Moonday, 6 Abadius

In the end, my hearing was not faulty.  I did hear “spider climb” and I did hear ropes, and I did indeed hear “long way to fall”.  So we’re going to ascend the tower, from the outside, during broad daylight, with the crowd watching.

So Father, if you’re reading this between blood spattered pages, please do thank the person who brought you this journal and ask them if they know what became of my body.

For the first time I can remember — and perhaps it’s because this is such a public endeavour — I do feel apprehension.  You never mentioned this, Father, but perhaps it’s natural not to admit to your son that there will be times when you are scared but can’t do anything about it.

There is a shy but attractive girl in the gathering crowd that I saw at the market when I was picking up rope, and since I don’t believe we’re ready for this ascent just yet, I think I’ll go talk with her a bit as a bit of pleasant distraction.

Moonday, 6 Abadius

How prophetic my feeling was.  How profoundly prophetic.  All hail Trask the prophet, and then curse him for having blurry vision and not seeing the true target of misfortune.

Right after Avia rudely broke into my conversation with the girl, just as she was about to tell me more about where she lived and a bit more about the area, and had offered to

Ok, I have to write this.  I thought paladins were above petty emotions like jealousy but I really think Avia crossed the line, just because I was talking with someone my own age and she felt threatened.  I do agree that she is strong and skilled but I don’t see how that affords her the right to dictate who I talk to and find interesting.  A simple “we’re ready” would have done fine.

Anyway, so after my having been physically dragged away from the young lady, we all positioned ourselves in front of the tower, and Sabin cast Spider Climb on himself while the rest of us received the spell by virtue of the six scrolls we (well, Kane and Rigel) had bought.  (That ran us an astounding 1000 gold pieces.  When I think of how I was scrabbling for silver on my trip here, I’m reminded of how much has happened in just a few months.)  The seven of us arranged ourselves two to a side but one side, of course, had only one.  And up we went, much to the pleasure of the crowd, judging from the ooos and ahhhs.

Little of import happened until we reached the scaffolding near the top of the tower.  The four of us nearest the scaffolding had been suffering the occasional brick being tossed down at us by something so we knew we’d be pausing there to deal with something.  And so it was that Sabin, Nolin, Avia and I found three of the faceless creatures we’d seen in Aldrin’s townhouse, and once we neared they brandished their weapons and the battle began in earnest.  Although these creatures were powerful, fate had placed our three strongest fighters in their path. With some maneuvering, I was able to arrange line of sight so that I could toss in the occasional magic missile.

When the first one died, Nolin cheerfully announced it had to go over the side.  “The crowd,” he explained.  “A body falling from the tower will show them we’re really doing things.”  It had a strange twisted sense of logic to it, so over the side it went.  And we heard a noise come up from the crowd below as it hit the ground about 150 feet below: “ohhhhhhhh”.

While this battle was happening, the other three were still ascending. With the clock tower being between 30 and 40 feet on a side at this point, they were unaware that we had stopped to fight.  They could neither see nor hear the evidence of battle, and so they kept going.

The swordplay and magic missiles continued on the scaffolding and it wasn’t long before another fleshy corpse was hurled to the ground below. (“ohhhhhhhh.”)  With only one creature and three fighters left, I saw little I could add to the battle, so I continued my ascent of the last 20 feet or so.  When the last creature was defeated and sent plummeting (“ohhhhhhh.”) the others also continued their ascent.

It is well that we went up as quickly as we did.  By the time I got up there, I could see an inhuman yet strangely attractive half-dressed woman with bat wings flying slowly around the building, and Rigel and Kane seemed to be silently battling some sort of serpent woman with a very long ornate spear.  She was wearing a mask and …

And I realized I couldn’t hear a thing.  A quick word out loud to myself confirmed that there was probably a spell of silence in this area. Quickly reviewing my spells, I realized that there was none that I could cast silently.  Almost anything offensive, though, required line-of-sight, so I couldn’t step away to cast it if it caused me to lose sight of my enemy.  I found it odd that Olithar was not up here already, but perhaps he, like I, was seeking a place where he could say his spells. Since spider climb did not require I necessarily have a rope to climb, I ducked and scampered across the face of the walls, trying to reach the other side where I expected to find Olithar.  I found that only a few feet below the edge of the roof, the silence ended, and I also found that it was not uniform all the way around the roof.  I hoped that when I reached the other side I might find Olithar and a place I could use my spells.

About this time the three fighters came up, and Avia immediately engaged the creature.  Its spear was wicked fast, and although she took damage as she approached she steadfastly made her way to within her weapon’s reach and made it pay dearly for its attack on our party.  This snake lady, however, was not going to go down easily.  Meanwhile, the creature we presumed was Xaneesha continued to survey the battle, flying slowly around the building.

I poked my head up on the other side of the roof and discovered that while the silence did not extend as far down the wall here, it did still prevent me from even poking my head over the wall and speaking.  But I did see Avia battling the creature, and Nolin and Sabin coming to the top of the roof themselves, but I now was on the backside.

And there was still no sign of Olithar, here, on the side of the building he was supposed to be on, and I began to feel a tingle of concern move up and down my spine.  There was no sign of him on this wall that I could see.  I began to fear the worst.

Refocusing, I remembered from previous battles that our swordsmen had commented how much easier it was to strike an opponent who was concerned about an attack from the rear. So although I really am not well suited for close attack as others in our group were, I realized I was the only one on the backside of this creature. Soon she would have three formidable swordsmen in front of her, and if a distraction from the rear afforded them a better opportunity to defeat her, it seemed well worth it.  Besides, she couldn’t strike at all of us at once and although I was a distraction, I was much less a threat and might well provide a distraction without great danger to my much lesser armored self.  As a sorceror, I was rather useless in an area of silence anyway; here was a way I could contribute.

So I too engaged the creature, who noticed me instantly.  In the next attack she managed to get two jabs at Avia and one at me.  Wicked fast, I remembered belatedly as blood poured from my wound.

