In the next chamber of the mine we were greeted with more writings chiseled into the wall; only this time, they weren’t moving.  The rest of the chamber seemed to be shrouded in an unnatural darkness.  Grizzle stepped into the gloom and was attacked by tentacles coming out of the ceiling and walls and the same thing happened to me when I tried to help him.  Finally Jerro was able to cast light onto Grizzlegar’s sword and the barbarian freed both himself and me.  We hastily ran for the illuminated part of the chamber.

 

“Let me try something.” And before any of us could stop him, Jerro read aloud the incantation carved on the wall, which was brave considering what had happened to him before.  The rest of the chamber was lit up and the tentacles disappeared.

 

“Halt!  Give us the password!”  About six guards and six Vecna fanatics were standing on the other side of the chamber.  Since we were still dressed in the cloaks we had taken off the guards outside the mine, Grizzle tried to continue the bluff that had worked before.

 

“We don’t have time for passwords.”  The barbarian insisted.  “Can’t you see we have these sacrifices for the Ceremony?!”

 

But the lead warden wasn’t having it this time and a battle ensued.  Mallek, refreshed by the pool, showed us why he was Captain of the Melinir guards; taking out the lion share of our opponents.  The fray however had taken its toll and I noticed that Mallek and Menolly had the same ashen look to their faces.  They were still suffering the effects of being held by the Vecna tentacles.

 

“Look over here!”  Said Jerro.  “I can tell there’s a secret door in the wall.”

 

I felt along the partition until I found a hidden latch that made the door slide back into the wall.

 

“I’ll scout ahead and see what I can find.”  I told them.

 

As soon as I stepped through the door I realized there was something strange about the floor in this part of the mine:  It was undulating as if it were alive.  It took all my dexterity to make it across the chamber.  Looking back I noticed that huge chunks had been excavated from the walls.  This must be the living stone the Vecna cult used to carve the statues that had attacked Malador Sirak and me on The Cymbeline.

 

I stepped into a long winding passage and was relieved that the floor was no longer moving.  I crept along the passageway until I found a crevice where I could hide and spy into the next chamber.

 

Again there were 9 to 12 Vecna wardens and fanatics standing around while our old friend Red chanted an incantation; the ruby dagger clinched tightly in his fist.  He had succeeded in opening another eye in the wall.

 

I quickly ran back and relayed this information to Grizzlegar and the others.  While Menolly, Jerro and Mallek held back in the crevice I had found; Grizzle, Pax and I charged the chamber.  Grizzle went straight for Red this time and dealt him a heavy blow.  Pax charged in beside him and was ensnared in one of the eyeball’s tentacles, but continued to slash away, even though she couldn’t move her feet.

 

In his frustration, Red turned and let out a yell:

 

“STOP FIGHTING!!!”

 

For a few seconds I was confused and defeated and then I heard Menolly singing.  It was a battle hymn that cleared my head.  I realized that Mallek was fighting by my side, but he still had that ashen pallor in his face.

 

Grizzle delivered a final blow to Red and he crumpled to the ground dead; as he did so the eyeball closed and the tentacle released Pax.  With their leader dead, the other wardens and fanatics started to run but we cut down most of them before they could retreat.

 

Mallek walked over and took the ruby dagger from the orc leader’s cold grasp.  The creature that had served as Red’s armor disengaged from the body and tried to slither away.  Grizzlegar put a stop to that.  Mallek took the dagger to his daughter and they both held it for a moment until it exploded.  They both fell unconscious but I was relieved to see the ashen pallor was fading:  They would be all right.

 

I turned and noticed a small winged creature hovering over Grizzle’s head.  I vaguely remembered seeing it fly to a high perch in the back of the chamber at the beginning of the battle.  Grizzle was taking swings at it with his long sword but the little thing had so far deftly avoided these attacks.  It flew to the door at the far end of the chamber, turned and let out a sound somewhere between a chirp and a bark.

 

“Wonk!  Wonk!”

 

“Great.  I think it wants us to follow it.”  Said the barbarian.

 

Jerro stood guard over Mallek and Menolly while the rest of us followed the creature down the passageway and into yet another chamber.

 

There were over two dozen people chained to the walls in this chamber; men, women, and children.  The little winged creature hovered over to a young blonde girl who looked to be not much out of her teens, but my intuition told me she was really much older.

 

“Wonk!  Wonk!”

 

The blonde girl opened her eyes and looked up.

 

“Blinky!  You brought help I see.”  Blinky landed on the girl’s shoulder.

 

Looking around the room, I noticed that about seven of the men were wearing tunics emblazoned with the symbol of Kord, much like the one I used to wear and Pax was wearing now.  These were Paladin candidates and yes, there was my cousin Revlis.  He, like most everyone else was still unconscious.  They all had the same ashen look that Mallek and Menolly had had.

 

“Grizzlegar, I’m going to run back to the pool and fill up a flask with the water.  Hopefully it’s had enough time to recharge and will heal everyone.”

 

“Sounds like a great idea to me.”  Said the gnome; who was kneeling to talk to the blonde girl.  “Yeah, so you say your name is Vala?”  Pax stood behind them giving him a disapproving eye.

