Rohar arranges for the group's horses to be stabled at the abbey, and their cart stored there as well. He guides them on foot to
Wind's End, a walled two-storey mansion of red sandstone, covered in vines. Arriving, they are greeted by the steward of the house, an immaculately dressed elderly dwarf who introduces himself as
Klaus Bronzecrest, and two other servants:
Lelana, a girl in her late teens, and
Stefan, an older man. Eric notes that Lelana's eyes are different colours, one blue, the other green.
The four of them take rooms on the second floor. Mongo's is next to the mansion's chapel, while Sylman's is closest to the back staircase. Each room has a copy of the
Edicts of Divinity.
Before their evening meal, Sylman gives Bronzecrest a note to send to
Nalia at the
Fist and Flagon, arranging to meet with her at noon the following day. The dwarf raises an eyebrow at the destination for the note but assures Sylman that he will see to it.
Following their meal, the group confers on their next steps. Eric is adamant that they have a responsibility to inform
Baron Ashwood of the threat to his life and would like to coordinate their actions regarding the
Animus Project with
Father Stone and
Bishop Cantrell. Sylman speaks in favour of retrieving the Project's amulet from
Kalm and destroying it. Perhaps they could throw it in a volcano? Mongo is entranced by the idea; he feels that Sylman is finally speaking with true wisdom. They lay out their plans for the next day—including investigating the prospect of registering as a mercenary band.
November 10, 1203 AR
After breakfast, their first stop is the headquarters of the
Iron Wolves in the
Trade District, a small keep south of the
bazaar with a parade ground in front of it.
Herod's Hall, the local headquarters of the
Azrinath, is next door.
A guard shows them to an office on the second floor, where a clerk informs them of their options. They can register as an independent mercenary company or enlist as members of the Iron Wolves. For an independent company, the registration fee is 500 gold, renewable annually for 100 gp. Perusing the contract, Eric notes a clause where the
Duke reserves the right to conscript mercenary companies in times of need. The clerk states that the conscription clause has never been invoked, but if it were, the Duke would compensate them for their service.
The group repairs to a small meeting room to make a decision. Sylman briefly wonders whether they might be able to forego the fee if they could get some kind of special dispensation from the Church. Perhaps they could be deputized by the Azrinath? Eric is not in favour of that approach. They all agree that they would rather register as independents than join the Iron Wolves, but a minimum of four members is needed for the contract. Bruno agrees to be a founding member of the company—but only as a full partner, and not Eric's subordinate.
They return to the clerk's office and complete the registration. In return, they are provided with writs identifying them as registered mercenaries permitted to carry weapons within Redwall.
Bruno heads back to the manor. The others travel briefly to the east gate so that Sylman and Eric can rearm themselves, then return to the market. The streets are bustling due to the festival. Sylman buys a dagger to replace the one he threw at the ka in
Malrikstead, while Eric purchases a pair of short swords as replacements for the ones he took from the armoury at the
monastery, which are emblazoned with the emblem of the Church. He and Mongo then head for the Morning Star Abbey, while Sylman wanders the market until his meeting with Nalia. He attempts to pick the pocket of a foppishly dressed noble shopping at a hat merchant’s but has no luck.
At the Abbey, Eric looks for someone he can return the swords to, finally giving them to a middle-aged priest named
Mother Celia. He persuades her to grant his request for an audience with Bishop Cantrell and finds the Bishop in her study along with
Dawsin, who is reading a book.
Eric describes to the Bishop their October dinner with Baron Ashwood and the other members of the Animus Project and asks for her views. She is unfamiliar with the Project, though she finds odd the involvement of the Azrinath's
Sir Brayden Penrose; she would have expected a representative of the
Khir-Adun.
Cardinal Roland Sellers and Sellers is a respected man, and it is unsurprising that he would sponsor research into
Dream Crysts and the
the Mark. But why is the project investigating ancient artifacts and the pagan ways of the
lizard people? Something about it makes her uneasy.
But she has no definitive answers for Eric. She suggests that, if he is still unsure whether to support or oppose the Project, he needs to focus his efforts on gaining the information he needs to make a decision. She offers to meet with him again in the future if he feels in need of her guidance.
Before he departs, Eric has a few words with Dawsin, who now resides in
Whitestone Manor, and promises to visit him there in the future.
Meanwhile, Mongo finds Father Stone tending to his plants, and asks for his guidance. A tragedy may be unfolding, he says. An accident may be about to befall Baron Ashwood, and Mongo's companions want to warn him. "They're wise men," Mongo professes, "but not holy men." Is it wise to warn the Baron, or would it be going against the will of the
Maker? Is it the Maker's will to save him?
