Our troup from dragonreach congregated once more in the store-turned-tavern for a lunch prepared and served by mathis ⸴ and we were joined by more than a few stragglers from outlying homesteads who had heard that the adventurers were trying to pacify steepfall · Among the visitors was a man who asked if he could join the table i was at (with some of the pride members and some of the newer adventurers) ⸴ and after we graciously told him he was welcome ⸴ he sat and introduced himself as a member of the planar knights ·

The pride gave polite greetings ⸴ the newer adventurers had no idea what he was talking about ⸴ and as for myself ፧ I could not help myself and was staring accusingly at him · With my one remaining good eye · He took very clear note of this and acknowledged my attitude ⸴ and said to our confused tablemates ⸴ «let me tell you why he's glaring at me like that ·» though he insisted his organisation was not «the bad guys» ⸴ he willingly confessed that they were responsible for starting the current elemental war ·

The planar knight went into animated discussions about his group's plan for rearranging the planar cosmology ⸴ and i listened as long as i could before i finally had to leave the building to avoid snapping at him · Instead i happened to find blue and zorian and lun and velnaeus outside ⸴ and ended up venting to them instead · Zorian and lun in particular ⸴ being new to our company ⸴ did not know that the planar knights artificially instigating the elemental war early ⸴ was the reason why my whispering with the bear that fateful harvest afternoon went awry and i gained my scars while losing my sight · When they had graciously allowed me to get all of my frustration out ⸴ i did admit that i still preferred the planar knights plan ⸴ which would only sacrifice a relatively few amount of people now ⸴ as opposed to the current status of the cosmology ⸴ which would result in the continuous deaths of more people over more time ·

While we were still outside ⸴ a man came running up sobbing about orcs that killed his father ⸴ and his mother and sisters were hiding in their farmhouse three ghurries' run away · We responded right away · Jote (who had joined us outside) and i got the man to a seat and simultaneously calmed him down while getting him to recall details that would give us more information ፥ meanwhile dustie went into the tavern to marshal people to assist us · We had all ⸴ i think ⸴ made the assumption that these were the same orcs zorian ⸴ lun ⸴ jote ⸴ and others had encountered earlier ⸴ simply passing through the land looking for their missing shaman · But the farmer boy told us that rumours about orcs roaming the region and attacking farmsteads had been going on for weeks · Until this attack ⸴ he had thought they were just that - rumours ·

Once we had enough people and enough information ⸴ the farmer boy was ushered into the tavern to be fed and better inspected for his own wounds ⸴ while our group made a quick march in the direction he had indicated his mother's farmstead was · Nothing of significance happened on the march there ⸴ including any relevant conversation ፥ i will therefore skip ahead to our first view of the farmstead ⸴ with scattered orc raiders clearly in view ⸴ green against the dry brown and budding gold of the wild spring ·

Whether by accident or design i ended up taking one of the commanding roles of our rescue ⸴ possibly because i had been the first one gathering the information · In any case i could not have asked for better compatriots ⸴ because everyone understood instinctively what to do · We stayed in a close formation ⸴ occasionally reining in someone stepping forward alone too far ⸴ and annihilating the orcs who came in wildly and usually only one at a time · We forged a path into the actual house ⸴ found the mother and her young daughters hiding ⸴ and protected them while our scholars and archers held the orcs off on the basement stairs ·

Before long we all realised we had to get out of where we had garrisoned ourselves to prevent our fatigue from allowing the orcs through ⸴ so the other swordswingers and myself began a heavy trudge back outside ⸴ assisted by the mages and some of my own meagre spellcraft · The power to magically rip an opponent's weapon or shield from their hands was something i thoroughly enjoyed practising ⸴ and gave us more openings so that everyone could get out of the house ·

By the time that was accomplished ⸴ the raiders were all but a few killed ⸴ and we made short work of the rest · One solitary orc growled some sort of threat i couldn't hear over the wind before jogging off ⸴ and when velnaeus turned to me and asked if he should go eliminate him ⸴ i at first said no before realising we did not want the survivor bringing back a second army to threaten these farmers · I told velnaeus to fly ⸴ and he sprinted immediately across the field and into the brush where his elemental prowess was more than enough to extinguish the last orc's life ·

The mother was markedly but understandably grateful ⸴ and before we departed back to steepfall she mentioned something about the «curse of the sarr ghost» which quite obviously drew our attention - ghosts ⸴ undead ⸴ there was probably a connexion there · And sure enough ⸴ she answered our inquiries with a woeful tale about a family of sarr who had been persecuted and then the father was killed after trying to avenge his children · To top it all off ⸴ the sarr had been hanged from a tree in what is now steepfall ⸴ and his family's only heirlooms ⸴ a set of cutlery ⸴ had been reported stolen that very night and were never recovered · Remarkably a curious partial set of cutlery had been unearthed by some of our fellow adventurers earlier in the day · We set back out to the steepfall storefront with this news and a clearer sense of direction ·

By this point i was growing fatigued and needed to unwind for a while ⸴ and emric provided some relaxation in the form of gambling · Dragon poker had been the only game i had known but he taught me and velnaeus a few other games ⸴ which we won and lost gold over ⸴ before i decided to pull tight my pursestrings and step outside to stretch my limbs · When i stepped outside ⸴ however ⸴ who should i find but taios in deep disagreement discussion with a member of the guild of the gifted - the opposing party of the planar knights · Taios was trying to convince him to help us help the planar knights ⸴ and asked to explain to the guild's leadership in person why the adventurers were now siding with the latter party · The guild representative said all he could do was ask about the audience ⸴ not necessarily promise that it would be granted ⸴ but it's a step forward ·

I rehashed some of the conversation i had missed with taios and ardos before heading back in to the tavern to watch other people try their hand at emric's games · While i sat there ⸴ velnaeus and taios were asked to meet mathis and trellis in one of the less damaged buildings where they were going to set up celestial and earth guild permanent circles of power ⸴ per lycergis' request · They departed and were gone for quite some time ⸴ until i heard taios cackling with laughter as he approached the storefront again · He gleefully shared upon our inquiries that mathis' ritual had experienced a minor backlash ⸴ and our esteemed elven knight was operating under the assertion that he was actually a high ogre · Barring that complication mathis successfully completed his circle ritual ⸴ and trellis' own circle ritual was completed with no incidents at all ·

While all of these things had been going on ⸴ brighter minds than mine had been labouring over the new clues about the sarr ghost and the silverware that the farmwife had provided us · This information and other clues gathered from around the area led us all to believe that the fork ⸴ hopefully the last piece of the cutlery set ⸴ had been secured in a second tower a middling distance away · If we could unite the silverware set and return it to the sarr's grave ⸴ we might eliminate or else drive away the undead forces before the dark of night could set over steepfall (and us) once again ·

A group of us swiftly gathered and set out for the tower ⸴ though the distance was a bit greater than we had believed and the sky grew dark earlier than we expected in the midst of this cursed woodland · By the time we arrived ⸴ we could tell some creatures were occupying the tower but not necessarily what they were · Directed by mathis (still mentally convinced of his ogre-ness and likewise more blunt than his normal florid and cultured elven speech) we fought our way through the little horde ⸴ room-by-room ⸴ searching as best we could in the dimness for the missing piece of cutlery ·

At some point some of us abruptly realised that the creatures that were throwing poisons at us were myconids · I battled with myself internally between the cautious fear i've had for the fungus creatures ever since they caused me to first resurrect a year ago ⸴ and a rage that wanted to leap forward and recklessly beat down every last one of them · Wisdom won out over emotion ⸴ with the aid of the fact that i was hemmed in by the front lines and was responsible for protecting our healers · And then suddenly mathis yelled out for us to make our way back to the exterior ⸴ presumably because we had found the fork (plus a few boxes of treasure the myconids had stockpiled in a musty closet we came across) ·

We made our way out ⸴ noting as we emerged into the open sky (though near-dark by this point) that many of our number had been infected with the green spores that the myconids' poisons carried · Healers and potion carriers became very appreciated very quickly ⸴ but velnaeus in particular seemed to be having a terrible reaction to his infection · He said he believed that he had something back in valbrough that would help to cure his body and ease his aches · We did not think he would be well enough to easily get there on his own ⸴ so i volunteered to accompany him back to valbrough ⸴ after making sure someone else would keep an eye on blue now that i would be gone ·

