## Journal of Caleum Session 14 So the Duergar are from **Sunblight**, their fortress. Another piece of the puzzle, perhaps, although I am becoming less certain that I know what puzzle we are actually trying to solve. Mother's condition was not caused by the Duergar. It was **Auril's followers** who did this. They acted independently, pursuing their own purposes, and now Mother's soul is trapped in the **Astral Plane**. That is what matters. I need to find a way to reach the Astral Plane and bring Mother back. And I have absolutely no idea how. ### Which way do we go? We have too many possibilities. The Frost Druids and the white dragon fighting over the Lost Gem. The Duergar operating from Sunblight. The Black Swords. The location Dzaan murdered to keep hidden. Falling meteors. Underground cities. And all the strange connections to Chardalyn Crystals. Everywhere we go, we uncover another piece of something much larger. But I don't know which piece will help Mother. Perhaps Perilou Fishfinger was right. **Seek knowledge.** If ancient magic is the key to reaching the Astral Plane, then perhaps that is what we should be looking for. Ancient magic. Ancient knowledge. Someone who knows how to cross the boundaries between worlds. Maybe the answer isn't in a fortress. Maybe it isn't in a dragon's lair. Maybe it is hidden in some forgotten place that nobody in the Ten-Towns even remembers exists. **I need an answer.** The further we travel, the harder it becomes to ignore how many terrible people there are in these towns. Today we found eight armed men transporting prisoners. Freida recognised them as **Zhentarim**. They claimed to be from Targos and said the prisoners had sold themselves into slavery because they couldn't feed themselves. The prisoners said they hadn't realised they would be chained. I don't know which part disgusts me more — that people can be desperate enough to sell themselves into slavery, or that someone is willing to take advantage of that desperation. Pleic didn't waste much time thinking about it. He attacked. We killed their leader, a paladin, and the others fled. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps there are times when there is no point talking. But sometimes I wonder about us. We kill people who do terrible things, then search their bodies for gold and armour. Thirty gold pieces. Damaged plate armour. Useful things. I don't know when fighting became so easy for us. Or when I stopped being surprised by it. Apparently the Zhentarim operate from a warehouse in Targos. A thieves' guild. Another group with power. Another group with secrets. It seems there are very few places in the Ten-Towns where desperation isn't being exploited by someone. Then we reached Caer-Dineval. Huarwar Mulphon welcomed us into the Caer, along with Rose. Huarwar is Korva Mulphon's lost son. He is happy with the Black Swords. That worries me. He isn't behaving like someone who has been forced into joining a cult. He seems to genuinely believe he belongs there. Their amulets look like **Chardalyn crystals**. That cannot be coincidence. Has it corrupted him? He told us they have a local leader in the castle, but someone even more powerful who isn't there. We were taken to meet their leader in the castle, Kadroth, he says his master wants the Duergar removed and so does Avarice, one of the many wizards who have come to ten towns and who is staying at the castle. Again, everyone seems to be working towards something. But nobody is telling us the whole truth. Tomi the Scout was also there, wearing one of the amulets. We need to get him out as we got him into this. Mere, the halfling maid, clearly dislikes her masters and is worried about Speaker Crannoc Siever who hasn't been seen recently. ### And then we fought again. Rintario asked Mere to create a diversion. An explosion went off in the kitchen. Kadroth and his assistant Thoob and Tomi moved immediately. We tried to stop Tomi. And, of course, it became a fight. Sometimes I think this party has only two plans: **Ask questions.** **Then hit someone.** Pleic is particularly fond of the second. And yet I can't completely blame him. There are so many people here doing terrible things that suspicion feels like the only sensible response. But I am beginning to worry that we are becoming part of the same cycle. Everyone has an enemy. Everyone has a secret. Everyone thinks they are justified. And everyone seems willing to hurt someone else to achieve their goal. I don't want to become another one of them. ### Mother I keep coming back to the same thought. Mother is somewhere beyond all of this. Not in Sunblight. Not in Caer-Dineval. Her **soul is trapped in the Astral Plane**. Somewhere beyond this world. And I have no idea how to reach her. Ancient magic may be the answer. If so, perhaps every strange thing we have discovered matters. Chardalyn. Dzaan. The Frost Druids. The Lost Gem. Perhaps one of these threads will eventually lead us to someone who knows how to cross into the Astral Plane. I just have to keep looking. But I need to remember something. Right now, I don't need another victory. **I need a way home for her.**