RP:Further Destruction

Part of the Home Sweet Home Arc

Summary: With a stark line of death suddenly cut across Sage, Gilwen and three other elves inspect the damage and search for answers. Eventually, they come across Linn has the answers they seek.

Overlooking a Pass

Nature expells the breath of life unto this area, though it is rocky and untamed. From the sky above this area can be touched by sunlight, moonlight, and starlight alike. A beautiful place to camp, this area is held in high esteem by sworn hearts who wish to show true commitment. Legend says that, a long while back, two elves threw themselves from this outcropping, down to the jagged stones below. It happened, either by god's will, or some other phenomenon, they survived. With their love proven they lived out the life together, creating a town, some say. A path now moves down and east, entering into a lush forest, about where the elves fell into the pass. Another road moves north and south.

Linn came in from the north walking rather gingerly and cautiously, having found the previously green (if possibly fading) grasses along the rocky path turned to decaying browns, greys, and blacks in barely a day or two, the path of death leading him further back into the forest. He wore his usual gear on his path back to Sage, the reflective mithril armor and backpack of supplies not doing much to give him any confidence moving back; a tense paranoia was clear in his expression as he figured something was off. It wasn’t until he made it to where the trees began that he stopped to take a tight breath at the sight of the advanced rot and death that was –too- focused. Approaching the path that cut through the center of the death he knelt to check it for tracks: smooth, continuous scuffs that curved out of sight into the forest. The sight was enough to open his eyes up wide before he fell backwards to sit down in some state of shock.

Gilwen had been traveling through the entirety of the forest all day studying the sudden swatch of dead vegetation that cut through Sage rapidly- with her was a well trusted posse composed of two armed guards, and a fellow druid who had her nose stuck deep within a large, leather bound book. All were on horseback, which made traversing the terrain easier and much faster at this point, with Gilwen leading the group astride a silvery mare. “I don’t understand. How has this happened?” A guard asked, bewilderment etched over the scarred lines of his face as he scrutinized the destruction. The fiery headed elf herself was distracted by the scene as well, so it was the second guard who drew the attention of the group by addressing the shocked, armored man sitting amid the decay a few yards ahead. “Ho there. Are you alright?”

Linn ’s eyes remained fixed on the path even as Gilwen and her companions approached, locked in a conflict of attempting to figure out how this happened and just being stunned by its mere occurrence. It wasn’t until he was directly addressed that he jolted back to attention, very nearly jumping backwards only to fall back down at the guard’s words. He looked like he was seeing ghosts when he looked into the dead path, unable to tear his gaze from it for long. “What in the world happened?” was all he could softly ask in return as the other questions continued raging. How did it happen? How far did it go?

With her attention now fixed to Linn, Gilwen carefully studied the man as he goes through the motions of standing, and falling. “We don’t know.” She answered, her tone icy and her features set in a stoic expression despite the roiling turmoil of emotions that flooded through her; she wanted to rage at the gods, to murder the drow, and to sit down and cry all at the same time, but none of that would prove productive in the end. “It starts near the plains to the west, and ends here,” The scarred faced guard said, leaning forward to rest a forearm on the neck of his roan mount as a suspicious look settled across his features. “We heard that someone was walking across Sage a few days ago. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this would you now?” Despite the accusatory note to the guard’s question, Gilwen didn’t bother to interject or admonish the elf; she was growing exhausted and wanted answers.

Linn took a deep breath when he received news of the extent of the damage. “The path goes all the way to the coast doesn’t it?” he responded guiltily. It was hard to believe everything he saw the day he ran back on this path through Sage, and to think it also set in motion some kind of plague as well? Was that crystal loaded with some kind of spell? His head turned back west in the direction of the mountains, checking the greenery in the distance before turning back to Sage and the elves. No… the stuff in Xalious was fine… When the accusation came he hung in silence for quite some time, biting his lip nervously. ‘Walking’ wasn’t the proper term, really, he was making his way through as fast as he possibly could. Not that it really matters now. “I think it was me.” He admitted with a defeated sigh. “I didn’t intend for any of this to happen. I’ve seen parts of the forest dying before, but I didn’t know that –this- was going to happen.” A sorrowful shake of the head, how to explain what happened?' Gilwen immediately bristled at the admittance of guilt, as did the other druid, who finally lifted her head from the large tomb; the guards looked outright murderous, and the scarred faced one opened his mouth to unleash the barrage of curses that flooded his head. However, he was stopped before he could even start by the rising hand of Gilwen to still any action of her group. “-You- did this?” She asked, her countenance breaking briefly under the newly gained knowledge, showing the tumult that hid just beneath the surface before she managed to regain her composure. “How did –you- do this?”

