[rest and recuperation for all in the ruined tower room; broaching the cask, and a taste of Mareval Amber]
[the gravelled parapet, and beneath a cover of wood branches, a circular green metal table; the black book catches fire in the sunlight, charring and writhing strangely, its pages charring to crumbling ash]
[shared tales, and much talk with Bastian Pelors: a fountain in Mareval, and a wizard’s marsh-map and a quest to the Promontory to find… what, exactly? Bastian can’t remember; a lingering imperative: three friends in peril; the need to rest]
[descent through the silent tower, kobold and orc bodies piled and stiff; beneath the blacksmith’s shop, descent into the dungeons; an arched entryway, dank smells of death; runemarks over the arches that divide rooms; Asphodel maps the way, relieved that the marks are consistent room to room]
[dark distances and many open doors; rooms full of shadows, flickering by the light of found torches; a torture chamber, and a lingering kobold for killing; a corridor of oak-and-iron-doored cells; collapsed (or battered?) walls between two; locked doors expertly handled by Declan]
[in three cells, three skeletons, still shackled to the walls: a human fighter named Mirian, a gnome illusionist named Carlian, a dwarven fighter named Min; Bastian’s companions, killed in that order, about 6 months apart; how long was Bastian kept here? he is consumed by grief and implacable; Asphodel and Grignr are thoughtful; what happened, for so long? the decision is made: the adventurers will journey North to the Pelor Chapter House in Roduvai, and return to the dungeon later, with reinforcements]
[ascent to cleansing daylight, and a journey south to Ygor’s for rest; Ygor’s clothes fit Bastian well enough; he gifts Bastian with those, and with a Great Mace of his own design; then he visits Barkshead for other supplies; Cleo meanwhile keeps the adventurers — particularly Grignr — entertained with stories of her ninja exploits]
[the adventuerers depart with glad hearts, and wary news that Declan’s father has stepped up the security of his shop; everyone decides to go on to Roduvai]
[detour to the Farmhouse for unfinished business… following Francois’ interest and tail-swashing, Asphodel searches the garden; discovers a skeleton of a human stretched across the middle of the strange, broad-leafed ground-cover; the skeleton’s hand clutches a silk bag with a familiar six-pointed leaf design]
[in the barn, the zombie kobold paces restlessly; Bastian rubs his hands, breathing on them like a dead-lift strongman before a heft, and then blasts the zombie into pieces; the barn is briefly searched, revealing the zombie’s silver collar and the skeletons of many dead cattle; the barn is burned]
[a careful search of the house reveals more details; butter-churns stacked in the common room; clothes and blankets in the stores, and bottles of beer and cleaning oils; in the bedroom, an ebony-handled dagger is removed from the skeleton’s chest; the dagger’s blade etched in chased curlicue designs; Grignr carefully carries the skeleton downstairs to the yard]
[outside again, the adventurers dig graves and for the skeletons. they depart before nightfall]