In a moment of rest after entering Nodden Tor, Rask address Alexis and the rest of the group, but mostly Alexis.
“What IS a Tear of Avv? More than the rain that falls on our crops, shepherded by Oo-rin?
“Sheyeeni said her true boss had two? Hadonis said some Nalcir tribesmen betrayed him and may still hold it?”
Alexis dreams of being in a vast, crumbling library beneath the earth. The shelves stretch into darkness filled with books bound in skin and ash. In the silence, a voice whispers from a pulsing tone with a crackled black cover. He reads it. The runes speak out that this is the truth of the crone. Alexis opens it only to find his own handwriting, cataloging secrets yet not yet learned. As he reads it, the ink bleeds from the page and forms the face of Avv. But her features seem to be rotting in front of him. Something is wrong. Alexis gets the feeling that he has abandoned something. The voice of the crone distorts. Bandages begin wrapping around Alexis’ face, blinding him. He now feels like he’s being dragged through the aisles by spectral librarians, chanting, “She’s corrupted and so are you.”
Alexis awakes with dried blood on his nose and a sentence in his mind “Beware the king, his tomb is empty, for he had made his pact.”
It’s the morning after the group camped at “Ty-Lynn’s Garden”. Morning settles soft over the camp, the mist clinging low to the bedrolls and the blackened stones of the fire. A crow mutters somewhere in the trees. Alexis stands near what’s left of the coals, warming his hands more out of habit than need.
“Since Warder Yule,” he says, eyes on the faint embers, “and especially after what happened last night, I’ve been thinking about where my magic comes from.” He straightens a little, turning his hat absently in his hands as he speaks. “Avv’s realm has its uses—finding what’s hidden, drawing the unseen to light. But I’m not her servant. Never was. And since we left Ghanil, treasure-hunting hasn’t been high on the list.”
He looks up then, toward Ca’armine, but his voice carries to all of them. “The name of Avv… tends to make people uneasy. You’ve felt it. Yule certainly did.” He gives a small, crooked smile—more acknowledgment than humor.
“I trained with the Collegium,” he goes on. “They teach you to touch where you choose, not a servant any one realm. And I’d like to be in greater harmony with you; my Raidenites.”
Turning to face them fully, the mist curls around his boots, “Are you willing to help me make the shift?”
It’s the daytime after the group has first started scouting Tarkus Vell’s warehouse. Ethelred is on watch.
Alexis stirs, pushes himself upright, and glances around the camp. The others are still wrapped in sleep, breath rising steady from their blankets. The quiet hum of the nomad quarter beyond, the wide grasslands holding steady at the city’s edge. He spots Ethelred on watch and lowers his voice.
“Evening Red” Alexis whispers.
…
“Mostly good,” he says after a moment, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Though I woke from another of those dreams—like the visions back in the Westlands. This time I was behind the eyes of a great white wolf. It dug at the earth, but the ground gave back bodies instead of dirt. And still it tore on, trying to reach something burning below.” His hand closes around the red jasper at his throat. “We can’t let him succeed. He’ll ruin everything if we do.” Alexis says it plain, as though stating the weather.
Alexis takes a moment and shifts gears.
“I’ve been thinking that after we leave here we need to spend some time discerning what some of our tools do. I still lament giving up those wooden rings, but we weren’t spending the time we needed to figure them out and Mavon needs the money. But while traveling away from here, or wherever we are next that’s quiet, please make sure I make time to uncover the mysteries.”
Alexis eases back down onto his bedroll, folding his hands behind his head. His gaze lingers on the pale sky, a faint smile touching his lips as the sounds of the nomad quarter drift across their camp.
The Crimson Calling is sailing on the Gilded Zephyr, having been smuggled from Sutheron and heading to Llanos port. Alexis kneels down next to Ethelred, who is continually studying the documents from the Collegium, holds the red jasper around his neck, and chants something while his other hand forms precise forms and seems to get a little blue.
For the next many hours Alexis sits next to Ethelred, thinking. Occasionally one of the Calling will ask him for something, or about something, and he will respond and then go back to his focused thoughts. For some portion of his reverie he writes or draws in his book.
