Editing Around the Dinner Table

''By [[User:Imnomadus|Stephan Kendall]]''

It was remarkably cold in Elton when he appeared within the teleportation circle located outside the gates.  Despite being closer to the equator than Cimmer and Thess, the winter winds coming off the Serpentcoil Mountains made the town colder.  If one could peer through the massing clouds this evening, one could see the snow-capped peaks off to the north.

Wyncit burrowed deeper into his overcoat and started walking to the nearby town gate.  Elton was  either a small city or large town, depending on who you asked, that snaked along both sides of the Eleanor River with picturesque multi-story wooden buildings and flowery vines that followed the stone build river bank.

It was an ideal location for one of the more famous restaurants on Syra.

It was a short walk along the stone pathway to the gate of the walled town.  Somewhere in the history of the town the walls and gates went from defensive to decorative.  Scroll work, flowery vines, bright whitewash the walls were the envy of most towns.  Just don't expect them to stop an orc tribe.

The wide gate itself was bright red and open.  Two guards in ceremonial uniform of red and white armed in bright breastplate and halberts stood on each side of the gate.  One nodded to him as he past through.

"No entrance tax?"  Wyncit thought as he past under the gate's archway marked by an abundance of murder holes.  "At least they have those."

Once within the town, there were several horse drawn carriages waiting for customers, showing the teleport circle was more used than Wyncit initially thought.  Wyncit took the first one, the gnome driver nodding when he asked to go to the Harty Harvest Inn.  The inside was comfortable, clean and the ride smooth with well sprung wheels. 

The carriage stopped out outside a row of five story beam and stone buildings and Wyncit got out.  He turned to face one of the buildings after paying the agreed 5 copper and studied his destination.  The front of the building faced the street and winding river behind Wyncit and was painted the same as the walls of the town; white and red.  What would be fragrant flowery vines during any other season grew from the upper window planters and cascaded down.  Bright lanterns already lit the outside from the approaching darkness.  Above the closed door and written in flowery Common Trade tongue script, was Hearty Harvest Inn and Restaurant.

He entered and was assaulted with wonderful kitchen aromas.  The room itself was a large common room with a scattering of round white clothed tables and chairs of different heights.  The room panels were of dark wood and gleamed with their coating of bees' wax and varnish.  Drift globes of different colors drifted near the ceiling.  The room was already half full with diners.  There were three opened doors at the back.

Directly in front of him was a young blonde woman of human and elf descent in a black dress.

"How may I help you, sir?" She asked in a friendly tone.

Wyncit smiled and suppressed his normal reaction upon meeting a beautiful woman.  After spending months in the jungles of Palmheart with several women, he knew his response was sometimes overpowering and unwelcome.

"My name is Wyncit Sutler.  I am here to see Tony Child." 

She smiled and her face lit up with pleasure.  It was difficult, but he refrained from responding in kind.  "This way, please."

Wyncit followed her through the far right back door which turned out to be stairs going up to the floor above.  At the top they entered as small room with a halfling male seated behind it.  To Wyncit's right was another open door into a hallway.  He quickly figured out the opened doors allowed the smells of cooking foods to drift up into the rest of the Inn.  He was getting hungry.

"Herman, this is Sage Sulter, one of Master Child's guests," the woman told the man.  And with that, she turned and went back down the stairs into the common room.  With another smile.

Hmmmm, thought Wyncit as he directed his gaze on the man.

Herman smiled and got up from his chair, "This way, please Sage Sulter.  There is already one other here."

The hallway was of the same wood as the common room below and had a few closed doors lining one side while a few windows, covered with heavy drapes, lined the other side.  Herman walked him to a middle door, knocked and quickly entered.  Inside was a large white room with a white clothed circular table in the center.  In the center sat a scattering of liquor bottles, wine decanters and a glass water jug.  Around the table were padded chairs.  On the far side of the room, with a window on each side of it, sat a lit fireplace and bare wall tables along each side.  To the left of the door, standing in a corner was the back of a rather large grandfather clock.  Seated on one of the chairs, where both table and windows could be seen, was Mae, dressed in a flowing robe of yellow silk.

