Idles of the Cave

As the stars faded, the inhabitants of the cave welcomed their new guests, making them as comfortable as possible during a confusing time. They spoke of many things and pieced together the final moments of Old Weir. They heard of the life they lived, the children they sired, and the skills they learned during the twenty five lost years. Zireael was not well and Tallin exchanged a worried look with Bask, who tended to him. Golun-dal told them in the morning they expected a visitor.

The group awoke to the sound of gentle scraping noises around the cave-camp as Kargi bustled about his makeshift kitchen. He was sizzling mushrooms in some kind of animal fat. Bask and Tallin discussed something in soft tones as they sipped beverages from earthenware mugs. Steam rose from their drinks in the cool mountain air of the cave and a gentle breeze blew through — with it the sound of running water and the fragrance of wildflowers in bloom. Dragonflies buzzed outside outside. A butterfly fluttered across the skylight. 

Zireael had died in the night and Kargi built him a funeral pyre. 

Nell was packing a number of cleaned brook trout with herbs handed a basket of bird eggs to Kargi. Golun-dal sat in a back corner, his eyes a pure black as he meditated. He suddenly came to, “she’s close.” 

As they ate, a shuffling on gravel came from the cave’s entrance and a matronly voice rang out:

“Oooh, yes yes yes, I’m not too late for breakfast am I? I brought some nettle scones! I just love springtime…rebirth! Heee heeee hee”

The lady of the glen’s hunched form entered the cave, leaning heavily on a cane, looking older than ever. Golun-dal was by her side in an instant, looking concerned. She took his arm. 

“You shouldn’t have made the journey, my lady. You know it’s not safe outside of Hag’s Glen.”

She walked over to Zireael, where she found him dead, and tittered a soft condolence. 

Soon after Tessa joined them, they heard another scuffle on the gravel outside the cave, Tessa told them she had invited one more for breakfast. In walked a dark haired elf, looking intense and feral. Her sleeves were rolled up and on her forearm they saw the sign of the Maiden, etched clear as it first was on Zireael's skin. 

She saw Zireael and ran over to him as the group interrogated her. She introduced herself as Falka, Z's adopted daughter. She had heard he ended up in Old Weir and tracked down the Lady of the Glen who brought her to the group. She wanted vengeance. 

The day was spent getting to know one another and at night they burnt Zireael's pyre and shared stories of their old companion. Falka, Kargi, and others eulogized him, and Tallin seized the moment to sharpen their focus. 

"Let us turn to our pressing concerns. As I see it there are three things before us.

First, there is a goddess who is so powerless or trapped or stripped of godhead that she can only communicate in vague signs that the sensitive can understand. She has clearly chosen you all…But who is she? 

Second, we need to prove the monarch’s connection with the mind flayers. There is an alliance between the Jeremius Mason and the Illithids. It seems to involve an exchange of minds for mines. We need to prove it and expose him. What keeps that alliance strong? Why haven’t they turned on him in all these years — must be close to 40 years at this points.

Third, we need to figure out how the monarch, the mind flayers, and the goddess are all connected.

And then we need to burn it down." 

The group asked where to start looking for answers about this goddess. Tallin and Tessa advised them to think deeply about what they might know, and pointed them toward an old college in the High Moor and the library-fortress of Candlekeep on the Sword Coast. 

Tallin told them an old Hibernal, Shinyu Sal, had also been spotted recently by a person embedded inside Old Weir. She stayed a few nights before returning to Innesbyr. He gave them a worn silver badger pendant to present to her should they meet. 

The group then retired for the evening. 

The next morning, Tallin thought to help shake the thralldom off them. He had them up early running a training they used to practice, with the group divided into two teams against each other. 

At the close, the group gathered again and prepared for a wherever their journey would take them. They asked more about the survivors who landed in this cave: what had they done in the interim twenty five years, and what in their backgrounds may give them clues to this goddess? 

As they settled around the fire, with bellies full, the Lady of the Glen began to speak.