Ældrūan 22 – Orol 9, 652 DR: A winter adventure wherein Jak of Cænden seeks information about his mother’s family, a search that leads him to Cenotaph, through Oð’s Naryard, Kyard, and into the halls of Kryr Shùrulm. Upon returning to Cænden however Jak receives the best news of all.

Continued from Eternal Arkìrūn.

Roydor, 22 Ældrūan 652

Weel stumbled through the door crying, her small pale hand weakly gripping the door post. Weel sputtered a short story about a woman who’d come to town and mentioned something being dropped. Her friends had fallen but she’d run, and she didn’t feel well. Saldus examined the child, and found her skin to have a chalk-like pallor. Gathering his items and armor, the soldier crossed the swamp calling for others to assemble near the Fiery Wench where the children had been playing.

Arriving, Saldus found several children lying in the snow where Weel had left them. Soon, Jak arrived as well. A woman burst from the gathering crowd toward her fallen child but gasped and dropped to the snow once she entered the ring of the fallen. Another tried to enter but exited coughing and turning pale. Jak rushed into the area and exited with a body. He emerged dizzily, with a child’s corpse in his arms. Over time the imagined ring of death dissipated, and those whose children lie dead and colorless on the icy ground could be retrieved. Saldus and Jak investigated a discarded box on the ground and found a Ghûl seal on the box’s side. Inside the box was a broken glass vial.

That afternoon, Jak and Saldus left the Village of Cænden and hiked into the advancing evening. The two continued along the Run Merdus until they arrived in desolate Cenotaph. There, they picked their way along night-shrouded roads until they came to the cemetery where the Ghûls had been destroyed weeks before. Beyond the graveyard they followed the inviting glow from a cottage’s window. Outside the house, they met a shoveler who showed them inside. Laying his shovel by the door, the man entered and asked another resident to call for Alcèrra. Soon, a familiar face emerged from a back room and although she smiled upon seeing Jak it was soon replaced with annoyance; they’d interrupted something. Jak produced the culprit box and showed the priestess the seal above its lock. She agreed that the image might be that of a Ghûl, but assured the travelers that no more had been seen since the purge. Jak and Saldus explained the dozen or so deaths that had resulted from the box but the priestess didn’t seem concerned. “They are with Drāūn now,” she said, “there is no more to be said.” Disturbed by the awkward encounter, they were relieved when told that there was no room at the cottage for them to stay. More than “no room”, they were not welcomed. Leaving, Jak remembered the maille he had carried to return to Alcèrra, but looking back at the closed door decided to do that another day.

The two left the undertaker’s house and walked into the town of Cenotaph. Finding an inhabited house they knocked on the door. The door opened cautiously. A large woman with an iron pan stood at the door with a smaller man craning his neck in the background to see passed her. The woman, Maeam Spiner, and her husband Tor invited the armed men into their “new” home. The evening passed with small conversation, and Jak reveling in the tales of which he never tired.

Sūdìdor, 23 Ældrūan 652

The next morning the two ventured back toward Templegate where they learned of a red headless giant rampaging to the southwest of the city, near Dulris. The Lord’s Men at the gate reported that an armed contingent had been summoned to contain the threat, which had emerged from the direction of the the Southswall, and possibly further south. Returning through the bitter cold, the two reached Cænden. Saldus talked to Ferrek …

Talídor, 24 Ældrūan 652

The morning of Ældrūan the 24th, Jak and Saldus left the freezing marsh and entered the queue above Northgate. Slowly, they pushed through the gathered crowds until they had passed through the multiple arches into the Naryard. Once within the city walls, they found the Mourner’s Hall and began a fruitless search of the dusty stacks. After a long day of research, they found room and boarding at the Burning Dog.

Padídor, 25 Ældrūan 652

The next day they went searching for the home of Jurrus. After many watches and walking up and down strange avenues, they came to a small ramshackle building constructed against the rear of a stone tavern. They were welcomed into the small dark house of the herald, who spoke of the great task he’d been given to design Jak’s achievement. He proudly showed some rough sketches of his designs and mentioned often that he was most pleased with the commission. When asked about the Ghûl signs, he led them to the home and workplace of a colleague, Deshel Madth. Deshel agreed to look into the Ghûl seal and promised to inform Jak of her findings. Thanking the heralds for their help, the two returned to the Inn of the Burning Dog.

Bærídor, 26 Ældrūan 652

The following morning, Jak and Saldus returned to the Mourner’s Hall and continued their dusty research. Leafing through hundreds of old boxes and towering piles of paper before finding some mouse-eaten manuscripts that held references to the Daralien clan. After much candlelight study they recognized some discrepancies in the dates and deaths of the family. There were some family members it seemed (two men and one woman), mentioned over the centuries who had no certificates or mentions of death. Pleased with these findings the two marched through the Kyard as the day faded, and arrived at the Gate of Kryr Shùrulm a short time after nightfall. After some negotiation, they were admitted to an old hall and were met by Foulstern who entered through an unseen paneled door. The wizard approached and greeted Jak who in turn introduced Saldus. The trio spoke at length about politics, Ghûls, families, and what little the wizard knew of the headless giant that was rampaging to south the City. Foulstern spoke a little of Xurmivor, one of the High Lord’s three advisers. Jak asked if they could meet but the wizard was doubtful. He agreed however, to forward the message.

Virídor, 27 Ældrūan 652

The next morning, Jak and Saldus returned to Cænden.

Sūdìdor, 9 Orol 652

On the 9th of Orol, a messenger arrived in Cændan from the herald Deshel Madth. In short and to-the-point language, the letter explained that the seal of Ghûl was the sign of Or Dnur and that there would be no further charge for her services. She added that she wanted no part, mention, or credit in whatever research was to follow. Jak gave a few Aurad to the young man to forward the letter to Alcèrra in Cenotaph.

Late in the frozen month of Orol, Jak learned that Dadra was with child.

Continued in Visitors in the Dark.

Characters

• Jak of Cænden
• Saldus Greymane
• Alcèrra Nàdrelan
• Deshel Madth
• Ferrek Tawll
• Foulstern
• Jurrus
• Maeam Spiner
• Torus Spiner
• Weel Tawll
• Xurmivor Daralien

Played: 25 Sep 1999