Fellowship of the Dice

You turn and push to return to the hut. Its going to be close, you've been on the march for a long while now. This morning you fought the wooden protector at the hunt, then marched here, encountering things along the way, then arrived here and did battle. You have some hope to make it back in time, or at least shortly after dark.

It isn't terribly hard to make your way back since you left wide track of footprints in the snow. You are soon back to where you met Kardoblag, then after that you find more tracks criss crossing your own path. Wil declares they are wolf tracks, but you see no other signs of wolves.

Its dusk out, and you aren't back yet, but you are close. It becomes night, and you aren't there yet. With the sun down the cold is even worse, and those of you without protection from magical sources are shivering and freezing. Your feet are soaked, cold, and just uncomfortable. Your arms hurt, your legs ache, your stomach growls.

Then you spy the hut in the clearing up ahead. Its dark and empty, missing a piece of roof thanks to the protector you battled. You hurry inside and collapse on the floor. Someone starts a fire, and you are huddled around the warmth and light. Drying out and warming up you finally get to bed some time just before midnight.

Your sleep is filled with strange dreams. Of movement and motion, like a ship on the waves. You have an odd sense of rising up into the air, the whole hut doing so. A few of you, in your dreams, look out the window to see a pair of chicken legs sprouted from the bottom of the hut walking about taking you to unknown places, but when you wake, you are in the Darkmoon Wood right where you were when you fell asleep.

No one is eager to spend more time here than needed. So when the dawn comes you are up early, breaking your fast, and thinking of that nice new house you had built doe you back in Falcon's Hollow.

"Well, let us hurry home," says Dreams. "We will need to find a good place to hide these items, especially with the Illian Seer coming to town. The frostlings clearly wanted at least one of these things for themselves, perhaps only to keep them out of our hands, perhaps for some twisted purposes of their own. I think we should assume the Illians will take advantage of their diplomatic foray to try to find where we have hidden these things and take them from us, by hook or by crook."

In the morning, Torias prays to Kilmorph, spending some time in quiet meditation. Then he writes down some sentences in his notebook and draws a quick sketch of the wikkawak and the snow troll as well as the wand. Then he is ready to go.

"I agree," Celevan says. Home first. Then we can plan the next step."

Home it is.

The trip home is rather uneventful other than the cold weather. It is getting colder day by day, winter is here, and here to stay. It take you all day to make the trip south. By late afternoon you are near to the old lumber road and Elara's Halfway House. You pass by the shell of the old orphanage, its burned down, and just a home to crows now and nothing more. It reminds you of the poor girl Jeva who is infected with Lycanthropy and the troubles during the Carnival as well.

By nightfall you are nearing home, the road making travel easier from Elara's to Falcon's Hollow even in the snow. So as the sky is red with sunset and the shadows are growing long, you spy your house up ahead.

The house doesn't look too bad in the growing gloom. The yard has been cleared. The brush and rubble is all removed, the wall still is in bad shape, but that can be repaired now that you can see it. Someone comments, "Home sweet home..."

"Well, this is a sight for sore eyes," says Dreams. "So, where should we put our, ah, loot? I suppose the basement is the best place to keep it away from prying eyes."

"Yes, we can put it there. I will need some proper food and then I will have a look at the codex again." Torias says, wearily.

Celevan heads to the house, "We might consider staying at our rental tonight. This place has a great deal of work left to do on it. We might be better off in a tent than in this thing. Still I want to look around." He sends Suli off with a silent order to scan the house and the massive blue dragon fly soars up to the roof and slips in through one of the holes in it to check it out.

The yard you find is cleared of the debris, and the porch too. Inside the place is empty all the debris and rot is gone, but the place needs more work, much more. Luckily you have the coin to pay some folks in Falcon's Hollow to repair the place, now you just need the time and the timber.

Wilfried and his wolf are somewhat exhausted once they make it back to Falcon's Hollow. When discussion comes to hiding the relics Wilfried shakes his head vehemently at the suggestion of keeping them in the house.

"The Illyan's likely know that we have some of these relics. The likeliest place they will come to look for them is our home. I think such would be foolish. Perhaps allies with great magical power could be convinced to hold on to them for safe keeping?"

Dreams says, "That's a good point, but we don't have allies ... you mean the fey?" She pauses considering. "The problem with that is they were subverted by the Winter God once before. Syntira resisted the call of the Winter God, but the lesser fey followed it--and if we hide the artifacts among them, they may tell the Illians if they fall again. And, though Syntira may be powerful as an individual, I do not know if she can resist a sustained assault. I think it's best to keep them somewhere close. But not someplace obvious ..." She scratches her head and looks around, trying to think of a good place.