On the 17th of Alturiak, the party leaves the city of Dylvwyllynn, amidst the heavy snow that has fallen over the past few days. Although Kathyrnn and Cel argued with the party about the dangers of trekking through the snow all the way to Voonlar, the rest of the adventurers claimed to have had enough of Drows and Dwarves and such, and just wanted to get out sooner, rather than later.
The trip was mostly uneventful, even the brigands and monsters had better sense than to stay out in this weather, but the party is, well, let's just say they are a "foolhardy" group. The weather didn't cooperate at all during the last day or two, as the temperature fell well into the low teens at night and with the cloud cover by day, it never rose above freezing. After a long, cold tenday, with Kathyrnn and Cel both coming down with a mild case of frostbite (ironic that they were the ones against this trip in the first place), the party arrives at Voonlar.
Playing it safe, Cel and Delf enter the city alone, with the rest of the party camped in the trees just outside the main gate. The snow is still fairly deep, but the city traffic within the walls has made the usual paths. Cel stops a while to read the message post:
The temple of Oghma in Deepingdale reports that large amounts of inks, parchment and quills have been purchased by three different trading costers, all destined for Zhentil Keep. Just a couple of tendays ago, the temple itself sold some or its inks to a group of traders carrying the Banner of the Trueshield Trading Priakos. They were to head to the temple of Tymora in Arabel. Word has it that this group ended up in Hillsfar and from there, another group brought the supplies to Zhentil Keep.Entering the temple of Chauntea, Delf and Cel speak with Lady Shrae, informing her of the fact that the party now possesses two of the shards and the hemisphere. Asked about how to activate them, Lady Shrae, hesitating to let this knowledge be known to too many, does give in and lets the party know.The Sphere of Summer, the creation of Rhalaglingalade, reported last Ches, turns out to have some instability that the wizard is attempting to rectify. Apparently, after the sphere has been in existence for a long period of time, it collapses in on itself, destroying the contents.
Fire has destroyed the famous Lavender Lion festhall in Arabel. Apparently, two wizards, drunk from Blue Wine, were arguing about who had the most rings of protection when one cast burning hands at the other to scare him. In the excitement, both wizards fell off their chairs and the flaming arc ignited some drapes against the wall.
"The powers of the Shards are many and they are cumulative. The item becomes more and more powerful as each sword is placed in the holder (the hemisphere). But the primary powers require the shards to occupy their holder for a period of time equal to the time required between uses of their individual powers. For example," she continues, "if one shard is placed in the holder for at least 1 day, the shard can remove fear, cure light wounds, cure blindness or deafness, cure disease, and remove paralysis or curse once per day. If two are placed in the holder for a tenday, then a cure serious, cure critical or regenerate can be cast, and if all three are placed in their slots for a month, the item can be used to restore, resurrect or reincarnate once per month. The protection is gained after a month, but the opening of a gate can only be accomplished once per year."
Inquiring about the magic-user, Vera, Lady Shrae exclaims, "As for the whereabouts of Vera, I understand she has left for Dagger Falls. I had some of my spies check up on things since you left. Apparently some strange goings on have been happening at Dagger Falls concerning the appearance of a strange woman, who goes by the name of Gothyl, or something like that. She has made contact with Vera, but for what reason, I do not know."
After some additional talk about the state of affairs locally, in Voonlar, Delf and Cel return to the rest of the party waiting outside. Relatively safe to enter the city, the party makes plans on doing so, but must decide how to get the shards in without drawing attention to them.