36: Devil’s Bowl

Hello Mum. It’s been nearly a week since my last letter, but here it is. I already told you we would be travelling by canoe, and I thought that would be a good idea, but it turned out not to be, really. I know I spent a lot of time as a boy paddling around in the village pond, but I never dreamed canoeing could be quite as difficult as it turned out to be.

We were loading up the canoes for what I knew was going to be a long trek into the hills. I was being careful to bring lots of supplies, especially dried food that we wouldn’t need to cook, but Corrobreth, as I already mentioned in my last letter, didn’t seem that worried about the food. Anyway, at the last minute Guido decided that he really should go over to the inn by the locks to see if anyone had seen Herzen and her band. He might have been doing it just to get out of packing, though.

But because Willow was his canoe-mate she went with him. I’m not saying it’s all Dreamy’s fault for letting her go on an unnecessary errand, but I don’t think he escapes all the blame. And as I watched them tentatively canoe their way across the deceptively swiftly moving Narn I thought then, they could be in trouble. They got swept a lot further downstream than they had intended and had to walk back up towards the inn a bit. That should have been a sign they didn’t know what they were doing. As you taught me, mum, long, slow, strokes, and a straight back, I should probably have told them that.

It turned out that Herzen hadn’t been to the inn, but the landlord said they might want to talk to the ferryman. And, sure enough, the ferryman reported that he had made the crossing with them five days before. He remembered Herzen’s strong perfume. He said that there were eight of them altogether and the ferryman had to make three trips. He said that they all had horses so that made us wonder about the dead horse we found in the river.

Willow told the landlord and the ferryman that we were going into the Barren Hills to stop Morrslieb crashing into it. I’m not sure that is a good idea. I don’t think they believed her, but if they did believe her, it might get us unwanted attention, perhaps from the nefarious, but also from the law (I was only saying what I have found out – Willow). Willow seemed to think that Herzen’s group might be carrying a big net with them, to catch the moon. Guido told the ferryman that they probably weren’t going to catch the moon but that they were definitely up to no good, but I suspect they both sounded like mad people.

Anyway, this is the interesting bit, mum. But I want you to know in advance that it was all alright in the end, so you won’t scare the girls too much. As they were canoeing back across the Narn, they weren’t strong enough or good enough canoers to work against the current and they began to get swept towards the huge waterfall. As the canoe got closer to the edge, they had to abandon ship and they managed to grab onto a rock jutting out of the river, as their canoe plummeted down the waterfall and was destroyed.

So the pair of them were left hugging a rock above the falls and Willow shouted to Dreamy for rescue. We all rushed to the water’s edge and Corrorbreth got a rope and was going to tie it around himself, but Dreamy insisted that he tie it around him, instead. And then as we all held onto the end of the rope, Dreamy swam out to the rock. He braced himself across the rock while Guido and Willow used the rope to get them to the safety of the bank.

Unfortunately, Willow lost her grip on the rope. Guido managed to grab her, but with the pull of the current they lost their grip and Willow was swept towards the falls. And we could see her looking at Dreamy, sort of expecting him to save her, and sort of despairing, as she disappeared over the falls, to her certain doom (but how could I be writing this if I really fell to my doom – Willow).

As Willow disappeared Guido fell to his knees and said a prayer to Myrmidia. Blume told him that she thought it had only happened because he said he wanted to steal some horses, which didn’t help anything. But Dreamy just stood there in silence. I offered him a pork pie but he didn’t even want that. And Blume suggested that Dreamy should shoot Guido for losing Willow. I don’t think she was being mean, I just think some people react to tragedy in different ways and Blume’s way is to be a dick.

Meanwhile, and this is going to be very hard to believe, mum, but it is absolutely what happened (it is what happened – Willow). Willow had fallen all the way down the waterfall, over three-hundred and fifty feet, mum. And, as fate would have it, she landed in a boat that had just finished descending the great flight of locks, and that was carrying fish to Kemperbad. And Willow landed right in a hold full of fish. And as you know as well as anyone, mum, fish is one of the best animals for breaking a fall. And she was completely unharmed.

The captain of the boat was a bit shocked that a halfling should suddenly appear like that and told her to get out of his fish. But he also said she was very lucky and she should find a priest and thank them for it (I had just been with a priest – Willow).

