Chapter 6 – More clues from Forfar
"Someone's been here ahead of us already," Captain Gavin declared, looking around into the blackness of night for whoever had made the fire.
"Perhaps its Dove Falconhand's party," Sarai said without conviction.
"No, this wasn't their area to search," the soldier responded, trying not to sound forlorn, "it was mine."
"Could it have been simply travelers on the road?" Skylah asked hopefully.
"Not likely," the Knight in Silver replied. "Look at the tracks leading away from the road. No, someone's been here already. Let's hope this is a coincidence and they were merely searching for treasure. But we should be on our guard since I have a feeling its not."
With weapons drawn and at the ready torches were lit. It was time to begin the search in earnest. If someone was still out there they'd know of the arrival of the adventurers so stealth no longer seemed to be an option.
"So where do we begin?" Captain Gavin asked, confessing with the simple statement his lack of expertise in these matters.
Sarai Swiftdeer, bow in hand, had already been surveying the surrounding area with a keen eye. Looking at the map their leader had and the letter from Forfar, she stated with confidence, "The clue lies in this part of the message: 'a place piled with the once proud which provides a blaze for the now proud'. This can only mean one thing. It has to be a wood pile."
The simple soldier opened his mouth to rebut that it wasn't that obvious to him but was cut off before he could show his ignorance at riddle solving.
"Makes sense," Alariya agreed. "There's one on the map. Come on."
The others followed the paladin knight, torches blazing in the night sky. A short distance away a long-abandoned pile of wood, half a person high, appeared.
Filled with nooks and crannies, the wood pile presented a seemingly impossible location for one to find anything useful. As some in the party began to complain the Strongsword sisters, thus far maintaining silent vigil, began searching the obstacle with a keen eye. Their attentiveness was rewarded a short time later when Kaitlym exclaimed, "We found something!"
The chestnut haired fighter fished out of a recess a small, folded packet, wrapped in waxed paper.Removing the seal, the fighter found it contained a ripped piece of the same map they had found at the Golden Acorn. It showed the wood pile that now stood before them. The other side contained a note written in the now familiar hand of Forfar.
"We never should have stolen from that wizard's garden!"
"That's a waste of paper!" Nikaela declared in frustration. "Why would he leave such useless information?"
"It's not useless. It's a clue," Skylah countered, "like a riddle."
"So what does it mean then?" Captain Gavin asked. "How can this help us find the orb?"
"Well, Forfar figured he was being followed so he wanted to make sure the orb couldn't be easily found," Skylah surmised. "He left some clues to help us discover it but not so easy that just anyone could."
"Then I guess we need to put our heads together. We must work as one to solve this mystery."
"So what would happen if you stole from a wizard?" Alariya interjected.
"You might get blasted to bits," Kaitlym commented.
"Or teleported to another land," Nikaela added.
"Or turned into a strange creature," Sarai said, joining in.
"Or turned into a stone creature," Alariya mused. "Let me see the map Sarai."
The paladin gazed at the sketch and a smile lit up her expressive face.
"Follow me," she declared, "I know where to look."
The young woman led them to the side of the manor where a series of stone animals were scattered about. A quick search around and under them revealed another waxed paper packet.
"Build with this and no wolf will ever enter in!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Alariya asked in exasperation.
"Yes, how about writing it in the common tongue," Talindra agreed.
Skylah was not phased by the odd message they'd found. Taking the clue over to Sarai, who held the map of the area, she compared the message to the locations marked out by Forfar.
"Okay, I'm getting the hang of this," the bard declared confidently, "let's see what matches up."
Looking over the map and comparing it with the new clue Skylah figured the correct location would be something to do with bricks, matching up with the ancient nursery rhyme. True to the word, the adventurers saw on the map an old brick yard behind a spindly bush.
Moving swiftly, fearing they had no time to lose, the adventurers moved to the location where bricks would have been made at one time. The open-air factory had long been abandoned, wooden work benches rotted and piles of bricks were all that remained along the old trade road.
The group began to search in and around the remains, now knowing what they were looking for. Laying down her axe, Kaitlym reached into the old kiln, poking around among the sticks and leaves that had been trapped in the opening where once fire would have been built to harden the bricks. Her fingers brushed up against something soft and her heart began to race. Deftly grabbing the object she pulled out a cloth bag.
"I found something!" the Strongsword sister declared excitedly.
"Is it another clue?" her sister asked with expectation.
"No, its not." Giving the bag a shake the light sound of jingling could be heard. "Though I do think it's valuable."
Opening it, the contents were revealed to be a large number of gold coins.
"Seems you've found some good fortune," Captain Gavin commented. "It appears as if someone stashed these coins. This was once a thriving trade road many moons ago before being abandoned. I'd suspect they're from some bandits who hid them here after robbing someone along this route. Likely they died before they could reclaim the prize," he added. "Nice discovery but this doesn't help us with our quest."
The adventurers continued the search, a bit of frustration setting in at not being able to find the next clue. But then Skylah thought she spied something tucked in between two bricks. Though difficult to get out, she patiently hooked it and pulled out another waxed package.
