Isilme picks up the books, having browsed their contents long before her hand reached out for them. The leather-bound black tome she takes for herself, then hands the other to Hinagiku. "This might be something you are interested in, Hinagiku," she says, extending the book towards the monk.
"This other book appears to be encrypted, and might be of great value to us. I will read through it while we move on and see if I cannot make sense of the encryption." She hmms briefly as she pulls out a small flier from within the book, giving it a brief once-over. "Arueshalae? Wasn't that the name of the Desnan you were seeking? They have a bounty out for her in Iz." She hands the page over to Val to let her look it over.
Unlike Isilme, Hinagiku is not so quick to let her guard down, she looks around at the dispersing wisps of the elemental, wondering whether they will rejoin. Only once they are gone does she relax and, with curiosity, takes the book that Isilme is handing her. She quickly reads the title before putting the book inside her satchel.
"I will read it later and let you all know what is inside... if there is anything more than the original text... I wonder why it is so from form Tian Xia though." Hinagiku says, not wanting to spend time reading while there might be enemies around.
And with that said, Hinagiku calls upon the Master of master's power to heal her fellow companions.
"Should we inspect the secret passage you found Mrs. Isilme?" the then asks.
Ehren lowers his guard when the elemental dies, but does not relax entirely. While the tomes that the mihstu was guarding are of interest to him, there was a more pressing matter he needed to address.
"Ary. Isilme. We have a problem," he announces, looking to the Lord-Commander and Spymaster respectively. "I recognize one of the Templars back there - his name is Gerwyn. Last I saw him, he was with the Heartwood cult back in Drezen."
"Two books?" Ary says, lofting a brow at the entire cabinet being mostly empty.
"Ha, my money was on empty. These guys are total bridge trolls." Anevia says with a small grin. "Yay! Thanks, Daisy!" she says as the kitsune pulses out healing energy. "Although... check it for secrets, Isilme! The cabinet. Not the book."
"I can scour it again, but I feel it's unlikely to contain anything further," she replies to Anevia. She gives the interior of the cabinet another once-over, looking for any compartments that might have been missed, but fairly confident in her original search of it.
When Ehren points out one of the cultists had been a member of the Heartwood cult, Isilme frowns. "Well, it is not surprising that at least one of the cultists was recognizable as living within Drezen. It is not like the Ivory Templars would be operating here for a reason completely coincidental and unrelated to Drezen. Xanderghul, do you have sending available? I need to alert my subordinate immediately as to this finding so he can begin looking into Gerwyn's acquaintances before news of his death reaches Drezen. If there are any other Templars present who are aware of Gerwyn, it's likely they'll react to the news and expose themselves by doing so."
"Yes, let's, Hinagiku," says says, nodding to the monk when she suggests heading down into the depths of the temple. "Hopefully this was all of their defenses, but I suspect we will not be so fortunate."
Ehren nods approvingly when Isilme lays out her course of action, well acquainted with the individual to which she referred. Awakening Duke was one of his strangest exercises of power, but Isilme had managed to mentor the cat into a truly effective ally. The druid remained in the cantankerous feline's good graces, if only because it was his magic that granted him his intellect.
"Gerwyn is still alive, but just barely," Ehren corrects, glancing in the fallen Templar's direction. "I also managed to stabilize two others, including the one who had that strange sword. They will not regain consciousness for some time, but we should bind them nonetheless, before going any deeper. Into another labyrinth, knowing our luck."
Valaria doesn't appear surprised when Isilme hands her the bounty. She looks over the image with a very small smile on her lips. "She's fine," she responds, cryptically. "Two steps ahead of them, as always."
She folds the piece of paper up and places it in one of her bandolier pouches. "I'm ready to go, Daisy, when you are."
Xanderghul looks through the materials with the others, and when it's found that Hinagiku can take care of one of the findings and Isilme can take care of the others, he offers his aid to Ehren. "I can wake one of them up with a healing spell, if you like," he says. "I believe I can be useful talking to them. I have some experience with redemption."
Ehren raises an eyebrow. "I do not think this is the ideal time or place to wake them up. Much less convince them to renounce their faith. "
"Restraining them and keeping them stabilized but unconscious is the best idea for now. Certainly interrogating them will be of value. Would it be possible to use one of your spells to fashion a prison for them, Ehren? That way they will be unable to escape even if they slip their restraints."
Ehren nods before heading back into the other room. He carefully moves Gerwyn, the Mwangi man, and the bladebound closer together, before enclosing the lot of them in a makeshift cage with stone shape. Durable enough to prevent escape by hand, but simple enough to dismantle once it was time for them to leave.
"Garda iad," he commands his serpentine companion. The druid very much doubted that any of the Templars would regain consciousness, let alone try to escape. But in their current condition, even the python would be strong enough to subdue them, should they make the attempt.
Absentmindedly, Xanderghul withdraws one of his spare scrolls of sending and hands it over to Isilme. "If you think it's worth using one of our two spare communication devices on this, here you go."
And when Ehren insists on not interrogating the prisoners, Xanderghul just shrugs. "I figured here was the best place. We don't have to deal with the logistics of hauling them anywhere, and we can execute them and leave them behind if our overtures prove fruitless."
"I will ensure we get a replacement for it," she says, taking the scroll. "The possibility of catching other Templars is worth it."
Unrolling the scroll, Isilme wastes no time in reciting it, focusing on Duke as she does. Now that she was capable of divine magic, completing the spell to release the scroll's energy was significantly easier than it had been when she contacted Gariador. "Urgent: Caught Gerwyn from Heartwood Cult, actually Templar. Monitor associates for missing or reaction to news of capture. Dozen cultists need IDing here, ready team," she sends through the magic connection to her awoken spymaster.
She then hands the blank vellum page back to Xanderghul, knowing he would eventually put it to use in crafting another scroll.
"Actually, would it be worth allowing the Kellid community in Drezen to mete out justice to Gerwyn, Ehren? It could foster a better relationship between the crusaders and kellids. Otherwise they will only know that he was 'interrogated' by us for being a demon worshiper. That might not be taken well." There was, of course, the additional benefit of using the situation to try and force any remaining cultists operating in Drezen to act rashly and reveal themselves.
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Anevia wags her eyebrows Xander-like at Valaria, "So that's your dream girl, huh?"
"I... would agree that interrogating people here isn't ideal. Interrogating at all kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth... especially when you add 'execution' to the back end. I guess less so when you state 'if it's fruitless'." Ary says, brow furrowed.
"But regardless, we should definitely get information back to Drezen, and then press forward while we have the advantage... hopefully there weren't any alarms and the passage made it more difficult to overhear us." she says, pausing. "We should find someplace for your students to be, rather than at the entrance with prisoners who could possibly compel them to free them, though."
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"You don't have to do any of the interrogating, Ary, but in case you've forgotten, we're at war. These are enemies who would see you and everything you stand for reduced to ash. Not only that, but they would stand in front of your face and call you 'friend'. These people are not deserving of any mercy, and yet still even I am discussing giving it to them."
"Regardless, there is no reason it needs to be done at this moment, as they are well secured. We can revisit this when we have finished securing the temple and are ready to begin with the moving the ley line," Isilme interjects, directing Xanderghul and the others to head towards the secret passage.
Ehren quickly fashions a cell out of stone that encompasses the three captured Templars in a stone box. Someone strong and determined enough could potentially break their way out, but they were not going to be rousing from unconsciousness any time soon.
"Well, she's one of them, anyway," Valaria responds to Anevia with a wink and a smile. She was reticent with the others when it came to Arueshalae, and had spent the past few months mostly scouting out into the Marchlands alone. But, as it turns out, her hunch on a cultist den lurking within the area was correct.
After that, the heroes go quiet as they head down the secret tunnel. They weren't sure if there would be more enemies below. The tunnel is completely dark and is about ten feet wide at its largest, narrowing to five feet wide at its narrowest. It slopes downwards at a gentle curve for hundreds of feet.
This secret tunnel was not chiseled out by hand, but rather, sculpted downwards using magic.
You don't think Zanedra was capable of this kind of magic. It takes rather powerful magic to excavate large tunnels solely through transmutation magic. (It would also make more sense for a summoner to summon minions to do it for her.)
As Hinagiku heads down the tunnel, she is suddenly stricken with a strange sense of déjà vu. The smell and coolness of the air here trigger some very early memories of her life.
The tunnel abruptly ends, exiting into a large cavernous expanse. Radiance's light helps bring the intricate circular engravings in the walls come to light, giving the cavernous space the appearance of a large temple. The engravings extend out onto the floor, which raises up to a larger pedestal, though that lays empty and barren. The large, circular chamber has four other exits, and there are several cots for sleeping strewn about. Against one wall is a large, empty wooden desk, flanked by two empty bookcases.
There it is. The Heavenly ley. You could have started your ritual about halfway down the tunnel, but here the ley is strong, giving you a good vantage point to start moving it upwards towards the surface, then across to Drezen.
Will there be effects on the land? Probably. But given that the Worldwound is tainted by the Abyss, Ehren thinks it is probably a good thing.
You have all seen this before - when together you shared the visions granted by the Kenabres wardstone. This was the temple in which Hinagiku was born.
You had known of the menhir here, and the menhir savants that once tended it, but you had not known of a Heavenly ley stream that existed in this tunnel. But it's here, and it's as strong as the ley stream here, crossing their paths in a way similar to how the ley from the elemental plane of Earth crosses with the ley where Grumtarr lives.
You know that the other tunnels that connect to this chamber all eventually lead upwards to the surface, though in secretive places, as the subterranean druids were reclusive back in the days of ancient Sarkoris. What a perfect place for rats like the Templars to hide out...
Like in the other menhir shrines Hinagiku had visited before, she can feel the presence of her mother. Her body is filled with a sense of warmth and gratitude. It's so overwhelming that the pain in her chest fades to nothing, and she can hear her voice (that sounds identical to Hinagiku's own voice) echoing sentiments of thanks in her mind.
Hinagiku closes her eyes and listens... then realizes that unlike before, she can hear two voices in her mind, not one. Two parents. Both of them female, and each one like her own, but each distinct.
Neither needs to say much (each breathing in a voice that was somehow simultaneously Tien and Taldane) to explain to her that the newly consecrated temple of Baphomet above had been drawing corruption towards this sacred place for the last few months - leaving the land to suffer as its unholy influence seeped into the land itself. But now, thanks to Isilme, the corruption was gone, and the room feels joyous to her.
Isilme puts a hand on Hinagiku's shoulder as they stop inside the room, realizing what the place was. "We saw this place... in the vision in Kenabres," she says looking around the room. "This must be why you felt the altar above so keenly. This place is intimately connected to you."
