“One extraordinary mortal, a man named Tolumvire, had some revolutionary ideas. He proposed uniting the multiverse, ending the cycle that time had entered and creating a new, entirely different age before everything was destroyed and forgotten. Together with the greatest wizards, priests, psions and alchemists of his time, Tolumvire wanted to carry out the first part of his plan - to unite the multiverse. But something went wrong during the Great Ritual of Connection. Arendur was destroyed and the Age of Legends came to an end.”
from the Ring Prophecy
Third Market Day of Decadre, 126 HR
After the initial shock of losing the breathing air had subsided, Lereia operated some of the crab’s controls and levers with trembling hands.
“The apparatus has an air sensor,” she explained. “If there’s a source of air close enough, it will display the direction …”
Morânia closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer to Lathander, hoping that the prudently installed sensors would find something. Agonizing moments passed, during which silence settled over the group like cold fog.
“There!” Lereia then exclaimed. “I actually have a signal!”
The relief that spread through the cramped cabin was almost palpable.
Naghûl grabbed the control lever for the right front legs with determination. “Just give me a direction.”
“To the right,” the young woman instructed him, placing her hands on the left legs' control lever.
“Aye!” replied the tiefling, while Sgillin and Kiyoshi simultaneously set the hind legs in motion.
Lereia leaned forward to take an even closer look at the air sensor display. “At this speed, the estimated time to reach the air source is thirty minutes. So let’s not waste any time.”
Morânia continued to press Kiyoshi’s waterproof pouch against the small leak in the outer hull, while Jana gathered up the young soldier’s hastily tipped out belongings and stowed them in one of her bags. Meanwhile, the other four steered the crab calmly but swiftly in the direction indicated by Lereia. In the glow of the light crystal, they could see bubbles, rising relentlessly from the air tank now and then. Everyone concentrated on breathing as calmly and shallowly as possible.
After gathering Kiyoshi’s belongings, Jana kept a tense eye on the air gauge and the sensor. “A quarter-hour has now passed,” she reported after a while. “We still have enough breathing air for half an hour … decreasing because we keep losing air. Distance to the air source … fifteen minutes.”
“Let’s go a little bit faster,” Lereia suggested. “But not too fast, because moving too quickly could cause us to lose even more air.”
Naghûl, Sgillin and Kiyoshi nodded and adjusted their pace to match Lereia’s. Morânia peered through the small window, without taking her hands off the leak. After a few minutes, something large and dark came into view. It was motionless and appeared to be some kind of rock formation.
“There,” said Lereia. “The air sensor is pointing towards the rocks.”
Morânia glanced briefly at the map lying on her lap. “Those might be the Pinnacles. They’re marked here on the map. If the legend is correct, there’s some kind of cave system there.”
“That could be our resort,” Naghûl murmured. “May Sharess be with us.”
“Twenty-five minutes have passed,” Jana explained tensely. “Twelve minutes of breathing air remaining.”
They headed towards the underwater formation, the four navigators trying hard to maneuver the crab swiftly but not too jerkily. Nevertheless, every now and then a few bubbles rose from the air tank. Then something even darker became visible in the dark mass … an opening?
Lereia peered ahead, squinting. “I can make out something there,” she said. “Could be some kind of cave entrance.”
“Then let’s head straight in there,” said Sgillin.
“Yes, quickly,” Jana said, urging. “Nine minutes of breathing air left …”
They steered the crab swiftly towards the darker spot, and sure enough, it was the entrance to an underwater cave. Now they just had to manage to get the apparatus through the rock opening in time … The seabed became very uneven, littered with small and then larger boulders. Several times, the crab’s legs slipped, and the apparatus stumbled slightly. And of course, more bubbles leaked as a result … Morânia kept holding her breath to conserve as much air as possible, and she saw that the others were doing the same. Then they reached the rock formation and now had to let the apparatus climb the final stretch up to the cave. It was no easy task to coordinate four people so that all the legs moved simultaneously. The metal of the feet scraped against the rock; the screeching sound echoed horribly inside the cabin. Slowly, step by step, the crab scaled the small rocky ledge.
“Three minutes of air left,” Jana whispered tonelessly.
“Please, no breathing updates right now,” Naghûl replied, then bit his lip as he tried to position the right front leg on a rocky ledge.
