The Yuan-ti abomination priestess pulled a dagger out of a scabbard strapped to her arm and leaned low over Varram, pressing the dagger to his throat. Borovik recognized it as a Dragontooth dagger and guessed that it had belonged to Varram.
The priestess turned to the party and addressed them solemnly in Draconic, "We don't know why you are after this man, but your search for him has brought a great deal of misery to our tribe. We will turn him over to you on 2 conditions. First, you must leave our den immediately. Second, you must not kill any more of our tribe on your way out. If you don't agree to the conditions, I will kill him here and now."
Borovik consulted with the rest of the party, and all nodded in agreement to the conditions. He turned back to the priestess and said, "We agree to your terms."
The priestess glided away from Varram and joined the other Yuan-ti along the wall. Neega picked him up and slung him across her upper back, with his arms hanging down one side of her head and his legs dangling down the other. She grabbed his feet and hands to steady him in position and they turned to leave the temple. As they left, the Yuan-ti watched them with sorrow and anger in their eyes.
Carrying Varram's unconscious body was a tiring experience, even for Neega. When they reached the bridge over the pit, she asked Mara, who was still in polar bear form, to carry Varram for a while. Mara nodded. Bree skillfully rigged up a rope harness so that Varram wouldn't slip off Mara's back as she carried him across the bridge.
They slowly made their way back to Diderius' crypt, to the dining hall room and to the throne room antechamber. At this point, Mara stopped and shook her head.
"Do you want me to take Varram back now?" asked Neega.
Mara nodded. The rest of the party then untied him and took him off Mara's back. She resumed half-elf form and spoke to the party.
"I would like to heal him sufficiently that he can walk up the trapped hallway. It would be too tricky to try to carry him past the trigger plate."
"Good idea," said Bree. She quickly took the rope and tied Varram's arms behind his back. Mara then cast Cure wounds on Varram and healed him enough to regain consciousness. His eyes opened and he looked at them in alarm.
"Who are you?" he squeaked.
Borovik answered, "We are agents of a council of Sword Coast factions that has gathered in Waterdeep to stop the ritual to summon Tiamat. You are now our prisoner."
"What are you going to do with me?"
"Turn you over to the authorities for questioning. I suppose how the authorities treat you will depend on how responsive you are to their questioning."
Varram looked sad, "Well, it's better than being beaten by those Yuan-ti. I think they wanted to sacrifice me to use the divination pool, but I lied them to say I had vast wealth I would give them if they freed me. Although it didn't stop the beatings, it prevented them from killing me."
Bree's curiosity got the better of her. "So, were you here to ask the divination pool where the White Dragon Mask was?"
"Yes," admitted Varram. "It was stolen, and I knew my life was over if I didn't get it back."
"Well, where is it?
"At the Well of Dragons. The Cult of the Dragon found and recovered it without my help. Since they now know I lost it, I'm sure that by now they really do want me dead."
"Well, then," said Neega. "As long as you don't try to escape, we are willing to protect you from cult assassins. If you do run away, then you face any dangers in your way alone."
Varram sadly nodded his head. "I understand. I won't try to escape."
By now Varram had recovered enough to be able to walk, so they proceeded up the trapped hallway, warning him not to step on the trigger plate. He stared in puzzlement at the half-reassembled mosaic chimera as they neared the tomb entrance.
"What happened to the chimera?" he asked. "It was complete when I entered the tomb."
"It's current state is courtesy of our rogue, Bree," smirked Kellen. "She threw half of the tiles down the well in the next room to spite the monster after it attacked us. With only half its tiles available, it could only half reassemble itself."
The party exited through the room of enchanted statues and the entry antechamber. They emerged from the tomb and saw it was late afternoon.
"Where are the guards I left here outside the entrance?" Varram asked. "Did you kill them?"
"No," said Kellen. "Trolls did. They live in tunnels beneath the fountain and eat creatures they find in the plaza. We have a camp in one of the caves on the cliff that seems to be far enough away from the plaza to keep us from being found and eaten."
They made their way back to the cave and found the horses safe. After preparing some food they sat down to eat and rest. During the meal, Varram looked quizzically at Mara.
"I kept thinking all this time that you look familiar. Now I remember why. You are Mara Evenwood, once upon a time Talis Kasterel's lover!"
Mara gave him a sideways glance and frowned. "What of it?" she said.
"You know, I heard rumors that the 2 of you were back together? Is that true?"
"None of your damn business!" snapped Mara. "Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong!"
"Okay. Sorry." The briefest smirk crossed his lips.
