Dell takes the paper and necklace, holding both in her hands like they were delicate fall leaves, fated to crumble and disperse on the wind in the slightest breeze at just the wrong move as Gavin explains Glinda's fate. For a moment after she is stoic, but then the facade cracks as a soft whisper escapes her lips. "Glinda....no..." Tears begin to stream forth freely, punctuated by muffled sobs as Della raises her hands to her face, burying herself in the fragmented list. Maester Dorrin is at her side a moment later, doing his best to console the poor lass. At this point you're pretty sure there's not much else you can do unless you can come up with some parting words of comfort. 

Gavin feels sorry for having to be the one to have to bear bad news like this, but knows that it is better than knowing nothing at all. “I am so very sorry for your loss” he says in a gentle whisper to Della and nods to the comforting priest as he walks towards the exit with Peren.

”We should find a way to get that gnome skull back to Della or Glinda’s family so they have a proper funeral for her. I just wish we would not have broken it. Maybe put the remains it in a wooden box or something. It wouldn’t be right to deliver just the crushed pieces. That way they can bury it or have a funeral pyre, whatever their custom is.”

It's not long before you both arrive back at the tavern where you left your other companions. It's getting pretty late and, if your travels to and from the hidden cavern are any indication, it'll likely be mid day tomorrow at the earliest before the dwarven scouts return with their report. For now, rest and any other social niceties that you may have on the docket seem to be the way to go.

((If you guys have nothing else you want to do this evening, I can skip us over to tomorrow.))

Peren will order another pint of ale and then retire for the night. 

Gavin will catch up Kathra and Mirabel on Della and then catch up himself on the drinking while he has been away. He will get a meal and a room as well.

Kathra grimaces at the report over Della. "I hope you didn't tell her that our sorcerer exploded the skull into tiny bits."

“No, no, of course not. I didn’t tell her anything other than what she needed to know. I would like to talk the officials into returning some of the remains to her however so they may have a proper funeral. It’s would be the right thing to do.” Gavin replies He finishes his tankard and orders another as he wonders how many other innocents that crazed fool abducted and experimented on.

After a few drinks and time to decompress, the party settles in for the night. If nothing else, it is good to be back in a real bed after so many days existing out in the rainy wilds or curled up in a soggy, flea infested dungeon. As a bonus, the night isn't punctuated by strange noises like before either, allowing you all a deep and uninterrupted sleep.

The soft light of the morning sun through the thin window curtains gently wakes you all roughly around the same time. The clear skies outside show no signs of the storms that had been steadily retreating since your disposal of the dark cube. The day is rather uneventful over all. The breakfast served downstairs is serviceable. Della is still not at work is seems, but you at least catch a thanks from one of the other servers as word of your deeds seems to have spread a bit overnight. A few of the locals saddle up near you throughout the day, either chasing after some juicy gossip or just hungry for more details about your latest adventure.

((If there is a "story" that you'd like to have spread then feel free to post up what you are willing to tell people. If not, then I'll move on to the afternoon when Bhaerny sends for you.))

“Some crazy Goliath wannabe mage in the hills” is all the locals will get from me. “I am sorry, but that is all I can say for now until we speak with the clan leaders.”

((No sense in irritating the people that should be paying us for our ‘services’ by spreading rumors))

Peren agrees with Gavin

If asked about the strange lights in the hills, Mirabel mutters something about moonlight reflecting off of swamp gas and changes the subject.

Kathra will only mention barmy ****in' wannabe wizards and leave it at that. Well, not quite - she will also stress that the barmy ****in' wannabe wizard got eviscerated by her. 

And some of her companions, sure.

“I sure wish the clan will send for us soon. Getting tired of everyone asking questions that we really can’t answer. Plus, the food here isn’t that good.”

Mirabel is snoring softly in the corner. He can sleep just about anywhere, as it turns out.

