I'll do my best not to disappoint you, Jo.
says Arsith with a smile
I hope our friends are all right.
As the evening drifts on and the autumnal sun, only occasionally visible through the rain, moves closer to the horizon, the friends (long standing and newly acquainted) find that they have finished their business – the Aspis Consortium have been informed of ‘Pellius Crispin’s’ return, financial arrangements have been put in place to cover the relocation of the Korzha family to Sandpoint, attempts have been made to locate Fenster the Blight and, finally, the friends have confirmed that their suspicions about a Derro presence in the sewers are being acted upon by the City Watch…
…and so it is that two separate groups – Teldon, Briana and Ziomarra and, coming from Ordellia, Joanna, Arsith, Shadlah and Shel – make their ways up the long slope to the ‘Summit’. The impressive marble monument of ‘Indros Cul Vydrach’, an enormous twin-headed serpentine beast fighting against a solitary swordman, remains visible through the low clouds and draws ever nearer as the travellers ascend from the ‘Shore’. Soon enough the friends have damp cobbles beneath their feet, one of the most enduring reminders of the wealth held in the upper parts of the city… down in Lowcleft and Dockway, the majority of the streets are mud and dirt.
The sun has finally slipped over the horizon when the friends arrive at Heidmarch Manor; lanterns in the walled garden illuminate a path through exotic foliage - resplendent in autumn colour and seemingly more beautiful in the rain – up to the veranda where a man, wearing rough-spun clothing (in stark contrast to those city folk you have passed whilst heading towards the Pathfinder lodge) and sweeping the floor, nods at your arrival. He doesn’t introduce himself, he merely asks whether the friends are here to see the lady of the house and, when they confirm that they wish to meet with Lady Heidmarch, he asks that they wait upon the veranda whilst he informs her of the friends’ arrival.
Zee approaches the veranda with Teldon and Brianna, and is glad to see her friends already waiting on the veranda of Heidmarch Manor.
"Greetings, everyone! I am glad to see our paths come togehter again!" But then she notices the stranger among them.
Zee clasps her left hand over her heart and raises her right, palm open, and nods slowly. "ᎣᏏᏲ, ᎪᎱᏍᏗᎠᎾᏓᏛᏂ!"
She meets the stranger's gaze and extends her right hand. "ᎠᏋᏌ ᏓᎪᎥᎩ Ziomarra."
Clasping wrists, she adds, "But my friends call me 'Zee.'"
"Not too long. We only just arrived a minute or so ago," Joanna assures Brianna, "it looks like Arsith and I found a new friend, if she'll have us."
She smiles at Shadlah, her gray eyes bright in the light of the veranda.
"Tena, Ko ahau Teldon. Nahea outou e ite i te mau tamahine?" Teldon says to the stranger.
"You'd be surprised," Shadlah says stiffly, though with a twinkle in her eye. "My people are not always perceived favourably by the tshamek. However, it can be advantageous at times."
--------------------
Shadlah shifts her weight from foot to foot as she waits on the verandah, occasionally glancing up at the sky, eyes squinted against the evening light. She watches as the others approach, sighing silently when she catches Briana's eyes widen at the sight of her shaved head. A good start.
She stands just shy of six feet, with a bald head tattooed with an elaborate circular rune, and tanned skin that glows like dull amber in the setting sun. Her facial features are hard-lined, as if carved from marble - a sharp nose with a wide bridge, a strong chin and jawline, and a prominent brow. Her shoulders are broad, her hips wide, and her legs thick. She wears a leather skirt and sandals, wrappings around her calves, forearms, and hands, and a well-worn shirt of chainmail with links starting to stray at the edges.
Ziomarra's introduction makes her grin broadly, and she returns the actions. "Tena, whanaunga," she says in a deep, resonant voice. "Kua huaina ahau Shadlah Whati-Whenua, o te Shundar-Quah. Though I answer to Shah."