Emboldened, Rigel too was able to surprise the creature with an arrow (with surprisingly good results — she must have been practicing!) Avia continued to weaken it, and Nolin and Sabin joined their swords to the effort.  Bereft of my magic missiles and burning spheres, I brought out the claws and cut her up a little too.

I had a brief feeling of despair, like we weren’t winning the battle, but of course we were and I shook it off.  A quick glance, however, at the faces of Rigel and Nolin suggested they’d been hit by the same feeling and were fighting on grimly but with less enthusiasm.  Another spell, I realized.

Suddenly, she took to the air.  No longer in close quarters, Avia was able to peg her with a quick arrow before she winked out of sight. Xaneesha stopped circling and landed at one corner of the roof. Rigel shot an arrow at her and she too winked out of sight.  Hindsight suggests, since that was the first hit she’d taken, that she had been nothing more than a phantasm all along.  In fact, with greater hindsight, I realized that the creature we’d been battling was, in all likelihood, actually Xaneesha.

We noticed the silence had ended, and Kane hastily stumbled over his words as he told us that Olithar had actually been the first to engage Xaneesha, if you can call being turned to stone at first glance an engagement.  As we gaped, he continued that she had then pushed him over the edge and he had fallen over 150 feet to the ground below and broken into several pieces.  I glanced down and could make out a pile of stones which had been our friend. “I have a mend spell,” I said. “I’ll go down and put him back together and maybe we can do something for him.”  I started to descend.

Suddenly Xaneesha appeared one more time, hovering in the air, and shot a scorching ray which blistered Avia.  I stopped my descent and took the opportunity to send another magic missile her way, which struck most satisfyingly.  And then she disappeared again.  I hesitated, wanting to help Olithar but not wanting to abandon my friends if she were still present.  Avia tried to sense evil, but couldn’t find any sign of her. Perhaps she was gone for good.

And then, from below, we heard the most awful, gurgling scream that was quickly cut off.  The crowd, even from 180 feet up, seemed agitated and one or two broke away to inspect the broken status before backing away and pointing.  And I realized, there was no help for our friend.  The transformation to stone had been temporary, and the intended mending not in time.  He had resumed flesh form, but having been broken into several pieces, he quickly (we can hope) died, bleeding profusely onto the ground around him.

It took us almost two minutes to descend safely to the ground and make our way over to him.  By then it was certainly too late to do anything.  Kane explained that Olithar had no sooner realized that there was an area of silence over the roof than Xaneesha had turned her attention to him.  Her eyes had glowed green, Olithar startled … and then turned to stone.  No opportunity to defend himself, no opportunity to draw a foe’s blood. Her rush to then push him over the edge telegraphed what we could not know: the spell was not permanent, and if the battle went on long enough, he would become a threat again when the spell wore off.

And so, an ignominious — dare I say igneous? — end to our comrade. Like many of us, he had made arrangements in the case of his death, and first among them was an admonition that he was not to be brought back. Such an action would cost us thousands of gold even if we could arrange it, but his wishes took the possibility out of our hands.

We had on occasion discussed theology, he and I, and he was astounded to find that I considered clerics and paladins to simply be adept at manipulating magical energy, much as I am, and that I considered gods, churches, and religion in general to simply be a complex means of focusing upon the energy around us and manipulating it.  For me, I seem to be able to gather it and have it flow to me, but for people with “divine powers” they seem to require the trappings of the office — the garb, the weaponry, the symbols, the devotion — to attain the same command of magic.  They attribute this to gods while not realizing their own capabilities.

Although I dearly wish I could have such a discussion with him again, I see now the truth of my position.  If gods existed, and had power upon this earth, how could they allow something so evil as Xaneesha so meaninglessly take the life of not just a random person, but one of those few supposedly chosen to expand that god’s influence on earth? What’s the point of being a priest if you don’t get special treatment? If such gods exist and they treat those most loyal to them so shabbily, why on earth would anybody else give them the time of day?  No, it’s even more clear now that the pantheon of gods is just a human construct for explaining some people’s skill with magical energy.

We disagreed on this very basic belief, but still, it was always in a respectful way, and I shall miss him. I take no pleasure in being shown right.

It turns out that Rigel, that human truffle pig, had nosed around the areas at the rooftop and found a non-magical scroll [243] that was a list of names.  Many were crossed off, and we recognized them as victims from both Magnimar and Sandpoint.   It was clear by the mere existence of the list that the victims chosen were not at all random.  We had noted earlier that they seemed to come from all walks of life, but this list underscored that the collection, as a whole, was precisely designed and chosen to be a cross-section of the city and countryside.  To what end, I don’t rightly know.

Most notable among the names not yet crossed off were the mayor, and our own Rigel, which evoked an odd combination of pride and paranoia from her.  However, next to the mayor’s name were numerous notes about his comings and goings, his eating habits, his travel plans — many personal notes about his life.  If he was not yet a victim, he was destined to be soon unless he made some changes.

The guard was adamant about not being able to take us to the mayor until we made mention of what information this scroll held.  They paled and said they would talk to a supervisor.  So it was that Nolin and Sabin visited the mayor later that day; Nolin due in part to his having strong connections to the city, and Sabin due in part to his being particularly bored, I think. I can’t imagine he went along to facilitate the conversation.

They returned telling us that the mayor took the news most seriously, and had said he would see not only to his on safety but all of those on the list.  Nolin skeptically relayed this part, indicating by his gestures and inflection that he tended to believe they had simply been humored on the visit.  The mayor had stated, however, that if the killings did indeed stop for a week after this latest battle, we would be rewarded for our service to the town.

For our part, we’ve agreed to protect Rigel regardless of the mayor’s intentions, and Rigel graciously agreed to being the object of our protection, deciding that she liked being among the living and not becoming the canvas for a seven sided piece of grisly art.

