The next morning they were sitting at breakfast when a young man approached their table.
"Excuse me," he said timidly. "I'm looking for a woman named Mara Evenwood."
"That's me," replied Mara.
"I am delivering a message for you," he said, handing a few sheets of folded up parchment to her.
He watched as she unfolded them and glanced at the first few lines, which indicated the message was from Talis, answering her request for information about Varram the White. Mara nodded to the young man and thanked him. He then bowed and left.
"What is it?" asked Bree.
"We need to go back to our room to discuss this," said Mara. "It's confidential information."
They all went back to their room and Mara once again unfolded the parchment sheets.
"I asked Talis to send me everything she knows about what Varram the White was up to. This is her response."
She quickly scanned through the document so she could brief the rest of the party on its contents.
"The gist is that he went on a journey to the Serpent Hills to visit a site of ancient magic there that he says will help with the ritual to summon Tiamat. Talis has her doubts about his true reasons. Some of the people she has come to know in the Mistshore have contacts with the Zhentarim, and they say there are rumors that the Zhentarim have stolen the White Dragon Mask from him. She suspects that Varram's true reasons center on his attempts to retrieve the mask."
"Wow!" exclaimed Neega. "If he doesn't get that mask back, he's going to be in a lot of trouble!"
"You're right," said Mara. "Severin would probably have him executed over that. I wonder if Severin even knows it's gone."
"Maybe not," pointed out Borovik. "That may be why he's using the pretext of seeking ancient magic to help with the ritual."
"Should we report this to the Council of Waterdeep?" asked Kellen.
"And let them find out we're friendly with a high-ranking cult official?" scoffed Mara. "I don't think so!"
Later that day the Council began outfitting the party for their journey to the Boareskyr Bridge, which was expected to take around 25 days. They would travel south down the Trade Way through Daggerford, past the Dragonspear Castle and on to Boareskyr Bridge. The Lords' Alliance would arrange for them to stay at the Lizard's Gizzard in Daggerford to rest for a full day, then at the Way Inn halfway between Daggerford and the Dragonspear Castle. After that, there would be no more inns until they reached Boareskyr Bridge.
Rations and horse feed for the trip were provided. Their horses were checked out to ensure their good health. Arrow and crossbow bolt supplies were replenished. Their gear was all checked out and verified to be in good order. Lord Dagult Neverember went over their instructions with them once more. Kellen offered to use his Sending spell to contact Dagult while they were traveling. The preparations were completed, and they were told to begin the journey the next day. They loaded up their packs and their saddlebags. Bree stuffed a large tent into her Portable Hole, in case they needed to put up a tent for the horses.
That night Mara wrote a note to her family explaining that the party would be leaving for a task assigned by the Council and would probably be gone for a couple of months. She attached it to a messenger bird and used the Animal Messenger spell to deliver it to her parents at the family farm. She also used her Sending Stone to give a message to Talis that they were leaving in the morning.
The next day they arose early and ate breakfast at the Flagon Dragon Inn, then mounted up and headed south down the Trade Way. The weather was good, and they encountered no brigands on the way to Daggerford, so they made good time. Every night they rested comfortably in a Leomund's Tiny Hut, which Kellen conjured up. They tied the horses up outside the hut so they could graze during the night. Talis contacted Mara nightly with the sending spell, and Mara briefed them on their progress. Every night Mara looked at the sky and prayed, "Mother Moon, keep us safe another day."
After 6 days of traveling, they reached Daggerford and got their rooms at the Lizard's Gizzard to rest for a day and give their horses a break. Kellen sent a message to Dagult Neverember that they were in the Lizard's Gizzard.
While they were in Daggerford, Mara had a chance to spend lengthy time in prayer.
"Oh, Mother Moon," she prayed. "I wish you would talk to Talis and explain to her how important it is for her to leave the Cult of the Dragon!"
