Wolfgang and the Lake of Lost Dreams

Having spent most of his money, Vulpio gave up his room at Gold Hill Inn and took to sleeping rough, hunting his food in the surrounding forest. One day in the gray light of dawn, hews roused by the sounds of whinnying horses and then solemnly musical voices. A group of elves explained that they sought his assistance. Something of theirs had been stolen, and although they knew where it could be found— on an island in the Lake of Lost Dreams— strong magic prevented the fey races from landing on it. Vulpio admired their fine mail shirts and their graceful horses. The elves promised one of each if he were successful. 

Vulpio convinced Mardiuw, one of the deputies of Gold Hill to join him in his quest and then went to Hommelet to seek out the assistance of his friends Wolfgang, Gerrilynn, and Chickie. Together, the party traveled to the Lake of Lost Dreams and met with the elves. The elves explained that they were looking for a bronze-and-silver statue—and maybe something else that they would describe if the party found the statue. The elves provided the party with two boats, and warned them that the island was inhabited by invisible beings that might seek to cause them harm. 

As the elves predicted, with no warning other than the sound of buzzing wings and an obnoxious cackle, the party was set upon by unseen foes. Wolfgang imbued them with a purple glow, making their general forms detectable—they were pixies, little people with wings like butterflies. Gerrilynn called on divine assistance to freeze two of the pixies in the air and drop them into the water while warning the others that they would suffer the same fate if they continued their attack. The other pixies swooped down to save their drowning comrades and flew away to the forest on the south side of the island.

The party turned their boat toward the north end of the island and landed in a thinly-wooded meadowland. Gleaming white marble stood out among the trees. At the white marble building, the party found both the missing statue and a ladder leading down into a dark hole.

The party returned to the shore of the lake with the statue, plus the news about the battle with the pixies and about the darkness beneath the marble ruins.

The elves gratefully welcomed the return of the stolen statue, rewarding the party with the promised treasure.

The elves were impressed that the party had driven off the pixies without killing any of them. They agreed that perhaps they could be rehabilitated and offered an additional reward for any pixies captured alive.

But the leader of this band of elves, Aemornion was most interested in what lay beneath the temple. He told the party of the human sorcerer who had lived on the island centuries ago. “The impatience and ambition that marks your kind once again followed magic into madness.” An elven prince visited the sorcerer, laden with gifts, hoping to persuade him that the arcane arts were best left to those whose lifespans allowed for deep mastery by slow accretion. But it was much too late. The sorcerer had already made another pact with darker powers. In the dungeons beneath his white marble palace, the sorcerer killed the elven prince and stole his crown.

The sorcerer’s demise, less than a year later, was wretched and complete. Most of his palace was destroyed, everything he owned—including everything he’d stolen— was sealed in the dungeons beneath, and the land itself became cursed.

Aemornion and his people hope to leave Alyan before the end of the next century, but not without the crown that had belonged to his brother.

Lareth's treasure

The day after the attack on Matopher's farm, a few of the younger sons-- Vlad, Dumetru, and Mihir went into Gold Hill to report their success and sell some cider.  Vlad convinced Dumetru to trade his silver dagger ("you don't really need it anymore") in exchange for a battle axe and the materials Vlad needed so he could repair and retrofit Lareth's plate mail armor for his own use.

A couple days later, Sir Miles, Chrono, Circe, and McDowell went out to the Matopher farm, interested in hearing more of the story and seeing where the battle had occurred.  Sir Miles, because of his oath to protect the White Queen was especially interested in hearing about what her part in it might have been.  While most of the family, including Matopher himself were satisfied that the old man's secret life work was complete, and that the evil replica of the ancient Queen had been destroyed.  Mihir believed otherwise.

But that was a question for another day.  There was a more immediate problem.  In his room at the inn, Lareth had left a shadow behind.

Vlad, Dumetru, and Mihir agreed to accompany the others back to Gold Hill to investigate.  Brau explained that during his stay at the inn, Lareth had politely requested that no one else enter his room.  When he stopped returning to the inn, she had barred the door, but now that he was dead and his true nature revealed, she wished to remove any trace of him.  But his room lay in permanent shadow.  Brau, standing in the doorway with a candle, showed the party how the candle's light did not extend more than a few feet into the room-- the rest lay in complete darkness.  She tossed the candle into the shadow and its light disappeared, even before they heard it hit the floor.

What's more, she had discovered another place of shadow.  There was an underground stream at the back of the inn, separating that part of the old mines that had been made habitable from whatever lay beyond.  There was a path along this stream that led to a half-forgotten storage area.  A second shadow blocked this path.

