The Gaze of Eternity

[Wyvern]

Some ways off from the shattered remains of Saint Andrew's cathedral and the exhausted adventurers runs a man dressed in what would formerly have looked like the attire of a barbarian. The costume, now stained with blood and half singed from flames, gives the man a demeanor more similar to that of a beggar who had been caught in a violent accident then that of a barbaric warrior. The man, who had been running as fast as his legs could carry him for the past half an hour, was oblivious to his direction and surroundings. He was oblivious to everything, in fact... except his fears...

 

Finally beginning to feel tired from his half an hour of sprinting, Reyn slowly comes to a halt and tries to catch his breath. He had really gotten himself in a mess this time... If those three church burning goons didn't kill him, then Y'Tren certainly would. Reyn knew that Y'Tren was not the kind of person that would accept excuses... even if the excuse was that the monk Jakob had been blown to smithereens and the church, along with any clues hinting at the location of the Pool, had been utterly incinerated and lost forever...

 

He didn't know if Myth had made it out alive, nor did he even question if she had. With his own personal health and safety in jeopardy, Myth was the last thing on Reyn's mind at the moment...

 

As if to refresh the barbaric thief's memory, there is suddenly a tap from behind one of Reyn's sweat-drenched shoulders. Terrified, Reyn grabs his dagger and turns to lash out at whoever the person might be. His strike is swiftly intercepted, however, by the skillfull hand of Myth. Crossing her free arm over her chest, Myth patiently waits for her ally to calm down... A few moments pass, and then Reyn's sword arm slowly passes back down to his belt and sheaths his blade...

 

"You-" stutters a bewildered Reyn, suddenly remembering the presence of his companion at the church "You're alive?!"

 

"Indeed..." mutters Myth nodding while reaching into her cloak and pulling out the box of artifacts she had skillfully managed to keep through the chaos of the massacre. "... alive, and with a mission successfully completed!"

 

Rummaging through the contents of the box, Reyn's face slowly brightens. Artifacts leading to the Pool! Perhaps he'd live through this after all...

 

"Excellent!!!" cries Reyn joyfully, continuing on his path "Let's hurry to Erindale and report to Y'Tren!"

 

Elsewhere, at the remains of Saint Andrew's Cathedral...

 

As Timothy dozes off into unconciousness, the other adventurers each individualy think of what would be the next best course of action. Jagon and his companions had fled without a trace, and they no longer had any leads to the legendary Pool... It seemed quite hopeless... had their quest come to an end...?

 

"Never have I seen anything like it..." mutters a disgusted survivor while comforting a friend that is sobbing next to the rubble "... I even saw a warrior drop his weapons and flee with all his might... a barbarian of sorts..."

 

Overhearing the survivor muttering to himself, Gyrfalcon suddenly perks his head up, an image of the fleeing survivors after he had burst open the door in the burning church passing through his mind. He had thought he had seen a certain crook dressed as...

 

"... a barbarian he was..." mutters the survivor while passing a hand over his face "... running with all his might to Erindale. Never seen anything..."

 

A frown spreads across Gyrfalcon's face and his eyes slant. A cowardly man dressed as a barbarian... that was Reyn all right. What the hell was he doing in the middle of this mess? Where Reyn appeared, there always seemed to be some kind of trouble at foot...

[Yui-chan]

The huge, damaged steps that once led up to St. Andrew's church were strewn with smouldering rubble and moaning bodies, a scene of frantic activity as the townspeople rallied to help in the face of disaster. As Kaleyra sat off to one side, her keen eyes watching the humans dart here and there, she mused distantly on how very strangely... quiet... it all seemed compared to what they had just experienced.

 

Hm. I'm in a state of mild physio-psychological shock. A small, rational part of her observed with fascination. She giggled - actually giggled! - aloud from the strangeness of the experience, drawing looks from a couple of the human women who were hurrying by. The censure in those gazes sobered her wandering feelings in an instant. This was a place of tragedy, after all, and hardly the sight for humor, healthy or otherwise.

 

She didn't precisely know how she'd gotten out of the cathedral, but she was infinitely grateful to no longer feel the terrifying pressure of the building around her, held at bay by the intricate weavings of what she could only assume to be the mysterious Dreamer's magicks. A shudder skittered down her spine, setting her soot-dirtied wings rustling. Claustrophobia was something she'd read about in one of the many volumes on sentient mentality, and she'd realized that it was only logical that flight-enabled beings should experience it with more regularity than normals. However, that did not diminish the unpleasantness of the experience, and Kaleyra quickly banished the memories from her attention, feeling the fear clawing closer again.

 

With a little sigh and a deep breath of fresh air that the wind had gifted to them through the cloying smoke of the still-burning building, the winged scholar turned her attentions away from her frayed nerves to look around. The human man who'd been helping Gyrfalcon lay sleeping not far away, his body and clothing covered in soot and dirt. He looked to be breathing quite steadily, uninjured, thankfully. She didn't see the Dreamer until the smoke cleared by another fresh breeze, and then there he stood, some distance away, watching everything with those placid, shifting eyes of his. Rather than risk getting caught by the mystery in that fathomless creature's gaze, she glanced at Gyrfalcon as he rose from not far away and went to speak with one of the many humans.

 

The frown that creased his brow worried her, and she levered herself to her feet. She greeted the stab of protesting pain from her headache with a wince and a quick dismissal before she took her first steps. As she approached the warrior-mage, the old man he spoke to shook his head and walked away. She watched the human for a moment before turning her eyes to Gyrfalcon. In those few seconds, his frown had turned into a full scowl, and she frowned in response.

