Majhul casts Magic Missiles at Micah. If Micah's feeling saucy, Majhul tosses a Blindness/Deafness in there too.
Micah smiles excitedly as he unweaves Majhul's spells and absorbs their energy. "Thank you," he offers with a friendly slap on the back afterwards.
Finally laying down on his cot he pulls his blanket up to cover his eyes and quickly falls asleep. Two hours later he rises, returns his bed to his bag, and begins his morning routine. He starts by scribing two new spells in his spellbook and then studying it to prepare for the day. After that he spends some time writing prayers, arcane formulas, and fragments of spells on a slip of paper which he slides under the door into the hallway. Finally he removes a couple scrolls from his bag and studies them before scribing in his spellbook.
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Surprised to see Micah wake so soon after setting down to rest, Kurza smiles a strained smile when he sees his friend, his mind still heavily weighed with the implications of his vision.
With out sound, he mouths the words "Good morrow." to Micah and he nods his head in acknowledgment of his friend. He remains on watch though for the next few hours until another wakes to relieve him, remembering Micah's personal concerns about being on watch alone.
Back in the golem room Lavinia rests for a time and then relieves Kurza on watch. She sits opposite the door, Clearsky in hand, keeping her eyes and ears open for any signs of intrusion. Something troubles her, however, that she can't quite put her finger on; a growing sense of wrongness that started with the "memory sphere" and her encounter with the god of death. She struggles to put it out of her mind and focus on the task at hand, studying the details of every shadow before moving on to pick out each and every sound in the room, the sniffs and snores of her companions, and that's when it hits her: she is making no noise of her own.
With a start she realizes that she's not breathing and in a moment of confusion inhales sharply, only to discover that her lungfuls of air seem to provide no extra nourishment to her. Experimentally she holds her breath, and as the minutes crawl by, she realizes that she feels no different. Furthermore, the rumble in her belly from her long day's exertion has gone silent since her divine encounter, despite having skipped any meal in favor of sleep. In a rare moment of introspection she discovers that she craves neither air, nor food, nor drink, instead having only a faint coolness within her, like she'd somehow trapped a breath of the north wind inside of her.
At the time she'd thought that the strange wisps of blackest smoke which had snaked between Kelemvor and herself had been but some parlor trick or side effect of the sphere, but now realizes they had been something more...
It would seem my new patron would have me free of lesser distractions while I hunt his prey.
Micah cocks an eyebrow at Lavinia's experimentation then focuses himself once more and returns to his work.
The night goes uneventfully, and Lemon takes shelter in the highest shelf he can find in the room, making sure to tuck himself out of sight of the golem he still doesn't trust. When you awaken he hops off the shelf and floats over to the group. "So...um...that was freaking weird. I don't know what happened to you guys, but while you were asleep I tried checking your orbs out and nothing happened. Like...nothing at all. I would swear you guys were carrying around useless crystals if it wasn't for watching the energy hit you all afterwards. No precious awesome magic energy for Lemon, it seems." He floats over and pokes one of the crystals with his tiny rapier and grumbles. "So...I can't help but notice this room, the room the wizard was supposed to be in, is completely empty, except for us. I'm guessing you didn't find your way home?"
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"We now seek a different path.", Kurza says as he brushes the sleep from his eyes. He begins to gather his things for the outing ahead and comments offhandedly, "You should really ask before touching something that isn't yours Lemon. Just as a precaution." He pauses for a moment before looking directly at Lemon, "Could you please wait for us outside while we continue to get ready good fey? We have things of a more dangerous and private nature to discuss and we do not want to put you in peril should you overhear."
After he gently leads the little fey out of the room and closes the door he then looks to his companions as they get ready to leave, wondering where they will be going, "Whichever one of you has the most details, please fill the rest of us in. I figured we could talk more freely without that extra set of ears."
Micah's eyes narrow at Lemon's words. As Kurza talks to the creature diplomatically he adds, "Indeed, some people would be insulted and incredibly distrustful of a creature that went spying on them like that."
"What was the point of setting up a watch if we were just going to let that thing explore our secret messages?" he asks as soon as the door shuts, "I think we should bring it back in here and kill it before it can report back to anyone."
"Ah, murder. Always an auspicious start to any altruistic endeavor."
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"While I don't think Lemon is in fact anything other than a curious fey, albeit one that was once a wizard's familiar, we most certainly don't need to kill him. He just no longer needs to accompany us." Kurza says with quiet conviction. "Perhaps this is best, since after recent events I am loath to involve others outside of our group."
