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Crayne looks to Emma as she explains to him their findings, "Urhmmm!" Crayne ponders over her words, "A long way to go I fear! I am not sure that it would be wise for this book to be placed in the El-Balans monks' hands once again. It makes you wonder what sort of claims they would put to it! Let us steer clear of the suggestion for a moment and think, for there must be another means by which we could get this book translated!"

Crayne thinks carefully and then perks up, "There is a common spell, I believe, called Comprehend Languages! It is of fairly simple difficulty and I would most definitely be able to make use of it if I was to acquire it." It is then that Crayne turns to Karelth, "Uncle, is it a spell that you have in your repertoire? Or perhaps Old Halbredan my main mentor! If not perhaps there is someone I could find to purchase it from for surely there must be some mages in the city who offer their services for a price! Perhaps we could get that stone identified at the same time!" Crayne says as he eyes the dwarf. "It's certainly worth researching before we go tracking off searching for some mysterious and secluded religion!"

The paladin glances at Emma, then back to the mage. "Master Crayne, I believe your idea is an excellent one. If you are able to purchase this spell, or find it in some other way, that would indeed possibly be of great assistance. I agree that heading to El-Balans would be a major undertaking, and if we can avoid that, by just about any means, I believe we should. If this spell of yours will allow you to read the text, then I know that I shall devote whatever funds I have to aiding you in purchasing that spell. Not only would it save a long over-land trip, but it would keep the tome a secret... for now, at least.

"As for the gem, it is very intriguing. You mentioned at the camp, when we secured it, that it perhaps had magical properties. If that is the case, I would highly recommend that it not be sold until those properties are identified and made clear to you, master mage.

"But it seems fairly apparent that our next step is to find and secure the Ring of Fire...and what do you all recommend we do to begin that journey?"

"Translating the book and beginning the quest for the Ring of Fire Control are one and the same," Emma reminds everyone. "For this tome tells the story of the Ring of Fire Control for three hundred years of its existence, according to Towers. It may not tell us where it lies today, but should certainly give us some place to begin the search. So to answer your question, Skandor, to begin the journey, we should focus on the book.

"If finding this translating spell is the best way to do it--and it seems to me that you are right, Crayne, in that it is most efficient--then we should accomplish our goal in that manner. While I would like to see relations between the Caste of Anhur and the Caste of Hathe improve, I too see the potential for conflict and disagreement over the ownership of the book once the monks at El-Balans are told of its existence. So translation by other means, this Comprehend Languages spell, seems to make the most sense. And if at the same time we can identify at least some of the magical functions of the gemstone, all the better!"

El perks up immediately with the mention of the name El-Balans. His mood still mysterious, and a little whimsical, he takes a deep breath and speaks. "I'm not so sure the good mage is right on this one. I think it would be well for us to embark on such a journey. For one thing, the political climate is getting a little hot here in Parton. I think we have a few too many enemies. The Blood Clan, may I remind you, will not be pleased with their foiled plot. Not to mention the drow," here El's brow furrows a little and he is lost in an introspective moment, "No, I think it would be good to take a little country stroll. I for one would like to see a little more of the country that I've pledged my life to save. And I think there's a little more to the mystery of the Ring of Fire then simply a tome written by an ancient sect, maybe the Ring is even in their possession! As to the danger of the El-Balans monks, I don't think we need worry about that. We don't necessarily need to get the tome translated there anyway. Assuming we can find this spell somewhere, we can get the book translated and then go to the temple."

This speech seems a little odd coming from El. Normally he tries, when he speaks, to sound slow and deliberate, an odd juxtaposition with his light elven lilt. El is excited by the prospect of the longer journey, even though it means more long days and nights on the road, on a horse. He knows his reasoning seems a little contrived, but truthfully, he isn't really sure why he wants to leave Parton so badly. A lingering paranoia?

Storm then pipes in for a change. "Let's go get that ring! Finally all ye buggers get a real taste o' treasure huntin'! He hah!!" His thoughts are filled with quests across deserts and into forgotten villages, vanquishing hideous monsters along the way, and perhaps coming across a few great dwarven magical weapons of fantastic powers.... Storm is awakened from his reverie as a bit of his own drool hits him on the arm. He wipes his mouth with his sleeve and smiles at his thoughts of mighty dwarven weapons...

Hannibal gives Naeron a bored look, never liking the elf much. As Naeron departs, Hannibal finds a seat with the others. Although his day on the town was uneventful, all the walking had taken it's toll. Another warm bath and soft mattress would do him good tonight for sure!

"Well, what did you learn of the gemstone?" Canter asks.