The party decided it was be less disruptive to deal with this shadow first.  McDowell prepared his rope and grappling hook and tossed the hook into the shadow, hoping to catch onto anything inside.  Something caught the rope and started pulling McDowell toward.

Without letting go of the rope, McDowell quickly backed away, letting out enough slack to avoid getting pulled into the shadow.  Sir Henry's sword began to get hot.  When drawn, it glowed with a hot white light.  As McDowell was backed into corner, Sir Henry leapt forward, slashing at the center of the shadow.  His blade struck something solid and then broke through it-- bone fragments and a gleaming white human skull exploded around the room accompanied by  the sound of clanging metal hitting the stone floor.  The shadow remained, though it no longer moved.

Vlad stepped into the shadow, and began tossing out the debris he found on the floor inside the shadow: lots more bones, a shield, fragments of armor.  And then something that seemed to be the source of the shadow-- a curved sword.  Though they couldn't seem it, it felt rusty and not especially sharp.  Vlad wrapped the sword in a sack and the shadow disappeared.

Encouraged by their success with the first shadow, the party went to Lareth's room to deal with the second.  Circe fired a magic missile into the core of the shadow, and then Sir Henry and Chronos charged in with their weapons.  They destroyed a second skeleton.  It too carried a rusty sword, but this was not the source of the shadow.  There was instead, a box.  Through trial and error, they discover that there was something in the mosaic lid of the box that was the source of the shadow.  They covered the lid so that McDowell could pick the lock on the box.  Inside the party found more treasure than they had ever owned, touched, or seen.  Silver serving pieces and goblets, an alabaster box, and a gold chain with fire opals.  After sharing out this treasure, they went to see what the other shadow might have been guarding.

Returning to the stream at the back of the inn, they followed the once-blocked path upstream to where it ended at a ford.  Crossing the stream, they found a rough natural cavern filled with junk.  A dim red light shone from a large hole on the opposite side of the room.  Vlad stepped closer to investigate.  The rest of the party saw the red light get brighter and then both Vlad and the light disappeared into darkness.  Moments later, two giant insects-- three-foot long beetles with glowing red heads, charged into the room, attacking them with their mandibles.  The darkness dissipated and the party could see Vlad, nearly overwhelmed by two more beetles and with his darkness sword returned to its sack. 

The beetles were fierce and fearless, but the party killed them all without suffering any serious wounds.  They climbed into the beetles lair, a noisome place.  Finding no way to continue their expedition, they searched the lair thoroughly.  Mixed in with pile of bones, Circe came upon a finely-wrought dagger of ancient design.  Although happy about the find, the party was nonetheless puzzled-- What was Lareth guarding with the second shadow-skeleton?  Could he even have known the dagger was there? 

After reporting to Brau on their success, the party enjoyed a delicious meal on the house.  Amid joking and boasting, they agreed that their treasures were worth more than anything in Gold Hill.  To learn their true value or anything else about them, they would need to seek out a larger settlement.

Silver Dagger Cider

When Wolfgang left Gold Hill, Lareth led the settlers in celebrating his departure.  A man who was friends with bears and wolves could not be a friend to his fellow man. The Constabulary added their cheers, fueled by a keg of ale paid for by the Head Constable himself.  Not everyone celebrated, but no one raised his voice to defend Wolfgang's reputation now that he was gone.

Lareth requested assistance from the Head Constable in seeking the tomb of the White Queen . . . and recovering her treasure on behalf of the Constabulary.  Of course the request was granted.  A sergeant and six deputies set out with Lareth for the peaks to the north.  None of them returned to Gold Hill.  A couple weeks later deputies from a local patrol returned with a terrible story-- as dusk fell they had been set upon by undead monsters, commanded by a man in black plate mail whose voice sounded like handsome Lareth's.  The attacking fiends were pale like corpses, but with burning eyes, and with twisted features that resembled those of their lost comrades.

Matopher, who owned the apple orchard up the road from Gold Hill trading post had long been known for the quality of his cider and for his many eccentricities.  He was often drunk, he had lots of children and grand children, he welcomed strangers onto his land and made them family, and he insisted that every grown person on his homestead carry and know how to use a weapon made of silver.