 

On the way to the pool I stopped by to check on Menolly.  I was relieved to see that she was awake but still resting with her father.  I let them know that Revlis and Garain were among the hostages (Garain was Menolly’s cousin and Mallek’s nephew) Menolly was disappointed to hear that I wanted to continue hiding my presence from Revlis.  There were still the reasons we had talked about before but there was also a nagging memory of a conversation I had had with someone who said that the time was not right for Revlis to know about me.

 

The water from the pool worked wonders and everyone was soon breathing the fresh air outside the mine.  The townspeople disbursed and Menolly and her father went back to his house.  Garain invited the rest of us to the Temple of Kord.  I managed to stay well away from Revlis in route.  I was excited at the prospect of seeing my mentor, Panril Shortankard again.  Dinner was set out for us and afterward Garain informed us that Panril and the Abbot’s counsel had requested an audience with us.

 

The Abbot’s counsel sat behind a huge desk in the audience room.  I knew most of their faces but none of their names (Except for Panril of course):  They represented all six major cities in the Mid Isle.  They were the Abbots of Telar, Sindar, Torlynn, Kraal, Marshwood the ruined city, and Panril of Melinir.  But there was a seventh person with them that I was familiar with.  It was Plinth, the Mage from The Cymbeline.  As I recognized him, I also had a memory flash.  He had been the one to warn me against talking to Revlis. 

 

But when did he give me this warning?

 

It seems to have happened sometime between my time on The Cymbeline and a few days ago when we all came back to Melinir.  I had talked to him here at the Temple, but that was all I could remember.  I didn’t know what to think of Plinth.  He had left us to the mercy of the Vecna statues.  We survived; at least I had.  I had no idea what had happened to Malador and Sirak.

 

“Gerard, are you with us?  You seem distracted.”

 

“I’m sorry Abbot.  Please continue.”

 

Panril was reaching out to Grizzlegar instructing him in the ways of Kord.  And from what I could tell the gnome was receiving it positively.  Then Panril turned to Pax and congratulated her on completing her pilgrimage to the Temple.  As for Jerro he was beside himself to be in the same room with an actual Mage from Mage Isle.

 

“And to you Gerard,” Said Panril “Have you found any answers to the questions you were asking?”

 

“Some of them, I believe you were right in sending me away.  I feel my destiny lies somewhere on the sea, but I will always hold Kord and the things you taught me close to my heart.”

 

“I am heartened to hear you say that.  Now to why we asked to talk to you this way:”

 

Panril went on to explain that a rift in time and space had been detected in the last few weeks and the council wanted our help.  They wanted us to go to Mage Isle and talk to the council of Mages there.  “So far all correspondence between us, the Abbot’s Council and the Mage’s Council has been ignored.  We feel that because of your heroic stature of late you four are best suited to plead our case in person before the Mages.”  And then he turned to Plinth who began to address us:

 

“I was the only one on the Mage’s council who felt it would be beneficial to reach out to the Abbot’s council.  There is someone else on the council who may be sympathetic to this cause.  I cannot tell you why she might feel that way now.  Only that her name is Serina.  It can only be her who gives you access to the Isle.  Without her help you will never find it.”

 

Panril continued:  “This mission will be fully funded by the Temple of Kord.  You will have full access to the merchants of Third Gate.  You may commission any supplies you think you may need.”

 

Grizzlegar’s eyes lit up like missiles.  “We’ll take the job!”

 

We spent the rest of the night in the arenas beneath the Temple getting impromptu work-out sessions from my former training instructor Balrick.  It was nice to catch up with him after some much time away from the Temple.

 

The Temple served us breakfast at dawn and then we headed out to Third Gate with Garain as our escort.  I commissioned a new rapier and received a light horse named Murgatroid , while Grizzlegar had them customize his great sword and bought a pink riding dog named Hessendorf. Pax and Jerro opted to collect their supplies after we returned from Mage Isle.  We were told it would take all day to fashion our items so we decided we would pick them up the next morning.

 

Garain suggested we should spend the night at an inn in Third Gate called The Stag’s Hoof.  As soon as we got there we were greeted with a familiar soun:

 

“Wonk!  Wonk!”

 

 

Blinky flew down from his perch on the roof and landed on Grizzlegar’s shoulder.

 

“Don’t even think it Bub!”  Said Pax to Grizzle.

 

“What?  It would be impolite not to see how she’s doing.”

 

Grizzle was referring to Vala, the blonde girl we had rescued from the mine.

 

“Yeah, and you’re always so polite aren’t you?”

 

“I think I should be getting back to the Temple.”  Said Garain  “I’ll see you back there tomorrow.”

 

We found a table and ordered some food and sure enough after he ate, Grizzlegar made a beeline for Vala’s table.  A few minutes later he came back and told us that Vala had promised to show us where we could find Serina in the morning.

 

“Wow I’m beat.”  Said the gnome.  “I think I’ll turn in.”

 

“But it’s only 1:30 in the afternoon.”  Said Pax.

 

“Yeah but we’re going to have a LONG day tomorrow.”  And with that Grizzle headed for the stairs closely followed by Pax.

