If Gryffin wasn't so occupied with thoughts regarding their new "mission" he would've been sad and depressed.
As things stood, things were looking pretty bad. Jarek had apparently abandoned their team, letting his obssession with Vynna take him beyond what would have been in Gryffin's mind the logical, cautious and ultimately more effective way of getting at Tsuto.
The argument played over in his mind.
"Jarek, be reasonable!" Gryffin had said.
"We know that Tsuto is most likely going to Thistletop and we'll catch him there!" He continued.
"The trail is still warm! I can track him down!" Jarek had countered.
From Jarek's expression and the fact that the veins had stood out from the back of his hands from the tightness with which he gripped his bow, Gryffin knew that his friend wasn't really hearing the logic in the argument.
"WHY IS HE BEING SO STUPID?" Gryffin thought.
Gryffin closed his eyes as he calmed himself. He quelled the urge to blast his friend with a spell in exasperation but couldn't help himself from quipping under gritted teeth: "Fine, you can go ahead - try and find out what you can but please come back..." He wanted to end with "..Or we'll just have to retrieve your corpse you bullheaded idiot!" but caught himself and instead finished with "...and be careful."
Jarek pomptly stomped out of Mayor Kendra's office after that.
Gryffin wondered if he could've said something better -more clever to convince Jarek to stay but he couldn't come up with anything.
He decided to focus on planning for the assault on Thistletop.
"I'll have to review my books...perhaps learn a different set of spells." He thought as he carried the collection of polearms he had gotten from the catacombs. Truth be told, the spritely Eladrin was a strange site walking in the dimly lit streets of Sandpoint as he made his way home. He carried a staff in each hand while the ancient spear floated behind him born aloft by a cantrip.
As he caught sight of Quint's doorstep from the path he was walking, he found that the excitement of showing one of his adopted fathers the ancient relic he had found was muffled. The day’s events and direness of the town's situation and the threats that still loomed from a few feet under the very ground he walked on served to dampen his spirits.
Nevertheless, as the door to the house opened and the familiar scents of home greeted him, he felt relieved.
+++
Quint had been ecstatic at recieving the copy of Alaznist's spear.
"Oh my! This this is a ancient relic!" He had exclaimed in jubilant surprise.
The unexpected gift had put Quint in a very good mood. He was cheerful for the rest of the evening. Which was very unusual indeed for the normally dour sage. So unusual in fact that Gryffin and Volioker found themselves unable to find trepidation in the recounting of events in the catacombs. In fact this uncanny family of a dwarf, elf and a human found themselves excitedly discussing the possiblities of what lay beneath Sandpoint over copious amounts of tea.
Quint was about to prepare another pot when Gryffin said "As interesting as all this is, I think I better get my rest."
"Oh...right you are, son." Quint said with an unreadable expression as Volioker calmly stared into his cup of tea.
Gryffin made his way to his room. As he closed the door, he knew that Volioker and Quint would be talking about his adventures well into the night. And that perhaps at breakfast, all the initial excitement will have worn off and worry will have settled in. It would be best for him to do everything he had to and leave the house at the crack of dawn before his fathers decided that hunting goblins would be too dangerous a task for him.
Gryffin was thankful that as an Eladrin he needed only a few hours of meditation rather than sleep. He would be able to avoid his fathers’ questions and "suggestions" by leaving the house before they woke-up.
+++
Gryffin looked around his room and gathered various scrolls. He went to his work table, laid down the scrolls, took out his spellbook and began the process of comparing and selecting the spells that he thought would be most useful for the task. When he had made his selection, he took out a rune-etched pen and the various powders that made the special inks needed to empower the arcane sigils he drew onto the pages of his spellbook -- shaping, binding and locking the energies he would need to cast them.
At the crack of dawn Gryffin made his way through town and the marketplace toward the Feathered Serpent, the shop run by Vorvashali Voon.
He had decided to enhance his arsenal of spells with alchemical potions from the more experienced wizard.
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