1: Dovedale

The discussion continues for some time before weariness sets in, and it is decided that they will embark in the morning and head upriver with a planned detour of visiting the goblin chief should his location become apparent. And so the party makes their sleeping arrangements (with Oren spending most of the evening guarding Grabbo the goblin), and sleep quickly overtakes them.

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The morning comes too soon, as it is wont to do in the midsummer, and Mrs. Cogs offers a hearty breakfast to those who wish to partake before they depart. Grabbo seems rather uncomfortable in the coming daylight, as it is commonly known that goblins are nocturnal. He doesn't burst into flames, however, and so he will be fine.

The walk from the Cog's farm to the weir and pool (a reasonable starting point for heading upstream) is short and easy. It takes less than an hour and the sun is still high in the sky, though midday starts making its way to afternoon. Without any incident, the group arrives at Speaking-Fish Weir.

A weir of large, loosely piled boulders stretches across the Dovedale River. It looks as if it might be possible to cross the river by stepping on the tops of the moss-covered stones. A 50ft-diameter pool has formed behind the weir. In normal times, the pool would be much larger and deeper, but the water has retreated to show cracked mud along the banks. Now that the river has been reduced to a trickle, the pool is only 2ft deep at its deepest point.

Colorful gravel lines the bottom of the pool. Rushes and willows, many of them drooping in the artificial drought, grow along the banks. Two 6ft tall, 2ft-diameter stone pillars stand at the top of the pool, one on either side of the river. A narrow footpath winds its way through the grass and reeds up the side of the pool and along the east side of the river. The footpath goes right by one of the stone pillars.

"Well, no matter what comes next, at least we've been able to start things off with a pleasant trek," Malard tells the others off-handedly. "It would be easy to fall prey to an ambush if we became too relaxed."

"Now where is that scoundrel? The talking fish that has directed the beavers to do their dirty work in damming the river?" the wizard jokes, feeling fresher in the new day’s sun!

He wanders his way towards the pillar that sits on their side of the river. He walks around it a number of times, and peers across the small bit of water to its twin.

"An ambush might be possible; though not from the water, eh?" he says, stooping to pick up a stone before plopping it down into the shallow pool.

As the pebble splashes down into the water, Odilo can see a flickering of beautiful color shimmering through the ripples. A small jet of water shoots out and squirts the mage in the face, and suddenly he can see a large trout of some sort floating near the water's surface. The fish looks at him with some intelligence in its fishy eyes, and then, most wondrous of all, it speaks!

"So sorry there, man, but I had to get your attention! My name is Salvel the Talking Trout. What is it that brings you to my little pool all the way out here?"

Maon sees this and makes his way down near Odilo. He is thrilled, and laughs with excitement. He calms down and crouches near, smiling, careful to cover his teeth, and listens as he looks on.

Malard is content to walk alongside his pack animal, with Grabbo on it's back. The scenery is enough for now, and he's happy to be off and hopefully, helping people. In fact, he was so relaxed that the talking trout barely even registered.

Trina is so thrown off by the talking trout that she very nearly falls into the water!

Oren is positively tickled by the appearance of the talking fish and makes his way up to the edge of the water so that he might converse with the creature.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Selvel! I am Oren, formerly of the Eternal Lands, and this fine fellow at whom you have squirted is Odilo. In answer to your question we are here on our way to investigate the lowering of the water level in the river. Have you noticed anything in your travels that might shed light on the matter?"

Your comment about the awful state of the river appears to have piqued Salvel's interest. His shimmering scales glint in the sunlight as he swims closer.

"The river is low because the goblins have captured Unda the River Fairy," says the fish. "If you want to restore the river, you'll have to rescue her from their secret lair. The goblins captured Unda about a week ago. They've kept her alive; I would have felt it if she died. They're trying to catch me, too, but I've managed to avoid them so far. I've been trying to find someone to go into the goblin lair and rescue Unda, but you're the first likely prospects that I've encountered."

"If you go up the river, past the three stone giants, you'll find a tall weeping willow that the goblins have chewed on. The entrance to their tunnels is in a shallow cave near that tree. I've managed to find out that much, over the years, by watching them from the river."

The goblin, hiding from the river now that the fish has begun speaking, visibly nods his head at the comments of the willow tree. "That's where I was taking you!"

Oren turns and smiles at the goblin before turning back to Selvel.

"Have no fear my fishy friend, we will rectify the matter. Tell me, how did the goblins manage to capture one of the fairy folk? They are usually quite clever..."

The fish swims in a small circle before locking eyes with Oren. "That, I do not know, elf. Chief Gravelbeak has been trying to catch me for years, but I've been able to evade him. Perhaps Unda did not think they would try capturing her! The goblins around here are rather clever."