 

I spent the afternoon drinking with Jerro and maybe it was the drinks, but his company was convivial.  He left me around 6:00 and I fell asleep at our table.  The next thing I remember, someone was nudging me awake.

 

“Where have you been?!  It was Menolly.  “I was expecting you for dinner last night.”

 

“Garain invited us back to the Temple and then Panril gave us a mission.  We were training until dawn.”

 

“Wasn’t there something that I told you I needed that got left back at the mine?”

 

The ruby dagger.

 

“Menolly, I’m sorry.  I was just so concerned about you that I forgot.”

 

“That’s sweet.”  And she leaned over and kissed me.

 

“We could go back and look for it after I return from this mission.”

 

“Don’t bother.”  And she placed the dagger on the table between us.

 

“How did you?”

 

“I went back to the mine this morning with an escort of guards from my father.  I slipped in, found the pieces of the dagger, gathered them up, and slipped out before anyone was the wiser.  The place looked deserted anyway.”

 

“How did you find me?”

 

“I came to Third Gate to find a craftsman who could knit the dagger back together.  They told me you had been there earlier so I figured I might find you here.”

 

“Would you like to accompany me on Panril’s mission?”

 

“I already have another mission from my father so I’m going to be out of town myself for a few days.”

 

“Then I guess I’ll see you when we both get back.”

 

“I hope so.”

 

“You be careful.”

 

“And you.”

 

“I love you.”

 

“And I love you Gerard.”

 

And she was gone.

 

I ordered another round.  Then I ordered a few more rounds.  By the time I went upstairs I was pretty well snockered.  So snockered in fact that I went into Grizzle and Pax’s room and flopped down on Grizzle’s bed.  Grizzle wasn’t there.  In the morning both Pax and I had a pretty good idea where he had gone.

 

Just then he came bounding into the room.

 

“Vala gave me a line on where we can find Serina.  What are you doing here?”  He asked me.

 

Pax and Grizzle didn’t have much to say to each other the rest of the morning as we searched the streets of Third Gate for an infirmary that catered to children.  The nurse we talked to in the one we found gave us the impression that the doctors of Third Gate didn’t have time to waste on lower class folk.  Grizzle left there in a huff.

 

We had no better luck in Second Gate.

 

We ended up in First Gate where we were finally pointed in the direction of an infirmary that fit the bill.

 

“Wonk!  Wonk!”

 

Blinky came down from the infirmary roof and landed on Grizzle’s shoulder.

 

“No.  It can’t be.”

 

The barbarian flung open the infirmary door and pushed past several startled nurses until he found Serina in the children’s playroom.

 

Vala and Serina were one and the same.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were last night?”

 

“Because, I wanted to see if you would take the trouble to find me.  Besides it was much more fun this way.  We did have fun last night didn’t we?”

 

Pax walked up to Grizzle and punched him in the face, then stormed out of the room.

 

“Oh my, you HAVE earned the three answers to the riddles the ferryman to Mage Isle will ask you.”  Said Serina and she gave them to us.

 

You could cut the silence between Grizzle and Pax with a knife as we walked to the dock.  Jerro ran up to the ferryman and asked him for the riddles but Grizzle just spat the answers out in rapid fire succession.  The ferryman merely turned and indicated with his hand that we should board his boat.

 

As soon as we stepped aboard, a fog engulfed the little vessel and when it cleared the ferryman was still standing on the dock.  He indicated that we should disembark.  To us it seemed as if we had not moved at all but we realized that the dock we were walking onto was the dock at Mage Isle.

 

At the end of the dock we found what looked like a small cottage but as soon as we stepped through the front door we were inside what seemed to be a huge library with bookcases that went on for miles.

 

Jerro was positively drooling.  He ran from book to book not knowing where to start.

 

“Which of my colleagues gave you the ferryman’s answers?”  And all of a sudden we found ourselves standing in front of a long winding table.  Serina and four other Mages sat behind it.  “Serina, I should have known and I would bet my last spellbook  that Plinth has his fingerprints on this as well.  I see he remains absent from us.”

 

“The Gnome earned those answers believe me Rogard.”  And Serina looked straight at Pax.  “Don’t worry dear, your children will do great things inspite of their father or maybe even because of him.”

 

“Let’s cut to the chase.”  Said Grizzlegar.  “We’re here for your help with this rift.”

 

“Strange how the gnome uses a motion picture idiom he should have no knowledge of.  Perhaps he picked it up from the Game Master.”

 

“You would bring up the Game Master wouldn’t you Kerris?  Asked Rogard.  “Wasn’t it your idea to use that megalomaniac to test these specimens metle?”

 

“What?”  I heard myself asking.

 

“Oh, don’t worry Gerard.”  Said Rogard.  “You won’t remember anything about the Game Master.”

 

But I was.

 

I was remembering everything about the Game Master and who had wanted me to forget about him.

 

“You have overstepped your bounds Rogard.”

 

“Have I?  Have I indeed Alarick?”

 

“Perhaps we should discuss the Rift with them.”

 

“Ah, and we finally here from Elanara.  Ever the worrier my dear.”  Said Rogard

 

“May I remind the council that these four and the woman Menolly have proven themselves more than heroic, both against the Game Master and when they came to my aid in the mine?