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Xanderghul stands in the room, unimpressed. "Ah, so it's a stone room. Can we go back and deal with our mortal enemies now?"
"They have clearly been down here as well, some might have escaped through here while we were dealing with the ones above," she says as she begins to walk forward into the room. "Anyway, our primary purpose here is not to interrogate or deal with the prisoners restrained above. We came for the ley line. Clearly it is no coincidence that this room is located right where we were searching."
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A blast from the past.
An echo from the past.
Mom… dad…mom, dad… mom… dad? echo in Hinagiku’s mind as she walks down the tunnel. Memories not of her お母さん, but of her first human parents, Alek and Chiana. Echoes of memories long forgotten. Distracted by emotions, Hinagiku looks left and right to the carvings in the tunnel, she had seen those… once, long ago, briefly, while on the run. Her mind unfocused by shadows of memories, the woman continues forward almost in a daze.
Peace envelops Hinagiku’s mind and the waves in her inner ocean face into the one clear pool. In the calm, the sun shines lifting the shadows, leaving the memories bright and shining. As she looks at the cavern, past and present become momentarily blurred, she sees the fragments of a menhir, a succubus, but above all else Alek’s short blond hair and blue eyes, Chiana’s dark hair, olive skin and brown eyes, wrinkled by concern. ”Mom… dad?” she finally voices before the moment is gone.
In this perfect peace that follow, Isilme and Xanderghul’s voice appear lost among the two other voices, her mother… and her mother? Two? She remains silent for a moment.
”You are right Mrs. Isilme. It was here that I was born… and I… we… the essence of the land I mean, is so joyous and thankful for what you have done. There is something truly wrong here, this attempt at corrupting the very land, this place. And there is something mysterious…” Hinagiku continues, unable to focus on the negative. ”The land here has two voices, like mine. Not one. Two.”
With that, Hinagiku carefully approaches the center of the room, where the menhir had stood. She crouches down and gently lays a hand on the ground, wondering whether she would be able to speak to her mothers.
Xanderghul supposes that it makes sense that a ley line convergence would host some sort of temple, especially in a land populated strongly by druids. He wonders, however, what all this - the Baphomet worshippers, the connection to Hinagiku - has to do with the celestial ley line they came here to find. It doesn't compute in Xanderghul's mind that all of these things came here together by coincidence. There has to be something linking them.
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Ehren's eyes light up when he realizes that he has seen this place before. Though he had known of this particular shrine, he never imagined that it would be connected to the blasphemous temple above, that it would mark the very thing they have sought for all this time, or that it was where Hinagiku first came into this world. He looks to her, watching quietly as she realizes it herself. The exact location of her birth had long been a point of curiosity, but even for him, it was impossible to account for the many menhir that dotted Lost Sarkoris. But now, here they stood.
"The menhir that once stood here marked the convergence of two separate ley lines," Ehren explains as Hinagiku takes the stone's place, a smiling touching his lips. "A ley line of this plane, and one that flows from Heaven itself."
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As the others travel deeper into the temple, Anevia lingers at the edge of the tunnel. She contemplates sticking around to make sure the students are safe... but realizes that without her, everyone would probably die when they went deeper and found a hag coven. Figuring the possibilities were equally plausible... she opts to travel with the team.
"...So it is." Ary says after a moment. "It felt familiar... but it's been years since I saw it... and I've slept since then." she adds, side-eyeing Isilme. As Hinagiku moves into the room to begin touching things, and as Ehren explains that part of the ley is heaven-touched, Ary strides into the room as well... moving to investigate the cots first, Anevia moving with her... then onwards to the desk and bookshelves.
The cots are only primitive constructions, the type typically associated with temporary military fortifications within the Crusades.
The desk and chair are of nicer make. The dark wood hails from Andoran, but the craftsman likely hailed from Absalom. Still a relatively modern work, though - it is not an antique.
Hinagiku feels at once herself and everywhere at once in this room. The ceiling, the floor, the very stones themselves hum with her presence. Even with her eyes closed she can sense the presence of her friends, effortlessly.
She can also feel the ley - her other parents? - but their presence is not like that of her friends. Their inhuman minds are capable of emotion - joy, rage, sorrow - but their thoughts are not complex. One mother - the self she had encountered at Kenabres, then Icerift - yearns for the balance of life to be upheld. She mourns that death has overtaken that of life in the lands above, and fears the spread of its corruption to overtake even more life. The other mother - the new presence, wholly new to her and yet somehow completely familiar - is stern, yet compassionate. She wishes only to nurture the spread of goodness and civilization throughout the world, and for all living creatures to live in peace and harmony. She can feel their presence, their intent, their desire, and she somehow knows that if she spoke to them, they would listen.
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"I can start the ritual to redirect the ley line here," Ehren remarks distractedly, his thoughts drifting elsewhere. He wanted nothing more than to speak to Hinagiku, but now is not the right time for that. "But after."
The druid approaches one of the temple's walls and looks up at one of the circular engravings, contemplating its meaning. He had little doubt that this chamber was carved right into the stone by the reclusive druids of ages past. Much like the stone circle near Drezen, the place seemed like it was arranged with intentions beyond being a repository for memories. Did it hold some greater purpose?
Ehren murmurs the question, addressing the wellspring of memories within him as though his ancestors were standing right before him.
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Hinagiku tilts her head sideways in scepticism to Ehren's explanation for the two voices. But there is only one ब्रह्मा, one substance that holds the whole of existence. A thought which is quickly dispersed as she lays her hand on the ground and listens closely to the voices.
All of Hinagiku's muscle relax as she lets the thoughts of her mothers in. She had felt a connection with the first one, since birth, and even more so in Icerift and Kenabres. But there had always been something lacking... The new one was different, this desire for peace and harmony was what had been missing. One tear slowly makes its way on the kitsune's snout as relief fills her mind, something that had nagged at her mind since she had died in Nerosyn was now gone. The world was not a neutral force, there was also an inherent goodness to it
But, there are two voices. One heaven and one earth, with one voice. Is existence's unity a lie? Or do they all have one voice, but different words? But, what about the forge in Drezen, why did I not hear the voice? As she ponders this, Hinagiku's mind become more and more tangled in confusion, unable to comprehend the mysteries of the universe, unable to make sense of it. But the monk snaps out of it when Ehren mentions the ritual.
"Wait Mr. Ehren. Let me ask them for permission first." with that said, Hinagiku gracefully sits in the lotus position right where the menhir used to be. She closes her eyes and let the peace and all encompassing awareness fill her mind again.
"Mothers-sama, we have come here to ask for your permission to move the point where you embrace. There is a city near, filled with people who strive to balance this world, stop the spread of evil, spread peace to the world. A place you would both approve off. If you where to accept our help, we could guide you there, where people would understand you and could use your guidance to achieve what you, me, and them seek. And so, I humbly ask, would that be agreeable?"
As everyone starts to sit down and meditate on the nature of all reality, Xanderghul sighs. He calls for his students. "Tabitha! Virrk! You better get down here, it's safer in this room, and there's stuff to study. Just stay within sight of Hinagiku."
Then Xanderghul ventures down one of the side-hallways to investigate it.
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When Ehren opens his eyes, he sees before him the spectral images of the Sarkorians who once dwelled in these caves, long ago. The room back then was well maintained, and the etches in the walls painted over in vibrant colors. Braziers that surrounded the central menhir kept the room well lit. About a dozen druids pace around the room here, varying in age from as young as about twelve to old and wizened. They wear long grey hoods, and most of them wear dark veils across their noses and mouths. Their hair is long, and kept in dreaded braids, and they wear long cloth robes of earthen colors. Dangling from their waists are several long cords, each attached to a different stone hewn into the shape of an arrowhead. Those who do not wear veils paint their faces so that they are half blue, half ashen white.
Most of the druids are seated on the floor, apparently in deep meditation. Near the menhir is an older, middle-aged woman, whose garb is far more intricate than the others in the room, indicating that she must be their leader.
"Dè a th ’ann a bhith Meddigaeth, fear beag?" she asks of the youngest member, a pre-pubescent boy, his face mostly obscured by a veil.
The young one responds in perfect, fluent Druidic, just as Ehren was himself at his age. "Is e a bhith Meddigaeth a bhith a ’cumail faire. Bidh sinn a ’dìon na tìrean grèine gu h-àrd bho na cinn domhainn gu h-ìosal. Bidh sinn a ’dìon creutairean nan dorchadas bho fheadhainn sanntach an t-solais."
The older woman smiles warmly at her acolyte. "Ceart, beag. Is e sin an adhbhar a tha againn nar beatha - chan ann de sgàil, chan ann de sholas, ach is sinne an fheadhainn a sheasas eadar sinn."
"Y-yes, Kyrios!" Tabitha cries (Virrk merely grunts) as the two hurry after the others down the tunnel. Once there, Tabitha's eyes light up and she immediately pulls out a small leather-bound book and starts sketching the different images and designs etched into the rock. "What is this place?" she asks.
The response comes half as a wave of emotion - first of eager agreement, which gives way to broader feelings of kindness, pride, and love - the other half as a slurry of words both in Taldane and Tien, spoken in Hinagiku's own voice:
We knew you were coming. （すべてのものに目的があります）
You are everything that we have hoped for. （必要必要）
We will help bring balance and harmony to the world. （光の存在のためにそこにのみ存在するため、影に感謝します）
"This stuff is new!" Anevia says, as Hinagiku meditates and Ehren waxes nostalgic. "And... pretty well made. Clearly imported from not-dark-dank-caveland."
"I... do agree that we should investigate the other tunnels to find out where they go. Do you have any spells to keep yourself unseen and unheard, Xander? I'm... not sure I'm in fighting shape to go with you without the others nearby."
"I'll go, boss. I can yell real loud if bad things happen."
Xanderghul casts arcane sight and lights up his wayfinder when Anevia volunteers to come with. "I doubt anyone is here," he says. "Let's just take a quick look around. Tabitha, Virrk? Answer that question. What is this place? What is it used for? What were the cultists doing?" Then he walks down one of the side-hallways.
"Ehren, Ary, can you check for tracks quickly to see if anyone left through any of the exits recently? We should do that before we begin exploring this any further. Any cultist who fled rather than fight us would likely have been considered more important than Zanedra--or I suppose more cowardly, but cultists tend to fall in line until something seems unwinnable," she interjects, briefly signaling for Xanderghul and Anevia to wait. "Afterwards we can split up and explore the remaining tunnels."
Reveling in the emotions gently yet inexorably invading her mind, Hinagiku lets herself be one with them. She loses her inner voice to the two others, unable to distinguish her thoughts from those of her mothers’. Yet, amongst the serene choir comes a verse disquieting to her, a verse about light and shadows being one. Hinagiku shakes her head, tearing herself away from the meditation. Still calm, if a bit shaken, she rises and looks toward Ehren. A gentle smite appears on her lips.
