Letter 26: A Stupid Fight, Conversations, Escape, & Prison

General Summary

Dear mother,
This is most difficult to write. I write you this letter, knowing that I cannot send it to you, that you cannot receive it. That perhaps I might...
Just know that I am coming, mother, I am coming.
How did we get here?
Now trapped in the time loop, we had gagged and pummeled Verryn, Alyona going somewhat crazy. We ungagged him, and we (“we” being Alyonna for most of this) began to interrogate him. I stood to the side, watching. Her interrogation lasted exactly one question: "Tell us about the artifact!"
“No.”
He said he had been curious as to our intentions. He remained unsure prior to our attack, but was now certain, due to our treatment of him, that we were not good at playing with others. He no longer wanted to work with us.
He spoke some words and disappeared, reappearing above the Inn and plummeting to his death.
Now what?
We decided we should try and find the artifact. Asking him was not an option. But locating him was surely important. We have scrolls to help us locate objects, such as cryptoporters, which we can use to locate him. Again, he’ll not be forthcoming with information, but it’ll be good to at least know where he is.
I suggested we chat with the emperor. He had contacted Alyona during the battle, so it’s likely he would be open to a conversation with her again. The group agreed.
Ingoria and Alyonna would infiltrate the keep, find the emperor’s clone, and see if they can gather any more information that will help us end this unending cycle.
We waited while they went in, nearly holding our breaths. Baermak no longer told us his elaborate stories; he was somehow…serious. Grim.
I was bored.
Always before Baermak would ease the passage of time with elaborate stories of martial prowess, kings conquering indomitable foes, hunters felling mythical beasts, armies engaging across vast plains. But now he sat. Still.
To alleviate our boredom, Baermak, Vessyr, and I decided to investigate the portal. It seemed to be at the center of the dome. And if there was an artifact projecting the dome, it made sense that it would be at the center: the portal.
An excellent suggestion, but I didn’t see anything anomalous. We searched the entire place. If there was a dome-generating artifact there, it was very well hidden. In fact, I was sure it wasn’t there at all.
Since we were there, we decided we might as well try the cryptoporter! What did we have to lose?
We dialed in the Light Keepers' portal and inserted the cryptoporter…
…and stood in the middle of the street as the dome rose, bisecting the airship. Porting out was clearly not an option.
We checked in with Ingoria and Alyona, but they had not been able to open the lock to the chamber. Ingoria was sure she could open it this time, so we agreed that they should immediately try again.
While we waited for them (again!), we headed to the University. I felt like it might be a good place to look for an artifact. I didn’t see anyplace obvious where an artifact might be hidden.
The dome itself was oddly…cold. It was very smooth to the touch, if we were even touching it. And cold, like metal. But not metal at all. More like glass. But not remotely glass.
Following it around, the dome just indiscriminately sliced through everything. No damage, no nothing: just cut through like a clamshell through fishcake. As interesting as that was, we didn't find obvious artifacts. And then we ran out of time.
After the reset we caught up with Alyona and Ingoria.
This time they made it in! The emperor didn’t give them much information, but did indicate that in order to end the cycle we had to kill Verryn. That would break his concentration, ending this. The emperor’s advanced state of decay is also an artifact of these endless cycles; if we end the cycling, his decay also ends. So he has an additional excellent reason to want this to end.
For this cycle we needed to gather additional information. Two avenues appeared: talk to the professor who mentioned the dome being generated by an artifact; and finding cryptoporters. We know that one of the professors had one, and we also know that Verryn had one. There might be more, but at least we can find Verryn…actually, probably not Verryn himself, but at least his lair. He hadn’t had the ‘porter on him, so we probably won’t find him, in fact. But at least we’ll know where he’s likely to start.
They queried the professor and discovered that he had seen the dome rise…from three points. and the clone had mentioned that there were three artifacts! When we appear in the street the dome is already mostly in place. But this professor had seen it rise! He knew there were three points of origination, and knew the general direction of the generating artifacts, but not exactly where they were, and he was not willing to help us with more than information.
These people do not have the privileged position of going through this multiple times...and retaining the memory thereof. Every single time this is an amazing and overwhelming event to them.
Before we went any further, we needed to find the cryptoporter keys.
I read the location scroll and flew, invisibly, above the city. Initially dozens of cryptoporters appeared below me, as people rushed to the portal to try and get out. I felt a pang of sympathy, then remembered that they were Sylvan. If they lived through this I would kill them anyway.
