Vecna: Eve of Ruin
Neverwinter: The Shining Serpent
How are we all feeling about things?Trust Issues: “We have not been resting on our laurels”
Den of Iniquity “We all have to make a living somehow”
An Unexpected Visitor: “We meet all sorts of strange people”
A Confession: “You shall doubt them, but not the mission”
Blink and you’ll miss her: “No-one has ever seen one of them”
Trust Issues
The Sanctum was empty on arrival. Marko took his now customary position lying on the lounge, thankful to be in somewhat familiar surrounds. Three looked around for somewhere to walk—and relieve—Ikasa, but the best he could find was a display of potted plants; there was no ‘outside’. He also realised he was hungry for the first time in some time.
Sifer was surprised not to find a welcoming committee. “Must be outside of business hours,” he smirked. With the freedom of not being observed he immediately set off toward one of the untravelled spiral stairways in the corners of the chamber. “Eli, come with me, let’s check up here.” Eli followed dutifully.
The stairway opened to a small bedchamber in which, to Eli and Sifer’s surprise, sat Tasha, with her back turned. “You’re back!” she said slightly before coming into eyeshot.
“We are, we, uh,” Eli stammered, looking to Sifer for help.
“We are—there was no-one downstairs?” Sifer said saving Eli.
“I missed you last time—but heard you had some success?” Tasha said, turning.
“It appears we continue to have success, against your better judgement.”
“Against my judgement?” Tasha said arching an eyebrow. “You presume too much, sir. But tell me: you found a second piece?”
“Yep,” Eli managed.
“Show it to me!”
“Nup. Haven’t got it.”
“It’s downstairs,” Sifer added, wondering at Eli’s sudden lack of words.
“Lead the way,” Tasha said with a smile.
“Are the others here?” Sifer said as he descended.
“Alustriel is, but I don’t think Mordenkainen.”
“And at which staircase would we find her?” Sifer said, hoping for some extra intel.
“Oh I’ve already called her,” Tasha said, despite no evidence that was the case.
Eli smelled a rat. “If you’ve called her, you must know whether Mordenkainen is here?”
Tasha grinned. “You’re smarter than you made out; no, he isn’t—I tried him too.”
“Of course,” Eli muttered, “Why would you lie?”
“I wasn’t lying, I didn’t know when I answered you.”
“As I said, why would you lie.”
Tasha narrowed her eyes, but any further debate was stilled by the arrival of Alustriel from the opposite stairway (noted by Sifer). “Alustriel it appears your friends have found a second part!”
“That is good news indeed,” Alustriel said, though her face betrayed some other concern. She looked over to the couches to find Idris smoking a thin cigar, the two parts of the rod pivoting in space at eye level.
“Oh my,” Tasha said, noticing for the first time. “It really is the Rod?”
“The pieces certainly wanted to be together,” Idris said. Tasha drew closer, peering at the two parts rotating with an expression of open wonder.
Idris rotated the segments to display the connecting crystal tissue. “The crystals knitted together when the two parts came into close proximity, then the rod sealed itself.”
“Knitted,” Tasha repeated. “Fascinating. This is not something I ever thought I would see.”
“There is certainly a great deal of power in these pieces,” Idris added.
“Much as I hate to say it, it appears Mordenkainen was right,” Tasha said with a glance to Alustriel.
“Where is he?” Eli said.
“I’ve sent him away,” Alustriel answered. “I have grim news, despite your success. It appears there is another seeking the Rod.”
“Who?” Marko said, instantly alert.
“We don’t know, but the evidence is there. They are doing precisely what you are: chasing it.”
“Are they an agent of…‘him’?”
“Quite possibly.”
“Do we have anything on this person?”
“Not yet. I have sent Mordenkainen to find out what he can, that is why he is absent,” Alustriel explained. Eli noted Tasha looked surprised at this news.
“Where have you sent him?” Eli asked, suspicious.
“To…no, I will not say.”
Sifer didn’t like this. “Sounds like a place we shouldn’t be going.”
“That is why I have sent Mordenkainen. Our task has become that much harder with a second party involved.”
“Can we trust Mordenkainen with this task?” Tasha said.
“We have little choice,” Alustriel said.
“I don’t understand,” Marko said, seeing the tension. “Why don’t you trust your companion?”
“You have met Mordenkainen I believe?” Tasha smirked. “He is a strange fellow—he likes to play all sides. Most of the time those sides align with ours, but no always.”
“Surely not the side of him?”
“Oh I don’t think so. He is not that foolish. But he is unpredictable.”
Eli was dumbfounded. “In the face of absolute ruin everyone is on the same side, surely?”
“We three certainly are,” Alustriel reassured.
“You three ‘certainly’ are?” Eli repeated. “So you can trust him?”
“We can trust him, but he plays games,” Tasha said.
Sifer snorted. From what little he had heard of Tasha, she played just as many games herself: ‘the trickster’ was a nickname he had heard applied. He didn’t venture this opinion, but watched her carefully.
Eli felt betrayed. Games? “All I see is three people playing at being lords, living in opulence, when the gods themselves die alone out in space,” he fumed, almost to himself. “And these same three call this place they live in not heaven, yet for some reason they feel that they are somehow entitled to this level of excess. None of them are trustworthy, to me.”
As Eli finished he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Alustriel looking into his eyes. “Eli, there is more that what you can see happening. This is luxury, but we are fighting just as hard as you—it is just not visible to you.”
