"He speaks Azlanti. He's appealing to the people, saying that Earthfall is a ruse by 'veiled foes'." Urram translates, the mask blocking out his narrowed eyes.
"They are to trust in the Ioun Imperative and the emperor. I've never heard of the Ioun Imperative... they must have been some sort of security organisation." He seems interested by the prospect. "This could be something entirely new!"
As the goblin screams and charges Urram rolls his eyes and sighs. "That will do nothing. Perhaps you should do it too Kari - become one of the tribe."
Kara replied, "OK, here goes." She raised her hands and summoned her watery blade, while a cloud of mist and howling winds swirled around her, then calmly stepped forward and swung it through the image, crying, "Rhaarluukaan!"
Showing no fear, Kari charges after the first goblin. Enboldened, the other two charge after her, passing harmlessly through the illusion.
The last goblin looks to Urram an Fenna. He points at the illusion and repeats: "Mus. Qhia tsis ntshai."
He waits patiently.
Kara told Keen and Urram, "Now you must also attack the illusion. 'Show no fear', as the goblins put it."
Fenna keeps a straight face. "Alright, wish me well" she says to Kari sarcastically.
Fenna rushes the image and swishes her blades through it several times while yelling.
Urram is now sure that the ambiant magic is a major image spell kept active by a permenancy spell. The image started with a flash in its auras when the first of the goblins came near, indicating activation based on proximity. It could run on a loop, if the original caster chose to do so, but a proper investigation of this place would take hours. Besides, the chanting is distracting.
The sound of excitement of Kari and Fenna die down quickly, as the goblins all stare at Urram, who stares intently at the ghost. After a beat, they begin chanting again: "Tsis ntshai, tsis ntshai, tsis ntshai..."
Kara whispered to the elf, "Urram, they're waiting for you to 'slay' the ghost."
It's a good thing that Urram's mask hides just how hard he is rolling his eyes. Never-the-less the elf stalks forward, pulling his spear as he goes, which lights up with a strange purple haze. He stands in front of the ghost and speaks in a commanding tone.
"Vade spiritu! Es expletus!" With that he stabs the figure sending a small wave of fire rippling of from the figure in a momentary flash of light.
By the time people's eyes are cleared Urram has left the dais and the figure is gone.
When the flash of light fades, the goblins, now in full panic, flee into the tree's surrounding the dais. The illusion remains standing in the center of the stone, facing dead ahead at nothing.
Kari looked around the area where the image appeared, trying to find some sign of a mechanism. "There's got to be something here!"
"I think the dais is the 'something'." Urram replies. "It is the focus of powerful magics, very powerful to have lasted so long. It activates based on simple proximity I imagine, hence why the image appears regularly for these 'Ghost Haters'."
Fenna looks around for any signs of the goblins.
"So.... Do we wait for them to come back or what?"
Looking deep into the jungle, Fenna can see the last of the goblin's tails disappearing into the distance. Urram's display seemed to spook them, and if they return, it may not be for some time.
After a few minute's of poking around, the mouth of the robed image begins to move again, repeating its message.
"Imperii cives- ne timeas," the figure gestures with its hands, as if to calm or reassure. "Quod caelum sit in maculam generat, sed tamen Fregellani sustinuerunt vagari incipiam per confusionem inimicis suis nos ut in chao simul orantibus escendere suggestum. Iusto tendunt ad munia, et confido in Ioun audīmus audītis audiunt imperatoris vestri ad te incolumem custodiat. Fallunt nos non deficiet."
Kari said to her companions, "It seems like a lot of trouble to go to, building all this, just to play a short message."
She moved around the building, looking for inscriptions or other features that they might have missed earlier.
Fenna turns from watching the goblins to Kari and Urram. "I don't think they're coming back. Should we follow them?"
When the image starts up again she adds to Kari's thoughts. "Yeah, and just imagine how embarrassed that guy would be if he knew he would still be appearing to every passerby to hand out such bad advice thousands of years later."
"It does make me wonder though. This sort of public message wouldn't be placed out in the middle of nowhere would it? It would be somewhere everyone would see it. Could there have been a Azlanti town, or even more than that here? We're seeing enough to make me think this wasn't the boondocks back then."
