Aristocracy Bears Many Dark Secrets

(Riverhaven, Therengia: 70 Ka’len 355)

These past days have boded many dark secrets, and the only answers we are finding lead us to bigger mysteries. As many people have heard over the past few days, The Elothean Aristocrat which inhabited the streets of Riverhaven was brutally slain, and walked our Starry Road.

I will explain more of the man’s death in this reporting, but first, I’d like to tell you what he had disclosed to me shortly before he was killed, as I think it has some great importance to the events to come. I happened upon him, and he was looking pale and very fearful. Arinni, the Elothean Aristocrat’s name, was clutching a stone fragment, which looked remarkably like a petrified eggshell. He was mumbling something about taking it home to it’s mother. When I asked him about the fragment, he muttered something about a secret, a dangerous secret.

He had made a discovery and was planning to go back home to reveal it to the world. He was obsessing about "They." Saying that They were going to take it from him, and that they slithered in the night, and the drums in the night. Further investigation revealed that his home was an island far away, and that the shell’s "mother" had something to do with Taisidon, and that he only believed she existed at all. He was so sure of this as a matter of fact, that he had died for his secrets, and his beliefs.

He was killed by a black feathered dart to the side of his neck, and when he died, he left behind a crumpled envelope from a servant by the name of Yabul. The letter reads as follows:

"To my old friend Arinni- I have gathered all the necessary supplies for our expedition and have stored them in your home here in Teil Minavsel-Qioi has told me there are rumors of traitors within the Slo’Sraan, And more alarming they have been asking questions Be on the alert Let me know which ship will bring you home-Your Faithful servant, Yabul"

Obviously, Arinni’s plans were moving along nicely before he was killed. While he was being murdered at the west gate of Riverhaven, his house was being ransacked across town. S’kra villagers, tribesmen, chieftains, and hunters poured forth, attacking all that happened upon the ramshackle home, and doing their best to keep them out. Since I was with the aristocrat at the time, I couldn’t tell you if the destroyed furniture and state of affairs came from the S’kra, or the adventurers who had killed them all. Found amongst the wreckage of the house, was a loose floorboard that contained a lizard skull, to which Stoneheart now has possession of. I only know that it was a small gold-encrusted lizard skull etched with runic inscriptions. I will try to track him down sometime soon to get a closer look at it, and see if there are any clues contained in it’s craftsmanship. Also amongst the floorboards, were a few pages of notes that Arinni had been keeping, and I have copied those below:

"ropes 6 5 food 9 10 machetes 15 2 shovels 12 3 picks 10 7 drink 5 8 longswords 19 2 skinning knives 3 10 medicinal herbs 34 3 appopriate clothes 13 4 containers 6 11 lockpicks 7 4 (deal, V.) coin of the realm 200 pack animals 45 3 …li has sold me the rope, so that’s taken care of. Very suspicious. Wanted t…hat I was climbing. I laughed! What do the…my discoveries? They hav…mith offered the best in his shop, but I refused. He knows something’s up. He an…rter than th…st. But I am vigilant. These waking eyes will never stray, this waking mouth never speak. Vigilance. …eam I had. I’m walking through a wooded area, maybe in …idon, towards an overwhelmingly lar…atening shadow….nother shadow appears, much smaller. Yet smaller shadow seems much more dange…I turn towards the smaller shadow with fear, and the dream ends. Unsettling, like I said. When w…o with it? The t… …omes off, the expedition sh…astic success. No one h…g before, and no one will, agai…ot even Vrochren, in that sanctimonious little book of his, ever mentioned tha…y fame will spread far beyond Taisidon…serving of this, I fully believe…ffort is mine, and Yabul’s, and to us, the rewards. What fa… …lans will be nearly read…oon…the E…clif…gleg… rified… "

Also in the house, I know not the location of this item, was a polished ebony staff intricately carved with geometric patterns and surmounted by a leathery shrunken monkey head. The polished Katamba-black wood of this staff has been deeply incised with intricate carvings of stylized animals, plants, and weather-oriented symbols. The heel of the staff is protected by a band of shiny copper, and the other end is topped by a grisly monkey head. The skin of the head is blackened and shriveled, but the auburn fur is still long, thick and sleek. Chips of quartz in the monkey head’s eye-sockets gleam occasionally.

Naturally, this staff gives me pause, for the aristocrat didn’t seem to be a mage, and this staff looked to me as if it’s owner should be a mage of some sort, be it Lunar, Warrior, or a Necromancer. With all the events that have happened, they only breed more questions for me, and they also make me wonder what the future holds for Elanthia. Taisidon will surely change our world as Arinni had said, and I’m not entirely sure I like how it’s shaping up.

On a final note, I’d like to thank Harakan, a young adventurer who had found the parchment amongst the belongings left behind by our newly departed aristocrat. He had no idea the plot he had stumbled upon, and he performed valiantly in the face of extreme pressure from the older, less patient adventurers of the realms. He’s a brave man, and he had proved to be a valuable asset in helping to discover the notes as well as helping Pentaith, Linlysse, and myself to puzzle out the clues that were set before us. With that I leave you to your ponderings, and hope that it will make you all think more about Taisidon, and what the simple Gamgweth word for thunder may bode for us all.

By my hand,

Greymoro Wentog