The Juggling Jester
The Mothers sat with the dwarves and the two humans planning their assault on the rift. Gaspode was trying to get the others interested in planning their memorised spells and other logistics before they set foot on the ice. The dwarves were more interested in the entertainment. A human dressed in a jester痴 costume, complete with bells, was cavorting on an improvised stage. Guthranka expressed her interest in the jester too and, on a couple of occasions, attempted to talk to him, but without success. The priests acquiesced to Gaspode痴 scheme and promised that silence spells would be available. The mages ensured that fly and invisibility spells would also be ready. Siosiann learnt how to cast the fly spell for this purpose. Gaspode then enquired as to the duration of each of these magics, writing each of them down on a piece of parchment as he attempted to assess the distance from their probable arrival point to the rift itself. They decided then, that they should make for the crevasse that they had discovered when fleeing the rift before, as there was a secret sanctuary from where they could stage their attacks. Levi also re-charged his ring with another plane shift spell, noting that it would only carry eight people.
Gaspode was then seen in quiet conversation with the juggler, whom he brought to the table and introduced as Grimath, who had been a fisherman with him in Baldur痴 Gate. He asked that Grimath be accepted as part of the group and that the shares be re-calculated accordingly. The druid Gebhart and his companion the ranger Kurtalla seemed to be slightly reluctant about this, but on Gaspode痴 assertion that he vouched for Grimath, accepted the proposal. Levi and Guthranka also had a quiet word with Gaspode but came away satisfied. Fonesca, meanwhile, was carefully planning the arrangement of their group for when they tried to use the chain. She had drawn out a figure of eight on parchment and was assigning letters to each of the Mothers and their companions. She favoured the smaller humanoids in the left hand circle with the larger ones designated as being for the right hand circle. Once satisfied with her work, she tucked away her plan for use the next night.
The mages and priests spent the next day preparing their spells as agreed. Grimath had some quiet conversation with Levi, which seemed to please the cleric immensely, before he headed off to equip himself with some cold weather clothing. Once they were all assembled, the thirteen headed off through the damp streets of Waterdeep and left the city through an eastern gate. They walked a couple of miles across the meadows to a stand of fir trees where they awaited the dusk. Tettet removed the chain from its box and laid it carefully on the ground. Fonesca directed each individual to their exact spot as listed on her plan. Gaspode also held a parchment in his hand, but he waited until all were present before he raised it aloft. When he did, the dwarves were startled by the sudden darkness, it reminded them of some great flying beast sweeping over the sky and blocking out the stars with its leathery wings. It took but a moment for this to pass, for soon they stood on the ice, at the spot where the Mothers had arrived previously.
The Mothers set out across the ice towards the crevasse. After about three hours they arrived and attempted to cross to the ledge on the far side. A few slips and hastily hauled upon weapon belts later, the group squatted against a thin ice wall. Jito took out his flametongue sword and cut a doorway in the ice. Before they stepped through, Levi held them back with a warning about the glyph that he had laid upon the floor of the first chamber. Saying Tyr痴 name, each of the group passed through the doorway in turn, gathering to descend the spiralling ramp at the back of the cave. In the room below the Mothers and the rest, slept and prayed; rising the next morning to work over yet more plans. They were unsure as to how closely their main force should approach the rift, before letting their scouts go on ahead with magical protections. Their silence spells would certainly not last long enough for them to reach the rift from the crevasse, even if they were also flying. This conundrum forced another delay.