The next morning at breakfast clears his throat to get the group’s attention while he idly walks a copper coin across his knuckles. “Yesterday I studied the ritual room with the demon under the Copper Hills Fort. As we had suspected it was human magics calling upon demon magics. Nothing about the magics was anything I’ve ever encountered before. Not the sorcery on the sword, not the summoning. But I could clearly make out two intertwined magics: one demonic, and other was of Avv.”
After the group has been dropped off by Hap, spent a day investigating the items they have, and enjoying being in the grasslands each of them starts delving into their own studies.
Over the next week, the weather seems to stay cold where the group is, even as spring seems to be taking hold around them. Frost greets the group on their gear and around the camp.
As well, during this week, backpacks and other buckles seem to be open when they were left closed. Perhaps this coincides with the occasional dreams of twisted creatures begging to be released when nothing seems to shackle them, struggling to open doors that finally open to rooms full of seemingly worthless treasure, or attempting to read books that contain text that seems to form never-ending and circular writings.
At some point during their two weeks at the grove before heading to Barra’s pool the three treasure hunters are all having an evening meal together. After some logistics Alexis turns to his companions.
“I’ve been thinking about our battle with the Red Cloaks under the fort, and how much easier it might have been if you’d both accepted the ‘blessings’ of the symbol/archtype you both refer to as ‘Avv’. And the thing that has me confused is the ‘blessings’ you’re willing to accept and the ones you’re not. And I speak as someone who is happy to accept boons and blessings from almost any ‘god’. Obviously Nurgle would be hard for me because the slime, the spores, etc.” Alexis gives a shudder of revulsion. “And I wouldn’t trust a gift/boon from the Arril-Noroth since I expect it would contain a barb of some sort. But back to the subject at hand…”
“You both willingly accepted a ‘blessing’ from Bora Bloodfist, servant of She-Who-Is-Fierce, and from that ‘blessing’ we were taken on a journey together and now better understand the Path of the Peacemakers. Great. But that started because you both accepted magics from a priest of the goddess of the gnolls. That was acceptable, but ‘blessings’ from ‘Avv’ are not.”
“And you both willingly accepted the task to break Dauntless for a boon from She-Who-Is-Fierce. And I was, and still could be, excited to see what sort of boon that would be. But my point is that getting a boon from that goddess whom many consider evil and hostile to humanity, Raiden, etc was acceptable, but blessings from Avv are not.”
“Red, you can I carried the Eyes of Maglubiyet accepting the risks and rewards therein. But somehow a blessing from a matriarch of humanity is not.”
“Gus, you wear bracers of the VahnYir, who pledged themselves to the Arru-Noroth. And you accept the magics I learned from those bracers to further help you in your aim. Magics that also come from the VahnYir. This is all acceptable to you, but blessings of Avv are not.”
“Please help me understand how you are both willing to accept the magics of forces so antithetical to humanity and Raiden, and so hostile to accepting help from the human magics of ‘Avv’, who defended humanity at one of the points when humanity needed it most.”
Alexis looks between Gustav and Ethelred.
After Vagram and Teldon have left the tent of the Crimson Calling, Alexis consults his notebook and then addresses the group.
“Depending on how things go up north we might be able to answer some of our outstanding questions, mostly from our time at the Greyfax estate.” Alexis looks at his companions, and through his look conveys that this is a good time to bring Ezrin up to speed on anything that might have been missed previously.
“Some of the questions that have been on my mind” Alexis pats his notebook
“What really happened on the night we witnessed?”
“What was the nature of the donkey cart with all the monies that went into the woods?”
“Who was the girl chased by the wolves? It would be nice to make sure her name is sent to the Hoodites for a proper ‘rememberance’.”
“Where were the people taken? What were the swirls in the mist?”
“What happened to Torrin, and why was he the anchor for Utiog?”
“Were they aware of Avv’s involvement? Can they tell me more about that?”
“What happened to Lady Sofia that night? Where was she?”
“Who was the girl Ty-Lin girl that haunted Telosh? … and who was eventually… um… banished to the undead city?”