“When I was swallowed whole by a dragon I didn’t have a blue velvet couch, I remember that,” Eli said sulkily.
“The trauma will fade,” Sifer assured.
“You were swallowed? By a dragon?” Alustriel said.
“Best I can recall, ma’am.”
“Something similar,” Idris corrected.
“And yet you live,” Alustriel said warmly, squeezing Eli’s shoulder. “Your companions, your success, it reflects well upon you. Believe me that we depend on you.”
“So it seems,” Eli mumbled.
“Your tone has changed,” Sifer said. “It seems we now are more credible.”
“I have never doubted you,” Alustriel said with a glance to Tasha, who remained impassive. “What Tasha was saying about Mordenkainen…he takes risks. We do trust him, but he takes risks—sometimes outlandish risks. He knows that and would be the first to admit it. Hence her question. If Mordenkainen were to find this second party, perhaps he would engage them. Would that be successful? We don’t know. Should he wait? We don’t know. That is what Tasha means.”
“You know who the second party is, you do, don’t you?” Eli accused.
“No. We don’t. I promise you that. That is why I have sent Mordenkainen. He travels the planes and has places of residence on all—if you believe him.”
“And we do!” Tasha added with a laugh.
“So he is best placed to track down this ‘other’.”
Eli scowled, and Idris hrumphed.
Alustriel tried a different tack. “Mordenkainen was the one that came up with the idea of the Rod, which to us seemed nonsensical. But you must agree that unorthodox suggestion has been successful, and we now see the wisdom of his insight—particularly now we know this other party is pursuing the same path.”
Eli was not to be dissuaded. “What’s the information you have about the other party? Has he kept that information to himself, has he shared any of it with you?”
“Nothing. All we know is feelers have been put out and Mordenkainen is following those traces.”
“You just said, ‘off you go’ then?”
Alustriel sighed. “No, we all sensed this. We have been protecting the realms as best we can from the assault of this dread force. And in the process of doing so we all discovered, in our own ways, that we are not the only ones searching for the Rod. You must trust me that Mordenkainen is the best placed to find out who that might be.”
Eli slumped. “All right. You must forgive me. I have let my paranoia get the best of me and I have doubted you.” He looked around the resplendent halls. “I am sure your intentions are pure. Forgive me for anything I have said that may have implied otherwise.”
“You do not need forgiveness.”
“Where does that leave us?” Sifer said.
“In a hurry,” Tasha smirked.
“We have not been resting on our laurels,” Sifer said pointing to the Rod. Sifer found himself increasingly of the thought that the incredulity of these major players about the company’s achievements indicated that nothing he could do would increase the luck already imbued. It was all now about pointing his abilities at things and believing that would work.
“No,” Alustriel agreed, “I am, frankly, astonished. And it does seem, that whilst we doubted it at first, our Wish worked perfectly. It delivered us the only six people that can find what we need to stop him.”
“Seven,” Three corrected, ruffling Ikasa’s collar.
“I apologise, I didn’t realise we had a new hero,” Alustriel smiled, kneeling to ruxx Ikasa’s belly under Three’s watchful eye.
Sifer wasn’t so easily bought. “From what you know of this Rod, now that we have two pieces together, does it intensify its need to find the others?”
“What intensifies the need is the fact that someone else might find it before you.”
“What I mean is this rod sought out its own part, will that intensify?”
“We believe it will. But the Rod has not been whole for centuries, millennia even. We have never laid eyes upon it. It is a newly rediscovered artefact that we are learning about as fast as we can.”
Tasha put her hand out. “I will need to use these parts to determine where the third is…if I may?”
“Doesn’t it do that by itself?” Eli said.
“No, they had to do a great deal of divinatory work to discover the path,” Idris explained, “And of course you can have it.” With a glance at everyone (noting that Eli looked down, failing to catch his eye) Idris sent the Rod to Tasha. She took it, with some awe.
“I for one would like to return to Neverwinter while you work,” Idris declared.
“Of course,” Tasha mumbled, completely absorbed in the Rod. “Give me 24 hours.”
Den of Iniquity
“You said you had some friends that could help take care of Ikasa?” Three said to Idris.
“Of course, he will be perfectly safe,” Idris declared. “I have a stable-boy, Daniel, at the Inn who is particularly fond of animals. Unless you have somewhere better to go, gentlemen, follow me.”
“If I could, I would have a quiet word in private, Brother Cooper,” Eli said quietly to Three on the journey.
“Of course,” Three nodded. “I will visit my chapel after Ikasa is settled, you may join me. If not me, others in my order may be able to help.”
On the walk, Marko, imperceptibly to even Sifer, sent out messages to his people in the city via the shadows and second-story workers that only he could detect, seeking updates for what had occurred in his absence. He was surprised not to notice any observers in return—not a single watcher; just lucky, he guessed.
He glanced at Sifer who was alert but equally happy to see nothing and no-one following. Ikasa meanwhile was barking at every second shadow. “Control your dog, we’re perfectly safe,” Sifer scolded Three.
“We’re not being followed, I checked,” Marko added.
“Calm down,” Three said kindly to Ikasa, “They would know.”
After a pleasant early evening’s walk, Idris delivered the company to the Shining Serpent, which lay on the north bank of the river east of Castle Never. A grand two-story inn perched in the fog, busy with patrons milling in the forecourt. “Behold, the Shining Serpent,” Idris announced proudly.
The Shining Serpent
“Boss! You’re back,” a bouncer called with a beaming smile.