So set on our course ⸴ my elven friend and i slowly made our way to the old waystone we had first arrived in less than sixty ghurries prior ⸴ and let the waymaker network take us back to our more familiar city · Over velnaeus' objections i escorted him all the way to his point of lodging ⸴ and saw him inside ⸴ then crossed the village green to the healing house and checked the ledger of patients ⸴ healers ⸴ and guardians on call · Mercifully there had been only minor check-ins that day ⸴ and nobody at the moment ⸴ so i used one of the patients' cots as a place to rest my own weary bones as i have done before · The last thing i did before closing my eyes was stare up at the stars through the smoke hole atop the yurt ⸴ and ask them to keep watch over my friends in steepfall that night as well ·

✨ All Lost Souls (Part 2 of 3)

I had a dream that gaffeldin the great ⸴ a human scholar that had accompanied us to steepfall ⸴ had been murdered by a pantherghast swiftly ⸴ and there had been no other humans in the cabin at the time · When i awoke at sun's first light my first feeling was relief ⸴ especially upon seeing gaffeldin's obviously sleeping form in the makeshift bunk above me · This was swiftly replaced by horror ⸴ however ⸴ as i noted the remains of an actual fight not two feet from where my head had been laying · It would come out later in the day that after the pantherghast attack which actually did occur ⸴ gaffeldin's spirit had been required to travel to fort aegis almost thirty-one verstas away ⸴ and sir simon had escorted him all the way back (via waystone ⸴ but still) in the night ·

This sorrow aside ⸴ the morning brought a degree of peace ⸴ as at first we saw no undead nor celestial summons · A slight chill was not enough to keep me from my morning meditations though i did cut the first round of my whispering practise short to get warm again in the former general store ⸴ which we adventurers had already slated as being the tavern and central meeting place for the new adventuring post · A few slow shambling undead did occasionally wander into our midst but they were far easier to deal with than the previous night when we were practically overrun ·

Even the late morning was slow and somewhat relaxed as we all took advantage of the sunlight that deterred most undead ⸴ taking time to finish patching up wounds from the previous evening and to carefully scout more of our immediate surroundings · During a particularly quiet lull ⸴ fayedra and i went outside to have a practise duel and keep our limbs and blades ready for any surprises · The duel was to five strikes with the flat ⸴ and i warned her that i was still growing accustomed to my longsword but it was all to the good against her single blade · We actually went evenly matched and even hit each other the fifth strike at the exact same moment ⸴ and we were still chuckling about it as we went back inside to join the rest of our troupe ·

Thinking that perhaps a literal bird's-eye-view might provide some more information about this forsaken place ⸴ i mentioned to lun (who i was breakfasting with) that i wanted to untertake a whispering - my first real in-depth one since the incident with the bear late last summer · Lun was of course unfamiliar with the unusual skill i was learning ⸴ but after i explained it he excitedly told me of a perfect spot he had found for it · We ventured to a semi-clearing behind the «cabins» we had all slept in ⸴ and found a very large stump apparently logged recently by a braver forester than most · I agreed it was perfect and ⸴ beaming with pride ⸴ lun offered to stand guard over me while i went into the mild trance i used to communicate across the all-fauna connexion ·

In fact the whispering was almost a failure · Not because i could not perform it ⸴ but because there were so few animals of any kind ⸴ including birds ⸴ that were close enough for me to reach out to · When I finally did manage to catch the attention of a crow ⸴ the nervous creature had very little it could tell me in answer to my questions · It told me that birds generally stayed away from this place because they could feel something other and supernatural ⸴ as well as wanting to stay away from people such as myself (the sense i got was that it meant «adventurers» not «selunari») · Still ⸴ it was better than nothing ⸴ and i thanked the crow and emerged from my trance to see lun sinking a final arrow into one rogue undead ·

My kinsman and i returned to the tavern yet again but i did not remain long ⸴ since blue had mentioned her interest in taking sketches of the strange gravemarker-like stones we had noted the previous night ⸴ and which were much more obvious now during the day · The flat black monuments each had some bluish glowing runes of an unfamiliar glyph system carved into them ⸴ but also each monument was either eroded or someone had purposely removed chunks from their faces ·

While blue used her high artistry to reproduce the glyphs and missing pieces ⸴ we guarded her - red ⸴ dustie ⸴ naomi ⸴ a human named val ⸴ and myself · And it was well that we did ⸴ because something about even our mild disturbance of the graves attracted more pantherghasts · Between us all we kept each other safe ⸴ for they mostly targeted the kin and the elves ⸴ and just when one targeted me ⸴ lun made a re-appearance and helped me destroy it · Still ⸴ when blue announced that she was finally finished ⸴ none of us dawdled in leaving the immediate area of the grave markers ·

I had also promised pebbles prior to our group's arrival in steepfall that i would help her investigate an incursion of mineral elementals · Likely one of her contacts had asked her to look into it after hearing that the adventurers would be in this region · In fact several of us had offered to accompany her so she led her well-armed group to the site of the rift · She quickly deduced after spotting an obelisk that the trinket her contact had given her would drain the obelisk's power ⸴ eliminating the passage by which the elementals had been rifting onto the prime plane ·

As she also later explained ⸴ it was fortunate that it was mineral elementals we were dealing with · I'm still not familiar with all the many elemental planes ⸴ besides the four primary elements and life and death · But mineral elementals are like the «children» of life and stone ⸴ which means they preserve life and keep balance · This is why I woke up prisoned and being dragged out of the way by my friends after I got knocked out halfway through the skirmish ፥ the elementals had magically healed us to ensure we did not bleed out ⸴ and then cast a celestial prison on our bodies to prevent us from interfering further · Our aim was still accomplished however ⸴ and cressida and i (the only ones still prisoned) had been pulled well out of the way before the obelisk gave a minor explosion and disintegrated ·

By the time we returned once more the steepfall storefront ⸴ sir simon had been and gone with contracts hastily requested by the sparse occupants of the region · Blue and i headed up the pursuit of one such contract ⸴ from a man who hadn't heard from his brother in a while and was concerned about forest fires in the area · We discovered quite sadly that we were too late ፥ the house in question was already cinders and there were fire elementals all over the place ·

Though it was too late for the contract holder's brother and the heat was oppressive ⸴ we decided almost unanimously to at least eliminate the elementals and put out the fire · Cressida had accompanied us on this as well due her connexion to fire and its plane ⸴ and consumed the essence of most of the elementals we destroyed · Velnaeus ⸴ zorian ⸴ lun ⸴ and val also came with us ⸴ and zorian enhanced val's axe with ice while i enhanced çerhêni the same way ⸴ making our job infinitely easier · We steadfastly persisted until all of the elementals were eliminated and the remaining cinders burnt completely out ⸴ before returning to steepfall · The sad news would have to be relayed to sir simon when he returned that evening ⸴ and it would be that honest knight who had the unfortunate task of delivering it to the contract holder himself ·

✨ All Lost Souls (Part 1 of 3)

As the evening approached tonight i chose to walk rather than waystone the relatively short distance to valbrough · Two errands required my attention ⸴ and i needed to retrieve the result of the first before i felt comfortable proceeding with the second · Sure enough ⸴ i found rock at his forge ⸴ and he had just recently finished crafting my silvered longsword · The shape of course did not match that of my caravan blades ⸴ but i found it had an expert edge as well as a fine shaped point on the end ⸴ should i choose to stab rather than swing · Most importantly ⸴ as i had requested ⸴ rock had copied my deorsa inscription onto both sides of the blade · This weapon was now rupratyi ⸴ the most fitting name i could think of ·

With rupratyi added to my arsenal ⸴ and my taming bag and my sleeping sack packed with clothes ⸴ i proceeded to the valbrough waystone where many of my friends were already waiting in response to lycergis' request · Dusk had fallen when i arrived ⸴ and i heard velnaeus instructing us to pair off for protection · Seeing blue near me and unpaired ⸴ i offered to be her battle partner since she is a healer and i am a guardian ⸴ and she was pleased to accept · I cautioned her that she would have to be my seeing eye as darkness continued to cover the sky ⸴ but she had no problem with that · «So if there's an enemy ፧» she asked ⸴ and i replied ⸴ «turn me to face it ⸴ and push me forward» ·

