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Politics, Necromancy, and Wolves!


Wynn-frid arose from her trance much earlier than her compatriot, Gamma. She dressed for the day and wandered the halls of the Bluebill Inn, looking out the windows for any signs of unusual activity. She saw nothing out of sorts in the alleyways or along the streets, but did take notice of a brightly lit room visible through a small window across the street. She saw inside a portly man, cradling a small girl in his arms, sitting in front of a roaring fireplace. Nothing stood out about these two, save for the earliness of the hour. She observed them for a time, then left the window and made her way downstairs.

In the main room of the tavern that sat below the lodgings of the Inn, Wynn-frid sat at a table and quietly sipped her morning coffee while reading the books she and Gamma had found the previous day. She had just finished the book regarding the Vestige when Gamma arrived, looking freshly washed and well-rested. Wynn relayed the information she had gleaned from the books to the Halfling, and the two once again sat in commiseration, wondering what information Elena would bring.

They wouldn't have to wait long, for partway through their breakfast, the doors to the tavern burst open and there, draped in her purple-and-gold robes, stood the silver-scaled Dragonborn Elena Wraist. She glided to the pair, making straight for Wynn-frid. Elena paid no attention to Gamma at first, directing rapid-fire questions toward Wynn as soon as she was within earshot. Elena listened to Wynn-frid explain what had happened, occasionally asking for more detail about the appearance of the necromancer, or if Wynn had heard any incantation when the creature had raised the two bar patrons from the dead. When she was satisfied that she had wrung all of the information from Wynn that she could, Elena began detailing her own theory as to what had happened, and how.

Elena explained that, many years ago, the Vestige had been known for their strange and wonderful magical items. One such item that had been perfected by the cult had been a type of teleportation anchor; the anchor could look like any mundane object, and only a high-level Identify spell could detect its magical nature. These anchors were carried throughout the land by sometimes unaware travelers, and once they had reached their destination, would be used by members of the Vestige to instantly teleport to the anchor, allowing them instant access to the far corners of Telaris and beyond. Elena postulated that the letter Wynn-frid had found was one such anchor. She also speculated that its original destination had been Telim, and upon the letter's entrance into the city, had triggered a sentry, long-forgotten somewhere, and it had teleported to the anchor in response to the summons. She speculated that this was the only way the necromancer could have entered into the city through the magical barrier, as it was supposed to prevent anything undead from entering the city.

Further expanding upon her theory, Elena hypothesized that the necromancer Wynn-frid and Gamma had encountered was not, in fact, a living thing. She surmised that it was an undead sentry, left behind by the Vestige when they were wiped out, forgotten in a corner of the world, awaiting a signal to carry out its mission. Elena didn't know what type of mission the necromancer would have had, and since it had been destroyed by Wynn-frid, felt they would never know.

Elena also revealed that she had been in contact with her friend Perrin Yatara, the Fourth Keeper of the Flame of Telim. During this exchange, Yatara had confided in Elena that Narmok Jessil, the High Keeper of the Flame, had been acting strangely of late, but Yatara couldn't pinpoint the exact cause just yet. She warned that Jessil not be trusted with information regarding the Vestige for now, and implored Elena to find more evidence before bringing it forth to the Council or the Keepers. Elena had agreed, and had come to ask for Wynn-frid's aid in finding more information.

It was at this time that Elena finally seemed to notice Gamma. The Halfling had been listening to the entire conversation, and when the Dragonborn finally set her gaze upon him, he introduced himself to her and she likewise. She looked suspiciously at Wynn, who vouched for Gamma and explained that Gamma was the one who had helped her defeat the necromancer the night before. Elena expressed her gratitude to Gamma, and proclaimed that any friend of Wynn-frid's was a friend of hers. She inquired as to Gamma's business in Telim, and, receiving a nod of approval from Wynn-frid, Gamma proceeded to tell Elena some of his troubles with Baron Wain.

Upon hearing the name of Jezrim Wain, Elena visibly stiffened, then snarled in disgust. She, too, apparently has a grudge against the bandit-turned-baron and agreed to help Gamma against him in any way she can. It was decided that Gamma's mission would be taken care of before the party began searching for more information on the Vestige, since time was a factor in that particular instance. To that end, Gamma wished to speak with Lord Lister Burnhold, member of the Council of Telim, and the man with whom he plotted to overthrow Baron Wain, before leaving Telim.

The party met up with Lord Burnhold outside of the Inn, and Wynn-frid recognized him as the man she had seen in the window earlier that morning. He was a portly fellow, dressed in fine clothes. Balding on top, the 50-something Human man eyed Gamma with suspicion as the Halfling approached him with a Dragonborn and a Wood Elf in tow. Gamma began to speak with Burnhold about their plan in a hushed whisper, with Burnhold confirming the details of the coup, telling Gamma that his troops would be in place long before Gamma arrived in Clement. As the two finished their conspiring, Burnhold emphasized that Gamma should trust nobody, including Burnhold himself. Gamma agreed that he would take that to heart.

As the group left Burnhold to make his way to the Council chambers, they prepared to leave Telim. Gamma picked up his armor from Fletcher's before they left, and Wynn-frid confirmed that her lodgings were taken care of for her return to Telim eventually. All business settled, Elena volunteered to rent horses for the party, and they set out on the road towards Clement.

The journey was mostly quiet during the day. The party members each had much to think about, and it was due to this that they almost missed spotting a humanoid shape lying face-down in the grass just off of the road. Gamma stopped his horse and crept towards the figure, which was revealed to be a green-scaled Dragonborn, bloodied and beaten. He called to Elena, who hurried over and began tending to the Dragonborn's wounds. Wynn-frid, inspecting the wounds on the man, saw that he had been rent with claw marks, most egregiously on his neck. These wounds, despite Elena's healing, did not close up properly, and the man was left with a deep set of scars. He awoke and immediately tried to stand up and lurch towards the forest, talking about how he had been ambushed by wolves and that he needed to get his axe back.

Elena and Wynn-frid managed to calm the Dragonborn, who named himself as Tekrim, former private guard to Baron Peyton Serle, Lord of Shadar. He had been exiled from Shadar due to an affair with Lord Serle's daughter, and had been traveling to Telim when he was waylaid by two large wolves. The pair had worn him down, wounded him gravely, and when he fell, they had taken his belongings. At this point, all three party members were suspicious of these wolves, knowing that theft was not generally part of how wolves operate. Wynn-frid guessed that these particular wolves, given the size of the wounds they had inflicted, and their peculiar thieving behavior, were shapechangers.

The party elected to camp for the night, moving into the woods off of the road. Elena conjured a magical tent for herself and Tekrim, divided in the middle for privacy, and the two Dragonborn disappeared inside it for the evening. Gamma and Wynn-frid decided to split the evening's watch, and set up a small campfire for their dinner and for light. Gamma took the first watch, and Wynn-frid decided that she would try to track these "wolves" and find out more about them. As she crept into the forest, Gamma watched her disappear and wondered about the events that had led him down this path. Would he ever see his family again? Would he be the same man if he did? Time would tell; his confrontation with Baron Wain drew ever closer, and he couldn't lie: he longed to have that man's blood on the edges of his daggers.

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