They struggled their way up the uneven rocky slope, moving ever closer to the cave’s entrance … then a leg slipped. The crab tilted abruptly to the side, and Morânia’s hands slid off the leak. Water immediately gushed into the cabin, and Jana let out a startled scream. Cursing in Abyssal, Morânia pressed the waterproof pouch against the crack as quickly as she could. Fortunately, not much water had gotten in, but the shock had sent a chill down their spines. The apparatus jolted, but the next leg found its footing. The third leg also had a secure foothold. The fourth, however, slipped again, causing another jolt. With utmost concentration, Lereia, Naghûl, Sgillin and Kiyoshi maneuvered the legs while Morânia sealed the leak. Jana grabbed the control lever for the remaining left pincer and bravely braced the crab against a ledge as it tilted once more. The next legs found a foothold again, but the rock began to crumble beneath the apparatus …
Morânia held her breath once more, trying to focus on the leak in the hull. There was another jolt; Naghûl cursed under his breath; Lereia exhaled tensely … then they had made it. The crab barely made it to the cave, climbed over a jagged rock threshold and then moved across even sandy ground. The apparatus waded through the water for a few more steps, but then the water level dropped to the height of the windows, then below them … and a shore came into sight. With trembling hands, the navigators brought the vehicle to a stop.
Jana quickly opened the hatch in the crab’s shell and let air flow into the cabin. “Good heavens!” she gasped.
Morânia also breathed a sigh of relief and then slowly took her hands off the leak. “That was a close call.”
“Indeed.” Lereia released the control lever for the left front legs and leaned back slowly.
“That’s going to be an experience for my sensory stone, I’m telling you!” Even though they’d just narrowly escaped death, Naghûl’s eyes were already shining with excitement again.
Morânia smiled. She knew her husband no other way and had to admit that she, too, now felt a certain euphoria after they had overcome the danger. The relief of the survivors, certainly, but also the thrill of adventure, without which she surely wouldn’t have traveled the planes for decades. They all climbed out of the apparatus and found themselves in an air-filled underwater cave. It was damp and relatively warm, hazy, and smelled strongly of sea creatures and algae. The water level dropped rapidly, trembling as it reflected the crab’s light. Long lime formations hung down from the ceiling everywhere, with water dripping from their tips at slow intervals. Transparent plants grew between the rocks; their branches resembled coral and emitted a faint blue-green glow that bathed the cave in a twilight-like light. Wading through the knee-deep water, they made their way to the shore, where they spotted enormous seashells, smoothed by the sea, and scattered among them were the bones of marine creatures unknown to them.
“It’s hard to believe we managed to steer the apparatus in here,” said Lereia as they looked around the cave. “We really worked well together.”
“I think so, too,” Morânia agreed. She let her gaze wander over the damp rock walls and paused in surprise. “Look over there … that’s an archway, isn’t it? But it doesn’t look natural.”
She pointed to a niche in the cave wall. As they approached, they could see that the passage was undoubtedly not part of the cave, but apparently a remnant of ancient architecture, crafted from a dark, greenish, shimmering stone. Shells and limescale grew on it, but beneath them, intricate decorations were still visible: stylized stars, spiral patterns and several figures in long robes.
“Could this be part of the ruins of Arendur?” Lereia asked excitedly.
“Quite possible,” replied Morânia as she leaned forward to examine the archway more closely. “At first glance, the tall, narrow shape is reminiscent of elven architecture, but this type of ornamentation isn’t common in any elven culture I know of. To be precise, I can’t attribute it at all.”
Sgillin peered warily through the archway. “The cave seems to continue beyond. Should we take a closer look?”
“Definitely!” said Naghûl. “If these really are the remains of the ancient Arendur, then we’ve reached the goal of our expedition!”
“There’s something on my arm,” she said, bewildered.
It wasn’t until she looked back at the others that she realized they were apparently having the same experience. Naghûl, Lereia, Jana and Sgillin had also rolled up their sleeves and were staring in confusion at their forearms. Only Kiyoshi, who wore bracers, didn't have a look yet. But since the round symbol had appeared on the others' arms as well, the young soldier finally unfastened the buckles on his left bracer and bared his forearm. He, too, bore the same symbol there; in bold black lines, it stood out clearly against his skin.
“Strange …,” Sgillin muttered, examining the mark more closely. “But it doesn’t look half bad.”
“That's true,” Naghûl agreed. “At least it doesn’t hurt after that initial burning sensation. I don’t even feel it anymore. Still, I’d like to know what it is and why we got it.”
Jana rubbed the spot where the symbol had appeared, but Sgillin shook his head. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to get rid of it that way. It seems to be some kind of tattoo.”
Lereia examined the symbol on her arm with a certain unease. “Are we … branded now, or something like that?”
“The Marked of Decay,” Naghûl said with exaggerated drama. “Doomed! Cursed!”
At his over-the-top words, Lereia couldn’t help but laugh a little, and Morânia nudged her husband. “You would like that, wouldn't you?”
Naghûl grinned and winked, but then grew a little more serious again. “But how did this happen? Apparently, when we walked through the door. But why?”
Lereia looked around the cave warily, but apart from the phosphorescent plants and a few seashells, it was as empty as the first one. “I thought there was no magic here.”
“There isn’t,” Morânia confirmed. “It must be something else.”