After a while of standing around glumly not doing much, but thinking about Willow and trying to ignore Blume, Corrobreth asked us if we wanted to continue on our journey and I think we all thought that it would be best if we did. But Willow suddenly appeared, covered in fish guts and looking out of breath from her climb back up the cliff.

She and Dreamy had a big hug, and she said ‘this‘ll do,’ which is their family motto. So, we couldn’t have been happier. Guido looked extremely relieved, and even Blume seemed very pleased. And when everyone had calmed down Willow told us all about being sucked off by the waterfall and falling in the fish.

Guido said it was no doubt down to the intervention of Myrmidia. But, I think, perhaps, it may have been due to another’s intervention, but Guido has told me I’m not allowed to say his name so I won’t mention Isaac Tzeentch, here, but it could have been him.

I think Dreamy wanted to take Willow straight back to the Mootland and he said he should get a rope and tie one end around her and the other around him, so she wouldn’t get lost again. But then I think we all agreed that the best way to keep everyone safe was to get rid of the nefarious, and that meant continuing on into the Barren Hills.

Corrobreth arranged for another canoe and told us that that would be a lesson on not underestimating the river. He said that Willow was extremely lucky, and someone was looking out for her. I think he meant Rhya, but Guido nodded, because he meant Myrmidia, and I agreed too, but I thought it might be Isaac (It’s actually Dreamy – Willow).

So before we set off properly on our journey I decided that it was necessary to give everyone a rowing lesson. And even after Willow’s accident I got the impression that Blume and Guido weren’t really paying attention. Remember what they say in the Mootland river wardens, mum, ‘Always obey the waterway code, it might save your life!’

And before we set off, Dreamy insisted that Willow go in Corrobreth’s canoe instead of Guido’s, and he went in with Guido, which was probably a good decision. And it meant that Willow could spend the journey chatting to Corrobreth’s raven. It was called Skyroarer the Raven which seems like an appropriate name for a Raven, like Daisy the Cow is an appropriate name for a cow (I think that’s called nominative determinism – Willow).

We canoed for the whole day, and it was a lot harder going than I thought it would be. Partly, this was because the Narn was twisty with awkward currents and it was flowing quite fast against us, and partly because Blume couldn’t be arsed to help. The landscape was pleasant enough, though, but I expect that was because we hadn’t really got into the barren bit of the Barren Hills.

When they were out of earshot, I think Guido was having a serious discussion with Dreamy. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but if I were Guido, I think I would have been apologising for not looking after Willow properly. And if I’d have been Dreamy I wouldn’t have been very happy with him.

I think Guido has got it into his head that he is on a proper mission from his god, now. He was supposed to be looking after Willow, and instead he nearly let her die. But he’s seeing her survival, not as a sign that he is very lucky not to have one of Dreamy’s arrows through his skull, but more of a sign of Myrmidia’s approval.

Willow was having a long conversation, too, with Skyroarer the Raven but I don’t know what they were saying. Eventually Corrobreth decided we should stop for the night, and he found a pleasant enough place for us to camp. I was unpacking some of the provisions we had brought with us when I noticed Corrobreth saying some sort of prayer to Rhya, and suddenly, from nowhere, some trees sprouted from the ground bearing loads of food. And then he asked us if we were hungry like he was some sort of chef. It seemed to me that that was cheating, so I stuck to the dried fruit and biscuits. And when everyone told him how great that was, Corrobreth said there are no sad gardeners. But it’s not proper gardening when you do it like that.

Dreamy decided to take first watch. Not sure why that was but I think Guido got a bit annoyed about that because it wasn’t the plan they had previously arranged, but to be honest, I can’t even remember the watch schedule, anyway. My watch was pretty uneventful, and the area seemed quite safe. But during the watch I did check out Corrobreth’s magic trees and have a bite of fruit, and to be honest, it wasn’t that nice.

In the morning Corrobreth tried to grow his trees again, but they weren’t so good this time, so I gave him a biscuit. And Guido did his usual prayers to Myrmidia for guidance. But, as we watched him, and this was weird, but it actually happened, suddenly this huge eagle-like bird seemed to erupt from his body and flew up to the skies. It flew around for a bit and seemed to follow the course of the river upstream. Then after a while it flew back into Guido’s body.

I think Guido must have been in the eagle because while it was flying around he didn’t move and there was a blank look in his eyes. But once the  eagle returned, he was normal again. I think, seeing Corrobreth’s raven, Guido must have had bird-envy.