Moonday, 13 Abadius

Seven days to the hour, Sabin and Nolin and I returned to the mayor’s office for a followup visit.  There have been no more killings, but we were unsure if the mayor meant what he said.  Can’t hurt to ask.  And to be honest, I can’t say if the absence of ritual murders was because she has truly left and moved elsewhere or she’s simply healing from the beating we gave her.  The mayor was not present at his office, according to his seneschal, but he was throwing a lavish dinner that evening in our honor and we should all show up at 6.

With the mayor not seen on this visit, we had visions of doppelgangers and golems and the perfect opportunity to kill us all in a single stroke were we to appear at this previously unannounced “dinner”.   However, upon reflection, we decided perhaps we were living just a wee bit paranoid.  Avia headed over a mite early to secretly scout the grounds and the area, and she did see the mayor, and evidence of a party being set up so perhaps our paranoia was a bit overmuch.

So we struck a balance, dressing well but by no means weaponless.  And other than hearty greetings, repeated toasts, many congratulations, and much shaking of hands, nothing unusual happened at the dinner.  Well the mayor DID award us each 6000 gold pieces. Each.  6000.  Gold.   Pieces.

It took a moment to realize that while we were not yet filthy rich, none of us was exactly dirt poor any more either. I’ll need to do some training in the coming weeks, and for once I’ll have no trouble paying for it. We really have come quite a distance in just a few months.

Most of us, I remind myself.  Some of us, sadly, were unable to complete the journey.

Wealday, Abadius 15

Olithar’s death still hangs over us. Over me.

I am not naive. This work that we do is dangerous and not without significant risk, and Olithar like the rest of us knew those risks and faced them willingly and without hesitation. In the past months we have seen many terrible sights, witnessed violence on a scale unheard of in modern times, and confronted an ugliness that would chill even the most hardened man. Though we never spoke of it directly, we were all aware of how close each of us has come, some of us over and over again, to giving our life for this cause, and that it was but a matter of time before misfortune caught up with us. And so it did.

Part of me understands Olithar’s wishes to not return, but part of me also wishes that it wasn’t so. Such is growing up, I suppose.

I am frustrated that Xanesha lives. We were close. We had her. But we lacked skill with ranged weapons, having relied too much on magic in the past to meet this need. As prepared as we were, the assault on the tower has revealed a critical gap in our capabilities, and it is one that must be filled.

One wonders how much higher a price we would have paid had we not taken the time to plan our rather unusual ascent up the clock tower. It is clear from Xanesha’s meager defenses that she had expected nothing more than a simple, direct assault from the interior stairs. By coming up the outside with magic to aid our ascent we were able to reach the scaffolding nearly unscathed, closing the distance so rapidly that they had no time to adjust to our tactics. The best they could muster were a few bricks that were left over from the feeble attempts to repair the structure, thrown at us as we climbed.

If our plan had a flaw, it was that it simply worked too well and allowed half of our party to reach the roof without adequate combat support. From what Rigel and Kane describe, however, that may not have mattered in the end, for Xanesha had a few tricks of her own and Olithar’s fate was sealed in the first few seconds of her appearance. The best we might have managed had we all been there would be to give her more targets to choose from, and that is a sobering thought.

Even unprepared and disadvantaged Xanesha proved a difficult and capable foe. Had we been forced to come up that scaffolding as she had intended we might be mourning more than just one of our friends. Our cleverness is cold comfort, however, as Olithar is dead while Xanesha lives. I am not one for revenge and settling scores, but…this situation does not sit well with me.

Joaqin says that feeling will pass. I hope so, because I cannot afford to have my judgement clouded.

The mayor has made us rich men (and women) and I have to admit that I am surprised, shocked even, at what he has done. Not just the money, or even giving us his word and then keeping it, but also the actions he has taken to protect his town, and the citizens whose names appeared on Xanesha’s list. This is not the Lord Mayor Blah Blah Horse’s Ass that I thought I knew, or maybe it’s that he’s far more complicated a man than I ever gave him credit for and that I only knew one facet of many. I don’t know. In the end, he is doing the right thing, and not just for himself.

I would never have guessed.

At the memorial service for Olithar at the temple of Sarenrae.

Near the conclusion of the service, Kane wearing the formal robes of an under-priest of Desna (colorful butterflies and all) walks slowly to the front of the room. Head bowed, he waits for the chuckles from the party to subside and whispering in general to stop.

In a soft voice

“I first met Olithar a couple months ago. Looking back, I can see the gentle touch of the Lady guiding me onto this path. For I was indeed lucky the day I met Olithar, he and his companions rescued me from being a sacrifice to the darkest of enemies. I did not see the Lady’s hand at this time, nor did I see the Light that guided Olithar to this meeting place, but I know now our paths were meant to cross. Olithar, like all big folk, was a mystery to me. He was a man of fiery passions. That was no more evident than on the fields of battle, always leading the charge, taking the fight to those that preyed on the weak and helpless. But, after battle and off the battlefield, Olithar was as gentle a soul as you would ever meet. He was taken into the Light before I could truly begin to understand him. He was a companion, a friend, and a mentor. Though we followed different paths to where we met, we parted company much to soon.”

Kane walks over to where urn containing Olithar’s ashes rest. Pausing, he bows his head in silent prayer. A continual flame appears in front of the urn. Turning back to the audience.

“I will always feel his loss, but am comforted that he is at peace in the Light.”

With that Kane steps down and returns to his place in the audience.

== Wealday, Kuthona 18, 4707; Magnimar, Kyver’s Islet; Afternoon ==

Having followed up on the contact information for payments to “B7” from Aldrin Foxglove we have found ourselves in a lumber mill called “The Seven” on Kyver’s Islet in the south of Magnimar. We’ve overcome attacks from the evil masked workmen there only to find ourselves in custody of one of the chief justices for the city itself, Ironbriar.

Avia had detected an evil presence in the room where Ironbriar was found alone and cloaked with invisibility. He was no longer radiating an evil aura by then, but we did detect two spells had been cast upon him — an enchantment and an abjuration. The latter could have been the result of his hiding his alignment.

