The companions set off on this rainy festival day to make their delivery and look for two missing persons. Garyld instructed them to follow the Churnett River as it would lead them directly to Thurmaster within a day and a half's time. Kaileer had left earlier to search the surrounding area for any signs of Jelenneth or Zond, but he rejoined them on the road about midafternoon. The weather was miserable throughout the rest of Midsummer and the Long Night. The next dawn brought a breaking of the clouds and by the time they approached the small village of Thurmaster, the sun was shining brightly again, making the day hot and humid.
Gala only found out about the missing apprentice as the group was getting ready to leave. She agreed with Azrun that they leave with all haste, "I wonder if the 2 are related," she murmured, unaware that most of the others wondered the same thing.
Since Gala was her roommate and was wondering, Arachne decided to share what she'd surmised during a quiet moment on the way to Thurmaster. "I really didn't think I should bother coming the rest of the way to Thurmaster," she said. "Jelenneth won't be there and I think her disappearance _is_ connected to Zond's. But Azrun really likes keeping all his chickens in one pot -- or something like that. He seemed to think it important for me to soldier on." She made a face. "But the mystery and the missing people -- and the banditry. All of that seems centered on Milbourne, so I guess we should just get this stupid chest delivered and then hurry back. I hope the delay won't kill Zond. Oh yeah, Jelenneth went missing because she saw something interesting around the boathouse from her room and went to investigate. That's the only explanation that fits the evidence from her room."
Before she left Gala stopped by to say good-bye to Semheis. If any wanted to go with her, she introduced them to the Holy Champion and bid him a somewhat distracted farewell.
Arachne was interested.
Although he was reluctant to leave town without looking for Zond further,Pug busied himself during the journey. Offering to mend anyones' clothes damaged in the battle with the bandits and pointing to an interesting landmarks to Arachne while commenting in Gnomish made up most of his activities. "Offering" generally meant Pug bothered the person in question about the condition of their clothes until they were given to him.
Kaileer seemed happy enough even though the weather was terrible. He did however remain more vigilant than he had been on the road, not wanting a repeat of the previous events. He shared a few words of his native tongue with Puddlejumper and anyone else who would listen, though he did little actual talking and more listening, hoping to pick up more of the language.
"I expect they've cancelled," Arachne said, as the group paused the journey to make a soaked camp for the night. "The folks in Milbourne," she added, by way of explanation. "On the Long Night, they usually observe the tradition of forest betrothals -- Kaileer. Did you find any bowers in the woods? Recently constructed, perhaps? I was told that Andren and Jelenneth had planned to participate tonight, not that the parents all knew or had given consent. It's why I'm so sure that she'll not be in Thurmaster. Even if this wizard What's His Name-- Tauster -- had personally paid her a visit and required her company, I think she'd've told him to go chew a toadstool. "Oh, and tonight's my Birtheve. I was born on Shieldmeet, so this is often as close as I get to having a birthday." She shrugged. "I don't really feel like celebrating either."
Aloysius stayed to himself during the trip, apparently somewhat embarrassed by his discussion with Garyld. He didn't even have his usual interest in native animals and plant life as he trudged along the road. He also seemed oblivious to the rain.
Kaileer more than made up for the wizard's lack of interest, stopping for a second to each new flower or to look at birds huddled in the trees against the rain.
Gala fell back with Aloysius. She looked at him curiously, "What's wrong, Aloysius? I know it's a miserable day and Zond and now this apprentice, but you seem unusually disheartened. Is there anything I can help with?"
Upon hearing Gala's question, Aloysius seemed momentarily taken aback. Then, a soft (almost glowing?) expression flashed across his face totally unrelated to the painful smile he sometimes wore. He flashed Gala a weak grin, clearly heartened by her concern. "Methinks thous hast already, gentle one," he replied. "For one who knows so much, I know so little . . . . . ." With that, he continued to quietly plod along towards Thurmaster, although his posture was perhaps a bit lighter than it had been before . . .
Kaileer didn't seem very comfortable at all as they approached the town and looked around periodicaly to make sure this was indeed a town and not a goblin prison camp.