 

Ah yes.  We know how much peril you were in don’t we Serina?”  Sneered Rogard.

 

“Enough!”  Shouted Alarick.  “This is what I shall tell you of the Rift.  The Rift was caused by a foolish boy’s wish, and it shall only be stopped when you discover the items that were stolen; by whom and from whom.  I shall tell you no more; except where to begin your search.  You must go to the place where the wish was spoken.  This audience is at an end.”

 

And we found ourselves standing outside the Mages’ Lair.

 

“Aw come on!  They could’ve at least let me have one book.”  Said Jerro.

 

“Here.” And I reached into my tunic.  “I am a thief after all.”  I tossed Jerro the book and began to relate the story of my cousin Revlis.

We spotted the galleon listing eerily in the estuary of the small nameless river that fed into Lake Arya.

Malador kept asking me why I had sailed Menolly’s sloop so far down the eastern coast of the island, while he and Sirak were asleep.  He knew very well why I had not tried to sail into and down the Ostrel River.  The sloop would have been turned into a pile of splinters on the shore of Lake Ostrel (Kleine was the lakes only port city) once we went over the colossal waterfall we called The Plunging Cataract.  While this was certainly a consideration, a proper but sad fact was that I had avoided Kleine, my hometown, for almost a decade; and there was only one reason:

My father lived there.

And yes, I suppose I could have made sail for Raven’s Ruin but I could not bear to see what Rilo’s son, Cloten (and I cringe to call him my cousin) had done to that once majestic city.  My father had installed Cloten as Mayor there ten years ago, after my dear Uncle Leo’s death…No!  I will call it what it was!  Murder!

My primary goal in returning to Thunder Rift was to see my cousin Revlis take his first vows to become a Paladin, so this route would avoid contact with Troven (as I have taken to calling my father), and be the shortest corridor to reach the Temple of Kord.

We were now close enough to see the placard proclaiming the galleon’s name as The Cymbeline.

“Look! The wheel’s been tied off on both sides and the sails are belayed!”  Malador pointed out.

This meant that the sails had been secured with rigging lines both port and starboard, forming a huge upside down ‘V’.  I also noticed that apparently the crew had tried unsuccessfully to keep the lanterns lit in what must have been a torrential rain but only the gigantic torches fore and aft had remained ablaze.

“Those seams aren’t going to hold very much longer.”  Sirak speculated.  “I’d say the old girl is done for.  She’ll be sunk by the morning; if not sooner.”

I maneuvered the sloop closer to the once beautiful vessel.

“You’re not thinking of boarding her are you?”  Malador asked cautiously.

“We have to see if anyone’s still alive up there.”

“That’s not our responsibility.”  He argued and Sirak seemed to concur.

“It’s the right thing to do.”  After a short heated discussion the two of them agreed to accompany me onto the ship.

The deck of the galleon was extremely weather-worn, frayed and splintering in places. We heard the normal creakings all ships make and the occasional toll of the captain’s bell, ringing of its own accord as the craft rocked to and fro.  I could tell all three of us found these things comforting but off putting at the same time.

The ship seemed deserted.

“Well shall we check below decks?”

“This is your show Tarm…..Sorry…Gerard.”  Said Malador

“Old habits die hard.  Believe me, I know.”

 

We all took lanterns from the railing and lit them before descending the steps that led down into the hold.  There was a sudden gust of wind that extinguished our lamps; and in the few seconds we were fumbling to re-light them, I heard a piercing scream and then a sliver of light appeared emanating from a slat in a doorway across the chamber.

 

“That must be the cargo hold.  Someone must be in there.”  Said Malador.

 

We crept cautiously to the door.

 

“Is anyone in there?”  I asked through the slat..

 

There was no answer.

 

I grasped the door knob and slowly pushed the door open.   A very old man was sitting on the floor holding another one of the lanterns above his head.  He was encircled by what appeared to be 8 to 10 statues.  The statues were all depictions of huge severed hands, all holding an eyeball.  I couldn’t say if I was the only one to notice, but there was another unlit lantern at his feet.

 

He looked around at me and then spoke:

 

“Ah I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Gerard of Kleine and yours Alfonse Malador and Ood Sirak.

 

“How do you know our names?”  Malador wanted to know.

 

“I know many things and I think that is what has kept me alive in my current circumstance.”  He got to his feet and stepped out from the statues.

 

“Forgive me.  I failed to introduce myself:  My name is Plinth but most people here on Thunder Rift simply refer to me as the Mage.”

 

This was the Mage of Mage Isle?  When I had told Jerro his first night on the Crimson Hawk that little was known about him, I was telling him the truth.  Very few people had even seen him.  I had to wonder what had drawn him out of seclusion.

 

“Was that you we heard screaming just now?”

 

“No that was my final companion here on the ship.  She and all the rest of the crew are gone now.’

 

“Gone?”

 

Plinth took a sidelong glance at the statues.  “Perhaps we should continue this exchange on the deck.”

 

We had no idea what the Mage was talking about, but we had no real desire to remain in the dank hold so when he ascended the steps upward (for some reason he kept his eyes on the circle of statues) we followed the old man up to the deck.

