Week 38
Week 38
Oh dear, oh dear... What a start for a week..... And where to begin to tell the tale.. So many things happened at once, my mind is still numb trying to understand it all. I was on my way to the library, when Malice and Misery walked trough town, dragging a Tortured Body behind them. They stopped outside the mushroom farm and began to chant in a strange tongue. After completing the ritual, they fled, and left this body behind. Many healers came to try to raise the fallen , but it was too mangled for those that came. They were still trying, when I heard over the SS that Sendorian was in the lands, and that he had kidnapped Althea! Although my feelings towards this Sylvan are not of the warmest kind at the moment, such a fate is still to be pitied. And then all hell broke loose, as the darshaks yet again tried to invade our town.
This time they had wisely enough sent some of the more stronger Darshaks, but it was all in vain, as our exiles proved to be stronger. Defeated at land, they sent out their large warships. And a long and hard battle it was against these. At one point there were less than 14 exiles alive, in all of Puddleby. We were all fallen at sea. In a large heap. Eventually we defeated these too, and as I tired yet again was on the way to the library, I learned that the skilled healers of Puddleby had indeed been able to raise a Tortured Body. But at the same time he were raised, he disappeared! I was talking to the healers that raised him, when we sensed that a Tortured Body had fallen to Falinea in the Sacred grove! Oh dear.... I am afraid it was a mistake to raise this body.... and maybe it was too late even for Falinea to intervene, as only moments later strange sounds came from the mushroom hut. There were sparkles in the air, and a sound I have never heard before. And, suddenly, startling all that were there, a fallen body appears. He presented himself as Ksyr Agasha, and talked in a strange tongue. From what I have heard, this is the one Murder, Malice and Misery referred to as their master. I think the mystics in our lands know more about this than I do. Selucreh might, Manticore or Ptolemy. Apparently the cloaked ones opposed their master.
Astral Spark made a short visit to exiles in the Healers temple. Present was Brune, Nelaton, Lethe and The Wumpuss. It is rather difficult to talk with this particular entity, but they all made an effort into making head and tails of what she wanted to convey. Lethe has written down a shortversion. Nevyn wrote a "manual" in how to talk to Astral Spark, very much needed during the war. Prepare yourself for a meeting with AS and read this eminent piece.
Any that has met Solome in the lands recently, knows that she is a troubled soul. It appears now that she can be cured and that the item she needs in doing so , is Antlers! Please, if you have any , or know someone who has these, do approach her and help her.
Sir West is murdered. By Sendorian. My heart is heavy and filled with rage and sorrow. Come what may. Sendorian will not leave our island, ever again. On my love for the Noble Knight Sleipnir, I swear that I will do anything in my power to make him pay for his crimes. And if the exiles will not follow me in this, I will do so alone.
Lorian was found innocent by the third convocation of The Inquisition! The conditions are :
She may not touch a weapon or kill any living thing, and she must devote her life to the aid of the Sylvan race, until she makes a journey to the most holy Sylvan place and makes peace with her spirit.
On a related note, Fleming has made public strange events concerning one of the members of E'las Loth'mon Ferindril, Koriel Fishbind, who disappeared several months ago. On yet another related note, a concerned Baal Fairbane wrote this letter about his missing brother Nikolai Kyrilov. And now we need to rescue all those missing exiles that Sendorian has kidnapped in a feeble attempt to threaten the Council. Lilit has Sendorian in custody and now under firm mind control and is planning on using him to recover the kidnapping victims. Under the abduction of Althea, Zwei was able to plant a crystal shard in his neck, and with this and a sample of his blood, Lilit was able to summon him. During this capture however, the most terrible thing happened. Sendorian was able to murder West, and Sadraz , when she heard the news-had a miscarriage. Lady Sadraz, now widow writes:
Lilit and Ser Zwei has taken the body. If there is no hope of revival, I would ask that Sir West's body please be returned to his farms so that he may be laid to rest among his favorite trees.