Mae was, of course, reading a book.  On the table, in front of her, sat a small wine glass of white wine.  The book was unmarked but bound in red leather and rather thick.  She marked the page and placed the book off to the side before getting up.

"Hello Mae," said Wyncit as he entered.  She was wearing robes of yellow and green with her hair brushed back and tied.  Her smile was one of happy surprised.

"Hello Wyncit," she responded.

"Sir, would you care for something to drink," asked Herman, directing Wyncit's attention to the drinks in the center of the table.

"Whatever Mae is having is fine," Wyncit answered.

Herman closed the door and picked up a folded step stool that had been hidden by the open door.  He walked to the table, opened the stool, stepped up and stretching out retrieved a wide bottom clear decanter of white wine.

"Oh," said Mae, frowning.  I could have done that, Herman."

"All part of the service, Lady Govannen," he said.  Taking an empty tall wine glass, he carefully, and theatrically, poured the white wine half way.  He then leaned over and replaced the decanter to the center of the table.

Wyncit shrugged his shoulders and took a seat directly across from Mae.

Herman walked the glass to Wyncit and placed it in front of him, then waited.  Wyncit smiled at him, then picked it up and twirled the wine within the glass, watching how it shifted colors and clung to the side of the glass.  with a quick smell of the fragrance he took a small sip.  He sucked in some air and rolled the liquid in his mouth, getting the feel and taste of the wine.

It was dry, fruity and very pleasant. 

Wyncit looked at Herman, "Thank you, Herman.  It's lovely."

Herman nodded and said, "Master Child will be with you in just a bit.  He is finishing your dinner selection for tonight.  If you need anything, I shall be at the desk."

And with that, Herman left, closing the door behind him.

 Wyncit looked over to Mae, "This is one of yours?"

Mae smiled and sipped from her glass.

"Any idea where Brecca is, "he asked.

Mae waved an arm around just as the door opened, "She is around.  Probably ransacking the basement."

"I beg your pardon, I do not 'ransack', replied Brecca as she entered.  Brecca was dressed in woolen leggings and and a plain oversized linen shirt.  And pink house slippers.

Mae smiled, "Loot?  Steal? Investigate with extreme prejudiced?"

Brecca flopped into the closes chair to the door, leaving the door open.

"I'll take that last one, "Brecca said.

Mae nodded.

To Wyncit, Brecca said, "Well, here I am.  What?"

"Let's wait for Tony.  What I have to say needs everyone here.  And its easier to say it once.  I suspect I'll have to repeat it, anyway."  Wyncit reached over to the center of the table and retrieved  a pitcher of dark yellow liquid and passed it over to Brecca; who had to lean over to receive it.

"What?" She asked.

Wyncit shrugged his shoulders and passed a wine glass.  Brecca pour the liquid into the glass and took a cautious sip.

"Mead.  Dwarven.  I've had better," she muttered.

"I think not!" Tony marked as he came in, closing the door behind him.

Tony was larger than he was last Wyncit last saw him.  Tony liked to taste the cooking, Wyncit guessed.

"That is made from giant bumblebee honey who only feed on blackberry pollen.  Then its aged in seared oak casks for 10 years before being bottled in blown glassed bottles and corked and waxed to age in the bottles for another 5 years."  Tony sat between Wyncit and Brecca.

"Dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes.  We'll start off with something light, soup and appetizers.  Then see how people are feeling," Tony said.  Then, looking around the table, he gave a large smile.  "Well.  First time that we've all been together in over a year.  What has everyone been doing?"

"Adventuring," Brecca said.

"Researching death magic," Mae said at the same time.

"Teaching and writing," Wyncit said over the other two.

Tony nodded and smiled.