 

When he noticed her presence, the half-elf glanced at the Avian. The question in her eyes was unmistakeable, and he shook his head slightly, wishing he knew a good way to answer her. "I'm not sure if it's anything, Kaleyra. A man I know - an unscrupulous man who expressed interest in the Pool... that old man saw him leaving the temple during the attack."

 

Kal frowned and nodded. "And you think that perhaps he has something to do with what has happened?" She broke off and looked at the charred remains of the church, desolation in her gaze. Her voice softened. "Our only guidance was in that building. The monk is dead, and claimed with him were the artifacts he promised."

 

At Gyrfalcon's surprised look, Kaleyra had the good graces to blush. She looked down, burying her embarassment in the effort to brush some of the soot from her dirtied tunic. As she did, she mumbled, "Um... I am sorry. I ... eavesdropped on your conversation with the human monk. He had turned me out, you see, and I ... " She glanced up and met his gaze, straightening her spine and raising her chin. "I have a duty, and I could not let his stubborness stop me. Still, I am sorry that I was forced to be so dishonorable."

 

The half-elf blinked at the sudden, if forced, change in her demeaner. He barely stopped the amused smirk from reaching his lips as he was forced to admit that the quiet little scholar had some steel in her after all. He kept his face carefully solemn as he nodded wordlessly. The idea of being spied on was not very comforting, but it was hard to scold the lady when he'd most likely have done something similar if forced. After all, the Pool of Eternal Reflection was a prize worth a very high price.

 

Instead, he simply turned the conversation back to the present. "We will have to find a new direction, and I'm beginning to wonder if finding Reyn might not be a good way to start. It's a long shot, but he may very well have learned something in the cathedral that will be useful."

 

Both of them were aware of the Dreamer's quiet approach, and they glanced at him as he spoke. "Or it may be a waste of time that will only give those other mortals the time to destroy more of the clues. We should pursue them."

 

Timothy had just approached and raised a brow at the Dreamer, folding his arms across his chest as he yawned. "And how do you suggest we do that? They used that portal-thing to go to who-knows-where. Are you going to say that you can trace them?"

 

The scarred creature stared coldly at the man, rasping out, "That weave would attract attention that I don't wish. But your mortal mage, here, could probably trace them." He looked at Gyrfalcon, who blinked back, his almond eyes widening a bit.

 

Before he could say anything, Kaleyra broke in, glancing around the little group for a moment before quietly intoning, "Whatever course of action we're going to take, we'd best do it now. I can travel more quickly than the rest of you, so I may be able to find this ... um... Reyn person if you'll describe him and what what heading he was traveling in. Perhaps it would even suit our purposes if I did that while you three searched for the murderers who did this. It would not waste time, after all, and we could plan to rendezvous in one of the nearby cities."

 

Her eyes go to the natural leader of this motley party, and she watches the thoughts flicker behind his slanted eyes. Her own did the same as she fretted about the choice she had offered them. If she broke with the party, there was the chance for them to abandon her if they found any leads. On the other hand, she could abandon them as well, and she knew that Gyrfalcon would realize the possibility. She only hoped he realized that she had nothing to gain from leaving the protection of the powerful warrior-mage and his mysterious friend and everything to lose.

 

On the other hand... as she looked around the circle of strangers, she took stock of each of them. She knew that the Dreamer would not hesitate to abandon her if it served his purposes. Even the few words they'd shared and the few things she'd seen had convinced her that this man-creature served only one being. Himself.

 

The human man who'd helped in the church was a mystery, but he had cynical eyes that made Kaleyra wonder about his motives. He didn't look unkind, really, just ... hard-edged. She was suddenly curious about this man and the things that must have happened to sharpen the wary light in his gaze.

 

Finally, she looked back at Gyrfalcon. Despite the short time they'd spent in each others' presence, the half-elf was the saving grace of her worries. For some reason, she trusted in his honor and his sense of right. He would not leave her, nor let the others convince him to.

 

With that quiet assurance still settled comfortably in her thoughts, the Avian scholar waited for the rest to make their decision, her clasped hands fidgeting slightly.

[Gwaihir]

Meanwhile...

"Reyn, you're a fool, bolted out of there without thinking, completely out of character. What if somebody noticed? We need to hurry to Y'Tren, and our backup. At the moment there are more of them than us, and the risk that one of them saw you bolting.

Myth wonders to herself WHY in the name of heavens she showed Reyn the artifacts. Oh well, but now if they surround us, I have a coward who knows my secrets. But wait!, I know.

"Umm, Reyn I'm going off into the bushes for a moment to be private, don't go anywhere."

As soon as she's out of sight of Reyn, Myth looks around, and deciding that the area is free of any sentient beings, takes out the artifacts.

Now, he saw me put them in my cloak, that's where he'd assume they were.

Then Myth does something that she almost never does except at night, she took down her hair. It was ALways up, most people assumed it was relatively short. Myth would have liked it shorter if it was up to her, but practicality trumped taste anyday. If one knew how, hair that was in a bun (curled up on top of the head) was a great place to hide small things)

Then, seperating things out, she puts one paper that one might believe belonged alone, and the jewel, back in her cloak. Next, rolling up the other papers, she puts them with the compass in her large bun. She pats it to check anything showing, no all was safe.

With that she hurried out to join Reyn, wanting to reach Y'Tren as soon as possible.

[Wyvern]

Back at the church...

 

As Kaylera and the other adventurers sink deep in thought deciding on their next course of action, a lone monk wearing robes burnt and torn from the fire eyes them reluctantly... He had been sitting by the side of the church for some time now, and had noticed that the half elf that had saved his life by breaking open the cathedral exits was chatting amongst the group of heros. Still, there was no doubt about it... these were the vagabonds his friend Jakob had warned him of previously. But that didn't matter... he had come to his decision. Swallowing hard and lifting himself from his position by the ruined church, the monk takes a deep breath and heads towards the adventurer party...