Guido explained that it was a gift from Myrmidia and that proved that we were on the right track and doing the right thing. And he was able to see through the bird’s eyes, and so he could see the route miles ahead of us. He said he saw that the terrain stayed pretty lush and healthy for a while but the further it went up into the Barren Hills the more sparse it got (but to be fair I could probably have guessed that from the name). He said that in the middle of the hills he could make out a collection of standing stones. And then he said, ‘You have just witnessed a miracle of Myrmidia and I am one of the blessed,’ which was probably a fair comment, but the way he said it sounded really pompous.

Corrobreth said that that sounded like the Devil’s Bowl. But Guido said he saw no sign of our quarry, or anyone at all along the route and wondered whether there could be places to hide along the route, like caves, and Corrobreth agreed they could be hiding in caves.

And the day’s travel was even slower than the previous one. The flora was less vibrant, and the air was grey and misty. We noticed lots of cobwebs hanging from the trees, and many of the trees were sickly. And everyone was getting tired from rowing, except Blume. Skyroarer the Raven seemed comfortable sat on Willow’s hat (he said it was the most comfortable hat he’s ever sat on – Willow). When we camped for the night things were less pleasant, and Corrobreth got less food from his magic cheating tree. The forest felt a bit more sinister and the noises coming from it, a bit more aggressive.

And so, mum, it took us a total of five days to reach devil’s bowl. Each day was a bit more tiring than the last, and each day the forest grew stranger. The trees became twisted and ill and covered with weird fungi, and the land was increasingly covered with a lurid green grass that seemed to wave independent of the winds. Corrobreth’s food trees became less bountiful and enticing, and we were all glad of my biscuits and pork pies.

On the fourth day Guido reported that his magic eagle had spotted caves around the standing stones. The river grew even more difficult. Many a time we had to get out and carry the boats around a shallow spot or some dangerous rapids. And then we had to row across more sinister, deep and fetid pools that looked like they went down forever. And Guido insisted we row much closer together. And that we make our camp a bit smaller for defensive purposes. But I think, if we were going to get attacked out in the barren Hills then whatever it was that lived there wouldn’t care how big our camp was, and probably just eat us.

And the fourth night I felt very uneasy. I don’t think any of us got a good night’s sleep because of the sounds coming from the whispering grasses and the strange lights glowing on the horizon, and there was an ominous feeling in the air.

In the morning Corrobreth told us that there was no point taking our boats any further and we would have to walk the final bit. So Guido did a sermon but I didn’t take much notice of it, because I didn’t think it would do much good, and I was very tired. Willow asked Guido if he thought the nefarious got scared in places like this, and I gave my opinion but Guido wasn’t interested in that and he got a bit mad. But I think he was just nervous because things were getting strange and dangerous, and he didn’t know the answer.

Then Blume started moaning about the lack of shops, and funnily enough, that made everything feel a bit better and bit a more normal.

On our walk towards the Devil’s Bowl Corrobreth told us what he knew about it. He said a couple of hundred years ago a meteorite landed there and it blighted the land so druids built a stone circle around it to keep the evil power of the meteorite at bay, as they did around several other sites where similar meteorites had landed. But despite the stone circles the power has still affected the land and created the Baren Hills. He tried to sound relaxed about it all, but I think he was getting nervous, too.

We didn’t get to the crater until nearly dusk, and we could see that the bottom of the crater had filled with water. Corrobreth suggested we camp right next to one of the standing stones as it would protect us. We did, but I don’t think anyone was that convinced about the stones’ power. We had cold rations and then another uneasy night’s sleep. We could see Morrslieb rise over the hills and cast an orange glow, and it seemed to have a face that was grinning at us, just like it had done during all the nefarious in Boegenhafen.

And in the middle of the night, when Guido was on watch, he saw a strange blue glow over the water of the crater and there was a howling wind and a strange blue human-like form floated towards him. He woke us all up and told us to grab our weapons. I unsheathed my sword and gave my pistol to Blume. I think she thought I was giving it to her, but I just wanted her to load it for me.

The spirit was a young woman, covered in bloodless wounds, who floated above the ground. I think we all heard the ghostly thing speak to us, even though she wasn’t really talking, and she said something like, ‘Help me. Lay my bones to rest.’ And she seemed to be beckoning us to follow her into a nearby cave.