Waiting till the rush subsided, cryptoporter after cryptoporter disappearing as people went through the portal, I noticed a cryptoporter in the Keep. Noted. I flew away from it, around the perimeter of the dome. The ‘porter in the Keep finally receded from my consciousness and I noticed another ‘porter towards the University, but not at the University.
As I flew nearer I saw the rest of the party, wandering the streets and headed in the same general direction. Curious. They didn’t seem to be entirely focused on going directly toward the cryptoporter, but were instead looking about, as if searching.
I flew in, finally locating the cryptoporter: it was in a very nice mansion near the University. The mansion was cleanly bisected by the dome. My friends seemed to be headed in the general direction of that mansion.
I continued my quest, quickly finding the ‘porter on the professor as I left the mansion behind me. Then back to the Keep where I sensed a second ‘porter.
I reconnected with the team and explained what I had found. We decided that Ingoria and I would look for the artifact in the mansion with the cryptoporter. The one on the professor was known, and indicated neither Verryn nor an artifact. The ones in the Keep were extremely difficult to access, one of them surely being in the possession of the Sun Knight, but were also neither Verryn nor an artifact. Vessyr made us invisible and we headed in.
The front door was open, so we just walked right in.
Ingoria saw a desk off to the right and immediately headed in to investigate it. As she entered the anteroom a wall of goopy webbing appeared, sealing her in. She began to claw at it, but she was securely trapped for a time.
I sensed that the cryptoporter was ahead of us...and down. Under us. A basement. And time being constrained, I left her and moved forward into the main room. A blast of poison gas hit me as I crossed the threshold. I ignored it. Scanning the room, I saw double doors on either side and a single door straight ahead. That must be the door. I went forward and a voice whispered, “You should not have come here.”
I recognized his voice immediately: it was Verryn.
He said I was lucky: I was the only one he wouldn’t kill on sight. "Even though revenge was pointless in this place."
I told him I did not support what the team did to him. He mentioned that I hadn’t stopped it, which was true. But while I doubted I could have stopped it even if I had wanted to, I was also suspicious of his motives. Which I admitted to him.
I told him that trust had been broken.
He maintained that he had kept up his end of the bargain and done everything according to plan.
“If the plan included us dying, we never would have agreed to it! And it failed anyway.”
He acknowledged the failure.
“So what do you do now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, who is the architect?”
“Where did you get that term?”
“The emperor talked to your new best friend.”
“Ah, he’s sowing dissent.”
“He’s providing information. So who is this architect?”
“I assume it’s me.”
Who else could it possibly be? And how could he not know?
“Is there anybody else here that’s outside of the looping?”
“You guys, the emperor, ...and me.”
Ingoria spoke up beside me, “What are you hiding?”
I started--I had heard nothing; she had freed herself and silently walked right up beside me. I consider myself stealthy, but...
“I’m hiding many things.”
And then we reset.
When we got back together I quickly told the team about our encounter. We decided to go meet with Verryn and try to talk. Ingoria said that something about the way he answered "...and me" made her suspicious. Very specifically, "and me".
He is... he is the architect. He admitted as much. So what could he be hiding? We already know he's the architect. There's nothing left to hide, there.
We sped through the town. We knew where to go and we knew how to get there. Time. Time was of the essence. The door to the mansion remained unlocked, but I knocked. No response.
I called out, but no response.
He was there, I knew. And he knew we were here. I also knew that he wouldn't kill me.
So I went in.
I showed the team where the traps were, but Baermak (with his new personality) just barged straight in, setting off multiple traps and getting himself caught in a bunch of webbing.
The team unhesitatingly followed. Vessyr suddenly turned and began attacking Bearmak and his own granddaughter. Startled and appalled, I smacked him with the flat of my sword, which knocked a little sense into him, but didn’t completely break him free. That’s when everybody started attacking each other.
Ingoria ran for the single door in front of us, but Verryn cast a spell on her, propelling her back away from it.
I sheathed my sword and leaned against the wall. “I thought you said that revenge was pointless in this place!”
Darkness descended upon the room.
I could hear chaos. Spells, traps, the metallic clunk of a crossbow locking a bolt in place.
“Verryn, is this enough or do you need another minute?”
Alyonna called out that we just wanted to talk, but it didn’t help. Would we be stuck here forever, fighting amongst each other?
The deep twang of a crossbow bolt quickly followed by the wet thunk of the bolt hitting flesh, and Alyonna cried out. I heard a body limply hit the floor.
“Now we are done. Talk.”
Alyonna asked him why the dome hadn't dropped.