“Maybe some kind of rilmani prank,” Naghûl suggested. “Or something much older that actually dates back to the time of Arendur. ”
“Maybe the mark will disappear if we go back?” Jana suggested. To test it, she stepped back through the archway into the first cave, keeping a close eye on her left forearm. Sighing, she shook her head. “No, it’s still there.”
“Let’s keep looking around carefully,” Sgillin suggested. “Maybe we can figure something out.”
The others nodded, and so they made their way through the second cave, alert and cautious. The half-elf always went a short distance ahead to look out for possible traps, but repeatedly gave the all-clear. They discovered a passage leading away from the cave as well as another archway on the back wall. They agreed to check out the other door first. The architectural style was the same, as was the ornamentation, but there was one significant difference from the first archway: within its frame was something that looked like solid water, mysteriously held in shape.
“I wonder if we can pass here?” Lereia asked.
“Let’s try it,” said Sgillin, and before anyone could protest or stop him, he reached out his hand to grasp through the water barrier. But he bumped against it and couldn’t penetrate it.
“Too bad, but I feared as much,” said Naghûl. He pressed lightly against the barrier but quickly gave up. “You can’t push or shove it either.”
They examined the door made of solid water more closely and could see neither a knob nor a handle nor a lock. However, something else caught their attention. At the very top of the archway were two symbols. the one they bore on their forearms and another. This one was also round, but divided in the middle by a vertical line. The right half contained a sort of bracket or bow symbol; the left half was further divided by a short horizontal line.
“Maybe you can only get through if you have both symbols that are visible above the door,” Kiyoshi speculated.
Naghûl nodded. “Yes, that sounds like a reasonable conclusion. Then I suggest we first take a look at the passage leading off from the cave. Maybe we’ll find something there that will help us.”
“Good plan,” said Sgillin. “I’ll go ahead again and look for traps.”
The tunnel they had discovered on the other side of the cave was wide enough for two people to walk side by side and led deeper into the rock. Moisture glistened on the dark stone, and here and there, water trickled down the walls in thin streams and pooled in small puddles. The air remained warm and humid; their footsteps echoed faintly, and in some places Morânia thought she could make out signs of workmanship: smooth surfaces that looked too regular to have formed naturally. The path wound several times, sometimes leading slightly uphill, then downhill again. Twice they had to jump over small crevices in the floor, filled with black water. Then the tunnel ended, and they stood before another archway, where a barrier of solid water blocked their path. This one was significantly better preserved than the first two and looked like a guardian from a forgotten era, here at the end of the passage. The stone had the same dark greenish hue, but the decorations were less worn by the ravages of time. Delicate reliefs ran along the pillars, intricate patterns that might depict waves, stars and foreign letters. But something else caught Morânia’s eye: At the top was a single, circular symbol - the very same one they had on their forearms.
“The same symbol,” Jana whispered. “Does that mean we can pass?”
“We will see,” Naghûl said excitedly as he approached the archway.
Kiyoshi cautiously placed his hand on the hilt of his weapon, while Morânia watched intently as her husband reached out his hand towards the water barrier. And sure enough, this time it was permeable, allowing Naghûl’s arm to glide right through it as if through a blue-green curtain. The tiefling didn't hesitate and boldly stepped all the way through.
It took only a few seconds before they could hear his voice from the other side. “It feels cool and even a little refreshing. And in case you’re wondering: I now have a second symbol on my arm.”
Naghûl seemed absolutely thrilled. “Exciting, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Lereia, who had come through the archway behind Morânia, frowned. “And, as so often, very mysterious.”
They waited until Jana and Kiyoshi had also passed through the water barrier, then they followed the tunnel further. However, they didn’t have to go far, as it opened up into another cave, the floor of which was mostly covered by a layer of dark mud. Yet here and there, remnants of a long-gone civilization could be seen. Between the rock, parts of a wall were visible, overgrown with algae and pale, fluorescent cave plants. And partially visible beneath the mud were fragments of a paved floor, artfully carved tiles, some broken, others still surprisingly well-preserved. Once, they must have formed an elaborate pattern of curving lines and star-shaped ornaments. But the millennia had worn down the edges and caused the colors to fade, leaving only faint traces of their former splendor. It looked as though a building had once stood here, perhaps a hall, perhaps a temple or a place of assembly. Now all that remained was a stone skeleton, half swallowed by the mud and deeply hidden beneath earth and sea. Yet there was something sublime about the ruins, as if the ancient stones still remembered what they had once been. Morânia and the others walked reverently through the place, that might once have been Arendur, might once have been an Axial City.
Despite his amazement, Sgillin examined the tiles on the floor for possible traps, but then nodded briefly. “Seems safe.”
They cautiously crossed the cave and discovered, at its end, yet another door with a water barrier. This time, they weren’t surprised to see two symbols above it, and to their relief, they were the very same ones they bore on their forearms.
“Lucky for us, they’re the same symbols,” Lereia noted. “I guess that means we can pass through here, too.”
