Campaign log: Report to Great Priest Ixanama

[Stomoxys]

The chamber must have been left undisturbed for a very long time. The air felt dank and cold, but the room was fairly dry. I started digging out the circle and I could feel the magical energies in it before I even touched. After scraping aside a thick layer of dirt and dust, the surface was revealed. The material looked like something between metal and stone and felt very resilient. It reminded me of The Metal of Vaxo, but it was darker and the texture was more rock like.

The whole ring was covered with symbols I did not recognize and there were 10 dimples about the size of a chicken egg. Each dimple was associated with a symbol, but they were worn and difficult to read. I tried to push the ring and it barely budged. It was very heavy, but it was not attached to the ground. Something about the ring reminded me of the circle at The Evening Fortress. According to Ebsalon, Mir had used it to travel to Ur with the speed of starlight. I could not quite put my finger on it, but something about the symbols tugged on my memory.

While I studied the ring, Wolfram were searching through the rest of the chamber. I winced every time they touched what appeared to be the remains of a book, making it crumble to dust. I doubt there were any salvageable texts left in any of them though. Grogg were standing in the back, huddled under the low ceiling until Kra started cawing. Grogg asked them what they wanted. In response, the raven jumped down from Grogg's shoulder and began pecking at the ring. They then jumped around and started pecking in the junk on the floor until they found a sphere of the same material as the ring. The size looked like it was just right to fit in the dimples and Kra placed the sphere in one of them.

We searched through the junk in the chamber thoroughly and found two more spheres. One of them felt slightly magical, but it dissipated almost immediately after I picked it up. Grogg took one of the spheres and smelled it before sticking out their tongue and licking it. They said they recognized the smell from not too long ago. I prodded their memory and they decided they had felt the same smell in in the center of the crater in the east. It had been infused with star energy. Perhaps the material had fallen from the heavens. I wonder if it was related to the fallen beings that Odon had talked about.

I wanted to investigate the ring more thoroughly and try to understand the energies in it. Wolfram and Grogg began climbing out of the hole, but Kra was still jumping around, pecking in the scrap on the ground. It looked like they were looking for something and I joined them in their search. Under what looked like the remains of a toppled shelf, I found a stone slab. It was about thirty centimeters square and two centimeter thick with grooves and symbols from the ring engraved on it.

The grooves looked very familiar and went back to the camp to fetch the map. My suspicions were correct and I shouted for Wolfram and Grogg to come down. The lines in the upper right corner corresponded to the two branches of the Ar river. If the other grooves corresponded to rivers and coastlines, two of the symbols corresponded to Guling and Ur. Another symbol corresponded to Byblos, but the other symbols were more interesting. One were placed at The Night Mirror, while another appeared to correspond to the ruined city in the mountains. A symbol near the bottom looked like it could be Anabel, a city in the desert far to the south of Arland, and a symbol at the bottom left would have to be in The Land of the Dead along the river to The Homeland. There were also a symbol in the middle of the wetlands, at The Tomb of Kings. Finally, there was a symbol far to the right on the slab. If the position were supposed to be interpreted literally, it would correspond to the middle of the desert. However, it was encircled by a groove with a line leading off the edge of the slab. If this was supposed to indicate a position further east, it could be Mistvan or perhaps Natanal. While it is possible there is some lost city in the desert the apeoids have forgotten about, I find Mistvan to be the most likely candidate. Interestingly, there did not seem to be a symbol corresponding to our current position, unless the map was very inaccurate and our hill was indicated by the Byblos symbol.

I began copying down the slab and after a while, Nuur-Karif joined us and looked oddly satisfied. They agreed that it was obviously a map or Arland and that that our conclusions seemed reasonable. I commented that this hill had not been flattened into a field like the rest of the area, but Grogg said there was a ghost here. Nuur-Karif concurred, pointing out that the superstitious peasants would be terrified of any spirits. Wolfram thought we had been extremely lucky to end up at the this exact spot along the river and Nuur-Karif said it was destiny. I pointed out that it was not that big a coincidence. We had aimed for the only trees within several kilometers when we rowed to land.

The chamber itself was quite odd. There did not seem to be any other exits than the hole we had come down from and it had appeared to be sealed from the outside. Perhaps it was meant to be a prison, but then it was very strange that the ring was there if it was possible to use it to travel via the heavens. There had not been any apeoid remains as far as I could tell, but the spirit had been there nonetheless. Judging from the age of the structure, it might have been above ground when it was built.

We decided that I would investigate the ring and the others left again. Alone in the chamber, I began tracing threads of energy bound to the ring. It would have been easier if the stars had been present, but I was able to decipher a part of the pattern. It seemed that the ring would be able to absorb enormous amounts of energy through the sockets. I could not determine what would happen then, but there were more patterns to decipher.

I needed a break, so I climbed out of the hole and shared my findings with the others. Wolfram suggested that I should investigate the sphere's next. They might have held vast amounts of energy once that had slowly leaked out, leaving just the last traces for me to detect when we found them. It might also be easier to investigate them than the ring. The glimpses of the threads I had detected had seemed incredibly complicated.

The spheres were indeed much easier to analyze and I was quite certain of their use. They were designed to hold huge amounts of energy. There was a catch though. While it might be possible to charge them incrementally, it would not be possible to feed them with only a little energy. One would have to gather up a lot of energy before it would be possible to get it into the spheres. After I told the others, Grogg wanted to look at the spheres. They stared at them intently for over a minute, but nothing happened.

There were still no sign of any stars, so I climbed back down in the chamber after half an hours rest. Returning to the ring, I tried to trace more of the threads. I spent two hours and I thought I had been able to follow them, but in the end, the pattern did not tell me anything. However, I felt the stinging, cold taste of star water in my mouth. Incidentally, Grogg had suggested pouring star water on the ring, but I had refused to do anything that reckless.

I came back up and told the others what had happened and that I wanted to wait until the stars returned. With their guidance, it should be much easier to determine the meaning of the patterns. In order to get better light, it would be better to get the ring out of the chamber. Wolfram and Grogg were easily able to lift it. However, when they tried to get it through the opening, it turned out to be just too narrow to let the ring out. It almost looked like it was done on purpose. Grogg had struggled with getting in and out.

With a bit of work, Grogg and Wolfram should be able to break up the stones to widen the hole. However, we decided to wait until I understood the ring better and placed it right under the opening.

We all climbed out of the excavation and sat down to eat a bit. Grogg wondered about the darkness and Wolfram again complained that I had released Volkir, saying it was bad because it was working with the dragon. That may or may not be true, but we would have no way to contain it and it would probably have ended with Wolfram or one of my other companions possessed by the insane being. Besides, I am happy to let the dragon and demon destroy Arland and all the apeoids in it if it keeps the demons away from The Night Mirror.

