Meeting Lady Alustriel

The escort stand to one side, and several of the palace guard, together with about 3 men in dark black robes step forward to guide the party to the audience chamber. Entering the castle proper, through a pair of double doors, the first impression of the inner castle is that of a light and airy place, somewhat at odds with the concept of big stone castles. The castle walls appear to be quite thin, and unsuitable to hold such tall towers. All the corridors are well lit, though there is no specific light source that can be seen, and no shadows are cast. The place is spotless and the smell of baking bread wafting from some distant kitchen makes several stomachs growl in hunger.

All thoughts of hunger are driven from the adventurer's minds however, as the audience chamber is finally reached. Stepping through the door makes the group's mouth's drop, as it appears as if they have stepped into a forest clearing. The walls are covered with an animated mural of a forest clearing, complete with trees and bushes swaying in an invisible breeze. The sounds of a gentle forest at peace can be heard, and for a moment, even the pleasent smell of pine seems to be present. Looking up, what seems to be an evening sky, complete with scudding clouds can be seen.

After several seconds of silence, Captain Holdheart coughs to regain the party's attention.

<Ahem> "May I present... Lady Hope, Alustriel Silverhand of the Seven Sisters...."

Looking ahead, the group suddenly realise that the room already has some people in it.

Sat on what looks like a throne carved from a large tree stump, is an woman of what appears to be middle years, dressed simply, yet elegantly. As she stands and beckons the party to approach closer, they become aware that there is a dwarf standing close by. He is a gnarled dwarf with a long grey beard, though it's colour belies it's owner, as he still looks as fit and strong as a young dwarf. Resting against another log close to him is a huge double edged axe, covered in intricate runes. The dwarf looks on in interest as Lady Alustriel speaks to the party.

"Welcome to Silverymoon" she says kindly. "I have been warned of your approach by the Harpells from Longsaddle. I am very pleased that you have made it - it is a tough journey at the moment - the Everlund pass is still completely blocked and despite many attempts to clear it, it remains so. I believe it is the work of one of the Gods of Fury" she adds with a smile.

She pauses to look at the party more carefully. "I can see that you have had more than your fair share of hardships on your journey, and I would have you tell me of them, though first I would be interested in seeing the blue stones that I believe you have battled to bring here." Gesturing to the dwarf behind her, she introduces him as Bruenor Battlehammer, from Mithral Hall. "He happened to be visiting, and I am sure he would like to see them too, since he has not heard about them before..."

Larz steps forward as Bruenor is introduced. "Me liege!" he says, bowing very low. "Me name is Larz Rankin, son of Harn 'Boldaxe' Rankin and cousin to Dorn 'Ironstone' Rankin of the Fireforge Clan, originally out of Citadel Abdar." He then says a few words in dwarvish, to which Bruenor replies. "Well met to you Larz" the older dwarf finishes. "Me lady!" nods Larz to Alustriel, before retreating and sitting on one of the newly appeared seats.

She pauses, and a slightly puzzelled expression crosses her face. "I have heard of course about Gaard's death, though something the Del Roy Harpell told me confuses me." She frowns a bit. "Del Roy told me what you had told him about your mission - that you and another couple of groups were bringing me some strange blue stones from Gaard of Neverwinter, and that they had originally been found by dwarves somewhere in the North." She pauses again. "What puzzles me is that Gaard never informed me that he was sending anyone - it was only when the Harpells contacted me that I knew to expect someone... so far it is only you who have arrived."

Suddenly, she claps her hands. "Where are my manners!" she exclaims. "Please, make yourselves comfortable" she says, gesturing. Looking behind them, comfortable looking chairs fashioned from tree stumps have appeared as if from nowhere. A floating tray appears, laden with several pewter goblets. "Please, drink of these to ease your travel weariness and refresh yourselves" Alustriel says, as it drifts between each of the companions.

Holdheart declines the tray, and remains standing to one side. The palace guards who had escorted the party are not visible, presumably remaining outside.

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "Thank you...you are most kind." "Our journey
> has been a trying one." <He drinks....then starts
> babbling before thinking>

Lucretia slugs back the goblet's contents as if he hasn't drunk for a week. The liquid is sweet, and tastes almost like fruit juice of some kind, but immediately, his thirst is quenched. Feeling so much refreshed, he starts to almost babble. (OOC You are now on full HP).

<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> Nodding and smiling to their royal host, Serena
> grasps a proffered goblet and begins to sip.

Similarly, Serena is also amazed by the refreshing qualities of the juice, but more concerned about what Lucretia is saying, she momentarily forgets it's powerful effects.

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "Gaard might not have mentioned us leaving for
> reasons of secrecy though I would have thought
> he would have had a way to privately communicate
> with you."

Alustriel listens attentively, smiling encouragingly, as Lucretia fumbles over his words. "You are right, we have, I mean had, means of private communication, and that is what surprises me..."

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "You...you must..must forgive me...<He stands,
> wipes the wine from his dirty chin an bows slightly>
> "I am Lucretia and these are my friends and
> companions...we are know collectively as of
> all things the Unknowns."

"Well met Lucretia." Alustriel looks at each of the party in turn, nodding a greeting. "Well met to you all!" she says smiling.

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "We were ah one of three groups contracted by
> Gaard to bring the stones to you...ah ...ah...
> the first group to arrive here was to get a
> delivery bonus."..."I believe he did this to
> insure one of the groups would manage to get
> through."

Alustriel, having sat herself down as well once everyone else had sat, leans forward as she listens to Lucretia, cocking her head to one side slightly as she concentrates on what he is saying. "And what was this 'delivery bonus'?" she says levelly.