After the meal, Kellen cast a Sending spell to Dagult Neverember stating that they had captured Varram and were seeking permission to turn him over to the Elturgard paladins stationed at Boareskyr Bridge. Dagult responded that he would try to arrange for that. Preston used his Mending cantrip to repair damage left in Neega's and Mara's armor during their battles during the day.
Mara received a tell from Talis asking how the mission was going. She replied, "Varram is our prisoner. Preparing to return to Waterdeep. Can't wait to see you."
During her prayer to Mother Moon that night, Mara received a revelation that she could now stay in her wild shape for a longer period of time. Mother Moon also revealed that she would begin teaching Mara to assume shapes of flying creatures.
As always, Kellen cast Leomund's Tiny Hut for them to sleep in during the night. Once inside, Varram stared at the walls, amazed at the comfort and safety the hut provided. As they lay down to sleep, the party members felt their durability and ability to absorb injuries had increased. The casters felt that the amount of magical energy they had to expend per day had increased.
That night, Mara had a dream about the Pashar family, with whom she had lived for 2 years in Phandalin. In her dream, it was birthing season for the lambs. She and the entire family tended to the pregnant ewes, the new lambs and their mothers. It was a busy, but joyous time on the farm. When she awoke it was still dark, and tears flowed as she remembered how she had found them all murdered after the battle of Phandalin. At the same time, she realized that some of the sharp pain of grief had softened a bit in the months since that awful day. Tears of joy at having been able to live with them as family for 2 years mixed with tears of sorrow at their deaths. She thanked Mother Moon for the chance to share in their lives and prayed that they had found rest in one of the celestial planes.
The next morning they prepared to begin the journey back to Waterdeep. It occurred to them that they had only 6 horses to transport 7 people.
"Now what? Are we going to have to go slow so that Varram can keep up on foot?" griped Neega.
"I have an idea," said Mara. "If I turn into a horse, I can follow along at a horse's pace and Varram can ride my horse. Then we don't have to slow down."
That appealed to everyone, so when they were ready to leave, Mara became a horse.
"Oh, Mara!" cried Varram. "You have become a very beautiful horse! I would rather ride you than your horse!"
Mara snapped at him with her big, shiny horse teeth and he decided that riding Mara's horse was the safer alternative.
They got on their way and after about 4 days had left the Serpent Hills. Another day of travel and they decided to take a full days rest to give the horses a break. Kellen took the opportunity to cast another Sending spell to Dagult Neverember asking if there had been an okay for their request to turn Varram over to the Elturgard paladins. Dagult responded that it was approved, and the party breathed a sigh of relief to know they wouldn't have to escort Varram all the way back to Waterdeep.
During the rest day Mother Moon began showing Mara how to become a flying creature. She instructed Mara to begin practicing being an eagle, since she could use the keen eyesight to scout many miles ahead for enemies as they traveled back to Waterdeep. Mara learned to ride the air currents and updrafts to spend less energy flying, and to spot things from far up in the sky. That night, she responded to Talis' Sending spell message with the news, "Mother Moon has taught me to fly!"
Borovik spent some time contemplating the next spells he would like to learn, and realized that he had an inspiration for how to cast Blight and Hallucinatory Terrain. He quickly jotted them down in his spell book.
"Preston," he said, "it might be time for you to learn a new spell."
Preston thought about it, then said, "I would love to learn the Magic Missiles spell, but I worry that I might have to unlearn one of the other first level spells I know."
"I have a Wand of Magic Missiles that I rarely use. Let me give it to you," said Borovik. "It has 7 charges, so you have to keep track of how many times you use it. If you let the charges go to 0, it has a chance of being destroyed. Each day at dawn it recharges a few of its charges, so it will eventually return to 7."
Preston grinned broadly as he accepted the Wand of Magic Missiles. "Force damage! I can't wait to try it out!"
Kellen played them a tune on his harp and sang a ballad to them over the campfire. He channeled magic through the song to create a feeling of well-being and camaraderie in the party. After he finished, he realized that the channeled magic had revealed to him the spell Freedom of Movement.
Another 4 days of travel brought them back to the Boareskyr Bridge and the Elturgard keep. They stopped at the keep and turned Varram over to the paladins there. Their supplies of rations, arrows and bolts were replenished and the next day they resumed the trip back to Waterdeep, not wanting to enter the settlement at the bridge and have to answer questions about Varram. Mara reported to Talis that Varram had been turned over to the Elturgard paladins and they were on their way back to Waterdeep.
Once away from the Boareskyr Bridge, Mara began doing reconnaissance flights as an eagle in the morning and right after the noon meal. They were in troll country, and she searched with the eagle's keen eyes for any troll ambushes. A couple of times she spotted signs of trolls hiding by the side of the road, and she alerted the party so they could go around that section of the road and avoid a battle.