Guido was happy to follow her in, but I wasn’t. I’m not saying I was frightened, but who follows a ghost into a cave? But everyone else went with Guido. So Dreamy told Willow to stay behind and look after me, but I think I was really looking after Willow (I think it was a bit of both – Willow).

As they went Guido kept asking the ghost questions but she simply beckoned for them to follow her. So Willow and I sat by the standing stone with Skyroarer  the Raven, feeling a little bit useless. But at least we weren’t in a cave with a ghost.

The rest of them went past some weirdly human shaped trees into the cave and on into a cavern with a shallow grave in it. They could see bits of bone sticking through the poor attempt at a burial. I think Blume stayed on watch at the entrance to the cave to make sure they weren’t being followed, but still, that was braver than me. The ghost asked them to restore her grave  to put her to rest, and to reclaim the meteorite as it was a great source of evil. And she pointed further into the cave and said her colleagues were down there, and they needed to be put to rest, too.

They followed the cavern and discovered that it had been blocked by a rockfall and thought that it would take several hours to move the rocks away. I think everyone decided that the best thing to do was to try to lay this spirit to rest and try to dig out her colleagues and put them to rest, too.

So Blume went back to fetch me and Willow and I went to work digging up all the fallen rocks. And Willow talked to the ghost. She determined that the ghost was in pain, and that she had to fix it (just like a living patient – Willow). So she covered up the bones and said a prayer in the names of Esmerelda, Josias, Quinsberry, and Hyacinth, and the ghost began to fade. Blume helped a bit, too, but I’m not sure ‘sleep tight’ is in the official Sigmarite prayer book.

As the ghost faded, she told Willow a tale of how she had been a scout for an expedition under Dagmar von Wittgenstein. He had calculated where the meteorite had fallen and went to retrieve it. But once he’d found it, he murdered her and buried the rest of the expedition alive under a cave-in. Then she thanked Willow for releasing her and disappeared.

Meanwhile we had been digging through the rockfall, and eventually managed to break through. But as we did so, a skeletal hand, wielding a sword, thrust through the gap and attacked. Willow backed away, throwing her rocks at it and dreamy drew his sword and attacked. Blume pointed her pistols at the thing, and Guido said a prayer. I think they were both a bit too frightened to get any closer. The skeleton thrust his sword at Dreamy, and I won’t say where it hit him, but it looked very painful indeed. I ran to help and slashed at the thing with my sword, but it kept coming.

Then another one of them forced its way through the gap. Willow quickly delved into her bag of herbs and grabbed some garlic and mashed it up and threw it at the creatures. I’m not sure what she was intending, but whatever it was, it didn’t work (Garlic keeps the undead away – Willow). But we could hear the skeletons begging us to kill them, and not because they couldn’t stand the smell of garlic.

Dreamy tried to oblige them. And then, out of the corner of my eye I could see Blume levelling both pistols at them. And I winced as I feared I was about to be shot in the back, twice. But both shots were perfectly aimed and hit the skeletons, destroying one of them. Then Guido joined the fight and got badly wounded, and I slashed at the creature, and Dreamy hit it, and it was all a bit confusing, but we managed to destroy that one, too.

Then two more skeletons emerged through the gap. Dreamy shouted at us to close the hole up but I think it was too late for that. Blume tried to load her guns but was fumbling around in fear. So I dived into the hole and managed to hit one of them, and destroyed it, and I think I got so carried away that I piled straight into the next one and managed to get that one too. And as I did, I think I heard it whispering to me to kill it.

Guido had a quick look in the cave that the skeletons had emerged from, and there was no way out of there. All he could see was a few mouldy backpacks, the remains of their expedition into the Barren Hills.

So, mum, although it was exhilarating, and it felt good to triumph against dark creatures, I think it was a bit sad too. I think they had all been trapped in the cave for hundreds of years, and trapped in the world, unable to die. And I think they must have suffered in a way that the living cannot understand. So, at least that is at an end, now, and we helped free them.

And if what the ghost had told us was true, they had been imprisoned there by Dagmar von Wittgenstein. So, he must be a very bad man indeed. And he had come to the Barren Hills to find the meteorite that the ghost had called a source of great evil. So I think we really are on the trail of the proper nefarious, mum.

So that’s that. I’m not sure why I’m sending this letter to you before telling you what is in the backpacks, but that’s what’s happening. So, love to the girls, and I’ll write soon.