((Ooof, sorry guys. Had an out of town emergency to deal with that kept me away from a computer and my notes for a bit. Let's see if we can't get this game brought to a close this week, as we're sort of in the clean-up phase anyway. You all have been really good sports about how things have sort of drug on longer than necessary this time around.))

It's nearly mid afternoon when Bhaerney himself, with two other dwarven guards in tow, come to find you. A brief word with the innkeeper grants you all access to something of a small party room in the back behind a pair of double doors. Once you are all situated, the old dwarf begins the debriefing.

"My men have returned from the hills with their report." Bhaerney begins, in a rather neutral tone. "Seems you were right about there being a bit of an archeological marvel buried under the falls. Looks like someone was living there too and there were more than a handful of ruined armor laying about, so your story checks out." Reaching into a pouch, he procures a palm-sized piece of the shattered black cube and sets it on the table. "This is what they wizard was working on I take it? Our clan mages took quite an interest in what samples my men brought back, though, in their usual way, they weren't very clear on the details. It looks a lot like the sort of stone we've used for generations to mark holders of high office....so you'll understand I'd have some concerns if some random wizard was amassing a large quantity of it for reasons unknown." Tapping the table as he strokes his beard, Bhaerney looks thoughtfully across the room to you all. "My men tell me there's a lot more of this inert stone laying around out there as well as enough strange wall inscriptions to keep our clan's research division busy for a few seasons." Reaching down he picks up a medium sized satchel that clunks heavily on the table with the sound of coin and gemstone. "I've determined that your group did us a bit of a favor and am willing to compensate you for your time and effort. But if there is anything else dangerous out there that I should know about, I'd appreciate knowing about it before you folks take your reward and go."

((It’s ok Meta, we all have been absent at times. Life happens, hope all is ok))

Gavin looks at Bhaerney and says, “As far as I know there isn’t anything dangerous left there since the storm seals left. There are some of their babies swimming in the flooded section but they are harmless as minnows. Once they can fly I suppose they will join up with their own kind up in the sky, or wherever they go. The crazy mage tried doing some kind of magical spell when we had him on the ropes and destroyed most of what was in there when it didn’t work the way he imagined it would.”

“I will ask one more thing of you however Bhaerney. Della the barmaid here. She was close friends with a gnome named Glinda we believe the mage kidnapped and did horrible experiments on. We saw a gnome skull attached to a fish body, and found evidence that identified her friend was in the cave. Unfortunately the remains were covered by the rubble during the fight. Could you recover the skull, place it in a nice chest and help Della give her Glinda a proper funeral. She may not have been dwarven, but she was a part of your community. At least she can rest in piece somewhere pleasant and not be left in that godforsaken cave.”

Gavin looks at his comrades to see if they want to add anything

Peren will say to Bhaerney, "the town should be safe now that the crazy mage is dead and the black cube has been destroyed.
It seems that the black cube is what lured him and the storm seals to the falls."

Kathra doesn't have anything to add, though she does speak up to emphasize Gavin's request. "It's important you bring those remains back. It'll give the poor girl some peace."

Bhaerney takes in the information. "I'll have the excavation team look for the remains. We'll get back our citizenry one way or another. Other than that, we'll take care to see the Storm Seals that remain are relocated as time allows. If there's nothing else, you have my thanks for your services, but I'd ask that you not go spreading word of what happened here on Krakhal Clan lands. We take our privacy very seriously here and I should think I've procured more than enough in the form of payment to keep it that way." With that he motions to the decently sized sack of coin and gems. "I'd also be obliged if you folks didn't linger too long. The locals are already stoking rumors that will be less than ideal and having you around will only lead to a level of pestering that I can't abide." With that, he stands, gives you all a curt nod, and heads for the door, leaving you behind with a sack of payment.

"Nice fellow." Mirabel looks around at his companions. "Well, I can't say that this is the first time I've been asked to leave a town, but at least there was payment this time around."