[Dungeons & Dragons 3.5] Shadows of Greatness, parts 23-27

23. The Fountain of Yryss

We found that the bodies of the Thayan group had been looted when we reached their campsite.  Rock had observed goblin tracks in the vicinity, and my sword was glowing.  Pakkin the goblin, who had not accompanied us to the ruins, reappeared and showed Nekaya where he had hidden the items he had taken from the bodies.  There was no sign that the Red Wizard had returned to the camp.  It occurred to us that he had not been properly attired for wilderness travel and he may have arrived by use of a spell in the same way that he departed.

One of the fallen was a priestess of Oghma, a god of Men devoted to accumulating knowledge.  Among her belongings were a breastplate, buckler, and short sword of fine mithral.  Sadly the sword was broken.  I considered that the buckler might be useful to me, but as I am accustomed to fighting with a sword in each hand I concluded that it would not give me any advantage over my foes.  Rock has taken charge of it, as well as the sword, which he hopes to repair. 

We had thought that perhaps Phaele might find the breastplate useful as it might not hamper her spellcasting in the way that ordinary armor would, but Nekaya suddenly determined to try the armor herself, despite her reluctance to use anything associated with Thayan folk.  She took time to perform a cleansing ritual to remove any evil influences from the armor.  Sandrue found that the priestess had also carried several books, one of which he found most engrossing.

Liadan proposed that we lay the bodies to rest as best we could.  The Thayans had brought digging implements with them, and we employed these to excavate a shallow pit in the frozen earth, with aid from Phaele’s spells to soften the ground.  We were obliged to place all the bodies together in this pit as the ground was too hard to dig separate graves.  We covered the excavation with stones to protect it from scavenging animals.  Though Liadan is not much fonder of Thayans than Nekaya, she said a prayer to put the souls of the dead to rest.

After we had laid the dead to rest, we made a camp of our own a short distance away.  As we settled down to consume our evening meal, Phaele spoke out more forcefully than I have ever heard her speak before.  She berated the rest of us for behaving rashly during our battle with the dragon.  Though she did not say as much, I think that much of her ire was reserved for Nekaya, who often charges the enemy with what seems little forethought.  But she is not the only member of our group who is guilty of such behavior.  Phaele made the point that we do not always avail ourselves of one another’s strengths.  Both Phaele and Sandrue are able to cast spells which will benefit others in combat, and if we rush off to meet our foes we cannot take advantage of this magical aid.  She also fears that she will harm one of us should we place ourselves between her and the intended target of her spells.

For myself, I will endeavor to keep her suggestions in mind in future.  I am not certain what my companions will do.  My friend Rock often seems to consider himself both invulnerable and expendable, but he has already discussed this with Phaele and has assured her he will not hold her at fault should one of her spells do him injury.  Nekaya appeared slightly hurt by Phaele’s remarks, muttering something to the effect that she would remain at the rear of the group from now on.  I doubt that her nature will permit her to adhere to such a strategy for long.

After this discussion, Rock and I took time to spar together.  Rock has sought my aid in learning to wield two weapons.  We hope to seek opportunities for our entire party to practice together as a group rather than in pairs, so that we may put Phaele’s suggestions into practice.  Phaele thinks it odd that we are so disorganized after our months of service in Camber’s militia.  But that situation was unlike our current state of affairs, as we must now learn to deal with many more surprises than we experienced in Camber.

The following morning, Sandrue told us of what he had read in the book he found so fascinating.  The book gave information regarding the ruined towers.  They had been built by a pair of druids who had come to investigate the presence of the fabled fountain of Yryss, whose waters could apparently grant numerous boons to those who partook of them.  This aroused much interest among our group, particularly in Liadan, who was quite eager to return to the towers and seek the benefits of the waters.  We considered whether the message we had agreed to deliver on behalf of Simon Baker was urgent enough that we should forego a return to the ruined towers, but we concluded that should we depart we might return at a later date to find the towers reinhabited by some monster as dangerous as the dragons, or worse. 

In addition to discussing whether to seek the magical fountain, we also considered the matter of the symbols of Silvanus that we had taken from the ruins.  Rock was determined that we should carry them to Arrabar and seek out some order of druids who might take charge of them.  Erim feared that they might have been part of some magical warding to protect the fountain, though the symbols themselves radiated no magic. Some of the others also thought we ought to return the symbols to where we had found them, though not for the same reason as Erim.   I felt that it was somewhat sacrilegious to remove the symbols, but Rock was so convinced that his course of action was the proper one that I think we might have come to blows had we tried to take the symbols back.

We made our way back to the towers as swiftly as we could.  We at first assumed that the pool at the base of the tree tower was the site of the fountain of Yryss.  The mages examined it for signs of magical energies but found none.  We conjectured that the lifting tackle that had fallen into the pool might once have been used to lower supplicants into the center of the pond, where we surmised that the fountain might lie.  Liadan and Rock were prepared to swim out to the center of the pool, being the strongest swimmers among us.  Liadan attempted to pull up the chain attached to the lifting equipment, but it became snagged on some unknown obstacle beneath the water.  Sandrue then pointed out that the book he had found described a verse carved over the fountain.  As there was no sign of carving in the vicinity of the pool, it was determined that we should examine the other ruins more thoroughly before continuing our investigation of the pond. 