Linn only briefly glanced at the guards before going back to the destruction in front of him. It wasn’t hard to tell that his best chance of survival was going to be spilling the beans on the particular object he wanted to keep a secret. At least they would recognize its danger as well now. “I carried an object of… very concentrated arcane power through the forest. I honestly don’t know why it –killed- everything I walked by. Everything in Xalious seems unaffected by whatever it was though. I really don’t know how this happened, but I know that path.” He nodded towards the continuous scuffs in the dirt that roughly matched the size of his boots. “And I know I was on it and I was carrying something that is going to be nothing but trouble that particular day.” Crestfallen, he remained sitting with a weak shrug. “All I can do at this point is see if I can figure out why this happened. Try to make some sense of it.

"The damn trees are dying already because of a necrotic curse, and you think it’s a good idea to run through the forest with a f-"... “-Enough-,” Gilwen snapped, suddenly cutting the scarred faced guard off from finishing his sentence. “How many people do you think know about this curse Thealorn? Because last time I checked, it wasn’t visible from Kelay’s tavern.” Her words were just as bitter as the guard’s had been when she turned back to Linn, but she struggled to reign in her temper. “Xalious isn’t cursed, hence why nothing there died.” Or, at least, she assumed it wasn’t. “What was this thing you carried, and why were you carrying it?”

Linn blinked at the mention of a curse, something clicking into place. It wasn’t everything, but it explained the fact differences between Xalious and Sage. He was lost in thought until Gilwen questioned him again, bringing him back to attention with a light shake of his head. Another tight sigh. He had to give –everything- up. “It was mana crystal. A lot of it. I’ve carried smaller amounts though the forest without anything happening. A couple days ago was when I had to take a lot more than should exist for any good reason. I was taking it out of Cenril to a place where it could be kept safe. Disposing of it isn’t an easy option.” A beat. “I have a piece of the crystal that it grew from with me, if you think studying it could help.” But why did it take so much to do this? Again his thoughts began drifting somewhere else as he continued thinking on the implications of just what happened a couple days ago.

Gilwen listened to Linn as he spoke, but remained silent long her had finished, clearly self-deliberating her next course of action. The young druid, having tucked the book she held into her saddlebag, pulled her horse up alongside Gilwen, and shared murmured words with the elder. Despite the elven language, it was clear the two women spoke of Linn considering how often the gestured to him in the span of their short conversation. After a few minutes, Gilwen turned back to the human and shook her head. “No, we don’t want any remnant of the crystal in Sage. We aren’t keen on possibly destroying the forest further. No, you keep it with you, and I will send someone to look at it. Where might you be found?” Linn sat patiently as the elves conversed, not ready to make himself even more of an antagonist right now. A nod at Gilwen’s judgement. “I understand. You can find me around Xalious much of the time. If you want to see what I think caused all of this destruction, I am willing to show you, but only in private. Anyone who knows just what it is and what it can do will want it, and even those who don’t will want this particular crystal as well. If word gets out, people will hunt for it, and it is going to cause a lot more damage than it already has.” Shaken as he was, he spoke with an ominous certainty on the topic of the exotic material.

Gilwen gaze clouded with a touch of envy at the mere thought of such a catalyst, but she shook her head and resettled her attention on Linn; even if she did desire the crystal for herself, she couldn’t safely bring it into sage- at least until the curse had been properly dealt with. “Alright. I have business in Xalious, so I’ll bring Aetherial with me.” A quick look toward the blonde headed druid beside her not only indicated who Aetherial was, but also confirmed that the elf would accompany Gilwen to the mountainous village at a later date. “I expect you to keep that crystal safe then,” the fiery headed elder stated, a touch of warning folding into her words, “we will have need of it.” There was no farewell offered, no exchange of names- instead, she quickly turned her mount back in the direction the group had come from and nudged her horse into a gallop, which spurred the other three elves into motion as well, and soon, they had disappeared into the shadows the rotted vegetation managed to cast. Linn finally rose to his feet when Gilwen turned to leave, watching their departure back onto the dead path. The idea that such a thing was going to be needed brought another tight sigh and a flash of suspicion. The only thing that could use this much power was nothing good. Or undoing something of equal power. Hopefully it was the latter. With a turn of his own he began heading back to Xalious. He had to put this crystal away somewhere only he could find it. And then find more sites to move it to if he had to.