As an afterthought,"If lemon going to report back to someone, say he was still a familiar, would he need to go anywhere or could he just mentally communicate with his master? Either way, we should be going, and keeping extra alert as we go."
Micah frowns.
Majhul and Kurza do not take the secrecy and security of this charge seriously enough... I can't trust them with too much information...
Gathering his effects he offers, "the first thing we need to do is head back to the market. We have things we need to sell and we need to find someone who can help with Sand's... condition. We also need a bronze doorknob, and I need to look for a certain scroll."
"I can't help but notice you dodged the question, Micah. Do you know anything or not? I was merely told to seek Fzoul Chembryl for knowledge of my memories. Kurza received no other information besides what we already know. What about you? And Lavinia, and Sand?"
"Nobody asked me a question to dodge," Micah answers flatly. "If you are looking for more information on the path set before us, I do know more than I've said- quite on purpose... the Sage warned that many ears would be listening, and we've already had one egregious breach in security that several of our company seem unconcerned about... so, we can all stand here doing nothing while you try to extract information that I have no intention of sharing until necessary, or we can go find the things we need."
"Where, precisely, do you think has less ears listening than the very room Elminster set up for only us to find?"
"If you're worried about eavesdroppers, it's a simple matter for me (or you for that matter) to simply ward the area against them. If it's a matter of trust, then there is no point in attempting to carry out the mission in the first place. If you refuse to trust your own allies with crucial information about our task, then you clearly can't be trusted to work as part of a team, leaving you alone and us rudderless, doomed to fail in either regard."
"You know, it would be rather nice if we stopped considering murder as the solution of choice for anyone that may inconvenience us in the future," Isandril quips with a soft chuckle. Rest seems to have done him quite a bit of good, even if his neck still feels a bit... numb.
"I was not told much other than what has happened to my people and to Lolth and even that information was kept rather vague. The importance of working together was stressed," he says simply. And then he adds, with perhaps a slightly wider smile than intended, "Oh, and he did remind me that impatience and frustrations are secondary to the fact that none of us can overcome the challenges ahead of us alone."
He sighs. "We do not know each other. Going by that fact alone, perhaps trust among us is not exactly a given. Still, the old dwarf knew all of us and considered us trusworthy enough to contact about a rather important bounty. Not only that, but he must have also thought that we would be able to work together towards that goal. Was he really so wrong? Or is it simply because the goal, the task has changed?" A shrug. "All the more reason to actually learn to work together."
He looks at both men arguing and for a moment his tone changes, as if reminded of his race's outlook on some of the other shorter-lived ones. "So, learn."
He smiles again. "This was probably my mother's side of the family talking..."
"I am ready, and waiting, to work together," Micah answers with a nod, "and because Flarghin and the Sage trust all of you, I trust you all with my life. But, since some of you have already demonstrated a willingness to discuss our secret mission in front of other creatures that we know virtually nothing about, I have to assume that it was by design that information was portioned out to us. If you trust the giver of your vision then trust their plan and trust that our mission is safer without any of us knowing every detail ahead of time."
"Now, shall we head to the market?"
The fey looks a bit disappointed when Kurza rushes him outside, and opens his mouth to protest before basically being shoved out with the door shut.
When you head back out of the room, Lemon hovers around excitedly. "So where can I take you guys today? I'm starving! Well...not anymore, but...pretty hungry. Wanna find a tavern? I know a place where they cook genuine basilisk. For real! Tastes like really chewy chicken, but they flavor it with herbs from the upper planes, it's great. I could just nibble on something you have, really, I don't need much. Aw, man, this is great, I haven't been out and about for so long...and now I've got friends. It gets kind of lonely with Master not around. He was trying to find a way back to the First World for me - said he was going to 'upgrade' to a...um...Lyrakien I think...once he did because I talk too much. Do you believe that? I talk too much? Man, that's ridiculous...." He continues rambling on more or less until someone interrupts him, floating along and following you like a child tagging on behind an older sibling.
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This is a powder keg. Kurza thinks to himself as the two casters go from heated conversation to angry argument in the matter of two breaths.
Just as he is about to interject, the bright smile of his elven friend makes a reappearance and Kurza can't help but feel a bit relieved. Well said. I'll still have to keep in mind how tightly wound this whole situation has made everyone, but for now it looks like we can move forward.
