[The Forging] Souls

[Nir'wei]

Yeva's fuming at his decision earned a backwards glance. Her skill set, wasted. "I'll live with it."

As the animals searched, Nir'weis attention briefly floated across the connection to Archailist, asking Kura on the progress of the others. Now that they knew that communication was going to be of paramount importance, he was especially concerned that he hadn't left at least one of his animals with the other teams after all... but then again, that was nothing but his own desire to see things with his own eyes and get a better sense of the environment than just what the others chose to tell him. Yet, what he heard made him stumble, and nearly outright trip over a protruding tree root. Ishallr was... oh no. Hart had his own left behind, so he must have known the same. He should have told the others, but... what good would it have done? None of them could do anything about it from here, and abandoning the task at hand would only delay things further. No. Though Cold shared an especially concerned look with him, the wolves began to move faster, more frantically, scanning whatever underbrush they could find for the slightest hint of a passage. In the end, however, it was Nir'wei himself who spotted it.

Relief was the first thing he thought. A little bit of disappointment followed. The City Beneath... the more he thought about it, the more he wished that there wasn't
a war going on so he could take just a peek. Just to see what it was really like. Was he still feeling the tug felt by Greyhide and Vabina at that same moment? Perhaps. But there was something else, too. Something he'd been feeling for quite a while. Ever since the unscheduled visit to Emea, on behalf of Vri.

Looking up to inform Hart of the discovery, he laughed, realising that they'd both spotted it. "This must be the real way!" he announced with an outright grin for the first time. "You were right to have us explore the other options... there can't be a doubt." Turning his attention to Yeva and Woe once more, he was surprised. "Woe's discovered something..." Rather than explain, however, he tugged gently on Vabina and Greyhide's connection, the large wolf beneath Yeva gently nudging Ralgar's translator's horse into action as well to begin walking the three around the island to their position. Once there, he could ask Woe to repeat the message he'd received for them all again, to come direct from his lips - and of course he could explain to the rest of them what they had found. "If Labrae hates Audrae, then... well, the enemy of my enemy isn't exactly my friend, but they're a useful piece on the battlefield," he muttered, cogs spinning between his ears like mad. "I don't know much about them, but... if there's a chance of discovering what Audrae's machinations are here, it's of paramount importance. Whatever's happening behind the scenes could be winding up for something big - or worse, all of the progress we're making here could be walking straight into her trap. I don't know if there's anything you can do to convince her of that, but if you can, Woe, try to."

Then, it was back to the passage. "Here we go." Gaddwin and Cyshe floated in first to feel the area was clear, then Cold and Myrth to check the stairs to make sure they wouldn't crumble. Finally, Nir'wei descended slowly down the stairs, to see what he could find below.

[Hart]

30th Ashan, 721

Woe locked eyes with him, and in a moment Hart had a lot more information. He saw all that had been going on in

command

, witnessed through the gaze of Woe's spirit.

It was a lot of information, and for what seemed to Hart like a long time he was quiet, processing the information, his gaze not leaving Woe's. But what seemed to him like a long time was truthfully only a moment or two. And in those moments, Hart transferred information back, if Woe would let him.

He transferred back all the information he had from the moment he'd sensed Ruari's kidnapping in Egilrun, to leaving Egilrun, to the ransom in his dreamscape, to arranging for Wren to go to Faldrass, to the meeting with the Warden and his and Ruari's time in the

vault

. He transferred information about the Wish, as well.

Hart looked grimly at Woe when the transfer was over. He didn't know if the information he had about the vault was important, and he had spoken about it some in the meeting before. But if it was important, it was best that someone other than Hart have the information.

"Would you," Hart began to say, but then the crow that he had noticed before spoke. Hart, who'd lost sight of the crow momentarily, looked at it, surprised, when it landed in front of Woe.

The crow spoke in a laughing voice. It said that they were being watched, and Hart looked at it grimly. "You knew," it said, and the more it said the more drawn Hart's face became. "You knew." It was laughing. "Yet you left the child there."

Hart's heart grasped in his chest, like there was a hand around it. The hand grasping at his heart tightened, tightened, and his chest hurt with his breath, his breath tight and his heart beating hard, too hard against the tight hand that grasped, choking.

You left the child there.

Breathe, Hart thought.

"The Mistress of Shadows hears it all," the crow said, flying above.

"Would you," Hart said to Woe, and he spoke quietly and politely, not looking at Woe, looking down. "Would you get them the information? I need to go, go look for the entrance to the, to the..."

It was too much, he thought tiredly.

"I need to go look for the entrance," Hart said again quietly.

"The information I gave you. You need to get that information to command. Please. They need to know the things Ruari said in the vault, about the shadow-woman, the Warden, and the false daughter. They need to know that Ruari was not able to see me in the vault, she was blinded to me. But when we were out of the vault, in the Glass Temple, she was able to see me and she knew who I was. She shouldn't have known who I was."

He'd been so relieved, in that moment, when she'd looked at him and said his name. He'd been so relieved. He'd thought the vault was over, then; but he knew it wasn't over, now.

You left the child there.

"Please tell them that the Warden disappeared from the vault when we were speaking to one another. He didn't leave through a door. He just disappeared, like the people who have disappeared in the reports in command."

"Please," Hart said. If Woe hadn't let him transfer the information before, Hart would speak in brief, to-the-point sentences, so that Woe would be able to get the information about the vault to command.

Then Hart said, "Sovar, let's go." The great wolf bounded away, Tamsen flying above. They looked for the entrance, and Ralgar went with them on his horse.

"Dangerous," Ralgar said, "Elders warn Bro'ky'na. I stay with Hart." Hart was quiet a moment; his mind was with command. But after a moment he said, "Thank you." Ralgar would be able to tell, no matter the language barrier, that Hart meant it; he meant it, though he wasn't looking at the giant man.

He was looking for the entrance.

They rounded the ruins, and Hart noticed something, a darkness, at the base of a ruined wall. Nir'wei rounded the ruins on the other side, and noticing that Nir'wei was looking at the wall, too, but that Ralgar wasn't, Hart pointed. "There," he said. Nir'wei said they'd been right to look, and, because he was smiling, Hart smiled distantly in response.

Sovar went over to the entrance.

There was a stairway going down into the dark, and Hart thought of the woman in his dream, deep deep down in the dark. He thought of Audrae and shadows.