 

The chatting and deep reflection of the heros are momentarily interrupted as a monk hobbles up to their circle and clears his throat a bit to get their attention. Turning to the stranger, the heros eye him curiously...

 

"Yes?" mutters Timothy curiously, looking the stranger from head to toe as if he were some ghostly spectre...

 

"I..." starts the monk nervously "I wanted to give you a gift for... for saving..."

 

The monk extends a package wrapped in cloth to the adventurer nearest to him, Kaylera.

 

"Please... take it..."

 

Kaylera smiles at the kind gesture and takes a quick glance at the package, saying "Kind sir, there is no need for gifts or donations. Your safety and health is more then enough to-"

Then she catches a glimpse of the contents of the package, and suddenly finds herself at a lack of speech.

 

Within the cloths of the package rests a dull crystal... the shape of which immediatly catches Kaylera's attention. The crystal had been jaggedly carved into a symbol of a hawk spreading it's wings flying near a crescent moon... and the scholarly Avian recognized the symbol immediatly. The herald of the ancient Vishari clan! A lead to the Pool!!!

 

Quickly snatching the crystal from it's packaging in order to examine it more closely, Kaylera brushes her hand over it's surface as if to make sure that the shape she is seeing is not merely an hallucination caused by stress. Timothy notices Kaylera's excited state, and curiously asks "Hey Kaylera, what's up...?" This gets the attention of both Gyrfalcon and the Dreamer, who had previously been deep in thought and now turn towards Kaylera and the stranger.

 

Rather then answering Timothy, a shocked Kaylera turns to the stranger that had handed her the package and faintly asks "Where did you get this...?" The rest of the adventurers, while uncertain of what's going on, also look towards the monk and await his explanation.

 

"Listen..." starts the stranger "... I was a friend of Jakob... a good friend. You have to understand that Jakob's intentions have only been good..."

 

He stops for a moment and the adventurers nod for him to continue.

 

"Whether he agreed to help you or not, Jakob didn't want you to search for the Pool. You seemed insistent and determined, so finally he came to the conclusion that he wasn't going to get rid of you that easily. He decided to trick you by replacing the crystal in the collection of artifacts he was going to hand to you with a fake... This way, you would never find the Pool and would quit questioning him about it at the same time. Call it cruel, but he was killing two birds with one stone. He handed the true crystal to me, telling me to 'hold onto it with your life. Let noone take it from you.' And I was determined to do so... yet..."

 

There is a silence.

 

"I saw you fight valiently in the church... I saw you risk the infernos in order to save innocents. I know you are good, my very soul senses it... And thus, I have decided to act on my own will, despite the wish of my dearly departed friend. I think you deserve the crystal, and that you shall use it wisely."

 

Timothy quickly answers "We will. Do you know of it's uses?"

 

"No..." responds the monk regretfully "... I am just as in the dark about the use of this object as you are. Jakob refused to share information about the secret location with anyone... even his very closest friends."

 

He pauses for a moment, then says

 

"Now I must go... If it's alright with you, I'd prefer if this exchange were completely forgotten. While I know that I've done the right thing, I have never the less broken my friends promise and guilt plagues my soul..."

 

With that, the stranger turns and leaves, walking back to the position where he had been previously seated. He doesn't even say "Goodbye"...

[Ozymandias]

Timothy's brows knit and unknit in slow motion as he scowls while staring intently at the jewel.

Finally, he says simply, "Clever monk, Jakob."

[Gyrfalcon]

Gyrfalcon shook his head slightly, the events of the past few minutes proving *very* surprising to him. He hadn't expected Kaylera to be at the temple, now that he had time to think on it, nor had he expected her to have so much knowledge of what he and the others had found out.

 

for a lady with wings that should stand out wherever she goes, Kaylera sure can sneak around and find things out. Gyrfalcon thought, somewhat admiringly. He looked closely at crystal Kaylera was holding reverently. At first glance, it seemed a roughly worked crystal, carved with a crude rendering of a hawk in flight near a crescent moon. However, Gyrfalcon knew that even the simplest of objects could have a hidden message, known by only a few… and here, perhaps Kaylera could find that message in this object.

 

"What do you think, Kaylera? Can you decipher its purpose without the instructions, without the instructions that were lost in… in the fire?" Gyrfalcon finished with a subdued voice.

 

"I… I don't know." Kaylera said, turning it slowly in her hands. "I can only study it, and we shall see."

 

Gyrfalcon nodded, and grimaced…

 

"We need to choose a place to meet… I think the Dreamer and myself, and perhaps Timothy need to pursue those murderers before the trail grows too cold. Though I doubt we'll catch them. I've heard of other murders, like this one, and they haven't been stopped yet. But we have to try… for all those who died."

 

Gyrfalcon drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly "As for you, I think you shouldn't chase after Reyn just yet… the trail will be colder, but, well… to put it bluntly, Reyn has always surrounded himself with better fighters then he is, or attached himself to someone much more powerful. You go chasing after the vermin, you might run into a spider's web. And well… you're more of a scholar then a fighter… and I don't want to lose you to whoever it is over him.

[Yui-chan]

When Gyrfalcon had fallen silent, Kaleyra blinked at him, fighting a losing battle with another of those blasted blushes that showed so obviously in her fair skin. The words "I don't want to lose you" hit her somewhere between her very naive heart and her intellectual head and created the strangest little fledgling feeling. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was warm and ... fuzzy ...