Still wanting more information, Kurza decides to take it on faith that Micah will reveal it as they go when necessary. "Let's head out, keeping details light for now. When it matters though, I expect no secrets among us." The last sentence comes out with a bit of an edge to it.
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As the group moves outside and Lemon begins his yammering...
Kurza just sighs at the talkative little fey and for a moment is caught up in the rapid onslaught of words...
The hin archer sits quietly, Clearsky in hand, as the men argue amongst themselves. What matter is one life when weighed against that of millions? What faith can these men hold when their gods have failed? She furrows her brow. These gods have tasked us to "fix" their mistakes by changing what has already been, rather than by dealing with the aftermath. Where is the morality in that? How will the lesson be learned if never taught? What of those who came after? Seeing things have calmed down, she sighs as she stands and sheathes her bow. ”If it matters, Majhul, I saw the god of death, as I said. He thanked me for the undead I’ve put down, though I didn’t do it for him, and begged my forgiveness for choosing me for this task: to walk through Shadow and kill a man he cannot.” The diminutive woman gives a shrug.
”If we trust these gods - trust that what they ask of us is in our own best interest, or that of our world, rather than just their own," Lavinia's doubt on that point is plain as she says it, "then I agree with Micah. If this god had wanted me to know more, he easily could have told me. Besides, you all talk as if speaking to a dead tiger-man and bringing Flarghin back to life is just a matter of putting coins into the right hands; if so, it seems but a small matter if Micah dies before telling us what he learned.”
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Once the party leaves the room and Lemon begins his yammering, Lavinia rustles briefly through her knapsack and hands the tiny man a piece of jerky from her trail rations. "I think we'll find our own way today, Lemon." What antipathy does this sprite hold for the lecturer?
"Or, perhaps, the gods did want us to know more, but only had a limited time to impart knowledge. We all got something different. Difference reassurances. Different starting places."
"I am not concerned with Micah dying before he tells us what we need to do. I am concerned his foolish mistrust of the only other people gods and living legends have insisted can stop a catastrophe the likes of which the worlds have never seen."
"Micah has simply appointed himself as above the rest of us in a blatant power play. Were it up to me I'd wring the knowledge from his brain by whatever means I can muster, but for now I will refrain. When the rest of you are tired of being purposefully blinded, inform me."
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Majhul notices little about Lemon, keeping his gaze mostly focused on Micah with an expression just shy of seething hatred for withholding information from him. As they wander the city, he pointedly avoids thinking about WHY exactly he's so angry about being kept in the dark.
"You speak of trust and then threaten to 'wring the information from my brain'?!?" Micah gasps seeming to give up on actually making any progress. "How could I possibly trust you when you behave in such a manner? I made no effort to appoint myself over anyone, but if you're going to carry on like a petulant child perhaps there is need to appoint someone over you..."
"Is anyone alright with us threatening each other? Or devolving into actually casting spells at one another?" he asks looking at the others.
"You yourself, Majhul, have revealed in your accusation that your motivation for learning what I have been told is merely to feel some sense of control... that is a poor reason to threaten those whom you claim must have trust. We were told to be careful with the information entrusted to us, and I was given several means of protecting my pieces of the puzzle... even those whom I trust not to foolishly discuss matters in front of others--which does not include you--I cannot burden with information they are not equipped to safeguard. Now, you can cease this tantrum and we can all set out together, trusting one another, or you can stay here and pout and I'll head out with whomever would like to proceed like adults."
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"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Kurza bellows as he rounds on the two arguing men.
The big tiefling stares with a mix of anger and weariness at the two men as he states with a deep rumble, "No more talking from either of you. All you are doing is enflaming each other, and neither is satisfied unless they get the last word in. At one point either one of you may have had a point but it is lost in this bickering. So I'll make it easy. Both of you be silent. Don't talk until we get to a vendor and even after that don't talk with, or even reference, each other. For the sake of the world, and your gods, just...be...quiet!"
Kurza shakes his head wondering how they are going to accomplish anything with two warring egos...If they get mad at me, I can deal with that and at least they won't be arguing with each other...
"I apologize," Micah answers with a bow before straightening out his vestments, "a man of my office should not be goaded into such quibbling, even by threats."
"Please, Kurza, lead on."
The party makes it to the marketplace, and manages to find the things they're looking for, even locating a single scroll of planeshift at the power level necessary on sale for 10% off, due to the merchant's inability to demonstrate their use in this particular plane.