”They agree Mr. Ehren.” Hinagiku simply says.
"It won't hurt to give it a shot, I suppose... stone chambers aren't the best place to find such things.." Ary says as her eyes move to scan the floor.
Ehren blinks away the vision, once again seeing the chamber as it is now. The image of the menhir vanishes, leaving Hinagiku in its stead; he smiles and nods to her, assuming that she, too, gleaned something from visiting this place. Seeing that the others seemed to be taking interest in the tunnels, the druid puts the ritual on hold for the time being.
"The tunnels all lead back to the surface, to well-hidden places. All the better for the Templars to travel throughout the region unseen," he explains to the others with a frown. "It is well worth seeing where they lead, but you should be cautious. Lest we walk right into another hideout."
At Isilme's request, Ehren joins Ary in inspecting the stone floor for recent signs of passage.
The most recent signs of activity involved several cultists moving out from this chamber, back up the way you came to the main temple. However, you can see signs of activity moving down each of the other tunnels. Not as much as that moving through the main tunnel, however.
Each tunnel heads off into a great distance, further than the eye can see.
"Hm. Looks more like they've milled about. And... I don't think you're trick for having the ground tell you who passed will be terribly useful... what with all the matching armor."
Ary says, pausing for a moment. "After the ritual, I'm gonna bust the altar upstairs I think... then we can collect the living, the dead... and everything else here." she says, chewing her lip. "What are we going to do about the dead Kellids, Ehren?"
"And the live ones, for that matter. I still believe it may be in our best interests to involve the Kellids in the fate of their kin, rather than executing them summarily," she adds after Ary brings up the fate of the cultists above.
"Their fates are ultimately yours to decide, if I am not mistaken," Ehren says to Ary, not that she needed to be reminded. She would not be asking for his input otherwise. "We should take all of them with us. See if we can identify who they are, where they came from. Where else the Templars might have managed to infiltrate."
"As for our prisoners... we should take them back to Drezen and find out what they know. I cannot speak for all of them, but we should definitely speak to Aillig, Isbeyl, and Houna in regards to Gerwyn's fate."
"Indeed." Ary agrees, nodding to Isilme. "Even more importantly, how to deal with the living that aren't necessarily involved." she says, looking to Ehren.
"I hadn't ever considered the Ivory Templar going for the Sarkorian population. It... boggles the mind, really. Their modus operandi is to infiltrate Mendevian organizations, typically... or." she pauses, shrugging, "I guess I was wrong. I suppose I'm not as much of an expert on cultists as I am on demons. Just... I didn't expect them to vary from the obvious. Demons so seldom do."
She shakes her head again, looking between Isilme and Ehren. "But there are political ramifications to this. It's one thing if the Crusades assume that off in the distance there are cultists of Shax or whatever that happen to be Kellids... it's another thing entirely if they're invested members of our societies and are cultists of a demonic lord of betrayal. I need to know what we plan to do about this. I know that I need to pass this along upwards, but I'm not certain about who to tell within my own chain of command. Isilme, Ehren, do you think that you'll be able to handle this without me heavily involving other Crusader forces?"
"The danger was in assuming complacency on their part. It makes sense that they would target the Kellids within Drezen since we have strong control over the crusaders and reformed population within the city. The infiltration is slower and not nearly as damaging in the short term, but the subversion could be exceedingly damaging in the long term if we are not vigilant. Demons may be predictable, but their servants aren't necessarily so, especially Templars. They have always been willing to play the long game."
Isilme gestures towards Ehren as she continues, "All the more reason to involve the Kellids in the process of justice. A display of solidarity against cultists will make it easier to report it up the chain of command without causing them to worry about the situation. After all, there are no groups which are free from infiltration, the crusades have suffered just as directly. I would report it no differently than you would report having captured a cultist within the Crusades, but after we have met with Aillig, Isbeyl, and Houna and justice has been meted out."
While Xanderghul and Anevia head off to explore the other tunnels, Ehren gets started on his ritual to harness the ley. The first part of the ritual was the most difficult part - the part where he has to work to get a full grasp on the leystream beneath them, firm enough that it could gradually pulled away from its course and to a desired destination. If done on the surface, this would have surely left him vulnerable, so getting started in a cavern instead is in its own way, a blessing.
The task of moving the Heavenly ley is beyond any single effort Ehren had so far undertaken in manipulating the ley. While the cleansing of Mother Heartwood had been a spectacular undertaking, he was assisted every step of the way by his friends. This, though, was something he had to do alone. Every day of work leaves him exhausted and weak. The young archdruid now has a better appreciation for the task his ancestor, Cole, had to have undertaken to make the wardstone field possible. Manipulating the ley across the Worldwound border, while still taking time favor ways that would minimize the impact to the local flora and fauna, in the few short years Cole was given to achieve it, spoke to his great mastery over the ley as well as to his hearty Kellid constitution.
At the same time, Isilme leaves immediately for Drezen, knowing that time was of the essence in dealing with the Templar threat. Templars of Baphomet, much like Deskarans, tend to operate within families. The difference between the two being - where Deskari tends to thrive amongst the outcasts of the urban impoverished or within insular rural communities, Templars largely operate within wealthy, established families within the upper echelons of society - completely in secret, always hidden in plain sight. The fallout from the Templars' dramatic reveal in events that lead to the fall of Kenabres lead to many families being broken up, for where one Templar lives, it is almost assured that others within their family are also Templars (even as they vehemently deny it).
But the kellids could be different - exactly how long had the Templars been lurking amongst Sarkorian clansmen and how insidious was their hold? And in any case, she had to move fast - in the case of the Mwangi youth, it turned out he was the youngest son of an off-shoot family of the esteemed Shabani family, a member of the ruling caste of Thuvia. If there was any hope of exposing possible Templar infiltration in Thuvia, time was of the essence.
These were questions that would haunt the heroes for the next year.
The petrified forests of the Gunduara tribe are about as tranquil a setting as one could hope for in the hostile Darklands. Today the heroes were going to say goodbye to Grila and her people and embark on a long trip back to Drezen, having succeeded in saving Lann’s friend from a dire fate.
Before leaving, however, the heroes decide to thank the Gunduara for their help with a grand feast. Xanderghul extended an offer to the tribespeople to join them on their journey back to Drezen, an offer that did not sit well with some of the other members of the group. But at this point the mealtime conversation had moved on to lighter topics. The environment feels far more relaxed than it had even just the day prior, on which a misunderstanding regarding Isilme’s choice of disguise almost soured their relationship entirely.
Xanderghul is snacking on the choicest and most delicious parts of the feast, freed from his need to actually eat by his ring of sustenance. He has just spoken to Valaria and otherwise sits by himself, talking to no one. He looks relaxed and content.
Although Hinagiku had gotten somewhat used to the direct nature of Avistani people, she still harbored a distaste for discussing personal matters in public. And so, she waits for the party to die down before walking over to Xanderghul's side to speak with him.
"Mr. Xanderghul, may I sit?" Hinagiku asks, sitting only after he responds. "It has been so long since we talked.... I mean really talked. With me being at the front all the time. I wanted to ask, how have you been? And I mean it, how you truly were. How was your time in the Heaven's and return trip?"
After the party has begun to die down, Xanderghul moves to a more secluded spot underneath a mushroom-tree and invites Hinagiku to come with him. "Honestly? I am very well. When I was in Heaven, I was struck by Zepha's ability to plan, his forethought, his intelligence. I had not met a Good creature before him that impressed me with intelligence. So I decided to stay, and listen to him."
"Together, we worked on me. I realized that after everything, I am a lucky person. Focusing entirely on my own fortunes is a disservice to everyone. I could be spending my time building structures of power and using my authority to help people."
"I have lived a long time already. My priorities have changed. I want to leave behind a legacy, and then I want a soul, so that I can die."
Although Hinagiku remains as serene as usual, Xanderghul might notice a small glint appear in her eye as he describes his time in heaven, and it seems to spread as he mentions acquiring a soul.
"This is incredible news Mr. Xanderghul." Hinagiku replies he soft and kind voice carrying hints of joy. The monk lays a gentle hand on her companions elbow. "I had noticed a change, but it seems that I was not wise enough to see which one. In hindsight, I did notice that you were more accepting when people disagree with you. Could it be that this new outlook on life has changed the way you view people?"
When Hinagiku mentions that his view of people might have changed, he reflects. Perhaps it had.
"I think it must have, a little. Mostly, I have simply accepted that some members of this group are more stubborn than I am. Arguing with them is often useless." He laughs for a moment, and then looks at her. "Surely you see that too. I see your disagreements with them sometimes. You always let things go.."
"You and the others are much more knowledgeable than I am. That is why I often let the others take decisions. You also all can better understand everything that is going on around." Hinagiku says, without a hint of shame of self pity in her voice. "But I also know where my strengths reside, and trust in my judgement in these things. But what about you, do you not feel annoyed when the others disagree with you? You have a deep understanding of many things, do you not?"
Xanderghul is nonchalant about his annoyance. "Yes, it is annoying to be right and to have people doubt me. I've come to realize that it's because of their personal judgment of me - especially Valaria." He idly picks his gemstone fingernails clean of the oil and bits of meat while he talks. "The answer, I think, is not to yell and shout, but to build a better reputation."
He sighs. "Fighting ten thousand years of habit is not easy, though."
Hinagiku nods gently as she listens to Xanderghul's last comment to encourage him to elaborate. "I cannot even imagine... what reputation would you like to achieve? I might be able to help you Mr. Xanderghul" she proposes.
"I want to become a wise god-king, whose word is respected across the Inner Sea. I want to sit in my sanctum and have supplicants visit me for my knowledge and my experience."
"Coming here, helping to save the universe, starting the school, becoming known all throughout the land as a freer of slaves and an uplifter of the downtrodden. All of those things are important steps in building the reputation that I'm searching for."
If the conversation so far had been unlike any other Hinagiku had had with Xanderghul, his last reply broke the charm and shunted the monk back to reality quite quickly. Nodding some more to show she is listening, Hinagiku takes a moment to think about her reply.
"These are impressive goals Mr. Xanderghul. Truly. I see what you mean now by reputation. And, I guess it explains some of your more heroic actions lately. But, as the Master of masters once said, form without soul is meaningless. That is, actions without the spirit, or ... hummm... attitude, will only change you little. Have you considered that for others to consider you differently, you need to consider yourself differently? You... you know of my ability to sense other's souls. Though my life is much shorter than yours, I have seem the core of many people, and I can tell you that what they feel, sense, and believe about themselves drives the true power behind their actions. That and true wisdom comes from being humble."