<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> Serena turns to Lady Alustriel. "And so it seems,
> Lady, that we are the first of the three groups to
> arrive here in your wonderful city -- even though
> we were the last of the three to leave Neverwinter.
> Gaard's wisdom has proven itself."

Lady Alustriel transfers her gaze to Serena as Lucretia sits down and Serena takes over the conversation. She sits back in her seat again, frowning a little at the mention of Gaard's wisdom, but saying nothing as Serena continues.

<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> "Gaard knew, I think, that attempts would be
> made to keep the stones from you. That and the
> dangers of the northern road to Silverymoon,
> were the reasons he sent three groups out on the
> same mission. But whoever wished to keep the
> knowledge of these stones from you murdered him,
> or so I have come to believe. The blue stones
> - and the power they represent - brought death
> to Gaard and nearly brought death to us many
> times over, on our road to Silverymoon."

Alustriel leans forward again. "By the Gods," she exclaims, "this is a mystery indeed!"

<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> Serena turns to Milo. "Milo, perhaps you
> should deliver the stones to Lady Alustriel
> and complete our mission."

Alustriel looks to Milo expectantly. "Certainly!" she says, "let us look at these mysterious blue stones that have caused so much trouble!"

Bruenor Battlehammer also leans forward. "Aye, let's see these stones that dwarves are supposed to have found... do you know where they were found in the North?"

<Milo aka Steve wrote>:
> "Delivered as requested..." he says quietly.

Alustriel takes the pouch of stones and pulls the drawstring to open the bag. Looking in she frowns, and then tips the bag's contents out into her hand. She peers at the stones carefully, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Bruenor steps forward and looks at her hand. "May I?" he asks. At her nod, he takes a couple of the stones and peers at them closely. "Chalcedony" he says flatly. His brows crease for a moment. "You say these were found in the north?... Strange. This is a type of stone not found in this part of the world - in fact the only place I do know where they are found is Vassa. Seeing their blank expressions, he gestures to the east. "A long long way to the east" he says. "The other side of the Great Desert Anauroch, north east of the Moonsea." The far off place names mean next to nothing to the party, though Merrell, having come from Cormyr, recognises the Moonsea, and has just about heard of Vassa, though knows nothing about it.

Meanwhile, Alustriel shakes her head. Finally looking up at the party, her expression is glum. "There is no magic in these stones. At least no more than the normal flows of the weave that flows through almost all things." She looks at the faces in front of her, reading the various expressions of disappointment, disbelief and anger. "I realise you have travelled a long way to bring these to me, and though I do not know why Gaard commissioned you to bring me pebbles from a far off place, I *do* know that you have gone through a lot of hardship and pain to get here!" She sighs, and sits back in her chair. "What payment did Gaard promise you?"

<Yvandel aka Sebastian wrote>:
> "Lady Alustriel," Yvandel suddenly spoke, hoping
> he didn't break some sort of formal code, "my name
> is Yvandel Janusen."

Alustriel looks at the young mage, her eyes drawn to the strange wooden puppet around his neck. "Well met Yvandel" she replies nodding respectfully, though with a degree of curiosity.

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> I have had strange suspicions about Gaard and
> these blue stones for a while now. I was hoping
> to finally find some answers to my questions here,
> but Bruenor's finding that the stones almost
> certainly were not found up north as Gaard stated,
> and the fact that Gaard never was in contact with
> you or any of your aids about the stones, makes me
> wonder if either Gaard has been deceived by someone
> or something unknown, or if Gaard has been deceiving
> us."

"I had known Gaard for many years, and I cannot believe that he would deliberately deceive anyone. I find it most surprising that he would be fooled in such a way either! It is a great shame that you do not know who or where he got the stones from..." the lady replies.

"Aye" echoes Bruenor. "Not many would recognise these stones in this part of the world - 'tis only that I've been to Vassa myself that I recognise them!"

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "From what I can remember from our initial conversation
> with Gaard, he specifically told us that the stones had
> been found by dwarves in the north, although he did not
> tell us how they were found. For all we know, the dwarves
> could have won them in a game of dice from someone who
> might have carried the stones there from Vassa.

Bruenor stiffens a little at the slight slur on these unknown dwarves.

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> Of course, if Gaard's words were true and if the dwarves'
> words were true as well, and the stones were actually
> discovered at a site instead of on a person, and if that
> site had not been tampered with - that is, if no
> intelligent being had placed the stones there for some
> reason - then perhaps some force of nature might be
> responsible for the appearance of the stones."

"That's a lot of 'ifs' son!" says Bruenor with a grim smile.

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "Bruenor, is there anything special about these blue
> stones? Do you know how they are formed?"

Bruenor grins. "Like any other rock, I guess - nothing special though. Often found close to bloodstone - another semi-precious stone that is found in Vassa and Damera."

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> After listening to the dwarf's answer, Yvandel continued
> his conversation with Lady Alustriel. "The thing that
> puzzles me most though, Lady Alustriel, is that you say
> Gaard never contacted you."

"Yes, Gaard never contacted me about this... The last time I spoke with him was,..." Alustriel frowns in thought for a moment, and then she remembers. "...about the 20th of Mirtul? Yes I think it was about then. Certainly, he never mentioned anything about this! When did you speak with Gaard to get your commission?"

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> Gaard told us that the reason for our quest was that
> the mages in Silverymoon and you yourself were worried
> about the blue stones, and that you had ordered him by
> contract to have the stones delivered to Silverymoon,
> so that you might investigate them further.

Lady Alustriel sits up straight. "Now I know that to be a lie - and I am sure Gaard would not lie without great reason!"

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> By the way, Lady Alustriel, how would you have contacted
> Gaard if you had wanted to?"

"We have magical means of communication" Alustriel says dismissivly.

