Home > Campaigns > Book 5, Chapter 1 - Professional Escorts
Professional Escorts
We rode until our horses were exhausted. There were no signs of pursuit when we set up camp. The mages seemed to be recovering their strength, and all were grateful for the rescue. They were even happier that their packs were with them. Each of us slept deeply that night, without wasting much time on talk.
I awoke to the sounds of loud prayers and chanting. Lyra and Mical were both off to the side of the camp praying to their respective deities. Lagasse practiced swordplay in a nearby clearing, and the elder elves studied their spellbooks. It was a beautiful morning. I stretched, and looked to see what Lagasse had done with the gruel this time. It had dried meat and apples in it. Not bad, considering it was still gruel.
After I also completed my studies, the seven of us sat down for a talk. It seems that the mages had been ambushed while sleeping. Some mighty spell had immobilized them while the orcs grabbed them. Their other two ponies had already been eaten. They suspected that the dracolich was behind the plot. In fact, they confirmed that Dretchroyaster wanted both the diamond staff and the amulet.
The staff apparently helps to find an ancient elven store of knowledge, and is not the source of knowledge itself. It was being sought after by the Cult of the Dragon as well. Oddly enough, they wished for us to continue carrying it. The amulet has something to do with controlling dragons, possibly even undead dragons. They warned us NEVER, EVER to put it on, though. Also, for finding the staff, we received the 5000 gp reward in the form of five exquisite gems.
As we traveled, the mages revealed that they wished for us to ride with them to Raven and pick up someone there. They hoped that we would then escort this person to Deepingdale, then to Bristar. Since we were going that way, we consented. They agreed that I could try to learn one spell from their spellbooks each day we traveled. One of them also identified my little book as a Boccob's Blessed Book, which is light, hard to damage, and holds many more spells than my standard spellbook. The magical bag we accidentally discovered was a bag of holding, which can hold much more material than its appearance suggests.
It took five days to reach Teshwave. I successfully learned four spells on the way! Also, they each copied 'spirit armor' from my book, as none of them had it. We stocked up on arrows and rope, and the mages bought horses. We then reached Raven that night.
Elves greeted our party with great fervor, and proudly showed us around their small town. Lastly, we met with a proud looking group. We were to escort a young elf boy, who would be about ten years old were he human. They were calling him Boebil, but we could tell that was an alias. The Dragon Cult was hunting him, for some reason that they would not disclose.
We figured that since we were already heading that way, and since the Dragon Cult was already after us, that helping the boy couldn't hurt. Just as we were leaving, a messenger arrived from Shadowdale. The note requested that we return to Shadowdale immediately because the town was in danger. The mages surprised us by saying that they would accompany us to Shadowdale.