Stone replies that he still believes that the Baron is meddling in things better left alone, but the right course of action is to convince him to stop. He hasn't done anything worthy of death. "But does he deserve to be saved?" Mongo asks. Stone gazes steadily at him. "We all deserve to be saved, Mongo."
At the Fist and Flagon, Sylman meets with Nalia, and asks about the Hawthornes. Nalia apologizes for her earlier misinformation; she now knows where their home actually is, but Sylman won't find them there. Word is going around that the woman,
Kyra, stole some items from
Baron Borgen, who is now looking for the couple. Kyra Hawthorne hasn't been seen in weeks, and her husband,
Gideon, is said to have fled the city. "What did she take?" Sylman asks. "Supposedly some artifacts from out of some tomb somewhere," Nalia responds. "Yeah," Sylman says, "that's my stuff."
After Kyra went missing, Nalia continues, her husband started asking around for her; but once he got wind of Borgen's pursuit, he left town. As for Borgen, he's still in the city. Getting the Hawthornes' address from her, Sylman takes his leave. No charge for the information, Nalia tells him; call it even after her previous mistake.
Sylman finds the Hawthornes' apartment on the top level of a three-storey stone building in the southern end of the city—a respectable, busy neighbourhood. Sylman climbs up the interior stairwell and knocks; hearing no answer, he picks the lock and enters. The place has been thoroughly trashed. He investigates the scattered belongings and finds camping and other outdoor gear, but nothing else of interest. He closes the door, descends the stairs, and slips away into the crowd.
He meets up with Mongo and Eric at the Bent Coin, which now boasts a raised platform for performers.
Simon, the innkeeper, admits to Eric that he has hired a regular bard for performances, a
kobold named
Marhazar. Eric philosophically accepts this turn of events: "the more people to share the gift of music, the better."
After they share a meal and a drink, Sylman collects a chest of his belongings from Simon's back room, then hires a coach and heads for the east gate to collect the rest of their weapons. Eager to perform for an audience again, Eric remains at the inn and takes the stage for a quick set to moderate applause.
At Wind's End, Bronzecrest is nonplussed when Sylman pulls up in the coach and—with Stefan's help—begins to unload the group's cache of weapons. "Are you going to war, sir?" the steward asks.
"Tools of the trade, my friend," Sylman answers heartily.
"Yes, sir. Are these really two barrels of arrows?" Bronzecrest asks.
"There used to be three," Sylman replies. "It takes a lot of arrows to take down a yeti."
"If you say so, sir."
Once the gear is stored, Sylman retires to the office and writes two letters. The first is to Baron Ashwood, requesting an audience at his pleasure regarding the amulet as well as grievous news of danger to the Baron's person. The second is to Baron Borgen, also asking for an audience: "You wanted to discuss several matters. I'm available at your request." He gives the letters to Bronzecrest, who raises his eyebrows on seeing the addressees: "You travel in some interesting circles, sir." Sylman shrugs: "I can't deny it."
To close out the afternoon, Mongo goes to the Morning Star Abbey once more to visit the orphan children, while Eric amuses himself by browsing the library at Wind's End. He finds a book that gives him some information on the town of
Dagger Rock, but the book is at least five years old; its information clearly dates from before the end of the
Shadow War, when the
Southlund was granted to the dwarves for their wartime service.
The party regroups for the evening meal in the manor's dining room. Bronzecrest interrupts to inform them that they have a guest:
Paxton Cheswright, the steward of one Deston Ashwood.
Sylman goes to the front hall to speak to him: a short, slender man wearing an eyepatch, his long white hair tied back. He informs "Master Zack" that he is here in regards to the letter Sylman sent, and that the Baron wishes to speak to him immediately.
Excusing himself, Sylman informs the others and the four of them take a few minutes to ready themselves. Cheswright waits impatiently in the hall; when they are ready, he frostily remarks that clearly, they do not understand what immediately means. Sylman looks at him askance.
They ride in Cheswright's carriage to the baron's manor. The steward escorts them inside and leads them to the library and reading room on the second floor. The baron stands at the window, peering through a gap in the closed drapes. He turns at their entrance: "Good. You've arrived."
Leaning heavily on a cane, he limps to a nearby chair and sits down. He has a weary, haggard look, and the dream cryst he habitually wears around his neck is not visible. "Were you followed?"