“Indeed! And good to be,” Idris grinned clapping him on the back.
Inside was a grand room with a large central firepit, in which were roasting various whole animals. The room was heaving with guests, in booths and party tables. Marko glanced a second room off the main, with a regular flow of patrons visiting the gaming tables and wheels within. A second story balcony, also bustling with revellers, overlooked the main room. Idris looked askance to see a broken railing along one overhead balcony.
“From the brawl last night!” a friendly voice called from across the room, and a moment later Idris was engulfed in the embrace of a bear of a man with a tattooed skull and full beard.
Atticus
“Atticus!” Idris exclaimed.
“Sorry about the balcony, boss, but we’re getting it fixed.”
“Why isn’t he on our team?” Eli whispered with awe at the bear-sized man.
Uthar grinned. Atticus had been his Sergeant in the Guard. “Good to see you, ‘sir’,” he called. They joined in a strong-armed embrace, each grabbing the others' forearm and testing their strength. “Uthar you’ve kept your shape, I see! Bit of a smell of the holy about you though—went down that path did you?”
“Of course, I’m very goddy,” Uthar said, looking a little hurt, then winking.
“Always were, always were,” Atticus laughed.
“So just the railing, nothing else of note?” Idris asked.
Atticus scratched his prodigious head. “No, no…Elsabah is missing, but nothing else.”
“Gone missing…?”
“Ha ha ha ha ha!” Atticus burst into laughter. “ELSABAH!” he yelled over the din.
Elsabah
A tiefling woman with sharply carved horns and sharply tattooed face pushed her way through crowd from the gaming room. She slapped Atticus on the shoulder and grabbed Idris in a heartfelt embrace. Idris whispered something in her ear and her hand grabbed the back of his neck, a half-smile on her face as she watched the new arrivals with interest.
“More than just hello,” Uthar nudged Sifer with a grin.
“Mr Reville,” Elsabah said breaking the embrace, “Good to see you again. Will we be gaming tonight?”
“Not tonight, I’m ready for a rest—but thank you.”
Elsabah turned to Three and extended a hand. “Elsabah. And you are?”
“Glad to meet you. You might have known me as Brother Cooper, but my name is Three now.”
“A pleasure. And who are your burly companions?”
“This is Ikasa,” Three said proudly. Elsabah laughed and reached a clawed hand without breaking Three’s eye contact. Ikasa pulled his head back, not sure what to make of the proffered hand, but Three gave her an encouraging pat so she sniffed cautiously.
“El, this is Uthar,” Atticus said, answering her actual question.
“Ah!” Elsabah said with a glance to Idris, “It’s very good to finally meet you—I’ve heard a lot.”
“Heard some too,” Uthar said inclining his head.
“All good I hope?”
“Mostly.”
Elsabah looked intrigued, then turned to Eli and extended a hand. Eli put a tentative hand out. “You run a gambling establishment?”
“Ah, indeed I do.”
Eli looked to Idris, his mind churning, then back to Elsabah. “We meet all sorts of strange people,” he muttered, shaking her hand.
“And you, good sir?” she said to Sifer. “Elsabah.”
Sifer shook her hand, matter-of-factly, doing his best to hide how her appearance effected him.
Atticus didn’t miss it, slapping Sifer on the back. “Man of arms, eh? Her charms won’t work on you!”
“We’re on r&r—you never know,” Sifer said with a grin. Idris glanced at Sifer, then over to Elsabah, who gave a small and meaningful nod.
“I’ll get you a drink, make yourselves at home—we have your table ready boss,” Atticus said.
“It’s on the house, of course,” Idris said.
The drinks were excellent, and the food better. It was obvious Idris ran a tight ship, but didn’t skimp on quality, and it showed in the popularity of the Serpent. People constantly poured in and out, and the gaming room was never empty.
Atticus filled Idris in on business dealings and items of note. “Been a few interesting patrons of late,” he offered. “New people we haven’t seen before. But other than that fight the other night all seems well.”
“And what’s interesting about these newcomers for you to notice?”
“Oh nothing particular, just more watchful than most maybe. In and out, never here too long but they come back.”
“None staying?”
“Nope. And they don’t gamble, neither. Just drink.”
“Sparingly or lot?”
“Sparingly. As I said—watchful. No need to be alarmed, just wanted to let you know. I know you’re interested in who’s who here.”
“Have someone point them out if they turn up this evening, will you? I’m just here for tonight.”
“Nice bunch of folks you got,” Atticus smiled.
“They are.”
“Good to see old Red again. If anything he’s even redder than he used to be!”
“I’m not sure if that’s the sun, it’s hard to tell,” Idris laughed.
“So,” Idris declared after the company had had their fill and were relaxing with after dinner drinks. “How are we all feeling about things?”
“All in all things are going well,” Sifer said sipping his chaser. “Things could have been a lot worse.”
“We seem to be succeeding,” Three nodded. Marko had noticed Three seemed to be eating an awful lot, before realising the lion’s share was going to Ikasa below the table.
“Given what we’ve seen,” Sifer continued, “And what we brought to the table, which was our experience, the stories are playing out. This is a time of great crisis and I think we need to bend like a reed in the wind and go where the path takes us. And all we can do is follow that momentum.”
Eli listened with growing wonder at Sifer’s verbal poetry, wondering if he too should take a few more of the same drink Sifer was supping.