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "I see two possibilities. One, someone other than
> you had contacted Gaard under false pretence. That
> person must have somehow convinced Gaard that he was
> actually speaking to you, Lady Alustriel.

"Impossible!" states Alustriel. Gaard would not have been able to communicate with me without being 100% sure that it was I he was speaking to."

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> This unknown person must have had a good reason to
> have three different groups of adventurers leave the
> city of Neverwinter, with a small sack of blue stones.
> At a later time, for some reason, this person decided
> to kill Gaard, perhaps because Gaard had discovered
> the scheme."

"But what possible reason could such a deceiver have?" she asks.

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "The problem I have with this theory is that I don't
> really see a good motivation for anyone to go through
> all this. Did he simply want to have three groups of
> adventurers to undertake a quest so that he could hunt
> them down and try to kill them?

"Certainly, Gaard was no weak wizard himself it has to be said!" interjects Alustriel.

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> If this was true, I think we wouldn't be standing here,
> for surely someone able to deceive Gaard would have
> been able to kill an inexperienced group of adventurers
> like us. Did he perhaps just want the blue stones out
> of the hands of Gaard? That doesn't make sense either,
> because someone clearly had the power to kill poor Gaard,
> so that person could have just gotten his hands on the
> stones without going through the trouble of setting us up."

"Sounds all rather puzzling! There doesn't seem to be any logic in it!" Alustriel shakes her head. "You said you saw two possibilities...?"

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "The second possibility of course, is that it was Gaard
> who did the deceiving. "

Alustriel again shakes her head. "I can't believe that about Gaard" she says.

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "We've already found out that the stones might not
> have come from the north, as Gaard claimed. We also
> now know that Lady Alustriel never contacted him about
> the stones and never told him to have the stones
> delivered to Silverymoon. And we know that, sadly,
> Gaard was found dead, drained of all his blood,
> soon after we left Neverwinter."

"Drained of all his blood you say?" interrupts Alustriel. "I had not known that fact!"

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "I've considered the possibility that somebody had
> killed Gaard before we ever set foot in his home,
> and that this person, perhaps using magical skills,
> was able to make us believe he was Gaard. My friend
> Lucretia can testify that Gaard, or whoever
> impersonated him, did indeed have magical powers.
> Still, that brings us back to the question what
> whoever is behind all this stood to gain by sending
> three groups of adventurers to Silverymoon."

Alustriel shakes her head, at a loss.

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "One more thought... Could it be that the blue stones
> were simply a diversion? That Gaard gave us something
> else to take with us, something much more important?
> The only thing I can think of that he gave us was some
> pouches with money, and..." Yvandel reached into his
> pocket, retrieving the rare dwarven coin that Gaard
> had given him. "...and this. Each of us received one
> of these coins from Gaard. Perhaps there is something
> about those coins, or perhaps just about one of them,
> that is out of the ordinary."

Alustriel peers at the coin, as does Bruenor. "May I have a closer look?" asks the dwarven lord.

Larz pipes up. "Cleo showed me one shortly after I joined these folk... I met them in Triboar" he explains. "I thought it was minted by the long lost Ironstar clan..."

Bruenor takes the coin (OOC: assuming Yvandel lets him!) and peers at it. "Aye, I'd agree with that - it clearly has their mark. They are not unknown - some do still appear, but they are not unique, simply rare..." He passes the coin the Alustriel.

Alustriel takes the coin from the dwarf and studies it for a few moments. "I cannot sense any magical properties" she says, and is about to hand the coin back when she pauses, raising it to the light and frowning. "And yet..." she murmurs. "I think perhaps at some point the coin has had an enchantment upon it, though no longer"

<Yvandel aka Sebastian wrote>:
> "Well, if Gaard couldn't be fooled, that leaves
> us with two remaining possible scenarios. One:
> Gaard had a reason to fool us <and> a reason not
> to tell you, Lady Alustriel. He might indeed have
> had a very good reason to do so. Perhaps he knew
> that someone was stalking him, someone who was
> after something. Someone that killed him soon after
> we left. Two: someone impersonated Gaard. Someone
> who had a motive to send 3 groups off on a silly
> quest. Someone who either killed Gaard before or
> after we left. Someone with great powers."

Alustriel rubs her chin in thought. "Either sounds plausible, but I can't imagine what reason Gaard could have had not to tell me!"

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "Could you describe Gaard in a little more detail
> to us? His looks, his behaviour."

"I can do better than that" replies the chosen of Mystra. She closes her eyes for a moment, and her lips move silently. A second later, and the group are surprised as Gaard suddenly appears in front of them.

"Greetings my lady" Gaard says, looking at a fixed point just to the left of Milo's head. "I thought I'd let you know about a recent development with Luskan..."

"It's an old communication I had with Gaard" interjects Alustriel. "It's just an image".

"...I believe that Arklem Greeth and the Arcane is behind some of the problems that recent so called pirate mages have been setting upon the shipping. I have scryed intensively, and managed to find a loophole in the defensive measures of their headquarters, and have been privy to several conversations which I believe implicate the Luskan navy and the Arcane in particular in deliberate attempts to sabotage Neverwinter's reputation as the primary port of call," he laughs a moment, "if you'll excuse the pun, in the north."

Alustriel waves her hand and the image disappears. It was a perfect likeness of the man they had seen in Neverwinter. "Of course," says Alustriel, for someone to be able to kill Gaard, they must have been either very trusted or very powerful, so imitating him would probably not have been hard."

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "Learning about the true death of Gaard might be the
> clue we need to unravel the mystery of the stones."

She shakes her head sadly. "Normally, a powerful priest could divine exactly who killed someone, by casting a powerful clerical spell allowing the dead to speak. You may not know this, but since you left Longsaddle, this was done - but in Gaard's case, at his death, his soul was completely torn from his body, and this did not work!"

