Beacon City was a surprisingly large city for being on a world so cold. Beacon itself had a thriving population however, which lived mainly on the gemstones that can be found in the equatorial mountains, and the exotic pelts that could be gathered from the native animals.
It was late afternoon, Beacon time, when the Wanderer settled in the icy water. The light from the two suns was little more than a bright spot in the sky. Most of the light came from the planet's fire ring, which created a strange array of shadows on the streets of the city.
The crew of the Wanderer wasted no time once they landed in the docks of Beacon City. As soon as the ship was secured through customs, the bridge crew went straight for the office of the Spelljammer's Aid Society...
"Has there been as investigation of the wreck?" Onestar asked the clerk. The clerk was a dowhor, and a very ragged one at that. While the office of the society was impressive in its own way, everything on Beacon tended to look tired after a while. The relentless weather tended to drain the life out of everything it touched.
"Investigation?" the dowhor asked, "'fraid not, at least not yet."
"And why is that?" Belieth demanded.
"Look lady," the dowhor said in self defence, "do you have any idea how many shipwrecks there are on this ball? What with that Quan Dien character..."
"Quan Dien?!?" Hall snapped.
"Heard of him?"
"Yes..." Hall groaned. "Pirate. Nasty piece of work. He used to work around Karadex. I didn't think he would come out this far. Anyway, continue."
"An investigation shouldn't be needed anyway," the dowhor continued. "One of the survivors told us all about it."
"Survivor?" Onestar asked.
"Yeah..." the clerk looked at some papers, "a half-elf named Alantri. He's at one of the hostels, just down the block. Here, I'll give you the address."
The clerk wrote something on a small slip of paper and handed it to Onestar. A few minutes later, the trio met Ville in the hallway. Ville had wrapped his head in a fur bandanna to cover the strange gem, and was wearing gloves to conceal his elongated fingers. He didn't want to attract any attention, at least not at the moment.
"Pirate activity over the last year has tippled," he said, holding some papers. "This Montrazar character has also been a conversation topic for the last few months. There is evidence to suggest that the two incidents are connected."
"I'll bet my katana that they are connected," Onestar commented.
"There is also something about the 'Green Sash,' an order within the elven navy. Apparently they have been running around like maniacs lately," Ville added.
"I thought the navy withdrew from the sphere," Belieth commented.
"Someone forgot to tell these Green Sash guys," Ville responded.
"Perhaps Crystal has heard of these Green Sash characters," Onestar said. "In the mean time, let's go see Djan."
Later that day, Onestar, Hall, Ville and Belieth met Djan Alantri in the tavern of his hotel. The half-elf looked tired, with a beard growing randomly over his face, but otherwise none the worse for wear. Over a warm dinner of vegetable-beef stew, he relayed everything that had happened over the last few weeks.
"... and then they went through the gate, straight to Cartania," he finished. "We stayed behind partly because Bagath wasn't sure he could move all five of us, and because Tempest was too ill to move. In fact she's still in bad shape."
"We're sorry about the rest of your crew," Belieth said quietly.
"The attack was so fast and furious, we barely knew what hit us," Djan said. "Considering everything that ship went through, it's ironic that it eventually fell to a pair of mindspiders."
"Since Cherry is already on Cartania," Onestar said, "we should head there straight away. We will be leaving here in two days. Can you be ready?"
"Of course," Djan answered. "What about Tempest?"
"We can move her to our infirmary," Hall said. "She'll be fine there."
"Great," Djan said. "I'll find Gaye and we will be at your ship tomorrow."
At that the four officers bid the half-elf good night and started back for the ship. While crossing the square, they noticed Phantom heading for a shop. A place called "Kimberley's."
"Shopping?" Belieth asked.
"Yup," Phantom said. "And I thought I would grab some freshly cooked food. Not that I'm knocking Shauna's cooking, mind you."
"We're all sick of salt pork," Onestar said. Indeed, during the long trip from Refuge the larder had run out, forcing the Fleetfoots to use salt pork and pickled vegetables.
