Trail Number 1
North to the Village
It is obvious upon arrival at the village that your decision to head north was in direct contradiction to the wizard’s instructions. You remember that he told you to go south along the path and now you fear that something terrible is about to happen. The staff is heavier than before and no movement can be seen whereas earlier there was noise and activity. A deathly calm has settled upon the empty market area. When you look back toward the cottage you see instead the shut gates of a fortress. Turning around quickly you see that the village is within a castle and you are standing in the middle of an empty courtyard, trapped.
The sounds of soldiers’ feet shock you into motion and, darting down an alleyway, you seek to escape. A brown-robed figure appears as if from nowhere and motions for you to come inside a door which moments before you would have sworn was a bricked wall. You don’t really have much choice since the alley comes to an end just ahead. Shrugging your shoulders you follow.
Inside you wish you had had a choice. The person who has saved you seems to be a humanoid made of darkest red ruby. You feel an emptiness from him that seems to reach for your mind and weaken your will. A heaviness comes over your whole body and you drop to the floor in a heap. As you lie motionless the figure turns to one of the many bottles and jars that surround the room and reaches for a vial of clear liquid.
The words of the wizard echo in your memory, “Living statues . . . Scarlet marred.” This must be a person from the Sky Cathedral who needs to be freed. But you are not in a position to free yourself let alone anyone else.
As the ruby red person pours the liquid down your throat, strength returns and you have the use of your limbs again. Standing up, you find you feel different, stiff, as if you had slept curled up in a corner. Probably just numb from not being able to move you think. Probably.
“I am Bask, once king of the sky Cathedral. You are Lletherial, magic-user. I have had a vision of your coming. Do no fear, I am not evil, although many of my brethren have fallen away from Purity. Their inner selves are but reflections of their scarlet exterior.
"Please forgive me for draining you of strength and will. That is something I can not control. I have given you a liquid which will make you immune to further draining by others of my race. However, like all vaccines, it carries disease along with healing. The side effects are different for every person. For you, the disease might mean eventual madness or even becoming like me, a crystalline statue. I do not know your fate, but for now I offer you a chance to help me fight this evil that has befallen our people.”
Staggered by all you have gone through and not quite sure you understand everything that has been said, you try to gain more information, as well as time, so that you can plan an escape. “What do you mean, ‘fight this evil?’ Why should I trust you?”
Answering your last question first, Bask replies, “If I had wanted to kill you I could have when you were helpless on the floor. A human like yourself would be of no use to me if I were evil. But I am Bask, ruler of a lost kingdom which I hope to regain. And you are a staff-holder, entrusted with a power I recognize. It is a power I need in my quest for freedom. Together we can combat this terrible evil that makes a mockery of Purity.”
Holding the staff and looking upon it with a new found interest you say, “Okay, I see the sense in that, but what is this evil you refer to? You’ve mentioned opposing it twice now.”
Bask motions for your to sit at the table. You do, and the hours fly past as you listen intently to the history of his people; how his brother took the life-giving force of the Sky Cathedral, the Pure Crystal, and threw it from the city. You learn that the Sky Cathedral was really a city in the sky and when the Crystal was taken from its resting place the city began to fall. After many days of drifting slowly down to earth, the city finally landed high in the mountains, just north of the castle-village you are now in.
Hostil, Bask’s brother who was under guard, escaped and the citizens of the Sky Cathedral wandered down the mountains, forming search parties to look for him and the Pure Crystal. After many days, the Crystallites (as you are told Bask’s people are called) began to lose their clarity, turning deeper shades of red with each passing week.
“We realized then that the Pure Crystal must have been broken because its power to keep us crystal clear was greatly reduced. Many of us departed the paths of Purity. I and others remained faithful in heart, but are enslaved to a red evil we cannot control. We are dangerous, but not of our own choosing.
“For some evil reason which I am just now beginning to understand, Hostil planned to steal the Crystal, and so he threw it to earth thinking he could find it after the Sky Cathedral landed. What my brother did not count on was the Crystal breaking into two halves.”
“How do you know that it wasn’t smashed to bits?” you ask.
“Because, Staff-holder, I have one half of the Crystal.”
With a flourish, Bask produces a large, clear, sword-shaped crystal from a sheath hidden by his cloak. It shines and rings in overwhelming light and music. You are blinded by its brightness and are pressed back into your chair by the power emanating from it. If this was only half the crystal, you think, then the whole must surely be the most powerful force in the world.
“As you can tell, the Sacred Crystal still shines. It is strong enough to allow us to choose internal Purity. If that were not the case, we would be completely scarlet, our hearts as well.”
As Bask puts the sword back in its protective sheath he continues. “It is rumored among the land dwellers, some of whom we have enlisted to aid us in our search, that my brother has found the other half of the Crystal and is now searching frantically for me to kill me and take my half so that he can reunite the stone. If he succeeds then some greater evil might be accomplished - an evil that would enslave all the world permanently to his dark will. We must find him before Hostil finds us and so capture the half that he has. We must be the ones to unite the two pieces. It is the only way that we will again be pure and our only hope of saving my brothers and sisters who are presently against us.”
Amazed at everything you've experience so far, you try to take it all in. Before you have a chance to ask any more questions, Bask asks, “Will you join me? With your magical staff we will certainly find where Hostil is hiding, apprehend him, and then reestablish my kingdom.”
Shaking your head in disbelief and not sure about what to do, you lean back in your chair. There is so much to think about. This was your quest in the first place, to free the Living Statues. On the other hand, what if he is lying? Meeting Bask’s penetrating gaze with one of your own, you make up your mind.
Travel Trail Number 3 if you say, “No, I won’t join you.”
Travel Trail Number 4 if you say, “Okay, I’ll help you.”
