Fero 28:
Caelen took a moment to gather dreamberries, dumping a barrel of them into his bag of holding while Vethra filled hers with an unreasonable amount of spice. The made their way back to Ted's keep to retrieve their cart and reunite with Artemis. Their heading was clear. They loaded up and departed for Evermoure, leaving Alvaeus behind.
Maro 4:
The team passed through Cinderville once more. Common people of the city could be seen talking amongst themselves regarding the cart being pulled by 3 giant spiders. One man could even be seen begrudgingly handing his friend money. It appears they had a bet over the existence of the spider cart that his friend swore he saw before. It seems that Ex Umbra's method of transportation is quite noticeable.
Maro 8:
While on the road to Evermoure, Ex Umbra spotted two lycari on the road ahead of them. These lycari were dressed like refugees and were travelling the road in the opposite direction, nearing Ex Umbra with each passing moment. It was one brown furred male and one black furred female. Their fur was dirty and matted. Their clothes were soiled and torn. Katrina saw them long before they noticed Ex Umbra. It didn't matter that the cart was pulled by spiders. The refugees were so tired and weak that they barely lifted their heads as the walked. The male pulled a small wagon of what seemed to be their belongings. His legs trembled with every step his weak body took. Katrina gave a purse sack of gold to Zane, asking him to give it them before channeling the power she discovered in Highstone. She turned into a badger and hid in the cart beside Artemis. Zane called out to them as they passed and they had a short talk. He learned that the lycari pair were married. Barkley and his wife Gidget explained that a collective of hunters from Wernstel had arrived in Tanalor. These lycari have been tasked with hunting down fugitives of Wernstel's Holy Council, and no lycari in Tanalor is safe. Barkley called them "The Pack". Zane told them he knew a lycari, and Barkley told him that if his friend is in Tanalor, they need to run. Zane looked down at the 500 gold pieces Katrina had given him and added 500 more of his own. He gave it to them, and the lycari wept. Gidget said, "This is our ticket to freedom. We can finally afford to sail north and build a new life." Zane told them that Mosphire is full of good people, and if they need anything, they can say that they are friends of Ex Umbra. They thanked everyone, but still Katrina did not reveal herself.
Maro 12:
The team finally reached Evermoure, the capital city of Tanalor. As they neared the city center, Katrina picked up a scent. She was in her natural lycari form in this moment, and she knew what she smelled. A group of lycari were just around the corner. She quickly shaped herself into her badger form just before a group of armed and armored lycari stepped into the street. They were pack hunters. It seems that they had detected Katrina just as she had detected them. They asked if the team had seen a lycari around and they all managed to fool the hunters, claiming they had no knowledge of any lycari. The hunters passed them by and Katrina was relieved. She stayed in her badger form, but knew she couldn't hold it for long. They reached the city center and found Lord Severin's home. It was quiet and dark. A large chain and lock had been added to the front door. Caelen took a look around and realized no one was there. They quickly made their way to The Red Wizard's keep. It was just down the road withing the inner ramparts surrounding the king's castle. Directly outside the castle the arrived at the base of a large red tower. Guards posted at the entrance gave them permission to enter when they realized Caelen was the son of Lord Severin. said no animals would be allowed. Shadoe discreetly summoned her hawk and sent it to fly around the tower, looking in every window. Katrina in her badger form stayed at the cart with Artemis, Vethra's snake, and the spiders. The others walked inside where they were greeted by more guards who instructed them to check their weapons here. Shadoe slipped a dagger into her bag of holding, but all the other weapons were left with the guards. As they made their way up the stairs to a common area, Shadoe looked through the eyes of her hawk. She saw that almost every room of the upper floors were empty. The tower was the only impressive thing about this keep. The Red Wizard was more of a fake than they even knew. His tower is just a way to project a sense of greatness, and the public has no idea that most of the tower is just empty rooms. They entered the common area and met Rydon, The Red Wizard. In this room he had various decor, but one thing stood out. He had a large dragon skull mounted above the fireplace. Shadow and Zane noticed a price tag hanging from the fake skull immediately. Rydon quickly removed the tag and tried to play it off. Zane told him there was no need for deception and explained that they already knew everything due to Gilman. Rydon was relieved and asked where Gilman was. Shadoe began to explain but Zane cut her off, saying that the more people that knew, the less safe Gilman would be. Rydon understood and agreed. They explained that they also met Alvaeus and that they work with The Silver Slayer. Rydon explained his dislike of The Slayer as he told the story of the time loop incident from his own perspective. He was being tortured for information regarding his piece of the staff when suddenly a figure emerged from behind him, striking down the cultist that was torturing him, but just as Rydon was about to thank this mysterious man wearing a fan mask of Gilman Rook, the man punched him in the face and knocked him out. Caelen had done this