So, when Lareth and the wights attacked, Matopher and his family were ready.  It was late in the night, when those on watch heard sounds of attackers approaching.  Mihir, the pious brother, chanted a blessing of protection and raised his glowing holy symbol.  By its soft golden light, he and the watchers saw half a dozen figures charging up the road, a large man in black plate mail whispering curses from the rear.  Torches were lit, the women gather the children, and the men went to their battle stations.  The sentries drew their daggers to meet the undead fiends, but they were overcome by Lareth's spells.  Frozen in place, they were overrun by four wights.  Three of them did resemble deputies from Gold Hill, but the fourth, wearing long robes and draped with jewelry was identified as the White Queen.

Matopher's grandson Vlad, unlike most of his  brothers and cousins, did not carry a silver dagger, but a crossbow loaded with silver arrows.  His aim was steady and as Lareth surveyed the destruction he had wrought, Vlad shot and killed one of the wights.

As the Matopher clan roused from slumber, they organized themselves into a counter-sortie, led by brave Dumtiru.  They focused their on the White Queen.  She was a fearsome opponent.  Her touch was deadly and more of the sons and daughters of Matopher lay at her feet before she herself was destroyed.

Vlad, joined by two of his cousins who also carried crossbows, killed the other lesser wights.  Lareth saw that his fortunes had changed and threw down his shield to flee.  He used his magic to dissuade those who pursued him, but he could not deflect the arrow that hit him in the back of the leg.  He stumbled and, before he could rise again, was hit by two more arrows.

The Matopher clan blessed the bodies of their fallen brothers and sisters and watched over them through the night.  At dawn, the nine cold bodies were buried in a quiet corner of the Silver Dagger farm.

 

Wolfgang, Thimbur, and the Reflecting Pools

While glad to understand the source of the strange noise under the Moathouse and thus to remove this excuse from posting a standing garrison, Burne's ultimate interest was, again, the magic pools.  The stomachs of Mapper and Roquelle were suffering the effects of raw potato consumption, but Thimbur, another long-term resident of the Inn was willing to take the job.  Wolfgang and Gerrilynn agreed that, this time, they would work harder to remember the magic pools.  Once again, Burne was represented by his apprentice Panyus.  And Chickie and Riff rounded out the party.

This time, the group avoided the gnomes. (And perhaps vice-versa-- the moathouse cellars were empty.)

Thimbur had visited the moathouse on his own and consulting his maps, he helped Wolfgang and Gerrilynn find the secret staircase that led to the caverns far beneath.  Wolfgang relocated the pool room and showed Panyus how by filling it with water, one with the proper background could read the words reflected therein and learn new spells.

Panyus showed his gratitude by testing one of the spells on Wolfgang, and confirmed that the young druid would willingly hand over his ashwood staff as a token of friendship.  Panyus returned the staff, and asked Wolfgang where they would find other pools.

Wolfgang answered that he didn't know of any, and that they hadn't delved any deeper.  Panyus was satisfied with this and ready to return to the surface. but Thimbur had a suggestion.  Just because Wolfgang hadn't found other pools didn't mean they wouldn't.  After slight hesitation, Panyus agreed and the group moved deeper into the caverns.

After some time they came to a strange cavern which seemed to have the site of a cave-in.  Most of the room was filled with fine red earth and huge chunks of sandstone.  The only obvious exits were three holes in the ceiling, reachable by a rope.

But as they were discussing their next moves, Thimbur began climbing up the pile of silt, soon sinking up to his hips.  Gerrilynn called out for him to stop.

"Stop what?" he asked, before disappearing completely.  Gerilynn and Wolfgang sprang to his rescue, trying to dig through the piles of dirt, and reaching into it trying to grab him.   There was no one sign of him.

But then Thimbur stepped simply stepped back out on the other side of the room.  "What are you saying?  I'm fine."

Clearly there was magic at work.  Thimbur took the torch and walked into the dirt pile and back-- the flame was completely unaffected.  Thimbur indeed claimed that there was no dirt pile at all, that they were all in a large circular cavern, and that he had found some tracks in the "hidden" part of the room.  Panyus also seemed to see through what he declared an "illusion" and suggested that it was some kind of test of one's mental prowess. 

Then Riff walked after him, oblivious to not only the pile of dirt, but to the on-going debate about it.

While Wolfgang and Gerilynn struggled to climb over boulders, Thimbur found a secret passage in the hidden part of the cave.  Wolfgang and Grilynn allowed themselves to be tied to the end of a rope and, after taking a deep breath were pulled into the "dirt" and through it into the passage that Thimbur had discovered.

