Week 27: Dear Mom!

The group sailed into Esmi, only briefly hindered by a customs guard unsure how to treat a single window. They headed to the Oracle where Aiden send a sending to his mother, who agreed to meet them for lunch. She told him the story of his family: she and Pellis had fallen in love and married despite his parent’s displeasure, and had been happy until Pellis’ older brother Chrystomir passed away (after a severing and severe depression) and Pellis became the heir apparent. Hectar and Nahrel, Pellis’ parents, pressured them into anulling the marriage, and Pellis remarried and had a new family. But he was severed himself, and abused dusk moss to try to self-medicate after the loss.

As Aphra returned to work, the party set about gathering offerings for the four towers as a prerequisite to visiting the Oracle. As they approached the Lighthouse, Armen shot a seagull from the sky with magic and Tobias noticed a large man taking notice. Armen and Tobias pursued the figure, who turned out to be an old business associate name Borel who’d had a bad business transaction with Armen.

Borel and a couple of friends at first asked for Borel’s money in threatening fashion, then seemed to back down when Tobias and Armen displayed their magical abilities, and then suddenly were overcome with shadowy visages and launched an attack on the group. Magical darkness enveloped them, dark dreams of Hamru tearing Kyamu apart in the tower filled Tobias’ mind, and the figures spoke brazenly of Brigg’s time in Ordell’s traveling group. But the enemies were vanquished, and Brigg and Ignacious managed to hold their spot in line as well.

The rest of the offerings were collected without much problem, and the group headed to the oracle. There they found themselves ushered into small alcoves as the oracles spoke to them from below. 

• Grummel to Ignacious: “Ignacius, you lazy, good-for-nothing dreamer, teller of tall tales! At least you’re finally writing down all the stories we collected, but would it kill you to make an offering at your wife’s grave every once in a while? And you still have so much more to write! You haven’t even gotten to The Last Voyage of Erinn the Quick! That’s the one that won you your life . . . and my heart! Oh, Iggy, that will always be your power over me . . . I have to know how all your stories end! You’re a lazy writer, but maybe your destiny isn’t just to record the stories of others but to play a part in them. And you can be sure I’ll be here to haunt you until I see how it turns out, so you better make your part one I like. Or else, when you die, I’ll never let you hear the end of it!”
• The Vahna to Armen: “Friend Armen make many Friends lonely and angry in Sky Mountain Home. Also one here in Esmi. Friend Armen’s brother, Friend Jerigo. Very angry. Also very need help! Friend Armen help Friend Jerigo and make him happy! YES! Friend Armen go to Friend Jerigo in tall house with white flowers by Windmill! Help Jerigo. Get bells! And Friend Armen come to Sky Mountain Home in less than one moon. Vahna watch Amethyst candle for most-loved Dawa until Friend Armen come!”
• Ty-Abo to Aiden: “Hectar has passed away, and Pellis is not long for this world. But before you return to deal with that, you must go to Tegur Han. Indeed, you must even go far beyond that, for there are evil forces gathering. You carry with you the raw materials to create a new diamond Heart Stone for the Candelabrum, but you must find the Irix Tegul with the plans to do so. And you must recover the ten candles: 2 you have, one is with the Union of Whiro, one with the Seta in Maringa, and one with the Mahski in Panga. Another lies beneath the waves, near where you have traveled before. And one is with those foul travelers Brigg seeks, used to summon their malevolent spawn. Of the remainder, you’ll be drawn to one, and one will be drawn to you. But the third has not been seen for a very long time. Even the gods don’t know where it is. They didn’t know where the Onyx candle was either, though, not until you found it gathering dust in that shop. I have faith that you will find them all. Our whole world depends on it.”
• Ranga to Tobias: “I am Ranga Chahl, descended from Chaxta Chahl, who built Skandara before it was Skandara, when it was Axanga. Your cousin Aiden is destined to restore the Chahl family of this time, but your line is destined to preserve them for the future times. The time is coming when I will rise from my slumber in defense of Moru Kel. I hope to fight alongside you and Aiden.”
• Adelos Rudlock to Arko Adi: “So this is the fop who married my great-great-great-great-grandaughter, Ephelynn? Out on another damn fool adventure are you, Arko? Fancy yourself an explorer, do you? Heh, heh, heh! That’s a laugh. Hope you’ll be enough of a man to at least stand by my Ephalynn’s side when the real adventure starts. She’ll take you places no ship or mule ever could. Places even birds can’t go, ‘kept maybe an Irix or kolibri . . . HEY! NO! –”
• Then the shadows formed into the silhouette of diners, their veiled faces feasting on delicate birds. Aphra’s voice wafted up and morphed into that of Hamru, who spoke to Brigg: “I know these others you are with, Brriigg. I fought these cowards at my weakest, after I was TRAPPED FOR CENTURIES in that wretched tower. I know all of their weaknesses now. I will swallow them into my shadow whole, Brriigg. But who are yooouuu? Who are you to kill Surbanuk? You look like nooothhing, and yet you slew a captain in my army. One of my best! I will take blood for blood!”

As Hamru faded, a panicked voice from below yelled for help, and the attendands pulled up the oracles — with Aphra laying dead, her pale skin turned to absolute white traced with black veins. The priests’ attempts to revivify her failed, though they promised to attempt to preserve her body in case the party found a way to bring her back. As bells tinkled impatiently, the group headed off toward the windmill.

There they found Jerigo hiding in his business, his wife sequestered in the attic. After some hostile negotiations with Armen, he let the group in. He’d made a deal to smuggle some weapons a few days earlier for a nice gentleman looking to avoid tariffs, and was supposed to bring them tomorrow evening to a farmhouse near Iyana where the gentleman’s associates would take receipt for 500 gold pieces. But yesterday evening a wild elf — usually a reclusive folk — had entered the city and nearly killed Jerigo before discovering he didn’t know who he was working for. The gentleman, Ordell, was well-known to Brigg and runs a travelling gladiatorial slave ring which had abducted the wild elf’s siblings. The elf had already headed north to track them down. The group agreed to follow and try to meet the associates as planned tomorrow evening and then track them back to Ordell if possible.

As they readied for rest, Aiden found that his left arm had gone the same pale-white color as Aphra’s skin, with black veins tracing out root-like patterns just below the surface of his skin.