to protect his identity. When Rydon awoke, he was still tied to the chair, and on the table in front of him lied the butchered body of the cultist with a single silver tally pressed into his wound. Rydon was stuck up there in the hidden room for hours before he managed to free himself. The entire time as Rydon told this story, Caelen didn't say a word. He realized he had never heard the story from this perspective before. Meanwhile, Katrina's badger form began to slip as her white fur and canine feet began to come back. She channeled her magic to change shape once again. This time she became a ferret. The magic required to change like this is a heavy toll. She knew when the magic faded this time, she wouldn't be able to change shape again until she rested. As a ferret she waved down Shadoe's hawk, and Shadoe, seeing this, understood. The hawk picked her up and flew to the window next to Shadoe. Shadoe opened the window allowing it in. Rydon was alarmed but Zane picked up ferret Katrina and placed her on his shoulder. Shadoe told Rydon she would be leaving her hawk to keep an eye on him in the name of security, and also told him she can see through it so he can get their attention if he needs too. Rydon gave them the location of his piece. He left it at a strange temple in the heart of The Thornwood Forest. The winged entity (The Harbinger) that haunts the forest never lets anyone go too far into the woods, but for some reason he allowed Rydon to pass. Rydon left his piece there thinking it was the safest place for it to be. He also told them that he was elected as the diplomatic representative of Evermoure and that Lord Severin disappeared just before election day. He and Severin had been working on a trade deal with Wernstel to ease the economic strain caused by the war in Mosphire. After Severin's disappearance, Rydon passed "The Severin Act" as his first act when elected. This act opened trade with Wernstel for the first time in Tanalor's history under the condition that The Pack would be allowed to hunt any Wernstelian criminals hiding in Tanalor. The Red Wizard also told them that he had come across a wand that Magus had. It was in fact an arcane artifact called The Unmaker. It has he ability to remove the magical enchantment from any magical item, but it cannot remove incomplete enchantments. He showed them a broken lute, the very same one that was used to create the time loop years ago. Caelen had destroyed it himself, and Rydon said that he tried to use the unmaker on it, but do to the fact that it is mostly destroyed, the enchantment is incomplete and thus The Unmaker did not work on it. Rydon suggested that if they get all the pieces of the staff, perhaps they could simply remove the enchantment of the staff to ensure Grimon never returns. The team said they would consider it and they went on their way. Vethra wanted to get Katrina out of town before her ferret form wore off, so the two of them hopped on her broom and flew away with Artemis following them from the ground. They told the team they would check out the temple in the forest while they look for more information here. Shadoe, Zane, and Caelen crafted a plan to try to draw out anyone that might know where to find a Dreamweaver. The three of them went to a tavern. Zane sat at the bar, Shadoe posed as a dealer with fake pre-rolls she made, and Caelen leaned into his family name as he portrayed himself as a despaired child of a lost noble looking to buy drugs. Shadoe and Caelen faked a drug deal in the tavern before stepping outside to fake argue. They caught the attention of someone in a dark cloak. Shadoe and Caelen ended their "argument". Shadoe went back inside, and Caelen walked around to an alley. The man in the cloak pointed at Shadoe and two men began to keep an eye on her in the bar. She sat beside Zane and they were both aware of the potential looming threat. The man in the cloak stepped outside to find Caelen. He gave him a free pre-roll and said, "Whatever she sold you, I promise it's not the real shit. Here, the first taste is free. I'll deal with the horned woman." When he stepped back inside, Caelen took a moment to prepare himself for the fight he was certain was about to begin. Zane asked the bartender about the cloaked man and she said he goes by the name Skuttle and he comes here often. Skuttle and his lackies asked Shadoe to step outside to talk. She got up and played along, but Zane stayed close. As soon as they stepped outside, Skuttle used a syringe to inject Shadoe with dreamberry poison. She immediately became unconscious and the men began to drag her away. Zane crashed through the door into the street and Caelen emerged from the alley in his full Silver Slayer look. They quickly cut down the men, and Caelen gave Skuttle a taste of his own medicine. Caelen drugged him with dreamberry causing him to fall unconscious as well. Zane and Caelen grabbed skuttle and Shadoe and put them in the cart. The quickly fled the scene and Caelen reverted back to his classic scholar look as they arrived at an inn. They got two rooms and played it off like their friends got too drunk. They placed Shadoe in one room and Skuttle in another. Caelen tied him down and gagged him even though he was still asleep. Zane and Caelen knew it would be 8 hours until they awoke, so they decided to go out for dinner. Caelen also did a little bit of shopping and they walked back to the inn together. They had left their cart parked there and when they returned they saw two pack hunters standing near the cart, eyeing it down. Caelen went invisible as Zane calmly walked past them pretending not to know anything about the cart. Caelen pickpocketed one of the lycari, pulling a rolled up piece of parchment from his