Days 277-278 (255-256)((245-246))

Days 277-278 (255-256)((245-246)):
With us and the crew on friendly terms, these two days of travel flew by. Set aided in gathering food by picking fish right out of the river, some half as big as himself. Dawn provided entertainment with her singing. Bo "encouraged" the wind to keep a steady pace. We learned more about the troubles the gnomes and dwarfs were experiencing. The angry creatures we had seen were called Ogres. The biggest one was referred to as an Ogre Mage, one who uses magic. They are repulsive to behold. They raid anyone and anything that they can. Ogre Mages are feared by other ogres and usually lead by fear. Normally, the gnomes' magic holds them off and the dwarves' mines are too heavily guarded and hard to find. Lately, however, gnomes were being carried off by the dozens and dwarf holdings were being ransacked. Neither race was asking for help of any kind from anyone except their own. Non-gnomes or non-dwarfs speaking of it brought denials that anything was wrong. The crew hoped we had better luck and could do some good.
At River Helm, we consulted our map, copied from the wall mural, for the best route to Gowgornok. As this was dwarf land, Callie wore her circlet and overdress with her dwarf family symbol. Wisely, Lisa and Alice hid their elf pendants. It was past mid-day and we did not know the land, so we decided to stay in River Helm for the night and set out first thing in the morning. What amazed me most was not the mass of dwarfs, but the lack of attention we got. Set walking beside my horse caused no disturbance at all. Pass a casual glance, no one even looked at us. The first verbal acknowledgement of him and the other two was the stable hand at the inn asking if they were staying with us or the horses. He was indifferent when we told him they would stay with us. Inside the inn, barely a ripple was caused by our presence. The innkeeper brought a pail of water for them to share.
As we sat and ate, I felt an impression of surprise from someone entering. Finding the source, I wondered why the trio of dwarfs who had just entered felt surprise when they saw us. With drinks in hand, they approached us.
"Hilsen, pike. Hva ha fatt?" he asked, looking at Callie in mock seriousness.
"What do you mean, sir? To which part of my gear are you referring?"
"Deres krone," he replied.
"This?" she asked, touching the circlet, "It is no crown, sir. A relative gave it to me for my birthday. Maybe you know him? King Gorval of Stahendring."
The trio paled, their pretend seriousness and their underlying playfulness gone. The nearby tables also became silent and pale. The speaker changed his attitude.
"My apologies, I was trying to be funny. We saw a human girl wearing dwarf clothes and were trying to embarrass you."
"Oh, I see. Well, I am not fully human and, as these were gifts, I thought it was appropriate for this area."
The three apologized again and found other places to sit. Our neighboring tables returned to their business. Besides the servers, no one else bothered us until we got up to go to our room.
Halfway up the stairs, a gnome woman ran up to walk beside us, "Beg pardon. I heard you, earlier, mention a relation to King Gorval. Did I hear right?"
"Yes, ma'am, he is a distant relative of mine," Callie answered.
"But you are not native to this area?" she asked, nearly pleading.
"No, I was born far from here."
"These ladies? Are they, are you, the Sisters?"
We nodded. She stifled a squeal of delight.
"The dwarfs told us, if our need was great, the Sisters of the Swords would find their way to us. You know our plight, I take it?"
Telling her, Cara, what we knew as we sat in our room got her to be a bit calmer. When she finished, she filled in the blanks.
"This Ogre Mage, we know not his name, seeks an ancient talisman. He believes, with it, he can become a god. A sub race of dwarfs, called Duergar, told him of its power to shape stone and he thinks they did not tell him all of its power. We gnomes, as allies to the dwarfs, hid it in our villages to keep it out of Duergar hands as they are too cruel to use it for every one's benefit and are sensitive to sunlight, so they do not leave their deep caves. Ogres, however, have no such sensitivity. This mage hopes to get it and have the Duergar instruct him in its use. We are certain they will keep it for themselves, probably killing the mage as soon as he shows it to them. This Ogre Mage is raiding our villages, using blood magic to find them, to find this talisman. We are getting desperate as he is closing in on Gowgornok and our powers have little effect to stop him or his hoard."
We assured her that we were here to help. She left our room in tears, feeling joy for the first time in a long time. We settled in with confidence we were well received.