by Sarah Lin
Bloodwraith realized belatedly that Meara must be on the other end of the quest box, wondering if he was alive. He quickly directed his will to refuse the quest, hoping that she would understand. There was a long pause, then another box appeared.
[Potential Objective: Reach the Forest of Beginnings.
Return to Cresthaven and enter the Forest of Beginnings.
Reward: EXP
Accept? Y/N]
This one Bloodwraith immediately accepted. He waited for more boxes, hoping that Meara could manipulate the system further, but it seemed that she could only nudge the boxes in this way. Odd that she had used quest notifications... did that mean that Izzy wasn't with them?
Delaying would accomplish nothing, so Bloodwraith went back to walking. Though he was glad to have confirmation that Meara was safe and to confirm their united objective, the implication that she was in Edsdam troubled him. Given how hastily he had been reaching into the Fast Travel system, it wasn't insane to believe that he had accidentally sent them there.
But the problem was that Edsdam was days of travel away from Cresthaven. Unfortunately, that meant he had no choice but to wait to attempt any kind of assault on the Forest of Beginnings. How long would that delay them? Was it possible that the delay would allow either Alan or Belkarin to win the battle and gain control? Neither option inspired much confidence in him.
Something whispered overhead and on instinct Bloodwraith sought cover beneath a tree.
When he looked out, he saw what his instincts had warned him of: there was a dragon flying overhead. It could only be the same one that the Aesidh had been riding, though it was impossible to see Belkarin himself from that angle. The peasants did see the dragon, beginning to run and scream. Not in abject terror, however, more panic: as if they had seen the dragon before.
In any case, the dragon seemed uninterested in terrorizing them, it simply flew overhead in a lazy arc. Bloodwraith pulled a shabby cloak from his inventory and put it on to hide himself. Then he kept walking to Cresthaven while keeping an eye on the dragon.
It flew in the direction of the mountain pass, but a blue shockwave expanded from it. The dragon arced away and began flying in the other direction, sending the peasants scrambling again. Bloodwraith decided to run along with them, since it would look suspicious if he didn't, and just kept an eye on the dragon's flight path.
What did that mean about the outcome of the battle? It had taken him some time to arrive, but he didn't think it could have resolved so quickly.
Then again, Alan didn't fight like anyone from this world. Perhaps he had summoned the Tuner entity, which had simply denied anyone the right to advance. At least it seemed to be preventing Belkarin from attacking the Forest of Beginnings.
That meant that both sides were sitting back and preparing, however. Though most likely that meant both would have nasty tricks prepared, at least neither of them had seized control yet. If so, then his allies would have an opportunity to regroup as well. Simply regrouping would not be enough, however... they needed to enter this fight with tricks of their own.
Overhead, Bloodwraith saw something flying toward the dragon and couldn't help but look. There were two shardwings, which made large loops in the air in order to shift direction and fly alongside the dragon. While they were looping, he got a good look at them and saw that both held riders.
Damn, then Belkarin had brought backup. That could be a serious problem, but Bloodwraith found himself instead wondering about Alan. If he could contact Earth, what kind of terrible backup could the Earthians send? Or was it possible that the Mirror Court had blocked him from sending anything? It seemed unlikely that they were willing to go to war with Earth, so they must have some scheme in mind.
Unfortunately, all of that was occurring far from him while he trudged along on the dirt. Bloodwraith suppressed the desire to attack the Aesidh flying overhead and instead focused on running back to Cresthaven.
He was surprised just how much progress he made. Not only had his Stamina increased greatly since the last time he had been in the area, it seemed to decline slower than before. His armor felt light and he realized that all of the enchantments on his equipment had been restored. The effect of Meara's last potion had worn off and he considered drinking another, but decided against it since his supply was now finite without her.
Though it still took him hours to arrive at the city, he made the trip in good time. The walls looked much the same, but the gate had been heavily reinforced since the last time he visited, plus there were ballistas on the walls. They might not do much good against the dragon, but the city was obviously trying to cope.