Brecca looked at Wyncit, "Tony is here.  What?"

Wyncit rolled his eyes as Mae pointed at the clock in the corner and asked, "Tony, is that the clock we found in the tombs?"

Tony leaned back in his chair, frowned and crossed his arms as glared at the clock.

"Yes." 

There was a small silence as people waited for Tony to continue.

When he didn't Mae asked, "Why is it facing the corner?  Has it been bad? Is it being punished?"

People waited as Tony stared at the clock and frowned.

Brecca opened her mouth but was interrupted by Tony.

"I cast 'Be My Guest' to move it to where I wanted it in the main common room with the intention of putting it back together, again.  It was going to be the main decoration in the room with everything to support it.  But when I cast the spell, the clock refused to follow my directions.  Instead, it walked upstairs, came in here and stood in the corner, facing the wall.

No matter how many times I cast the spell and ask it to move downstairs, it refuses and stays put."

Tony continue to glared at the clock.

"Maybe it wants to go back home," Mae asked delicately .

Tony grunted.

"Maybe its guilty of something and is punishing itself," asked Wyncit.

Tony grunted.

Mae and Wyncit looked over at Brecca.

"What.  It's a clock.  It doesn't have any feelings," she said.

Mae tsked Brecca and Wyncit signed.

"So.  Tony is here, now.  What did you have to tell us," asked Brecca.

Wyncit took a sip from his wine glass to collect his thoughts as the others looked on.

Taking a deep breath, Wyncit started;

"There is a possibility that the souls in the Soul Catcher are still 'alive'; including Leardon's wife, my Grandmother."

There was a small silence as Wyncit took another sip of wine.

Brecca broke the silence, "How?  The last time we saw the thing it was drifting in the Shadowfell, falling apart."

Wyncit shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know.  But some things have been happening the last 10 days that make me think it survived."

Mae broke in before Brecca could question Wyncit more, "You generally have evidence, or at least reasonable deduction, for your hypothesis."

Tony leaded over and poured himself some water and took a quick drink.

Wyncit waited until Tony was finished.

"10 nights ago I started dreaming. I thought it was my unconscious self telling me something.  I started thinking about it, but then the next night I had the same dream.  The very same dream."

Brecca broke in and asked, "I have dreams all the time.  What was the difference?"

Wyncit nodded, "I dream every night.  I generally forget them when I wake, but this dream was different.  The colors were more vivid, the dream more intense.  And, as I said, I had it the next night.  In fact, I had it eight straight nights.  No change, nothing different.  Everything was the exact same thing as the night before."

Mae broke in next, "It sounds like a Dream message."

Tony frowned and turned to Mae, "Dream message?"

Mae nodded, "A type of Sending magic.  Instead of just words, one can send images, emotions, thoughts.  But creatures that live in the Ethereal Plane can also send Dreams."

Mae turned to Wyncit, "Who sent this Dream."

"And what was this Dream," asked Brecca.

"Let me describe the Dream to you, then I will try my hypothesis and see what you think," Wyncit asked.

The others nodded and waited.

"So," Wyncit started, "This is what happens in the dream ..."

"I float weightless in darkness.  All is dark, except directly ahead of me where a brilliant light shines.  I can't tell how far it is or what it is.  As I look, I seem to get closer.  Whether its me or the light moving closer, I can't tell.  But closer it gets until it stops.  It seems I can reach out to touch it, but its still out of reach.

It's the Soul Catcher.  It shines from inside, the multifaceted crystal holding the soul glowing from within.  It shines in brilliant colors of the rainbow.  It tumbles just out of reach.  I can hear the screams of fear from the souls.  I can taste the cold ash of the Shadowfell.

As it tumbles, a black shape moves in the distance, moving quickly towards me.  It passes between me and the Soul Catcher.  Against the shifting light of the crystal, I can tell its a huge black Raven.  It's black feathers quickly disappear in the darkness of the Shadowfell.