Since we had already searched the tree tower extensively on our first visit, we turned our attention to the second tower.  We were still reluctant to enter it, for we could see that much of the structure was supported only by the giant webs that covered it.  Some of the stonework actually swayed in the breeze like leaves, held in place by the webbing.  I did not wish to meet the creature than made those webs.  But the second tower seemed the only likely place to find a fountain, so we entered the remains of the corridor that connected the two towers.  Nekaya and Phaele chose to remain outside to watch for danger from the wall of webbing beyond the second tower.

Rock proceeded down the corridor first.  As he reached the midpoint of the hallway, the stone flooring suddenly opened beneath him.  He managed to leap away from the opening and land on the opposite side of the deep shaft that had appeared below him.  A voice suddenly shouted out a warning that there were intruders in the structure.  Then a portion of the floor raised up like a limb and struck at Rock and myself, as I had moved up to the edge of the shaft.  Liadan also moved forward and struck the amorphous limb.  The appearance of the substance on the floor was no longer stony, but had become gray and slimy.  It struck at Liadan and grabbed her in a sticky embrace.  Rock then attempted to free her from the slime and became caught himself.

Evidently Nekaya must have heard the sounds of our struggle, for she came to our aid.  There was a doorway in the corridor for which the door had fallen from its hinges and had been propped up against the doorjamb.  Nekaya thrust aside this door and urged Pekuah up to the opening so that Liadan could catch hold of the reins and pull free of the gray slime.  I had backed away from the slime to avoid becoming entangled myself, and I drew my bow and fired arrows into the sticky stuff.  It was difficult to hit it without danger of hitting my friends.  Phaele came up to the doorway and sent a sphere of magical flame to burn the slime creature.  While the sphere burned and I continued to send arrows into the creature, Rock struggled to free himself. 

At last the gray slime began to go slack, drooping down into the pit beneath it.  Rock was soon hanging from the lip of the pit with the full weight of the monster dangling from his body.  Even in death it retained its stickiness.  I leapt across the pit and assisted him in freeing himself from the clinging corpse.  The pit the creature had covered had no connection to any tunnel, so far as we could see, but it held the remains of some past victims.  Once Rock was free the creature slumped to the bottom of the pit and covered the evidence of its past.

We tumbled some stones from the crumbling walls to allow the rest of our group to cross the pit and continue down the hallway.  Once we entered the second tower we observed two staircases, one going up that had fallen in long ago, and a second descending beneath the tower.  The descending stairs were choked with debris.  Rock followed them down a short distance and observed that the area below smelled like the den of some large rodent.  When he descended further he discovered the creature that laired below.  An enormous badger emerged from the chamber and charged up the stairs.  Rock backed up and shielded himself behind the mithral buckler.  Erim attempted to cause the badger to fall asleep but his spell apparently failed to affect it.  I fired arrows over Rock’s head.  Liadan moved to the side of the stairwell entrance and seared the creature with a brilliant light.  Rock was finally able to slay it with his hammer.  

In the chamber below we found that the badger had destroyed much of what furnishing the room had held.  But a door marked with the symbol of Silvanus still remained.  A bluish light that rippled like the reflection from water shone from beneath the door.  The door was not barred or locked.  We entered a second chamber in which we saw a fountain on a pedestal, glowing with wavering blue light.  Behind the fountain the stone was carved in some tongue I could not decipher, but the mages confirmed that it was the verse Sandrue had read to us from his book.  As we observed this, the room abruptly lit up and a dark form rose from the waters of the fountain.  The shape within the water spoke, saying “The power of the fountain is not mine, it will not be yours.”

24. The Blessings of the Fountain

The water creature rose up out of the fountain bowl, splashing all of us who had entered the room, and declared that it would not allow any other creature to enjoy the blessings of the fountain. Liadan and Sandrue conversed with the creature, attempting to persuade it to permit us to avail ourselves of the fountain's effects, but it refused. Sandrue then began to question the creature cleverly as to why it was unable to access the powers of the fountain itself. It knew nothing of the verse inscribed upon the wall behind it, being evidently unable to read the script any more than I could myself.

Though Erim was not standing within the fountain chamber, he cast a spell that permitted him to converse with us, though it seemed that his spell did not include Rock. It was his opinion that we should simply leave. He had no interest in testing the legend of the fountain's powers. Nekaya announced that the water creature was of an evil nature, loudly enough that the creature itself could hear her words. She was convinced that an evil creature should be removed from the fountain at once. The creature was not in the least perturbed by this announcement, however. It continued to converse with Sandrue, who begged its permission to use a spell to examine the fountain. Using Erim's spell of communication, he was able to tell us that he had discovered a stone in the bottom of the fountain pool that was marked with a rune. This stone was separate from the magic of the fountain itself.