If they had increased security, that might be a problem for him. Bloodwraith began to consider his options as he approached the entrance gate. Sneaking past the guards was likely impossible and he didn't want to start a conflict by fighting them. In his old body he would have been able to cast a spell to make them go to sleep, but that was no longer an option. As he drew close, he decided that he would have to hope their security would still allow-
"Raigar?" One of the guards saw him and his jaw dropped in astonishment. "Raigar the Valorous, the Blade of Rage?"
Oh, right. Bloodwraith was glad that his helm disguised the anger in his features and forced himself simply to nod to the guards. Several others were approaching, not to block him from entering the city but to welcome him.
"Raigar, have you returned to save us from the terrible dragon?"
Damn, back to this. Raigar sighed and straightened his shoulders. "Yes. Yes, I have."
Chapter 27
When Meara felt the confirmation of Bloodwraith accepting a new quest, she breathed a sigh of relief. Trying to manipulate the boxes in that way had felt so strange and imprecise, she had been worried that it might not communicate. But he had rejected the first quest and accepted the second, which was clear enough for them to have a destination.
The others watched her closely, seeing her relief but still curious. Meara gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, he's fine. He suggested that we meet at either Cresthaven or the Forest of Beginnings, so he must be in that region."
"Oh, good." Danniah heaved a huge sigh, but then glanced at them nervously. "Well, it's not good that he's all the way over there. But it's good that he's safe and that he knows more."
As Danniah eased back onto the bed, she did her best to hide a wince, but wasn't entirely successful. Based on Meara's feel for the boxes, it seemed that Danniah was mostly resisting the poison in her veins, but her Health was slowly decreasing. They could keep her alive with Health Potions, and Meara's glitched potions could charge her up enough to fight, but the whole process was taking a serious toll on her.
Meanwhile, Gharavi stayed by the window of their small room, looking out. She kept her face serious, though Meara had noticed the slight smile when she heard Bloodwraith was alright. It was gone now as she turned back to them. "There's no sign of our opponent, but I worry that it's because she's not trying to hide from us, just operating freely."
"Then we need information fast." Meara pulled up her hood and moved toward the door. "That's definitely my job. I'll find out anything I can about our opponent, plus potentially more about the poison she used on Danniah. Anything else?"
"Find out where the best enchanters and craftsmen are in the city." Gharavi sat down on the bed and began to work with some of the components she'd gathered. "If we're delayed here, I would like to finally finish my staff, but I will need professional help."
"Consider it done. You two stay safe."
Gharavi nodded, not looking up from her work, while Danniah smiled and waved. With that, Meara stepped out of their room and ducked through the tiny inn to get back into Edsdam. It was a small inn close to the Adventurers Guild that she was fairly sure wouldn't ask questions or sell information about them, at least for long enough for them to do what they needed.
As she walked, Meara again reached out to try to find Izzy. The ghoul had moved since
arriving, but not in a direction that made sense to Meara. Izzy didn't seem to be trying to find them, so she must not be in range to smell them. They'd have to trust that whatever she was pursuing was worthwhile.
That aside, Meara refocused on her tasks. She let herself drift, becoming nonspecific and vague. Her actual self wrapped up into a tiny ball, leaving only the archetype they had implanted within her. In that state, she was roundly ignored by everyone, making it easy to eavesdrop on important conversations even in a place as suspicious as Edsdam.
She heard countless suspicious things - theft seemed to be a way of life in Edsdam - but none of them were suspicious in a way relating to their problems. That suggested that Marrin wasn't murdering her way through the city, instead leaving things to run normally, but it didn't tell her much else. There were a few whispers about their fight, but it didn't seem to have attracted much attention.
