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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 2338763" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 414Despite his darkvision, Arun was nevertheless startled when Dana appeared out of the storm, approximately an hour later.  Each thought that the other looked tired and disheveled; neither had gotten much sleep in the last twenty-four hours.  Neither spoke, the paladin escorting the priestess into the fortified tower that they’d chosen as their new base of operations before returning to his vigil.  The templar, Beorna, was still likely atop the tower, the two dwarves alert for another assault from their enemies.   Following the disaster at the Lucky Monkey, they’d shifted their headquarters to a small rural community in the Western Heartlands, at a crossroads in the sparsely-populated region known as the Fields of the Dead.  This site was an ideal target for the teleport spells of Cal and Dana, for it had been their home for many years.  The settlement had been founded by Cal and Lok following their return from the Abyss almost twenty years ago, and since then had grown into a considerable town with over a thousand permanent residents.  The region was still rather unsettled, and so a twenty foot high wall of real stone surrounded the place, with watchers who patrolled its length at all times of day and night alert to dangers that might threaten from without.  A slender tower fifty feet tall was the most distinctive feature.  The structure looked sleek and almost unnatural, as if crafted by a sculptor from a single block of stone.  In some ways it had; urdunnir from Lok’s home in the North had participated in its construction.  It was commonly known as “Travelers’ Rest,” although the town proper was named Ember Vale.  Both the paladin and Beorna had expressed concern about “abandoning” the refugees from Cauldron.  But Cal had responded with irrefutable logic; their enemies were interested primarily in seeking them out, not with inflicting further harm on the unfortunate survivors of the volcano city.  The victims at The Lucky Monkey had been collateral damage, and their presence at the refugee camp would only have encouraged additional attacks.    Of course, even here, over a thousand miles from Cauldron, they were not wholly secure.  But even before they had come to the aid of the people of the shackled city the Travelers had earned a number of enemies, and in the course of the construction of the tower both Cal and Dana had infused it with a number of magical protections.  The place was secure against scrying and other forms of magical detection, and was further hallowed with an enchantment that prevented magical teleportation into the citadel.  One of the improvements made by the urdunnir was the excavation of a secure chamber deep under the place, lined with many feet of solid stone, just outside of the hallow’s effect.  This place, secured from the remainder of the stronghold both by heavy mundane portals and numerous glyphs and wards, allowed the veteran adventurers to enter and exit the place conveniently by magical means as necessary. Dana stepped through the foyer—also fortified against assault—and into the richly apportioned great room that took up much of the first floor of the tower.  The place was maybe thirty feet square, but it had the look of an intimate study.  Plush armchairs lined the walls adjacent to numerous bookshelves packed with volumes.  A small fireplace added a merry glow to the place, augmented by a half-dozen brass lamps that contained continual flames, now shuttered in the deep of the night.  A worn table that had clearly seen many years of use occupied the center of the room; a forgotten tea service still lay upon it at one end. There was one occupant in the chamber.  Dannel was sitting in one of the chairs near the fire, one of Cal’s books laid open in his lap.  The elf had not unshuttered the lamps, using only the firelight to read.  The flames shone on his narrow features, glimmering in the dark eyes that looked up as she entered. “Have Cal and Mole returned?” she asked.  “No,” Dannel said, rising.  He raised an eyebrow at her disheveled, soaked condition, the streaks of mud covering her feet, legs, and hands.  He brought a blanket from the back of a nearby chair and laid it over her as she sat down in the chair on the far side of the hearth.  “I imagine that they remained overnight, so that Cal could recover his teleportation spells.”Dana nodded, expecting as much.  Despite the burning need to act that filled her, the chair seemed to embrace her, luring her into sleep.  Shaking her head, she forced herself to remain alert.  Thoughts of Benzan, and what might be happening to him even now, helped her in that regard.  She doubted if sleep would be welcome, right now, with the dreams that would surely come. Dannel noticed her agitation.  “What did you find out?”Dana did not look up from watching the fire.  “He is being held at the asylum of Skullrot, on the prison plane of Carceri.”“Do you know the location of this place?”Dana shook her head, suddenly weary again.  At that moment she looked older than he’d ever seen her, the elf thought.  “I attempted a commune, immediately after discerning his location.  I wasn’t able to get much information.  Apparently there is some sort of magical veil over the place, clouding its location, and any information about anyone or anything within.  I could learn nothing about Benzan, except that he is there.”“Hidden even from the gods?” “I suspect that whatever enchantment wards the place is more masking my spell than their knowledge,” she admitted.  “Cal would know better, I think.”“What were you able to learn?”She did then finally look up at him.  “That Adimarchus is exerting a greater influence outside his prison.”“It’s clear that he was driving the Cagewrights, and their madness, at least,” the elf noted. “I asked if he would be able to escape his bondage, if we did nothing to intervene.”“And?”“There was a long pause.  At first I thought that the spell had been broken… but then I got my answer.  Yes.”“Predicting the future is never a sure business, even for the gods,” Dannel reminded her. “Were your researches able to offer any insight?” Dana asked, indicating the small stack of books on the end table beside Dannel’s chair. Dannel nodded.  “I wasn’t able to find many references to Adimarchus in the literature on the planes.”  The elf indicated the handful of books from Cal’s library that he’d been reading.  “He was an angel that led a revolt in Celestia, as Wiejeron told us.  The sources are unclear as to his status in the hierarchy of the greater fiends, but he was likely not short of the status of prince, and may have even been analogous to a demigod.  He is said to have ruled an Abyssal layer, but was betrayed by one he thought to be an ally.”“And this layer is Occipitus.”  “Indeed.”“If Adimarchus does escape, then your friend there may be in trouble.”“Sending him a message may be difficult.  I don’t even know how we’d get back there.  Kaurophon brought us over, on our last visit.”“You’d need to obtain the right focus, in order to facilitate a plane shift.  But we have a more immediate destination.”Dannel nodded.  “Skullrot, on Carceri.  But how will we get there?”“Cal believes that the amulet that we took from the drow is a planar transportation device, keyed to Carceri.  I can use it as a focus for my plane shift, and bring up to eight of us across.  As for finding Skullrot… we’ll have to search once we arrive.  Someone there has to know where it is located.”“So just grab a passing fiend, and beat the information out of it?”Her gaze turned icy.  “We will find a way.  We have no other options.  If you prefer, you can return to Cauldron, and we will handle this matter.”“That is not what I meant, Dana.  We are together, all of us… Mole, Arun… likely Beorna as well, although I have not spoken to her on the matter.  But you saved us, saved Cauldron from destruction, and prevented a planar apocalypse.  We will not forget Benzan, do not fear.”Dana lowered her head, rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hand.  “I know, Dannel.  You have been a great help… I… I know that you have suffered a loss as well.”“I loved her,” Dannel said simply. She reached out and took his hand.  “I know.”After a long moment, he spoke again.  “Do you think that we will find Adimarchus there as well?”“I do not know.  Benzan is there, and that is all I need to know.”“You need to get some rest, Dana.  I can prepare a draught, if you like, to help you sleep.”“No, that won’t be necessary.  I’m not a total fool, Dannel.”“No one who knew you at all would say that about you.” She rose, overcoming the lure of the chair through sheer effort of will.  Pulling her still-damp cloak around her body, she started toward the spiral stair that led up to the quarters higher in the tower. “We’ll get him back, Dana.”She looked back at him and managed a sad smile, then walked up the stairs, leaving the elf alone with a troubled look on his face.</blockquote>

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