Dramatis Personae
- Tori, mixed-heritage Shamaness from Gal City
- Kildun Graax, Hyperborean Necromancer from the City-State of Khromarium
- Tyrm, Oonish (androgynous clone) Warlock from the City-State of Khromarium
- Saya'da (Say'), Yakut Berserker from the Plains of Leng
- Fiadhan, Keltic Druid local to the Bryn Celli region
- Galenos, Kimmerian Cataphract from the Fields of Vol
Meeting Over Breakfast
Moon, the 11th of Sagittarius, 582. 8:00 AM. 3 hours of stormy precipitation, 33 degrees F.
The morning after their recent errands dawned cold and wet, with several hours of slushy, heavy rain falling over Bryn Celli. As the company gathered once more around the breakfast table at the Sheep's Rest, they found the inn gradually returning to normal after Saya'da's unfortunate brawl. Though the common room still bore fresh repairs and several dishes had only recently been replaced, Torla had managed to keep her business running.
Kildun and Tyrm expected to remain at the inn only a little longer, their rented houses still awaiting furniture before becoming comfortable enough to occupy.
Over breakfast the companions compared the unexpected adventures that had occupied them during their brief respite.
Tori described the favor she had performed for her new acquaintance, Talan ap Rhydderch. What had first appeared to be nothing more than a tangled rope had proven far stranger, for a living vine had woven itself into the fibers and continually retied every knot that was undone. Rather than destroy the rope outright, Tori had eventually discovered that sunlight actually weakened the plant. With the help of several dock workers she dismantled the storage shed, exposing the buried root beneath the dirt floor. Once cut free and laid in the open sun, the strange vine appeared to shrivel and perish. She admitted there was still more to the story, though she preferred not to discuss it in so public a place.
Kildun then recounted his own less dignified adventure, confessing that too much drink had led him to loudly promise the assembled patrons that he would personally clear Hollow Cairn of its curse.
Galenos and Fiadhan were properly introduced for the first time, the Kimmerian having only recently recovered from illness that had kept him from the company's earlier adventures.
Fiadhan spoke of her recent acquaintance with Iestyn the Stonewright, whose fascination with the ancient Hyperborean road had renewed her own curiosity about the weathered paving stones north of Bryn Celli. She also described Dafydd Barrow-Born's unsettling stories concerning the Barrow of the Nine Princes, where the soil seemed somehow wrong, and the skull he once uncovered in the Bog of Skulls that whispered in a language he had never learned.
The discussion soon turned again to Rhodric. Tori suggested warning the dungeon guards that the full moon would almost certainly bring another transformation that night. Before the matter could be debated further, Tyrm quietly excused himself and departed to deliver the warning personally.
After he had gone, Torla briefly joined those remaining at the breakfast table. While reminding Saya'da of both the damaged common room and the favor still owed, she mentioned a new guest staying at the inn: the man's name was Khronus.
According to Torla, he sought experienced guides and bodyguards willing to accompany him to the place locals called the Land of Endless Noon. He had even promised Torla a generous finder's fee if she introduced him to suitable companions, enough to cover the cost of repairing the inn.
Fiadhan remarked that only recently another shepherd had wandered too near that same place and returned to Bryn Celli bleating like one of his own sheep. Torla merely shrugged.
"People say the gods send things in threes. Perhaps this is one of those times."
The company agreed to meet the scholar when he returned around midday. The party then headed over to Kildun's house for a more private discussion.
At Kildun's House
Reunited with Tyrm at Kildun's house, they shared Torla's proposal with him. Fiadhan explained what little she knew of the Land of Endless Noon, where the sun was said never to move across the sky, though she herself had never traveled there. She also noted that the ancient Hyperborean road passed in that direction, making Iestyn's observations all the more intriguing.
Their conversation then returned to the matter Tori had left unfinished. She produced the small figurine she had recovered from beneath the vine's roots. Fashioned from what appeared to be obsidian, it depicted the Elder God Kthulhu.
