Dale, an Illusionist and Nethermancer of my acquaintance, had acquired a thread item staff some time ago which he had determined to have some unusual properties that had not previously been discovered by previous owners. His research had yielded no indication of any deeds associated with its use, and yet a deed was required to fully tie a thread to it now. Furthermore, it had begun to become evident that this staff was in same way tied to a different pattern, as if it were a pattern item for a location as yet unknown.
Resolving to investigate the matter, he took the time to recruit a few allies along the way. Myself, obviously, or I would not be writing this. Also Taras, R'edtarian, and Vallone. Our first stop was to head to Salt Cellar, where I took the opportunity to refresh the alchemical enchantment on my light quartz lantern. We also discovered there a map of sorts pointing us to an old extinct volcano in the Throalic Mountain range to find answers to his questions about the staff, and as it was quite high and cold I invested in a Dwarf Winternight Cloak to supplement my cold weather clothing. In hindsight, I wish I had prepared even further, as it was quite cold.
Taras led us around the eastern edge of the mountains rather than pass through the highest peaks in the middle of the range, which I now see as having been a very wise decision. I am glad he thought of it, as I am not certain I would have thought to go around rather than through. The journey was thus made much easier for only having to scale one mountain at great altitude, which we discovered to be an exceptionally taxing experience. Something about the air felt off, and certainly I found myself becoming rather more tired than you would expect considering I was riding a flying carpet.
In our ascent we were quite surprised to be attacked by a pair of snowbirds which had hidden themselves in the clouds. Vallone was quite badly hurt, R'edtarian took quite a beating, and Taras will likely have a new scar or two to show off from the experience. Dale was injured fairly severely as well, though not as badly. Several of us were knocked from our carpets and took quite a rough fall (we resolved to fly even lower in the future to avoid any further incidents of this nature). I myself was quite fortunate, as I only suffered grazing hits. In the end we prevailed, but it was looking quite close for a while there. I had not yet hit my stride with my ability to inspire others, which seemed to fall flat at this point.
Thankfully, we won and had as much snowbird as we could eat and then some. Had we known the location of their nest, we could have recovered any eggs and perhaps turned them over to a beastmaster to be raised. I certainly mentioned the possibility to some of Jaspree's Questors in Throal when we got back, hopefully they will see what can be done; we had no ability to track a flying creature that could have come from any of the nearby peaks. We also collected quite a few feathers, those being valuable, and continued onward after a night of rest where I spent my time recording as much as I could about the creatures (R'edtarian needed the extra time to sleep and recover on a more comfortable air mattress, so I had a few hours).
We took our time ascending, with special care to prevent us from falling to our deaths. Slow but steady progress seemed wiser than a hurried ascent followed by an even faster involuntary descent. Still, it was very draining in spite of all our preparations, and we took a further day to recover from the climb once we got close to our destination, expecting there to be some form of trouble when we got there. I cannot say that I am particularly fond of the day I spent huddled in an ice shelter shaped by a summoned icy Elemental, but it was sorely needed.
Sure enough, as we made our way across a shallow dip about a thousand feet below the peak, we started to encounter complications. Some sort of trick was leading us in circles, some sort of Illusionist trick I expect; Dale says it reminded him of a spell called Chosen Path, though in many places and more persistent. It seems the staff was offering him some protection since we could not even follow him, although fortunately the carpets could. We were finally making some progress when we were ambushed by a pair of stone lions, elemental creatures infused with the power of earth. Taras found the time to remark on the oddity of finding creatures where there was no food source this high up even during the battle; personally, I was busy Battle Shouting as usual.
This fight went comparatively smoothly, though we were largely just as surprised. Dale was able to pin one down with some other Illusionist trick of his, and while they did not seem to get as frightened of me as the birds had they were not able to keep their distance so well and R'edtarian had a much easier time striking them down. We collected what we could from them of the unusual earth elements in their bodies, and traced them back to their lair, a cave in a rock face which when we entered had a chute with a great pile of bones and refuse (presumably what they had been living on) and a great doorway with a shimmering field that shocked anyone who touched it.
There was a deep and narrow hole in the wall nearby, and having found some indication that the staff was a key to wherever it was we were going Dale inserted it and disarmed the barrier. Continuing onward we were quite surprised to come into a valley filled with hot springs that kept the whole area warm. The people there seemed unaffected by the great altitude, and welcomed us gladly. They thought at first Dale must be the descendant of someone who had stayed outside to open their kaer when the scourge was over (they hadn't been using Theran protections, much like Salt Cellar, so presumably a related group). As that was not the case, Dale set them straight (a bit odd for an Illusionist I would think, but perhaps I just haven't met enough of them).
It seems the volcano was not quite so extinct as had previously been thought, and the locals wanted to be escorted somewhere less likely to explode. After some consultation, we agreed that the banks of the Serpent River to the east seemed the most promising location to settle, and after further preparation (Taras really does love preparing) we guided them out of the mountains. They had been harvesting True Air up there, so a few stayed behind to continue collecting as much as they could; in the meanwhile I took advantage of the sudden influx of True Air into the market as centuries worth of mining the stuff brought prices much lower for a little while. I picked up a good Bedroll of Comfort and a good-sized Pot of Grumbah against future need. You never know when it might come in handy.Statistics:Posted by Sharkforce — Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:59 pm
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