Pleased to see that two of the newcomers know her tongue and customs, she answers Teldon. "As they met with acquaintances in Ordellia, goblins attacked. I aided in their defeat, and it was determined that I may be of some use to you and your party." Glancing to Briana, she adds, "And I assure you, I am bald by choice. Among my people, only shamans and the elderly grow their hair, as it is a weakness in combat." She runs a hand over her smooth scalp, pointing out, "Nothing to grab, no weakness to exploit." Her eyes fall from the young woman to the cat at her side, and one eyebrow rises in silent question.
"Greetings, cousin. I am named Shadlah Broken-Earth, of the Sundar-Quah."
Shadlah barely has time to introduce herself before the man returns - in the lantern's light it is impossible not to notice how gaunt and drawn he is... and how, as he walks, he leans heavily upon his cane. As an estimate, he is maybe thirty years of age yet his gait and posture are more akin to that of an elderly man - maybe twice his age. He smiles thinly, "Lady Heidmarch will see you now" and ushers everyone inside. Directing everyone through to the warmth of the drawing room, he fusses around making sure nobody inadvertently knocks either of the vases from their plinths in the vestibule.
A fire is gently burning in the hearth of the drawing room where, sat at a writing desk, Lady Heidmarch is poring over a map. Setting it down, she looks up and a warm smile spreads across her face, "Ziomarra, Teldon, Briana, Joanna, Arsith... How wonderful to see you... I was just thinking about you and your mission this morning... and here you are!!!"
Standing, and smoothing her immaculately fashioned dress, she hugs each of the friends in turn, "You must tell me everything of your travels... I trust you met with good fortune? Tell me, did you get as far as the Storval Stairs? They are quite the sight aren't they?"
...her questions trail off as Shadlah and Shel come into the room, "You have made some friends?", and then, as she realises that one of you is missing, "Nalathi?"
Teldon stiffly and awkwardly returns the lady's embrace. As Shadlah and Shel are entering he responds, "I have not written an official report as there are many details which shouldn't risk publication as they would compromise my alias with the Aspis Consortium, but I have copious notes in my journal if you'd like to peruse them?"
Despite knowing what a good communicator he'd become, when the conversation turns to Nalathi he elects to let one of the girls offer an answer.
"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, Lady Heidmarch. I am sorry to say that the Lady of Fortune did not smile upon us as much as we would have wished, blessed be her name. Nalathi will not be returning to us: her soul now travels the Great Beyond." Zee brushes a tear from her eye when she says the last part.
Composing herself, she continues, "Our journey to Galduria was uneventful until we reached the town itself. While approaching the town, we rode alongside a Varisian caravan that had traveled from Magnimar, and met someone who had been a victim of the strange disappearances plaguing Dockside, Ordellia, and Underbridge. To make a long story short, his tale leads us to conclude that the abductors are a band of derro, who are kidnapping people and conducting foul experiments on them. But that is an aside."
"Posing as Aspis subcontractors, we met our Aspis contact, and he confirmed the person we were following went north toward the Storval Staris. We followed that lead for a few days until we reached the strange village of Ravenmoor. Now that we spent some time there, I know first-hand why my people shun that place."
"At first, the people seemed friendly enough. The mayor invited us to their monthly celebration, and we participated in their games and the feast. But many things seemed off: while the villagers professed to be followers of Desna, they had abandoned their church, eschewed many of her practices, and had oddly heretical beliefs. Now, the faith of Desna is an ancient religion, and at first I thought that these people were simply isolated and had held onto different ancient practices. But their veneration of things we would consider parasites made me doubt this. I feared that their faith had been corrupted by a cult of Ghlaunder the Gossamer King, Lord of Parasites."