We queued up to rift through the waystone to steepfall ⸴ about two-thirds of the way through the line of adventurers · By the time we reached the stone and initiated our own passage through the waymaker network ⸴ combat was already in progress as we had expected · Steepfall was said to be haunted and plagued with both spectral and reanimated undead; i can wholeheartedly verify that is accurate ·

Some of the undead had ice in their claws ⸴ and some of the more solid looking ones ignored most of the adventurers ⸴ seemingly only attacking random specific people · This strange behaviour set my mind racing as i tried to recall something ⸴ but i had little time to act on it as blue was both leading me onward and directing my attention to those undead that were about to attack me/us · As we progressed from the waystone to the old town propre ⸴ velnaeus kept us in a mostly tight formation and led us to the largest building he could find in the dark ⸴ which the sign out front indicated was an old general store before steepfall was abandoned ·

We made it inside ⸴ and assured of at least temporary safety ⸴ i immediately went digging through my taming bag for the documents about the undead which i had copied from the library in onothera · My racing mind had been correct -- one of the pages described steel-breaker revenants ⸴ which i relayed to mathis · These spooks retained a lot of their individuality as dead beings ⸴ and sought out those who they perceived as the greatest challenge unless sufficiently provoked from another source · I was able to also relay their weakness to magic ⸴ and also quickly (though stutteringly) provide some other info on what might have been bone-armor revenants · Mathis already knew the information on the liches and lesser spectres but thanked me all the same ·

Meanwhile trellis built a wall of force which kept the revenants out ⸴ but not the spectres when they were incorporeal · At first i was considerably hesitant and belatedly realised my arms were shaking from having not eaten recently ⸴ so i was staying back from everything · But ardos pulled me aside and encouraged me ⸴ reminding me that i was a guardian of the earth guild and that destroying these undead was exactly what i was tasked to do · My resolve strengthened by my cousin's inspiration ⸴ i stayed much more forward ⸴ keeping a close eye on any spectres that passed into our space and ready to strike them down if and when they began phasing into corporeality ·

Between trellis's significant store of walls of force (which had to be renewed at least twice a ghurry) and the number of fighters and spellswords keeping an eye on the spectres ⸴ we could have maintained our position there until close to the dawn ⸴ had nothing changed · But it did ·

A different type of creature suddenly burst into the store on all fours ⸴ seemingly unfazed by trellis' protective lines ⸴ and began ferociously attacking one of our number · My attacks were ineffective ⸴ as were many others ⸴ but randomly other adventurers could successfully do damage to the spectral feline-looking thing · Those of us who could not deal damage ⸴ the creature would occasionally swipe at us with a high-pitched ethereal energy that would cause us to uncontrollably back away and have difficulty approaching again · The senior adventurers among our party began shouting the names of races at the creatures (as more than one made it into the building) ⸴ much to my confusion ·

Finally someone explained to me (and to a gaggle of brand-new adventurers who had answered lycergis' call to reclaim steepfall) that the creatures were called «pantherghasts» ⸴ or «pg's» for short and for superstitious reasons · They were not undead ⸴ but rather summoned celestial beasts that each only sought out members of one race to attack · Likewise members of the targeted race were the only ones that could do actual damage to them · This information came in excellent time since the next pantherghast that ran into the store came after a familia member i had not yet met ⸴ and ardos and i flew forward as others called out «selunari» so the two of us could strike the beast down · The young selunari shakily got to his feet after blue had healed him ⸴ and thanked us ⸴ introducing himself as lun of the silver clan ·

With the rest of us in the storefront now better aware of the pantherghasts ⸴ mathis asked taios ⸴ trellis ⸴ and ardos to go scout the rest of the area · At first i was alarmed until i realised that with the spectres and pantherghasts unfazed by trellis' walls of force ⸴ there was no point in maintaining them · Those of us that remained maintained our temporary bastion for a seemingly interminable amount of time ⸴ protecting those of our number less suited to combat · Finally the scouting trio returned and reported to mathis · I confess that fatigue was already beginning to fall over me and i was devoting more of my energy to helping maintain our security than to listening to the conversation ⸴ but i did catch something about a tower one and a half míla away · After some lengthy discussion mathis decided we were going to march on the tower ⸴ and everyone agreed to go with him since nobody wanted to stay behind alone in the besieged storefront or the haunted town ·

Emerging from the storefront we made note of some tall dark stones ⸴ somewhat resembling grave markers ⸴ which we had not noticed on our arrival (being understandably distracted by the undead offensive) ⸴ and made a note to investigate them in the morning · Thus aside from continuing to fend off undead and pg's on our way ⸴ our whole group trekked along through the dark woods in much the same manner as we had emerged from the waystone ⸴ with blue assisting me by pointing me in the right direction for either walking or fighting ·

Eventually our group reached the tower in question ⸴ a dilapidated monstrosity which certainly was taller at one time but now only had about two and a half stories ⸴ most of it fallen apart and looking far too unsafe to climb up · But naomi noticed a cellar door leading down into a basement ⸴ and that is where they all went · I say «they» because i still was unsure what was the purpose of our being here to begin with ⸴ and mathis had requested that some persons stay outside to ensure nothing snuck up on us (like pantherghasts) ⸴ so i was one of five adventurers that remained topside · Fortunately ⸴ as far as investigations go ⸴ this one seemed to be smooth and successful; nothing came at us from above ⸴ and the goo beings that trellis reported seeing and fighting were not too difficult for our combined forces that descended into the darkness ·

By this point my fatigue had reached a point where i could barely function ⸴ so as we all returned to steepfall proper ⸴ i inquired about the other abandoned buildings in the town and trellis told me the undead were mostly leaving them alone · Blue had already stashed her small bundle of travel belongings in one such building ⸴ so it made sense for me to retrieve my taming bag and sleeping items from the storefront and also take refuge within that building ·

On our way back to steepfall for me to accomplish this ⸴ i also had occasion to talk with cressida and lilith · They mentioned to me that ardos had recently killed a bear ⸴ possibly the same one that maimed my eye and arm ⸴ which made me feel avenged in some strange way · Since lilith was also delving into the mastery of potion-making ⸴ we also talked at length about the possibility of devising a potion that ⸴ unlike everything i had tried so far ⸴ might finally restore my eyesight fully · It is a prospect i would like to detail more with her at a later time ·

✨ The Optical Occupant

It has been a long but fruitful stay in kingsmoore and i was more than ready to return to my relatively comfortable room at the kyngeshead · The waystone travel was no more disorienting than usual (i keep meaning to ask banradi about the vertigo) and i was greeted warmly by the innkeeper ⸴ who had preserved my room for the duration of my absence and assured me that everything would be just as i left it; he had not even entered it himself ⸴ and he and i held the only keys ·

My own key duly unlocked my little cube of personal space and i was quite relieved to see the extra little things i had not taken with me to kingsmoore ⸴ but the thing i was most delighted about was the proper bed · At the shelter I had taken to sleeping on a mat ⸴ or a bed of white pine leaves · So I lazily dropped my taming bag and sack of clothes into a chair ⸴ and settled in to take a nice afternoon nap · 

Or intended to · As i laid down however ⸴ there was a tiny yelp and i instantly jolted back up and drew my dagger (whose belt i had forgotten to take off anyway) · But i could not see anything ··· until the creature in question pulled its cloak down · It was a tiny chameleon wylderkin!

