The story so far 2.. (lore)[]
When I examined the Jewel of the Three, I found it could be used to summon a spirit of some kind. It told me to bring the chest to him. First, I'd have to find it. I found it in the center of a swamp called Firmroot Moot, apparently still wandering. I brought it to the city of Highmen, an old name for Paineel, and full of wizards. There I found the traitor, Bellengere the Three.
We didn't talk of his nefarious deeds much. He still claims they are innocent. Although I have not decided about his integrity, I appreciate that he is willing to teach me something called Universal Magic. But there is a new problem. When he tried to send me to his study to learn about it, the spell misfired and I ended up in a trap. Barely escaping, I found him again and he and I worked out that he is now a victim of this spellpox. (I wonder if it caused his break of faith with Antonia? But I have no time for that now.)
There was nothing for it except to have me cast the spell for him. In order to do so I had to discover the secrets of the Akashik Neverthere and find a manifestation of my own magical essence, a warlock's toxic artistry. These portals are specific to the magic, so the finding brought me back to the place where I my magic was tested the first time. It marked the transition from boy to mage. The map of the Akashik Neverthere is of great interest. This time I used it only to find one study. But it has potential beyond such triviality. I can't wait to study it, memorizing every detail. I found it among the scrolls of a dead mage, with his permission of course.
When I returned to Bellengere the Three, he had created three cantrip scrolls. He dared not use other magic. With these, I entered the study and cast a cantrip to see the cursed item. It's the same Blackscale rune cube I brought to the thieves! Or one just like it. How dare such lowlife meddle with mages! But maybe they just did the deed and someone else paid for it? It will take some thought. I am beginning to think there is a larger game being played here. When I mentioned the need to help Vasty, Bellengere seemed to have forgotten. Who's playing me? Who dares play with the patience of mages? Subaltern (talk) 00:50, September 11, 2017 (UTC)
For reference (unsigned comment[]
and maybe help finding next clue the conversation with Bellengere
- You say, "Hail, Bellengere the Three"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "Return to my study. I will join you, momentarily."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "I will not return there! I barely escaped, as it was!"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "Escaped? What are you talking about?"
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "That portal did not lead to your arcane study, unless your study is within The Void!"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "Void!? No. No! That portal should have led to my study. I know it, with all certainty. I... I cannot fathom what could have gone amiss. I'll recast the portal spell."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "No, No! I don't think that's wise."
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "What has brought you to this conclusion?"
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "I suspect your spell went wrong. If that is the case, then it could go wrong again, and we won't know until we enter it."
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "Ah. You are proposing I cast another type of spell, one that we'll be able to quickly and safely identify, if it is working as intended, or not."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "Right! Something with reduced danger, an illusion spell, perhaps?"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "Good choice."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "Let's hope so."
- You say, "Hail, Bellengere the Three"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "The imp! It... It is not a stone. That was not the illusion spell I had cast upon it! We should be looking at a stone, right now, not a gelatinous cube."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "Can you recall the spell you were trying to cast?"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "Yes."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "You didn't find it difficult to call up the spell from memory when you cast it?"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "No, not at all."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "Then you're not suffering from the same sickness that affected Vasty, but maybe it's a different spellpox?"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "There may be some truth to that thought, I concede. Spellpoxes come in a multitude of different curses."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "When did your spells start to go awry?"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "The portal to my study, just now. That was my first act of the arcane to have gone awry. This feels like a Confounded Casting curse, if I was to guess. It causes a mental disconnect between the spells one intends to cast and the spells one actually casts. What did you do to cure the thief?"
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "I didn't. I simply won some time for her mind to clear, and even that was short-lived and limited."
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "Then I fear your work was for nothing. You brought me my chest, but I am incapable of helping you expand your knowledge of the arcane."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "Your chest! That's what connects you and Vasty!"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "It was wandering Fens of Nathsar, and then Moors of Ykesha, places it shouldn't have ever been lost in. Yet, you remain unaffected. So, the chest is not the source."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "A cursed item, obtained by Vasty, placed in the chest, removed by you!"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "Precisely! An item, recently acquired, is to blame, but we'll never find out which one if you can't access my arcane study, where they are all being stored."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "What if I cast the spell to open the portal to your study instead?"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "That could work, but it will prove very challenging. You'll need a study of the Akashic Neverthere and an essence of your own personal Arcanum in order to open a portal there."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "An essence of your own personal Arcanum?"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "A basic, real, and invariable nature of your own personal arcanum materialized within the world. I know not where or what it may be."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "A study of the Akashic Neverthere?"
- Bellengere the Three says to you, "The Akashic Neverthere is an ethereal plan of reality. It is all around us, and yet untouchable except through arcane means. It is where I have made my arcane study."
- You say to Bellengere the Three, "You're right, this may prove challenging."