Valus returned with a Yassal crystal and gave it to Bear.
We showed our captive to Valus so he could understand more about the alternative future we had hopefully averted. SitN acknowledged Valus as though he was F&FotP. This gave us the idea that Valus might be able to question him. He was loath to perform such a task, but we persuaded him of its necessity for the long-term safety of the island. We wished to know where and when SitN had met/taken over the pirates.
We learned that SitN was alone and on a one-way trip. He used Necromancy to create the plague elemental and had taken the titanium with him. The Lintha he met at a port and had yoinked as a useful tool.
This tied up all the loose ends bar one – the mysterious Water-Aspect. We had established as best we could he was not on the island, so we chose to travel to the mainland and ask about him in nearby villages, towns and even cities. We would travel using Theo’s new “Travelator” spell, in the form of a very fast boat. EB remained on the island to guard the prisoner.
The port of Palama was our first call, where we had caught the boat to the island in the first place. Having no luck there, we thought to travel 200 miles inland to Nisar, the largest city in the area and a prominent market-town. There we once again found a problem with the language, as none of us spoke Flametongue. We went to the Guildhouse and there we hired a translator. We took him to the marketplace and asked around about the possible Dragon-Blood. A Fire-Aspect called Vise was our best lead; he thought he recognised the description – as being that of a ship captain from a Realm-aligned fleet. He gave us the name ‘Delefa.’ The Guild’s man confirmed this and gave further details, including the fact that he was from Paragon.
With this information the last of our loose ends seemed tied up. We returned to the island where Bear, or ‘Walking the Lines of Destiny’ as his real name was, met us. We warned him and Valus that there might be another F&FotP, whom they should beware.
Kalis, having communicated with us, had a way of contacting present-day Valus Wavebreaker. We found out he would be in Nexus in two weeks – giving me the idea that we could give SitN to Valus, with whom he could redeem himself while believing he served F&FotP. So we went to meet Valus.
Valus (‘Admiral’) Wavebreaker had, in the new timeline we had created, eradicated the Lintha and established a Haven in the West. His first-age warship docked and Valus walked down off the gangplank, looking much as we remembered him, as if 1200 years had not passed for him between seeing us. We talked to him, learning that the ‘new’ F&FotP was alleged to look like him.
SitN was fetched, and he prostrated himself before Valus. Valus agreed that he was more capable of looking after SitN than us – we would have to watch him closely constantly (night and day – ha!) and he would do nothing but try to escape. With Valus there is a bit more leeway. Obviously we cautioned him to not give him any weapons until he was sure SitN was not faking. Carlos and Valus made him swear an oath not to betray Valus, which Carlos enforced with his power.
Leaving Nexus, and leaving our Abyssal captive behind, we returned to the Blessed Isle and the Imperial City. A few miles from our destination we abandoned the Travelator and entered the city under cover of darkness. We observed the occupants to be Nightbreeds and Algerothian scientists. We attempted to blend in with the scientists, as we had done in the mountain. This got us quite far before we began attracting looks of attention, possibly because we had no machine implants – all the men here had some. The guards here were like unto the ‘priests’ we had seen while climbing the mountain, though heavily armed and armoured.
A thing that looked like a half-man, half-goat, with implants, followed us. Kino claimed there was more than one. We attempted to lose them by means of a ruse – forcing them to follow those capable of losing them (i.e. myself and EB).
We lost two followers, but a third stuck to the other group. Communicating by way of the boards, we arranged an ambush. EB and I waited above street level for the others to pass, and their stalker (a shadowy creature, not a goat-man), and then jumped down at it. I missed, as did EB, as the thing flickered away in the darkness. We followed it, but it seemed to be always one shadow ahead of us. Fortunately, we were forcing it towards the others – it was cornered. I was able to catch it, and upon striking it with my sword, it shattered and gave out a piercing sound while doing so. This attracted attention from a nearby street.