5.04 - Heart of Mathos

On her way out of the Lord’s Hall, Anneleigh kept a watchful eye on the disrupted debris of the now silent chambers.   She found several artifacts that she believed might be worth collecting and pocketed the items; a tarnished heavy chain with a Mathosian engraving, a jagged object that emitted a strange purple glow, a clasp or tie of silver, a cracked gem mount.   Strangely, many of the pieces seemed to fit together, forming some sort of amulet; complete, though damaged, aside from the missing gemstone.  Anneleigh tested the glowing artifact in the empty place, but it did not complete the set.

Confused, but elated at her success, Anneleigh returned to Heroes’ Stand.

“We could feel the protection spread across the camp, Anneleigh.  Bahralt and the rest of the Vigil will surely remember this honor you do in their name.”  Sir Siennicki said as he welcomed her back to camp.

Anneleigh retold her discoveries as they walked.  From the surrounding tents they could hear the mutterings of the soldiers who overheard her story.

“A two-headed abomination beneath the Lord’s Hall?  Has everyone lost their minds?”  One soldier said.

“There hasn’t been anything like that seen since the Mathosian Civil War.”  A second answered.

“But even if those things had returned,” The first said, “Why would they be here now in this backwater wasteland?”

Anneleigh smiled but said nothing about the slight on her sanity, so Sir Siennicki continued.  “The mystical protections of Scarwood Reach are still damaged, but in restoring the Shrine of Bahralt, you have brought us a step closer to fully restoring them.” 

 “When the haunting broke, and the room shook, these were dislodged from their hiding places.”  She said as she offered the artifacts.

Sir Siennicki smiled at her more broadly.  “I don’t know what they could be, my dear, but I know someone who may.  As it stands, he has been waiting to speak with you.

He led Anneleigh to his tent where an old monk with a long, silver beard awaited their return.

“Anneleigh, may I introduce you to Bohem Maroboduus.”

Bohem held out his hand to shake Anneleigh’s.  She shook it, and, without further small talk, offered him the artifacts, which he took with care and placed on the central table.”

He paced by the table, looking over the items carefully, removing several from the table as he went.  When he had whittled the collection down to two, he again spoke, “This is an incredible find!”  He held up the book that had caught her eye.  “How did you ever notice this old tome among the rest of the ruins?  My friend, the Vigil guides your hand; there can be no doubt.”

“It was partly hidden under a pile of dislodged rocks.” Anneleigh said simply.  “I believe it belonged to Carwin Mathos.”

Her eyes became misty once again.  How strange it was that Carwin was so tied to this area of Telara.    Memories of his sacrifice flooded back each time his name was mentioned, yet as frequently as it has happened at late, she was still caught off guard each time.”

“The present often mirrors the past.  During the Mathosian Civil War, Carwin defended Lord’s Hall from King Aedraxis’s forces at the Auld Warden just north of here.  Perhaps we were meant to find this account, to learn from him even still.”

Anneleigh nodded and wiped the small tears from her eyes.  “And what of the second artifact?”

“This, this is most curious.  I can feel emanation of power from it, but can divine little of its nature beyond that.”

Anneleigh’s heart fell, which must have shown on her face.

“Don’t fret, my dear.  Marshal Kain of the 12^th may be able to divine the nature of these remnants.  Kain’s an Ascended like you.  He fought in the Mathosian War under Prince Zareph, and was alive when Lord’s Hall was a thriving dwarven city.  If anyone can tell us what these are, he can.”

Anneleigh took all of the discarded artifacts and the mysterious item and made the short walk back to Kain’s Command.  She began to explain what she had found, but when Kain saw the artifacts he halted her recount and ushered everyone from the room.

“This,” he said with awe as he looked upon the mysterious object, “came from that undead-infested dwarven hold?  Bohem is a fool, but luckily he sent you to me.  This remnant is from the shattered remains of Aedraxis himself!”  Anneleigh must have looked puzzled, because Kain continued. “When the Mad King Aedraxis was struck down at the end of the Mathosian Civil War, his Regulos-infused form shattered.”

Anneleigh shuttered, remembering it well.  This was the event that took her from this world for twenty years, preventing the life she would have known otherwise.  Kain either took no notice of her discomfort or refused to acknowledge it.  “Remnants of this evil were scattered across the lands, seeds of the Destroyer’s evil taint, dangerous seeds of corruption to spawn later evils.  The Vigil sent a messenger to me and made it my duty, my destiny, to collect and safeguard these Remnants.”

He removed the remains from her hands and placed it in a softly glowing box.  “I will see to it that the Vigil’s faith in me was not misplaced!”

With the remnant safeguarded, Kain turned his attention to the remaining pieces she retrieved. 

“It seems you may be good at more than just slaying the Vigil’s foes.  I might have a mission suited just for you.  Long ago, Carwin defeated his enemies here using the Chain of Command, an artifact that was lost in the battle.  That is, until you discovered these pieces.”

Anneleigh gave an audible sigh of relieve.  The reaction Bohem gave to the other artifacts she retrieved made her feel they were a useless waste of time.  Here now, however, was proof of her good judgement.

“The gemstone is missing.” Anneleigh said with worry.

For the first time since she returned to his tent, Kain smiled.  “It was missing, until Ralyn inadvertently disturbed it, activating its magic for the Aelfwar to track.  It is known as the Heart of Mathos, a polished orb of pure sourcestone.  If the Aelfwar find it first...”he trailed off.  “We need to reach it first.”

Anneleigh nodded.  “Where did Ralyn find it?” she asked, wondering why the girl failed to return it to her commander.

“In Auld Warden.” He said simply and then led her outside to the edge of the crater that was the growing point for the old, dead tree she had seen as she climbed to Lord’s Hall.  “The trolls would, no doubt, have moved it from its resting place at ground level to one more secure, more defendable.  You will need to climb to the top.

Anneleigh studied the tree.  It appeared to grow in air, however, when one accounted for the displaced dirt of the crater, it became obvious where the original, above ground tree had grown, and what now were its exposed roots.  She made her way to the rim of the crater and discovered a shortcut.  She would not need to venture into the hole, a strategy that would leave her venerable from all sides, including above.  Instead, she would use the exposed roots to her advantage.  She circled the rim until she found one of the reaching roots that stretched from the edge of the crater to the tree itself.   She quickly slipped off her boots and felt the muscles in her bare feet hold tight to the rough wooden beam.  With an agility born of her time in Silverwood, Anneleigh climbed quickly across the void.  Once at the top, she met with little resistance.  A few trolls paced in predictable patterns, but as they hunted by sound, she easily made her way around them to the Heart of Mathos. 

It was lighter than she thought it would be, requiring less counter balance, a fact that made her return trip easier.  Within the hour she was back in Kain’s command tent.

“Yes, that is the Heart of Mathos.” He said.  “I can feel its power from here.  You have done well, Elf.”

Anneleigh took slight offence to being addressed by her race, and not by her name, but she shrugged it off.

“The Chain of Command is a potentially powerful weapon, but in its current state, it is just that – potential.  The monks of the Sagespire will know how to restore it.  Bring them the pieces.  And Anneleigh, while you are there, enlist their aid in locating the remaining protective shrines.”