There were no stars, just a steady dark with a faint reddish glow in the west, so I went back to sleep in the tree. I woke up perhaps two hours later and the sky was completely dark. I sat down to search for any traces of stars, but I found none. Even searching for their threads left me with only faint traces. After a long search, I concluded that the closest stars had to be further away than the farthest stars normally were. With a deep sense of unease, I went back to sleep.

[Stomoxys]

I woke from Ajaw rising above the horizon in the east. I breathed a sigh of relief and hoped this meant that the stars would be back come nighttime. The next thing I noticed was the chill. The land was covered in a light fog and even though Ajaw was warming the air, I still felt a bit sluggish and climbed down to the fireplace. After a while, I began to get my senses back and noticed that my ribs felt almost fine. Nuur-Karif's dirt technique had worked.

I suggested Nuur-Karif could take the boat down to the village and see if anyone could fix it there. In the meantime, I could investigate the ring and perhaps be ready to leave by the time they were back. Waiting for the stars to appear would take too long. Nuur-Karif said it was fine, but they would rather go on foot and see if there were anyone that could help. Plugging the hole and floating down would be risky, so they wanted to make sure it was worth the effort.

When Nuur-Karif left, I suggested to Grogg that they could start sewing on my warm suit, now that they had their needle back. They were happy to use their needle again and set to sewing. In the meantime, I climbed down into the whole and started working on the ring. I had just began when Kra came hopping down and placed one of the spheres in a socket. They then picked it up and moved it to another socket. Grogg looked down from above and said that Kra was showing us how to use the ring. That the spheres should be placed in the sockets seemed clear, but if the spirit had told Kra, it was nice to have confirmation that I was on the right track. I thanked Kra and said that it could be dangerous, so they should leave me alone. Grogg did not seem entirely convinced, but took Kra with them and returned to sewing.

I began working the threads, but soon heard Nuur-Karif and Yana return. However, I could also hear the voices of two apeoids. From the parts I picked up, Nuur-Karif had brought the apeoids to the boat instead of the boat to the apeoids. I had no idea why they would do something so reckless, but ignored them and kept working. Perhaps Nuur-Karif hoped the apeoids would see the excavation and use it as an excuse to kill them. Luckily, Wolfram intervened and kept them from climbing the hill itself. It sounded like the apeoids were also reluctant and were happy when Grogg and Wolfram dragged the boat down to them. They set to work and must have been efficient, because they were done before I was.

[Stomoxys]

I kept working on the ring, but was hindered by the lack of starlight. It was as if the threads wanted to slip away the moment I shifted my attention slide to another part of the problem. However, I think I managed to unravel a part of the puzzle and got the distinct impression that the device wanted to receive star energy. It was not solely using star energy though. In fact, it seemed as if the energy it received would be converted to something else.

The others had started packing and had pushed the boat back on the water. After a brief discussion, Wolfram got their pickaxe and widened the hole, making it possible to get the ring out. In the meantime, I checked if the boat was seaworthy again. It was still leaking a bit, but no more than expected for dry wood. When the new planks were done swelling, it should stop. Nuur-Karif volunteered to keep an eye on the water level.

Yana and Hylda had prepared lunch and we all sat down to eat. While we ate, a cart came by in the direction of the town. According to Nuur-Karif, the same cart had gone the other way earlier and the apeoids on it glared at us with suspicion. Since the locals were already superstitious about the hill, we decided to close the hole we had made. The slab that had been on top still fit, and Wolfram filled in the loose masses afterwards.

They were just done when we saw the same cart approach once more. I quickly created an illusion of an apeoid and wrapped it around myself, just in case, and we got the last of our luggage on board. Yana came walking down from the hill, but suddenly froze and ran back up the hill again. Nuur-Karif followed almost immediately. I looked around and then checked myself, but as far as I could tell, there was nothing wrong with the illusion, which Wolfram confirmed. Nuur-Karif had muttered about something being wrong with Yana's eyes, but they had tried to keep it secret and I had suspected it was just hysteria.

Nuur-Karif caught up with Yana and at least got them to stop running. In the meantime, the cart had nearly reached the hill. There were two younger apeoids on it and one older that got off and walked a bit forward, supporting themselves on a cane. Nuur-Karif went to greet them, and I could just overhear their discussion. The old apeoid believed we were cursed for having slept on the hill and we were never allowed back in the village. We were leaving anyway, so that should not be an issue. Before they left, the old apeoid spit in direction of the hill.

Nuur-Karif returned to us and insisted that I remove the illusion because something was wrong with it. I pointed out that it would be stupid while the apeoids could still see us and it would be better if they just got Yana to calm down. Darwan's illusions are broken by starlight and Yana had been under Darwan's influence while we were away. Korro and Nillet's shadows were still switched while Grogg's and Hylda's were missing. It would be surprising if Yana had escaped unscathed. Nuur-Karif more or less confirmed that this was the case when they said my other illusions had also looked strange to Yana.

Nuur-Karif would of course not listen to reason when it came to Yana and I was tempted to just wait and observe Yana's hysteria. However, it would take a while until the cart were out of sight, so I wrapped myself in a cloak and turned off the illusion. Oddly enough, it was almost as if I could hear the deranged laughter of Volkir when the image dissipated. I doubt the foul being would be able to focus long enough to create or affect an image, but I should still investigate.

Wolfram and I rowed into the middle of the river were the current took us. There were few boats on the river and we made good speed. Nuur-Karif occasionally had to scoop water out of the boat while Grogg sat in the back sewing on my winter outfit.

We had rowed for about two hours when I noticed a wall of fog had formed upriver. It appeared to hover above the river, but was gaining on us and looked very unusual. Nuur-Karif said it was not unheard of for fog banks to form over the Ar, but usually much further north and only during cold spells. I felt a shiver as a cold gust of wind blew past us and Grogg declared with delight that it smelled like the mountains they had grown up in. I looked for threads of energy. The fog itself did not appear to be magical, at least from a distance, but I got the impression there were energies contained in it.

Nuur-Karif wanted to row to land, but I and especially Wolfram wanted to continue since we were moving much faster on the river. Grogg sent Kra away to investigate the fog and they were gone for several minutes. When I again heard Kra cawing, I saw ice crystals form on Grogg's shoulder. Through the ring, the raven looked frozen with frost rimming their feathers and their cawing sounded hoarse.

We might be able to row faster than the fog, at least for a while, but it would be dangerous and we did not know how long we would have to keep going. Nuur-Karif asked Grogg to send Kra to investigate and the raven flew off again with strict instructions to stay out of the fog. The rest of us discussed where to go next. Wolfram insisted that we should go to the Larma side of the river, presumably because there would be less apeoids there, but Nuur-Karif and I pointed out that it would be difficult to find shelter on that side. In the end, we decided to row in to the western bank of the river just as Kra returned. Grogg said the fog lasted for several kilometres and, judging from how long Kra had been gone, that seemed plausible.