 

Kal blinked and shook her head almost imperceptibly. The whatever-it-was faded, but she could still feel it. Fascinating. He... I mean... I ... What in the bright skies was that? And how can an emotional response seem so ... tangibly touchable? 'Fuzzy'? Have I gone mad? It seemed rather possible, given the horror of the recent carnage, but she ran her mind through some multiplication tables and Elvish verb conjugations with her usual speedy efficiency. Shouldn't a madwoman have trouble with such simple exercises? She had no answers, at the moment, and so she forced her thoughts elsewhere and her eyes away from Gyrfalcon's face.

 

Like the dedicated scholar she was, one look at the fascinating crystal artifact had her thoughts neatly ordered, again, and rational. Mad or not, she had a puzzle to solve, and her excitement drove her doubts away. The crystal caught the last of the daylight, reflecting rainbow fire across her face as she turned it over in her hands for a moment, her expression reverent and her eyes searching.

 

After a moment, she raised her gaze back to Gyrfalcon's and nodded slightly. "Yes, give me some time to study this. I vaguely recall some references to such an artifact in the volumes that I have studied. I shall need to consult my journals and perhaps even travel back to the Erindale library."

 

At her questioning glance around the circle, Timothy and Gyrfalcon both nodded. The Dreamer merely stared, looking exceedingly bored with the conversation. She frowned a bit, confused, but abandoned the curiosity about his reactions, focusing her gaze back on the crystal. "I suggest that we meet at dusk two days from now. There's a notorious establishment in the central square in Erindale, the 'Crystal Dagger.' The perpetual crush of bipedal individuals that surrounds the tavern at that hour should effectively conceal our rendezvous. I shall await you there, if no one has any objections."

[Ozymandias]

"None here," replied Timothy distractedly. Oh no, of course not. How could I possibly have a problem with another chance to play good lunatic, homicidal lunatic? I swear, one's probably going to crumble to the ground weeping when a battered childhood catches up with him and the other...feh. The other will probably unveil his evil plot to take over the world soon.

 

It never works this way in the histories, it does not. But I know how accurate they are, really. Damn.

[Wyvern]

Elsewhere, in a seedy looking tavern located somewhere in the slums of the city of Erindale...

 

Rain gently comes pattering down from the sky onto the grimy first floor window pane of the 'Singing Siren' pub and rest area... Two glassy eyes stare through the dirt obscuring the view of the outdoors, watching the droplets of rain softly hit the pane, then slide down the glass frame, slowly disintigrating into a watery nothingness. To be like a droplet of water... to live in the moment. Was this the life she had chosen to pursue...?

 

Sighing to herself, Myth lazily stretches and turns her attention from the rain outdoors to her companions sitting at the table around her. Boar Head was downing his 40th drink of the evening, Gallaros was carving a piece of wood into a sculpture of some sort, Reyn was snoozing, and Y'Tren hadn't gotten back to the pub yet. He had taken the artifacts that Myth had found and told the party to wait here while he went to the library to examine them...

 

Noting nothing worth her interest or attention around the interior of the bar, Myth directs her gaze back to the dark sky and rain outdoors...

 

To be like a drop of water... to live in the moment...

 

The sound of the shutting of a door and wet boots on the wooden floor suddenly catch the attention of the party, and they turn to the pub entrance to see that Y'Tren has returned. Y'Tren gives a small wave and then quickly seats himself in the empty chair located between Gallaros and Boar Head. He sets the container holding the artifacts carefully on the table, then takes a deep breath and clears his throat...

 

"Myth, the plans are exactly what we were looking for, excellent work. Unfortunatly, it appears there is still a small piece of the puzzle which is missing..."

 

Much to the amazement of the rest of the party, Y'Tren takes the crystal from the box and drops it to the ground. The artifact shatters to a million pieces.

 

"Glass..." growls Y'Tren, scowling and pointing to the broken shards on the ground "Nothing more then an imitation jewel... while we can locate the whereabouts of the island, we need a special crystal created to act as a key. The island is unseen to the human eye, and only when sunlight reflects off the crystal key may it be unvaled."

 

Y'Tren directs a cold stare towards Myth.

 

"One can only wonder what happened to the true crystal..."

 

Myth stares back confidently, simply muttering "I didn't hide it." Y'Tren instantly see's the truth in Myth's face and composure, and nods understandingly.

 

"What shall our next course of action be? We can't find the location without the crystal..."

[Gyrfalcon]

Gyrfalcon cleared his throat as Kaleyra blushed. That had come out just a little off from how he had meant it to…

 

With a shake of his head, the half-elf carefully put the previous moments out of mind and listened as Kaleyra present the plan.

 

"It sounds like as good an idea as any." Gyrfalcon said, "Though I think instead we might try to find where Reyn ran off to, instead of that group that teleported away."

 

"Why?" The Dreamer asked in his emotionless voice, quietly.

 

"Simple-First, I don't know a tracking spell that can find someone I haven't managed to put a mage mark on- something that *can't* be done in the middle of a battle- and second, if I drew on my mana nodes at New Muriska, my cover will be blown. An archmage traveling alone? We'd have so many creatures hounding us to take out a vulnerable enemy, or the spies following us to find out what I'm searching for, that it'd resemble a parade." Gyrfalcon shook his head.

 

"So since we can't chase after the murderers who teleported away, all that's left is to chase after the one we can find without magic- Reyn. He might even lead us to those butchers." Gyrfalcon finished and looked between the Dreamer and Timothy.

 

The Dreamer looked vaguely contemptuous, and just looked at Gyrfalcon steadily. Timothy meanwhile was muttering to himself. Gyrfalcon heard the word 'lunatic' come up repeatedly, and sighed.

