You had a Dwarf with you. Moments after the Marchioness went overboard, Thal came up to the foredeck and spoke with Lucien. Arthur was also on deck and told the stunned crew to make a boat ready. Thal tried to fetch the magick lantern, which was now shining toward the stern of the ship, from where it hung from the bow. As the deck heaved, Thal fell from the prow, failed to catch the rigging, and was only saved from the waves by Lucien grabbing him by the foot and hauling him back on board. Thal was wet with spray from the faerie waters, but was dry again in mere moments …. Lucien asked Arthur for help fetching the magick lantern at the prow. Arthur found a boathook. Thal took the boathook and Lucien told Arthur to fetch Captain Emeric de Lacie from below decks. Thal used the boat hook to fetch the lantern, then said “Oops!” as he flung it into the sea. Lucien tried to stop him, but too late. The device went over the side and into the water with a splash. Arthur returned with Captain Emeric who pushed aside the helmsman and took command. The Captain spun the wheel hard. The ship pitched violently to the side, throwing people against the decks and rails. Ogham came up on deck and asked what had happened. He used his special monocle to watch Lucien answer, but the answers Lucien gave revealed little. While helping to prepare the ship’s boat, Arthur stopped for a moment and closed his eyes as if suddenly deep in thought – or having visions. Then Arthur told the party he had a vision of the Marchioness. Thal cast a charm to find her, first to no effect, but the second time giving a specific direction. “That way!” Thal exclaimed and pointed forward. The moon began to set, the fog began to thin and, just as familiar stars became visible, the first glow of sunrise began to obscure them. Arthur told the party that we were looking for an island or a beach of some sort. “Land ho!” cried the lookout in the crows nest, and the ship quickly approached the shoreline to the north. The ship’s boat had room for eight, the Captain, two hands, and up to four of the party could go and leave room to return the Marchioness. Ogham, Thal, and Arthur climbed into the small boat and made their way with them to the shore. There they found a figure washed up, the prone form of the Marchioness Lucinda unconscious in her drenched finery. Wet, but not cold, she was returned to the ship and laid out in a cabin. Ogham used magicks unknown to the others to bind the Marchioness to her cabin, and Thal announced that as she was so bound she had transitioned from charmed into true sleep. Arthur fetched dry clothes and he and Lucien removed the waterlogged garments from the Marchioness and dressed her in extra clothes from the crew. Then the party consulted with the Captain about their next destination. Lucien wanted to take the Marchioness to Fallond directly, but Ogham protested that he would face trouble there. The nearest port of Tunsburgh was considered, then it was agreed the ship would sail to Bridgeport, instead. This would enable relatively safe travel to Fallond without putting Captain Emeric’s mission to the South at risk. Over a month had passed while the party was in faerie and it was now midsummer. On the second day of sailing after emerging from Færie, before arrival at Bridgeport, the Marchioness Lucinda woke, looked around, and started asking questions. It appeared she had lost all memory even of her home by the majestic river Dansis. Arthur asked the others for help with Lucinda, and was guarded when Edred appeared to misunderstand his intent. Lucien asked for Thal’s help and Thal cast a spell to read her aura by magick in an attempt to understand what had happened to her. Thal told the party that upon Lucinda he sensed a faerie enchantment of great strength like a great storm or a caged beast. Lucien ordered Edred to fetch food and drink for Lucinda, then Lucien spoke with her and attempted to console her fear, to modest success. Thal attempted to distract the Marchioness with a story, but he stumbled over the words and was quieted. The ship made port at Bridgeport. Arthur went to the market to get more acceptable clothes for Marchioness Lucinda. Lucien agreed to leave James the Black and his remaining crew with Captain Emeric to exchange for reward. Arthur went to the market to get better clothes for Lucinda and bought monk’s robes, clothing for a woman of modestly successful social position, also a gift for his sister, then he submitted a letter to be delivered before returning. Edred went to the market, set up a booth, performed music, and engaged in games of chance with the crowds gathered there and returned with a clutch of coins for his efforts. Thal spent most of the day finding shaded spots on deck where he could meditate peacefully, then later cloaked Ogham in magickal anonymity to protect him while visiting this realm where dwarfs are no longer known. Lucinda attempted to leave her quarters and found herself unable. She cried despondently for help and was consoled by Lucien, yet remained fearful and upset. Arthur returned in the afternoon with a bearer and many packages. Ogham released the Marchioness from her magickal confinement, then the party prepared to cross massive, sprawling Kingsbridge bearing the Marchioness on Ogham’s cart. The crossing was tiring as traffic was thick and snarled. The party passed through four checkpoints, one at each of the four castles along the bridge. In the square at the end of the bridge in Fallond the party found the Parson’s Rest, an inn that appeared sufficient, yet unencumbered with particularly regal trappings such as had been found at the Old Gregory when the party was last in Fallond. When the party later reached the royal palace, a compound covering roughly a square mile, Lucien sent a message