"My child," replied Mother Moon, "I can only talk to her if she will listen to me. She listens to you, so you must keep talking to her. You have more influence over her than anyone else."
Mara had to agree that Mother Moon was right. But it seemed a slow, uncertain process, one in which she wasn't assured of success. If only Talis had chosen to leave the cult, she could be accompanying them on the journey! She would be by Mara's side even now, helping the party with her powerful Cleric spells!
Leaving Daggerford, they pushed on to the Way Inn, reaching it in about 4 days. Again, the weather was good, and they had no problems with either thieves or monsters. They rested themselves and their horses for a day. Kellen sent a message to Dagult Neverember that they were at the Way Inn.
Mara sent Talis a message, "Talis, I love you. At the Way Inn and wish you were with me."
Talis responded, "My love, you are always in my heart, even when we are physically separated."
Past the Way Inn, the land was less populated, and the Trollbark Forest lay a little to the west. The afternoon of the first day out from the Way Inn, they heard loud grunting noises and a troll burst out of the brush on the side of the road, running straight for them with a hungry look in its eyes.
"A troll!" shouted Neega. "They can regenerate health over time!"
"Acid and fire!" shouted Borovik. "That briefly prevents them from regenerating."
Having neither acid nor fire spells, Bree just shot the troll with her short bow, causing it to grunt from a small injury. The troll regenerated its health and managed to erase all the damage Bree had done. She frowned and uttered a curse in Halfling. Kellen cast a spell to temporarily blind the troll, but it managed to dodge the effect.
By this time the troll had reached the group and bit the nearest party member, who happened to be Neega. It did only a small amount of damage. It then took two swipes with its claws, but Neega's armor blocked the claw attacks.
Borovik executed an arcane gesture and called 3 fiery rays into his hand, which he threw at the troll. It was burned and the fire briefly disabled its health regeneration. Neega went into a Barbarian rage, increasing the damage she did during battle and decreasing the damage she took.
"Eat steel, you filthy troll!" she cried and hit the troll twice with Hazirawn, cutting deeply into its side and arm. The troll screamed in rage and pain. As it tried to regenerate some of its health, it found that the blows from Hazirawn temporarily blocked its regeneration ability.
"Yum!" exclaimed Hazirawn. "It's been a long time since I've tasted troll blood!"
The rest of the party ganged up on the troll, with limited success. Preston tried to poison the troll, but the troll managed to dodge the spell. Mara assumed a saber-toothed tiger wild shape and did a pounce on the troll. She snarled in fury as the troll dodged out of the way at the last second. Bree attempted to hit the troll again with her arrows but missed. Kellen finally connected with a shot from his crossbow and drew a little blood.
The troll was unable to regenerate its health and it was now in serious trouble. Snarling and shouting in Giantish, it bit Neega again, but did very little damage. It decided to see if Mara's saber-toothed tiger was easier to injure than the mighty half-orc. It hit Mara with 2 claw attacks, opening up gashes on her shoulder. Mara growled fiercely and bared her teeth.
Borovik once again threw the rays of fire at the troll, burning it sufficiently to knock it unconscious. Because the troll was unable to regenerate its health it died. Mara used wildshape healing to close up the gashes on her shoulder, then resumed half-elf form.
"Ugh!" said Neega. "The last time I fought against a troll, it nearly did me in! I'm so glad for my new weapon and a party of casters on my side!"
That night they carefully chose their camp site so that there was no cover close to the camp that could allow trolls to sneak up on them. When Talis sent a message asking how the day went, Mara told her, "Were attacked by a troll. Killed it and left its body for the vultures." Just before going to sleep, she sent up a prayer of thanks to Mother Moon.
The next day the weather turned rainy and chilly. The shivering party slogged on hour after hour in the constant, drizzling rain. They were fortunate enough to find a large tree around lunch time and they took shelter under its wide limbs while eating. When they camped for the night, they found another large tree and Kellen cast Leomund's Tiny Hut to give them a warm, dry shelter. Unfortunately, the hut was not big enough to also let the horses in, so they erected a shelter from the large tent they had stashed in Bree's Portable Hole to give the horses protection from the rain.
