Umber

Blasingdell safe, the Glitterhame secured, the baby Keraptis finds a father figure in an old paladin of Pelor.

On the party’s last day at the Forge, they try to set their affairs in order before departing for Greyhawk. With the tension of defending their adopted home relieved, the dwarves have extended a boisterous hospitality. Now that they are no longer rationing their provisions, the food and ale flow freely. Artin Ungart engages Jake in endless discussions of the intricacies of trap-making and detection, and the two of them tour the Glitterhame reviewing her schemes for trapping the less secure areas. Horken drags Magnus down to the Forge at every opportunity, obviously proud of his growing smithing skill. Bane and Glom Gargull consider options for safely moving Wealcan Slightfoot’s abandoned scrying mirror into Bane’s new study.

Even the gruff Hala Stonefist grows less suspicious over the several days they spend at the Glitterhame recuperating from their injuries. Although he is careful to isolate the survivor of Andar’s brutal assault from Svengali, he apologizes for his former brusqueness and even plies Svengali with questions about lycanthropy, seeking to broaden his understanding of the condition. Two days into their stay, Psydney arrives in the company of a Wayfarer Guide, who much to their relief is not a gnome. She appears rested and less agitated than when she left, although she has taken to eight hour meditation periods, some of which she spends sitting in alien postures and chanting softly to herself.

The domestic staff disappears into the kitchens with the baby Keraptis. Fussy and prone to crying when rescued, by the time the adventurers leave he seems quieter and more content, although he observes the world around him with an attentiveness unnatural to such a young infant. Hadrack spends much of his time alone with Sir Geoffrey. Although the old paladin’s physical being has been fully restored, his horror at the evil he inflicted on others, however out of his control, will be a long time healing.

In the end, due to the party’s efforts at retrieving bodies there were remarkably few unrecoverable dwarven casualties. It is decided that further reinforcements are needed nevertheless, and Purcell volunteers to oversee the dwarven guard while Captain Loderr travels to the Iron Hills in search of additional troops. Hadrack is resistant to the party’s suggestion that he remain behind as well, both because he feels an obligation to Haissha and, perhaps more importantly, because he is not fond of being underground for extended periods of time.

Hala successfully prevails upon Sir Geoffrey to remain for at least a few months to whip Khundrakar’s guard into shape as he did Blasingdell’s. He confides to the party privately, however, that he thinks both the paladin and the baby Keraptis need time to recover from their ordeals before undertaking the journey to Geoffrey’s home temple, somewhere in Nyrond. “There is no taint of evil in the infant,” he says, “but there is no doubt that he suffered a great trauma. We can only hope that their plan for educating him in the ways of torment will go awry, and that whatever dim memory he retains of the events he witnessed will dedicate him all the more fervently to good. But only time will tell.”

Pausing in Blasingdell to update Haissha on events, the party finds work on the temple of Pelor in full swing for the third time. The laborers cheer loudly at the news that the desecrators are themselves destroyed, and even more loudly at the news that Hadrack would be several days behind with at least some of their pets and livestock. Haissha, as usual, is sober at the party’s revelations. “I almost hope you find nothing at Khundrakar. You should certainly try to put out the word that there is nothing there, regardless of what you find. If the Ble-” Sister Alonsa shakes her head in warning, and Haissha cuts short her sentence. “If this Yaakov’s employers believe in the existence of the black onyx deposit, you may be sure they’ll return. They need the gem to fuel their foul schemes.” Not cheered by this reminder, but with other pressing matters to attend to, the adventurers take to the wind with Kuhlefaran and head for Greyhawk.