It took less than two days to for Vaishu to
find a lead. It was in the small city of Stonebow Dale that a local shopkeeper
had sold supplies to two mercenaries who called themselves keepers. They
were headed into the city of storms down through the Mithril Caves where
Vaishu knew right away their destination. Gathering his things, he made
the descent into the city known as Darrowmere on the seventh hour of nightfall.
It was less than an hour before the gates of the city appeared in the haze,
shrouded beneath a dense mass of clouds and darkness. Darrowmere was a
city of extraordinary beauty, though cursed to forever dwell in the shadows
of the rainstorms. For those who called it home, the rain was less curse
than circumstance and the strider felt out of place, being the only one
who ran for cover under the eaves of the buildings. It was just east of
the southern entrance that he found the mansion he was looking for. Accounts
document the story of Hawke and the demon which was imprisoned in his basement
--A demon of great power and evil. And of course as such stories go, a
demon that guarded a valuable antiquity. The doors of the mansion remained
ajar, suggesting someone had recently been through it. To the right stood
the massive door to the basement, which was also left half open, freshly
picked as indicated by the scars on the lockhead. The stairs descended
into a immensely dark and cold basement which sounded of strange noises
and faint echoes. As he traversed them, he saw the glowing eyes of curious
creatures darting back and forth through the darkness, though they were
seeming more scared of him than he was of them. The echoes grew louder
and it was perhaps halfway through that he realized they were voices. He
followed these voices to an opening in the ground where two demon corpses
sat amidst a pile of empty vials. Looking inside, the faint glows revealed
the images of three figures: two mercenaries and the demon who towered
above them flailing its arms and swinging its tail as it swooped back and
forth on leathery wings of blood red. The mercenaries circled the demon
equidistant from one another, while taking turns striking it with their
weapons. The larger of the two held a pair of spears with a length of rope
tied to his wrist. This he would use like a javelin at times, tossing it
forward and drawing it in, but then when the demon faced him, he would
wield it like a halberd, parrying the blows with one, while dealing them
with another. The smaller mercenary wielded two swords, one of which shimmered
like so many piles of treasure and resisted the blood like oil to water
such that the blade never appeared dull. His other sword was a bit shorter
and blue as ice as he used it to parry while striking with the first. For
several minutes Vaishu watched the display from his vantage point while
entertaining thoughts of joining in, but it remained too well orchestrated
to toss in another variable. Within a few more minutes, the shorter mercenary
dealt a fatal blow to the demon, and it fell to the ground such that the
whole place shook with a great sound. "Drumroll" yelled the larger, titan
mercenary to the first, who began to simulate a drumroll with his swords
as he made a poor attempt at articulating the sound. "And nothing!" was
the reply as the titan spit at the corpse in frustration. It also here
that Vaishu could no longer hide his amusement as he let out a laugh from
above. "Need a hand out of there?" he
asked the titan, who he could now clearly identify as being Blasko. "Sure!"
Blasko replied as he reached for Vaishus outstretched arm. "We can just
leave Dusk down here." "Hey!" yelled
the human merc, who quickly pulled himself out of the hole in fear of the
others making true to their suggestion. "So
you guys got time for a break?" asked Vaishu.
"Always,"
replied
Dusk. Blasko nodded in agreement, and the three made their way out of the
mansion.
Spoiled Plans
Standing out of her crouch, Rhea eyed the stone
before giving a quick nod and setting it into the pouch on her belt. Cinching
the small bag, she tucked the ties behind her belt and grinned. The pond
shimmered in the sun before her, and with a final glance down its shore
she turned and stuffed her hands into her pockets. There was a bounce in
her step as she left the park and started down the road toward the jeweler's.
Reaching for another pouch on her belt, the gnome slipped her fingers in
and withdrew a handful of coins. Eyeing them, she nodded to herself. That
should be enough, she figured, slipping them
back into the pouch. A few gemstones, a few painted stones, and she would
have the makings for another of her creations. She thought of making it
mechanical this time, a toy for the children she had seen roaming the Sunite
hall. Back in her room she had the metal she would need, but she didn't
have the colors of gems she wanted. Turning down an alley as a shortcut,
she started to reach for her tablet to prepare her request. With a grin,
she let her arms drop back to her sides; she didn't need it any more. The
creation Icehawk had given her allowed her thoughtspeech, and she still
marveled at such a large gift from a virtual stranger. Little did he know
how much it meant -- Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her from behind,
pulling her into the shadows of the alley. There was a flash of motion
in front of her and a hand clasped her choker, removing it before she could
call out. She struggled, kicking backward and meeting only air as the grip
on her tightened. A cloth was pressed over her nose and mouth; instinctively,
she took a deep breath, inhaling a strange scent deeply. She coughed, pulling
her head backward, and the cloth was pressed closer to her face. Silently
she cursed herself for not carrying her dagger, for thinking herself safe
without it. Twisting, she tried to pull away, one of her pouches catching
and ripping open. The stones she'd collected spilled out onto the ground
around her. With a fast motion, her head was pressed forward into the cloth,
and she took another deep breath of the strange substance. The alley around
her began to spin, and she slumped backward into her captive's grasp as
she fell unconscious.
