3 The Madness of Finsceal

Great. You welcome the old druid into your cave and look what happens. He drugs you, kidnaps you, and now you find yourself tied up, back in the stone building with the connection to Xoriat. At least it isn’t open. Yet. I suppose, when he’s worked out what to do, he is going to sacrifice us. By the looks of it he’s got Badger and Vudraak as well as some other girl. I think she’s a Warden called Teneth, but it’s difficult to see with these fancy bonds. Oh, and the lion, Fingal, is here, not to mention the oversized apes. At least the lion knows my scent and the others’. Will that stop a dire lion? Who knows? Prefer not to have to find out.

Ho hum. New resolution: Never trust a mad druid. But, then, how do you tell? Well I suppose they eventually do mad things, but it is a shame Finsceal didn’t do anything mad before he gave me that herbal concoction, he said would cure my sinuses. Still, I guess he was right in principle. Don’t seem to be having any trouble with them now.

This is promising. He’s talking to himself, and he doesn’t seem to be able to work out how to read the symbols. Apparently, they are different from the Seal in the Grove. So there is a Seal in the Grove, is there? So why are we here? Why doesn’t he try to open that one? How mad is he? Ah, gems I’ve carried from HQ, they contained multi-spell levels to strengthen the wards. He can’t separate them for more than a short time. The Seal is still too strong. And now he can’t work this one out at all. Not sure what this bodes, but it has to be better than instant sacrifice. If only I had come into my wild shape heritage already, I could escape from these bonds just like that. But I suppose he knew that somewhere.

I wonder if anyone will find us? I wonder if anyone knows we are missing? Surely Dale will know that Badger and Vudraak are gone? Unless he’s gone off to HQ. Perhaps that stupid compass thing will alert Zebadire, or the Silver Flame, Alex. But then why should they? I don’t follow the Silver Flame, and the compass only did something last time because the seal was open. And he can’t open it! Does this mean that we will just starve to death? How long does that take? Surely we’ll be able to do something before then. I wonder what happened to Buckthorn? I hope he is safe, though I expect Finsceal avoided leaving a trail for him to follow, seeing as he hasn’t turned up so far. Mind you, I have no idea how long I was out for. Could be hours, could be days. No apparent passage of time in here.

Now what is he up to? Reciting the 14^th Prelude backwards? Has he gone completely mad? Oh, yes, he has. Even the lion seems to be getting a bit concerned as it’s backing slowly towards me. How heavy is a ten foot tall lion? Oh, that was neat, it stepped over me. And now it is nuzzling me. It could bite out my throat in an instant, but, then, maybe it has been told, and manages to understand, that nothing is to be killed until Finsceal says so. Let’s hope so. Good Fingal. At least that is what I would say if not for this confounded gag. Wait, his nuzzling has pulled the gag slightly, perhaps I can work it loose. Not sure what good it will do, but every little helps.

The minutes just drift by! What happens when the Horrid Apes get hungry? Can a mad druid stop them chomping on us? I mean, the lion is one thing: his companion. The apes are just creatures he’s befriended, I think. Will they always listen to him? And, wait, what was that? I heard a noise from outside. Sounded metallic. At least no-one else in here is listening. Ah, spoke too soon, the apes heard it. Now he knows. Someone is outside. It’s battle stations. At least for the apes. He obviously thinks that they are enough to take on whatever is coming.

If I can wriggle a bit, and work this gag, I might be able to warn them. Whew, weaker than I thought. That was a struggle. Too late to warn whoever it is, the door is open. It’s Heron and Alex, and maybe some of the others. They are attacking the apes. Go Heron and Alex. Oh no, Heron’s gone down straightaway. The apes are too powerful. This is going to be carnage. Fly, you fools, fly. They’ll kill you, and then where will we be? But Alex is holding the line. I can almost see the Silver Flame burning around her. No it was a spell. Zebadire must be here too. The shifter has dragged Heron out of the way. Now they are driving the apes back. One of them is down, only two to go. Finsceal is trying to cast spells. I can see that from his gestures, but they are muddled. Oops, that was a mighty big flame strike, lucky his direction is right off. And the lion is holding off, looking confused. Maybe there is yet hope. Another ape is down, but Alex is taking plenty of damage. The shifter is helping, and the ape is wounded. No, it is down! And my gag is free. ‘Don’t kill him even now!’ I yell. Though it only comes out as a croak. I think Alex heard me. Maybe the elders can still help him, and, anyway, hurting him will surely set off the lion. ‘Fingal, come here.’

Heron is back in the fray. There must be a healer outside. Draacht? They’ve knocked Finsceal unconscious. That was well done. The lion is close to the brink. He could take them all down. But, no, he’s watching the prisoners! Perhaps I was right, he understands that they should not die until the appointed time.

I’m free, but weak. We all are. Draacht is able to give each of us some strength back. The others tell me their story. How they found out I was missing, and then Badger and Vudraak too. How the shifter had led them after the trails of unfamiliar aberrations that led them to the Grove and out again. Finally they came here. I was glad.

By the time they had finished, Dale arrived. He had been following their trail. He said it wasn’t hard, they hadn’t covered it. Tuuruum was with him, the big silent orc fighter. He would have been useful fifteen minutes ago, I thought. We had Finsceal alive but secured and not really conscious, and Fingal is quiet but watchful. Dale felt that it would be necessary to inform the elders and went off to his secret place to do so. When he returned, he told us that the Eye of the Forest was already on his way. They have evidently been regularly scrying this place since the forgotten seal had been discovered.

Now, the Eye of the Forest, he is impressive. This is his only title and it is bad manners to use any other address. Arriving in the form of a large griffon, he swiftly changed to an old man, his features softened to those of a half-orc rather than the true orc he is. He brought good news all round. It seems that, because he could still cast some spells (just about) there was hope that Finsceal could be restored and is not permanently lost, though the cure will take many months, and he will never be able to guard a Seal again. There will be other duties. The Eye of the Forest gave a book to the others to help them learn more about facing aberrations, since they seem to be caught up in the battle. The shifter even seemed to want to join the Gatekeepers, which prompted discussions between him and Dale.

As for me, I found my wild shape ability and the Eye of the Forest formally appointed me an Initiate a little before my time. He showed me how to get to the centre of the Grove where the Seal is, checked that it remains safe, and charged me with keeping a watch on both Seals until the new druid could be prepared and sent. My new gatekeeper brooch looks more important than the last.