#38 - The Calm Before the (Bone) Storm

Here the narrative is again written by Xoma of the M’jai family, drow wizard of Xen'drik.

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After we awoke from our petrification and subsequent shadowy vision, Magnus, Cypher, Rendar, and I found ourselves back in the map room with Drix (in drow form), Zerasha, and the maedar Hajda. We awoke with deep brands in our palms—depicting a twisted tower sigil, quite like the symbol of the Shadow. These must have been carved into our forms while we were stone for such scarification to a living being could result in significant damage and perhaps loss of limb.

Neither Magnus nor I are new to tattoos, but I suspect that Cypher and Rendar were somewhat unnerved to find themselves marked by the Shadow. As a creature of shadow already, it didn’t faze me. I suspect that Doongul is relieved that he didn’t go with us—I doubt Onatar would be pleased if the dwarf had been marked in such a way.

After everyone had some time to rest, Zerasha revealed to us the results of her vision. She indicated that one of the members of the Winter Coalition, which had formed during the Age of Demons was still alive—perhaps through some sort of magical longevity—and that there were three locations significant in some way to the Winter Coalition itself. She believed we would be able to contact this being at one of these sites. Her divination revealed him to be humanoid, though she was unsure of what race.

The three locations are as follows:

• A mountain among the Starpeaks, in northern Aundair. The Starpeaks also happens to be the location of the Starpeaks Observatory, a facility of Aundair's Arcane Congress.
• The ruins of Mar'saval in the lawless jungle-and-swamp frontier of Q’Barra in southeastern Khorvaire.
• The Boneyard, an ancient dragon cemetery or battle site in a valley at the eastern border of the Talenta Plains.

Of the three, Q’Barra seemed least interesting to me. Both the Arcane Congress and the Boneyard contained potential sources of power and knowledge. Q’Barra, while wild and perhaps a bit fun, seemed less intriguing. We discussed the notion of taking a sea vessel from Sharn. This would have many advantages, allowing us to consult another Shadow priestess and visit libraries in the City of Towers, and also commandeer a ship. By ship, we could stop at Korranberg to consult allies and their great library, then take to sea again to land in the port of Aerie in Valenar, which is approximately equidistant between Q’Barra and the Boneyard, allowing us to travel to either.

But then we recalled that there was a strong connection to the Winter Coalition and the Arcane Congress . That seemed to indicate that a trip to Arcanix might be the first order of business. I’m not sure we’ve settled on a final decision.

Drix and Zerasha explained the nature of the three arena tournaments on the first night of the Long Shadows holiday. The first, the Giants' Ring, is a battle involving larger combatants, which seemed wise to avoid; the second involves more bestial creatures in a cavelike environment; and the third is a free-for-all with many participants (including the reviled oni, Zurin Souldrinker, who stole poor Trug’s soul) know as the Bone Storm.

Zerasha indicated that we also possessed three tools that could aid us in our journey: "the bone, the blade, and the key." She said that we already had these in our possession. The bone was the mammoth dragonbone club that Magnus took as a trophy from the vile bugbear that we fought in the temple of the Mockery. The blade was likely the byeshk scimitar that we located during our explorations of the ruins of Darguun. We are unsure of the nature of the key as Zerasha indicated that it was not the same as "the goblin's key" (the Emperor's Key, as we know it).

We spent a great deal of time discussing items that could be the key. Cypher in particular, enjoyed pontificating on the subject, though they is nothing new about that.

The remainder of the first night after we awoke was spent performing a variety of tasks related to shopping and preparations for our rumble in the arena. We went back to the forge to speak with Szalas Jal and his artifice partner about items that might be the key. Cypher bartered for some more artificer trinkets, Rendar exchanged his Karnnathi armor for less conspicuous protection; and Cypher finished work on his mechanical dog. He has named the metal beast Rungo. Like his bear hat.

After some discussion, we agreed to sell the dragonshard from the Sky Talon to the elven artificer, Ravid. Magnus used his portion of the money and some borrowed from others to purchase a magical ring of protecction from the oni smith, similar to the one I wear. The smith indicated that I might find scrolls and alchemical substances by consulting with the night hag Jabra, but she is a mysterious creature who is difficult to find.

We left the smithy and conferred with Drix. She said that she could probably find Jabra and also gave us advice and information on locating some potential patrons.