"Once this place was a great Azlanti city." Urram offers. "All these islands were. But Earthfall shattered the land and sank the cities. This was probably a major place once. The dais would give announcements I think. This is simply the last recorded one, so it keeps playing. The Mordant Spire is here because we guard Lost Azlant. All of these islands were once theirs. Don't let the magic surprise you."
He seems uninterested in pursuing the goblins. "They are gone and fear us. This is good. Now they are not trouble. What more do you want?"
"I'd feel better if we had some sort of agreement with them. At the very least if we established some sort of relationship it would let us keep an eye on them better."
"Well, the daylight is going no matter what," Anya gestures to the sun, now past its apex. "Maybe you can take some notes or a sketch, and then we move on. If the goblins come back, we can try to talk to them. We can always come back another day."
Kari's inspection reveals little. The few runic markings are also in Azlanti, and appear to be tied to the magics keeping the illusion atop the dais functioning.
"I guess you're right, Anya," Kari replied to the ranger. She retrieved her journal from Hrolf's saddlebags and made a few notes. Then, she climbed into the saddle, ready to continue on.
"Ready." Is all Urram says. He seems less impressed by the dais than the others, clearly familiarity has worn away some of the awe of Azlanti technology.
"Sure, let's get back to the settlement."
The afternoon march downhill goes rather quickly. A short distance from the Harbinger’s Dais, Anya leads you to a familiar stream. Before long, you find yourselves looking down on a familiar waterfall. A short distance from where the water strikes the pool below, you can see a familiar corpse..the one who wore leather boots that had been zombified by the incutilis.
Anya quickly finds a path down the waterfall, and leads you through the dense forest below. The path you took from the colony to the rendezvous point is clear, and you emerge from the brush to look upon Talmandor’s Bounty shortly after sundown.
When they arrived back at the settlement, Kari reported to Ramona and gave her a report about what they had found.
She offered her opinion to everyone, "I think it would be worth our while to make a trip north, and have a closer look at the strange trail. I saw something that looked like a statue near there, and Fenna thinks she saw some Azlanti ruins on a hill in the northwest part of the island."
Fenna goes along with Kari to inform Ramona about what they've found on their exploratory hike. She agrees that searching to the north looks promising, and pushes for the next trip out to start the day after tomorrow.
When they're done at Ramona's place, Fenna goes straight back to the house and begins drawing and heating water for a nice bath.
Urram declines to report in, the women can do it just as well as he can and that way he is less likely to run into Carver Hastings. Instead he heads to the sea shore and sits in the cool water for a while, if he scans the village for Lyra more often than strictly necessary... well... that's just by chance of course!
As you reach the outskirts of town, you see a familiar colonist hustling toward you. Lyra greets Urram fervantly, and after tossing the rest of you a quick greeting, the couple make their way to the water for some privacy.
Other colonists mill about in the early evening, and those who see you walking to the Government House give friendly waves, nods, or smiles. Ramona is quick to answer the door when you knock, beakoning you all inside. She asks on Urram's absence, but Ramona listens intently for a few minutes before there's a light rapping on the door. Excusing herself, Ramona steps out, closing the door behind.
Outside the door, Ramona speaks with someone quietly, but she seems guarded as to the person's identity.
"I want to have a proper meeting tomorrow evening," Ramona is speaking almost as soon as she reenters, looking terse. "I want some of the others to hear your findings, as their knowledge and expertise will surely be of value."
"Before that meeting I'm going to meet you early tomorrow morning, and I expect Urram to be there as well. If he is a member of our colony and of your expeditions, then reporting on his findings is an important part of his duties."
Your meeting with Ramona lasts only a few more minutes before you're dismissed, free to relax until morning.
Kari wondered what the interruption was about, and studied Ramonas demeanor when she returned.
She asked the colony leader, "Have their been any notable developments while we were out exploring? It would be good to know ahead of the meeting."
She returned to the farmhouse and made dinner for herself and Hrolf. Later, she sought out Urram, and informed him about the early morning meeting. "I think she expected you to report to her as soon as we returned," she advised the young elf.
