In the Thasslonian library beneath
Jorgenfist,
Kumiko watched
Brodert Quink excitedly scribble notes until he had no paper left, and no room on the papers he had.
Kadrus reached out to her through a
sending spell and asked if she was alright. When she mentioned that she was with Brodert, Kadrus was able to scry on the sage and teleported to their location.
When he arrived, two Akashic Knights had accompanied him (at the behest of
Lord Villastir). Kadrus told Kumiko had had recently learned that his father had been a member of the
Akashic Brotherhood in the fight against the Drow, which gave him a sort of "membership by association." He asked if she and
Quilith had cracked the code on the spellbook he had given them. When Kumiko told him they had completed the spell, Kadrus gleefully told her that he had the focus item they would need to cast the spell. "When you are ready to try it," he told her, "let me know, and I'll bring it to you."
The following day, Kadrus spoke to Quilith through another
sending spell. He said he was with Kumiko in the library and asked about Quilith's plans for the day. Quilith gave him the party's itinerary and cautioned Kadrus not to tell anyone else about the library. Kadrus looked at the sleeping Brodert and agreed.
Kumiko left them to join the rest of the
Saviors of Sandpoint. Kadrus agreed to take care of Brodert and make sure he got home safely. After a brief stop in Riddleport, she caught up with the party outside
Echo's Mystical Oddities in Magnimar.
Inside,
Echo took the heroes downstairs to answer their questions regarding
Xaliasa. After thousands of years, even essential details can be forgotten. So Echo used divine blood magic to preserve memories in crystal orbs enchanted with programmed illusions that he could display in a domed room.
Through the course of a few hours, Echo replayed many historical events to explain Xaliasa's connection to
Karzoug the Runelord of Greed. He gave insight into who Karzoug was, revealing his tortured past that equated gold to power. He also showed Karzoug to be vengeful and that the Runelord would be looking for revenge for Xaliasa/Echo's betrayal. He'd already used a Wish spell to prevent Xaliasa from aging or leaving his keep, which was now his prison. It was only a matter of time before Karzoug freed himself and tracked him down.
Echo also used his power of divination to glimpse into one of the possible futures should Karzoug escape the
Eye of Avarice. Using another orb, Echo showed them the rise to prominence of the city of
Xin-Shalast, capital of the empire of Shalast.
Sandpoint would become a slave market for all of Shalast.
Riddleport rose to prominence as a central shipping hub for Shalast now that
Elias Tammerhawk and his
Order of Cyphers ran the city in Karzoug's name. Magnimar would be relatively untouched as
Lord-Mayor Haldmeer Grobaras sold out his people to save his neck. However, the Lord-Mayor would be advised by Karzoug's champion,
Maximus Merilander, and his entourage of mighty rune giants.
The imagery changed around the heroes yet again. They were on a high mountainous plateau overlooking a ruined city covered in snow or ash. They didn't recognize the location, but something felt off. They then heard Echo's voice asking where they had gone before it faded. A cool breeze touched them, which shouldn't have been possible. The heroes found themselves surrounded by people. But not ordinary people. These were
denizens of Leng, and the party quickly realized that somehow they were in the nightmare demiplane of
Leng.
And the locals were happy to see them.