We hid the boats in the reeds and gathered our things. With the extra weight of the dragon scales and the ring, Grogg was heavily burdened. We would not have to go far though, as there was a village nearby. Korro and Nillet were able to walk on their own, but I suspect they would have wandered until they fell into a ditch if nobody had been around to direct them.

The fields in the area were mostly empty with just a few scattered apeoids. During the colder season, the wheat fields are supposed to rest until the weather begins to warm again, so there would not be much for them to do. The road went parallel to the Ar about 100 meters inland and we followed it south. It did not look like the fog was spreading much further inland, but it was impossible to tell if this was due to less moisture in the air or if it was actually warmer. I asked Grogg to send Kra and they agreed, but promised Kra they would get a huge meal when they returned. I put on my cloak and beard again, even though it felt very silly. An illusion would give a much better disguise, but I did not want to risk Yana having another hysterical fit and run into a field. Especially since it would probably spread to Nuur-Karif.

When we approached the village, we heard the ringing of a bell. Wolfram immediately froze up and insisted that Nuur-Karif should go ahead. The apeoids in the surrounding fields began gathering their tools and return to the village while two older apeoids came out from the village. They stopped just outside and appeared to be discussing the oncoming fog. After a while, one of them went back into the village and the ringing stopped. In the meantime, we had gotten closer and Wolfram was drifting towards the back of our party. Nuur-Karif suggested they could drug them, but Wolfram declined. Instead, the rest waited outside the village while Nuur-Karif, Yana and I approached.

[Stomoxys]

A group of apeoids had gathered around the village well. Looking at them, I got a number of strange sensations, but they were all jumbled and impossible to distinguish. A few other apeoids were moving about the village square, shuttering hatches and carrying firewood. One of the older apeoids we had seen earlier approached us and asked if we had a place to stay. They sounded like they thought it was important. Nuur-Karif answered that we did not and that was why were there. They told us to wait outside the village and they would see what they could do.

After fifteen minutes, the apeoid returned and told us to follow them. They led us to a small house on the western edge of the village. It had been boarded up and the few pieces of furniture inside were covered with dust. Apparently, the building had not been in use for a while. There was a fireplace, but no firewood. Nuur-Karif asked the apeoid if it was possible to get any and they wondered why Nuur-karif asked. Did we expect cold? Nuur-Karif confirmed and they said they would see what they could do.

Soon after the apeoid left, Kra cawed from Grogg's shoulder and I saw ice crystals forming again. They did not look as frozen as last time though, so it might be warmer away from the river. Still not very pleasant though.

The apeoid returned with a bucket with some coal. It would only last a few hours if we did not ration it, so we could not rely on it. Nuur-Karif went out and fetched some dirt that they used to fill in the gaps, while the rest of us found textiles from Grogg's backpack to hang in front of the shuttered windows. The pile of skins Ninos had brought us would really come in handy and we all grabbed several to keep the heat. I placed my sleeping place next to Hylda and Grogg, as they were the largest and warmest.

While Nuur-Karif started a fire in the fireplace, I went out to look at the stars. The edge of the fog had reached the the village and lay densely over the river, but only a few tendrils reached village itself. There was a deep chill in the air and I could not stay out for long. Wolfram followed me out and walked off towards the fog. I looked for stars and saw no signs of Kama and Taxini. The wandering stars shone bright in the north and had started to drift apart again. They were returning to their respective signs, but I could not tell how long it would take. Probably several weeks.

It was too cold to try to read the threads and I would probably freeze before I finished if I tried. Instead, I tried to look for Pakk and Gromann and I got the impression that I found them. The information I got was confused and unclear though, but I think they were the same place as last time. I walked back inside.

Nuur-Karif was checking on Korro and Nillet when I got inside. Looking at them gave me an unpleasant sensation, so I asked Nuur-Karif if they had discovered anything. They had not, and said that the patients were physically fine. To heal them, we would have to find out what Darwan had done to them and I looked over at the barrel. It was the only thing Darwan had left, so the investigation would have to start there.

Wolfram returned and confirmed what I had seen earlier. They were suspiciously eager when I suggested we should investigate the barrel and even insisted on opening it themselves. Inside was a few litres of pink, crystalline powder that smelled like the springs at Vaxo. Come to think of it, I had smelt the same smell in Dulmar, so it was clearly related to the underground. Looking closer, I had the distinct impression that the powder was filled with the residues of magic. Wolfram reacted to the smell and wanted to close the barrel, but Nuur-Karif found a ladle and asked me to stir the powder.

Almost immediately, a glowing red gem appeared emerged from the powder. Since it was a demonic artefact, I studied it carefully and it was clearly magical, but it was not obvious what it did. However, I got the impression that there had been a spell that was supposed to hide it. Perhaps it was supposed to distract hysterical apeoids, which obviously would not work on me.

Nuur-Karif handed me a tong from the fireplace and I carefully removed the gem from the powder and placed it on bench. .To check if there was anything else in the barrel, I carefully stirred it with a ladle, which resulted in the smell intensifying. Wolfram hurried to close the barrel and opened the door to get some fresh air. Apparently they found the smell very unpleasant. Personally, I found the cold draft worse, but I was too busy with the gem to comment.

Since the gem was of demonic origin, it was impossible to tell what nasty side effects it might have and I planned to proceed with caution. Grogg had no such concerns and wanted to look. I told them it was fine, but to only smell, not lick it. Technically they complied since they only sniffed it thoroughly before they poked it with their needle. There was a high pitched sound and for a moment, starlight filled the room. Looking around, nothing appeared to have happened and the gem and the needle looked unchanged. Grogg thought the light was pretty and poked at the gem again, ignoring my attempts to stop them.

I woke up in the arms of Hylda. They said they had been told to keep me warm, but I felt fine and jumped down. The sound and light had come again when Grogg touched the gem, but this time I had passed out. I had no pain in my chest at all any more and felt completely awake. Suspiciously similar to being treated with the needle. The rest went to bed, but Grogg and I felt wide awake, so I decided to study the gem.

Drawing energy from my surroundings was unusually easy, but after half an hour, I discovered the downside as my limbs began to slow down. Apparently, the energy came from the fog and left its cold in my body. It would probably have been fine for a short while, but I stopped using the chilling energy.

After an hour's work, I determined that there was a spell on the gem that was designed to capture other spells. From the design, it looked like it was primarily meant to capture illusions. However, it appeared to have captured the enchantments on the needle, so it was not exclusive. There were more spells on the gem and I could not sleep anyway, so I kept investigating.

After another hour, I was quite certain that the gem was designed to capture other illusions and amplify them. Apparently it had done the same with the needle and sent it into me. I do not know what had happened the first time though. Perhaps it went into somebody that was not hurt. That it had triggered on the needle might be explained by the gem being sensitive to star energy. I wanted to test it and asked Grogg what they wanted to see. They enthusiastically concurred when I suggested a giant raven and I began to create the image.

