Next steps

Rest, Reflection, and Planning

Gilrad wasn't there - he was out with the fishing boats, and Arad discovered that there was no service in the church without him there to conduct it. He told them that there would be a feast that night, and the people seemed glad. In fact everyone was cheerful here now, feeling that things were returning to normal now that they had a priest again. It seemed almost unreal that we had just come from such a dark place just a few miles away.

We spent a fortnight in the village, resting, reflecting on what we had learned, training and practising skills and techniques. I was learning to use a shield in combat, something I had never really done before, and thinking back on the traps and locks I had tried to deal with on our adventures so far. Arad, though, was suffering; he was still getting weaker from whatever poison the skeletal claws had infected him with. Until one day when he was as good as new!

He told us that Jeanette had appeared and taken him back to her tree. Once there she had muttered a prayer, placed a hand on his shoulder, and he had been renewed and cleansed. He had tried to get information from her, but didn't get much. She had refused to be drawn on the Creator, but had shared knowledge that he could use to channel his power. This is when he told us about her brief visit in the house - apparently she hadn't meant to come then, but not then, so got it slightly wrong. Time was difficult to get exactly right.

He also asked about the tree. She explained that sometimes the minds of mortals cannot understand the creations of the Gods, but shape them into something that they would understand. For Arad the tree is a safe place, but for Jeanette it appeared as a castle. She was from Maladan... yes, the same one as Falcor, and she even knew him! She spoke as if that time was centuries ago, though, and that she had been snatched when it fell to a great evil, just as Falcor had described. She knew Sarn, the Duke's son, as well. She had been the daughter of the palace cook, and Falcor knew of her - apparently Sarn had been fond of her.

When Arad returned (it was after about a week that this happened) it was to the same instant that he had disappeared, despite spending a week at the tree. This gave him more spare time than the rest of us, and he spoke with Falcor about magic and how it was shunned by humans but embraced by the Elvrabor. Falcor made frequent trips that week to the coast so that he could practice his new found powers out of sight of the humans, still ashamed and wary of what might happen to him.

Arad also spoke to his flock, the people of the village. He explained that we had banished a great evil to the south, but that we must still quest for more cursed places to cleanse and purify. He was seeking a curator of the village so that they would have protection and a place to gather in prayer while he was gone. He also said that it was safer now to hunt in the south, but that there was still danger and the children should avoid it. Separately he spoke to Gilrad, as he saw him as the spiritual leader that the people needed, who could tend to the church in Arad's absence. He used the scroll he had found to ordain him as a priest of the Lord Creator, blessing him with a connection like the one Arad used to call on his power to tend to himself and others.

Interestingly, after hearing of Arad's quest to visit cursed places, Gilrad asked if we would be going to the cursed tower of the island to the west. Umm... yes? We urged him to tell us what he knew of the place so that we might prepare ourselves. It was the southern-most island of the three to the west, and it was the orcs that knew something of the legend of the place. They told of one that stretched the boundaries between life and death, but went too far and cursed the very rocks of the island, doomed by the depths of hell. Sounded lovely.

We asked, out of interest, about the other islands. The central one had a tower with "He Who Watches" within. Apparently he was "another side of the same coin" - as Malek was to faith he was to power. They avoided the island out of respect. The orcs had a warning, though - the Blood Hand clan had occupied the central island, and they were worshipers of the Destroyer. They were expanding their claim on these islands. Their chief was claiming to be the war chief over all the clans, and it was due to them that the Red Skull clan had lost honour. They had previously respected the tower there, but it was lost to the foe.

Speaking of the last, northerly island, the people knew only that creatures hunted there in the night. They were not sure whether there was a tower there, but said that we should stay away, particularly at night, dusk or dawn. The Red Skull clan had more warnings, saying that if we saw the Snake clan we should be be particularly wary, and if we ever unfortunate enough to see the Black Hand clan then flee for they wield powerful dweomer, although they were rarely seen.

In thanks for their hospitality and kindness, I donated all the gold from my share that I could not carry to the village to help them trade with the Red Skull clan and rebuild, they had a second chance that had been denied to my people, and so it was that I gave freely and gladly. The others seemed moved by this and also donated to the cause, and Arad praised us all for our good hearts. We had some trade dealings with the Red Skull clan as well, particularly with regard to arrows that Arad seemed very keen to procure. Having a man of faith on the island was apparently very important to them, as they seemed to respect and listen to him as they would a shaman in their own clan. They were not comfortable with the father God concept, but respected him nonetheless. I tried my best to pick up some of the orcish tongue in these encounters, hoping that over time I might pick up enough of their language to be useful.

We also discovered another soul stone... one that we had been carrying all the time! The gem set in the ring that Arad had plundered from Malek's tomb, when we tested it near the hammer, leapt out of its setting and fused itself into place in the star design.

We then discussed our next steps. The cursed island sounded like the next place to seek out evil, but if there was a watcher that we could learn more from then that should be our immediate focus - especially if he was in danger now the orcs had occupied the tower. It was clear that we would be met with hostility by this clan, members of which we had seen with the goblins in the south, though.

Arad asked for a crew from the village to drop us on the central island, and return each night for three nights or if they saw a flame from the tower. After than, Gilrad would have to assume that we were lost and be solely responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of his people. Looking at the shape of the island, the best place to land was in the north, where the tower did not have as much visibility due to a rise in the ground near the coast. We sailed out and then were dropped off in a rowing boat at the shoreline, which was gentle and easy to beach on. We were hoping that in the dark we could approach the tower unseen.

We arrived before midnight, and clouds overhead meant that we had a chance to move without being seen. Falcor carried me as Arad scouted ahead, wary that the effort would make a little more noise and allowing Arad the best chance to remain hidden. The tower itself was lit up like a beacon in the dark night, so we had no problem navigating, and we moved south east towards the sloping ground leading up to it. After crossing about half the distance, we heard a blood chilling screeching from somewhere to the north - "bats!" I whispered to Falcor. These were the same as the one I had seen at night on the main island.

We all dropped to the floor as something flew overhead, sure enough it was a giant bat. We heard another rapidly approaching from the south west, flying much lower over us whilst screeching loudly. Falcor loosed an arrow, which found its mark in the body of the thing, causing it to screech again and fly away. Another arrow thudded into the ground off to one side, presumably from Arad. We heard more screeches - it seemed that they were hunting in a pack of sorts, or coming together due to the screeching.

Falcor moved forward again, hoarsely whispering "come back Arad"! The response came back "on my way"! He came into view a few moments later. Arad watched the sky to the south and I looked to the north, with Falcor scanning left and right. Another bat swooped down at us from the side, screeching before raking at Falcor with claws and trying to bite him, but not getting past his armour. Falcor responded by loosing an arrow, which sent it crashing into the ground, sliding slightly with its momentum.