Chapter 15
After vanquishing the gnolls and investigating the hill giant’s lair—finding quite a bit of loot, much to their surprise—the group heads back down the mountain to Lyra’s Grove. When they arrive, they can tell that Lyra was not expecting, or hoping for, visitors anytime soon.
“So, you’re back…again…I see. I suppose that was to be expected. Since the Battle of Wayside, the other goblin tribes seem to have gone quiet and their other hidey-holes haven’t been used. I imagine y’er hungry after a day’s fightin’ and rescuin’ loot, I’m about to prepare a deer the forest saw fit to provide us for sustenance.”
With a brief nod and acknowledgement of its value and purpose, Lyra begins cooking smaller pieces of venison over a small campfire, while offering them some flatbread and berries. Bilwin offers her a beer from his seemingly bottomless carrying cask and she graciously accepts.
From his satchel, Dolor pulls out the box of delicate turquoise animal figurines. “We’d like you to have these, if you’re of interest, as a means of thank you for all of your assistance and hospitality.” Lyra takes the tiny box into her hand, slowly opens the lid, and quietly says, “we rangers don’t hold ta ‘stuff’ like them villagers do, but…these remind me of my purpose…why I patrol these woods.” With a look of calmness, Lyra pulls a small leather pouch out of a pocket and carefully drops the figurines into it, handing the box back to Dolor. She draws a symbol in the dirt, that looks like a letter U with a small tick going through the top right side.
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“I don’t do gifts…but I do favors. If you ever find yerselves in a bit of a mess or tight spot or just need the perspective of a ranger, make this mark somewhere around ya. If I can’t get to ya, then one of my brethren will know that y’er a friend of a ranger and in some need.” She quietly pulls together her meal, mug of beer from Bilwin, and shimmies up one of the larger trees in the glade. Apparently, she’s had enough socializing for the day and has retired for the evening.
The adventurers continue to chat amongst themselves, other than Bilwin tossing a few one-liners up into the tree, most of which Lyra ignores. They agree to continue on towards Elsemar in the morning, westward on the Ha-derech. Lyra tells them that they’ll have the company of the Lamayum River for a while on their journey, until it turns southward.
Long rest….
When they wake in the morning, Lyra is nowhere to be seen, but she’s left them a cold breakfast of flatbread, honey, and more berries, along with some dried venison for the road. The adventurers eat quickly, tidy up the grove, and head towards the Ha-derech. Within a few hours, they reach the main thoroughfare and turn westward. Traffic is fairly light, especially in the early part of the day. As the day progresses into afternoon and they leave the Quiet Valley, the terrain flattens out and opens up into flatlands.
Leading the group, Gven catches sight of a dust cloud up ahead and the sound of hooves, although unlike any horse hooves she’s heard. Moments later, she can just make out colorful banners and the sounds of strange animals. Whatever it might be is moving slowly, for it takes a bit of time before Gven can tell that a man on a large white horse is leading a traveling menagerie, with some animals in wagons that even she doesn’t recognize.
“Well met, fellow travelers! I am Zarluu and this,” he waves dramatically at the caravan behind him, “is Zarluu’s Magical Menagerie!” A voice pipes up from further back in the caravan, “why is it always called Zarluu’s, why not my name?” “Because it’s my caravan and I’m on the big white horse at the front, that’s why!.”
Turning back to Gven and the others, “apologies for my companion’s inappropriate, if understandable, question. Now, where was I? Oh yes, Zarluu’s Magical Menagerie!”
Bilwin slyly asks, “While I have no qualms with those who delve into the magical arts, my friend, the last I heard, the Hand of the Wand frowns upon its use.”
“Ah, magical, but NOT arcane, my fellow entertainer! Was it not magical when you awoke this morning?”
At that point, Grindlefoot spies a creature unlike anything he’s seen before. Standing at six feet tall, the creature has skin like an alligator, stands on its two massively muscled hind legs, with a 4 foot tail providing it balance and power, and two tiny two-foot long arms just below its shoulders. Its head is large and oblong in shape, consisting mostly of its mouth with very large—and quite sharp—teeth inside. Grindlefoot runs over to the creature’s wagon and it meets him with a resounding roar while attempting to bite the cage’s bars. A large man clad in reinforced leather—most likely to protect him from the beast—knocks Grindlefoot away from the cage with a lengthy pole. “Mind y’er paws, there Tiny! Daisy’ll take ‘em off afore ye even know they’re gone!
“Baluu! Be easy with these fine folks, who might also be customers,” shouts Zarluu from his mount. The adventurers look at each other and notice the sun’s position in the sky, it’s early afternoon and they silently agree to enjoy a few hours of rest and entertainment.
Gven has an affinity for animals and dislikes seeing them in cages, especially when they’re used for entertainment purposes. Cruelty and mistreatment often goes hand-in-hand with these sort of folks. “Before we agree to watch your show, might I inspect the animals?”
