Home > Campaigns > Book 6, Chapter 4 - The Apprentice's Journal
The Apprentice's Journal
I dangled my light rock into the hole, seeing that the ground was 15 feet below. It appeared to be a rubble-strewn hallway. We climbed down on a rope and spotted two doors. Lagasse opened the one to the east. Five whole barrels and two broken ones were inside. Some small rats scurried off as we opened the barrels, finding only water, grain, and vinegary wine.
The other door led to a laboratory. A thick layer of undisturbed dust covered the desk, table, and beakers. Some papers rested on the desk and told of the effects of cave spider venom. I pocketed the writing quill and a bottle filled with a black, viscous substance.
We moved on to the next hallway. The first door we tried was locked and too rusty to pick. Lagasse bashed it down. A workbench leaned haphazardly in the back corner. A small leather sack and some broken flasks sat on it. I opened the sack, finding 17 rune stones. I quickly detected magic with the staff, and they were! Mical found an alcove behind and beneath the bench. An immense metal wheel with a huge chain attached to it was there. The chain led down through the floor. We figured that we would have to come back to that later.
The next room had only piles of hay, but the one after that had a bookcase and desk. All of the books in the case were worthless. The desk was swollen shut, so I hacked it open with Mical's hand axe. A book inscribed with the name 'Solarden' lay in the drawer. It seemed to be the journal of a mage's apprentice, and was largely illegible. From what I could read, the journal consisted mainly of everyday things. It did confirm that the researchers were studying dragons and that the young mage wished that his master would allow him into the research room. The last page said that his instructor was leaving to go home the next day.
A piece of folded paper was stuck into the book and proved to be a letter to Solarden from his teacher, Lobranth. The letter was interesting, so here it is:
"Solarden, I have taken the liberty of sneaking into your room and borrowing your journal so I could leave you a final message before I left. You have been my best student and your future as a scholar is a bright one. Good luck to you on your journey to Candlekeep and remember to mind your instructors; they have much to teach you.
I will leave the research of terrible things to the young. I am of an age when I wish to return to the Sunset Vale and my childhood home of Berdusk. I hope someday to make the trip back to my birthplace of Evermeet. Perhaps we will meet there. Remember, if you ever need help translating the texts to seek me out for I will always be a friend to the cause.
I leave you with the thing that you have most desired in your work with me these last months, the keys to knowledge. As is my way I will make it a final lesson for you.
Three riddles to see the way, one to open the path:
Voiceless it cries, wingless it flutters, toothless it bites, mouthless it mutters.
What is more beautiful than the face of your God, but more wicked than a demon's forked tongue? Dead men eat it all the time, but if a live man ate it he would die slowly.
It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, cannot be heard, cannot be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, ends life, kills laughter.
What is once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?
Your faithful friend, Lobranth"
We pondered the riddles as we continued exploring. The next room looked empty, but Mical and Lyra spotted a faint square outline on the floor. We decided to skip the trapdoor for a while. The next door hid another staircase leading down. Moss covered the steps and we could hear water dripping. It smelled musty. We decided to skip that as well.
The next hall had four carved runes, each with a word below them, on the wall. We checked, and they matched four of our magical runestones. In a short while we had deciphered the words. They meant earth, sun, wind, and water.
The next room was empty, but we learned that there was definitely a door buried beneath a pile of rubble at the end of the hall. We boosted Mical up to peek through a hole near the ceiling. Two ghouls, probably the same ones as before, reached for him. He also heard noises from above him. He quickly dropped into the other room to fight the ghouls. Lagasse pulled himself over the wall and fell into the room.
Lyra and I decided not to follow them into the room, since there were ghoul and ghast hands reaching through the hole in the ceiling. One of the ghouls dropped through and headed our way. We backed up, firing arrows, and killed it easily. The others must have been intimidated, for they stopped glaring at us through the ceiling. Lagasse came back over the wall and asked us to check out the room.
There was water covering the floor, and a chest stood in the corner. Just like Lagasse's vision. The chest was neither locked not trapped. I expected it to be empty, but was wrong. There were almost twenty gems. One was a star sapphire I appraised at 5000 gold! There was also a gorgeous purple stone (an oriental amethyst worth about 1000), and several other quality gems. We also kept the three potions (two pink, one black) and oil of (?) there. The three protection scrolls would be useful (magic, poison, possession), as well as the priest scroll and three (hurray!) wizard scrolls. Beside all of that, there were also two axes, two silver bowls, two silver candlesticks, a mini elf statue, a handsome decorative sword, and some platinum!