"Well, these fears were confirmed: probably a fifth of the town were indeed Ghlaunder cultists, and the mayor was their high priest. They had been sacrificing people to Ghlaunder for years-- mostly their own, but also the occasional traveler who blundered into town. And Nalathi became their last sacrifice: She went off by herself to visit the home of some villagers that we hadn't realized were also cultists. We found her body buried in a shallow grave below an altar to the Gossamer King. Under her, we also found the body of the man we were following."
"Finally, we confronted Mayor Kriegler while performing some kind of ritual. We interrupted the ritual, and he then transformed into a disgusting creature: a huge mosquito-like monster we've come to learn is called a blightspawn. We managed to dispatch the blightspawn and kill several of the cultists, but the others entered a state of catatonia after their ceremony was interrupted."
"The mayor's brother-- now revealed to be one of the 'faceless stalkers' -- set fire to the mayor's mansion. We were not able to douse the flames, but did recover his personal treasure cache plus an ancient book written in some kind of cipher. Teldon has been working to translate it, and the illustrations are disturbing. We also found the Thassilonian artifact we were looking for in the treasure cache."
"Unfortunately for us, the remaining townsfolk were not happy that we'd killed the mayor and several villagers, and they accused us of setting the mayor's home ablaze. One of the villagers who we had befriended took us in while the village council determined our fate... and he also smuggled us out of town, along with his family, and our young friend Shel." Zee gestures toward the girl. "We traveled back through Galduria to Sandpoint. We then left our friend from Ravenmoor and his family there, along with the treasure we'd recovered. Hopefully, they'll be able to start a new life in a much more wholesome place. Shel wished to come all the way to Magnimar with us to further her education. We're still working on finding an appropriate school to enroll her."
She then pauses and looks to Teldon to continue and/or fill in any gaps.
"We didn't actually leave all the treasure with the family in Sandpoint: several items were under contract with the Consortium and have been delivered to them according to the terms of the arrangement which earned us the artifact we needed; and, some of the gold and gems have been kept in reserve to help fund Shel's education and lodging," Teldon offers.
"Also, we spoke to the church of Desna both in Sandpoint and here in Magnimar about the remaining influence of the cult. Hopefully they will address it and if we ever find ourselves needing to reach the Storval Stair it will be safe for us to pass through there again. Apart from that there are a great many more details that could be shared but, as I said, you can read those in my journal if you wish."
For a moment, Lady Heidmarch is bemused at Teldon's actions, "You delivered the items to the Consortium without at least bringing them back here? I appreciate that you were under a contract and that you wanted to keep a low profile... You have, at least, made notes and drawings about the items?". She looks at Teldon for a moment before the smile returns, "Of course you have... In your journal - I would love to spend some time reviewing your journal with you".
At the news of Nalathi's death, the Venture Captain expresses her deepest sympathies to the friends, "It is always a worry, the Society sends you out into the world... Into places of the utmost danger and... more often than I would ever hope, people are injured... or worse"
"Welcome Shel... to our city and to my home... You have a family name?", Lady Heidmarch addresses Shel as Ziomarra introduces her; In response and with an unexpected elegance, Shel curtsies and introduces herself to Lady Heidmarch... and, without getting too far ahead of herself, manages to suggest that an education here, in the Pathfinder Lodge, would be a fine thing...
"Indeed, we shall talk further young lady... and...", Lady Heidmarch takes in the imposing sight of the Shoanti woman, "Kei tawhiti koe i haere te kāinga ... te tuanui i runga i toku mahunga ko koutou hoki te po. He aha te ingoa i te wairua hoatu ki a koe?"
"Now that I've observed Briana's technique and had some practice my drawings are much improved."
I wonder just how many of the staff here are injured Pathfinders... it seems the lady is nearly as soft-hearted as the girls... I suppose that must of great benefit to adventurers like Zee who don't have any family money to fall back on if they are injured...
Joanna remains quiet through the recounting of what has happened, though she does keep her promise to put in a good word for Shel with Lady Heidmarch.
Arsith keeps silent, feeling the others would speak better about Nalathi.