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After all the market activity, buying and selling, and being smart about not flashing wealth around, Kurza looks over his quiet companions. There is still tension among them. He ponders to himself. I hope we have not fractured beyond hope...no, I won't allow that to just be the way of things.
He leads the party to a more remote area, looking for some privacy before he speaks to everyone in quiet tones "Well, that was much easier than it could have been. This is truly an amazing place. Without giving anything away, should we buy anything else in preparation while we are still here in this massive market? You are the only one with that knowledge Micah. If no further acquisitions need to be done for the road ahead, now is your time to lead us to where we need to be Micah."
"If I knew all it took would be to raise my voice, I would have done so," Sand quips. "Of course, I am not eight feet tall, so it might not have worked anyway."
"By the way, Lemon seems to be trying rather hard to keep his distance from you, Majhul," the elf notes, waiting until the little fey has left them before speaking out. "Now, I am fairly certain it is not just that winning personality of yours. Any ideas?"
"None. Perhaps I am well known for eating Sprites in my past life. That would be just my luck."
"He started keeping his distance when you mentioned having an interest in the Sensates and the Guvners," Micah observes, "since he enjoys the Hall of the Sensates, he probably has some aversion to the Guvners."
Once the company has some degree of privacy, and Lemon is nowhere to be seen, he confides, "holy water and light sources may be helpful... as Lavinia hinted at, we will be passing through the plane of shadows."
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Kurza smiles wryly at Sand's humor before turning thoughtful when Sand mentions Lemon's apprehension toward Majhul.
"That's right. He didn't seem keen on the Guvners as Micah observed, but the thing that stuck out to me was he really seemed bothered by you recovering your memories." Kurza says to Majhul, continuing to speak quietly.
Looking to Micah attentively, "Holy water. Good idea. I don't know what kind of light source will be much help there but whatever you recommend. Now, how are we to find our way there from here? Or better yet, just show us."
"I'm not certain what type of light to suggest, having never been there before..." Micah replies thoughtfully, "I can invoke daylight for an hour, and I'm hoping that will be enough, but it seems like it might be wise to have something permanent just in case something goes wrong."
Lavinia wanders the markets with her companions, impressed by the seemingly endless array of goods available. A few catch her eye, but she refrains from any purchases, unsure how her companions would feel about her spending coin after her having taken two magical treasures from their recent battles. It might be unseemly in their eyes, and things have been contentious enough already. Instead she merely admires a piece or two as the others barter for their scrolls and the like. As the conversation turns to their upcoming journey, she perks up.
"A magic light for each of us would be good." She rubs her chin. "Are we abandoning the hunt for the woman of Shar, then, in favor of this new task set to us?"
"I suppose any light would be better than none," Sand offers. "I do have a compass that can shed magical light on command."
As they walk the elf stops for a moment, apparently conversing with what looks like a centaur, if a bit on the fiendish side. The discussion does not take long before he rejoins his companions.
"There is someone who is supposed to be able to remove diseases and curses close by," he says as he catches up with them. "A little expensive but genuine. Or so I was told."
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As they wander the enormous market area, Kurza leans down to respond to Lavinia, "We are not abandoning the hunt, just postponing it. There doesn't seem much chance we can find her quickly in this throng of people, especially given the size of this city." As he straightens once again, he thinks out loud, "Besides, we have something of hers. We may run across her anyway if she tries to find it."
Looking to Sand's compass, Kurza seems intrigued, "That is a very interesting device my friend. It looks like a stone could fit in that depression there. Very nice design."
After Sand stops and speaks with the centaur, Kurza waits not far ahead for his friend. When Sand rejoins the group and tells his news of the person that removes diseases and curses, Kurza smiles broadly and claps his friend on the shoulder. With happiness Kurza laughs and says, "Ha! That is wonderful news! I have heard it can be a tricky thing removing a disease like that. Some of the paladins of my order can do it and I also am working to be able to do so one day, though sadly that is not today."
"Well..." Micah interjects when the conversation turns to their quarry, "we may have a bit of an issue there... you see, if we succeed in changing the past it should alter our present- or, the present we left... after disrupting her plan, Shar is unlikely to still kill the prince. That would also mean that we won't have a contract to fulfill, and thus no quarry... of course that means no large pay out and no title for Flarghin. And, without that large payout raising Flarghin could prove difficult..."
