.png)
I’ll tell of 23 Octobre, 2786; and of when Krin Umbrlathron had a glimpse.
There were 3? of them that day.
Krin
Galiél
Urg
The hill they climbed was well maintained, though still slick and dangerous from the ice. The wide steps were connected with metal railing which residents used as if climbing a treacherous mountain path. The railing was cold to hold on to even through their thick winter gloves. There had once been a heating element in these steps, keeping ice from accumulating. That, as well as the view of the dark town below them, had long gone … offline.
<aside> 🕕
6:00 AM
</aside>
The Temple of Daonna was tucked into a protrusion of rock that once created an unsupported roof, destined to crumble but not yet having done so. The architect of the temple had used their build as the support this giant alcove needed to withstand the test of time… to put off its destiny of failure.
It looked over the Northern view of Littleton, a "passing-through"… "in-between" … sort of town. In between civilization and the Wilderman, perhaps, but not on the fringes of the human world mind you. Littleton acted as a "final refuge" for the outskirt Metro of a once bustling-city called Gelid.
The temple stonework stood out against the dark, maroon, bone-like rocks. Some kind of smooth sandstone material made the arches of the entrance. The build blended into the natural stone seamlessly, becoming the hill instead of just replacing it.
But they were not going to the temple.
There was a quaint building put to the side of the Temple entrance, perhaps as an office for tours… a much smaller place to keep heated. This was where our party went, led by a man carrying one of his two large dogs.
Thyler was expertly gliding across the dangerous path in a worried frenzy, letting the party fall behind. When he tripped slightly up the stairs to the building, he only had to fumble for the hand of the door for a few moments before it was opened for him from inside.
Our party followed Tyler to the steps of this quaint building. Galiél was almost right behind Tyler, looking to be sick with worry. Krin = worried about Galiél. Other people doing people things.
It was small, quaint, and had copper wiring hung over the front garden, converting snow to a warm rain. She had electrical power on in her home, which took you both aback.
Elain opened the door. She was a very young girl, maybe early twenties by first glance. Krin thought, maybe Elain's daughter or otherwise... but when Elain spoke, she demanded an attention and respect similar to some gang-leaders.
<aside>
"Elain please,"
Thyler said quietly,
"Stupes got into some Ichor …"
She replied in singsong, as if without a care in the world,
"Stupid Stuporrr..."
Then she hummed as if in a ceaseless good mood as Thyler set one of the two dogs, Stupor, on a freshly clothed table. His tail and ears remained tucked as he sent Galiél:
“It’s a fucking conspiracy… Feels personal. Why me?”
Stupor was no longer smacking his lips but rather keeping his mouth open. He seemed very uncomfortable.
Elain put her two hands on either side of Stupor’s face, her fingers disappearing behind his long black mane. His eyes were darting anywhere but Elain’s. The language he spoke was the Language of Eyes.
“Now,”
Elain said,
“Where did you find this yucky business?”
She picked up a wooden spoon and started prodding at the thick, syrupy ichor that clung to Stupor’s jaw and snout.
“A druid?”
Elain exclaimed softly. She turned and looked at Thyler. He nodded. A silent affirmation made. Elain turned back to Stupor,
“And a wyrmling! You’ve been adventuring, Stupes! You rascal. Just be careful around undead things next time, eh? Now, let’s get this off. It’ll be cake.”
She pulled out a small sack from a medicine closet, whispering incantations as she spilled it in the air around Stupor. The glittering dust disappeared halfway through the spell, igniting like moths catching flames. Stupor didn't flinch, but looked like Elain had been poking him with needles. Then she got a wooden spoon and prodded at the ichor that had moved its way to the edge of Stupor's bottom lips. As she sang her incantation to the melody of the violin, the ichor began wrapping itself around the wooden spoon, like a curious octopus. With her persistence and patience, she finished her spell, and the ichor had enveloped the spoon.