Maybe, as a previous Pharasman and from her personal history, did she spoke enough of death and sorrow too.
Lady Heidmarch, having been introduced to the newcomers, considers them for a moment… before exclaiming, ”Oh, my manners!!! Please, take a seat near the fire… you must be so cold, the inevitable autumnal rains seem to have arrived in Magnimar.”
The Venture-Captain turns towards Shel, ”Will you stay with us tonight? I would very much like to discuss the work of the Society and also to hear of your life… but for now, I’m afraid I have business with your friends. Unselm?”, Lady Heidmarch addresses the man who brought you into the building, ”Please show Miss Lupescu her room and make sure that she has all she may need”. Unselm nods and, taking the bag that Shel brought with her, leads her from the drawing room – as she goes, Shel flashes a smile of gratitude towards the friends.
The warmth of the fire, which Lady Heidmarch encourages to grow by throwing a small metallic cylinder into the flames, quickly dries the friends – and the leather couches near the hearth are exceptionally comfortable. ”So, one of your contacts has gone missing… that is unfortunate – having eyes and ears on the street puts you at an advantage… and you think that his disappearance may be connected with the spate of abductions? Ziomarra, you say that this could be the work of Derro… from what you have told me, I am inclined to agree”.
”But… that is a discussion for another day… Let us concentrate now upon your work for the society. The artefact? You have it with you?”
"Yes, right here," Teldon answers removing the amulet from his pack and offering it to the Venture-captain.
"Ahhhh.... a thing of beauty - quite the relic you have retrieved... Let us hope that it works as we expect it to", Lady Heidmarch examines it thoroughly, "When you are done with this, I would very much like to keep it in our archives... I have already taken the liberty of telling my counterpart in Almas of your mission to the Storval Stairs, I hope that I may exhibit your find to more esteemed guests"
"But... For now, we must turn our attention towards its use... I guess that you are weary from travelling - I insist that you stay with us tonight - and then, tomorrow? High tide is in the late morning... If conditions are right, will you be ready to continue with your exploration of the Crow?"
"Yes, I've finished with my business outside of the Society and it'd be foolish to go into the sewers unprepared. Although," she turns to Teldon with quizzical expression, "is my share so far enough to cover the cost of some better fitting armor? My father's breastplate served him well when he needed it, but I'm not my father, and he was a bit stockier than I am."
"Well..." Teldon replies pensively, "we have very little liquid assets right now. We 'donated' all the gold and gems we got in Ravenmoor to Shel and the Korzha's, and the other Thassilonian relics we recovered we were under contract to return to the Consortium... so we have the coin we left Magnimar with and this amulet that will allow us access to the next shard. I'm afraid that if you want new armor we'd have to sell something..."
"So much for the hype about adventurers always getting rich!" quips Zee with a half-smile.
"My father amassed an incredible fortune by the end of his career..." Teldon states very matter of factly, before looking up at Zee and realizing she was making a joke. "We just need to uncover a Runelord of our own to defeat and plunder," he adds with a half-smile of his own.
Joanna shrugs.
"It's gotten me this far. I was just wondering," she says before turning her attention back to Lady Heidmarch, "Seeing as how my account has informed me that I can't afford to splurge, I can be ready to leave whenever," she says with a laugh.
Quite abruptly,
Before we left the town, I have something very personal to do. I hope I won't make you wait too much. I need to go to m..to a Pharasman church. My Fate has... took a brighter shade. My soul is seeing a new dawn, thanks to you, Joanna. Lenore will never come back from the tomb, and if I will forever cherish her memory, I'm no longer eager to join her in Pharasma's eternal gardens. When I see you both, Teldon and Brianna, I want to hope again. I want to love again. I want to care and share again, I want to protect the one my heart beats for and to draw strenght in her love.
Looking at her purse as tears form in her eyes
I still have some 350 gold on my own. If I had the time and materials I'd enjoy to forge a new armor for you, Joanna. I'll need to take your measurements first, of course. Maybe another time...