 

“Make sure you secure that door.”  Plinth told Malador.  “The statues are symbols of Vecna, the god of secrets.  If they catch you, they transport you through either time or space and feed of the energy caused by the transition.”

 

“Catch?  How can they catch you?  They’re made of stone.”

 

“Ah yes but this is special stone, mined by the followers of Vecna.  The statues can only move if no one was looking at them.”

 

“No one’s looking at them now.”  Sirak pointed out.

 

“Yes, and that is why I have very little time.”

 

The Mage went on to tell us that he had left his little Islet and booked passage on The Cymbeline to investigate a disturbance he had detected several weeks ago in the area around Lake Arya.  They sailed from Lake Ganif up the Torlynn River, past the town of Torlynn , docking for a short time where the Torlynn and Grakken rivers crossed to pick up cargo from a group of orcs (The leader had red hair, but this would not be significant to me until much later).  They then sailed east down the Grakken until they came to Lake Arya.

 

“It was on the Grakken leg of journey that the crew started to disappear.”

 

We were so mesmerized by his story that we failed to observe that he was moving ever closer to the railing. Then with a nimbleness that belied his age he jumped up on the railing, cut the line I had used to secure Menolly’s sloop and dove into the water.  I saw his head break the surface and then swam to and quickly boarded the tiny boat.  As he piloted the craft away he yelled back over his shoulder:

 

“Sorry to leave you like this but don’t worry.  Your cousin will make a fine Paladin but his wish has….”  His voice trailed off as he sailed farther and farther away.

 

“Uh Gerard, you need to take a look at this.”  Malador was saying.

 

Somehow the statues had gotten out of the hold and were circling us on the deck.

 

“Remember what he said, they can’t move if we keep our eyes on them.” 

 

We never saw them move but hours would pass as they drew closer and closer to us.

 

When I woke up…Or I should say the next thing I remember was walking through the hills on the outskirts of Melinir.  Menolly was with me and the group I had met on the Crimson Hawk:  Grizzlegar, Pax and Jerro.  Malador and Sirak weren’t there.  I had a vague impression that we (Menolly, myself, and the others) had just been through some kind of ordeal, but try as I might I could not remember what it was and something told me I shouldn’t ask.  So I didn’t.

We were returning to Melinir so Menolly could give her father, Malek the ruby dagger he had asked her to retrieve.  She told me she had found the hilt on Crag Island and the blade itself in Blingdenstone on Mantol-Derith.

As soon as we walked through the front door of Malek’s house I could sense something was wrong, but I seemed to be the only one.  Menolly was telling the others to get settled while she asked the servants to set up dinner.

“Father!?”  She called.

There was no answer.

And when we went outside we found out why. 

Malek was tied to a chair in the center of the courtyard which was infested with orcs, all carrying daggers.  The orc leader standing behind Malek’s chair stood out from the rest with his bright shock of red hair.  He stepped forward; confident he had the upper hand, and addressed Menolly:

“Ah, so you must be the daughter!  Come in, Come in!  Was your mission successful? Do you have the ruby blade?” 

“I certainly do!”  Menolly assured him.

“Then give it to me and I will give you your father.”

“As you wish!”  She pulled the blade out of her backpack with her left hand. And when Red reached for it she flipped it to her right and tried to stab him through the heart.  But as soon as it touched his breastplate; there was a red flash; then blackness.

“Wake up Bub!”

Grizzlegar was standing over me.

“What happened?”  I asked blearily as I got to my feet.

“When Menolly attacked the orc leader her blade exploded.”  Said Grizzle.  “You and Sally over there were knocked cold.”  Jerro gave the gnome a dirty look.  The wizard stood up then set back down in the nearest chair.  “Me and Pax were paralyzed.  Red had his goons collect the pieces of the dagger and somehow he was able to knit them back together.  Then they took Menolly and her father and left.”

“And there was nothing you and Pax could have done?”

“Like I said, we couldn’t move until just a few minutes ago and I can tell you I’m wicked hungry.”

“I suppose I could find you something in the kitchen.”

“Really?  Your girlfriend is kidnapped and all you think of is food?”  Now it was my turn to give the gnome a dirty look.

“Well, we won’t get far on an empty stomach.  Let’s go to The Sarcastic Goat and get some dinner/breakfast.  While we’re there we’ll keep our ears open for any clues as to where Red and the crew may have taken Menolly and her father.”

“The Sarcastic Goat huh?”  Repeated Grizzlegar.  “Sounds like my kind of place.”

“Doesn’t it though?”

As we were leaving the courtyard Jerro noticed something on the ground and picked it up.

 

“Hey guys, look at this.”

 

It was some kind of medallion or pendant and I recognized what it represented immediately.  It had the likeness of a severed hand holding an eyeball.

 

“Vecna.” 

 

“What?”  Asked Grizzle.

 

I quickly told them the story of what had happened on The Cymbeline.

 

“God of secrets huh?  I don’t know anything about that, but orcs?  I know how to kill them.”  Declared the barbarian.

 

On the way to The Sarcastic Goat Jerro told us that he had examined the Vecna pendant and found that it contained a real human eyeball..

