The Chronicles of Mystria: Times of Sorrow I

[The Inritus Extraho]

Dar'khan smiled, and nodded. "Just wondering, is all. My mind's, ah, what do you call it... multipurpose? Easily distracted?" he said quietly. "But once I get an idea, I don't lose it. Just the next one is completely random." He grinned, a strange gesture for the old man.

[Crystal Spires]

"Good. I fear we will have to traverse these caves, to find the root of this problem. The leaders likely never have to leave, with the amount of men working for them. I propose we take us and your squad of samurai into the caves tomorrow, at first light. A good night of rest would leave us all for the better."

"If you need somewhere to rest, you're all invited to come to my inn." Said Madame Lucine. She was the lady at the tavern who helped Jeremiah. She led them to her tavern inn. She was apparently unaware of the slavers in the first place which is why she was so dedicated to finding the kidnapped people. She didn't realize just how close to home they were. The majority of the villagers seemed to have some sort of vague idea, but Madame Lucine had recently set up shop, and so she was not aware of the slave highway.

"So what will you all do to break up the ring?" She asked with a sense of curiosity and also fear. She had no idea if such a small group of people would be able to take on a huge organization like the Siren's call.

[League of Emberg]

"Bah, We dont get much weather in the Holds of Terradin. Now what may i address ye' as lad? I am Gundral Ironfist." he said taking a drink from his tankard. "I noticed ye' tossed out some Dwarven gold coins if I may ask where did ye' come by them?" he asked inquisitively.

Fisk pondered about his questions. "I'm simply known as Fisk." He replied, deciding against his will to be deceitful and foster another name, instead replying in truth, atleast partially. "And I've seen my fair share of the road as well, much like yourself if I would say so. So what are you, if I may ask, doing here exactly?"

"I came to hunt down and bring to justice a dangerous criminal who apparently is now under the protection of a Knighthood." Gundral growled and took a draw from his tankard "Damn humans think they can do whatever they please I would bet you he wasn't even half my age. I have seen more and done more than that Manling most likely ever will."

[Crystal Spires]

Dar'khan smiled, and nodded. "Just wondering, is all. My mind's, ah, what do you call it... multipurpose? Easily distracted?" he said quietly. "But once I get an idea, I don't lose it. Just the next one is completely random." He grinned, a strange gesture for the old man.

"Oh... well there's more than one seeker. They're both completely different." Jabrill said as he thought about it more carefully. "One of them is a convicted murderer and a smuggler, the other is what you'd expect of a seeker. A devotee to the Gods, and seeking the flower for its own merits." He said as he looked at Dar'khan.

I don't know what kind of distraction this will give him.

"The seeker is just a normal guy, but the curse of Zaiden causes people to become drawn to commit either pure or corrupted acts in their sight which means that they're either driven to help them, or driven to destroy them." Jabrill said as he thought of more common knowledge things that everyone knew about the seeker.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Dar'khan tilted his head, and frowned. "What aren't you telling me, young man?" he said intimidatingly. "Tell me the secret." He frowned, and glared at the foxkin.

[Crystal Spires]

"Secrets ? Secrets me? Samuel.. C'mon... what kind of secrets do you think I have? I mean I could tell you the secrets on how to prepare the best Shaei fruit pie. It's all about the right use of spices to get it not too sweet, yet not too savory." He began to feel nervous and uncomfortable. He didn't like how these questions were going, and he felt threatened. It was like he was in another position where he'd be in serious trouble and he realized stupidly that once again he was separated from the group away from Arvok and Raren.

Crap. Why do I have the tendency to have trouble find me?

[The Inritus Extraho]

Samuel frowned. "First: Faking ignorance is a way to annoy me, young man. Second: respect your elders. Third: Tell me, Seeker." He grinned and nodded.

[Crystal Spires]

"So you know I'm the seeker then... Who are you, and what do you want from me?"

This is bad. How does he know, and is he here to kill me?

Jabrill put his hand on his daggers instinctively, and got into a defensive stance.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Dar'khan stepped backwards anxiously. "Hold on there, youngling." he said quickly. "What could I possibly do? Do I look like I could fight you? You're a half-foot taller than me, and armed, for sakes." He frowned. "I just want to learn about the relics and outsmart my goddamn son."

[Crystal Spires]

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm very jumpy. Sarah was... Sarah was an unbidden who was trying to end my life. She very nearly did, and so I'm a lot more jumpy than I have been. I let myself get too open and now I'm not sure who is trying to help me, and who is trying to kill me. I don't even know anymore." Jabrill said as he let go of his dagger and sighed in relief.

I need to calm down. I'm still shook up about the whole meeting with Maven as well. I can't do anything about it, I can't appeal the sentence with no evidence. Going to find the harp is important, but to go into the Dwarven kingdom is suicide and if I want the others to get it it's going to be a pretty difficult task and I can't ask that of them. Goddamn it Jabrill what are you going to do?