"I'm trying to figure that out, but I keep getting interrupted by assholes barging into my home."
Vessyr asked him to drop the darkness.
Before Verryn could respond Baermak began talking, but it was not the Baermak I have known. Shouting. He was extremely confrontational. Belligerent.
It didn’t work.
Verryn said he would only talk to me. He lifted the darkness and revealed the traps.
“You may leave.”
We all knew who he meant. I stayed.
When the others were gone I asked, “So do you feel better now?”
“No.”
“See?”
I pressed him on the architect and he finally relented: “I am the architect.”
Then…then why didn’t it go down when he died?
He could see the confusion on my face.
He said that paradoxes are difficult to predict. I cocked my head; I didn’t see the paradox here. If he dies, the dome drops. He died. Simple. No paradox. The dome should have dropped. He recognized my expression.
“If you travel back in time and kill yourself, what happens?”
Again...that's not...we're not...
“But we’re not time traveling…and time continued outside of here…”
“Yes, but inside…”
Still, I was confused. We are not meeting ourselves in this place, the selves who were here the first time, fighting the Sylvans and nearly dying. There would be 50 of me by now! How long has this gone on? There is no paradox!
So finally he told me.
There was another person here outside of the looping, but Verryn had not lied when he told us that the people outside of the loop are us, the clone, and ... and him. And Verryn. That was not a lie. It was the truth. But it was not exactly the entire truth. Because there was indeed another person!
The reason that was not a lie is that...it’s the same person. It’s Verryn. At the start of the very first loop, Verryn split off from his other self, yet his other self remains.
There are two Verryns, and one of them is the architect.
“Where?”
He glanced down.
“Downstairs?”
“Yes.”
“Behind the door you wouldn’t let Ingoria through.”
“Yes, but somehow you seemed to already know that.”
I didn’t mention how I had found him or the artifact. He didn’t ask.
He was the architect.
The other him. The him I hadn't actually met, but knew was downstairs. With the cryptoporter that Verryn had, but never had.
Killing him would end this.
I looked around. Chaos had consumed this room. It was littered with the remnants of traps, spent weapons, blood. Wrecked furniture, holes in the walls.
“If I tell my team that, they will kill you.”
“That's why I'm telling you instead of them. But I did almost get one of you.”
“And we could kill you. It doesn’t matter. None of that matters. It doesn’t solve the actual problem before us." I paused, again surveying the damage. A huge pool of blood where Alyonna fell. "What about the artifacts? Can we disrupt those?”
“No, I have tried, and I’ve seen nothing from you guys that convinces me that you would be able to get through.”
“Is there something we could do that could help you do it?”
“No.”
“Let us try." I took a heavy breath. "I need to go back with something.”
My friends knew we were talking. And had been talking for quite a while at this point. If I didn't have information...
“Ok.” And he gave me the address of one of the artifacts. Which I brought back to the team. I gave them the address, but, mother, I told them nothing of the time travel. I was sure they would ask, pepper me with questions, detect my deceit, but they were so excited to have a path they never suspected there might be more. They were my friends, but I kept this information from them, knowing what would ensue. I played your game, mother. This I clearly get from you. I now better understand what it is you do, but I am not very good at it.
Nor do I want to be.
We reset.
Again, we gathered in the cafe, then headed straight to the address Verryn had given me. I was fairly certain that there was an artifact in his mansion, but I understand why he gave us another address instead. The team probably understood that as well.
The address was a house. It was abandoned, as was the entire neighborhood. We entered and went downstairs to find the artifact.
It was actually quite large. I'm not sure what I expected, but I didn't expect something so big. I guess, to generate a magical dome that enclosed a city you needed a pretty big artifact, but still. It had to be 8 feet tall, covered with tubes and gems and radiating magical energy.
And impervious. Absolutely impervious to anything we could do, and we tried everything we had.
Nothing.
We reset.
The team was beginning to fray. I knew we could kill Verryn...the other Verryn...who was, I guess, still Verryn. I mean, they're the same person. But we could kill the one maintaining the dome, and it would fall. I didn't know what would happen to the version of Verryn I had met, but even if killing his other self didn't kill him, the collapse of the dome might do it anyway.
But...
On the other hand, he was a Sylvan. He was a Sylvan. What did I care whether a Sylvan died? This entire city of Sylvans would die!
I wasn't able to justify any of it. But I still didn't tell them. I hoped we could find another way.
Renewed exploration was the goal for the next cycle. Alyona and Vessyr checked out the wrecked airship. Ingoria and I went to look at the other artifact, which was identical (and identically indestructible) to the first.
