The Three Groups & Ruari
The current situation, the son of Ziell decided as the newest reports reached the Glass Temple, resisting the urge to mutter something under his breath or even growl, like the Albarech did not resemble the battle at Treid’s Tomb. It was in fact much worse. Most of the people that had taken part back then had been inexperienced and ill-prepared, but at least none of them had taken their clothes off in extreme cold, ignored possibly life-saving advice and let themselves be drained dry by a ghost.
The Sweetwine group had opened the door in the tree without waiting to hear back from Kura and him, even though the Albarech could have advised them. Only Scaltoth seemed to be doing relatively well so far. Contrary to what he had as good as expected, they had not waltzed right into Pyke. Scaltoth would not be able to save Scalvoris though. At least it was not likely. According to Chuckles, Ishallr needed to be freed first, and the Ishallr group was, possibly, moments away from freezing to death or being lured into some sort of trap.
And then, there was that creature.
“Arlo Creede has seen the Skeeterwampulus. He told me about it, back when I met his wife and him on Faldrass”, he said to the Albarech and quickly relayed what Cassion’s son had said to her. “It seems as if there is some truth to that legend, after all. Have you ever heard of such a creature before?” he wanted to know, deciding that he would talk to both Chuckles and the people from the university later on.
For the time being, there was another very concerning matter that needed to be dealt with though. “We can’t talk to Ishallr anymore”, he observed, addressing Kura once more. “There are ways to fend a ghost off, provided that the cold doesn’t kill Elisabeth first, but we have no way of getting any information to them”, he muttered which was something that he rarely did – he was calm and composed most of the time. He couldn’t help but wonder how so much could go wrong in so short a time though.
“And the other groups – we need to come up with a better way of communication. They need to know what the others are doing”, he continued and turned to the array of Diri once more. “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”, he spoke – they needed to prevent disaster from happening, if that was possible.
“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”, he added, in case any of them took the risk and decided to cast, either because they were foolish, or there was no other way for them to save their lives.
“Did the tree look the same, back when you saw it?” he wanted to know from Kura a moment later, just as the words of the crow could be heard which caused him to furrow his brow once more. He had been right. He had been right about the girl. They were using her to watch Kura and him. He still wasn’t sure if they (The Warden and his “daughter”?) were simply looking through Ruari’s eyes, or if Ruari was not Ruari at all, but it was clear that Audrae had something to do with it. Secrecy and Shadows were two of her domains.
And besides that, there might be a second or even a third watcher involved. He remembered the conversation with Llyr again – his lover had worried about how Sintra might be using her spiders in order to spy on him. Maybe, her daughter was using one of her crows in order to listen now, although it remained to be seen which side Labrae was on. The Mortalborn of Crows would have to wait for now though. Ruari had priority. Chuckles had said that he couldn’t see what she was, that she was hidden.
As he looked at the girl again, wondering how she would react to Phelan, he noticed that she was following their conversation, in a way that was entirely out of character for a child of two arcs. She smiled at him, and then her nose suddenly started to bleed, but she seemed to be entirely unaware of it. Something was not right. At all. She needed to be dealt with, but he realized that he could not discuss anything with Kura, lest they listened again.
“I will take a look at the child myself. Trust me”, he only said to her and made his way over to Ruari, who was sitting there so calmly and quietly, despite the blood on her face, removing a handkerchief from a pocket as he did so. Audrae played a part now – she was deceiving people and double-crossing them – and she had played a part back then. She – and her siblings – had been involved in the battle at Treid’s Tomb. What he had done there would forever be his biggest regret, but he had brought something back with him.
Something that might keep the watcher from watching any further, at least for a while.
“Ru”, he spoke, softening his voice as he handed the handkerchief to her before he quickly slipped U’frek’s necklace around her neck. It rendered the wearer invisible to dangerous spirits and Shadow Creatures, and what were Audrae and the Daughter, if not creatures of shadow? “I have something for you. This will keep you safe. Don’t ever take it off, do you understand me? Do it for Kura and for your Hat”, he added. He had not lied. If Ru was Ru and only being manipulated, she needed to be kept safe.
