light spires

you may not rest now, there are monster nearby.

[lightspires]

— the story so far…(16/06/19)

It seems Rurik has a suitor in Sildar Hallwinter. After quite an awkward but sweet goodbye, the friends head for the core. Lavender makes sure they activate and place an antidote in the Neverwinter core and after this she gives them instructions on how to make the antidote themselves. 

After they’ve made the trip to Wave Echo Cave, Yakiv spots an orc he recognizes. It turns out this one, Kazik, is his brother in law. The orc is convinced that Artem Naeris is not in fact working to help the orcs, only using them for his own gain. Kazik quickly brings his two sons and a friend, Mira, into the fold and they all decide to help. After some cultural differences in the art of greeting each other, and some quite crude dick jokes exchanged between Bree and Kazik, the orcs return to the cave down below to offer to come with the caravan when they leave that very night. 

Through the dark the friends follow the thirty or so bugbears that are carrying both Bran and Artem Naeris eastward. When morning comes, the large group make camp by the river an almost immediately Bree’s small bird shows her that Bran is standing outside the tent made for Artem Naeris and that most bugbears are off to bed. Using some clever magics and good hiding, the three friends make it into camp without detection, sneak up on Bran, stun him and tie him up in complete silence, before the escape begins. No one seems to have noticed. Silently they take out two of the lookouts and manage to climb the sand bank but soon they realize they’ve been discovered. Artem Naeris stands behind them with a sly grin and nothing good can come from this. He asks them all if they thought they could escape him without notice and Bree freezes in the spot, her flight instincts telling her to run but she can’t leave. Rurik’s instinct is to protect Barn with her own body and she leaps from her horse, ready to split the Black Spider in two if she has to, or die trying. Elion on the other hand exclaims that they shouldn’t kill the dark elf just yet, he might have information they need and all in all, they’re very torn as to what to do. 

Arten Naeris offers them a choice, see who Bran picks. They begrudgingly agree and to Artem’s delight, Bran comes to stand by his side. But then he smiles. A wall of water rushes up between the friends and their enemy and all they can do is stand there as Bran and Artem vanish out of sight. Then they realize they might be able to connect with Bran telepathically and grab on to each other, until they see his smiling face in the dark. He tells them to go on without him, that he will hold Artem long enough for them to escape, but Bree loudly refuses and says she’s not leaving without him. 

“Then I think there’s something I can do” Bran says and asks for all their help. When the water barrier comes down, they all feel how their elemental power grows within them and in one giant light spire, shooting off toward the skies, parting the clouds above, the small army that’s not reached them are obliterated. Left panting on the ground is Elion, Bree, Rurik and Bran with no sight of the Black Spider but happy to be alive. 

Bran smiles before he passes out and the friends quickly store him on the back of Elion’s horse, before riding off in the direction of Bree’s home village.

[lightspires]

— the story so far… (02/06/19)

Rurik has finally been reunited with her son, Anur, after two years of searching for him. The boy sits waiting for them when they arrive through the nucleus to Phandalin one crisp spring morning. After a tearful hug, they all head to Bree’s aunt Celine, to be on the safe side and there, they meet Sildar. He shows them a letter from Caitriona and tells them she’s headed to the Rockies, the mountain range north of Neverwinter, inside the Neverwinter woods, to try to find another stronghold of Artem Naeris’. Anur and Ibim sleep basically on top of Rurik through the meeting. Telling Sildar that Bran is alive is not easy and the man leaves the cottage soon after finding out, visibly upset and in need of some alone time.

The friends stay at Celine’s while planning what to do next. They want to talk to Lavender about using her to evacuate the people of Phandalin, or at least their closest people, if something was to happen. But the main plan is to head toward Wave Echo Cave and free Bran as soon as possible. Going to sleep in the aunts house is hard for Yakiv, and after trying for a bit, he decides to give up and go into the kitchen. He’s very upset, upset enough to cry, which wakes Ibim, who comes in to join him. They sit in silence for a while, until Bree and Rurik join them. Rurik puts her arms around her friend, saying she doesn’t know him as well as she knows Elion but that he’s still family.

