Hammer 15, 1489
Dre'zel my love,
Steve and Taimen joined us at the White Lady Inn, where Graven had ushered us into a private room where Vellynne Harpell was prepared to perform her Speak With Dead ritual on the skulls we had recovered.
Ambrose retired to his room as the rest of us hid behind a curtain so that the skulls would not be able to see us. Saritu was able to communicate with the necromancer telepathically for us.
We started with the hag, Maud Chiselbone, and as soon as Vellynne’s ritual began, the skull said: “Hello, who are you?”
Clearly flustered, Vellynne replied: “My name is…Hellynne Varpell. I found your head after some adventurers slew you, and I’ve come to inquire. Is that alright with you?”
Behind the curtain, Talyth and Saritu grimaced as the skull chortled and Vellynne sighed, realizing her mistake. At Saritu’s silent urging, the necromancer continued: “What is your connection to Auril?”
Maud explained that sea hags acted as middlemen between Auril and others, facilitating deals, and they used to worship Umberlee but turned to Auril when she came to the Dale.
Vellynne asked, “What did Bjornhild receive in exchange for her sacrifice?”
Maud answered, explaining that the Reghedmen normally serve Tempus, a war god. The tribes were only united once by a legendary warrior, Jerrod. Bjornhild wanted power on his scale, and the hags performed dark magic to shape her sacrificed baby into a powerful warrior under her control, though they normally only do this with female babies to turn them into more hags.
Vellynne asked: “Were there any other sacrifices made?”
Maud explained that their meal was upset, and Bjornhild’s sacrifice failed when he was stolen by a bear. It was ten months before Bjornhild sired another, and they completed the ritual on the second son.
With her last question, Vellynne asked, “Who is the child to unite the Regged tribes?”
“Bjornhild’s second born,” Maud confirmed, “equal in power to Jerrod himself. The Dale’s Demise!”
Suddenly, Taimen had an outburst during the ritual, speaking to someone unseen, and when questioned, she was dismissive of the event and would not explain herself.
Suspicious of Taimen, but eager to continue, we gave Vellynne the skull of the servant we found in the Netherese spire.
Beginning a new ritual, Vellynne asked, “What were the circumstances of your death?”
The skull answered, “Pain, fell from sky, crushed by stone.”
Vellynne asked, “Who was your master in life?”
The skull replied, “Davim, master of illusion.”
Vellynne asked, “Why did Ythryn fall?”
The skull explained that Ythryn, the pride of the Netherese empire, fell due to something the mages found.
Vellynne asked, “Why did this tower separate?”
The skull explained that Davim separated the tower from the rest of the city and tried to hold it aloft, but didn't succeed in saving it, though it escaped a wave coming from the center of the city.
With her last question, Vellynne asked, “What was the wave made of?”
The skull explained that the wave came out of the center of the city and was made of the opposite of the Weave, and went silent.
We gave Vellynne the master’s skull, and she began a new ritual, asking: “Who are you?”
“I am Davim,” the skull replied.
Vellynne asked, “What was the nature of the disaster that struck Ythryn?”
Davim explained that Iriolarthas was a fool and dug too deep while looking for remnants of Ostoria, the Giant kingdom that battled the dragons 40,000 years ago. They found a spindle underneath the oceans that produced antimagic, and Ythyrn fell when the spindle was activated.
Vellynne asked, “What defenses does Ythryn have that would hinder explorers?”
Davim said he didn’t know what it had now, but at the time of his death, Ythyrn had living spells created by mages of each school of magic, all trying to outdo one another.
Vellynne asked, “What were the greatest treasures of Ythryn?”
“Our mythallar, if it survived,” Davim replied. “We’ve never seen anything else like it.”
With her last question, Vellynne asked, “Who was your Iriolarthas?”
“An undying lich,” Davim explained, “who hoarded all manner of magic items in the city's central tower and caused Ythyrn's demise.” With that, the skull went dormant.
With the ritual over, Steve and Taimen eagerly departed for The Wet Trout. JoJo went to the market. Saritu stayed behind with Ambrose to examine the red wizard’s spellbook.
Talyth said she wanted to do some shopping as well, so I accompanied her. In addition to various art supplies, she paid 300 gold coins for a diamond to cast Revivify.
It was getting late, a blizzard was beginning, and I was eager to prepare for our assault on the duergar at the Frozen Ferry, so I was disappointed when Talyth said she was heading to the Town Hall because she wanted to paint the cauldron for Steve, especially after seeing how the Soupmeister behaved at the Bremen refugee camp.
After returning to White Lad Inn and seeing JoJo, Ambrose, and Saritu, I had a change of heart and headed to the Town Hall to make sure Talyth was okay.
As I arrived at the Town Hall, the blizzard was strong and I could barely see at least half a dozen axe beaks fleeing with riders on their back, one pulling a cart. Then I spotted Talyth’s paints scattered around the steps of the Town Hall!
I cast Spike Growth as far as I could see, and the last four of the axe beaks fell, the cart tipping over and spilling something heavy and metal into the street. Already in the shadows, I began to rain arrows on the thugs that had fallen from the axebeaks. I dropped one, and two others began to pursue me as the others gathered their cart. I tried to circle around, but I lost them in the blizzard. I found their trail heading west, as well as another trail of a body being dragged.
Returning to the Town Hall, I found Talyth and Captain Arlaggath locked in a cell. The half-elf directed me to a set of keys, and I freed them.
Together, we followed the second set of tracks, which led to the home of Prudence Tarkwold, who Talyth said was leading the band of Zhentarim thugs who had stolen the cauldron. Inside, we found the dead thug along with a winged serpent in a cage.
Talyth took the cage with the serpent, and I severed and bagged the thug’s head.