“But of course, my lovely companion with the exceptionally large and sharp sword!”
Gven scans the caravan, looking for an animal with a decent amount of intelligence. She sights two gorillas, lounging in a larger wagon with bars that seem loosely held together. Walking over to them slowly, she quietly casts Speak with Animals. After several minutes of grunts, barks, and hoots, Gven is able to glean that the animals are exceptionally well cared for by Zarluu and the caretakers. The two gorillas are quite happy, other than two small requests: more bananas and that the wagon driver hit fewer bumps in the road.
“You have my thanks and my patronage, Zarluu. I look forward to seeing your animal companions perform. Oh, and the gorillas are requesting more bananas and a smoother cart ride.”
“Ah, yes, bananas are particularly difficult to come by in this part of Olam. We find them where and when we can, but we provide our furry friends with plenty of leaves, shoots, stems, and bark. We also let them search for grubs and ants when we’re far enough away from villages and towns, where the folks might get a little…spooked by a 300 pound primate they’re not used to seeing in their local forests. Give us an hour to get everything and everyone settled, then we’ll see how the animals decide to entertain you. The show is always up to them,” he said with a large smile.
The adventurers took an afternoon rest, munching on some of the venison from Lyra’s dinner the previous day. They can see Zarluu and the crew putting up an immense tent made of rope that encompasses a sizable circle. Bilwin had negotiated the cost with Zarluu, and they were about to receive a private show for 10 silver pieces.
Starting off the show, a stout dwarf with flowing blond hair and a braided flaxen beard leads out two generously sized lions. As though it was intended, their manes were a similar color as the dwarf’s hair. The lions are playful together, including the dwarf in their shenanigans, to which he gruffly says “now, now, now…ye stop that, ye foolish creatures! Y’er antics are messing up me lochs and, besides dat, y’er s’posed to be kings of the jungle, not the jokers!” The sincerity of his smile belies his reproachful words.
A short while later, once the lions have returned to their wagon domiciles, a human female brings out two tigers and a giant ball, covered in colorful leather swatches with tiny bells sewed into it. Unlike their fearsome appearance, the two hefty cats start batting around the ball, attacking it—and each other—with fervor and excitement.
After the tigers have left the show ring, a half-elf brings in an ostrich. A thrilled Grindlefoot quickly speaks up, “oh, oh, can I ride it?” And Bilwin pipes up, “I’d gladly pay coin to see that, good fellow!”
The handler says, “certainly, but I must warn you that they aren’t slow. In fact, most folks are quite surprised at their speed…and their own inability to remain astride.” The handler retrieves a harness and gently puts it over the ostrich’s head and neck, careful to move slowly and with the creature’s permission. The group can hear the half-elf saying, “go easy on the little halfling, I’ve a feeling he’s imbibed a bit more of that dwarven bard’s beer then he realizes.” He then attaches a rope from the ostrich’s harness to a pole, firmly planted in the middle of the ring. With a little assistance, Grindlefoot climbs onto the large bird and it begins to slowly walk in a circle. He exclaims “faster, faster!” and gently prompts the ostrich with his heels, as he would a horse or pony. The bird continues to gain speed over the next several minutes, running faster and faster. Finally, Grindlefoot can’t hold on any longer and gets thrown off into the grassy area surrounding the ring.
Grindlefoot wobbles back to the group, slightly dizzy and with a humongous smile on his face, “that was the fastest giant chicken I’ve ever ridden!”
Next, Daisy, the Deinonychus, enters the ring, Baluu keeping her in check with a lengthy, sturdy staff. Although he could use it with brutality, he applies it with gentle force, only enough to prompt her where he wants her to go. “Now watch this,” and he tosses a goat carcase to the creature. She attacks it with primal earnestness, revealing her aggressive nature. Zarluu explains that they rescued her from a private owner who had no idea what they were getting when they bought the animal as an infant. The menagerie is headed eastward, towards Mirganor, and will turn north from there, heading to Daisy’s native homeland, where they can find her a permanent home.
The gorillas provide the finale of the show and, oddly enough, don’t do much more than laze about the ring, eating bananas and grunting at each other. As Zarluu said, the show’s content is mostly up to the animals and what they feel like doing in that moment.
The show ends to a round of applause from the spectators. Gven, at Dolor’s prompting, approaches Zarluu and asks if, when they were in Elsemar, he saw a male half-orc who resembles her. He doesn’t recall seeing anyone by that description and resemblance, but admits that it’s a large city and they don’t typically venture far from their wagons and arena.
With a few hours of daylight still remaining, the travelers decide to continue walking westward, towards Elsemar. Grindlefoot is enamored by the ostrich and keeps zooming off ahead, pretending to be the fast-paced animal. Little do the others know that he’s practicing. After a few hours of walking, the group finds a comfortable spot a few hundred feet off the road and makes camp for the night.