She returned to the farmhouse and made dinner for herself and Hrolf. Later, she sought out Urram, and informed him about the early morning meeting. "I think she expected you to report to her as soon as we returned," she advised the young elf.
Urram is clearly in a much better mood than usual, thanks to Lyra and reacts with curiosity rather than anger.
"Why? You could report everything we saw. I had nothing to add." As always his mask obscures facial details but his whole bearing conveys the attitude of a shrug. "What should I do to make this better? Ms Ramona is a good person, unless Hastings has turned her against me again. I am only here to help."
Kari replied to Urram, "Everyone has a slightly different perspective, and we could leave something out that you thought was important. I'm sure she just doesn't want to miss anything.
"I wouldn't get too worried about it though. Now we know for next time."
After a moment's pause, she added, "Ramona answered the door and spoke with someone while we were there, but I couldn't tell who it was, and she didn't way what it was about. She seemed kind of on edge; maybe we'll learn more tomorrow morning."
"Where was this?" Urram asks, suddenly intent. When Kari responds he whistles sharply and Five rises from its rune-carved perch.
Urram speaks quietly to it in Azlanti and the glowing stone whizzes through a window and disappears into the dusk.
"Five will investigate." Urram says. "Something is going on here. It is not good."
Fenna doesn't concern herself with Ramona's pique about Urram's absence or the conversation at the door. It's not as if anyone's going to get fired on the little island. Ramona's job description is to worry about things so others don't have to.
Barley stores are probably two days lower than they should be according to accounting she figures. Besides she wants that bath before anyone else shows up trying to rush her along.
Afterward she hangs around the house mostly, drinking tea and going through the notes and drawings she made on their hike around the mountain. Looking at it all, Fenna figures it will take them at least a month and maybe more to explore the island in its entirety unless they go hard at it without any other interrupting tasks or breaks.
Her determination to find the missing colonists hasn't diminished in the least. Now that she knows there are several places around the island which could potentially have subterranean areas or smaller structures not visible from the mountain, she more confident about the idea of the colonists relocating to shelter elsewhere for some reason.
Fenna decides to take her stuff from the expedition to Perrin and Lyra after the meeting with Ramona tomorrow. It might help with map making.
In fact, I think I'll completely put off being social until tomorrow.
She spends the balance of her afternoon practicing her musical instrument and taking a nap.
The rainy weather moves in as you leave the Government House, chasing you home to Levin Farm. The patter of the light showers and warm, humid air makes for a relaxed mood. Hrolf is the first to find his way to dreamland, and the rest of you follow along.
Expedition Day 65: 25 Arodus, 4717 AR; Toilday
The same light rain persists through the night. A sharp rapping and a startled *BARK* from Hrolf awakens everyone. The sun is not yet up, and Ramona is already up and about, standing in your doorway. Behind her, with his held slightly down, stands the familiar Carver Hastings.
“I’d thought this better to do without the whole colony watching on,” Ramona announces. The pair had quietly waited for a few minutes while you all prepared for guests, but now Ramona seems eager to get on with her day. “Still, I thought it best to see that you were all present.” Stepping aside, she motions for Carver to step forward.
“I signed on to this expedition to with the intention of learning,” he sighs. He lifts his head a little to look at you all, but turns away from direct eye contact. “I have accumulated a great deal of expertise over my many years, but last week I learned a most important lesson about myself.”
“An unknown place such as Ancorato is an ideal place to stretch the bounds of knowledge,” at this point, Carver lifts his head, looking Urram directly in the eyes. “Regretfully, I squandered my opportunity to exercise my knowledge. Instead, I acted out of fear and ignorance, and I set a poor example for my fellow settlers in the process. For all this and more, I am truly sorry.”
“My hope was to contribute my strength and my knowledge to the expedition,”he opens up to address everyone, “and through my own actions, I’ve alienated those who I should have embraced. It’s my sincere hope that you can accept my apology,”
Ramona, appearing much relieved, looks to Urram and everyone for their thoughts.
Kari invited Ramona and Carver inside and asked if they would like anything to drink.
When Carver apologized to Urram, she watched him to try to figure out how sincere he was.
She waited for Urram to respond before saying anything herself.