Hannibal says nothing, leaving the explanations to Crayne. Catching Storm's eye though, Hannibal rubs his fingers together and mouths, "500!!!"

Storm flashes a half-toothy grin Hannibal's way. "Yep!" He says out loud, seemingly unabashed that he raised his voice a bit, even when it draws the glares it does.

Crayne is delighted as he hears Naeron's news, that Duke Bryant intended to go ahead with the renegotiation of the treaty. All had gone to plan, and now Crayne and the group could focus their attention on finding the Ring of Fire Control. Crayne was all that more pleased that the King was fully aware of the evil antics of the Red Dragon mage, Paros. The King's anger was what Crayne had expected and he knew that the King had been deeply hurt. Paros was obviously very close and perhaps there was good reason for it. After all, Paros had probably served the Duke well in times prior to the split of the School and the commencement of the Caerloon War. And now Crayne had accused of him of treachery. Not only that, though, it would come out as an embarrassment for the King too if his trusted associate was to be revealed as a traitor. What Crayne now knew was that a doubt had been sewn in the King's mind and the relationship between the two--Paros and the King--would never be the same again until Paros was proved innocent in all of this. It was a start, Crayne knew, and one that he would try and build on.

Snapping out his thoughts, Crayne answers Canter's question, relaying the story of the appraiser's offer of 500 gold pieces for the gem, but his failure to identify any magical properties. At the conclusion of his story, Crayne turns to Storm. "I think we'd better hang onto the gemstone for now, Storm. After all, it is group property and we have no right to make a decision on whether or not to sell it without the rest of the group's opinions. Besides the appraiser might have been swindling us for all we know!"

Crayne turns and looks around the group, seeing smiles and nods of agreement. "No! I think we should hold on to the stone for a moment longer and find out what it does!"

"Indeed," El smiles, making sure his voice is loud enough for all to hear.

"Okay then," Canter says, satisfied with the answer. "Karelth, do you have the spell Crayne needs to translate the book?"

The older mage shakes his head. "I'm afraid not. However, Crayne mentioned Old Halbredan, a friend of mine and Crayne's former mentor. If my memory serves, I believe he does have the spell. Neither Crayne nor I have seen Halbredan in many years, and he is likely very old now and retired from the ways of magic." Karelth glances to Crayne and smiles broadly. "But he had a special place in his heart for the younger Crayne and his rambunctious ways. If anybody can coax him back to his library, I believe it is Crayne."

"But will he be able to identify the gemstone?" Alara asks Karelth.

"I think so," Karelth replies, "in his day, he was quite a wizard. Not nearly as powerful as this Paros fellow, or as Dire Luthor. But powerful enough to give you some valuable insight on that stone."

"I still don't think we should be staying in Parton!" Elloharin objects once again. The strength with which the elf has been asserting himself lately impresses the others; both Canter and Emma take note of it.

"Fortunately, Halbredan is not in Parton, Elloharin," Karelth says, smiling warmly toward the elf and nodding his head slightly. "So seeking the retired wizard will satisfy your well-placed need to be fleetly as well."

"Tell me, Karelth," Skandor then asks, leaning over the table and supporting himself on his strong arms, "where, then, is this Halbredan?"

"In Halen," Crayne answers in place of his uncle. "Not far from Mistledale, where I was raised."

"In the Duchy of Merriam," Karelth clarifies, "probably a three-day journey from here. And quite far from the Endless Desert and El-Balans."

Emma leans back in her seat, exhaling and smiling. 'They are working together for a change,' she thinks to herself. 'And how wonderful that is...I just hope they take note of it and continue the trend!'

"Good," the priestess says aloud, "then in the morning, I say we set off for Halen. We will, of course, have to cross the blockade again...for the negotiations will not have started by the time we leave and the blockade will surely still be in effect. But once we do so, crossing through Merriam should not be difficult. And if for some reason we cannot accomplish our goals with the help of Old Halbredan, we still have the option of El-Balans and the Hathean monks."

Canter nods strongly. "Agreed. Now I think we should all get some rest, as it will be a long day tomorrow..."

Soon all are retired to their rooms in the castle. Hannibal is pleased to take a warm bath (it's not too often he is able to do that!), Crayne is content to spend a few hours in quiet study with his spellbook. Storm continues to play with the gemstone under the careful supervision of Hannibal. Emma and Skandor spend a few hours praying to Anhur. And then all are asleep peacefully, awaiting the rise of the sun.

