ike all residents of Sandpoint, I had heard of Old Megus, but I\u2019d never actually met her. Rumor was that she rarely left the swamp, coming into town only to purchase obscure magical supplies. Most people referred to her as the Swamp Witch, and based on Etayne\u2019s reaction when we found her home, that wasn\u2019t just a colloquialism (and so it would seem that the Witch\u2019s Walk was also aptly named). Of particular interest to Etayne were the numerous windchimes made of bone that were hanging above the porch, but when asked about them, she replied that although they looked familiar, she did not understand their purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n The shack was in poor shape. Neglect and the elements had taken their toll, and the walls were dingy and sagging. Next to it was a partially collapsed shed, which had long since given up the fight. No one had lived here in some time.<\/span><\/p>\n The ground around the buildings was covered with large rodent tracks, which, of course, piqued Qatana\u2019s curiosity, and when she heard skittering inside the house, it proved too tempting for her to resist. At least she knocked first. When there was no answer, she forced the door open and entered with some of the others close behind.<\/span><\/p>\n I heard but did not see the skirmish. Etayne emerged briefly to clean that long spear of hers, the end of which was covered in blood. \u201cDire rats,\u201d she said with a half-smile when I looked at her quizzically, and then she went back inside without another word.<\/span><\/p>\n People surprise you.<\/span><\/p>\n Old Megus, it seemed, had died in an accident. Etayne spent a lot of time examining the remains of her laboratory and had no doubt that there had been a mishap of some sort with one of her experiments. It was kind of a sad discovery. Megus had presumably come out here to live in solitude, but that also meant that she died alone, and no one had noticed aside from her ratling familiar.<\/span><\/p>\n Not that I approve of what she had been doing. Her deformed corpse suggested she was mucking with the process of nature itself.<\/span><\/p>\n As for the ratling, the arcane world has low opinions of these creatures, but I am pleased that this meeting did not end in bloodshed and that we were able to part amicably. Etayne took the lead, with help from <\/span>her <\/span><\/i>familiar, Ling, and there was a level of understanding between them and the ratling that would not have been possible with the rest of us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One interesting mark on Megus\u2019s map was the cave, which she indicated with a simple skull. The ratling said his mistress considered it very dangerous and had never gone inside.<\/span><\/p>\n When we told him about the undead we had found there, he knew nothing about them. Etayne asked whether Megus had ever dabbled with the undead.<\/span><\/p>\n He shook his head.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo. She was only interested in life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n We told him what we\u2019d seen and done over the past two days. We were the oral Swamp Times, delivering the latest news to the denizens of the Brinestump Marsh. And it turned out he had something to add on these matters, as well.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been to this ship, too, which the goblins made up into a house. More goblins came to it one day, and they fought each other.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It explained the corpses, answering one question while raising a half-dozen others.<\/span><\/p>\n We were able to walk to the second shipwreck from there, which was a pleasant turn of events, but that decaying hulk of a Chelish ship was in much worse shape than the other. Without the benefit of any protection from the elements, there was little left beyond the deteriorating frame and remnants of its outer plating. A quick search turned up the nameplate, which was still intact but severely weatherworn. A few cantrips cleaned it up enough to see a pair of Tien pictographs, and of course, I recognized the name Kaijitsu (I try not to be stupid in the same way more than once). The meaning of the other would have to wait.<\/span><\/p>\n I<\/span><\/p>\n f it had not occurred to me that we hadn\u2019t searched the entirety of the goblin village, we might not have encountered the Soggy River Monster. Once again, what the name lacked in originality it made up for in technical accuracy.<\/span><\/p>\n It was a foul thing and my magic couldn\u2019t touch it, but there were many of us and just one of it, and now it\u2019s dead. According to the Sheriff, this was one of the Sinspawn, horrid creatures that were discovered along with an ancient Thassilonian runewell under Sandpoint a few years ago. I remember several long, tense, and (I am not ashamed to admit it) frightening nights when the sinkhole had opened up, exposing the long-buried temple to the world above. We could hear unnatural, dog-like sounds coming from within. Eventually, the \u201cHeroes of Sandpoint\u201d, as the town called them, had returned and dealt with it. By then, mom and dad had already decided to move. I guess they had had enough.