The dust hasn’t even settled and the party is already rushing over to the fallen. Jak runs over to Vale’s side, searching for any remaining signs of life coming from his Black Arrow comrade. Fobias is clinging to life, just barely, but isn’t healed until after Trace ensures that the largest ogre, Jaagrath Kreeg, is completely dead. As Fobias regains consciousness, his eyes are masked with a deep red hue, similar to Richard’s eyes. When questioned if he is feeling alright, Fobias responds by saying that he could somehow see how the rest of the battle played out through Richard, even though he was unconscious.
Jak, accepting that Vale has perished, gives a short eulogy for his friend. He takes the opportunity to apologize to Shalelu again, and vows that he won’t use Vale’s death as an excuse to run away from his problems; once the Kreegs have been eliminated and the fort has been resecured, Jak will take it upon himself to rebuild it under a new name – Fort Temros, Rannick’s Veil.
With their goodbyes solemnly behind them, the party collects the items from the bodies. Interestingly enough, Theo kept a journal. As Fobias reads the journal, he finds Theo’s Last Will and Testament, in which the witch leaves some of his possessions to his only friends. There are also several disturbing pages outlining a careful plot to eliminate Gandethus via beheading, as well as copious notes detailing experiments in hopes of perfecting a recipe for corpse bread. Suddenly those cookies that Theo shared earlier don’t taste as pleasant as they originally did…
Nevertheless, our heroes still find themselves at the second floor of a fort that is crawling with ogres. Cursory checks of each of the rooms on this level reveal that the ogres had defiled a shrine to Erastil in favor of Lamashtu. Furthermore, the Commander’s Quarters didn’t yield any sign of Lamatar, but a secret compartment in the bookcase exposed some of the Commander’s secrets: it appears as though the hardened leader of the Black Arrows was/is something of a romantic, and there were several poems and trinkets indicating his relationship with the nymph, Myriana. Jak recalls that Commander Lamatar would often take ‘communion walks’ to get more in-touch with the lands that he was sworn to protect, and with this new information it seems like these were more like booty calls than anything else. Since Lamatar was on one of these walks on the night that the Kreegs attacked, it is possible that he is still alive. Slim chances, but certainly likely.
The party also concludes that they could use the heads of the ogres, particularly Jaagrath’s, to sow unrest in the patriarchal Kreeg tribe. With this tactic in mind, they venture up to the final area of the inner fort that they have yet to explore – a tall watchtower that looks out upon the parade grounds and beyond.
As Krask approaches the top of the stairs, he can hear two voices speaking in Giant on the other side of the trapdoor leading upwards. There is also the faint some of something made of clay hitting wood, lacking any real pattern or rhythm. A quick plan develops in which Fobias will poke his head up while holding Jaagrath’s head in an attempt to strike fear in whatever ogres lie waiting above. Fobias carefully opens the trap door and sees an elven man sitting at a table, drinking beer with an ogre. Once Fobias comes into view, the ogre stands up and smashes his club down on Fobias’ head. They were ready!
The elven man stands and several copies of him spread themselves throughout the room before joining back with their progenitor. Fobias pulls himself into the tower, taking another brutal hit from the ogre’s club, and fights back with the Impalar of Thorns. Luckily, this causes the ogre to be become nauseated, allowing an invisible Barnaby and an able-bodied Jak to begin swarming the enemies in the tower. After a few hits, the ogre falls over, and the elven man holds up his hands while dispelling the illusionary versions of himself. He implores the group to stop attacking, as there has been a misunderstanding.
The elven man introduces himself as Fynridael, a traveller who is apparently leading the resistance effort against the amassing Stone Giant forces in the Storval Plateau. Fort Rannick had offered him counsel and lodging right before the Kreeg’s began their assault. Thinking quickly, Fyn had holed himself up in the watchtower, casually picking off ogres as the weeks went by. Eventually he was able to charm the ogre that the party just killed, Griggmar, whom he had been using to gain additional intel on the Kreegs as he planned his counter-insurgency. His robes also indicate the symbol of the Korvosan Guard, a militant group sworn to defend Korvosa.
Over the course of the conversation, Fyn is able to persuade the others that he is not allied with the ogres, and that he is not a threat. Appearing to be two separate groups briefly meeting in passing, the group plans to leave the eccentric elf to his own devices before Fyn is caught by a particular feather on Barnaby’s hat. This peacock feather, exclaims Fyn, must be a sign from the Peacock Spirit! It is fate and destiny all rolled up into one that Fyn should trust these adventurers and assert himself into their quest as it may eventually lead him to positive results in his own.
Down below, the faint outlines of several ogres can be seen milling about on the parade grounds in the middle of the dark, stormy night.
Meanwhile, in Magnimar, Master Leis Nivlandis, Headmaster of the Stone of the Seers Academy, is writing a letter to Eilowyn Summitor, one of the prominent members of the Order of Cyphers in Riddleport. Suddenly he is hit with a bout of worry, and he exposes a secret staircase behind a bookshelf. He ventures down into a narrow room where the ceilings and walls are completely covered in empty picture frames organized in neat rows. One of the frames holds an artist’s rendering of Theophilus Whitby. Master Leis removes the portrait from the frame contemplatively and rolls up the drawing. He reveals another mysterious cubby hole hidden in the stone wall and add’s Theo’s portrait to a pile of hundreds of other tightly-rolled papers before extinguishing the light, plunging the room into complete darkness.
Art Credit: “Wizard’s Room” by dleoblack on DeviantArt