Provided that nothing unforeseen happened, he proceeded to join the Albarech once more. He did not raise his voice again though but produced his notebook instead and gestured for her to take a look. They wouldn’t know what kind of effect U’frek’s necklace had right away. It would be better to be cautious. For that reason, he relayed what he had learned about Ruari to the Albarech in written form rather than simply talking to her, his pen moving across the paper quickly.
“When you asked your familiar to check on Ruari, I saw something. I’m not sure if you did as well. Ruari followed our conversation closely. When I whispered to you, she smiled, and then her nose started to bleed, but she did not seem to be aware of it. The necklace was a gift from U’frek. It renders the wearer invisible to certain spirits, familiars and shadow creatures, but we won’t know if it works right away. I asked the university to investigate Audrae. She seems to have appeared to Ruari when she was held captive in Slag’s Deep. While he was with her, Hart couldn’t see Ruari. They are using her to spy on us, if she actually is Ruari. What do you suggest that we do?”
He was not sure if it would be better to keep an eye on Hart’s daughter, and make sure that the necklace stayed on, or send her away, to some sort of secure location, but in any case, something needed to be done – and soon.
~~~
Chuckles:
Doran had asked Chuckles how he had been able to tell what Kura and he were because he had hoped that his answer would provide him with further clues as to his nature – Chuckles played an important part, and thus he considered it to be prudent to find out more about him – but the flame entity seemed to have trouble understanding them.
Still, he would not give up so soon. Chuckles had not been able to answer that question, or the one about whose Mortalborn the Beast had been, but he had provided them with an important clue regarding Ruari, and another piece of the puzzle. “Why is it called the Song Tree?” he asked. “What are soul and song? And do you know about such a creature?” he asked, sharing Arlo’s description of the Skeeterwampulus with him. Arlo’s story had made it sound as if it was just as old as Chuckles – and the creature.
“Do you remember anything about a previous battle here, for balance or destruction, and a great monster that fell into the sea?” he asked. Chuckles had been guarding the ScalvFlame for a very long time, longer than the Immortals had existed. It was not entirely impossible that he had witnessed some of the events that the carvings on Immortal’s Tongue depicted – and that he knew something about things that only constituted legends to others. Why had it not occurred to him to ask him earlier?
A part of him was worried that Kura and he might already be testing Chuckles’ patience, that he might get tired of answering their questions soon, and thus he watched him for any signs of frustration, so that he would be able to stop, and apologize.
Chuckles had mentioned fire and ice and song and soul and a flame of four which was why he sent another message through the Diris, to whoever people he was still capable of reaching, “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”, he added because that couldn’t be said often enough in his opinion. It was of course possible that he might be wrong, and one or two people were enough, but warning the groups not to split up again was a good idea in any case.
It was just then that something occurred to him. Chuckles had mentioned “soul”. Famula was the Immortal of Souls. She was Audrae’s, Lisirra’s, Sintra’s and Moseke’s sister. At least three of them had played a part during the battle at Treid’s Tomb. At least three of them – and the children of the fourth played a part now. For a moment, he wished that Faith Augustin were there – she would without a doubt have been able to provide them with important information – and a moment later, he turned to Kura again, furrowing his brow.
“It’s also about Sintra, or her daughter Labrae, at least”, he told the Albarech, quickly leafing through one of the books from the university in order to verify something. “There is a crow here. It’s watching us. Labrae is the Mortalborn of Crows. All of Cierel’s descendants might be involved in fact, Audrae, Moseke, Famula, Sintra and Lisirra. I’m not sure which part Famula – or Sintra and her daughter Labrae play yet though. We already know about Sintra’s son, Woe”, he remarked. Eventually, he moved away from her again though. There was something that he needed to investigate, and there were several messages that he needed to send, quite urgently.
The Reports
“I’d appreciate that”, Doran remarked when Jacien mentioned sending feelers out to Egilrun before he approached the array of Diris in order to send messages to both Woe and Oram. “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”, he added before he proceeded to send a separate message to Sintra’s son.
