Hello, Everyone!
How have you been? How were your holidays? Did you have some positive interactions or did you suffer through family dinners and such? Honestly, I had a nice rest, although I went a bit eye-roll-y at some comments from certain relatives.
But none of that matters! We’re here for the next part of Mary Windfiddle’s story!
Last time, Tesaya welcomed our heroes to her home, fed them some rabbit meat and explained that the souls of the elves were a finite number and no new elf could be born, unless there was a soul ‘available’ from someone who’d passed on. That piece of information blew both Mary’s mind and mine :D
“Wait, what do elven souls have to do with our case?” Aurum asked.
“The undead attacks are not the same for us, as they are outside of Myth Adofhaer,” Tesaya said. “Yes, every six years there have been... cases. But where people get killed in other places, here elves get kidnapped. And their souls... they never come back to be reincarnated.”
The yard fell silent. Everyone was staring at the fire, thinking about what they’d just learned.
“Wait,” Mary raised her head. “Every six years? But the attacks that we know of were six and eighteen years ago. What happened twelve years ago?”
Even while asking, she suspected what the answer would be.
“There was an attack,“ Tesaya said, “but it was only here. We didn't want anyone on the outside to know about it and we got two elven investigators on the case. They disappeared, along with all the other victims, leaving no souls to be passed on.”
“That’s why you want non-elven investigators,” Mary whispered. "You don't want to risk any more souls."
Their hostess nodded.
“Well, OK, but how do people disappear?” Bruno asked.
"It always happened during the dark hours of the day," Tesaya explained. "At night or in the evening. A young girl would walk home, alone, but she would never reach her destination. The victims were all elven women, all between the ages of 100 and 300. The investigators from six years ago were the only exception."
Tesaya paused to put a couple of logs to the fire.
“What is strange,” she said, “is that Myth Adofhaer is protected. There's a powerful magic barrier, the Mythalar, surrounding the city, and nothing can penetrate it or go through.”
“Even from below?” Bruno asked.
“Even from below. It’s a sphere. Teleportation is impossible, too, at least from outside the city. Whatever kidnaps our people is somehow able to bypass our defences.”
Mary’s mind circled around the word ‘below’. She remembered the Carrion crawler bursting from the road to Myth Adofhaer and the Bullet coming through the floorboards of the tavern. And then, she thought of something else and suddenly felt like a piece of the puzzle had just fit into place.
“Is it possible that the souls of the kidnapped girls weren't destroyed?” she said. “Could they still be alive?”
“That's what we hope for,” Tesaya said.
"Because we met two female elves--a mother and a daughter--who got abducted by the duergar. They were kept alive for some reason, despite their husband and father being killed."
She proceeded to tell Tesaya about Dalia and her mother. With the mention of their names Tesaya’s eyes widened and every next sentence had her face deeper and deeper into confusion and rage. When she spoke, every word she said fell like a hammer.
“Do you know the name… Clement?”
“Yes!” Mary exclaimed. “That's Moira's brother-in-law. She said that he betrayed them to the duergar. We actually saw him in the tunnels months ago, when we were first travelling to Myth Adofhaer.”
“We saw him in the Council today, too,” Bruno said. “He was the one who proposed you as our guide.”
“Oh, really?” Tesaya’s voice was trembling with anger.
She told them that Clement had come back to Myth Adofhaer three months ago, with the ‘tragic news’ that his family was attacked by ‘bandits’ and that Dalia, Moira and Talion were all killed. The elves waited for their souls to come back and be reincarnated, but they never did.
“What you’ve just told me explains why,” Tesaya said. "That bastard lied to us!"
“Did none of you suspect him after new children weren’t conceived?” Mary asked.
“No,” Tesaya smiled bitterly. “Who would blame a person who’d just lived through a tragedy and was tormenting himself with survivor's guilt?”
“So, he was just a very good actor.”
“I guess he was.”
“We were worried that he might still be working for the Duergar and have accomplices in the city,” Bruno said. “I hope we can trust you, because you’re the only person we’ve told of what we know about Clement.”
Mary felt a prick of guilt for the Message she’d sent Endoras. She hoped she’d done the right thing.
“I have to think about what to do with the information you gave me,” Tesaya said. “I’m not sure what would be the best course of action.” She shook her head and stood up. “In the meantime, where are you staying?”
When she found out they were stationed in the barracks, she suggested they come live in her home instead. Mary and her friends readily accepted. Tesaya’s house seemed much cosier than last night's cold and mirky stone building. They quickly went to the barracks and moved all their stuff to their new residence.
“Now, we can talk about what to do next,” Tesaya said when they were done. “I think we can leave Clement alone for now, however angry that makes me feel. We should make sure that more people saw you walking freely around the city, in order for you to gain some credibility and trust. Where do you want to start?”
So, hey, this Clement business seems very fishy. I don’t know why our heroes are leaving it unchecked. I hope that doesn’t come back and bite them in the ass :-P
See you next year, when you’ll be able to read the next episode of the story. Our heroes are going to do some sniffing around and I’m sure they’re going to be really respectful and rule-abiding!
(spoiler: they won’t be)
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.