"What do you know about the relics so I can help fill in the blanks?" He asked more relaxed.

[The Inritus Extraho]

"Not really much - I know there's a few of them, and I know that they're supposed to be blessed by the Gods - one for each. Also, I know they are supposedly legendary when brought together." He frowned. "So if you could fill me in..."

[Crystal Spires]

"The Blade of dusk, is an enchanted blade that is capable of destroying even the most cursed abominations, and is also known as the ignorance cutting blade. It is said to have been made by the God Voldok, in order to be able to destroy the cursed unbidden created by lord Zaiden. The spectral harp is a beautiful instrument of song. It was said to be blessed by Goddess Enwe with the power of magic, so whomever would listen to it's enchanted melody would be at the complete control and command of the player. The unholy Grimoire of Lucante is a book of knowledge said to be bound by the God Serion, and it was given the power to answer any of life's deepest questions once the book is asked. The Cowl of Mourning is said to be able to remove all impurities of taint, corruption, and stains of evil upon the wearer, it was kissed by Goddess Nenya. The Locket of Eventide is a jeweled amulet designed by Goddess Lirea that gives the wearer the power to transverse matter. With the locket one could pass through solid stone, and turn water into frozen ice. It grants command over states of matter and responds to the emotions of those who touch it. The rod of judgment is a jeweled staff that has a blade hidden within it. The rod is said to possess the power to determine the truth from a liar. It is said that by holding the blade over the head of someone as they speak will change the color of the blade's glow if it is a true statement or a lie. It is said to be able to determine the truth even if the person themselves do not know it to be true. Then there is the flower of Zaiden. The flower of Zaiden removes the Zeygon curse. I heard that it also opens a pathway to the Gods, and maybe also resurrects Zaiden. I don't know for sure, nobody does, because no one has ever done it before. For some reason when seekers of the past died the relics seemed to completely vanish, and their whereabouts become unknown."

[The Inritus Extraho]

Dar'khan nodded at this list. "Do you know anything more about them? You're a seeker, have you seen any of them?"

[Crystal Spires]

"You mean have I been succeeding? I can say to a certain degree that I have, but I also haven't." Jabrill said with a sigh. "The other seeker has found more than I have. The ones I have and stuff like that is a secret and must be kept secret for everyone's safety. It's kept strictly on a need to know basis. I'm sure you can understand. There's a lot riding on me, and people are depending on me to find the relics and if I don't or if I die and they disappear they'll have no idea how close or how far I was. It's less discouraging that way."

Well I'm not feigning ignorance this time. Have to tell him the truth.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Dar'khan frowned and nodded. "I suppose. But could you tell me if you've found any? Just to prove my son wrong, you see... he says no-one will find any of them. If you had one, I could tell him.... Hoo boy, that would be nice."

[Crystal Spires]

"I have found some. Also the Elemental Stones." Jabrill said with a little bit of pride.

It was a hard way but I managed to get them both. The Duskblade was found by my efforts but I couldn't wield it. Mari was better suited to wielding it and now she's using it for good out there somewhere. I hope she's alright. Knowing her, she's probably raising hell and making a name for herself. It'd be nice to see her again. he thought

"The relics are really tough to find, but once you find them the fight isn't over. Some people come and try to take them from you either by force or deception. This makes it really difficult to keep them in your hands."

[The Inritus Extraho]

"What are the Elemental Stones?" he muttered, and then repeated the question, louder. "What are the Elemental Stones?" Dar'khan smiled endearingly, exactly as how a grandparent looks at a child. "COuld you please describe them, too? I need as much as I can... my son, he's very perceptive, you see."

[Crystal Spires]

Jabrill took out the Elemental Stones from his satchel.

"They look like this really. I don't know what they do. They sort of activate at random and they don't seem to have much purpose. But I know they're important somehow so I always keep them close. I won't let anyone have them, not even any of my trusted companions. I keep 'em on me at all times. I have a feeling that there's something important to them, but I'm not sure yet." Jabrill said as he put them back in his satchel.

[The Inritus Extraho]

"Do you mind showing them to my son? It would mean the world to me - and you'd be a hero to him." Dar'khan smiled, and pointed down one of the roads. "He went that way a couple hours ago... we could catch up to him soon."

[Crystal Spires]

"Sure, what's his name and how old is he? If he's a kid I want to make a good first impression so I want to think of all the great way to embellish the story right." Jabrill laughed as he thought cheerfully what kind of story he'd want to tell Samuel's son. It'd be great fun, and he'd be able to have a lot of leeway the younger the boy is.