I am still shocked by Sir West´s death. It seems every place in the lands reminds me of this kind and warmhearted soul. To think that he is no more, that I will never meet him again is too much for me to bear. I have known him almost as long as I have known My Love the Noble Sleipnir. We have hunted together so many times it is hard for me to count them all. You could always count on Sir West to be there for any exile, no matter what. He was the kind that bricked patiently, waiting for other weaker ones to hit a critter. And always assured himself that all had indeed hit before he killed the beast. He would risk his life for others, that was just who he was. Our land is so much darker with him gone. The Wise Thoom and our dear Master Scholar Michael Aridfox has made a Scroll of Condolence.
Here is a short description of the event as I have been told:
Lilit and Zwei had used magics to summon Sendorian into our grasp (Lorian, Lilit, Zwei, Xantcha, Urgelt and West) and hold him against his will. While he was questioned as to the kidnapped exile's whereabouts, he began to remove the crystal that was the source of Lilit's control over him. West tried to stop him, but did not move quickly enough. Sendorian broke free of Lilit's spell for a moment and in that moment he threw a small bladed disk at West, which struck him in the neck and (unknown to all) delivered a poison into his system. In a few minutes, West collapsed and died.
The fellowship of the Red-Quill are planning a memorial, but those close to Sir West do not wish a large ceremony. Lady Sadraz, Sir Wests widow, speaks:
A simple goodbye to a simple and loving knight of the realm. He will be buried in the oak grove on the farms with immediate family. If there must be a ceremony, it should be at the lake. No pomp, no processions, no crowds. Short and to the point. Just the Red Quill Clan and other close friends of Sir West's. If West had a legacy, it was an example of goodness and generosity. If you follow his example, you will have given him the best memorial possible.
Sadraz
Late at night, Sendorian lead us to the place where the captives were being held. It turned out to be in the horde. While my first thought when I saw this slime was to chop his head off, I could not, as then we would not have found Vagile and Yazza. I controlled myself, and thought that after these were rescued, there would still be time. I was wrong. The darshaks defended their camp quite effectively, and we all fell. Sendorian was able to escape in the chaos. A large rescue was assembled in town square, and the darshaks were defeated.
Vagile Savane and Yazza rescued. They were both still weak, and Vagile was not herself for a long time. Odesseus has written an account of the rescue.
Later I met with Ser Zwei, and I fear my first words to her were a bit rash and inconsiderate. My only defense is that the loss of Sir West has left me in great grief. I asked where she was when Sir West died, and thus implying that she could have done something to hinder his death, and chose not to. I knew that this was not true, but my words flew off before I could stop them. She fled.. sigh. And fell to some beastie down in south forest. I managed to locate her, but after she was raised she fled again, and I could not find her, and she didn´t want to talk to me. With the help of two mystics, Ptolemy and Sutai, we finally managed to locate her in Tanglewood. But it was too late. It seemed that my rash words had struck a chord in her self, and now she was beyond reason. My love the Noble Sleipnir tried for a long time, but to no avail. Sigh. At the same time, I met with Captain Vagile and Prue, and since neither acknowledged my actions during the absence of the Navy´s Captain, I resigned from the Navy.
Week 39
Many exiles are still blaming me for the abduction of Althea. This saddens me, and even more so because not once has other exiles spoken up for me in this regard. It seems they all think that I have been collaborating with Sendorian. They could not be further from the truth. I wish they would accuse me openly so I could defend myself. She was not among those captured in the horde. The last rumours are telling me that she has been put on a ship to the mainland, as they saw the same qualities in her as in Lorian. This is what Odesseus wrote:
For in their capture of these exiles in order to gain Lorian back, they found that Althea had the same qualities as Lorian and would be an ideal substitute... so they took her! Took her to the mainland! I can scarce believe it! to take Althea and put her through the same foul experience Lorian went through!
Finally. After a very long and hard training with Atkus, I was able to go back to the Dark Chamber and be of some use. I was getting rather tired of the savanna. When savanna or noids is your only choice of hunting ground, it gets tiresome indeed. Now the savanna serves as relaxation, after the stress and hardship in DC. Not that the savanna can´t be stressfull and hard, but its nothing compared to that dark chamber when the Greater Wraiths are moving in. It has changed quite a bit since I was there last. There are no bars to hold the beasties back, no places to hide. The entrance seems to be the best point to hunt from. That is, if they don´t think of attacking from the rear, which , of course, they do from time to time. With Puffy on my back, I am invincible though. Any exile would be I think...
