Knightly Letter: Ileas 13

by Alistan De la Roost

Dear Ileas,

Being trapped in the Lorewood has its strange side effects. On the one hand you don't know when you'll get home, on the other hand you might stumble on remarkable discoveries.

After we realized we were lost we tried to do what made sense: Keralon lies west of the Lorewood. So westwards we decided to go. Only a few hours later we found our first strange sighting, a substance called residuum was covering everything from grass to trees to even a backpack we found further ahead. Apparently Residuum is a form of pure magic, used for making magic items and apparently very valuable, though incredibly hard to harvest as it just vaporizes itself if we touch it.

But we did find a backpack a bit further ahead, belonging to what we thought was a wizard, since a quarterstaff and some fancy robes were there as well. The backpack was covered in this residuum and that was possibly preserving the rations that were inside it. It still looks like it was here for a while since despite everything being covered in residuum we saw animal tracks.

Gael decided to use his skills at talking to animals to find a fox to lead us to a place where he said this residuum came from, the fox also said it was there from when he was born, which should at least be more than a year. So we followed the fox to a clearing where we were met with a broken magic circle surrounded by menhirs in front of a cave. There were burn marks everywhere and a giant stone was towering over a small pond to the side.

The Mehirs around the broken circle were inscribed in Sylvan runes and the more magically inclined among us saw that it was supposed to be an Imprisonment spell. While others were investigating I decided to climb the rock, if only to get a good view of the area and maybe do a dramatic dive into the pond. But right as I reached the summit and had a look around, a cry pierced the air and trees awakened and charged at the group down below, while behind the rock but in view of me a Dryad exited the woods to attack the group from the other side. This dryad clearly looked ill, with residuum leaking from it and cancerous growths on her skin. Before I barely got a word out to the others she already pierced my skin with poisonous thorns and if not for Hayley's magic I would've been toast right there and then. In the end we were forced to take her down since she was rabid and beyond speaking. But it was a fight that took a lot out of us so before heading into the cave we took a quick breather. Lil also took the time to attune herself to her divine magic and could tell there were undead in the cave.

As we entered the cave a familiar mist greeted us, feeling very familiar to the mist that permeated the Lorewood so many years ago. Arriving in a clearing where burn marks were still smouldering, fed by Residuum on the floor. And after Lil pointed out one of the undead signs was in a nearby statue we decided to call it out, trying to get an idea of what is going on. He claimed we were not allowed to enter on the orders of Mirrdin.

Now you, well read in stories, know who Mirrdin is. The Archdruid who advised the King during the Darkfey war, created and placed the legendary sword Darodad in stone which was pulled by the hero Kalas. Darodad, in the pantheon of great swords, does hold a special place in my heart as a fan of swords. Not just because it's still in Keralon, firmly stuck in the stone outside of South Gate, but because it can only be pulled by a true hero, so while they might not have the power it's their hearts that matter and the sword takes care of the rest. Other swords, like the one wielded by the Saint Faerin, just don't have that going for them. They already had plenty of power. It also glows when held by its true wielder, how cool is that? I do hope to see it in action one day.

Anyway, the statue mentioned Mirrdin, someone who hasn't been seen in hundreds of years, but Luke and Gael spotted a Naga sneaking up on us, also summoned to guard the cave, and it confirmed to us this cave is the cause of the residuum, and that a bit more than five years ago a spell went off in the cave that unleashed the prisoners that were locked up here: Mirrdin and Anaya.

Anaya of course being a rival of Mirrdin at the court of the King, even giving her son Anton an axe similar to Darodad that was used in a legendary duel between Kalas and Anton. But I'm getting distracted again, apparently Mirrdin locked himself up with Anaya to keep her from enacting whatever plans she might have. But five years ago she got a chance and broke free, and Mirrdin's been following her since, the backpack we found was Mirrdin's. The Residuum and even the mist from all those years ago were side effects of this event.

The Naga, who we learned was named Chaytana, was summoned alongside the undead in this cave to protect anyone from going in and stood guard for centuries as Mirrdin and Anaya were living together there. And plenty of their tomes were still in this cave, something that made Luke's eyes sparkle, but alas, Chaytana was still tasked to protect this empty prison and couldn't let us near those tomes. Luke also asked about the Hearts of the elemental towers and Chaytana confirmed Anaya and Mirrdin held some or all of those hearts (like the one of Caern Fussil) at differing times. Seems like Amarra and now Luke are the inheritors of part of Mirrdin and Anaya's legacy. And maybe Anaya has the spell Amarra was looking for, some powerful spell to break through magic wards, and if Anaya did break this imprisonment, the spell she used might qualify for the High Magic Amarra wanted Luke to learn.

Anyhow, since night was approaching, and I felt a sting of pity for these creatures that were bound to live in this cave until Mirrdin thought to release them, we decided to camp right inside it. So Chaytana and the statues could have some differing company. We resolved to getting back to Keralon as news of Mirrdin and Anaya possibly being alive and the cause of that mysterious mist would be valuable to any of the knight's circles and the Royal court. So further west we would go.

Alistan.

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