side. Inside, Zane found 4 more pack hunters inside questioning the inn keeper woman. She lied to them and said she had no idea who that cart belonged to. Caelen creeped inside, and he and Zane both heard the pack hunters say that a white lycari was spotted on that cart earlier today entering that city. They said this lycari woman was wanted for terrorism and if the inn keeper heard anything she should tell them. She said she would keep an eye out and the pack hunters left. Zane gave a nod to the woman and both he and Caelen went upstairs. The rolled up parchment Caelen took was a Most Wanted poster for Katrina, saying she was wanted for sedition, heresy, treason, blasphemy, and terrorism. Caelen didn't believe a word of it. He trusts Katrina, and he knows better than to take the word of slavers. Caelen interrogated Skuttle when he awoke. He learned that Severin was being held in the Evermoure Dreamweaver Den, but that they had given him to someone called The Loyal One. Caelen also learned the location of the den. It is hidden underground beneath the very bar that they had met Skuttle. Caelen killed him, doing his full ritual with the bloody fingerprint and all, and wrapped the body in the bloody sheets before hiding it under the bed. He met Zane and Shadoe in the other room and told them what he learned. Shadoe was now well rested so she decided to stay up and keep watch while Zane and Caelen got some rest. Shadoe spotted a pack hunter sneaking in the darkness of the night. She went downstairs and spotted another one hiding in the street. She made sure the door to the inn was locked and made her way upstairs. Though it unnerved her, she decided to keep watch from the room with the body in it because the windows provided a better view of the two pack hunters she spotted. Shadoe was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder from behind. She spun around with her sword drawn and came face to face with The Harbinger. He gently pushed her sword away and said, "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. I hope you are ready for what's to come. This will be the last night of peace that you will all know." Shadoe said, "What? What's to come? And how do you know what's next?" The Harbinger explained that he remembers this night, just as he remembers what is to come. He remembers things he hasn't yet done because he doesn't experience time like she does. He steps in and out of time as he pleases. Suddenly Shadoe remembered what he had told her outside the tower of flame. He had said he would see her again, but it would be for the first time. This was the first time from his perspective. It then dawned on her that he said this would be the last night of peace they would all know and asked what he meant by that. The Harbinger told her that after this night, everything would change. He said he can't save everyone, and some fates are worse than others. She was very troubled by this vague omen. The harbinger told her to enjoy the peace while it lasts and vanished into feathers before appearing in the street. He called out to the lycari and said "If any of you try to harm Ex Umbra tonight, you will pay for it with your life." A pack hunter rushed toward him with his sword drawn. The Harbinger stepped through the hunter, grabbed him by the hood, flew 300 feet into the air, and dropped him. The lycari splattered on the ground and the rest of the pack hunters ran. Shadoe noticed in this moment that there was in fact still a full squad of 6 hunters outside when she had only seen 2. The 5 left alive ran into the night. Shadoe woke Caelen and gave him a quick overview of what happened. He asked her to keep watch for a bit longer and said they could talk about all of it after he and Zane finished resting.
Maro 13:
The next morning Shadoe told Zane what had happened and while discussing fate and who may have worse fates than others, Shadoe told Zane what little bit she learned of her heritage. As they spoke Caelen decided to sneak off on his own. He paid for an extra 2 weeks on the room where he hid the body and made his way down the road to the tavern from last night. He stepped into an alley and became invisible before picking the lock on the door and going inside. The tavern does not open until the afternoon so he wanted to take this opportunity to look around. He found a doorway behind the bar leading to a stairwell that descended beneath the ground. He walked down and saw barrels of high-proof spirits, a doorway to a side room, and a crude hole in the wall leading into a dark hallway. He could see clearly in the darkness thanks to Veyra's magic and noticed a Dreamweaver in the dark hallway past the hole. Caelen swiftly drugged him as he stepped near the barrels and rendered the Dreamweaver unconscious. He peaked in the side room and saw crates of nightmare and a locked chest. He decided he would come back later but first he wanted to tell his friends what he found. He brough the sleeping Dreamweaver upstairs and quickly ran back to the inn. He tossed rocks at the window, causing Zane and Shadoe to come outside to meet him. He told them what he found and they all headed back to the bar and went into the basement. Caelen stashed the sleeping Dreamweaver from earlier in an empty nightmare crate. They could hear voices in the distance around the corner of the dark hallway talking about the missing mage. Caelen tried to get the chest open as Zane did a terrible impression of the sleeping Dreamweaver which he never heard speak. The overlapping voices stopped as the men made their way toward the dark corner. Zane and Shadoe jumped out and started fighting. Caelen gave up on the chest and joined the fight. In the fight, Dreamweaver mages started throwing fireballs and using