<\/span><\/p>\n Why bring this up? For one, it was interesting. For two, as I said, my magic had no effect. None. It\u2019s something we were taught while studying the craft as a warning against putting too much faith in spells as an offensive weapon. Some creatures are just innately resistant to mortal magic. Me? I took home a slightly different message, but it will be some time before I am able to master the alternatives.<\/span><\/p>\n Olmas and Anavaru are fierce opponents. Olmas you\u2019d expect, but Ana? It still astonishes me. It shouldn\u2019t, I realize, but when you know someone as long as we\u2019ve known one another your perspective gets skewed. She was always quiet, kind, and funny, and we had quite a few laughs about her camel (I meant \u201chorse\u201d there), and that\u2019s just how I remember her. I certainly noticed when she went from adolescent girl to young woman that-you-do-not-want-to-anger, but my head is still stuck a couple of years earlier than that.<\/span><\/p>\n She started spending a lot more time out in the wild after her dad was killed. She\u2019d always had this thing for animals and getting away from the city seemed to bring her some comfort. I actually joined her on some of her overnight forays into the hinterlands. Once, we even spent a couple of nights trying to catch a glimpse of the Sandpoint Devil after having heard rumors that it had been seen in the farmlands near Tickwood. In retrospect, that was a really stupid idea, but I must have felt safe with her around or I wouldn\u2019t have even considered it.<\/span><\/p>\n We went to see Sheriff Hemlock as soon as we returned to town. I was just as happy to be rid of the ears and head we were required to provide as proof of our success as I was to collect the bounty on the same. While this sort of troubleshooter-for-hire work certainly seems to pay well, it\u2019s also very gruesome. It is also a little disquieting that you end up profiting off of someone else\u2019s suffering. We are all several hundred gold wealthier than we were before\u2014an enormous sum to the average person\u2014but several less fortunate people are still dead.<\/span><\/p>\n I<\/span><\/p>\n showed Ameiko the letter this afternoon. Ana and I grew up with her, so we made plans to meet her at the inn before dinner, where we could talk in private. A couple of the others joined us.<\/span><\/p>\n At first, there was that awkward moment that comes from delivering unexpected news, where you are having two different conversations at the same time. But as our story reached the Minkai chest, and then the <\/span>Chelish<\/span><\/i> ship bearing the name <\/span>Kaijitsu Star<\/span><\/i>, I saw the realization dawning on her. We paused to let the news sink in. I was acutely aware of the sounds from the inn\u2019s common room because the one we were in had become completely silent. There was a long pause before Ameiko spoke.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA <\/span>Chelish<\/span><\/i> ship? The <\/span>Kaijitsu Star<\/span><\/i>? I\u2026I\u2019ve never heard of any of this. It\u2026it doesn\u2019t make any sense\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s more. A lot more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Ameiko looked at me, and I told her the rest.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere was an enchanted sword among the treasure in that cave. We identified it with magic, and it has a name: <\/span>The Whispering Shrike.<\/span><\/i> It had a loose hilt, and inside the hilt was this letter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I slid it across the desk to her as I went on.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t know what it was, and of course, none of us understands Tien. So I used a spell to read it. We think it was sent to your father from your grandfather. If we had known, I wouldn\u2019t have done it. I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I watched her read. Ameiko does not always hide her emotions well, and I could follow her progress just by watching her expression change. At one point, she shook her head and, in a frustrated tone, said quietly, \u201cFather, you could have <\/span>told<\/span><\/i> me\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Lonjiku was not a pleasant man. Officially, Ameiko did not have many friends when she was growing up, and even fewer still were allowed in his home (I was one of those few, but I never felt comfortable there). Unofficially, of course, Ameiko would never let her overbearing father dictate her life, and she snuck out of the house so often to do as she pleased that he was either oblivious to it or resigned to her irreverence. I think one reason she stayed at home was that she was all he had left. Family and duty carry considerable weight in her culture.