“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?” he wanted to know. He would ask the people from the university about Labrae as well later on, but it made sense to also contact her brother. It was possible that he knew more about her.
His wondering about Drainglass eventually made him investigate the matter of magic further. It would be impossible to build something with Drainglass in the limited amount of timethat they had, but there was something else. There were more than just two kinds of ether. Emean ether was, possibly, separate from divine ether which prompted him to ask Professor Saffie Realmis, “Can you try and find out if people are still capable of dreaming? Are a dreamwalker’s abilities affected by this at all?”
His answer might give him further insight into what was going on, but Dreamwalking might also constitute an alternative, a last resort if everything else failed, and they lost the war. Since Llyr had initiated him an arc and a half earlier, he had become proficient enough to take others to Emea with him, to Escort. Travelling through Emea was wrought with danger, but if the situation escalated – which was definitely a possibility, considering the situation in Ishallr – the world of dreams might be safer than the waking world, regardless.
If everything else failed, he might at least be able to save a few.
As long as there was a chance, he would be hopeful though, because there was no other way for him to be. Every question that was answered led to new questions, but he found that encouraging. It meant that they were making progress. He just needed to make sure that their research was progressing quickly enough. With that thought in mind, he turned to Professor Fridson and the rest of the group again.
“We need to find out why Audrae tricked the Warden – and how”, he told them. “And we need to find out more about Labrae – and her grandmother Cierel. Cierel’s children played a part as well. Do you know anything about her and why she and the other Originals died, Professor Fridson? In which way could they be involved? Could Famula play a part as well?” he asked and rubbed his forehead slightly as he wondered what he was missing. He had the feeling that he was lacking important information, but he wasn’t sure what it was.
“Who was the Warden’s daughter’s mother?” he suddenly asked and looked at all of them in turn. “Nobody ever asked who she was before. Why did nobody ever consider the mother, if there was a mother and not just more trickery? Is there a connection to Audrae or Cierel’s other descendants in that regard? Is or was the mother a descendant of Cierel?” he wanted to know. Had nobody but him ever thought about the other parent? Children normally didn’t just appear out of thin air. How could it be that nobody had wondered about the mother before?
Had he been surrounded by fools?
“Let’s see if we can find anything out about that and the Skeeterwampulus that Arlo Creede mentioned”, he told them. It was a legend, but every legend contained a grain of truth, and Arlo Creede had reported seeing the creature on Ishallr.
“U’frek’s compass”, he spoke a moment later. “The Scaltoth group has found an entrance, and steps. Could that be the tunnel to Pyke, or is it a safer way to the Induk? Where is U’frek’s compass being kept?” he wanted to know from Professor Fridson. He would never approve of people desecrating a grave, but U'frek's compass might be of use regardless.
He still had the feeling that he was lacking important, possibly vital, information, apart from what kind of role Cierel’s descendants and the daughter’s mysterious mother had played, but he did not dwell on that.
Instead, he turned to the remaining reports, including Oram Mednix’ map that he decided to take a look at first of all. As he did so, he realized that the lines from Faldrass, Ishallr, Sweetwine and Scaltoth all went towards the mountain. They converged on one point, where the “Death Forged” – which he knew what Vega Creede was called – had met Chuckles.
“The four places with the Induks lead to one place in the mountains, the place where Vega met Chuckles”, he said and gestured for Kura to join him because she needed to hear this as well. “Xiur mentioned a cork and what will happen if the cork pops. The triangle that you see here is that cork, I think. It keeps everything in place, and secure. There are four once more, four places, four Induks, four members in every group, a flame of four – and ice and fire, song and soul. There are always four”, he murmured and shook his head. Elisabeth’s situation was quite concerning. How on Idalos would they be able to save her if there was no way to contact the group and advise them – and what did her fate mean as far as releasing the Induks was concerned?
Ishallr didn’t seem to be capable of handling the situation on their own. Darius Baer was still alive, against his expectations, but he wasn’t sure if blindly following that tiger deeper into the caves was a good idea, especially if the other members of his group were not with him.
