Chapter LXIV
in which Esseldi must choose
End of Isolation
With great effort, Fraxinus is able to heard his teammates, who are either distrustful of his sense of direction thanks to the forest's protection magic and/or hopped up on adrenaline-spiking local fruit, to the pillar of Esseldi. Their visit quickly takes a trip south, however, as they hear local gossip make mention of another outsider come to visit the Elders ... one with red skin and horns. The Foxes' worries are validated when they reach their destination and inspect the visitor's coat-checked weapons, which is enchanted with Westerner reaping magic. Repulsed by the magic and distrustful of the Westerner's intentions, Frax has the Silvestri holding the weapons find someplace secure to hid them. Then, the Silver Foxes interrupt the Westerner's meeting.
They find Kaetro attempting to convince the Silvestri to remain neutral party in the ongoing war to the South. The Silvestri Elders, averse to conflict and insistent on their sovereign independence and global isolation, are inclined to agree until Frax and the Foxes begin explaining what they've seen and experienced of the West. Even though this news is worrying, the Elders aren't moved to considering engagement until Frax and his friends further explain the ramifications today's conflict could have on the future of the Silvestri, Esseldi, and who next inherits the world. Kaetro attempts to force both their neutrality and Frax's withdrawal from the war by painting him as a representative of his nation whose individual actions in defending Emeri could imperil the peace and protection of his home.
In privately considering the matter with the Foxes, the Elders and Frax decide to:
publicly agree with Kaetro's demands
privately shore up their defenses
convince the neighboring green-lavender dragon to join the war effort, which would not technically break their agreement with Kaetro
ally with Glad and accept his offer of mercs and soldiers to protect their shores if needed
As far as the Elders are concerned, Frax should not be forced by political circumstance to part from his friends and end his journeying. His mission was given to him by Esseldi. His journey is her will. With everything settled, Kaetro takes his leave, though he seems a little disappointed that things resolved peacefully. The Foxes depart for the Rift so that Bobbi can study it's magic in the hopes of better understanding the magic she'll use to teleport the allied armies to Emeri.
The Watcher
A creepy child is waiting to greet the party at the edge of the Blurred Woods. Sharing a mind with the Heretic, he offers the Glad the chance to trade in the 2 Legionnaire heads still owed him for a rescued Syntyria. Glad quickly refuses the offer. He counts the seer as a lost cause and assumes the Westerners have learned everything that she knows. The Heretic tries to change his mind, but instead is persuaded by Bobbi, Frax, and Haas to rescue her for free, arguing that true friendship comes without a price. In return for this good faith gesture, the Foxes will do what they can to mediate a peace between Attria and Felspar after the war. During the course of conversation, Glad is able to get Heretic to admit that he is the Archon of Khalmer.
On their way to the map room, Glad and Maus separately notice that there is an unseen presence among their group. After working for a day on various failed methods on how to prove their claims, Glad finally deduces that the presence is some Og-like being with connections to Bobbi. Bobbi, astounded that Glad could see that connection, reveals that what they've noticed is probably her communing with the god who destroyed her world.
When the Foxes arrive at their destination, Bobbi sets about learning the magic fueling the contraption. In the process of doing so, she discovers that someone is actively scrying the map room and has been for a few decades. The priests of Azzur they mention this to were already aware of the scrying. Their order seems to be split evenly on how to respond. Some of them believe that whoever is watching is a friendly presence or an ally of a former Archon who probably has their own reasons for not reaching out to the Azzurites. Some of them believe this person warrants investigation. The Foxes agree.
In the course of their discussion, Glad let's slip that he was once a thrall of Og, much to the Azzurites consternation. They have a hard time taking the claims seriously at first on the basis of how reckless and exaggerated the encounter sounds. Frax leaves his Og spores with one of the priests for investigation.
Special Delivery
The Foxes continue on to Rift's Landing. They find that traffic into and out of the city is heavily regulated. The motives and plans of people immigrating to the continent from beyond the rift are thoroughly questioned. Inside, the immigrants, who can only bring so much with them on the journey, are able to trade a magical currency given to them on arrival by the government for supplies at the city's stores. Bobbi peruses the shops and sets an appointment with the High Council to discuss studying the rift. Haas unsuccessfully attempts to learn what happened to the cat people travelling here in mass to cause them to flee their world. Glad proselytizes to the newcomers of this world, arranging for Nef temporary residence and alerting Gaskim to the potential new recruits.
A messenger arrives for the Foxes when they return to their room. He dumps out a golden body from a bag which they recognize as Syntyria. They teleport her to the army encampment while Bobbi stays behind to spend time in Rift's Landing. The commanding strategists are alerted, although Duke Okmark is kept in the dark about who is truly responsible for her return. And the Foxes interrogate the waking Syntyria who has no recollection of them and seems decidedly not like herself. Syntyria reveals herself to be a prior red dragon named Aeonus, who has taken possession of her body which is now a pillar ... an arrangement that occurred because Syntyria called out beyond the world for anyone she thought could save her from her torture. The Foxes much prefer this red dragon to the other and get him acclimated to the world. Haas even receives a boon from him for verifying that Serosan is a child of Shul and not one of his own children.
Aeonus calls out to the nearby nulls, including an incredulous Duke Okmark. After a tense conversation, the Duke shares Aeonus' offer of attunement with him men. They are as yet undecided if they will accept.
Suing For Peace
Preparations for the war are well underway at this point, spurred on by Aeonus' warning of Emeri's impending fall. The new red dragon offers the Sentinel of Emeri stamina in exchange for a boon so that he may keep the army's spirits high. He also offers one to Bobbi, who has return, to help with the strain of casting so many teleport spells. The strategists and Foxes finalize the strategy for the impending battle. And Losken, reminded of its pact with Aeonus, sends over 4000 men and his Archon and Sentinel. In the end, they have an assembled coalition of Brenthians, the Felspar army, the Vulshik, the Saracans, the Nuifra(?), and the Heretic. During the day, the Foxes have a creepy encounter with Cadence's necromancer friend, Gar, and they inform an unhappy Okmark about the Heretics intervention.
Pan makes a surprise appearance at the camp and argues for giving the Westerners a chance to lay down their arms and retreat. He tells them that if they can craft a message they want broadcast to the city, he will make sure it is delivered. Glad is hesitant about this idea. He believes strongly that surprise is a key part of their strategy. Even though they have the numerical edge, he cautions the group against crafting any message that gives away the size and scope of their alliance. He relents though to whatever decision the collective decides. Losken speaks up in defense of the idea, arguing that it is a noble and honorable thing. The rest agree.