26th Mirtul, Year of Three Ships Sailing (1492 D.R.), about ten bells after highmoon.
Saer Savra beckons me through a heavy wooden door off to one side of the small work space behind her desk. A hallway lies beyond, less drafty but also darker and not as ornately finished as the marble-walled central chamber of Tyr’s Temple. I follow the knight through the corridor and we soon emerge out of the dimness and into free-moving air again. She leads me into an atrium where the light is so luminous that I at first think the chamber is open to the sky. Looking up with interest, I see that the ceiling of this room is made up of many skylights, overlapping with each other like lucent fish scales. As I murmur an admiring prayer to my Lady, the sunny morning begins to turn grey. I would like to stay and watch the swirling dance of clouds over sun. But my companion does not pause. Somber light filters down over Saer Savra’s silvery hair as she strides on. The knight’s slightly stilted gait is more obvious as she moves through this larger space but still I have to hurry to keep up with her.
“Saer Savra,” I begin a little breathlessly. “I am very happy to have met you yesterday. Since we first talked, I have felt my Lady’s guiding breath showing me my path so clearly! I am convinced that it was right for me to join the Order!
“But, in my enthusiasm to prove my worth to you, and then in the enjoyment of our very interesting conversation about griffons, I…well, I may have neglected to obtain some important information. What will my new duties entail? Perhaps you could explain a little more about how the Order of the Gauntlet operates? Will I be required to report in daily or will you simply call on me with assignments as needed? Should I expect to work with a unit of other fighters or will I more commonly be acting alone?”
Saer Savra responds to my earnest questions with a sympathetic smile.
“Yes, these are important things for you to know.” She slows her pace slightly. “Most Order members are widely scattered, busy with the work that they deem important. Occasionally, when the Order requires help, a call will go out. All Order members nearby should offer their help at those times. Similarly, if you are ever in need of aid, you can request assistance from Order members. If you do so, the Order is usually able to send someone out to you within a day of your call. They will provide aid in taking charge of prisoners, liaising with local authorities to transfer captives to the proper facilities, escort any victims of evil doers to safety, those sorts of things”.
Seeing my nod of understanding, Saer Savra continues. “The amulet that you now carry will allow you to communicate with other Order members. Have you ever received a Sending before?”
“I thought that I sensed power within the necklace – some kind of connection with many others far from me!” I pick up the silver symbol and gently run my fingers over the details of the design. “I have received Sendings in the past. Just from my Mama. She likes to check in on me during my travels. But of course, the messages tend to come to me at very odd times. Because Mama is so far from me and therefore is living through a different time of day. And has not yet realized that this temporal discrepancy results in her Sending me greetings at all manner of strange hours. I hope that she will get eventually adjust her communication patterns…”
I see Saer Savra’s eyes glint with amused interest and break off, embarrassed.
“So the calls for aid from the Order come through the necklace as a Sending?” I ask with properly dutiful interest.
Saer Savra explains how the amulet works to connect me to other Order members and how to use it in time of need. She also cautions me that, as Order members are often stretched quite thin and resources are limited, it is recommended to send a simple letter when communicating on less urgent matters. She requests that I always provide her with details of my whereabouts so that I can be easily reached in this non-magical way.
We also discuss the availability of combat training at the Halls of Justice. The scarred Dwarf that I saw teaching the skirmishing group outside is named Sergeant Steelguard. She is a veteran of an impressive number of battles and is in charge of fight drill. The Order also provides other types of instruction as needed. Frequently an Order member will need non-military skills, such as healing abilities or knowledge of different languages, to become more effective in their work. These lessons too are taught at the Halls of Justice.
I absorb this exciting information as we pass through several more hallways. Finally, we enter a large room; windowless but with a soaring vaulted ceiling. Work tables fill the central floor and the walls are lined with racks of books and scrolls. All seems very meticulously organized but with no attempt at ornamentation.
