Hello, Everyone!
Last time, Mary had a good talk with Balaine Endoras. Did I say 'good'? Well, more like he explained some stuff about her father an she yelled at him.
Oh, well, there are days like this, I suppose :) I'm sure Mary will reconsider her sentiments before it's too late. Right?
“For what is worth,” Balaine Endoras said, “I am happy--and relieved--that you’re alive. Myth Adofhaer will accept you with open arms if you decide to state your heritage. And I think Tiriel would be very interested why Falka’s gifts have skipped a generation.”
Mary glared at him. Why did he think she cared how the elves--and especially Tiriel Elaire--felt towards her? As far as she knew, they could have been complicit in her father’s ‘accident’. Or conspiring to get rid of her. Or try and keep her imprisoned in this cursed place.
"Now," the Elder clasped his hands, turning to the other two, “it’s time to take care of your statue. Follow me, please.”
They headed out. Mary went after them without much vigour.
They went to the unicorn pond and Mary planted Gillean's tree on the spot Endoras pointed. The moment she smoothed the last handful of dirt on top of the seed, she felt her power surge and had to close her eyes in order to take it all in. When she opened them again, she saw Balaine Endoras grin at her. She answered with a pout.
"So, time you started posing for your statue," he said.
He introduced them to another elf that was just now arriving to the scene. He was carrying a huge folder and a whole suitcase full of art supplies. He introduced himself as Algo Ders, the famous elven artist. Mary remembered reading his name in one of the Archive files. He was the father of one of the other three Olivias.
Algo Ders took out a sketchbook with a beautiful wooden cover and started making a bunch of drawings of the trio. He had them try out different poses, took some measurements, drew their faces from this or that angle... Pretty soon, Mary and Bruno grew tired of it all, but Aurum kept on insisting the artist got his 'good side'.
During all of this, they noticed a person in white robes walk nearby and recognised Dorina Dwendel, finally free from her cell. Bruno waved at her and she joined them by the pond.
"Thank you again for what you did," she said. "Do you mind if I…hugged you?"
Bruno and Aurum didn't, but Mary's chest reflexively tightened when Dorina came closer. She was still a bit rattled after their fight last night.
"I'd prefer to give you a handshake if you don't mind," she said quietly.
Dorina gave her a sad smile and nodded.
She told them more about what had happened to her six years ago. She’d worked tirelessly, trying to ambush the kidnapper, and one evening she had finally succeeded. She witnessed Entivio go for his next victim and confronted him, but his enchantment was quicker. She remembered being paralysed by a spell (Hold Person, Mary assumed), and was powerless to resist.
"I remember everything that I did under his control," Dorina said, her eyes staring at the ground. "I have so many regrets now, so many things to make up for…"
"It wasn't your fault," Bruno said. "None of it. It was all Kloth."
She looked at him with gratitude.
“We have something of yours,” Mary said.
She reached into her bag and took out the long box lord Dwendel had given them, way back when they had first parted ways. Whispering the code words, she unlocked it and handed Dorina the map it contained.
“Oh!” the woman said. She smoothed the rolled-up paper/parchment. “No, I don’t… I was awarded this for something I didn't do. You can keep it.”
“Do you know anything about the additional markings?” Mary said.
There were three dots, on different mountain peaks, as well as the symbol of a dragon in the middle of the Swamp of Agony. They wouldn’t have noticed them, really, but they were drawn with a different kind of ink than the rest of the map. So, it was a small mystery in and of itself.
“Did you make these?” Mary asked.
Dorina stared at the map, unfolded before her. She slowly shook her head but tears suddenly flooded her eyes and dripped on the paper.
“What’s the matter? Why are you crying?”
“I am?” Dorina said and touched her cheek. She stared at the moisture on her hand. “Oh, I am,” she said. “I… I don’t know what’s happening. I didn't make these. I remember them being there when they presented me with the map. Why don’t you ask the artist himself?"
She pointed at Algo Ders who was still by the pond, talking with Endoras about the statue.
"We'll see him next," Bruno said. "What are you going to do, now that you're free?"
"I'll rest, take care of myself," Dorina said. "Get some time away from adventuring and spend it with my family. Then probably go back to Pamagos, to see Mr. Perres."
The way she said her boss' name caught Mary's attention. There was much tenderness and affection in her voice. Mary wondered whether there was something more than just a professional relationship there. But before she had time to ponder about it, her friends had already led her towards Algo Ders.
They greeted the man and showed him the map. He gasped.
"How dare you! Who's scribbled on my precious baby?!"
"So, we gather it wasn't you," Bruno said.
"I'd never!" the elf said. "I take great pride in my art!"
"Then who might have done it?"
"I don't know!" he said. "Perhaps that woman I had to give it to? She probably doodled all over…"
"Couldn't it be someone that had it before you gave it to her?"
"Nobody had it before her. It was a special reward, I presented it to her with my own two hands."
Mary frowned. So, the moment the map came to Dorina's hands, it already had the markings, but the only person who'd held it before her, didn't make them? The mystery thickened.
"How did you make the map so detailed?" she asked. "It's a really beautiful piece of art."
"Oh, thank you!" the artist said, seemingly flattered. "I had my secret sources of information, I can’t reveal them."
Mary squinted at him, suspiciously. Was it really secret sources or was it just adventurers who’d described things and he just drew them?
She asked about the locations of the three dots but all he could say was "those are mountains" which was utterly useless and pretty much confirmed her suspicion. It seems that the only way he was interested in the map, was as an artwork. She was on her way to give up when Algo Ders said something interesting.
"By the way, did you know that the map is enchanted?"
"Oh?" she said. "How so?"
"If anybody was to try and copy it, the ink will disappear."
"From their map?"
"No, from this one." He pouted, as if she was mocking him. "This is the enchanted one."
What a useless enchantment, Mary thought. Someone tries to steal part of your knowledge, and you get punished for it? That was stupid!
“By the way,” Bruno said, “do you know this other artist from Pamagos, Rafael-something?”
“Rafael di Pitoya?” Algo Ders scoffed as if he was offended by the mere mention of the man. “Never heard of him!”
He turned on his heels and walked away.
This Algo Ders person was fun to interact with :) Utterly useless, as Mary noted, but fun nonetheless :)
Anyway, I'm glad that Dorina got to have some closure and I hope everything will be all right with her.
See you in the next chapter, when we're--finally--finishing our Myth Adofhaer visit and preparing for the future.
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide and the Glossary for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: These are my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum and Bruno) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.