Outside of Thurmaster were a number of abandoned farmsteads that had fallen into ruin. The village itself was surrounded by rickety wooden walls. The two guards at the gates looked bored and merely nodded at them as they passed by. The wizard's home was easy to find, a two story tower and a small house at the end of the village opposite the gates.
Tauster himself was an old man, about of height with Gala, and almost completely bald. He regarded the group suspiciously as he answered the door to his home, "Yes, I'm Tauster." He waited for them to explain who they were.
Arachne left that to Azrun. She gazed contemplatively out at the village.
Pug Kept silent once they arrived in Thurmaster. He seemed intent on studying the wizard, Tauster, once they met.
Upon meeting the wizard, Kaileer wasn't impressed, apparently elves become desensotized to magecraft at an early age. He helped Arzun bring the chest inside and waited for the information about Jelenneth but then he waited outside for the others.
Aloysius perked up a bit once the wizard answered the door, but remained silent. He simply stood there as Tauster and Azrun spoke, quietly observing the magic-user.
Azrun bowed to the mage," Master Tauster, I am Azrun. My companions and I have been sent by Gordrenn to bring to you this chest of items. Shall we carry it inside for you?"
"Oh good, I've been needing that," the wizard exclaimed. Tauster shook his head at the offered help, "I can get it." He waited for someone to remove the chest from Puddlejumper and struggled to his tower with it. He put the chest down on the ground and jangled a large number of keys to unlock to door before spiriting his chest inside. He returned momentarily, wiping sweat from his forehead and looked at the group. "Gordrenn usually sends a letter for me to countersign. Do you have one?"
After carefully examining the letter and signing it, Tauster told them, "Squire Marlen can give you the money for that." He pointed to another building in the village.
Azrun gave the letter to Pug and smiled, "I'm sure you'll want todeal with this, sir."
He absently took the note from Azrun, which may have seemed out of character, and followed the group inside. Pug seemed more intent on studying the inside of the wizard's house than anything else.
Azrun turns to the wizard, "Sir, before we take our remaining pay and leave. We traveled through the town of Milborne on our way here. While there, a girl who supposedly is an apprentice of yours, Jelenneth has turned up missing. We told the locals that we would check with you to see if you knew where she was. A young man by the name of Andren was quite upset."
"Jelenneth? Missing?" His face paled at this news, "I haven't seen her in two rides, since she went back to Milborne to visit. She was going to come back next ride, I think. Come inside and tell me what happened," he opened the door to his house.
Kaileer looked grim. "This mean Jelenneth either lost or taken, Kaileer need get word to Garyld as fast poss... as can. I take Puddlejumper to bring word for Garyld faster." Kaileer said then approached the horse. "Can you bear me swiftly to Milborne, noble one?", he asked the horse in elven.
Azrun looked to Kaileer, "My friend, I would rather you not make such a journey alone. It might not just be mages, that the bandits are looking for. The Elves are known quite well for their magics also."
Kaileer shook his head. "Not matter, not can waste more time..."
"Hold on Kaileer," Pug said momentarily breaking his silence "I think we need to find out more information before running off. Besides I can handle a mount fairly well and my small size would speed Puddlejumper's travel, if one of us is to go."
"Added to which," Arachne remarked, "if either of you goes off with Puddlejumper, _I_ shall either slow down the rest of the party trying to keep up or get left behind if they sensibly decide to go at a pace more suited to their stride. Either outcome would make me unhappy, I admit. Moreover, there is no rush to get word to Garyld. I told him before we left that Jelenneth wouldn't be here."
Tauster's home was small, but much nicer than the other places they could see in Thurmaster. He paced about a bit, "I never wanted to take on an apprentice, but the girl was so insistant. I've grown fond of her now; she's almost like a granddaughter to me. She's so excited about magic and that boy,what's his name, back in Milborne. It's nice to watch young people." He continued to pace as he waited for the story of Jelenneth's disappearance.
Arachne blinked, then shrugged and asked, "Did you, by any chance, catch the boy's name?"