Xanderghul sighs. It seemed she didn't understand, still. Maybe some more conversation would help her to. "I don't think that I can become a humble person and still be myself, but I do think that I can become a heroic person without becoming humble."
Xanderghul twiddles with his wiry goatee a bit while he ponders. "Besides, I am a god now. Being a god means that people look to me for guidance, which requires that I act with grace and confidence. You may be able to tell that, for everyone else, their inner selves shape their actions, but I believe it is different for me. I have no inner self. No soul. Every paladin in the Multiverse fights evil so that their soul deserves to go to Heaven when they die - even Ary. Not me. I fight evil because evil has to be defeated."
Understanding the origin of Xanderghul's sigh, Hinagiku lays a calming hand on his knee and smiles to him.
"Sorry Mr. Xanderghul. I know I am not the smartest, but being humble and confident are not opposite."
After momentary contact, Xanderghul slaps Hinagiku's hand away, a look of surprise on his face. He pauses for a few seconds and then frowns.
"Pray tell the difference, then?"
Hinagiku stares at her hand, speechless, surprised at having peered into Xanderghul's past without touching his skin.
Breaking the silence, Xanderghul speaks up on his own. "Hinagiku, I need to ask you something."
He pauses for a few seconds. He seems uncertain about whether or not to speak. He presses his lips shut for a moment. He shakes his head with disappointment, and then says, "What do you believe would happen if I were to take the Test of the Starstone?"
"I... I..." Hinagiku begins, still befuddled. And what Xanderghul asks afterward does nothing to alleviate her confusion. Still, she can tell the shabti is more interested in her answer than in apologies. Fighting the urge to lay her a comforting hand on his knee again, she looks into his eyes instead. Slowly she centers herself before thinking on what she knew of the Starstone. She remembered when she had first heard about it, a test to become a god, a magical stone beyond compare. She remembered touching tree after tree afterward, trying to sense so hint of divinity somewhere in the world, just like she could feel hints of the wound. And there it had been this dot connected to everything, faint, but strong enough to be felt anywhere.
"I do not know, from what I have heard, no one does. But if you want me to what would happen according to what I have heard, you would be put to the test, assessed to see whether you have the spark of a god. Thinking further, would just be me inventing things... but if you want to know whether the stone would look at you differently because you don't have a soul, it might. This is something striking about you. But, I do not think it would hinder you. No. Not having a soul is not something that hinders you. You feel like everyone to me." Rethinking this last word, and about Xanderghul's personality, Hinagiku adds: "You have power beyond so many I have met, but the same... hummm... source. You are a person."
Xanderghul raises his eyebrows in surprise. "So, you think I should do it? I have been thinking about it for some time now. There are many people out in the world - like the tiefling cultists that we run into often - who nobody looks out for. No god, I mean. I want to become that god so that everyone has someone watching their back."
Hinagiku shakes her head, not in a negative way as most Avistani do, but more in a way that appears slightly resigned, as people often do in her land. "The Master of masters teaches us that one must slowly prepare, take on trials of increasing difficulty if one is to improve themselves. Not doing so is often dangerous. The test of the Starstone... there is nothing to prepare for it. Taking it seems lie a dangerous gamble to me, one in which you can lose your life. And with that life, you could improve your academy, begin new branches across the world. Make real changes."
Hinagiku pauses for a moment, wondering whether discussions of Xanderghul's soul might somewhat be connected to the test. "Maybe... maybe that might give you a soul, or more, but there must be less reckless ways. Ones that are not a gamble."
Xanderghul sighs. "Everything is a gamble, Hinagiku. Every day, we seek out dangers in which we could die. We live in a city under siege in a haunted wasteland. And I can only help so many people if all I have is a body, even if I can fly. I don't know about you, but I have great ambitions. I want to save everyone, not just the other people in this war. Even the people who no one believes can be saved. I think I might need an all-encompassing perspective for that."
He shrugs. "But maybe you're right. Maybe I would just enter the Starstone and disappear forever. Let everyone down."
"You are right Mr. Xanderghul, everything is a gamble. But there are gambles that are wiser than others. Remember when we met, I wore leather gloves and a circlet to protect myself. But now I do not need those, I have learned how to fight well enough without them. Just like me you can learn, save some people, and then more and more."
Hinagiku pauses for a moment, thinking more about what Xanderghul had said. She slowly shakes her head. "Mr. Xanderghul, you do not need to think about what others expect of you. It seems that you truly know what is good for people. And, if you grow, maybe one day you will find another way to help them... or, if you truly have your mind set on it, maybe you will find ways to prepare for the strange test of the Starstone."
Xanderghul sighs, his eyes downcast. "You're saying... that you don't think I'm strong enough. At least on that, we agree. I want to be able to wipe the floor with our enemies, but... that's not how things work around here. Around here, we barely squeak by, despite our phenomenal power. Around here is hard, even harder than my early life in the Abyss."
"Mr. Xanderghul, no one is strong enough for everything. Not even the gods.... and beyond that, we have all become so much more than we ever were. I... I am sorry I peered into your past, I really did not mean to. Usually, when I touch someone's clothes, I do not have these visions. But, it is clear that you grown much too. And so, what I really wanted to say is: be patient. Let your power and wisdom grow, and I am sure you will accomplish what it is you want, and maybe even be able to face the test of the starstone."
The heroes are now attending a great feast which was conjured from air, thanks to Ehren’s druidic magic, and Isilme’s invocations to the goddess Desna. Neither Valaria nor Xanderghul had ever been to the Darklands, the dark, dangerous, alien world that lied beneath the surface world, but on their first expedition here the Gunduara had been as friendly as one could expect. Now they were taking a well-deserved rest after liberating dozens of slaves and ending the bloody reign of a cruel Droskari tyrant.
Val sits back at the table, enjoying a decent meal while they conversation turns to lighter topics. Whatever the outcome of their request, it seemed that they would at least be leaving the underfolk on a high note.
Xanderghul scoots closer to Valaria to speak with her. He raps on the table with his gem-encrusted nails to get her attention, and then says, “I wanted to ask you about something."
"Now that we've been on the topic of joining things, and my organization is finally starting to get off the ground, I wanted to offer you an opportunity.” He pulls out his journal, which is full of notes about the events that he and the rest of the group have been a part of. “The Pathfinder Chronicles are an important source of historical record, and right now, I am the one who has the authority to print them. Not only that, but the Lodge's library in Drezen is likely to remain the foremost source of academic material in the city.”
“I want to suggest that you join the Pathfinder Society. In the unlikely case of my death, you would be the natural case to take over as Venture-Captain, and in the meantime, you could contribute your significant storytelling abilities to a permanent historical record of our journeys. You could help build the school, and have a group of explorers to go with you when you went to scout the Worldwound."
"What do you say?"
Val raises one eyebrow through a mouthful of something that she's pretty sure is a mushroom of some sort and gestures for Xanderghul to go on. If he was mad that they hadn't gone along with his recruitment pitch all out, it was probably better to just let him vent rather than let it fester for later. His actual question nearly made her choke before she managed to force the bite down and clear her throat.
She grabbed her waterskin and gulped down a few mouthfuls before she was actually able to answer. "Xan, I'm not sure you've thought this through." Which was probably a silly excuse considering Xan spent basically all his time thinking things through. "I wouldn't exactly be jumping to join a massive continent wide hierarchy to begin with, but putting me in an official leadership position is... probably not a good idea. I would love to help explore the Worldwound. I... might consider officially signing on at the Lodge since someone I care about is asking. I'll contribute my journals to the Chronicles when it helps, but naming me your successor might be... unwise.”
Xanderghul snorts, then asks, "Why, are you afraid to take responsibility for something?"
"I have plenty of responsibilities," Val replied, reminding herself that getting mad won't do any good with Xanderghul. [b]"But I'm still getting used to managing a shrine and it took months to get used to working with a strike team of people who I'm actually friends with. Putting me in a position of authority over a big organization, especially one where I'm also answering to other people, is asking for me to f*ck something up."
Xanderghul shrugs. "I don't expect to die any time soon, and your level of responsibility will never be forced on you. I only wanted to say that if you were in the organization, you would be a natural leadership figure."
"So, will you join?"
Val huffs a bit and frowns. "You had better not. We've had enough people that we've lost in the past couple years." She sighs. [b]"If your superiors get pissy because I'm bad with orders, that's going to come back on you, but I'll try my best not to be actively offensive. But I suppose I'd rather my journals add to a good cause rather than just sitting around in my bags. I might need to split some time with the shrines I'm trying to get set up, but alright, I'm in."
Xanderghul scoffs. "Please, as if anyone is monitoring us. I think you'll find that as organizations go, the Pathfinder Society is not authoritative. Are you familiar with the rules of the organization?"
"Only vaguely. I've hung out with a few of the members before, other than you know, you, but we never talked about it too in-depth. From my understanding, it's mostly about exploring and not f~&~ing things up too heavily."
Xanderghul nods curtly. "Right. There are three rules: Explore, Report, and Cooperate. Pathfinders are expected to seek out lost knowledge and report their findings to leadership. In addition, Pathfinders are prohibited from battling each other within the Lodge, and are expected to stay out of one another's business outside the Lodge."
"Typically, Pathfinders must spend three years training before they are raised to full status in the organization, but sometimes the guild's leadership offers 'field commissions'. A field commission raises the discoverer of something marvelous to Pathfinder status immediately."
"Don't worry, I will make all the arrangements for your membership. In practice, all that will be required of you is to learn and discover, write about what you discover, and then put your discoveries in the Lodge."
"That sounds like what I already do but with more paperwork at the end," Val jokes as she takes a moment to wet her throat. [b]"I'll have to go back through my journals and sort out anything that might be good to have on record at some point. Well, at least I'll have a project to keep my occupied during the next couple months."
"We'll head to the school when we return to Drezen. I want to introduce you to people." In a flash, Xanderghul nabs the final piece of salami on a platter in front of him, and savors its dry flavor. "Our next research project will be to discover how to manipulate ley lines. What are you interested in learning?"
"I'm not sure how much practical use I'll get out of that kind of thing, but I can help with field research. Someone has to watch your ass when you go out looking for ley lines to investigate. Ehren might get more out of it than me."
"So, what are you interested in researching?"
Val had to stop and consider the question for a moment. "You know, I've never actually thought about it. The last formal schooling I had was... sixty years ago? Give or take. Unless you count being introduced to Desna's teachings I suppose." She drums her fingers against the table for a few moments. "Maybe the demonic aura around the Worldwound? It would be interesting to know exactly how and why it seems to spontaneously make tieflings and people like the underfolk."