“I’ve heard families take care of each other. I think that sounds nice” Ibim says as he’s almost asleep by the table. The group eventually move back into the living room to get their long rest. Hopefully a bit more at ease than before.

When morning comes, Bree, Rurik and Yakiv find pancakes on the table and a letter from Safiya, that Celine picked up from Bree’s house (when she rushed over there to try to save the plants that morning). The letter details how Neverwinter has turned for the worse, politically speaking. There are rumors of executions in the castle courtyard and even the nobility are scared for their lives.

As they sit there, Bree suddenly experiences an intense headache, and within moments, Yakiv feels one growing too. But it’s more distant, as if he is not the one in pain and the sensation is enough for him to revert back to Elion. Soon, Rurik feels the sensation too and then they’re all standing in that dark place, water up over their ankles and Bran standing before them. He’s happy to see them and glad to hear they’re coming for him. He tells them Artem Naeris is moving him and the organization south and that it will happen any day now. He also tells him that the experiments on him seem to be over, and he’s worried what this last one did to him. He feels like he’s losing something that used to be important, but he can’t understand what the feeling means. He warns them that he might fight them, as that is what he’s been instructed to do if people come for Artem. He says he doesn’t want to hurt them. They say he doesn’t know how strong they are now. He says the same about himself.

Suddenly, their conversation is cut short, as the dark veil around them stirs and Red steps out of the darkness. Her incorporeal body crackles and pulsates with red light and her hand firmly nestles in Barn’s hair as he falls to his knees. She then points to Bree, but before anything else happens, Bree’s familiar flutters from her shoulder and seems to distract Red long enough for them all to suddenly be back in the kitchen.

Feeling the urgency of it all, they quickly decide to go see Sildar and tell him about their plan. On the way, they speak to Gundren and Nundro, who both have their health and assure them that they will look after things and keep searching for information. Nundro has found mention of the Black Spider since before the war and Gundren is planning a trip to the dwarven mountain to talk to their youngest brother Tharden’s husband, to see if they can figure something out about his disappearance. Sildar looks disappointed as they tell him they are planning on leaving already, but he assures he will do what they need him to do, if the worst should happen.

But what is it that Artem Naeris plans? Why is he heading to the south? Is it to get an army of orcs, as Yakiv supposes, or does he have other plans that even those who used to be close to him do not know about? And will Bran fight for him, or realize that it is his friends that are standing on the other side of the battle smoke? Will he realize, before it is too late, that they are so much more powerful together than apart?

[lightspires]

Bree draws very bad stick figures of Anur and Ibim

What even happened last time we played? 

[lightspires]

— the story so far… (30/03/19)

After a visit to the Inti sel, the Nucleus found in the High forest, the friends are dizzy with the discoveries they’ve made. Elion isn’t the only chosen one, OST-ia is an elemental god like creature and used to be another entity entirely, until she was tethered to this dimension, this world, and used to the point of splitting into two beings. One of these beings, Red, is vengeful, chaotic, and wanted to destroy the world. She opened portals into other worlds and brought forth monsters. She almost destroyed it all but with the help of her more well natured twin, Lavender, she was subdued by the end of the hundred year war. The bloodstones Artem Naeris uses to create undead are probably parts of Red’s crystal structures. A way for her to leave her crystal prison. Artem Naeris is probably her warlock. On top of this, Lavender were the one who created Elion, Rurik, Bree and possibly Bran. They’re her children, in a sense, as she pulled their souls from the elemental plane when she desperately reached out for help as Red tried to consume or kill her.

Following these discoveries, and more, the friends return with Elion’s grandmother to Winya Tal. They decide they have to leave forth Athkatla to find Rurik’s missing son within the same day of coming back, which means a sad mother and an emotional farewell to Rosemary and baby Sage. Elion says they’ll let Bran know Rosemary is now a parent, which seems to be a thing Rose hadn’t thought about before. Rosemary says if they need help in Athkatla, they can reach out to the not so secret secret order: the Emerald Enclave, whom Rosemary works for.

Vandal shows them the way to the forest edge, as they per Bree’s suggestion have decided to breach the fastest but possibly most dangerous road to get to the capitol: the path across the wild fields. Vandal and Elion share a passionate goodbye, shocking Rurik slightly because when did this happen? And then they’re off.

