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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7202957" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 74As they entered the village it was clear that recent events still had the population on edge.  They saw several clusters of villagers engaged in conversation as they approached the inn, but on seeing the adventurers they quickly separated and went about their own business.  That business all seemed to be in locations far away from the strangers.“What’s wrong with them?” Bredan asked.  “You’d think we hadn’t saved their village a few times over.”“They are uncertain about how you will react to the news of the boy,” Xeeta said.  “Or maybe they saw the dwarf’s face and assume we already know.”Kosk muttered something under his breath, but his scowl eased only fractionally under their scrutiny.Before they could reach the Gray Oak Inn, Erron Laddrick came into view from behind the sprawling structure and hailed them.  The sheriff wore his sword and looked like he’d already had a long day.“You heard the news, I suppose,” he said when he got close enough to speak without raising his voices.“We are just glad that the boy is safe,” Quellan said.“We also have news,” Glori said.  She quickly provided an overview of their encounters, including the cyclops and the orcs.  She left the details of what they’d found in the cave complex vague, and didn’t mention the lamp.Laddrick’s expression grew more concerned as she spoke.  “First kobolds, then goblins, and now orcs?  And a giant?”“The orcs were the remnants of a group that invaded the elves’ lands on the far side of the Dry Hills,” Quellan said.  “The cyclops remains a threat, but I believe it headed deeper into the hills rather than in this direction.  It was wounded, and not looking for a fight.”“I’ll have word sent to each of the other villages in the area, just in case,” Laddrick said.  He gave them all a looking-over, his gaze lingering on Bredan, who looked like he might fall down.  “You look like you’ve had a rough couple of days.”“We are used to such things,” Quellan said.“Well, I am sure the Village Council will want a full report, when you’ve had a chance to rest and get something to eat.  I’ll pass on what you told me.  I’d ask that you keep quiet about the giant, at least until I’ve had a chance to warn some people.  I’d prefer to avoid a panic in the village.”“Understood, sheriff,” Quellan said.Laddrick had barely taken his leave and they had not yet continued on to the inn when someone else came rushing to meet them.  Kosk spotted him first, “Here we go,” he said.Nordrum looked as casually disheveled as ever, but he also looked like he’d gotten hardly any more rest than the adventurers had over the last few days.  His eyes flicked to each of them as if he could see what they carried.  “Did you find anything?  Was there anything there?”Glori shared a look with each of the others and said, “Oh, we found something.”“Could we maybe do this in the private room in the inn, rather than in the street?” Kosk asked.  “At least there we can get some ale.  You’re buying, sage,” he added.Innkeeper Beedlebrim seemed happy enough to see them, though the villagers in the common room seemed as ill at ease as the others they’d encountered outside.  He offered food, hot water, and towels for washing, but when Nordrum looked like he was about to explode at any further delay they just asked for the use of his back room and a few pitchers of ale.The sage fidgeted by the fireplace until Beedlbrim came in with a platter laden with two pitchers, half a dozen mugs, and a plate of steaming rolls.  Bredan barely waited until the innkeeper set the platter down on the table before he stuffed one of the rolls into his mouth.“Mfrmph, dat’s good,” he mumbled through the hot bread.“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Glori chided.  Kosk filled a mug and drained it before filling a cup for each of them.“You were successful, I know it,” Nordrum said.  “What did you find?”“I hope you brought your purse, sage,” Kosk said.“We found a lamp,” Quellan said.  “A bronze lamp.”“It was guarded by some skeletons and a ghast,” Kosk said.  “The latter, it didn’t go down easy.”Quellan took off his pack and dug into it.  “We believe that the lamp is an aid to divination magic,” he said.“The Lamp of Kharduzz,” Nordrum breathed, his face transported from eagerness to awed joy.  He bent over the table as Quellan took out the cloth bundle and unwrapped it to reveal the artifact.It didn’t look like much sitting there on the table in the daylight spilling in through the window.  In fact, Bredan thought, it sort of looked like a piece of junk.  He took one of the mugs and drank swallows of ale, trying not to think about his headache.Glori was watching the sage intently.  “Is that what you were looking for?” she asked.Nordum smiled and looked up at her.  “Indeed, the Lamp is an exceptional find.  Well worth the reward I offered.”  He reached into one of the pockets of his robe and drew out a small, tightly-bound bag and a small scroll tucked into a leather tube.  “There are a hundred gold coins here, and a writ of credit for the remainder that any merchant house in Adelar will honor.”“Well then,” Glori said, reaching out to take the bag and the scroll.  She looked over at Xeeta and said, “Hey, maybe he can help with that book you found…”Nordrum’s hand shot out and locked on the bard’s wrist, holding it tight.  Glori looked up at him in surprise, and Quellan stepped forward with a look on his face that had the sage releasing her quickly.  “My apologies.  A book?  You found a book at the site?  May I… may I see it?”The companions shared another look—the sage was almost trembling with anticipation—but Glori deliberately put the bag of coins and the writ of credit away before saying, “Don’t get excited, it wasn’t exactly in good shape and the contents were completely unreadable.”Bredan’s left eye twitched, but he didn’t say anything.Nordrum’s hands fidgeted until he grasped hold of his robe, hard enough to turn his knuckles white.  “Yes, of course.  But, still.  Written works from this era are so rare, and… if I could just see?  If it’s a matter of money, of course I would be happy to double the reward.  Triple it.  That is… if it’s anything salvageable, of course.”Glori looked at each of the others before she turned to Xeeta and nodded.  The tiefling, still wearing the concealing features of her alter self spell, drew out her pack and carefully extracted the wrapped parcel inside.The sage watched every small motion.  It was as if the others had ceased to exist.  But as she began to unwrap the blanket she’d folded the book into for protection she frowned.  “That’s odd,” she said.“What is it?” Glori said, turning to look.  They all did, forcing Nordrum to crane his neck up to see.In answer the sorceress stepped forward to the table and lifted the blanket.  Nordrum lunged out to catch the book, but all that came out was a cascade of dust.  There were tiny bits of matter in it, but mostly it was just dust, a fine gray mound of it that gathered on the table.  Nordrum stared at it as if someone had just told him his child had drowned in the river.“Like I said, not in good shape,” Glori said.With an obvious effort Nordrum tore his attention from the remains of the book.  “And… you said it was unreadable.  That means you looked at it, yes?”“Yes,” Glori said.  “The pages were blank.”“Whatever text might have once been on it had long since faded away,” Xeeta said.  “The conditions where it was found were extremely poor, moist air and cold.”  But her eyes flicked to the pile of debris, and she frowned.“Alas,” Nordrum said.  “Alas.”  He turned back to the lamp, running a finger along the stained metal.“Yeah, well,” Kosk said, putting his mug down on the table with enough force to draw their attention.  One of the pitchers was completely empty, and the second one close to it.  “If that concludes our business, I’ve got an empty belly and a second skin of dust and grime I’d like to shed.”  With that they departed, leaving the sage bent low over his new treasure, examining every detail in the waning afternoon sunlight.</blockquote>

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