"I'll see you back at the ship later," Phantom said as he continued to the shop.
After a few minutes, Ville looked back to where Phantom had been.
"What the heck is he up to?" he asked.
They started to look at Hall.
"I'll never tell," he said with a grin.
After a one day shore leave, the crew of the Wanderer gathered on the dock and prepared to leave. Djan and Gaye had been given bunks with the rest of the crew, while Tempest was secure in a large, soft bed in the infirmary. The great helm and the strange magical beams, the last remaining components of the Calla Maraine, were secured tightly in the cargo area. Those few personal items that Djan and Gaye had salvaged from the wreck were secured as well.
The trip to Cartanina would take close to forty-five days, and that was assuming ideal travel conditions. The crew was expecting trouble on the way, and they were going over the ships weapons, just in case. As the final checks were being made, Hall, Phantom and Karramon stood near the dock entrance, talking with some Muldravian officers.
"You sure this creep has any worthwhile information?" one of the officers asked.
"Well," Phantom said, "it was hard to get him to talk, but we managed to squeeze some information out of him."
"Fine," another officer said. "We'll take him, unless you want to keep him around."
"Nah," Hall said. "He smells."
At that they all laughed. Karramon bent behind the gate and opened a bag. Giggles emerged, still carrying on like a mad man...
"Boysenberry pie have we, boysenberry pie..."
"This guy needs a straightjacket, not a prison cell," one of the guards said.
"So," another one asked Giggles, "are you going to help us secure that base star of yours? It would make a great base for us."
"Remember nothing do I," Giggles said, his eyes rolling.
"Karramon," Phantom said quietly, "jog his memory."
Karramon cracked a huge grin and made a fist that was as large as the neogi's head.
"NO! NO!" Giggles shrieked. "Help you will I! Help you will I!"
"He's all yours," Hall said with a laugh, shaking on of the officer's hands.
"Thanks," the guard said, "and if we get any report of your arcane friend, Hypathia, we'll try to get a message to you."
Onestar appeared on the pier and passed the guards. He couldn't resist the urge to reach for his katana when he passed Giggles. The neogi cowered and whimpered like a puppy.
"As much as I hate to say it," Onestar said to Hall, "I think I'm going to miss that little creep."
"He was kind of fun, wasn't he?" Hall agreed.
"Oh, Phantom," Onestar asked, "did you find what you were looking for?" There was a sly grin on the samurai's face.
Phantom paused for a moment before answering.
"I sure did," he finally said. He then bent down and picked up a box of something he had picked up.
"What's in the box?" Hall asked curiously.
"Catnip," Phantom answered with a smile.
Hall and Onestar just chuckled as Karramon pulled in the plank.
A few minutes later, the ship backed away from its mooring and floated into the middle of the large, partially frozen lake. Quickly the ship rose from the water, causing paper thin sheets of ice to fly about as it did. Beacon City passed below like a multi-colored carpet, and quickly gave way to the darkness of Wildspace. Ten minutes after passing the planet's fiery ring, the Eternal Wanderer prepared to jump to spelljamming speed. They would be traveling toward Cartania. Only one brief stop was planned, at Gandorine.
At the end of beta shift, Tabatha Cherna retired to her quarters, which she currently had to herself since Eloelia's untimely demise. She prepared to settle down when she noticed a small bottle on the desk. It had an attractive ribbon tied around its neck.
She closed the door, locked it, and carefully opened the bottle. It was perhaps by force of habit that she was sniffing the liquid for poison. She was glad that there wasn't any, because the liquor was perhaps her favorite drink: Gandorian catnip.
She looked around for a tag, telling her who left the bottle, but none was to be found. Pity, she thought. It had been a while since any one had paid her that kind of attention. She wanted to know who it was.
She kicked off her boots, and poured some of the liquor into a small glass, and slowly drank it down, savoring every sip. She ended up drinking half the bottle.
Wildspace, aboard the Spawn of Grienwuld...