It was just as he was about to wonder if Ishallr was lost that he remembered the Elements that had accompanied the group to the island again. He couldn’t reach the Diri, but there might yet be a way to contact them. With that thought in mind he approached Jacien who he knew possessed an Echo Scroll and asked, “Could you send a message to the Elements that accompanied the Ishallr group via your Echo Scroll? Elisabeth Angelus is in grave danger. They need to check on her. If she is unable to continue, if she’s injured or dead, one of the Elements needs to help free the Induk instead of her. The number four plays an important part. Three people might not be enough. There might have to be four.”
Having said that, he turned to the last report – he had requested that people research the mist further.
There was, once again, a connection to the battle at Treid’s Tomb, Oscillus and the Shadowbeasts – and his deepest regret. Mist had come with the Shadowbeasts in 716, and mist had surrounded Scalvoris three centuries prior when Enri Von Smooglenuff had saved the children. He had told them about a creature called the Smooglenuff that fought the bad people. Mist was present again now, mist that seemed to be impenetrable at times.
There was only one difference, the teleportation and the color changing.
Audrae had been on the opposite side in 716. She had double-crossed Lisirra and fought Qylios. She was double-crossing people again now, keeping secrets and deceiving. She had manipulated Qylios’ son. He had already asked people to research Audrae and her siblings further, so, he decided to focus on the mist instead. He knew about Enri Von Smooglenuff. He knew his story, but for the first time, he was at a loss regardless. He did not know how he could use what he knew about Enri to help Scalvoris.
The situation was not hopeless though. There was always hope. He didn’t know what to do with the information that he had gotten about the mist and Enri – but there was someone that knew, without a doubt, someone that he only had to reach somehow and ask for help.
When he had first started to research, he had thought that Xiur had a daughter, Violunne, but he had discovered that “Mrs. Violunne Guffone” was, likely, an anagram for “Enri Von Smooglenuff”. Enri had had a son, Xad who had never met his grandfather. At one point, a family friend named Richard had almost been introduced as Enri’s father though. Richard had been the name that Xiur had used during the Mummer’s Ball in Rharne, when they had danced together, before he had revealed who he really was.
It was possible, even highly likely, that Enri Von Smooglenuff was a Mortalborn of Xiur, and that he was thus still alive. He had already survived a couple of centuries, after all. Enri would be able to help them, provided that they managed to find him in time, and the best person to ask about Enri’s whereabouts was …
… his father.
“Xiur”, he spoke and knelt down, just like he had knelt in front of the Immortal in Rharne, when he had asked him to let him serve, like he should have served him all along, his head bent in utter reverence. “By the light of your stars, there is something that I need your help with, a problem that I finally cannot solve on my own. Mist surrounds Scalvoris now. Mist already surrounded Scalvoris three centuries ago, but your son saved the children. He protected the island. Xiur, if there is any way for you to reach Enri Von Smooglenuff, if he is still alive, could you let him know that we need him, that all of Scalvoris needs him, and hope, and that it is in danger once more?”
“I would be eternally grateful if he came to us and helped us”, he added just as another thing occurred to him. He didn’t know if Xiur listened, and if he would answer, but he decided to give it a try, nevertheless. He was hopeful. He would always be hopeful, no matter what, because life was nothing without hope. “When we met in Viden, you mentioned the daughter, and that her father, Qylios’ son, was desperate and without hope. Nobody ever mentioned the mother though. Do you know who she is?” he wanted to know. He had asked the university to investigate, but the girl’s uncle might know more.
He believed in being proactive – in his opinion, hope was something that you could and should work on – rather than kneeling, saying a few words and expecting the Immortals to provide because of it - but there were some things that only the Immortals could help you with. This was, to a large part, about Xiur’s own family. There was no reason not to ask him; in fact, not asking his patron Immortal for help would be nothing short of foolish.
He said another prayer to Xiur, for hope, and for a light in the darkness – not because doing such might make Xiur more inclined to help, but because he truly believed, in Xiur and in what he stood for – before he rose to his feet again. He would not stand there and wait if Enri Von Smooglenuff would eventually walk through the temple’s door – provided that he was indeed still alive. There were approximately a hundred things that needed to be done and none of them could wait longer than a couple of moments.