Xanderghul makes a show of dramatically shruggling with his arms out wide and a smile on his face. "Well, you can be supported to study anything that hasn't already been recorded by the Society, which means that if there's anything that you're interested in learning, the Society will help you discover it. I think researching the details of the Wound's mutagenic effects would be an amazing thing for you to focus on. We can see if our libraries have any information on that already when we return."
"I would be surprised if the Crusades have never looked into it at all before, but we'll probably have to do a lot more digging to figure out the details. I'm going to be relying on you to figure out the planar magic bits that are over my head."
Stroking his chin, Xanderghul recalls some bits about one of the Crusader-Queen's knights. "One of Galfrey's Second Swords - Kiarah, I believe - had studied it, but with the intention of 'curing' it. Maybe you can travel to Nerosyan and ask her for her notes."
"That would definitely be a good place to start. I'm not sure being a tiefling needs to be 'cured' but maybe understanding it will help."
"I agree, it's genocidal at best. Contraceptives would be a more appropriate solution than ensuring babies born locally are born 'pure'. However, I'm sure she has a better understanding of the mechanics involved than most if she is able to reverse them."
Val manages a small chuckle at that. "Maybe understanding what's going on would also help teach people not to panic over their kids being born with horns. The fewer people with parents like mine, the better."
Xanderghul claps Valaria on the shoulder. "It sounds like you've motivated yourself!" he says, laughing. "Welcome to the team. I'll bring the paperwork to your shrine when we've settled in." With that, he gets up and heads to a shadowy corner. He preferred to sleep alone in his haven, given the chance to have a preference.
Things in Sesker’s Gully have improved steadily since the massive troll raid just over a year ago, but it is only after Lord-Commander Bishop commits Drezen’s resources to restoring the settlement that progress is truly made. In a matter of weeks, farmlands are plotted out, the frames of new buildings are raised, and a cadre of crusaders are assigned to defend the village on a semipermanent basis. Work on the Sesker clanhold itself remains slow-going, however, owing mostly to Siani Sesker’s insistence that it remain as faithful to the original as possible - a formidable challenge, considering that everyone who ever saw the clanhold in its former splendor is long dead.
It is not until it is late at night that Ehren is finally able to catch a moment alone with Ary. He had intended to speak with her much sooner, but as though to make up for time they spent adventuring in the Darklands, the two of them were inexorably swept up by their duties. Even their time spent collaborating on the village left few opportunities for an honest, private discussion. The druid finds her in her office, or whatever temporary quarters could pass for an office in the unfinished village. The building has a roof, at least.
”Ary, do you have a few moments?” he starts, well aware that she is prone to using keep watch to pull all-nighters. He idly glances around, fully expecting to see a stack of paperwork somewhere. ”I was hoping that we could talk. If I am not interrupting anything, that is.”
"Of course." Ary says, pointedly placing a paperweight at the start of the line she'd been reading so as not to lose her place, before turning to look at him, giving him her full attention just as she would give to anyone who approached her during work.
”It has been quite some time since we last talked,” Ehren starts as he pulls up a chair across from Ary, not wanting to stand and stare down at her. He pays no further mind to the paperwork, trusting that it is something necessary, if not important. Thankfully, it is something he does not have to deal with. ”About something other than demonslaying or municipal planning, I mean. We have been exceedingly busy over these past few years.”
The druid fidgets slightly, reminding himself that he is not here to discuss Ary’s work ethic. They’ve had that discussion before, and it did not really go anywhere. No, this… was something more sensitive than that.
”I don't really know how to word this more tactfully, so I will just come out and ask: how have you been coping with your body?” He only lets the question hang in the air for a second before averting his gaze, focusing on the paperweight on Ary’s desk. His voice goes on, tinged with a hint of uncertainty. ”It feels odd, bringing it up after all this time, but as of late I have begun to worry that I took what happened back then for granted. For me, the body I was born with is but a distant memory - it has not crossed my mind in many months. With the flesh I have now, I am every bit the person I was back then, if not more so. As for the others… well, Hinagiku spoke to me of her own change, and I am sure Aron had Sosiel to console him. But I cannot say with any certainty whether you’ve ever spoken to anyone about your experience.”
Ehren looks back to Ary, trying to read her expression. It is not something he is very good at. ”Is this something that you are comfortable discussing with me?”
Ary pauses for a short time, her brow furrowing as the conversation continues.
Rather than answering the last question posed, she goes with the first, thus answering it at the same time.
”Better. At first it was a bit… much. Everything had changed at once.” She pauses for a moment, brow still knitted up, but slowly loosening as she looks to the ground in thought, ”Tastes, smells, colors. The length of my fingers.” she says, stretching her hand at her side without thinking. ”This body is less… tough. Less lived-in. And it’s a lot easier to get stuck in my head than it once was. But a lot easier to be honest about how I’m feeling.” she pauses again for a moment.
”I think the worst part was the hair at first. We were marching so there wasn’t any real time to do anything about it, but seeing a sudden flicker of red instead of gold always felt… threatening. Cutting it off was the best decision I’ve made in a while, I think.” she says, the hair having grown back out. ”It… gave me time to adjust. Everything just… sort of changed at once.” she says, shaking her head before looking back to him. ”Why do you ask?”
Ehren nods slowly as Ary speaks, doing his best to understand her perspective. As a human who was reborn as a human, he could not claim to have shared all of her experiences. For him, the change had been almost effortless to deal with.
”Because I’ve often wondered whether you see it as an obstacle to your happiness,” he replies quietly. He leans forward slightly, both hands propped up on the crook of his rod.
”In the beginning I thought that these new forms were something that we would all learn to accept, given time. That of all the shapes we could have possibly returned with, there was a reason these were the ones bestowed to us by the Green. Perhaps that is the truth for some of us.” The corners of his mouth curl into a crooked smile. ”I often tell myself that I would have accepted whatever body I came back with, whether it was that of an elf, dwarf, or bugbear… but it is easy for me to make such a claim. Now I often wonder, how important is the shape we take, truly?”
"I did." Ary says, nodding, "And maybe I still do. I liked the way I looked, the body I'd worked for, the wear and tear it had seen." she continues, pausing for a moment. "It was a home. Lived in." she finishes with a wry smile.
"But it's absolutely a benefit from my perspective. Things are different. It's just... it's not me. But at the same time, Faith and Radiance still accept me. All of you still accept me. Most of the soldiers only know that I used to be human by way of me being open about it."
She rolls her shoulder a little uncomfortably. "It was rough at first. And there are still drawbacks, but they're minor compared to most of the benefits. I've got a lot better of a grasp on things than I ever had before. I've got space up here for more than just demon-slaying." she says, tapping the side of her head. "Not that I'm a huge fan of everything that's up there, now. But someone's gotta do it."
”Did you think that they wouldn’t accept you? That we wouldn’t?” Ehren asks earnestly, giving his head a slight tilt. ”Surely not just because you look different. You are so much more than what you appear to be on the outside. And you have the very same soul that you have always had, just as I do.”
”Even so, your body is also part of who you are. Or at least, it should be. But right now, you speak of it in terms of its benefits and drawbacks, as though it were just a tool.” He frowns sheepishly, not particularly liking how he worded that last sentence. ”Hm. That was not very fair of me to say. I suppose what I am really trying to say is that maybe it is not something you have to accept. Not unless you want to.”
"I... no... yes? Maybe a little?" Ary responds, suddenly a little confused, she hadn't really thought about it in that way before. It had never been the mortals around her that her change in appearance had concerned her about. She looks down, eyes on the ground for a moment, the edge of her lip curling up slightly even as she looks profoundly sad in the moment... clearly remembering something distant.
"My body has always been a tool. Ever since I was kid, I grew up knowing what I wanted to do. Shine in Her Legion. I spent my life honing my body for that purpose, growing stronger, more able to ignore enemy blows." she says, looking back up to Ehren. "It's only over time that I've grown to know what this one is fully capable of, to accept it as a different sword than the one I was born with. I know that..." she stops as her eyes start to water, she looks away suddenly, blinking a few times.
"Thank you, Ehren. You're right, it was never about the sword. It was always about the heart. And to even think for a moment, otherwise, is to doubt what shouldn't be doubted." she says, continuing to blink away the tears, not allowing herself to cry openly. Her hand moves to the pommel of Radiance.
"A sword is just a sword. If I lose my sword, I have lost a tool. It's only if I betray my heart that I've truly died."
”When your time comes, your heart is what will be weighed,” Ehren says, nodding slowly. ”As long as you remember that, you need not worry about what fate awaits you. I believe that you will shine in her legion, one day. But until then, you should take care of your sword as well. Keep it sharp and polished.”
The druid frowns, debating with himself on how long he should extend the metaphor. Despite intending to broach this topic all along, he is having a spectacularly difficult time doing so. ”Or perhaps you can find a new one, if you feel that the one you have now does not suit you. One that feels… more balanced. Or that is shinier.”
"I'm... afraid I don't follow." Ary says, brow furrowing and smile fading slightly. "Are... you offering to kill me and bring me back again..? Or did the metaphor just go off on its own little tangent..?"
Ehren blinks. ”What? Gods, Ary, no. That’s… not what I had in mind.”
With an annoyed groan, he leans forward in his chair and pinches the bridge of his nose. Several seconds pass before he deems it safe to speak again.
”This is my fault, for not speaking frankly,” the druid says finally, shaking his head. ”I’ll dispense with the metaphor, then. What I am trying to say is that if the Green gave you this body, then perhaps there is a way to get it to give you a different one. One that feels right to you, with a way that does not involve killing and then reincarnating you. That leaves fewer things to chance.”
"I... No." Ary responds, shaking her head with only a small amount of hesitation. "Anything that would be invested in such a thing could be better spent elsewhere. Had you asked... years ago, my answer would surely be different. But... I'm not the person I was two years ago. I'm not allowing the flash of red in my vision to control me like I used to. I... don't view my body as a symbol of my failure, a scar that removed all other scars." she pauses for another brief moment. "Perhaps we could find something else for you to spend your time on?" Ary offers with her smile returning a bit as the distant look fades once more.
”Hm. If I were you, I wouldn’t worry myself too much with what the archdruid chooses to do with his spare time,” Ehren replies with a hint of mischief, returning Ary’s smile. The moment quickly passes, however - his eyes drift back to her paperwork as he pensively considers her answer.
”I figured you would say something like that. It is funny, that just a few years ago, I would never have dreamed that what I am proposing is even remotely possible. ‘Impossibility’ just doesn’t hold as much meaning as it used to. But if that is truly the way you feel about yourself, then I am satisfied with leaving things be. I won’t push the matter any further.”
”As for where my efforts might be better spent, I suppose that I still need to convince a few people that Sesker’s Gully does not need a bigger statue of Vard Rockgrinder.” Right on cue, the druid stifles a yawn. ”Tomorrow, though.”