Te-Ess'Arr walked quietly through the arboretum of his enormous diamond ship, frequently glancing through the window at the wildspace of Solaris. He thought about Omnispace for a moment. That sphere had died in an inferno of flame unmatched in all of history. His plans for Solaris, by contrast, would plummet the sphere into a silent void from which nothing can emerge, not even light.
"M'Lord?" a voice called.
Te-Ess'Arr turned around and saw Kob, his chief aid, enter the arboretum. Beside him was a female arcane, Thereza, Te-Ess'Arr's personal expert in industrial espionage.
"What is the report?" Te-Ess'Arr asked.
"Not as clean as we had hoped," Kob answered. "The stable portal in Clusterspace is a pyramid portal, like the ones used here in Solaris. Our operatives have managed to temporarily close it, but it is expected to re-open in about three months."
"If it is a pyramid portal," Te-Ess'Arr asked, not looking at either of his aids, "how is it that it can function from inside the sphere? Normally, portals in the Cluster fail to open from inside."
"Whoever built this pyramid portal made provisions for that," Kob answered. "The only way they could close it was to use a special 'destroy portal' spell. Even that will prove temporary."
"The pyramids are artifacts," Te-Ess'Arr muttered. "What of Operation Deathgate?" he asked.
Kob sighed.
"The Antillians and the illithids are squabbling again, so our operatives have been forced to delay certain aspects of the operation."
"Blast it!" Te-Ess'Arr yelled. "Will I have to take care of this myself?!?" After a few moments the arcane calmed down again.
"Can the operatives have that portal open again at a moment's notice?"
"At a moment," Kob said, "no. They will need at least a week's advance warning."
"That can be managed," Te-Ess'Arr said quietly. "When we are finished here we will jump travel to Realmspace. From there we will notify the operatives to prepare the portal. We will then jump to a point in the flow just outside of Clusterspace and enter through the portal."
Kob nodded and took some notes. Jumping directly into Clusterspace was too risky, even for Te-Ess'Arr.
"Tereza," he said. The arcane woman stood up as if at attention.
"Did the elves receive the packages as planned?"
"Yes, m'lord," she said. "The first shipment was genuine. That was to minimize suspicion. The remaining shipments have the alteration added."
"Very good," Te-Ess'Arr said. "What of the Conorg's new toy?"
"Prototypes only," she answered. "Some of my moles are subtly delaying the project when they can."
"A wise move," Te-Ess'Arr commented. "Destroying the project would be too obvious, and they would increase security. Carry on."
At that the two aids bowed and took their leave, leaving their lord alone again. He kept looking out the window, as if searching for something...
"Why Playard Four?" Jamian Blackleaf asked.
He was on the armada Cecropia Dawn," flagship of the Green Sash, speaking with his commanding officer.
"Playard Four," Admiral Falconbane answered, "is sparsely populated and has few resources. Our first strike will only be to make a point. There is no sense in destroying a world with a potential use as a slave farm."
Jamian nodded in agreement. Falconbane's argument made sense, but Jamian knew that it wasn't going to make any difference which world the Mosaic hit. He had seen to it that his ship, the Impaler, would be nowhere near the Playards when the crucial time came. He would be far away by then. Falconbane wasn't his master. His loyalty was with another, one who had promised him more power than he could ever hope to find alone. Under the direction of his true master, Jamian had placed a spy on the citadel where the Mosaic was waiting. In time, the spy would receive a signal to carry out his special orders.
Elsewhere, another black soul was traveling to the Playards. Quan Dien was quickly losing interest in this game. At first the lich had hired him to gather power in the sphere, which he happily did. But as time wore on, the lich wanted more and more. Now, the greatest pirate in wildspace had been reduced to going on an assassination mission, for an arcane named Hypathia. Then there were these other strange ships the lich was collecting here and there about the sphere. Large ships, fully manned with undead crews. What in the universe did Montrazar want with more undead?
It was then that Quan Dien realized what Montrazar was after. He groaned. He would find and kill the arcane as planned, make some money along the way, then leave the sphere. He didn't like the idea of living in a sphere inhabited completely by undead.