The current situation, the son of Ziell decided as the newest reports reached the Glass Temple, resisting the urge to mutter something under his breath or even growl, like the Albarech did not resemble the battle at Treid’s Tomb. It was in fact much worse. Most of the people that had taken part back then had been inexperienced and ill-prepared, but at least none of them had taken their clothes off in extreme cold, ignored possibly life-saving advice and let themselves be drained dry by a ghost.
The Sweetwine group had opened the door in the tree without waiting to hear back from Kura and him, even though the Albarech could have advised them. Only Scaltoth seemed to be doing relatively well so far. Contrary to what he had as good as expected, they had not waltzed right into Pyke. Scaltoth would not be able to save Scalvoris though. At least it was not likely. According to Chuckles, Ishallr needed to be freed first, and the Ishallr group was, possibly, moments away from freezing to death or being lured into some sort of trap.
And then, there was that creature.
“Arlo Creede has seen the Skeeterwampulus. He told me about it, back when I met his wife and him on Faldrass”, he said to the Albarech and quickly relayed what Cassion’s son had said to her. “It seems as if there is some truth to that legend, after all. Have you ever heard of such a creature before?” he wanted to know, deciding that he would talk to both Chuckles and the people from the university later on.
For the time being, there was another very concerning matter that needed to be dealt with though. “We can’t talk to Ishallr anymore”, he observed, addressing Kura once more. “There are ways to fend a ghost off, provided that the cold doesn’t kill Elisabeth first, but we have no way of getting any information to them”, he muttered which was something that he rarely did – he was calm and composed most of the time. He couldn’t help but wonder how so much could go wrong in so short a time though.
“And the other groups – we need to come up with a better way of communication. They need to know what the others are doing”, he continued and turned to the array of Diri once more. “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”, he spoke – they needed to prevent disaster from happening, if that was possible.
“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”, he added, in case any of them took the risk and decided to cast, either because they were foolish, or there was no other way for them to save their lives.
“Did the tree look the same, back when you saw it?” he wanted to know from Kura a moment later, just as the words of the crow could be heard which caused him to furrow his brow once more. He had been right. He had been right about the girl. They were using her to watch Kura and him. He still wasn’t sure if they (The Warden and his “daughter”?) were simply looking through Ruari’s eyes, or if Ruari was not Ruari at all, but it was clear that Audrae had something to do with it. Secrecy and Shadows were two of her domains.
And besides that, there might be a second or even a third watcher involved. He remembered the conversation with Llyr again – his lover had worried about how Sintra might be using her spiders in order to spy on him. Maybe, her daughter was using one of her crows in order to listen now, although it remained to be seen which side Labrae was on. The Mortalborn of Crows would have to wait for now though. Ruari had priority. Chuckles had said that he couldn’t see what she was, that she was hidden.
As he looked at the girl again, wondering how she would react to Phelan, he noticed that she was following their conversation, in a way that was entirely out of character for a child of two arcs. She smiled at him, and then her nose suddenly started to bleed, but she seemed to be entirely unaware of it. Something was not right. At all. She needed to be dealt with, but he realized that he could not discuss anything with Kura, lest they listened again.
“I will take a look at the child myself. Trust me”, he only said to her and made his way over to Ruari, who was sitting there so calmly and quietly, despite the blood on her face, removing a handkerchief from a pocket as he did so. Audrae played a part now – she was deceiving people and double-crossing them – and she had played a part back then. She – and her siblings – had been involved in the battle at Treid’s Tomb. What he had done there would forever be his biggest regret, but he had brought something back with him.
Something that might keep the watcher from watching any further, at least for a while.
“Ru”, he spoke, softening his voice as he handed the handkerchief to her before he quickly slipped U’frek’s necklace around her neck. It rendered the wearer invisible to dangerous spirits and Shadow Creatures, and what were Audrae and the Daughter, if not creatures of shadow? “I have something for you. This will keep you safe. Don’t ever take it off, do you understand me? Do it for Kura and for your Hat”, he added. He had not lied. If Ru was Ru and only being manipulated, she needed to be kept safe.