And while Ironbriar did attack us at first, when the enchantment spell was removed he calmed down a great deal and became informative and almost helpful.

He claimed he had been enchanted by an evil enchantress named Xanesha, and that it was she who was responsible for the series of ritual murders that had plagued Magnimar for these past months. He admitted that he had played some part in the grizzly killings, but only while under Xanesha’s control. He was angry with Xanesha and wished her killed, but knew his influence and power in Magnimar was compromised, and he wished to leave the city as quickly as could be arranged.

Avia was dubious of his most of his claims, and thought the two best courses of action were to either hand him over to the city officials, or execute him ourselves.

The problem with the first proposal was that Ironbriar was the head of the city’s judicial system, and it was unlikely that our word would be taken over his. And the second proposal assumed his guilt with only the circumstantial evidence we possessed.

And yet to me he seemed to be telling the truth, or as much of the truth as concerned us. I spoke long with him about his faith, and found that he was a follower of Norgorber, which would indicate he probably did have an evil aura when not masked by magic. Followers of Norgorber are split among various factions, each following some specific aspect of their evil god and mostly ignoring one another. It made little sense for a career politician, of which Ironbriar was certainly one, to work toward destroying the very fabric of society from which he derived his power.

Ironbriar promised that if we let him go he would take care of the cultists (both dead and alive) that remained in the mill, and leave the city within twelve hours — just long enough to take care of some personal matters and provide an official reason for his extended absence from Magnimar.

He said if we allowed him this, he would provide us with information about Xanesha that we could use to find and eliminate her. Furthermore once he was safe and established in a new location he would send a reward back to us, as well as check up on our progress with Xanesha.

We debated his offer long among ourselves, and finally agreed providing that Ironbriar allowed Sabin and Trask to accompany him until we received the promised information. To this he acquiesced, using the cover of hiring the two as body guards to explain their sudden and constant presence in his company.

Unknown to Ironbriar, Kane and Rigel provided support for Sabin and Trask by using their stealthy skills to follow Ironbriar, and to make sure there was no obvious attempts at treachery.

They left for Ironbriar’s house a short while ago, and we are about to leave the mill ourselves. We gave Ironbriar the name of the inn at which we had been staying, but we plan to move to different part of town today. We will keep one room at the old inn for future correspondences with Ironbriar.

== Oathday, Kuthona 19, 4707; Magnimar, The Copper Griffin; Midnight ==

Kane arrived at our new inn just after midnight with news that Ironbriar was leaving the city via one of the southern gates. Task and Sabin were still with him and Rigel was tailing them.

As we quickly walked to catch up (at a discrete distance) can told us that Ironbriar had immediately gone from the mill to his grand house in the swanky Alabaster District, where he proceeded to send letters to various associates about town. He had been cordial to his two guests, even inviting them to share in his dinner, and hid nothing obvious from them. In fact at one point he apparently offered both long term employment, which they both declined.

Rigel caused a bit of commotion by sneaking into the house and setting off an alarm of some kind, but if he was suspicious of our party, he did not show it.

Shortly after midnight he changed into traveling clothes and left for the south of the city.

We ran into Sabin and Trask on their way back from seeing Ironbriar leave the city on foot. At the gate he had told them what he knew of Xanesha.

She had set up her headquarters in the ruinous structure known as the Shadow Clock. This tower was built in the Shadow district of Magnimar, an unsavory part of the city that resided completely beneath the ancient ruins of the Irespan.

The Irespan is nothing short of a massive bridge, perhaps built by or for a race of giants, that stretched westward over the bay from Magnimar. Everything about it is massive, although now all that remains of it is its eastern terminus. And yet even this tiny fragment is so large that it dwarfs all other structures on this side of the continent, and it covers an entire district of what is by no means a small city.

The name of the Shadow District itself may have its origins by being in the shadow of the Irespan, but it now reflects the nature of its businesses and inhabitants.

The Shadow Clock is a tall tower that was built many years ago to house a clock, but it was never completed and it has fallen into neglected decay. It is considered structurally unsafe, and the city has closed it off from the public.

Ironbriar said that Xanesha lived there with five “misshapen” men to do her bidding, and that it was she that taught him the vile sihedron ritual used in the murders.

She had also sent Aldrin to Foxglove Manor to collect the evil fungus that grew there, knowing full well what it would do to him.

Ironbriar also told us that Aldrin’s payments to the sawmill were for hush money to keep hidden the fact that he had murdered his fiance, Iesha.

We returned to the inn and briefly discussed our plan of action. Although Ironbriar saw to it that his departure from the city would not draw any undue attention, at least for a while, it would be obvious to Xanesha that he was no longer under her thumb. We decided to wait a couple of weeks before making our move against her in the hopes that she will have once again relaxed her guard.

This would also give time for Avia, Sabin, Kane and Rigel to train.

Trask, Nolin and I plan to make a short trip out from the city after sunrise to see if we can find a trace of where Ironbriar has gone.

== Oathday, Kuthona 19, 4707; Yondabakari River Valley; Evening ==

We set out on horse back as soon as it was light, leaving Magnimar by the southern gate and following the likely route used by Ironbriar. Despite the overcast sky and chill air our trip was at first pleasant as we traveled next to the Yondabakari flowing within the banks of its wide valley.

Small farms and hamlets lay on either side of the river with their fallow fields and prickly orchards of bare trees. Inns also lined the road, and after a pleasant break for lunch in one such pub we continued on.

The sun slowly wheeled around behind us and cast long shadows on the road ahead. Inns ceased, farms came further and further apart, and the number of people we passed on the road dwindled to a few hearty souls before petering out altogether.

The next village was an hour or more ahead and grey sky darkening with the fading light as we debated whether to push on to the comforts of a night indoors or find a suitable camp site near the road.

The road had dipped into a boggy stretch of land and was just beginning to rise back up again when we came upon three large mounds of mud and clay.

