Session 80

After saving the town of Gade from the plans of a gnomish wizard, the party decides to visit Marlak in Karkin, then return to Remnas for the reward. Before leaving their contact Hoople offers them room for the night following the festival.

9th of Land’s Blessing

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to get out of this crazy town,” Gante says.

It’s a day’s journey north to Karkin. They arrive mid-afternoon. They find Marlak at his home, just on the outskirts of town.

Kerwyn knocks on the old wooden door of the small house. “Hello… anybody home?”

Books are strewn about the study, and loose papers are pinned to many walls. “Sorry that I haven’t had the time to clean,” Marlak says. “This has been quite a puzzle. There’s not a single line of history, geography, or even legend about this ‘Shady Grove’ place. I’d doubt that it even existed had I not heard it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.”

“Hmm… well that doesn’t leave us much to work with then,” Kerwyn says.

“Is there any magic that could help out?” Glod asks.

“I’ve a feeling that that diviner will be helpful, but we’ve little to go on for now.”

“Well, we do need to go back to Remnas to collect our reward,” Kerwyn says. “We could see if he could shed any light on this then.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

The adventurers travel north towards Remnas, passing through Celes and Duvik’s Pass. Glod attempts to translate more of the journal about once a night, but finds all the late night study tiring.

11th of Land’s Blessing

“On to see Stravin then,” Gante says. “We’ve got some bags of gold with our names on it.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s got the king’s name on it actually,” Glod says.

“I don’t even think this country has a king, per se,” Epona says.

Kerwyn laughs. “Doesn’t matter whose name is on it, just as long as it’s spendable.”

They navigate the city streets, arriving at the city’s main base of operations. Upon meeting with a bored-looking desk attendant, they are led to a planning room where Lord Stravin stands hunched over a map of the city.

Kerwyn waves. “Greetings Lord Stravin. How’s the city doing?”

“Ah, if it isn’t…” He consults a nearby sheet of paper. With a smile, he reads the title they gave themselves. “‘Those guys who are always there to save the day.’ Glad you could make it. The city’s doing surprisingly well, considering the recent events. Certainly, it’d be doing much worse were it not for your deeds.”

He goes in to the hall, waving for them to follow. He begins down a set of corridors, probably to the treasury.

“Kendra is by no means a rich country. Heaven knows, we still haven’t paid off the debts of the last war. Still, we get by with our resources, the most important of which is our people.”

“Well, we’re happy to preserve those,” Glod says.

“I have found it beneficial to reward those who deserve it when possible.” He takes a key from his pocket. He hands it to a guard, standing beside a rather hefty metal door. The guard returns, carting a large chest. “So, here’s to hoping we have you as an ally in the future, if ever trouble arises.”

“You can be sure we’ll be willing to lend a helping hand when needed,” Kerwyn says.

“And ya can keep the cart,” the guard says as he wheels the chest into the room. “You’ll prob’ly need it to get this to where e’er yer going.”

“Thanks, but we have a bag of holding for this sort of thing,” Glod says.

Gante laughs nervously. “Well, it can only hold so much…”

“Er, how much?”

“About 250 pounds,” Gante answers.

Epona crosses her arms. “Then mister pack-rat over there is going to have to get rid of some of this junk.”

“Hey now, you never know when you’ll need eight sets of goblin chain mail.”

“This is as good a time as any to try to sell it.”

“Yeah, surely someone will buy it. I’ll take it into town, see what I can do. I’ll be back later. Keep an eye on Kerwyn.”

“What did I do?”

“In the meanwhile, how about we head back to the diviner’s shop and see if he can help us?”

The adventurers return to the diviner’s shop. The walls of this old building are covered in long, flowing pieces of cloth. A small table in the center holds a crystal ball.

They hear a voice from the back: “I’m coming, I’m coming. Have patience!”

A wrinkled face emerges from the curtain, not yet revealing anything below its neck. In quick succession, he eyes each of them.

“Hm… A gnome, a… Oh. It’s you… WELCOME, MY DEAR CUSTOMERS!”

He bursts through the curtains, places his hands flat on the small table, and smiles broadly. His glasses hang on the tip of his nose.

“And what brings you to my neck of the woods today?”

“We need your help finding something,” Glod says.

“Ah, do tell.”

“Well, we are trying to locate a place called Shady Grove. So far, our research has found nothing. All we know is that this journal was there at some point.”

“This could prove difficult. You’ve no idea where the place may be?”

“Such a general finding spell could take months, years even. I will need more information on this place. As it is now, I would need to cast divinations centered at several different places, spiraling outward, searching for something so specific.”

“Well, maybe you can find out where the journal has been in past years?”

Belorin Millstone smiles. “That would be an unusual combination of two very different types of divination. Lucky for you I enjoy a challenge. You would, of course, need to leave the book here with me. I will deduct the cost of my services from what I owe you for the pearl.”

“Well as long as the process isn’t destructive. Do you have any idea how long it might take you?”

“That depends on how long I end up tracing it back. The further back and farther away its history goes, the longer it will take to trace it further. Assuming it hasn’t traveled far, I’d say I could have a decade traced back by tomorrow.”

Current year is 446, for those keeping score at home. Note that this doesn’t have any connection with the Gregorian calendar.