Somewhere earlier in the Journal, Gram mentions a windling in Haven ,
that the group has been conversing with. Cyrix seems to have a 'thing' for her.
When the group decides to travel to Travar, they end up travelling with one of her
merchant caravans. This caravan group is transporting some true elements to Travar.
Before leaving Haven, the group performs the ritual of grouping themselves together
with a blood bond, and forms the group thread.
As the group is leaving Haven, they happen upon a young windling elementalist
who decides to join them on the trip down.
On the way down to the river that will carry them to Travar, the group is surprised
by a group of fighters. There is some mention of a fairly powerful wizard whom the
group tries to capture, but cannot. The wizard puts the whole group to sleep,
and runs off.
Once the group reaches the river, they are met by the merchant who will take
them to Travar to sell their stuff. He has a gold tooth.

The river boat makes several stops slong the way to Travar.
One of those stops, the group finds out through 'not so noble' means
that the wizard who attacked them earlier is still trying to get to them
Here is a piece of Gram's journal to better explain.

	The group decided to do some shopping.  Aliceann and Angaren went off to 
the merchants quarter while I stayed on the boat with our equipment that wasn't
portable.  The rest of the group did the normal thing and headed for the local Inn
I made efforts while on the ship to examine and extrapolate the 
meaning and make of the portal we had acquired.  I also delved into some use
of the tarot cards that had come into my possesion.  Some time that night, Angaren and
Alicean came back to the boat.  They had been in a fight, and Aliceann didn't look
very good.  After some use of healing aids, it was brought to my attention that
Aliceann and Angaren had been attacked by creatures that looked and talked just
like themselves.  Mirror images of the likeness of both of them.  It was determined 
through interogation, that these creatures were not name-giving, but some sort of 
magical construction.
	We left the boat and headed to the Inn to gather the rest of the group.  
After filling the rest of the group in on the evenings happenings, we decided
to get back to the boat.
Earlier the next morning, we interrogated one of the drunks in the Inn to give 
us information about a possible wizard who had come into town.
We found out that a boat from a very influencial family dropped off a wizard,
along with several others just the night before we got to this port.
We also found out where this wizard was staying.  After a careful planning stage,
the group made their way to the Inn in question.
	Aliceann, and the windling elementalist would get to the roof of the Inn 
and attepmt to come through the ceiling.  Angaren would go through the kitchen 
of the Inn and use the dumbwaiter to climb to the second floor.  The rest of the 
group would go straight to the stairs and right up to the room where the wizard
was supposed to be staying.  After checking through some of the rooms, 
the group found the second floor had already been sacked by Angaren.  There 
were two fighters at the top of the stairs who he had come up from behind 
and slit each of their necks. We bashed down the door where the wizard was,
and came face to face with him and two creatures.  These creatures were a dull
brown color and didn't have much facial features.  The first move of the group
came from Angaren, and he stepped in to attack the Wizard.  The two creatures
blocked Angaren's advances and he was forced to attack them.  I didn't want the
wizard to get off any spells, so I proceeded to 'Leaps and Bounds' right into the fray.
The next thing that happened was partially part of the plan.  The floor beneath
me crashed when I landed, and the wizard, the creatures, and myself crashed through 
the second floor to the first.  The wizard was caught under my weight, and incapable
of getting off any spells, Angaren quickly killed him.  At that point, the two
creatures suddenly stopped moving.  Zandimar found a bracelet on the body of the wizard 
that was very interesting.  After a little testing, it was found that the bracelet would 
allow its wearer to totally control the creatures.  These creatures were
capable of turning into anybody (save Obsidiman and windling).  The group determined
that these would indeed become useful in the time to come.

The journal says that the group decided to tell the master merchant
what was going on.
When he saw that his most trusted worker was in fact an infultrator, he had a heart attack and almost died.

They decided to get the boat and get out of town.

A little is written about an area of the river that had buildings on stilts and a whole city above the water. The group did not stay there.

The group finally made it to Travar and put all of their belongings in a hold, after selling and converting some of it to gold bars.

The group had two of the creatures that could become anybody.
They decided to create a copy of Angaren with one of them, and the other would become a well known merchant in Travar.
The journal continues with an account of the real merchant that they had copied being murdered, and the group was forced to show that the merchant was indeed alive. Aliceann and Cyrix went to the local cemetery in Travar and switched bodies. Aliceann had 'aquired' a body from a guy that had the same build and general features as the merchant and put it in the ground in place of the real merchant's body. Then Aliceann and Cyrix burned the real body of the merchant and poured the ashes into the river. This little excapade helped the group to not be arrested for the murder, since there was a group in town who had named 'the Knights of the Weeping Veil' as the killers. Odan tried to find out who this group was and why they were trying to frame the group.

The next few weeks of the journal are just general information about Travar and the various places that Gram went to.
In addition, it is learned that Odan has petitioned to become a questor of garlan, and Caryss petitioned to become a questor of jaspree, and Cyrix to thystonious.

Zandimar is mentioned as having a problem with the local house of monks. "The Temple of Harmonious Contemplation" is mentioned in the journal as the place where Zandimar goes to work out and meditate.
On one such visit to the temple, Zandimar asks Gram to join him as there is a problem. Cyrix joins in also.
There is a giant door inside the temple that is the central meditation room for the masters of the art. It is learned that they have been locked up inside this room for almost 3 weeks and have not come out, nor can anywone hear anything within.
Gram and Cyrix look at the door (astrally), and it seems to be covered with roots of some type. These roots are bone white, and give off an aura of evil. The roots are securing the door. Which is also inlaid with oricalcum. Gram tries forcing the door, and manages a small crack, but the tentacles tighten and Gram is forced to let go.
After a moment of enlightenment, Cyrix flys out in search of Caryss, who has the bone tree in her possesion. There is a remark in the Journal to refer to 'Backpack contents', and a Bone Tree that the group had found back in Parlainth. Cyrix and Gram both believe that the bone tree and the white bone tentacles on the door are similar.
Upon bringing the small bone tree, Caryss causes the tentacles to loosen a little, and they seem to weaken. As they begin to weaken, Cyrix and Gram pry open the door to reveal a horrible site, as described in this detailed journal entry:

	The very fact that I hadn't had lunch that day proved to be a 
	blessing.  My insides where wrenched from my body as quickly
	as a fly from swill.  It was large, much larger than the little
	bone tree we had carried with us from Parlainth.  Its branches swept 
	the cieling of the square temple room.  Its trunk, was a good
	3 feet in diameter, and loomed into nothingness at the top.  
	What made me ill, was the fact that the roots of this terrible
	'plant?' where growing out of the heads of 6 men, who we later
	learned were the masters of the temple.  There was blood dripping 
	from each of there heads, where the root dug deep.  The small	
	tree we had with us did affect the larger twin, although not 
	enough for damage to occur, or for it to loosen its gastly hold
	on the masters.  They all seemed to be in a trance, unmoving, 
	feeling no pain.  It was decided to call upon the rest of the group,
	and we sent one of the brothers after them.

I dreamed - or so I thought...
I was floating in the air, it was light all around me or night all around me.  It was then that I saw the fire, and the 
encircled captor.  There were dancing men and women all around,
 their faces were gaunt and painted.  I was floating again, 
this time up and over the hills, through a forest of death.  
The trees  baren and white, the life leached out of them.  
It was then that I floated, or was taken, to the temple.  
At the bottom of the temple, I saw the line of steps leading to 
the top, the spirits of the monks were walking that endless 
stair to the top, being called by something, or someone.

Next Chapter Back to Index