 

Namens was seated at his usual table far back in the corner.  I went to talk to him while the others found us a table of our own.  Namens was the proprietor of The Goat but he thought of himself first and foremost as a scholar.  He was a devout follower of Ioun, god of knowledge.  While he had inherited the inn from his family, he did not like the trade; he tolerated it only because it afforded him the opportunity to spend his days lost in his books.    

 

“I see you’re back among us Gerard.  I haven’t seen Menolly in about a week though.  She’s usually here most nights playing for us.”

 

“She’s been on a mission for her father.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Listen Nam, have you heard anything about any suspicious orc activity in the area?”

 

The scholar shook his head, and then he did seem to remember something.  “There was an orc group in here about three days ago. The only reason I remember is because one of them had the brightest red hair I’ve ever seen, at least on an orc.”

 

“Do you remember anything about why they were here?”

 

“Not really.  You might ask Kiley though…There she is.”

 

I turned in the direction he had pointed.  Kiley was at our table taking orders.  I had known her for years, but I suddenly realized there was reason for concern.  Kiley was a Drow.  I quickly said my good byes to Nam and headed over to the table.

 

Kiley was heading for the kitchen by the time I walked up.

 

“We told her we were with the famous Gerard of Kleine and she said she’d bring you your usual dish.  Now ain’t you special?”  Asked Grizzle.

 

“What can I say; this is my adopted hometown.”

 

“And, I’ll have you know, I was on my best behavior.” Piped up Jerro.

 

“Well, at least you didn’t get us sent to the brig this time.”  I told him.

 

“Please knock on wood when you say that!”  Demanded Grizzlegar.

 

We all thumped the table several times.

 

After our meal, we took a trip to the market to stock up on supplies, and then headed out of town in the direction of an orc village Killey was kind enough to tell me about. 

 

As soon as we came through the gate dozens of orc children surrounded Jerro and started shouting “Wahmahn”  which is the orc word for wizard.  I suppose his cloak gave him away, but Grizzle couldn’t help noticing how much the word sounded like “Woman” and began to egg the kids on.

 

“Yes, he is a Woman.”

 

I took advantage of this distraction to talk to the locals.  I was wearing the Vecna pendant Jerro had found and pretended to be a follower looking for the Harvest Ceremony that Kiley had told me about.  One of the orc children’s mother said that the Ceremony was taking place in the mine east of the village.

 

We made short work of the wardens guarding the mine and took their cloaks and pendants as well as a hand axe.  As we entered the mine we noticed strange moving writings on the wall.  Jerro tried to read them and was psychically attacked for his trouble.  He was elected to play the prisoner, while the rest of us dressed in the wardens’ cloaks and donned their pendants.  Someone (though I don’t remember who) had the foresight to grab one of the torches on the wall.

 

Grizzlegar rushed us through a long corridor and we ran straight into more wardens and Vecna fanatics guarding the chamber where the Ceremony was taking place. I could see that Menolly and her father were tied up on the floor and Red was standing over them waving a dagger and chanting.   Our ruse with Jerro as prisoner worked, but as soon as one of the wardens started leading us into the chamber, Grizzle turned around and attacked him.

 

Jerro tried a spell to slow the movements of our opponents but it only worked on one of the fanatics.

 

Red, alerted by Grizzle’s attack, turned around and pointed his dagger straight at me.

 

“Stay where you are or I will carve out her eyes!!!...Unless you have something I want.”

 

“We have your warden’s daggers.”

 

“Pah We have plenty of daggers.”

 

“How about this hand axe then?”

 

Red instructed one of the fanatics to take the axe from me and as soon as I handed it over he swung at me with it.  I was ready for it and dodged but I still took some of the blow.  I was already bleeding from a skirmish with wardens after Grizzle’s attack, but I was able to evade the fanatic and charge straight up to Red yelling:

 

“Leave her alone but take my eyes if you must!”

 

One of the wardens stepped between me and Red and knocked me to the ground where I passed out.

 

Pax somehow got close enough in to heal me but she put her finger to mouth meaning I should stay still.  To my horror I saw that while I was out Red had been able to open Vecna’s Eye on the wall and Menolly and her father were now held tight by the eye lashes that were more like tentacles.

 

The battle raged on around me and I could see it turning in our favor.  I finally saw my chance, jumped up and slit the throat of the warden who had been guarding me.  Red too could see that he was losing the conflict.  He let out a guttural scream and jumped into the Eye which closed around him.  He had made his escape.  The eye lashes dissolved and Menolly and her father dropped to ground.  We pulled their bodies to relative safety but saw that they had tentacles growing out of their arms and legs.  Grizzle started hacking at them.

 

“Stop you’re killing them!!!”  I shouted.

 

“Look over here!”  Pax had found a fountain in the next chamber.

 

Grizzlegar and I looked at each other for a moment .

 

“You don’t think?”

But it was true.  Once we place Menolly and her father in the fountain they were healed and the tentacles dissolved.  The rest of us jumped into the fountain and it had the same effect.

 

Menolly slowly opened her eyes looked up at me and smiled then after a moment the smile faded.

