Marla led the party to the vicinity of the gate at which the guard she knew was stationed. Another guard was sitting in the nearby guardhouse, feet up on the table. She approached the guard and spoke to him; the guard, however, appeared to refuse her request. Marla then whispered something in his ear, at which he smiled broadly and told her and her friends to be on their way. The party made their way through the gate and out of the city.
Marla accompanied the party for a while, then bid them farewell and returned to the city. Edward attempted to cast cure light wounds, but as before, was unable to do so.
The river was 40 miles southeast of the city, and the party and the liberated prisoners set out without further delay. The intervening countryside was relatively flat, with cultivated fields and small thickets. Although tired, the party kept moving throughout the night, until by dawn the party found a small group of farmhouses and barns.
The party took refuge in one of the barns, and Mediel suggested seeking aid from the farmer if possible. Edward went to the farmhouse, taking Chip and Arnold (made up to look like a child) with him; the others remained in the barn. Chip cast tongues on Edward as well as on himself.
Edward knocked on the door of the farmhouse, and the farmer soon answered. Unnoticed by Edward, Chip attempted to cast charm person on the farmer. The farmer immediately seemed to be friendly! When Edward asked for assistance and shelter, the farmer first asked, "Why not go to the city?" Edward answered that they were heading south. "Are you trying to reach the Duke?" the farmer whispered. Edward replied, "Yes, we are." "Come right in, then! Be welcome!" the farmer exclaimed.
The farmer proved to be another loyal subject of the Duke, although he pretended to obey the Submitters and provided them with farm products as demanded. He agreed to shelter the party in his barn (he had a secret room just for that purpose), and also agreed to let them take a raft he had hidden on the shore of the river.
The party rested most of the day and into the afternoon; the farmer provided them with food and drink. Suddenly, near dusk, a Submitter patrol arrived and questioned the farmer. They asked if he had seen any suspicious travelers, but he was able to convince them that no such persons had come near his farm. The patrol warned him to keep his eyes open, then departed.
After this encounter, the farmer warned the party that they should depart as soon as possible. At dark, the farmer loaded the party into his wagon and drove them twenty-five miles to the river. They retrieved the farmer's raft from its hiding place and, thanking the farmer for his aid, boarded the raft and set out across the river. It was just before dawn on a cloudy, moonless night.
The party reached the opposite shore and quickly found a road that led along the river and to the northeast. After about ten miles, they saw in the distance a fortified village: Long Combe. They approached the village (Edward and Chip being affected by the tongues spell, of course), and were challenged by guards to state their business. "We seek the Duke, and we have with us prisoners we have freed from the savages!"
Hearing this, the guards instantly became well-disposed and welcoming toward the party. They were escorted immediately into the village and told to prepare to meet the Thane.
Once in the village, which appeared to be heavily fortified and garrisoned, the party were taken to the finest local hotel (albeit a common inn) and put up for the night. As the party crossed the main road that passed through the center of town, they noticed that a bridge apparently had once spanned the river but was now destroyed. Firiona asked about the bridge, and was told that the Duke had destroyed the bridge during his retreat from Stansbury in order to prevent the Submitters from following him across the river and into the Black Mountains to the southeast.
The party took their quarters for the evening and kept watch as if they were camped in the wilderness. Edward tried to detect evil, but found that this was yet another ability that did not function.
At dawn the next morning, the party was taken to breakfast, and then met with Grimbold, Thane of Long Combe. The Thane was a middle-aged man, dressed in military attire. Chip and Edward (via tongues again) introduced the party to the Thane. The Thane thanked the party for rescuing the prisoners, and explained in grim detail what likely would have happened to them had they not intervened. One of the prisoners, Wilmer, turned out to be related to one of the Duke's military advisors.