With no progress there, Meara spent a little while with the merchants, just asking questions. She managed to get a few hints about experts in poison while she was asking about Gharavi's issues. Finding the best enchanters was just a matter of getting a few names, but the question of poisons took her to a small stall in an alley.
The man sitting behind it was dressed in rags, but he was meticulously clean. Instead of calling out his wares, he fixed her with his gaze when she approached, as if trying to decide whether or not she was allowed to shop there. He looked like a man who was good at slipping away, but Meara was better and soon came face-to-face with him.
"I need an antidote. Or failing that, information about a poison."
His eyes scanned her coolly. "You've come to the right place, but even information won't be free."
"I'll consider paying once I know if you actually have any information I need." Meara looked over his work with a jaded eye, then briefly described Danniah's symptoms. "Whatever it was, the poison was also extremely quickly acting."
"Hmm, that does narrow it down. Anything else?"
"The woman who used it was called Marrin. I understand she's well-known here in Edsdam."
The poisoner's eyebrows rose. "If Marrin is using her worst poisons, that doesn't bode well for you, but I'm happy to take your coin. I'm quite certain she used edsbane, which is a local poison. Though not as strictly lethal as some, it's notable for being able to overcome warriors who might otherwise shrug off poison."
"And the antidote?"
"It's an unstable extract from an extremely rare flower in the nearby mountains. A small vial of it might go for 100 gold pieces - even if I had any, I wouldn't carry it on me."
Meara frowned as she watched him. She thought that he was telling the truth, but that didn't make it any easier. "Do you know where I could find some?"
"Your only chance would be either with the Governor or from one of the larger merchants at the bazaar, but good luck contacting either." The poisoner ran his fingers over a line of his wares, then plucked a small green vial from among them. "The best I can do for you is this compound, which improves the constitution. If your friend has survived this long, they must be very tough. This will give them a better chance, though it won't cure them."
The vial seemed to be quite potent, so Meara negotiated a price for it and the information, then left. As she walked away, she experimentally tried to create a copy of the vial from her own inventory. Her efforts failed - it seemed this was simply too specialized. If that was the case then it was likely that she wouldn't be able to create the edsbane antidote either, but she still gave it several tries as she left.
She wasn't on the streets long before she realized that something had changed. People weren't panicking or screaming, but they were moving purposefully along similar routes. Meara looked in the opposite direction and saw smoke rising into the sky, so she headed toward it.
Along the way she caught fragments of rumors, all suggesting one thing: Marrin had walked straight into the Thieves Guild and burned it to the ground. Strange, and troubling in its strangeness.
When Meara arrived at the guild, or rather its smoking ruins, she took a moment just to stare at it. There were a few other people watching, but most were getting as far away as possible, as if they expected Marrin to come for them next. Why would Marrin have done such a thing?
There was a man in dark armor watching from an alleyway. Something about his focus on the burning made Meara suspicious, so she headed toward him. He looked shocked when she walked directly up to him - after all, women likely didn't approach him in shadowy alleys very often.
"Look, lady, I'm having a bad day. Fuck off."
"You were a member of the Thieves Guild, weren't you?" She gave him a smile and kept moving closer, even when he pulled a knife and aimed it in her direction.
"Don't cross me! I'll gut you like a fish if I... have..." He trailed off as Meara walked directly into his knife so that his arm passed through her stomach. After a moment of shock, he pulled his arm back, staring at it as if he expected it to be gone. Meara just smiled and stepped even closer.
"Is it true that Marrin burned it down?"
"I... I saw it with my own two eyes. Killed a few thieves who tried to stop her, too." The thief kept staring at her with fear in his eyes. "What's this about?"
"That's what I want to know. Did Marrin do anything else first?"
Though the thief looked like he didn't want to answer, Meara let her focus drift and her form began to blur. As aspects of her began to separate into a cloud of copies, she let them begin crying blood. Pretty soon the thief couldn't get the words out fast enough.