"I've got it!" she declared triumphantly.
The others crowded around and read:
"In ancient of days the impossible
became possible here."
"These are getting harder," Sarai commented.
"Which means we have to be getting closer," Alariya surmised. "So what of this one?"
"Nothing is obvious but if we reference back to the map we might be able to use a process of elimination to figure it out," Sarai suggested.
"That does make sense," Captain Gavin agreed. "So far everything is lining up with the map Forfar left. So let's match them up."
"Good idea," Alariya agreed looking intently at the map. Her finger came to rest on a small building near the brick yard. "Well, the impossible becoming possible could mean several things but what about this: if you have something that's broken, you take it to a tinker. Most I know are amazing at fixing things, or, making things possible."
"Brilliant! That would mean…" the ranger began.
"The tinker shop. It has to be."
With Alariya in the lead they made the short journey to the small wooden building standing on the top of a rise. She found the door locked.
"Well that's strange," the paladin declared in surprise. "Why would an abandoned building still be locked?" She turned to Talindra. "Do you think you can pick this?"
The elf rogue rolled her eyes at the comment.
"Why not just break the door down?" Kaitlym Strongsword grunted
"Because this still may be someone's property," the paladin shot back, "and they wouldn't appreciate us bashing it in."
The lithe fighter shook her head in disgust but didn't say anything in reply.
"So, will you get out of the way and let me get to work?" Talindra asked testily.
"Don't forget to check for traps," Alariya added, trying to be helpful.
The elf rogue let out a loud harrumph but didn't comment. Stepping forward Talindra knelt down and examined the lock and closing mechanism on the door promptly finding a trap. Taking a deep breath she began to work to disarm it.
The others backed away from her, leaving the young woman feeling suddenly quite alone. Exhilaration filled her at not only quickly figuring the design out but then being able to successfully disable it. But then she turned to the lock and it appeared to be surprisingly difficult. Reaching into a concealed pocket she brought out a number of small tools and began to work away on it.
"Thieves tools!" Captain Gavin said in shock. "I'd never have thought it from an Illuvatar."
A withering look from the elf caused the Knight in Silver to hold his tongue and shrink back into the crowd.
While the others had been intently watching the rogue work Sarai instead looked into the night, keeping a vigilant watch. Thus far things had gone too easily for the experienced woman of the woods and she didn't like the fact no one was about despite the tracks in the area. It was time to begin to think of things beyond Forfar's clues, she reminded herself.
A faint sound out in the darkness caught the ranger's attention. "I heard something," she quietly declared to the others.
"Defensive formation, now," Alariya ordered. Kaitlym, cover the right flank, Nikaela, center, Sarai left."
The others responded immediately, drawing weapons and fanning out in a semi-circle around the building.
Talindra felt the pressure of the moment and perspiration jewelled on her forehead. Finally after several tense moments she was rewarded for her concentration with a soft click and the lock fell open in her hands. The others saw her move, so with a flourish she opened the door and peered within. There sitting on the stone floor was another folded piece of paper.
Forgetting the noise, which hadn't been repeated, they crowded in to see what had been found. Talindra read aloud:
For pleasure or for pain,
Many have hung around me
Into a good rhythm now of figuring out Forfar's riddles, the adventurers quickly surmised that he meant what was marked on the map as the Ancient Oak only a short distance from the tinker's shop. They moved quickly along the rise of the hill defining the area to the looming tree. A thick, though rotting, rope hung from a sturdy limb, supporting a small wooden platform. The adventurers ringed the tree and looked around, some even digging in the snow but nothing could be found.
Was this a dead end? Had they missed something?
Skylah, on the other hand, confident they were in the right place, looked more carefully at the small wooden platform. Turning it over she saw another packet attached to the bottom.
"Found it!" she announced happily. Stripping off the oiled paper she discovered the desired note within and read:
What you seek can be found if you travel
12 paces to the north then
14 paces to the west
"We're close, I can feel it," Skylah declared enthusiastically.
"I agree," Alariya affirmed. "Sarai, can you find the way for us?"
The ranger looked up at the stars to get herself oriented. Turning her body in the right direction she began to pace, softly counting out each stride with the others following closely behind. She first went north, and then turned west taking here into a small grove of scrub trees.
The adventurers dove in, digging about in search of what they believed would be the end of their quest.
Intensity grew as each felt the end of their quest at hand. They moved with the ranger into a small decline. Shadows hung thick even for night, giving it an eerie feeling.
"Bring a torch here Captain Gavin," Talindra ordered as the others tried to get their bearing.
The Knight in Silver complied, moving from his post to bring his blazing torch into the grove, illuminating it immediately.
"I found something," Nikaela called out after digging through a pile of snow, then leaves. She pulled out a small cloth-covered package. As the others crowded around she gently opened it.
"We found it! We found the Orb!" Skylah exclaimed as the others looked at the round, shining, black object. They let out a cheer, congratulating each other on the discovery.
The sound of clapping echoed out of the darkness of the night, interrupting their revelry. Following the sound three armed figures emerged from the inky blackness weapons at the ready.