The crow had said, You're being watched from every shadow.

"Nir'wei," Hart said. "If you would, tell command to get light in the temple. They need multiple sources of bright light. Command needs to inform the other groups to be wary of darkness and shadow, as well. The more light, the less shadows. The less opportunity for Audrae to get information."

There were light sources in their equipment, but the light was limited. It seemed that Nir'wei had let the others know about the entrance. When the others rounded the ruins, Hart said to the group, "I'm marked by Ymiden. Because of that, I'm able to make light. I don't know how bright, but I'm going to attempt to make it bright. I also don't know how long I'll be able to do it but I think..." He was quiet a moment. "I think at least ten, twenty minutes." He looked at the others.

"We have light sources in our equipment, but I think it's best to limit to one, or possibly two, sources of light at a time." They needed to ration their light.

Hart didn't know how long they would be down in the dark. The longer they were underground, the longer they would be in shadow. Their group needed to release their induk after the Ishallr group; their group also needed to release their induk at once with the Sweetwine group. That meant that how long they were underground was related to not only the Ishallr group's progress, but to the Sweetwine group's as well.

Hart looked grimly at the dark stairway. They might be down there a long time; he didn't know.

Tamsen, who had been looking down at the darkness like Hart, looked up for a moment, as if looking for the crow. Woe said that the crow was Labrae, but Hart didn't know who Labrae was.

Nir'wei turned to go down the stairway, but, if the man would let him, Hart would say, "Hold on, for just a moment. Remember, we're meant to be looking for some sort of shackle or stone. Nir'wei, you know about the Faldrass induk, don't you?"

"If you have any information about how you released that induk, please. We need it," Hart said.

The stairway was small and cramped and dark, and the wolves were too big to ride in. Hart dismounted Sovar, and, if the great wolf would let him, he'd touch him again lightly on the head, in thanks. "Thank you," he murmured to the wolf.

Hart looked at Ralgar and his translator. "If you need rope to tie your horses, there's some rope in our equipment." Hart would offer his rope, if the two Bro'ky'na men didn't have their own. "I'd prefer not to leave the horses loose. Please," he said to Ralgar.

Assuming Nir'wei had held, for a moment, before going down into the darkness, Hart said, "We need to keep near to one another." They were Nir'wei's orders, from before, We stay together and don't let the mist separate us. And Ralgar had said the same, Together. But it was worth saying again. "I don't know the best order to go in, but the Ruins of Fei didn't let the emeyans in, before. It only let them in when they were with us. I don't believe going alone will work."

With that said, Hart would go with Nir'wei into the entrance. He looked at the others, preferring them to go in, as well. The darkness didn't have the opportunity to grasp at them; with a prayer to Ymiden,

Help us Ymiden, we need your light to guide us in this darkness,

Hart used the Vinyza ability

Ray of Sunlight

. The light haloed his head, and Hart made it bright; bright to go against the shadows, though not so bright that it would hurt his or the others' eyes, or blind them if they looked at it.

The moment before he descended the stairway, he prayed to Fei as well.

Please, Fei, Hart prayed. Your daughter, Chrien, is hurt and angry, but we are not trying to anger her by entering this place. Your Shattering has made a Fracture beneath Scalvoris. The Fracture is dangerous not only to all life on this island; but perhaps to the very land of the island itself. There is some sort of darkness attempting to get at the power of your Fracture, in order to upset the balance of powers in the island. Balance is needed to stop this darkness.

We need to enter your ruins. We need to release one of the induks of the land, so that the island will be in balance. Please, please. Allow us to enter. Please. We've avoided your city, Pyk.

I have a daughter, as well, Hart thought, descending the stair. I'm doing this for her, and for my son. We're doing this for all the other mothers and fathers and guardians and children in Scalvoris. Please, please.

He looked up for one last glance of sky.

To Vri he prayed, Help us not to anger Chrien while we're in the Ruins of Fei. It's her mother. Please.

Entering the Ruins of Fei, Hart would, for the most part, be paying mind to two things. Assuming they weren't in danger the moment they entered the ruins, he would be navigating. If the ruins turned out to be mazelike, and Hart thought they would be based on what the others had said about tunnels, Hart would do his best to memorize the way back to the entrance.

He would also begin to look for the stones they needed to release the induk.

Notes: This modnote [at the bottom of the linked post] is the more important information that Hart transferred to Woe, and the information he wants Woe to know / to get to command.

So - during the time that he is here, Ru can never see him. She will talk about the "Shadow-lady" who was here, and she'll tell him that the Shadow Lady took her from her mother. That the Shadow Lady talks to the Ward Man and that Ru doesn't like the Ward Man. She tells Hat that there's another little girl but that the little girl is a "big scary monster".

There are mushrooms, and the water is clean. Ru has a bed, and a few small toys. But there are sounds like monsters and she's very, very afraid..

None of Harts MB powers work, nor does his magic or any marks.

Hart is using two timed "abilities" right now.

• Tamsen, Hart's emeyan, is with him. She's able to be with him for 30 minutes a day, and she's been with him for three rounds as of this post.
• Hart is using the Vinyza ability Ray of Sunlight. The Ray of Sunlight ability lasts 30 minutes [I'm assuming 30 minutes a day] at Hart's level of mark [3 abilities, 10 minutes per ability]. Hart's been using the ability for one round [this round] as of this post.

[Yeva]

Yeva was frustrated, not angry. Not fuming. Just because she didn't like a decision, didn't mean she couldn't respect it. Nir'wei, on the other hand, didn't seem to respect her involvement in the slightest. He dismissed her plea and she was left with an inner struggle she was unsure how to vocalize. Moving away from the rift would have been a smarter choice, at least for her. Yeva had to take deep breaths in order to not jump from the wolf's back and launch herself headfirst towards the rip. Oh, how she wanted to. So close, atop a pillar barely knee-high, she stared at it with intent fixation. A moth to a flame.

I need to stretch my legs, she reasoned, so sure she said the words aloud until, as she was leaning forward to swing her leg and dismount the wolf, a familiar shaggy dog bounded up beside her.

The pull remained, but her eyes broke from the magnetic wonder.

"Breen missed you, perhaps it’s not so bad that we’re left behind then,"

Yeva smiled at the dog, although it was tense. Any lingering disappointment woven with sadness from being told to wait back, seemed to lighten, if fractionally. The draw, however, remained as Woe's voice offered reason, "The others seem better suited to scout duty. We can guard this spot, and you’re a healer right?”

