Ch08: Offscreen Activities
New
- Pronoun
- they or she
With Alexander gone, many Wayfarers will soon feel their hearts a little lighter, the load on their shoulders less heavy. Bad dreams abate, dark thoughts have a less vicious burn, Shadow becomes easier to manage. It's as if merely by being such a singularly powerful being, the world as it was had been bent towards the world as he imagined it – darker, crueller, more predatory. No longer. Things seem somehow... more normal.
Across Luctemar, dungeons are also returning to a more 'normal' level of activity, and the Shadow corruption is fading from those that were not already darkened. With so many offworlders – and such powerful offworlders – evicted from Forlas, the pressure on the skin of the world has clearly eased off considerably. So long as there's not another en masse arrival of offworlders, mystery dungeons should remain stable, if not return to their previous sizes and intensities.
Reportedly, the Ranger Union locked down an attempt to seize their Headquarters while coordinating militia efforts across the Soja', the Escarpa Clan kept voidlings at bay in the tunnels under Blaguarro (earning much favour with the locals), and a Shadow-seeped dungeon in the northern badlands was held fast by a lone Zeraora. From the west come rumours that Templefall Cavern was purified once again by a pair of light-wielding monks, while from the east there are reports of a dip in Vanguard activity in Novelux, and a dragon-riding knight sighted around Trembling Weft. It seems that wherever there were dungeons falling into Shadow, pokémon stepped up to face the threat. Many of these allies send their thanks and congratulations, in various forms, to the Wayfarers.
The Winter Arbiter – Lord Articuno – sends such a message of their own, and reports a full recovery from holding off Glastrier in the Wight Barrens. In it, they humbly request that the Wayfarers share any intelligence they gather on Glastrier, and expresses a wish to meet with representatives of the party soon to discuss next steps in their plan to investigate the dark corners of the Covenant of Light. It seems the paperwork to admit various Wayfarers to the organisation has gone through.
Brisa and Sonora – having held the fort in Bedaurejo Castle – start an impromptu celebration of sorts in the Wanderin' Zera, after telling the story to other patrons. Brisa is the happiest most have ever seen her, overjoyed at having had the chance to let loose against a foe without holding back. Sonora held her own with the help of her Radiance, and many, many drinks later, she embellishes the tale by claiming to have arrested Alexander as her first official collar as sheriff. This soon becomes popularly accepted fact. (It's impossible to tell who believes it sincerely and who's just committed to the bit.)
Shortly after the work of banishing Cipher is complete, Powehi appears to the Wayfarers in another collective dream. Although the risks were considerable, the threat of interminable corruption has been put down, and a dangerous faction entirely neutralised. Although he may not express gratitude, as such – mostly relief, and sombre expectation of further troubles to come – he does acknowledge the weight of the party's achievement, and that without their help he could only have protected Forlas through unthinkable sacrifice. As such, he extends his blessing for them to remain on Forlas for the time being, if they feel their mission is not yet concluded. He makes an opaque reference to the "artificial beacon" that makes it clear he thinks it worth investigating...
Leona, now more isolated than ever, has taken to searching for clues as to the nature and whereabouts of the world's natural 'beacon', in hopes of finding her own way home. On the way back from the Wight Barrens, Laura made a passing suggestion that Leona was a sort of Wayfarer in her own right, and while the wolf's response was non-committal, she's begun showing up to team meetings all the same.
Across Luctemar, dungeons are also returning to a more 'normal' level of activity, and the Shadow corruption is fading from those that were not already darkened. With so many offworlders – and such powerful offworlders – evicted from Forlas, the pressure on the skin of the world has clearly eased off considerably. So long as there's not another en masse arrival of offworlders, mystery dungeons should remain stable, if not return to their previous sizes and intensities.
Reportedly, the Ranger Union locked down an attempt to seize their Headquarters while coordinating militia efforts across the Soja', the Escarpa Clan kept voidlings at bay in the tunnels under Blaguarro (earning much favour with the locals), and a Shadow-seeped dungeon in the northern badlands was held fast by a lone Zeraora. From the west come rumours that Templefall Cavern was purified once again by a pair of light-wielding monks, while from the east there are reports of a dip in Vanguard activity in Novelux, and a dragon-riding knight sighted around Trembling Weft. It seems that wherever there were dungeons falling into Shadow, pokémon stepped up to face the threat. Many of these allies send their thanks and congratulations, in various forms, to the Wayfarers.
The Winter Arbiter – Lord Articuno – sends such a message of their own, and reports a full recovery from holding off Glastrier in the Wight Barrens. In it, they humbly request that the Wayfarers share any intelligence they gather on Glastrier, and expresses a wish to meet with representatives of the party soon to discuss next steps in their plan to investigate the dark corners of the Covenant of Light. It seems the paperwork to admit various Wayfarers to the organisation has gone through.
Brisa and Sonora – having held the fort in Bedaurejo Castle – start an impromptu celebration of sorts in the Wanderin' Zera, after telling the story to other patrons. Brisa is the happiest most have ever seen her, overjoyed at having had the chance to let loose against a foe without holding back. Sonora held her own with the help of her Radiance, and many, many drinks later, she embellishes the tale by claiming to have arrested Alexander as her first official collar as sheriff. This soon becomes popularly accepted fact. (It's impossible to tell who believes it sincerely and who's just committed to the bit.)
Shortly after the work of banishing Cipher is complete, Powehi appears to the Wayfarers in another collective dream. Although the risks were considerable, the threat of interminable corruption has been put down, and a dangerous faction entirely neutralised. Although he may not express gratitude, as such – mostly relief, and sombre expectation of further troubles to come – he does acknowledge the weight of the party's achievement, and that without their help he could only have protected Forlas through unthinkable sacrifice. As such, he extends his blessing for them to remain on Forlas for the time being, if they feel their mission is not yet concluded. He makes an opaque reference to the "artificial beacon" that makes it clear he thinks it worth investigating...
Leona, now more isolated than ever, has taken to searching for clues as to the nature and whereabouts of the world's natural 'beacon', in hopes of finding her own way home. On the way back from the Wight Barrens, Laura made a passing suggestion that Leona was a sort of Wayfarer in her own right, and while the wolf's response was non-committal, she's begun showing up to team meetings all the same.