After discovering this rune stone, Sandrue and Nekaya then began what appeared to be a heated discussion, though I understood nothing they said for they spoke in some tongue unknown to me. When Sandrue returned his attention to the water creature, it agreed that if Sandrue would tell it what he knew of the fountain, it would permit him to have whatever power remained once it had taken its share. I felt that the creature believed it would drain the fountain of all magic once it knew how to access the power. We all attempted to explain to it that we believed that the inscription was the key to obtaining the fountain's benefits. The creature appeared to think the verse meaningless because it had been inscribed there by 'lesser beings', though no one knows who is responsible for the fountain or the verse. I wonder if all such watery beings are so arrogant.

Sandrue agreed to tell the creature what he had learned from the book. I do not know precisely what the priestess's journal said, but I suspect that Sandrue, though normally a man of great honesty, dissembled when he spoke with the water creature. The creature told him he could remove the rune stone from the fountain and keep it, as the first part of their bargain. Being closest to the fountain at that point, Rock removed the stone. It gushed forth quantities of water when it was removed, but ceased when Rock shifted his grip so that he was no longer touching the rune. Sandrue explained by means of Erim's spell that the rune was one of water creation. When he questioned the water elemental further regarding this stone he learned that the creature had brought the stone to the fountain itself. The stone had no relation to the magic of the fountain.

All this while the creature had continued to insist that it would let no one but itself use the power of the fountain, once it had discovered how to do so. The inscription on the wall appeared to indicate that one must come to the fountain without evil or selfish intent in order to receive the fountain's benefits. Nekaya had questioned the water creature about its intent once it had gained the fountain's power, and it confessed that it might use the power to cause destruction. This convinced her more than ever that the creature must be removed from the fountain, but we could not determine how we might go about achieving this end. Sandrue begged leave of the creature to go outside the tower. Being supremely arrogant, the creature readily agreed.

Once we began to discuss what to do, we concluded that we must eliminate the creature. Nekaya feared it would impart an evil taint to the fountain. Erim continued to believe that we ought to let the creature alone. He suggested that it served unwittingly as a guardian of the fountain, and that as we had removed all other protections from the fountain by slaying the gray slime and the huge badger, we should not then leave the area unprotected. The rest of us felt it better to leave the fountain unguarded than in the hands of an evil being. We considered the possibility of collapsing the tower so that the fountain would be buried beneath the rubble.

As we feared that ordinary weapons would have little effect on a being made of water, the mages in our group formed a plan to cast several spells upon it at once in the hope that this would do it harm. This raised the concern that the already damaged tower might be brought down upon our heads. We determined that we might attempt to contain the power of their spells within the fountain chamber by shutting the door.

Rock volunteered to perform this task, being the hardiest among us. Sandrue worried that such an explosion of magics might harm the fountain, but became convinced that since the fountain had stood far longer than the tower had existed, then it was unlikely anything he or the other mages could do would seriously harm it.

We descended once more to the fountain chamber. Nekaya and Erim remained above ground to provide aid in the event that the tower collapsed. Before proceeding with our plan, Liadan asked the water creature if it would permit her to cast a spell upon it that would purify it, hoping to remove the evil from its nature. She had been granted a spell that would remove pollutants from water. But the creature, considering itself perfect, refused to permit this. Having concluded that we had no other choice, we then proceeded with our plan of attack.

As Rock flung open the door and called out to attract the creature's attention, Liadan, Sandrue and Phaele flung their most powerful spells into the chamber and Rock then slammed the door shut. I waited on the stairs in the event that my friends should need me. The tower shook and stones and rubble showered the room in which we stood. Phaele began to flee up the stairs. From above, Nekaya shouted for us to draw the water creature out. We heard water crash against the door. Liadan, Sandrue and myself followed Phaele's example and retreated from the underground room. As we ascended the stairs we heard the door burst from its hinges and the sound of water rushing behind us.

We ran out of the tower onto the hillside the sloped down from the structure, prepared to do battle with an angry being of water. Phaele attempted to burn it with a sphere of flame but it easily doused her magical fire. Liadan summoned up a magical mace and struck it. The creature then struck her back, but when she met it with a blow from the quicksilver mace we had found earlier, it appeared to suffer some injury. Phaele cast a bolt of lightning at the creature as she had done in the fountain room. Steam arose from its watery form and it appeared to shrink.

Though I still doubted that I could do much to harm the creature, when I saw that Nekaya's enchanted weapon seemed to injure it, I struck with the sword my wife had given me that glows in the presence of goblins. Like a punctured bladder the creature fell to the ground and flowed downhill. It behaved as ordinary water without will or thought. One of the mages assured us that it would not arise to attack us again.

