Exiting the Caves of Wind, Kothas was seen sitting by a fire a few yards outside of the entrance, his hair a little whiter it seemed. The guards noticed the emerging adventurers and shouted triumphantly. Kothas jumped up and greeted each member with a hefty bear hug as tears welled up in his eyes, "I heard such horrid sounds coming from there ... screams and explosions, I didn’t know what was going on. I couldn’t come down as I was ordered not to. But I am glad to see all of you alive." He then noticed Jardel carrying the barrel and the scepter, "And the Scepter !" he gasped, "But what is the barrel ?" He then noticed Kethas and Belgrius being held up by supporting group members, "Who is the new friend ? Is he friend or prisoner ?" He pointed to Belgrius. The other two prisoners obviously being distinguished by their binds. Nightime had befallen the outside world, whereas down in the caverns below night reigned all the time ...
Belgrius staggered as his friends helped him out of the cave. He had never had such a demand placed on his magical ability as when he cast the identify spell on the boots of elvenkind. He made a mental note to consult with his mentor as to why he was so drained. Stepping out of the cave into the campfire light, Belgrius winced as the light accosted his eyes. Light too bright for his small irises from being in the dark of the cave so long, nearly knocked him over in his weakened state. He closed them a moment and looked wary towards the darkness as his eyes became used to the new brightness. As Kothas spoke Belgrius jerked with a start, "let me stand on my own." He pulled free of his friends and looked at Kothas. Your friends rescued me from the hands of the undead who captured me and brought me to this cavern. I have helped them find the objects you so admire and who are you, sir ?" Still weak, Belgrius did not attempt to shake hands. Rather, he knelt and rested on one knee, rubbing his eyes to clear the cavern's darkness from his vision. "Now that we are out of the cavern, might I continue on with your band ? I feel your destiny and mine must lie in the same direction."
Emerging from the cave, Humus gave a sigh of relief. They had all made it out alive ! Now all they had to do was to survive the journey on the road. Answering he introduced Belgrius to the guards. "This is Belgrius Silvermoon. We found him being held in a cell down there. He has been a great asset in our finding the Scepter. Belgrius, this is Kothas Sronam, a lieutenant to the new king." Smiling broadly, Humus answered Belgrius, "of course you may travel with us. You have earned more than a space in our little band." Looking to the others, "Well, should we camp here now and leave out for Vain early in the morning ? If so, we had better choose who is going to stand watch." Humus thought back to one of the last times they had made camp, and the horrible dreams that came with it. His eyes growing accustomed to the light, Belgrius offered a hand to Kothas, "Well met and thanks for your trust in me, Humus, I will strive to remain worthy to all of your trust." When camp was mentioned, Belgrius volunteered to stand first watch. "I need to calm down from the experiences in the cavern before I can sleep anyway." Thinking it over, Humus agreed, "We all could use a rest after that, particularly those that require time to study and pray. There are enough of us - with Kothas and his guards - that several can stand watch as the others rest." Turning to Belgrius, "you may stand first watch if you wish. Some of the others need to stand watch too. The more we have guarding us the better." Looking at the others, "I'm willing to take the last watch again. What time slots do the rest of you want ? If I remember correctly, Da Ghiri meditated and does not truely sleep so he will be one of the few that can 'watch' all night."