-5- Correspondence
Clausius closed his eyes and the world fell
around him like a house of cards. Without focus, the thoughts rebuilt themselves
into visions, though fuzzy and lacking in substance. As verified by the
Entity, these visions were prophetic, but what good was a prophecy if the
writing remained undecipherable? For perhaps the better part of a year
he had them off and on. When luck was with him, he could make out images,
and sometimes faces, though they were often confused with people he had
known such that it was difficult to tell at any given time whether the
face he remember was from a dream or from his memory. One face in particular
haunted his dreams for many months. She was a young girl, with jet black
hair and dark robes; human in appearance, though the wicked gleam in her
eyes betrayed a heritage that was anything but innocent... A knock at the
door broke Clausius from his dreams. It was well past the ninth hour, yet
someone found it necessary to pay him a visit. Reluctantly, he opened the
door to the face of a familiar kenku courier bearing a large scroll tube.
"Pardon
the intrusion Clausius, but this message came with the instruction that
it be delivered immediately upon receipt."
Clausius
nodded and accepted the tube, which bore the seal of the Wizard's Guild
along its side. It was the reply he was waiting for, within a week of sending
it as his friends in the guild were always quick to answer his correspondence.
"Come
in a moment," he replied to the courier, who
was soaked from the rain. Clausius walked to the main archives, with the
kenku close behind, and made his way over to the desk which still sat cluttered
with various objects. Scooting them to the side, he broke the seal on the
tube and tipped it over. A roll of heavy parchments fell out onto the table,
each bearing the seal of the Guild. The first he read near the fire: In
response to your letter received on the second week of Eleasias, we have
convened and discussed your inquiries: To your first question, by our methods,
this one you call Bosch is who he says he is. His records in the guild
are also in tact, as there was never a claim made to his wealth. We shall
expect a visit from him shortly to have his records updated or otherwise
removed from the repository. To your second question, it is curious you
know of the details of our encounter with this girl you so vividly describe.
She was declined the opportuntiy to study here due to an impure bloodline
that we cannot place, though her skills with the weave are exceptional.
Attached is our report on this girl, which you should find more informative
that I can make it to be. It is also convenient that you should send us
this inquiry, as we have something that we need to discuss with you and
your faction. Some recent information has come to our attention concerning
the imbalance of powers in the realms. While we would like to have you
come in person to the High Tower, we realize that you are not as fit for
travel as you may have been 200 years ago, and so we will accept any trusted
representative to appear before us at either's convenience. The
next few pages were the official reports on Bosch and the girl who remained
nameless on all pages. Clausius pulled a piece of paper from his desk and
prepared a reply: To the High Council of the
Wizard's Guild, I will make preparations to send a representative you are
no doubt familiar with. The Simbul is currently attending to clan affairs
in the east, but I will ask that she convene with the council at her earliest
convenience. In regards to the information you have provided on both of
my inquiries, I thank you for the help in these matters. The business with
Bosch's records will be reconciled as soon as he returns from a trip of
the utmost importance. The future of our humble faction relies on his success
in this journey, and so I ask that you be patient until such time as the
plans are finalized. With warmest regards, Clausius Sagacus Sealing
the letter in wax, Clausius imprinted the Sagacus crest upon it and handed
it to the courier with confidence that it would reach its destination with
the greatest of speeds.
The Beginning Pt. I
After many days of endless stress I made my
way to the Blue Moon Tavern. I Pulled a few coins out of my pocket, slammed
them on the bar and demanded service. The Bartender hustled his way to
where I was sitting 'What are ya drinkin?'
he asked, I replied 'Give me a bottle of your
finest wine'. He pulled a 12 ounce of his
best White Whine and poped the cork, and poured me a glass, 'Have
the whole thing, you look like you need it'.
'Thanks' I said,
chuckling a bit. 'Don't mention it'.
I picked up the bottle and glass and caught out of the corner of my eye
the image of the women whom I have come to love very much. I let out a
slight whistle trying to catch her attention, success!! she slowly walked
to me with the brightest
smile I've ever seen on her face. Strolling up behind was her pet Kaji
purring away like always. I beckoned for her to follow but instead she
rushed by me sneaking off to the Back Room of the Tavern. I quickly followed
her path, moving from room to room, trying hard at the same time to not
spill my drink. Finally I made it to Back Room panting as if I had just
had a battle with Tchazzar and won (out of pure luck). Looking around the
room I noticed she had somehow pushed the two chairs together making it
seem as if it was a couch. I sat on one of the chairs, Wine Glass and Bottle
in hand, poured some more wine, I noticed Xairin had a puzzled look on
her face, she said 'What's that for?',
I told her 'It's just a little wine, never
hurt anybody.'.
