“Shouldn’t we set off to warn them?”
Anneleigh asked when frustration got the better of her on the third day. “Bavik will catch up with us. She’ll know where we went.”
“We’re sending regular updates with
messenger hawks. They know we are on the
way, and they know to keep a closer watch on the cultists.”
Anneleigh frowned. “How do you know the messages are being
received? We haven’t heard back and it
has been three days.”
Watcher Natham took her aside and made her
sit down in a small tent. “Anneleigh, we
appreciate your assistance in the past few days, but your worry and negativity
is beginning to leech into the minds of my command.” He said with a grave
voice. “If you don’t refrain from
voicing your doubt ever few minutes, I will have to ask you to leave, Ascended
or not.”
Anneleigh remained silent, but nodded
before looking down to her boots. She
knew, in the pit of her stomach that something was wrong, but understood the
command to stay or go was his to make.
A taller man Anneleigh knew as Defender
Ulan came to the tent mouth. “Natham,
Bavik has returned, you’ll want to hear this.”
The two men and Anneleigh returned to the
fire at the center of the camp where Bavik was sitting on a log wrapped in a
warm blanket and being handed a steaming cup of tea.
“The tablets you recovered,” Bavik began,
looking more at Anneleigh than any of the others, “date back to the Age of
Dragons. The information on the
fragments is not enough to discern their meaning, but scouts I met on my return
tell me the Abyssal have found something larger.”
“It’s clear that the Abyssal are up to much
more than just digging for relics.” Watcher Natham said as he paced around the
fire. “I look forward to teaching them
what happens to those who challenge Thedeor’s might. We need to obta....”
“Watcher Natham!” exclaimed a young soldier
Anneleigh had never met, cutting off Natham mid sentence as he raced into
camp. He looked alarmed and out of
breath, each hand stretched to grip the feet of several large, and dead,
hawks. “The Abyssal have been striking
down our messages. I tried to reach the Outpost,
but they block the road and pathways between our camp and theirs.”
Natham turned to Anneleigh. “Our hope of contacting the keep rests on you
now. If they take Icewatch Outpost,
there will be no one to stop the undead hordes of Stillmoor from overrunning
us. This cannot be allowed to pass. I believe someone of your talents can survive
the pass.”
Anneleigh nodded, retrieved the tablet from
Bavik, and gathered her rucksack.
“May Thedeor be with you, Anneleigh.” The
camp said in unison as she departed into the snow.
The road and pathways were indeed blocked by
the Abyssal cultists, but Anneleigh was able to carve out an alternate route by
climbing slightly down the mountain’s face.
There she found a long forgotten bridge of rope and plank that was
strung across the chasm many years past.
Anneleigh gingerly tested the first few
boards with her boot and pulled on the taut rope guide wires. Everything seemed sturdy, if not a little ice
covered from exposure to the elements. She
checked that the whole thing was still securely fastened into the cliff face
and then took her first tentative steps out over the divide. Telling herself not to look down, she crossed
the length of the bridge. The process was slow as she tried to avoid slipping
on the wet and icy wood but eventually she made grateful steps into the hard
packed snow on the opposite side.
The pathway leading to Icewatch Outpost
from the north was less patrolled and at last she arrived in a small camp.
When she pictured Icewatch Outpost, she envisioned
a large and settled camp. Instead she
was met with several rustic and hastily put together tents and a few torches
for light and warmth.
Another of the Icewatch greeted her as she
entered the camp. “Well met in Exile’s
Den, Ascended.” said the man. “I am Defender
Oathrik, and you must bring us news of reinforcements from Whitefall.”
Anneleigh was confused, but he looked at
her with such hope that she dared not delay in giving him the bad news. She shook her head slowly. “The Abyssal have taken Icewatch ridge.” She said
in a low voice.
“You’ve brought dire news, my dear, and I
have the displeasure of delivering equally dire tidings to you. For the first time in over a thousand years,
the Icewatch has failed to hold the outpost.”
Anneleigh gasped and put her hand to her
mouth. “I am too late.” She cried, “I
knew I should have left Oathbound when I uncovered the tablet three days ago.”
“You would have been several days too late,
even by that measure.” He reassured her.
“Come now and meet Tabitha Leighton.
It seems some of your information will piece nicely into hers.”
Oathrik lead Anneleigh into a large command
tent, not unlike the tent Kain occupied in Scarwood reach. He extended his arms to direct her attention
to the woman standing beside the workbench that was substituting for a command
table.
“This ascended,” Oathrik began.
“Anneleigh.” She interrupted.
“Anneleigh, then, has some information for
you commander.”
The woman nodded at Anneleigh and motioned
for her to take a seat while she sat opposite.
Leighton remained quiet as Anneleigh recounted her information and
handed forward the small tablet. After a
few moments she stood and placed the tablets among some larger specimens on the
far wall.
“We know that the Abyssal plan on releasing
Akylios, but we aren’t sure how their magic works and if they have the potency
to do so, even here at the planar crossroads.”
Anneleigh felt her eyes widen. “Planar cross roads?” she asked.
“The Icewatch Outpost was built for its
tactical advantage against invading armies, but its location also has a strong
affinity with the planes. It is the area
where the connection between the plane of Air, Water, Death, and Life is
strongest.” Tabitha continued quickly,
seeing Anneleigh’s confusion grow. “It
is too cold for fire demons, and the cult of Lathys prefers the warmer
temperatures of the south. But history
lessons can wait. What we need is to get
a better understanding of the magic the Abyssal cult is using in the
region. A ritual like this would more
than likely be conducted outdoors.”
Anneleigh nodded. “What do you need me to do?”
“Check the tops of the towers for the
Grimoire.”
Yay, I love it! Good job as always!
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