Her time back in Drezen, when not working on her personal projects and helping to research the celestial ley line, was spent mostly cultivating and maintaining her network of informants. Duke had been doing an excellent job maintaining things in her absence, and his updates proved invaluable for getting back up to speed. Among all the reports she received, however, the one that troubled her most was not anything regarding cultists within Drezen or demonic incursions in the outer reaches of Mother Heartwood's region of influence. No, what troubled her most was the picture she had formed of the Lord Commander of Drezen. While she knew Ary was fond of making use of keep watch to provide extra time to accomplish things, it was clear now that Ary did not sleep at all. Her informants painted a picture of someone who spent every waking moment while within the city attending to all its needs both great and small. Her willingness to commit her all to the city and those under her command was commendable, but what she was shouldering was a burden that would eventually wear down even the strongest willed.
It was this concern which led her to approach Ary late in the evening, after everyone had retired. Isilme was more than capable of moving unseen within Drezen, and it was little trouble to arrive at Ary's chambers when she knew she was still present and visitors were exceedingly unlikely.
"I would ask if you are awake, Ary, but it is not truly a question that needs answering," she says, knocking briefly on the frame of the door as she lets herself into the room. "I wondered if you had a moment to discuss some things that have been troubling me."
Ary was sitting in her bed, leaned against the wall, two books to her side each with a bookmark in it, as she scanned over a page in another in her hand. She holds up a finger to Isilme, scanning once more, flipping a blue tome with a red book mark and yellowed pages open, glancing over it, and then closing it back with a short nod. She carefully moves the ribbon on the red book she’s holding between the pages, nudges it slightly to maneuver it into place near the spine and a little higher on the page, then snaps it shut.
”Of course, what seems to be the problem?” she asks, maneuvering the books towards the head of the bed as she turns to be in a position more seated, rather than having her knees tucked towards her chest.
"Given that my role here is to keep track of what happens within this town, I have noticed that you have no fixed sleep schedule. In fact, I cannot actually find evidence that you sleep at all," Isilme begins, moving into the room. She pauses for a moment, silent, her focus turned to the books that the Lord Commander was reading. "I am sincerely concerned, both in my role as spymaster for Drezen, and as your friend, that you are burning the candle at both ends."
Isilme moves up by Ary's bed and nods towards it, "Do you mind?" she says, gesturing that she'd like to sit on the edge of the bed.
"No, of course not. Just don't go spreading any rumors about me inviting you into it." Ary responds, cheekily, deflecting slightly. "I do sleep, it's just uncommon. There is simply so much more you can do when you have extra spare time. Like, right now, I've been trying to figure out where I'd heard of that gunslinger succubus before, but none of the texts in Drezen have anything on her. I suspect maybe the Pathfinder Society has more... and have considered asking Xanderghul to put in a request." She says, motioning to the three books. "I've got some stuff on Vrocks in a jungle, at least."
"I wouldn't worry about that, there's enough going around about Aravashnial and I that I don't need anymore rumors," she says with a wink. "Back to the matter at hand, though. These are all things that can be done by other people Ary, can and should be done by other people."
Isilme pauses for a moment, pondering what would resonate most with Ary. Clearly she was as pragmatic as any commander could be, perhaps even moreso, and she was also empathetic with her troops to a fault. "The reason for this is threefold: First, if Drezen is attacked while you are using the spell, you will not be able to provide your all to the defense of the city. The troops will be counting on you in such a situation."
She waits again briefly before continuing, "Secondly, important research on things like the gunslinging succubus should not be dependent on your presence in the city. Just like I let Duke manage the majority of my scouting and spy network so that if I am absent there is no loss of command, the things you are doing must be able to continue in your absence, or Elysium forbid, without you in case of your death. When you take all this upon your shoulders, instead of delegating, loss of your knowledge could be a terrible blow to Drezen. While we are powerful and capable of truly impressive feats, we have failed like that before."
"Thirdly, things can be done both better and more efficiently if we share the burden. You more than anyone, possibly in the crusades, know your troops and their strengths. Delegating tasks to those who are most suited is just the right thing to do. As an Iomedaean you do not leave a sword or suit of armor in the field rusting, do you? Your troops are the same thing, they are people you look after, but they are also powerful tools. With them you can accomplish things that you could not do alone. Bearing this burden alone is no different than leaving your armor, faith and radiance in Drezen and charging into battle unequipped for the confrontation."
"But beyond the pragmatic, logical reasons, Ary. I am worried about your health. By continuously placing all these burdens on your shoulders you are setting a bar so high that even the greatest commander would eventually fail to clear it. When that happens, the results will likely be terrible, and those are the circumstances that break people, because they cannot forgive themselves for their failure. You need not look any further than what you saw and know of Elan and I to see the results of such a mistake."
She finishes and looks at Ary, studying her to get an idea of the commander's reaction to her words.
"Oh. Your eyes are a little wrong, then." Ary says, shaking her head. "I'm actually studying our enemies for pleasure. Knowing who they are, what they do, allows us to better handle them. It saves lives when I know these things. And as for delegating... I do. The entire council, their clerks, various soldiers, you and your spy network, Xander and his pathfinders, Val's travelers, the teachers I've been recruiting, even Kari and the other kids - sorry, adults in my program have responsibilities, but when I have time - during work hours - I go over the information that I have time for. It's not at all me shouldering the entire burden... you know as well as I that my greatest skill is overlooking someone else's work. Anything I'm able to look over tends to be better for it. Sure, we could settle for good enough... but we're still in a desperately unstable point in the growth of Drezen, its laws, and the expansion of our control zones," she continues, testy and defensive.
"Yes, there are times I'm stretched thin, and I would definitely enjoy having less on my plate..." she continues, before shaking her head, "I mean, the work is already lessening as the city gets more firmly settled, which allows me to focus more on the school, and continue focusing on my studies."
Seeing that it will be quite difficult to dissuade Ary from continuing to use the extra time she gets from the spell, and acknowledging the fact that Ary might enjoy some of the work as a way to unwind, Isilme decides to change her tack. "Very well then, if that's the case, then let's get you a ring to lessen the sleep you need," she says, "You will still get significantly more out of your day than you would without any magic, and you will get the benefit of dreams to help you sort out the things that your heart and mind cannot figure out while you are awake." She gently pokes Ary in the chest and forehead to punctuate her statement. "You may not be a follower of Desna, but she did gift those to everyone for a reason. But most importantly, you will not be dependent upon a spell which was never intended to free you from needing to sleep ever again."
"Such rings are in fashion in Absolom right now among the merchant class, so it should neither be too costly nor difficult to obtain one," she adds quickly, anticipating Ary objecting because the resources might be better spent elsewhere.
"Dreaming again, more often, does sound nice. And it wouldn't feel like so much of a waste if I used Keep Watch and then slept anyway." she pauses, frowning as she remembers that she used to have prophetic dreams that had led her to Radiance, wondering if perhaps it was a mistake to avoid sleeping as much as she does, even if it were for a good cause.
"Mmmm, but a ring wouldn't allow me to aid others in not needing to sleep while we're on missions. Would we be able to get one for everyone, cheaply?" Ary asks at the suggestion. "I mean, everyone who normally travels with us. It'd make our fortnite-excursions into dark caves significantly safer."
"There's no reason anything else would need to change. I am not saying never use the spell, just that it should only be used when we are actually out in the field and staying awake is essential." she replies to Ary's concern.
"Also, I am certain we could all afford such rings if we desired, but I imagine not everyone will see it as that important, honestly. We can ask them next time we are all together, if you like. So it's settled then? We can get you a ring, and you will promise to use that instead of keep watch except in dire situations?" She looks at Ary hopefully as she asks.
"No. I don't promise that." Ary says, shaking her head. "I do promise to use it less often. But there will be times that are not dire where I'll want to use it."
"At least promise to spend a couple weeks not using it--except in dire situations, of course--until you get used to what it was like without it," she replies, determined to at least get a short term concession.
"Alright, I'll give it at least a fortnight." Ary agrees after a few moments.
"I will talk to Ehren and see if we cannot make a trip to buy one in Nerosyan, or failing that Absolom in the near future then. I'll let you get back to your reading, thanks for hearing out my concerns Ary," Isilme stands up and heads towards the door, stopping briefly and gesturing to inquire whether Ary wants her to close the door as she leaves.
"Leave it open, I only close it when I'm away, training or sleeping. It let's people know whether I'm available or not."
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Ary Bishop
Lord-Commander Ary Bishop, appointed ruler of Drezen, had a busy and taxing year. Out of all the heroes in the group, Ary had the heaviest responsibilities - namely the oversight and organization of an entire Crusader city and its military forces. And Ary's penchant for wishing to maintain relationships with those individuals under her charge, even as that number begins to grow into the thousands, means that she is left with a nearly limitless supply of work. But finally after the third year since her appointment, she comes to see the fruits of the heroes' labor: Drezen, a fully self-sufficient city. It wasn't until the spring of 4716 that Ary, whilst on a long walk with Irabeth, Anevia, and their now ten-year-old daughter, Sana, that she realized that not a single building within the city walls was damaged or otherwise visibly in need of maintenance.
However six months were to pass between now and then. First order of business upon escorting Ehren home: the discovered Templars. While she could leave the international concerns to her spymaster, Isilme, Ary and Ehren were left to work together to tackle the issue concerning those targeting the indigenous groups that tended to prefer to live in clusters outside of the city walls. The kellids were swift and exacting in their punishment of the captured Templars - but Ary soon found the longer task of trying to unravel the exact circumstances of how the Templars infiltrated them best left to the archdruid, at least, after he had recovered from the grueling task of setting up the Purification Forge.
The next two months she oversaw the development of the new forge. Joran was a natural appointment to oversee it - he understood how the Corruption Forge had worked, and so he could naturally wield the opposite effect using the new Heavenly energy source.
His first task given to him was a fitting one. Redeem the Staff of Droskar's Demands. First he had to work to break the curse set upon the staff that made it completely untouchable by dwarves. The magic set upon it was powerful enough it took Joran nearly a week of communing with Irori to fully break the spell.
CL 9th, Aura Moderate Enchantment, 10 lbs.
This 4-foot long iron staff is engraved with a mosaic pattern reminiscent of broken chains. It currently possesses 5 charges.
The staff allows the use of the following spells.
• liberating command (1 charge)
• freedom's toast (2 charges)
• break enchantment (4 charges)
Any good creature that is freed from a magical status effect by a spell cast with this staff receives a +2 bonus to will saves against compulsion effects from evil sources for the next 24 hours.
Staff of Freedom's Command has a consciousness and Ego. Now redeemed, the Staff's alignment is NG and motivated to venture forth and free slaves. The Staff no longer has any preference for one deity or race, but it does not function at all for non-redeemed slavers and bestows -2 negative levels upon any Evil wielder.