After apologising ⸴ putting my dagger away ⸴ and calming the youngling down ⸴ she was able to start talking to me · The poor girl's name was branch · She apparently had found her way into my room ⸴ having found it unoccupied for quite a few nundines ⸴ and decided it was a safe place to stay without considering that i would eventually come back · When i asked why she was looking for a safe place to begin with ⸴ she looked quite sad and said she did not have a home anymore · I gather that something had happened to her parents quite recently ⸴ rather than something like her being kicked out at such a young age · I would place her as being not quite a lustre old ⸴ perhaps only three or four years ⸴ old enough to articulate herself but not to understand a lot of the cruelty of the world ·

To try and lighten the mood i asked her about how she had hidden from me so well ⸴ and her eyes lit up as she started to explain · She told me that chameleons ⸴ and chameleon kyn ⸴ used camouflauge to hide ⸴ and that to a certain extent she could change her skin scales' colour · These were all things i already knew ⸴ but i let her go on so she would feel more comfortable · She did also mention that she had some cloaks which mimicked certain textures ⸴ and she hid under them when her natural camouflauge was insufficient to keep her from being detected · She had a snow cloak ⸴ a grass cloak ⸴ a bark cloak ⸴ and a rock cloak ⸴ all tucked into a little satchel that she carried with her ·

Amidst all these discussions however my mind was racing · What should i do with this little wylderkin? It would not be safe for her back in the forest all alone at this age ⸴ even in normal circumstances ⸴ much less the bitter cold that this winter has brought · Finding my unoccupied room was the best thing that could have happened to her · I was already too invested in her to take her back to the homeless shelter in kingsmoore ⸴ which was too far away from onothera ··· and then i remembered aunt cyn's orphanage ·

I won't bring it up to aunt cyn or to branch yet ⸴ however · I would rather that the young wylderkin trusted me ⸴ so that she can trust i would not recommend the orphanage unless i thought it was the best option ·

In the meantime ⸴ branch said she did not actually need to sleep right then ⸴ but was simply hiding in the bed because i surprised her by coming into the «unused» room · Still there will come a point when we both need to sleep · I've asked the innkeeper to lend me a cot ⸴ ostensibly so i can adjust to having a real bed after my time sleeping on the floor in kingsmoore ⸴ and i can also use it for some of my animal patients · I will help branch keep her presence a secret for a while ⸴ and then she and i can talk about what she needs to do going forward ·

✨ Thoughtful Nights of Frosttide

The slayers · An organisation group of people united under a single cause -- defending the living from the undead and from chaotic forces · I had never heard of them before ⸴ until a call for voluntary conscription began to spread across kundirk · Zane ⸴ the werebear i met on kalinthas three piszots past ⸴ is a master slayer of the cause ·

A noble cause to be sure ⸴ but not one that i was going to pursue in light of my commitment to the earth healers guild and my pursued initiation into the moonless nights · That is ⸴ until in my slumber six dăți past ⸴ the duellist elf link sent me a dreaming stating he expected me to pursue the cause as well ⸴ and in return he would teach me how to properly use my weapons the way that he can · His criticism on calyx had already inspired me to commission a longsword from rock ⸴ an ogre blacksmith ⸴ who expects the crafting will be done once these cold seasonal storms have left the region · As well ⸴ i have procured a small tunic of chainmail ⸴ which is sturdy enough to protect me but light enough not to inhibit my movement ·

Upon waking and considering the dreaming from link ⸴ i got myself around and departed the kyngeshead to head to valbrough ⸴ where i found saro in the unofficial moonlights nights headquarters · In fact i was lucky to have found her there ⸴ as she had recently returned from her duchy up in eloria; her hair was disheveled ⸴ her hat askew ⸴ her clothes smelling of spilled rum ⸴ and her dress chewed on by a goat · (I forgot until later in the day that she had acquired several goats back in the fall ·) She explained upon my arrival that she had been captaining a ship to go back and forth between her duchy ⸴ valbrough ⸴ and the homeless shelter in kingsmoore ⸴ and the winter seas were unruly · Not to mention that those in the homeless shelter were cold and hungry ⸴ and overwhelming her ·

Saro's initial suggestion ⸴ on my request for advice regarding the slayers ⸴ was that it did not seem to be something suited for me (or i for it) since i had no great vendetta against either undead or chaos ⸴ any more than most adventurers · She cautioned me not to overload myself ⸴ obviously speaking from experience ⸴ and i was grateful since i had been thinking along the same lines · However i did also offer to assist with the needs of the kingsmoore shelter ⸴ since i could forage with the local fauna and supplement the food supply ⸴ and saro accepted my offer gratefully ·

Leaving for kingsmoore meant i needed to notify aunt cyn of my extended absence so the other guardians could know to be present ⸴ and she was the other one whose advice i sought regarding the slayers anyway ⸴ so i crossed the city toward the healing house near the tavern · It being the second day of the week ⸴ luni ⸴ i knew she would be present there rather than back in onothera ⸴ even in spite of the bitter cold and blowing snows · Sure enough ⸴ though she was neck deep in paperwork ⸴ she had a bright fire going inside the yurt and greeted me with delight as i came through the door ⸴ taking my cloak and offering me some tea ·

As I gratefully drank the warm beverage i made the same explanation to aunt cyn about the slayers ⸴ and zane and link ⸴ and she smiled reminiscently as one who has known both of them for some time · She understood my concern about having my fingers in too many pies ⸴ and mentioned that she had given up her adventuring guild in the kingdom of wayside because as a noble lady she needed to prioritise serving the people · Yet ⸴ as we both pointed out with amusement ⸴ she had become a guildmistress anyway ⸴ for the earth healers guild - combining her service to the people with her wisdom and leadership ·

Aunt cyn also pointed out that the slayers served a rather common goal with those in the healing house - «quelling the darkness» · We had a bit of a discussion about how actively fighting off a threat ⸴ perhaps aside the slayers ⸴ was more important than simply standing guard doing nothing over a healer who was actively trying to save an injured person · In fact she mentioned that link himself took the protection of healers very seriously but did so on the offensive front ⸴ unless there was a direct threat to the healers themselves · I seemed to think that in fact my job would be enhanced by joining and learning from the slayers - which aunt cyn also pointed out was not a full commitment because «think how infrequently you've encountered them» which was zero times ·

At that moment however the door flew open again ⸴ to reveal none other than saro herself ⸴ who had presumably come to be treated for her fatigue but heard me talking with aunt cyn and admitted to eavesdropping on us · She reiterated that she feared i would exhaust myself ⸴ but aunt cyn and i had the poor exhausted girl sit down herself and take some refreshment while we expanded our conversation to include her · Saro's biggest concern was how firmly would i be passionate about the destruction of chaos ⸴ which i admitted was only an indirect goal along the lines of protecting the people i care for · We all came to the conclusion that perhaps i should proceed slowly for a few months before truly committing ·

Over the course of that conversation i asked about the goat bites on saro's dress and she said that the ones she had acquired in the fall were unruly and undisciplined · Aunt cyn offered to take possession but not ownership of the goats ⸴ and have them milked regularly with the mild delivered to the shelter · Upon which offer ⸴ saro thanked her profusely ⸴ and then promptly fell asleep at the table ·

At aunt cyn's request i carried saro's prone form to one of the patients' cots and made her more comfortable while she rested ⸴ and went on to my other item of importance ⸴ my absence to go assist with the homeless shelter for additional food ⸴ since saro had reported it struggling · Aunt cyn was taken aback and upset to learn about this for the first time ⸴ and wondered why saro hadn't asked for cyn's assistance since the shelter was for the benefit of «cyn's people» ; i suggested that perhaps with saro's own new station ⸴ she felt the need to hold all the responsibility and did not want to show weakness by asking for aid ·

The arrival from eloria of our mutual friend and saro's adoptive «mother» ⸴ kailisa ⸴ shortly woke saro up and she elf was distressed to see we had laid her to bed · But even kai agreed with us that she needed to take some time to rest - which we had to basically force on saro ⸴ but she finally gave in and allowed us to give her tea and bread ⸴ brush her hair (kai did this ⸴ with commentary from me) ⸴ and mend her garments (aunt cyn's fourth favourite hobby) · While tending to saro ⸴ aunt cyn explained that asking for help was no sign of weakness and that she was going to provide aid from her personal accounts rather than anything official ⸴ because she cared for saro and for those living in the shelter ·

With the additional arrival of velnaeus at the healing house ⸴ aunt cyn indicated she had all the help she needed and would also be able to cover my absence ⸴ so i bid them all farewell and retrieved my own cloak to take the waystone to kingsmoore ·

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I don't totally feel right taking a room or even floor space at the homeless shelter ⸴ but in effect i have been homeless during my stay in kingsmoore these past several dăți ⸴ so here i have been staying rather than freezing to death outside · But those who rely on the cooperative for their own survival have been grateful for what i can provide ⸴ it's true ·

Squirrels have been my primary allies in foraging · As is typical they have prepared many stashes in advance of the cold weather ⸴ but they are able to spare some of their stores which are high in protein ⸴ especially since enough of the old ones have sadly passed on (if they were otherwise healthy ⸴ i have also contributed them as a meat source) · Buried caches of beech nuts have been donated to the good of the humanoids ⸴ as well as regular gatherings of hop hornbeam seeds that fall on the snow daily ; the latter are delicious when toasted and especially when topped with a syrup that i was able to tap from its own tree the day before yesterday ·

