DAY 506 (22nd Flamerule) (July) cont ...
I will now jot down a few things before I retire for the night. The houses I've built are functional, but not comfortable, so we've usually slept on the boat. We cleared out all the pirate rubbish and gave it a good clean earlier so it is now perfectly habitable.
However, tonight I am back in Waterdeep, and how that came to pass now let me explain:
I have become frustrated, if not quite infuriated with Alfred. Now he tells me (after presumably ruminating about things in that glacier-speed brain of his) that Midpoint Island can be 'hidden' in a pocket dimension (like putting it in a gigantic Bag of Holding I suppose) while still being accessible to me. The process of hiding it would take about a week.
Technically, he informs me, the island would not move, it would be 'out of phase' which sounds like nonsense to me and contradicts his ideas on Pocket Dimensions.
Perhaps he means it moves to a different plane, but that is very close to ours, much like the Plane of Shadows?
He is an imprecise being. There is a difference between planes, dimensions and phases - as has been explained to me by Irritator on many occasion - which would affect how 'safe' the island is once 'hidden'.
For instance, any dingbat with a spellbook can go to another plane. Getting into what would effectively be the inside of a Bag of Holding would be a whole other kettle of interdimensional horrors.
'Which do you prefer?' I asked. Staying on the Material Plane or popping off to Alfred Land?
He told me he preferred the island to be hidden - and thereby threw all my plans into disarray! I let out a very long and loud sigh and told him to get on with it then and I started making plans to leave.
He gave me an amulet and informed me that once the Island was hidden I could use it to gain access whenever I needed to.
Shortly after that I had my bags packed and myself, Molly and the animals teleported back to Waterdeep.
I met the others in the pub. Lavinia had not long arrived, but had already started buying up supplies.
'Well you may as well sell them again,' I told her sourly as I nursed my pint. 'Alfred kiboshed the whole thing. The Island looks like a non-starter now.'
'Oh dear,' replied my wife soothingly. 'Well, how about checking back at the Lost Refuge?'
I smiled at her. I knew she was no great fan of the place, but was trying her best to cheer me up.
'Me and Irritator will go take a look in the morning,' I grumped into my drink.
DAY 507 (23rd Flamerule) (July)
Myself and Irritator teleported in to the Lost Refuge this morning. There was another tribe of lizardfolk there. Their leader was K's nephew!
He seemed like a nice chap and appeared to be happy that I had avenged his uncle, but I could see that I would have all the same work to do again to convince him that this was actually my place and he was effectively a trespasser, that in the end I just couldn't be bothered.
So enjoy the 'Hallowed' living chambers, K's nephew, and the re-enforced walls and drainage ditches I put in before Captain Shit-heel came along and killed everyone.
I'm just not sure what to do now, to be honest. The Island is a lot better than the Swamp if truth be told. So if I'm going to have to do a lot of convincing of annoying co-habitants to do, then why not do it with Alfred?
Anyway, more on that later, for now myself and Irritator wandered over to his houseto see how it was getting along. Well - there were two dead bodies in it, one male, one female, poorly dressed and nibbled on by critters. We took them out and buried them.
A tree had also fallen on his house (he'd not been gone that long! Very unlucky if you ask me), so we patched things up with Wood Shape.
We spend the night by the fire, talking, smoking and drinking.
DAY 508 (24th Flamerule) (July)
Spent the day helping to clean and sort Irritator's house.
Talked in the evening. I don't know what to do. Set up in the Swamp again? Try in some mad way to set up on the island (build a teleport pad out of the sea??). Try another third place? (There are plenty of ruined castles and things in Kryptgarden) or just give up entirely?
DAY 509 (25th Flamerule) (July)
With Irritator's house all nice and clean, I left him to relax for a while. Our last adventure has left him incredibly wealthy. I wonder what he'll spend it on?
I decided to fly back, a nice long trip to perhaps clear my head.
Tonight I arrived at Corm Orp and spend the night in a local inn.
DAY 510 (26th Flamerule) (July)
Flew west all day. Landed in the Misty Forest and camped out in a nice spot.
DAY 511 (27th Flamerule) (July)
Flew to Waterdeep and walked in through the gate.
Went to the OJB and had a late supper before going to bed. Chatted to Lavinia for a while before sleep. She is now six months pregnant, we should really decide where this baby is going to be born!
Not in a 'Brewery-turned-Dung Sweepers Guild' was something we both agreed on!
DAY 512 (28th Flamerule) (July)
Took it easy today.
Went to a shop and bought a map of Faerune.
Looking it over, we both decided we would like to go back to Sasserine for a while.
DAY 513 (29th Flamerule) (July)
Flew to the Island, with Lavinia, Molly and the critters on my back, then teleported to Sasserine.
My first port of call was Glittermain's Shop, where Raz had sold that magical flute.
I had always regretted that, and it also really belonged to Lavinia as it had come out of the old Vanderboren Vault.
The flute was still there! I purchased it and gave it a try. I cannot play the flute but eventually I did manage to summon Rhemera.
She talks the Common Tongue and she was once a harem girl in Calimshan, but now she was linked to the flute in much the same way a genie is to its bottle. She is bard, not a powerful one, but still useful to have around.
I grew most nostalgic, remember my early days of adventuring, arriving at the docks for the first time, wondering what could happen to me in such a faraway and interesting place. That had been late 1375DR. And now here we were again, halfway through 1377DR. Had it really only been two years?
So much had happened. Chult, all the dramas back at Waterdeep, then the Plane of Shadows, Barovia, then the Underdark and finally my latest dealings with the Unseen. Getting married, a baby on the way. Silvanus protect us.
Sad as I was of such bittersweet memories - I did not know at the time that my old pal Raz was alive and kicking back in Westgate! It would have been nice of him to tell me don't you think? I admit that he was busy though.
The magical shopkeeper pointed out another item to me - a ring this time - that behaved in a similar manner to the flute. This time though, a wizard would be summoned. I managed it on the second attempt and we met a young halfling called Wellby.
I purchased this item also.
Both Rhemera and Wellby could only be around for about an hour each day, but they could eat and drink while they were corporeal so we took them to the nearest pub for a slap up lunch and as many drinks as they could manage before their time was up!
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