Urram's masked face meets Carter's, expressionless as always. "Since I have left the Spire I have met many humans. You are impetuous, decide easily, but I have never had an apology. This is new. Thank you."
His voice lacks much expression but he does incline his head to Carver and Ramona - it seems to be peace, at least.
Fenna stands there in the oversized shirt she sleeps in, slumped and glassy eyed.
Why the f**@ are we up in the middle of the night for this?
Kari felt progress had been made. She said, "It's easy to make quick judgments about people we don't know well, but it takes wisdom and courage to reevaluate as we learn more. I think you have set a good example today, Carver." As have you, Urram — accepting an apology isn't always easy.
“Okay then,” Ramona claps her hands in satisfaction. “I appreciate you seeing us so early. I’m optimistic about this. The meeting will be held after lunch, and we appreciate any extra hands you can pitch in today.” Ramona and Carver finish their tea swiftly, and leave you to your morning routines.
Lyra so excited to start working on the cartography, begins as soon as Ramona is off. By the end of your preparation hour, she has sketched a few rough copies to hand out at the meeting.
Urram helps with the ongoing building projects, not so much by actually build anything but by examining the structures and making suggestions as to how they could be improved. Although not all the colonists appreciate this it soon becomes clear that the elf knows what he is talking about and he is permitted to continue.
Since Lyra's already there and started, Fenna begrudgingly stays up and helps with the map making. She gives Lyra the sketches and notes she made during the preceding couple of days.
Fenna does not however do anything else in a private little act of retribution for the stupid early wake up call.
Now that she was up, Kari made breakfast and fed Hrolf. Then she headed to the dock and sat there looking at the birds for a while. After that, she found a sandy spot and observed the way the grains of sand moved when she threw them into the wind.
Once her early morning routine was finished, she walked over to start installing floor boards in one of the partially built houses.
When the lunch bell sounded, the gnome put down her tools and headed over to the communal dining hall.
With Lyra and Fenna engaged in the most talkative expression of cartography he's ever seen, Urram ventures down into the colony. A large group of workers at the north side of the barracks is righting posts to close off this side of the palisade. Progress seems to be going very well, but Urram is drawn to the plans sitting on the nearby table.
By the time the Eamon Caranth (who serves as a foreman, of sorts) interrupts his work, Urram has identified and re-drawn several portions of the project plans that may not improve the future gate's effectiveness, but will certainly make its construction much smoother of a process. Impressed with his assessments, the Erastilian eagerly dives into the details of the projects the colony has on its planning schedule.
Lyra is quick to load Fenna full of coffee, and fill half a dozen pages with rough copies of the map. Fenna recounts her tale of the exploration. Mid-morning, after chatting has taken enough tangents, Lyra suggests they seek out Perrell.
Passing by the Colony Square, Fenna spies Harcourt Colby in rare form: exerting himself as he pulls up a bucket from the well. Setting it on the ground, he spots Fenna staring (and Lyra rolling her eyes) and gives a cocky grin.
As Fenna instinctively smiles, she spots Anya on the opposite side of the Square, who's glowering strangely over the whole scene.
Fenna's not quite sure what to make of the strange look.
Lyra and Fenna find Perrell at the Provisions Building, where she attempts to prepare for the meeting as she also keeps up her regular inventory duties. 'Many hands make light work' Lyra says shaming Fenna into some surprise work, but Perrell is grateful for the help.
Kari and Hrolf enjoy a quiet morning from the dock. Fisherman Jim is hard at work out in the bay, and gives the pair an exuberant wave as they walk the beach.
Feeling attuned to the island, Kari sets out to find the colonist home she remembers had a hastily built floor. She quickly builds a small sled for Hrolf to drag a load of lumber, and loads it up with boards from the lumber yard (which is noticeably starting to dwindle). About half the little house is re-floored when the lunch bell finally rings, summoning all to Colony Square.
Baskets of biscuits and bowls of fish paste are laid out in the Square. The colony's laborers quickly serve themselves and refill their skins, and are returning to work before half of an hour goes by. You see Ramona there, milling about to other important colonists, and its quickly clear she is confirming each participant's presence at the meeting. When the laborers return to their duties, many familiar faces start milling into the Government House.