Long rest….
With the last watch of the night, Grindlefoot witnesses a glorious sunrise. “Was not waking this morning magical?”
Before the others awake, he wild shapes into an ostrich and gives out a loud screach, instantly waking the others, before taking off as fast as he can down the road. The others, suddenly woken from their slumber, watch the large bird in amazement and then wonder where Grindlefoot might have gotten to. After they’ve eaten breakfast and packed up camp, Grindlefoot comes walking down the road, from the west. “Everything was quiet during my watch and I wanted to, um, stretch my legs.” He’s smiling in a way that Gven and Dolor quickly understand what just happened, giving him a knowing nod and tossing him a few pieces of venison to eat while they walk. Bilwin excitedly says, “you should have seen it, an ostrich ran by the camp making an awful noise that woke us up!”
Around mid-day, the group comes across a trail leading off into a small patch of woods that seems lightly used and a little overgrown. With curiosity, Dolor asks the group, “mind if I take a peek?” Gven says “sure,” but decides to wait on the Ha-derech. Grindlefoot decides to stay with her, while Bilwin and Mond head down the trail behind Dolor.
After a few minutes, they reach a bend in the trail where a crow caws at them from high up in a tree. It caws several more times, until Dolor responds “you talking to us, fella?” It goes silent for a few seconds then flies to another tree, a little ways up the trail. This process repeats itself over and over for a few more minutes, until the small group reaches a dilapidated old cabin, sorely in disrepair. The talkative crow lands on the roof, just above the front door, which is attached by a single hinge, providing tenous protection from the elements and wild animals.
It’s apparent that the shack has been abandoned for quite some time, likely years. Opening the rickety front door and walking inside, they see that it’s a single room cabin with a bed, table, kitchen area, and, most interesting to Mond, a bookcase filled with arcane-looking texts. On the small bed rests a male human with the faint remains of a long beard, wearing a decaying robe, who looks to have been dead for many years—most likely due to natural causes. Casting Detect Magic, Mond can tell that the man was studying wizardry.
They continue to investigate the small cabin, which is orderly and—despite the copius dust—fairly clean for having been abandoned and unused for so many years. Dolor investigates the bookcase, finding most of the books and scrolls to be unreadable, worn beyond use, with the exception of a single scroll. He hands the scroll to Mond, who identifies it as a Potion of Luminous Vitality. They agree that it would serve the group best if they give it to Gven.
Being an enthusiastic brewer, Bilwin pays close attention to the alchemical tubes and beakers covering the table. He determines that whatever the old wizard was trying to do, it wasn’t to create anything of an alcoholic nature. Acknowledging his misfortune, Bilwin takes a lengthy swig from his ever-present beer stein.
Seeing that the crow has entered the cabin and is quietly observing them, Bilwin embraces his Animal Handling skill and begins talking to the bird. “Was this your friend? Did you bring us here to help in some way?” The crow drops down to the bed and begins gently nudging the man’s hand. Bilwin can sense the bird’s sadness and that it wants closure. “Alright, little buddy. We’ll do what we can for your companion.” Bilwin turns to Dolor and Mond and with a serious look on his face, that they’ve never seen before, “we should bury this body and put his soul to rest, along with comforting his feathered companion.” They concur and Dolor jogs back to the Ha-derech to retrieve Gven and Grindlefoot.
Once they laid the old man to rest, the group gathered around his grave, with the crow observing from a tree branch close by. Bilwin clears his throat and lifts his beer stein, “I didn’t know you personally. You lived here on your own, but not alone. Your loyal friend asked us here to help see you on your way, so here we are. It seems you liked to brew things and you knew what you were about. You have my deepest respect. We thank you for this, your last brew. We will use it well. May Hanseath meet you at the gate and see you safely to the Heart of the Mountain and beyond.” With his final words, Bilwin takes a large drink and pours the rest of the stein out, over the grave, honoring the soul that has left this world for another.
Daylight is almost gone and the group decides to make camp for the night by the trail. As they’re settling in to a small dinner around the campfire, a crow lands on a branch close to Bilwin and caws. The others could swear that it was directed at the dwarf as he turns to the bird, “we’re headed east in the morning, my high-flying wanderer. I wish you warm winds to lift your wings on your travels.”
Long rest….
The group wakes shortly after sunrise, partakes in a quick breakfast, breaks camp, and begins walking westward. After a few hours of traveling, Bilwin notices the crow following them, occasionally landing in trees along the side of the Ha-derech. It looks like they have another companion.
Approaching midday, they reach the crest of a knoll and see Elsemar off in the near distance. They can see the city gates, the taller buildings within the city, and wagons containing all sorts of merchandise and materials rolling along the road. They’ll reach the gates before nightfall, when their search for Gven’s brother, Torp, will begin in earnest.