Chapter Text
30 Pharast, 4711 AR
The magical messenger sat in the center of Kendra Lorrimor’s dining room table, occasionally flapping its wings and cocking its head as if it were a real bird. This particular messenger was shaped like an owl, crafted from platinum with beady onyx eyes. It also spoke, albeit with a higher pitch than the user’s normal voice. It had landed on the front stoop that morning and the housekeeper had been extremely perplexed by its arrival, more so when it had chirped its desire to be brought before Kendra and her “hero friends”.
No sooner had she placed the owl on the table than it had begun chirping in earnest. “It is I, Lord Adivion Adrissant, speaking to you from the not-so-far-off city of Lepidstadt. Good morning, one and all!”
Vianka Lascar felt a sneer creep onto her face at the voice and quickly schooled her expression in case the magical construct could see as well as speak and hear. They had met the noble during Petros’ funeral, and while he had seemed nice enough, it was also just as obvious that he had the nobility’s knack of looking down on the lower classes. In addition, he struck her as being abjectly bored with everything in life, and the attitude annoyed her.
The magus Tim leaned forward excitedly, his eyes dancing with wonderment as he took in the construct. He might turn a blind eye to the supernatural literally in his face, but he was intrigued by the modifications that could be made to magical formulae. “I’ve never seen such a creation! They can craft something so wondrous in Lepidstadt?”
“Lady forfend!” Adrissant cried in mock horror. “No, I actually found the most brilliant artificer who is here in town to witness the spectacle. He comes from the Kingdom of Kaivos to the far east of us. King Tote has established peaceful relations with several fey groups, and they’re experimenting with all sorts of magical creations. The merchant explained what this device could do, and I thought it more than apt to capture my words as opposed to a scroll carried by a simple raven. Writing letters is such a dreary process, after all! And you can only cram twenty-five words into a sending; I’d barely get through an introduction!”
“It must have been an extravagant purchase, Uncle!” Kendra breathed. “And what’s this spectacle you mentioned?”
“Ah yes, I suppose word hasn’t reached Ravengro yet. I’m actually surprised that Kaivos has heard, although I suppose it’s not unexpected that a new kingdom would have established spies in its neighbors—”
“Is this about your artifacts?” the half-orc paladin Dozer rumbled, looming over the owl as he spoke. To Vianka, his voice always sounded like rocks being rubbed together, but he was being extraordinarily loud at the moment.
“In a way,” Adrissant drawled, and Vianka could hear the irritation in his voice, although this also carried a bored undertone. “Because of the incident, the Department of Antiquities is currently closed, so my project is once again on hold.”
“The spectacle, the incident,” Vianka muttered, matching Adrissant’s bored tone, “you’re being quite mysterious, Lord Adrissant.”
“Ah ah, Sergeant Vianka, that’s Adivion to you. Friends mustn’t stand on ceremony; it becomes dreadfully dull. It’s not mysteriousness that binds my tongue, it’s simply there’s so much to tell! Last night, a beast—the Beast, I should say—broke into the Department of Antiquities and was captured by the city guard. There’s to be a trial scheduled, of course, but at this point it’s largely a formality. Even now, the Punishing Man rises in the square outside the courthouse, and there’s been a festival growing in the streets. Visitors from across the Principality are expected to flock in, and we have guests from a few foreign parts as well, such as Kaivos.”
There was a lot to parse in his words and Vianka shook her head in confusion, hooking onto the one phrase she did recognize. “The Beast? As in the Beast of Lepidstadt? I saw a notice about it shortly after we arrived in town. Supposedly it’s responsible for a number of murders.”
“It has been a blight in Vieland for well-nigh twenty years. Now at last, its comeuppance is due!”
Dozer stepped forward again and bellowed, “The Punishing Man, I’m guessing that’s an execution tool?”
“Very common in the county. It is a large wooden platform that’s soaked in oil and lit ablaze. A very fitting punishment for a mass murderer. The trial is set to start shortly after you arrive in town, and the festival will be at full speed by then! Do you have plans to stay somewhere in the city?”