Having successfully disposed of the evil water elemental, most of our party descended once more to the fountain chamber. Some stones from the upper part of the tower had fallen into the room where the badger had laired, but the fountain room was undamaged. Sandrue was firmly convinced that employing the words of the inscription would invoke the power of the fountain, though a portion of the inscription was damaged and could not be read. Sandrue chose to be the first to test his conviction. After only a few moments he emerged from the water subdued, yet proclaiming that he saw the world with greater clarity. For him the fountain no longer shone with its blue light, though the rest of us could still see it.

When Phaele entered the fountain she stated that she came without conceit, one of the phrases of the inscription. Her experience was similar to Sandrue's, though the grace she received was not of the same variety, and she too could no longer see the fountain's glow. One by one we each proceeded to enter the pool and sip the water with varying effect, though we all knew that we had received some blessing. For myself I requested that the fountain bestow whatever blessing it found me most worthy of. I feel that I have become somehow more graceful as a result of this experience.

Liadan asked to be alone while she experienced the fountain's waters. She seemed to have gained some small measure of peace once she returned. Of all our companions only Erim declined to avail himself of the fountain, though he gave no explanation of his refusal.

During the time that the rest of us were within the fountain chamber, Nekaya had remained outside to watch for further dangers. Pakkin reported to her that he had observed a very large spider climbing about in the great oak tree. Nekaya asked that Erim cast his spell of flotation upon her so that she could observe the spider. She reported to us later that the spider behaved as an ordinary spider would and was not in any manner threatening, but she still believed that the spiders should be destroyed. I am not overly fond of spiders myself, as they are emblems of the hated dark elves, but I saw no reason to slay them if they did not threaten us.

We were uncomfortable still with the presence of the huge webs, and retreated to the camp we had established on the previous evening to consider what if anything we might do to protect the fountain. We feared that other Thayan wizards might know of its existence and seek it out. Most likely we will leave the care of this place in the hands of the druids of Arrabar. I wish that my dear wife were here to offer her wisdom. Though I made my request of the fountain in the name of Lord Corellon, the fountain's magic is not divine in nature according to the mages. Were it possible I would have prayed that any blessing it offered me be given to my beloved Erendis in my stead. I must look to the journey to Arrabar to keep my thoughts from sorrow.

25. Arrabar

Six days following our experience at the fountain of Yryss, we arrived in the city of Arrabar. Our journey there was quite uneventful but for a brief visit to Nimpeth to obtain some supplies. Arrabar may be the largest city I have yet seen on my travels. It is certainly the largest city of Men I have encountered.

When we approached the city we observed that travelers were being admitted slowly and a line had formed upon the road leading to the city gates. We assumed a position in the line and were resigned to awaiting entry for some time. City guards patrolled the line to keep order, and Nekaya called upon them to ask what caused the delay. We were told that there was some outbreak of disease in the neighboring town of Fort Arran and all person entering the city were being examined for signs of illness to avoid spreading the disease.

As the guards explained this to us, one of them noted the medallion Liadan wears, which was presented to her by Covenant. He recognized the device of Covenant's house and accorded Liadan much respect as a result. We were told that we might remove ourselves from the line at the main gate and enter the city through a postern gate that was being employed to speed the entry of persons of high rank. As we made our way toward the smaller gate, we found that we had acquired an unknown addition to our number. A stranger seeking to gain swifter entry to the city had attached himself to us. Nekaya politely but firmly turned him away, unwilling to extend such courtesy to a stranger who had come uninvited. To the amusement of my companions, this man was made to remove himself to the end of the line rather than resuming his former place.

After a brief delay at the postern to demonstrate that we did not carry any illness, we entered the city of Arrabar. We were approached by a youth who offered to show us to a nearby inn, but Sandrue remarked that we might find less costly lodging at a distance somewhat more removed from the gates. We settled upon an establishment called the Bonded Sword, which boasts fine stables. Nekaya insisted upon this and I am happy to concur with her choice. The name of the inn appears to refer to the prevalence of mercenaries in this city, for it seems that the city's lord and many of its nobles maintain private armies. As we all bear arms we have been mistaken for hired swords on several occasions.

Once we had settled upon sharing a room in order to allay some of the cost of lodgings, we settled in the common room to discuss what we planned to do during our stay. Though there had been some concern for urgency in delivering Simon Baker's message, we now determined to seek further information about the person to whom the message was directed, for we were all concerned as to the significance of this message to ourselves and our missing companions. We feel confident that the persons referred to in the message are our friends, but we do not know if their being watched is an omen of good or ill. 

In addition to learning more about the intended recipient of the message, several of us had other tasks we wished to accomplish during our stay in the city. Rock and I both wish to acquire shirts of chain mail. I have felt need of heavier armor during our time in Camber and our travels here. Rock is equipped with sturdy armor, but seeks something lighter that he may don easily if we are set upon while resting. He also wished to acquire a space in which to practice his art of metalworking. Liadan expressed a desire to seek more information about the House of Covenant, as she was evidently somewhat surprised by the deference she had received from the city guards. Sandrue and Phaele meant to visit a great library where they could research some of the matters relating to Covenant's quest and his absence. Nekaya has been here before and has friends to see. Erim intended to seek out an organization of wizards, but it seems that the folk of Arrabar are not friendly toward wizards. Having nothing else he wished to do, he agreed to accompany Liadan to the House of Covenant.