Elion swears that if a purple worm attacks kills them on this journey, it’s all on Bree. Because they were warned. Thankfully, they’re all super strong now, because although a purple worm does attack and although Elion loses half his life force in one blow, they inflict so much damage on this monstrosity that it dies before it can do more than try to swallow Bree once. Bree finishes it off with a nice clean stab to the brain and that’s that. Superhero landing and all.

They make for Wey, a small elven town just a days travel from Athkatla. This is partially so they don’t have to go through rocky terrain the last leg of the journey, partially so that they can have a spa day because they’re filthy. Way is pleasant enough and Elion lets Yakiv out. Yakiv the half orc, who used to be the dual identity he used when he ran away from home and spent time with the orcs, but who then met Artem Naeris, fell in love with him and was tortured and experimented on until he sort of turned into his own person, created to help Elion deal with his trauma probably. Yakiv needed some pampering, just like Bree and Rurik. Unfortunately, after overhearing some patrons talking about revolutions of the poor in Neverwinter, it turns out that the cats living at the inn aren’t all what they seem. Because when they’re heading upstairs to their room, Yakiv suddenly finds himself eye to eye with Artem Naeris’ familiar: the black cat with four red speckled eyes.

Yakiv, suddenly faced with his abuser, goes away and reveals Elion again, who kills the cat, after saying “We’re coming for you, you pale ass motherfucker”. The friends quickly decide that sleep will have to wait because now the big bad knows where they are. They head out quickly and camp in the dark instead. Now they’re faced with a new challenge. What if the Black Spider knows they’re heading for Athkatla? What if he’s waiting for them there or if it isn’t safe to go see Rurik’s son? Elion says he doesn’t think Artem would come himself, but that still doesn’t mean it will be safe for them all to go there. This also means his disguise as Yakiv is unsafe to rely on.

During that night, Bree spends some mental time with Bran. He comforts her and they talk about how he’s fighting against something but that he wants to warn them. Warn her that the Black Spider is out to get her. Rurik has a hard time sleeping, and Elion notices. He sings an orkish lullaby, comforting both his dwarven friend and Yakiv within him. Rurik feels the presence of Lathander calm her, warm her and when she wakes up, she feels that her son is not alone. He is safe until she finds him. Elion meditates and feels within the forge, how someone holds his hand tightly.

The question now is: how do you get into a city the Black Spider might be having under surveillance, find a missing boy, find a memory crystal in the royal archives and activate a nucleus without the big bad noticing?

Maybe through connections..? Do they… have any of those?

[lightspires]

— the story so far… (09/02/19)

Arriving at the high Forest, both Bree and Rurik realize quite quickly that although they had some kind of notion as to how elves would live and act, there are still quite a few things they didn’t know. Meeting Elion’s mother turned out to be a whole big thing, as she is the Tari Atara, queen and mother of the elves. Elion being  bundle of nerves all the way there, is of no use when it comes to understand anything about this new place they’re in.

The Uin, large colorful fishlike creatures, a good omen Corym explains, follow them to shore and both Bree and Rurik feel a little bit less nervous. At least after this they can tell everyone they see that the Uin liked them. “Does this mean we have divine fish power thing?” asks Bree and somehow Corym understands what she means.

In a carefree moment, all of them go swimming in the Lake of Light (all except the badger, who scratches Rurik when she tries to include him (he’s named Cliff the Rock Badger btw)). Bathed and refreshed, they start heading toward the elven city: Winya Tal. They are soon met by Amandil Atta, one of the priests and everyone quickly get a feeling her relationship with Elion is an icy one. “It’s good to see you again. These are my friends. I expect you to treat them with respect.” Elion says through gritted teeth. Lovely relationship.

Bree tries very hard not to judge people as she sees them. the elves have poured out of their home - a huge tree where they all live in bioluminescent polypores - to see Aendir return. Elion, Bree and Rurik hold hands to support each other, mostly Elion, through this time of anxiety. Both women try to block any elf from reaching out and touching him, but seeing as they’re quite a lot shorter than most people here, it’s hard for them to protect him fully. Baby Sage is loving all the attention. Definitely a distraction. Turns out there are no children amongst the elves.