The results were spectacular. Above me, I heard loud cawing from an enormous raven followed by a crash, as if the roof gave in. I spun around just in time to see a bird leg had crashed through the ceiling. However, it disappeared just as I turned around and the ceiling was unscathed.

Grogg clapped their hands in excitement, but Kra was upset and the troll had to calm them down. The cawing had woken Nuur-Karif and Wolfram and we could here noises from the village. Someone started ringing the bell, but were quickly told to be silent. Things outside seemed to calm down, but after a few minutes we heard footsteps approaching, followed by someone banging on the door. Grogg went to open and the old apeoid from earlier stood there with three others. Kra chose this moment to start cawing and the three younger apeoids ran off into the night. The old apeoid stood there stuttering about MItra for a while until Grogg closed the door.

We heard the the apeoid stalk off and Nuur-Karif and Wolfram began complaining. I did not really pay attention to what they were saying, as I was considering why the illusion had disappeared so quickly. I noticed that one of Nuur-Karif's complaints was that apeoids did not behave like this. I suppose that was true, as I had not hurt anyone, but it was unclear why they thought this would be a good thing. Worryingly, Wolfram grabbed the gem and curled up with it under their skins. I did not think they would be able to use it though, so it should be safe.

The others went back to bed, but I still could not sleep, so I sat down next to Grogg to watch them work. After I was sure Nuur-Karif had fallen asleep, I asked Grogg to add extra protection in the neck. We had had to deal with raving Ashtar cultists before and we probably would again. After a few minutes, someone banged on the door again. I tiptoed over and opened. There were nobody there, but there was a note on the door telling us to leave before Ajaw rose over the horizon. It would be amusing to see the villagers try to expel us, but we decided it would be best to comply and I sat down to read the Arani book.

It got colder and colder towards midnight, but then it seemed to stabilize. When it got too cold to sit upright, I rolled closer to Hylda to warm myself. I was completely unable to sleep though. Grogg fetched some of the dragon scales and started sewing them into the winter suit. They would be light and strong so, they were excellent for protection. I also noted that they were slightly translucent.

[Stomoxys]

We woke the others before dawn and ate in silence. Korro and Nillet had to be reminded to eat, but otherwise managed on their own. Before closing the door, I left a gold coin. For some reason it disturbed me that the apeoids would probably starve in the cold and money might help them survive.

The river was still covered with thick fog and we discussed how to travel. Nuur-Karif wanted to walk, but Wolfram insisted we should at least go down to the river to see if it was possible to take the boat. When we walked, steam rose from the mouths of the apeoids and I huddled inside one of the furs. It got even worse inside the fog.

Down by the river, there was a layer of water frozen solid on top of the water. It was very thin and broke easily, so it should be possible to break through and reach open water further out. Wolfram thought this was a great plan, but I pointed out that I would not be able to row and would have to sit huddled up with someone else. Hylda said they could do it, if I sat still. Apparently I had kept them awake the night before. Nuur-Karif did not protest, so it was decided and we got into the boat.

Hylda and I sat in front so I could navigate, while Wolfram took a set of oars. Grogg could not row with only one functioning arm and Korro and Nillet were too catatonic, but Yana and Nuur-Karif would have been able to take an oar each. However, they instead chose to huddle together on a thwart. This proved to be a mistake, because Yana soon began to shiver and after a couple of hours, I could tell they were nearing hypothermia. Nuur-Karif insisted that we row towards land and I agreed that it was unsustainable if it was just as cold all the way to Sam. However, Wolfram refused and continued down the middle of the river. I guess Nuur-Karif was too cold to start an argument.

However, Nuur-Karif also began shivering soon after and I became seriously worried for them. This was enough to convince Wolfram that we had to get back to land, but they still talked about the Larma side. We needed somewhere with shelter to warm up and a road to continue further south, so Larma was out of the question and Wolfram grudgingly rowed us to the eastern side.

When we reached land, the fog was so thick that we could barely see five meters ahead of us. Walking inland, we found the road after about fifty meters and followed it south. Luckily, we saw the contours of houses and smelled smoke after walking a few hundred meters south and we soon found ourself in a larger village. There were nobody outside, but there was an inn and we all entered.

The innkeeper was extremely friendly, obviously lacking customers, and offered us warm soup and beds to stay until the fog passed. Nuur-Karif accepted the first, but said we had to move on afterwards. The relative warmth of the common room felt wonderful though. The soup tasted off and I suspected that the innkeeper had tossed in the remains of some mammal, but I was too cold to care.

While we ate, Nuur-Karif arranged to buy a cart from the innkeeper. The rest of us discussed how what to do with the scales. Wolfram wanted to sell them, but Grogg thought they could create something amazing with them and I agreed.

[Stomoxys]

Wolfram had taken the gem which obviously was not safe considering their history with demons. It would not be safe with any other apeoid either, for that matter. While they were busy drinking alcohol, I tried to discreetly remove it from their pouch. Wolfram was completely oblivious, but Nuur-Karif must have spotted me because they poked me while they got up to talk to the innkeeper.

The innkeeper had been looking strangely at us and gave off a strange feeling of uncertainty. This in itself was not surprising, considering that both Wolfram and Grogg look like the bloodthirsty savages they are. However, I did not sense much trepidation, but more something like hope. Nuur-Karif asked them if they could help them with anything. At first, the innkeeper looked concerned, but then they made a decision, locked the door to the inn, and came over to our table.

They told us there was an old male villager that did not fit in with the other apeoids and it was rumoured that they did not worship Mitra. The old male had appeared harmless, making a living selling clay pots and sometimes getting visits from other old males. The combination of old males and clay pots immediately got our attention. When the innkeeper told us the old male lived in an old garden, I was almost certain it had to be a Kabal worshiper.

About 150 days earlier, the old male had received two or three visitors at the same time which was unusual. Especially since nobody had seen any of them leave and some villagers claimed to have heard strange sounds coming from the garden. Recently, someone had claimed to hear terrible screams as well. Rumour had it that one of the males had left and traveled east, leaving three or two apeoids in the garden.

The innkeeper feared for their life if anyone found out that they were investigating, but asked us to look into it and placed a gold coin on the table. They then pretended nothing had happened, unlocked the door, and disappeared into the kitchen. Bribing someone with a single gold coin is considered a sign of honesty in Arland.

The others agreed that this sounded very much like Kabal and Wolfram was particularly keen on investigating. If the Kabalists had captured apeoid spirits, they would have to be punished. Why apeoid spirits should be worse than other spirits is unclear, but I assume it is the normal apeoid self obsession.

Back at The Evening Fortress, Nuur-Karif had mentioned they had murdered a kabalist and I wondered if they had any advice. Unfortunately, they had just killed their victim and never bothered to do any research, as is their standard mode of operation.