Tauster thought for a moment. "The one he said," he pointed at Azrun, "Andren, one of Dirkaster's twin grandsons."
Azrun sat down with the mage, "I'm not sure what is going on there, sir. While we were on our way into Milborne, we were jumped by bandits. Strangely enough, instead of outright just trying to kill one of our mages the bandits tried to subdue him. We prevailed and took a few of the bandits we captured into town with us. That night they disappeared along with one of our friends." Azrun rubbed his chin,"All things lead back to the river there in Milborne. Our friend's track came back to the river and Jelenneth's room overlooked the boathouse there. Do you have any ideas, sir?"
Tauster listened to Azrun and then Kaileer's plan to leave with a thoughtful expression, "You know, if she's been anywhere along the river, Kuiper would know about it. There's very little that comes and goes on the Churnett that he doesn't know about. His farm is on the way back to Milborne." He looked at the group, "I'll write a letter to him telling what is going on. If you'll deliver it, I'll pay you each 10 gold." He thought about it again, "If you can find out what happened to Jelenneth, I'll give each of you 50 as a reward." He waited for their answer to his offer with a look of genuine concern for the missing girl on his face.
Kaileer shrugged. "Money lots, time little. Kaileer not need gold, need go fast..."
Perhaps still smarting from his earlier discussion with Garyld, Aloysius simply kept silent and listened as Tauster and Azrun talked. Every few seconds or so, his eyebrow would twitch slightly, but other than that, he seemed remarkably calm and together.
Arachne looked up from contemplating her fingers. "Thurmaster appears to have fallen on hard times," she observed quietly. "We noticed those abandoned farms outside the town. They look to be rather close to the river -- were they abandoned because the soil'd become too waterlogged to grow much crops?"
"Not here," Tauster answered. "You must have heard about the New Mire. It's almost due south of Milborne. It's on the other side of the Thornwood from here. Some of the old farmsteads here date back to when the walls were built around the village, when they were having problems with maurading lizard men from the Shrieken Mire. Thurmaster lost near half its population before Count Palfrey hired a merc band to kill the lizard king. But that was years ago."
"No!" Arachne exclaimed. "The day's not that far gone [ooc: is it?] and we've wasted enough time coming here. If Churnett's on the way back to Milborne, then perhaps we can reach his farm by nightfall today." More quietly, she added, "And take the money, Azrun: A wizard likes to see _his_ efforts have a practical effect."
Aloysius listened to Tauster's proposition. His eyes darted back and forth as Kaileer offered to ride to Milborn, and then as Pug did the same. Finally, the purple man's eyes grew wide with amazement for a moment as Azrun volunteered to waive his share of payment.
"Ahem", grunted the mage, not stopping to see if anyone's atention was drawn by his clearing his throat. "Methinks it would be wise to see this Kuiper as Tauster has recommended. Churnett be a river, not a man, although we could visit with it too I suppose . . . . .In any event, sticks in a bundle be we lest our backs be broken one at a time. Together we should stay. I'm sure good Tauster can tell us with specificity where Kuiper resides." Seeing that at least one person overheard his remark, the purple man blushed slightly, apparently realizing that he was starting to ramble a bit. Under his breath, the purple man muttered, "Lizard men! By the King's Coin, I hope there are none of those about . . . . . . . ."
The purple man stroked his scruffy beard in contemplation. "Hmmm . . . . .methinks it would be best if we seek out this man, the knower-of-the-river, 'pon the morning. In a few hours, darkness will be upon us. 'Tis much more likely that creatures foul will we encounter while Sol takes his rest. Without good Zond, and with some of our numbers nursing wounds (I think), an encounter with the Minions of the Night should we avoid. What say you all?"
"Kaileer not afraid of night. If Puddlejumper want stay here, Kaileer not can make him go." The elf looks over the map then traces a straight line with his finger from Thurmaster to Milborne, straight through the Thornwood. "Kaileer find other road..."
Maisar is his non talkative sefl on the way to Thurmaster, and he does not say much of anything while the group is at Tauster's delivering the chest. Then upon hearing Aloysius speek about traveling at night; Maisar turns his head towards Aloysius, and says "What kind of foul creatures do you think would be in the night waiting for us."