Rock also sought to find devotees of the god Silvanus to whom he could entrust the emblem we had acquired at the ruined fortress. As Silvanus is a god of untouched nature, it seemed unlikely that we would find any of his priests in the city. But there is a large garden here which is tended by priests of Chauntea, and he thought perhaps that they might know where he could find priests of Silvanus, as Chauntea and Silvanus are allied. I offered to accompany him on his visit to the gardens.

We found as we traveled through the city that there are few folk of either of our kindred here, other than those who may have come with mercenary companies. The custodians of the gardens were somewhat surprised by our appearance together, I think. Rock met with a priestess who knew of an enclave of followers of Silvanus some distance outside the city. She offered to send any message he chose to that enclave. Rock agreed to return on the following morning to deliver his message. 

When we met with our companions for the evening meal, we learned interesting news from Liadan. The House of Covenant is not so much the concern of Covenant's family, as I had thought, as it is a place for those who seek a new beginning to find one. Liadan told us that she had met a woman called Leonna, whose name had been mentioned by the city guards who directed us to the postern gate. This woman is apparently the leader of the House of Covenant, though according to Liadan she is relatively young. She also has silver hair as does Liadan; a curious coincidence, as I have observed that silver hair is uncommon among Men except among those of great age. Liadan's medallion accords her high rank among the folk of Covenant's House.

Among others she met there she encountered a person who she suspected of having demonic blood, an individual called Scorch. Covenant's House offers redemption to all who come, regardless of their origin. Liadan reported that Leonna appeared to know Covenant well and was not greatly concerned by his absence or the tale of what had befallen his mighty steed Califax.

After our meal we very nearly found ourselves involved in a fight, but cooler heads prevailed. Liadan had obtained a book written by Covenant during her visit to the House, and was engrossed in it when several of the inn's other patrons approached her. She was obliged to use physical force to deter their attentions, but fortunately none of them attempted to retaliate. Oddly, Rock appeared somewhat disappointed by this turn of events.

Rock has found a location in which he may pursue his arts during our stay. Nekaya has met with her friend, a merchant's daughter called Siorra Farr, and our party has been invited to dine with her tomorrow. Nekaya has already introduced Liadan to Siorra and they apparently got on quite well. Liadan has returned to the House of Covenant to participate in services at the shrine of Lathander, and means to ask Leonna what she knows of the assassins who attempted to slay Simon Baker. Sandrue and Phaele will presumably continue their researches at the library. For myself, I will seek Rock's assistance in acquiring a shirt of chain, and enjoy the sights and sounds of this ancient and vibrant city. I only wish that Erendis were here with me to increase my pleasure of this experience. May Lord Corellon protect her and reunite us soon.

26. The Rescue (Arrabar, the Claws of Winter)

On our third day in the city of Arrabar, I returned from a morning exercising Aratan to meet my companions in the Bonded Sword.  Liadan had returned to the Covenant House yet again to attend morning service at the shrine of Lathander there.  As I arrived she was relating to Nekaya that she had met one of the guards we encountered on our arrival at the city, and he had informed her that some enemy of the lady Leonna had been seen within the city walls.  Liadan naturally wished to go and advise Leonna of this matter.

The guard with whom she had spoken appeared concerned that this enemy might mistake Liadan for Leonna, due to their similar appearance.  The rest of our company informed Liadan that we did not wish her to travel to Covenant House alone in light of this concern.  As we had agreed to join Nekaya for a midday meal with her friend Siorra Farr, we concluded that we should hire a carriage to transport us first to Covenant House to speak with Leonna and then to the Farr estate.  Rock declined to accompany us, being much involved with the smithing project he has begun.

Before departing for Covenant House, we had some brief discussion regarding the matters that had brought us to Arrabar, most particularly the message from Simon Baker.  Sandrue had attempted to learn more of Simon Baker's uncle, Solomon Baker, who is the chief pastry cook in the service of this city's lord, Eles Wianar.  Sandrue had not been able to garner much information regarding the nature of Solomon Baker's personality, but he indicated that Lord Eles Wianar is known as a man of somewhat evil reputation.  Nekaya was concerned that anyone in his employ might also have evil intent, though I doubt this myself.  As other among my friends remarked, a man known for devious dealings is more like to recognize in others those qualities he himself possesses, and hence be unwilling to have such persons in positions of trust.  Still, we cannot be certain that Solomon Baker has good intentions toward Covenant and his companions.  Nor am I wholly convinced that Simon Baker's cryptic message does indeed refer to our missing friends, though it seems most likely that it does.  I have transcribed the message here just as it was given to us:

the choir has not passed through the

first gate no

blood on

the last son between broken heights

shadows grow cold

I have retained the peculiar meter of this missive as it was given.  Jastra Moondown spoke of our friends as being the choir, we visited the First Gate Inn in Camber, and the mountains in the vicinity are known as the Cloven Mountains.  All of this leads us to believe that this message does reference Covenant's company.  We believe that someone has been observing them or watching for their arrival, though for what reason we have not yet been able to discern.  I have thought of seeking a diviner to ask for news of my Erendis.  Perhaps I will also seek further clarification of this peculiar missive.