We decided to scout out the garden, but Nuur-Karif wanted to see if they could find an Ashtarite chapel first. The odds were low, but I agreed to come along. Before we left, Nuur-Karif went off with Yana to a corner. Just then, the innkeeper came out with a mug of water, indicating that it was made by the old male. It was made of rough clay, but was still very detailed with an intricate flower pattern on the front and birds the side. The handle was shaped like a horse, but perhaps the most disturbing part was at the front bottom. It appeared like a strange beast was coming up from the ground through the flowers. Earlier, the kabalists had shown a fondness for both horses, flowers, and birds, so I hoped we would not have to deal with any subterranean beings as well. Using Hylda as a cover, I searched for energies in the mug, but there were none.

When I was done, Nuur-Karif had already left. I caught up with them, but we quickly determined there were no ashtarite presence in the village. Instead, we approached the garden. It was surrounded by an old, overgrown stone wall that would be trivial to climb. There were no visible gates, but a shed leaned up against the wall on the east side, away from the village. Presumably, it hid a gate. There was a noticeable clearing of 20 to 30 meters between the wall and the nearest houses indicating that the villagers did not want to live near. Looking at the vegetation spilling over the walls, I got an impression of everything being old and decrepit, but staying alive nonetheless.

A scratching sound notified me of someone or something moving inside the shack which I pointed out to Nuur-Karif. They announced loud enough for anyone nearby to hear that they were cold and wanted to go back to the inn.

None of us had slept much the night before, so we needed a place to rest. The innkeeper had made it clear they did not want to have anything to do with the investigation, so I worried that they would be unwilling to let us stay, but my worries turned out to be unfounded. Nuur-Karif wanted to pray and I decided to join them. We sat there for a while, but they claimed they had not learned anything new.

We decided that Nuur-Karif should investigate the shed and its inhabitant while I would climb the wall and scout the garden. Wolfram and Grogg followed me, but remained in an orchard to the north of the garden while I sneaked up to the wall and climbed up.

Inside was a garden with six trees and various shrubs and bushes. In the middle was a dilapidated shed and someone had dug shallow holes haphazardly throughout the garden. Gardening tools were scattered around some of them. There were large gaps between the planks in the shed, but it looked like something had been stuffed into the cracks to keep out light and curious onlookers.

Next to the shed, I spotted an apeoid foot sticking out from a shrub. It appeared to have been exposed to the elements and were partly decomposed. Sneaking along the top of the wall, I got a better angle and saw that the foot belonged to an old male apeoid. They were quite dead and the process of decomposition had bloated their belly while giving the face a desiccated look. I estimated that they had been there at least 30 days and the stench up close would be unbearable, especially when the body inevitably ruptured. A gnarled, wooden staff lay next to the corpse and caught my eye. Even from atop the wall, I could tell that there were lots of energy bound up in it.

Looking at the trees through the spirit ring, I saw movement in the trees. However, it was more an impression than seeing anything. It was easier to notice the constant sounds, as if a wind was rustling the leaves, even though the air was completely still. After observing the trees for a few minutes, I spotted the spirit of a sparrow darting between the branches. Most of the spirits looked incomplete though, mere shimmering veils flittering through the trees.

I wanted to study the shack closer, so I climbed down on the outside and focused the light using the threads. Back up on the wall, I could see through one of the gaps that had not been completely stuffed. However, I only saw some broken pottery in the darkness.

There did not appear to be much more to learn, so I returned to Grogg and Wolfram. Nuur-Karif was already at the inn when we got there and told us they had talked with an old apeoid in the shack outside the wall. The apeoid had been a kabalist since they were young, but had decided that kabalism was wrong. There had indeed been a gate to the garden in the shack and they were guarding it so nothing could leave. Nuur-Karif had gotten the impression that the apeoid was telling the truth, except when they claimed kabal were killing apeoids in the garden. This was something the apeoid had said to scare them away, they believed.

When hearing about the spirits, Wolfram decreed that they had to be sent underground. I pointed out that there could be powerful spirits or wraiths in the garden and they agreed to wait until nighttime when Amna would be visible. I was starting to feel the lack of sleep, so I got a room to myself and managed to sleep until Yana knocked on my door in the evening.

[Stomoxys]

The innkeeper gave us food while we discussed our plans. I asked Wolfram if they could raise their totem outside the garden and affect the inside with their rituals. They were unsure how far it would reach, but said they could try. If we had to leave quickly, it would be best if the cart with our things were ready and waiting, so Yana and Hylda took it as well as the patients to hide in an orchard south of the village.

An old male approached us on our way to the garden and waved to Nuur-Karif. They looked like a villager and claimed that their offspring had seen Nuur-Karif lurk around the garden. They warned Nuur-Karif that the garden was haunted and that decent villagers stayed away from it. They had also heard rumours that the old villager who had lived there had died or traveled far away and either option was equally bad. Old males would not move unless they had to. Nuur-Karif thanked them for the information and we continued on our way around the garden to the east side. The old villager looked after us as we left.

We took up position at the edge of some fruit trees to the east of the garden. Nuur-Karif wanted to talk to the apeoid in the shack again and tell them to stay out of our way and set off towards the shack. Ajaw was not yet completely under the horizon, so no stars were visible. Instead, I sat down to contemplate Ashtar and the forces under the ground.

After about ten minutes, Nuur-Karif came out of the shack, but did not return to us. Instead they went some distance away from the shack and sat down to pray. In the dusk, I could see the spirits in the trees over the wall. After ten minutes, Nuur-Karif finished their prayer and came over to us. The old apeoid would rather die than let us into the garden, but Ashtar had informed them that something was wrong, so they had refrained from indulging their desires. I suggested Wolfram could use one of their rituals and see what they could lure out of the garden which they said might be possible, but they were unsure if they could cover the whole garden.

While Wolfram talked, I noticed an old apeoid turning the corner of the wall from the direction of the shack and walk towards us. From Nuur-Karif's reaction, I gathered it was the apeoid from the shack. They had a staff similar to the one lying next to the corpse and this one was just as magical.

When they were a few meters away from us, they stopped and addressed Nuur-Karif, telling us to go away. Nuur-Karif told them we would not and I could sense increasing agitation from the old male as they repeated themselves almost screaming. Suddenly, Wolfram jumped the old apeoid and silenced them with their hand while pinning them in place. The old male was less distressed than could be expected and merely indicated that they wished to speak. After an awkward pause, Wolfram relented and removed their hand, but still held on.

After spitting out the taste of Wolfram's glove, the apeoid said that a terrible ritual had taken place in the garden and nobody could enter. Two of those that had entered were still there and no matter what had happened to them, they were very dangerous. This was followed by a hollow laughter and something about the "greatest honour".

When asked to elaborate, they were at first reluctant, but Wolfram's grip convinced them and they told us that the greatest honour in Kabal was gaining insight into the mysteries. If four apeoids had served Kabal for more than an apeoid lifespan, they could gather in a garden and discuss the mysteries. This might take as long as another lifetime, but in this case it had apparently only taken 150 days. Once they were done discussing, one of the apeoids would die, another turn apostate, a third would go insane and the last would achieve enlightenment.

