Two wyverns were seen flying over the Copper Hills fort very recently.
Shortly after the group has left the Copper Hills fort Alexis addresses Ethelred, “what was that back there? It was like you wanted them to show you to a cell and an inquisitioner. For my part, I’d like to avoid that path for the time being.”
Alexis looks at Ethelred expectantly as they continue away from the fort.
As the group is still recovering from Leer’s poison and talking about possible courses of action.
“We will leave Raff and Earika to their fight. The Sword Chaotic has a sort of gravity that I wish to move away from. Perhaps in a few years things will be different and I will have the opportunity to study it at the Collegium, but for now we will focus on other things.”
Alexis then moves to the tent flap and looks around, presumably to make sure nobody is obviously eaves-dropping. He then moves back into the tent and addresses Telosh in an even tone “You lied and deceived me when you cast that spell when I wasn’t looking. You waited for my attention to be elsewhere, and you purposely used my magic against my will. In hindsight I now realize you had been waiting for such an opportunity, possible for some time now. For an opportunity when I would have a working you could try to mimic and when I would be distracted. Pure deceit. Premeditated, and an utter betrayal of my trust in showing you anything of magic.”
Alexis seems slightly sad as he starts his next sentence “And now I can’t use magic around you, because I know you are always watching. Biding your time playing the role of a loyal companion, but actually deceiving me. Duping me into showing you magic but without the rigor, the skill, or the control.”
More than just a few steps after the walking conversation about Ath, Telosh slides up next to Alexis again.
“Hunger. When I connected with the Dark Third, I felt a deep, bottomless hunger. That could be Undeath, it could be Crows, and it could be the ArruNoroth. The undead hunger for the living. Crows are always hungry for food. Dragons are always hungry for gold and power.”
Telosh pauses.
“What is Ath hungry for? I am hungry for recognition, praise… trust.”
Telosh grows very quite, even his steps are softer.
In a moment in the tent, Telosh approaches Ethelred.
Hey ’Red, can I talk to you for a minute? The other day you said something about how I’ve been lying about following TyLin. I know I’m deceitful, but I’ve never lied about that.”
Telosh is clearly upset, but trying to hold it back.
“Yes, I turned away from TyLin and didn’t say anything about it, I let that be part of Inkam, not Lucius, but I have never falsely revered Her.
Bitterness and anger are apparent on the Westlander’s face.
“I would have sensibly cowered with you and the others when we faced Yogg if I had not received the stone beforehand. I would still have Thraan’s rapier, and the bow I took from The Made.”
He takes a long look at the Aegrian, and shakes his head ever so slightly.
“I may use trickery and guile when needed, but I don’t lie to my companions.”
The group has hustled through the night away from the undead at the Copper Hills mine. Shortly after the group passes the offshoot to Raff’s territory, Alexis asks Telosh “what was that you said about ‘Ath’?”
After the previous conversation.
“And if the three of you are the only ones to survive, take it to the Westlands. Having touched it, I have come to realize, and I still don’t really understand why, that it belongs there.”
“If it comes to this, Red, you’re my first choice to hold the blade. You have a fate surrounding a blade and you’re reluctant.”
“If not Red, then you Gus, since you’re just reluctant.”
“What should be done with the blade?” Alexis shrugs his shoulders.
“Unite the tribes, or at least attempt to?” Alexis shrugs his shoulders again.
“Become a servant to one of the leaders of the West?” More shrugging.
“Depose one of the leaders yourself? Actually that sounds like a bad idea.”
“Can I get your agreement on this? Alexis looks for the agreement of each in this group.”
While the group is in the Copper Hills mine waiting with Raff and his few remaining followers, Alexis addresses his companions in a hushed voice.
“If I don’t survive Earika, please take my notebook to the Collegium along with my ring. There is another copy of my notebook in Sutheron, but this one should go to the Collegium. Will you promise me this?”
Sometime along the way to Yog’s fortress…
“Oi, Coz,” Telosh calls to Gustav.
Gustav looks confused, Telosh’s accent is extra think at the moment, and a little odd, different somehow from his usual Westlander, or his reasonable good Sutheroni, and his attempt at Aegerian.
“What was it like where you grew up? You’re different from Red and the other Aegerian’s I’ve met. More like my cousins, maybe.”
Telosh’s accent seems to have shifted back quickly.
“Aye, you remind me of Gorf, and Sven a bit too…”
Telosh looks away for a moment, blinks a few times and looks back.
Waiting in the darkness with Raff and the last few followers, Alexis turns to Telosh.
“If you’d taken the sword, you might be far enough away by now that Earicka would have a hard time finding you. Or you might be in the spot where Raff is. Still happy you didn’t take the sword?” Alexis gives Telosh a wink.
Before Alexis goes back to keeping an ear out, his eyes linger for a moment on the red gem in the Sword Chaotic. This face softens a little, and then his head continues the turn back to the front of the mine.
After the failure of his small scale ballista Ethelred talks to the group.
“Building this ballista is going to be a bit more work than I had expected. The materials and the actual building should be trivial to work with. The part I am struggling with is how to make the weaponry work right.
To start with I will need a bow that I can take apart and rebuild for a simple test. Better yet finding someone else that knows how to make bows or maybe even weapons in general would help. If I am unable to build a small scale ballista with confidence we should have another plan.
The giant presents some problems. If we attempt to replicate and attack like we did on the dragon I think we could have success. But we don’t have the sturdy chain, nor something sturdy to attach it to. Tree a abound, but we also know the giant can uproot those with little challenge.
The key to the dragon attack was not to deal one killer blow, but to hold the creature in place while we wore it down. We should try and do the same with the giant.
What are other options besides the ballista that we could achieve in the woods?”