Provided that nothing unforeseen happened, he proceeded to join the Albarech once more. He did not raise his voice again though but produced his notebook instead and gestured for her to take a look. They wouldn’t know what kind of effect U’frek’s necklace had right away. It would be better to be cautious. For that reason, he relayed what he had learned about Ruari to the Albarech in written form rather than simply talking to her, his pen moving across the paper quickly.
“When you asked your familiar to check on Ruari, I saw something. I’m not sure if you did as well. Ruari followed our conversation closely. When I whispered to you, she smiled, and then her nose started to bleed, but she did not seem to be aware of it. The necklace was a gift from U’frek. It renders the wearer invisible to certain spirits, familiars and shadow creatures, but we won’t know if it works right away. I asked the university to investigate Audrae. She seems to have appeared to Ruari when she was held captive in Slag’s Deep. While he was with her, Hart couldn’t see Ruari. They are using her to spy on us, if she actually is Ruari. What do you suggest that we do?”
He was not sure if it would be better to keep an eye on Hart’s daughter, and make sure that the necklace stayed on, or send her away, to some sort of secure location, but in any case, something needed to be done – and soon.
~~~
Chuckles:
Doran had asked Chuckles how he had been able to tell what Kura and he were because he had hoped that his answer would provide him with further clues as to his nature – Chuckles played an important part, and thus he considered it to be prudent to find out more about him – but the flame entity seemed to have trouble understanding them.
Still, he would not give up so soon. Chuckles had not been able to answer that question, or the one about whose Mortalborn the Beast had been, but he had provided them with an important clue regarding Ruari, and another piece of the puzzle. “Why is it called the Song Tree?” he asked. “What are soul and song? And do you know about such a creature?” he asked, sharing Arlo’s description of the Skeeterwampulus with him. Arlo’s story had made it sound as if it was just as old as Chuckles – and the creature.
“Do you remember anything about a previous battle here, for balance or destruction, and a great monster that fell into the sea?” he asked. Chuckles had been guarding the ScalvFlame for a very long time, longer than the Immortals had existed. It was not entirely impossible that he had witnessed some of the events that the carvings on Immortal’s Tongue depicted – and that he knew something about things that only constituted legends to others. Why had it not occurred to him to ask him earlier?
A part of him was worried that Kura and he might already be testing Chuckles’ patience, that he might get tired of answering their questions soon, and thus he watched him for any signs of frustration, so that he would be able to stop, and apologize.
Chuckles had mentioned fire and ice and song and soul and a flame of four which was why he sent another message through the Diris, to whoever people he was still capable of reaching, “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”, he added because that couldn’t be said often enough in his opinion. It was of course possible that he might be wrong, and one or two people were enough, but warning the groups not to split up again was a good idea in any case.
It was just then that something occurred to him. Chuckles had mentioned “soul”. Famula was the Immortal of Souls. She was Audrae’s, Lisirra’s, Sintra’s and Moseke’s sister. At least three of them had played a part during the battle at Treid’s Tomb. At least three of them – and the children of the fourth played a part now. For a moment, he wished that Faith Augustin were there – she would without a doubt have been able to provide them with important information – and a moment later, he turned to Kura again, furrowing his brow.
“It’s also about Sintra, or her daughter Labrae, at least”, he told the Albarech, quickly leafing through one of the books from the university in order to verify something. “There is a crow here. It’s watching us. Labrae is the Mortalborn of Crows. All of Cierel’s descendants might be involved in fact, Audrae, Moseke, Famula, Sintra and Lisirra. I’m not sure which part Famula – or Sintra and her daughter Labrae play yet though. We already know about Sintra’s son, Woe”, he remarked. Eventually, he moved away from her again though. There was something that he needed to investigate, and there were several messages that he needed to send, quite urgently.
The Reports
“I’d appreciate that”, Doran remarked when Jacien mentioned sending feelers out to Egilrun before he approached the array of Diris in order to send messages to both Woe and Oram. “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”, he added before he proceeded to send a separate message to Sintra’s son.
“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?” he wanted to know. He would ask the people from the university about Labrae as well later on, but it made sense to also contact her brother. It was possible that he knew more about her.