They’re met by Elion’s ex, Vandel, who’s just super charming. He jokes with them, making Elion blush like crazy for the first time since they’ve met him. Vandel takes them into the trunk of the massive tree and up the long staircase, eventually leading out onto a deck where Elion’s mother is waiting for them. “The mother, the hive mother..? Queen bee?” Bree wonders. Definitely.

The reunion is sweet but slightly awkward. They speak of Elion’s maternal grandmother being dead, after leaving Winya Tal some thirty years earlier in the belief that Elion was returning to Yaara Tal back then. She miscalculated and now she is gone. She promises that baby Sage can stay in the forest, with Rosemary, tells them of the Ithil mereth (moon feast) they will hold that very night and eventually tells them of the Inti Sel. The Inti Sel (Nucleus) is integral to the elven belief, as they used to hold shrines for the people. Somehow, a being within them (most probably OST-ia) made a premonition of sorts, which the whole elven faith rests on. A prophecy of salvation. Sadly, the one who knew most about it was the high priestess, Amandil’er, Elion’s grandmother.

Letting Elion and his mother reconnect as they get ready for the party, Bree and Rurik head to their room with Vandel. He tells them an adorable story about one time when Elion pretended not to be Aendir (holy man) and everyone in the city played along without him knowing. He also explains to them that the reason Elion left the elves is because he felt too much pressure from everyone, seeing as he’s the chosen one who’s supposed to lead them all to some kind of salvation.

After Vandel leaves, Bree and Rurik get ready for the feast with the help of an ancient elf who joins them. She sings to them and translates the song they’ve been hearing all around the place. It turns out this song is the prophecy and both Bree and Rurik recognize this song deep within their hearts. They’ve both heard it before, when they were children, but it’s been about other things than what the elves are singing. The elven woman, Elaran, tells them to let Elion know she says hi, and then she vanishes.

Elion spends time with his mother, as she tries to fix what remains of his hair. He then spends time with his ex. Who knows what went on then…

Reunited in the treetops, the three friends celebrate ilith mereth together with a whole bunch of elves. Bree keeps telling everyone her fish story, about how the Uin seemed to love them, Elion says his favorite food is leaf and so on. A typical elven party. Until Bree and Rurik casually mention that they talked to Elion’s grandmother, believing she was a paternal grandma and Elion goes all pale. Apparently this was the grandmother who was presumed dead. After processing this new piece of information for a moment, the friends decide to head out for the old city: Yaara tal in the morning. A good nights rest will help them prepare for the wild forest.

“Be careful of the city, you know too much death made us leave that place” Elion’s mother says before they leave and she was right to worry. After two day’s journey, almost getting eaten by a family of owlbears, they reach the city. Its ruins are on the ground instead of in the trees, like you might imagine an ancient elven city to be, and before they even have a chance to enter it properly, they hear the sound of a banshee on the wind. And then another. And another. The whole city is swarming with them.

In the distance they see the glistening purple of the Nucleus, on the other side of the city. How in all of the Green Lands will they make it across without death catching up to them?

[adrasteiax]

In spring, when the moon rose, it meant time was endless.

Louise Glück, from The Silver Lily in “Poems 1962-2012″ (via adrasteiax)

[lightspires]

— the story so far… (12/01/19)

The friends are on the run. Chased by people who are after baby Sage, they only stop when it is time to rest. Elion doesn’t get much rest at all, troubled by what is happening to him and his magic he feels unbalanced and weakened. The others worry about him, hoping the visit to the High Forest will do him good but the closer they get to it, the more anxious Elion becomes.

Elion dreams of Bran, meeting him in the forge of spells, talking to him, hearing him say he’s fighting this with tooth and nail, whatever “this” is. Bree dreams of mountain tops and strange places she’s never been, until she’s suddenly a cat jumping for fat rats and then: Bran. He holds her and smiles, like he used to. When he sees her familiar, the blackbird curious in him as he is in her, he grows worried for Bree. He tells her Artem Naeris has a familiar just like her, with eyes as black as night, but four of them just like OST-ia. Rurik has a visit from her god Lathander, who comforts her and tells her he will watch over her child. He also tells her that OST-ia is older than he is, an entity in her own right and that she should be shown proper respect. That’s what he has for her.