They glanced at one another. This had been the source of many contentious arguments over the past week, ever since Petros’ ghost had given them the charge STOP THE WHISPERING WAY. The death cult had caused chaos to erupt in Ravengro but then had all but vanished. Beyond collecting their reward in Lepidstadt, they had no clear direction to travel in their pursuit.
Dozer shrugged. “We hadn’t really thought of it. We weren’t planning on staying very long, after all.”
“Oh, you simply must stay for the trial! In fact, I insist upon it. Look, Kendra will be staying at the estate anyway, so why don’t you all stay with her? And I know you’re receiving some sort of compensation from Embreth—that’s Judge Daramid to you, mind—so I can do the same. How does four hundred towers to stay at my estate sound?”
Vianka goggled at the sum. Petros had willed each of them a hundred towers as it was; this would easily double their operating funds in the city and could go a long way to securing information about the cult. And hire the services of a cleric, she thought, recalling that they already had a lead on finding one in the city.
“You’re going to pay us to stay with you?” Tim asked suspiciously. “Is there some favor attached to it?”
Adivion laughed. “Quite the opposite. In fact, you’ll be doing me the favor. I have to return to Caliphas to oversee a project of mine that doesn’t even bear mentioning; it’s so dull, I’m sorry I even brought it up. The house will be quite empty in my absence. My staff do so appreciate having someone to cater to, and they’ll enjoy having people moving about the house. Feel free to stay as long as you like. I don’t want you to feel like you must rush off, even when I return. It would be pleasant to catch up with each of you in more detail than the funeral allowed!” His voice turned aside and he instructed, “Alexa, pay Despecito. I want to ensure there are enough funds to cover expenses for our friends.”
“Will it be a problem that we’re not going to arrive together?” Dozer asked, his voice rising in volume as Vianka tried to push him away from the owl.
Even as Kendra shook her head, Adivion chimed in with “What’s this?”
“The heroes—” Kendra gave this title with a smirk even as Tim pulled a face at it, “have been tasked with checking on Clover’s Crossing before heading to Lepidstadt. As such, they’ll be departing the village tomorrow. Meanwhile, I have a couple more days before I’ll be finished packing up the house.”
“You’ll be fine on the road alone?” he asked, his voice actually laced with concern.
“I won’t be alone. I’m borrowing a wagon, and it’s going to be driven by a couple men from town.”
“Fine, fine, that all sounds fine. But what’s all this about the Crossing?”
They all looked to Dozer, who had learned about Clover’s Crossing three days ago. Vianka groaned as the paladin cleared his throat and stepped in front of the owl to relay his story.
* * *
“Oh good, Dozer!” Zokar called as Dozer ducked his way into the Laughing Demon. “I’m glad you stopped by. I’m having a small problem.” The tavernkeeper waved has hand excitedly towards a disheveled man sitting at the far end of the bar. “This stranger is disturbing my customers.”
Dozer flashed a tusky grin and chortled. “More than you? That’s got to be serious.”
“You jest, but this man is deep in his cups and extremely disturbed himself. I figured you’d know what to do with someone who’s seen something so unnerving that they can’t find themselves! All he’s done since he arrived two hours ago is drink, and even though I cut him off when I saw how deep into his cups he was getting, he’s just sat there staring at the wall!”
Dozer grunted and made his way over to the stranger. The dark-haired man looked as if he hadn’t slept all night. He was wearing some sort of uniform with a four-leaf clover badge on the right shoulder, but it was dirty and torn. His brown eyes were bloodshot and haunted.
“Hi there, friend,” Dozer announced. “Before you turn around, I should warn you that I’m a half-orc, so you’re not seeing things.”
The man gave a short, hollow chuckle. “There was a time when a half-orc would be something terrifying to see.” He stared at Dozer, glancing at him up and down before turning back to stare at the wall. “But no longer.”
“My name is Dozer,” the half-orc continued, hopping onto the stool next to the stranger. “You seem to be a bit down on your luck, neighbor.”
