The Schön had carried their party well enough west, turning what might have been a journey of many weeks into a matter of days.
Lisbeth wanted to see Anglia. He did, too. But hundreds of miles across open country was not something they had time to risk. There was little in Anglia that might've lifted his spirits, anyhow. Not even the sight of a dozen archery tournaments.
The eastern coast of Solleria was quick to give the party its greeting, as mist billowed through the azure sails of the carrack. The air clung to Wilvamair as he adjusted his stance beside the helmsman, and a hushed silence spread like a plague over the sailors on the deck below. Rhain stood closer to Lisbeth as she fiddled absent-mindedly with some Marayan gadget, left hand leant against his cane, and right hand set firmly over his sword's pommel. The glow from his goggles shone out over Kaija, who did her best to maintain an easy grin with the sailors she was helping, though even she had the jitters.
Above the ship, Eletha and Necalli flew slow, concentric circles. He was glad he had not heard the screaming whistle of Necalli's arrows so far on their voyage. The sole Solvaan of their troupe, Neira, stood towards the bow, facing the haze that awaited them. She would be the first to see the sun that would soon set over Solleria. Talaneia and Lyyra stood a little ways off, staring at a map and muttering harshly to one another. They were too far for him to hear what they spoke of.
The helmsman had little to say to him, and there was little Wilvamair wished to say in return. He was the opposite of what one might have expected from the captain of a ship- tall and thin, with a well-groomed and close-cropped beard. A burgundy waistcoat adorned him, with holes near the upper chest where he could only guess there had once been ribbons and medals stitched proudly upon it. The man's silence and disdain for typical sailor banter made all the more sense as the sun began to set, and the penultimate leg of their journey had completed.
The port city was as he had remembered it- a far cry from a wooden run-down town that one might have expected elsewhere in the Archipelago. Domed towers and white granite walls trailed their way up the central point of the Solvaan bastion, while the streets near the docks dressed themselves in cloth of silver and turquoise, and storm-haired Solvaan weaved their way between the buildings. He wished they had more time to explore the city. Drink Sollerian brandy. Watch the mist wardens at training. Perhaps one day.
Rhain, as ever, was the first to set to work. He and Lisbeth departed quietly towards the markets, in search of supplies. Neira and Kaija followed soon after, seeking out the nearest mist warden chapterhouse to explain the sudden arrival of so many Aelrrigans into the city at once. This was once Avael's province. At least some of them might have been aware of what happened to him, she reasoned.
Eletha sat in silence off to the side, while the rest of them plotted a course. Nobody blamed her for that.
He murmured idly to himself, as he looked over the map. "Fifteen miles until we reach Eimarse. Long walk."
Lyyra cleared her throat as he spoke. He could hear the rustle of Talaneia's armor as she elbowed her in reply. Eventually, she decided to speak up.
"Twelve, Sera Arnyn. Your map is wrong."
"How are you so sure? You've only had a look at it."
"I'm sure. My map is updated." said Lyyra, in reply. Wilvamair took a long few moments to stare over the details of the map. The scale looked right, but as he looked closer the errors made themselves clear. Distorted features near the edges, and geography around the city that he could see was clearly wrong. He conceded the point, folding the map and setting it away.
"You got all that from one look?"
"Yes, Sera Arnyn. I am a scholar."
He made an internal note that she would be handling any map handling from then on, offering a thankful nod. She stepped back beside Talaneia, as Eletha chose this moment to speak up.
"I will be able to guide you to where they found him, once we reach Eimarse."
Necalli spoke up in turn, evidently finished with the inspection of his bow strings and equipment.
"If we narrow down the location of their hideout, I'd like to help with tracking."
"You and I will find their tracks, Necalli. And find you a nice tall tree to shoot from." said Wilvamair in reply, looking down over the map and drawing a path from the port city to their destination. Soon enough, a course was set.
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
The sun had long since set as the two came to the market. Rhain's cane tapped along the chiseled stone, the sound of Lisbeth's Marayan gadget fading as the squire set it away.
"You know what supplies we need, I trust." said Rhain, pausing in his stop as they crossed the threshold into the market.