Sgillin peered through the water door. “Be careful. I can make out a few creatures in the cave beyond. They vaguely resemble sahuagin, but they’re a bit larger and somehow … more menacing.”
Morânia sighed. “It had to happen eventually, that we would run into someone here. Maybe they don’t even want to fight. But we should still be prepared.”
“Let’s go through the door and make our peaceful intentions clear,” said Naghûl. “Then we’ll see how they react to us.”
When the others also signaled their agreement, they stepped cautiously through the door, with Kiyoshi and Morânia in the lead, followed by Sgillin and Naghûl, and Jana and Lereia bringing up the rear. The weretigress stayed in the background so she could transform if necessary. As hoped, the symbols on their arms allowed them to pass, and once again they felt a brief, refreshing chill … as well as a burning and tingling sensation on their forearms. This time, however, they did not look to see what new symbol might have appeared on their skin, but immediately turned their attention to the cave’s inhabitants. Sgillin had been right: they were vaguely reminiscent of sahuagin, but their skin was darker and covered with scars, and sharp spines grew from the sides of their heads. Overall, the creatures resembled fiendish humanoid newts. Flat heads with mouths full of needle-sharp teeth sat atop stocky, muscular bodies, and gill slits pulsed on their necks while their red eyes stared motionlessly at the intruders. Each of them carried a long spear with a sharp-edged obsidian head, and three of the creatures held a large net in their other hand.
One of the newt-like creatures let out a barking sound in a language that apparently no one in the group understood.
“Unfortunately, we do not speak your language,” Naghûl explained in Common. “But we mean you no harm.” He, too, made a peaceful gesture by raising both hands.
But the creatures either didn’t understand the group’s intentions or simply didn’t care. Another hoarse growl followed, and before anyone could respond, the cave dwellers lunged towards them.
“Watch out!” Morânia shouted as she saw one of the nets flying. She raised her shield, and the coarse web of seaweed ropes entangled it. Almost at the same moment, she drew her sword.
A second net shot towards Sgillin. But the half-elf instinctively dropped to the ground, and the net whizzed past his head and became caught in the remains of a collapsed column. Kiyoshi drew Hope - much to Morânia’s relief, he had brought himself to wield the katana even without possessing the cultural right to do so. With a single fluid motion, the white blade sliced through the third net while it was still in the air.
“I’m transforming!” Lereia yelled.
As she tossed aside her backpack and clothes, her body already began to change: her muscles bulged, her limbs grew longer and white fur broke through her skin as she dropped to all fours. But one of the enemies seized that very moment. With astonishing speed, he charged forward and jabbed out with his spear. But Morânia was close enough to Lereia to intervene. Obsidian met steel, and the impact gave the bal’aasi an idea of her opponent’s strength. To her right, Naghûl had drawn his sword. Normally, her husband relied primarily on his magic in battle and carried his staff with him. But because they were so close to the Spire, he had switched to a different tactic, that of the blade. He was far from being a poor swordsman - his training as a commander in the distant past still served him well here. Yet he was no seasoned melee fighter and was visibly uncomfortable without his magic.
“I miss my magic missiles!” he growled as he parried an attack from a newt creature.
But the enemy's next thrust followed immediately, and this time the obsidian spearhead slid past Naghûl’s sword and slashed the tiefling’s upper arm. Cursing, Naghûl retreated a little. Kiyoshi had meanwhile charged forward, and the blade of Hope drew bright arcs through the damp cave air. The first strike parried a spear, the second sliced across the chest of a newt creature. The opponent staggered back, but his companion was already there. His spear struck Kiyoshi in the side, near his left armpit. With the experience from many battles, Morânia realized that the thrust wasn’t deep enough to be life-threatening, but hard enough to cause Kiyoshi severe pain. For a moment, the young soldier winced, but he quickly dodged the next attack and aimed a swift blow. The creature’s head fell almost silently from its shoulders …
Almost at the same moment, Lereia’s transformation was complete. With a growling roar, the white tigress leaped over the remains of a collapsed wall. She seized one of the opponents with her teeth and dragged it to the ground. Her claws flashed, and the newt-like creature thrust its spear horizontally between itself and its attacker, causing the obsidian head to carve a long, red gash across Lereia’s right flank. She seemed to barely notice the pain, however, and sank her teeth into the opponent’s shoulder. A hideous crack echoed through the cave. At that very moment, one of Sgillin's arrows pierced the opponent’s chest.
Meanwhile, Morânia had torn the net from her shield. “Lathander’s light, shine upon us!” She prayed out of sheer habit, just as she did in every battle, to imbue her blade with divine power. But nothing happened. Of course not - they were too close to the Spire. Morânia’s mind knew this, but her heart struggled to accept it. She raised her shield, and a spear ricocheted off it. With a powerful blow, she knocked her opponent off balance and thrust her sword between the creature's ribs, causing it to sink lifelessly to the ground.
