Umber

Returning to the temple of Tharizdun at Crater Ridge, the adventurers search for a way to cripple the Wolverine before Moloch’s army reaches Spinecastle.

After looting the dragon’s hoard, the party had made their way back to the relative safety of the temple of Moradin. Callie and Vayel were checking on the prisoners they had rescued from the cultists; Dryden had disappeared, no doubt to commune with Unus-Aquila, and Corwin was standing guard. Tired and sore, Brin took off her armor, sank to the floor with her back against a wall and closed her eyes. She could hear Ammitai speaking quietly in the background, to Xaod, no doubt. Thoughts of Xaod led to thoughts of the Alpha, and then to Hadrack, and before she gave it conscious thought she felt a gentle press of souls, tugging her on the shadowy road to the Three Feathers.

When she arrived, she sighed to herself. The elf again. And this time Hadrack is nowhere in sight. She was starting to turn away when the elf spoke to her. “Brin!” he exclaimed. “Hadrack asked me, should you – put in an appearance –  to request that you wait for him. He won’t be long, and I know he is anxious for news.” As the shadowy form took on a more solid appearance he bowed. “We’ve never had the time for formal introductions. I am Erenil, Knight of the Dispatch.”
Read the rest of this entry »

A mysterious individual who had a mysterious meeting with Corwin muses on fate. (sab)

In one hand, he holds the hammer; in the other hand a sharpened chunk of wood. I watch, unable to move as he raises the hammer on high. I reach out with my mind and call to my children but they do not answer. My assailant’s arms are short, but his swing is powerful, so powerful that he drives the spike clear through my chest with a single mighty blow. My vision begins to fade as he leans over, looks me in the eye, smirks and says, “more blades for my collection. I’ll be sure to put them in a place of honor.” With my life force fading rapidly I muster the strength for a final scream as he gathers my belongings. He laughs, and I wake, the scream still ringing in my ears, the night silent, expectant.
Read the rest of this entry »

Callie seeks Otiluke’s aid and the adventurers find far more than an archmage in the frozen wastes of the north.

Several times during her sojourn with the Hommlet Cuthbertians, Brin had tried to visit Hadrack but found Erenil with him no matter what the hour, and had withdrawn without speaking. Now, meditating while the Skyfish sailed from Spinecastle toward Rastor, she waited until she was certain Hadrack would be asleep and, although she regretted waking him, tried again.

Hadrack was in the grip of an evil dream when even in sleep he felt Brin’s presence in the room with him. By the time he was was fully awake, the Perrit form was already curled up at the foot of the bed, watching him. “I’m sorry,” she said, smiling apologetically, “but that elf never seems to go away. I half-expected to find him here.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Keraptis brings news of Achomed; Brin tells the wizard about Corwin’s new friends.

It had been a week since Unus-Aquila had dropped Ammitai and Brin off in Hommlet and rejoined Dryden in the forest outside of Rastor, with another week to go before the celestial eagle returned for them. Glad to be back in a friendly place after the oppressive environment of that unpleasant town, Brin settled in comfortably with the Cuthbertians for a few weeks’ training while Ammitai divided his time between Elmo for his martial needs and the Pelorites and Cuthbertians for his spiritual ones. She had a great deal to occupy her time; aside from the routines of the church and her own training, the souls had shown her a new rune of power, and she spent hours practicing its intricate lines.

Even so, she felt restless and irritable. The middle-aged Cuthbertian priest with whom she was training finally remarked on her mental state over lunch one day, adding affably, “Well, it’s only natural.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Erenil’s concern for Hadrack’s strange behavior brings visitors to the Three Feathers Inn.

Hadrack was outside splitting wood around midday when a rider in plate mail bearing the symbol of Pelor and the lightly embossed print of a bear paw approached the Inn. The ranger waved as the man swung down and spoke a few words to his mount, which turned and dutifully walked unaccompanied to the stable. “I didn’t think you could be pried away from Rel Mord, Geoffrey,” Hadrack greeted the newcomer.

“I might not have been, did I not serve at the pleasure of the king,” the paladin confessed. “But I am on my way to Montinelle, and thought to stop here for a night’s rest and good fellowship.”

“Clement has asked you to look into Piotr Deming’s disappearance?”
Read the rest of this entry »

A usual meditation brings an unusual vision: the Orb of the Storm-Riders. (sab)

Eyes closed, your pulse slows and muscles begin to relax. So much has happened recently that it has been hard to find the time to meditate as deeply as you would like. You regulate your breath, slipping deeper into the trance… A stone beneath your mat distracts you. You try to ignore it, but fail. Momentarily breaking the trance, you dislodge the stone. Time to try again. Breathe in, out… Somewhere, someone is sharpening a sword. At this time of night? What are they doing? Are they trying to aggravate you on purpose? Taking a deep breath, and holding it, you remind yourself that part of the meditation exercise is to realize just how bombarded we are by the demands of sensation; sound, light, taste, touch all flowing in, ceaselessly, pulling us deeper into the world and further from our true selves. Even while we sleep, some part of our minds and bodies are locked in place, fascinated by these stimuli.
Read the rest of this entry »

Unus-Aquila’s thoughts as he engages on a reconassaince mission for Dryden. (sab)

It is a fine afternoon to be alive. My friend and I are on a Quest; the currents blow warm and cold and I surf these currents effortlessly. Lo, though I am far from the Mountain, much yet abides… Far below, upon the unyielding plain, are those whom for now I follow. They take their mysterious course, scenting the unseen, but failing to look above their limited horizon. Two by two they find the path, each step a strategic victory over the unknown, sentinels guarding the Pack, a studied mix of cowardice and bravery.

I will never truly understand them.
Read the rest of this entry »

The adventurers’ short visit to a mysterious glade proves not so short in the world beyond; they almost miss an important appointment and, in the end, wonder if their presence mattered.

It was nearly midnight when Erenil returned to the Three Feathers Inn from his lengthy errand. He had ridden hard, not from a sense of any particular urgency but rather for the sheer exhilaration of it. He stabled his horse, saw Ide off on her nightly patrol, then entered the inn planning to speak briefly with Hadrack before passing a few hours in meditation and then joining Ide. When he’d entered the Underdark almost a hundred years ago, he had no plans for emerging; he’d been a surfacer again for over a decade now and still marveled at the richness of the air and the verdancy of the land. And of course, he admitted to himself, Ide was much happier here.

He found Hadrack, as he expected, in the common room, sitting before the fire with his back to the entry. Even so, Erenil had not taken two steps into the room before the innkeeper said, “What news?”
Read the rest of this entry »