magic Zane and the others weren't prepared for. All the spice plants in this anti-chamber in the tunnel lit on fire, and so did the tables and wooden lofted area in the room. As smoke filled the room they were able to take down most of the Dreamweavers, but they never made it through the door in the grow room where more and more Dreamweavers had been pouring out of. The were forced to retreat into the first area with the kegs and Caelen got high accidentally for the first time as he inhaled some of the smoke from the burning spice plants. Shadoe ran into the side room, saw the chest Caelen had tried to pick the lock on, and just smashed it open with her sword. She found two obsidian daggers and a stone mask of a fearsome face with horns. It almost looked like a tiefling, like her. She quickly moved toward the exit near Zane. A mage threw a fireball toward Zane and Shadoe and lit the kegs of overproof rum and whiskey on fire. The room flooded with liquid flames spilling across the floor like a lake of fire. Zane was knocked unconscious and Shadoe dragged him upstairs while Caelen battled the last Dreamweaver Mage in the room engulfed in flames. Shadoe came back down and gave Caelen cover fire as he moved to the exit. Caelen wanted to take the mage alive, now realizing that the man he made unconscious would certainly die in the fire. He wanted answers. Shadoe gave him her grappling hook and Caelen tried to use it to pull the mage from the fire., but before the hook could land, the Dreamweaver mage did a short distance teleportation and appeared behind them on the stairs. He fired off his magic at Shadoe, knocking her unconscious before Caelen punched him in the face rendering him unconscious too. Caelen dragged them upstairs as the smoke grew thicker and thicker. He collapsed when he reached the top. After a few moments, Zane woke up with both his friends and a mage passed out beside him. He picked up all three of them and ran back to the inn. He didnt bother lying to the inn keeper this time. He explained that they were Ex Umbra, paid for an extra 2 weeks on the second room, and took all three sleeping people upstairs. Around this time Vethra, Katrina, and Artemis finally reached the rumored temple in The Thornwood Forest. During their travel here they spotted The Harbinger among the trees multiple times, but he always vanished before they got too close. It seemed that he was allowing them to go where he would typically scare people away from. When they reached the temple they found iconography and statues representing the pantheon and saw a deep dark hallway behind a statue of Almani. They watched as The Harbinger slowly walked into this dark hallway. Katrina tried to summon an animal once again, but instead of a bat, she chose an owl this time. She sent the owl into the darkness to follow the harbinger as she could perceive through it much like Shadoe can do with her hawk, but Katrina can even hear and feel through her summoned creature. The owl followed The Harbinger down a staircase into an underground chamber and saw two things that alarmed her immediately. She saw three stone carvings on The Harbinger on the back wall and a large stone circle in the floor bearing the symbol of Ex Umbra that the people of Songstone had come up with for the before the war in Mosphire. The Harbinger turned to face the owl and said, "Hello Katrina, do you intend to keep me waiting or will you come join me?" as he lit torches in this lower chamber. Katrina was afraid but Vethra told her everything would be alright because her and The Harbinger are "basically besties". This did not comfort Kat, but she would not let Vethra go in alone. They left Artemis outside to watch the entrance and went down to meet him. When they entered the room they saw two more carvings in the stone that shocked them deeply. To the left there was a carved mural of Zane sitting on the roof with Algor the day they saved him, and to the right there was a similar carving or Vethra holding The Crimson Cane. Both Katrina and Vethra had many questions and The Harbinger began to explain. "These are critical moments of choice." Decisions they made that altered the course of events deeply, but it was not truly an altered course. It was fate that they made these choices, just as it was fate that this symbol would be what the people of Songstone would create for them. this is not to say that free will does not exist. It is to say that the choices they have made will lead them to their destinies. Fate is not what you are forced to do, it is the knowledge of what you will do. He also told them that this temple is 1,000 years old, and so is every carving and statue. The Harbinger reached behind his back as if to draw a blade, but instead he pulled out Rydon's piece of the staff. He gave it to Vethra and said two final things. "I would suggest we wait for the others, but I knew the two of you would be the only ones coming. When you find your friends again, do as I said, be the light they need." Vethra asked, "How did you know it would be us? Was it fate?" The Harbinger said, "I knew because you told me." As Vethra said "I didn't tell you anything..." he vanished in a cyclone of feathers once again. Vethra and Katrina stepped back outside, and Vethra noticed there was an upper chamber at the top of the temple. Her and Katrina flew up there and saw a carving in the wall depicting 4 gems, one of which was missing from the set, and a statue of the god of war broken in half, depicting the death of the god of war. The question now becomes, are the gods bound by fate as well? Or is this game of theirs following a script from 1,000 years ago? The two women and Artemis departed the temple and set back out into the forest toward Evermoure.