Edward then showed the Thane one of the weapons the party had taken from the dead Submitters, and asked the Thane what they were and how they worked. The Thane explained that they were called "firearms", and came in more or less powerful types, including hand-held "pistols" and shoulder-fired "rifles". All were ornately decorated and included magazines for projectiles mounted in metallic cylinders, called "shells." While discussing the weapons, the Thane explained that the Submitters had overwhelmed the defenders of Stansbury with numbers and had outgunned them, forcing the Duke's retreat.
In response to Edward's follow-up request for weapons training, the Thane offered to show the party the basics, but advised them to consult with the Duke for more training. Grimbold further told Edward that there were no defenses known that were effective against firearms, other than simply "not to get hit in the first place." Personal armor had been rendered obsolete by the weapons.
The conversation turned to the subjects of healing and religion. Grimbold noted that any "healing" was performed by "doctors" and "surgeons," and that recovery from wounds and injuries took time and the application of medications. As to religion, many creeds were known in the land, most with their own temples; all were permitted to worship freely, as religion was viewed as a matter of personal choice. "Except for those damned Submitters," spat the Thane. "Only death for them!"
Firiona inquired about magic and healing. The Thane replied, "Are you witches? We have no witchcraft here!" Green Arrow quickly advised the party not to speak of "witchcraft".
The Thane continued: "You are indeed strange! But we are grateful. We can arrange for you to meet with the Duke." The Thane offered to provide an escort and a letter of introduction to the Duke. The party quickly accepted.
Next day, the party left Long Combe, proceeding southeast into the mountains along the highway. After about three hours’ travel, the party took a side road into a canyon, heading east further into the mountains. Another hour’s travel and the party reached a large guarded gate. The party’s escort spoke briefly with the guards, and the party was admitted into a long, wide valley, dominated by a large fortification: Castle Wolfsbury, the redoubt of Athelstan III, Duke of Hargrave.
The party were welcomed into the castle, shown to luxurious accommodations, and given time to refresh themselves before dining that evening with the Duke. A banquet worthy of nobility was provided for the party: vast quantities of the finest food and drink, served in luxurious surroundings by handsome waiters and lovely young wenches who giggled at Arnold and Lou, believing them to be no more than children. Following several hours of dining and drinking, the Duke summoned dancing girls and musicians for the party’s entertainment. After a time, Lou asked to perform. "Sing us a song, young master!" said the Duke. Lou proceeded to use his fascinate power on the Duke and four of his courtiers, and gave a performance that drew forth applause from Duke and serving wench alike.
The banquet finally ended, and the Duke’s castellan advised the party that the Duke wished to meet with them in the morning. The party were escorted to their quarters for the evening. In the morning, following a sumptuous breakfast, the party were escorted into a nobly-furnished reception room, with a balcony overlooking the castle’s courtyard. There the party met with the Duke. At first, only Lou’s tongues spell was still in effect, and thus the rest of the party could not understand the speech of the Duke. An awkward attempt to excuse themselves, which raised the suspicion of the Duke, eventually allowed Edward and Chip to excuse themselves long enough for Chip to cast tongues on the two of them, so that they too could communicate with the Duke.
The Duke queried the party on their origins and intentions, drawing at first rather unbelievable and obviously evasive answers from the party. Finally, the party decided to tell the truth to the Duke, stating that they were from another place and time and did not wish to be seen as witches. "Witches!" exclaimed the Duke. "Mere superstition as far as I’m concerned, although a popular one in some quarters." At that point, a bird flew in from the courtyard: a carrier pigeon, bearing a message. The bird landed on a perch near the Duke. The Duke took the message and read it, then glanced up at the party. "According to my agents in Stansbury, you may indeed be witches," said the Duke. "Marla in particular reports most extraordinary events attendant on your arrival in the city, and subsequently." The Duke eyed the party thoughtfully. "Well, whatever the nature of your powers, I am glad you used them to rescue my subjects."
After further questioning from the Duke, Firiona explained the nature of magic on Oerth, including spells, spellbooks, scrolls, potions and other magic items. She told him which spells she presently knew to work in the Duke’s world. She also explained something of the nature of the multiverse, including the existence of parallel planes of existence, and how the party had come from Oerth to the Duke’s world.