Her sing-song attitude changed to a tactile energy as she rushed over to the wood-burning stove, threw in a cantrip to make the flames a dark crimson color, and she put the spoon and her entire hand into the flame, wincing with pain as the fire engulfed her hand and some of her arm.
After a painful and lingering few seconds, she retreated her arm, unscathed, with a charred stub of a blackened stick, still on fire at one end, but entirely ichor-less.
Krin woke up before even knowing she had faded. Her entire body tingled as if her blood had stopped flowing for a moment. As if she’d been laying on her arm and it had fallen asleep, except all over.
She groaned, holding her head as she tried to regain her bearings.
"Ugh, what the hell was that?"
she muttered. Then noticing Galiél's proximity, she gave him a coy grin.
"And did you kiss me?"
Galiél shrugged, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"I read it in a book. Seemed hot, so I went for it."
Thyler's concerned voice cut through their banter.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
Krin furrowed her brow, trying to make sense of her experience.
"It felt like I was in the dream realm. There was this black, red, and blue jellyfish floating out of the stove... Then this being took it into the void. I'm not sure how to describe it."
Elain's melodic humming finally ceased as she smiled knowingly.
"You saw the watcher,"
she said, her voice filled with reverence.
Confusion etched across Krin's face.
"The watcher? But it had no eyes..."
Elain's laughter filled the room, a sound both mystical and warm.
"With no eyes, it is free to see anything anywhere at any time. It watches, it does not see. It is pure awareness. In me. In you. In rocks that hold up the mountain. Everything sees or feels. That is Daonna."
Thyler rolled his eyes at Elain's esoteric explanation.
Still trying to process the information, Krin pressed on.
"Then what was the jellyfish-like thing?"
Elain's expression turned thoughtful.
"I'm not sure... There is much about ichor that we don't know. It seems like a sentient creature and acts like one, but it does not heal, it does not die. It can only be... cleansed. Perhaps you saw something nobody has seen before. Maybe you were given an idea of what it is based on your own knowledge and experience. Daonna speaks many, many languages."
Galiél chimed in, his voice tinged with excitement.
"We killed some weird ichor jellyfish creature. I actually have a jar of its, uh... goo."
Krin's eyes widened in surprise.
"Really?"
Without hesitation, Galiél pulled out the jar, presenting it to everyone in the room. Elain leaned in; her curiosity piqued.
"Well, that is interesting... Stupor mentioned it was an undead wyrmling? This thing was in it?"
Galiél nodded, recounting the encounter.
"Yeah, when I killed the wyrm, it floated out of it like it was possessed."
Krin's scientific mind kicked into gear.
"And you just scooped it up in a jar?"
"Yeah?"
Galiél replied, a hint of pride in his voice.
"I used some tree branches to scoop it. Look at my hands, no ichor... I also have this jar full of a weird acidic bile from the thing too. But I've got plans for that."
A spark of interest flashed in Krin's eyes.
"Hmm, that could be interesting."
Galiél grinned at her, feeling a sense of camaraderie.
"You so get me."
“So,”
Krin said, trying to regain some composure.
“How will this watcher affect us?”
Elain said,
“We know so little about ichor… we need to find more evidence of it nearby. If it is affecting wildlife…”
She trailed off, shaking her head.
“You did the right thing,”
She said to Galiel,
“But we need to do more. And I don’t want to ask you of it, but someone needs to do the work.”
Thyler spoke up, “I’m already a few pages ahead of you, Elain.” Then, to the party, “You’re on the council now, right? We need a team of scouts. Rangers that I can direct, to patrol the surrounding areas of town. The wild is encroaching on our borders, we need to approach back… off a hand, an ear, or even a sword.”
Galiel, in her new role as Town Speaker, assured the group that he would discuss the matter with the others and form a ranger committee for Thyler to lead in investigating and protecting the area.
Krin agreed with the idea and pondered aloud if the ichor might be similar to fungus. This sparked a discussion about the nature of the mysterious substance.
Elain considered the comparison thoughtfully.
"It is... that is an interesting comparison... however fungus grows... this stuff spreads and corrupts,"