***

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "An enchantment you say? Is there any way to determine
> until when the enchantment was placed upon the coin?

Alustriel shakes her head. "I'm afraid not."

<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> Perhaps it disappeared while in our possession. That
> would certainly give some weight to the theory that
> perhaps the coins are more important than the stones,
> and that it was the coins that Gaard wanted to deliver
> to you, Lady Alustriel. He might have planned on telling
> you through magical communication, once we were on our
> way. It would make sense that if he wanted to transport
> something really important, he would not tell those that
> were to carry it what exactly they were delivering.
> Perhaps his death had but one motive: to prevent him
> from contacting you and explaining about the coins."

Alustriel nods her head, agreeing with Yvandel's logic. "That sounds possible, but still does not solve the mystery." she says sadly.

<Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> "The coins...that could be part of it...old dwarven
> coins and stones from the far east...we fought some
> eastern warriors...warriors of the dragon cult...perhaps...

"Dragon Cult?" says Alustriel. "What have that bunch of dangerous lunatics have to do with anything..."

<Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> "Well excuse me for trying to help." <Lucretia returns
> Bruenor's leer.> "I don't know the group of dwarves
> who were killed by the Drow and I don't know if Drow
> occupy Khiezar Dalan...the only think I know is that
> Khiezar Dalam has been found and it has something to
> do with Gaard's death and the mission he sent us on...
> I'm no scholar simply a sell sword, I don't know all the
> facts."

Bruenor frowns at Lucretia's insolent retort and is about to reply when Larz suddenly pulls out the parchment with the copy of the Runestone on it. He starts to say something in dwarven, then starts to repeat it in Northern. Glancing at Merrell, the one member of the party who is unfamiliar with the local dialect, he then says it a third time, this time in the "common" trade tongue. "Here it is." he says, passing the folded paper across. As Bruenor starts to examine it, Lucretia continues to speak.

<Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> "I think it might be better if someone else told the
> story.""Go on Yvandel you're a good story teller...
> why don't you tell them about our journey."

Alustriel looks at the puppeteer, but Lucretia continues to speak.

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "O' and the mage on the dragon...his name was Mansoon...
> I believe, though I'm not positive...I was more worried
> about the dragon then who was sitting on it."

Bruenor looks up from the parchment in surprise, his mouth open. Even Alustriel looks somewhat taken back. "Do you mean Manshoon? Archmage leader of the Black Network, the Zhentarium?" She shakes her head almost in disbelief. "You are lucky to be alive. He is a notoriously evil man, and an incredibly powerful spell caster!"

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "He took one of our travelling companions...a woman named
> Soggrin, a barbarian princess whom we saved from an Ogre
> Magi along the way."

Alustriel again looks puzzled. "Barbarian princess? Took her away? Why?"

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "You see Söggrin was the...I mean is the daughter of some
> important warrior of the Black Raven tribe. Apparently,
> according to some ancient prophesy, her son, yet to be
> born, will be the inheritor of all the power of some
> ancient dead mages. She was supposedly kidnapped from
> her tribe several months ago by this joker Manshoon...
> he had the idea that he would mate with her on Midsummer
> night next year. Anyway Xred the Ogre Mage I mentioned...
> he got her from Mansoon somehow and was thinking of putting
> it to her on Midsummer night THIS year, though we put and
> end to that."

"By the Weave!" exclaims Alustriel as Lucretia pauses. "This sounds complicated! How did you find all this out?"

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "Anyway I didn't go into that too much as I didn't think
> it pertained...to the stones ... though it may have as
> <he looks down in his book and the hair on his arms.>
> she once told me that her full name was Soggrin A'
> Sheera Fal - which apparently means "The Flower of the
> Fire Walker". <the hairs are really standing now.>
> "Flower...Rose furnace...<he looks for some response>...

"Interesting" says Alustriel. "Manshoon has been also known as The Firewalker before!"

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> well perhaps it was not her son that the proficiency
> spoke of but her blood...<seeing more blank looks>...
> come on you mages are the ones who talk in riddles not
> me..."

Alustriel laughs, "not today I fear!"

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "anyway I didn't think it applied so I left it out...
> though now that I say it I think it does apply...
> either way I apologize for my out burst, these things
> are obviously well above my lowly mental abilities..."
> <the last part added with some sarcasm...to save
> himself some pride in the rocks he had upstairs>...

Alustriel smiles at him kindly, shaking her head, showing him that she doesn't believe it.

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "I simply stated what I knew and thought was true...
> I won't bother you <he looks more at the Dwarf lord
> than the lady> with my trivial ramblings."

<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> "My lady," Serena interjects, "Shortly upon leaving
> Neverwinter, we were captured by orcs under the
> command of Xred, an insane ogre mage. When he
> enslaved us, we met one of his other prisoners --
> Soggrin -- the daughter of a prominent Black Raven
> leader. As Lucretia has so descriptively related,
> Xred had plans for Soggrin, but we all escaped,
> after a monstrous banshee attacked Xred's camp,
> destroying it and killing the ogre mage."

Somewhere behind Serena, Blondung sighs in relief as she refrains from mentioning Blondung's own part in the story.

<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> "Soggrin travelled with us for much of our journey.
> On the road between Longsaddle and Nesme, however,
> the mage Manshoon -- who had been looking for her
> -- caught up with us. He rode in upon a great
> black dragon and took Soggrin away with him.
> We were powerless to stop him."

Alustriel nods in sympathy.

<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> "Shortly thereafter, four riders approached us from
> the east. They had seen the dragon fly off and asked
> us what we knew of it. After we told them about
> Manshoon, they said that they were members of the Cult
> of the Dragon.