“What is the name of the undead city? Is it Kobos? Do they happen to know anything about Kobos? Now that I think about it, I should ask Vagram and Teldon on our hike north, on the very-remote chance.”
“How much interaction did they have with the Dark Hand? My understanding was that the ‘night-of-the-mists’ resulted in the people at the Greyfax estate being taken away into slavery. If so, it seems reasonable that they could have had a ‘relationship’ with the Dark Hand.”
“Much to do with Barra’s cave. Did they know it was Barra’s cave? What do they know about the pool? What do they know about the Eyes?”
“Based on how much Torrin hated Arri, it seems reasonable that they might know about Arri. I would be curious to know more.”
“Do they happen to know any more about the Saggi or the Akkil?”
“Obviously, all the mysteries around the twice-broken?”
And there are some additional questions I have since we will be going north.
“What is the nature of the bell?”
“What other treasures do they know about at the undead city? Do they know more about the nature of the undead city?”
“Have they heard about lost treasures north of Middlebar?”
“What was the effect within Middlebar when the villagers came out and confronted the Aegirian army?”
Alexis looks between his companions, mutely asking for additional questions, or ready to answer questions they have about his questions.
During the two weeks in the fort after Earyka has the Sword Chaotic, on several occasions in the dark (early morning, late at night) Alexis has gone outside the tent to conduct some soft chanting.
During one of these sessions Ethelred has come out of the tent and watched Alexis’ chanting. There’s clearly some sort of magic, but not any kind he can get a grasp of.
When Alexis finishes Ethelred asks him what he was trying to do.
Alexis responds “Ezrins lessons have gotten me thinking about my magical studies more. Some in the Collegium talk about magics that are more flexible, although always less powerful. The spell sometimes-called ‘Prestidigitation’ is a good example of this sort of flexibility, but there are precious few spells like this within the framework of the Collegium. Some say it’s the nature of the Collegium that the magic is so strict. Some say it is the nature of ‘true-magic’ itself to be rigid. Others say that after the betrayal of the 2nd age, Shasharak had something to do with limiting the nature of Collegium magic.” Alexis gives a nonchalant shrug.
“I’ve decided to spend some time seeing if I can tap into this more flexible magic. The darkness helps a little, but the old fort helps more. There are secrets kept in those walls” Alexis gestures towards the mostly dark Copper Hills Fort, with the torches visible at the gates and on the parapets. “Those centuries of secrets are my focus as I try to open myself to a little bit of raw energy that can be shaped to find the secrets and bring them to our aid. The aid of humanity.”
Alexis continues to look towards the fort in the darkness. His eyes a little squinted as if he’s trying to peer through the walls.
The giant white wolf has left the group and morning is fresh upon them. Alexis asks for a memento from each as appreciation for the help through the night. Ethelred pulls out one of the spearheads from the stink lizards and starts working it to be more like a fang. While Ethelred works, Alexis takes the pickax and starts digging a relatively shallow hole out of the way, Telosh takes out the goblin potions and decides which to part with, and Gustav finds a stone and starts carving a wolf-head on the stone. After Alexis finishes the hole he brings out one of Nock-Moss’ river rocks and draws a tear on the rock.
When everyone has their offering, Alexis takes each one in turn starting with the stones from Ethelred and Gustav.
“As small tokens of appreciation for you and your wolf, our protector last night, we dedicate this fang and this fierce visage.” Alexis sets Gustav’s stone first and places Ethelred’s on top of it.
“In the name of the wise woman, we offer this tainted potion. May you use the taint as a poison or the potion for it’s power.”
“With the ink of humanity in this remote place, we remember how you have saved humanity once again, and mark it with a tear.”
When the last item is placed in the hole, Alexis looks at his companions. “Now a moment for each of us to silently give thanks.”
The period of silence extends, and extends. The period is too long. It feels awkward.
Finally Alexis breaks the silence with a whispered “thank you.” Then he turns to the group “those awkward silences always make me uneasy. Let’s cover this hole and get over that saddle. May we be blessed across the river and not be stopped by the smooth cheeks.”