We made haste to the White Lady Inn, where Talyth asked Saritu to contact the sheriff in Bryn Shander via Sending.
First, Saritu cast Clairvoyance on the cauldron cart, and she spied the thugs riding axe beaks west along the Eastway. Then, she alerted the sheriff, who responded affirmatively.
Meanwhile, Ambrose used his Speak with Animals potion to speak with the winged serpent.
Once I was alone with Talyth, I asked her, "How did you know?"
"I knew something was off about Prudence,” Talyth insisted, holding her paint supplies behind her back, “from the moment she started insisting we brand and broadcast ourselves to the dale..." Then she trailed off before yelling, “I didn’t know! I mean I thought it might be good to check on it and I didnt trust Prudence but I had no idea she was stealing it and I wanted to mark the cauldron in case someone swapped it but honestly I was trying to do something nice for Steve because his friend died and i couldnt save him and thats my whole job so I just wanted to cheer him up and I thought ‘two birds one stone’ and it was probably really stupid and ill advised but that’s what I wanted to do. Please don’t tell me it was a stupid idea because I know it was!”
I could tell she was yelling more at herself than at me.
"Talyth, we've seen a lot of death, on the surface and even more below. You cannot view every death as a personal failing. We're all putting our lives on the line for a greater cause. We do our best, and that's all that can be expected of us. How can you be at your best while placing this burden on yourself? And you don't deserve it. Hells, they certainly don't deserve it! You didn't even know Steve's friend, or that he would show up unexpectedly. It’s not like you were twiddling your thumbs. You were busy sacrificing yourself to suppress Auril’s magic so that we didn’t all perish in the berserker cave! And this is the friend of someone who, instead of prioritizing the refugees from Bremen, decided to antagonize the Lathanderites who did because he suddenly decided that corner of Easthaven is his turf!”
“How is it not a personal failing?” Talyth insisted. “It is because I have seen—because we have seen—so much death that it means all the more to be able to fend it off whenever possible! That's a gift I am endlessly grateful to have been granted, and to not use it whenever possible is to squander that gift, which is something I cannot afford to do given the cost it has come at. We may have seen more death than most, and at times, death is necessary, and I don't shy away from it when it is, but that makes being able to preserve life that much more meaningful to me.”
“Regardless of Steve's current...temperament,” Talyth continued, “Peshek was the definition of an innocent. Perhaps it's not about him specifically, but it bothers me nonetheless, especially since the consequences of my stone shaping were so...severe. His death is not my only regret in that fight.”
“All I’m saying,” I maintained, “is that you cannot hold yourself accountable for every death. Peshek may have been the definition of an innocent, but we really don’t know anything about him. He showed up unexpectedly while we had our hands full with those berserkers. Many of us almost died that day, including me, and we would have if it weren’t for you! What else could you have done? People are dying all around us, Talyth! How many of them will you hold yourself personally responsible for? Are you responsible for those fisherfolk? Or the Bremen sacrifices? Or the guards in…or Garret? What about all the lives you have saved, many of them multiple times? You turn the tide of almost every obstacle we face. And what about the lives you’re going to save? That is, unless you get yourself killed being recklessly driven by guilt!”
After a pause, I turned to Talyth and continued, “Talyth, your curiosity and innocence are part of what makes you special. You represent the best of us, and you know how much I care for you. I need you here with me, because I don’t know if I can do this without you. I need you to be careful.”
Talyth nodded and hung her head.
"Now let's get some rest,” Frizzt added, placing a comforting arm on Talyth’s shoulder. “We have a big day ahead of us, and I was hoping to begin early.”
Finally, we returned to our rooms and rested until morning.
In the morning, Taimen and Steve joined us at the White Lady Inn. It was apparent that they had shared some activity they wouldn’t share with the rest of us. My trust in Taimen was quickly diminished by this sudden secrecy. I shared my concerns with Talyth and could see the same doubt in her. She gently confronted Taimen, who remained dismissive.
Captain Arlaggath stopped by and reported that Zhentarim thugs had been intercepted near Bryn Shander, and the cauldron was recovered!
Vellynne expressed her anxiety about the chardalyn dragon and her eagerness for us to deal with the duergar. Leaving the thug head with her, we headed to the Frozen Ferry.
When we reached the pier and could see the Frozen Ferry, Talyth cast Darkvision on Taimen, Steve, and herself. Steve used a scroll of Invisibility on Ambrose, Saritu used her Invisibility, and I cast Longstrider on myself.
I hid behind a nearby stack of boats as Ambrose and Saritu invisibly approached the ferry while the others waited by the edge of the pier.
I saw the door to the ferry cabin open, and my frustration grew as it seemed that it had been abandoned. Then there were sounds of a scuffle coming from within, but I could not see any targets. Soon, the rest of my companions had approached the ferry, and Steve had cast Shatter multiple times, blowing up sections of the ferry. Talyth boarded the Ferry and was scrambling about, the flairs of her Spirit Guardians surrounding her like her own personal aurora.
The bell on the ferry began to ring loudly, and soon after, I heard heavy footsteps running toward the pier, and I cast Spike Growth on its edge.
Ambrose, now visible, leaped across the frozen water, engaging the duergar, who gradually appeared. Riding Princess Skullcrusher, Taimen also crossed the ice to engage the duergar. JoJo walked into the Spike Growth before I dismissed it to cast Hunter’s Mark and began dispatching duergar.
Soon, all the duergar were down except for one, and Talyth appeared on the ice, swinging a tiny dead duergar in her hands.
The remaining duergar surrendered, indignantly proclaiming that it wasn’t just the end for him but for all of us. Then he was shocked to hear that we already knew about Xardorok and his chardalyn dragon.
When Saritu emerged, she shared that she had recovered a note from the ferry.
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