“I think I’m useless!” Jana cried from the sidelines. She was holding a simple sling and tried to load a sling stone with trembling hands.
“Nonsense!” Sgillin replied, without taking his eyes off his target. His arrow whizzed through the cave and struck one of the enemies in the knee. “Just go for it, no matter the weapon!”
Jana nodded and courageously hurled the small stone. It actually hit the creature lying on the ground in the head. Not particularly hard, but it was effective enough that the enemy remained dazed on the ground. Long enough for Lereia to find its throat with her teeth.
Meanwhile, Naghûl was fighting back-to-back with Morânia. While she fended off one of the enemies with her shield and, almost simultaneously, aimed a blow with her blade Heaven's Fire, her husband parried the powerful spear thrust of another newt-like creature. But the attacker dodged the sword strike with which Naghûl tried to follow up, and the obsidian head of the spear grazed his ribs. The tiefling lost his balance. But before the creature could strike again, an arrow whizzed past Naghûl and struck the attacker’s eye with unerring accuracy. Only moments later, both Heaven’s Fire and Hope found their targets, and the last opponents fell beneath Morânia’s and Kiyoshi’s sword blows.
Then there was silence. Only heavy breathing filled the cave, and the steady dripping of water could be heard, falling into the darkness somewhere among the ruins. Naghûl clutched his bleeding left arm, and Morânia noticed that blood was also seeping through his robe on his right side, were his lower ribs were. Kiyoshi lowered his katana, and red blood trickled from under his left armpit across his breastplate, but his face remained impassive. While Morânia, Jana and Sgillin were unharmed, Lereia cautiously licked the bloody gash on her flank. Breathing heavily, Naghûl sat down on the remains of a stone wall and let Morânia examine his wounds. Fortunately, they weren’t very deep, so she could give her husband a healing potion without having to stitch them up first. The situation was different for Kiyoshi. Sgillin helped him remove the breastplate as well as his under armor clothing, then cleaned the wound and stitched it up. Kiyoshi endured the procedure with clenched jaw muscles but otherwise a stoic expression. It was clear to see that he had already been through several battles and sustained many injuries. Afterwards, with the half-elf’s help, he carefully put his armor back on and then drank a healing potion as well.
Morânia walked over to Lereia after she had tended to Naghûl. “Are you alright?” she asked, glancing at the bloody cut on the tigress’ flank.
Lereia twitched her ears. “Fortunately, it’s not a deep wound. Thanks to my regeneration, it will heal quickly on its own.”
Jana looked unhappily at the sling in her hand. “Not being able to cast spells is just awful.”
“Yeah, it’s damn strange,” Naghûl agreed. “I have my sword, sure, but I’m just not a melee fighter. I have to be more careful.”
Morânia nodded to Jana and her husband. “I can well imagine that this is particularly difficult for the both of you.”
Then she looked around and examined the ruins in the cave more closely. There might once have been some kind of sanctuary here, with a large statue, though only its feet were still visible.
The rest had crumbled and was likely washed away or carried off over the course of millennia. What struck Morânia was that both of the statue’s feet had six toes.
“I wonder what this is?” asked Lereia, who was also examining the remains of the ancient architecture.
“It might once have been a temple,” Morânia said thoughtfully. “I wonder if these ruins are now inhabited by the creatures that just attacked us. I don’t see any signs of a camp or a settlement here, though. So maybe they were just on patrol.”
“That reminds me of something,” said Sgillin. “We went through a door right before the fight.” He pulled back the sleeve on his left forearm to see if a new symbol had appeared.
Lereia, who couldn’t see her own mark beneath her fur, stepped closer and glanced at Morânia’s arm. She, too, recognized the symbol. “That means we can probably go through the other door now,” she observed.
They took another careful look around the cave, with Sgillin once again leading the way cautiously, keeping an eye out for traps or other hidden mechanisms. However, there was nothing else of interest to discover, and no other door led out of the cave. So they returned through the winding passage to the cave directly behind the entrance. They compared the symbols on their arms, now three in number, with those above the archway and their memory had not failed them: Two of the symbols matched. They stepped through the water barrier in the door frame and found themselves in another cave. In this one, however, there were significantly more remnants of the ancient architecture. For the first time, the place no longer looked like a cave in which a few wall fragments had happened to be preserved. Rather, it seemed as though nature had eaten its way into the remains of an ancient structure. To their left stood an almost completely preserved wall of blue-gray stone, covered with ornate reliefs. The water and countless millennia had worn away the depictions, yet vague figures could still be made out, reaching out their hands to one another, while above them floated stars and three intertwined circles, which might represent three moons. The paved floor was still intact in many places here, although the once-vibrant colors of the stone slabs were only pale shadows now. Several columns rose up between the remains of the walls. Some had toppled over and lay broken amidst rubble and sediment; others still bore their richly decorated capitals, crafted in a style that had long since vanished from the planes’ memory.