It took a tenday to get from the Boareskyr Bridge to the Way Inn, where they rested for a day. Borovik used the rest day to transcribe the spell Wall of Fire from the spell books looted from the Naerytar Castle into his own.
The trip back to Waterdeep was becoming long and tedious. Tired from their mission, they only wanted the trip to be over. Mara longed to feel Talis' arms around her again.
One night Mara dreamed of her return to Waterdeep. She flew as a giant eagle to Talis' safe house. Except it was no longer the derelict ship in the harbor at Mistshore. It was a grand ship at sea, and Talis was quartered in a luxury cabin. She landed, resumed half-elf form and embraced the woman she loved. They spun around and rose into the air, merging into a single person. Higher and higher they rose and Mara's passion at their union swelled to a fever pitch. Desire finally consumed her in a fiery blast, and she groaned loudly enough to awaken herself. She sat up, and Bree, who was on watch, smiled knowingly.
"Good dream, huh?"
"Yeah," said Mara, laying back down with a sigh.
Four days after leaving the Way Inn they reached Daggerford and rested for a day of the Lizard's Gizzard. Borovik used the rest day to transcribe the spell Banishment from the looted spell books into his own.
Mara continued her reconnaissance flights throughout the trip. On the road between Daggerford and Waterdeep, she spotted a group of goblins hiding at the side of the road.
"Should we go around them?" she asked the party upon returning to their camp.
"We probably don't need to," scoffed Neega, "If they're stupid enough to attack us, we'll stomp them!"
They proceeded down the road, and the overconfident goblins did indeed attack them. A flurry of powerful spells and well-aimed missiles assaulted the goblins, and they fled in terror back to the woods.
Five days out of Daggerford they approached Waterdeep. Mara sent Talis a message saying they were close, and she would send another message when they arrived.
The next day they arrived at the city. Mara used her sending stone to tell Talis that she was back and wanted to come to the safe house. Talis asked Mara to come down to the shore after the evening meal and Kusphia would row her out to the derelict ship.
They made their way to the Flagon Dragon Inn, got rooms and got an evening meal. While the others went back to their rooms, Mara went down to the Mistshore and met with Kusphia, who rowed her out to Talis' safe house. The night was clear, and the stars in the heavens were reflected in the water of the harbor. Mother Moon smiled down from the sky.
Talis was waiting in the deck of the ship as they rowed up. Mara climbed the ladder from the rowboat onto the ship and Talis wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace. Their lips met and Mara felt tears on her cheeks at the joy of seeing Talis again.
"Oh, my Darling!" she whispered in Talis' ear. "For more than two months I have been away! It's so good to be back in your arms!"
"Baby, I missed you so much." replied Talis. "Every night I prayed that Tiamat would bring you back safe. I even prayed to Mother Moon a couple of times."
Mara chuckled. "I am not sure why Tiamat would want me to return safe, so maybe it was the doings of Mother Moon."
"Let's go down to my quarters," said Talis. "I want to make love."
"I do, too," grinned Mara.
They retired to the captain's quarters and climbed naked into the roomy bed. Kissing and stroking, listening to each other's sighs, they immersed themselves in the sheer joy of shared physical contact and desire. They pleasured each other over and over again, until both were exhausted. Still unwilling to fall asleep, they lay awake in bed and talked.
"So, you found Varram at an ancient tomb with a divination pool, trying to figure out where the White Dragon Mask was?" asked Talis.
"Yes, after which he was captured and beaten by a Yuan-ti tribe living in caverns adjacent to the tomb."
"And did the divination pool tell him that by the time he got there the cult had already found the mask and taken it back to the Well of Dragons?"
"He said that it told him just that. He seemed resigned to his fate as our prisoner. We weren't beating him, and I think the feared that Severin would kill him for losing the mask."
"Oh, Severin was mad, all right! At one point he even hinted that he wanted to hand Varram over to me to kill him in whatever way I chose!"
"Oh, that would have been sweet revenge! By the way, have they chosen a new White Dragon Wyrmspeaker?"
"No. Not yet. Severin only now picked a replacement Black Dragon Wyrmspeaker after Rezmir's death. I am the obvious choice, but Severin still doesn't trust me."
"What do the white dragons think of all this?"
"They are glad to be rid of that idiot Varram, but are angry that I still haven't been installed in the position. Some of them have gotten to the point where they no longer support the attempt to summon Tiamat to the material plane. They no longer trust Severin and worry that he will speak poorly of the white dragons to Tiamat."
"So, what is the timetable for the summoning ritual? I had thought that it was imminent when the Draakhorn began sounding. But months have gone by without it happening."