"I am," Yeva reached down and tried to brush her fingers atop Breen's head and scratch his ears if he'd allow it.

Woe nodded, ”I’m not entirely useless in combat, so you can trust I will protect us both if you can provide healing when needed.”

She smirked, "Scalvoris is in shambles and you're trusting things as they seem?" it wasn't meant as a slight, and there was even a bit of playful teasing in the words, "Who was it then, that when atop Mt. Ornthrus, pulled you men from those illusions?" Sometimes challenges required a bit of creativity. A compassionate and innovative approach when fighting was not an option. As long as she did her best - held nothing back and remained level-headed - they could do this. Yeva paused, "Still... thank you," again, she eyed the rift, sighing, "It is good to see you again... both of you."

With his goggles, Woe relayed information and filled her in the crow's message. Yeva bristled. Well, if that wasn't enough to get her to refocus, she wasn't sure what would be. She reached into her pocket to touch her light stone and make sure it was still in place, " I can make a fire. It was one of the first things I learned in Athart."

Again, as she was preparing to dismount the wolf, Nir'wei and the others returned from scouting, "That was fast," Clearly, they were the best option for the reconnaissance, but then again, the islet was small. Together, they rode to the entrance and discussed the value of light.

"I've brought a light stone," she finally offered. It would not burn like a torch or candle. Nor would it require oil. She also offered a short story of what she remembered of Faldrass and the stones that had freed the Induk, including the part where Tio had tried to blow one up and how it had nearly frozen his hand entirely. Nir'wei could fill in the rest of the details; they had, after all, experienced very different parts of the adventure. Yeva finally dismounted and checked her gear, moving towards the entrance.

"Are we ready?"

[Ralgar Warborn]

After what felt like a brief amount of time, travelling at Hart's side, before they had found what they were looking for. While searching, Hart thanked him sincerely, Ralgar nodding to the other man as the two rode with Nir'wei searching elsewhere from them, finding it after some time and noticing when Hart pointed it out. Nir'wei came to them and spoke with words that Ralgar understood little of, though he could sense the relief and happiness in the man that Ralgar could only assume had been their designated leader from how the time together had been spent so far.

"That is the way we will go" Ralgar muttered quietly to himself looking out at the ruined wall in front of them as Nir gathered the others and told them to follow, the translator arriving back at Ralgar's side. The tribal man turned to Hart, his words now translated again. "Well done, both of you" Ralgar said politely to the two men, greeting both Woe and Yeva as they joined the others and they regrouped, preparing to arrive at the stairwell that they discovered.

Once they arrived at the stairs and Hart offered rope to tie the horses, Ralgar turned to his translator and gestured to the horses, the other tribesman starting to tie them up. As he did so, Ralgar untied his club from his mount, picking it up and carrying it alongside him just in case before standing intentionally next to Hart as he explained his plan and the translator turned it into Haltunga. All of it made sense, at least as much as Ralgar could understand it. Immortals and Originals was outside of anything the Bro'ky'na believed in, and far from what Ralgar cared to think about. Even with an Immortal for a mother, he gave little respect to the beings that called themselves gods, believing they were not the true power of the world.

Death would always be stronger.

Eyes focused forward, Ralgar would enter the stairway whenever Hart did so, keeping beside the man with his club in his hand.

~~Haltunga~~ Common~~

[Pegasus]

Woe's ability to share information was, undoubtedly, invaluable. It meant that Command knew what they did. And both Nir'wei and Woe quickly recognised the importance of this connection to his sister. The crow flew, and then circled, and then it flew back down and it ended up landing on Woe's shoulder. Tiny talons didn't even leave a mark on his clothing as they dug in to hold on.

Hart gave information to Nir'wei which was relayed to Command.

And they descended. Yeva's lightstone would be invaluable and, as Hart used his ability granted by Ymiden, he realised something strange. It was fluctuating, the light. Like, one moment it was really bright, brighter than it should be - and the next it was almost nothing.

They descended down the steps. They were narrow and steep and had obviously not been used for a long time. They went down, and down, and down some more. The air was stale and the darkness wrapped around them. Staying together would be easy, as they were in such a cramped place.

The walls had symbols on them, ancient carvings and it was here that Ralgar might recognise them. He would know them as ancient symbols of his tribe - and the others. Depictions of rituals he knew, and ones he didn't. The further on they went, the more there were carvings of his tribe, and his alone.

Then, after what felt like a few hours, they saw the light of the full moon. It wasn't night time (unless time had gone very badly awry) and the moons weren't full, not to mention the fact that they were deep, deep underground. But, in a small room with arched windows, they saw the light of the moon.

The room itself was empty, though there were many carvings here. In the middle of the room was a small raised plinth. It was almost like a lectern, about waist-height. On it was a small stone with a glowing symbol on it. The cold had been a constant companion to them on this journey deep below Scaltoth, but this room had no snow, no ice.

The crow was silent, but Nir's animals were not comfortable. The room smelled wrong.

Info & Rules

• This thread is for those who have gone to Scaltoth in direct response to this thread
• Ok, lovelies! Please remember that this is as cold as Ishallr normally is.
• Due to the time-sensitive nature of this, I can not hold out for people to post. If you miss a round, there will (I'm afraid) be consequences.
• This style of event moderation - with objectives etc - was taught to me by a dear friend and one of the most talented Storytellers I've ever known. With thanks to Crimson / Straylor.

!	Message from: Reminder
	There are no required skill levels for this. It is - undoubtedly - dangerous. It's a war. What will get you hurt is NOT if you are low skilled. What will get you hurt is doing something foolish. There's plenty for everyone to do. Equally, being highly skilled is not a guarantee of anything. This will need teamwork and smarts.

Current State

!

Message from: Current State

Group Arrived at destination Met Ralgar Assigned a group leader Got ready to go across the water Noted the unusual phenomenon Noted the water as frozen solid Made their way across Arrived in the ruins. Explored the ruins. Gone down into the ruins. Noted the carvings Individuals Woe You are managing against the cold, but you're feeling it. You are not yet tired. You not hungry. Hart You are managing against the cold, your Ezere abilities are negating it. You are not yet tired. You are not hungry. Ralgar You are managing against the cold, but you're feeling it. You are not yet tired. You are not hungry. Yeva You are managing against the cold, your Fire Forged abilities are negating it. You are not yet tired. You are very hungry. Nir'wei You are managing against the cold, your Fire Forged abilities are negating it. You are not yet tired. You are not hungry.