They did not know what they were themselves, but someone in the garden would be insane or enlightened and would attempt to take something from us. They were vague on what this would be, but presumably it was related to spirits. It would be used to either feed Kabal's inner mysteries or the insane prophecies of a deranged apeoid.

The apeoid appeared completely disillusioned with Kabal and called them devil worshipers. It would be natural to think they were the apostate, but what kabalists consider enlightened or insane is hard to tell. Wolfram wondered if the old male meant demons when they talked about devils, but they said that they might be the same or maybe not. The dwarves talk of subterranean entities with powers reminiscent of demons and refer to them as devils. I was reminded of the water mug the innkeeper had shown us.

Wolfram was not satisfied with the answers and put a hand in front of the apeoid's mouth and asked for a rope and for someone to take the staff. Grogg started digging through their sack for a rope but the apeoid felt like they panicked and gripped the staff so hard their knuckles turned white. Desperately, they declared that it was too dangerous to give up. I sneaked up on them and grabbed hold of the other end of the staff, but the apeoid held on and I felt a sudden rush of dizziness. As I staggered around, my vision darkened and I struggled on focusing.

The apeoid was still holding on to the staff with a death grip and I felt they were desperately trying to hold forces away from me, forces they believed would hurt me. Suddenly Grogg grabbed hold of me and yanked me away. The apeoid were not able to hold on so I ended up held aloft by Grogg with the staff in my hands. All my senses suddenly dulled and blurred. However, I could see shimmering traces crisscrossing through the air and on the ground. Simultaneously, an unnatural feeling of desire for control crept up on me.

I let go of the staff and let it fall to the ground. Slowly, my senses returned to normal and the strange feeling dissipated. The apeoid felt as if they were about to start crying and Wolfram wondered if I was fine. I felt normal again and asked the apeoid what I had seen. They asked rhetorically what I had not seen, but gathered themselves and asked me to describe. With my senses back, I realized that the strange shadows must have been the tracks left by spirits. A feeling of disgust welled up in the old male and they spat on the ground. They had been told that only those that had followed the path of the mysterious could use the staffs, but I had just used its power. What they had been told was not entirely false. A hysterical apeoid would probably give in to the staff and be left a gibbering wreck.

According to the old male, the staffs were meant to sort out loose spirits. They compared it to a rake that could gather up small spirits that were scattered around. Since many of these spirits would be coloured, it was necessary to collect and contain them until a safe way to dispose of them could be found

The talk of coloured spirits caught Wolfram's attention. They let the old apeoid sit down and asked them about our patients. If a spirit had been coloured, it had either been used to capture other forces or other forces had been used to capture it. If those with coloured spirits were killed, the powers would be released and if anyone was doing that kind of thing, it would be best to flee the region. They did not understand how it would be possible to do with anyone alive. I mentioned that the patients had probably been dead at the moment it happened. They thought this sounded plausible, but that meant necromancy would have been involved.

This horrified them and if we wanted to know more about that kind of thing, we could go into the garden and ask. They were leaving and were going to deal with some loose threads elsewhere. They needed their staff though and Wolfram said they could have it back. It was perhaps unwise to return it, but I had not detected any feelings of dishonesty from them. As I picked up the staff, the dulled senses and strange feelings returned, combined with a sense of tension from the apeoid. It cleared after I gave up the staff and the apeoid felt very relieved.

Grogg asked about their shadow and pointed at the ground where it should be. The old apeoid said that the shadow had probably been coloured and they should hope that they never found it again. I asked if they could control larger spirits as well with the staff, but they evaded the question. Instead I said that the coloured spirits appeared to be repaired, but that their shadows had been disturbed.

Wolfram declared that the best way to cure spirits was to banish them to the underworld. The apeoid asked rhetorically what would happen there and said it was silly to think the entities down there were better suited to deal with the powers released. Wolfram did not appear to have thought about that, but Nuur-Karif insisted that Ashtar would sort out any coloured spirit. The apeoid muttered that Ashtar would probably prefer to not receive such spirits and compared it to throwing things in the ocean. They would appear to be gone, but would wash ashore somewhere sooner or later.

The apeoid prepared to leave and said they would rip up every tree and break every clay pot they had ever made. Wolfram asked about the trees and the apeoids said that trees took energy from the heavens, the earth, and the water. This made them a perfect place for small spirits. After gathering themselves, they wandered off into the night.

[Stomoxys]

Wolfram sat down to pray and I took the opportunity to observe the stars. The wandering stars were accelerating back to their original signs and I estimated it would take about 14 days. There was nothing else of obvious importance and I did not have time for a thorough study before Wolfram got up and walked towards the wall. There, they started to draw a circle and Nuur-Karif handed me the bottle of spirit poison.

There were sounds coming from the garden, like whispered chirps and wind through the trees, so I climbed the wall to observe. Below me, Wolfram began chanting, but had to repeat their prayer twice. In the darkness, I saw the flittering spirits more clearly, but a silence fell over the garden when Wolfram finally finished. I could still see scattered signs of the spirits, but most of them had disappeared wherever Wolfram sent them.

From inside the shack, an apeoid shouted out "no no no, where is my horse". A figure emerged from the shack, though it was hard to tell in the dark through the trees. The others went to the shack, but I stayed at the wall to observe. The figure had something energetic in their hands and gathered up the remaining spirits. The voice called for the spirits and seemed to be herding them into the shack. They did not sound aggressive though.

The others returned from the shack and had found a metal door with no mechanism for opening. Instead, we all climbed the wall into the garden. There were no signs of any spirits and we quietly made our way towards the shack. As we walked past the corpse, I noticed that the holes had been dug around it, probably after the corpse was deposited. I gingerly touched the staff and got the same strange feelings as last time, but this time I was more prepared.

I let the staff be and we proceeded to the shed. Nuur-Karif listened at the door before knocking. The voice from earlier said we could come in and the Nuur-Karif entered while I remained in the doorway. The insides were lit by candles and all the walls had shelves full of clay jars. In the middle of the room was a large clay statue similar to the ones we had seen at The Evening Fortress, but this one looked unfinished. Next to the door was another clay statue in the shape of a horse.

At the far end of the room was a work desk and an old apeoid was seated next to it. While we watched, they worked a small piece of clay, then produced a small spirit from a jar and somehow forced it into the clay piece.

Nuur-Karif walked over and asked what the apeoid was doing. The apeoid asked if they had come to help and when Nuur-Karif asked if they were enlightened, the apeoid said we had come to the wrong place and should leave. They then proceeded to stuff another spirit into a clay piece. While working, they complained that a lot of spirits had disappeared and wondered if Nuur-Karif had seen their horse.

Grogg entered the shack and Nuur-Karif closed their eyes for a second. I thought they prayed and half expected them to stab the apeoid in the neck. However, nothing happened and I decided to investigate the rest of the garden.