“We’ve had luck,” Sifer concluded, “Or they have given us luck, apparently, but we can make our own luck along the way.”
“Are you suggesting that we have become the pawn of the gods? And that they will direct our path?” Eli said.
“Fate, maybe. Gods not so much,” Idris suggested.
“Well who then if not gods?”
“I’m a believer in fate,” Sifer offered.
“Indeed. And luck,” Idris said.
“Sometimes they align,” Sifer said with a toast.
“When did we stop being being of free will and start being these agents for some other cause?” Eli said, more sober than his companions.
“I don’t know what you’ve been doing but I’ve been someone’s agent for some time,” Sifer said. “We work to make a living in this world.”
“I’m not discounting that we’re not being manipulated by those Three,” Idris said to Eli, crediting his earlier scepticism. “We have to take that into account, and we may or may not have to look out for someone at our back now as well. Trials and injuries notwithstanding we’ve managed the first parts of our quest without too much difficulty.”
“Yes,” Eli conceded, thinking of the inside of a stomach.
“Anyway, if we want to have a deeper discussion about this we can do it out of earshot. I suspect we can wait until we get back to the Sanctum.”
“I beg to differ,” Eli said immediately. “Out of earshot is anywhere not in the Sanctum.”
Uthar and Idris raised their eyebrows. “Do you have any reason to distrust?” Sifer probed.
“I distrust overt displays of opulence,” Eli explained, his rage returning unbidden as he glanced around the lushness of the Shining Serpent. He was relieved to see Three give him a short nod at this declaration.
“We all have to make a living somehow, Eli,” Idris said.
“Unfortunately, Eli, in this world important people seem to want to declare their importance in particular ways,” Sifer added. “So be it.”
“I just wanted a place I could play cards without being cheated,” Idris shrugged.
“I’m not talking about your den of iniquity, Idris,” Eli scowled. “I’m talking about the palatial surrounds of the Sanctum with which those three would be lords surround themselves!”
“We have been doing the work of the leaders of this City,” Sifer countered. “Do they not wallow in opulence?”
“They all do!”
“They all do,” Three said calmly, “But as you have seen from my faith, no matter who you are you end up in the graveyard. My power comes from the sackcloth and it has helped me all this time because I know how we are going to end up. Eli is right.”
Eli swelled with Three’s words, grateful that he had perceived the his brother’s lessons correctly. “They wear their sins on their sleeves. The lords of this City and the lords of that realm, and the human detritus that huddles around your tables of sin in the next room.”
Idris frowned, taken aback to be included in Eli’s scathing critique.
“Most of those are immaterial,” Eli continued with a dismissive wave toward the gamblers, “It is the ones to whom we find ourselves answerable, these three, with whom I have a problem.”
“Brother,” Sifer said thinking back to some of his more unpleasant scrapes, “All I know is that when you stand alongside someone in a trench, and it’s raining—it’s a great leveller. And when the enemy comes over the horizon you stand together. So let us see where they end up when that battle comes.”
Eli shook his head. “Have they stood alongside us in this trench of yours?”
“Have we finished our fighting?”
“We have not,” Eli said, dropping his head. “You are suggesting that I should reserve my judgement until the final battle?”
“It is possible, Eli, that they are tools for us in the long run,” Three said.
“I wouldn’t manipulate anyone.”
“No. But you are doing good.”
“Well let’s hope so.”
“I am sure.”
“It has been said that I’m not a smart man,” Eli sighed.
“Well that’s certainly not my experience,” Idris said, breaking the uncomfortable silence like a good host should. Uthar half-heartedly shook his head.
“Hear-hear!” Sifer cheered.
Three picked up his red, red wine and raised it. “To the mission.”
Everyone, even Eli, reluctantly, joined the toast.
An Unexpected Visitor
Seeing the glasses drained, a waitress approached the table with a fresh round. Idris noted with dissatisfaction that she wore a hood and was about to call it out when she pulled her head free.
A snarling smile crept over the pale face of the woman revealed: the necromancer from the sacrificial gallery where Eldon Keyward was slain.
“Remember me?” the woman said softly, lifting a hand as she spoke. Idris held his hand out for calm as he saw a very recognisable flame burning from the tip of one finger. “Kendri Nex is my name, and you know what I can do with this. How many people could die. Be very careful what your next move is.”
Marko was already reaching for his rapier, Eli considering if she was in biting distance.
“What do you want?” Uthar said cautiously.
“Nothing,” she exclaimed, “I just wanted to remind you what a grave mistake it is to leave loose ends.”
Uthar’s mind raced back to the scene in the graveyard catacombs. She had been performing the ritual to sap Keyward of his secrets; Idris had sent some withering horror into the room that dropped half the cultists but not this necromancer he recalled with dismay. Sifer’s fateful arrow had sucked the company to Neverdeath and she had obviously survived.
Nex smirked and continued. “You should know—”
Appropriately for the setting, Three took a gamble, throwing out a silence that stopped any further exposition—and hopefully the stopped the casting of the lingering fireball. He was in luck. Nex was cut off mid sentence. He dived for Ikasa to protect her from any reaction, crawling her to safety.
Sifer leapt to his feet, ignoring Nex (he figured there was enough firepower at the table to handle the necromancer) and scanning the room for accomplices. He quickly spotted two nefarious looking hoods who had likewise jumped to their feet and were watching closely from the entranceway. Both adopted martial stances, hands hidden below their shrouding cloaks.