The caverns beyond were much narrower, labyrinthine, and wet, seemingly still in the process of being carved by the constant slow trickle of water.  Following the flow of water, the party reached another regularly constructed chamber with a pool at its center.  Once again there was writing on the upper walls of the chamber, and as this pool was well-supplied with water, this writing was reflected at their feet.  But it was unreadable.  The letters were not deeply carved and the water wasn't still.

Wolfgang had recovered a glowing lens in one of his earlier adventures.  He placed it in on a platform in the center of the pool.  It's light reflected off the ceiling and made the writing in the pool readable.  Panyus was thoroughly pleased.  After conferring with Gerrilynn, he confessed the charm that he'd cast on Wolfgang and dispelled its effects.

The party set up watch so that Panyus could copy one of the spells from the pool into his spell book.  Thmbur, exploring the immediate area, heard voices and rushed back to warn the others.  Panyus used the magic of the pool to make Thimbur invisible.  Thimbur remained in the pool room while the others found places to hide in a narrow side passage.

Moments later a group of six large, shaggy, and fanged creatures entered the room, bearing heavy swords and spiked clubs.  One of them noticed that the pool was empty and pointed it out to the others with much enthusiasm.  They clapped their hands, licked their lips and salivated and then began peering down the side passages, shouting for silence.  When a moment of silence was achieved, Thimbur tossed a stone down one of the side passages that led away from where his friends were hiding.  The monsters eagerly charged down it. 

Thimbur followed.  He trailed the monsters through the cave to their lair, a narrow noisome cavern strewn with charred bones.  The monsters were searching their home with a mixture of rage and excitement, until they came above the half-eaten body of an earlier body.

Thimbur went back to tell the others.  They agreed they would ambush the monsters in their lair.

By the time they returned, the monsters had a fire going and were busy eating.  Thimbur, still invisible, circled around it, finding the one he'd identified as the leader.  He rushed forward  with his sword drawn and, tripped over a rock to land in the middle of the cooking fire.  The monsters jumped to their feet only to be assaulted with arrows and stones from Thimbur's friends.  Thimbur himself rolled on the floor to extinguish the flames.  As two of the monsters grabbed for him, they were transfixed by Gerrilynn's magic.

The remaining monsters rushed at the group in the hallway and Panyus unleashed his most powerful magic, suddenly growing two double his size and sprouting foot-long horns from his face.  The effect was instant, temporary, and probably an illusion, but the monsters turned and fled.

The party pursued all the way to a large cavern.  There the monsters turned and attacked, but were destroyed by arrows and magic.

There was a large pool at the far end of the cavern.  It did not seem to be a "magic" pool, but a natural body of water, large enough that they couldn't see the other side of it.  As Wolfgang approached to investigate, a seemingly insignificant puddle expanded to engulf him.  He was trapped inside a membrane of living water.  Panyus pointed his wand and blasted the strange being with magical energy.  It sizzled and evaporated.

Thimbur cautiously approached the larger pool.  He could see the pool reached to end of the cavern and beyond.  That is, it flowed into a deep underwater cavern that extended beyond where they could see.  The water was clear and there was a rope bolted to the bottom, perhaps a guideline for a swimmer to reach what lay beyond.  Deciding that there was something wrong with something so easy, the party explored other ways of exiting the room.  Gerilynn discovered a crawl hole, about three feet off the ground and less than two feet in diameter.  By use of Wolfgang's glowing lens they saw the tunnel went on for twenty feet before curving out of sight.  Thimbur, Wolfgang, and Panyus agreed that they would see where it led.

Thimbur led the way, holding his dagger in his teeth, Wolfgang followed with the glowing lens, and Panyus came behind with his wand.  This prevented them from raising the question of when they should turn around until it was too late.  The passage was twisty and rough, and seemed to narrow further.  But the further they went, the more they hated the idea of retracing their steps going backwards-- it was far too narrow to turn around.

When they did finally reach the end, they found another pool.  This one, unlike the previous two, was not on the floor but on the top of a platform.  Thimbur climbed up to take a quick look from the narrow lip of the pool.  The ceiling was reflected on the water.  But not the writing.

Wolfgang and the Noise under the Moathouse

Burne's apprentice Panyus and a few of Burne's guards ("The Badgers") escorted Wolfgang and his pets, Mapper, Roquelle, Gerrilynn and their retainers Chickie and Riff out to the Moathouse.  Burne's Badgers had made some improvements.  The moat had been dredged and its banks shored up, providing a fast-flowing stream that seemed inhospitable to frogs.  And they'd contructed a sturdy bridge to cross it into the Moathouse's courtyard.