“I’ve never gotten such good tattoos so affordably,” Sgillin remarked.
“Yeah, wonderful,” Jana replied grumpily. “I didn’t want any tattoos at all. I really hope they’ll go away.”
“Maybe if we pass some mysterious final door,” Naghûl speculated. “Come on, let’s keep looking around.”
They crossed the cave, which was larger than the previous ones, and now they could clearly see that they were wandering through the remains of an ancient city. A city that, at some point, an unimaginably long time ago, had hovered above the Spire just like Sigil, only to then crash down, shatter and fall, and now it lay swallowed by the sea, almost forgotten and in ruins. Was this also Sigil's fate? If the Prophecy was correct, the end of the cycle was alarmingly close. Would they be able to avert it? Was such a thing even possible? Could they accomplish what a genius like Tolumvire had failed to do back then? Morânia felt a shudder run through her at these thoughts. The idea was too overwhelming for her at that moment.
Then Naghûl’s eyes fell on the water basin. “There’s something there,” he whispered.
Morânia followed his gaze and could see that the surface of the turquoise-blue water had begun to stir slightly. Naghûl walked towards the basin, and she stayed close at his side. As he climbed the few steps leading up to the pool, her arm twitched briefly, but she held back. The others also drew closer, but like Morânia, they stopped behind Naghûl and simply watched. Suddenly, bubbles began to rise in the center of the basin, and something emerged from the water. A … skull? Morânia tilted her head in surprise. Yes, it was clearly a skull with two curved horns, though made of a light, shimmering metal. She held her breath, and beside her, Sgillin drew an arrow from his quiver, though he was apparently still undecided whether to take aim at the floating skull. The metal construct now hummed softly and then floated slowly towards Naghûl. Thoroughly entranced, he watched the strange apparition, his eyes shining with excitement. Morânia, on the other hand, was alert and tense, but did not intervene.
Naghûl smiled in surprise. “That’s right, I do indeed have five symbols here on my arm. Who are you?”
“Mimir number A-001,” replied the construct. “Also known as Pax Memoria, ready and active.”
Morânia’s eyes widened in amazement. “A mimir ...”
“What does that mean?” asked Lereia, who had apparently never heard of it before.
Kiyoshi also eyed the skull questioningly. “Is that a kami?”
“No, it’s a kind of construct,” Morânia explained. “They’re basically floating encyclopedias, usually in the shape of skulls. You can store knowledge in them and retrieve it later. But they’re rare and expensive.”
“Ah.” Kiyoshi tilted his head slightly. “Thank you for illuminating me with your words. That sounds very convenient.”
“Pax Memoria,” Naghûl said excitedly. “Show me the way to the Keeper’s Library.”
“Negative,” replied the construct. “Pax Memoria is a mimir and stores knowledge. Pax Memoria is not a compass of any kind.”
Naghûl nodded in understanding, but didn’t give up; instead, he held his left forearm in front of the mimir’s eye sockets. “Pax Memoria, what are these marks?”
“These are the symbols of the Chosen,” the skull replied. “Specifically, they stand for: keep, wail, hunt, destroy and dream.”
Surprised, they all looked from the mimir to the symbols on their arms.
“Symbols of the Chosen?” Morânia asked in astonishment, then nodded slowly. “So the Chosen already existed in the Age of Arendur. The Prophecy doesn’t state that explicitly, but it does hint at it. ”
“The symbols bear no resemblance to the signs I see, though,” Naghûl explained. “The Keeper’s, for example, which I first saw in the garden of the Festhall, is completely different. We need to remember exactly which symbol stands for whom!”
Lereia sniffed in the direction of the mimir. “She said her number was A-001. It almost sounds like she’s the first one.”
“That’s correct,” the skull replied with a rattling sound. “Pax Memoria is the first prototype of a mimir from Arendur.”
Naghûl clapped his hands a few times. “I’m thrilled!”
Jana, too, eyed the floating skull with undisguised fascination. “And she responds to our questions if she has the answers stored?”
“Exactly!” Naghûl nodded eagerly and then looked at the construct. “Pax, how many Chosen were there in Arendur? Were there sixteen as well? Did Keeper and Proclaimer count as one, like Elyria and Lorias do here? Or were there seventeen? Or many more or less?” He spoke so quickly that his voice almost cracked.
The mimir rattled briefly, as if it had to process all the questions before answering. “Pax Memoria requires an energy source to recharge,” it then explained.
“What kind of energy?” Naghûl asked.
“Astro-Ethereal energy …” Pax Memoria’s voice grew slower, more sluggish. “Con … vert … ” Then the light in the construct’s eyes went out. The skull apparently deactivated and began to sink slowly to the ground.