Dock seeds are being ground into a flour substitute ⸴ often by the children who view it as a fun activity ⸴ and then the adults help to bake it into a bread · The extreme cold has also been good for the tiny crabapples I find in wild orchards to the south ⸴ the lower temperatures making the unripe fruits still sweet ⸴ and we bake small pieces of them into the bread along with tart hawthorn berries (a personal favourite of mine ⸴ though some of the older homeless haven't taken to them) and juniper berries ·

Aunt cyn has made good on her promise of aid as well -- not only the delivery of milk and cheese from the goats now kept warm and contained in her pole barns ⸴ but also in proper groceries secured with funding that she provided ·

Lastly ⸴ the night that i arrived i sent a dreaming back to link and zane to let them know as i had discussed with saro and aunt cyn that i was giving serious consideration to the cause ⸴ as it seemed it would only further my ability to serve the healers guild and protect the people i care about · Zane's predictably brusque response was «you know where to find me» · So now for certain ⸴ i shall have to make a sojourn to kalinthas a priority once frosttide has passed ·

🍂 Winter's Wounds Heal Slowly

Thıs ıs my fıɾsᴛ joʊɾnᴀɭ єnᴛɾy ın my own pɾıvᴀᴛє hovєɭ ın Cᴀmp Sᴀncᴛʊᴀɾy. Too mᴀny nıᵹhᴛs hᴀvє I ᴀwokєn scɾєᴀmınᵹ, oɾ whımpєɾınᵹ, oɾ cɾyınᵹ. Too mᴀny nıᵹhᴛs hᴀvє I dısᴛʊɾbєd Һᴀɭᴀınndochᴀs ᴀnd Dʊsk whєn ᴛhєy coʊɭd bє ɾєsᴛınᵹ. Aᴛ fıɾsᴛ ıᴛ woʊɭd sєᴛ Һᴀɭᴀınndochᴀs ᴛo cɾyınᵹ ᴀs wєɭɭ, ᴀnd now shє jʊsᴛ ɾʊshєs ovєɾ ᴛo mє ᴀnd ɭєᴛs mє hoɭd hєɾ, bʊᴛ ın doınᵹ so I ınᴛєɾɾʊpᴛ hєɾ nıᵹhᴛɭy ɾoʊᴛınє. Dʊsk hᴀs noᴛ sᴀıd ᴀ woɾd, ᴀnd ıᴛ mıᵹhᴛ noᴛ bє ın xyɾ nᴀᴛʊɾє ᴛo do so, bʊᴛ I cᴀn sєє ᴛhє dᴀɾk cıɾcɭєs ʊndєɾ xyɾ єyєs ᴛhᴀᴛ wєɾє noᴛ ᴛhєɾє bєfoɾє I movєd "pєɾmᴀnєnᴛɭy" ınᴛo ᴛhє cᴀmp.

Why ᴛhє nıᵹhᴛs bɾınᵹ mє sʊch dıscomfoɾᴛ ıs boᴛh ʊndєɾsᴛᴀndᴀbɭє ᴀnd ıncompɾєhєnsıbɭє ᴛo mє. Iᴛ hᴀs bєєn moɾє ᴛhᴀn fıvє cóıcıᵹsᴀ sıncє ᴛhє Բɾєєınᵹ of Єɭoɾıᴀ Cıᴛy. Aɭmosᴛ ᴀn єnᴛıɾє ᴀımsɾᴀ hᴀs ᵹonє by, bʊᴛ єvєn so my woɾɭd sᴛıɭɭ fєєɭs ʊphєᴀvєd. And moɾє ᵹood ᴛhᴀn bᴀd wᴀs ᴀccompɭıshєd ᴛhᴀᴛ dᴀy - ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛsєєd wᴀs pɭᴀnᴛєd, Єɭoɾıᴀ Cıᴛy foʊnd, ᴛhє Wᴀndєɾєɾ dєfєᴀᴛєd ᴀnd bᴀnıshєd. бʊᴛ somєhow ᴛhє ɭoss of Lᴀdy Ahɭᴀnᴀ sᴛᴀnds ᴀs ᴀn єqʊᴀɭ shᴀdow ovєɾ ᴀɭɭ of ᴛhıs ɭıᵹhᴛ. I no ɭonᵹєɾ ᴀcᴛıvєɭy ᵹɾıєvє, bʊᴛ I cᴀnnoᴛ shᴀkє ᴛhє ᵹɾıєf.

I fınd mysєɭf ın ᴛhє ʊnıqʊє sıᴛʊᴀᴛıon of bєınᵹ consıdєɾєd ᴀ hᴀɭf-oʊᴛsıdєɾ by ᴀ cʊɭᴛʊɾє of my bɾєᴛhɾєn who ᴀɾє ᴛhєmsєɭvєs oʊᴛsıdєɾs ın ᴛhıs ᵹɾovє. Thoʊᵹh I do noᴛ possєss ᴛhє ɭıfєsᴀp of ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛwood ıᴛsєɭf, I ᴀm ᵹıvєn ᵹɾᴀvє consıdєɾᴀᴛıon by ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛwood Єxıɭєs hєɾє ın ᴛhє Ashdown Wood, bєcᴀʊsє of Һᴀɭᴀınndochᴀs ᴀnd bєcᴀʊsє of ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛsєєd. Єvєn ın spıᴛє of ᴛhє coɭd ᴀnd ᴛhє ᴛhıckєnınᵹ Mısᴛ, I cɾoss ᴛhє bᴀɾɾıєɾ fɾom Ashwood ᴛo Һєᴀɾᴛwood єvєɾy dᴀy ᴀnd ᵹo ᴛo wᴀᴛch ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛsєєdɭınᵹ ᴀnd mєdıᴛᴀᴛє ın ᴛhє bɾıᴀɾ hєdᵹє.

Whᴀᴛ I mєdıᴛᴀᴛє on wıᴛhın ᴛhᴀᴛ hıɭɭock vᴀɾıєs fɾom dᴀy ᴛo dᴀy. Somєᴛımєs ıᴛ ıs ᴛhє ɾєcєnᴛ pᴀsᴛ, ᴀnd how ᴛhınᵹs mıᵹhᴛ hᴀvє bєєn donє dıffєɾєnᴛɭy. Thє Gɾєᴀᴛ Єnᴛ ᴛᴀʊᵹhᴛ mє ᴛo consıdєɾ ᴀɭɭ ᴛhє opᴛıons, ᴀnd єvєn ᴛhoʊᵹh whᴀᴛ hᴀs ᴛɾᴀnspıɾєd ıs ovєɾ ᴀnd donє wıᴛh, I ᴛhınk ᴀboʊᴛ ᴀ ɾєᴀɭıᴛy whєɾє I hᴀd ᴀɭɾєᴀdy ɭєᴀɾnєd ᴛhᴀᴛ ɭєsson. Noᴛhınᵹ sєєms ᴛo pɾєvєnᴛ Lᴀdy Ahɭᴀnᴀ's sᴀcɾıfıcє ın ᴛhєsє dᴀydɾєᴀms; shє ᴛɾʊɭy ᵹᴀvє no hınᴛ oɾ woɾd ᴛo ᴀnyonє, ᴀnd I coʊɭd noᴛ hᴀvє pıckєd ʊp ᴀny whıspєɾınᵹ of whᴀᴛ wᴀs ᴛo comє. In oᴛhєɾ wᴀys, howєvєɾ, ᴛhє ɭєsson woʊɭd hᴀvє bєєn ʊsєfʊɭ ın ᴛhє pᴀsᴛ bєfoɾє. Wᴀys ᴛhᴀᴛ my єxpєɾıєncєs wıᴛh ᴛhє ᴀdvєnᴛʊɾєɾs woʊɭd hᴀvє dıffєɾєd ıf I hᴀd donє moɾє ᴛhᴀn sımpɭy cowєɾ, oɾ ɾʊn, oɾ sᴛᴀnd bєhınd ᴀs onɭy ᴀ hєᴀɭєɾ. Somє of ᴛhєm ᵹood, somє of ᴛhєm bᴀd.