Suddenly, from behind me, a raven screams.  It pierces my heart with dread.  I shudder in real fear,  I feel a wind as the raven come from behind me and swallows the Soul Catcher in It's blackness.

Once again, I am in total darkness.

I float there.  It's seconds or hours, I can not tell.

Then, once again, in the distance I see a light.  It is feeble.  Small.  And again, either I or the light fly closer to each other.  This light is a standing figure.  It's an old man, its skin stretched tight against its skull.  The figure's back is bent with age and it leans against a walking stick of ebon.  Its clothes are black, shredded and aged.

The light it gives off is weak and barely shines in the darkness of the Shadowfell.  I can tell it stands at the edge of a chasm, though.  It looks at me and speaks.

It speaks in the voice of Leardon.

"I did not know," it said to me.  I can barely hear him.  "But now, I have learned the truth.  I pray it is not too late.  She can not be trusted."

As I listen to him, he starts to turn to dust, starting at his feet and whisked away by the cold ash wind of the Shadowfell until just his skull is left.

"Warn them!"

Then his skull disappears into ash as it too is swept away by the wind.

It is all dark, again.  I float there.  I can feel my life drain away in the bitter cold.

And then, once again, off the distance I see another glow of light.  It stands where Leardon once did.  It is dim, female in form.  It seems to look at me and calls out.  I can barely hear her.

"Free me," it calls.  Her voice sounds as if it is behind a barrier of some sort.

I reach out to her.

And then I wake."

Wyncit quickly drinks the rest of the wine in one deep gulp.

"Each night for 8 nights, the dream is the same; except, the soul at the end.  Each night, at the end, it was in a different pose.  But still calling out, "Free me!" 

There was a long pause in the room as they took in what Wyncit had said. Suddenly, the door was flung open!

"Dinner!" Yelled Herman as he walked in.

"Gods," Tony cried out, "way to spoil the mood!"

----

Dinner was quiet with the sounds of eating, the occasional grunt or approving sigh and the tinkling sounds of utensils against porcelain.  Tony's prediction of just soup and a salad proved correct as people pushed their plates away, early.  Herbed or bone tea served at the end with a selection of sweets at hand.

Except for Brecca.

"What?" Asked Brecca when she noticed Wyncit watching her cut into a rolled chicken breast.

Wyncit smiled.  "You seem to be hungry."

Brecca thrust her knife at Wyncit, 'Ha! Unlike you, I just spent the last four months in the jungles of Palmheart tracking down that escaped DemonLord!"

"Oh dear," Mae said.  "All by yourself?"

Brecca cut into the rolled chicken breast, stabbed the piece with her fork, and shoved it into her mouth.  Chewing, she closed her eyes.

The others looked at each other, then back to Brecca and waited.

"Well?"  Asked Tony.

Brecca opened her eyes and stabbed at Tony with her knife.  "Give me a second to chew."

She reached out and took a small swallow of wine from her goblet.

"Spell created meals are so monotonous.  Lots of it, but the same thing over and over, again. Gods only know three meals; oatmeal porridge with bread and water, pea soup with bread and water, and beef stew with bread and water." 

She cut another small portion of the rolled chicken and ate it.  Melted yellow cheese flowed out from a inside hallow formed by the rolled chicken breast.

People sipped from their cups and waited for Brecca to finish chewing.

"Well?" Tony finally asked.

Brecca looked down at her half finished chicken breast and sighed.

"Fine," she said laying her knife and fork to the side.  "So I'm in Silverstone visiting Ru Bae Ya.  Girls' Weekend, out.  Something about a hot springs spa and lots of shopping.  When this halfling paladin of Obad-Hai named Flynn finds me and tells me Leardon ordered her and her adventuring company into Palmheart to find the DemonLord and she needs a guide.