The Eternal Wanderer reached the air world of Gandorine eighteen days after leaving Beacon. The trip had been quiet. In fact, not a single ship had been encountered. In truth, Meridian and Normikon had arranged a trajectory that would take the ship through parts of wildspace that were normally untraveled. It was risky, but everyone liked the idea of traveling in relative secrecy. Everyone assumed that Te-Ess'Arr, the elves, and numerous pirates were looking for them.
One would assume that with people trying to kill them, the crew would have preferred to travel where help was easy to obtain. That was probably what their enemies had assumed as well, so instead of traveling with the pack, the Eternal Wanderer traveled alone in the outback.
The gamble paid off.
The Eternal Wanderer docked at Tiger's Rock, Tabatha's homeworld. Tiger's Rock was inhabited mostly by tabaxi. They had a culture that resembled that of Wa on Toril. The matriarch was called a Shugun, and she had retainers who were called Daimyo, who in turn had samurai, and so on. Onestar found himself feeling very much at home.
The stop would be brief, however, lasting only one day. Blaise took a day to gather information from the Pragmatic Order of Thought, and the small Conorg office that operated on Tiger's Rock. He had been investigating some small fragments of information he had obtained back on the base star. He was finding references to a magical artifact that had vanished from Clusterspace some fifty years ago. There was reason to believe it was a component of the legendary Sunstealer. Sadly, the information he found on the base star was very sketchy, and even Monitor's repository had very little information on Clusterspace. He was hoping that someone at the Pragmatic Order would have some insight. Sadly, he obtained very little information, but anything would be helpful.
His spirits were lifted slightly when he noticed that the GATH office was long abandoned, and falling into decay. Only rats lived there now. Blaise saw that as poetic justice.
Tabatha herself paid a visit to her Daimyo, but forbid anyone to come with her. Everyone knew that she wasn't a warrior, wizard, or priest. But, her actions were not characteristic of a rogue. At least not a typical rogue.
The crew of the Wanderer stayed on the ship during their stay. Several of them took in some of the local culture however. Considering the circumstances, it was odd that they were taking time out to do some sightseeing.
Onestar, Hall, Belieth, and Crystal sat on a bench near the docks, enjoying the view of the airworld below. Somehow they thought this would be the last peaceful moments they would have for quite some time. They did a double-take when they saw Phantom and Tabatha walking down the plank.
Phantom's game of leaving bottles of catnip for Tabatha in various places around the ship had gone on for almost two weeks before she finally caught him in the act. Tabatha wasn't used to having someone give her gifts. She certainly wasn't used to the idea of someone being interested it her. She caught Phantom entering the recreation room with a bottle and jumped from the shadows, pinning him to the ground. He was startled, but unhurt. Tabatha was somehow pleased that Phantom had been given her the catnip, but she didn't let him know that. Phantom swallowed hard and asked her to dinner.
They continued down the plank and stopped in front of the four onlookers. Phantom was smartly dressed in leather cloths and a matching cape. He looked something like a successful merchant. Tabatha, on the other hand, was wearing an elaborate, multi-colored kimono with some fancy jewelry and two long hairpins. This geisha look was a sharp contrast to her usual, minimalist simplicity of plain leather. She was holding Phantom's arm like a professional escort, and was clearly enjoying being frivolous.
"Off to dinner?" Belieth asked.
"Yup," Phantom said with a smile.
"Then I'm going to give him a tour of the city gardens," Tabatha added.
"They are a fantastic set up," Hall commented. "Onestar you should take a look at them before we leave tomorrow."
"I think I will," Onestar said.
Phantom and Tabatha took their leave and started down the street. A few moments later, the other four looked back. They couldn't help but chuckle.
"They make a cute couple," Hall said with a touch of laughter. "A few days ago he was so nervous to ask her out, he was shaking at the thought."
"He clearly isn't nervous now. I noticed a couple of sparks," Belieth said with a grin.
Crystal just smiled and laughed quietly.
"They're dropping like flies," Onestar muttered.
