Storytellers Demise

The day started like normal. I worked in the Ta’alaq today, and in the evening I went to Master Seji. But when the course ended, I suddenly had a feeling. I turned around, and the next thing I knew I was sitting on the ground, as if someone had cut my strings. In my hand was a small letter: “To you, the Named and the Nameless: The Blind Storyteller bids you join him at the Market of Melodies, Last Bell.”
I took the ferry to the market and met Oro on the way—he has gotten same invitation. At the market, we met a strange woman named Mistress Diamante, and I talked to the other twelve people there. No one had any idea why they had been invited, only that the Blind Storyteller was an ancient legend. Exactly at midnight, tents appeared around us. Te’sarim was very frightened! But as the strange storyteller began his tale, he fell silent and listened, just like the rest of us.
It felt like I was inside the story myself—only as a bystander, but I saw it all before me: the King and his seven sons; the Allaena—some ancient nomad people I had never heard of before—and the great hall they were in. When Prince Su’Alhazi, the youngest of the King, suddenly disappeared, I wanted to jump up and run to where he had vanished, but I couldn’t move. Then I felt cold. Colder than ever in my life. I woke from the trance and saw strange white, frozen stuff all around us—the others called it ice. Madame Diamante touched the storyteller and called him a traitor, and then he burst into a thousand pieces of that ice. Before he shattered, I saw the same tattoos of chains and shackles on him that the nomads in the story had.
 
Suddenly, monsters made of the same material attacked. We all started running. I and five others made it into a boat. I wanted to wait for the other six, but the boat was too small. I paddled for my life. At least boats work more or less the same way as at home.
With me, Te’sarim, and Oro were four others: a human dancer and musician named Frederick Austerlitz; a water genasi named Steam (I think I’m his friend now, because only friends call him that some snobbish girl named Alizée Zephir; and a dead woman called Aurelie More'ta. She is dead but still moves—it’s very fascinating—and she can’t remember her past. I wish I could forget mine too…
I learned a lot about Oro as well. I didn’t know he was some dark shadow elf. I always thought he was a drow.
 
Well—back to the escape. The other six were furious we left without them, and Oro finally used his cool shooting thing on his back. I don’t know how the bullets get into that thing or how it shoots, but it looks cool. I want to dismantle it and see its parts, but I’m not even finished with my last project.
On the shore, we saw some wizards flying around and bombing the Market of Melodies with meteors. Looks like they don’t like the cold ice either. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a rift to another plane—the same color as the ice—so I expect it leads to that elemental plane. I didn’t expect to see another rift so soon after the last one. Aren’t they supposed to be rare?
The wizards looked like they thought we were the culprits, so we all ran to Ta’alaq. I can’t get in trouble again! Alizèe used some smoke bombs to cover us, and we ran. Back home, I stayed on guard while I let Alizèe sleep in my room. Oro gave his room to the dead girl. The others slept in our big tearoom.
Well… I have two more hours until I have to open the teahouse and work again. At least Lordy will be here with me. I hope the next day will be better…