But they refused to stand guard overnight.  Although they'd fixed up the upper level, they continued to hear strange noises coming from below: clanking and banging, and strange voices, sometimes whispering and other times shrieking and shouting.  The first order of business, before finding the magic pool would be deal with whatever was making these mysterious sounds.

Burne's Badgers unlocked the trapdoor they'd constructed to close off the dungeon.  They put down a ladder the adventurers could climb down into the darkness.  Wolfgang left Bruno and Wolfie to guard their retreat.   

Mapper, relying on maps he'd drawn on previous visits to the moat house, led the others through a number of empty chambers, asking Wolfgang and Gerilynn where they'd found the passage to the magic pool.  But before they had gone far in their exploration, the group heard the banging they'd been warned of.  They traced its source easily enough, a large room without a door, but obscured by a heavy curtain.  The party soot outside and listened.  There was a steady pounding sound, then an angry cry, and then silence.  The party waited, and heard whispering arguing in a language they didn't understand.

And then a small man with a long gray beard stepped out.  He wore a red cap and a leather apron stained with soot.  "Ah!  Visitors, what a happy surprise, welcome!  We were just about to prepare our supper, will you join us?"

The party accepted the offer, and were put to work peeling carrots and potatoes.  Two more gnomes, nearly identical to the first except for the colors of their caps (blue and green) joined in the preparations.  They sang in exaggeratedly loud voices, but not loud enough to cover the noise of large heavy objects being moved around in the room behind the curtain.  Roquelle asked about the noise. "Can we go back there?"

Red answered, "Noise?  What noise?  Oh, that noise.  One of my brothers has a very bad cold.    Listen to that cough-- sounds like a worn-out gearbox.  Very contagious, too I'm afraid, maybe I should have warned you before I invited you to supper . . ."

Gerrilynn answered that in fact that they had eaten recently and had come down for another reason.  "We're looking for a magic pool.  Or any pool."

The gnomes knew nothing about water, or magic, and to prove the point, showed the party where they kept their water barrels.  "Would have been near impossible to get it here without the Fallinator."

"Fallinator?"

"Blue!  They don't know who that is!  There's our mule, see, Fallin, the mule, the Fallinator we call him to encourage him on account of h's not any stronger than a normal mule and actually weaker.  Look here, I always say potatoes are best raw so I've prepared you a nice package here.  Don't let us keep you."

The party remained curious about exactly what was behind the curtain, but declined to impose any further on the gnomes.  And Panyus was satisfied that at least they had a general explanation as to the source of the noise.  The party climbed up the ladder to return to Hommlet and report  this small success.  Burne was mildly grateful for the news, but nowhere near satisfied. 

Like a moth to the flame . . .

After a three-week overland journey, Mapper, Raquelle, Gerrilynn, Chickie, and Wolfgang (plus Wolfie and Bruno) found themselves back in Hommelet. It was dusk and almost immediately they were spotted by off-duty guardsman who recognized Wolfgang as the "One who killed Ponce!" Wolfgang, of course, did not back down from their challenge, but Gerilynn's soothing words and Mapper's coins were enough to keep the group moving toward Burne's tower. They were welcomed with pleasure but little warmth by Burne's sentries and Gerrilynn was suspicious. Mapper, on the other hand, seemed confident that everything was all right, and assured Wolfgang that Burne just wanted his help. Wolfgang himself, emboldened by his successful adventures in Gold Hill, followed the sentry into a small audience chamber. Gerilynn insisted that she be allowed to join him. The sentry did not object. “All you lot, just get in there.”

After a brief wait, the group was introduced to Burne's apprentice Panyus and then to Burne himself. After a few questions, Wolfgang gave Burne the information he had wanted and perhaps even more than he had hoped for, maligning his tutor Jaroo: It was Jaroo who had sent them first to the moathouse. Jaroo sent them to disrupt Burne’s plans. Jaroo told them that they should find a way into the lower levels and take what Burne was looking for. And when he found out guards had been killed, it was Jaroo who sent them into exile to go work for a crazy beekeeper.

Burne was pleased. He suggested to Wolfgang that he might clear his own name by repeating his testimony before the village council.

Wolfgang wavered—he didn’t hate Jaroo that much. 

Burne was willing to compromise—what exactly did they find under the moathouse.