Marko briefly considered unfolding his folding boat atop Nex, but decided the confines were a little close to safely deploy it. Instead he threw his glass full of mead at her still burning finger (noting with dismay that it was not extinguished).
Eli had been about to slice her hand from her arm, but Marko’s drenching stopped his draw. Instead he hurled himself bodily over the table and crashed atop her small figure. Nex met his incoming leap with aplomb, somehow managing to entangle her own arms below his, leaving them grappled as one.
Before either could respond they found themselves flying into the air as Idris used his telekinesis—and anger—to lift them. He intended to crush Nex into the ceiling, but Eli’s presence complicated things. Instead he rotated the writhing mass and smashed both down to the floor—Eli on top. His massive weight crushed her, and Idris’s power kept her stunned.
Almost before it started it was over, Uthar standing over the silenced, crushed, confused necromancer with his blade to her throat. He didn’t want to kill her, he wanted her alive for questioning. She struggled for control but Idris had her held, and she suddenly surrendered, going limp in Eli’s arms. Uthar wasted no time, gagging her quickly then tying her hands fast, preventing any spellcasting.
Sifer’s two watchers were no heroes, running as soon as they saw the failure of Nex’s gambit. Sifer tried to draw Atticus’s attention, but the silence meant he didn’t notice. A barkeep did, luckily, calling for Atticus and pointing. In what seemed like an eternity later Atticus looked over, just as Idris too stepped free of the silence sphere and screamed at the top of his lungs. “Atticus! Two by the door!”
Atticus spun and bellowed for the doors to be shut, but Sifer could see it was all happening too late and too slow—they were outside and going to get away. With a quick shimmy he climbed the wall and fired his bow twice at each over the gathered crowd. Both cultists staggered with the first shot, and dropped stone dead with the second.
The bar erupted into a roar of applause and delight at the craziness they had just witnessed. The hard men in the crowd watched Sifer with something approaching awe, making mental notes to leave him be.
“What kind of mad, crazy cultist stands up at a table of her foes, lifts a finger, and thinks they have a chance?” Sifer grunted approaching the table.
“You’ve answered your own question,” Eli said as he stood and brushed himself down, “A ‘mad, crazy’ one.”
“I’ll definitely buy you a drink this time,” Atticus said clapping Sifer’s arm, “Out of my own pocket!”
“I’ll take that,” Sifer laughed.
“I’m ok!” Three called, popping up on the other side of the room and dropping the silence. “We are ok!” he corrected quickly as Ikasa gave a short bark.
Idris turned to the room. “Ladies and gentlemen I would like to apologise for the disruption in your leisure this evening. Please allow me to extend a round on the house!”
A cheer went up and the atmosphere became more festive still. “More entertainment that most evenings!” some wag yelled.
Idris lifted Nex into the air and cast her a disdainful eye. “Atticus can you have the lads get the cellar ready, please?”
“Already ready, boss,” Atticus growled.
Three stayed upstairs whilst the company descended. He sought out Elsabah who was busy resetting the gambling room after the excitement. “Sorry to interrupt, but Idris said there was a boy named Daniel that I could see?”
Elsabah smiled. “Of course. But we have much nicer boys than him—would you like a room as well?”
“No…he was supposed to take care of my dog?” Three said meekly.
“You want the dog as well? That’ll be extra, though I’m sure Idris will cover it.”
Three gritted his teeth. “I don’t know if you’re doing this on purpose, but Idris said you would help my take care of my dog! I don’t care for any of this innuendo!”
“Oh! You don’t want a boy—”
“Daniel! The boy who takes care of animals professionally for Idris.”
Elsabah held her hands up. “My apologies, I misunderstood. As a man of the cloth I thought you…anyway, let me lead you to him.”
Three scowled and followed, finding Daniel, a little scamp, in the stables. “Idris said you could help take care of my dog?”
“Oh! Master Idris, of course.” Seeing Ikasa he dropped to his knees and beckoned her over. “Oh who is this handsome boy!”
“Ikasa.”
“Ikasa! Who’s a good boy?” Daniel reached into a pouch at his waist and went to hand a treat to Ikasa. Quick as a flash Three knocked it from Daniel’s hand before Ikasa could get to it. He picked it up and gnawed on it. Not bad—a pigs ear. He nodded to a pale faced Daniel who had just seen his life flash before his eyes.
“Idris said you can look after Ikasa for me until I return.”
“Of course, sir. Let me know what he eats?”
“He’s just a normal dog. That ear was the kind of thing. Give her what you normally give most dogs, I trust you to experiment. A little bit. More meat, less meat. I do hear they like eggs?”
Daniel was making fast friends with Ikasa and he seemed happy in return. “Trust me I’ve got a couple of recipes that all dogs love.”
“Good. Know that if anything happens to this dog you will be responsible,” Three said offhandly.
“Oh I know sir,” Daniel said, meeting Three’s steady gaze. Three wasn’t sure if Daniel was talking about Three or someone else.
“And whatever walks you have, I want her to have two.”
“It’s taken care of.”
Three knelt by Ikasa and looked him in the eye. “I’ve got to go now because I think I might have to extract information out of that horrible lady.”
Ikasa licked Three’s face with enthusiastic approval. “Ok, ok. Now you listen to him,” Three said nodding to Daniel, “Because god knows what would happen to him if something were to happen to you!” Three stood and with one final look turned to walk away.
Ikasa immediately followed.
“No! You stay!”
Ikasa sat and looked keenly.