It is obvious upon arrival at the village that your decision to head north was in direct contradiction to the wizard’s instructions. You remember that he told you to go south along the path and now you fear that something terrible is about to happen. The staff is heavier than before and no movement can be seen whereas earlier there was noise and activity. A deathly calm has settled upon the empty market area. When you look back toward the cottage you see instead the shut gates of a fortress. Turning around quickly you see that the village is within a castle and you are standing in the middle of an empty courtyard, trapped.
The sounds of soldiers’ feet shock you into motion and, darting down an alleyway, you seek to escape. A brown-robed figure appears as if from nowhere and motions for you to come inside a door which moments before you would have sworn was a bricked wall. You don’t really have much choice since the alley comes to an end just ahead. Shrugging your shoulders you follow.
Inside you wish you had had a choice. The person who has saved you seems to be a humanoid made of darkest red ruby. You feel an emptiness from him that seems to reach for your mind and weaken your will. A heaviness comes over your whole body and you drop to the floor in a heap. As you lie motionless the figure turns to one of the many bottles and jars that surround the room and reaches for a vial of clear liquid.
The words of the wizard echo in your memory, “Living statues . . . Scarlet marred.” This must be a person from the Sky Cathedral who needs to be freed. But you are not in a position to free yourself let alone anyone else.
As the ruby red person pours the liquid down your throat, strength returns and you have the use of your limbs again. Standing up, you find you feel different, stiff, as if you had slept curled up in a corner. Probably just numb from not being able to move you think. Probably.
“I am Bask, once king of the sky Cathedral. You are Lletherial, magic-user. I have had a vision of your coming. Do no fear, I am not evil, although many of my brethren have fallen away from Purity. Their inner selves are but reflections of their scarlet exterior.
"Please forgive me for draining you of strength and will. That is something I can not control. I have given you a liquid which will make you immune to further draining by others of my race. However, like all vaccines, it carries disease along with healing. The side effects are different for every person. For you, the disease might mean eventual madness or even becoming like me, a crystalline statue. I do not know your fate, but for now I offer you a chance to help me fight this evil that has befallen our people.”
Staggered by all you have gone through and not quite sure you understand everything that has been said, you try to gain more information, as well as time, so that you can plan an escape. “What do you mean, ‘fight this evil?’ Why should I trust you?”
Answering your last question first, Bask replies, “If I had wanted to kill you I could have when you were helpless on the floor. A human like yourself would be of no use to me if I were evil. But I am Bask, ruler of a lost kingdom which I hope to regain. And you are a staff-holder, entrusted with a power I recognize. It is a power I need in my quest for freedom. Together we can combat this terrible evil that makes a mockery of Purity.”
Holding the staff and looking upon it with a new found interest you say, “Okay, I see the sense in that, but what is this evil you refer to? You’ve mentioned opposing it twice now.”
Bask motions for your to sit at the table. You do, and the hours fly past as you listen intently to the history of his people; how his brother took the life-giving force of the Sky Cathedral, the Pure Crystal, and threw it from the city. You learn that the Sky Cathedral was really a city in the sky and when the Crystal was taken from its resting place the city began to fall. After many days of drifting slowly down to earth, the city finally landed high in the mountains, just north of the castle-village you are now in.
Hostil, Bask’s brother who was under guard, escaped and the citizens of the Sky Cathedral wandered down the mountains, forming search parties to look for him and the Pure Crystal. After many days, the Crystallites (as you are told Bask’s people are called) began to lose their clarity, turning deeper shades of red with each passing week.
“We realized then that the Pure Crystal must have been broken because its power to keep us crystal clear was greatly reduced. Many of us departed the paths of Purity. I and others remained faithful in heart, but are enslaved to a red evil we cannot control. We are dangerous, but not of our own choosing.
“For some evil reason which I am just now beginning to understand, Hostil planned to steal the Crystal, and so he threw it to earth thinking he could find it after the Sky Cathedral landed. What my brother did not count on was the Crystal breaking into two halves.”
“How do you know that it wasn’t smashed to bits?” you ask.
“Because, Staff-holder, I have one half of the Crystal.”
With a flourish, Bask produces a large, clear, sword-shaped crystal from a sheath hidden by his cloak. It shines and rings in overwhelming light and music. You are blinded by its brightness and are pressed back into your chair by the power emanating from it. If this was only half the crystal, you think, then the whole must surely be the most powerful force in the world.
“As you can tell, the Sacred Crystal still shines. It is strong enough to allow us to choose internal Purity. If that were not the case, we would be completely scarlet, our hearts as well.”
As Bask puts the sword back in its protective sheath he continues. “It is rumored among the land dwellers, some of whom we have enlisted to aid us in our search, that my brother has found the other half of the Crystal and is now searching frantically for me to kill me and take my half so that he can reunite the stone. If he succeeds then some greater evil might be accomplished - an evil that would enslave all the world permanently to his dark will. We must find him before Hostil finds us and so capture the half that he has. We must be the ones to unite the two pieces. It is the only way that we will again be pure and our only hope of saving my brothers and sisters who are presently against us.”
Amazed at everything you've experience so far, you try to take it all in. Before you have a chance to ask any more questions, Bask asks, “Will you join me? With your magical staff we will certainly find where Hostil is hiding, apprehend him, and then reestablish my kingdom.”
Shaking your head in disbelief and not sure about what to do, you lean back in your chair. There is so much to think about. This was your quest in the first place, to free the Living Statues. On the other hand, what if he is lying? Meeting Bask’s penetrating gaze with one of your own, you make up your mind.
Travel Trail Number 3 if you say, “No, I won’t join you.”
Travel Trail Number 4 if you say, “Okay, I’ll help you.”
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