Chapter LIII
in which a legionnaire is hunted
The Cursed Ones
In the aftermath of their battle, Glad tracks down the possible source of the mysterious magical effect he felt. Facebook thinks it could be an old form of dark magic that weakens one's connection to their pillar, creating the illusion of being disconnected. Haas uses this knowledge to help the 3 rescued Vormylleans who are still in an unresponsive stupor. Upon further investigation, Glad notices faint traces of reaping on all three. In the spirit world, Haas acts as a conduit between the hostages and their pillar, attempting to call the missing pieces of their soul back to them. She is surprisingly successful with the first. Her call causes a fragment of Westerner horn to appear in her hand and dissipate into Vormyllean mist. The first rescuee passes out and a guttural voice calls out. "Audacious," it says. Haas alerts her comrades Frax and Glad. Frax keeps a watch on things in the real world and Glad joins her in the spirit world as she repeats the procedure for the remaining rescuees. When she finishes, a seven foot tall Westerner charges them from a distance. His presence is enough to make Glad fall down in shock. Haas readies her net and trident.
The Westerner warns Glad to stay down. In response, Glad kinetics his foes weapon out of his hands. The surprise is short lived. The stolen greatsword dissipates and the Westerner pulls two more from thin air. He and Haas charge each other, getting good hits in. When she goes in for a second attack, she shrinks down and jumps on his net. All he can do is hold her their as she bites and poisons. Glad electrocutes him while he's distracted. And Haas finishes him off by growing large again and biting the flesh from his throat. Together they fell their foe, but his voice lingers ominously after he dies in the spirit realm.
After the battle, Glad consumes the horn shard he shaved off of the Westerner.
The Once and Future Archon
The next morning, the Silver Foxes arrive at Cadence's Felspar camp. She debriefs them and the Vormylleans they rescued. The more talkative one laments Vormylls continued inaction and calls out his archon Jas'ro for doing nothing. He reveals that his party of twenty marched down on the now-burned village in an attempt to avenge the slain family of one of the Vormylleans. Some joined him for vengeance and justice. Others were hired hands. They learn from all involved that Vormyll would be a formidable foe for the Westerners if they so chose to engage the enemy, especially since they have a back bench of players potentially stronger than their tournament chosen Sentinel, Soren. They also learn that Jas'ro became Archon after the previous Archon, Sovelus, left for the Rift. The men they rescued agree to help propagandize the war effort by relating their story. In this way, they hopefully shift popular opinion enough to force the election of a new Archon of Vormyll.
Cadence reveals that the legionnaire in charge of that area is Asoth. He's been razing the Bay and taking land while the other 7 legionnaires present a united front to face Felspar. Unlike the others, Asoth is a psychopath in it for the glory and the kills. The Silver Foxes decide on him as their next target and everyone generally agrees that killing all 8 legionnaires might be enough to break the Western Army. Haas also convinces Cadence to reach out to the Kiteki and Veckrans. Glad leases his Shul-SWAT team to Cadence for the few days she'll be on the Southern front. And Cadence gives orders to fit the Foxes' airship with siege weapons.
Sovelus arrives at camp the next day. The Silver Foxes planned on talking him into becoming Archon again, but it seems he's already working on it. He only left to protect his song Kai from those interested in his peculiar power. He later discovered that Jas'ro was on of these poeple. The bigger problem, though, is that Jas'ro is a very intelligent and manipulative player and has had fifteen years to cement his position. Removing him won't be easy. It's possible he might even sway the Vormylleans to Shul's side by appealing to Vormyll's ideals of strength and independence. To counter his politicking, the group plans how best to propagandize the war. They've got a good argument for justice and vengeance because of the slain Vormylleans. It helps that one of the rescued mercs is legitimately famous. Glad also writes a call to action to be spread to any in Vormyll who will hear it.
The Silver Letter
drafted to propagandize the war efforted
The Westerners are at your doorstep. Come and see.
They are burning your lands. Come and see.
They have slaughtered your neighbors. Come and see.
They have slaughtered your families. Come and see.
They have enslaved your bravest to their red dragon. Come and see.
They spit on your justice. Come and see.
We are avenging your dead. We are avenging the Burnt Bay.
If Vormyllean justice still exists, send aid immediately.
The Westerners are knocking at your door. Come and see.
- Glad of War, Sentinel of Chracio
The Marsh
The next day, Glad notices some lingering necromantic energy in the area, which he tracks down to a makeshift jail. Investigating on his own, he's able to narrow it down to a Westerner prisoner who either lies about his abilities or is confused by Glad's queries. Glad attracts the attention of one of the guards after he uses conveyance to do some necromantic scrying and is given a warning about doing magic within the prison, which he promptly ignores. Haas notices the commotion and ends up having a pleasant conversation with two of Okmark's null soldiers, who happen to be the prison security ... hanging out on the roof.
With little else to do in town but wait for their airship to be fitted with offensive weapons, Haas taking a trip down to the marsh with her new teleportation tool with the goal of rallying her people. Though the tool, an enchanted fabric, does not come with any instructions, it ends up being an easy to use. The Silver Foxes blink within walking distance of the Clutch of Vulsh. They're happened upon by some blackscale children who take a liking to Frax. When their minders show up, they question Haas about the group's purpose until she reveals her identity, finding that her word holds great sway with her people. At the Clutch, they join with Silmung and his council of blackscales and Kiteki, where they discuss the increasing number of border disputes with Irik.
Haas proposes uniting all of Vulsh's children against Shul. Glad, as a representative of Chracio, is completely for the plan. Silmung summons a guide who takes them as far as he dares into Irik's territory. The guide gives them what outdated information he has about the path as someone formerly attuned to Irik. When on their own, the Foxes happen upon one of Irik's people and are unable to convince him to leave them to their own devices. This starts a confrontation that quickly ends with their interloper subdued and his allies scared shitless and badly injured by Glad's preemptive lightning strike. The subdued allies are so intimidated that they volunteer useful information on how to proceed when their comrade tries to bullshit the group.