Objectives

1. Check out the carvings. When you do you'll see that they depict an individual being held down - chained both wrists, both ankles. They show an altar and ritual stuff going on.
2. Check out the rest of the room. You can find 1 odd / unusual item / thing in here. Not obviously magical but not what you'd expect.
3. Decide what to do about the stone. For FF'd who saw them - it's a chainstone.

DiriCom

This round:

1. You have a rough idea what is happening in the other groups. Please note the Summary posts of the Life and Death post - and yes - you hear about Delroth
2. You hear exactly what's going on in Command.
3. From Doran: “This is a mission that can only succeed if we all work together. Don’t just forge ahead blindly – ask questions, and listen, and stay together. I told you that magic is malfunctioning before. I have a message for the mages among you now. There is an imbalance of ether. Mages are feeling drained of ether and overstep more quickly” also: “The ScalvFlame is a flame of four. That could mean that there need to be four in each group in order to release the Induks. Keep in mind what I previously said. Stay together, if you can”,
4. From Doran: “There are rumours of Slag’s Deep having white sand. Do you know anything about that? I found out about Drainglass, a glass that drains ether – all kinds of ether, including divine ether. It seems to be manufactured in large quantities"
5. From Doran: “It seems as if your sister Labrae might be involved. What kind of motives could she have? What kind of interest could she have in Hart’s daughter and the current conflict?”

Next Post: Sunday 23rd May

[Woe]

Of all the idiot antics and fumbling Woe had himself engaged in his time, he’d never heard of such a concentration of incompetence as what was occurring at Ishallr. He’d expected better of Praetorum, and even Elisabeth. But perhaps he’d misjudged them both. For all their skill and potential, they may well have been hopeless fools.

Woe sent along a communication through his Spirit of Commerce, to those gathered at the Glass Temple. Radburn Salvatore cleared his throat with a golden trill of musical sound. Woe sacrificed another onyx nel to the effort, and thus kept the lines of communcation open between himself and his diri. ”Ringaling, dingaling! I have another message from my, ahem, associate Woe Morandi. He happens to know quite a lot about ghosts from his time in the Etzori army, back during the war against Rhakros. But even those without special knowledge of ghosts wouldn’t need to take such a great leap to surmise that a ghost would be banished back to its anchor should its host happen to die.”

”Ahem…” Here the golden peacock winked at Doran, ”I believe, to be perfectly clear, my associate is suggesting that you murder Miss Elisa, rather than allow her to arrive at command. Perhaps the element can be made to let her slip from the Sohr Khal…”



Back in Scaltoth Woe was confronted by the returning Nir’wei, who asked Woe to speak what he had to share with Nir’wei himself. Woe looked up into the sky momentarily, and then back into Nir’wei’s eyes. It would’ve been easier to relate it through his special glasses, in the space of a moment. But for now, Woe would relate his own impressions based on what was going on in the Glass Temple.

”I don’t know how much you’re able to gather from your connection to the Glass Temple, or those gathered there, but Doran appears to think that the daughter of the Warden is actually a mortalborn of Audrae.” Woe sighed. He himself had an acrimonious history with the creations of audrae, and didn’t relish the idea of clashing once more with them. Although he was perfectly willing, it was a precarious situation. Audrae was a troublesome Immortal. ”And Labrae appears willing to help us. She tells us that light is needed, wherever we go. To conceal us from the eyes of Audrae, and her creatures.”

That was all that he had to share, aside from the absolute treasure trove of information he had locked in his mind from the Glass Temple. But if Nir’wei wasn’t willing to open himself up to the connection via the magic shades Woe wore, he would respect his decision as the expedition leader.

When Yeva brought up the foolishness that occurred on the Mountain of Ornthrus, Woe had to roll his eyes. This wasn’t the time for rehashing old follies. It was relevant, but hardly helpful in his mind. That had been so long ago, and the situation was different and one might argue more pressing. ”And you might remember who actually brought the Condemned of Ashan out of his hidey hole long enough for Mister Black to destroy him. But I digress.”

Woe looked toward Nir’wei, and nodded, ”I think we’re ready to move.” So saying, Woe clung to Vabina as long as he was allowed, as and until they descended down into the depths of the Ruins.

Woe felt somewhat safe, perhaps falsely to have his sister’s creature so near at hand, its proximity a sign of her acceptance. Something which he’d craved of his family for so long.

Woe was somewhat out of his depth, not quite sure what he was looking at. But the imagery of a figure chained by all four quarters evoked imagery of Ashan’s Condemned, on Mount Ornthrus. ”I wonder… Is that image related to the Condemned of Ashan on mount Ornthrus?.”

His eyes also happened to fall upon the most unusual item, just lying in that room. A child's pacifier.



”Ringalingagain! Hello your eminences. My Associate Woe has another question for the spirit. He wonders if the Condemned of Ashan that was chained to the Mountain King on Mount Ornthrus might be connected to this whole hubbub with the spirits and Induks?”

[Hart]

30th Ashan, 721

warning for the depiction of blood

They went down the dark stairway, and Hart didn't like how tightly the walls of the ruins surrounded them; he didn't like the darkness that surrounded their small group of light on all sides. He breathed, making sure to breathe slowly.

Hart had been locked in the vault for a number of days. Before that he'd died underground, in a basement in Melrath. Don't think about it, he told himself. He breathed slowly, and he told himself that they wouldn't be locked in here like he'd been locked in the vault; they wouldn't die here horribly, like he'd died in the basement.

They wouldn't.

The halo of light dimmed.

The halo of light brightened; abruptly, it dimmed. The light brightened once more, and then abruptly burned incandescent like the sun; and then the light almost went dark, the light like the dimmest of stars at night, swathed by the darkness of the surrounding sky. "Something's wrong with the ability," Hart said, his voice tight.

He attempted to maintain the light's brightness

, to stop it from dimming. The moment he did, it was like he broke his nose. Blood poured down his face.

There wasn't pain but the blood fell down Hart's face, down his coat. He looked down at his clothes, and the blood fell from his nose to the stone ground. "The ability," Hart said, but he choked. He tasted blood and he thought once more about dying, about the taste of blood and coffee.