Moɾє ofᴛєn ᴛhᴀn noᴛ ıᴛ ıs ᴛhє fʊᴛʊɾє ᴛhᴀᴛ I consıdєɾ. Thє woɾk of bєınᵹ ᴀ Gɾovє Mᴀsᴛєɾ ıs ᴀɾdʊoʊs ᴀnd ᴛєdıoʊs, fɾom whᴀᴛ I hᴀvє sєєn of Ashєɾ's woɾk. бʊᴛ hєɾ chᴀɾᵹє ᴀnd hєɾ bıᴀs ıs vєɾy ınᴛєɾnᴀɭ; shє ıs concєɾnєd onɭy foɾ ᴛhє wєɭfᴀɾє of ᴛhє Ashdown Wood ᴀnd ıᴛs dєnızєns, ᴛhє spɾıᵹᵹᴀns. Shє wıɭɭ noᴛ ᴀcᴛ oʊᴛsıdє of hєɾ dєmєsnє, whıch ᴛo bє fᴀıɾ wᴀs hєɾ bıɾᴛhɾıᵹhᴛ; shє oncє ᴛoɭd mє ᴛhᴀᴛ shє hᴀd bєєn dєsᴛınєd ᴛo bє ᴛhє Gɾovє Mᴀıdєn sıncє bєfoɾє shє wᴀs boɾn, ᴀnd shє wᴀs ᴀnd ıs ᴀ nᴀᴛıvє of ᴛhє ᵹɾovє shє ovєɾsєєs. My posıᴛıon ıs somєwhᴀᴛ dıffєɾєnᴛ -- whєn I compɭєᴛє ᴛhє sᴛєps ᴛo bєcomınᵹ ᴀ Gɾovє Mᴀsᴛєɾ, I wıɭɭ nєvєɾ bє ıᴛs nᴀᴛıvє pɾoᴛєcᴛoɾ. In somє wᴀys ᴛhıs ıs ʊnfoɾᴛʊnᴀᴛє ᴀs ᴛhє ᴛıєs I sєєk ᴛo ᴛhє ɭᴀnd wıɭɭ hᴀvє ᴛo bє foɾᵹєd ovєɾ ᴛımє ınsᴛєᴀd of bєınᵹ ınsᴛıncᴛʊᴀɭ. бʊᴛ on ᴛhє oᴛhєɾ hᴀnd, I wıɭɭ know ᴛhᴀᴛ I hᴀvє єᴀɾnєd ᴛhє posıᴛıon ᴀnd ᴛhє ɾєsponsıbıɭıᴛy bєcᴀʊsє I wıɭɭ hᴀvє foʊᵹhᴛ ᴛo ᴀᴛᴛᴀın ıᴛ.

So do I ᴛhєn, oncє I ᴀm ᴀ fʊɭɭ fɭєdᵹєd Gɾovє Mᴀsᴛєɾ ᴀnd ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛwood Chıɭdɾєn ᴀɾє ɾєᴛʊɾnєd ᴛo ᴛhєıɾ ᵹɾovє, focʊs soɭєɭy on ᴛhєıɾ wєɭɭbєınᵹ? Oɾ do I woɾk noᴛ onɭy ᴀs ᴀn ovєɾsєєɾ, ᴀs ᴀ pᴀɾєnᴛ ᴀs ıᴛ wєɾє, bʊᴛ ᴀɭso ᴀs ᴀ dıpɭomᴀᴛ, ɾєᴀchınᵹ oʊᴛ ᴀnd mᴀkınᵹ ᴛıєs wıᴛh oᴛhєɾ ᵹɾovєs, oᴛhєɾ ᴀʊᴛhoɾıᴛıєs... pєɾhᴀps cɾᴀfᴛınᵹ ᴀn offıcıᴀɭ ᴀɭɭıᴀncє wıᴛh ᴛhє Єɭoɾıᴀn Єmpıɾє (sʊch ᴀs ıᴛ mᴀy bє by ᴛhᴀᴛ ᴛımє)? Thє sᴛᴀᴛє of ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛwood ıᴛsєɭf ıs ᴀ mᴀɾvєɭ of dıpɭomᴀcy, ᴀn ᴀᵹɾєєmєnᴛ bєᴛwєєn mє on bєhᴀɭf of ᴛhє Chıɭdɾєn of Aʊᴛʊmn ᴀnd Ƿɾıncє Toɾ on bєhᴀɭf of ᴛhє Dɾєᴀd Coʊɾᴛ. Woɾkınᵹ ᴛoᵹєᴛhєɾ, ᴛhє foɾcєs of fɭoɾᴀ, fᴀʊnᴀ, ᴀnd fᴀє wıɭɭ bє mʊch sᴛɾonᵹєɾ ᴛhᴀn ᴛhєy wєɾє sєpᴀɾᴀᴛєɭy ᴀnd єspєcıᴀɭɭy ᴀᵹᴀınsᴛ onє ᴀnoᴛhєɾ.

I do noᴛ wᴀnᴛ ᴛhє Chıɭdɾєn of Aʊᴛʊmn ᴛhᴀᴛ I cᴀɾє foɾ ᴛo bєcomє ınsʊɭᴀɾ ᴀnd dєᴛᴀchєd fɾom ᴛhє ɾєsᴛ of ᴛhє woɾɭd, bʊᴛ... I cᴀn noᴛ foɾᵹєᴛ how mᴀny ᴀdvєnᴛʊɾєɾs, who єvєn pᴀɾᴛıcıpᴀᴛє ın єvєnᴛs ᴀɾoʊnd ᴛhє woɾɭd, ᴀɾє ᴀɭso sᴛıɭɭ qʊıᴛє ınsʊɭᴀɾ ᴀnd pɾıoɾıᴛısє ᴛhınᵹs ᴀccoɾdınᵹ ᴛo how ᴛhєy ᴛhєmsєɭvєs ᴀɾє ᴀffєcᴛєd. Iᴛ ıs ᴛhє ᴛɾᴀıᴛ ᴛhᴀᴛ mᴀdє ᴛhє ɭoss of Lᴀdy Ahɭᴀnᴀ ᴛhᴀᴛ mʊch moɾє dıffıcʊɭᴛ ᴛo bєᴀɾ.

Aᴛ ɭєᴀsᴛ, whєn I ᴀm donє ɭıckınᵹ my woʊnds ᴀnd cᴀn sᴛᴀnd ᴛᴀɭɭ ᴀᵹᴀın ᴛo ɾєpɾєsєnᴛ ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛwood ın ᴛɾʊᴛh, I cᴀn ɾєɭy on ᴛhє Cɾımson Ƿoɾᴛ. Dʊchєss Sqʊıɾє Sᴀɾo ıs onє ᴛhᴀᴛ I coʊɭd cєɾᴛᴀınɭy ɾєɭy on, ᴀnd shє cᴀn cєɾᴛᴀınɭy ɾєɭy on mє. Noᴛ now, of coʊɾsє, whєn I'm so ɭosᴛ of ᴀɭɭ conᴛɾoɭ ovєɾ єvєn mysєɭf ᴛhᴀᴛ I cᴀn'ᴛ sᴛop fɾom scɾєᴀmınᵹ ınᴛo ᴛhє nıᵹhᴛ... bʊᴛ onє dᴀy ᴀᵹᴀın, shє wıɭɭ bє ᴀbɭє ᴛo coʊnᴛ mє ᴀmonᵹ hєɾ sᴛᴀʊnchєsᴛ ᴀɭɭıєs, ᴀnd I pɾᴀy ᴛo sᴛıɭɭ bє ᴀbɭє ᴛo do ᴛhє sᴀmє of hєɾ.

бєfoɾє ᴀny of ᴛhıs cᴀn comє ᴛo pᴀss, howєvєɾ, ıᴛ ıs ᴛhє pɾєsєnᴛ ᴛhᴀᴛ I mʊsᴛ єndʊɾє. I mᴀy hᴀvє ᵹıvєn ᴛhє ımpɾєssıon ın ᴛhıs joʊɾnᴀɭ ᴛhᴀᴛ I hᴀvє bєєn ʊnᴀbɭє ᴛo qʊєɭɭ ᴛhє nıᵹhᴛ ᴛєɾɾoɾs, bʊᴛ ᴀᴛ ɭєᴀsᴛ whєn ᴛhєy wᴀkє mє I swıfᴛɭy ɾєᵹᴀın my sєnsєs ᴀnd do noᴛ ɭєᴛ ᴛhє wᴀvєs of єmoᴛıon conᴛınʊє wᴀshınᵹ ovєɾ mє. Thıs ıs ᴀ fᴀɾ cɾy fɾom Cɾʊᴛh-ʊıscє whєn I coʊɭd noᴛ sᴛop pᴀnıckınᵹ ᴀnd bᴀwɭınᵹ foɾ ᴀ fʊɭɭ ᵹhʊɾɾy oɾ moɾє. Tımє, I bєɭıєvє, wıɭɭ conᴛınʊє ᴛo bɾınᵹ hєᴀɭınᵹ ᴛo my soʊɭ ᴀnd mınd. In ᴛhє mєᴀnᴛımє, ʊnᴛıɭ I ᴀm ᴛɾʊɭy ɾєsponsıbɭє foɾ ᴀɭɭ ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛwood Chıɭdɾєn, I focʊs on ᴛhє ᴛwo ᴛhᴀᴛ ᴀɾє cʊɾɾєnᴛɭy my ᴛᴀsk ᴀnd joys: Һᴀɭᴀınndochᴀs, ᴀnd ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛsєєdɭınᵹ.