“With him.”
Ikasa looked to Daniel, then looked back with sad eyes.
“Don’t be sad! I’ve got to go and do things!” Three said with terribly fake anger.
Ikasa lay down with his head on his front paws. Three could barely stand it.
In the cells below, Nex was manacled to a wall. In a starfish, non-motile, and one around the throat for good measure. The company, bar Sifer who stayed upstairs aguard, sat in the darkness of the cell while Idris paced before her. Marko had checked the locks—‘all clear’ he assured—so Idris released the telekinesis.
“We’re going to ask you some questions now,” Idris said coldly, “You can choose to answer them…or not. That’s up to you.”
Nex squinted through eyes that showed she was in a lot of pain.
“If I detect any casting of any kind it’s going to take you a long, long,” Idris drew close at stood an inch from Nex’s gaze and whispered, “And very painful time to die.”
In the background Marko started to unroll a little kit of vials and bottles. Nex’s eyes followed his actions and the fright was obvious. Idris reached up and pulled the gag free. Nex gasped a lungful of air, but remained silent.
“What was the plan?” Idris started.
“What plan?” Nex said after a pause.
“Well that certainly seems pertinent at this point. Were you just coming by to randomly threaten me and my patrons?”
“I wanted to see you squirm.”
“Funny. I don’t remember squirming at any point.”
“I underestimated you. But there was a brief moment,” Nex said.
Idris smirked. “You’re the only one of the three of you that is still breathing.” He glanced to catch her reaction to this but she remained stone-faced and silent. “Expound. You came here to threaten us for what? To warn us to stay away from the cult? What was the plan?”
“To let you know your mistake.”
“Mistake?”
“You interrupted our ritual. But no matter.”
Eli was confused. “That’s very generous of you. Why did you want to let us know of our ‘mistake’?”
“So you would suffer the consequences of that knowledge and your failure.”
“Well I guess we have? And is this the consequence?” Eli said pointing to her.
“As I said my plan did not work.”
“Why are you trying to warn us?” Marko asked, mixing a pungent fluid.
“I was not warning you.”
“Were you acting with some kind of misplaced hubris?” Eli said.
Nex laughed. “We will win. You will not.” She turned her eyes back to Idris. “It wasn’t hard to find this place. There’s not many Gith that own inns in Neverwinter.”
Eli rolled his eyes. “Idris, look out, they’re threatening to attack your place once we leave, again.”
“We haven’t attacked,” Nex corrected.
“Shh. I’m talking to him,” Eli scolded.
“We have fed.”
Silence greeted this declaration, and a smile crept over her face. “Never, never leave loose ends.”
In a flash of light she disappeared.
“Wha!” Eli cried.
“Whaaaa!” Uthar echoed as Idris stepped forward and rattled the empty manacles. “That’s irritating,” he muttered.
The door crashed open and Three stepped through ready to interrogate. “Ok. What’ve we got?”
Eli was standing behind Idris, jaw dropped, as Marko lifted his tiny bottle and tipped it into his mouth. “Tasty,” he said as a fresh lemony scent filled the room. “But she just stole the dog!”
Three spun and sprinted away, followed by and equally terrified Eli. After three steps Three stopped and grunted “Marko”. Eli slammed into his back. “Thanks Eli, but I suddenly realised Marko was joking.”
“Marko is against us?”
“No I’m not saying that. He was making a joke.”
“That is not funny,” Eli scowled.
Inside the cell Idris looked over to Uthar. “Should have just killed her,” he sighed, to a nod.
On hearing what happened, Sifer kept his counsel. But he did reflect that just as he’d declared luck was on the company’s side, they had gone and mucked that up by complicating things. Then again, at least the bar patrons were still alive. But a terrorist necromancer was now on the loose.
Idris offered everyone a room for the night, though Three had other business to attend to first. “I’m going to my graveyard, where my order is, and I’m going to do penance for what we have done. And to clean and help my brothers. I’ll do a spiritual and physical cleanse, then ready tomorrow to adventure.”
“No-one goes alone,” Sifer declared. “We were being followed.”
“We don’t know that,” Eli protested. He had heard Marko give the all clear, and surely Marko was never wrong about that kind of thing. “And I will go with him.”
“We don’t know what knowledge they have on us,” Sifer said. “And if they have ‘fed’ they may have more than enough knowledge. So it would be a shame to let our guard down right now. At the very least we should maintain our vigilance and expect to be interrupted in our mundane tasks.”
“I don’t deny their knowledge, but Eli is with me and he is a martial expert.”
“Three and three.”
“I think Sifer’s direction is reasonable,” Eli said. “Sifer is only speaking from his love for you and I think that ought to be respected.”
“As I said, side by side in the trenches. Let’s go,” Sifer said.
“Before you go—you’re spending the night in the graveyard?” Idris asked to a nod of confirmation. “And you too Eli?”
“I just wanted to speak to Brother Cooper, that’s all.”
“If you just need a private place to speak I can get you one here,” Idris offered.
Eli flushed. “I think a chapel would be more appropriate.”
Idris nodded. “If you decide not to spend the night there, I will prepare a room here. And you Sifer?”
“Prepare two rooms, we’ll be back.”
A Confession
“It’s a short walk,” Three said, leading Sifer and Eli on the long walk to the graveyard. He was fully confident and paid no attention to possible tails. Sifer on the other hand was on high alert, but he saw nothing to concern him. Eli was oblivious, mentally preparing himself.