In the morning, after some more prayers, Emma goes to Canter and Storm. Those two were still not fully healed from the battle against the Blood Clan. With two Cure Light Wounds spells, they are healed some more. In fact, both are restored to full health. Skandor watches as the Shield Maiden administers the healing. He would have volunteered his own healing powers, but can see that they are not needed at the moment. Besides, they might be needed later.

After an early breakfast, the group prepares to depart. They head to the stable to retreive their mounts, and there--much to everyone's surprise--Alara manages to talk the stable boy into trading a horse for a smaller pony. Finally, an animal Storm could ride! With a wide, toothy smile, Storm takes the reins from Alara saying to her, "I thank ye, and so do me bones!"

The ride begins smoothly, with the crisp winter air striking faces and reddening cheeks. There is a slight breeze this morning, and as they leave the castle and head to the city gates, Karelth looks over the long line of peasants, field-workers, men, women, and children, lined up with carts and wagons to enter the city for the day. Some were there to buy small items, a new yoke, a pot, perhaps a chicken, still others were entering the city and heading to markets to sell their vegetables or grain. That kind of settled, daily life tempts the older mage as he bounces along above their heads.

Emma, meanwhile takes a moment to glance back toward the castle and the city. They leave behind Captain Delk to renegotiate with Sir Bryant, a task she prays the Duke can accomplish in the shortest amount of time. But they also leave behind Paros. As much as she does not want to focus on the arch wizard yet, she knows his is a dark and evil influence at the castle, and that sooner or later he would have to be dealt with.

By midday the city is far behind, just a small dot on the horizon. Rinder's Six, the name itself coined by a former member whom they leave behind, and now consisting of eight members rides along the main road heading south-east toward Nickton. Alara, Canter, Crayne, Elloharin, Emma, Hannibal, Skandor, and Storm ride proudly and quietly, the distant winter sun having a calming effect on the journey.

By late afternoon the group is moving through Nickton. Emma stops to purchase a loaf of fresh bread from the baker, and Canter buys a few more leather strips to replenish his supply. But the group decides to keep moving, with two or three more hours of sunlight left they could still get that much closer to their goal.

It is dusk now, as the group approaches the Raimead Mountains. This is a path well-traveled, even for Rinder's Six. The rock formations look familiar, and Crayne remembers well climbing up to the Raimead Mine not far from here.

"Do you think, Emma, that we should stop somewhere along this pass and make camp for the night?" Canter asks the priestess.

"That's not a bad idea, Canter, but I would recommend--"

Her answer is cut off suddenly as Hannibal shouts, "Emma!" Instinctively, Emma yanks hard on her horses reins, causing the animal to squeal and stop suddenly. An arrow streaks through the air, landing in the dirt in front of the horse with a loud thud! Emma spins her head around, her hair whipping behind her, as she follows the path of the arrow back toward a rock formation just north of the road, perhaps sixty yards off.

"Search for cover!" the priestess immediately shouts as another arrow comes flying in, this one catching Storm's pony, causing the smaller mount to scream with pain.

Then there comes a shouted announcement from the direction of the rock formation. Skandor strains to hear it, but he is unable to. "Can anyone else make that out?" he shouts to the rest of the party as they reach for their bows, arrows, crossbows, and bolts.

"Aye!" Storm replies, "It be my people!"

"Cursed dwarves!" Crayne shouts out loud in frustration, trying to position his horse in as well covered a spot as he can.

"Who knew they'd patrol this far away from the mountains?!" Alara yells as the wind picks up and the sky begins to grow darker. "I thought they would stay closer to the mountains themselves!"

"Do you want to head over there and ask them?!" El replies, his voice strained as he reaches for an arrow from his quiver.

"Quiet all of you!" Crayne yells. "Storm what are they saying?!"

Storm cocks his head to the side and listens as best he can. Indeed, it was Dwarven they were shouting, a dialect not his own, but he could make it out nonetheless. Once he'd heard the entire message, he replies to the rest of the group, noting that for the moment the arrows had stopped--but then again, so had their horses.

"They be from the Stoneshaper Clan," he reports, "and they be holdin' up the blockade in this here part o' the mountains! They be demandin' we turn around or they'll take us prisoner!"

1. HP Status: At this point, every member of the party is at full hit points.

2. At this point, the fifth adventure in this campaign, "The Dwarven Blockade," should be considered completed. The following characters gain a 5000 XP bonus for completing the adventure: Canter, Crayne, Emma, Hannibal, and Storm. The following characters gain a 2500 XP bonus for their role in the completed adventure: Alara, Elloharin, and Skandor (sorry guys, but can't give you the whole bonus since your characters didn't participate in the whole adventure...still, all three of you got levels up!).

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