to the Queen that the mission to recover the Marchioness Lucinda had considerable success and summoned Lord Greash, the Porter of Fairingay Palace, from his office and chambers at the top of the great gatehouse to arrange a royal meeting. Drinks were served in the gatehouse during the hour that passed before the Porter returned to announce that Her Majesty would grant audience. The Porter led the party through the massive palace complex to the main throne room. There, more than two hundred people were assembled including the court and petitioners. The King announced the Queen’s departure from the throne room and she left to give them audience, through a private gallery overlooking the throne hall to the chambers beyond. In these private chambers the Queen was presented with the modestly dressed and visibly addled Marchioness Lucinda. Thal related to the Queen the critical moments of the confrontation between the Lady Bizarre and Lucien, then Lucien added details to the account including the appearance of Lady Dacre near the Lady Bizarre. The Queen ordered Lucinda taken to the Regent’s tower. When Lucien implicated Earl Rustin was involved in the abduction of the Marchioness the Queen said such an accusation could not be entertained or even tolerated without proof. Then there was an awkward silence. The Queen said that Perigrinus Umbrum, Master of the Wizards Guild, would be interested in hearing of the machinations of the rogue wizards of Digby, and she ordered a letter of introduction to Perigrinus be produced by one of her ladies under her Privy Seal. At this time, mention was made of the murderous louts the party had left imprisoned in a chapel crypt at the edge of Mummersetshire, but the Queen brushed this aside to discuss more pressing matters. As a result of a single woman bent on vengeance, the treaty with dwarf kind had been sundered and the Treaty Between Two Churches was at risk as pagans demanded Benefit of Clergy for one their own. Just three weeks earlier there had come reports of cracks of thunder up and down the mountains where dwarf kind dwell. Great plumes of dust were raised, and it was found the dwarfs had buried themselves securely under stone. With this the royal mines were no longer operating or even reachable, and the throne would be bankrupt in weeks. Because of this, the King greatly desired to question the dwarf who had been seen with us. Lucien and Thal both made brave attempts to convince the Queen that Ogham should be allowed to decide for himself when to be available for questioning. With that, the royal audience was over and the doorwards called to show the party out. At the Regents Tower, arrangements were made through the awkward Apprentice Ferguson for an audience with Master Perigrinus. That left time for the party to return to the Parson’s Rest. Ogham was informed of the great interest in pursuit of discourse with him, and then the rest of the party went back to the palace to see Perigrinus. In the crowded palace grounds where even great titled Lords must call in favors to have brief use of a single small room, Perigrinus was found to have an entire finely appointed tower to himself. Entering the tower Thal felt the presence of a powerful magickal Ægis, and he informed the others that use of magicks there would at best be ineffective and at worst considered an offense. The queen’s letter of introduction was given to Perigrinus, who said that things had changed. Perigrinus estimated the curse upon Lucinda to be very powerful and not easily undone, and then he revealed that the Island of Digby was no longer of this mortal realm. Arthur suggested acquiring a relic to help clear the curse on Lucinda, and Perigrinus suggested that Lady Bess, the pagan representative to the crown might be helpful in that regard. Thal renewed his promise to return to join with the Wizards Guild, but only after resolution of currently critical problems. On the way out of the palace, Lady Rhiarra was encountered with Mother Olivia, a religious figure of the Sisters of St. Melois, a skilled healer, as evinced by the long green velvet gloves that she wore drawn up to her elbows. Lady Rhiarra spoke of dramatic changes in the kingdom. “Things have become unstable, especially with the difficulties caused by loss of the king’s silver mines, which have been under the care of the dwarfs.” Luckily, her family wealth came not from that source, but if the kingdom fell into chaos that might not be any salvation. “You had a dwarf with you, as I recall,” Lady Rhiarra observed, “When you visited mother and I at Foxwoerth.” The party was invited to a house of call by the name of “The Great North”, decorated with trophies of beasts on the walls and a bearskin on the high table. There the night was drunk and danced away. Upon returning to the Parson’s Rest in the late evening, Thal sensed magicks at work and warned the others. Then Thal attempted to heighten his own senses by magickal means so as to be ready for any event, but the spell casting went awry and his hair, still short as it grew out from the previous occasion, flew again from his head with a “Poof!” and settled about him. As the party dispersed to their rooms upstairs, Lucien heard the rushing of swirling wind and Perigrinus appeared beside him on the upper landing of the stairs. He pointed at Ogham and conjured six soldiers in mail and MacDearth Blue emblazoned with the snow white royal eagle, bearing swords and spears. They surrounded the dwarf. Perigrinus made a gesture with his staff and with a rushing swirl of wind Ogham and the soldiers were gone. Perigrinus intoned some words ancient and obscure and, with another “Poof!” of air, he also was gone.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 21:14:06 +0000
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