The trio arrived safely, and Sifer stationed himself outside the meagre gravehouse.
“When would you like to talk, Brother Eli?” Three offered once inside the cold confines.
“Whatever is amenable to you,” Eli said quietly.
“We can talk on the way, or I can take you to the Chapel and we can have a private conversation when we get there.”
Eli hesitated. “I feel I have a confession.”
Three nodded. “Well you won’t be the first, even today, to make one.” He led Eli to Kelemvor’s Chapel. It was empty, dark, and starkly decorated.
Three walked to the first pew and sat Eli, turning his own back so as not to make eye contact. “Make your confession, Brother.”
Eli took a deep breath. “Thank you, master Cooper. For you time. Um. I have…I have sinned. I have acted disingenuously. I spoke an untruth to those three masters in that realm beyond this one when I said that I was satisfied with their explanation.” He lapsed into silence.
“That doesn’t seem like a great sin,” Three started, “To question—”
“It was a lie!” Eli howled. “I lied to them! I am suspicious of them and I hid my truth from them. And from all of you.”
“Do you have knowledge or evidence that makes you suspicious of the three? So far they have guided us correctly, as far as I can tell.”
“My suspicion lies only in my abhorrence of their life choices.”
“I see,” Three nodded. “Well. I don’t think this is a great sin by any means. All you are doing is questioning their spiritual values. They are more of the art of the mind, of the wizardry schools. That is not the way of us—our way is not their way.”
Eli shook his head vehemently. “I have lied to them and I have lied to you.”
Three paused, giving Eli space. “When did you lie to me?” he said quietly.
“I lied to all of you when I said openly, amongst my colleagues…my friends…that I accepted their explanation.”
Three sighed. “You are being way too harsh on yourself, Brother Eli, if you are thinking you have committed a sin whenever you doubt. Doubt is our meat and potatoes; if you do not doubt you cannot have faith.”
“Well then let me say this to you,” Eli said in desperation. “I doubt them all. I mistrust their motives. And when act as if I trust their motives in front of them I am lying!”
“You are giving yourself a harsh anchor for the world in which we operate. If you were to say anything like this to someone like Idris he would just say you are being smart.”
“Idris runs a house of ill repute and gambling!”
Three had heard enough. He turned to face Eli. “You are sinning! But is not from lying—you sin from hubris! Your God has given you a mission—we all have a mission. We have retrieved two parts of a great artefact to stop evil! And you question it?! You should think about that!”
Eli rocked back as if physically assaulted as Three pressed on. “You will not stop us in our mission! You will not stop us in our defiance of him! Think about that, Brother Eli!”
“Then I am wrong to doubt these masters?” Eli stammered.
“You shall doubt them, but not the mission!” Three declared with finality. “Is there anything else? For I have ablutions to perform.”
Eli shrunk into his pew. “No. Thank you for your guidance.”
Three stood and stripped his clothing. Eli gasped and turned away when he saw the mass of scar tissue that covered Three’s back, a terror of brutal damage that Three had somehow survived. “You can leave now,” Three said as he walked, naked, to the font and started bathing himself.
Eli stumbled out of the Chapel and found Sifer. He didn’t say a word. Sifer saw Eli had been chastened, thoughtful but hollowed out. “Let’s go back to the Inn,” Sifer said quietly, respecting Eli’s need to wallow in his own pain.
“She’s gone,” Idris said to Atticus.
“How? You had her.”
“I was stupid.”
“Huh. First time for everything.”
Idris gave half a smile, half a grimace, grateful for Atticus’s reliable nature. “Well you know that’s not true.”
“Never mind boss. It happens—we’ll keep an eye out.”
Idris nodded. “While I’m gone we’re going to be taking precautions. Something I’ve always meant to do.” He spoke with Elsabah, directing her to take a sack of cash to the Wizard’s Guild and arrange for the whole tavern to be warded and alarmed. “Not cheap, but we’ll pay whatever it takes. What me and my companions are doing…it’s dangerous.”
Elsabah put a hand to Eli’s cheek. “I know, but you’re doing it for the right reason.”
“Hopefully, yes.”
Uthar headed to his own church, near the House of Justice, disobeying Sifer’s directions but confident in his ability.
On Sifer and Eli’s return the remaining company had one last round. “I think it behoves us to work out what she meant by ‘we fed’,” Sifer observed. “That’s the only intel we’ve got.”
“I’m assuming she means ‘on secrets’,” Idris said to nods.
“But we interrupted that final ritual. All it would take is you to talk to your staff to find out what stories are out there.”
“We send that actress back,” Eli added. “And we don’t know of her welfare in the meantime.”
“No she wanted to get disappear, she was scared,” Idris said.
“A famous actress, not easy to disappear,” Sifer said.
“She could have got nabbed I suppose. Maybe Marko’s network can try and track her down.”
“On it,” Marko nodded, drowning the last of his ale.
As everyone prepared to retire for the night, each was approached by friendly souls offering company should they wish it. “Sent by Elsabah,” they assured.
“Yes,” Sifer said instantly, “And I’ll say yes again,” he said seeing Eli declining his offer. “Men or women or both? Or something else?” the courtesan offered. “Woman tonight,” Sifer grinned. He waved to Marko, “I’ll delegate watch duties to you!”
Marko nodded, positioning himself on the top floor. This suited him perfectly, for he was anticipating fruitful visits from the Wee Folk.
