Dwarven Intrigue
Iskar said that their news from the Deep Delve would have to be debated before the dwarven clan’s council. A meeting had been called for the following evening, to which they had all been invited. In response to a question from Dermot, the high priest indicated that the decision to call the council had been made while they were exploring the Deep Delve. Rahnee immediately expressed her belief that this was part of the plot against Darrow. Shanni and the others agreed with this assessment, given what had happened with the unwanted gem.
This was all news to Iskar, so Darrow and Shanni explained what had happened with Yarran planting one of the clan’s treasures on Shanni. The high priest immediately understood that it would have meant death for her if found in her possession. The priest thought it was just that Shanni had stealthily returned it to Yarran. The diminutive rogue said she found it quite odd that the dwarf – who Darrow confirmed was a vocal supporter of the “Redeemer” faction – seemed to want to cause harm to one of Darrow’s friends. Darrow brought up Toran Goldfinder as potentially behind it, which got a black look from Iskar; the high priest had not thought Toran would stoop so low as to steal from the clan treasury. (Toran could no doubt justify to himself such an act, given his alleged plan to later fortuitously recover the gem from Shanni and embarrass Darrow - perhaps fatally? - in the process. I share some of Shanni's confusion and skepticism regarding the intent of the ploy; however, Yarran seems like a true believer and therefore, sadly, could be easily manipulated by someone who couches their actions in terms of the greater good for the cause, regardless of the faulty logic behind it. I do not ignore the lesson for myself, either, being a member of an Order with strong beliefs and rules. Perhaps this serves as a warning - an example from a different time and place - of what may happen if one does not think for oneself when dealing with a person of authority. --C)
All agreed that the upcoming council meeting was likely when the plotters would try to implicate Darrow and his companions. Iskar asked them if they would attend, which elicited various reactions. Darrow said he did not wish to, again asking if he could just challenge someone to single combat and have done with it. Shanni also was quite reluctant, while Dermot was pensive about the prospect. Aerikoth, for his part, expressed eagerness at the prospect of participating in such a rare occurrence for outsiders. Rahnee agreed with Iskar that it would be difficult to decline the invitation, in any case, and said that it would be good to use it to turn the tables on their enemies. The high priest asked them to meet with him the next evening, shortly before the council session; they were free to do as they wished before then. The group then retired to the guest quarters.
The next morning, on Ches 13, Rahnee and Shanni, somewhat disappointingly, sorted out what they had on hand to wear for the council meeting. Darrow and Dermot came by, with the dwarf suggesting they head to the kitchens for a breakfast ale, although Dermot and Shanni were more interested in food. Darrow then knocked on Aerikoth’s door and after a pause, the wizard appeared and joined them. They made their way to the clan’s eating hall, where Ironhelm ale was the first to be served to all, with water for the ladies and food coming rather later. At Rahnee’s prompting, Darrow taught the others how to say “thank you” properly in dwarven.
Having finished his prodigious meal early, Darrow went off to find his father Boirin, one of the senior guards for Prince Dalgan, while the others wrapped up their breakfast. He returned a short while later, explaining that his father would come visit them in the guest quarters before the evening meal, once he got off duty. Darrow was optimistic that his father would have some useful information for them, as the guards heard a lot of the noble talk.
With the whole day before them, the party eventually decided to head back to the mountains and continue pursuing the matter of the dragonscale. The first task would be to eliminate the pack of winter wolves on the trail Helrud had mentioned. Telling the clan greeter on the way out that they were going for a stroll, they made their way back to the cliff face by the cave, which they ascended again with relative ease – this time including Aerikoth, as the wizard had been busy studying spells during the first trip.
The group made their way to Helrud’s camp, where the dwarf was pleasantly surprised to see the addition to the party of Aerikoth and his glowing staff. He warned them not to take the wolfpack lightly and said that he would wait for them to bring back news of their victory. Assuming they were successful, Helrud could then explore further into the mountains. He asked them to return at dawn the following morning, assuming everything went well, and he would then show them a secret path.