 

“Where’s the dagger?”  She asked concerned.

 

I realized that Red had taken it with him.

 

“We have to get that dagger back!”

 

We found Pax where we left her, in the infirmary.  While she was healing the gnomes, she had heard widely varying opinions about Burrow Warden Kargien.  The most negative of these came from Jalless, the infirmary chief.

 

“She kept saying Kargien obviously wants the crown for himself but she thinks he’s unworthy of the honor.”  Pax explained.  “But then there’s this other healer named Pingtu who seems to think Kargien walks on water.”

 

I didn’t know what to think.  Kargien was my father’s contact with the Blingdenstone expedition, and he was the one who had asked my father to find the ruby blade.  I wanted more than ever to talk to Talabrina Duskryn. 

 

Ultimately, we decided to keep it a secret that we had found the crown in the House Center, for now.  What really cemented our resolve was meeting the man himself.  Kargien, who was dressed immaculately and wore a necklace adorned with an outsized emerald, strode into the infirmary and greeted us obsequiously.

 

.“My friends, I am so glad that fortune saw fit to sweep you here to our shores.  I’ve just conversed with Briddick and he told me that as soon as you heard about our difficulty with the orcs you were chomping at the bit to rid us of their infestation.  How is that progressing?”

 

“The upper caverns seem to be clear of orcs.”  Grizzlegar told him.  “We searched them several times to make sure.”

 

“Excellent. Now I don’t know if you’ve heard, but part of the objective of this expedition, dare I say the most important part, was, and is, to retrieve the Crown of the Kings of Blingdenstone.  For generations our Deep Gnome Kings ruled from the House Center Cavern.  But a vile and evil presence has taken up residence there and I have yet to find anyone with the courage to assail the walls of that once proud structure.”

 

“We can search it for you.”  Said Grizzlegar.

 

“Excellent, and you will let me know what you find?”

 

“Sure thing.”

 

As soon as Kargien was gone, Jalless could no longer hold her tongue.

 

“Now do you see what I was saying?  That man is an unmitigated glory seeker.”

 

“He’s a @#$$%$%!”  Said Jerro.

 

“I can’t argue with that.”  Said Jalless.  “If you do find the crown, I beg you, do not let Kargien know.  Pingtu, the other healer that Pax spoke of, has been trying to awaken the Speaking Stones since we arrived.  Of course, he thinks they will speak the name of Kargien.  But I think he’s in for a big surprise when the Stones reveal the true heir of Blingdenstone.”

 

“And who do you think that is?”  I asked her.

 

“I’d rather not say.”  I could tell she did have someone in mind.

 

“Do you know anything about this Ogremoch’s Bane?”  Grizzlegar must had been wanting to bring this up for sometime.

 

“Ah, did Henkala offer you her usual stash of treasure?”  Jalless asked with a twinkle in her eye.

 

As an answer, Grizzle just smiled.

 

“Well, I’ll tell you if you’re going up against the Bane, you will need the help of the pechs.  Henkala’s right about that.  Confirmed Jalless.  “They can create a ward to protect you from the dust cloud that is  Ogremoch’s Bane.  But if you’re going to court the pechs, you might try to look a little less warlike,”

 

We all looked at her puzzled.

 

“Here, take these gunnysacks and hide your weapons in them and I might add to that your armor.”

 

While Grizzlegar, Pax and Jerro were making ready to leave, Jalless pulled me aside.

 

“Take care that your barbarian friend doesn’t get you killed.”  She said as she helped me stow my weapons and armor.  “And if you succeed in staying alive, I know another bard by the name of Gurmadden who could use your help.  He’s been trying to awaken the Singing Stones. 

 

“And is that as important as waking the Speaking Stones?”

 

“Maybe not, but I figure only another bard like yourself could appreciate that.”

 

I knew what she meant.

 

 

As it turned out, we never had to use the pech’s help, even though they agreed to give it to us (All they really wanted was and audience with Kargien and to be left alone in they’re section of the caverns).  Grizzle had chosen to actually talk to the Bane and the story he unfolded painted the Deep Gnomes in a bad light.

 

According to the Bane the gnomes had enslaved his brother, Entermoch’s Boon and the other lesser elementals to help them in their mining endeavors.  If this was true I only hoped that it was Kargien’s doing.  But at the very least the Deep Gnomes were turning a blind eye to slavery and as far as Grizzle was concerned he was going to put a stop to it.

 

We found the cavern where the Boon was being held and knocked down the pillar’s that were holding him.  He and the lesser elementals were freed.  Ogremoch’s Bane would trouble the Deep Gnomes no more, but would they think the cost was too high? We at least knew we had done the right thing.

 

We were being followed.

 

Actually we had been followed by someone the whole time we were here in Blingdenstone.  She had been skulking in the shadows of the House Center and in the Orc Caverns and now Entermoch’s Cavern.  But this time I had her in my sights and I knew who she was:  Talabrina Duskryn.

 

“Talabrina!”  I shouted.  She turned and looked at me from across the cavern.  “Why have you been following us?  I’ve wanted to talk to you this whole time.  Your sister Leore is free!”  She blinked absently as if this meant nothing to her and then she vanished.  I didn’t understand.