 

Gyrfalcon turned to Kaleyra "Since we'll be meeting in two days, the most we'll likely do is find the general area where Reyn and any friends he has are located before we'll have to head for the Crystal Dagger." Kaleyra nodded, and Gyrfalcon turned to look at the wounded laid out before the ruined church.

 

I vaguely hope Reyn is connected with those butchers… I'd like to repay them for what they've done.

[Gwaihir]

There is a pause, while everyone thinks.

Myth calculates to herself: If the dramatists have it we're screwed they're stronger than we, and I doubt a monk who hated the pool would carry anything pertaining to it on his body, hence I'll bet that the honorable adventurers have it. However if I say that explicitly then we should all go find the adventurers. The less of that idiot Reyn I see the better, heck the less company the better. However it's nice to have backup, and Y' Tren has the connections, and he seems pretty on top of things, I don't really want to backstab him. He's probably out for his own interests... I've got an idea..

Myth takes a breath, stands up, and begins speaking

"There wasn't anything else in the fat monk's room when I got there, and I didn't delay. There's a group of honorable people looking for the pool too, but because of their morals they couldn't have stolen the rest of the stuff (who'd be dumb enough to forget half the goods, and anyway they probably wouldn't steal I think.) There are some other people who know about the pool, but they seem rather fond of dramatic displays, and very intelligent so taking just the crystal doesn't quite seem their thing. However, the point remains that wasn't in the cathedral unless it was on someone's person. (I searched, and I don't make mistakes). That leaves three options, the honorable party has it, the dramatists have it, or Jakob had it.

The honorable party did know something about the pool, they could easily have come to Jakob for his supplies, already possesing the crystal, though that leaves me wondering why Jakob had a fake.

If the compass is not magical, which I don't know, then the dramatists could have copied the maps, possesed their own compass, and switched the jewels. This though, is rather complicated and we have no motive for it.

If Jakob had it on him, it may still be there, searching through rubble takes time. Even if it was taken off him, there woudl be hope of tracing and recovering it.

I really don't think we can easily discover which of these three parties has it (if anyone else has it, we're back at stage one) without just investigating all three. Hence I have a proposal.

To discover if the honorable party has it requires a spy, if they do we must negotiate or steal. (Stealing may be hard, unless they're idiots they know what they have). I've already watched these people so I propose that I go as spy, and I since Y'Tren has the most power to negotiate, I propose that he comes with me in case they have it.

If the dramatists have it, they have to be found (getting it from them would be hard so maybe we should put that off until we know more about them) Reyn's already seen these people, and Gallaros is a bit tougher and a good investigator, so I'd suggest sending them to see what we can find about the dramatists.

If the crystal was on Jakob's body, and has passed to kin or friends, it'll take a tough fellow to get it back. Looking imposing would help (the fact that you (looking at the ogre) are tough might help more) so I would think of you as doing that.

I say that we meet back here in a week (that leaves time to get our stuff done), but that if anyone has a strong lead that won't wait, then they should follow that rather than making the meeting time. The rest of us will wait.

Ok, that was a lot of speaking for me, what does everyone else think?"

 

---------

[Wyvern]

"You're plan sounds excellently thought out, Myth." responds Y'Tren, stroking a hand across his beard thoughtfully "Yet at the same time, we should be carefull with the artifacts we have obtained..."

 

Y'Tren ponders for a moment, then turns to the rest of the party.

 

"Boar Head, Gallaros, Reyn... you three shall take the artifacts and head South East towards the mariner city of Mefferius. Once there, reserve us a ship to sail out to sea with and keep the artifacts safe. Myth and I will meet you at the Mefferius harbors in a few days time... Hopefully we'll manage to obtain the crystal by then."

 

One by one, Gallaros, Reyn, and Boar Head silently nod their heads in understanding.

 

"Myth, I think it would be best if we first inquired on the whereabouts of these 'dramatists' you saw. If they managed to live through the church burning, that is..."

[Ozymandias]

Timothy's hand goes reflexively to his belt, and he frowns deeply when he realizes its target is not there.

Forgotten I'd lost my pipe, too. Damn.

Sighing, he lays his hand on his sword and walks to Gyrfalcon's side. They both look at the wounded silently for several seconds, a mix of emotions surfacing momenetarily on the half-elfs' face while Timothy, oblivious, stares impassively.

 

"Gyrfalcon."

 

"Hm? Yes?"

 

"You're an Archmage?"

[Gwaihir]

For once Myth was caught off guard. This she hadn't expected.

"Sounds good to me, shall we start tomorrow, it's getting kind of late for searching for anything today."

That settled everyone went off to sleep. Myth, however couldn't. Things were wrong, her plan had been anticipated and spoiled. For hours she lay awake worrying, annoyed, Y'Tren was a fit opponent.

"Well, at least he can't guess my idea from me, it being nonexistant" she grumbled.

Suddenly, around two am an idea struck her. She got up, when to her bags, and grabbed a few cheap shirts. "If there's one thing I can do, it's gag people quickly and quietly." Each of the party had an room off the same hall. Myth's was at one end, and Reyn's at the other. The first room next to Myth's was Y'Tren's, she skips that one for now. Next though she goes to the darkelf's room. His door is locked but easy to pick. When she enters, he is still asleep, and before he's awake enough to fight or yell he's gagged. Then she purposefully turns on the light, and peers at him. "Yes, it's the right guy."

