Heat 23 - Evening

Picking up where Jaden left off....

After leaving Cymric's tower, we headed to dinner with the Rangers. They laid out quite a meal. Stews, Chickens, cheese and even wine from Arbor. The hall is an enormous carved chamber. They have even whitewashed the entire thing to make it brighter, less stifling. Idle conversation turned a few interesting facts up. At any given time, Falling Rock Keep has 200-500 Rangers stationed here. Quite a force! We also confirmed that the Western Forests on Bliss Island are generally the domain of the Druids. The Eastern Forests appear to be the domain of the Elves. Perhaps not great revelations, but useful confirmation in any event.

We had arranged to speak with Cymric after dinner. I have still been a bit depressed after watching Caradec plummet to his death like that. I did not really feel conversational. Still, this man seems interesting, and he had asked me to play for him.

I am glad that I decided to join everyone! Jaden seems to have an easy trust for this man. But, my suspicion does not drop so rapidly. Within a short time, Jaden was discussing the events on the Moonwind and began to go into some detail on our Journey to Bliss. Cymric halted Jaden by unobtrusively revealing his Master's belt for the Guild and mentioning that he had already heard our tale. I must confess that my tensions eased with this revelation.

Over the course of the evening, Jaden discussed a good portion of his personal history. Including his fostering by Sir Alfred, and the prevalence of dragons in his life. Though I did not think Cymric would be able to provide the answers that Jaden is seeking, I could tell that it was doing Jaden some good to get some of these thoughts out in the open.

Cymric had invited us up into one of his rooms in the tower. Wonderful view! He had also offered us some tea. Carlotta had decided to make her presence known this evening. At least, in retrospect it seems that way. The tea came out could the first time. Given that it is a Wizard's tower, I was willing to contemplate any number of possibilities. The second time the tea came out, it looked wrong. Alas, Elensul was the only one that did not notice as he took a drink. Apparently, it tasted poorly as well. This was one of the few times I witnessed Elensul losing his composure. He was taken by surprise with the tea and spit it out across the room. My suspicions were aroused with this second prank. When Carlotta specifically targeted Blackhawk, my suspicions were confirmed.

Blackhawk had begun asking questions about the Uli flower. Suddenly, he jumped up and starting squirming. The rest of us weren't quite sure what to do. But, it looked like something was moving about in his clothes. With a quick movement, Blackhawk reached inside his tunic and pulled forth an Uli Flower. He looked as surprised as the rest of us. Cymric was fascinated that the stories of the Uli flower were true. However, he was not able to advance Blackhawk's knowledge significantly, except to tell him that he should check the library at the School of Herbalism in Revelle.

We told Cymric a bit about Carlotta and explained that we thought she might be with us. He called Wolfie in, who was able to confirm are assertions. Odd dog. I'm not sure what to make of Wolfie. After Cymric asked Carlotta to have a seat, things quieted down a bit again.

Cymric is an Earth Wizard. Apparently, he specializes in elemental magic tied to earth and stone. Much like the focus of the Navigator's Guild on Water. It seems that this is a large part of the reason he is stationed here. He can use Earth magic to defend the road. In fact, Falling Rock was created by an Earth Wizard that was being pursued. He caused the rock to shift from the cliff, providing him safety. The Rangers stationed here provide a good defense for the road. The prospect of Cymric needing to exert his powers to safeguard the area is a little frightening. Jaden discussed some of these things with Cymric. It seems that there are few Earth Wizards. Like many others, they fared poorly during the Wizard Wars. Apparently, some of them chose to join with the Druids. In retrospect, there was an interesting statement that Cymric made. Apparently, some of the Druids, and thier allies, were fighting to push the Church out of the Isles. Though, none of us thought to ask which church. Now, I must wonder if it was the Church of Ardania, or the entire Celestial Church.

With some of our other revelations and thoughts, there is a bit to think about. Could it be that the Blackcloaks were encouraging the destruction of Sacred Groves and Faerie Crossroads? Perhaps by spouting military objectives, yet with a more sinister intent? Aye! We know so little that everything is mere speculation. Yet, these little clues may guide us toward answers.

The conversation regarding Earth Magic was interesting. Cymric is self-assured. Not that I can blame him, he seems to command a fair degree of power. Yet, his attitude irks me somewhat. An odd thing since he is likable enough otherwise. Jaden was comparing Cymric's magic with Raven's. He scoffed the he does not "bow down" to another when using his magic. I can see his perspective. Perhaps I might have even thought in a similar vein at one time. If so, I am doubly blessed to have Raven as a dear friend! Her powers may be granted by beings of Power. Yet, my observation is that they do so out of mutual respect, not pleasure at blind obsequiousence. I can see similarities between his magic and that of the Navigators. They both seek to bend the will of elementals to their service. However, Cymric also revealed that usage of spells that draw upon other elements weakens his ability to command that of Earth. It is an interesting fact that may be another of those little clues.

We were also able to learn a bit more of the Wizard Wars in general. Beside the fact that some of the Earth Wizards fought with the Druids, and lost. The remainder, including the Order that Cymric belongs to, determined that they should not be involved in the Wizard Wars at all. They tried to stay out of the conflict. Unfortunately, the victors did not appreciate the fact that they received no help from this faction and endeavored to wipe them out as well. As well, we learned a bit more about the 'brions. It seems that Simbrion was a leader during the Wizard Wars. Very powerful wizard! Apparently, many of his elder sons joined him. All were ruthlessly defeated. However, his younger sons did not join him, and two of his elder sons declined to join the conflict as well. Tenebrion and Umbrion. Cymric was a bit surprised to hear of them. He too, had assumed the stories of them were no more than tales. However, he did feel that if they were still alive, and had been studying their fathers magic, they would be powerful indeed. And since some of the younger sons did not fight, it is possible that some of them may be around as well. Of course, we can confirm this. But it is nice to know the name of Simbrion. Perhaps we can learn more of him and gain insight into our adversariel brothers.

I was interested in learning of anyplace that we could study the Wizard Wars in more detail. Cymric pointed out that the Library in Ardania was probably the best source. Alas, we were obliged to inform him that the library had been recently destroyed. It seems that King Ardan was very insistent that this knowledge be preserved. However, he Cymric did mention that we might find libraries in Revelle as well as private libraries in the various houses of the Kingdoms. Revelle sounds like a very interesting place. I am beginning to wonder when we might be able to afford to travel.

As it was late into the night, Cymric asked me to play a bit for him. I think I had a few good pieces on the pipes. Apparently, everyone else saw faces appearing in the walls. Cymric passed these off as merely some of his elemental servants. So, I tried to summon up a Shawm. I thought the odd notes might be pleasing. It is a difficult instrument to master and I did not play to my best. I shall need more practice.

In any case, Master Cymric was kind enough to barter with Jaden. Once he has the opportunity to transcribe the spell into his spellbook, his defensive capabilities will rise. I did offer to Master Cymric that the Company was seeking employ and if he, or his order, had any odd jobs, we might be willing to take them on. His response was non-committal at best. Still, I am hoping we can learn a bit more of the Earth Wizards through this route.

After we departed, I headed back down into the Keep to entertain the Rangers a bit. Once again, I was a bit distracted with these thoughts running through my head. It seems that my music has suffered lately. Fortunately, writing all of this out is a catharsis to my pain and troubles. I think I shall play a bit in the garden and see if I can relax a bit before sleep.