Kethas could only moan as the watch was given out, as his constitution was miserable, due to the Identify spell. When he arose, he was willing to partake in the watch. Reaching Kothas and the guards, Jardel carried the barrel stoically on his shoulder. With a large smile he set the barrel down on the wet and muddy ground and with his outstretched arm presented Kothas the Scepter of Power. Clasping Kothas on the shoulder with his free arm, the older knight sighed in relief. "Greetings Kothas and friends," as his eyes wandered to each and every guard of the troop. "My thanks to you for waiting on us. Tis was a hard and bloody battle to reach the scepter, yet we succeeded ... for now at least. I agree with Humus in making camp here. My aching bones definately need some rest before we return to Vain. We should make haste in returning the scepter to our King, as further quests have been presented to us. Our mages need time to recooperate from their mental strains too. Until reaching our capital I will not release the scepter from my grasp. Any and all evil of the realms should be wanting to find it and retrieve it’s lost powers. Fortunately, the gods of good are on our side. I daresay that I would prefer not to take a watch tonight. My strengths are needed morrow and your men are well-trained. Let us retreat to a defendable location and set at least three men on watch at all times. One can never be careful enough in these lands. From our midst the one or other has volunteered to help watch." After discussing the immediate plans with the others Jardel let out a high whistle from his lips. Responding to this was his warhorse Aistlin, which came along trotting, with a playful whinney and nudging of the paladin in affection. Jardel calmed him. "Aye there lass. Looks like you missed yer old man. Heimdall has once more blessed our cause and we have done well. Once we reach Vain you’ll get a full sack of fresh hay with some apples ... promise." Da Ghiri smiled faintly and bowed. "Yooou remember correctly my friend", the little priest said, "a few hooours meditation will serve me better than a full night's sleeep and I will remain alert to my surroundings throooughout". He paused a moment, "I wooould counsel we put some distance betweeen ooourselves and theeese caves, but given the state of some of ooour companions I suppose a brief stay here is unavoidable ..."
Belgrius sat down heavily near the campfire and sighed as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulder. He rummaged in his backpack and brought out some rations and began to eat some nuts. "I am not too ready to search out another place to bed down. How is this for a campsight for the night ?" He looked around at the others, clearly hoping they would agree to stay here tonight. Taking a long pull of water from his wineskin, he took out his spell book and started trying to rememorize some spells. Da Ghiri smiled faintly, "Well, it loooks like we're camping here ..." Kethas stayed where he had been put, twisting and turning as if he was in the middle of a horrible nightmare. He didn’t look like he was going anywhere for a while, unless he was forcibly moved. Belgrius looked around as he opened his spell book and realized Kethas had a problem. Putting his spell book back, he dug out some herbs and mixed them in some water for Kethas. "Here, drink this. Maybe it will help you regain some strength." He lifted Kethas and carefully tried to get him to reflexively swallow some of the brew, being careful not to choke him in the process. He wetted a cloth and applied a cool compress to the forehead of Kethas.
Kothas seemed a little disapointed at staying here another night, but complied. He ordered two guards to stand watch with Belgrius, then two others each shift, helping those who stayed awake to watch on their shift. Suprisingly, the night went by without incident, though not without it’s nightmares. Dreams of sugar plums were quickly replaced by those of a roaring demon and priests screaming in pain as everyone burned in dark corridors. Pictures of gore stained the minds of the tender hearted as the memories of the carnage below haunted the nights peace. All woke in the morning fairly refreshed, but not entirely, as the nights sleep was not a good one. Kethas awoke a little groggily, but he was awake too. The spellcasters had replenished their depleted spell energies and the warrior's arms were yet a little sore from the exercise they received the day before, especially Caladan, as he wielded a very large blade. Kothas was already awake and preparing breakfast; a deer caught the day before had been butchered and cut. Now, fresh deer meat was frying on a spit above the small fire, "Good morning brave adventurers, a great victory has been won in the caverns, a great victory indeed, one worthy of a kings feast. Though," Kothas added with a wink and a grin, "... you'll have to wait for a true king's feast until we return to Andevar with the Scepter." All enjoyed a taste, if not an indulgence, of the tender meat. The sun was trying to poke through the clouds as the first dry day in a week was seen.
Caladan awoke and shook his head "I wonder if I'm ever going to be able to sleep without the smell, sounds and experiences from this cave in my dreams." Caladan pulled himself up and walked over to the fire and seated himself. He placed his sword and backpack next to him and started to eat. "It's funny when I first awoke after my accident, I never thought my strength or stamina would fail me. Of course my powers have decreased to a more normal level than just after the accident, but still I never believed it could be so exhausting to wield a sword. Still this is my part in the world now, even though I still dream of the days where my power with the arcane could reshape the world, but those days are over, at least until I find a cure for the magic that reshaped me. Until that day comes I must satisfy myself with what little arcane power I have left." Caladan pulled his spellbook from his backpack and started to memorize his spells. Jardel rose in the early morning. Having slept in his armor his body ached more than usual. After a short prayer to Heimdall he joined the others for breakfast, eagerly eating the fresh meet. "Good morning to all. Thank you Kothas for such rich nourishment. Rest assured that after eating we will break camp and return to Vain as fast as our horses can take us. Forgive me for my brief comments, but handling this scepter brings a great strain to my body. The sooner we reach Andevar and I can hand it over, the better. Kothas, two guards will have to carry a tied prisoner over the rear end of their horses. Please ensure that they are treated accordingly to their status - as prisoners."