Edward and Arnold explained why they were in the Duke’s world: they had been led there by Dumoin’s journal, and were searching for knowledge of the strange weapons Dumoin had described. The Duke indicated he was familiar with the ancient legend of Dumoin the Short, but had not until now thought that there was any factual basis to the story.
Mediel asked the Duke about events in his world, including how he had come to leave his city and take refuge in this castle. The Duke left the meeting room briefly, but soon returned, with several maps in hand, and commenced to discourse on the recent history of Arth, as this world was called.
The Duke pointed to a first map, showing several large continents and several nations of various sizes. Two in particular he pointed out: the Kingdom of Parz and the Vatic Empire, both hundreds of miles to the east of his home, Kingsland. For centuries, the two nations had been rivals and had fought many wars. About fifty years ago, the two states went to war again. This war lasted for almost ten years and ended in a stalemate with both sides financially as well as militarily drained. During the war, pistols and rifles had first been extensively used.
To the south of both Parz and the Vatic Empire lay a barren, sparsely populated and backward region known as Rappi. The Rappites were primitive tribesmen who had no organized society above the tribal level. There were a few small cities in Rappi but none of any great size. Portions of Rappi were under the influence of Parz or the Vatic Empire, but neither claimed any of the territory, as it was of little worth.
Unfortunately for the world, about thirty years ago, for some unknown reason, the Rappites suddenly united and began to expand rapidly from their wasteland of a home under the leadership of a strangely charismatic religious-military leader. Even more unfortunately, neither Parz nor the Vatic Empire could do much to stop them, having exhausted themselves in their last war. The Rappites claimed they had been "ordered" to conquer all the world in the name of their Only God by their leader, the "Most Praised One," and that all the world must surrender to them and adopt their creed, "Submission," or die.
Most of the Vatic Empire was overrun by the savages, with only the territory around the capital of Stantin and between the Korei and Skele Rivers remaining free. Parz had been entirely overwhelmed and was now a bastion of the Submitters, so much so that the Most Praised One had made K’tesif, the old capital of Parz, his new capital and center of the "Abode of Submission". He was rumored to be living in the palace of the last monarch of Parz, who had been ignobly turned over to the Submitters by traitors within his own household who were secret apostates to the evil creed and hoped to obtain rewards and positions in the new regime. Rumor had it that the traitors were in fact given both rewards and positions, but disappeared shortly thereafter and were never heard from again.
The Submitters were not content with their victories, but continued their aggression against neighboring states, including Kingsland, which lay to the west of the Vatic Empire. Much of Kingsland, including everything west of the Brandy River, had been overrun by the savages. However, recent intelligence indicated that the Submitters had finally been stopped by the northern Varangs at a place called Tars, several hundred miles north of Kingsland, and also at the northern Korei River by forces of the Vatic Empire. The remaining portion of the country was safe for now, protected by the Brandy River and the nearby Black Mountains, but the king had been killed and only a few duchies of the old kingdom were still out of the hands of the Submitters. The Duchy of Hargrave, which had included Stansbury (its capital) as well as territory east of the Brandy River and into the Black Mountains, was half-overrun, although the Duke declared that he had fought a valiant defensive retreat back to the Brandy River, and then across the river to Long Combe, burning the bridge behind him to prevent further pursuit.
"The savages were simply too numerous for us," said the Duke, "and they fought as if they were more interested in dying than staying alive. Too much firepower. And too many traitors and apostates among our own people, mine included." The Duke looked away from the party and out the balcony. "I must admit, at least to myself, that part of the blame lies with me. I was not what you would call the most enlightened of rulers." He sighed. "Should fortune favor me and I regain my realm, I shall endeavor to correct that shortcoming."
Arnold, having listened to the Duke’s discourse, piped up. "Why don’t we just kill the Most Praised One?" The rest of the party stared at him. The Duke, however, looked thoughtfully at him, and replied, "I will consider your proposal, young master."
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