Inside, Carver leans against the wall, and gives a kind nod to you all from the other side of the room. Lyra stands near the door handing out the map sketches she made with Fenna. Perrell and Kurvis are seated together to share a desk, and Anya enters with you. As Ramona is about to start, Harcourt wanders in like he belongs there, snatching a map from Perrell, forcing her to share with Kurvis.
"Thanks for coming, we'll try and keep this brief," Ramona brings the room to order. "We'll get our regular points done, and then talk about the exploration."
Perrell notes feverishly as Kurvis goes over standard colony reporting: food stores, construction progress, requisitions, etc. He finishes, and politely turns to you. "Finally, we have the results of the colony's first exploratory expedition. If one of you will recount your findings for the record." Kurvis sits, eager to record your report.
Urram speaks, briefly. "I have little to say. My race are better under the water. Fenna and Kari observed much more than I did."
Having fulfilled his apparent obligation to speak Urram steps back, hoping that one of the women will provide more details.
After Urram had finished, Kari stepped forward to give her account. She was a nervous addressing the assembled group; she was definitely more at ease speaking to people one-on-one.
"We hiked up the slopes of the mountain at the center of the island, and spent a day walking round the peak to get a good look at the entire island.
"To the northwest, near the coast, we could see the strange trail that we first saw when we landed on the island. It's the one that looks like the ground has been trampled by hordes of insects. Inland from there is a large statue, although it was too far away to make out details. At the top of the hill in the northwest part of the island, Fenna spotted an Azlanti structure of some sort.
"Continuing around the mountain, we could see some red trees at the base of the mountainside. Further away, there are some whalebones along the coast; that's just about due north from the mountain. Near there is a marsh, where we could see some smoke rising; I'm wondering if that could be a monkey goblin village.
"Finally, as we competed our circuit, we spotted some square buildings on the coast of the southeast part of the island.
"We camped again on the mountain, and descended on the third day, coming down along the river that leads to the waterfall. On the upper slopes, we found a ruin among the trees, and a group of Ghost Hater monkey goblins. They told us that it was a special place for them; it seems that they hold their tribal coming of age initiation there. The initiate needs to 'slay' what they call the 'Island Ghost'. In truth it's a programmed illusion from long ago, I think of an Azlanti priest. Fenna and Urram can give a better account of what it said, since they understand that ancient language."
Her account finished, she stepped back to give Fenna and chance to speak. She observed the crowd,trying to gauge their reactions.
Fenna can't help but smile back at Harcourt, but his sudden apparent friendliness shocks her. In the several times she had tried to get to know him, he had barely acknowledged her existence. Hopefully she doesn't look obviously surprised or awkward to him. It's enough to keep her from devoting any real thought to Anya's expression or why she's wearing it.
Once they've moved far enough past him, she remarks to Lyra "So he doesn't always wear that lemon-sucking expression? Who knew?"
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Fenna notices Harcourt take Perrell's map and notes that his manners haven't improved any, but he rankles her less than he normally does.
By the time Kari has finished talking Fenna can't think of much left to add about their journey around the mountain. But she isn't going to let and opportunity to address the public (or selected guests) slip by. She decides to give the listeners a summary and "plans going forward" talk that should be memorably tantalizing.
"Well, I don't speak Azlanti, but I'll sum up Urram's translation. The gist of it was that the coming Earthfall is just a bunch of rumors spread by enemies and should be ignored."
Fenna decides to try out her joke about it again. Maybe this audience will be more receptive. "Wow, has anyone ever been more wrong, over and over again, for so long? How embarrassing right?"
"We did come across some of the local goblins there. They afraid of the illusion, but also fascinated with it. They weren't reflexively hostile, and they're not particularly brave, so it looks like we can coexist as long as the colony looks like a tough target ti them. We might be able to work something out with them in time, a more formal agreement to at least leave each other alone."
"Anyway, as Kari told you, we spotted several sizable structures in different places across the island. According to Urram, this island was probably high ground in an Azlanti settlement of some kind. As we have chances to over the coming days and weeks, we'll be exploring the rest of the island systematically to see what's out there. The structures will be our first priority, but eventually the island will be completely mapped."