Concluding that we could further pursue such inquiries later, we prepared ourselves for our journey.  The Covenant House is an ordinary structure near the Generon, the palace of Lord Wianar.  It is decorated with murals and the motto "Every day is a new beginning", a phrase that is certainly reminiscent of Covenant.  When we arrived we found that the residents therein were mobilizing for some armed activity.  As we waited, Liadan went to meet privately with Leonna for a moment to impart her message.  Suddenly a most startling individual came rushing out of Leonna's office.  Had it not been for Liadan's previous description of him I might have thought him one of the hated drow, for his skin was grayish in color.  I caught a scent of brimstone as he hurried past and recognized that this must be the unusual individual called Scorch whom Liadan had encountered there on the previous day.

Leonna came from her office for a moment and we were able to see why the guardsman feared Liadan might be mistaken for her.  Like Liadan, she has silver hair, though streaked with a darker shade at the temples.  Leonna informed us that someone who had been attempting to obtain sanctuary in the House had been seen recently but had been waylaid.  She and her compatriots were preparing to effect a rescue once the person's whereabouts were known.  After being introduced to Leonna, who remarked that she had once met my dear Erendis, we offered to assist in any way that we could.  Leonna accepted our offer and told us she would send a messenger to seek us if our help was needed.  We then made our way back to the Bonded Sword so that Liadan could fetch her armor, her attire not being adequate for the sort of activity Leonna evidently expected to occur.  Once Liadan was equipped we took our hired carriage to the Farr estate as planned.

We enjoyed a pleasant meal with Siorra Farr and her mother, then returned to the inn.  There was no message from Leonna at that time.  Liadan then took the opportunity to share a reveleation with all of us:  Covenant is not merely her mentor, but her father!  Leonna is also his daughter.  Liadan, who has grown up in the company of twelve brothers, is rather pleased to now have a sister, I think.  Most of my companions congratulated her on finding that she now has two fathers and a sister, and we assured her that we would do nothing to bring shame to her adopted father in Cormyr.  Nekaya, however, was somewhat disturbed by this information, evidently believing that all paladins are too pure to have relations with married women.  Liadan confessed that Covenant was ashamed to have abandoned her in her childhood, and that his quest for the sword is in part an atonement for his misdeed.  This news certainly clarifies why Liadan has been so determined to do whatever is necessary to find Covenant.

Liadan wished to share this news also with Rock, who was still working at the smithy where he had acquired a space.  I accompanied her there.  On our arrival Rock at once ordered Liadan outside so that she might not see what he is preparing.  He has not shared this with me either, but he did not ask me to leave.  Liadan shared her news with him and he too met it as favorable.  When we had told him of Leonna's affairs and our offer of assistance to her, he wished to set off at once to seek the armor he and I both wish to purchase.  I was prepared to join him, but at that moment Nekaya arrived to inform us that Leonna had sent for us.  Rock snatched up his armor and we hurried off to Covenant House once more, while Erim went to the great library to seek Sandrue and Phaele, who had returned to their researches there.

Phaele joined us at Covenant House a few moments after our arrival, and informed us that she and Sandrue had been working in separate areas and Erim had not yet been able to locate him.  Earlier she had indicated to Leonna that she was uncertain what aid she could be as she is a mage and such folk are not well liked here.  Leonna had informed her that there is no law forbidding wizardry in Arrabar.  I hope that this was heartening to Erim also, as he has appeared rather dour since our arrival here.

When we met with Leonna again she was prepared to set off in search of the man Judas whom she intended to aid.  Then Scorch arrived and informed her of an even more troubling situation requiring her attention.  Another man called Nikos had been taken prisoner by a dark sorcerer named Palan.  Leonna evidently had some dispute with Nikos but felt she must do whatever she could to aid him.  However, she could not go herself for she had sworn dire oaths to slay him when next she saw him!

Scorch explained further that Palan held Nikos in a former temple of the foul god Baal.  Palan is a servant of a Shade called Malastori.  What he intended to do with Nikos was unclear, but Leonna was very concerned for Nikos's safety.  Since she could not go herself she asked us to take on this task, and we agreed.  With Scorch as our guide through the city, we set off for the temple at a hurried pace.

It was late afternoon when we arrived, but that did not explain the impenetrable darkness we encountered as we approached the temple entrance.  Scorch warned us that we would have to enter through the front doorway, as the other entrances had all been sealed.  Though several of us, myself included, have weapons which glow with magical auras, the light of our arms was lost in that darkness.  Liadan extended Lathander's blessings to us before we entered the structure.  She was able to make out a sinister pillar within the temple from which the darkness radiated.  She called upon Lathander's might to dispel the darkness but was unsuccessful.