Alustriel's eyes narrow. "Cult of the Dragon..." she murmurs. "Another nest of vipers! I'm surprised they are still around - their leader Sammaster was killed years ago."

<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> And then they attacked us without warning! Two of
> them were powerful spellcasters. The two others were
> expert warriors, outfitted -- as Lucretia mentioned
> -- with Eastern weapons and armour. Their power and
> skill had us outmatched. When things looked to be at
> their worst, a band of weird, demon-like dragon-man
> creatures suddenly appeared from nowhere and attacked
> the dragon cultists!

Again Alustriel looks concerned. "I do not recognise these demon-like dragon creatures, can you describe them more?"

Larz chips in with as much detail as he can remember about the creatures. (OOC: to save one of you lot typing a lot of description :-)

<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> "These bizarre creatures slew the four, reducing them
> to ashes. They retrieved a ring which had been worn
> by one of the spellcasters. Then they promptly
> disappeared again -- ignoring us entirely!"

Alustriel shakes her head. "I have not heard of the like before. I will pass on your description however, and see if I can find out more information."

<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> Serena pauses in her account, and looks around. "That
> night we camped at the mouth of the Goblintide, along
> with Rostar's Trade -- a caravan out of Nesme. Around
> midnight, we fought off a horde of goblins that came
> down the river on rafts." Serena smiles. "The next
> day we rode into Nesme."

"And I understand from Tessarin that you were due to come the rest of the way from Nesme using a Gnomish invention... a boat that could go against the river... I take it from your arrival by land that things did not go as planned..."

Seeing Bruenor fidgeting at her side, Alustriel turns to the dwarf, who is clutching the copy of the runestone in his fist, waiting for everyone to finish speaking. Containing his excitement no longer he starts to speak. "This is incredible!" he says, waving the piece of parchment around. " And you say that the Harpells have the original of this?!" he says in an excited voice, looking at Larz.

Larz nods, biting his own lip.

Bruenor stands and looks at Alustriel excitedly, not noticing Larz's discomfort. "This is important news my lady! I must inform King Harbromm in Citadel Adbar immediately and arrange an expedition to find this lost dwarfhold! Just think - two thousand years since the secretive Kheizar Dalan closed it's doors and disappeared from dwarven society!" His eyes narrow, and he looks suddenly very fierce. In a voice like hardened steel, "and if drow have claimed it for their own, then they will have another thing coming!"

"The discovery is good news indeed!" Alustriel responds. She leans forward to kiss the whitebeard gently on his cheek. "Go then Bruenor, and if drow are there, be careful! If you'll excuse me from seeing you out, I'll stay here and continue to talk with our visitors."

Bruenor turns to the party, looking particularly at Larz. "It has been a pleasure meeting you" he says, looking over everyone, though his eyes barely touch on Lucretia. "And this news you have brought is good indeed..." He turns to Larz and lowers his voice a little, addressing just the dwarf. "Well Larz Rankin. I know not what your intentions are, but I will be leaving Silverymoon within the hour to go to Citadel Adbar. As you have brought me this information, I offer you now the chance to join with me, and partake of this mission to re-discover Kheizar Dalan."

Larz fidgets under the dwarf lord's gaze, and stammers. "I..I...I am honoured my liege, but I.. I...have bare recovered from the trials of the road, and I have family here in Silverymoon who I would see again..." Under the dwarf's beard, he blushes.

The older dwarf claps his hand down on Larz's shoulder. "Well it has been a pleasure meeting you, and if you visit Mithral Hall, you will be made most welcome."

The dwarf nods his farewells to everyone, and then takes his wicked looking axe and heads off towards the exit.

<Milo aka Steve wrote>:
> When he finally gets a chance, Milo interjects:
> "Milady, you seem to have found something
> interesting about that other coin. Can you
> share that with us? I have another here if
> examining it is of any value.."
>
> Milo holds up his coin, prepared to hand it
> over if the Lady chooses..

Alustriel watches Bruenor leave, then turns and smiles at Milo. "I guess that they will all have had the same enchantment on them, but I will look..." She takes Milo's coin, and peers again at it closely, then closes her eyes. A moment later she nods. "Yes, this too has the faint residue of an enchantment upon it, but of what nature I cannot tell."

<Cleo aka Dan wrote>:
> "Kind Lady, I have a question. Is it possible - and please
> don't take this as a questioning of your abilities - that
> the stones and maybe the coins as well, are imbued with the
> ancient, dwarven form of magic, and not this modern "weave"
> magic, and that's why you haven't detected anything on them?"

Alustriel smiles gently at Cleo. "Modern weave magic? The weave and the mortal's ability to manipulate it has been around for many eons. But to answer your question, no I do not believe that it is possible." Alustriel stands and walks for a moment away from the party and then turns back, taking on an almost lecturing tone for a moment. "There have been many different ways of accessing the magic of the weave over the eons. The ancient dvergr magic was a runic magic rooted in the essence of Faerûn itself and I believe was the first known magic - one of the most powerful too. The ability to craft their runes of power was lost to the dwarves at about the same time as the elves lost their songs of High Magic - when powers beyond comprehension today clashed in a magical battle of epic proportion and permanently warped the weave." Alustriel sighs. "It is highly unlikely that dwarven magic still exists, or should I say that any *new* dwarven magic exists, and whether or not these stones or coins once held dwarven magic or human magic, I cannot tell. All I can detect is a slight shadow on the weave, showing that these coins once held an enchantment of some kind." She glances at the stones, now resting on the arm of her tree-trunk chair. "As for those, they have never had any enchantment on them!"