We had a run-in with the elder Karrn and the warforged Grapnel, yet again. The unpleasant human made it clear that he believed Grapnel to be his property and that the edict freeing the warforged race was propaganda that did not apply here. It seemed like he had conditioned Grapnel to believe that he had no independent status and that those of other nations were liars if they asserted otherwise.

Grapnel seemed confused but likely is common with members of his ‘race,’ it was difficult for him to question authority. It did not help that Cypher admitted to using a pseudonym in the arena, only enforcing Grapnel’s belief that foreigners lie.

I suspect that the warforged simply isn’t very bright, but that does not mean that he deserves to be a slave. The key will be to convince him that his masters are the ones who are lying, not us. That may be impossible, but it’s worth at least a few more efforts. We nearly came to blows with the Karrn over the situation, but a fight for Grapnel seemed ill-advised, at least until the warforged was convinced that he should fight for himself.

This reminds me of something that happened back home. There was a fern that grew in shady areas of the jungle known as Hwa’quok. Some young Vulkoori enjoyed chewing the leaves of the fern because it dulled battle-pains, but it also made them stupid. It was easy to become dependent on the plant, rendering these warriors almost crippled. More than a few had to be cut down because they had become a drain or their tribes. Some could be convinced of their error, and recovered from it, but otherwise refused to deny that they had a problem. These poor individuals did not survive.

Grapnel is much like those addicted to Hwa’quok. He has a problem, but refuses to admit it or is unable to recognize it. Part of me thinks it would be a service to him if we cut him down. The other part feels that we need to intervene to help him because unlike the addicts, he has no capacity to break free from his shackles.

After our run in with the Karns and their warforged, we did a little more shopping. We planned to go to the Goblin Market, but before we did, we noticed that a human had been watching our encounter with the Karrns. We approached him and discovered that he was an agent of the Brelish general that had taken an interest in Cypher. He had a warforged arm and an eyepatch, which were intriguing to Cypher.

The man indicated that his master wished for Cypher to enter an arrangement of patronage. He would supply gold and other forms of assistance and all he wanted in return was that Cypher would enter the Giants' Ring event in the Arena and destroy the troll known as Fireshazz. The troll was said to be resistant to fire, unlike most of his kin, which would make the challenge that much more difficult. After some discussion, Cypher agreed to terms.

At the Goblin Market, we located some alchemical substances that could prove useful in our upcoming skirmish. In particular, we were interested in acid that could counteract the troll’s regeneration. Using a spell, I located a magical scroll. The goblin merchant had no idea what she had, so she sold it to me, along with a likely useless map, for 20 gold pieces. It proved to be a warding scroll, containing the spell of Alarm, which could help significantly in preventing ambushes while our party rests.

While we were in town, we also visited the halflings of Jorasco and Ghallanda, who were able to elaborate somewhat on the nature of the Boneyard and the Talenta Plains. They didn’t have much detail, but they did indicate that the area attracted aberrant creatures of Xoriat and occasionally living dragons became incensed if they discovered that their burials were being disturbed. We learned that the Talenta Plains really didn’t have any true settlements, which confirmed our suspicions that getting around there would be difficult.

At the House Sivis office, we sent a message via Speaking Stone to Wenrick in Korranberg, which went as follows:

Dear Wenrick,

We were pleased to hear that you and the gnomes arrived safely in Korranberg. We have been traveling, pursuing information about our quest and “the item.”

We are concerned about the repercussions of the news story about our activities in the Korranberg Chronicle. We were hoping you might be able to spread the word of our benevolent nature, with the subtlety in which your people are so well known.

It is likely that we will be back in Korranberg sometime in the next few months. I am not sure when, but we are concerned about attracting unwanted attention. Our party was initially ambushed in the city, so we know that it is likely that there will be eyes watching out for us. We would greatly appreciate it if you could find a safe place for us to stay when we arrive, even if it is on short notice. 
While we are in Korranberg, our primary goal is to get into the great library, preferably without attracting much attention. We have much we need to research, but it will be difficult if we are rushed and harried. 

We hope you are well and feel truly sorry for the hardships that have befallen you. We appreciate any assistance you can provide to us and are grateful for the discretion you have shown. 

We will attempt to contact you if we have more news on when we might be in your region. Until then, we wish you the best.

Skla-Um-Fet (a drow expression…it roughly translates to “Don’t Die.),

Xoma