"The number of structures and their size are also a priority because they may help in explaining what happened here before we arrived. To my mind at least, it seems more likely now the earlier colonists may have relocated to one of those places for some reason. To be clear, we haven't found any evidence of it, but it does mean they could have had better options than here rather than abandoning all there work and supplies to start completely over, or hunker down in the forest. And of course they couldn't have just vanished into thin air."
"Hopefully we'll be able to make quick progress exploring. Of course we'll update everyone as we have more to tell, and we'll update maps with new finds."
After Urram speaks, he receives and encouraging, if somewhat muted, response from the colonists.
As Kari speaks, she’s also met mostly with kind smiles and nods. Kurvis, however, curtly interrupts the gnome at each point of significance to confirm its location on the map key. He furiously writes the whole time, oblivious to Kari’s nervousness. When she steps back to let Fenna speak, Kari notices most everyone assembled gives off a warm look of gratitude and empathy for the rough time given to her the unmindful Abadite.
Fenna's speech is goes well, although the humor of understatement seems overshadowed by the dark words of the illusory harbinger, and the juxtaposition is lost on Fenna's audience. Still, they listen intently before asking some questions about your goblin encounter.
"Okay," Ramona stands when the questions begin to take too many tangents. "Let's call this meeting to a close. I have individual meetings with many of you today. If I do not, I will seek you out to follow up. I will meet again with the expedition team tonight on our future plans. Until then, let's get some work done today." She waves everyone away.
Urram stays seated until much of the press has thinned before he goes to find Lyra. "Was that better?" He asks, apparently genuinely concerned. "In the Spire, people talk much longer, but say very little!"
Kari returned to the house she was working on and finished her flooring job. Satisfied with her handiwork, she summoned Hrolf and walked to the shore, to the play in the water for a few minutes before dinner.
The meeting is dismissed and everyone in attendance returns to their daily duties. Lyra gives Urram a little encouragement before taking off herself, apparently behind on her own tasks due to the morning’s cartography. Ramona even calls Urram over as everyone leaves, stating that she spoke briefly with Eamon and that she would like to see Urram helping him out with his duties as foreman.
Kari returns to the homestead where she spent her morning. Progress is much faster with all the supplies on hand, and when the family returns to their home close to sundown, they assist the gnome with the finishing touches. They are most grateful to Kari for her help, insisting that she stay and have dinner with them.
Fenna easily sneaks away from the workers, returning to Levin Farm for a quick nap. She busies herself with some light work around the house before the rest return home.
As the evening wears on, Hrolf suddenly stands and barks once at a familiar rapping at the door. Ramona, this time by herself, is working late it would seem.
“I appreciate you receiving me so late, after seeing me so early this morning,” she says with a grin, “so I’ll keep it short. I want to keep the three of you here for another day before you take off again. Set out on Oathday, or Fireday if you prefer. Folks get a little nervous without you around, and I understand their feeling. We appreciate your help around the colony as well. Luetin Calewick asked if he could make any equipment for your journeys, so if you have anything you need from the blacksmith, he has offered.”
"Where your expeditions are concerned, I think it best that you investigate locations on the west side of the island, at least for now. Once we get a better idea of the terrain, I'm fine with you venturing further out."
“Lastly,” Ramona sighs a bit, “I want to be upfront with you about Carver. When he learned that I had sent Anya with you on this last trip, he came to me fairly upset that he was not sent along. It was then that I told him that he needed to make things right with Urram before he could join you. Though he seems sincere in his regrets, I thought it would be fair to disclose his initial motivations to you. My plan is to send Lyra with you on this next outing, but when you’re comfortable taking Mr. Hastings along with you, please let me know.”
"He may come." Urram offers. "It does not concern me." Whether the statement is deliberately ambiguous or accidentally so is not made clear either way. "Thank you for coming, Leader Ramona. I appreciate that you are making me welcome. It shows that humans are good."
His piece said the elf stands for a short while, as the silence stretches into awkwardness. When Ramona starts shuffling Urram seems to realise that he's left things too long. "I must go and see to my projects. Thank you again." He bows slightly and retreats towards the 'workroom', the screened off table where most of his tinkering is stored so it can't offend Kari's sense of neatness.