<Yvandel aka Sebastian wrote>:
> "I'm starting to feel a little nervous. If indeed
> an evil force impersonated Gaard, sending us on a
> quest with a bag of stones and some coins, we need
> to quickly determine if the hint of enchantment
> that you can find on these coins has any evil
> aspects. I guess that the enchantment, if it was
> placed upon the coins by the impersonator, could
> have made the coins into some sort of tracing device,
> although I can see no reason for anyone to keep
> track of our location. It could also be a scrying
> device. We were sent to a very specific location,
> Silverymoon, and to a very specific person, you,
> Lady Alustriel. What if the coins allow the caster
> to see and hear everything that goes on in the
> vicinity of the coins?"

Alustriel smiles again. "Rest assured that there is no enchantment on these coins now. It is true that any item, if a mage is closely associated with it, could be located by spell - but that is no enchantment of the item, merely a spell that the mage casts to locate a familiar object." She shakes her head. "No, there is no need to worry on that front. Inside this keep, scrying is impossible."

<Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> "Twas more then likely a protection spell of some
> sort...I don't think Gaard was under duress."

Alustriel shrugs. "I cannot tell what sort of magic it was, but you may be right. Perhaps Gaard enchanted them himself to provide you with a little extra protection..." She shrugs again. "Barring time travel or summoning forces best left alone, I think we will probably never know!"

There is a pause, during which she looks out into the illusionary forest. Merrell half stands and is about to open his mouth when she speaks again, her back to the party. He sits and waits politely again.

"There was some other things that were mentioned earlier that I do not yet understand..." she says, turning back to face the party. She looks at Lucretia. "You mentioned a 'wacko goblin lover in the swamp keep' - I think you referred to him as Kazan?" She glances at Yvandel, who has been clutching a forgotten note since Lucretia first asked him to dig it out. "something about a great star falling from the sky I think you said."

Yvandel starts at being addressed, then hands over the note.

Alustriel looks at the note, reading it quickly. "The Hidden One" she murmurs to herself, frowning in thought. "I don't recognise the Shriven Stone" she mutters. "Were there any symbols or emblems that were associated with this?" she asks.

<Herod aka Scott wrote>:
> Herod seeing the note remembers there encounter
> with the ratmen and Kazan. "This Hidden One had
> a chapel that the hobgoblins, which were allied
> with this Kazan who must have been a priest of
> this Hidden One, seemed to be renovating, and I
> am not sure if it was new or an ancient chapel
> that they had discovered."

"Looked pretty old to me" mutters Blondung, finally breaking his own silence.

<Herod aka Scott continued>:
> "That is about all I can remember about the Chapel,
> but this Kazan seemed to be a fairly powerful
> follower of this Hidden One. He was granted some
> fairly powerful magic from this Hidden One or
> some other evil power. Kazan seemed fairly
> deluded, and tried to convince us to serve his
> master."

Alustriel listens carefully, then turns to Serena

<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> "Well," I don't agree with your assessment of Kazan,"
> adds Serena.

Alustriel frowns as if not understanding something, but says nothing.

<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> "But I do remember that the vile altar-room we
> stumbled into had polished doors decorated with
> the symbol of a broken animal horn."

"A broken horn you say?" says Alustriel "That sound familiar..."

<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> "There was an enormous black idol in the room.
> It had two arms and two legs ? very muscular --
> but sprouting large horns along the length of them.
> It's head looked like some sort of ghastly toad.
> Its gaping mouth was filled with jagged teeth, and
> a couple of tusks as well. Oh, it had a horn
> growing out of its forehead. The altar and the
> walls of the room had drawings of this beast, and
> of pentagrams and rats, too."

Alustriel's face darkens. "That sounds more like a demon than a god!"

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> <As if struck by lighting, Lucretia reacts> "Well
> hot damm...By Gond the wonders never cease!

Alustriel's eyebrows rise at Lucretia's sacrilegious language, but her mouth twitches into a smile as well.

Alustriel watches in interest as Lucretia empties all his various items onto the floor. Seeing the various spell components, she raises an eyebrow. "I did not think you were a spell caster" she comments, a rye smile on her face. She bends down and picks up the vial of shifting liquid. "Blood of a doppelgänger if I'm not mistaken..." she grins.

(OOC: You have reminded me - Merrell - you have the Dragon Cultist's spellbook in your possession - you and Yvandel were too cautious to open it, fearing a magical trap... I believe you had intended to show it to Alustriel later...)

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "Ah here it is <he states as he pulls out the broken
> horn symbol he got at the keep....

Alustriel takes the symbol and looks at it, frowning. "I've seen this before..." she mutters. "if only I could remember where..." She shakes her head and hands it back. "It is not a holy symbol - at least not of one of the dark gods known today - and yet, with the description of the statue...." she trails off, her brow furrowed as she tries to remember where she has seen it before. "I will investigate, and if I find out, I will let you know."

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "There was this as well but the ring was in
> possession of the Dragon Cult leader not Kazan."

Alustriel takes the ring. She closes her eyes a moment, and then nods smiling. "I can feel the protection spells on this. It is an enchanted ring that helps protect the wearer from danger." (OOC: for your information - it's a Ring of Protection +2) She hands the ring back. "Very useful magic, though I would be cautious about putting magic user's rings on without knowing what they are first - not all magic is beneficial!"

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "This might be useful as well Lady Alustriel."
> <He hands her the envelope with the crushed blue
> stone in it.> "Twas from the Dragon Cult leader's
> many pouched cloak."

Alustriel peers at the contents of the paper envelope. "Hmmmm I don't think this is the same as the chalcedony" she says. "The fragments look more like moonstone to me..."

Merrell stands, not wishing the conversation to get too involved again before he can address Lady Alustriel.

<Merrell aka Mike Br wrote>:
> "M'lady I don't mean to be disrespectful, but
> I was not part of the original group sent on
> an errant mission to bring a sack of blue rocks
> to your throne. And thus I don't have a great
> deal to add to their story."

