Session 22
Nature Calls
The team went to Eldgran to have him look at the crystals they had managed to obtain before the Obsidian Fist did, and to potentially leave some of them with him for safekeeping. Though before they reached his office, Delbellis spotted a tall individual standing with Eldgran. As she approached, she caught some of the conversation as it was reaching its end.
It seemed the man warned Eldgran to not hold someone under his command, presumably Cassius, up for long, as he was needed in the North. When Eldgran asked if there were no other authorities willing to help, the man told him that only a few hirelings from Avalon's Conquest Chamber had been sent. As Eldgran finally spotted Delbellis, he rounded up his conversation with the then named Lord Belkin.
When the group had gathered in the office, the doors were closed before they discussed it any further.
After Cerrule took out the crystals for Eldgran to see, Aragir told him that Weylin used these type of crystals to regain his old powers, which made him wonder how they even got here.
From what he knew, the crystals originally came from Istros Borealis, more specifically a crater commonly known as the World Eater. Though anyone who would approach this area, teeming with pulsating light, would become ill and eventually perish.
It was believed that an ancient but advanced civilisation once lived on this continent, which was wiped out due to an extinction-level event which resulted in the crater. Their advanced technology and culture was scattered over Yggdrasil, giving rise to other living beings as nature began to shift.
Eldgran then proceeded to tell the group of Elrune Leonelis, who first discovered the crystals. After his works were published, many who could cross the seas sought fortune in Istros Borealis. However, due to the sickness none of them had succeeded.
Cerrule spoke of a theory that Istros Borealis could be the source of magic as they knew it to this day. Aragir added that if this theory was true, the World Eater could have a connection with the Feywilds.
After this, the group decided to leave the largest crystal with Eldgran, and take some of the smaller ones to the Scarlet Academy.
When the group left the office, Cassius was asked to stay behind for a moment. Aragir closed the door and listened to the conversation. While Eldgran reiterated that the matter at hand had to be solved first, he told Cassius that the situation he had been sent to deal with before had worsened. It seemed that someone was experimenting up North, giving rise to the undead. Though contained for the time being, it threatened to multiply and move to the South. Eldgran urged Cassius to resume his mission as soon as possible.
None from the Eastern Kingdoms had been willing to go out of fear of the undead. Therefore, the Conquest Chamber of Avalon was stepping up in their place.
Once outside, the group noticed that Azekiel was speaking to his audience again, though from his words now seemed to pulse a magical energy. Cerrule, Aragir and Delbellis did not quite trust it, and while the first two gingerly mixed into the crowd, the latter decided to approach the man himself.
Cerrule managed to dispell Azekiel's enchantment a few times, and questioned him about it, though the man seemed genuinely ignorant to what was going on. After some investigation, they were told that the cloth he wore on his shoulder had been blessed for good luck and fortune. This cloth and the pin he wore with it were both gifts from different traveling merchants he met along the way. Though he could not see all of their features as they were both cloaked, he could remember that he got the pin from a woman with long wavy brown hair, and 'beautiful' green eyes. The cloth was blessed at a later time, by an elderly woman he met at a bar, as reward for playing a game.
As the three were about to turn back to the rest of the group, Delbellis was so enamoured by Ezekiel's pin that she was tempted to trade her Amulet of Madness for it. Somewhat panicked, Cerrule and Aragir haphazardly tried to stop her, and eventually succeeded in carrying her back to the group. The group then continued on their way, and Cynic decided to humiliate Ezekiel with a slap of his Mage Hand before they left the area.
To bring the crystals to the Academy and to warn someone about the potential enchantment from Ezekiel's cloth, they briefly stopped by the Wizard's Guild and then finally left Brassdorf.
Not far outside the gates of Brassdorf, near the forest edge, they came upon an enormous, ancient and partly overgrown sword that was stuck in the ground. On the hilt, the elvish words "Protector of the forest" were inscribed, and around the blade it said "Leave the world better than you found it."
Over time, many who had passed this monument had written names or messages on it as a way to remember, and perhaps be remembered. Kaimos briefly stopped to pay his respects. Aragir remembered that there was an ancient belief, mainly among smaller elven tribes, that the sword once belonged to a lesser deity. It was a giant who once lived under Yggdrasil's gaze, tasked with protecting the then newly born nature until it had finished its development.
Cerrule remembered the vestiges, and how they could adjust their size to the wearer. After some quick attempts to test whether this blade could be one of the vestiges, they found that nothing happened. However, Kaimos shared that there were more of these swords around the world, and that the one in Avalon was different from the rest. Cerrule suggested that it might be a vestige.
The group continued their way into the forest, and as the night was falling they spotted a small cabin. They decided to go and see if they could spend the night there.
As they got near the gates, a small boy named Jules approached them, and his lumberjack father Lavarr followed not too long after. When asked whether the group was allowed to stay for the night he was hesitant, but eventually agreed if they would make dinner for everyone and leave their weapons at the front door. Kaimos was reluctant to let go of his blade, and instead made a compromise with Lavarr so he could at least stay near it. He would later explain that it was a personal artifact, and that he was keeping it for a friend.
Over a mug of ale, Lavarr asked why the group was here, and recalled that he had seen many more pass by recently. He explained that when he asked the travelers where they were headed, he was told that they were going to a new world. Upon learning that Lavarr and Jules lived just by themselves here, Cynic asked if the woods weren't too dangerous to live nearby. Lavarr told the group that mostly the nights in the forest were dangerous, since wolves and goblin tribes roamed around, and that it was best to stay inside. As they lived not too far from the edge, it was still manageable during daytime.
Delbellis asked him if there were things to watch out for in the forest, to which he replied that they should avoid the goblin camp nearby, not get near the hidden lakes and that they shouldn't take too many stops; The paths seemed to be ever changing and it was easy to get lost.
Delbellis then made them dinner, and Kaimos sought to catch up on current affairs with the rest of the group in an attempt to find out if they were all fighting for the same cause. He reminded the group that he operated on behalf of the Academy, and that their interests were his priority. The group had no issue with this.
Aragir then asked Cassius what he had been doing up North before he returned to join them, to which he explained that he was investigating a beam of light that had emerged in the far North. When asked whether it had something to do with Gamal and the Wardens, he denied that they were in any way involved. Aragir, however, suspected that this was not the full truth.
While they had dinner, the group ruminated on why Weylin had yet to make a move, and they concluded that he was not yet able to use his powers. Though in the absence of crystals, the refugees might very well be in grave danger.
After dinner, as everyone was about to get ready for the night, Cynic slipped away and went outside for a moment. When alone, he used his silver coin to contact Geralt and told him where they were, after which he requested that the Getaways kept an eye out for Lavarr and Jules. When asked what they would get in return, he promised them coin.