A grotesque toad-like head rose up from behind one mound and stared at us with protruding eyes. As we approached to investigate three slimey green creatures lept up onto the mounds and waved spiked clubs threateningly at us.

Boggards!

As a child my guardians had told us stories of the evil frog-like men who haunted the swamp lands, capturing and eating unwary travelers. I had thought these tales told to keep restless youth from straying far from the farm, but here they were in the flesh (warts and all) menacing my friends and I.

No doubt they thought we were farmers on the road at dusk hurrying to our home and fields and ill prepared to meet any attack. They thought wrong and were quickly slain.

Alas, but we found the remains of several hapless travelers on whom the boggards had feasted earlier. Little remained but 20 pieces of gold and a few basic weapons.

We wound up pushing on to the village and reserved a nice set of rooms for the evening. We had missed the usual evening sitting in the dinning room, but after hearing about our victorious encounter with the boggards the inn keeper was happy to stoke the kitchen fire and prepare a delightful late supper for us.

== Fireday, Kuthona 20, 4707; Yondabakari River Valley; Evening ==

An altogether uneventful day. We continued along the undulating road as it passed through a land of low hills which fell away to the south into a wide expanse of marsh.

By chance this evening we encountered a small caravan from Wartle heading towards Magnimar and we all agreed to share camp. They had seen nobody on the road matching Ironbriar’s description, which confirmed our suspicion that while he may have set out as a lowly traveler on foot, Ironbriar was a man of too many resources to remain so for long.

Our companions are a lively group, and we are all gathered about a small but bright peat fire which is keeping the fog from the swamplands at bay. While in stark contrast to the night before, our evening has proven to be no less accommodating.

== Starday, Kuthona 21, 4707; Yondabakari River Valley; Evening ==

A soft but prolonged drizzle started late in the night and we broke our sodden camp just before dawn. Being lightly burdened we left caravan behind as kept a brisk pace, and rode long until after dusk. We are but a few hours from Magnimar, but there is no urgent need for our return and the horses have earned a rest in a dry tall with hay and fresh water.

To be honest I too am glad to have a place to sleep indoors out of the persistent cold mist that followed us all day.

== Sunday, Kuthona 22, 4707; Magnimar, The Copper Griffin; Evening ==

We returned to Magnimar by mid day and Nolin has has decided that he too should hone his skills and sharpen his abilities before our encounter with Xanesha, leaving Trask and I to fend for ourselves.

We decided to reconnoiter the area about the Shadow Clock tomorrow.

== Moonday, Kuthona 23, 4707; Magnimar, The Copper Griffin; Evening ==

Like virtually all residents of Magnimar, I have seen the Irespan, and have even approached the top as close as city officials allow the public. But I have never before been at the feet of this cyclopean structure, and I must admit that it takes some getting used to. I walked about looking up and gaping like a yocal from the sticks who has wandered into a city for the first time.

The locals who we passed were completely oblivious to the thing under which they spent their lives. We followed their example and plunged deeper in the the Shadow District with eyes level. We kept a short distance apart, with me in the lead, but still close enough to rush to one another’s aid if needed.

The day was already dim with cloud cover, and it was like walking into twilight as we passed under the shadow of the bridge and made our way to the massive support near which the Shadow Clock had been built.

Had it been completed the Clock could have been a local wonder to lift the district up and above the unsavory reputation it now held. Now, however, it simply served to reinforce the feeling of sinister doings, secrets, and decay and ruin that permeated the area.

With a square base about sixty feet on a side the tower lumbers up on itself some one hundred and eighty feet, gently narrowing with its rise until it is capped by an ornate belfry. A large clock face frozen at three o’clock glares down upon passerby and the figure of an angel perches atop it all.

But it is all a ruin. The mortar between the stone and brick crumbles, the wood is gray and warped with age, and the windows gape out with no glazing. In some places metal framework pokes out from the ruptured skin of the building, and near the top on one side a teetering mass of scaffolding, itself now derelict, fights a losing battle to keep the structure from toppling down upon the business and residences that surround it.

We spent some time walking about the Clock, taking side streets and alleys so as not to be obvious in our intent, but saw nobody approach the tower, nor indeed pay any more attention to it than they did the bridge above.

Trask and I returned to the inn where we compared notes and drew a few diagrams and maps. We had seen no other entrance at ground level than the heavy doors which had been chained and locked by city officials, but it seemed like that was as good an approach as any.

The rest of the day began to weigh heavily on me and so I found father Tyrion at the Temple of Sarenrae and volunteered to help out with the local outreach programs that aided the less fortunate citizens of the city.

== Fireday, Kuthona 27, 4707; Magnimar, The Copper Griffin; Evening ==

Sabin and Kane have completed their training.

== Wealday, Abadius 1, 4708; Magnimar, The Copper Griffin; Morning ==

It is New Year’s Day! There was a midnight ceremony at the Temple of Sarenrae in which I participated, just as last year. I cannot help but to reflect back upon the old year and all the changes it brought.

== Fireday, Abadius 3, 4708; Magnimar, The Copper Griffin; Evening ==

Avia returned to the inn looking confident and ready to resume the hunt for Xanesha. Rigel also returned from training, but is often the case with her we did not notice her arrival so much as we simply became aware that she was once again with us.

When we returned to our old inn for our daily check of message from Ironbriar we found a cloaked man waiting for us in the common room. Without exchanging any names or details we informed him that we were following the advice of our common friend and being cautious about tying up a certain “loose end.” We told him we ought to have more to report in two weeks time.

He stated that the parcel beneath the table was for us, and got up and walked out.

After the usual checking for traps and magical devices we took the box up to our room and opened it. Within were seven small bars of gold — each worth five hundred gold pieces.

This was more awkward for some of us than others, but I know that what is not immediately spent defeating Xanesha from my share — for I view the gold as payment in advance for services to be rendered — will go toward the local charities the Temple of Sarenrae supports.