His mind was no longer on the light, and the light dimmed and brightened, dimmed and brightened.

Breathing hard through his mouth, Hart leaned forward. He pressed a hand to his nose to stop the bleeding. But when he did, he realized that the bleeding had stopped.

Should the group move toward him he would say, "Don't."

Once more, Hart thought about maintaining the light. The moment he did, blood poured from his nose, and he choked and leaned forward, pressing a hand to his nose. The taste of blood in his mouth was horrible; his stomach twisted.

He stopping maintaining the light, and the bleeding stopped.

Hart spat blood.

"Something's wrong with the ability," Hart said. His voice trembled, but he wasn't in pain and he wasn't bleeding. "Or something's wrong with me." His hand was still pressed to his nose; blood was all down his face and coat, on his hands, in large drops on the stone ground.

"Command needs to know about this." Hart looked to Woe and Nir'wei. "Please let them know that I've had a bad nosebleed, and that it was related to a light-based ability from the mark of Vinyza. The ability wasn't working right; the bleeding was because I attempted to right it. I know about the problems with magic." Woe had transferred the information to him.

"But I don't know if the problems with magic are related to this," Hart said. "I'm marked by Ziell, and because I have the mark of Ezere I have an ability that stops the cold from affecting me. That ability is working right, and I'm not bleeding, and it's been working right the entire time."

Why was the Vinyza ability not working right, but the Ezere ability working right?

Hart didn't know. There was blood on his coat, and there was no point attempting to keep more blood off the coat now. He used the sleeve of the coat, and a bit of water from his supplies, just a bit, to wash the worst of the blood off his face and hands.

Then he looked at the crow. "Your name is Labrae?" Hart said. "My name is Hart. You knew that Audrae had done something to Ruari, my daughter. Ruari was in the vault; but I was in the vault too. Do you know if Audrae's done something to me? And if she did, is that why the ability made me bleed?"

Whatever Labrae's answer, Hart would look to the others. "I'd like to go with you," he said. He remembered saying before, and the others saying before, that they should remain in a group. "But I'd understand if you wouldn't like me to go with you. I'll leave the group, if you'd like me to."

Assuming the group let him go with them, Hart would breathe a moment.

"I've noticed as well," Hart said when he'd had a moment, "That Tamsen, my emeyan, has been here too long." Tamsen looked at him, her expression oblique. Hart thought that she might say something, but she didn't.

"She's only able to appear in Reality for thirty minutes a day," Hart said. "But it's been longer than that. If you would, let command know that Tamsen is an emeyan, and that her abilities are behaving strangely. Almost like..." He was quiet a moment. "Almost like she's in the dreaming world."

It took two or more hours to walk down the tunnel to the moonlit room. The tunnel led down, down into the ground, deeper, deeper, and the deeper it led the more difficult it was for Hart to breathe. The others wouldn't have liked to know that Hart disliked not only cramped locations, like the tunnel; but situations and locations where he was unable to leave; locations that were underground; and labyrinths and mazes.

It was difficult for him to walk deeper and deeper down. The vault had been bad, because he hadn't been able to leave; this was worse. Mostly as they walked he was quiet. He breathed, and he looked for the stones. He had bled, and he was thirsty, and so he had small sips of water.

Walking, Hart went over in his mind once, twice, as many times as was needed, the information that Woe had transferred to him. By the time they made it to the moonlit room, Hart had a couple of things to say about the things going on at command.

"I've been thinking about Chuckles," Hart said quietly to the group. "If you would," he said to Nir'wei and Woe, "Let the professor know that I believe that Chuckles might be speaking literally, at times. He said something, the gravestone which holds the pike. Doran questioned if the pike was the City Beneath, Pyk. But, if Chuckles was speaking literally, then maybe the pike is literal. Maybe the pike is a weapon."

Maybe there was a weapon in the City Beneath.

"You spoke about Audrae's motivations before," Hart said to Nir'wei. "Maybe she wants the pike." What the pike might do, and why Audrae might want it, though, Hart didn't know.

"Egilrun," Hart said then, and looked at Woe. "It's in mist. Stan said that there were eight locations that were important, as well as the Scalvoris Mountains. The four locations of the induks, and the four locations of balance. The locations of balance were Smooglenuff Manor, which was destroyed. The other locations of balance were Immortal's Tongue, the Tower, and Watch."

Hart knew the names of the locations because of Stan, but he didn't know much about them other than that. However, he did know one thing. "There are reports that all eight locations are in mist."

"But then, why is Egilrun in mist?" Hart asked, looking at Woe. "It's not one of the locations."

"The Rangers reported that there are lines going from the induks to the Scalvoris Mountains," Hart said. "And a triangle of lines going from Immortal's Tongue to the Tower to Egilrun. Why is Egilrun included in the triangle, but not Watch?" He didn't know.

"Slags Deep is near Egilrun," Hart said. "Maybe that's important. Maybe this is important, as well; Slags Deep is in the Scalvoris Mountains. The Scalvoris Mountains are where Stan said we would need to go when we release the induks. The Scalvoris Mountains are the location of the Heart of Scalvoris." Was it coincidence that Slags Deep was located in the same mountains as the Heart?

"Woe," he said next. "You said before that Doran believes the Warden's daughter is a mortalborn of Audrae. His daughter is the daughter of a mortalborn as well, because the Warden is a mortalborn of Qylios." Doran had said that the Warden was Qyliosborn, as well as others.

"I don't know if it's important, and Ruari doesn't have an immortal parent. But her father is a mortalborn of Edasha, and her mother is a mortalborn of Karem."



In time, they made it to the moonlit room. One of the carvings in the room depicted a man being held down, arms and legs, as well as some sort of ritual that Hart didn't understand. Woe asked if the man might be a condemned of Ashan. But Hart said in a low voice, "Maybe it's a representation of the induk."

"One of the researchers in command mentioned that there was a great power imprisoned here at the Ruins of Fei. We're looking for an imprisoned induk; a great power. Maybe that," Hart said, indicating the carving, "Depicts the ritual that imprisoned the induk. Or maybe it depicts the ritual needed to release him."

Hart looked at the carving a moment longer, attempting to make sense of it. But he didn't know any of the symbols; he was only able to guess.

Moving cautiously around the moonlit room, Hart moved to one of the the windows and looked out. The moons were there, all of them full, lighting a great expanse of water. They were underground in the ruins, but the water was there, and so was the sky.