So I headed back to Verryn's mansion.
“You were right, we could not affect it.”
“I knew you couldn’t.”
“Yes." I was running out of options. Options other than the obvious. "So, have you talked to ... you, downstairs?”
“He’s concentrating on maintaining the spell.”
“So, can we disrupt his concentration? When Vessyr loses his concentration his spells drop.”
“Yes, but what happens to me?”
“Well, probably nothing," I closed my eyes for a second, shook my head, "but I could see myself in your position and I wouldn’t accept that either. We need to find out what’s disrupting, and disrupt the disruption. Can we work with the emperor?”
“No.”
“How do you know? He also wants out of this. We can work together to end this, then you can kill him.”
“His kind are only evil.”
“Yes, so you know he wants to kill you too, but he also wants to get out.”
“No.”
“Then we need to disrupt the other you. We have to break his concentration!”
“I don’t know what happens if we do that.”
I was very quickly running out of options.
We headed back. Alyona and Vessyr had found nothing interesting.
To them.
In the wreckage they found, stenciled on the side of the ship, "Sky Mother, Inc."
Sky Mother.
Had they also invented our goddess? Our creator? She Who Breathes Life?
How can the Sky Mother be the name of a company that flies airships? How can it be the name of anything other than the essence of all that surrounds us, bringing life and freedom to The People?
Then we reset.
I was reeling. I needed to make a decision. I saw no other option. But suddenly Vessyr had a really good idea: perhaps the disruption occurs at the teleporter itself! It’s at the center, and that’s where the flash of light originates when we reset the loop every hour.
We sprinted to the portal, even though we had an hour to go. We were so eager! Had we found a way out? Was Vessyr finally right about something?
Yes. His guess was inspired: as we sat and watched, the teleporter began glowing and sending out lightning and sparks and BAM we were back in the street.
Reset.
We had a way out! This would work! We quickly ran through the city grabbing everything we could think of, especially cool stuff for GG: coinage, books, wines, newspapers, anything he might find remotely interesting. In the teleporter room, as soon as the glowing started, we put the cryptoporter lock in…and it stopped. No crackling, no lightning, no explosion, no flash of light.
It was done; the cycles had ended.
But not the problems.
The dome was covered by lava, yet the dome was cold, so the lava directly touching the dome solidified. A thin layer. But the dome was not there anymore. With the dome gone, all of that lava was only supported by that thin layer of solidified lava. Which was cracking. Quite loudly.
Vessyr quickly inserted our cryptoporter coded for the Light Keepers and we appeared in their chambers.
Things looked a bit different, but it had been a little while since we’d been there, so that was to be expected. Even still…
Alyonna, always so wise, asked after the date.
And that, mother, is why you haven’t heard from me in so long: we’ve been in that loop for 15 months.
15 months!
Each 1 hour loop there was a full month here. GG had been promoted, they assumed us lost, ... and I know now what has happened at home. You must think me lost as well.
Bäaba.
Stunned.
GG was so happy to see us, as well as all of the presents we brought him. We went out to celebrate, but I could not focus. We were so happy! It was an excellent dinner, and actually the first time we had eaten since we entered the loop! I had forgotten about food! My mind wandered in a daze, but my body slurped down soups and wine and anything else they brought to the table. I felt I was starving! There was something in my pocket that I hadn't put there...a piece of paper and...but I would save that for another time. I reached for a glass and caught Alyonna's eye: she was frozen, still. She whispered to her grandfather, then turned to us and told us we had to leave. Immediately.
We did.
To our hideout.
She saw the woman who stole her ring, and that woman saw her. That woman will want to kill her. Keesha. And she wants to kill Keesha. I promised I would help her kill Keesha, and I will. With any luck I'll do it myself, but I might back off and let her do it. She seems very angry with this woman.
And if Alyonna is angry with this woman, I am angry with this woman.
If Alyona wants to kill her, I will kill her.
But before we go out she wants to heal her scars. They have a pattern, and I guess that pattern means something. Because the scars are at least interesting! I know why the sub-aerials wear so many clothes: without clothes they're almost disgusting! It's like they're not just naked, but naked naked. No coloration, no texture, no variation. Just bare skin. No way to tell rank or status, maturity, or even gender. It's confusing. So I don't know why exactly she wants rid of the scars; at least they make her skin somewhat interesting.
We have to wait for that, here in our hideout. 10 days.
All while you sit in prison.
