Taal be with you
Having got a view of the eastern approach to Karak Skygg the party make a plan for tomorrow. Following the river would expose them to the Skaven guard post to the north of the the Needle, but Farforrda knows there is a valley which winds up behind that ridge due north of Ingrid's cave - if they make for that perhaps he can cast Lie of the Land again and find a route which avoids the obvious, easily monitored approach.
They ask if they can leave Carnac with Ingrid, the dog is not best suited for clandestine journeys, and she happily consents. Farfordda asks if he might join her in prayer to Taal at the simple shrine she has constructed in the back cave, to which she also consents.
It is now raining fiercely outside so they spend the evening in the cave, Magdalena also in prayer and even Norgrim, much to Thindra's surprise intoning half remembered invocations to Valaya.
Farfordda gifts Ingrid a glass of Dreamwine and sitting before the Taal shrine sets about consulting the Tarot.
Are the Skaven trying to summon something?
The hand he gets could not be clearer, no - they have built some terrible weapon, utilizing the huge lump of wierdstane acquired from Wittgenstein.
They wake after a night of unsettling dreams to the sounds of Ingrid boiling up some breakfast gruel. Farfordda has trouble shaking his nightmare - feeling like he spent all night running through forest to warn the people of Stust of the oncoming Beatsmen horde, passing those odd ale merchants they saw at Magnus Rest trading with Valeria Roth, to arrive and find the village empty, a table covered in butcher's implements, dripping with blood by the well in the square and a great gelatinous mound of eyeballs stacked nearby.
Ingrid tells them she has decided to make for Dunfurter today, as soon as the weather looks more settled, she'll take Carnac with her. It is not raining at this moment, but the sky is heavy and everything wet, a chilly morning with more rain on the way.
They say their goodbyes - Farfordda grimly instructing her that should their dead bodies be here when she returns, to bury them and take nothing. Taal be with you.
They tramp back down into the valley, and follow it to the west, around the peak they climbed yesterday. It is close to midday when they cross the ridge and begin their descent to the river, getting a brief glimpse of Karak Skygg before they enter the deep river valley.
They get soaked to the skin before the afternoon is out, fording the river, then its sibling just before sunset. It is after dark by the time they reach the mouth of the valley they were bound for. Too dark to find much of a camp, and little in the way of a firewood. The rain has stopped, yielding to a cold clear night with a waxing Mannsleib bright in the sky, it is a mere 4 nights till the full moon, till Morrsleib joins it on Geheimenistag.
In the morning Farfordda breaks from the party to travel swiftly and reach a point to cast his spell. Magdalena and the dwarves make their way slowly up the valley, foraging and collecting firewood as they go. They find a sheltered spot, close to where the valley narrows steeply, dig a fire pit and rest.
Farfordda follows the valley, it widens out with one arm running north east, the other north west, narrowing towards Karak Skygg.
He wastes no time with channeling, using Herzen's wand he casts Lie of the Land once more. With his mind's eye he can see that if they scale the ridge at the north west end of this valley they can enter the river valley that cleaves the eastern flank of the old volcano, avoiding the guard post they spied yesterday completely. Furthermore he can see the narrow, low channel that likely marks the outflow, but it is west of the main entrance, meaning they will need to pass in front of the mountain's maw to gain access.
There are at least two miles to cover between Karak Skygg and the Needle. The undulations of the mountainous landscape may provide cover, if approached carefully. Although the details are obscure, he can tell that there are five strata of dwarven halls from the base of the mountain to the caldera at its top.
As soon as he finishes soaking up the folds of the land he heads back to the others. On route, as the sun sets he hears the sound of distant bell tolling 13 times, echoing down between the mountains from Karak Skygg.
He reaches their camp after dark. It is the 22nd of Nachgeheim, a chilly overcast night, promising more rain soon...
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