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[howandwhy99]

Exhausted from the long ride and events in Hamfast Darius directed the hauling of supplies to Inn’s sleeping quarters upstairs. When Kayla’s whereabouts were explained to him he started hiking to the Wizard’s tower just outside town. Some of the team followed along. Darius ordered Pax back to guard the horses. At the tower the crowd of visitors huddled in a downstairs sitting room. Kayla made introductions again. Catching the old man’s attentions Darius launched into an explanation of everything that had happened since their team had first met and started exploring Outpost Xavier and Quesquaton below. It took some time to tell as he included the details about Elion (now a rat), Marevak (his lost Elven brother), the fire, the disappearance of Lady Devereaux, the team’s new titles at the Keep, Father Ben’s absence, and the petitioning of the dwarven troops. While he did not remember every detail he did explain their tardiness due to Hamfast’s goblin infestation.

By the time Darius had finished it was late evening and pitch black outside. Balorn was lost in thought about what he had just heard. Realizing they were in the presence of a powerful wizard the other members started asking him to examine some of the items they had found during their adventures. Waving his arms about and murmuring under his breath, Balorn examined each of the items in turn. A few were magical, but he was especially taken with Darius’s ornamental dagger, which had been found in Zelligar’s quarters. When they finally left for the evening Kayla accompanied them to the Inn. At the door her mentor handed her two books on magic to read during her journeys.

All along the walk back Darius could not help but think he had missed a number of important details in his retelling. At the stables he spied Pax and Ormand the Redd up in the loft. They were taking turns watching the horses for the night. The others were already headed upstairs to sleep. Darius saw Cyrus snoozing near the bar drenched in ale like a drowned rat. “Wait! Kayla. What did you do with the rat?”
“I gave it to Balorn. He is going to try and return Elion to his normal form.” She answered.
“But didn’t you say you were contacted by Elion in the forest?” Kayla nodded. “Couldn’t that message have been real? What if that rat is a spy? Or possibly even Barth?”
Kayla’s eyes went wide with realization. Shouting and pounding on doors the entire team started assembling in ragtag fashion.

Darius reached the tower door first. He pulled on the handle, but it would not budge. Kayla was behind him and whispered something. The door flung open. Darius quickly searched inside. Finding the sitting room empty he crashed through the opposite downstairs door. Beyond was a bizarre conflagration of glasswork, shelves, and jars. Kayla was bounding up the stairs already behind him. As quick as ever Dram shot into the tower. “Upstairs!” Darius called to him. The large man stomped up as Darius followed. At the top landing was an open doorframe but within it was a plane of stars. It was like nothing Darius had ever seen before. The stars moved as if he were flying into them. Kayla was nowhere to be found.

Dram and Darius hurled themselves into the star field. Both bounced back. Pain jolted through their bodies when the touched it. Dalin climbed the stairs behind them. Below the rest of the team was trying to squeeze their way into the tower. “What in Thor’s name are we doing!?” shouted out Dram.
“We need to save Balorn!” Darius shouted back. “The rat is not Elion. Grrr... We need to get through that door!” He pointed to the stars. Dalin tried hurling himself through and disappeared. Ormand the Redd and Pax climbed up the stairs at the same time. Darius leapt forward and closed his eyes. He was not shocked this time. Somehow he shook off the magic and tumbled to his feet on the far side. Raising his hammer high he saw Balorn, Kayla, and Dalin standing around a stinking pile of goo in the center of the room. It was much larger than the rat Darius remembered. The rest of the room had bookshelves in every wall. More books were piled in shelves and on podiums as well.

Balorn dismissed the star field behind him. When those in the hall entered, he explained how the rat creature had not been Elion as they suspected. Balorn called it a ‘shapechanger’. He had neglected to tell them about hearing rumors of shapechanger activity of late in Margrave County. The story of Barth and the Dragon before now confirmed their meddlings. He luckily dispatched the rat before it could cause any harm. Balorn explained how the creatures were also much like rats: where there was one, more would surely be nearby. With the commotion over he handed a few more books to Kayla. These were all about shapechangers and shifters of all stripes. Then he led them out his tower. Below Balorn noticed the door to his lab broken down and glared in frustration. After everyone exited he closed the front door without a word of parting.