Kildun examined it with immediate interest. Tyrm observed that if the stone truly was obsidian, its precise carving would itself be remarkable, for such brittle material was exceedingly difficult to shape without shattering. Only Tyrm and Kildun immediately recognized the figure's identity, though neither professed great knowledge of the cult associated with it.
Saya'da questioned Tori carefully, asking whether the vine had behaved differently while near the figurine or whether she herself had noticed any unusual changes since handling it. Tori answered that the vine had already died before she recovered the idol, and she had observed nothing strange about herself.
Attention gradually returned to Khronus' proposed expedition.
Remembering the disturbed shepherd still lodging upstairs at the inn, Saya'da suggested they avoid mentioning him to Khronus until they had spoken with the man themselves. Tyrm considered seeking advice from Huntsman Taran Macc Neall, but the ranger remained out in the wilderness and was not expected to return for several more days.
By noon the company had returned to the Sheep's Rest.
Meeting Khronus
Khronus was already there, quietly eating his midday meal when Torla introduced the two parties.
Saya'da leaned across the table with deliberate confidence.
"You've probably heard about me, and what I can do," she said, gesturing toward the damaged common room. "I heard you might need someone with my skills. But I need to know more before I drag these guys along, cuz they're kind of a liability."
Galenos regarded her without expression, while Tyrm ordered his own lunch.
Khronus smiled.
"Yes, I think you will do. Mistress Torla never mentioned that you had built this place... unless of course you were talking about the damage."
Say' answered with a grunt. "I'm not so good at putting things up, but I can really tear them down."
The scholar explained that he had come to investigate the ancient tower at the center of the Land of Endless Noon. Though the locals called it a "clock tower", he believed it to be something entirely different. Ancient accounts suggested that the sun itself remained fixed above those ruins, unchanged for centuries, perhaps longer, and he intended to discover why.
He sought only guides and guards, promising that any treasures recovered would belong largely to the company, while reserving only a few objects necessary for his own studies. Should no treasure be found, he offered two hundred gold pieces to each companion from his own purse.
When Tyrm asked whether he carried the scholarly works upon which his theories rested, Khronus replied that only his notebooks had accompanied him. The original books contained little practical information, and besides, he added with some confidence, the mathematics involved would lie beyond their understanding.
Speaking quietly in Hyperborean, Tyrm remarked to Kildun, "Boy, this guy's full of himself, isn't he?"
Kildun silently agreed.
Khronus merely smiled and raised an eyebrow, making it plain that he had understood every word.
Galenos laughed openly despite not knowing the language itself.
Saya'da remained unconvinced.
She questioned Khronus about his origins and his reasons for traveling so far north.
He readily explained that he had journeyed from Fazzuum, capital of Scythium, and described himself as Ixian. For decades he had devoted his life to the study of time itself, particularly the strange mathematical principles governing chronometry. Hyperborea contained many wonders, he admitted, but nowhere else did the sun stand motionless above the earth.
When asked about his schedule, Khronus hoped to depart immediately if possible, or the following morning at the latest.
The company preferred to remain in Bryn Celli through that night's full moon. Rhodric's condition remained uncertain, and none wished to be traveling the countryside while at least one werewolf still prowled the region. Khronus readily accepted the delay.
Saya'da finally gave her answer.
"I think we can manage this for you. But I truly hope you find what you are looking for, because something is just too strange about all this."
"If this seems strange to you," Khronus replied as she walked away, "just wait until you see where we're going."
Fiadhan admitted she looked forward to the expedition. The ancient druids, she explained, had long studied the movements of the heavens and raised stone monuments to mark the passing of seasons. She wondered whether Khronus' own research had touched upon such knowledge.
The scholar answered that while he respected those older traditions, his own studies reached into far more esoteric matters.
With arrangements settled, Khronus departed to prepare for the journey. Saya'da quietly intercepted him before he left, suggesting he seek lodging elsewhere because of the damaged state of the inn, concealing her hope that he would never encounter the afflicted shepherd upstairs.
The company then turned to its own preparations.