Alustriel looks at the half elf mage from Cormyr in interest.

<Merrell aka Mike Br wrote>:
> "I do, however, have matters of certain urgency
> that I feel need my attention elsewhere. I seek
> a powerful mage of the Zhent faction that has
> kidnapped an associate of mine. I have it on
> reliable information that he is, or was here
> in Silverymoon."

"Really? A Zhentarium mage?" She frowns. "I would be very surprised if there was one of those in Silverymoon. The Mythral usually does a pretty good job at keeping folk like that out of the city!"

<Merrell aka Mike Br continued>:
> "If you please m'lady," he said with a bow, "may
> I be excused to take up the trail once more?"

"Of course, I would not wish to delay you on your own mission" she replies. "I had not realised that you had different goals." Her face softens and becomes more concerned. "Is there anything I can do to help you find your associate?"

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "Merrell ask her to scry for her in a crystal ball or
> something...might save us a bit of time, finding your girl."

Alustriel nods. "I'm sure I could certainly help you in your quest..."

<Cleo aka Dan wrote>:
> Cleo listens to Merrell's concerns, then stands,
> and looks over to him. "Well, I promised you my
> sword once we reached the city, so if you intend
> to leave before the group is ready, I'll go with
> you." A wry smile crosses her face, and she adds,
> "SOMEONE's gotta keep you mages alive, you know."

Alustriel laughs at Cleo's joke.

<Cleo aka Dan continued>:
> Turning, she bows slightly to the Lady. "My Lady,
> if what you say is true, then is it possible that
> the guard may know of anyone who might have been
> turned away at the city gate? Surely, they would
> remember such a thing as an evil mage trying to
> enter the city, and being turned away because of
> the wards protecting the city."

Alustriel nods. "Not a bad suggestion, though the wards on the city do not work quite like that. They work by making those of an evil nature very uncomfortable, and by preventing the casting of certain types of magic within the city. It is more likely that an evil mage would know of this, and would thus not choose to come here. Alternatively, if he did come here, he would be limited in power, and probably in quite some discomfort as well..."

<Merrell aka Mike Br wrote>:
> Merrell bowed again and approached Lady Alustriel.
> When he reached a respectful distance he held out the
> drawing of Aran he had made. "Please realize M'lady I
> am a scholar not an artist, but this is a likeness of
> my friend Aran that I drew."

Alustriel takes the drawing and studies if for a moment. "I do not recognise her myself, but there are several things I could do to help you in your quest to find her."

<Merrell aka Mike Br continued>:
> "My source told me she travelled with an older
> gentleman with a longish white beard, that dressed
> in flowing white robes and high black boots. If he
> is the same Zhent bastar...um gentleman, I ran into
> before, we have a score to settle."

Wearing a solemn face, Alustriel frowns.

<Merrell aka Mike Br continued>:
> "I don't know if you can help or not M'lady, but I
> wanted you to know that if I find them things might
> heat up a bit. This being your lands I felt it my duty
> to give you warning and to tell you should I cause any
> damage to your city, I will pay for the damages."
> He stood patiently waiting for her reply.

Alustriel shakes her head. "I suggest that we complete an investigation using the proper channels here. I will arrange for the city watch to be distributed with copies of this likeness," she says, lifting the piece of paper. "There are not many here who come from your area of the world, and the accent should be easy to spot." She looks sternly at Merrell for a moment. "This is a civilised city however, and I will not tolerate vigilante actions. We have a justice system here, and I expect the laws of the land to be obeyed!"

After a moment, her face softens, and she smiles gently at Merrell. "I can see that she means a lot to you. Leave it in my hands, and I will see what I can find out. Do you have anything that used to belong to her that I can borrow?"

<Merrell aka Mike Br wrote>:
> "Ah here it is M'lady." He says holding out a
> braided lock of hair. Aran gave this to me for
> good luck."

Alustriel takes the lock of hair gingerly. "Excellent!" she says. "This has increased our chances of tracking her down significantly!"

<Merrell aka Mike Br continued>:
> "Perhaps if it wouldn't be too much trouble you
> could have a look at this book. My associates
> and I believe it to be magically trapped and were
> affraid to open it."

Alustriel takes the book. "I will have a look at it for you - come by tomorrow at noon and I will let you know my findings".

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "I also believe the other group didn't make it, being
> killed by Black Raven barbarians a days ride outside
> Nesme on the Goblintide. A foursome out of Daggerford
> I believe...<He looks to Serena and divulges no more on
> the matter....explaining simply.> we found their bodies..."

Alustriel cocks her head, listening to Lucretia's words.

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "I would begin to fear for Gildung's group in a day or
> so as they left Nesme a day or so before us...we did
> leave by boat though." "O' yes the boat didn't make
> the journey and is drifting back to Nesme, short three
> very brave Gnomish priests I'm afraid...<explaining
> further> we were beset by a terrible sea creature
> which nearly sunk us before we sent it to it's watery grave."

Alustriel nods. "The river is navigable, by merit of it's being deep and wide most all the way, but that also makes it home to many sizeable creatures. It is a very hazardous river!"

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "I am babbling again...I apologize." "In a nut shell
> though the reason we were sent here was that the stones
> were believed to have special properties, and had worried
> the dwarves who had found them. Gaard said he himself
> could not detect anything special about the stones, but
> the more powerful magic users in Silverymoon had asked if
> they could examine them in person." "Perhaps he mentioned
> this to some other mage here in Siliverymoon and didn't
> think to bother you with the details until later...a later
> that never came." "Is there another mage...one who perhaps
> makes stones a hobbies?"