The following day the rain stopped, but it was still a little chilly. Nevertheless, the sun shone brightly, and their spirits improved. Another day of travel and they passed by the Dragonspear Castle. They were nervous about taking an entire day of rest near the castle because Borovik had heard it could be a dangerous place. They decided to camp just for the night, then continue another day to make a longer camp for a full day's rest.
Two days after completing the full day's rest they neared a troll infested hilly region called the Trollclaws. Sure enough, they were once again spotted and attacked, this time by a pair of trolls.
"By the sword of Tempus!" screamed Neega. "This time there's 2 of them!"
Mara immediately assumed a saber-toothed tiger wildshape and pounced on one of the trolls, who had an extraordinarily crooked nose. She raked her claws across its chest and knocked it off its feet. Flat on its back on the ground and cursing in Giantish, the troll had difficulty attacking enemies and defending itself. Both Kellen and Bree ran up to the prone troll and injured it further with their weapons, Kellen using his rapier and Bree using her shortsword.
The troll regenerated some, but not all, of its health. With a roar it climbed to its feet, then attacked Mara. The bite and one claw attack connected. She was injured, but not seriously.
Neega went into a barbarian rage and attacked the other troll with Hazirawn. She hit twice, cutting off one of its arms. Hazirawn's magic also suppressed its health regeneration. The enraged troll shrieked and waved its remaining arm in fury. It responded by attacking Neega, hitting once with a bite and once with its claws. Neega's resistance from damage blunted her injuries to only a small amount.
Borovik decided that, since there were 2 trolls, the fireball spell would be a good way to hit both of them at once. He positioned it carefully so as to hit both trolls, but none of the party members. Both trolls took significant damage from the fireball, and the crooked nose troll now joined the other troll in having its health regeneration briefly suspended. Preston hit the crooked nose troll with Chill Touch, dealing necrotic energy, and it screamed in pain. Mara clawed the crooked nose troll's legs and Kellen stabbed it, adding to its misery.
Neega again whacked the troll she faced with Hazirawn and took off its remaining arm. As it fell to the ground, unconscious, she ran to the crooked nose troll and delivered another mighty blow. It also fell unconscious, the head rolling one way and the body falling a different direction. Neither troll was able to regenerate health, so they both died.
"Those things are so filthy and so stinky!" complained Bree. "And they will eat anything they see!"
"Good thing they didn't get a chance to eat us!" shuddered Kellen.
Hazirawn crooned, "Half-orc Neega, you are indeed a mighty warrior! I am right proud to be wielded by you!"
"Thank you, Hazirawn," responded Neega.
That night, they again were very careful choosing their campsite, making sure there were no trees, shrubs or rock outcroppings near enough to the camp to allow trolls to sneak up on them undetected.
In another two days they finally reached Boareskyr Bridge, seeing it from a few miles away. Constructed of black granite, it provided a crossing over the Winding Water river for caravans on their way south to Baldur's Gate. As they drew closer, they saw that the bridge sported sculpted images of the deities Cyrian and Bhaal, commemorating a legendary battle they fought on the bridge during the Time of Troubles. Paladins from Elturgard maintained watch over the bridge from a newly built keep. There was a settlement of sorts composed of tents, wagons and caravans providing food, fresh mounts and other services to travelers.
The party entered the settlement and began asking if anyone had seen a dwarven man wearing purple robes in the area within the month or two. Everyone told them to go talk to the proprietor of Bolo's Tentside Inn.
"You can't miss it," people said." It's in a large pavilion in the very center of the tent city and it's usually full of people. Trynbrix runs the place, and she knows everything that goes on around here."
