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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(contact)" data-source="post: 1117387" data-attributes="member: 41">A double update for the hell of it, and one in which Taran doesn't even curse.-----84— The Anvil and the Hard PlaceUpon their return from Cormyr, Merkatha approaches the Tar-Ilou brothers during the evening meal about going after the mind-flayer complex within the Delve, but is rebuffed.“Who cares?” Taran asks, his mouth full.  He gulps from a jug of wine.  “Illithid are small fry.  We’re going after Ceredain.”Enraged, Merkatha sputters and curses, but Thelbar puts his foot down.  “Frankly, we feel that it will be too dangerous for you, Merkatha.  Winterbeard gave you good advice—you should have no further truck with Ceredain or her Delve.  We are compelled by goodwill and by our faith to return, but you have clamed no such service.  We will honor all promises made, and return your friend to life if he is willing, but we can take you with us no further.  Should you wish to remain amongst the drow here, you are welcome, but of course you are a free woman and may do as you see fit;” Thelbar regards her keenly.  “Save for returning to Kor’En Eamor.”-----Storm’s Rise in the summertime is a serene and ghostly place.  The air is thin enough to provoke a slight light-headedness upon arrival, and the mountain air is pleasantly crisp, despite the warm sun.  The Southern side of town has an unrivaled view of the downward slope, and Taran fancies that he can see as far as Eveningstar.  Dawn in the mountains is a glorious time, as the warm pink glow strikes the mountainside and washes a reflection across the town.  The sight inspires the hearts of all three of the adventurers, and Elgin Trezler says, “this is why we love Lathander.”  The town is so quiet, it is difficult to believe that a gate to the dwarven Hell is no more than one mile distant.The brothers arrive with a portable hole filled with the arms and armor taken from the fallen duergar city.  At least the guard, feeble though it may be, will be well-equipped.  Taran is able to find the old man tasked with watching the bridge and giving a first warning against goblin raiders, or prowling hippogriffs-- he shows the man what he has brought, selecting a lavishly enameled and carved helmet for the fellow.The elderly guardsman tells Taran that since the party’s last visit, Winterbeard has had a visitor.  Another dwarf, he says, and they’ve been locked up in Old Winterbeard’s place for days now.  Taran describes Alvodar, Ceredain’s Ukerak, but the old man says, “No, no.  This was a plain-lookin’ feller.  A working dwarf—I could tell by his hands.”The party immediately travels to Winterbeard’s home, and they find that there is a strange dwarf sitting in Winterbeard’s parlor, but Winterbeard himself is not present.  Thelbar begins to introduce himself, but the dwarf cuts him off.  “I am Veldegan, and I am here about Moradin’s business.  I know who you are, and I’ve been waiting for you.”“This dwarf is not of this world,” Thelbar thinks to Taran, regarding Veldegan with his arcane sight.  “He is a divine creature, and a powerful one.”“At last,” Taran says.  “Somebody who knows what the hell he’s talking about.  We have more questions than answers about Ceredain, and we need some advice.”“I don’t have any ‘advice’ for you,” Veldegan says.  “In lives past, you have served my god, and been counted as friends to the dwarves.  In memory of this, I have been sent to ask you to leave this place and never return.”“I see,” Thelbar says.  “And where is Sonora, now?” Thelbar asks, referring to Winterbeard by his ancient name.“He rests with Moradin,” Veldegan says firmly.  “The soul-forger smiles upon your deeds.  He has worked with your mother, and co-existed with her for a long time.  Her doctrines do not threaten Him, nor do they threaten His people.”  The dwarf leans forward in his seat, and assumes an attitude of grandfatherly patronage.  “There are considerations beyond your faith at work here, and this is a family affair.  Your goddess has made many enemies, and she will need allies in the coming days, and Moradin is prepared to stand by her in this time of trouble.  He will forgive past slights, and will seal the gate to this world, but you must agree to leave Ceredain be.”Taran frowns.  “We have some unfinished business.  We need to retrieve a teifling’s soul to fulfill a promise, and we want the Ukerak.”“You may not have the Ukerak.  Alvodar Bluebeard works in the forge he has built, and has earned his fate.”“Well, we don’t see things that way,” Taran says.“There are things that are beyond mortal understanding, and Kor’En Eamor is one of them,” the dwarf replies.  “You may not have the Ukerak.  Moradin has spoken.”“You are succinct,” Thelbar says slowly.  “I am, of course, aware that you are bound by the taboos your god has put upon the dwarven first-home, but without violating those boundaries; what can you tell us about Kor-En Eamor?”“I can tell you that Ceredain conspired against the Soul-Forger and committed adultery and treason.  She warped heavenly law for a mortal’s ambition, and such a slight may never be forgiven or forgotten.  I am here to offer you an alliance between our faiths, but the other side of the hammer is this:  defy Moradin’s judgment, and your goddess will have an enemy as eternal as a mountain and implacable as true steel.”  The dwarf pauses while the magnitude of his threat settles in.  “A decision has been given into your hands.  You are your goddesses’ representatives in this, and what actions you take will have profound and long-lasting consequences.  Think deeply, and think well.  I will await your answer here.”-----“Who is Alvodar to us, really?” Taran asks as the three adventurers convene in the town’s inn.  “I don’t like the idea that we abandon a former companion to this hell, no matter what he has done. We protect our own.”“The mistakes of a lifetime seem a poor excuse for eternal torment,” Elgin says, “but we are not certain that he would even accept the pasoun, should we be able to wrest his phylactery away from Ceredain.”“He could be an enemy, for all we know,” Thelbar says.  “We knew him, and may have adventured with him, but that alone does not make him a true companion.”“And the aid of the dwarves could be crucial for us, if it is to be war,” Elgin says.“What would Ishlok do?” Taran wonders.  “Hell, what would Kyreel say?”Elgin regards both of his companions, and places an arm on each of their shoulders.  “I am prepared to ask Lathander for a miracle, that the Memory Charm might be lifted from you.  I have thought for some time that if you are to understand the role you play, you must have full knowledge of your past.  Will you agree?”“I do not know, Elgin,” Thelbar says.  “Perhaps some things are best left unknown.”“But we can’t make a smart choice without all the facts,” Taran says.  “And this isn’t about us anymore.  It’s about the gods-damned dwarves, and the faithful, and maybe it’s about our friends who have fallen by the wayside.”  Taran looks beseechingly at his brother, showing for the first time in Elgin’s experience a pleading glance.  “We need this.  Please.  We need to know.”That night, as the brothers Tar-Ilou prepare for sleep, Elgin Trezler calls upon Lathander for a miracle.</blockquote>

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