<\/span><\/p>\n This letter, which she confirmed as coming from her grandfather (or, at least bearing his name), teased answers to questions about her father and her family that had been gnawing at her for as long as I\u2019ve known her.<\/span><\/p>\n She thanked us for bringing it to her and asked us to join her for dinner that night. She also, mercifully, said we could keep anything we found out there, heading off a brewing argument over property and salvage rights that was making me sick to my stomach. Ana, Qatana, and I had too much history with Ameiko to think of her family’s belongings as loot.<\/span><\/p>\n All she wanted was that letter.<\/span><\/p>\n D<\/span>inner, as it turned out, involved a few more people than we had expected. Joining us in her private dining room, which was packed tighter than I have ever seen, were Koya, Sandru and, of all people, Shalelu. It was obvious we were not there solely to share a meal together.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ll be honest. I was not the least bit surprised when, after everyone had finished eating, she announced her intention to travel to Brinewall and pursue this family mystery. I would have done it were I in her position. I also wasn\u2019t surprised at her plan to use Sandru\u2019s caravan to get there. She invited all of us to join her\u2014Brinewall being what it was, it would be foolish to go alone\u2014and from there, the other pieces began falling into place.<\/span><\/p>\n I, of course, was going if Ameiko was going, and Anavaru was right there next to me. Qatana wanted any excuse to go anywhere. The others had their own reasons, and when all was said and done, everyone had signed on.<\/span><\/p>\n Sandru gave us a quick overview of the trip: a one-way distance of about 500 miles over well-traveled roads that would take roughly 16 days. He did not expect any significant trouble along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n His eyes scanned the room as he spoke, finally locking his gaze on mine. \u201cI have a small caravan of three wagons. Though if we need to make some upgrades or additions, we can talk about that now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I swear the smug bastard even winked. And, just like that, I had come full circle.<\/span><\/p>\n Several years ago I was standing on the bridge just below the Cathedral, idly watching the wash being carried by the river. There was a maple leaf, large and bright green, drifting along in the current and it would hang up on a rock or a log or some foliage on the surface of the water, then break loose in a spin, meandering further downstream before catching on the next. I followed its slow progress towards town and the harbor beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n Ameiko had just left Sandpoint, again, and I was fighting this urge to wallow in self-pity after having lost my best friend. It seems so pathetic now, writing that, but when you\u2019re fifteen, the world is always ending over something that years later you learn is just life. I remember thinking at the time that she might be gone for good\u2014though you could never tell with Ameiko\u2014and what was going through my head boiled down to one question: \u201cNow what?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I had often come to this bridge when seeking solace, and for a moment that afternoon I almost had it. It\u2019s isolated in a way, a lightly traveled road on the edge of town. Look to the east and you could imagine you were in the forest instead of downwind from a tannery. I found it relaxing and centering. But as the leaf disappeared underneath the wooden planks of the bridge, I caught my reflection in the water and the bottom dropped out of the day. It was like the scene in front of me was my own personal metaphor.<\/span><\/p>\n Mom and dad just assumed that I would join the family business, and it\u2019s not like I had given them any reason to think otherwise. This was worse than choosing or not choosing: it was not even acknowledging that I had a choice at all; just letting it happen. Childhood curiosity, an innocuous \u201cWhat are you working on?\u201d here and there, was the spark for that fire. They involved me in the simpler logistics early on, and it burned out of control when I proved to be good at it. Really, <\/span>really<\/span><\/i> good. Cargo manifests, bills of lading, customs forms, capacity planning, legal agreements, payment terms\u2026even some preliminary passage planning. And I saw my future spread out ahead of me, sitting behind a desk buried in maps, calculations, paperwork, and forms.<\/span><\/p>\n The leaf didn\u2019t have any say over where it went. I did. The next morning, I became an active participant in my own future for the first time, and chose a path that had nothing to do with the mercantile system.<\/span><\/p>\nSarenith 24 (Sandpoint, Afternoon)<\/h3>\n
Sarenith 24 (Sandpoint, Evening)<\/h3>\n
Sarenith 24 (Sandpoint, Night)<\/h3>\n
![\"Caravan](\"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/caravan-route-Sandpoint-to-Brinewall.jpg\")
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