She slits his throat, and then having, removed the key from his pants, glanced through his belongings (puttinig them back afterwards), turned off the light, and locked the door (keeping the key). Next the ogre's room, same drill, but as she gags him, he kicks the wall next to his bed (the wall adjoining to Reyn's room). Hurriedly Myth kills him first, then checks the identity, and goes through the rest of her drill as mentioned above. On leaving the dead ogre's room, Myth finds a problem. Reyn's room is empty, he seems to have jumped out the window stark naked, having heard the noise, because all his clothes remain and the window is open. "@#%$. Oh well, nothing to be done about it now, delay can't be brooked."

So, Myth looks through Reyn's things breifly, adn then putting them back as they were, leaves.

"Now's the hard part, I just hope this goes well."

Concentrating a moment, Myth casts her chameleon spell, now no one would notice her without a special sense. Quietly unlocking Y'Tren's door, Myth tiptoes in and standing over Y'Tren. Pulling a vial out of her pocket, she pours a bit on Y'Tren's forehead and in his mouth. As he jerks awake, the power of the strong sleeping vial pulls him right back down, before his head has even lifted. Next, Myth searches quickly through Y'Tren's belongings.

"Now where are the danged artifacts?"

They aren't in any of his things, or on him either. At first Mythh is stumped, but then she reaches deep into the back of her cloak adn pulls out a small blue gem.

"My teacher's last gift." she grins to herself.

Looking at the gem she concentrates on the artifacts, for almost six minutes she sits completely still suddenly the gem puts out a beam of light towards the wall. Myth, blinking "I would never have thought of that." lightly taps the blank wall there. Sure enough, it comes open revealing the artifacts. She pockets them. Last of all she pulls a note out of her pocket, she reads it over:

Y'Tren,

If you get this note it's because I've succeded. I'm not going to try to fool you, and tell you that Reyn did it, though I sincerely thought about doign that, because you might not believe it, and I'd rather get along with you and your contacts.

Except for the two of us, the rest of the party is dead adn I have the jewels. "That part's not true now, but no matter." I'm going to the honest adventurers to bargain. I'll cut you into the deal I make if you wish. I have left you alive, because I hope we can remain on good professional terms. "No need to mention how much I respect his defenses."

I hope to see you soon.

Myth

Leaving the note in an obvious place, Myth takes off to find the adventurers.

[Gyrfalcon]

Gyrfalcon winced internally. Oh, damn... I was trying to avoid this question.

 

Softly, he sighed. "Yes, I am. I rule the free state of New Muriska."

 

Gyrfalcon watched Timothy's hands from the corner of his eye. Timothy had a hand on his sword, and Gyrfalcon didn't quite know how Timothy would react to this little revelation.

 

"I am searching for our.... goal..." Gyrfalcon carefully avoided speaking of the pool, not knowing of who was listening "To help my people, it it can be used for that purpose."

[Zadown]

Something is not right...

 

The Dreamer listened with small part of his attention what the mortals were talking about, but most of it was directed inwards .. and that way, to the intricate patters of nearby Void. Things were moving at the edge of his second vision, shadowy formless flickers, still faraway but inching closer.

 

The seekers are here. Even the little noise I've made has been too much, and if I stay here, on this plane, they will get me .. time to move on, back to the open Lost Paths. I was so close...

 

He sighed, almost inaudibly, and turned away from the mortals talking about some trivial matter. With a small sidestep to the Astral the Dreamer vanished.

[Ozymandias]

Timothy paused, absorbing that thought.

 

"Well." he said slowly, "That explains a good bit."

 

There is another long pause as they continue their observing. "I don't suppose you have something such as a pipe about you?"

[Gyrfalcon]

Gyr shakes his head slowly "I'm afraid I don't... I've always avoided smoking, which is only smart when you live as long as an Archmage does. We're still mortal, and lung diseases still strike those of us who smoke too long. Healing spells can only do so much before the flesh has twisted enough that healing can do no good."

 

Gyrfalcon sighed almost inaudibly, then looked around, eyes narrowing. Timothy looked at him in rising concern "What is it?"

 

Gyrfalcon turned a full circle "Where did the Dreamer go?"

 

The half-elf and the human searched everywhere, but the Dreamer was not to be found. With a soft sigh, Gyrfalcon shrugged "I guess he got annoyed with us and took off. We might see him somewhere down the road..." With a shake of his head, Gyrfalcon spotted Kaylera "I think we should journey with Kaylera now, without the Dreamer. No offense to you, but Reyn has always surrounded himself with allies, sometimes very powerful ones... and with just the two of us to fight all of them?" Gyrfalcon paused and shook his head "Besides, what is more likely is that Reyn is tracking me, perhaps in hopes of making money off of my location or this quest... if so, we'll see him again, soon."

[Ozymandias]

"I'm a scholar, not a soldier. You'll find no argument from me there. But Kaleyra? She seems made of softer stuff than I...in a stand up fight," he quickly added on seeing Gyrfalcon's sharp look.

[Yui-chan]

As Gyrfalcon and Timothy conversed, Kaleyra examined the mysterious crystal, her eyes alight with curiosity. The surface, the interesting shape, the flawless gemstone of its construction, she began carefully examining them and making a list in her mind of what she needed to investigate. Consequently, she wasn't listening to a word the men said, nor did she realize that the Dreamer had gone. Instead, she fished in her pack for her spectacles, slipped them on her face, and simply started to walk away, her head bowed over the treasure in her hands as she muttered quietly to herself.

 

By the time either of her remaining two companions turned to look for her, the Avian was a blue-and-brown speck in the sky, flying quickly towards the library at Erindale and unaware that the plans for meeting had changed.

[Wyvern]

"Kaylera may not be the best in hand to hand combat..." responds Gyrfalcon, still glaring angrily at Timothy "... but she has numerous qualities that are extremly beneficial to the party..."