Aloysius looked back at his hooded/shrouded/face-covered companion and thought for a moment. "Well, we already know that bandits are afoot, and that the area has a history of lizard man problems. We also know that someone, or someTHING, was following us. In addition, there is always the standard monster fare to concern oneself with, you know, goblins, orcs, undead, ogres, henways, etc." With that, the purple man waited for a moment (clearly amused at himself), waiting to see if anyone would bite .
Azrun listens to the others comments on staying and traveling at night. "I am staying here tonight. Master Tauster, I'll accept your invitation to pay for my room tonight. I appreciate it. I will have to decline on your reward, if I help in finding Jelenneth. I'll take no money for helping to find someone's loved one." Azrun turns and heads out the door toward one fo the inns Tauser mentioned.
Aloysius watched as Azrun left Tauster's home. The purple man looked about at his comrades for a second, then said, "What he said . . . .with the possible exception of the part about the reward . . . . . ." With that, Aloysius went out to catch up with Azrun.
The wood elf looked impatient. "There is no rest for the weary, already two people are lost and I cannot rest while there is a chance they can be helped." He spoke in his native language, too frustrated to try and translate.
"FIDDLESTICKS!" Arachne exclaimed. "Is that any way to help find someone's lost loved one? What _is_ this wariness about the night? Was he spooked by something last night? We were out in the darkness last night--and it was a lot less pleasant then than it's likely to be tonight. It was still raining then; it'll be balmy tonight. I'm going now. Pug, if you're coming then we might as well take _Zond's_ -- remember him?" Sarcasm leaked into Arachne's voice. "We might as well take Zond's horse, Puddlejumper. If you're staying here with our bold bard, then I'll leave Zond's friend to you. Kaileer, you were eager to go. Coming? Gala? Torro, you're the only one still hurting from the bandits we _did_ encounter (as opposed to the ones we might speculate about). I could understand it if you'd prefer to stay here the night. You will heal better...probably. Maiser? Who else wants to go now? We have 5 hours of daylight now; we can at least make something with that."
Arachne waited for responses from the remainder of the group. She waited impatiently, though, and, once people had decided to go or stay, paused only to collect Tauster's letter to Churnett before setting out back toward Milborne.
Aloysius heard Arachne's just as he reached the door. He was so startled that his hat flew off his head, landing on the floor at his feet. He turned back to the others, long purple hair flowing to his shoulders. After Arachne's eruption came to an end, the purple man looked around in amazement. "Care more for you all than ones I know not. No one wnats to find Zond more than I, but losing you all in the dark in search of this Jelleneth would bring me no small grief. I think it unwise to dash off the night as we are planning, but if go you must, I'll not allow you to go alone." With that, he picked up his hat, and waited.
Gala nodded. "I'm with you, Arachne. I'm afraid something terrible has happened to Zond."
Aloysius hurried to catch up with the speeding gnomes (along with Maisar, Kaileer, and Gala). "Wait for me!" he called. Upon reaching the group on the road, he continued, "if we are going to try and reach Kuiper, we had better move with all due haste. Did anyone bother to get directions from Tauster?"
Gala looked at Aloysius. "As a servant of Lathander I oppose the dark of heart always. Have no fear on that score, Aloysius." She smiled at him. "I could not sleep if I thought there was anything I could do to aid my friends.
Arachne said, "We looked at a map. We know, roughly, the distance. And the direction. Does that satisfy you? "As to why I wanted to leave immediately: There were multiple reasons, and they didn't all amount to wanting to reach Kuiper's ere I rested. It took us a day and a half to get from Milborne to Thurmaster. If we waited until morning tomorrow to start back, we'd not reach Thurmaster again before the day after tomorrow sometime. Leaving now, even if we choose to camp before reaching Kuiper's, we might reach Milborne by tomorrow night. "But yes, if Kuiper knows as much as anyone about what goes on on the river, I _am_ eager to talk to him. And, incidentally, I would like to make sure that he's still alive."