Tony refused to leave the restaurant, Mae was back home, Wyncit was at the University knee deep in writing books with Twincit, Leardon was missing, Ru Bae Ya was being Ru Bae Ya and all she can find is me.

So, no Girls' Weekend for me.  We teleport back to Terastra.

I find Makai at the palace with the rest of 'The Halfling Brigade'."

"Wait," Tony interrupts.  With a smile he asks, 'The Halfling Brigade'?"

"Yes!"  Brecca answers. "Flynn's Adventuring Company is called 'The Halfling Brigade'. You got a problem?" 

Tony shakes his head.  "No.  Just didn't know that.  All halflings, I take it?"

"No!  There's a gnome in the group, too."

A confused expression comes over Tony.  "Then why, 'The Halfling Brigade'?"

"Because!" Brecca answers.  "Don't ask me, I'm not a halfling."

Tony shrugs his shoulders.

Brecca looks down at her formerly hot dinner and sighs.

"So we head to the ziggurat," Brecca continues, "where the DemonLord came from and start to track it.  Took us four months to finally find it.  Three and a half months of that was getting lost."

Brecca crossly looks at Wyncit and stabs at him with a finger.  "You are coming with me, next time.  If I have to get lost in the jungle, so do you!"

"What did I do?" Wyncit asks in a confused voice as Mae chuckles.

"Don't ask, Wyncit," Mae tells Wyncit.  "Just accept its your fault and apologize."

"I'm sorry?" Wyncit says in complete confusion.

"Not accepted!" Brecca announces.

"Well," asks Tony.  "You find it."

"Yes!" Brecca continues.  "We find it.  At a place called Monkey Gorge.  Why is it called Monkey Gorge, you ask?"

"Because its full of monkeys," Tony answers quickly.

"Because its full of monkeys!  So turns out the DemonLord wasn't a demon lord.  It was just a demon. A barlgura.  Big ape demon.  He was gathering all the apes of Palmheart to make his own Kingdom of the Apes.  Decided the monkeys would be good slaves for his apes.  He had the monkeys and apes making a castle when we found him.

Note; monkeys and apes make bad castles.

Long story, shorter, Makai and the gnome Druid make a pack with the monkeys to attack the apes while we deal with the barlgura and if we win, they get to stay at the gorge and throw poop at anyone canoeing through it." 

With a smile, Mae says, "Fair deal."

"We thought so," Brecca responds.  She turns to Wyncit, "You may want to put that on your map.  Poop throwing monkey gorge. So, the monkeys attack the apes.  The apes chase the monkeys.  No more apes near the demon.  Then we walked in and Makai banished the demon.  Easy peasy.  The end."

Brecca goes back to her cold dinner.  "This is good, cold.  What's next?"

----

Tony ushered his servants out of the room and quietly closed and locked the door.  He returned to his seat and sat down as Wyncit leaned forward and pour himself something amber in color from the plethora of alcohol in the center of the table.  He downed it quickly and gasped.

Tony frowned, "That's 50 year old cognac.  You don't guzzle that stuff."

Wyncit waved off the complaint and pour himself another bit before leaning back in his chair, cradling his heavy glass.

"You look tired," Mae asked, motherly.

Wyncit sadly smiled at her, "I am.  I've been bouncing around the globe the last five days trying to get answers." 

"I assumed you can answer questions, now?" Brecca asked with a frown.

Wyncit looked around the room.  "I don't see or sense any scrying."  He looked to Tony.  "Any way for outsiders to listen in, here?"

Tony shook his head, "No.  It's about as secured as I can get things without heavy magics."

Wyncit grunted and took a sip of cognac.  He sighed in contentment.

"Well," demanded Brecca.

Wyncit sighed.  "The first few days after the Dream started, I did 'Sending' spells to Leardon and tried to Scry him.  Even if he was in a different Plane, he should have received the Sendings and answer.  He didn't, and the Scrying failed, .. so ..."

"… So, he couldn't or wouldn't answer?" Mae finished.