Wolfram also entered the shack as I rounded the corner and soon after I heard a crash from inside. I wondered if Wolfram had decided to purge the old apeoid, but instead I heard Wolfram comment that the statue had no face. Apparently they had decided to take up iconoclasm. The old apeoid sounded annoyed and asked why they had done it. Wolfram did not answer, but commanded the apeoid to answer Nuur-Karif's questions. Nuur-Karif made it clear that Wolfram was the one who cared the most and should be asking the questions. This led to an awkward pause.

Finally, Wolfram asked where the last of the four apeoids was. The apeoid only asked if they wanted to know about the mysteries, making Wolfram repeat the question. The last apeoid was not there any more was all they got. Nuur-Karif said the apeoid was not entirely honest, but the apeoid responded that neither were Nuur-Karif.

This was followed by another awkward silence and I made my way through the garden. I did not see any signs of any other apeoids, alive or dead, and even the spirits were gone. When I returned to the doorway, I saw that Wolfram had indeed shattered the head of the statue.

Wolfram asked what the apeoid was doing and the apeoid asked if they wanted to help. This led to a strange interchange where the two seemed to talk past each other that eventually turned to the topic of colouring spirits. Wolfram asked if it could be reversed and the apeoid said they should hand over the coins and they would make sure it happened. Apparently they thought Wolfram had collected coloured spirits in tokens. The apeoid claimed colouring spirits were abominable, so Wolfram asked them to talk to Tivito. The apeoid said Tivito could help them and Wolfram revealed that the spirits were in live bodies. The apeoid thought this was interesting and repeated that Wolfram should hand them over. Wolfram seemed to consider it and also seemed to have forgotten that the patients no longer had coloured spirits.

The others got out of the shack and we left the garden. I climbed the wall and just after I met up with the others, we heard Hylda shouting and saw them come running towards us. They looked hysterical and yelled that it was not Yana's fault and we had to come.

[Stomoxys]

We followed Hylda back to the cart and I immediately saw the stone ring lying on the ground with Darwan's crystal planted in one of the sockets. Yana was babbling about how everything was their fault and they did not know what had happened. There were no signs of the patients, but Nuur-Karif grabbed Yana before they could stumble into a ditch and dragged them off into the trees.

The crystal appeared to be drained of energy and I carefully removed it from the stone ring. It felt quiet to my touch, but the socket it had been inserted in looked scorched and gave off an acrid smell. It was marked with a signal that looked like a U. On the map, the symbols at The Evening Fortress, Byblos and in the mountains in the east had U-like symbols. I tested the crystal more thoroughly and were able to detect faint traces of energy in it, but most of it must have gone into the ring.

We had not had the ring when we met Darwan, or even knew it existed, so the demon must have had some way to keep track of us. I also wondered if they could have somehow lead us to the hill, or had merely taken the advantage of the opportunity. Wolfram claimed that the demon had worked through me and that Darwan was afraid that the Kabal cultist would get their hands on the patients. Their accusations were utterly bizarre and I noticed they had forgotten the difference between Volkir and Darwan.

Ignoring Wolfram, I tested the gem by directing a small illusion into it. Nothing happened, but the energy had been absorbed. Wolfram began complaining about me testing the gem and I snapped at them to go away. I also wondered why they had let Yana have the gem. Wolfram said they had done it to keep it away from me after Nuur-Karif told them I had tried to retrieve it. I was shocked by the utter recklessness displayed by the two of them, especially Nuur-Karif. I would have thought they wanted to keep Yana around so they could continue mating with them. Wolfram had the gall to accuse me of taking things without asking, utterly oblivious to the hypocrisy.

Grogg wanted to test their needle on the ring. I warned them to be careful in case it drained the energy out of the needle and broke it, but there was no way to stop them physically. Luckily, they were more restrained than usual and nothing happened. However, when Grogg shifted the ring, I noticed the grass underneath had dried out.

Wolfram called for Nuur-Karif and Yana and they returned. Hylda explained they had been away in the trees to gather some fruit when a powerful flash of light lit up the sky. There were no traces of any star lightning left though. Perhaps we could have seen the direction if we had checked earlier.

Wolfram wanted to return to the garden to liquidate the kabalist. Nuur-Karif sat down to pray again, but soon opened their eyes and said that Wolfram could proceed, but that they would not participate. If they did, they would get a new assignment from Ashtar and they had enough of those already. Usually, Nuur-Karif would relish getting an assignment, and the killing, but their reasoning made an unusual amount of sense. At least I could not sense any dishonesty from them.

Grogg and Wolfram would not need my assistance in killing an old apeoid and I would not be able to assist them if it turned into a wraith. In addition, I suspected being near a dying apeoid would be extremely unpleasant, so I declined to join in on the butchering. I handed the spirit ring over to Wolfram and they set off. As they walked off, I turned to Nuur-Karif and asked if we should follow in case something went horribly wrong. They agreed and we followed at a discreet distance.

When we reached the garden wall, we heard the crash of splintering wood. Presumably from the door to the shed. Just to be certain, I shone starlight from the shimmer coin onto the garden wall, but it seemed real enough. I was interrupted by a wet thud followed by a scream from the old apeoid. They tried to say that "they" had not told them about the pain, but the final word was cut short by another thud and then silence.

Nuur-Karif wondered if my shining stone was still shining and if they could borrow it. I said yes to both, but wondered what they wanted it for. They were going to use it to convince the villagers we were sent by the Mitra priests. I pointed out that the colour would be wrong, but they said it should not be an issue. While it should be obvious to any Person that it was not the light of Ajaw, I agreed that the hysterical apeoids were less discerning.

Nuur-Karif left for the village and I climbed over the wall. The inside of the shack was splattered with blood, brain matter and other fluids that should have been inside the old apeoid. The remains of the apeoid were lying on the floor next to the work bench, but their skull had been crushed into an unrecognizable mass. I felt a brief onset of nausea, but were able to suppress it and calmed myself. Grogg and Wolfram were busy breaking every item in the room, with Grogg gleefully bashing the horse statue into powder. Wolfram threw a jar onto the ground and claimed it was full of small spirits that scattered everywhere. Another jar was full of dead birds. The kabalists were not satisfied with just catching spirits in the wild, it would seem.

I warily tasted the blood of the apeoid. Instead of the pain and fear I had expected from the screaming, it tasted of a strange anticipation that was even more disconcerting. I told the others and ripped the cloak off the apeoid. The staff was lying next to the corpse and there was another out in the garden. Leaving them would be even more irresponsible than taking them along, but I was not keen on touching them directly. Holding them through the fabric was fine, but when I briefly touched the staff, all the spirit activity in the shack resulted in an explosion of colours, making me dizzy.

I instructed Grogg and Wolfram to come to the cart and left the garden, taking the staffs with me. Over in the village, I could see my stone lighting up the village square. I expected Nuur-Karif to have the villagers under control, but they could not fail to notice the light.

