Voices of the Past

Smithy brings the Holy Diver upriver to recover his companions, and together they sail back to Kesh. Upon arrival, they once again stash the Diver in a nearby cove and travel into the city in their cart with the unconscious Rais Vedoma in tow. They return to Burton Weller's estate, but there is no response. Noticing a broken window on the manor's second story, they leave Rais Vedoma tied up in their carriage and jump the fence.

Inside, they find the estate to be ransacked, and Krug grievously wounded in the entrance hall. They hear a roar from the library, and inside find a massive bestial creature resembling a four-armed gorilla with a massive razor-toothed maw running amok. The creature moves to attack and delivers a ferocious howl that supernaturally causes Darien and Grayson to flee, leaving Smithy to stand alone against the beast.

Darien runs into an off-room of the library, where he feels a strange pull from a portal on the far wall. He passes through it with Grayson following, and finds himself in a strange underwater space, with a large magical bubble above keeping the water out. The space appears to be the ruins of a temple, and in the center is a large jagged silver stone. Upon touching it, Darien sees this space as it once was; a temple of alabaster and gold, and in the center a dais displaying an ornate weapon. He recognizes this space from past visions and communions with the Guardian, and witnesses several scenes from the final days of the Kingdom of Déon.

He first sees a war council between several of the kingdom's leaders: King Elegost, High Battlemage Erolith, Maethoril Oloxys, Kallindor of Gellos, and Syldara Bardonne. Together they discuss the ongoing Ajokai invasion. Meanwhile, a young girl who Maethoriil refers to as a princess asks to play with "Moon-Moon," before being escorted out of the war council. Kallindor informs the king that the northern defenses are crumbling, and Elegost says he will join the vanguard on the field against his advisors' urgings. He commands Syldara to see to the defenses of Teldyrn, and Erolith to protect the "power" contained in the temple.

In another flash, Erolith is informed that Estariol's defenses have fallen and the enemy is within the city. Erolith orders the city evacuated, stating that Kallindor has already seen to the Heart of Déon. Maethoril attempts to calm the young girl, and Erolith casts a spell to sequester her inside an amulet. He entrusts the amulet to Maethoril, telling him that the story of their people lives so long as her bloodline exists.

In another flash, Erolith wields the weapon from the dais: a short mace made of ornate silver and sapphire with gold filigree depicting the moons, which glows with a soft silvery light. He battles legions of Ajokai soldiers alone, and watches the last of the evacuating ships leave the harbor. Erolith whispers "forgive me," and the weapon in his hand shatters. The power within the weapon releases, and as his body is consumed by radiant divine energy the moon of Elar shatters and begins falling from the sky, completely destroying Déon and the Ajokai armies alike.

Darien is brought back to the present, and witnesses the Guardian standing before him. The Guardian sheds a tear, remembering his past as Erolith for the first time since his death. He deems Darien worthy of wielding the power that caused his ascension, and as his form begins to drift away the Rod of Two Moons appears in his place. Darien takes up the weapon, and notices a silver rash on his hand where he touched the silvery stone.

Meanwhile, Smithy continues to hold his own against the creature, eventually knocking it unconscious whereupon it transforms into the form of Burton Weller. Darien and Grayson rejoin him in the library.

Chapter Eleven

"Voices of the Past"

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Previous Chapter: This Lumberjack is Not Okay

Next Chapter: To the Next Adventure

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Ingame Date: 20^th of High Sun, 1855
Real-Life Date: June 19, 2022
Protagonists:

• Darien Lothar
• Smithy
• Grayson Weller

Featured NPCs:

• Rais Vedoma
• Burton Weller
• The Guardian/Erolith
• King Elegost
• Maethoril Oloxys
• Kallindor of Gellos
• Syldara Bardonne
• Selena/Ciana

Locations:

• Kesh
• Estariol