Hammer 29, 1489
Dre'zel my love,
Once JoJo composed himself, we agreed to enter Targos—despite Vellynne’s objections—to replenish our supplies and check in on things since the speakership had transferred from Naerth to Ma.
As we approached Targos, Taimen covered her silver dragon egg with a blanket, but as she galloped on Princess Skulcrusher, the blanket kept sliding off. I tried to help her, but she suspiciously spurned my attempts. Taimen split off as soon as we entered the town walls, and I could see the egg was once again visible to many.
After replenishing my arrows, I went to Ma’s tavern to wait for my companions. While there, Ma confirmed that the town was doing well since Naerth had relinquished power.
Taimen returned without her egg and looked like she had been in a scuffle, but Vellynne was impatient, and I didn’t question the dragonborn beyond confirming that the egg had been left with Ma.
We reached Bryn Shander before noon and made our way to the House of the Morning Lord to visit Mishann. Mishann identified Talyth’s fishhook, and she used it to catch a small fish that sprouted wings and proceeded to fly after her. Mishann also said Rowan’s shell could transform into a boat for twenty-four hours.
The mood was heavy as we traveled along the Eastway, except for Duke Ulder, who talked incessantly, but rarely of anything of import. I was filled with regret that I would not be able to assist JoJo and Rowan on their personal missions, especially since my time on the surface seemed to be nearing fast, one way or the other. I expressed my contrition to each of them as we approached the fork in the road.
As we turned north toward Caer-Dineval, Rowan transformed into a giant eagle and allowed JoJo to ride through the skies as they swiftly flew toward Skytower Shelter. Watching the two fly off into the sky, I reflected on all the other things I would not get to do if we succeeded in ending the Rime and restoring daylight to Icewind Dale. I had hoped to put an end to Maud Chiselbone and her evil hag sisters. I had even hoped to hunt the White Wyrm and pillage its hoard. But even if I could withstand the sun’s dazzling brightness, I longed for home and those who awaited my return.
As we headed north, I caught up with Taimen while she was riding ahead on Princess Skullcrusher. “May I speak with you?” I asked.
Looking me up and down suspiciously, the dragonborn simply snorted.
Taking the gesture as an affirmative, I continued, “Have you given any thought to what kind of parent you want to be?”
“No,” Taimen replied. “Why?”
“Nimsy mentioned how parents often see themselves through their children’s eyes—” I started to explain.
“I’m not leaving my egg with Nimsy!” Taimen interrupted. “It’s bigger than she is!”
“I was not suggesting you leave your egg with Nimsy,” I clarified, “I—”
“Good!” Taimen stated. “Keep your hands off my egg! It’s my egg!”
“I know,” I insisted. “What you did back on the Island of Solstice was very noble. I—”
“Yeah!” Taimen repeated, looking even more suspicious. “It’s my egg.”
“Indeed!” I replied. “I was just saying that this concept of seeing yourself through your children’s eyes is not common in the Underdark. I wonder what you—”
“Oh, I forgot you have a son,” Taimen interjected, accusingly. “Do you miss him? You never speak of him.”
“Indeed,” I replied.
“I’m not convinced,” Taimen contended.
“I have no reason to lie to you, Taimen,” I maintained. “I am quite accustomed to speaking with those who can read minds. All you need to do is read my mind and—”
“I don’t want to read your mind,” Taimen declared nervously. “I saw how you slew that poor wyrmling. Anyway, hopefully, I can find another metallic dragon to raise it.”
“That was different,” I justified. “Those were white dragons—”
“So what?” Taimen objected. “They were still dragons!” Wheeling Princess Skullcrusher around, she left my side before I could respond and was soon laughing at whatever Duke was going on about.
Between her relentless suspicion and refusal to read my mind, I can only conclude that she does not want to face her own morality, or lack thereof. When she rescued the dragon egg, I had hoped that she was turning a corner, as Talyth believes she has, but she could have many other motivations for stealing the egg. I only hope that when it is hers to care for, she sees herself through its metallic eyes…and is the better for it.
As we approached Caer-Dineval, we could see that the town was in a state of ruin. The homes were burnt to the ground. All the Caer remained intact, though it was surrounded by Duergar corpses, many sheathed in ice and others burnt to a crisp. There was a single light shining from the Caer. A single light shone from the window of one of the castle’s towers.
Approaching the castle, we found the gate open and the courtyard uninhabited. We saw a shaggy-headed boy try to hide behind a shed, and Duke called out to him. The boy introduced himself as Alassar Sulmander and explained that he served the caer’s lone inhabitant, Hethyl the soothsayer.
After leading us through the kitchen, where Alassar prepared a knucklehead trout dish, the boy brought us around and up to a bedroom where an elderly dwarven woman sat. Alassar cleared his throat as we entered and placed the dish he’d prepared on a small table next to where the old dwarf sat in her rocking chair. I waited in the corner, near the door.
Looking up at us with milky eyes and a surly expression, the old dwarf took a small bite of the fish and began to cough and gag, but gruffly waved off any attempt to assist her.
As the venerable dwarf devoured her meal, choking between every bite, she took stock of us, eventually settling her gaze on Talyth and croaking, “If only I had the strength to grab that book. You’re Asmodeus’s little troublemaker. You’ve caused quite a wrinkle in his plans.”
The soothsayer began to mumble as her hands moved under her shawl, until Talyth—acting quickly—grabbed her old hands.
“She was warning Avarice,” Taimen informed us.
Duke suavely compelled her to open up, and she hackingly revealed that she and Avarice followed Prince Levistus, the archdevil and lord of Stygia, who had been imprisoned in ice by Asmodeus. “He offered me salvation,” Hethyl explained, justifying how she sold her soul for his many gifts.
She eventually revealed the location of a frozen waterfall in the glacier in our minds before nodding off, sound asleep and snoring.
After leaving Caer-Dineval and continuing north, we reached Caer-Konig about two hours later. We found Trovus, the silver dragonborn, riding a dog sled. He stopped, seemingly happy to see us—and surprisingly sober—and proceeded to brag about all the Duergar he’d slain.
We met up with Ja’artha the dwarf, who greeted me warmly. It warmed my heart to see that the hearty guide had survived. After exchanging tales of recent events, mostly grim, she offered us sled dogs for our travels. She offered the sled and dogs for free, saying that she had little need for the coin. I insisted that we pay for them, as we had even less need to take the coins with us.
We purchased two sleds, one for each leg of the Talyth’s Shield Guardian, ten dogs to pull them, which was twice as many as we needed, and enough food to feed them all for ten days. After securing the large Shield Guardian to the sleds and saying our goodbyes, we headed east from Caer-Konig, into the tundra beyond.
After an hour, we found a suitable place to make camp, and as I was letting the dogs rest and stretch, I sensed eyes were upon us. I was not the only one to sense this, and even the dogs seemed to raise their ears, but no spies could be found. Vellynne suggested that Avarice was scrying on us and cast See Invisibility. We searched the area but found nothing.
As Talyth created a Tiny Hut for everyone to rest safely, and the dogs gathered around me for food, I stared east to the vast tundra. It seemed to go on forever into the horizon. We had a long way to go indeed.
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