The party went into the center of the settlement and sure enough, they found the establishment. They asked to speak to Trynbrix.
Trynbrix, a halfling woman, came up to greet them and reported, "Oh, yes. We did see a man like that about 3 tendays ago. He arrived with quite an entourage. Some of them looked like hooded warriors, so I expect he was ready for any kind of trouble his group might attract.
"So, he was asking around about getting an escort into the Serpent Hills. And this tall fellow with his face hidden by a hood came up and asked him what business he had in the Serpent Hills. Well, the dwarf took one look at the hooded fellow, pulled out a dagger and stabbed him to death! And, damned if it didn't turn out that the hooded fellow was one of them nasty Yuan-Ti, come to spy on us!
"We tried to congratulate him and throw him a hero's party, but he and his traveling companions ran off toward the Serpent Hills as fast as they could! We can't figure out why he wouldn't stay and celebrate for at least a little while!"
The party thanked them and decided to rest for a day before riding off to the Serpent Hills. Kellen sent a report to Lord Dagult Neverember that they were now at the Boareskyr Bridge.
That night, Mara responded to Talis' message asking for an update saying, "At Boareskyr Bridge, where Varram last sighted. Will follow him to Serpent Hills after full day's rest."
The moon was full, so Mara spent time meditating on Mother Moon. She danced in the moonlight as part of her devotions and was joined by a couple of other druids who were in the camp at the time.
As it turned out, the fare at Bolo's Tentside Inn was quite good, and they gathered a lot of information about the area by chatting with those who populated the tent city. In particular, they learned that many monsters inhabited the Serpent Hills and its surrounding area, so they should be prepared for attacks. They also learned that the area was littered with ruined settlements and tombs of ancient civilizations. They were warned to be on the lookout for undead if they explored any of the ancient ruins. The Serpent Hills lay about 120 m. to the NE of the bridge, but no one in town knew exactly where in the hills the dwarf and his party were headed.
The party set off for the Serpent Hills after their full day of rest. Varram and his entourage were in a hurry, and made no effort to hide their tracks, so it was easy to follow them. The party pushed the pace to around 30 m. per day because of the ease of following the trail.
On the morning of the third day, they came across 2 hill giants eating the carcass of a deer.
"Hmm," said Borovik. "They must have come down from the hills to forage in the lowlands."
"First trolls and now hill giants! Just our rotten luck!" muttered Bree.
Upon seeing the party, the giants decided that they looked good to eat. They ran toward party at top speed but couldn't get close enough to attack before the party reacted.
Preston cast Ray of Sickness at the slightly nearer giant in an attempt to poison it, but the giant was tough enough that it fought off the poison. Borovik cast fireball to injure the giants with a blast of fire. Both giants took damage, but the slightly nearer giant took the full blast, while the slightly further away one managed to dodge and took only half as much. Bree shot the nearer giant with her shortbow and hit for a small amount of damage. Kellen followed up by casting Crown of Madness on the closer giant, charming it. The giant looked around in confusion, as if it had forgotten what it was going to do.
Neega went into a rage, then stepped up to the further away giant and attacked with Hazirawn. She got in two good blows, one cutting its leg and one slashing its chest. The heavily injured giant howled in pain. Mara assumed the polar bear wildshape and joined Neega in the attack on the giant. She hit with her claws and left deep gashes across the giant's face.
"Not so tough as you thought you were!" Neega taunted the giant.
The giant facing Neega attacked her with its greatclub, hitting with one of its attacks. Neega's rage allowed her to resist the damage. As the charmed giant looked around distractedly, Kellen ordered it to attack its comrade. It did so, hitting its comrade twice on the head and knocking it unconscious.