The first thing we did is send messages. You've received Alyona's messages by now. She can do that. It's pretty neat. Anybody she knows, she can message. Just like that! But not too many times. It's magic, and she runs out. I asked her to tell you that I'm okay.
She said you're in jail, and I wanted to send another message, but she was out of magic. She would be able to send messages again in four hours, so I waited.
When four hours passed, I went to her chamber and asked her to send you another message. You've received that message. I wanted you to know that I'm coming. But I also wanted to send another message. To somebody else.
I ask Alyona to message Verryn.
She is angry with me. She has already messaged him, and he did not respond. So maybe he didn't make it out? She thinks he didn't.
But I know he did.
The paper I found in my pocket was a note from him, thanking me for ending the nightmare. And a ring. He says it will help me with detecting truth, and I can't wait to use it.
I ask her to ask him to message me. He would talk to me.
And he did.
He didn't respond to her. He responded to me.
He has the same messaging magic that Alyona has. I asked him about Sky Mother, but all he knows is that it was a company that ran the sky ships. I know there is more, but he doesn't know it. He knows of no connection to The People or our goddess. It seems he won't talk to Alyona, and doesn't want her to know he's alive, so I won't tell her we've been messaging.
I have been trying to find a way to get to you, to help. I learned that Vessyr keeps the cryptoporter key in a secret pouch in his bag, and that the ring he wears opens that pouch. But he's never without either, and he never sleeps. I am not sure how I will get either from him.
Alyona did not let me leave her room. She stopped me. She is so wise, mother, so wise. She said you had responded.
She says you don't want me to come, that they're using you as bait. My heart...I was unsure...she seemed to hesitate before she told me this. Were you really bait? Or was she trying to convince me not to go?
I used the ring Verryn gave me. To see the truth.
And she spoke the truth.
You are bait.
I am the catch.
I am ripping apart inside.
Just because it's a trap doesn't mean we shouldn't go! How many times have we reversed an ambush? It's an excellent strategy!
But Alyona is wise and I should follow her guidance. She wants to wait. You want me to wait.
She seems sometimes to be very angry with me, and sometimes to be very angry at me. And sometimes neither. But still, even through that, she is so very wise. Always she will cure her anger, see the future, and share her wisdom. I know she is right, but I do not want her to be right. I want to act. Now!
But she is right.
So we will cure her scars.
Then we kill Keesha.
In the meantime, while she uses her magics to make her skin even more boring for 10 days, I'll do some scouting. Is the portal still there? Can I find the Grecko perhaps?
I had initially wanted to use the cryptoporter, but we only have the one, and when last we saw the portal, it was hanging sideways off a cliff. So if the team came with me they might simply fall to their deaths in the lava below. Alyona messaged Red Crest, the Grecko friend we made, and he said something about fire raining from the sky...so the portal might be under lava anyway and even flying won't save me.
Which leaves me flying to the portal instead.
They seem trepidatious, because I'd be alone, but I'm not worried. I can fly in, gather intelligence, fly out.
...and maybe kill Sylvans while I'm there.
I didn't mention that last part to the team, but Alyona and I did convince them to let me fly home on a reconnaissance mission.
I prepared by gathering up the fish cakes that nobody else likes anyway. Ingoria gave me a quick lesson in Grecko, so I can now say "hello", "friend", and "beer". I also carved a small statuette from stone. I'm not very good at it, but theirs were rough as well. It was supposed to be a Person, but I don't know that you would strongly approve. It was certainly not art. Stone carving is not nearly as simple as you might assume.
Flying overland I headed to the coast, but not as far North as Yelahn. I crossed South of the Straits, careful to evade all of the watch points.
Finding my way back was easy enough, with the mesa standing tall and mist continuing to surround it, although the mist now seemed to rise high into the sky more than before. Clipping the tops of trees, I made good time and was not spotted by anybody who might be watching. Surely they think us dead anyway. What would there be to watch for?
I made it to the crater without incident. Interestingly, near the edge a small group of Grecko had a small bivouac, which seemed to have been there for several days. Not permanent, but not a simple overnight camp. I flew around to avoid startling them, landed, and peered over the edge.
Plumes of steam shot into the sky, smelling strongly of sulfur. As I approached the rim the smell was even stronger. The dim evening light suffused the forest, and the soft orange glow of the lava pool below lit the trees from underneath. The light was very surreal; if you saw a painting of it you would think the painter poorly skilled. It was warmer than it should be, with the clouds and rain. The vegetation and trees along the lip of the crater were gone, blasted away. The waterfalls remained, feeding their water to the lava and creating the steam plumes.
