Never Drive Black Cattle In The Dark

We decided not to keep Ol’ Shiro waitin’. He sent a message for us sayin’ he was available that night, and when a man that important gives a command, the lowly lapdogs is supposed to roll over and obey. That’s how it felt. A formality. Luckily, we had Larry and Big Clyde to sneak around the place.

Why Big Clyde? I dunno. We found people don’t really question what a giant turtle’s doin’ walkin’ about. They usually just shoo him away. ‘Sides, most turtles can’t talk. No one gives him a second look.

Vidar, Sledge, Vebradu, and myself went to meet him. Vidar nearly got us all killed by puttin’ up a fight about that stupid sword of his. They only let him bring it in for some ancestry reasons. The attendant took us to some waiting room with big fancy couches and half a damn feast. It made me sick. Just about everythin’ was covered in gold or silver. At least before I knew how nobles lived I could pretend that maybe our taxes was goin’ to some.. greater cause. I mean, I ain’t stupid, I knew it wasn’t, but whenever tax season rolled around, pretendin’ for just a little while made the loss easier to swallow. But.. Sheme’s Hammer, if you saw it. If you saw what I did. Vidar was gorging himself on the food, no doubt in my mind there to placate us. To make us ooh and awe at his wealth. It was a whole roast pig. A whole roast pig! You know how many starving ratcatchers I saw on the street? How many times I went to sleep with nothin’ in my belly but water and grass to keep the pangs away? And he set us out a whole roast pig as an appetizer. As a snack. It made me sick.

Egotistical fella too. Giant, life sized painting of himself hung above the fireplace. Painted him all young and handsome, full of vanity. All along the walls was artifacts and magic shit from Arkannon. Some poor suicidal fools brought it back from the island themselves. Probably got paid like shit, knowing that son of a bitch. To make it all worse, Vebradu and Sledge did ooh and awe at the splendor of knowledge. They wasn’t speakin’ common then, but I could tell from their tone. I felt like the only man with a head on his shoulders, not losing himself in the.. I need a smoke. Larry, how ‘bout you take it from here? Tell him what you saw sneakin’ about.

… You’re not serious.

G’ on. I can’t talk wiff a pipe in m mouff.

Well. There isn’t much to say. I disguised myself as one of the servants. Followed their lead until I found something interesting. Some chef or something ordered me down into the cellar. Once I was alone I took a look around. It was an odd space. Seemed smaller than it should. I used the “magic window” to look through a wall and found a barrack and soldiers milling about. Seemed like those Spelleater guards. I eavesdropped on their conversation. Something about a prisoner who didn’t know anything. And how Shiro could read his mind and still found nothing. I.. couldn’t find a way over to their side of the basement. So I left to search other areas of the manor.

I found Shiro’s office, but there wasn’t much there. Some encoded letters I didn’t have time to memorize. I figured swiping them would be too risky. Did find some lotus petal cigars, though. About then I heard some tapping on the window and saw Big Clyde on the other side. He showed me a secret trapdoor in another room. Wasn’t able to make my way in there, though. Too much heat in the area. Never got a good opportunity. Didn’t want to stick around for too long.

… That it?

I told you it wasn’t much.

Anyhow, Shiro finally decided to grace us with his presence. He talked at us for a good long while. About.. faerie courts, and divine avatars, and history, and conquest, and war. And about Nylak’s oracle. About 20 or so years ago the old oracle died somehow. A thief killed ‘em, and in doin’ so stole the power of divination. A war broke out after that. People fightin’ over who should be the one to tell the future. How did he say it?.. By harnessing the power, it was a means to surpass the gods. But the oracles kept gettin’ killed. So much for harnessing.

Until the Summer Lady stole the mantle for herself. She couldn’t be killed easily by mortals. Not as an archfae. So, the Vitkatzi kidnapped her. Kept her prisoner on a ship and carted her off to Verdaunte. But with her magic, she summoned a great big storm and killed everyone in the ship, including herself. At least, everyone but Shiro. Because of the new moon, he disappeared into the Shadowfell. He was lost there for a long, long time. Until he made his way out and began climbing the military ranks. He’s spent all his time trying to find where the mantle had gone and who held it now. And he thought he found a way to it. He found a key. The same key I saw in my vision, the one made of silver. He wanted our help findin’ The Oasis of the Open Eye. Some mythical sacred place, none other than Nylak’s. He thought that was where the Summer Lady hid her treasure. Some clue to where the mantle rested.

We left after that. He didn’t expect an answer out of us yet, but.. well, you know what happens.