"I spoke with Talaneia. I know what stuff we need." replied Lisbeth, as she moved toward a nearby food stall. Rhain's eyes narrowed beneath his goggles as his head turned left to right. The occult present in the market revealed themselves, bodies shimmering vibrant light in the usual darkness of his vision. Three mages to his left in a corner muttered amongst themselves as Lisbeth inspected some of the hard bread on offer, as the shimmering form of the Solvaan shopkeeper watched her intently. They took a step away towards the corner of another stall as she neared, muttering amongst themselves. Some Nelfin tongue he couldn't understand.
She seemed to find what was needed after a few moments, stuffing whatever she'd found into a sack and negotiating price with the Solvaan in d'Ithanie.
"I don't understand." she began, tying the sack at the top and setting it over a shoulder. "Are we killin' them, if we find them?"
"No. That is not our way." Rhain replied, as the two stepped towards the next stall. A stall for dried and preserved goods, he could only assume from the smell.
Lisbeth picked something up, and promptly put it back down. The shopkeeper of this stall was mundane- no silhouette. "..What if it's their way, Sera? What if we can't restrain them?" she murmured, figure turning towards him. It was a question Rhain had expected, in truth. There was an inherent disadvantage in the favor of the murderers: they were willing to kill, and the Aelrrigans were not.
"We will find a way. But we will defend ourselves if we must." he replied, after a moment of thought.
"..I didn't really know him." she admitted, after more discussion of price with the merchant. This time it was in Common, and he heard a word or two. Reasonable prices, from what he could gather.
"He was a good man. Honorable. You would have learned much from him." replied Rhain curtly, as the two stepped off in some idle direction in the market, with all the essentials now purchased.
He did not wish to say too much about the man to Lisbeth. Thoughts of the dead were not something a Squire should have to endure.
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Neira and Kaija's search for the nearest mist warden chapterhouse proved fruitful, at their sighting of an azure-domed building on a higher level of the city. Greenery sprouted between the silvered stones that paved the courtyard outside of the guardhouse, as silver-clad men and women trained and stood watch. Children played idly amongst the garden, childhood memories returning to Neira as she watched, and the two approached the richly carved entrance, doors cast open in welcoming of strangers, as was the mist warden's custom. A warden or two passed idle greeting and smile to the two as they passed, recognising Neira's gait as one who had served amongst them, and recognising Kaija's armor as the look of an Aelrrigan's. Such was the efficiency of the mist wardens (or perhaps the intelligence agents who had witnessed their party's arrival to the city, and sent word long before they ascended the steps) that there was little need for Neira to send for a commanding officer, with a helmeted figure clad in a dull brass-plated garb striding for the two after a minute or two of waiting in the grand central hall of the chapterhouse. Kaija barely had time to glance up and observe the rippling thunderstorm that seemed to be contained in the ceiling of the building before the brass-clad Solvaan cleared his throat beneath his helmet, and set his hands on his belt. Neira was the first to speak.
"..We have come to investigate a murder, Warden of Solmarse. They were an Aelrrigan. Were you familiar with the Count of Eimarse?" she spoke, holding a steady, but respectful gaze with the commander. It was only now as he approached in full that she realized the man's stature- easily towering over her and Kaija. He might have even rivaled Signe in height.
Such a height was contrasted by the response that followed to his words, as the man's head bowed and shoulders slumped forwards. Even beneath the helmet, she could see his sorrow. It was only after a few moments of contemplation that he decided to speak, his accent thick with Solvaan influence.
"Avael Froz'vann Daalsein Eimaraic Bel-Solmarse was known to us. He was my friend when we served, centuries ago. Our paths diverged. Our bond did not."
In truth, Neira knew little about the man. It was all she could do to give a respectful dip of her head, and his silence revealed an implicit desire from the man for any new information she could offer. Kaija fiddled idly with her gloves, as Neira went to reply.
"That bond was shared between many of our Aelrrigans. We have come to seek justice for him. He was slain near Eimarse, as you know."
"All too well. I had foreseen that the Aelrrigans would deign to send someone to investigate his death. It was by Aelrrigan charge that he was returned to these lands, after all." the man replied, gesturing them further into the halls with a wave of a gauntleted hand. Kaija was the first to follow, gaze tracking wildly along the architecture of the building- Nelfin designs that she'd never seen, from her life in Nordskag.
"He was sent to Eimarse to investigate reports of cultist types spreading their malady in the wilderness." He explained as they came to a stop beside a balcony overlooking a waterfall, shielded from the spray by a shimmering silver barrier. "Powerful magics were employed to keep the mist beasts away, whilst they hid in the cave systems."