“Vance Anderman.” He scowled and bit out. “What kind of a name is Dozer, anyway?”
“A slave name,” Dozer replied, keeping his tone pleasant. “I grew up in the fighting pits of Cheliax and didn’t change my name when I escaped.”
Anderman paled and stared down at his empty tankard. “Sorry. I’m sorry for being so rude. It’s been a long day.”
“What happened?”
“I served on the watch at Clover’s Crossing. Yesterday … yesterday the town was lost, overrun.”
Dozer blinked. He had not been expecting that. “Overrun? By what?” And are they coming here?
Anderman shrugged. “The undead, I guess. I was walking by the church just as services were starting when I heard the rumble. As first I thought it was another earthquake, like the one that happened last week, but then I saw the floor of the Temple cave in and all the people—” he started to sob and clutched the tankard between shaking hands. “My family was in there!” he explained. “I watched them disappear into that abyss, and then the screaming started.
“We saw shapes moving around in the dark and knew they were zombies and that the townsfolk were being turned. There was no escape from that sinkhole! When the gravestones began to topple, those of us who survived raced out of town to warn the other settlements.” He shuddered and tried to take a drink, scowling when he remembered he had been cut off. “Go ahead and call me a coward for leaving my family behind.”
“It sounds like there was nothing you could do. You did the right thing by asking for help. I’m going to see about getting you a place to rest.”
* * *
“Dozer wanted to leave town that day,” Tim relayed to the owl, obviously fighting the urge to roll his eyes. “Councilman Heathmount has cautioned us that leaving town too soon would negate the terms of Petros’ will.”
Adivion scoffed. “As if Petros would turn down the chance to upend a nest of undead creatures. What utter nonsense. Ravengro should be taking more of an interest in their trading partner. Clover’s Crossing has some of the best milk and honey in the region.” He gave a cry of dismay.
“At any rate, the compromise is that we can leave in the morning.”
“Good! I hope you’re able to make sense of that situation, just as you did at Harrowstone!”
Tim frowned, and Vianka wondered what had crawled up the magus’ ass this time. He had bitched and moaned when Dozer had suggested they pool their resources to put Anderman up at the Outward Inn for a week and been even more irritable when the suggestion came to investigate the nearby settlement.
Two Numerians were looking for Tim, Vianka recalled. The last place they were seen was Clover’s Crossing. The trail of the man who had been spying on them led to the Crossing as well. Maybe there was something odd going on, beyond just the undead overrunning the settlement.
“I’m sorry to hear your project is on hold again,” Tim said.
“Bah, it’s merely the cost of hubris, trying to get blasphemous artifacts through customs in Ustalav. I knew this project was going to take some time back when Petros and I first undertook it. I am nothing but a man of patience. In some matters, anyway. Speaking of which, Sir Dozer, I have some news for you.”
“For me?” Dozer asked, surprised.
“Kendra tells me that you’ve made quite a few friends there in Ravengro, and I’m really pleased to hear that. However, the close-minded fools in Tamrivena are even more stubbornly holding on to memories of the last war with the orcs than those provincial peasants in your town. I don’t think you’ll be able to charm them, especially as you’ll just be passing through.
“However, there’s no problem that can’t be overcome with a sufficient amount of money, and I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I’m just disgustingly rich. Just tell the knucklehead border guards who you are, and they’ll wave you through. This will prevent you from having to do anything desperate to reach Lepidstadt, such as trek through the moors or the Shudderwood. I’m sure Sergeant Vianka can tell you stories about that place!”
Tim arched an eyebrow at Vianka, who nodded. Of course, most of the stories she had to tell Tim wouldn’t believe anyway.
Dozer thanked Adivion and the noble requested that Kendra take him to a place they could converse privately.
“So,” Tim muttered grumpily, crossing his arms, “we’ll be arriving in the city just in time for a circus.”
“That’ll be a novelty,” Dozer replied with a wink. “Normally the circus comes with us.”