Flora is a small town and they quickly decide not to head into it, only skirt around its left flank to get to the docs. They find an elven fisherman named Corym, who first says he cannot help you get into the forest, but as Elion drops the human-female-redhead disguise he was wearing, Corym becomes flustered, calls him Aendir and promises to personally escort you. This sudden change makes Bree uncomfortable. Rurik is mostly confused and tries to give Elion looks, but he refuses to explain anything to them.

Right before leaving though, they realize Rosemary and the baby are gone. They follow the red scarf Rosemary has dropped but end up in an ambush where both Rurik and Bree are knocked unconscious and Elion quickly gives up when the lives of his friends are threatened. After a bag is pulled over his eyes, he too is knocked unconscious.

Bree and Rurik wake up in a cell, soaked in water from the river that covers the floor of the cave they’re in. Soon, some men enter with a beaten and broken Elion, making jabs at how elves have never been attractive and how they don’t understand why “he” wants them alive. They don’t seem to be Dunbar soldiers. They also talk about Betsy as if she might have already been put down because she has a nasty bite. As Elion wakes, he realizes his friends are locked up and that there’s nothing he can do, his arms and hands blue and broken, his energy drained. But then the men turn their backs on him and the water washes soothingly over his knees, grounding him. With his last bit of energy, Elion speaks the command for his dancing sword and cuts his own hair, where the man is holding him in place. As soon as his palms hit the water he feels that magic build in him again but this time he controls. On staggering legs he extends his palm and pulls the breath from every single man in the room, killing them as they grasp at their chests in chock.

Bree is ecstatic at this performance and Rurik, slightly mortified, is very proud. They hold each other for a moment, before Elion - arms healed and body recovering in a way it hasn’t done for weeks - lifts Rosemary out of their cell and they leave the cave together. Outside they find a happy Betsy standing on the head of a drowned man. Very proud. Good girl.

Corym arrives shortly after. He managed to save Sage after the others had been taken and saw where they were brought. He helps them into his boat and although mortified by their muddy, broken appearances, is happy to help. As they travel down the river, they all clean off and both Bree and Rurik help Elion with his hair to make it look more presentable. A bit uneven, but better. After that, they drift off into slumber, all three of them. To their surprise they all share it now, that dream that Bree has told them of before. The dark space, the water on the ground. They see each other, Bree with her burning hair, Rurik with cracks of light in her skin as if something glimmering is buried within her, Elion with his hair whipping in an unfelt wind. And then there’s Bran.

“Finally” he says. And then he says something else but as soon as they wake, they cannot remember his words.

As the forest comes closer, they see the shimmering wall of the elves, the magical barrier that saved them during the war and that keep their ecosystem sustained now. By drops of Elion’s blood, the shimmer parts and they sail through, suddenly assaulted by sounds, smells and impressions of the forest.

Bree takes her clothes off. 

Epilogue

Somewhere else, Artem Naeris feels a harsh pain in his chest and quickly walks to a cell, where he speaks to his familiar, a black cat with four eyes. On the bed in the cell sits a man, eyes closed as if in meditation. “It is time, I think” Artem says. “Get him ready, won’t you? I’ll see to the rest”. As he walks away, the cat jumps to sit next to the man on the bed, watching him, until Bran opens his eyes.

[lightspires]

[writhe]

the wind coming off the water has traveled so far to greet you

[adrasteiax]

She is a living fire, such as I have never seen; (…)

Franz Kafka, from Letters To Milena (via adrasteiax)

[lightspires]

...air isn’t breathable further north and the black rain still persists. I can hear people screaming through the night. There's nothing left of the capital, only a crater. We had to leave it behind. We had to leave all of them, our mission is too important but. I can’t ever forgive myself for it. Any of it… . ...hear them through the darkness… like they’re calling for each other. How can they survive on this smog? I know they aren’t human but don’t they breathe? . We took refuge inside the last Nucleus… we can’t hear anything anymore. This has to work. If it doesn’t work there’s no telling what will happen to this world. The nucleus is speaking to us. She’s still active. I thought she wouldn’t be...is always harder when she is. When IT is. IT, George. IT. . ...to God this works. Never done this with her looking at me. Please work. Initializing purge. . Please please please. . ...happening? ...never been this dark before... ...everyone else is…-one… ...i think it worked. God help me it worked. She’s not red… she’s not red anymore. I can’t believe it w-... ...shut down… we can’t get out… ...it will shut down everything. Thank God it will be over… ...our sacrifice… ...she’ll help save us all… ...second time’s the charm… i hope . -three days later- She is amazing She is everything i dreamed I would do anything for her. . End of recording.