Iskar said that their news from the Deep Delve would have to be debated before the dwarven clan’s council. A meeting had been called for the following evening, to which they had all been invited. In response to a question from Dermot, the high priest indicated that the decision to call the council had been made while they were exploring the Deep Delve. Rahnee immediately expressed her belief that this was part of the plot against Darrow. Shanni and the others agreed with this assessment, given what had happened with the unwanted gem.
This was all news to Iskar, so Darrow and Shanni explained what had happened with Yarran planting one of the clan’s treasures on Shanni. The high priest immediately understood that it would have meant death for her if found in her possession. The priest thought it was just that Shanni had stealthily returned it to Yarran. The diminutive rogue said she found it quite odd that the dwarf – who Darrow confirmed was a vocal supporter of the “Redeemer” faction – seemed to want to cause harm to one of Darrow’s friends. Darrow brought up Toran Goldfinder as potentially behind it, which got a black look from Iskar; the high priest had not thought Toran would stoop so low as to steal from the clan treasury. (Toran could no doubt justify to himself such an act, given his alleged plan to later fortuitously recover the gem from Shanni and embarrass Darrow - perhaps fatally? - in the process. I share some of Shanni's confusion and skepticism regarding the intent of the ploy; however, Yarran seems like a true believer and therefore, sadly, could be easily manipulated by someone who couches their actions in terms of the greater good for the cause, regardless of the faulty logic behind it. I do not ignore the lesson for myself, either, being a member of an Order with strong beliefs and rules. Perhaps this serves as a warning - an example from a different time and place - of what may happen if one does not think for oneself when dealing with a person of authority. --C)
All agreed that the upcoming council meeting was likely when the plotters would try to implicate Darrow and his companions. Iskar asked them if they would attend, which elicited various reactions. Darrow said he did not wish to, again asking if he could just challenge someone to single combat and have done with it. Shanni also was quite reluctant, while Dermot was pensive about the prospect. Aerikoth, for his part, expressed eagerness at the prospect of participating in such a rare occurrence for outsiders. Rahnee agreed with Iskar that it would be difficult to decline the invitation, in any case, and said that it would be good to use it to turn the tables on their enemies. The high priest asked them to meet with him the next evening, shortly before the council session; they were free to do as they wished before then. The group then retired to the guest quarters.
The next morning, on Ches 13, Rahnee and Shanni, somewhat disappointingly, sorted out what they had on hand to wear for the council meeting. Darrow and Dermot came by, with the dwarf suggesting they head to the kitchens for a breakfast ale, although Dermot and Shanni were more interested in food. Darrow then knocked on Aerikoth’s door and after a pause, the wizard appeared and joined them. They made their way to the clan’s eating hall, where Ironhelm ale was the first to be served to all, with water for the ladies and food coming rather later. At Rahnee’s prompting, Darrow taught the others how to say “thank you” properly in dwarven.
Having finished his prodigious meal early, Darrow went off to find his father Boirin, one of the senior guards for Prince Dalgan, while the others wrapped up their breakfast. He returned a short while later, explaining that his father would come visit them in the guest quarters before the evening meal, once he got off duty. Darrow was optimistic that his father would have some useful information for them, as the guards heard a lot of the noble talk.
With the whole day before them, the party eventually decided to head back to the mountains and continue pursuing the matter of the dragonscale. The first task would be to eliminate the pack of winter wolves on the trail Helrud had mentioned. Telling the clan greeter on the way out that they were going for a stroll, they made their way back to the cliff face by the cave, which they ascended again with relative ease – this time including Aerikoth, as the wizard had been busy studying spells during the first trip.
The group made their way to Helrud’s camp, where the dwarf was pleasantly surprised to see the addition to the party of Aerikoth and his glowing staff. He warned them not to take the wolfpack lightly and said that he would wait for them to bring back news of their victory. Assuming they were successful, Helrud could then explore further into the mountains. He asked them to return at dawn the following morning, assuming everything went well, and he would then show them a secret path.