Another library, another set of books, and another set of dried-up leads.
Since we put an end to Krampis, the company had once again gone its separate ways. Peregrine returned home to the Shire, Buck held up shop on Crescent Island, Albion left for the mountains and his people, and Moira had become somewhat of a celebrity.
Mersh, in the meantime, had joined me in hunting down the last of Coheed’s circle. Normally, I wouldn’t hold such a vendetta, but I would avenge my clan’s demise by defeating all who aligned themselves with that demon. My hunt for fleeting clues led me to the library in Hephen, where Mersh and I had spent the last day confined, searching through tome after tome.
It’s strange. Ever since Coheed was defeated, my visions had all but stopped. I suppose it really was my destiny to be apart of the group that would bring about the monster’s end, and with his demise, my destiny was “fulfilled.” Or, at least I thought it was until that day. My head throbbed and I must have passed out, for when I awoke I was in a long, windowless hall decorated with a near endless number of portraits. Faces and names of famous heroes and villains greeted me in the murky hall. Faces of those from times long since past, faces of those alive, and, curiously enough, those that had been slain no longer had a portrait in this hall but still had a memorial plaque.
I recognized some of the names, many as villains or monsters that I had thought had passed long ago. In haste I committed each name to memory before I worked my way down the hall towards a door slightly ajar. On the other side was a meeting table of sorts, and around it sat many of the people I had seen portrayed in the hall behind me. And at the head of the table sat a figure shrouded in shadows. A demon of some kind, and this was a meeting of his “children.”
It would appear as if this group was responsible for a recent catastrophe in Lavanda, one Buck would soon fill me in on. And it would seem that Ashen was next. One of the members was involved in a plague that would be carried by rats, and as Buck would later tell me, the ships that carried the Lavandan refugees were filled with rats. Before their conversation could continue, another man entered the room. This man, Maximus Finch, the General Engineer of Bishk, also the demon’s “favoured child,” had come to request more power from his demon lord. Before his wish was granted, I was discovered. This Maximus was a powerful fellow, and it seems that he and the Bishkan army were responsible for the catastrophe in Lavanda.
I awoke just as Maximus discovered me and was met with the familiar southern booming voice of Buck. He and his new acquaintance, Captain Leafwood, filled me in on the happenings in Lavanda and once more it was time to assemble the company. Mersh joined us as we prepared to set out, but before we could leave on Leafwood’s airship, we were set upon by a group of black-robed and masked figures.
It was a long fight, but we managed to slay our foes with minimal injuries. However, the library was not so lucky, and after Leafwood blew open the wall, we found that it wasn’t just the library; the entire town of Hephen was ablaze and a dark forcefield was enveloping the entire area.
In the nick of time, Leafwood managed to pull us out of the burning city on his ship. With grim determination, we set out for the Shire and Peregrine. Albion had left the party permanently, so we were going to need all the help we could get.
Tibles of the Blue Leaf Clan