"I don't know! I just saw her march in and burn it!" When she stopped he pulled away with a whimper, but kept talking. "She came into town a few days ago, didn't talk to anyone, just moved like she was on a mission. Some people have been dying, but nobody figured out a pattern or knew what she was doing. I figured it was some assassination contract until she burned down the Guild."
It was a curious pattern. Meara questioned the thief a little more before she turned to go, mulling the information over in her mind. Though she couldn't be certain, she had a bad feeling about what might be happening.
Marrin was wiping Edsdam clean of elements of the Outsiders' system. One of the quest objectives in the box had been to take over the Thieves Guild - which wasn't possible if it was gone. The landscape of quests was weaker in Edsdam than in Cresthaven and Meara had assumed that it was simply due to a difference between the cities, but now she suspected that it was intentional. Just like the Fellsilvered creatures destroying ruins, Marrin was erasing the system's presence.
If so, would she burn down the Adventurers Guild next? One of the objectives had been to increase Guild Rank, after all. Meara set thoughts of that aside, because they didn't have time for such things. Quests alone weren't relevant.
The power behind them, however... Meara thought back to the list of quests and two of them stuck out to her: completing the Governor's Ordeal and assembling drakeskin armor. Both potentially included more Outsider magic and might be useful to them. If they were going to confront Marrin before they left Edsdam, then they might want to pursue those issues first.
Assuming that they wanted to confront her here at all. As Meara left the smoking ruins behind her, she had to wonder.
~ ~ ~
Though Danniah still wasn't feeling exactly well, she didn't feel like she was dying. There was a burning in her veins at all times and she sometimes ran a fever, but Gharavi thought that was her body trying to fight it off. So Danniah usually stayed resting, only occasionally drinking one of Meara's special potions when she needed to get up and move for a while.
Since Gharavi needed to go out and Meara was also busy, Danniah had decided to go with them. She wasn't safe staying at the inn anyway, so she might as well make herself useful. With Meara's potion buzzing in her mind, she felt a little flushed but otherwise fine.
Her helm hid all that behind an ominous glow anyway. For once, Danniah didn't mind looking a bit intimidating: in a city like
Edsdam, it just meant more people kept away from her. She hadn't had any trouble getting information at the Adventurers Guild, like the fact that most adventurers hung out at a nearby bar instead of the guild hall.
There, she'd been able to learn more about this Governor's Ordeal, though a lot of it was rumors. Though Danniah wasn't completely convinced searching after it was a good idea, she trusted that Meara had a better idea than her. It was much easier to find out information about drakeskin: apparently there were fairly weak drakes in a cavern near the city, though it was still strongly recommended to only take a strong group of people for an attempt to capture or kill one.
Still, she ran out of leads and felt a bit dizzy, her potion wearing off. Danniah decided to take a while just to rest at the bar. Ever since the sort-of antidote that Meara had given her, she'd felt a bit better, but the poison was still burning through her. Could she endure it until the poison had run its course? If so, Danniah wanted to, since it would be a shame for them to spend time or money on her, but sometimes she wasn't sure if she'd make it...
"Still feeling alright?" Gharavi sat down beside her, making Danniah jump. With her head so fuzzy, she was easier to startle than normal.
"I'm doing okay! But what about you, did you find what you needed?"
"Part of it." Gharavi gestured over her shoulder, where she carried a pole of dark wood on her back. "This is an excellent base for my staff, but I'll need a smith who can enchant to finish the metal part. Meara is looking for one now, then we'll go together."
"Sounds good!"
"What'd you learn about the Governor's Ordeal?"
"Well... some of it is rumor, but I think I've figured it out." Danniah steadied herself on the counter and ran over the stories again. "The current Governor of Edsdam just obeys whatever orders the Thieves Guild gives him... err, I guess what they used to tell him. But generations ago, there was a Governor who was tough enough to take on all the guilds. One thing he liked to do was throw people into a terrible dungeon filled with monsters and traps."
