Chapter Thirteen "campfire stories" (2026-06-27)

30th Flamerule to 2nd Eleasis

The group heads south towards Candlekeep, travelling through the night until around 4am. Flea suggests they continue for a few more hours before stopping to rest to be well clear of any heat from the night's dees. Sima judges the woods to be safe enough from an animal point of view, while Honey feels confident she can find somewhere suitable to camp, so the group heads into the trees.

On the way, Sima identifies Honey's newly acquired pipes as Pipes of the Sewers.

Honey forages and finds four Nightflame seeds. The seeds contain oil which, when thrown onto a fire, turns the flame blue. The fire gives off dim light without smoke, while still keeping everyone warm. Honey gives one seed each to Sima, Talon and Flea, keeping the fourth for herself.

Talon takes the opportunity to have a firm conversation with the Hidden Lord. He tells the shield not to keep dropping bombs into his head whenever he is busy, and that their relationship needs to remain professional. They are not buddies.

The Hidden Lord (Gargath/Gargoth/Gargauth?) says that it knows where Talon is going and knows of Falister's mistress, Sylvira Savikas. It insists that Sima needs to be part of their arrangement, claiming that it senses untapped potential within her. The shield also hints that Talon would be surprised if he learnt the Hidden Lord's true identity.

As they settle around the campfire the conversation turns to the group's future. Sima and Talon both speak of wanting to leave, while Flea and Vaantrick consider going their separate ways. Reya pleads with them to continue helping her.

Reya tells the story of the Hellriders. Long ago, Elturel was plagued by trolls. The first Hellrider slew a troll king and founded the city, but one hundred years later fiends rose up against it.

The city's cavalry fought as best they could, but it was never enough. The High Rider asked the people to pray, and the gods sent an angel whose name has since been lost to history. The angel strengthened the cavalry and led them deeper behind the fiendish lines. It called for every rider to join the battle beyond the front lines and destroy the fiends.

The fiends were broken, but the angel was never seen again. History remembers glorious battles, though the exact truth of what happened has been lost to time.

Vaantrick tries his luck with the infernal cube. It levitates slightly and begins to spin. For a moment, he sees a tiny, faint Infernal glyph glowing on its surface, but it vanishes quickly and the cube does not open.

After another long rest, the group continues south towards Candlekeep; along the road, they pass increasing numbers of people travelling north towards Baldur's Gate.

They come across an old man with a broken-down cart at the side of the road and stop to help him repair it. The man asks to see Talon's shield. Talon shows it to him but does not allow him to touch it.

The old man says that he recognises the face depicted on the shield. His skin begins to melt away, revealing that he is a cambion. He summons three toughs to help him.

During the fight, the cambion casts Dominate Person on Talon, forcing him to punch Sima in the stomach. Oz reacts quickly and casts Calm Emotions, breaking Talon free from the spell and calming the three toughs so thoroughly that they lose much of their interest in fighting.

After some combat, the cambion warns Talon that the Knights of the Shield will never stop hunting him until they have the shield back. He then plane shifts away, while the three toughs quietly slope off.

Oz asks Reya to use Detect Good and Evil. Looking at the shield, Reya says she has never seen anything radiate so much evil, although she can also sense an element of divination around it.

Sima tries to identify the shield, but it rejects her attempt and does not allow the spell to reveal anything.

At one point, over several nights of camping, Honey asks Talon at what point she should kill him if he is taken over again. Talon says that if he is trying to hurt Sima, she should kill him. If he is trying to hurt anyone else, she should try to save him.

Honey warns Talon that he should not manipulate his friends, and that protecting Sima is not always the same thing as not hurting her.

Honey tells Talon more about Thelania, the Queen of Dusk and Shadow and ruler of the realm of Dusk. Honey serves the Queen and carries out her bidding. Thelania sent Honey back to the Material Plane because she foresaw an important story beginning to unfold and knew that Honey would have a part to play in it. The details were scant and tangled in strange prophecy.

Several mostly uneventful days pass. By the 2nd of Eleasis, the group is only one day away from Candlekeep.

As the rest of the group beds down for the evening, Sima and Vaantrick are left awake together, both only needing four hours of trance rather than a full night's sleep.

Sima takes the opportunity to question Vaantrick about his magic. She asks what spells he can and cannot cast, and why, if he is a wizard, he chooses to fight with a sword rather than relying on spells alone. Vaantrick patiently explains the craft of Bladesinging and the way he uses magic differently in battle.

The conversation turns to Vaantrick's familiar, Viv, Princess Genevive, the Moonlight Shadow of the Blue Vale. Sima asks how long he has known her and learns that it has only been a few months. They are still getting to know one another.

Sima explains that she used to have a familiar too: Matron, her chicken. However, it has been over a year since Sima was last able to cast the spell, and she worries that Matron will be angry with her for being gone so long.

Vaantrick comforts her and suggests that the only way to find out is to summon her. He thinks Matron will probably be happy to see her.

Excitedly, Sima begins the ritual to cast Find Familiar for the first time since regaining her powers. As the chicken appears, however, it is not Matron's familiar golden-orange plumage that takes shape before her. Instead, a bright white Silkie hen appears.

The hen ruffles her feathers and immediately begins to chide Sima, apparently mistaking her for Daleth and outraged that she has been summoned again.

"Madam?" Sima wimpers. "It's me, Sima."

As Madam and Sima realise what has happened, they are both happy to be reunited. Their conversation soon turns to Daleth's death, and Madam is dismayed that Daleth never told Sima she was loved, which Sima thinks was probably for the best.

The conversation quickly becomes too much for Sima as Madam hints at some of Daleth's deeds. Overwhelmed, she dismisses Madam rather abruptly and, frankly, quite rudely.