Belgrius awoke with a start, obviously having been disturbed by the nightmares. Looking around at some of the disturbed faces eating breakfast, he asked, "Did anyone other than myself have nightmares last night ?" Breathing deeply, "Something surely smells good. It will be great not having to eat stale dry rations for a change. Uh, who offered to let me ride with them ? I hate the idea of having to walk and stay caught up with the group." While breakfast was cooking, Belgrius tended to his morning constitutional and then wandered within about 50 yards of the cave entrance. He studies it for awhile, looking first right and then left, up and then down. Shaking his head in confusion, he wandered back to the group. "Do you suppose there is a way to close the opening of this cavern so it will not allow wandering creatures to get in or out ? I fear something evil might still reside inside, which may be the reasons for my nightmares last night." He came back to the fire. "Is there a stream near by where one could clean up a bit ? I hate the idea of going into town smelling as I do."
Jardel replied to Belgrius. "Your idea of sealing the tunnels may be good, but suffice to say that we lack the methods to collapse the mountain entrance. Having ridden the tunnels of Balazaar and some of his minions is worth while though. Perhaps we must return to accomplish the task of cleansing the entire tunnels from evil ... should you want to ride with me, I believe Aistlin could bear the additional weight at least till Vain and my riding skills are sufficient. There you would have to get yourself a mount." After finishing breakfast Jardel prepared Aistlin for the enduring ride. Belgrius answered, "I shall be happy to ride with you and I thank you for the offer. I will take up as little space as possible." Humus watched as everyone woke up. It appeared that just like he, they all had nightmares. Smiling grimly, "Most likely the dreams were brought up from our recent ordeals - or sent from Asmodeus himself. Balazaar sent us dreams earlier, but now that he is dead he is unable to - thank the gods ! I care not whether we seal up the cave or not - just as long as we get the sceptre to the king as quickly as possible. Unless anyone has a better idea, I say we go back to the main road and travel back to Vain as we had come earlier. Finishing breakfast." Humus went over and prepared Valor for the long road ahead. Da Ghiri was content with Jardel's plans for the march and set about gathering up his belongings and prepared his horse for the trip to Vain and then back to the Prince. He was quickly ready to depart.
Before leaving the camp, Belgrius mixed some water and soil to make a thick clay and then formed it into a holy symbol of his god. Going to the cavern entrance, he placed the symbol in the exact center of the opening. He started his spell casting by praying to his god. The clay began to glow and grow as it became a large stone symbol of his god, firmly rooted in the soil. He prayed a bit longer, asking that the symbol be blessed and that it hold any evil creatures in the cave and prevent any other evil creatures from entering. After the business at the cavern he climbed up to ride with Jardel.
Actually the entire group was putting away their belongings and packing them onto their horses, save for Belgrius. He packed his into whatever space he could find on Jardel's magnificent mount Aistlin. Looking back one more time, just to make sure some demon wasn't screaming from the caves, the group headed down the trail once again, this time south.
Culdat rode his small pony with a strange look in his eyes, almost glazed over. This was unusual for the normally jovial halfling. He began mumbling to himself occasionally, sometimes about how nice it would be to have a ranger up front again then he drifted into phrases of wild cherry pies filled with demon berries. Something was not right with the halfling. After several hours of casual riding, a familiar thundering arose from the north, from behind the party. Hoofbeats could only be the source. Trees lined the road to the east and west, as was open road to the south. Culdat continued chuckling at some inside joke he had with himself, giving an eerie sense to the unusual sounds ...
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