After what had happened in the city, it was obvious that the
next port of call would be back to Darkperch. Jarvan had managed to locate his
master, and brought with him a pill box of Nastrond, along with a gift from his
sister. A little apprehensive he asked Jarvan what the gift was, he was surprised
to find it was a ring with his family's crest. At first he thought it was a
joke, some sort of mockery for him being ostracise by the family but Jarvan
soon put his fears to rest, telling him that it was in fact a device that had
been disguised as a piece f costume jewellery so that it would not fall into
the wrong hands. Jarvan pressed down on the seal and slid it to the side,
revealing a set of intricate wires, plates and crystals. On the underside was a
small indentation that could be pressed further in. Jarvan told Danton that
Isadora knew how much he wanted out of Auspar and so provided him with the
means necessary. With it were simple instructions: think of place you have been
before, make sure everyone you wish to travel with is no more than ten feet
away from you, press the indentation and should arrive safe and sound. Danton
looked at Jarvan with suspicion in his eyes but Jarvan just nodded his head,
trying to comfort him in some small way.
He took the device to Raneaux who agreed on its properties
before asking if he was selling to which he shook his head and she in turn
pouted. Danton enquired if either Raneaux or Xera t had anything left to do in
the city, to which both said no. He brought them off the main thoroughfare and
into a back alley before activating the ring. There was a bright flash of blue
light while the world around them stretched out in front of them before compressing
back changing from the spires of the upper levels of Auspar, to the wooded pond
nestled between the houses in Darkperch. Raneaux asked why they had arrived
here and not somewhere less conspicuous and away from prying eyes. He thought
back to the days before leaving the
village and the hours spent by the pond under the watchful gaze of Jarvan while
watching the reflection of the fuzzy neon lights in the water. He dismissed her
remark by not answering and asked where the group wanted to go.
The decision was easily made, with Mavis shouting at people
on the road towards the mines. They became aware that the once near lifeless
village had turned into a hive of activity. There was as many as twenty Purple
Order Monks dotted around, putting up bunting and decorations along with the
ever present image of an amethyst vase. As the group walked onto the road they could
see a small line of monks being bossed around by Mavis, who were taking food
and drink out of her establishment and setting up banqueting stalls, as well as
taking a portion to the Oraea. Uncharacteristically for Raneaux, she approached
Mavis and talked to her about what was going on.
From the sidelines,
Danton noticed that Mavis seemed to know Raneaux and crossed with the fact that
no one else had seen her before she had started following him to Auspar, made
their relationship all the more interesting. She soon returned, saying that
Mavis needed Eryn's help but he hadn't
been seen since he delivered most of the alcohol he had brought from Auspar to
the Oraea. According to Mavis, the Oraea and its monks had finally established themselves
in Darkperch after converting the remaining Purple Order to their unified belief
and were now celebrating this fact.
Xera was now feeling very uncomfortable, he had slowly
gotten used to being around regular company but with the numbers of the Oraea
swelling into the streets, he was paranoid that they would go near his lab. To
that end he told the group he was going to check on it, to which the rest soon
followed him. It had been built inside an abandoned house that didn't give much
room or much natural light but he had made sure that he had installed locks
that only a few people could ever break into. To his dismay as he arrived, a
solid puddle of metal had formed below the door and the lock had been melted
out of its fixtures. He tentatively pushed the wooden door open and found his
lab in chaos. Papers littered the floor, glass vials had been smashed, liquids
of varying hues and thickness were dripping down from where they were once held
and the plants he had grown for his equipment were cut down before they were
ripe. He scrambled around in the mess trying to find his rarer and more
valuable ingredients, to which he found still safely stored away. The equipment he had brought over from his
lab in Auspar had not been removed. as he started to sort through it all, it
became apparent that there was nothing missing that was worth any value in itself.
What he did find however, was that any
research he had on Melvile, the Flower Network and the possibilities of extra dimensions in conjunction with the network, were
missing. The only evidence he found was a scrap of paper with a crest burned
into it and traces of crystal dust in a familiar hue of purple.
There was something recognizable about the crest to Xera and he soon stood motionless as he
tried to recollect. The fragments of his childhood soon briefly aligned
themselves, the symbol had been etched onto his mothers ring, which was one of
the few memories he had from then. He could not identify it any further and so
he showed the symbol to the group. Raneaux had no idea on the origins of it but
almost as an interruption, Danton offered his help after his butler had nodded
to him. Xera hadn't seen the subtle communication but the offer of help was intriguing,
on the one hand he believed Danton to be trying to buy or persuade his loyalty
but on the other, his serpentine eyes gave hints of knowing something
more.
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