Shadlah chuckles as she shakes Briana's hand. "You are not the first to stare. I understand it is unusual for tshamek women to shave their heads." After a moment's thought, she crouches, holding a leather-bound hand for Rowenna to inspect.
The tall woman stays silent through most of the proceedings, watching and waiting as the others explain their previous journeys, an artifact of some kind, and the death of a previous companion. She simply stays near the fire, sitting somewhat stiffly in one of the leather couches, speaking up only when addressed by the Venture Captain. "Ko toku whare tenei pa, ahakoa e kore e nui o tetahi. Ko mai tou atawhai manuhiri. Kua karangatia e ahau Shadlah Whati-Whenua."
That spoken, it's back to awkward silence as the others discuss business. Unsure how to react to Arsith's emotional state, she sifts uncomfortably, clears her throat, and puts in, "I have some money from my last expedition and from selling my crafts. If there is anything we need, I will be able to help pay."
"This city is my home, though not much of one. Your hospitality is welcome. I am called Shadlah Broken-Earth."
”You will be able to re-commence your explorations tomorrow then?” Lady Heidmarch, returning the artefact to Teldon, then turns and addresses Shadlah directly, ”Your new acquaintances will not have told you of the work that they are doing for the Society… suffice to say that, if you wish to throw your lot in with them then you must swear allegiance to the Pathfinders and, in regards to this venture, you will be held to secrecy… The rewards for your efforts will, I personally promise, be more than worth it… treasures and experiences beyond compare lie within our reach”.
When Lady Heidmarch is satisfied that Shadlah is trustworthy, she continues, ”Your previous encounters with the Tower Girls seems to have gone unnoticed within the city – I have had a number of my contacts listening out and, thus far, no one within the city guard nor the Sczarni are talking about the Crow… it seems that you will be able to continue your exploration without undue attention. Gozreh smiles upon us - the weather should help you to maintain discretion as well – visibility in the harbour has been dangerously poor over the last few days”.
Nodding an acknowledgment when Arsith declares that she has some business in the morning and noting the discussions on a possible need to restock, Lady Heidmarch continues, ”You should stay here tonight – unless you have already made plans? Take the time to recuperate, to peruse our library and, in an hour or so, I will have supper served”. She then takes a slightly more serious tone when she asks, ”Which of you is bearing the shard?”
"I have taken responsibility for it," Teldon offers.
Lady Heidmarch looks directly at Teldon, almost scrutinising him, ”How do you feel Teldon? Nalathi was carrying it for a while wasn’t she? Did you observe any change in her? I only ask because of… okay, I guess Unselm won’t have told you about Natalya?”. When the friends tell her that he didn’t, and why would he given that he didn’t know who they were when they arrived, Lady Heidmarch sighs, ”Her condition has, if it is at all possible, worsened – she remains catatonic for days on end before something… who knows what… drives her into the waking world. Each time she has woken, she raves and screams… the same thing again and again – do you recall the passages that she was reciting in her waking state? We have translated more of her words… It is always the same”
The Venture Captain recites, almost as if she has learnt it by heart,
”Lo! Death has reared himself a throne
In a strange city lying alone
Far down within the dim West,
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best
Have gone to their eternal rest.
There shrines and palaces and towers
(Time-eaten towers that tremble not)
Resemble nothing that is ours.
Around, by lifting winds forgot,
Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie."
Lady Heidmarch continues... reciting verse that hasn't been previously heard by the friends...
"No rays from the holy heaven come down
On the long night-time of that town;
But light from out the lurid sea
Streams up the turrets silently,
Gleams up the pinnacles far and free:
Up domes, up spires, up kingly halls,
Up fanes, up Babylon-like walls,
Up shadowy long-forgotten bowers
Of sculptured ivy and stone flowers,
Up many and many a marvellous shrine
Whose wreathed friezes intertwine
The viol, the violet, and the vine.
Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie.
So blend the turrets and shadows there
That all seem pendulous in air,
While from a proud tower in the town
He looks gigantically down.”
The Venture Captain, briefly looking tired in the warm light of the fire, seems genuinely worried, ”She grows weaker by the day… unless something changes, I fear that she will perish. Teldon, have you had any visions or unusual urges?”
Zee listens intently to Lady Heidmarch's recitation of the poem. She then ponders whether she's ever heard these lines before, or if any of it rings a bell.
"No," Teldon replies, "Nalathi seemed unaffected by the shard after you inserted the ioun stone, and I've not experienced any visions or urges. I am far more clever than most people, I suspect it would be rather difficult for the shard to deceive me."
After reflecting on the poem for a moment he comments, "It still sounds like a reference to a city submerged, like much of western Thassilon was... though I suppose it could also refer to a city cast adrift on another plane..."
Ziomarra chuckles, shakes her head, and grins slightly. "Teldon, your modesty is legendary," she remarks dryly.
Looking at Lady Heidmarch, she adds, "I did not notice Nalathi acting strangely either. In Ravenmoor, I was afraid that the shard had fallen into the hands of her murderers, but thankfully they didn't realize what they had. We found the shard in a box with Nalathi's other possessions."
- the song is quite unlike any that you have heard during your extensive travels around Varisia.
Lady Heidmarch seems visibly relieved when Teldon replies, "Hmmm, the research suggested that the negative effects of the shards would be nullified by the ioun stones... I am glad to see that our research is borne out by fact..." and then, listening to Teldon's supposition about the verse, the Venture Captain nods, "I have to agree with you... it must surely be reference to the downfall of Thassilon - but why? and how would Natalya know of such a thing? and... in it's original Thassilonian as well!!!"
"Sir Canayven and I will continue to research this matter... and I shall continue to seek some remedy for Natalya's condition. We know, at least, that these shards are dangerous in their rawest form... If your investigations do lead you to another shard, as I hope they will, you must all be cautious - and bring the artefact back as soon as you possibly can".
Watching the fire, and seeing the flames slowly diminish, Lady Heidmarch brings the conversation to an end, "My young Pathfinders, I must let you rest - please treat this place as your own... Use our library as you wish... And, I'll see you in an hour or so; Unselm will let you know when Supper is served". Before she leaves, Lady Heidmarch asks for Teldon's journal...
In response to Lady Heidmarch's question he offers, "The presence that manifested through the shard was with her for far too long... There's no telling what it left behind in her mind. I wonder... if we could get a detect thoughts scroll perhaps I might be able to sort some details out?"
When Briana expresses her hope for Natalya's recover he speculates, "The derro did something that covered up that varisian's memories... maybe when we have a chance to deal with them we can recover whatever they used. If we could make her forget her experience with the shard she might be able to recover..."
Joanna listens to the discussion, but most of it was over her head. She does blush and mutter a "'Twas nothing,"at Arsith's pronouncement that she was finding a happier path to follow, and her role in said finding.
"Well," Joanna begins as she takes a seat, "this certainly is foreboding. Every story I've heard or read that has someone babbling in a dead language they never learned rarely ends well. I just hope that we aren't getting in over our heads."
Arsith gets rid of her armor and weapons. Then she comes near Joanna
I won't let you say it was nothing, sweetie pie. It was everything I needed, at the right time, with the right words.
She gently kisses her check.
You did the right thing. It's not always fighting monsters that count. Helping someone you barely know in his inner struggles is the mark of a kind heart and valiant soul.
"If you'll all excuse me," Teldon says taking Briana's hand in his own and kissing it, "I'd better not miss this chance to use the library." Once there he dives into voracious reading until someone interrupts him for dinner.
Taking Teldon's journal and nodding with appreciation at the drawings made of the items passed to the Consortium, Lady Heidmarch considers Teldon's suggestion, "That's not a bad idea Teldon - she is maybe a little too weak for that now but, if we can build her strength somehow, it's worth a try".
