Arun 13

A swift update. We are currently back in the hellish city of Den, awaiting the necromancer and the demon/dragon abomination to sell some treasure for funds inside a shady inn. More importantly, we have discovered more insights regarding Huville. Apparently he has deviated from Intai’s rehabilitation through a mentor he refers to as the navigator. As titles go, it sounds better than the Cramp, but I doubt that would stop Drei from using it if we manage to get back in contact with him, or any other Intai agent. Huville has offered to bring us to his master. We fear that if he is powerful enough to break Intai’s rehabilitation process he may enchant us with some vile sorcery. But we must try, and we have promised our companions a boon if they help us in this endeavor. If this goes well, it likely means we cannot return to Intai anytime soon.
 
 
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Writing these as fast as possible to have a record. We have finally come across the Cramp of Intai. He was not what we expected at all, yet we remained wary. We found it unwise to pick a fight considering we were brought there on the mercy of Huville, who doesn’t yet know that we hail from Intai specifically to find him. As mentioned before, the Cramp of Intai refers to himself as the Navigator. No doubt an obnoxious title meant to draw men like Huville towards him. But as Rudol Drei so eloquently says: “The cramp appears suddenly and forces the muscles we trained so hard to benefit us to betray us and paralyze us at critical moments” also seemed fitting for him, as he attempted to turn me as well. The Cramp/Navigator seemed simple enough. He had a bald head, with a white pointed beard. He dressed in monk attire, with loose fitting clothing. He immediately saw through our cover, perhaps through subtle mind reading techniques. He then surprisingly offered to treat us the same way he “treated” Huville(more on that later). Though we were wary, he told us that he planned on abandoning his current dwelling if I reported this to Intai. This left us with no choice but to accept his first lesson. We need to give Intai as much information as possible if we are to leave the navigator empty handed. He spoke of cleansing the world of chaos, when we mentioned that this was already Intai’s goal, he countered by saying it was the wrong order. Worse, he claims that our knowledge is derived from perversions of Urzae’s teachings, that it comes from interpretations of interpretations of his teachings. He claims that he walked with Urzae himself, that he knows his teachings better than Nakula Voori and the other leaders of Intai. As outrageous as this sounds, and even if we believed him and he did walk with Urzae, by his admission, people are bound to misinterpret and pervert his intent.
 
The most betraying example is the one who brought us here. We have confirmed that Huville has kidnapped our companion’s olga’s contact for this Torbin fellow who showed up, which confirms our suspicion that he has returned to a life of crime. Let this Navigator say what he will about Urzae, but he never preached abduction. He has also told her that Den has no place in his vision of the world. Den is a despicable place, but if he claims that Den is incapable of change, then perhaps he is not as benevolent as he thinks. Side note, in accordance with our vow, we have decided to aid Olma in retrieving her contact, as she has helped us find the Cramp of Intai.
 
On the trip back from the Navigator, we have been thinking a lot about how the party handled the orc chieftain Strom. They had two plans in motion. One to simply utilize the village’s trials and customs in order to oust him from power, or to disguise themselves as him and claim redemption and self exile. By happenstance, Strom ambushed us and our companions and made our decision for us. Sarva, who called himself Varn then, disguised himself as the chieftain, stepping down and exiling himself. The critics of the psionic treatments often say that the resulting Elan is a fate worse than death. But if Strom had been rehabilitated in Intai, he would have done this exact same thing that this idealized fake Strom would have. Strom was denied his forgiveness, his redemption. Instead that honor went to the Amonite while the real chieftain simply died a pathetic death, one that Olma, a critic of Intai, didn't object to.
 
Anecdote aside, our mark told us to keep his shoes that we may walk in them. He promises that despite his decision to abandon his current residence, he will make himself known to us if we continue to follow his path. We are… fractured on how to proceed, especially given our thoughts on those Huville and Strom. The Collective, as always, is interested in knowledge and pursuing the path the Navigator presents us for knowledge’s sake. The Oracle on the other hand is wary of pursuing this endeavor given to us by the Cramp, especially given our relationship with each other. Most other synads do not give their subminds the same agency we have, and we do not know if this difference will help or hinder us should we decide to take on the Navigator’s challenge. It will be a pain to contact another Intai agent. Until then, we need to determine if these shoes are cursed, and we shall see if we can prove that we have a better understanding of Urzae.
 
 
 
If Intai is wrong, let Urzae himself correct Us.
On Urzae’s name, We swear we shall overcome the challenge set before us. Our convictions may be tested, but so shall the Navigator’s. Let him try and Cramp Us.
 
This I swear
 
This I swear
 
This I swear