In Master's Absence

We gathered what we could, hid the attackers' boat, and set sail heading south. Ahmok was being stoic and handled the boat as best he could, but the fresh scars and occasional grimace painted a truer picture of his current condition.

It was risky staying on the main riverway, so we veered through denser swamps. However it was not long before we heard the dreaded sound of drums beating. We threw a rope around a tree and snug up to it, and went completely silent. Through the mist the faint silhouette of a big ship became visible. It was bigger than Maildance's ship. We exchanged glances - it must be Rasmussen. Ahmok later told us that it was definitely strange that such a large ship could be capable of managing the shallow waters of this part of the swamp. Employing the use of shadows and subtle darkness I made the general area we were in harder to see through. It must have saved our lives this time as well, as the ship sailed on. We waited a while longer then continued south.

We finally hit the coast. Mooring the boat and hiding it as best we could, we set off in search of a suitable place to camp. It was no easy feat, as the whole area was covered in mud and hidden puddles of it. Many times we trod on what seemed to be hard land only to sink chest deep (in Jarl's case chin deep) in the mire. Wading through such a pool we heard a cry and turned to see both Ivor and Ahmok going under at the same time. Whatever they were stepping on must have given way beneath their weight. Cyrellion was fast to act - he secured a rope to a nearby rock, tied it to himself and went under looking for them, using his spear as a probe. Meanwhile I tied another rope to the rock for when they resurface. Jarl could only watch helpless. Agonizingly long seconds passed by before first Ahmok, then Cyrellion and Ivor came up again. We threw the rope at them and pulled them in. After a short rest we carry on, and are eventually rewarded with a flat rocky outcropping above the mist level, where we set up camp.

The following morning we headed out on foot and eventually came upon what we were looking for: the pillar marked on the map. The ruins of it, more appropriately. A large circular base was set firmly in the ground, with pieces of ever decreasing width lying scattered around it. We examined the scribblings on the base and stones, but could not decipher a meaning, if there ever was one. Then we made two interesting discoveries. Thanks to his elementalism Jarl divined an orichalcum-core/vulgar-metal-plated rod (much like we found at the temple of Mynbruje earlier), bent and twisted out of it's original shape. Ivor later pointed out that it was in fact made up of various slightly-movable parts, as if to change it's shape / orientation in a minimal way. Later we noticed that Ivor was not among us any more. Before we could understand what was happening he walked calmly out of the treeline, holding a four-foot wide ruby coloured disc, in the shape of a lens. He was grinning serenely and said, "It called out to me". We decided not to push the issue further, and instead wondered at his find.

We tried to figure out how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Was the pillar an ancient lighthouse, with the orichalcum rod holding up the lens? We realised that from up here there could very possibly be direct line of sight to where the Mynbruje temple lay. Could there be a connection? There was a hole in the altar there, which held the rod upright. What did that rod used to hold? Why could they have been pointing towards each other? It was then that we noticed that Ferros' map had three very faint lines forming a triangle connecting the locations of the pillar, the temple of Mynbruje, and another location further east. Wolf had told us that Ferros used geometry and such to encrypt messages and meanings. As we were pondering all this, we noticed something very strange - and useful. Looking through the lens allowed the viewer direct line of sight ignoring both mist and mud. This was a great boon, because low visibility played a part in those ships always sneaking up on us, and the mud could hide something important. Or dangerous. We trained the lens towards the expanse of the swamp below us, and we could see all the details previously hidden by the mist, even at such a distance. A number of ships and boats were prowling around, ostensibly looking for us. We spotted without difficulty Rasmussen's ship. To our amazement and a dawning lack of surprise, the ship just floated straight up out of the water to reveal itself as an airship. No wonder nobody in Lantern Wharf knew where the ship used to be. Rasmussen must have been keeping this card very close to his chest.

We camped at the site of the pillar and the next morning we set off, east again, heading towards the last marking on our map, the last point of the triangle. It took us a full day of sailing to get there, thankfully uneventful. When we hit land again, we explored the coast for a while and came upon a passageway leading from the water straight up the mountains. We tied up the boat and got ready for the trek. Half a day later we finally came upon it.

A large site, in various stages of ruin now, with what was once a high perimeter wall, a large internal yard and buildings running the length of the sides and directly opposite the entrance. Going through the ancient gates we were greeted by what we first thought was the site of an old battle - name giver remains littered the yard. But then we realised that the remains were of different races, no common uniform or livery, weapons of different styles and origin. They must have come here separately or in small parties, and they all died. Interesting. I extended my senses to the spiritual, and was rewarded with quite some activity. They were all armed and their eyes were following us. The picture started to make some more sense now.

I decided to knock on the main door, metaphorically speaking. I addressed one of the spirits and asked to see the Master. Not surprisingly I was told that he was not in. We were instead shown into the guest quarters, where we could wait for his arrival. Said quarters being without a roof and with a vine-based decor. Before leaving our escort gave me a stern warning that visitors were not allowed outside the public areas, which reinforced the fact that the remains in the yard had been of unwelcome visitors.

We explored the yard, and unearthed a veritable treasure in coins and gems off the bodies. As we neared the door to the main building we noticed two things - a small square shaped recess in the door, and two spirits guarding it. Ivor brought out the true earth shards we had found previously, and true enough they could be put together to form a square. Could it be...

I stepped up to the guards, introduced myself again, and stated, "the Master has granted us access to his chambers, and has given us the key thereto." I held my breath in anticipation. The guards bowed, "if the Master so desires, then we shall obey." And they stepped aside. As Ivor was placing the shards in the recess, they were gently pulled from him as if with a magnetic force. Once all the shards were in place the mechanism was activated, the recess sunk in further and the doors creaked open.