An annotated map of Markheim is saved here.

We entered Markheim from the southeast, following a road that crossed through a village of huts (1). The village seemed of recent construction. Fields and groves lie just south of the village. Men and women of the same racial stock as the worshippers of the ice god worked the fields and populated the village though the overt, undead evil was not apparent. An ancient-looking elven woman worked the groves among the people. Kyril recognized her as Auntie T and acknowledged her all-seeing glance. He dismounted, handed off his horse and walked out into the fields to speak with the elven druid. We would not see him again for a week or so.

The rest of the party passed through the village due west into Markheim, proper.

Markheim#

We rode due west. The road turned north in front of a very large Temple of Tyr. Gonchar was under the impression that this would be the place to go for fighter training once the party had secured lodging.

The party moved on and crossed the bridge to the north side of the river. The keep of Markheim loomed overhead as we turned north. Archers on the parapets watched us but made no hostile moves. Lots of traffic passed through the gates. Merchants, craftsman, wanderers. We drew no special attention.

The people seemed to be of northman stock, and many of the houses were constructed in the northman fashion. We traveled the road through town, looking for Findar’s stables. In the distance we could see a large manor house to the northeast. The fire-scarred sorceress’s tower stood in the northern distance.

Diamond Spider Inn#

The Diamond Spider Inn (14) sounded just like the kind of shady haunt where Flint could find some friends. We found the inn just east of the keep. A set of row houses stood across the street. The sign outside the inn - in reality, a tavern - was of a black spider with a diamond in its center. The sign read S. Braz, Proprietor. Entering the bar, we ordered some drinks and hung out while the dwarven thief spoke to the bartender. It was mid-afternoon so the place was relatively empty.

Still, a small band of musicians were setup near the stage, playing tunes for the shapely dancer gamboling on the small stage. Dagger boards were scattered around the room, with punters throwing knives for silver. Other scantily-clad, shapely women, all human, moved about the room smiling at patrons and in some cases leading them to curtained booths on the west and east walls. The women were all comely, but the hard look in their eyes did not match the smiles on their attractive faces

The barkeep was a hard-looking man with a spider tattoo on his left cheek. He spoke with the accent of the southern desert folk, considered foreign He charged Flint a piece of silver for an ale and the dwarf dropped a gold piece on the counter, speaking a greeting in the thieves’ cant. The barkeep told him to stuff his gold piece and to go and get himself a dance with Vishan. That excellent and admirable harlot was the same hard-looking woman on stage that the band played for. Flint dumped a gallon of bleach down his codpiece and followed the woman into a curtained booth.

She was all business. Flint would reside in the flats across from the Spider for a week. For the sum of 9,000 pieces of gold he would practice his craft= with the best in the area, which meant working with Vishan and her dancers. He practiced only on merchants and/or out-of-towners unaffiliated with the Spider, or the castellan, or Custalcon. One such merchant caught Flint in the act of liberating some of his valuables and menaced the dwarf. That barbaric personage was ejected from the bar for starting a fight, and Flint had to try his hands elsewhere. Flint would be staying at the pub for the duration, but we knew how to find him if needs must.

I Need To See A Man About A Horse#

The party (minus Kyril, Gonchar and Flint) continued north and then east along a dirt road to the stables, just north of The Tinker’s Guild, which we correctly assumed to be Findar’s. We dismounted and entered the office, meeting the man himself, who seemed to be about 8 beers in, already. He reeked of liquor and had a face like an eroded hillside. He fucked off to the Spider, leaving us in the care of 2 younger men in the office, one of whom wore a surprisingly ornate dagger. Very out of place.

Ninax’ men-at-arms made introductions and, pleasantries having been exchanged, we spoke of the horses. The men-at-arms suggested we hang on to the horses, visit Aesil’s tower and then return them to the stables. The sergant had assured the men that Ninax could vouch for us and Ned, the man with the ornate dagger agreed. They would await our return at the stable.

Menka, Tim, Lycovyne, Seamus and Cathal mounted up and prepared to ride to the tower of Aesil. The sergeant and 2 of the men-at-arms would escort us to the tower and return to their duties once we arrive.

Aesil’s Tower#

We followed backtracked to the keep and took a right, following a path through the hills out of town to the tower. We reached it and the sergeant and his men returned to town, then probably to Ninax.

The tower was a full 6 stories high, and built into the hillside. A very magical moat “flowed” around the base of the tower, out of the face of the hill on one side and back into the hill on the other. A guardhouse stood at the bottom of the tower and the drawbridge was currently up. In the gathering dusk we could see that a bell stood at the end of the road, on this side of the moat.

We rang the bell and a huge, shadowy form arose from the moat.

‘Who dares disturb the great mage Aesil??’

We introduced ourselves and lights began to glow along a walkway on the tower, some 20’ above the moat. The large form in the moat dispersed and a large man-shaped shadow appeared on the walkway. We spoke with this man, at length, trying to gain entrance or at least an audience with Aesil.

Tim suggested that there may be spells in his spellbook that Aesil does not yet possess. Menka explained that he had been guided to Aesil’s tower by visions given him by a messenger of Thoth and that he had Southern spells to share as well. This offer received a dismissive scoff in reply.

The steward disappeared into the tower for a few moments and, returning, told us that only spellcasters and priests may enter the tower, and that we would have to check our weapons at the door. The steward told us point blank that he would be checking our alignment and began gesticulating. Apparently unoffended by the results, the drawbridge began to lower.

Passing over the drawbridge, we approached a large oaken door, flanked by enrobed flesh golems. Seamus and Cathal would hang around outside with the horses while Menka, Tim and Lycovyne are in the tower.

We entered the tower into a lush room with oddly small tables and chairs. A very large throne occupied one wall. A large door behind the throne was flanked by two stone golems. A $3\frac{1}{2}$' tall human male walked through the door and sat on the throne, peered at us imperiously and impatiently beckoning to us and suggesting we havea seat. The 3 heroes did their best to sit in the kiddie-sized chairs. Menka fidgeted in his plate mail.

Tim names the higher level spells he had to share with Aesil ^{[*Ephraim's Spell Book*, q.v.]} This convinced the steward to agree to train Tim for the princely sum of 13,500 pieces of gold. Menka spoke of the Southern magic scrolls in his pack and offered to allow Aesil to copy them as well, but only if he could meet with Aesil and speak of the mirror he saw in his vision. The diminutive man disappeared through the door, returned, sat down, agreed to all terms and dropped the cost of Tim’s training down to 9,000 pieces of gold. In addition, as Tim had stated as a requirement, Aesil would provide the wizard with 4 additional $5^{th}$ level spells, praise Thoth!

Tim’s training would require him to be at the tower from dawn to dusk every day for a week. The man summoned Tim and Menka to the through the door and into the chambers beyond, while Lycovyne returned to his comrades outside the tower (??). The priest and the wizard entered what appeared to be a galley surrounded by training rooms. The place reeked of magic and expended spell components. One of the training rooms was locked up, tight.

Aesil herself appeared in the galley. She was hooded, we could not see her face, but from her size and the wisps of silver hair escaping the hood, she seemed to (possibly) be an elf, or perhaps a slight human female. She was curt, spoke with an accent that is hard to place - a remote elven tribe? The folk of the eastern steppes? - and not particularly personable.

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