I also spied the Sylvan camp, which was evacuated. All that remained was the fence, latrine, and various discarded materials. The jungle had already started reclaiming it's own, with vines creeping in and saplings sprouting on the formerly bare ground.
A lake of lava covered most of the crater's bottom. The waterfalls cascaded beautifully over the edge, but the water never even made it to the bottom, being evaporated by the heat as it fell, and rising in huge plumes to the sky.
Most importantly: the portal remained! Still hanging from the side of the cliff, though the moss that covered it before was now gone. It looked, in fact, in better shape than before, due to the vegetation having been burnt or scraped off.
Tired and the sun setting, I scouted a good place to camp. I made sure I was close enough to the Grecko to hear them, just in case.
I rose before the Grecko and observed them performing some kind of ritual pantomime with some figures, leaving one of them on a finely polished rock. They then lit the figures on fire, and sat in a circle around the rock. They were silent. I don't know if Grecko meditate, but if they do, that's what they were doing. As the sun rose they turned to watch, raising their hands.
After it was fully risen, they dropped their hands, returned to their little camp, and began drinking some tea.
I watched with reverence, then approached. I was not stealthy, but not rambunctious. I simply strolled casually, but they didn't notice me, still lost in their reverie. In my head I kept repeating the words Ingoria taught me, over and over, practicing. When I got close enough I called out to them.
"Hello! Friend!"
They were startled and all six turned to face me, three with hands on weapons. I raised my arms and stopped, calling out "hello friend" again.
Unsure of what to make of me, they spoke rapid fire Grecko at me, and I smiled, shrugged, and shook my head. "Hello friend" I said. I shrugged again. They looked at each other, seeming to understand. So then I said "beer."
One of them laughed.
I continued my approach, slowly, but confidently. They were scanning me very closely, examining. They spoke to each other, pointing, staring, jabbing each other, until I was in their midst.
Their leader (maybe) gestured and they removed their hands from their weapons.
And brought me some tea.
"Beer!"
"Beer."
I drank the tea and smiled, then retrieved the fish cakes and offered them.
They seemed incredulous, taking the cakes and sharing them, then giving me a share as well. I ate happily. Those cakes really are so very good.
Not sure what to do next, and unable to communicate, I was about to leave when I noticed groups of figurines scattered about the camp. But not the ones I had seen as offerings before. No, mother, these were different. Yet immediately familiar.
They were in groups. In each group was an obvious Person. Another figure with a tail and fur. Two others were very slender sub-aerials, and the other a quite robust and very furry sub-aerial.
The Grecko stared at me, enraptured. As I scanned, off to one side, I saw another figure. A Grecko. A Grecko with an obvious red crest.
I walked over to the Red Crest figurine and pointed; I didn't touch it, just pointed directly at it, then pointed to myself.
Pointed to Red Crest, then to myself.
I took out the Person I had carved and set it gently down beside the Red Crest figure. One of the Grecko elbowed his mate, hard, and whispered, as if I could understand it anyway. But it was obvious. He was whispering, "See? I told you so!"
The looks in their eyes, mother, I cannot describe. Their entire demeanor had changed and it was as if they stood at attention. They watched my every move, rapt.
Retrieving another portion of fish cake, I pointed to the Red Crest figure, offering the cake in it's direction, then held it out for them, pointing at the figure.
Their leader took it, bowing. They all started bowing! I bowed too, mother, I bowed! I didn't know what else to do but bow!
I had planted the seeds. They would get the message to Red Crest that I was back, alive, and was an ally. He would know I was here, he would know it was me. A diplomat mother, I was a diplomat! Just like you!
Not nearly as good.
Not yet.
I took my leave and headed home. They tried to tell me things, though I understood not a word but "friend". I bowed and bowed and bowed, then finally left.
Clipping treetops again I spotted some patrols...People. They didn't spot me, though.
I knew there would be People working for the Sylvans, but there's something about seeing it. It's harder than knowing it. How can People work for the Sylvans?
They have wronged us, mother. They have wronged you!
I will kill every one of them. Any Sylvan who imprisoned you, laid a hand on you, looked askance. I will kill every Sylvan in our home. I will burn their ships, kill their animals, set fire to everything they own. I will eat their eyes and lay their corpses end-to-end to form a bridge to the mainland.
I will walk across that bridge, digging in my claws as I go, on my way to kill their emperor.
But first, we will come free you.

Report Date

06 Sep 2023