"I hope you don't mean a couple hours away though, my companions probably want me to stay close as possible and I'm already going to get a firm thrashing for having wandered off in the first place. I wasn't supposed to leave the High Council Chambers, but things got heavy and I needed a breather. Things about life and death depress me but nothing depresses me more than politics. Well that and things involving my execution. I tend to be biased against those." Jabrill said with a chuckle.

[Almonde Tise]

Maven looked at Maddy with a softened gaze and approached with a completely different demeanor. His calculating cold gaze was gone leaving a warm proud expression.

"Eylis would be pleased to see his Maddy become such a magnificent young woman. I am so very proud myself to welcome a new judge into the high council. Let us perform a test of your true skill and knowledge of the law. Now, it is the job of the High Chancellor to promote the good and welfare of his people. It is well known that there is a war in the north narrowly made into a stalemate . To the west come free roaming barbarians who try to enslave and murder his people. His country needs allies and Lo and behold a dwarven prince comes to him declaring his need to extradite a man known to be a murderer and smuggler. The chancellor can either give the smuggler to the prince or risk war on another front. What would you propose is the best course of judgment?" Maven asked with his same gentle regard of Maddy.

Maddy was seriously trying to think out the scenario that Maven had given her. On the whole decision that would possibly be the best outcome but she knew that what she thought would be the best scenario to go with would probably not be taken since there was four haughty men who thought they would be the best able decision makers. The first thing that came to her mind was the fact that the Council had exiled Jabrill the Red Hand from Caltris thus he was not under the imprisonment of the Council so the Council could not hand over Jabrill because they did not have him. "There that solves one issue. No more conflicts should arise because of this small detail." Then she thought about what the penalties were to violate that exile. "He should actually be executed or worse by the laws. So this would give Caltris the right to capture Jabrill but then again the excuse of not having enough gaurds on hand because of the three wars holds well. Thus Caltris cannot fulfill the request because of a lack of beastpower."

She thought some more on the subject a bit later after taking a break from the material. "Then there is this Prince of a dwarf here all by his lonesomeness. What idiot of royalty travels without an extra guard or such? Perhaps he is currently an exile as well and just under different terms. Ha! that's it the Prince must have done something in order to setup himself with such an endless catch-22 quest. So in a way to truly honor the intentions of both governments Caltris should do nothing."

"But, what will I do? hmm...I cannot stand by and just watch probably the only chance at rebuilding the Foxkin...in that way...of duty." Maddy had been struggling with the idea of having to elope with probably one of the dumbest Foxkins she knew. If only she would be able to have mated with the gray fox captain. She couldn't though because her friend was currently bound to him. "Damn! Bound to him? Truly Lord Fornt is playing games almost as if Fornt were truly Zaiden. I must though do this for the sake of my clan, my species, and its preservation of status. Is this what is called justice? What have I done wrong to deserve this? Maddy started to feel a bit strange as an awkward feeling came over her. Well this might be an odd time for this. Here we are about to hit the road on another journey and it is that time. I'm not ready for this. Jabrill will definite come and join me soon if I don't try to prevent it. Maddy went off to a store down the road and bought pheromone concealers but they only had enough for three days and she would need enough for seven to make sure.

[Democratic Eurasia]

Arvok had strolled out of the building with the group, he wanted to get people back together, see what Maddy wanted to do with regards to joining them or not and then get moving towards the Dwarven lands for the Harp. He sighed and streched and spotted Jabrill talking to a odd-looking old man. He seemed to have the elemental stones in his hand.
"Jabrill! Jabrill! Over here, please! Quickly! Put the stones aways, I need to speak with you!" he spoke urgently but kept a note of panic from his voice.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Dar'khan spun, and nodded slowly at the newcomer. "Hello there!" he said excitedly. "You seem quite anxious for him to put those away." He turned back to Jabrill, talking sadly. "I guess I won't be able to bring you to my son, then... he seems quite angry."

[Kalron]

Raren followed Arvok, unsure of where or what exactly was going on, having been left out of the situation much, except for hearing about how some guards had followed the knights of Serion in practice and had become corrupt, obviously they would never be punished in this mad house of a state, but Raren detested Maven so he was sure he would raise their wages for committing evil. Raren looked at the man standing near Jabrill and then the man spoke. Raren spoke smoothly "Hello…I am Raren knight of the flame" then he walked over to Jabrill and stood near him.

[Crystal Spires]

"Ah Arvok, Raren, this is Samuel. He helped me clear up some unbidden when they attacked the council building the other day. He's one of the good guys. I was just talking to him about his son who wants to know more about the legends of the relics and the flower of Zaiden. A lot of people ask me about that because I'm the seeker. So I figured I'd clear things up for him. Your conversation with Maven Auryn was depressing me so I needed fresh air. I think you can understand why..." Jabrill said as he tried to cover his frustration.

"I know why it has to be done, but you know sometimes I wish things were easier." He said as he cracked his fingers. "So how long do I likely have until we go to Terradin?"