Son of Thunder - Murray J. D. Leeder [42]
"From what we've learned from Sungar," said Geildarr, "the creature that attacked Ardeth and Valkin was probably a member of their tribe who was recently given extraordinary powers by their giant lizard totem animal."
"You mean from Uthgar," said Leng. "These totems they worship are just different faces of Uthgar."
"Was I right?" Geildarr asked him. "Does the knowledge that another god was taking notice draw your interest?"
Leng shrugged. "Uthgar is a minor power. Cyric pays little attention to his activities. But if Uthgar has truly invested enough power to turn a man into a behemoth." He trailed off, leaving his awed expression to convey the rest.
"What's more, the Thunderbeast gave his tribe a message to find the living behemoths," said Geildarr. "It could be that this Sanctuary of which I spoke was designed to hide the last dinosaurs of the North, and that the magic of Runlatha is sustaining it. Unfortunately, Kiev tells me that Sungar knows absolutely nothing about the Sanctuary."
"Living dinosaurs," said Royce, looking to his fellow Antiquarians and gauging their reactions. "It takes a lot to find something we haven't seen."
"I'm amused by the prospect of dinosaurs in the High Forest," said Geildarr, "but I suspect Leng could find a more interesting use for them than I." He could already see dark thoughts breeding in the priest's eyes. "I'm already working on a way to contain them in the Central Square."
"You don't expect us to herd them back here, do you?" asked Bessick.
"No," said Geildarr. "I'll leave that to Ardeth."
All eyes turned to Ardeth, who smiled. "I told you you'd have more interesting companions." The Antiquarians nodded their surprised approval.
"I've almost completed crafting some crossbow bolts that will tag the beasts and teleport them back here to Llorkh, where they'll be magically contained," Geildarr explained. "As the unfortunate skymage Valkin found out, the behemoths are very dangerous, and I don't recommend engaging them directly once you reach the Sanctuary."
"But how do we get there?" asked Gunton. "I don't want to seem the naysayer, but the dangers of the High Forest are legendary. We definitely couldn't approach the Star Mounts by air, even if mounts were offered. Only the aarakocra who live there are said to know how to navigate the winds properly. Dragons lair in the Star Mounts and with the way the dragons have been behaving lately, we daren't take that approach. We'll want to avoid the Dire Wood too, and I'm guessing we wouldn't be very welcome along the Unicorn Run."
At Gunton's mention of the Unicorn Run, Geildarr studied Leng intently. The priest started at the mention of this famous stronghold of the fey world, said to be jointly blessed by the Seelie Court and all the nature deities of Faerun. The Run, some said, was the wellspring of all life on Faerun. A twitch ran through Leng's upper lip and it curled into a snarl. Leng's eyes glossed in thought. Though Geildarr was himself touched by Cyric in a special way, it disturbed him to wonder what Leng had in mind for that most beautiful of places.
"I think the safest route is parallel to the Run, starting somewhat north of Zelbross," Geildarr said. He reached into his robes and produced a silver coin that he tossed directly to Vonelh, his fellow wizard. "This detects powerful… well, powerful good magic. It should help you stay an appropriate distance from the Run. Keep a careful eye on it."
"That I will," said Vonelh with a smile, as he pocketed the coin.
"This could be the most epic quest we've been on," said Royce. "It won't be easy." But he was beaming, and the rest of the Antiquarians were as well. This was the sort of thing they lived for.
"I'm working to find you more allies," said Geildarr. "The Zhentarim have some contacts with groups inside the forest, and I may be able to recall an old favor from Heskret, Bloodmaster of a werebat tribe."
Ardeth walked over