There are two figures seated at the work tables, and they do not look up as we enter. I am very curious to encounter other members of my Order and study them eagerly. The first is a young Human woman with closely clipped black hair. She wears a simple gray tunic embellished, in a very subtle and restrained manner, with glinting patterns in gold thread. The second is an older Dwarf with pale skin and blond hair speckled with silver. His clothing is bronze-gold cloth with ruby highlights picked out in a pleasingly shiny red thread. Neither is wearing armor nor bears visible weapons. Both are busily writing. Saer Savra whispers for me to wait and moves towards the book cases. I see a middle-aged Human man pass by her on his path through the stacks. He too is quietly focused on his work; eyes and thoughts lost in the book he holds before him. My hair flows out about me, curls loosening as I sigh with contentment.
Before long, Saer Savra returns and passes me a thick sheaf of pages bound in a leather wrapping cover.
“This is Knight General Stormbringer’s report on her encounter with the Hag. As you will see, we keep very detailed notes.” Saer Savra smiles to see my pleasure at this news. “I will leave you here to review the material at your leisure. I cannot allow any of the records to leave our Temple, of course, but you may take any notes that you require and take all of the time that you need. Come and get me when you are ready and I will re-shelf the record.”
Left alone, I sit down at the nearest table and take a steadying breath. The air is a little still and dusty but it carries the welcome smells of paper, leather, wood, and glue. Library smells. I untie the leather bindings over Ushien’s report and fold back the cover to reveal thirty to forty pages of closely written text!
The top page is marked with the date: 9th of Uktar, Year of the Elven Swords Returned, 1465 D.R. Then follows an hour-by-hour account of this day in Ushien’s life. Beginning with waking to the sunrise bells, dawn muster, battle drill, and morning feast. All the details of which are recorded in the pages before me, preserving an unexpectedly vivid portrait of this young knight. Of the woman who would one day grow into a valiant warrior and respected leader of her Order…
At first all I see is routine information about a routine morning. Yet I am instantly charmed by this oddly intimate glimpse into one moment of the knight’s past. I feel as if I were gazing at a very finely wrought but very small painting. I start to hear Ushien the Novitiate’s voice in my mind as I read. All the while knowing what is to come in the Knight General Stormbringer’s future.
It makes for compelling reading. And becomes even more exciting when I get to Ushien’s description of Trollskull Orphanage. I lean forward, rapt, as I read about Ushien’s arrival at the manor. She and her companion, the apprentice abjurer Alric, see no children at play outside. And they hear only faint and desolate crying coming from the depths of the house.
Ushien communes with her deity and thus recognizes the taint of the Lower Planes on the house. Alric, meanwhile, senses a Fey presence. This unsavory combination leads the duo to suspect that they are facing a Night Hag. Here Ushien makes reference to the Gray Wastes and to the City of Bronze. I do not recognize these places but I faithfully note down their names to review with my companions later.
Ushien and Alric speculate about the Hag’s purpose in selecting the orphanage as a lair. They wonder if the creature is attempting to develop “soul larvae” or whether it is simply feeding its hunger and fomenting suffering among the City’s residents. I feel an uncomfortable mix of revulsion and fury roiling my stomach. What was Gristlegums’ goal in infesting the manor in the Year of the Elven Swords Returned? And what is it hoping to achieve now, with its foul hauntings? And what – oh Lady of Winds – what are “soul larvae”?
Tactical records follow. Ignoring the discomfort of the hard wooden seat, I lean forward even further. There is true drama in the account now. Determination and courage infuse the narrative even as the language remains dryly matter-of-fact.
The Hag barricaded itself on the upper floors. Taking several children to serve as shields and bargaining tokens. Cowardly monster! Alric levitated himself and Ushien to the roof. A valiant winged ally would have served them well here! They broke through a window and fought their way past several traps and horrors prepared for its defense by the Hag. Then Ushien bound the creature while City Watch members helped rescue the trapped children. Finally, with Ushien and Alric watching closely, the Hag was shackled with cold iron and delivered to a cell in Waterdeep Castle.