Hart breathed better, looking out of the window. He remained by the window for a moment or two, and listened for the sound of waves. But they needed to move, and so he looked away.

On the floor near the window, Hart noticed what seemed to be a plant that had been uprooted from the ground. It was some sort of jungle plant, he thought, with bright flowers. But the flowers were wilting, as were the leaves. It was like someone had pulled it up from somewhere in the jungle, outside, and left it here.

Hart moved cautiously to the middle of the room. He didn't know much about the chainstones; he guessed that Nir'wei and Yeva would know more about them. Hart looked cautiously at the small stone on the pillar in the middle of the room, not touching the stone or the pillar. He guessed that it was one of the stones they needed, though the stone itself was a bit unassuming. "This is a chainstone?" Hart asked Nir'wei and Yeva, his voice low.

He didn't know why, but something about the room made him speak in a low voice.

notes

If the group wouldn't want Hart to go with them, then Hart wouldn't go. Without Yeva's lightstone to light the way, Hart would light a torch. He would still have time to go over the information about command. Without Nir'wei or Woe to get his thoughts to command, Hart would write them down with the notebook and charcoal.

I know this post is long and there's a lot going on in it. Sorry! The list of information Hart wants to get to command is

• The information about his nose bleeding and the differences between bleeding with the Vinyza ability Ray of Sunlight, and not bleeding with the Ezere ability Winter's Warmth.
• The information about Tamsen, his emeyan, being in Reality longer than she should.
• The guesswork about Chuckles speaking literally, and the gravestone which holds the pike maybe being literal. Hart believes the pike might be a weapon, and that Audrae might want it.
• The information about the locations involved in the event, and that Egilrun is in mist even though it's not one of the locations Stan described; that Egilrun is in the triangle and Watch is not; that Slags Deep is near Egilrun; and that Slags Deep is in the Scalvoris Mountains just like the Heart of Scalvoris.
• The information that Ruari is the daughter of two mortalborns.

Objectives met in this post are
- 3/3 objectives

• Check out the carvings...
  Hart guessed that the chained individual was the induk, and that the ritual depicted might be either the ritual to imprison him, or to release him.
• Check out the rest of the room...
  Hart found a flowery plant that had been pulled out of the ground somewhere, maybe in the jungle.
• Decide what to do about the stone...
  Hart guessed that the stone is a chainstone, but he doesn't know. Nir'wei and Yeva are the ones who know about the chainstones, and so Hart is deferring to their judgement on that.

[Yeva]

"I was only teasing, Woe... I didn't mean to imply you weren't helpful," she felt a flash of guilt, but it was short-lived. Woe had been an important partner in their former work together but she didn't see the need to feel guilt over something that hardly mattered now. Bickering over who was valuable or why was a childish argument that she was sure neither of them really had an interest in. Once they joined the others, the memory felt far away. Now, the dark maw and the steps leading into the belly of the earth had her attention.

Yeva followed the others, holding up her light stone as Hart's own ability struggled to be maintained. She furrowed her brow, Hart's loud breaths seemingly amplified in the eerie darkness. It sounded... pained, or tired or...

"What's wrong?" she sounded calm, but concern strummed her heart.

Blood rolled from his nose, down his lips, his hands trying to suppress the assault. The color almost black in the pulsing darkness, "Hart," she hissed, reaching for the flap of her medical bag. Something's wrong with the ability. Or something's wrong with me. Shortly after, Hart spat blood and she stepped forward.

Don't.

Yeva held her light stone towards the speckling on the stone floor, observing its consistency. Was it pure blood or reddened phlegm and clots? The distinction could mean the difference between the side effects of a nosebleed and internal bleeding. One was far easier to cure than the other... And the other could prove fatal, "If your ailments continue or worsen, you must tell me," Yeva did not want to give a chance for argument, crouching to, rather disgustingly, dip her gloves into the blood and rub her fingers together. She seemed to be testing it, smelling for a metallic tinge. Illusions had played on Faldrass, and Tio had warned her of Immortal's Tongue. She would have to use all her senses.

Straightening, Yeva wondered if activating any of her Immortal marks would also cause injury or if it was confined to Hart. She wiped the blood on her pant's leg and continued to observe the walls, the symbols, the stone, while Hart hypothesized and requested a relay of information. Pike and weapons and Audrae. Yeva slipped beside Ralgar and his translator, glancing at them, and then the others, "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

Something about the dark... it was heavy.

The rituals on the wall made the hair on the back of her neck stand up and she answered Woe, "I'm not sure..." Yeva lifted a hand to brush her thumb against the carvings, curious about the wall. She touched the imagery of chain links and turned as they continued to walk and enter a room with the light of the moon. Strange. Bright. The contrast in lighting reminded her as she watched their shadows stretch across the floor, "Have you ever heard of the Stand Against the Darkness?" she waited to see if anyone paid her any mind, circling the room.

On the plinth were a stone and Yeva looked at Nir'wei, creeping closer - not too close as she hard Hart's inquiry, "Maybe," she whispered, brows furrowing, "Maybe not."

She began to explain, "In Faldrass, they buzzed... there was raw power, you could feel it... Nearly froze Tio's hand off when he tried to pick it up," Yeva listened, waiting to see if she could feel the same sensation radiating from it, before studying the symbol upon it, "I'm not sure it is so simple." She looked at the ground and then the ceiling, anything that could signal a trap. Holes, indentations, vents. Yeva moved towards the arched window where the image of the moon hung, and then, sitting upon the sill as if it had always been there, was a familiar book, leatherbound and singed at the edges. She knew it well.

She lifted it up and turned to the first page, her own writing staring back at her.

Her journal, the one that had been lost and destroyed at Faldrass. Her mouth dropped in shock. What? How? This shouldn't have been here. She flipped through the entries, chewing the skin of her bottom lip.

Yeva looked at the others but found herself drawn back to the pages and then to the window and what stood beyond, "The chain stones in Faldrass weren't so easy to collect; don't you think this room must have some sort of catch?" she frowned, staring at the moon. If Audrae was involved, there was deception abound. There had to be something hidden here.