His wondering about Drainglass eventually made him investigate the matter of magic further. It would be impossible to build something with Drainglass in the limited amount of timethat they had, but there was something else. There were more than just two kinds of ether. Emean ether was, possibly, separate from divine ether which prompted him to ask Professor Saffie Realmis, “Can you try and find out if people are still capable of dreaming? Are a dreamwalker’s abilities affected by this at all?”
His answer might give him further insight into what was going on, but Dreamwalking might also constitute an alternative, a last resort if everything else failed, and they lost the war. Since Llyr had initiated him an arc and a half earlier, he had become proficient enough to take others to Emea with him, to Escort. Travelling through Emea was wrought with danger, but if the situation escalated – which was definitely a possibility, considering the situation in Ishallr – the world of dreams might be safer than the waking world, regardless.
If everything else failed, he might at least be able to save a few.
As long as there was a chance, he would be hopeful though, because there was no other way for him to be. Every question that was answered led to new questions, but he found that encouraging. It meant that they were making progress. He just needed to make sure that their research was progressing quickly enough. With that thought in mind, he turned to Professor Fridson and the rest of the group again.
“We need to find out why Audrae tricked the Warden – and how”, he told them. “And we need to find out more about Labrae – and her grandmother Cierel. Cierel’s children played a part as well. Do you know anything about her and why she and the other Originals died, Professor Fridson? In which way could they be involved? Could Famula play a part as well?” he asked and rubbed his forehead slightly as he wondered what he was missing. He had the feeling that he was lacking important information, but he wasn’t sure what it was.
“Who was the Warden’s daughter’s mother?” he suddenly asked and looked at all of them in turn. “Nobody ever asked who she was before. Why did nobody ever consider the mother, if there was a mother and not just more trickery? Is there a connection to Audrae or Cierel’s other descendants in that regard? Is or was the mother a descendant of Cierel?” he wanted to know. Had nobody but him ever thought about the other parent? Children normally didn’t just appear out of thin air. How could it be that nobody had wondered about the mother before?
Had he been surrounded by fools?
“Let’s see if we can find anything out about that and the Skeeterwampulus that Arlo Creede mentioned”, he told them. It was a legend, but every legend contained a grain of truth, and Arlo Creede had reported seeing the creature on Ishallr.
“U’frek’s compass”, he spoke a moment later. “The Scaltoth group has found an entrance, and steps. Could that be the tunnel to Pyke, or is it a safer way to the Induk? Where is U’frek’s compass being kept?” he wanted to know from Professor Fridson. He would never approve of people desecrating a grave, but U'frek's compass might be of use regardless.
He still had the feeling that he was lacking important, possibly vital, information, apart from what kind of role Cierel’s descendants and the daughter’s mysterious mother had played, but he did not dwell on that.
Instead, he turned to the remaining reports, including Oram Mednix’ map that he decided to take a look at first of all. As he did so, he realized that the lines from Faldrass, Ishallr, Sweetwine and Scaltoth all went towards the mountain. They converged on one point, where the “Death Forged” – which he knew what Vega Creede was called – had met Chuckles.
“The four places with the Induks lead to one place in the mountains, the place where Vega met Chuckles”, he said and gestured for Kura to join him because she needed to hear this as well. “Xiur mentioned a cork and what will happen if the cork pops. The triangle that you see here is that cork, I think. It keeps everything in place, and secure. There are four once more, four places, four Induks, four members in every group, a flame of four – and ice and fire, song and soul. There are always four”, he murmured and shook his head. Elisabeth’s situation was quite concerning. How on Idalos would they be able to save her if there was no way to contact the group and advise them – and what did her fate mean as far as releasing the Induks was concerned?
Ishallr didn’t seem to be capable of handling the situation on their own. Darius Baer was still alive, against his expectations, but he wasn’t sure if blindly following that tiger deeper into the caves was a good idea, especially if the other members of his group were not with him.