Transcriptions from journal #55305 crystal #22602 stored in Athkatla vault #75

[lightspires]

— the story so far… (1/12/18)

Crossing the borders of the Kingdom of Seashore, the seven friends (if you include the Lizard of OS, Betsy, Rosemary and baby Desmond aka Sage (if the horse and the badger are also included I suppose they’re quite the sizable party), swiftly make their way toward Waterdeep. They quickly spot another OST-ia core on the way but decide to head to the library first.

At the library of Waterdeep, they speak to an old woman at the front desk named Martha, who tells them of the hundred year war and the monsters and rifts to different dimensions. She also tells them that the crystal outside has a guard posted there because some children made their way into the structure a while back and were traumatized. Elion also knows what’s important and asks for the eroctic section. After browsing different sexual positions, he joins the others by the books with records from the war. Rurik has found a book containing transcriptions from a recorded journal (#55305, crystal #22602, stored in Athkatla vault #75) and the reading is fascinating. They learn someone named George set out from the destroyed capital, through black rain and running from monsters or creatures in the dark. George seemed to be on a mission and kept talking about the purge and how this was their last chance to save everyone. George hid inside what she called “the last Nucleus”, which the friends take to be an OST-ia core. She also spoke about a woman still being active and how it’s harder to complete her mission when this woman is active. As the records glitch some things have been lost, but it seems George succeeded with her mission as “it worked” and “she isn’t red anymore” was recorded before the transmission ends. Three days later George transmitted again, saying:

She is amazing She is everything i dreamed I would do anything for her

This doesn’t necessarily make Bree feel any better about binding herself to OST-ia, as it sounds like maybe George has somehow become controlled by this “she” entity that’s being referred to. Yet, they decide to head out and look at the nucleus/core before dark. Both Elion and Rurik somehow seem less worried, but maybe that’s because they’re not immediately connected to OST-ia the way Bree is.

Sneaking past the guard, who’s sleeping outside the core, Elion miraculously catches Rurik mid air as she falls when trying to sneak. After a moment’s heavily beating hearts, they enter through the opening, realizing quickly that this core has been open for some time. There are dead leafs on the ground and when they’ve successfully disposed of the shadows, they see bodies on the ground. Two are lying to one side, completely mummified. one is sitting by OST-ia’s “feet” as if she died there, resting her head against the stone walls.

It turns out this dead body belongs to none other than George herself. They speak to OST-ia, realizing this one is different from the others. She’s been active since the war and remembers George, calls her “my only friend” and says she doesn’t want to forget about her. If they connect her to her cores, she will forget. The friends promise that they will locate the crystal George used to send her messages with, so that OST-ia can remember her again. Before reactivating her, OST-ia tells them that although she doesn’t remember herself, George told her something else used to be there before her and that implementing OST-ia had helped stop whatever it was that had been there. That is what the purge had been.

As soon as they reconnect her, OST-ia welcomes them as if they just arrived and she seems to have no memory of their conversation. Before they leave, Rurik is brought to the bright room and OST-ia shows her a memory of her son, Anur. This memory is only a couple of months old and her son looks healthy and well dressed. He was exploring a nucleus and the memory belongs to OST-ia herself. It must have come from one of her other main memory cores. Bree quickly learns that the two main cores still remaining, apart from this one, is in the High Forest and Athkatla. Shaken by this discovery, Rurik is faced with a difficult choice. She wants to head out and find her son, bring him someplace safe. But she knows that if she takes off for Athkatla now, the capital of the Kingdom, she will have to go alone. And she’s not sure if she can do this without her friends anymore.