"We believe it is those same cultists who had a hand in Count Avael's death, Warden." Neira replied, setting either of her hands over the railing. Kaija mimicked the action, one hand lifting to press against the silver barrier, which promptly bounced off. The Warden eyed the motion with a bemused turn of his head, before replying.
"Your Order and ours are of the same mind, then. Your compatriots at the dock and the market will require the assistance of the wardens to navigate the mists. This you must know, as a reservist."
Was it so obvious that she had served amongst the wardens? She suppressed a half-chuckle, raising a brow. "This is why we came. I have served among you. My brother continues to serve."
"Not here, I wager. No matter. It will be good to undertake this venture with another warden. Ailor are a fine people–" he trailed off briefly, glancing momentarily at Kaija before turning his head back to face Neira. "But they know little of our songs. And I wish to sing, this eve."
There was nothing Neira could offer but platitudes. So she said nothing. She offered a respectful bow of her head as the commander stepped off, gesturing an armoured arm for them to follow.
"We eat. Your companions arrive shortly."
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
The evening was a quiet enough affair, by soldierly standards. The Warden sang his tunes and drank his mulled wine with Neira and the other Solvaan, while the rest sat in relative silence. The language may have been unintelligible for many of the Aelrrigans, but the tone was unmistakable- for grief is universally understood. The food was something light- something taken and unnoticed by most of the group, with the last leg of the journey heavy on everyone's mind.
Moonlight would guide them, as the Warden set them on their course. The brass plate of his armour mixed with the silver gleam of the light, the singing and drinking man that Wilvamair had seen hours previously all but evaporated under the moon as he took his place at the head of the column, alongside Neira. Both of their horses were white, but the Warden's, naturally, was the largest horse among their group, adorned with Laqoria armour and silver cloth. Necalli and Eletha flew overhead, as ever. Lisbeth and Rhain rode atop the same mare, for the Warden deemed it preposterous that a squire be given their own mount. The quiet brown creature that bore them strode past, as the two took up the middle.
Kaija, Talaneia, and Lyyra followed. Kaija looked plenty at home atop a horse, muttering quietly to the cream-coloured beast as she cantered past. Lyrra was utterly enthralled with the gelding that was given to her, sitting cross-legged atop it in some strange display of Teledden grace (or magic), muttering the words of the book in her lap quietly to them. Talaneia was silent as ever, riding atop a black stallion that almost matched the Warden's horse for size. The final animal was for him. A quiet, grey colt with hazel eyes. This horse, unlike the others, didn't even bother with looking at him. Better that way. Wilvamair swallowed his unease, and mounted his horse as the last among the group. He found his place at the back of the column.
"The flying woman. She does not walk like the rest of you. Who is she?" asked the Warden, as his helmet upturned to watch the winged shadows in the night sky.
"It is Sera Avael's widow, Warden. She came with us in search of answers." replied Rhain, just in time for Wilvamair's colt to stumble over a stone. He suppressed a yelp as the Warden considered Rhain's words.
"Answers, or vengeance? We aim to deliver justice, here. Even if he was my friend." he replied. Rhain was quick to give an affirming nod as he increased in speed to reach the head of the party, alongside the Warden.
"Both, I fear. We will be there to ensure she doesn't make a mistake." Rhain replied, after a moment of thought. Wilvamair could tell by his tone that he'd been waiting for that question from the Solvaan. The Warden moved as if to reply before holding up a hand, in a typical war-time gesture for the column to halt.
"We are still ten miles from Eimarse. Elysians stalk this area. Call your flying friends down." the Warden spoke, glancing over his shoulder. Lisbeth was quick to act, giving a shrill whistle for the two to descend. Necalli found his place on Kaija's horse. Eletha walked.
Necalli was the first to approach the spot that Eletha and the Warden had guided them to- the edge of a vast expanse of mist and ankle-deep black water. The forest behind him had receded away from the banks. Perhaps they knew what had happened here, as well. He moved to a kneel amongst the pale-blue grass, eyes narrowed. There were signs of animal activity; droppings, flattened grass, and chewed ground . But nothing to suggest an armored man had once laid there. Wilvamair followed behind Eletha, moving to a knee and looking over the ground. He quickly came to the same conclusion. He swept a gauntlet across the ground in a circular motion, and Necalli did the same. They'd planned for this.