Though we were all reluctant to separate, we split into two groups to proceed down the aisles along the sides of the chamber, where the darkness was less intense.  I joined Nekaya and Phaele.  We caught sight of a vaguely dog-like shape at the opposite end of the aisle, and heard a fearful howling.  Pakkin the goblin, who had come with Nekaya, suddenly squealed in terror and fled from the temple.  The rest of us headed toward the creature.  It appeared that our companions on the opposite side of the chamber faced a similar foe, though I could not see them.  I caught a glimpse of a burst of flame and heard Liadan and Rock running together.  Then my attention was drawn back to my own situation as the dog-creature vanished.

A moment later a shadowy form struck Nekaya and bore her to the floor. I could not find the creature with my blades.  Nekaya backed up while still on the floor and then got to her feet.  Phaele blasted an area with a bolt of lightning, which briefly outlined the creature, but not for long enough that I could improve my aim.  Then the beast knocked me over.  Even when it was almost atop me I could not strike it.  The shadowy hound leapt upon Phaele next and tumbled her from her feet.  She managed to roll to her feet again and cast another spell at the area it appeared to occupy.  At the same time I felt my sword connect with something solid.  A shape resembling a mastiff appeared in midair as we attacked it, then fell to the ground in a heap.

At the same moment I realized that we were under attack by archers in the gallery overhead, as an arrow lodged in my leg.  Being unable to locate these opponents, we elected instead to run toward the exit from the chamber that had originally been occupied by the shadow hound.  I could hear Rock and Liadan moving out of the chamber as we ran.

27. The Dark Heart of Arrabar

As we exited from the darkened entry area and reunited with our companions and Scorch, we received a startling item of news from the demonic fellow.  He exclaimed that we must hurry to find Nikos, else Leonna would never forgive him for letting her brother die!.  Naturally Liadan was most interested in this remark.  But we did not have time for her to question Scorch further on this matter, for Rock began to hurry down the corridor, wearing that look of concentrated fury that I have come to know well.

Rock attempted to kick open the first door he came to, though it took Liadan's assistance to succeed and revealed nothing of interest to us.  We observed a light at the end of a long corridor and chose to investigate it.  The light emanated from an ornate doorway.  As we ran down another long corridor toward the door, Rock and Scorch were struck by darts fired by some hidden mechanism within the walls.  I took several darts as well, but though painful they did not impede my determination.  Still, when we arrived at the door we chose to hang back and permit Rock to approach on his own.  We have all learned well that he is much hardier than any of us.

Rock pushed open the door, which was not barred, and was met by a tremendous blast of sound.  It seems the room was trapped as the corridor had been - evidently a common feature of such temples to foul gods.  Rock was not seriously harmed by the blast, however, and emerged from the room beyond with no news of discovering Nikos.  Several side chambers also proved to contain nothing of interest.  We paused for a moment to permit Liadan and Nekaya to provide divine healing to those of us who had been struck by the darts.  Then we turned and proceeded back down the corridor toward the chamber where we had first entered the temple.

We found that we had passed by a staircase when we ran down the corridor.  We took this stair cautiously downward, presuming that the most important portions of the temple structure must lie underground.  A hall led off from the stairway in two directions.  Rock saw that the floor was dusty but marked with recent footprints in only one direction.  As we proceeded down that corridor we heard a voice ahead challenging us.  Scorch then called back to the unseen presence, claiming that we were servants of the temple.  The person to whom he spoke did not appear to be convinced, and warned us to stop our advance or face death.  Rock rumbled at him threateningly.  Erim then sought to cast a spell upon the man, but because the fellow stood at a corner and was partly concealed by a wall the magic did not strike him.  The man, obviously a sentry, shouted out a warning to his fellows.

Nekaya left us then to attempt to come at our foes from the opposite direction, hoping that this portion of the temple was laid out in a symmetrical fashion as the upper level had been.  The rest of our group rushed forward to engage the sentry before reinforcements could arrive to aid him.    Phaele plied an impressive spell in which she merely blows upon a crossbow bolt to send it from her hand.  Rock charged at the sentry but moved so precipitously that his swing failed to connect.  I was able to move up behind him and strike with my blades, as was Liadan.  Scorch demonstrated that he has some magical - or perhaps infernal - ability as he blasted the man with eldritch energy.

A second guard appeared down the corridor beyond our opponent, but upon seeing the number of our party he fled into a side chamber.  The man we fought attempted to run as well but Rock and I brought him down.  Rock ran to the room where the second sentry had disappeared and moved inside, taking up a position to the left of the doorway.  I followed him and moved to the right.  We found ourselves in a short hallway.  Liadan ran in after us and stood directly opposite the door with her back to the wall, while Scorch brought up the rear of our quartet.  I lost sight of Phaele as she remained in the corridor with Erim.