 

"Ummmmm..." starts Timothy, suddenly noticing the faint speck that remains of Kaylera on the distant sky of the horizon. The exhausted historian clears his throat and points towards the tiny brown dot, murmering "perhaps we should go and tell her that..."

 

Gyrfalcon turns towards the direction that Timothy is pointing in and sighs when he notices that Kaylera had grown impatient and departed. The recent event of the St. Andrew's church burning had practicaly torn their party to pieces... The Dreamer, who had been perhaps their most powerfull companion, had mysteriously vanished into nothingness... Now Kaylera had also decided to seperate herself from them... And to make matters worse, their chances of finding the legendary Pool now seemed slim to nothing... Even with their wonderfull chance of being handed down the mysterious crystal, their leads to the Pool were few and far between...

 

For a moment, Gyrfalcon contemplates simply calling the entire journey off, as things seemed quite hopeless... But then, the wise words of Saint Derick begin to resurface and echo through his mind:

 

Remember... don't lose faith. It may not seem important to those of your stature and power... but without faith, nothing can be accomplished.

 

Slowly, the half elf warrior regains his composure, an air of confidence and determination suddenly coming over his visage. Timothy, who is still looking in the direction that Kaylera had headed, scratches his head and mutters:

 

"What do you figure we should do now Gyrfalcon...? Our options are looking less and less appea-"

 

"We follow Kaylera to Erindale!" interrupts Gyrfalcon suddenly, the confidence in his voice momentarily catching Timothy off guard. "We had planned to head there anyway, since that's where Reyn may have run off to, and I still have a feeling that he must be involved in this mess somehow..."

 

Timothy pauses for a moment, then slowly begins to grin. "Sounds like an excellant idea Gyr, it's definatly time to get a move on! After all, if we're going to find this place, we'd better make the best of our time!"

 

Gyrfalcon grins back and nods, and the two adventurers quickly gather their belongings. "You know..." says Gyrfalcon, brushing his hair back and looking once again towards the horizon "If we hurry, we can make our way to Erindale in less then a day..."

 

"I'm certainly up to it!" exclaims Timothy, already beginning to head on his way towards Erindale. Gyrfalcon nods and follows, and soon the two adventurers are swiftly making their way back to the near-by city, determined to arrive at it's gates before the Sun has had a chance to set...

 

...

 

By the time Gyrfalcon and Timothy have arrived at Erindale, the Sun has set beneath the clouds, but the night is still young. Unaware of the amazing progress they had made in a day, and that they had actually arrived only three hours after Kaylera had gotten to the city and entered the local library (which is very impressive traveling time, considering that Kaylera has the gift of flight on her side), the two heros walk up to the gates and are immediatly escorted by numerous guards. After going through 40 minutes of questioning at the gates of Erindale (which due to the news of the church burning was heavily guarded) the two adventurers finally manage to enter the city. Both exhausted from their extensive travels, Gyr and Timothy decide that they should get some rest at an inn of some sort before seeking out Kaylera and asking around the city about Reyn... As they pass by a dark alleyway, they fail to notice a shady figure that seems to be eyeing them with a great deal of interest...

[Guest Myth]

Outside the inn, right after having killed a couple of her companions:

"I've got to get some lsleep but I had better get out of here too. Need to find a water fountain too, blood makes the hands stink!"

So after a few hours of walking and a few more of sleeping in the common room of a local inn (can't afford to be robbed of the goods), Myth arrives in Erindale.

In one of those dim allies that seem to abound in every city: A woman in dark clothes walks into a doorway, at first she is ignored, but after knocking in a particular rhythm on the door frame, a man beckons her to approach.

"Do I know you"

"Can you not know a sister?" Myth replies in an undertone. This seems to be the correct answer, because then the man relaxes and the two chat for a few minutes.

Quickly though Myth gets down to business

"Our lives are much to short to talk long, can I get a search done for a few people, and a room with some brother?"

"A search can be done easily right now, things are pretty quiet. Description? A room might be harder, but go see Shinara, she's a sister, and I think she might have some space."

Myth describes pretty keenly both the Dreamer, and Gyrfalcon, these beign the ones she most focused on.

Resting, eating, and recuperating for a little while (I think less than a day, but my time has become a bit fuzzy here)

Finally, late in the evening report came in that someone who might well be the half elf in question had entered town.

"This is the hard part Myth muttered to herself. I have to be nice to them, because I can't take them all one at once. I just hate groups, because you can't calculate their reactions. Of course, it's much worse when they're beings with morals! Oh well, they're tired I'm not, I should be able to handle this no matter what happens."

Knowing that the searchers might have been seen, when Myth finds the half elf in question who does turn out to be the right one, with companions she recognizes, she walks straight up to them. [/i]

"We need to talk, someplace private. If you're willing to come to my room, that'll work beautifully, if you'd prefer neutral territory, name a safe place. As long as we can be alone."

[Yui-chan]

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

 

The patrons in the library had quickly learned to give the strange, winged woman a wide berth. After all, the poor old dwarf that she'd bowled over on her way back to the table was still sitting in a corner, grumbling and shooting dagger-sharp glares at her blue-clothed back. It didn't help the young woman's reputation when the main librarian had apologetically brought him a bladder of magic-cooled water to cover the multiple book-spine-shaped lumps on his bald head and he'd yelped in pain at its touch. Needless to say, everyone was careful to stay out of her path after that.

 

Oblivious to the attention she'd generated (after all, she'd apologized to the dwarf... or at least, she was pretty sure she had. Not that it was important, in the face of this critical clue she held in her hands, mind!), Kaleyra sat hunched over an ancient tome at a table in the corner, surrounded by half-rolled scrolls and stacks of reference books. Her wire-rimmed spectacles glinted in the torchlight as she scanned the ancient Sunatran text. At the same time, the quill held in her right hand scribbled across the page of a smaller, worn-leather journal...

