The Cradle of Souls - Chapter 5: Worldshaper's Vice
From Saratta
Persyfn, The Talsem River Ruins. Ephyrne - 6th month of the year, Day 15 Summer - 985 LD
- It was as the Arakett foretold. The obesi* appeared as wisps of smoke, solidifying in open space. Their shocked expressions made it quickly known they did not expect true believers to be waiting for them. In the heathens possession; the fabled Zhan yi Metru, revealed to us by the lord of Flames. We sang praises and readied our blades for the order to cleanse the obesi blight, but once more the Arakett bade us to stay our weapons in favor of taking the heathen at their root.
- We, the majestic Ghazo'dn took to the sky, stalking the afflicted ones as they scurried back to their den of evil. Soon the fires of the righteous burned in the sky and we descended from the clouds, a flash of emerald in a sapphire sea. Praises to Demuen as his glorious flame overtook the pagans. Dark clouds of their sins drifted into the sky, vanishing as we departed. The cleansing was complete, the Ghazo'dn and our mighty Wyrm allies victorious once more. May Demuen grant us passage as we continue onward...
- - Avynielle Pierowask of the Emerald Wing
*Note: Obesi is a term given to non-elves. In a rough translation it means garbage or trash.
- The dig team emerged into the Prime Material once more, breathing a sigh of relief to no longer be in the ethereal plane surrounded by the dead. Their breath caught in their throats as they realized the potential danger they now found themselves in upon re-entry. An army of Tyran elves were waiting for them, weapons drawn. Krueler attempted to speak with them in their native language but the result was far from satisfactory.
- The elven High Commander was offended by a humans use of his language, and with a lightning fast strike, knocked Krueler unconscious with a single blow. Undeterred by this display of force, Glorving chose to insult the High Commander as well, calling him a knife ears. The Commander appeared to take it in jest, calling the dwarf a bulb nose in return before drawing his blade and glaring at Glorving. It was then that Brawl stepped in, trying to stave off a fight. The elves took note of the Ephryn's tribal markings, and told him that as a member of the Swahhamo he was free to go. Brawl requested that the other members of the group be allowed to join him.
- The High Commander of the Tyran armies took a moment to assess the group and commune with Demuen by stepping into a large fire built for that purpose. He soon returned, unscathed by the flames and allowed the group to depart if they turned over the Zhan yi Metru. The group agreed, handed over the text and departed.
- As they moved away from the bulk of the elven army, they began to suspect that they were getting away too easily. They should have been enslaved if rumors about the elves were true. Brawl insisted that they simply keep moving, but their hesitation grew with each step that brought them closer to the Ephryn encampment. So strong was their paranoia that they heard the approach of something in the grass behind them just as the crested the last hilltop before the Ephryn camp. When they informed Brawl he began heading toward the sound to investigate. As he closed in, a bright flare was shot into the sky. Krueler and Kaden immediately began to pour magic into reducing its visibility but the damage was already done.
- The elves summoned a fire elemental, setting fire to the waist high grass and began to attack the group. They responded by engaging in combat, but as it began Kaden heard something far more sinister in the sky above. Flying down from the clouds were two elves on the backs of Green Wyrms. The dragonriders flew overhead, burning parallel lines of flame into the grass below so that one line would overrun the fight before flying on toward the settlement. When they reached it they made two passes each, obliterating the Ephryn tribe in a gout of flame (All Sarattese dragons can breath fire in addition to other energy types).
- Knowing they had little time, the group began to fight vigorously to keep a few of the elves from escaping. Anya-Star took the opportunity to get away from the fighting and dragonfire and hid herself securely in the tall grasses a good distance away. It was fortunate for her to do so, for moments later the dragons made another sweep across their position, greatly injuring many as they tried in vain to avoid the torrents of fire.
- Greatly injured with only minor magic to help sustain him, Kaden began healing himself and the wounded while Glorving provided assistance by giving out his shares of healing potions. While it was not enough to fix up their wounds, it enabled them to get away from the scene of the battle and set up a camp by a nearby lake. When Kaden tried to touch the waters he was greeted by a very demanding female voice who demanded to know what he was doing. He said he was going to use the water to help heal those in his group. The voice told him that if he did not spread the water in her name cleansing their wounds with it would kill them. Not knowing which of the gods he was speaking to Kaden left the lake alone.
- Meanwhile, Krueler and Anya-Star ventured to the ruins of the village and found very little left. A single survivor remain, badly burned. The Ephryn female was the next in line to succeed the tribes Matron. While at the ruin Krueler believed that he could see the ghosts of the dead. Anya-Star appeared to be able to do so as well. Krueler resisted the urge to use the Xirisz Phasygn to harvest their souls and in short order they returned to camp with the lone survivor*.
*She would awake later long enough to inform Brawl that the Matron had ordered most of the women and children to evacuate the encampment, enabling a portion of the tribe to survive.*
- As life began to settle down enough for them to get a breather, the group began to hunt for food and continued to patch up the injured. It was then that the ghost of Hamish appeared to Krueler and began gesturing toward his corpse. Krueler obliged the ghost and looked at the body which was beginning to decay. Horrified, Krueler realized that he had to do something quickly or the frantic ghost would be dead for good. Hamish avoided Krueler whenever the Xirisz Phasygn was pulled out, but insisted that the device could be used to return him to life... if Krueler was strong enough to do it. That would mean Krueler had to absorb more souls.
- Eventually accepting what had to be done, Krueler and Anya-Star ventured out to capture the spirits of the elves they had managed to slay before the dragons made their final pass. The ghosts were still present and Krueler absorbed them without a second thought. Upon returning to camp though, Hamish continued to insist that he was not strong enough (all of their communication was through gestures and charades, much to Krueler's frustration). Taking the wagon that Hamish's body was in, Krueler ventured up to the ruined Ephryn camp, despising what he would have to do next.
- After several more spirits were absorbed the wizards (spirit and living respectively) began debating how to get the soul to rejoin the body. Eventually they attempted to have Hamish lay in his body, the Xirisz Phasygn wrapped in his hand with Krueler holding one hand in the spirit outline, and the other on the device to keep it active. The Xirisz Phasygn burned with blinding light and seconds later Hamish lived again.
Persyfn, The Talsem River Ruins. Ephyrne - 6th month of the year, Day 18 Summer 985 LD
- Yayi'tva Ibn Weir'tam . Time swallows those who do not etch it.
- - An ancient saying found on a tablet amongst the ruins of Persyfn
- Having recovered enough to move on, and allotting time for the Tyran armies to move on the group sneaked their way back into the ruins of Persyfn and into the bowels of the ruined Academy building. After spending some time removing rubble from the passages, several members of the group including Krueler, Anya-Star, and Kaden attempted to try and find help in the caves that they had inhabited when the expedition first landed. The soon found that the bridge that they had so painstakingly crafted months before was destroyed, but it did not take long to get it back up.
- Once to the other side, the made contact with the other half of the expedition who had rode out the groups troubles with relative ease from their hiding spot. Happy to have made it beyond the madness of the past days, they joined the rescue effort at the Academy. With the extra hands work went smoothly and soon the Vault and those who had survived the ordeal were uncovered. Altherton had recovered to full health but Ulias was far worse for the wear. He was taken to the caves immediately while Altherton directed the removal of artifacts.
- To the pleasure of many, the supply ships arrived days later, facilitating their departure from Ephyrne all too soon. The voyage would last another three months before they made it home but was without incident.