"I don't believe so, my lord," the steward replies. The baron nods. "Make us some tea, Cheswright, please." The man bows and departs.
Sylman speaks. "Forgive me for saying so, but you do not look well." Ashwood grimaces. "I am not well. But your letter spoke of a danger to me. Please, tell me what you know."
Sylman relates briefly their trip to the Ulrich Monastery, particularly his nighttime visitation from the spirit of Karsus and the spirit's warning of the danger to the baron from
Sinzil, now said to be possessing the mage Kyra Hawthorne.
The baron grimaces. "This keeps getting better." After confirming that Sylman is sure that he was awake for the encounter with Karsus, he describes his own circumstances: "I don't have any answers. All I know is that I have been unable to sleep for a week. I'm haunted by dreams that don't seem to be mine." He dreams of being in a place he does not know how to describe, seeing people who are dead, who speak in voices that fill him with fear. Mongo interjects: "Have you tried prayer?" The baron looks at him exhaustedly. "Mongo – I have."
"You are not wearing your dream cryst," Eric remarks. "I am not," the baron replies, "much to my discomfort, as it allows me to walk properly. I have reason to believe that it is related to my torment."
From a chest of drawers, he brings out the dream cryst on its necklace. Its usual light green glow seems more obscure than before. "Is the crystal contaminated?" Sylman asks. The baron shoots him a look: "Yes. It is."
He hands the dream cryst to Sylman for inspection. Holding it to the light, Sylman sees an almost imperceptible blot, like a blob of ink, moving inside it. He hands it back, telling the baron of the similar contamination they observed in
Tyral's Stone at the monastery, and the battle they fought against the Shadows that emerged from it. The baron shuts the necklace back in its drawer: "Part of me wishes you hadn't told me that."
"Lord Ashwood," Sylman continues, "we think that the Animus Project is... waking something up. Investigating cursed Anasazi artifacts... nothing good is coming of this."
"Have you seen Brayden Penrose since you got back?" the baron asks. "No, we have not," Sylman replies.
"I think it's time I told you something," Ashwood says. "I agree with you completely. This is dangerous. Something about it is just—wrong. And the one person I could ask about it is dead."
That person was his professor at
Illiard University,
Krellian Osgrey, who had long been investigating the crysts and what they seem to contain: memories, and dreams. When the Animus Project started up, looking into the Anasazi and their use of the crystals, he was made a member.
Six months ago, the tower where he was conducting his research was destroyed, though Osgrey's body was never found. Witnesses said that the tower imploded, rather than exploded.
"I did not explain this to you before," the baron continues, "because I was afraid of our friend, Sir Penrose. After you left, he insisted that because you had refused my offer, we find someone else. I resisted. I thought we could use you rather than bring in more 'outsiders'. But I've heard that in the past ten days, he's been seeking assistance from outside... partners. Likely the Azrinath—I don't know who else he would go to."
"All the more reason we should be the ones to retrieve the amulet," Sylman says.
There has been no word from
Mateo Hastwyck, so the baron assumes that the amulet is still in Kalm. The cleanup of the town is proceeding slowly. Mateo is believed to be actively involved in manufacturing and administering the
Mind Fire cure, which he discovered. He has, or had, an alchemist's shop in Kalm, and lived above it. However, it's unknown whether the shop still stands. Part of the town was burned down or otherwise destroyed by those infected with mind fire.
The conversation turns to the threat against the baron. Sylman speculates that Sinzil is targeting Ashwood in the hope that this will stop the opening of Atsah's tomb. "How would Sinzil have learned about me?" the baron asks. So far as he knows, he has never met the Hawthornes. The group speculates that Kyra might have known of Ashwood's connection to the Animus Project from her association with Baron Borgen. Sinzil might have gained this knowledge in turn if he were able to access Kyra's knowledge and memories.
As for whether the baron's dreams could be caused by magic,
Zuri Palebrand is investigating. But she has not found anything as yet.
Before they depart, the baron thanks them for what they are doing. "I see you understand the gravity of what's happening as much as I do. If there's anything I can do to help you, I will." He offers at the very least to help cover their costs for the mercenary charter. "And if you retrieve the amulet—what then?"
"Destroy it," Sylman says flatly. "Let no one enter Atsah's tomb."
"What does that do for the dreams?" the baron asks.
"I—don't know," Sylman confesses.
Ashwood gives them a final warning: "You must beware of Penrose. He's driven by something I don't understand."
The adventurers take their leave and return to Wind's End, resolved to journey to Kalm and retrieve the amulet as soon as possible.
