Anneleigh scooped up the three necklaces and returned to Whitefall. In the merchant district, it did not take long to find the vendor, a Warrik Marsen.
“Do you know what this is?” Anneleigh
asked, dangling the necklace in front of his face.
“Aye, that’s one of my necklaces. They have been quite popular in Whitefall.
I’m not sure how the magic works exactly.”
“Why are you selling them as protection
trinkets if you are not sure how they work?
These three ended up on three women I found dead in the wilderness.”
“What I do know is it doesn’t make the
bearer invincible. If a woman wandered
off into the wilds alone, no amount of jewellery could have saved her. “He said
with a smirk.
“They did not just leave; they were
summoned from their beds, from their families, in the dead of night. Shouldn’t your protective charms work against
at least that type of intrusion?” Anneleigh asked. She was trying to keep her voice passive and
calm, but the sales person’s indifference was making that difficult.
“Look, miss, they get what they get. I make no promises. If the unfortunate husbands want to seek out
an exchange, let them know I’d be willing to give them a credit – if they come
complaining about faulty merchandise.”
He laughed, knowing that a grieving husband would never give up his
wife’s last piece of jewellery, and left the counter.
Feeling dissatisfied with her work this far
in Iron Pine Peak, Anneleigh returned to Marshal Kain to see if their bluff had
worked.
“The Remnants of Aedraxis are a potentially
powerful force of evil, and the Redsnow Bandits were merely middlemen.” Kain said to her as she returned to his
station. “They were paid by a mad hermit
to do this, but this was no act of madness.
There is a plan of pure malice here.”
Anneleigh frowned, unsure how Kain was
coming to this conclusion without knowing the Hermit’s motivations. It seemed unlikely to her that anyone who has
removed themselves from society would not be entangled in a plot to restore
Regulos.
“Go and speak to this Ekdim the Mad,
Anneleigh. Use whatever force you need
to, but make him tell you where he has sent my quarry!”
Anneleigh nodded and left the sanctuary,
heading south to a small valley that ended in a deep cave. The twists and turns of the cave protected it
from blowing snow, the stone walls acted as insulation against the chill in the
air. As she descended further into the
cave she realised it was beginning to warm.
Turning the corner, she discovered a roaring fire pit with several food
barrels, and a sleeping mat. If it had
not been so damp, it would have been a cozy place to hold up for a few
days. Ekdim seemed quite at home though,
sitting on a small stool at the fire, stirring a mixture in a cauldron perched
in the fire.
She took a step forward and Ekdim seemed to
hear her at last. He looked up from his
cauldron and turned to her.
“You no be here! Leave Ekdim alone! Ekdim knows what you want, but Ekdim no tells
you.”
Anneleigh took her dagger from her belt and
approached the hermit, causing him to recoil in fear. He tripped on his stool and fell into his
cauldron. Anneleigh made a movement to
help him from the bubbling liquid, but he began to cower and shriek.
“Stop hurting Ekdim! Ekdim tells you anything!”
She backed towards the edge of the cave and
put her dagger on the floor. Then, hands
open and extended, she slowly moved towards the hermit, ignored his screaming,
and pulled him from the fire. The moment
he was free he launched himself towards the back wall; silent as she retrieved
her dagger.
When his breathing slowed, he began to
speak. “Ekdim’s people, the Enkarus, are
cursed. We need the power of these
remnants you seek, but Ekdim values what existence remains to him. Ekdim sent these remnants to his people. You can find them far, far south of here
where the lands are warm. Ekdim hates
this sun-forsaken place and wants only to go home.”
“Why don’t you go home then?” Anneleigh asked gently. “Why live here where there is ice and snow
when you would prefer the sun and hard cooked earth.”
Ekdim shakes his head violently and refused
to say more, so Anneleigh left the cave and made her way back to Kain.
“He sent it to Droughtlands?” Kain asked
with fury when Anneleigh had retold her experience. “The remnants of Aedraxis must not fall into
evil hands, Anneleigh. You were there! You saw as I did what horrors the power of
Regulos can bring! These bandits and
their clients, the Enkarus, are unwitting pawns to this evil. Icewatch scouts have informed me the Redsnow
bandits have unearthed an even larger, more powerful remnant and are preparing
to smuggle that Remnant out of Iron Pine as we speak. “
“What do you suggest?” Anneleigh asked,
sure she knew the answer.
“You must intercept this new shipment and
bring me this Remnant as quickly as you can, while I send some of the guard to
Droughtlands to retrieve the fragment that has already been delivered. Such evil should not linger in this world!”
Anneleigh nodded and left Sanctuary,
heading up the path towards the Chancel of Labors. There, on a cliff overlooking the fork in the
road, she found the Sentinel who was to be her contact.
“It is good you came at once,
Guardian.” Sentinel Enthea said, “Though
the situation may be more dire than what we originally told your commander.”
“You lied to Kain?” Anneleigh asked in
surprise. “That is very dangerous.”
“Not exactly. The Redsnow Courier is using Pilgrim’s Trail
to smuggle the Powerful Remnant of Aedraxis, but this Remnant is radiating evil
and corruption. It must be destroyed as
quickly as possible, lest it bring doom upon us all!”
“Where can I destroy the item?” Anneleigh
asked, wondering what Kain would say to the destruction, rather than
confiscation, of the item.
“The Chancel of Labors is nearby,” the
woman said, “and our forge was built specifically to consume such dark
powers. You must get the Remnant there
before its malevolent energy consumes you!”
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