A day in the library

by Gael

The next morning, we were still reeling from what had happened. Someone had intentionally released those beasts into the crowd. But why? Was it just a cruel jest? Or the first move in a deeper, more sinister game? And who were those masked figures that vanished into the crowd?

Answers would have to wait however. The High King’s feast was just one day away, and we’d just heard a most curious rumour.

To mark the occasion, the High King, an enthusiastic admirer of knightly traditions, was hosting a grand tournament of knightly skill and honor.

It consisted of four events: an archery contest, a battle of wits, a grand melee and of course the stapple of all tournaments, a joust.

Eager to join up, we quickly made our way to the throne room where Davozan was once again busy with the final preparations. Upon hearing our interest, he merely chuckled and asked what had taken us so long. He also assured us that any required equipment would also be provided for us.

Allistan was the first of us to sign up, choosing for the melee and the joust. Naturally Liliana followed, entering the melee and surprisingly, the archery contest as well. I had thought that she would also join the joust along with her brother, but she simply said it didn’t hold any interest to her. Meanwhile Luke was eager to test himself in the battle of wits. Whereas Hayley and Dadroz, both feeling they had nothing to prove, declined the invitations. As for me, I simple signed up for both the archery contest and the joust.

That would have to wait for tomorrow however. For now, we still had one last day free remaining. And while most opted to explore Nimmerburg’s vibrant streets, I couldn’t ignore the lure of the royal library. As too many threads remained unpulled.
And I wasn’t alone in this. Both Hayley and Luke shared my curiosity, so we broke off from the group and headed for the archives.

The place was impressive. Vast, well-organized and filled with texts on almost every subject imaginable. Most, however, were written from Neverhold’s point of view. Even so, I managed to learn a few things about Vincent.

According to the records, Vincent first appeared about twenty years before the Leper’s Revolt in Keralon. In an effort to strengthen ties between the realms, the High King had sent an elven mage named Gordival to serve as a teacher and advisor in Keralon. But before he arrived, he was murdered by Vincent. Who from then on was known as a traitor and pariah.

That act sparked the revolt, led by Vincent himself, who later wore a mask allegedly to conceal terrible injuries. The very mask of which a piece I now carried.

After the revolt was crushed, Vincent seemed to disappear from history. Oddly, early records referred to him as human. Only later, after he began wearing the mask, was he described as an elf. And given what I knew about the mask’s powers, I shouldn’t have been so surprised by this.

Around noon, we had an unexpected visitor.

The woman in the doe mask slipped silently into the room from a hidden door. I greeted her with a slight bow, which she acknowledged with a polite nod.

She had come to warn us. A powerful secret cabal back in Keralon had labelled us as a threat. So we were to be silenced. Either by having us run out of the city or killed. As our growing fame had made some very powerful people nervous. And like most in power, they feared nothing more than losing their grip on it, especially to a bunch of young upstarts.

We asked her how she knew all this. And her answer stunned us, for she was one of them. Though she had opposed the decision, she had been outvoted. Still, she chose to warn us in secret and urged us to leave Keralon and start over somewhere else.

We pressed her for names, but she claimed not to know them. Members of the cabal wore animal masks at all times. Which included her companion Wolf. Who had already secured an invitation to the High King’s feast. She did reveal however that he was a spellcaster of some skill. As he was the one who had cast magic to bring them to Nimmerburg. And most likely already had plans in motion.

Before leaving us, she issued one final warning. Luke should abandon his research into the Elemental Hearts. For they were far more dangerous than he realized. But guessing from the look he had in his eyes, her warning had the opposite effect.

Later that afternoon, we regrouped with the others. Who had uncovered some secrets of their own.

As they explored the city, they found that the further they got from its centre, the less Keralon’s influence could be felt. The outer districts had a distinct more Fey-like feel to them wild and shifting. It raised the question: was the material plane bleeding into the Feywild? Or was it simply the High King’s obsession which caused the realm to solidify?

Which seemed likely as Hayley's research hadh revealed that the High King’s obsession had been around far longer than we thought. It was he in fact who first approached Keralon after the Emergence, offering peace and alliance. Which led to Gordival’s death and, eventually, the Leper’s Revolt.

Another possibility were the strange border stones that the others had come across at the edge of the city. Similar to the menhirs we’d earlier found around Keralon and the Lorewood. But these were different. Instead of keeping things out, they were modified to expand Neverhold’s energies outward. Perhaps even drawing power from the city’s heart in the process.

Maybe all of these things were connected. Or maybe the real answer was still hidden.

Luke had also continued his research. The Elemental Hearts had once belonged to four towers that worked together to shield Keralon from the Fey. Yet over time, political pressures caused the towers to fall into obscurity.

I then returned once more to my own research. This time joined by both Hayley and Liliana. And it was a good thing they were with me. For once again, we were interrupted.

The hidden door creaked open once more. I looked up from the book I was reading only to see a massive, shadowy hound stalking toward us. Another quickly followed in its steps. Liliana sprang forward, just as a crossbow bolt tore through the silence. Barely missing her.

A cloaked man stepped from the gloom, weapon raised. Though they had lost the element of surprise. As Hayley’s devastating spells, along with Liliana’s blade, made quick work of the beasts.

I turned to the would-be assassin and ordered him to surrender. Only for him to collapse while foaming at the mouth. Thinking quickly, Hayley teleported him to Liliana, who had no trouble purging the poison.

With our captive now thoroughly secured, we proceeded to revive him so we may ask him some pointed questions. Sadly he was not really forthcoming with any answers. Forcing Hayley to draw the memory directly from his mind.

What she found was disturbing to say the least. He and five others had been hired by Wolf to kill us. But what made it even worse, was that he was one of our own: a knight of Keralon and member of the Moonshadow Circle, the same order as Dadroz.

The thought that any knight would take on a contract against his peers was hard to stomach. But if the cabal was truly as powerful as we were told, handing down such orders would be well within their power. Still part of me remained hopeful that this particular contract was not fully sanctioned.

Because the attack had taken place within King Ulther’s castle, the matter of justice fell to him. So we turned the assassin over to the guards and returned to our research.

I shifted focus from Vincent to his companions: Reeva and Sylvesse. Sadly, I found little about the latter and nothing on the former. And what I did find only deepened the mystery.

Sylvesse was only mentioned in a few old texts as a "Moonshadow". A silver-maned black horse who had once received a boon from the queen of the Immerglade. At first, I thought I had found the wrong Sylvesse. But later references described him as a deer, which matched what I knew. And considering Vincent’s own transformation, it was likely him. My old mentor and friend.

And so I stood. With questions answered, only for more to rise in their place.

Continue reading...

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A day in the library
30th of Gobu 126 Era of the Tree

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A key challenge
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A day in the library

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