-3- NorthBound
The autumn sun hung low over the horizon as
Bosch made his way into the small hamlet located just north of Waterdeep.
It was his final stop on a long journey northward, where he would search
out the future of the faction. His decision to search in the northern lands
came rather spontaneously as he stood in the square in Waterdeep. The south
was infested with trolls, and the east was a wilderness he would just as
soon forget. The west had potential, but only after crossing the Sea of
Swords, which would open up more options than he had time to consider.
That left the north, of which little information was still known, and that
was a definite selling point for his decision. While he had a long journey
ahead of him, he knew that it would be much easier to manage if he rested
up for the evening. Passing by several farms, he noticed a group of buildings
set up in what he only guessed as being the center of the settlement. The
Long Road passed directly through and opened up into a crude square with
several water troughs and hay. A crude road stretched to the east across
the fields and down into a swampy area below. Just a few paces from the
road sat an inn which seemed to be doing quite well, as patrons frequented
it more so than they did anything else. Bosch made his way in. At the front
desk stood a stocky, middle-aged man who was busy with an angry patron.
The patron, obviously drunk, was busy yelling at the innkeeper and beating
his fist against the desk while rambling on about his room. When he grew
tired, the innkeeper leaned forward and whispered in the patrons face,
such that it became white with fear. In another instance, it was all over,
with the patron stumbling quickly out the door, but not before setting
down a few platinum pieces on the desk. "Greetings!
What can we do for you here in the Sleeping Dragon?" Bosch
was taken aback for a moment at the sudden pleasantness of the innkeeper,
but it was only for a moment. "I've been on
the road for several days without a decent place to rest. I was wondering
if you had a room?" The innkeeper laughed.
"You
are fortunate. One just became available. The price will be 5 platinum,
and that includes a meal and drink. Bosch
counted out five platinum coins and placed them onto the desk. With one
hand, the innkeeper slid the money towards him and tossed Bosch a key with
the other. This switch happened so quick that Bosch nearly lost his bag
trying to recover the flying key, causing the innkeeper to laugh. "You'll
like this room. Breakfast is served within an hours of sunrise, so don't
miss it. And losing that key will cost you much more than I think you can
afford. Have a good night!" Bosch made his
way through the tavern area toward the back where the rooms were. Opening
his room number, he found the accomidations less than pleasant, with half
eaten food still on the table and an unmade bed complete with beer stains.
But Bosch never quite got used to beds again, having spent a decade sleeping
on beds of leaves and soft earth. Pulling the straw mattress from the bedframe,
he made himself a place to sleep and quickly settled in for the night.
-2- Greater Things
Clausius and Vaishu entered the main collection
of the archives, which was a vast chamber filled with rows upon rows of
shelves and cases. At the end of near every row were stacks of containers
filled with overflow which made the aisles extremely difficult to navigate.
Clausius and Vaishu meandered their way through to a large fireplace at
the northern wall. In front of it was an equally large desk that sat in
a small clearing that managed to remain uncluttered from the invading antiquities.
With a smile, Vaishu placed his bag on the desk and pulled it open. "Two
sets of crystal panes from Waterdeep," he
said as he produced two wooden boxes. "The
jeweler apologizes for being late with them." Clausius
opened the boxes and examined the panes under the firelight. "I
will settle with him next month when he visits. Did you manage to find
the tools?" Vaishu smiled as he produced several
leather bundles from the bags. "They were
hard to find, but I managed to locate a trader from Heifong that acquired
them for me." Clausius nodded as he produced
a dwarven toolbox from under the desk. Taking the tools one by one, he
began to sort them in the toolbox with the greatest of care and satisfaction.
For several minutes, the two rooted through the bags, producing a sizable
pile of seemingly unrelated items. Along with the crystal panes and tools,
there were three bronze shields, two spools of binding leather, a tanner's
kit, several small sheets of various metal, including copper, tin, and
soft iron, a canister of metal polish, and several books related to manufacturing
of small machines and other mechanical contraptions. All of these things
Clausius sorted and piled next to more items which looked even stranger
together. "I know you won't tell me what these
things are for, but I ran into Bosch who was also in Waterdeep, and he
seemed to know about the items I was looking for. I was just curious if
you two were planning something." Vaishu asked
as he stood up in front of the desk. "Well,
it is a safe assumption that we are always planning something, but to answer
your question: Yes, he has always known about the dreams and my interest
in them." A spark of interest showed in the
halfling as he looked up at Clausius, such that Clausius had to justify
his statement. "Well, my intentions regarding
these things you brought me are not related to the future of the faction.