I lean back, curls settling down as my quiet surroundings bring me back to the peaceful present of this studious place. I carefully stack up Ushien’s papers into a neat bundle, and then wrap them back in their protective leather cover. Leaving the record on the work table, I let my thoughts wander back to scenes of ghastly strife and bravely-won victory. I retrace my steps through cool temple hallways. Determined to glean every last scrap of knowledge that Ushien may have recorded about the Hag, I seek out Saer Savra.
“Your pardon, Saer.” I find the older knight back at work in the echoing elegance of the Temple’s entry hall. “I have read the account that you kindly found for me. May I please next review the record from the 12th of Uktar, the day of Gristle Gums’ execution? I feel certain that General Stormbringer would have attended and perhaps there may be some clue in her writings to explain why the Hag does not seem to have fully died.”
Saer Savra simply nods. She obligingly accompanies me back to the library. I once again wait among the desks, listening to the industrious whispering of quills on paper, as the knight searches out my requested record. It seems to be taking her a little longer on this occasion. I do not enjoy waiting. Restless, I take a few steps forward and peek unobtrusively down at the pages on the young Demaran woman’s work station.
She is setting down her account of a mission into the Deep’s sewers. I instinctively whirl fresh cool air about myself, remembering that foul place. The young knight was tasked with helping re-home a small community of goblins that had built nests in an ill-chosen section of sewer. Resulting in severe problems with drainage in certain parts of the Deep…
I pause in my reading, distaste competing with curiosity, and look up to see the young woman gazing at me with questions in her frowning eyes.
“Oh! Good day to you. Forgive my interruption. I am merely waiting for Saer Savra to return.” I hurry to make excuses for my rudeness.
I am determined to make a friendly and pleasant first impression as I meet other members of the Order.
“I am Elodie, Elodie Skyshard. And I am newly arrived here. I just joined the Order this very day.” I continue brightly.
“I see. Well…welcome.” She whispers, looking about her uneasily. “That is, my congratulations, Saer.”
I lower my voice to match hers and she is noticeably soothed. We talk briefly but cordially. By the time Saer Savra returns, I have discovered that the nervous young woman is a Novitiate of the Order and that we both enjoy detailed record keeping.
Saer Savra approaches, smiling gently at the Novitiate but growing grim as she turns to me.
“It appears that the Knight General was in training on the 12th of Uktar and did not attend the Hag’s execution.” She announces regretfully. “But if you find that you need any other information, you can always return to the records hall. There is much to read here, written by, and about, Lady Stormbringer.”
The wistful ghost of a smile flits over her face as she speaks and I have the same sense of a tale untold that I felt yesterday when I first asked Saer Savra about Ushien Stormbringer.
She sees my curious look. Nodding in polite farewell to the Novitiate, Saer Savra beckons me back out to the hallway.
“I served with Knight General Stormbringer. Battling the Cults of the Elemental Eye in the Desarin Valley. My memories of her are from that time. It is strange to think of her as Novitiate Ushien.” Saer Savra explains.
“I am sure that this battle she fought with the Hag was only one of many in her experience. But did she ever talk to you about Trollskull Manor and Gristlegums?” I ask hopefully.
Saer Savra pauses for long enough that I think she has not heard and I draw breath to repeat my question.
“No.” She says finally. “The Knight General’s habit was to look always towards the future and not turn backwards to the past.”
She does not sound happy; her voice is grave and her eyes mist over with pain. But there is an odd ring of relief in her tone. I feel it may perhaps be best not ask any more questions on this visit. I am sure that I will see Saer Savra again soon. And, as we become better known to each other – as we grow in friendship as comrades in arms must – well, then we may tell many tales. I thank Saer Savra warmly and bow in respectful goodbye. I leave the knight gratefully settling back into her chair in the Temple’s entry hall.
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I hope that you enjoyed this chronicle of Elodie’s exciting morning of research in the library of the Halls of Justice. It is a joy to see her find a place where she can feel comfortable. Even if the information she seeks for does not make for soothing reading.
For Gristlegums:
I will never die, Delta Rae.
Please also visit my playlist on Spotify. I will be populating this with all of our campaign tunes as we adventure onwards:
Tears of the Seldarine 
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