[Nir'wei]

There was much to unpack in such a short amount of time. Nir'weis head felt like spinning, just taking it all in. He didn't envy those in Command at that moment, knowing that they'd be dealing with much, much more than he; but such was their place, he supposed, and they wouldn't be there if not for their abilities to sift and shuffle through it all to find what would be most relevant. "Light is needed in the temples," he relayed to Kura and Doran through Squeak. "Audrae watches from the shadows... use multiple bright sources if you can, to eliminate them from every room. Every team needs to know this!" How they would manage in this capacity, he didn't know, until Hart spoke up. "Gaddwin, anything we can do here?" Though the fire-bird glowed in Nir'weis sight, materialisation was still too strenuous a task for the spirit.

As for Woe's relay... well, the moment he finally opened himself to the glasses, well. If everything up until that point had been an overflowing sink, this was an entire room filled floor to ceiling.

"In Faldrass, we released the spirit through collecting shattered Chainstones. Small, smooth rocks that hummed with energy. We had to collect all six of them and bring them before the spirit Faldrass. Holding more than one at the same time created... a static charge between them, but only when they were extremely close. Faldrass said that water would be needed to break the chains... but he was fire, that would only make sense. Lacking any, Kura used power infused by Immortals. I tried to use powers infused by spirits but it didn't form before Kura's power broke the Chainstones anyway, so I don't know if they'd have worked... but it's another reason to make sure that there are Fire-Forged for each spirit. There's a good chance that the powers of the spirits can be used to free the spirits. Failing that, powers of Blessed or Mortalborn powers should hopefully do the trick." Yeva had her own story to add of course, and it was... well, it was certainly eye-opening. "So don't touch the chainstones directly." He nodded. "We'll work out the logistics when we've found them all and when we know how many there are. And... no blowing them up." He didn't think that needed to be said out-loud, but never hurt to cover all the bases.

"Right, you heard Hart. Stay close together, keep the light sources nice and high so that they cover all the corners and don't expose your own shadows." Yeva's mention of a light stone was a visible relief. "I'll save my supplies for later then." Hart's time limit was alarming, but not unreasonable, as long as they were conservative, he believed.

However, then they started, and Hart's bright light begun to fluctuate quite wildly. "Another effect, similar to the mist?" he postulated, frowning as he thought about how well they would manage between Yeva's lightstone and his remaining torches... before looking over to Hart and suddenly noticing the wet glimmer that stained his coat and the front of his face. "SHIT." Without thinking he reached out, but his hand yanked back of its own accord, partly thanks to Hart's order to stop, but mostly due to the unseen tug of the others that inhabited him. They didn't know what was causing it, whether it was even curable, whether it was infectious or whether it could even be transferred. The nosebleeds, like his halo of light, seemed to fluctuate wildly for a moment; the moment he acknowledged that the two were connected somehow, he had Squeak relay the information to Kura and Doran. "Whatever the reason, don't force yourself anymore. Don't use any other powers, if you can help it. We'll stick to conventional light means." Yeva's lightstone would be one. Nir'wei also unslung the large canvas backpack he'd been carrying and brought out six torches and a lantern, passing the lantern to Hart and holding an unlit torch close for when they'd need to swap light sources. "We keep going." He eyed Tamsen. "And watch that, closely." There was a reason he kept Sage as discrete as possible, as often as possibe. Hart's Emeyan seemed more... polite. The minds of Emeans, however, were unpredictable, inscrutable places, he knew first-hand. There was no trusting it would remain that way.

"... I must confess." Of course Doran and Kura would end up knowing this too, he wouldn't withhold it from them, even as Squeak continued to relay the hypothesis on Pyk, "I thought about entering the portal. I don't think I would have blamed anyone else for doing the same. Chrien would happily kill us all for the trouble, but she's already shown herself more than willing to do the same even when we knew nothing. She'd happily do it right now, even as we do everything in our power to stop it, I'm certain. Trying to keep her pleased is a fool's errand." He followed Doran and Kura and refused to enter the portal purely because they were Doran and Kura; they knew better than him and he trusted them to make the right decisions. He would stop anyone else from entering the portal if it went against their wishes. But his opinion remained unchanged. "f worst came to worst... drawing attention away from Scalvoris and focusing it on a single person might be enough to focus her fury and avoid collateral damage." But that would be all but inciting an all-out war, right then and there. An incredibly dangerous gamble, one he already knew would be met with outrage and disbelief. He didn't need to hear it. They knew better and they would disagree, so he would defer his judgement.

After a few more queries and thoughts out-loud, all of which were relayed to Command, they reached the chamber. The carvings, he did his best to describe through Squeak, while waiting for the others to offer any other information on their meanings. "Describe what you mean, Woe. Was there a symbol similar on the Condemned, or around them? Otherwise... I'm of a mind to agree with Hart, though I'll admit Yeva, I've never seen anything like these before. These carvings likely depict how the Induk of this place was chained down, somehow, using the stones. If both arms and both legs are bound, that would suggest four chainstones... and yes, Hart. That looks like one of them. Which means there are another three." Searching the room kicked up an animal tooth. Not a fang, just a tooth, but... what animal would live so deep down here, and what would they eat? It made no sense the more he looked down at the item, eventually picking up the sharp little thing and pocketing it. Funnily enough, it reminded him of one of Jasper's teeth.

Something wasn't right about this place, but they knew that already. The moon was shining underground. Nothing was right. Nothing made sense.

"Okay. Ishallr is... Sweetwine..." They were alone here. The more he heard in the updates from the other groups, the more he felt like screaming. "We can't do anything until Ishallr is freed. We can't do anything until Sweetwine is ready. As... as horrible as it is for me to say this, I think we need to split up, now." He relayed his decision to Kura, simultaneously asking for permission and strongly suggesting the new plan of action, but if he got the answer he was hoping for, they needed to move quick. "Woe, Yeva. I need you to search for the remaining three chainstones." It was a big ask. A seriously big one, one that if he'd been in their shoes, would have sent him swearing and stamping, and he wouldn't have held it against either of them for doing the same - but he could only hope that they saw as well as him that they were desperate now. "Collect them but don't bring them together until you get the signal from Sweetwine or Command. Keep them safe, but keep yourselves safe first. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Take Grey and Vabina."