== Sunday, Abadius 5, 4708; Magnimar, The Copper Griffin; Evening ==

There was another ritualized murder last night. While rumor of the killing swept through the city in the usual way, we sought out our contacts in the town guars to glean additional information.

The more than two weeks since the previous killing was the longest interval between any two killings since they began — typically there was a murder every few days. We could not help but connect this to our activities at Aldrin’s townhouse some two weeks earlier and Ironbriar’s departure from the city.

We found Nolin, and although he had a week of training left he agreed that we could not delay our investigations while the murder spree continued.

== Moonday, Abadius 6, 4708; Magnimar, Shadow District; Dawn ==

Well before dawn we made our way to the Shadow District and approached the doors enmasse. Our plan was to simply walk up to the doors, disarm any traps, unlock any locks, and then move inside as if we were authorized to do so. It seemed likely that any attempt at a covert operation in this shady district would generate more notice (and possible interference) than a direct approach.

Our plan worked and soon we were inside. But the interior of the clock, while perhaps fascinating to an architect or builder, sadly dissapointed us.

From within the Shadow Clock looked more decrepit and tumble down than even its ruinous appearance from the outside indicated. It was a single, massive chamber towering up into the darkness above with no floors or partitions beyond the handful of ramshackle walls leaning against one another along the eastern wall.

Windows were cut into the tower higher up, but the pre-dawn sky still looked inky black from within. We brought out our magical torches and looked about the place in dismay.

The floor was made from stone, and showed no signs of any secret trap doors leading down. A rickety stair led up and up, connecting with the outer walls some fifteen feet up and following them around and around as it spiraled up to the top, which skulked in darkness.

A few piles of rubbish littered the floor here and there, and through the gaping doorways in the eastern interior walls we could see that the ceiling for the rooms had collapsed and they were now open above the the main chamber.

We noticed a large number of foot prints in the dust on the floor leading up the stairs, and checked the stairway very carefully only to find that it was as unstable and unsafe as appearance made it appear.

One door to an interior chamber in the northeast corner was intact and closed, and as I made my way towards it to see what lay within, a huge creature stood up from what I had thought was a pile of refuse and attacked. It looked like someone had stitched together various parts from animals, humans and other creatures into a single nightmarish form. It wielded a scythe with unexpected skill and from a belt around its middle hung an assortment of shrunken heads.

It proved resistant to fire and damage our normal weapons, but Avia switched to using the adamantine sword and was dealing the thing deathly damage. After a fierce battle Sabin finished it off by planting his axe in its face.

[241] +1 scythe (Nolin)
[242] cloak of Elvenkind (Avia)

Beyond the door was yet another room with a collapsed ceiling and nothing more.

Trask and Sabin volunteered to clamber up the rickety stairs to see what was at the top of the tower, and as they began their ascent the rest of us continued to search the base of the tower, uncovering a sack with coins and a few other valuable looking oddments.

125 gold pieces
309 silver pieces
a tarnished silver ring with “To AV, with love” inscribed on it (not magical)
an ornate silver mirror

We heard a loud creaking sound as the stairs complained of their load and threatened to come down. Trask and Sabin came down, and Sabin, who could cast Feather Fall and save himself in the event of an emergency, climbed up alone.

Three times around Sabin ascended the stairs and came to the level where a window was set into each of the four walls. By now the sky was pale, and we could watch his progress in the wan light.

Sabin then paused, as if listening to something above, and all of a sudden there was an incredible cacophony of clanging and clanking as one of the massive tower bells came crashing down. It smashed through the stairs where Sabin was standing and tumbled to the ground, crashing into Trask before coming to rest on its side.

Sabin drifted slowly to the ground and said he had heard someone sawing through the ropes that held the bell just before it came down. We healed him and Trask and were debating our next course of action (a Fireball shot up to the top was momentarily a popular idea) when there came a great banging at the doors.

The entire west end of Magnimar had no doubt heard the frightful noise of the bell, and the City Guard had showed up to investigate.

The chief constable was highly suspicious of our presence at the tower, but we managed to deflect his concerns toward the corpse of the scarecrow monster we had slain. He asked the crowd that had now gathered around the doors if they had seen anything like this in the area before, and one man said he had seen it coming in and out from the tower, and another reported that things could be seen flying in and out from the top of the Clock.

The constable inspected the bell and commented on how it looked like the ropes had been partially cut through some time ago, and then the rest of the way quite recently.

We told him that we wanted to climb the tower to catch whoever it was that dropped the bell on us (and who was no doubt responsible for the strange monster), to which he acquiesced. He set up a watch about the tower to keep and eye on our progress and to see if anything flew in or out while we were scaling the Clock.

We are currently discussing how best to climb up now that the stairs are impassable, and have decided upon some combination of Spider Climb and ropes.

The sun is just now peeping over the horizon although it is still dark beneath the Irespan, and it is time for me to pray. We shall have full need of the spells Sarenrae can grant me this day.

Wealday, 18 Kuthona

As we wrestled with the question of what to do with Ironbrier, we reviewed what we knew. He claimed to have been charmed by Xaneesha into doing her will. He claimed that he would not have done it, otherwise. He claimed he would reward us for letting him go. He claimed to be a member of — indeed, a priest of — the same religion as Xaneesha, but a different faction. His god was known as Norgurbur, the Reaper of Reputation. He did in fact carry a holy symbol consistent with that religion, but his faction, one of four, was one more interested in the more secular issues of reputation and power rather than the masks and the killings. He seemed more angry about being used than about the deaths, but we shouldn’t hope for too much regret over the deaths, given his apparent alignment and spiritual background.

Avia was adamant that he should either be turned over to the town for justice, or killed summarily. Trouble was it would come down to the word of a band of people recently arrived from out of town and strangely familiar with the murders, against that of a high justice of the city. We’d likely not win that battle of accusations. And killing him ourselves was regarded not an option by more than one member of the party. I find myself among that group. Perhaps it was his rank, perhaps it was that he appeared to have been used, but it seemed his freedom would actually get us closer to the greater evil. It is dismaying to realize he will not see justice for the deeds he’s done, but sometimes the forces of good must choose between the lesser of two evils, not simply between good and evil.