Leaving the nucleus, they suddenly realize that Rosemary and the baby, along with both Betsy and the lizard, are gone. They’ve been taken by Dunbar guards and a battle breaks out. Immediately the friends realize they’re in trouble, as the leader of the guards is a mage with a lot of restraining magics. Elion also has trouble controlling his magic again, something that hasn’t happened in a while, which causes him to lash out and hurt his own friends. After hearing voices from the depths of hell and feeling their cold fingers grasp for him from below, he’s completely shattered. Bree, realizing her lizard has just been crushed by the horse of the leader of the guards, feels burning fury in her veins and suddenly she’s sending pillars of fire from the earth and into the sky, completely incinerating the guards on the ground. Although her connection to OST-ia is weakened, the spell comes from deep within her and leaves her breathless.

Rurik makes quick work of the remaining leader and crushes him at the pit of her stone rift, right after saying “Any last words” but not giving him enough time to reply. Savage.

Rosemary lets the others know that they don’t have much time because the leader had sent a magical message to let others know what he’d found. Rosemary tries to comfort Elion slightly and they all make it to their feet and head off into the night, bringing the two horses the guards “left behind”.

[lightspires]

She was George. 1346 years, 31 days, 10 hours and 21 minutes ago. She was the only person I ever knew. I knew her for nine days, ten hours and 5.3 minutes. Have you come to take her?

OST-ia, at Waterdeep Nucleus 

[adrasteiax]

will speak through mirrors will speak through darkness through shadows through no one

Alejandra Pizarnik, from Extracting The Stone Of Madness: Poems [translated by Yvette Siegert] (via adrasteiax)

[lightspires]

— the story so far… (13/10/18)

The group, now with the addition of the apple cider brewer Mo and his daughter Noah, set out for Leilon ruins and city together. When entering into the small settlement, they quickly notice that Mo has been acting strangely and it turns out he owes some people money. He was indenting to give them his casks to appease them but now that they have all been ruined, he thinks maybe they’ll take his daughter instead. Willing to help, the friends set out to talk to the mayor of the settlement, Bradbury, who eventually admits that yes they might have a thug problem.

The leader of the thugs is called Andi Redhide and when they hear she wears a coat made of fox fur, they all see red. Seeing as Andi has been threatening honest people and even insinuated she’ll take their kids, they decide quickly that they’ll do everyone a favor and kill her. The mayor says she knows someone who might take over as leader of the group, someone who is a good person and doesn’t like Andi’s rule, so after a couple of trips to her office, she sends a messenger out to fetch him.

In the meantime, the three friends decide disguise themselves to look like Mo, his presumed wife and his daughter, as they approach Andi Redhide in her broken down sky building. Elion is attracted to the strong looking bugbear but that one sacrifices his life for Andi and her anger doesn’t help her, as she falls quite quickly to the friends spells. Though, maybe all those spells weren’t so good to begin with, because the whole building collapses. It’s a wonder Benjamin, the new leader of the Redhides, turns up and assures everyone to leave before it’s too late. Rurik of course rescues the badger that Andi had had captured and they all rush out, efter Bree loots the body of course.

Benjamin seems like a super nice dude. Strong, handsome, muscly. Just ask Elion. He’d know.

That night, all of the company dream plenty to go around. All dreams, however, revolve around the same subject. Bran. Bree dreams she gets to hug him, speak to him and it feels so real she can hardly believe it was only a dream when she wakes up. Bran seemed confused but said he wanted to help, said he hoped she wasn’t just a dream. Rurik dreamt of a horrible scene where she fought a huge, faceless evil, where Bree and Elion got hurt and she was just about to get extremely hurt herself when Bran suddenly threw himself in between, shield in front and a strong, reassuring hand on her shoulder. But maybe strangest of all is the transported experience of Elion, in which he actually was brought, at least his mind, to the forge of spells. He doesn't know if what he saw and heard there was actually real but he knows Bran was there. And what could that possibly mean?

[adrasteiax]

Our mouths full of ashes, our mouths full of fresh fire, phoenix-like,

Charles Wright, from Scar Tissue in “Scar Tissue” (via adrasteiax)

[kevkinghorn]

Got to wake up to the sound of waves the last 5 days. It’s quite amazing.