With one giant down, the party turned its full attention on the remaining giant. Preston cast Chill Touch to try to impart necrotic damage to the, but it managed to dodge out of the way of the spell. Borovik cast Phantasmal Killer to frighten the giant and to deliver psychic damage. He hit, and the giant bellowed in rage at the pain exploding in its brain. The injury it received broke Kellen's charm and it realized it had been made to kill its hunting companion. It glared at the party with pure hate. Neega then attacked the giant with Hazirawn. She hit twice and the giant fell unconscious.
Looking down at the dead giants, Preston shook a little. "These creatures we have been fighting are so big and so strong, it seems like I was powerless against them. Being an adventurer is a lot scarier than I realized."
Neega drew him close and hugged him. "You're right. It is scary. All of us are scared sometimes."
"Even you?" Preston looked up at her in amazement.
"Yes. Even me," said Neega. "I already told everyone that the first time I faced a troll, I nearly got killed. It takes a while to learn how to be good at it."
Preston reflected on this and felt a little comforted. In the meantime, Mara returned to half-elf form and checked to see if anyone needed healing.
At the close of the next day, they came to the edge of the Serpent Hills. Varram's trail continued into the hills. They looked up at rocky cliffs and into craggy ravines. Large mesas could be seen and there were even plots of land magically suspended in the air. The hills were composed of colored bands that alternated between coal black and coppery green. The only vegetation they saw was in the ravines, dying scrub brush trying to survive in dry riverbeds.
Having pushed the pace of travel to get to the Serpent Hills, they decided they and the horses needed a day's rest before proceeding. They pulled the large tent from Bree's Portable Hole and erected it for the horses. Kellen cast Leomund's Tiny Hut. During the night they heard wolves howl, but nothing approached their camp.
The next day they set out into the Serpent Hills. They had to scale back their speed because the going was rougher here. The trail lead through ravine after ravine, occasionally going over a small rise to get to the next ravine.
During the morning of the second day, they came across an unmarked grave. As they went closer to inspect, a ghost rose out of the ground. Everyone jumped back and pulled out their weapons.
"Don't worry," came the whispering voice of the ghost. "I have no desire to harm you."
"Who are you?" asked Kellen. "Why are you here?"
"In life I was an adventurer by the name of Jerrod Barclay. I and my crew came here to seek the pool of divination at the Tomb of Diderius. We were ambushed by lizardfolk. We drove them away, but not before I was killed. My disheartened companions buried me here and returned without ever finding the tomb."
"Why does your spirit stay here? Why can't you go to your rest?"
"I am bound to the Serpent Hills until I find the Tomb. I don't know why, but I am. I've tried unsuccessfully to find it on many occasions, so each time I return to my grave and ponder where next to search the next time.'"
"Well, we don't know where the tomb is. We're tracking a villain and we hear he's going to an ancient site of magic."
"If the party doesn't object, I would like to follow along. I may learn something new that will lead me to the tomb. And it would comfort me to have some company, if only for a little while."
Kellen turned to the party and asked, "Are we willing to have the ghost accompany us to wherever Varram went?"
The party debated for a short while, then decided the ghost could tag along. They continued on their way, the ghost floating alongside them. Kellen walked with the ghost, asking him all about his party of adventurers and his exploits, gathering more material for the ballads he loved to compose.
On late afternoon of the 4th day in the Serpent Hills the trail led into a ravine and up to facade carved into the side of the canyon that appeared to be the entrance to some sort of building dug into the cliff side. The ruins of a town nestled in the canyon between the canyon walls, but little except piles of rubble remained of the buildings.
"This is it!" cried the ghost. "The Tomb of Diderius! I will enter it and find the divination pool. Then my task will be complete, and I may go to my rest. Thank you, my friends!"
With that, the ghost rapidly flew off, using its incorporeality to pass through the walls directly into the structure. They weren't sure it they would ever see it again.
"So, the place Varram was looking for is called the Tomb of Diderius," said Borovik. "And it contains a divination pool."
"Do you suppose that Varram was after the divination pool to find out where the White Dragon Mask went?" asked Bree.
"I'd be willing to bet on it."