And so it was in this case. It was by no means unanimous, but fortunately those in the minority did not choose to argue with their weapons. It is the single most divisive issue I’ve ever seen this group wrestle with.

His freedom was tempered, of course. Sabin and I would become his “aides” for 12 hours while he “put his affairs in order”. He agreed to take care of the, uh, disrepair at the mill, and make some arrangements so that much of his wealth and belongings could follow him (or meet him) where he was going. We did not ask where he was going for we knew he would not tell.

We went with him back to his residence, and to their credit his staff did not spend any time asking him why he’d acquired two new assistants, especially with one being a half-orc. We were briefly mentioned as “bodyguards” and nothing more was said. In this role, we had free rein to follow him, and gave him a modicum of privacy while he wrote numerous letters. He even allowed me to inspect one and while it could have been written in some sort of cipher I suppose, it seemed to be what he said it would be: a letter directing the disposition of some of his wealth and belongings.

Since we were still not entirely trusting of him, Kane and Rigel were to follow us discreetly and watch over us, to make sure we ourselves were not charmed by him into doing something untoward. So we were partially but not entirely surprised when we heard what sounded like a large explosion from his bedroom shortly after dinner. We three rushed to the room but found nothing but a tripped ward and an open window. He chalked it up to his enemies already having sniffed out his weakening power, but Sabin and I looked at each other and guessed Rigel had been too tempted by the sparkly and shiny things in his house. (We discovered later that we were spot on.)

Later that evening, a messenger returned with a box of platinum and gear. Ironbrier made a non-magical offer for us to join him, but both Sabin and I declined. There was a bit of hesitancy in Sabin’s response which made me look at him closely, but no, in the end nobody joined him. He announced things were in order and we’d leave in about two hours. He dressed in rather plain travelling clothes. He seemed to have a travelling bag that could hold much more than one might think. (I’d heard of bags like that but never seen one. Seems quite handy.)

We left for the town gates just before 1am. We presumed that one or both of our tails, Kane or Rigel, would notify the rest of the party. Although they didn’t get there before we said our final goodbyes, they were there within minutes of them.

Before he left, he kept his word and told Sabin and I of Xaneesha. She has taken up residence at the shadow clock. Beautiful but very persuasive; since she was able to charm him I suspect the persuasive aspect has significant magical components to it. He said she is the personal agent of the dark forces, and that she has 5 henchman we need to watch for. The clock tower is in the Underdark, and the front door is guarded.

Additionally, he said that Aldrin was paying 200 gp per week in hush money. He had killed his wife and didn’t want anybody finding out. 200 gp per week was draining him pretty fast though; had he not fallen victim to the fungus in his manor, he may have had other problems soon.

Fungus, by the way, is what Xaneesha was most interested in. Aldrin was back at the manor because she had directed him to bring samples to her. Those samples may well have been what led him to the fate he suffered.

After relaying all of this to the rest of our party, we returned to the inn for a good night’s sleep. Oh, and Sabin and I each earned 1 gp for our short stint as bodyguards. Not bad pay; maybe I should look into this line of work.

hah.

Toilday, 19 Kuthona

After discussing it among ourselves, we thought it wise for some of us to get some additional training before confronting Xaneesha. Some people only needed a week or so for their training, while a couple needed two. I myself was already “up to snuff”. Before undertaking this, we (Nolin, Olithar, and myself) decided to try to see if we could trail where Ironbrier went. Near as we can tell, his trail got lost on the road pretty quickly after leaving town. While none of us are expert trackers, we suspect magic still may have been the primary means of his transportation. After all, we may not have been the only ones tracking him.

Late in the day, we did encounter some sort of frog men that Nolin insisted were hazards to travellers because they were so close to the road. They seemed to be building, or at least hanging out near, three mounds of mud, and they did brandish weapons at us. But it was hard to take them seriously with their frog-like appearance. At Nolin’s insistence we did away with three of them and while I escaped unscathed, they did mark up Olithar and Nolin some. And we did find, after slaying them, they actually did have some weapons that were not theirs, about 20 gold pieces, and the remains of some people, so I guess they really did waylay travellers. Ya just can’t tell by looking, I guess. I didn’t look close enough to see if the travellers’ bodies had simply rotted or been eaten. Really didn’t need to know that much.

Knowing that the others were busily training anyway, we made a leisurely trip out of it, travelling a few days out and back. Although we did meet several other travellers, none of them had seen a man matching the description of Ironbrier. Neither did we encounter any more wildlife that needed to be put down. We returned to Magnimar midday on Sunday.

Sunday, 22 Kuthona

Our multi-day journey was easily summarized to the remainder of the party, and Nolin took it upon himself to do some training too. Olithar and I will go scout out the clock tower tomorrow while Nolin starts training and the others finish.

Monday, 23 Kuthona

The clock tower looks a bit intimidating, even in daylight. We tried not to stand out so much here in the Underdark, but I imagine we still looked a bit out of place. Although the front door seems secure, the tower looks like it may be in disrepair. That alone probably keeps a lot of the locals away, but a quick tug on the front door also indicated it was locked. Seven years ago, one of them tells us, the city declared it dangerous and took effort to close it off.

The base was about 60 feet on a side, but it towers up almost 200 feet, maybe about 180. It narrows some as it rises, so it’s not 60 feet square all the way up. The belfry still shows some elegance after all these years, and had it not fallen into disrepair would likely be a tourist attraction in its own right. In its current condition — mortar is crumbling, and bricks are falling out of it — it’s more of a distraction than an attraction. Near the top there’s still a scaffolding of some sort hanging precariously on the side of the building.