Һᴀɭᴀınndochᴀs conᴛınʊєs ᴛo ᵹɾow ᴀᴛ whᴀᴛ I consıdєɾ ᴛo bє ᴀn ᴀɭᴀɾmınᵹ ɾᴀᴛє, ᴛhoʊᵹh ᴛhє ɾᴀᴛıonᴀɭ pᴀɾᴛ of my mınd knows ᴛhᴀᴛ ıᴛ ıs pɾobᴀbɭy (mosᴛ ɭıkєɭy, ᴀnywᴀy) compɭєᴛєɭy noɾmᴀɭ foɾ sᴀpɭınᵹs. Shє mıᵹhᴛ bє ᴀdᴀpᴛınᵹ ᴀ ɭıᴛᴛɭє qʊıckєɾ ᴛhᴀn somє of ᴛhє oᴛhєɾs of hєɾ cɾop, bʊᴛ ᴛhє bɭood of oɭd Iᴛhıɾ-dєn-Spєıɾ mıᵹhᴛ ᴀccoʊnᴛ foɾ ᴛhᴀᴛ, ᴀs sʊbdʊєd ᴀnd dıɭʊᴛєd ᴀs ıᴛ ıs wıᴛhın hєɾ. Єvєn ın ᴛhє dєᴀd of wınᴛєɾ shє conᴛınʊєs ᴛo bє boısᴛєɾoʊs ᴀnd fʊɭɭ of єnєɾᵹy, ᴀnd Dʊsk ᴀnd I ᴀɾє boᴛh ᵹɾᴀᴛєfʊɭ ᴛhᴀᴛ dɾyᴀdє cʊɭᴛʊɾє ʊᴛıɭısєs commʊnᴀɭ pᴀɾєnᴛınᵹ -- ᴀɭɭ ᴛhє ᴀdʊɭᴛ dɾyᴀdєs cᴀɾє foɾ ᴀnd dıscıpɭınє ᴀɭɭ of ᴛhє sᴀpɭınᵹs. My noᴛ-so-ɭıᴛᴛɭє dᴀʊᵹhᴛєɾ ᴛєnds ᴛo ʊsє ʊp ᴛhє єnєɾᵹy of nєᴀɾɭy ᴀɭɭ of ᴛhє ᴀdʊɭᴛs єᴀch dᴀy. Soon shє wıɭɭ bє of ᴀn ᴀᵹє whєɾє I cᴀn ᴛᴀkє hєɾ wıᴛh mє ınᴛo ᴛhє Һєᴀɾᴛwood бɾıᴀɾ moɾє ɾєᵹʊɭᴀɾɭy, ᴀnd pєɾhᴀps ᴛhє nᴀᴛʊɾᴀɭ sєɾєnıᴛy ᴛhєɾє wıɭɭ hєɭp hєɾ ᴛo cᴀɭm down somєwhᴀᴛ ᴀs shє comєs ınᴛo hєɾ fıɾsᴛ bɭoomınᵹ.

✨ Ruins, Rodents, and Remnants

Add archaeology to my resume ⸴ i suppose ·

Although the sojourn wasn't originally supposed to be archaeological in nature · Saro had «asked» me to go to kalinthas -- though she made it clear this was one of the steps or requirements of my initiation into the moonless nights · As she is now a duchess ⸴ i did not know whether she wanted me there as a diplomatic aid ⸴ security ⸴ or to fulfil some task she had planned out somewhere on the island chain · At first ⸴ however ⸴ my job seemed to be nothing but company · We had arrived on the island of popolos which i take to be the main island of the kingdom · I confess i did not arrive in very good shape; travel by water does not agree with me ⸴ it seems ⸴ and i have had little opportunity to learn it before · Fortunately most of my next few days ⸴ as i mentioned ⸴ was spent merely relaxing and being in the company of saro and other adventurers who had taken the same trip · There is a tavern called the luckless dragon in the city of bastion·by·the·water where we spent much of our days ·

I have no idea what else would have transpired during our stay on kalinthas if it had not been for the incident yestreday morning · A man walked into the tavern ⸴ which was a common enough occurrence ⸴ but unlike most people who came to the luckless dragon to drink away their woes ⸴ this gentleman had an air of delegated nobility (it was mostly the clothes) and seemed to be in mild duress · After a bit of hand wringing and working up the nerve ⸴ he strode to the front of the tavern and cleared his throat politely to get our attention ⸴ whereupon he introduced himself as gregory nelson ⸴ the kalinthian council member from the island of calyx · He wished to hire we dragonreach adventurers to clear out one of the «armanthian ruins» which was not far from calyx's capital city of langdale ·

An interesting proposal ⸴ to say the least ⸴ especially since on the duminică just prior to our arrival on popolos ⸴ the kalinthian council had (i learned) passed a law making it illegal to unseal and/or enter any of these ancient ruins that dotted the island landscapes ⸴ without obtaining a certified delver's writ · Councillor nelson immediately assured us the council had awarded him such a writ on our behalf in order to maintain the safety of langdale · He also let us know that he had paid from his own salary for charter ships to sail us from popolos to calyx · This news did not excite me··· more travel by water · But it couldn't be helped ·

The ships departed popolos this morning an hour before dawn and moored at calyx just after the sunrise ⸴ a mercifully shorter trip than that from kundirk to kalinthas · We descended into langdale from the port to retrieve the writ from councillor nelson ⸴ as well as directions to the armanthian ruin ·

While en route to the site of the ruin ⸴ i had a chance to observe some of the adventurers that had joined us ⸴ whom i had not met yet · I received the impression (later verified) however that these men and women had in the past fought alongside those i already knew from dragonreach · There was an elf who dual wielded like i did (except obviously far far better) ⸴ a werebear ⸴ a high orc ⸴ another elf named quinn (one of the only ones who publicly introduced themselves to those of us new to him) ⸴ and᠁ finch · Finch ⸴ a rat kyn ⸴ member of the moonless nights ⸴ and someone that saro had specifically mentioned i should get to know · Though large and imposing in stature ⸴ he had a predictably squeaky voice and an insatiable appetite · I had been warned and had brought snacks ·

As we approached the impressive though ageing facade of the ruin's entrance ⸴ everything seemed understated and calm and i did not entirely understand why councillor had been so concerned about having the ruin cleared out · I supposed that perhaps he was worried something inside might get out ⸴ but that train of thought led to me wondering why nobody had been concerned about it before ⸴ or at least investigated it before · My thoughts were interrupted shortly ⸴ however ⸴ by the foliage around us seeming to come to life · There were a number of flora-fauna hybrids ⸴ similar enough to the myconids at springdale to alarm me but also different enough that they were more easily kept at bay by our group -- even in spite of their force including a small number of carnivorous plants ·

While protecting trellis ⸴ who was trying to work out the mechanisms that would unseal the door ⸴ i stood alongside the werebear and the high orc - the latter of whom introduced himself as yonkie · Though we were defending ourselves it also seemed that the plant things were acting defensive as well ⸴ and another piece of the puzzle came together when trellis was finally able to unseal the door to the ruin · The very moment that the seal broke ⸴ all of the plants stopped attacking and stood in a vigilant arc centered around the door ⸴ as though their true purpose was not to keep us out but to keep something else in the ruin · Yet withal we took the plunge and descended into the ancient structure ·

Not too far inside we approached a fortification populated entirely by «rodenzi» ⸴ a species of what appeared to be hindwalking true rats (as opposed to finch ⸴ who as a wylderkyn was more like a rat-like anthropoid) · The population seemed relatively large though the creatures themselves were not oversized ⸴ but it was hard to determine whether this was the reason for the plant sentinels' watch · The adventurers tried to approach peacefully at first ⸴ and even offered food and kind words ⸴ but the rodenzi were too suspicious and began to swarm us ⸴ so we had to defend ourselves · And unfortunately ⸴ the creatures fought us to the last ·

Now with an inkling of what sort of things we might encounter ⸴ we took a moment to orient ourselves with the fortification as a base point ⸴ and then proceeded further down · As we went deeper into the ruin we encountered other small groups of rodenzi ⸴ sometimes fighting each other in addition to ourselves · At one point there was a fork in the passageway and we chose to head left and downward before going right and upward · Not far from here we found barrels of a sickly viscous substance ⸴ which finch (somehow) convinced blue to try drinking ⸴ and it almost killed her · We resolved to continue on from there after mathis restored blue to health ⸴ but we encountered some undead and some stone golems ⸴ and while facing those on the front ⸴ another group of rodenzi came from behind us and dipped their weapons into the barrels -- coating their weapons with a doom elixir!