It was just as he was about to wonder if Ishallr was lost that he remembered the Elements that had accompanied the group to the island again. He couldn’t reach the Diri, but there might yet be a way to contact them. With that thought in mind he approached Jacien who he knew possessed an Echo Scroll and asked, “Could you send a message to the Elements that accompanied the Ishallr group via your Echo Scroll? Elisabeth Angelus is in grave danger. They need to check on her. If she is unable to continue, if she’s injured or dead, one of the Elements needs to help free the Induk instead of her. The number four plays an important part. Three people might not be enough. There might have to be four.”
Having said that, he turned to the last report – he had requested that people research the mist further.
There was, once again, a connection to the battle at Treid’s Tomb, Oscillus and the Shadowbeasts – and his deepest regret. Mist had come with the Shadowbeasts in 716, and mist had surrounded Scalvoris three centuries prior when Enri Von Smooglenuff had saved the children. He had told them about a creature called the Smooglenuff that fought the bad people. Mist was present again now, mist that seemed to be impenetrable at times.
There was only one difference, the teleportation and the color changing.
Audrae had been on the opposite side in 716. She had double-crossed Lisirra and fought Qylios. She was double-crossing people again now, keeping secrets and deceiving. She had manipulated Qylios’ son. He had already asked people to research Audrae and her siblings further, so, he decided to focus on the mist instead. He knew about Enri Von Smooglenuff. He knew his story, but for the first time, he was at a loss regardless. He did not know how he could use what he knew about Enri to help Scalvoris.
The situation was not hopeless though. There was always hope. He didn’t know what to do with the information that he had gotten about the mist and Enri – but there was someone that knew, without a doubt, someone that he only had to reach somehow and ask for help.
When he had first started to research, he had thought that Xiur had a daughter, Violunne, but he had discovered that “Mrs. Violunne Guffone” was, likely, an anagram for “Enri Von Smooglenuff”. Enri had had a son, Xad who had never met his grandfather. At one point, a family friend named Richard had almost been introduced as Enri’s father though. Richard had been the name that Xiur had used during the Mummer’s Ball in Rharne, when they had danced together, before he had revealed who he really was.
It was possible, even highly likely, that Enri Von Smooglenuff was a Mortalborn of Xiur, and that he was thus still alive. He had already survived a couple of centuries, after all. Enri would be able to help them, provided that they managed to find him in time, and the best person to ask about Enri’s whereabouts was …
… his father.
“Xiur”, he spoke and knelt down, just like he had knelt in front of the Immortal in Rharne, when he had asked him to let him serve, like he should have served him all along, his head bent in utter reverence. “By the light of your stars, there is something that I need your help with, a problem that I finally cannot solve on my own. Mist surrounds Scalvoris now. Mist already surrounded Scalvoris three centuries ago, but your son saved the children. He protected the island. Xiur, if there is any way for you to reach Enri Von Smooglenuff, if he is still alive, could you let him know that we need him, that all of Scalvoris needs him, and hope, and that it is in danger once more?”
“I would be eternally grateful if he came to us and helped us”, he added just as another thing occurred to him. He didn’t know if Xiur listened, and if he would answer, but he decided to give it a try, nevertheless. He was hopeful. He would always be hopeful, no matter what, because life was nothing without hope. “When we met in Viden, you mentioned the daughter, and that her father, Qylios’ son, was desperate and without hope. Nobody ever mentioned the mother though. Do you know who she is?” he wanted to know. He had asked the university to investigate, but the girl’s uncle might know more.
He believed in being proactive – in his opinion, hope was something that you could and should work on – rather than kneeling, saying a few words and expecting the Immortals to provide because of it - but there were some things that only the Immortals could help you with. This was, to a large part, about Xiur’s own family. There was no reason not to ask him; in fact, not asking his patron Immortal for help would be nothing short of foolish.
He said another prayer to Xiur, for hope, and for a light in the darkness – not because doing such might make Xiur more inclined to help, but because he truly believed, in Xiur and in what he stood for – before he rose to his feet again. He would not stand there and wait if Enri Von Smooglenuff would eventually walk through the temple’s door – provided that he was indeed still alive. There were approximately a hundred things that needed to be done and none of them could wait longer than a couple of moments.