 

Entry 325

280th day of the Caréne Solar Cycle

Third Quarter of the 3051st Orbit Since History Began

 

This fascinating crystal 'key' that the human monk provided for our use is proving quite the conundrum. I've found vague references to the "Vishari Veil," a crystalline statuette that is purported to "point the way to true Reflection." There are no physical descriptions beyond 'crystalline' to be found in the texts here in Erindale, however a review of my notes from the Avian scholars' research provides more detail. From Ashitar, Aerie Scholar First Magnitude, comes a rough translation of a scroll portion recovered at the supposed site of an unidentified city of the ancient races. "... Veil will guide the worthy... lifts the pure souls on knoble wings... moon lights the true heart... the voice raised in song..."

 

The translation is admitted to be rough, and quite inarguably, it is vague, however I feel that the evidence is sufficient to continue my studies operating on the assumption that this crystal is, indeed, the artifact known as the Vishari Veil. It is an amazing windfall that the monk deigned to reward us with it, as surely we'd have been stymied with the loss of the Monk Jakob and the artifacts and information he possessed.

 

(Sidenote: I am sorely disappointed in that loss. I am inutterably curious as to what items of significance he may have possessed.)

 

The Avian continued to scan and write at the same time, oblivious to the passing of time until she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Startled out of her studies, she jumped and spun around, her hand still wrapped around her newly-inked quill. The librarian shrieked in surprise as flecks of india ink splattered across her face, and Kaleyra blushed, pulling an already-ink-stained rag from under a book. As she wiped the poor woman's face, she apologized profusely, hoping that the human's glare didn't bode quite as ill as it seemed to.

 

At length, the woman sighed and brushed the scholar's hands aside. "All right, all right. The ink won't be comin' out any better until I've had me proper washing. Don't ya be worryin' about it any more, miss."

 

Still mortified, Kal could do nothing but bow her head slightly and blush as the librarian continued. "Now, look. It's near on midnight, an' I was about to be headin' home. If ya come back in the morning, I'll be here at -- "

 

"What?" Her eyes wide, the Avian looked at the woman with something akin to horror. "You want me to go? Oh, no, please. My research cannot possibly wait! Won't you please let me stay? Lock the doors, if you wish, for I'm quite certain that my endeavours here will last until midmorning at the least."

 

"Now, miss..." Though the old woman frowned, the look in Kaleyra's fair face made her pause in her refusal. The decision was made when something very important occured to her. If she let the winged woman stay the night, then certainly she'd not be around much during the day to endanger or disturb the other patrons. As clumsy and strange as this scholar was, it was undoubtedly the best course. "... if ya'll be sure to leave the doors locked, then I suppose it can't do much harm."

 

The smile that greeted her words was radiant, and the poor woman found her hand clutched between the Avians' as it was pumped up and down with bone-shaking speed. "Oh, magnificent! I'm ebullient! There's so much more work to be done, and you can't imagine how immeasurably fascinating the discoveries are. Why, I was just reading about how--"

 

"Yes, yes, yes, dear," the older woman interrupted impatiently, carefully extricating her hand. "Just try not to break anything and don't open them doors fer anyone. Aye?"

 

"Um... certainly." Embarassed by her exuberance, the Avian just nodded and watched silently as the woman walked away to lock up and leave. Sitting back down, she muttered "Stupid..." and then turned her eyes back to her book. In seconds, she was lost once again, her quill flying across the pages as the night deepened around her.

[Ozymandias]

Timothy gives Myth an exhausted yet openly calculating look.

 

"Well, in the open there's always the chance for snipers or some kind of mechanical snare. Indoors, you could have fellows hidden in secret places or in plain sight. But indoors still makes me feel better. Indoors, and public. Yes, staying right here will suit me fine." As he said those final words, they slipped with a slight growl. Myth paid some closer attention to him then, but dismissed the human for the moment. While those eyes were odd, and he seemed to be watching her carefully as well, the journey was clearly already wearing on him.

[Wyvern]

From the corner of a nearby side street, a rather aged and weary looking man rubs his graying beard with his right hand while scornfully glancing towards Myth, his eyes narrowing in order to give him a focused view of her complexion. He plunges deep into thought for a moment, becoming suddenly oblivious to his surroundings, and considers what his next course of action should be... Teaming up with Myth was a gamble, there was no doubt about that... He had previously underestimated her skill and wit, something that only happened to him on rare occasions. Yet did he truly have a choice in the matter? If he decided not to join Myth in this quest... what dreadfull fate awaited him then? Would he suffer the same consequences as his allies had...?

 

Sighing to himself and adjusting the claymore that rests faithfully at the side of his belt, Y'Tren reluctantly exits from the corner where he is hiding and heads through the busteling crowds of Erindale towards the point where the Myth is meeting the two adventurers. As soon as he is in their line of sight, he masks his worried visage with a convincing smile and signals to Myth with the wave of a hand...

 

"Greetings..." the aged man says as soon as he has reached the point where the party has met. Though his voice has somewhat of a frail and tired tone to it, it never the less resonates with a great deal of wisdom and charisma. "I am Y'Tren, a descendant of the S'den clan and ally to Myth, whom you appear to have just met..."

 

"The S'den clan...?" tones Timothy rather weakly, suddenly remembering having heard Kaylera mention the name.

 

Gyrfalcon also recalls hearing Kaylera speak of the clan, and his curiousity in the two strangers is suddenly arroused. "You're right... perhaps we should speak of these matters somewhere in private..."