Wolfgang and Gerilynn couldn’t remember. Nothing. Burne urged them to try harder. He gave them some refreshments and asked about their time in Gold Hill. Slowly, Wolfgang and Gerrilynn remembered. They’d found something, but it wasn’t something you could take. There was a room with a pool, and the associate the elf said it was magical.

Burne suggested that they should be able to find that pool again. And take Panyus with them so he could say whether it was magical. It might be dangerous, but if they were successful, he would urge that the council forgive the unfortunate misunderstanding.

They came to some kind of agreement. Mapper accepted a bag of coins.

White Queen Rising (the path not taken)

When Mapper and Raquelle arrived in Gold Hill, they explained little about where they had come from and why, but did say they were interested in meeting the young druid who lived with the wild animals in a hollow not far outside the trading post. With luck and patience, they found Wolfgang, and one fine morning, the three stood at the crossroads below the trading post, making each other acquaintance. As they were talking, they were distracted by a shadow moving across the ground and in their direction. At first it seemed like the shadow cast by a cloud sailing in the wind on an otherwise sunny day. But there was no such cloud. And the shadow was too completely black such that the weeds and stones disappeared beneath it, re-appearing moments later, seemingly unharmed. Mapper, and Raquelle found a hiding place behind a boulder while Wolfgang ran to summon his animal companions. As it drew closer, Mapper and Raquelle heard the sound of footsteps inside the shadow. They noted the ground lay trampled where the shadow had passed. They followed it into the Gold Hill trading post. It was market day, and about dozen people were gathered on the patch of trampled ground outside the caves.

The shadow stopped. From beneath it emerged three walking skeletons, carrying shield and wielding rusty swords. The day traders took refuge in the caves, calling for the deputies. The deputies answered the call, but didn’t go more than a few steps from the entrance to their own underground stronghold. Raquelle and Mapper shot at the skeletons from a good distance.

And then Lareth emerged from the Inn. He raised one empty hand to the deputies, saying,”Leave this to me.” In the other hand, he held his warhammer. He took in both hands as he approached the first skeleton. The skeleton slashed with its sword—Lareth deflected the flows with his steel gauntlets, and then smashed the skeleton to bits with a single blow. He dispatched the second skeleton with similar efficiency. He strode toward the third skeleton, but a large wolf got there first. The wof grabbed the skeleton in its jaws by the femur, and a bear swatted it to the ground. As the deputies charged out from their redoubt, Wolfgang sent Wolfie and Bruno back to the forest. The third skeleton stirrd as if to get up. Lareth, almost laughing, smashed its skull and it was still.

The people of Gold Hill emerged to stare and gawk. There were words written on the skeleton’ shields: WHITE QUEN RISING. Lareth made it clear that the meaning was plain to him, but he left the people of Gold Hill to speculate, seeking the private consultation of Wolfgang and Gerrilynn. “We need to do something soon,” he said. “We don’t want the White Queen to arrive here and . . .” He pointed at the deputies and local farmers, kicking through the bones “. . .have her think that we’re one of them.”

Wolfgang introduced Raquelle and Mapper to Lareth. He was very glad to meet them, and interested to know where they were from. “Not around here, I am sure?”

Amidst discussion about what to do about the White Queen, Wolfgang expressed once more his desire, to “just get out of here, away from these people.” Mapper encouraged the idea, “We could go to Hommelet.”

Lareth was interested. “You are from Hommelet? What’s the news there?”

Wolfgang was also interested. “But I got kicked out of Hommelet.”

“I knew there was something I liked about you,” Lareth said.

But Mapper assured Wolfgang that he would be welcome in Hommelet, that Burne actually needed his help and wanted to talk to him.

Lareth suggested that they should go to Hommelet together—“After we find the White Queen and take care of everything here, Hommelet can be next . . ”

Gerrilynn, as if startled by a disturbing insight, interrupted him, and ended the conversation curtly. “No, I really think we should go now. You can find the White Queen by yourself.”

So sudden and decisive were her words that no one argued and asked for explanation. After a quick last meal, the packing of their few belongings, and settlement of their accounts with the innkeeper, Gerilynn, Wolfgang, Raquelle, and Mapper departed from Gold Hill, turning their steps toward Hommelet. They saw Lareth at the crossroads. When they were nearly out of sight, he called, “Safe travel—and I’ll give my regards to Bandague.”

Lareth's parting comment gave the group much to talk-- and worry about-- over the next few days as they made their overland journey. 

Gerrilynn: "Bandague, I recognize the name . . . who was that?"

Mapper: "There was something oddly familiar about him . . . about Lareth.  I had the feeling he knew who I was."