Chapter 17: Death in the Library
As they mourned the death of Sivald, the party gathered together wood and built a funeral pyre for him (following the advice of Gaerald). After burning his body, they set back out on the road towards Mets Gradaran. Along the way, they encountered a weeping man sitting by a dead Tuhka. He wore ragged, torn clothes and a breastplate and carried a swept-hilt broadsword. His accent was foreign, and he mentioned being from a place called "Bryganthia." Dox attempted to speak to him telepathically, which only further agitated him as he threatened to slay the "demons" around him. As the party gathered around him, he threatened them all and called them demons as well and admitted to having killed the tuhka "demon". He revealed that he had been on a ship that was driven off-course by a storm and crashed there, and he was the only survivor. As he panicked, the man (naming himself "Don Rodrigo Pérez de Valienta") tripped on a rock and fell, driving his own sword through his belly. As he lay there dying, Thrain stole his boots and the rest of the group watched him die. They looted his body, finding a pack with limited supplies and a coin pouch full of Bryganthian gold coins. his clothes were fine, but badly worn. They burned the body and camped further down the road.
That night, Dox decided to try to form bonds of community with the group to hopefully stave off the effects of the Mistlands. They fished together and put together a nice meal as they shared stories around the fire. Rasper sang a few Ekorosi songs and they retired for the night in better spirits than they had been in a long time. The next morning, they found themselves unaffected by the mistlands corruption and even healed of its current effects. They set out, and soon reached the entrance of the library. It was carved into the side of a mountain range, with massive steel doors 100 feet tall and two statues of masters holding a tome and a starry globe on either side. Dox turned his cloak into a raven and sent it inside the library to scout ahead. He saw inside a large chamber with a beam of light coming down and several mirrors, but the main mirror was not properly positioned and did not illuminate the entire room. A giant clock was built into the floor of the chamber, showing a time of 12:59. There were ruined bookshelves and furniture littering the floor, and in the center of the chamber a beholder guarded the library's entrance. He watched as it awoke startled and manifested a small, deformed version of itself and immediately destroyed it.
After readying themselves, Dox and Rasper snuck into the chamber with a plan to charm the monster and (if necessary) blind it with the mirrors. While dox was stealthy enough, Rasper alerted it and was blasted with three of its eye beams after being unable to cast any magic while within its gaze. The beams wracked their body with necrotic energy and paralyzed them. As combat ensued, Dox snuck around and tried to attack the monster with his psychic blades. Thrain and Tar'Kanis entered and charged the creature, but were soon incapacitated by its beams. After attacking it once, Tar'Kanis was put to sleep and Thrain was struck by a petrifying ray. As he slowly turned to stone, Dox and Rasper tried to fight the beast but were also blasted with debilitating beams. Rasper managed to cast a psionic spell at it, but was grappled by a telekinetic beam and tossed away as they tried to awaken Tar'Kanis. Thrain then turned to stone, and Dox and Rasper were repeatedly struck by telekinetic, necrotic and disintegrating rays. As they struggled to fight back, Dox was disintegrated and Rasper was turned to stone, but not before awakening Tar'Kanis with a psychic spell. He awoke, surrounded by his fallen allies, and fled from the library. The beholder ambled through the air, unable to catch up and did not chase him outside the chamber.
Tar'Kanis and Gaerald then called upon Captain Forkbeard to bring the ship south (using the stones of sending) and pick them up. With most of the party slain, the expedition could not go on. Before passing through the mistwall, Gaerald wrote down all of his notes on what they had discovered there (knowing he would lose all memory of this place upon leaving). They returned to Southport and delivered the information unearthed from the mistlands. The documents from Tsovayin, along with a few tomes and documents Gaerald managed to steal from Mets Gradaran proved Edwin Stearns' theories about the origin of humanity beyond the mistwall. The findings were published by Barnabus Asher with a foreword by Gaerald Murray, who went on to gain much fame and prestige within scholarly communities in Sydonia. His research remained out of the reach of most of the world, despite requesting a royal proclamation from King Edmund. Sugoi disappeared soon after reaching Southport, and Tar'Kanis was granted a small estate a few hours' ride from Arlenport for his service to the crown. The tale of the fallen heroes of the expedition spread as far as Dragonwatch, where a statue of the fallen trio was erected in the slums by the Riverstone Tavern.
Soon after the return of the expedition, people throughout Sydonia reported seeing a massive shimmering platinum dragon flying across the skies heading south. This dragon flew over Dragonwatch, prompting the army to begin planning for renewed draconic hostilities. It disappeared off the coast of Southport, and was not seen again. Two weeks later, ships returning to Southport from the crossing to the marble isle reported that the mistwall had suddenly disappeared. None dared venture further into uncharted waters, but the news quickly spread throughout the west. Fleets of Sydonian and Ekorosi ships converged upon the mistlands and established forward operating posts (with Sydonia on the western island and Ekoros in the east). From there, they ventured out into the mistlands (now devoid of mist and demons) and encountered the Tuhka. Interactions were tense, and misunderstandings led to open hostilities between the Sydonians and their distant cousins. Two weeks into their campaign to conquer the mistlands, the Sydonian forward group disappeared and were never heard from again. Their fleet was largely destroyed by a group of metallic dragons, save one ship that was allowed to return to Sydonia. Meanwhile, the Ekorosi outpost was mysteriously destroyed by a volcanic eruption that also sank their entire fleet. King Edmund IV of Sydonia, as well as the merchant council of Ekoros made the decision to abandon efforts to settle in the mistlands and ordered their ships to stay away.
Two years later, ships from a foreign nation heretofore unknown to the people of Arlyss arrived at the docks of Ekoros and Southport. They announced themselves as the Milesians of Bryganthia, an island nation west of the mistlands once isolated from the world by the mists of the southern hemisphere and a protective dome of magical energy erected by their god "Duatha." They were slightly less advanced than the people of Arlyss and ruled by a King in a feudal theocratic society similar to that of Sydonia before the 18th century. Trade relations were established between Sydonia, Ekoros and Bryganthia as well as a cultural exchange to educate all parties on the histories and cultures of each nations. Meanwhile, Bryganthia began sending ships out to the eastern nations of Yamato and the city-states of the Sadim desert. Sydonia attempted to convince Bryganthia to "modernize" their systems of goverenment, but the Milesians have proven extremely stubborn and set in their ways.
Bryganthia continued to expand trade and to explore the world for the next 3 years. Though warned by the Sydonians and Ekorosi to steer clear of the mistlands, the Milesians have recently begun attempts to establish a colony there (as well as Chab K'al). With the introduction of gunpowder weapons from Sydonia, the Bryganthian soldiers have become highly sought-after as mercenaries throughout the world. Since revealing themselves to the world, Bryganthia has seen an influx of adventurers traveling to their shores. Though tolerated, the Duathan faith considers most non-human races "Fomorian" and heretical. Racially-motivated violence is commonplace across the island nation.
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