet of the Planes, he gives it to her. When questioned about Mephisto, he claims ignorance of the subject but tells us that Burko Darcy might know more about it. We ask around for Mr. Darcy and after a long wait, are told that he's away on business and may not be back for some time. We decide to cut our losses and return to the Illuminated Meadow LibraryThe Library Redux
Stephan is glad to see the Amulet of the Planes and gets to work on building his homing device. A few minutes later he informs us that he will need a few more items. Since we want to travel to the Shadowfell, he'll need something from there. Fortunately Lucy had grabbed a handful of rocks before we returned and he gives these to Stephan. Stephan then tells us that we also need to pound the asses from creatures of the Unseely Court from the Feywild as these embody the chaos and destruction needed for this homing device. After some confusion, we realize that he needs a "Pound of Ashes", and re-evaluate our options. There have been some reports of strange disturbances at the local lumberyard that may be the result of Fey creatures teleporting into the material plane. As our only lead, we follow it. Heading north, we follow the river about a quarter mile upstream and come to a lumber mill. Therogar the older half-orc owner of the mill is just closing up for the evening and tells us of the recent mischief that has caused his mill to suffer. Hearing some noises, we look around just in time to see a pile of lumber fall into the water. Noting some very fast scurrying creatures, we take positions around the mill and after a short time are able to kill eight Quicklings. We bring one of them back to life to ask where it came from, but we don't have much luck in finding a portal. Deciding our priorities are with the homing device, we burn the bodies and take the ashes back to Stephan.
Sszardan T'Sarran
Zenhorn
Mithac Fezim
Lucius
Garus Silenus
Retta
Nym Lenore
Report Date
09 Oct 2023