Dragon magic could be felt in the air by Lyyra and Rhain as the ground began to shake, and loose dirt particles began to float in the air. Time unwound as dead grass regrew, flattened earth was restored, and the print of hoof and boot began to reveal themselves in the ground.
They both pulled to a stand as their combined magic completed its work, and Necalli's keener eyes picked up the trail.
Three sets of footprints, one of the pairs having a heavier indent on the right side. Necalli reasoned they'd sustained an injury, and were being taken by the other two back to their camp. The rest followed behind the two Archon, though it became immediately clear why the cultists had chosen this place to drop off the body. The party made it perhaps two miles into the forest before the air grew thick with miasma, and the trees parted toward a great hollowed-out hill beneath a mutated tree. Veins of mutated gold metal crept up the beige trunk, a sight that caused even the stalwart Warden to release a breath of disgust. The breath echoed through the clearing, sound amplified by the magic of the miasma. Before long, more than two dozen robed figures emerged from the mound of earth. There would be no time to plan an attack as Rhain and the Warden would have liked, the murderers emerging so quickly that Necalli could only conclude they had been watching for some time.
The party were quick to dismount, the Warden muttering a word in Altalar that each of the war-horses understood, scuttling off to safer areas of the forest. Neira and Talaneia were the first to step forwards to match the cultists, shields drawn and interlocked. Rhain followed, moving beside them with his own shield as the pink glow of his gaze lit a path through the thickening magical fog. Kaija muttered something in Skodje before pacing forwards and drawing her sword behind the line. Necalli did the opposite, stepping back with Eletha to find a perch. The tree they chose was sturdy and tall; he couldn't have asked for a better shooting position.
The miasma thickened at an increasing rate, with Lyyra's radiant magic working overtime to produce a dome of light that held it back. Wilvamair stepped beside her, drawing his sword and tapping the amulet on his belt, a silver light of his own enveloping him. The Warden was the last to act, watching them all prepare themselves before making his way to the front, stepping to the side of the shieldwall and presenting himself in front of it. He drew his sword with typical mistwarden flair, before shouting something in Altalar toward the cultists. They were quick to oblige, as the miasma began to take shape into dozens of hideous demonic creatures clad in copper scales, a mix of serpent and human. Talaneia was swift in noticing that the creatures were forming ranks, with the largest amongst them shoving its way through their numbers to stand in matching to the Warden. The charge that followed soon after was deafening, with each of the demons releasing a screech as they began to bound over the deadened ground.
The Warden was the first to act, vanishing in a trial of teal light, only to manifest in front of the commander of the demons. Volcanic red scythe clashed with silvered steel as the two began their melee, and the rest of the Aelrrigans charged after. An arrow from Necalli screeched through the air, impaling itself in the chest of a demon that threatened to flank the Warden before the others could arrive. Neira was the second to act as the rest of the Aelrrigan closed ranks near the Warden, aiming a scale-shattering bash with her shield for the nearest serpent demon that threatened the Warden's flank, which allowed Kaija to step in and finish the creature off with a thrust. Talaneia took to using her shield as a weapon as she stood beside Lyyra, blocking sprays of venom and the flinging of claws in one moment, before using the rim of her shield as a bludgeon to crush the windpipe of a demon in the next.
Talaneia being occupied, however, allowed one of the quieter demons to slip past the frontline, moving for the side. A black bolt of lightning streaked for Lyyra's head, a spell that would have almost certainly have skewered her, were it not for Rhain's hasty interference. The son of Caan pushed back towards Lyyra, sliding along the ground, his shield making it just in time to dissipate the spell against it as he moved to a knee. He replied to the demon in turn, intent-lines glowing along his armor as his sword changed to a spear, and he cast it like a javelin towards the soon-to-be impaled demon. The pink armament reappeared in his hands as he turned back towards the fray, cutting through whatever he could with the assistance of Kaija.
Necalli worked to provide assistance to the Warden, firing arrow after arrow towards the weak points of the demon commander as it roared in protest. Eletha did the opposite, exacting as much vengeance as she could on the minor demons.