As we moved beyond the entry of this new chamber, I observed a sleeping mat on the floor in a nearby alcove.  Rock and I moved around the opposite sides of the central room, Liadan with me and Scorch with my dwarven friend.  We emerged into a room containing some type of summoning circle inscribed upon the floor, flanked by an altar.  Beyond the altar, a man sat in an ordinary chair, bound and in a stupor.  This, Scorch indicated, was Nikos.  Thinking we had been fortunate enough to find him unguarded, we hurried forward to free him.

Rock reached the insensible Nikos first, but as he approached a man appeared suddenly beside him and struck at him with a fearsome blade.  Scorch called out a warning that his man was Palan, the necromancer we had been told of.  Liadan flung a blast of divine energy at him but it did not connect with his body.  Scorch too was unable to strike Palan with a burst of his own.  As I moved forward to aid my friend, I detected two men hiding in another alcove behind me.  Some strange force suddenly took hold of me and I found myself oddly less able in my actions.  Then Rock struck Palan a mighty blow and the evil mage vanished.

I found myself facing a man I later leaned was Erril, the man who sought to harm Leonna.  He was the leader of a group known as the Whisper Knives.  I found his fighting style most peculiar, featuring strange movements of his weapons that made his blows difficult to counter.  Liadan came forward to aid me but found herself facing his companion.  Erril was so quick with his blades that he was able to strike both myself and Liadan.  On one occasion when Liadan swung her mace at him he was able to redirect her blow so that she hit me instead, much to her chagrin.  I could not stop Erril from slipping past me to attack Rock, who was engaged with another man later revealed to be Erril's brother.

At some point during our struggle Phaele entered the chamber and struck Erril with a spell of sound.  Erim then ran in and cast some spell that gave great speed to myself, Liadan, and Nekaya, who had also arrived.  Despite this I still found it difficult to touch Erril with my swords.    I am not quite certain how we were able to defeat the Whisper Knives, for all our actions happened so quickly that I cannot even fully recall my own movements, let alone those of my friends.  Liadan and I entrapped Erril in a corner and were able to bring him low at last.  In the meanwhile the others had somehow noticed a presence in the room that could not be seen, and Phaele struck this presence with a burst of electricity that felled it.  It was most impressive to see smoke rising from an invisible shape upon the floor.  Phaele had struck down Palan himself, as we learned once his spell ceased to function.

We employed the potion that Leonna had given to Scorch to awaken Nikos.  His captors had for some unknown reason left him with all of his weapons, so Rock used his immovable rod to pin Nikos so that he would not attack us when he awoke.  Phaele then noticed that one of the Whisper Knives who had fallen upon the magical inscription on the floor was not bleeding sufficiently to account for his wounds.  Nekaya feared that the blood was somehow empowering the circle to summon up some terrible force to beset the city.  She would gladly have remained in the temple alone to face a demon had such been the case, though the rest of us were worn and several of us were badly wounded.  Scorch had very nearly died, though I believe that Nekaya's healing power had saved him.  Fortunately Erim assured us that the magic did not appear to be calling any evil force to the temple.  We gathered up the bodies of the fallen necromancer and the Whisper Knives to claim the bounty that Scorch told us had been placed upon them, and made our way out of the temple.

Once we emerged into the entry of the temple we found ourselves facing a group of mercenaries and a horrifying creature, a mind-flayer, cradling a yowling cat in its arms.  It seems that this foul denizen of the Underdark has taken charge of the district of the city in which the temple lies, and holds some considerable authority there.  It is no wonder that the city's lord has a dark reputation if he permits such creatures to hold sway in his demesne.  Our eyes were drawn unwillingly to note that the mind-flayer appeared to be feeding upon the helpless and still-living cat as we watched.  Nekaya could not restrain her distaste and spoke boldly to the creature, openly calling it evil.  The monster appeared merely amused by her indignation, though it was difficult to determine what its mood truly was as it had no face such as we could comprehend and it spoke with us only in our thoughts.  I told it my name when it asked.  I fear that we have made powerful enemies here in Arrabar, as the creature indicated when it reminded us that the wizard Palan was an associate of a Shade.

The mind-flayer did not appear to be concerned with the deaths of the Whisper Knives and admonished us to be certain to report their deaths to the proper authorities within a certain time period, else it should seek us out.  It then departed without further questions.  Nekaya hurried off ahead of our group to warn the folk at Covenant House of our impending arrival.  The rest of us came along more slowly, using a spell of Erim's to transport the bodies of the men we had slain.  We were eventually accosted by another group of guards, who called a wagon to carry the bodies.

We arrived at Covenant House with a little trepidation, for Leonna had told us she had sworn to kill Nikos when next she saw him, and we naturally wished to prevent this.  But when Liadan attempted to forestall Leonna from approaching her brother, Leonna grew quite angry.  Liadan reluctantly stepped aside, and we were witness to a happy reunion between brother and sister.  It seems that Covenant House is indeed a place of new beginnings.

Sandrue's player had at this point become dissatisfied with playing Sandrue. Nikos was his replacement character.