I hope the stairs inside are in better shape than the outside suggests, or thoroughly examining this properly will require more skill or magic than may be present in our group. I wonder if there are rooms underground? Such a building must require a firm foundation.

Fireday, 3 Abadius

The days have passed leisurely for myself and Olithar, as others complete their training. Well, actually, Olithar has been off hanging around his temple, I guess, but I’m content to spend the days resting mostly and occasionally getting out and walking around just to keep in shape.

We had had no messenger come by from Ironbrier, and we were beginning to believe perhaps the reward portion of his speech had indeed been fluffery, but lo, today a cloaked messenger arrived. Meeting him was like meeting with a state spy; we did not mention Ironbrier’s name out loud, but instead referred to “our friend” and “those incidents”. In this manner we communicated to the messenger that we had not yet attacked Xaneesha or the clock tower, but intended to within a few days. He might return in, say, one or two weeks if he wished additional news. He gave no indication if he would. We mentioned to him we had moved to a new inn; he nodded.

He did say there was a parcel at our feet under the table, and that it was for us. He then abruptly left. We casually removed it to our room and after Rigel checked it for traps and such, opened it to discover seven gold bars, each worth 500 gp. Normally we take out a share of what we recover or are paid for “group expenses” but agreed that given the form this particular recompense had taken, we wouldn’t try to split up 7 bars 8 ways.

I’m good with that.

Sunday, 5 Abadius

The murders are still happening, and Nolin, the only one still training, has agreed we can’t sit idle while more people are losing their lives. Tomorrow, in the early dark of morn, we will go to the tower.

Moonday, 6 Abadius

Our thinking about investigating before the sun rises is two-fold. One is that what we are about to do — break into an area closed off by the city — is something we’d like to be a little bit surreptitious about. We might be in and out in an hour, and if we can do that while it’s dark, even the twilight of a rising sun, all the better. Two is that if we find these forces seem to benefit from darkness, an increasing light works in our favor.

We really didn’t know what to expect, other than Xaneesha and five misshapen henchmen defending their turf.

We started by picking the lock on the front door; practically child’s play for Rigel these days. Carefully entering the tower, we could see in the dim light that the outside may well be worse off than the inside. We used our continual light rocks to see better, but they didn’t make the contents really look any better.

Debris was scattered around. Fallen framing and timbers were in each of six small rooms that started to the right of the door, as we entered, and ran counterclockwise to the middle of the wall opposite us. To the left was a staircase that looked like it had seen better days. It led up into the clock tower, winding around and around the outside wall as it rose.

Some footprints were evident on the staircase that indicated it still seen relatively recent use, so that offered some meager evidence that Ironbrier had not lied about this building being used.

We were a bit startled, but not really very surprise, when one pile of debris stood up as we were inspecting the damaged rooms, and approached Olithar. It had bits of people, animals, and debris integrated into a body-like shap, and a selection of shrunken heads dangling from its belt.

This must be one of the misshapen ones. And when it smacked Olithar, it smacked him HARD. And that was just the beginning.

First, it was huge; easily as big as any three of us. Second, much to my and Olithar’s dismay, flame seemed to have no effect on it. Olithar’s spiritual weapon passed right through it without damage. Kane tried channelling positive energy to it; no effect. Magic missile did seem to do damage to it, at least. Avia finally switched to an adamantine weapon she has and that seemed to do real damage at last.

We did dispatch it, but it took great effort and all but I were signficantly injured. Our clerics healed us, but this did not bode well if we encountered the other four henchman at the same time.

On the corpse of this abomination we found a +1 scythe and a cloak of elvenkind, that Avia accepted. Searching carefully through the debris also discovered about 125 gp, 309 sp, a tarnished silver ring with the inscription “TO AV WITH LOVE” and a silver mirror. The mirror and the ring might have some intrinsic value, but nothing found was magic.

We found nothing else of interest on this floor, in the main hall or in any of the rooms. That left nowhere but up. Sabin and I tried to go up but it was clear the wood would not likely support the two of us standing too close together.

Since Sabin could cast featherfall on himself if need be, and I’d, at best, have to read it from a scroll, he went up alone. He’d gone three times around and reached the first set of windows when he heard a noise from above. A sawing noise. With no further warning, a huge copper bell fell from the heights. It took out the section of stairs Sabin was on, and hurt him badly just from the blow. He fell, but was able to feather himself down.

Meanwhile, I had the good fortune to be in the target area, and when the bell came crashing down, careening off what structure was left, fate dictated that it should land on me. I took even more damage than Sabin, and had to be pried out from under the bell and healed almost immediately.

And so much for any degree of secrecy in this operation. Outside, it was considerably lighter but now people were gathering about the tower, gossiping about the loud noise. We quickly decided to spin this as best we could, because sure as the sun rises every morning, when we exited the tower there were a pair of constables there. We brought out the body of the creature we’d killed and loudly announced there was some foul presence in that tower.

As the constables (and crowd) looked over the misshapen corpse, you could almost feel the tide swing in our favor. We told a tale of having seen it and it ran into the tower. Knowing it would be harmful to the town and wondering idly if it might be responsible for the killings, we chased it in and killed it, as any capable townsperson would. The crowd was murmuring and although the constables were still mildly suspicious, they couldn’t deny that the body in front of them was not a citizen of the town.

We announced were going to go back in and see if there was more, and did they want to come? Nooooo, the constables were willing to let us go in but they would keep the peace out here. Already they were shooing people back (“nothing to see here, just a rotting building, move along”) One did comment, after looking at the bell, that the rope appeared to have been cut. Gasp, really? One of the onlookers commented that sometimes, people who live here could see something or some things flying in and out of the tower. (That’s distressing, that maybe we get up to the top and it just flies away. Not sure we can do much about that.)

Anyway, I need to wrap this up and rejoin the group. We are strategizing about what to do next. I’m hearing ropes, and I’m hearing Spider Climb and I’m hearing “long way to fall”. Sigh. I need to learn that featherfall thing.