Dead and Gone
General Summary
After fighting off the Burninator, a Dragon Hybrid sent to find magical items at this farm for "The Boss", the Heroes discover amid the ruins of the fallen house a cellar door that had been overlooked by the Kobolds and the Dragon Hybrid. Within that cellar was a pantry full of food dividing what appeared to be a wizard's research alcove and a bard's workshop.
The Pantry was incredibly well-stocked with far more varieties of food than was grown on that farm. The Wizard's Study was lit by a glowing crystal atop a tall, thin staff of white ash and held dozens of books on the theories of magic written by various scholars and the beginnings of an entirely new spell. The Workshop held two cabinets and a workbench, and a case set onto the wall below the ceiling. Within the first oaken cabinet were musical instruments, in the wider, woven, thorn wood cabinet held weapons wrapped in yellow ribbons.
Dain and Adelaide headed to the workshop, while Asgeir and Tim inspected the study. Kovu stuffed his pack with the pantry goods. After stuffing his pack, Kovu went to the encased weapon on the wall and took down the axe inside it. At the same time, Tim grabbed a spellbook and Adelaide took up an instrument. Right then, without warning, the light dimmed and four wraiths came through the walls. Dain immediately ran, yelling for everyone to follow. Kovu put down the axe, gently. Tim tried to bargain with the spirits saying that since the people upstairs were dead, no one would be using this stuff.
The wraiths spoke in sibilant voices at once, a hissed susurrus of sound. Each of the four in the room heard a part of the message, and with time figured out the wraith's message:
"The Lizard Of Oz"
Three times the wraiths spoke, and the Heroes puzzled out the messages, figuring out in due course they had misheard that first one. The wraiths messages were simple, as any communication from the lands of the dead should be:
The first message: their target; the second: the price; the third: a warning. Will the Heroes complete this quest given by the unquiet dead?
After some conversation, the Heroes agree to help the wraiths and take the items from the cellar. Struggling under their haul, they leave to get to Fort Rodric. Their progress is dwarf-like - slow but relentless. They eventually arrive at the fort, only to find they have unwittingly crossed the boundary stones between Otrin and Pelgate and not to a good reception from Fort Rodric's commander, Dame Varr.
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