"Severin isn't happy with the size of the treasure pile. I guess your party's disruption of delivery of Sword Coast treasure caused them more trouble than even I realized. So, they have delayed while they figure out where to get more treasure to fatten the hoard. Plus, with Varram a prisoner of the Elturgard paladins, Severin fears that Varram will tell all he knows to save his own skin. That could cause major headaches for the summoning ritual. Everything is paused while the cult leadership figures out how to deal with the new situation."
"So, that means a little more time before you would be called to the Well of Dragons. A little more time for us to see each other."
Talis turned to face Mara. "I have thought about that a lot, and I think I won't go if they call me. It's more important for us to be together than for me to retain my position."
"Where will you go? If you refuse to go to the Well of Dragons, the cult will come for you and this safe house will no longer be safe."
"I know. I'm trying to work that out now."
Mara took Talis in her arms and gently rocked her. She grieved at the thought that her beloved could be in mortal danger. She grieved even more that she didn't know if she could save her.
The two of them clung to each other and tears flowed. They fell asleep and didn't awaken until well after sunrise. Talis' staff prepared breakfast for them, and they made plans for the coming days.
"I need to go back to see my family today," said Mara. "I should be able to see you again in 2 or 3 days. Now that I can fly, it will be easier and faster for me to get here. Kusphia won't even need to row me out to the ship anymore."
Talis smiled wistfully. "I wish I could stay with your family at the farm. If only I wasn't a woman on the run."
Mara kissed her. "Maybe someday you won't be."
After breakfast, Mara became an eagle and flew back to the Flagon Dragon Inn. She retrieved her horse and set out for Helfton.
By midafternoon she arrived at the farm. The entire family crowded around her and begged for her stories about the adventure. Where did the party go? Did they nab the bad guy? What kind of battles did they encounter? They were amazed when she told them that Mother Moon had trained her to become a flying creature. They gasped when she turned into an eagle and flew around.
All the rest of the day she spent answering their question about the adventure. She promised to get Kellen to Helfton sometime so he could entertain the townsfolk with his ballads about their victories.
Later that night, after the evening meal, Helena came to Mara and asked, "What about Talis? Does she still support the summoning ritual?"
"Momma, I went to visit her before I came home. She is nearly decided that if the cult calls her to the location of the summoning ritual, she won't go. She would rather stay here with me."
"Would the cult try to kill her if she refused to join the rest of them at the summoning?"
"They probably would. She's trying to figure out where she could hide out."
Helena lowered her head, "Maybe she could hide out here, at the farm."
"Momma! Are you serious? That could put the whole family in danger!"
"If you love Talis so much and she loves you so much, then I guess she is part of the family. Maybe it's time we treated her like it and tried to protect her. We would do the same if Keyleth's fiancé were in trouble."
Mara embraced her mother and the both of them cried. Somehow, some way, they would find a way to take care of Talis.
Mara went to sleep that night with a mixture of fear and hope in her heart. She wanted Talis to come to Helfton. Talis belonged in Helfton. Helfton should have been her home all along.
The next day, around mid-morning, Mara had gone out into the vegetable garden to use her Druidic magic to figure out why the cabbages weren't growing well. Helena and Harley were in the house preparing the midday meal. A group of armed Waterdeep city guards approached the house.
"Ma'am" said the captain. "We are looking for Mara Evenwood."
"She's out in the vegetable garden. What is this all about?"
They didn't answer and went out to the garden. Three of the guards seized Mara and declared, "Mara Evenwood, we have orders to arrest you."
"What? Why?" cried Mara.
Helena and Harley rushed forward, shouting, "Let her go! She hasn't done anything wrong!"
They tried to pull the guards off Mara and were themselves restrained by other guards.
"Momma! Harley! Stop!" yelled Mara.
Turning to the guards, she said, "I will go with you peacefully. Please don't hurt my family!"
As the guards tied her hands behind her back Helena pleaded, "Mara! What's going on? Why are they arresting you?"
"I don't know, Momma. But it can be sorted out without the two of you getting killed."
The guards led Mara off on foot, following after the horses the guards rode in on. Helena and Harley tried to follow, but the guards held them away with their spears. The two of them watched in shock as Mara was led off down the road to Waterdeep.
Suddenly Helena ran back into the house and began searching frantically through Mara's belongings.
"It's here somewhere!" she cried. "It has to be!"
"What are you looking for, Momma?" asked Harley.
"Here it is!" Helena exclaimed, pulling something out of Mara's backpack. "Mara's Sending Stone!"
Holding the Sending Stone against her chest, Helena sent out a message through the stone, "Talis! It's Helena Evenwood! You have to help us! Mara has been arrested!"