Ary didn't actually possess any background knowledge pertaining to smithing or crafting - and just had a general idea of the practice of artificing from her voracious reading (the crafting and use of magical implements) so during her day job for most of the fall she spent assisting with the first fledged semester of the Drezen Academy for Martial Training. She wanted to make full use of the additional support and grants she had obtained from the Crusader-Queen in Nerosyan, and that meant putting in a lot of extra hours. But probably the most fulfilling aspect of her job was getting to personally teach a class on utilizing some of her most exceptional martial techniques, and watching her students grow and learn under her tutelage. Her squire, Fenton Bootblack, was one of the top students in her inaugural class, despite fierce competition from some of the other ambitious students - all eyes were on the little squire chosen by the famed Sword-Knight.
But Ary was quickly finding that she would need to take a different approach with the tiefling youth in the city. The cohort was quickly aging, and while most of them had moved on to excel under different mentors and on different paths in the city, some of them struggled to adjust to life in Drezen. More troubling, their presence was viewed as a corrupting influence by some of Drezen's population, increasing anti-tiefling sentiment amongst some of the Crusaders. For instance a growing drug problem had cropped up, first appearing amongst the tiefling youth, but even three crusaders had been found dead of overdose that winter. Ary was quick to launch an investigation into the distributor, knowing the drug had to be produced by the body of a powerful shadow demon, only to find the perpetrator highly elusive to capture. She did get a name, though - the tieflings referred to her as Snikulu, a localized Abyssal term for "mother".
Come Spring, Ary spent a week in the nearby town of Sesker's Gully - she had come to observe the consecration of a new chapel there dedicated to the heroic achievements of Ser Alrys Bishop. She had never learned of what came of his things, gifted to his family members now dwelling someplace in Heaven, but upon touring the new chapel the local priest, a barrel-chested Ulfen woman known as Mother Harriet, she came to suspect her family's presence blessed the small chapel in small ways - cutlery becoming spontaneously shiny and good as new, and pews that reported to relieve the aches and pains of a long day when used by the parish. As for the Kellids, relations between Siani Sesker and the Crusades had become amicable over last year, and while misunderstandings still cropped up from time to time, it was a rare example of Sarkorians and Mendevians working together to build a community willingly, rather than isolating apart as they usually did.
The entire time Ary kept up with regular sendings in communications with the Gunduara people, which lead to the immigration of a rather unique merchant that summer - a foul-mouthed dwarven alchemist named Svore Fossek who specializes in tinkering and golemcrafting, and a tangential ally of Dornarnus. While not quite the abolitionist Dornarnus was (however they knew each other was apparently very complicated, and neither dwarf wanted to speak much of it), Svore, like Dornarnus, was a far cry from the stuffy Toragdan traditionalists of Janderhoff (or of Drezen, for that matter!). Already a wealthy alchemist from her travels in places across Garund and the Inner Sea, she immediately buys a large shop and attached residence within Paradise Hill - the one just across the street from the Loumises' own seamstress shop, as a matter of fact!
Upon her immigration, Horgus informs Ary that Svore would be willing to offer potions at crafting price... but she wants unrestricted access to the original Ashhelm golems still maintained within Drezen for research processes. Upon entry examination by Drezen's inquisitors, they conclude she is not evil, but not good, either - with a definite streak towards chaos.
Does Ary agree?
Come the next fall, Ary relinquishes her teaching duties to a newly hired supervisor for the Silver Crane class - a young Galtan man, and member of the Empyreal Guardians. That Fall was largely quiet, save for some strange happenings in Lamashan - an invasion of a swarm of the spawn of strange crab-like elementals known as tojanidas in Drezen's sewers was a special headache undertaken by Ary, Ehren, and Klarah - in the end Ehren resorted to blasting the swarms apart with enormous beams of ley-energy. Otherwise Ary devoted her time to ensuring that Aravashnial's Crusader-run school of wizardry maintained good ties with Xanderghul's Academy, first with a city-funded program to investigate other uses of the ley. As a result, many Aravashnial himself and many of his own and Xanderghul's best students were sent abroad to obtain research materials from various repositories of knowledge, and have been busy with that ever since then.
That winter, Lord-Commander Ary focused her efforts on reclaiming Icerift, which she found still abandoned. The foreboding mountain fortress bordered the Crown of the World at Mendev's northernmost border, and was too frigid and inhospitable for even bandits or beastmen to consider seeking refuge there. With Ehren's ability to quickly move between Icerift and any other major Mendevian city, however, the logistics of maintaining supply for such a far-flung tundra base had become possible. As the initial stages of cleaning the ruin out progressed, however, Ary quickly found that in the longterm it would be impossible for her to spread herself thin between Drezen and Icerift. But Icerift's success would be contingent on that leader's skill.
And now, winter was blossoming into spring, which was bringing all new challenges. She spent the month of Calistril in the east fighting off a swarm of Derakni that was bee-lining straight for some initial eastward fortifications that she was working to set up along the farthest reaches of Mother Heartwood's influence. She had returned to news that to the far north a new Kellid presence had reclaimed their ancestral homes, but unfortunately so far it was a hostile one.
Ary first consulted with Nurah to see what she could dig up on previous Crusader relations with the Demetae clan and initially found only frustration - Nurah rejected the stories she had dug up outright, finding them too outlandish to be true. The old tales spoke of a northern region that, during Sarkorian times, was more akin to a southern jungle than the bordering coniferous Forest of Stones, due to a magical influence that the kellids attributed to the personal intervention of the Green. The Demetae there were known for rearing Saurians, enormous reptilian-avian beasts generally more well known to roam within the bordering Kellid Realm of the Mammoth Lords, as mounts and guardians. But Nurah knew of the valley it spoke of, knowing it to be nothing more than a frozen wasteland.
Truth turned out to be stranger than fiction, and as Ary was finally able to consult with Ehren on Nurah's findings, she found the Archdruid actually corroborated the old tales! The existence of the mighty saurians and their esoteric guardians were still present in the tales Sarkorians told to their children (and the inspiration for some of Ehren's conjuring, as a matter of fact). However he cautioned that even back in the times of Sarkoris, the Demetae were insular even amongst Kellids, matching Nurah's comments that the Demetae were fiercely territorial, and never welcomed Crusader envoys into their lands. Ehren was able to paint a different perspective, however - knowing that the Demetae protected a vein of Mithral ore within their lands from both Kellid and foreigner eyes and pockets.
In any case, the Demetae had already killed two Crusader scouts, and were even starting to travel out in roving packs, preying upon eastern Crusader patrols to rob them of supplies and gear. Some Crusader Captains and leaders were calling for formal military action - and now Ary knew that they'd have one real shot at diplomatic negotiations with this new presence, and that she and the others would have to undertake that mission personally. But today, she had even more pressing matters to attend to....
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Ehren Ferron
Ehren Ferron, the Archdruid of Sarkoris, spent his days attending to the needs of the Sarkorian people who lived within Mother Heartwood's giving bounds. While their numbers ran far fewer than the thousands of Mendevians mustering at Drezen and its sister fortifications, at least Ary didn't always wear a literal crown. The bronze circlet, fashioned loosely in the shape of antlers, had been passed down from Archdruid to Archdruid for millennia - any Sarkorian kellid with knowledge of the Old Ways recognized it on sight.
The news of Templars recruiting amongst Kellid clans forced Ehren to realize that he could not restrain his attention to merely Drezen and its surrounds. A mutual sense of mistrust between the Mendevians and the Sarkorians often forced the two apart, and in doing so, left them vulnerable to demonic infiltration. After recovering from pulling the Heavenly ley all the way into Drezen, Ehren left on a long journey to consult first with Houna and her people, then to meet with the people of Clan Cors. After long, patient talks, Ehren learned that youthful individuals within both groups were approached by an elven maiden, speaking of the benefits of worshipping Baphomet, the beast lord - always targeting those with the most anti-Crusader resentments.
By the time he returns to Drezen, fall has given way to winter. Resolving to take care of something he had thought of months ago, he meets with Hinagiku, Ledsa, and little Yulin (who was now physically the age of a 5 year old), and then leaves for southern Mendev, where he knew his druidic clan would likely be sheltering for the winter. There he formally introduces his parents, sisters, brother, and innumerable cousins to his partner. His family receives her warmly, and his grandparents hold a grand feast in his honor, the clan finally gathering to celebrate their young Ehren's success out in the greater world. But that was only part of the reason he had wanted to meet with them. He wanted to broach the subject of adopting Ledsa (and by that extension, Yulin) into their clan. That lead to a very long and serious discussion with his father, mother, and both of his sets of grandparents, about the olden days of Sarkoris. So many druidic circles had been wiped out, each and every one of them fighting to their dying breath until Sarkoris fell. His family all agreed that it would be good to send druids out to teach those of other clans the lost druidic arts. In the end, a selection of six of Ehren's cousins, as well as his mother and one of his grandfathers, would journey out into the world trying to find any possible descendants of the old Sarkorian clans. It was time for them to finally journey home.
Ledsa and Yulin are formally brought into the clan, and so in a way, into his family. Ehren returns back to Drezen in high spirits, only to be swept up into another problem. Malevolent spores were animating vermin in the more rural, kellid areas, transforming them into terrible spore zombies. He and Ailig had to ride out to fight them off, exterminating them by blade or spell until not a single one remained.
The new spring came with it new discoveries, but also some losses. Since his return from Heaven, Xanderghul had begun to run his school a little differently. Rather than just seeking to elevate people for their own sake, Xanderghul was focusing his pupils to maximize their contribution back to the city. The change was sudden and dramatic, and several of his followers ended up dropping out of his academy across the next few months, but they were soon replaced with even more, coming in waves. Now working in tandem with Crocris and Houna, the researchers were able to prove that the ground water directly beneath Mother Heartwood was purified in a way that it remained stable and pure for at least a year out - maybe even longer than that. This provided Drezen a new way to replenish supplies for patrols leaving the reaches of Mother Heartwood's cleansed lands.
Then, in Gozran, Chief Sull passed away peacefully in his sleep. Javyn, who had remained by his side his final days, left to rejoin his people in Nar-Voth after a few weeks of mourning. Ehren attended the funeral, and was pleased to see such a large attendance. Despite his strange appearance and customs, Chief Sull was well loved by many in Drezen. After some discussion amongst the families of Neathholm, they decided not to nominate a new Chief. Instead, they wanted to simply live as citizens of Drezen - the entire tribe had a glowing opinion of both the Archdruid and the Lord-Commander, and were proud to call Drezen home.