Tyrm purchased a pack mule together with extra equipment for the expedition, despite some questioning whether such expense was necessary. He also hired both a torchbearer and a teamster to manage the animal, while arrangements were made for the company's three mercenary infantrymen to accompany them as well.
Questions and Investigations
Before leaving Bryn Celli, they sought whatever local knowledge they could gather concerning the Land of Endless Noon.
Torla admitted she had seen the place herself, though only from afar. At its center stood a ruined settlement dominated by an immense tower containing what looked like an enormous crystal pendulum, though she knew of no actual clock mechanism. She estimated the abandoned village might once have housed a few hundred people, yet confessed that she had never ventured close enough to enter its walls.
Only one living person, she believed, might have approached more closely than anyone else.
Young Marlí, the shepherd. With Torla's permission, Saya'da, Fiadhan, and Galenos climbed to the shepherd's room. His mother, Muirín, recognized Fiadhan and welcomed them inside.
Marlí appeared exhausted and disheveled, as though he had spent the previous night outdoors. When he looked toward the visitors, he simply bleated.
Though they had expected as much, hearing the sound with their own ears proved unsettling all the same.
Muirín had little information, saying only that her son had disappeared while out in the north pasture with his flock. He had not returned until the following morning, wandering home with his flock and himself physically unharmed. How he had managed such a feat in his present condition, she could not imagine.
She believed him calmer now than when he first returned, though still unable to speak. Remembering another shepherdess who had been nearby, Muirín suggested they speak with Osnait.
Before leaving, Saya'da promised they would do everything within their power to restore Marlí's mind. He answered only with another quiet bleat.
Following Torla's directions, the company found Osnait west of Bryn Celli near the druidic grove. Her account added to what little they knew. Marlí had driven off a wolf threatening the flock before discovering there was one lamb missing. He'd left his flock with Osnait and gone in search of the lamb, but hadn't returned by evening. She herself had found him the following morning, wandering peacefully with the recovered animal. Neither shepherd nor lamb had suffered any visible injury.
Satisfied they had learned all they could, the companions returned to Bryn Celli.
Galenos inquired about purchasing a proper warhorse but discovered none were available within the village.
Saya'da returned to Brenna Ink-Hand to complete the wolf tattoo spreading across her back. Brenna warned her sternly to keep the fresh work clean and dry lest infection spoil it.
Out On the Road
The following morning dawned bitterly cold. A hard frost covered the ground, freezing the previous day's mud beneath a thin skin of dark ice.
Khronus met them outside the village together with the hired servants. The mule was loaded, the mercenaries assembled, and the company finally set out northward.
Their first day's march passed quietly.
In mid-afternoon they noticed a crumbling ruin flanked by standing stones. Seven wolves emerged from among the broken walls and began circling the travelers from a considerable distance. Tyrm immediately ordered the mercenaries into a shield wall with spears presented.
After watching the armed company for several minutes, the wolves chose easier prey and disappeared across the hills without testing the formation.
An hour later the travelers encountered three huntsmen from Bryn Celli returning from the wilderness. Their spokesman, Sionn Mac Artagan, greeted them warmly and spoke freely of the country ahead. Wolves and bears remained the greatest hazards, though nearer the ruins stories told of strange hairless wolves, shorn like sheep rather than diseased by mange. He also mentioned old tales of ghosts haunting the abandoned settlement, though none of the huntsmen had witnessed such things themselves.
When Fiadhan explained that they were escorting Khronus to the ancient ruins, Sionn wished them well.
As the two groups prepared to part, Kildun remembered to warn the huntsmen of the Master werewolf beneath Hollow Cairn. They accepted the warning with thanks before continuing homeward.
The company marched on until evening before making camp near the edge of the next stretch of wilderness.
As darkness settled across the hills, Kildun set his skeletal cat upon the ground and gave it a single command.
"Guard."
Whether the strange familiar watched the camp by instinct, enchantment, or some other means, none could yet say.
There the company settled in for its first night upon the road, while somewhere beyond the northern horizon the sunless mysteries of the Land of Endless Noon awaited them....
