The party joined an eastward-bound trade caravan early in the morning. As they left
Phandalin,
Gundren Rockseeker was rallying the Pharesian dwarves to lead them up to
Phandelver. At the road junction with the
Tri-Boar Trail, the party saw
Halia Thorton and her assistants surveying their way south toward
Phandalin. Halia explained that she needed to start from a known baseline when documenting the Rockseeker brothers' land claim.
The first day passed uneventfully, but that night a cluster of giant spiders attacked their encampment. The intruders were quickly dispatched, and Koravhik decided to see if the spider legs tasted like crabmeat. They did not. Squirrelly slept through the entire encounter, missing the chance for some hot spider-on-spider action.
The next day Almalexia convinced the party to make a quick side trip to check out Cragmaw Castle. There were no signs that anyone had been there since the party last saw it. Almalexia was pleased at this, since she had entered her own name on the deed registered with Halia.
Other than some trees they spotted walking through the forest a few days later, the rest of the journey to
Westport passed with no issues. The party stayed once again at the Eager Mule inn. Silvermoon dropped off her new breastplate at an armorer to have a more permanent dark finish applied.
Almalexia went to the
Spice Merchants Guild to meet with the man who transported her down the Arle River to
Wallacia,
Christophor Omaru. She asked him to deliver a letter to her tribe in the far north, asking them to come south and live in the
province she's recently claimed land in. Almalexia has not informed her comrades that she has invited her tribe to settle in the province.
Koravhik went drinking at a tavern called Barnacle Bill's in Old Town. There he met an old army buddy of his nicknamed "Brownstains" The two swapped stories of their recent activities long into the night. Brownstains had mostly been doing routine patrols up and down the west coast of
Brigand's Bay, though he did say that he had recently helped stop a slave-running gang. He said that they turned the slavers over to
Countess Thorrindal, and he did not expect the slavers to ever be seen again.
Koravhik originally intended to be circumspect about his party's activities in the province. However, the combination of alcohol loosening his lips, and his companion's enthusiastic interest in his tales, resulted in Koravhik loudly relating almost everything that he had been involved in. This included
Sildar Hallwinter's and
Iarno Albrek's "unofficial" activities on behalf of the crown, as well as the rediscovery of the "Lost Mine of Phandelver".
The next morning the party headed north out of Westport, heading towards the ferries across the mouth of the Arle River. The water crossing and subsequent road travel along the east coast of the bay were uneventful. When they reached the 30 foot tall outer walls of Blackrock, Silvermoon took the lead. Crossing the broad Temple Square, she led the party to the 20 foot tall inner walls that delineate the Old Town dock section of Blackrock. Bearing left, she followed the eastern-most street as it paralleled the rising black stone cliffs for which the city is named. Climbing a shallow hill, she stopped at a 5 story tall Pharesian-style structure built against the looming cliff. A sign above the door read "Capaldi Fencing Academy".
Entering the foyer, Silvermoon handed a letter with a fancy embossed wax seal to a page. The page handed the letter to second page who disappeared into structure. While waiting, the party inspected a number of portraits of fencing masters which lined the walls. These included the current master, Marco Giovanni, and the founder, Vincencio Capaldi. In the corner was a portrait of the second master of this school, a young half-elven woman named Cassandra Thorrindal. Koravhik recognized her name, and related to the others several stories about her, including one of her nicknames as the "Dragon Princess" because she is purported to have killed several dragons.
The page returned a few minutes later and asked the party to follow him. It was revealed that the building enclosed three sides of an inner paved courtyard, the fourth side was the shear 100 foot tall black cliff. In the courtyard an elderly instructor was supervising a small group of young men and women going through some fencing drills. He called out corrections to one of the students, who Koravhik recognized as
Nikola Tolk, a young man from his past.
The party was led to an office on the top floor. A young woman greeted them, then ushered them to a second inner office that over-looked the courtyard. Opening the door, she announced "Lady Galanodel, and party!", then motioned for the party to enter. Inside, the Countess Thorrindal greeted Silvermoon warmly, calling her by the first name "Faen". Seating the party in front of her simple desk, she offered them wine from one of Silvermoon's family labels. Some of the party, particularly Koravhik, were taken aback to learn that their friend was a member of the Pharesian nobility.
After some small talk, the conversation moved to the cursed/damaged magic items which the party had found. In recognition of the service the party had performed for Wallacia in the province, the Countess agreed to repair Cressidien's dagger the following morning. In exchange for dealing with the curses on Cernan's and Squirrelly's swords, she asked the party to perform a small quest.
She explained that she has been searching for a tome named the Grimoire of the Ebon Rose for some time now, and that her research suggested that a woman named Agatha in their province supposedly knows where it is located. Reaching deep into a magical pouch on her belt, she brought forth an elegant silver hairbrush. The Countess tasked the party with giving the hairbrush to Agatha in exchange for the location of the grimoire. The Countess will remove both curses in exchange for the location; if the party delivers the tome itself, the Countess will additionally owe the party a favor.
When asked why she didn't go get the information herself, the Countess replied that the meeting would probably not go well, as she has a poor history with fey, glancing at Almalexia as she spoke. The party asked what the book contained, the Countess replied that it is supposed to contain information used by the Lich Queen to create some of her long-lived curses. The Countess wants it in an effort to learn how to undo those curses. The party agreed to her terms. She then offered the party accommodation in her fencing academy while they stayed in Blackrock, which they accepted.
On the desk lay a stack of papers, covered with a small cloth. Koravhik spotted ale-mug stains on the corners of several papers. He recognized these as likely the reports which Sildar was writing while they talked in Phandalin of the party's adventures. He surmised that the Countess was the "court official" which had dispatched Iarno to survey the province, then sent Sildar to search for Iarno when he disappeared.
Silvermoon then asked for a chance to try out her new rapier against a skilled opponent. The Countess volunteered her services in that regard, and they all went downstairs to the courtyard. Interrupting the class which was in session, Silvermoon and the Countess faced off. Although Silvermoon scored the first "touch", the Countess quickly showed her greater skill. She complimented Silvermoon for advancing so quickly in her swordsmanship, as she was not even armed when they met at a trade conference a few years ago.
Meanwhile, Nikloa Tolk was glaring at Koravhik for interrupting "his" training session. Koravhik condescendingly offered to instruct him in swordsmanship, and Nikola stormed red-faced into the street. Koravhik lost him the crowd, and then failed to convince the instructor to tell him where Nikola was staying.
The next morning the Countess took Cressidien by skiff to the Blackrock Mage Academy in the harbor. She explained that she could probably repair the dagger back at her fencing school, but it was better to be "safe than sorry" when dealing with ancient magic items. Once at the Academy, she procured an empty laboratory for their use, then repaired the dagger with no issues.
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