After Teldon excuses himself for the night, Zee continues to relax in an armchair by the fire. She nurses a glass of dark red wine. She reaches down to pet Rowena. After a moment she opens her satchel and retireves a bit of venison jerky from the remains of her travel rations and gives that to Briana's cat.
A few minutes after Teldon leaves the room, she remarks, "Teldon sure is taking his undercover job with the Consortium seriously... perhaps a bit too seriously! I wish we hadn't turned over that golembane scarab to the Consortium. We could have claimed that we never found it. I have heard tales of living statues that still guard lost Thassilonian crypts... and given where we're going, we just might come across such a thing!"
Zee sees the questioning look on Shad's face at the mention of Thassilonian crypts. "Before you commit to joining us, you will want to know whose lot you're throwing in with. The five of us are junior agents of the Pathfinder Society, all working out of here: Heidmarch Manor is the Pathfinder Lodge for Varisia, and Lady Heidmarch is the Venture-Captain of this lodge.
"I am a Harrower: I have been blessed by the Starsong with the Sight and can often discern what the future might hold by reading the cards. I also know how to unlock the ancient magic within the Harrow. After a... disagreement... with the leaders of my caravan that left me stranded in Kaer Maga, I was hired by another group of Pathfinders to lead them back to Magnimar. Since I was looking for a job, they put in a good word for me, and I joined the Society myself. As I was cut off from my natural family, I have come to regard the Society in general... and my friends here in particular... as my new family.
"Lady Heidmarch has sent us to track down the pieces of a lost and sundered artifact from the days of fallen Thassilon. The device is called the Sihedron. Whole, it has the form of the seven-pointed star so commonly found in Thassilonian ruins. The symbol is one of great magical power. The Sihedron has been broken into seven shards, each of which is itself a powerful artifact.
"We found the first shard, the shard of pride in possession of Natalya Vancaskerkin, the comatose woman we spoke of earlier. Natalya had been an independent contractor hired by Lady Heidmarch to research the location of the shard. Unfortunately, she found it, and fell under its thrall. The artifact gave her powers of illusion, but also drove her to madness: delusions of grandeur that she was destined to be the Lord-Mayor of Magnimar. When we removed the shard of pride from her possession, she quickly lost consciousness. We took her back here, where Lady Heidmarch and the Society can try to heal her, but they have been unsuccessful.
"We learned that Natalya had located the shard of pride in one of the ruined pilings of the Irespan: the one called the Crow. We then went there ourselves, and confronted a Magnimaran gang called the Tower Girls, who were led by a wererat." She pauses there, looking first into her glass and then into the fire. And that's where I killed a woman needlessly. She still haunts my dreams...
Snapping out of her reverie, she continues, "We defeated the Tower Girls, who have since disbanded. Our exploration of the Crow ended at a gate we could not open: it requires a magical component to open that we did not have.
"We then caught wind of a lead on the artifact: it appeared to be in the possession of the Aspis Consortium, which led us to infiltrate that more respectable band of thieves. Teldon took the guise of a collector of ancient treasures, and we were his retinue. We got ourselves invited to an exclusive auction to try to win the artifact, but someone else managed to outbid us. That night, the winner was murdered, and his winnings plundered. We pursued the killer. That pursuit eventually led us to the town of Ravenmoor, where the events I relayed earlier took place. That was also where our friend and companion Nalathi was killed. However, we did manage to recover the artifact we need to continue our exploration of the Crow. Hopefully, we will recover the remaining parts of the Sihedron there!"
Zee then pauses and takes a long drink of wine.
"Our line of work is dangerous, and the rewards can be nebulous. But it's never dull."
She drains her glass, then gets up to refill it from the half-empty decanter on the end table. She looks to Joanna, Arsith, and Brianna to fill in any details she'd left out.