I have been wondering for some time now, if my contributions to this travel group have been sufficient. I have been on my own, travelling all by myself, and was considering that it may be the best course moving forward. Finn and Daphne seem to be quite capable in their travels; Finn in particular has grown a lot and even he has endeared himself to me, although I would never tell him. Daphne is an accomplished young woman and has proven herself to be quite skilled. My thoughts and aspirations call me to my prior adventures but I can’t seem to pull myself away from these two individuals. For now, and until life changes drastically, these two will continue to be my travel companions, as I can’t bear the thought of leaving them behind; and that for me is a lot to say. Well…on to adventuring.
Upon our return to the temple at Happenstance from that awful little town, Coincidence, Master Elder greeted us at the entrance and informed us that the poltergeist had been dealt with. He was very appreciative of all for our efforts. In searching for further information about Blue, we found reference to another book, Xanenthrop’s Artificers Encyclopedia of Useful Implements, 19th ed. Finally, some more information:
There are 3 hands on the Watch. This makes sense, as there are typically hands on a watch. Hand A detects dragons, and wow what a find, especially for me. Hand B is a projecting hand; and Hand C is unknown, although a certain “Julianna” and an “Old coot” are mentioned, most annoyingly. Perhaps I may stay a bit longer as this is especially intriguing to me.
We have been pointed back to the Swamps surrounding the Delta, as a place to find more clues, or possibly even more Hands of the Watch. This is a group decision and we will have to decide if our path to the light includes a journey back to the Delta.
In the meantime, Daphne had a solid idea of trying to gain additional insight by going back into Norman’s Village in a Box. Instantly, Ivy appeared to welcome us back and was very excited to accompany us to the buildings in the village. We travelled to the “Title”, “Minute”, and “the Watch” in the village and then to “Two Hours”. While we were exploring inside Daphne started singing—very randomly, at first, but then was telling us that the Watch had been created in the year 400 and was destroyed in the 5th Century by Devon, his current descendant being Devoncena in Delta. It was very strange indeed and when she stopped singing, she had no clue what she had just said. All in all, it was a useful escapade and we decided to press on to “This”. As we approached the rocks at “This” a series of small gargoyles appeared with their hands clasped in front of them in the shape of a circle. Accompanying the statues were a series of stones. We made quick work of placing the stones according to sound logic and were presented with the reminder of a map that we had received previously in the Delta. Daphne pulled out the map that was given to us all the way back in the Delta, so many moons ago. It has a few more wrinkles on it, but there are clues now that make so much more sense to us. I gave my head a shake and reminded myself moving forward to never take anything for granted. Finn, Daphne, and I discussed possible plans moving forward, the obvious one being to return to Delta and figure out where the other hands are. We all said goodbye to Ivy, thanked her for all of her help, and promptly returned to the Temple to prepare for our long journey back to Delta.
While we forgot to ask Master Elder, we quickly figured out that. it being late in the season, our chance of taking the River Boat back would not work out and we would have to return via horse. Master Elder had offered provisions, as part of payment for helping the Temple out, and we graciously accepted. We formulated a gentle plan to let our new friend, Tobias, know that he would not be able to join us in the journey. That little guy has grown on all of us, I think, Finn most of all, as he reminded him of himself.
And as we depart I exclaim: teamwork makes the dreamwork, something just a short while ago I would never thought I would ever think, let alone say out loud.