Quickly, Naghûl stretched both arms forward to catch the mimir. “Oh no, that’s too bad now!” Disappointed, he looked down at the skull lying in his hands.
“Astro-Ethereal energy?” Jana tilted her head questioningly. “What does that mean?”
Morânia shrugged, at a loss. “I’ve never heard of that.”
Naghûl very carefully stowed the now-inactive mimir in his backpack. “There you go, Pax, you’ll be comfortable there,” he said soothingly as he closed the flap, as tenderly as if he were speaking to an animal or a child. Then he looked at Jana. “Unfortunately, I have no idea what that is either. But we will certainly find someone in Sigil who knows.”
Sgillin nodded. “One of the factols will surely know what that means.”
Naghûl’s gaze wandered thoughtfully towards the water basin. “I wonder why she was in there?”
“Maybe someone had forgotten her here,” Jana suggested. “Or had to leave her behind in a hurry when the city was destroyed back then.”
Meanwhile, Sgillin had searched the rest of the room and beckoned the others closer. “Come over. There’s something else here.”
He had discovered a chest made of bluish metal and had apparently already checked it for traps as he opened it. Inside lay several arrows with heads made of the same metal and a glass vial that glowed in a turquoise-blue light.
“I think it’s clear who’s best suited to keep the arrows,” said Naghûl, reaching cautiously for the vial while the half-elf took the arrows. He turned it slowly between his fingers and gave it a slight shake.
The glowing substance appeared to be neither a liquid nor a powder. It was more reminiscent of mist or smoke.
Morânia looked at the sorceress. “Jana, you know a thing or two about alchemy. Do you know what this is?”
The Athar took the vial from Naghûl and examined it more closely, but then shook her head. “No idea. It reminds me of the ectoplasm of the Astral Plane. But it’s also a little different.”
“Hm …” Naghûl furrowed his brow thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s the energy we need for Pax?”
Jana handed the vial back to him. “Give it a try.”
“Give it a try …” Morânia noticed that her husband seemed uncharacteristically hesitant and worried. “I’m not sure … If that isn’t the energy we need and we end up destroying her, then we’ll lose knowledge of inestimable value.”
“You’re probably right,” Sgillin replied. “Still, if we want to know whether it’s the right energy, I suppose we have no choice but to try it?”
Jana nodded in agreement, but Naghûl shook his head indecisively and looked at the others. “Morânia, Lereia, Kiyoshi, what do you think?”
“I agree with you, Naghûl,” Kiyoshi replied, bowing slightly.
“Off the top of my head, I would say: let’s wait,” Morânia answered. “We might end up in a situation where we urgently need the mimir … I mean, Pax. If that vial really contains energy for her and we use it now, we might not have access to important information later on.”
Lereia nodded. “I agree with that assessment.”
“All right, then we’ll wait.” Naghûl carefully stowed the vial in his belt pouch. “I’d rather have it examined thoroughly in Sigil first.”
They took another careful look around the room but discovered neither another door nor a tunnel nor any other form of passageway.
“It looks like there’s nothing else here,” Lereia observed. “So I guess the only option left is to head back.”
Sgillin nodded. “Then back to the crab and let's hope we can fix it.”
Morânia looked at Kiyoshi. “Luckily, we have a blacksmith with us.”
“I hope I can live up to your expectations, honorable Lady Morânia-sama,” the young soldier replied earnestly.
“I hope so too,” Morânia said with a laugh. “Otherwise, we’ll have to stay here.”
“There must be a repair kit under the right front seat,” Lereia explained. “It contains some spare parts. Until the crab is repaired, I would like to stay transformed so my wound can heal as well as possible.”
The long scratch across her side, left by the spear of one of the newt creatures, was still visible, but thanks to her were-creature regeneration, it had already healed quite well. Kiyoshi nodded and then climbed into the crab to fetch the repair kit. Shortly afterwards, he emerged with a metal box, which he opened to examine its contents. Inside were various bolts, dowels and screws, a few thin metal plates, some pliers and wrenches, soldering tools and a few small crystals, which were presumably intended for the displays and measuring devices. Kiyoshi took a thin plate and the soldering iron powered by an elemental fire crystal and set to work. Morânia lent a hand and held the plate while the young soldier welded it over the hole in the air tank.
“Please make sure it’s really airtight,” Jana said anxiously.
Kiyoshi looked up briefly and shot the sorceress a dark glance. “A great idea,” he said sharply. “Thanks for the advice. I would never have come up with this brilliant idea on my own.”
Morânia sighed softly. In situations like this, it was all too clear that the conflict between Jana and Kiyoshi was by no means resolved. It was merely on hold for as long as they needed to work together.