Blink and you’ll miss her
Eli was first to rise, though he rose only from a night of penance and consideration. Despite this he skipped eating and went straight outside. Those that saw him pass noted a rather more serious countenance: eyes forward, brow creased.
Next down was Sifer, who had also slept little, though for entirely different reasons. He looked content and ready, invigorated with fresh determination etched on his face. He noticed Eli outside and went to greet him, only to find the young Orc standing in the courtyard, his face one foot from a blank wall, staring hard, one hand on his still sheathed sword. After a moment Sifer understood—the way of the swordsman requires patience and focus—and returned inside to eat.
He was joined by Marko, and soon after Idris and Uthar. Both were well rested, rising later than they might otherwise.
Sifer excused himself after eating, leaving to secure his haul of gold. He managed to exchange it for a sum of platinum (at an outrageous rate) which allowed him to secret in his small lodgings. He was a trusted tenant and the landlord had held it in good faith. The floorboards were easy to lift and the much reduced size of his coin made it easy to conceal.
He returned with a lightness in his step. A night off and some genuine r&r was one explanation, but the more consequential reason was he felt at peace with the consequences to come. A degree of fatalism that gave him not a religious fervour, but an acceptance and focus.
As everyone prepared to depart, Three arrived from his chapel physically and spiritually cleansed, having shed the many burdens he had collected over the course of his absence. His god was satisfied with his sacrifice, and, like Sifer, he too felt invigorated. “You look well,” a rosy-cheeked Sifer observed.
Three ignored Sifer and headed straight for Ikasa. The hound was overjoyed, crushing Three’s spirits slightly. He schooled Daniel again and tried his best not to think about the pending separation.
Idris had asked Atticus to ensure any unusual late night patrons were accounted for, and before leaving he asked for a debrief. The report was not what he expected.
“Marko sat at the counter,” Atticus began, “And slowly but surely the entire eastern bar filled with what I can only describe as a collection of very short folk. Wee folk, one might say. Marko didn’t acknowledge a single one of them, despite several doing their level best to catch his eye—there was one particularly good-looking female halfling who went by ‘Flukespan’?”
Idris grinned and didn’t correct Atticus’s mistake.
“At some point Marko, sipping his ale, opened a small book he carried with him, and—you’re not going to believe this—started reciting a poem!”
“Oh I believe it,” Idris laughed.
“I hastily copied the verse,” Atticus said proudly, then proceeded to recite it in a most unpoetic manner:
The tavern snake glows too bright, eyes best stay sharp,
A silver feather drifts, lost in storm winds.
Guide her steps beyond the city’s tangled grasp,
Unseen as shadow at dusk.
Whisper where the river bends,
And watch the stars fade before dawn.
“What was peculiar was how carefully the motley small folk listened, hanging off his every word. And they watched Marko’s tiny hands like birds of prey. I couldn’t see anything, but it seemed they did? Oh, and his intonation was peculiar in parts.”
“What does it mean, do you think?” Idris said thoughtfully.
“Beats me, boss!”
The company gathered at the gates to the Shining Serpent, ready to return to Sigil. Three took a last look back at Ikasa before stepping out into the street…and almost tripping over Ikasa, who was suddenly standing in front of him, panting happily.
“Bring the dog,” Sifer said with a grin, glancing at Three.
“I can’t bring the dog—it’ll be in danger!”
“I don’t think so,” Eli muttered.
“Will the dog be in danger or will we?” Uthar smirked.
Three sighed. “I don’t mean that he will be in danger in a combat. In fact probably not seeing what he just did. But we end up in situation where we’re underground, or in a poison cloud, or in the stomach of a dragon.”
Eli paled.
“Even if Ikasa can blink, it’s not going to work,” Three concluded.
“It’s a free being,” Sifer shrugged, “Bring it with you. It’s your dog now.”
“It is. But I don’t want to kill my dog.”
“Where we go, we go forward. We may never come back here.”
Eli raised his hand. “Master Three, if I had a loved one I wouldn’t leave it in this city with that necromancer.”
“Why would they do anything to a dog?” Three frowned. “They’re more likely to kill Idris’s family and friends and staff.”
Idris grunted.
“That’s why I didn’t want to get to know them,” Eli nodded sadly.
Idris rolled his eyes. “Ikasa is more than capable of looking after itself,” he explained. “These canines are from the same place I am. It’s a vin’isk ‘zith…a ‘blink dog’ in your language.”
“Come on. You’ve been reading the Tarquin Rose tales—no-one has ever seen one of them,” Three scoffed.
Idris shook his head. “The main problem we have is that if Ikasa wants to go with you there’s not a great deal we can do to prevent it.”
“But if it doesn’t come through that portal…”
Idris shrugged. “That’s up to you to negotiate. With the dog.”
Three knelt before his dog. “Ikasa. Where we’re going is very dangerous. I don’t want you to get harmed. Can’t you stay here with Daniel? Can you—”
Ikasa gave Three’s face a huge lick.
Three dropped his head. “Well. It’s going to die…most likely we’re all going to die.”
“Everyone is going to die!” Sifer said gripping Three’s shoulder. “Come one, let’s move.”
“I get the feeling that some of you have hope,” Three said, scratching Ikasa. “But it’s going to be bad, when it happens.”
“That’s ok. I’ll take care of Ikasa after you’re gone,” Sifer said, his mood unbreachable.
“And we can’t be the secret seven without our seventh member,” Eli smiled.
Session played May 12, 2025