It is strictly a personal interest, but one that may prove beneficial to
our cause. I think I will stop at that for fear of dragging you into my
flights of fancy." He was adamant about keeping
secrets. That is one thing Vaishu was certain about when it came to Clausius.
While curiosity burned within him, he knew also that Clausius had his reasons
for not letting on to certain things. It was an old observation that Vaishu
had learned about and also learned to live with from the day he came to
know the keepers now just half a year prior. And
as expected, Clausius had another task to utilize the strider's abilities
with. Tearing a strip of parchment from his stack of notes, Clausius penned
several lines and handed it over to Vaishu. "I
need you to locate these keepers for me and have them come to the archives."
Taking
the parchment, Vaishu folded it up and carefully placed it in his pocket.
"And
when do you need them here," he asked. "Within
the next few weeks if possible. As we speak, Bosch is busy searching for
a new place to store the archives and we will need all the help we can
get for the move." Vaishu blinked slowly.
"The
move?" Clausius smiled at the reply, having
purposely instigated it. "Yes, I would like
to have everything moved within the month. There will be no problem finding
them right?" The halfling grinned at the question
which he couldn't possibly answer in any truthful capacity. He thought
how ambitious such a proposal was when there wasn't even a place to move
to as of then. Even with all of the keepers assembled to work on the move,
it would be very difficult to have it all transported and reordered within
the year, much less within the month. But then something had to be said
about optimism and that is where he mustered the courage to reply that
finding them would be no problem. "Good,"
replied
Clausius. "Good luck?" asked
Vaishu. "If any luck is with us in this endeavor,
it will be good," was Clausius' reply as Vaishu
exited the archives.
-1- Dawn of a Legacy
Dark clouds loomed over the forests around the ruined city. At an outcropping of rocks there sat carved a small place called simply 'The Archives'. It is a place where on this particular evening an aged titan sat in an equally aged wooden chair inside a room with no roof. In place of one was a tattered canvas, partially draped over a series of rings fabricated into a dome such that leaves and birds wandered in freely from the outside. Also that evening, the titan named Clausius let wander in thoughts of shaking the stability in his life. For longer that he could remember, this place served as his repository for all things he knew or hoped to know about his world. It was his lifes work, and as such his life, but he also knew that beyond the antiquities and beyond the volumes of knowledge, there lied a greater cause that pre-existed all others. It was time to complete the legacy. And with those thoughts came the rain. The droplets fell through the open roof with no resistance and struck the ground forcefully, saturating the room with the smell of dry earth. The elder titan sat in his chair, tossing a ball of string to the ground such that it rolled and bounced across the floor. A length of the string remained tied to his finger such that with a tug of his wrist, the ball came bounding back to his hands. This he entertained himself with through the rain, until the ball became saturated to the point that it fell like dead weight onto the ground. That is when he realized it was raining and that he was not alone. "You become stranger by the day, Clausius" a voice called out through the downpour. Clausius turned to see a cloaked halfling standing in the entranceway holding several bags. Ah Vaishu. Good to see you again." Clausius rose from his chair as he pocketed the ball of string. "Good to see me or to see these bags full?" Vaishu replied as he lifted them slightly to show they were indeed heavy with items. "Both to be honest, but you above all else. Let me gather my senses again and we'll have a look." Clausius made his way over to the large rope which was tied to the canvas. With a gentle tug, the canvas pulled shut and with it came several splashes of water. Vaishu watched this display carefully, being more interested in the funny length of string which ran from the titans pocket to his finger. "So I must ask you: what is the ball of string for?" Vaishu asked as they made their way down the hallway. "Well, it was of the advice of a friend that I take up new hobbies, and I found that the string helps me understand." "Oh really? How so?" asked the halfling. Clausius looked up again, half taken by surprise at the question. A few paces later, he replied, "Well, I was just thinking how much me and this ball of string have in common. Someone drops it and it rolls like it was meant to roll, across the ground in all its imperfections. Somewhere it will stop as it hits a rock or maybe just runs out of momentum, but no matter what niche it finds, theres something it cannot change. It is always tied to something; tied to its driving force if you will that will eventually decide its time to pull that ball of string back in and let it roll again." Vaishu looked at him with a puzzled look and shook his head. "You know, dont take this the wrong way, but sometimes I think all this isolation starts getting to your head." Clausius cracked a smile amidst a look of concern. "Perhaps youre right. All I know is that Ive been sitting in my little niche too long now for something not to come along and pull me out." Clausius stopped at the end of the short hallway to hang up his robe which was soaked with water. Taking one of the bags from Vaishu, he patted him on the back and said, "Let us dry by the fire and see what kinds of things you have for me."
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