“Just saying …” the sorceress replied softly. “I don’t want to be stuck in that thing and end up … Never mind, it doesn’t matter …”
“So it seems the Chosen were around in the previous cycle as well,” Naghûl said, deliberately changing the subject. “Just in different bodies. It would be interesting to know more about that. Maybe Kiyoshi and I were a couple or something.” He smirked, clearly more interested in joking around and lightening the mood than he was in actually being serious.
Kiyoshi continued working with an impassive expression, but didn’t seem to take offense at the joke.
Sgillin, on the other hand, grinned broadly, and Morânia had to smile. “Sure,” she said. “But yes, apparently the Chosen already existed in the time of Arendur. After all, the Three Swords also existed in the last cycle.”
“I find that extremely interesting,” Jana said. “Then the Chosen of that time would be responsible for the fall of Arendur, right? I mean, if they existed back then and were searching for the God Machine to influence the fate of the multiverse, then their actions certainly contributed to the end of the cycle.”
“Possible …” Morânia swayed her head. “Or the actions of others, and the Chosen couldn’t prevent it.”
Jana shrugged. “Whether the Prophecy’s goal is to bring about this end - which I personally believe - or whether the Prophecy is meant to avert the end … it was in the hands of the Chosen. I think we should always be aware of the consequences of our decisions. That’s what these ruins here remind us of.”
Morânia now removed her hands from the sheet metal she had been holding for Kiyoshi while the young soldier welded a few final spots. “You think the Prophecy’s purpose is to bring about the end?”
“Indeed.” Jana nodded, her expression serious. “The Prophecy comes from the Great Unknown itself, and I am its prophet.”
Morânia frowned. She didn’t want to argue with Jana, not in this place, and not at this moment. However, she didn’t share the sorceress’ opinion and therefore didn’t want to simply agree. “From the Great Unknown? Well, who knows. But why does that necessarily mean that we’re supposed to bring about the end?”
“The Prophecy will not only bring an end to this age,” Jana declared with absolute conviction. “But at the same time, it will also end the illegitimate rule of your so-called gods.”
Doubtfully, Morânia raised an eyebrow. “And the lives of all Athar as well?”
“And the Great Unknown will also be torn to shreds in the process,” Naghûl interjected with a snort. “Everything, indeed.”
Jana raised her hands defensively. “Well, I don’t know. I’m just a tool.”
“It’s all quite unknown, isn’t it?” It was clear that Naghûl had little patience for Jana’s philosophical musings at the moment.
Morânia, on the other hand, managed to take the situation with some humor. “Then I’d rather have Lathander,” she replied with a smile.
Lereia, who was resting in the sand not far from the crab with her head resting on her front paws, now looked up. “As for the Prophecy, I guess none of us really knows what’s going on. But personally, I don’t think it has a predefined goal. I think it’s up to us.”
Jana sighed. “Of course, I don’t know for sure where the Prophecy is leading us. But I feel very guided.”
“Well …” Morânia nodded. “I have to admit, I feel a little pressured, too.”
“Kind of,” Lereia concurred. “But I’m hopeful that if we do our best, we will be able to influence things in the end.”
“Well, I agree with Lereia,” Naghûl declared. “In any case, it’s a tremendous experience.”
“That’s how it is with trials,” Lereia replied with a cheerful sparkle in her turquoise tiger eyes.
Meanwhile, Kiyoshi had finished his work and was examining the plates he’d welded over the two leaks in the air tank and the outer hull. “I think the apparatus should be fully operational again now,” he explained. “Except for the lost pincer, of course.”
“You think or you know?” Jana retorted promptly. “There’s a difference.”
Kiyoshi’s orange eyes betrayed no emotion, but his voice was a touch cooler than usual as he replied. “You’re welcome to see for yourself.”
The sorceress immediately grew noticeably quieter. “I don’t know anything about such things …”
“Ah.” The young soldier raised an eyebrow. “Then I must have misunderstood your advice. My apologies.”
At the renewed dispute, Naghûl briefly buried his face in his hands, but then he quickly stepped closer to the crab. “It looks good,” he said with an appreciative nod towards Kiyoshi.
Morânia nodded as well. “I think so, too.
“I trust in your abilities, Kiyoshi,” Lereia declared, casting a brief, admonishing glance at Jana.
“Sorry,” the sorceress replied quietly. “I just don’t want to drown.”
Sgillin was already climbing onto the crab’s shell. “It will be fine. If Kiyoshi can’t fix it, we’re stuck here anyway.”
“Right.” Morânia followed the half-elf towards the apparatus. “The rest of us don’t know enough about blacksmithing.”
While she, Sgillin, Naghûl and Kiyoshi climbed into the crab, Lereia transformed back into human form behind a large rock. Then she followed the others into the cabin. Jana was the last to climb in, visibly unhappy about having to go underwater once more.
Lereia, who had taken her seat in the front left again, placed a hand on the control lever for the front legs. “So, out of the cave, then?”
Morânia nodded. “I’m afraid we don’t have any other choice.”
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played June 25, 2013
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