Back at the cart, I put the staffs in the bottom and made sure they were not in contact with any of the other eldritch items. I had intended to return to the shack, but Yana asked me to stay and I felt they were nervous. This bothered me for some reason, so I decided to stay with them.

The sounds of breaking pottery continued from the garden, so the whole village must have heard it. The stars were up, so I decided to try to find were Korro and Nillet had gone. I danced through the sky, looking for any signs of thread connected to Korro, but were not able to find anything. However, when I returned to the ground, something made me look to the east and I got the feeling this was important. I decided to try again, looking for Nillet this time. Again, I did not find any threads, but felt something to the east. Looking at the map, the ruins in the mountains would be nearly straight east from us. I sat down to carefully memorize the symbols on the map and compare them to the ring.

While I studied the symbols, the sounds of smashing eventually died down and Grogg and Wolfram returned. Grogg had the dead apeoid over their shoulder, as we could not leave them in case they decided to return. In the meantime, I had determined that the socket that had been activated had to be the one corresponding to the ruins in the east. I also noticed that the The Kings' Tomb in the swamp and The Night Mirror had the same sign on the map. However, this sign was not on the ring. It was more complicated than the others and could perhaps be a compound of several symbols.

Nuur-Karif returned last and said they had convinced the villagers that everything was according to Mitra's wishes and even brought a basket of buns. An apeoid in the village had been ecstatic when Nuur-Karif had claimed one of their offspring were chosen to be an acolyte of Mitra and would have believed anything Nuur-Karif said. I wonder how long they will wait for the Mitra priests to come pick them up.

I told the others that Korro and Nillet must have gone to the ruined city, assuming they had survived. I suppose it would have been possible to try to use the ring to follow them, but I was not sure how to activate and control the ring and I was too cold and tired to try to gather up the energy. We began walking south along the road.

[Stomoxys]

We walked the whole night and passed a couple of villages. The fog had spread out from the river and had thinned somewhat. Still, walking through it felt like having the warmth drained from me, so I tried to stay out of it as much as possible. When Ajaw began lighting up the horizon in the east, we stopped in an orchard that was a good distance away from any habitation.

The others went to bed immediately, but Nuur-Karif volunteered to keep watch. After the rest had fallen asleep, I approached them and asked them how Yana was doing and what had happened with Yana.

Korro and Nillet had seemed more alert after we left for the garden and Yana had taken this as a good sign. However, while Hylda was away looking for fruit, the world had suddenly turned dark and twisted and they lost any control of what they were doing. When they came to, they saw the crystal inserted into the socket and the patients were gone. I felt that Nuur-Karif felt a number of confusing emotions, but mostly remorse and I refrained from pointing out that it had happened due to their recklessness.

Instead I asked if I could study Yana's aura. They reluctantly agreed as long as I did not wake them. I quietly twisted the knots and got a good impression of Yana's aura. As far as I could tell, it was the aura of an ordinary apeoid and I did not see anything that indicated demonic influences. I reported this to Nuur-Karif, but warned them that it was possible to create fake illusions and that Darwan was a master of illusions and deceit. It was a bit worrying that Darwan had been able to control Yana's actions. This would seem to be more in Gritt's territory. If Volkir told the truth, the two demons were working together.

I was cold and tired, I curled up next to the campfire and fell asleep almost immediately. I had expected Nuur-Karif or someone else to wake me for my guard shift, but when I woke up in the evening, Nuur-Karif was still sitting there. Wolfram, Yana, and Hylda had woken up already, but Hylda insisted Grogg needed more sleep.

I took the opportunity to study the Kabal staffs and my suspicions were correct. The staff made it possible to see spirits and their traces, but had a crippling effect on the other senses and left the user dazed. I could also tell that the staffs could do more. The apeoid in the garden seemed to use their staff to stuff a spirit into a clay token, and I had felt the disgusting desire for control. I continued looking for traces and could tell there were more, but the energies were alien and I was not able to determine their meaning.

To learn more, I decided to do test the staff in practice. Picking it up, I felt the dizzying effect, but I was prepared and it was not overwhelming. The only spirit I could see was Kra who jumped around on the ground near Grogg and pecked on the ground. Except for Kra, there were very few traces of spirits, just a few pale, shimmering ribbons floating in the trees.

The item most likely to be affected by spirits was the corpse of the apeoid, so I went over to study it. Perhaps I might be able to tell if they were about to rise as a wraith.

We had placed the corpse a bit away from the camp and the items on the cart. Some of them contained lots of energy and a wraith might be able to use them. I unwrapped the blanket we had wrapped it in and saw that it was full of spirit tracks. The tracks seemed to be especially concentrated around the remains of the nose and mouth and I wondered if the apeoid had been eating and insufflating spirits.

Putting the staff away, I was able to think clearly again and told the others what I had found. Wolfram wondered if the apeoid might have eaten clay tokens. Ebsalon had found a clay token in the belly of the Tivito that had turned into a wraith in Guling. If this was the case, we should open the carcass and remove them immediately.

Wolfram warned that spirits could be released in the process, but they could contain them using a ritual. This sounded reasonable and I helped them draw a circle near the carcass. It was late in the afternoon, so we decided to wait until Amna rose in the sky as it would make it easier for Wolfram to gather energy.

When Amna rose above the horizon, Wolfram performed their ritual. It was not possible to see any changes, but they said it had worked. We placed the corpse next to the totem and discussed who should open it. Grogg has demonstrated skill in butchering mammal carcasses, but Nuur-Karif said they would be able to locate the stomach and started cutting up the corpse. I picked up the staff in case any spirits appeared and carefully observed while Nuur-Karif worked. After a few minutes, they pulled out a bag like organ that fit the description of a stomach and carefully sliced it open. The contents spilled out on a flat stone and consisted of plant material, bird bones and a few clay tokens. There were a few traces of spirits on the tokens and especially one stood out. I pointed it out to the others and we agreed to save it for last.

Nuur-Karif used the flat stone as an anvil and the pummel of their knife as a hammer. The token exploded into tiny pieces and the spirit of a horse reared up above Nuur-Karif. They reflexively stabbed it in the belly, forcing it to materialize. It kicked wildly, barely missing Nuur-Karif and toppling the totem. However, both Wolfram and Nuur-Karif were on it immediately and hacked it to pieces.

Before they killed it, I whacked it with the Kabal staff and felt strange. It was similar to the desire for control earlier, and I think it might have been possible to bend the spirit to my will. I did not give in though, so nothing happened.

Grogg came running followed by Hylda and Yana, but the horse was already disintegrating. Wolfram complained that I had used the staff, but only because I had not fully examined it, not because it was enslaving spirits. They were also annoyed that Nuur-Karif had materialized the spirit so it could topple the totem. This made it possible for spirits to escape. Nuur-Karif promised to not do it again and we set up the totem again.