Things were peaceful going into the summer, and so in an effort to make Hinagiku happy Ehren departed for Nerosyan, intent on studying maps of her homeland to try and discern a good place to try to walk the lines to that was near enough to her home village that they could easily just hike the rest of the way. Crusader recruitment in the far eastern continent was ongoing, and Ehren was renowned enough with the Crusades that he found little issue acquiring the same sorts of resources the Crusades' own recruiters utilized when traveling to far-off lands in search of new knights and soldiers. With them, he was able to find a place about fifty miles north of her village, Kurihara, that seemed suitable - a beautiful limestone cave system, with beautiful geometric patterns thought to be the influence of nature spirits. Upon meeting with Hinagiku to tell her the news, the two decide to wait until the next spring to visit. For one, both heroes had much to do in the coming months (Ary had announced she wanted to work on reclaiming Icerift in earnest), for two, the springtime was when the wildflowers of Kurihara were blooming in earnest - her adoptive mother's favorite time of year.
The next few months were relaxed, as far as living in the Worldwound could be. In Erastus, Valaria came to Ehren with news of a basilisk that was hassling travelers along the canyon road. Natural basilisks were docile, if territorial creatures, and if it was a normal one he knew it had likely just manage to lay eggs too close to a well-traveled path, and so the Archdruid and Valaria set out to, well, relocate it.
In the fall Ehren assisted Ary with a little sewer infestation that only started to make sense when Grumtarr informed him off-hand that little crabs with flippers were in fact, just 'irritating blathering bubbling folk'. Ehren had expressed some amazement that there were crab-shaped elementals in the world - those that he was accustomed to summoning were like Grumtarr, sentient manifestations of inert matter. But Grumtarr just scoffed at that, grumbling, "እምሽ! በጣም የሚያስደንቀው ነገር በቃቱ ውስጥ ፀጥ ያሉ ቶርኒዳሳዎች መኖራቸውን ነው ፡፡ ማውራት እንዴት እንደረሱት ይገርማሉ?"
"Hrmph! What's funny is that there are quiet Tojanidas here in the Material. Wonder how they forgot to talk?"
Come Winter, Ehren's efforts were needed at Icerift in earnest. The heavy snows cut off the supply lines, meaning his ability to walk the lines was the difference between fresh medicine, food, and water getting to the troops there or not. Ehren made most of his travels at this point with Ledsa - Yulin was old enough she was now enrolled into Quednys' school, in an effort to understand and control her burgeoning demonic powers. Ledsa worried constantly about her daughter, but was coming to take pride in her own growing mastery of the druidic arts. Together, Ehren and Ledsa scoured the peaks of Rimethirst for any signs of the wendigo, Kalek. They found nothing, satisfied that the monster had been driven far away from here.
Ehren had more time to focus on other matters than that of Icerift come spring, but of course a new year came with new challenges. Drezen had grown from a ramshackle ruin to a thriving city, and now that it was perceived as a safe place to be (at least safer than Nerosyan, which ironically was seeing more active conflict than Drezen, thanks to the Sword of Valor acting as a powerful deterrent against sieges), all sorts of people from far away places were investigating the city as a place to call home. Among them, a group of Andoren researchers arrived wishing to study the strange herbs and flowers that had become native to Drezen. Specifically, they wished to take a large number of live samples, and take them home to Andoran for further review.
The plants of Drezen are not like anywhere else. Many of the Sarkorian Steppe's original flora and fauna had become corrupted and distorted thanks to the Worldwound's influence, and even Mother Heartwood's influence was not enough to jolt the chaos that it had inflicted on the ecosystem here. Strange, thorned trees with leaves of deep red and purple, flowers with bulbs that resembled angry lions' heads, and lichens with tendrils resembling tentacles are among the various flora that grow naturally in Drezen.
Ehren honestly doesn't know what would happen to these plants if they were taken out of Mother Heartwood's sphere of influence. But the researchers are offering a tidy sum for Drezen's trouble, and Horgus has been pressuring him to just take the deal. Will he allow them to export Drezen's plantlife, will he flat out refuse, or does Ehren have a proposal of compromise?
It was just as Ehren had figured out what to do about that headache that reports of hostile Kellids reached his ears... unfortunately this time from the Mendevians first. Apparently the esotertic Demetae clan had made a move to reclaim their ancestral homes. This wasn't anything new - many Sarkorians had been inspired by the successes at Gundrun, and now Drezen, to retake land from the Worldwound and had returned from far-off places to try their luck. But the Demetae were close enough that their people were running into Drezen patrolmen, killing them, and robbing their bodies.
The Demetae were known as an insular people, even for Kellids, but Ehren's ancestral memories did not seem to think of them as a violent people. Perhaps there was some room for misunderstanding? After consulting with Ary and the others on what he knew of the Demetae clan, they had made up their minds to send a diplomatic envoy. They were just trying to come to an agreement on what exactly that should look like (they were known as fearsome warriors, after all) when trouble yet again came knocking at the Archdruid's door...
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Isilme
Ary's earliest years were spent growing up on a farm in the River Kingdoms, while Ehren grew up with his clan in Mendev, a druidic circle devoted to guardianship of the ancient menhir stones that were used to form the Crusader wardstone field.
If Isilme ever had a mortal childhood, she doesn't remember it. Her earliest memories are of being a raelis azata in Elysium, a benevolent, but chaotic outsider devoted to a love of storytelling, though even those memories were now becoming hazy. More clear was a life she lived over the last few centuries in the Inner Sea, mostly under the disguise of an elvish bard. Since then, Isilme has re-visited Elysium after an adventure in Heaven lead her more deeply into her worship of the goddess Desna, who has all along watched over her rebirth into a new, mortal, form.
Isilme still retains some azata magic, such as the ability to change her appearance at will, which made her a natural choice for Drezen's spymaster. A sworn crusader and anointed knight, Isilme's day-to-day role revolves around gathering intelligence for the Crusader city.
Isilme left for Drezen immediately to arrange for counter-intelligence against the Templars. The survey of the tunnels found that they opened to an entry near the Lake Lost to the Sun, an entry point farther to the south along the Grey Road, and another just north of Sesker's Gully.
Afterwards, Isilme checked with her web of contacts in order to get in touch with someone within the ruling Thuvian caste as soon as possible. This contact came from an unexpected place - Captain Kathon, a half-orc fighter amongst her subordinates. Kathon revealed that she herself was born اصیل, hvāzāta within the Aspenthar city-state of Thuvia.
“In Thuvia there are four castes - the شاه,(shah), the royalty, rule over the other three. Then the rest of society is understood under three castes; slaves, or برده (bardegi), the “free” (or not-slaves), نجیب (āzāta), and then the اصیل (hvāzāta), the “not-commoners”, above them,” explains Kathon. "Slavery has been illegal in Thuvia for centuries, but the language is still present, I suppose."
Kathon was able to help Isilme secure an initial sending, but in the end there is only so much a few dozen words at a time can convey. Isilme and Kathon travel to Thuvia, where Isilme exists fully undercover for six months, working with the اصیل as a counter-spy against the Templars that had wormed their way into the Thuvian nobility. She successfully unmasked the remaining cultists hiding amongst the Asadi family, but raked the ire of more than a few aristocrats along the way, and accidentally causing the young شاهدخت ("Shahdokt" - a term for a daughter of a Shah) of Aspenthar, Jahani Jodinaj to fall hopelessly in love with her.
"But... will I ever see you again?" Jahani calls out tearfully as Isilme gets ready with Kathon board the boat for Sothis, where she would meet with the Archdruid to secure passage home.
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Isilme returns to Drezen that Spring - the two Bralanis were left ostensibly in charge, though Duke, an awakened cat, always served as true second in command, her most trusted eyes and ears throughout the city. She returns to find the Purification Forge fully completed, and Drezen's multiple educational projects in full swing. Her respite and reunion with Aravashnial is short-lived, however - while attending the consecration ceremony of the Bishop chapel in Sesker's Gully, Isilme is pulled aside by Inquisitor Dawal Fajr, who informs her that the armor of Staunton Vhane, previously held in Kenabres for evaluation and processing, had gone missing. Now two of the former dwarven tyrant of Drezen's possessions had seemingly grown legs and walked away.
Isilme launches a full investigation, but is pulled back to Drezen in the summer to investigate a case of students at either Aravashnial or Xanderghul's arcane academies stealing resources to practice illegal necromantic magic. In an effort to get closer to the students, Isilme begins teaching her own classes at the schools.
After apprehending the would-be necromancers (the culprits turned out to be very young, so they were let off easy), she spends the fall assisting Ary with appointing new forces at Icerift. The first step, of course, was to carefully investigate the massive fortress and surrounds for any signs of monsters or other squatters, a task which was given to Isilme and Hinagiku. While there, they are reunited with a familiar face, young Peredur, a hunter of the Roaring Sabretooth Clan. He informs them that he was still on the hunt of what Isilme now new to be the invidiak, Arastrax. He told him that his clan's communions with the spirits pointed westwards, and so that was where he was going to travel next.
Isilme returned to Drezen in the Winter, satisfied that the entire complex was barren (now too inhospitable for even the worst of creatures, it seemed), but was disappointed to find that Aravashnial had already left for Osirion - on a research expedition approved by the Lord-Commander, it seemed. They had to now keep in touch via sendings - which quickly became a way for the Desnan to vent steam as she faced the hardest task of godmothering - mentoring a headstrong half-demon. Yulin was now the size of a five-year-old and was coming to learn to control her nascent demonic powers - skills that included the ability to blanket a room in darkness, or otherwise cause mischief. In an effort to help guide and direct her, Ledsa agreed to enroll her in Aravashnial's school, but she was soon coming to be too much for the now very-elderly Quednys Orlun to handle. With Aravashnial away, Isilme was called in more than once to resolve an issue related to Yulin throwing a rather explosive tantrum, or otherwise bullying other children with her magical talents.
It was now Gozran again, spring, and Ledsa and Ehren would be home, soon. Isilme would have to muddle over how to best talk to the kellid druid about her daughter, but for now there were more pressing issues. She was getting ready to leave her residence to meet with the others, and Duke was giving a very long-winded debriefing of his latest exploits.
Speaking of - is she still living in the operahouse, or did she move in with Aravashnial?
"You creatures are so sex-obsessed," Duke says, scathingly, the small brown cat perched on Isilme's desk while she gets ready for the day. "Always gossiping about who bred with who, whose litters were fathered by which tom - why should it even matter?" he rants.
"Anyway, the Lord-Commander wants to see you. Something about marauding kellids, northeast of the city, killed two scouts... you know, same-old, same-old," Duke yawns and stretches out on the desk, front legs first, then hind.
Not really 'same-old, same-old', you were under the impression that Ehren had by now come to accords with all of the local kellid populations.