Oh dear.. I seem to have a brother in law. Sleipnir´s brother has come to Lok´Groton. His name is Draupnir, a Knight too. But he follows other laws than the ones presented by my love and the order of Knighthood on these isles. He is not a courteous one, not at all. Although when he so wishes, his speaks with the same silver tongue as my love. He was very close to my love, and I do know he has been sorely missed. Sadly, Draupnir is angry at Sleipnir for reasons you can read about in my loves tale.
A small group gathered in Falineas temple for a last farewell with West. We then procedeed to the farm near The Lake, where Sadraz and West were married not so long ago. Our dear clanleader Michael Aridfox held a short service for that brave Knight. Not one eye were dry, mine neither. I do miss him, so very much. Cursed be that Sendorian!
"Winter winds blowing / its plaintive voice echoing / the mem'ry of West" Phineas
There will never be anyone like him again. I am afraid Vagile do not fully understand. She is like a child that cannot fully comprehend that he is gone forever. She searched for him behind the hut, behind trees, and thought that the whole ceremony was a waste of time. We would be better off searching for him in the lands with a large map.....sigh. We have tried to tell her what has happened, but to no avail. She still search for him.
Viper fell hard in the deep cavern to blue arachnoids and a black widow one day. I was up north at the time, taking a little nap. As the exiles came fleeing from the south, they talked about how his body could be walked trough! The arachnoids could walk over him as he were not there! Remembering an experience I had in the savanna, where the same thing happened to me, I realized : he was no longer healable. I tried to tell this to the exiles present, but nobody would listen. Not at the time anyway. Viper was more concerned that he couldn´t be used as a brick. He is a very skilled and compassionate fighter that one... I forced my way to Viper, and chained him to town. There, in the townsquare, we would find out what to do. Many exiles gathered around the poor Viper, testing out this new phenomena. They even planted a kudzu on top on him! How rude.. As we stood there, contemplating, a dark cloaked figure appeared. I have never met this entity before, although I have heard about him from other exiles. This is the one Wisher was told was off researching death. And now he was here, in the townsquare. Many more exiles gathered around of course, curious to what news he might bring from his studies. He spoke of many things. Of his brotherhood, of portals, of rifts, and, of death. And as he left, his last words were :
Please keep your eyes open for death, it seems to be approaching sooner then we had hoped. Minx
Finally it was time for The Inaugural Ball and Tourney . A large crowd gathered in town square, ready for the parade up to the Bard´s field. What joy! I was busy finding my way in the crowd, to Algernon who would lead the procession. As I made my way trough I noticed this Sylvan staring at me. And as he spirit linked to me, I looked at him closely. He was a stranger to me, I had never seen him before, although I heard other exiles had. But that was afterwards... At the ball and tourney, he stood next to me. And was so sweet! He was an educated Sylvan, kind and wise in his choice of words. Thoughtful and generous he seemed too. As my love the Noble One was busy with the arrangements, The Black Knight was excellent company. But I fear he misunderstood my intentions. As soon as the last bout was over, the winners presented, he insisted that I followed him. I could of course not. And then all hell broke loose, as My beloved became quite frantic and struck at him. There were yelling and screaming, and bleeding exiles as The Black Knight defended himself . And then I realized I was being dragged! Against my will! I called out for help, and even more chaos ensued, as exiles gathered around to protect me, and others were trying to chase off the The Black Knight. But to no avail. I must have fainted, it was too much, because when I woke up the Bards field was gone. I was in a tiny room, no exit as I could see, flowers around me, and this Sylvan.
He left me there, alone, for a very long time. Nothing but me, the flowers, and the sense of many brave exiles searching for me all over the lands. What took place there in the tower of The Black Knight, is a long tale, and I am writing it in my head as I write this. But never have I been so tempted, never have my love for the Noble One been so challenged as in that tower, facing this Sylvan that is all those things my love is not. Gaia help me. But, I made my choice. And my thoughts go out to all those brave exiles that searched for me and never gave up. I will never be able to repay them all. Although I will try. If you are ever fallen or in need of help, toggle me, and I will come if I am able. I cannot raise you, as my path is not that of a healer. But I can assist those that are.