Wyncit nodded.  "Either he is dead, dead.  He is regenerating within his Phylactery.  Or, he is someplace warded against Sending and Scrying magics."

"Does anyone know where he is or went?" asked Tony.

Wyncit shook his head.  "I've asked his son, King Garin.  I've asked the Church of Evening Glory.  I even found and asked Priam Adenis of the Brightstone Heroes.  The only one I haven't asked was Evening Glory, Herself."  He shrugged his shoulders,  "We are not really on speaking terms."

"So what did they tell you?" asked Brecca.

Wyncit sighed and took another sip of cognac.  "The King and Church both say the same thing.  He left soon after the we returned from Moil, saying he had to 'check something out'.  Which is what he told me; in fact, I seem to have been the last person to see him."

Mae leaned forward, placing an elbow on the table and resting her head on the palm.  "The imagery of your Dream is pretty straightforward.  Have you been able to confirmed it?"

"Straightforward?  I have no idea what any of it means!" Brecca broke in.

Mae smiled at Brecca, "In the Dream, Wyncit is floating in the Shadowfell looking at the SoulCatcher when a large raven flies by and takes it while Leardon is warning him.  Okay"?

Brecca nodded,  "That big thing Rue Bae Ya dropped in the big black hole, right."

Mae nodded, "Yes.  That was the SoulCatcher.  Acererak was using it to gather all the dead souls to use it for some ritual."  Turning to Wyncit, she asked, " Did we ever figure out what he was doing with it?"

Wyncit winced, "After talking to a number of people, and indirectly to a few deities, who are supposed to be experts in such esoteric knowledge, the total guess is he was trying to become a deity with total control of the Shadowfell."

Mae nodded, "That goes with the Dream.  I keep forgetting just how knowledgeable Leardon can be.  Or maybe I should say, Evening Glory through Leardon?"

"Well, She is a Goddess, after all," Tony added."

Mae frowns, "So.  This could be serious."

Wyncit nodded.  "Very.  I've been asking around centers of learning, high church officials of a number of deities and certain 'Powers'.  They all asked for some time to research, but most tentatively agree with us," frowned Wyncit.

"I don't understand!" Brecca cried.

"I have to agree with, Brecca.  I don't understand, either." Tony added.

Mae ignored them, "Who did you ask?"

Wyncit used the cognac glass to count on his fingers, "Church of Evening Glory, Church and College of Ioun, Church of Vecna, Platinum Citadel, certain Sages within the University of Cimmer, Priam Adenis and his Trine Academy who relayed the questions to the Starfire Academy."  Smiling at Brecca, "I even asked a Church of Del'Braeth official."

He turned back to Mae, "I'll start heading back to all of them in a day or two to see what they have figured out."

Mae nodded and turned to Brecca and Tony, "We," she pointed to Wyncit and herself, "think the Raven Queen took the SoulCatcher, and the souls within it, for some reason.  Possibly the very same reason as Acererak."

"But, She's already a Deity!" Said Brecca.

"Who does not control the Shadowfell," Wyncit told Brecca.  "OR, there are levels of power and politics within the pantheons; She could use it to expand Her powers.  Or, well, who knows what else She could do with the souls within the SoulCatcher. I was hoping you could come with while I bounce around gathering information."

Brecca looked at Wyncit.

"What?"  Wyncit frowned at Brecca.  "I wasn't exactly subtle or secretive in my movements or questions.  Speed and movement made it initially difficult for anyone to block or retaliate against me, but 'they' will have had time to set something up, now.  I will need a bodyguard. My treat?  And I will pay you."

"Fine," Brecca finally responded.

"When will you leave?" Asked Tony.

"Tomorrow morning, I guess.  There are a few other places and people I need to see," replied Wyncit.

"Well, I have rooms for everyone and for however long you need.  A good sleep and a big breakfast and things will look better, tomorrow," said Tony.

----


[[Category:Stories]]