"There are many mages here in Silverymoon, though none I would describe as stone specialists!" "Gaard has spoken to me many times in the past however, and I am sure that if he had a concern, he would have brought it direct to me. Having said that, I will ask to see if any others had heard from him before he died."

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "Well if you would like M'lady perhaps I could wash the
> grime from the trail from my body and I will give you a
> complete rendition of our trials and tribulations over a
> meal." "Perhaps there is a piece to this puzzle left
> unmentioned that will fill the gaps."

Alustriel laughs, standing. She bows theatrically to Lucretia. "My thanks kind sir for your generous offer, but I fear I have to decline your dinner invitation. I have other commitments to my time already..."

<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> "Perhaps," Serena says slowly, eyeing the Lady, "Perhaps
> your Highness will be able to make some sense of all this.
> You have the blue stones now. Gaard seemed to think that
> you had some special means to investigate their power - or
> access to some knowledge greater than his own."

Alustriel looks back at the stones, still resting on the arm of her chair. "I fear that there is nothing to be gained from the stones themselves, though I will take another look. Thank you all again for risking your lives in what seems like a wasted journey, but rest assured, I will bend myself to the task to try and understand this complex chain of events."

<Milo aka Steve wrote>:
> Milo clears his throat and with a glance at the Lady,
> addresses his companions.. "At the same time, perhaps
> there is more investigation or research we could do?
> I'm not sure what that could be, but I fear that we
> are not going to get all of the questions answered here..."

"I am not sure..." starts Alustriel, but Cleo interrupts.

<Cleo aka Dan wrote>:
> "Well, perhaps Milo's on to something. Maybe further
> investigation is necessary. I think a search of Gaard's
> residence may provide some clues. Dear Lady, perhaps if
> you could teleport us there, and give us a means of
> returning, we could search the place for clues, and come
> back to report them to you."

Alustriel remains standing. "It is a good idea" she says kindly to Cleo, "though one which is not needed."

<Cleo aka Dan continued>:
> Moving over to Serena and Luc, she conveys this to them
> in a whisper. "Perhaps the time has come to tell the
> lady of our Find. What we found may very well be the
> key to this mystery. After all, the stones came from
> dwarves who were killed for the sake of KD! What's the
> harm in telling the Lady? We can still request the right
> to be the first to search it since we were the first to
> find it. It's OUR claim if we found it first! What do
> we have to lose?"

Alustriel, stares impassively at Cleo as she whispers to Lucretia and Serena.

<Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> <Lucretia looks up from Cleo's whispering... <SNIP>
> "Your right Cleo...but I think a search of Gaard's
> house has already been done with out any results,
> or the Lady would have told us."

Alustriel nods. "The Many Starred Cloak in Neverwinter have already done a thorough investigation of Gaard's halls following the discovery of his body."

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "I think the answer we seek is somewhere in the lost
> Dwarven City...I'm personally going to go there and
> find out for myself what Gaard was up to and perhaps
> find his killer." "I know your dwarf friend there
> <He hooks a thumb over his shoulder indicating the
> now exited dwarf> will be about getting an expedition
> ready and if I know anything about anything his
> expedition will be weeks if not months from being
> put together."

Alustriel shakes her head slightly. "I'm not sure that heading off to look for Kheizar Dalan to try and beat Bruenor to it is such a good idea..." she starts

> "I propose <he counts the next few items out on his
> fingers> we as a group take a few days to search and
> hopefully find Merrell's kidnapped friend, rest a bit
> and see if Battle Axe Transport shows up...and finally
> once a ride passes we go and investigate this great
> formerly lost dwarves city."

"...though of course, it is a free land, so I cannot stop you if you wish to do so either." A smile flickers across her face for a moment then disappears.

<Serena aka Archone wrote>:
> As Luc speaks, she flicks a glance at Larz, trying
> to judge his reaction to this renewed talk of the lost
> dwarven city.

Larz nods in agreement with Lucretia, but says nothing.

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "If you don't mind...I mean with your permission
> Mylady I would like to take some of this wonderful
> juice to my horse, he is our only remaining mount
> and has a terrible wound from a troll...he has a
> loyalty that is rarely found in animals"

Lady Alustriel smiles. "Fear not Lucretia TrollCleaver - I am sure that the farriers and grooms of my stables will have taken the best care of your loyal mount..."

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> <Lucretia will show the lady the pair of small
> magnetized iron bars, attached to 2 small canine
> statuettes, one ivory and one ebony to her.> "Do
> you happen to know what spell component these are for?

Alustriel examines the bars, then shrugs. "Could be some form of repulsion spell - a spell that pushes creatures away from the spell caster..."

<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "I also have these various envelopes of dust...I
> think there just spell components <He shows them
> to her> though I felt that they may have held other
> purposes."

Alustriel merely glances at them. "I would guess that they are all spell components. I myself would hesitate to use spell components gained from an unknown source unless they were easily identified - though in your case, why you would want spell components at all baffles me!" She smiles broadly.

Alustriel pauses for a while, and it becomes apparent that she is bringing the audience to a close. Everyone stands up, and Alustriel leads them to the doors of the strange forest room.

"Thank you again for your not inconsiderable efforts," she says. "If you can wait with Captain Holdheart, I will arrange for the additional payment to be sorted out for you. I am sure that Captain Holdheart will ensure that you find somewhere pleasant to stay in the city, and I will send word if I find any new information for you." She looks at all the party, with her gaze lingering on Merrell.

In her hand is the sketch of Merrell's friend Aran, which she passes to Holdheart. "Can you arrange to get this copied and issued to the City Watch." She looks at Merrell again. "If you have any further information perhaps you can let Captain Holdheart know so he can inform the Watch. She holds up the item Merrell had given her. "I will return this to you within two days" she says.

Holdheart holds open the door ready for the group to depart.