 

We found Henkala at her magic shop and Grizzle was able to talk her into giving us the bundle of treasure even though we had freed the Boon instead of destroying the Bane.  As we parted company with her, she met my gaze for the briefest of seconds and an unease came over me that I couldn’t put my finger on.

 

I was finally able to seek out Gurmadden, the bard Jalless had told me about.  I found him to be a perfectly delightful person and I would have liked to talk to him a lot longer but I could tell Grizzle and the others were getting restless, so I asked how we could help him.

 

“I need six more singing crystals to complete the array.  Unfortunately, these type of crystals can only be found in the Wormwrithings.  It’s a very dangerous place where kobals have been entering and exiting the city.”

 

That was all Grizzlegar needed to hear. He was itching for a fight after not getting one with the Bane.

 

“Kobols?  Is that all he told you about?”

 

We all had to laugh.  Our guide, Miglin had the same guttural delivery as Grizzle.  We secretly wondered if Grizzlegar had found his long lost father.

 

“Here everyone take a pick you’re going to need it.”  Miglin instructed.  “Kobols, if only that was the worst thing we have to worry about.  What about the purple worms that gave the Wormwrithings their name?  I tell ya bub, if you hear a low rumbling sound you better run like the wind”   And we all burst out laughing except for Grizzle and Miglin.  Miglin didn’t know what was so funny,

 

We found six singing crystals in no time and at Miglin’s urging we helped him seal off the passage the kobols had been using to enter and exit the city.  Along the way we ran into several kobol traps (one of which I playfully tried to get Grizzle to walk into but he wasn’t buying ). 

 

I was sad to have to say good bye to Miglin but happy to see Gurmadden  again.  This time Pintu was with him.  It seems our reputation was growing among the Deep Gnomes.  Now it was the healer’s turn to ask for our help.

 

Gurmadden quickly fit the crystals into the array and the stones obligingly started to sing for him.  The sound was quite like a glass harp.  It was beautiful.

 

After the impromptu concert, Pintu showed us a list of gems he needed to perform the Speaking Stone ceremony.  We realized that we had come across every gem he needed somewhere in the city; they would be easy to round up but one stone in particular was going to cause a problem.

 

“Great the only emerald we saw here was around Kargien’s neck.”  Grizzlegar grumbled.  And the only way he was likely to part with it was if we turned over the crown to him.  “Wait I have an idea.”  Grizzle fumbled through his knapsack until he came across the amulet we had found in the House Center.  “Now all I need is a chest that looks like it might be big enongh to hold a crown.  We’ll tell him we think we found the crown locked in this chest and we need his emerald to unlock it.”  It was at least part of a plan.

 

We knew where we could find Kargien.  He was meeting with the pechs.

 

“Excellent.  This day just keeps getting better and better.”  Kargien intoned as he slipped off the necklace and handed it to me.

With a little slight of hand I was able to make it look like I was giving the gem to Grizzle when I was actually slipping it in my pocket.  Grizzlegar pretended to unlock the chest and flipped it open.

 

Kargien’s eye went wide and he grabbed the necklace out of the chest.

 

“The Sunnis Amulet!  You’ve found it!  This is almost better than the crown!  Do you realize with this I will have complete control of  Ogremoch’s Bane!  He will keep the lesser elementals in check and our mining statistics will augment ten fold, a hundred fold!

 

He rushed out of the cavern holding the amulet above his head.  The pech’s who had been listening to this just shook their heads and disappeared into the walls of the cavern.

 

“Well we know where Kargien’s headed.”  I said.

 

“Yeah, the Ogremoch Cavern.”  Said Grizzle

 

“We don’t have much time we need to get this emerald back to Pingtu now!”

 

With the gems now assembled and placed Pingtu told us he only needed the ancient cache of Drow weapons that had been found in the caverns on the first day of the expedition to complete the ceremony.  He told us Fendrick, the supply manager had them stowed away.

 

Fendrick was only too happy to help us, but when he left to get the weapons we heard him cry out.  We rushed to find several kobols and Talabrina Duskryn, raiding the supply closet.  A fight ensued.  We prevailed, and Talabrina lay dying on the floor.  But it wasn’t Talabrina  at all.  The woman lying on the floor was Henkala Shadowsong!

 

“I shouldn’t have trusted him…” Was her last words.

 

We didn’t have time to puzzle over them.  Fendrick gave us the cache along with the final page of the journal with the placement of the weapons for the ceremony.  I realized the Ruby Dagger that my father had sent me to find should have been part of the cache.  Things were starting to make sense.  Kargien had had my father find the blade so he could try to stop Pingtu from completing the ceremony because it might reveal he was not the true heir of Blingdenstone.  I still wanted to take the dagger to my father but I gave it to Pingtu so could mend it and use it in the ceremony.

 

 

                                                *******

 

“The true heir of Blingdenstone is Gurmadden, Bard of Blingdenstone!”  Rumbled the Speaking Stones.

 

I was thrilled even though I had just met him I felt Gurmadden would be a great King..

 

Suddenly Talabrina (the real Talabrina) appeared before us holding Kargien by the collar.  She had an amazing story to unfold.