"Hart. I'd like you to come with me, to Ishallr. We'll take Traveller. Castile, alert him." The spirit-wolf would find it quicker and easier than them to make it back out of the strange chamber, after all... but when they reached the fog that they'd passed through to enter the island, that was where they found a problem. "... Wait." He felt Castile's strain against the barrier, the same one that had held Sage and Tamsen from crossing until somehow they'd all crossed together. Only now it felt different. Now it stretched, like a thick barrier of treacle. "Sage." He waited for the Emean to repeat the process and found similar, but distinctly different results, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Something is holding us back." There was a chance that if they tried to make it back to the surface and escape that it would work as it had before; their 'true' bodies would somehow be able to penetrate what the fog could not. Equally, there was a chance that they'd only waste more time, hours in fact, walking back up to the surface only to find themselves blocked again. After all, why would it let them all inside as a group when the physical bodies passed only?

Balancing probabilities, they'd unwittingly entered a one-way system.

Which left them truly, completely helpless until Ishallr and Sweetwine both somehow managed to solve their own puzzles and locate the chainstones.

Nir'wei grit his teeth so hard, he swore he heard a crack.

"We're stuck." Sage and Castile returned to him at a gesture and he glared at the floor of the chamber as if his helpless frustration could burn a hole in the stone and burrow them free. "It no longer matters if we do everything right, if we get all the stones and free the Induk here. If they don't do theirs as well, we're dead all the same as if we'd done nothing at all." Yeva, Woe and Hart likely wondered why he frankly didn't trust them and wanted them gone from the moment they'd started this expedition. While they'd proved themselves capable on the journey here, Hart especially with his insight, Woe with his quick thinking and Yeva coming into her own under pressure, this was what he'd always feared and loathed. To be so completely reliant and so utterly helpless.

It was times like these that he'd turn to Karem. He felt the desire rise from Greyhide too, the hope that she'd whisk them all away like before. To spare everyone on Scalvoris within her Spectral Forest, but he knew he asked too much of her. He'd asked so much already through the arcs. Now, through Squeak, he could hear Kura trying to take the full force of their debt to Labrae for her assistance. It was all too much. Karem. Saoire. Cassion. Moseke. Ilaren. Qylios. So many Immortals to call upon. So many he was already indebted to. Except... there was one that he'd mentally scratched from the list, one who's name twisted in his head upon recollection, since it didn't quite do justice the words he'd read about in the book gifted by Saoire.

"I want to try something. It's... I've never done this before, so bear with me." Nir'wei sat on the floor of the chamber and closed his eyes at the same time Squeak stood sharply in Command and asked for the assistance of every spirit within the room, to repeat after him to add their voices to the prayer. "Vabina, Greyhide, Sovar." He'd need to borrow the three he'd assigned to each of them for a moment, though they did nothing more than stand stock-still and repeat the words spoken while Cold, Myrth, Castile and Kin formed in an equidistant circle around him. Archailist, Gaddwin and Cyshe floating in a trio-halo overhead. The connections he held with his own spirits were independent of those that those spirits held with others, so he could not know if Cyshe's attempt to speak with Lovalus or Gaddwin's attempt to speak with Faldrass would be heard, or answered; only that they repeated the plea and asked that it be repeated in turn, to save the chained spirits of Scalvoris and rescue them all.

"ASHAN. SPIRITFATHER." Then, in a softer, more hesitant voice, "... Dad." He'd prepared something big, something grand and important, meant to finally drag his attention from whatever flowers he'd been sniffing and pay attention to him for once in his life, but the words died on his tongue and their corpses clogged his throat. "The Spirits need you. Three, perhaps even four of them, to be freed from the chains that bind them and upset the balance of this island. Their balance upset, the energies of this place in turmoil, assaulted on all sides. The people of Scalvoris need you, caught between Ziell's harsh winter and Chrien's bitter storm. We need you, to help convince Delroth, who has claimed ownership over one of the spirits, and holds its chained body as hostage to blackmail us all, to let us release it." He paused. No matter what, Ashan didn't just need to hear this; he needed to answer, where before he had never even acknowledged Nir's own death. He threw everything into his plea. His desperation, helplessness, and rage. "Dad. I need you. Don't turn away from me again."

This he repeated with every spirit he held, and asked to be spoken by every spirit in Command. A plea for aid, amplified tenfold through the one medium Ashan would hear. A last-gasp attempt for aid by perhaps the one Immortal perfectly suited to their plight.

[Ralgar Warborn]

Ralgar, without any hesitation, followed the group down into the stairs. In the short time he had known them they had all gained his trust to some extent, clearly competent in what they were doing. That was enough for the Mortalborn. There was enough trust in the group that even the nerves of being in such a forbidden place started to fade from his mind, knowing he had a team that would have his back right beside him should something happen. Hart was a prime example of it, having offered kindness to the tribe on a personal level, ensuring they were safe in the cold and offering help if they needed it. That was all he could ask from a group of strangers, those who lived entirely different lives to him and his people.

While he would never join them, the civil folk had earned the respect of the Bro'ky'na today.

As he walked through the tunnels Ralgar paused, looking around at the symbols he saw on the walls, that all of them saw. They were familiar. Some of them more than others, but all of them were familiar. What had his tribe done that the Elders had been so afraid of, that they had forbidden anyone from coming here? At Yeva's question, asking if he had seen anything like this before, Ralgar turned to her. "These are Bro'ky'na. My tribe, they ours" Ralgar said in his best common, his thick accent and strong tone making it hard to understand him in many ways. Going back to Haltunga, he turned to the translator. "These rituals and patterns are familiar. Our people use them. They are engraved on the walls, and the Elders are so afraid of us coming here. What could they have to hide? What did our people do here?" he asked, the translator explaining it to the group.

Visibly concerned, Ralgar kept looking at the symbols, his eyes showing the uncertainty he felt now. Yet the group moved, as he knew they must. But something nagged at him. Some deep seeded concern. His elders had never been afraid of any place in Scaltoth but here, and he had put it down to superstition or some creature they didn't wish to scare the tribe with. Perhaps something in the water. Yet now, his tribes had their patterns over the wall. No Northern tribe symbols, no Mur'thi symbols. Just Bro'ky'na. Just his people, and some chained entity.

What had they done in this place?

Once they made it to the Chainstone the Mortalborn paused, checking the room with everyone else, leaving anything to do with the Chainstone to everyone else. It wasn't his place to touch it, nor did he know what it would do. Everything else depended on the other teams, from what he could translate. Instead, he explored around, looking at more of the symbols in the room and seeing if he could understand anything from them. Information would be what saved them now, at least he imagined so.

~~Haltunga~~ Common~~