A note from Feverborne brought me to Thatchem. He has been flirting with the new goddess of clensing lately, and frankly it seems to be good for him. I sense a new confidence and strength of will in his manner, though the world seeks to test his faith. While Cloacina is clearly no match for the significance of Denara, even a bathhouse must engage in commerce. Mmhmm. At any rate he had found mention of the floating tower my church had requested I investigate some time ago. Important note: this tower floats on air, the previous tower floats on water.
As I rode into town, I caught side of u-Heury being led away by the locasl guards for questioning regarding a servant girl’s murder. Luckily u-Heury was able to produce the servant girl he had dallied with the night before, alive and … she got fired for their tryst, so not well. Should we look into this mysterious death? Perhaps. But for now let the guards do their jobs.
After discussion, the three of us decided to explore Highfell, and asked after Allinbroch at the Tower of the Unpronouncable Goose. Or so I named it after trying to say what the locals called it and being mistaken for a drunken cat. The butler, or seneschal, or some similar title, agreed to let us see the man once we explained our business. She has no desire for pastries, however.
Allinbroch received us with enthusiasm, and we negotiated an agreement. He would provide potions of levitation to reach Highfell and potions of feather fall to leave. The floating toward apparently also moves, so he provided a starting location and a direction. We agreed to bring him what we found – preferably books – and give him the right of first refusal to purchase them. The contract had more ambiguity than I would like, but exploring the unknown (and making it known, recording its nature, cataloging it properly, and storing the scroll describing it on the correct shelf) is the nature of the job.
We bought what supplies seemed appropriate, made arrangements to store the cart in town, and rode to the location where Highfell was expected to be. It wasn’t, but it wasa close. We tied the horses (and my mule) loosely nearby and guassed at the timing to levitate up. We also prepared carefully by noting the colors of the potions by direction (red: , green: ) and collecting a sack of dirt so we could end the levitation by “putting our feet on the ground” if we happened to miss the floating island.
We also took the precaution of roping ourselves together before the ascent, which proved handy when I missed my grip and nearly floated away. After a few minutes of excitement, we were ready to explore the uncanny ayrie of Highfell.