Off to the side, Wilvamair and Lisbeth were engaged in a sidequest of their own. A formation of armed cultists had taken to the side while their compatriots focused on controlling the demons and the miasma, pelting down arrows and javelins upon the barrier that Lyyra maintained. The flap of silver wings was all that was heard from the first group of cultists as Wilvamair descended, striking the first in the side of the head with his pommel, before forcing the second one back into a tree and into unconsciousness with a telekinetic blast from his hand that shook the bushes and made the ground rumble. Lisbeth was quick to follow, her own metal wings deflecting the arrows coming their way as Wilvamair stood behind her. All at once the wings swept to the side, and the two's replies came in the form of thrusts from Wilvamair's sword, and the lashing out of metal feathers from Lisbeth's wings.
As the two worked through dismantling the demons' support, the situation in the field was worsening. Talaneia was forced to the ground by the clawed kick of one of the more humanoid demons, a blow that would have almost certainly killed her were it not for the particularly thick armour that she wore. Neira was quick to reinforce and fell the creature with a slash of her wind-blade for its neck, but the strike had done its damage. The Warden was slowly losing his duel with the axe-demon despite Necalli's best efforts, the golden armour of the Solvaan now tattered and dented from half a dozen blows that managed to land. The demon had certainly been slowed by Necalli's monstrous arrows, but the magics of the cultists were fierce. The Keeper Archon adjusted his strategy, after a moment of thought. His first act came with the firing of a warning shot, at the feet of one of the summoning cultists. The robed figure gave no reply, its feet locked to the ground by the entanglement of red vines. The second arrow aimed much higher, striking out for the caster's hand. Eletha watched the motion, narrowing her eyes as she adjusted her aim with a far more lethal target in mind. Necalli watched as she debated, her aim tilting up and down as she decided between targets. In the end, justice won over vengeance as she mimicked Necalli's motion, and began to shoot for limbs, instead of chests and heads.
The effects were immediate, with the largest demon falling to a kneel as its tether to the world was shattered with the injuring of the summoner. This allowed the Warden and Neira to push forwards, with Neira striking off the creature's axe-arm before it could recover, and the Warden finishing it off with a beheading cleave. The rest of the demons' efforts were doubled as they watched their leader fall, with three of them lurching towards the injured Talaneia. Lyyra's silver bolts made short work of the first, while Kaija spun into the second, cleaving it in half.
The third sailed past Talaneia, driving its claws into Rhain's side while he dealt with another of the creatures. The beast was about to finish him off when Lisbeth chose this moment to rejoin with the main group, striking out for the demon with a precise thrust that stopped it in its tracks, the Laqoria blade in her hands now stained with demon blood.
Wilvamair soon followed, throwing a commandeered cultist axe for the back of a creature that Kaija had engaged in a duel. With the demons dead and most of the cultists either incapacitated, exhausted, or wounded by Necalli, the outcome was clear. Lisbeth set to work exorcizing the area as Wilvamair and Lyyra tended to Rhain and Talaneia with magic and alchemy, while the others swept the caverns for any stragglers, and rounded up the surrendered cultists. Hordes of gold and shrines to Avarice were built up haphazardly around the cave, and the motive for Avael's murder became clear. Evidently, they had come for whatever wealth had lay in his estate. The panic had begun to set in among the cultists, but it was panic reserved for the wrath of their patron Arken at their failure, and not panic directed toward the Aelrrigans.
The Warden kneeled near the top of the tree, eyeing it over as its corruption dissipated at the hands of Lisbeth. He turned as Wilvamair approached, sheathing his sword.
"There will be other cultists. More murders. More corrupted land. I wager you cannot stay, however." he spoke.
"We've corruption of our own to root out. I'm sorry. I'll see that the rest of the Aelrrigans know what is happening here." Wilvamair replied, setting a hand against the tree.
"Do not be sorry. Duty is duty. Our friend's killers were found, and now they will be judged. My men will handle that, and… salvage whatever remains of the men these creatures used to be. Be off, Aelrrigan! It is providence to depart under a sunrise."
Wilvamair offered a bow of his head then, turning to stride back down the hill to gather the others. He made it three or four paces before the Warden cleared his throat, and he paused.
"One more thing, Wydd-Knight. It was not duty that brought your friends with you across the sea to a land they've never seen, to bring justice for a man they have never met. Ask yourself what drove them here. Then, once you know, repay their kindness. Live for the living. Not the memory of the dead. "
Wilvamair had never known a Nelfin that was able to refuse the opportunity to give the final, wise word. The Archon turned briefly and bowed his head once more, before stepping off towards the sunrise. High above the trees, a pure-white Elysian with silver irises and blue eye-whites circled the battlefield.