"There are five solutions I can see to this... we could pool all the gold we've recovered thus far and try to have him raised here- then he could choose whether to accompany us or stay here and try to find a way home to his family; we could take him with us and look for an opportunity to have him raised in Faerun- he might have to wait seventy years to be reunited with his family but his people are long-lived enough that he could do that; we could buy a larger bag of holding and bring him with us, using Majhul's preservative magic, until we can comission a permanent item to preserve his remains then we can let him lie and raise him around the time we left; we could leave him and trust that rewriting the past will spare him this death, although that begs the question of what will become of the us we know if we succeed... or, we could hunt for a way back, collect on the contract, raise Flarghin and then return to this mission..."
"Unless this is part of the information you refused us, there should be no more time traveling involved. We are currently in the 'present', where Elminster's study was roughly 70 years in the future. We are meant to stop the events that are being set in motion now, not find a way to travel back another 70 to change the course of history. There should be no muddling with our own personal timelines."
"The Sage said 'change our time' which I took to mean we'd be altering things for ourselves too... it is possible that I misinterpreted and he meant for the people of his time..." Micah concedes, "I'm not sure why I said seventy years... perhaps because that was roughly the gap we've already skipped once... I'm sorry, this is my first experience with traveling through time and it's a bit much."
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"Actually we are going back to before our present time.", Kurza says almost casually to his two more learned associates.
"In our present, the year 1373, our target has already ascended and has been a god for some years already. It was during the Time of Troubles, in the late 1350s if I'm not mistaken, when things changed. We are to go back before that and stop it from happening. The future that we travelled to is only relevant in that it was when the gods made their decision to send us back, and they showed us a glimpse of the trouble the world, and really all of existence, would be in if we fail." He looks at both Micah and Majhul as he says this last part, "So, now where to?"
Micah frowns slightly as Kurza explains when they are going to everyone. "That depends on what we plan to do with Flarghin..." he answers, "we should be able to pick up holy water and ioun torches on the way out of the market; after that our next stop will depend on whether we plan to raise Flarghin here, bring him with us on our quest, abandon him, or try to return him to his family before we press on..."
The hin furrows her brow. "Majhul, I don't know what your god spoke of, but they seem to have thought that our task was less important for you to know of than whatever they did discuss." She looks up at Kurza. "That is my problem with this, toothy one. Just as the grandfather we met and his world will only be relevant as the start of our task, so too then will our own world only be relevant as where we came from - if we succeed, both will be no more.
"As for Flarghin, I leave it to greater minds to decide. If he is left dead, will he even have died if we succeed? If we bring him back to life, which is worse - returning him to our world, which we plan to erase, or ask him to help us create a world in which his wife and family may never be?" Lavinia looks down and shakes her head. "This thing they ask of us seems madness."
"I'm unclear how Cyric's ascendancy is relevant as to our mission. Gods can be killed. His entire plan hinges on it, in fact. And we have no idea HOW to travel back in any case, much less with the sort of accuracy you're expecting."
"I thought we'd moved past arguing..." Micah says sadly, "and we're no closer to figuring out what to do with Flarghin."
"We're only arguing because everyone is working off a different knowledge base." Majhul snaps.
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Kurza is willing to tell the story of his vision again, but he makes sure there are no prying eyes or ears before hand. He doesn't start until everyone is sure they want to hear it. If need be he whispers it in each persons ear...should that really come to pass.
"...and this is why I was so very sour right after the vision. It is quite dreadful, but important." he says with a look of resolve.
"I've already learned more than was entrusted to me..." Micah says sadly, "I really wish we could just trust each other to provide guidance and information to each other when the time for it comes... as the gods seem to have intended..."
He looks around and debates walking away to avoid hearing Kurza's tale but finally sighs and, slumping his shoulders and shaking his head, listens to the large paladin speak.
"Between my explaining the word's given to Lavinia and Kurza divulging the goal of our quest, the only piece of information I still guard alone is the location of the portal which will take us then... now, if the tantrums are over can we please make a decision on Flarghin and move forward?"
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"I believe, based off what little we know, that Flarghin is no better off if we bring him back now. We could try go back to our own time and place but that would take who knows how long to find a door leading there. The longer we wait to start our new quest, the more time the enemy has to make it impossible for us to do it at all. If we are successful in this new quest everything will change, including Flarghin's life and possible death. I can't begin to say what will happen to us, but if I must sacrifice myself to save millions, so be it. So, to be clear, I think we should just go now, before it is too late, and let us be triumphant so that Flarghin, and all the realms, will know a better fate."