1.02G - The Relics

Gwenllian returned to Talvar, unsure if she found any information that the council would think useful.  When she entered the house she found the room a buzz with planning and excitement.

“We’ve got our first lead, Linny.” Hartigan said.  “The local wildlife has been turning up dead, tainted by planar energy.  Garret just returned from a hunting trip to the coast.  Tell her what you told us, Garret.”

“The Azure Blade has landed on the shores to the south!” said the large dwarf to her right.  She thinks back, trying to remember Garret from her memory but decides this must be the first time they’ve met.   She smiles at him, trying to work up the same level of excitement he was showing.

“Who are the Azure Blades?”  Gwenllian asked.

“Pirates,” Talvar said, “Hired thieves who will acquire anything for the highest bidder.  We cannot let them tarnish the ancient home of the dwarves with their illicit goods!” Talvar says. 

“It gets worse,” Hartigan said, “Garret tell them the rest of the story.”

“Well, like Harigan said, I was hunting on the coast.  I don’t know if you’ve ever been hunting out that way, but the wind gusts from the ocean can cast a horrible chill.  I never camp down that way if I can help it.  One year, I got a horrible head cold....”

“Stop rambling and get on with it.” Hartigan said with a stern look.  “If we don’t get a move on we won’t be in any position to help.”

Garret sighs and continues.  “I was putting up camp in the wooded area across from the Cliffside, in the Sundered Path, you know, and I saw the pirates digging up relics along the path.”

“Countless Moonshade citizens died when the Ward was sundered.” Talvar said.

“If this is true the Azure Blade is doing more than just stealing our history, they are disturbing our dead.” said Gwenllian, completing his thought.

Garret nods sadly to Gwenllian.  “I saw it, just as you say.  Every time a relic was unearthed, a spirit evolved from that spot and followed them a distance.  When they lost the trail, they seemed stuck, unable to return to their rest.”

“I wish we knew who those Pirates work for.  It would help us discover our next step.”

“Is there a way to get that information, covertly, I mean.” Gwenllian asked.  “We don’t want to haul one back here for questioning.  It would alert them to our involvement.” 

“There is a cauldron of holy water in Three Springs.  If we could submerge a relic it would cause an immediate reaction to any residual planar magic.”

Gwenllian stood to leave.  “Then I’ll go out to the path to gather a relic for this test.”  To her surprise Garret also stood.  The company turned to look at him.

“We don’t have to do that.”

Hartigan sighed at Garret.  “If you have a better way, I’d sure love to hear it.”

“I only meant Gwen doesn’t have to go get one.”

“Linny.” Gwenllian said.  “Please don’t call me Gwen.  And if you feel a woman cannot do this job, just say so.  I can take you on and be back with a relic before you would even finish your sentence.”

Garret frowned at her and took a small stone object from his pocket.  “I only meant we don’t need to go because I brought one back.  Nice to know how you feel though.”

Talvar and Hartigan took the relic and left to do the required tests, leaving Garret and Gwenllian in an awkward silence.  She sat harshly back in her seat, resisting the urge to yell or pout.  Instead, she focused her mind on her clenched fists until they relaxed upon her lap.

“This is not good at all.”  Talvar said when he and Hartigan returned. “The artifacts are imbued with death magic.”

“Could the wave of planar death that led to the closing of Hammerknell still linger here nearly twenty years after the fact?”  Gwenllian asked.

Hartigan looked at her.  “I don’t know, but I think I know where we can get our answer.  The Azure Blade must be working for someone who wants death magic infused relics.”

 “We’ve got a more pressing problem.  If the artifacts that the Azure Blade is collecting from the Path are deathtouched, then the memorial stones we placed there for the dead are likely tainted as well.” Garret said from the back of the room. 

The company was so focused on Hartigan, that no one noticed him.   Everyone turned, surprise and alarm flashing on each face in the room. 

“Those memorials must be sanctified with holy water so that the spirits are not drawn back to them in the future.” Talvar said.  “Linny, this one will be a job for you.  For us all if we can manage it.  There are more than a few memorials to bless, and little time.”

Gwenllian and the company rose from their seats as one and travelled to the Sundered Path.   They divided the area and split up to cover more ground, leaving Gwenllian, the only Ascended, the more pirates infested areas.

At each stone she passed, Gwenllian stopped to pray to Bahralt, splashing the monument with holy water and wishing for their safety.  After some time her mind became tuned to the spirit plane and she was able to witness the release of the trapped spirits.

At the allotted time, she returned to Talvar’s home, finding the rest of the company already present and in deep discussion.

“This Azure Blade invoice just confuses me more, Talvar.” Hartigan says as Talvar leads Gwenllian to her seat. 

“What invoice?”  Gwenllian asked.

“While we were on the Path we encountered Jackson Murphy, the pirate captain.  We found this invoice on his body before we burned it.”  Said Hartigan without a second thought as Gwenllian frowned.   “It mentions a buyer named Brenin, but it doesn’t say who or where he is.”

“What I find more strange,” Talvar says, “is the invoice notes that they’ve had a number of their smugglers sacrificed by a group of possessed satyrs in Twilit Stand.”

“I thought the satyrs in Twilit Stand were members of House Aelfwar.” said Garret.  “But while I was hunting I saw them performing death-magic sacrifices just past the tree-line.”

“And you only think to tell us this now?” Hartigan exclaime, but he is quieted by Talvar.

“The possessed satyrs of Twilit Stand are troubling.  Who’s controlling them?”

“Minions don’t stray far from their masters.”  Hartigan says with a smile.  “Let’s go find out.”