Fortunately we were able to take advantage of this as well · During a lull in the two-pronged battle many of us used our blades or hammers ⸴ to the point that we actually emptied the barrel and prevented the rodenzi from using it further ⸴ but we also discovered that if our weapons weren't swung soon enough the acidic part of the alchemical coating began eating away at our weapons · There were enough undead remaining for us to salvage all of our weapons before the corrosion got too bad ⸴ and our group efforts brought us safe victory once again · During this battle the duellist elf apparently was stricken by the fact that i was only fighting with a shortsword and dagger ⸴ and made a point to tell me i had better get a longsword if i expected to get any better in combat situations ·

We continued in this way until just before we reached what appeared to be the lowest room ⸴ we felt an explosion below us · We hurried down into a large amphitheatre which was filled with recently killed rodenzi corpses - except for at least one which we found bleeding out · While many of us had thought to revive the poor creature and ask what the explosion was ⸴ finch had grown too hungry (in spite of copious snacks from saro and myself ⸴ and a meal provided from some bags of holding possessed by mathis and the drake kyn) · Our rat kyn friend simply fell (literally and figuratively) on the prone rodenzi body and began devouring it ⸴ to mixed reactions from the rest of the adventuring group (ranging from my «well that's the circle of life» to several «i think i'm going to be sick»s) ·

Mathis managed to intervene when finch indicated he was full (or nearly full) ⸴ and used a life spell on the rodenzi ⸴ restoring the limbs and guts that finch had eaten · The pitiful creature then became alarmed as he awoke to complete strangers with weapons all around him ⸴ but after some lengthy discussion we convinced him we were willing to help if his people would stop attacking us · The rodenzi as a whole had been trapped in the ruins for a long period of time ⸴ and the explosion we felt had been the result of them using a crystal they had found in order to magically teleport elsewhere - or at least try to ⸴ since obviously it hadn't worked well and had backfired · I guess there were not as many bodies as there had been rodenzi trying to teleport out ⸴ so some must have teleported to a different ruin ⸴ but the rest died in the explosion ·

The little rodenzi was going to come with us further as we offered to bring him up to the surface and past the plant sentinels at the door · However a larger rodenzi with some sort of ritual mask came into the amphitheatre with a small cadre of fighters ⸴ struck him down and then raised him as an undead before we had much chance to save him · The mystery deepened ⸴ but since the ruin did not ⸴ we had to return back to the original point of diversion and try the right-hand passageway · After we had dispatched the rodenzi necromancer and his minions ⸴ of course ·

Returning to the forked passageway and taking the right-side door this time ⸴ we entered an old library half-filled with books written in a completely foreign alphabet · Some of those in our party that had visited kalinthas before recognised the letter glyphs even if they couldn't read them - they were the same as on panels and in other books from a previous ruin visited · However what primarily caught my notice ⸴ and most of the others ⸴ was the enormous pile of dead rats and rodenzi smack in the middle of the library floor ·

Unnerved by this mass grave ⸴ the party at large decided to press on quickly ⸴ so i did not at that point have a chance to examine the dead bodies · We went further up the stairs and passed through a doorway into··· something far different than the falling-apart stone that we had thus far been travelling through · It was obviously more advanced but still derived from an archaic time ⸴ and it had endured better upkeep than the rest of the complex passages we had traversed · A number of constructs or golems faced us ⸴ serenely but stoically ⸴ greeting us but telling us all we could not pass to the forge ᠁ until they saw trellis and nya ⸴ the two lone dryads in our party ·

Speaking only to nya and trellis from that point forward ⸴ the golems eventually explained to «us» that they were creations of the ancient dryad society that once dominated the islands of kalinthas · The forge (which nya ⸴ trellis ⸴ and naomi only were allowed to go and observe while other golems guarded us) was used by the ancient dryads to create the golems ⸴ and only they held the secrets of the golems' creation · The golems had been tasked with protecting the forge ⸴ and so they remained there under the last order they had ever received before the ancient dryads left ⸴ died ⸴ or were wiped out ·

Mathis was unhappy with the half-answers we had received from the golems and the rodenzi ⸴ so although he politely thanked them all and encouraged us diplomatically to depart the ruin ⸴ he stopped us in the library and asked if anyone would cast a ritual that would allow them to see the past for themselves · While phanuck ⸴ yonkie ⸴ the werebear (named zane) ⸴ and naomi built a circle of power and cast the requested ritual ⸴ i examined the bodies i had not been able to before · I could see that not all of the bodies had been killed here; and practically all the killing wounds were from rodenzi claws themselves · This seemed to jive with what we had encountered earlier ⸴ that one group of rodenzi was fighting another · It may have explained in part why there had been a rodenzi necromancer that had killed and corrupted our young friend ·

The results of the ritual also seemed to confirm this · The rodenzi themselves had been trying to acquire power ⸴ the visioners told us ⸴ and had managed to uncover the art of necromancy ᠁ whether from the books in the library ⸴ other visitors to the ruins ⸴ or a natural inclination ⸴ they could not tell · As a result of this choice of power ⸴ the rodenzi began purposely killing one another so that their bodies could be used as undead file and rank ⸴ and this led to civil war that practically wiped them out · In the meantime one small group of rodenzi had made off with a part of the golem forge ⸴ and had intended to use its magical power - the crystal focus - as a means to finally get out since the ruin's door was tightly sealed ·

The one good thing resulting from our exploration was that mathis had confirmed with the help of the golems that all the remaining rodenzi in this particular ruin were dead ⸴ so technically the ruin was «cleared» · We emerged from the ruin ⸴ made our way quickly through the line of plant guardians ⸴ and back to langdale to regroup and report to the councilman nelson · There ⸴ mathis informed him that the ruin had been examined but that he still strongly recommended it be cordoned off from the general public ⸴ without yet explaining what else was in the ruin ·

In truth ⸴ had this been the end of my adventure on calyx ⸴ i would have concluded by saying that i was never coming back to kalinthas again · In spite of my mild curiosity about the nature of the rodenzi from the point of view of the all-fauna connexion ⸴ i felt that there was simply too much going on among the islands ⸴ that there was too much background i would never comprehend ⸴ and that i certainly did not need to learn the court protocol of another kingdom's government when i could barely manage to obey the protocols of dragonreach · Not to mention ⸴ i just really didn't want to ride on boats any more ·

However᠁ zane is remaining on calyx ⸴ or at least in kalinthas in general · And he overheard me either asking mathis if he could treewalk from this far back to dragonreach (he can not) or complaining to saro that i was going to be seasick again and perhaps i should just stay in langdale or find someone who can create a portal · So he pulled me aside and said very sternly ⸴ «i won't allow you to stay with me and be stranded in stagnant fear ·» Then ⸴ almost as an afterthought ⸴ «you don't grow where you are comfortable and safe; you simply wait to die,» and then walked off ·

While i'm sure it was meant to get me on the damn boat ⸴ i'm also just as sure that he really meant i should stop only doing things that make me feel sheltered and secure ⸴ in general · Expand my horizons ⸴ so to speak · So i guess i'll be coming back to kalinthas after all · And who knows ⸴ but that perhaps i will be able to contribute something meaningful and help solve some of the mysteries of the armanthians?

Or at least learn to stop vomiting over the side of the boat ·