A Year of Stories (Collection Three)

Marble Brick on an Isle of Madness

Report From The Field

I, Ser Kenton Ardghal Makerson, Third Sword of the Far Lands at the Edge of the World, and Humble Servant of the First Queen Under the Stars, swear by the eyes of Karmik, He Who Writes Laws into the Hearts of the Gods, that what I relate here is the entire truth as I saw it on the day in question.

With me were,

Ser Vinzent Sultana, a man as skilled with the longsword as any I have ever met.

Mez Ciel Aggio, an archer who I once saw fell a full grown Griffin, in flight, at one hundred paces, from horseback.

Ser Gottfried Ferrara, a Weaver known even in the Halls of Akkarban as a Master of Hexcraft.

And Mez Cinzia Sewick, Second Sword and acting Field Commander of our unit, a true light to the Empire.

For reasons that will soon become clear, it is left to me to relate their tale.

We were sent to Isle Corvi, at the Southwestern edge of the Empire, to investigate an Abbey known to the locals as Bilthaven, which we have received reports is secretly being used by Priests of pale faced Indriel, She Who Brings the Soft Death.

As Indriel's blood rites are not lawful within the bounds of the Inner Sea, we were charged with seeking this cult out, and eliminating its members should they be found.

We located the Abbey quickly enough, though getting to it was another matter entirely. It was hidden behind a waterfall, bordered on three sides by sheer cliffs, and the fourth by a rushing river, infested with Bore Fish.

Fortunately, Second Sword Sewick brought belaying gear, and after some effort, we were able to make our way down safely.

After passing through the wall of water, with the help of Weaver Ferrara, we were greeted by a struture made entirely of marble, on a scale that would rival some of our great Manor Houses.

It's said that Priests of Indriel add a single brick to their Abbeys for every soul taken in her name, for every corpse buried within their walls. If this is the case, what we stumbled upon is a true monument to their madness.

As we approached, Ser Sultana took point, and Mez Aggio acted as our rear guard, the rest of us spread out into a loose wedge formation with flat bows at the ready.

We were able to make it to within thirty paces of the main gate in this way.

What happened next I relate to you exactly as I experienced it, and I beg you to understand that even as I present this information, I have trouble believing it.

It was five paces on when I realized something was wrong. Mez Aggio was still behind me, and Ser Sultana in front, but both Sewick and Ferrara were missing.

This should have been impossible, even spread out as we were, there was no way for them to be taken without raising an alarm, yet both were gone.

Sultana, Aggio and I broke from the gate and headed west, hoping to find that one or both of them had simply wandered off without informing us.

After a thousand paces, we came upon a small out-cropping of rock leading into a cave. At its entrance was a thin layer of ash, of the kind a Weaver might use as a part of a fire Hex. We walked into the cave's mouth, maintaining a tight defensive formation.

As we did, we heard the sounds of combat. Ser Sultana drew his longsword and ran ahead, Mez Aggio and I hoped to approach the melee from the flank.

When we arrived at the spot where we believed the sound to have originated, we found no sign of Sewick or Ferrara, and when we called out to Sultana, he too seemed to have completely vanished.

We spent the next thirty minutes searching the area with torches, and found only two things – a patch of fabric that Mez Aggio was able to identify as belonging to the Second Sword's tunic, and Ser Sultana's longsword – which had been shattered at the hilt – though neither of us remember hearing any sounds of combat after we had split up.

We left the cave and decided to go back towards the gate, hoping that Mez Aggio's talents as a tracker might be of use to us there. The sand was wet from its proximity to the waterfall, and though the rocks obscured them, she felt certain we would be able to find tracks.

What we found instead were Wrymkin, three full grown beasts the size of War Horses. I drew my sword and Aggio her bow, which she used to kill the closet one before it was able to take flight like its sisters. After that, it became a running battle.

Wrymkin struck at us from the air with talons and beating wings. They seemed to know just how much space Mez Aggio would need to find her shot, and managed to stay just outside that range.

I have traveled the Isles for my entire career, and I have never seen Wrymkin behave with the level of coordination and cunning that these two animals showed.

Before I knew it, Mez Aggio and I had been separated...

Soon after, the Wrymkin gave up its pursuit.

I was alone then, but I swear to you, that is not why I ran.

No.

After the Wrymkin's retreat, I returned to the gate, with full intention of either finding my fellows, or meeting the Pale Lady myself. I walked within five paces of the place, and saw not a living soul...until I did.

Any words of description I give here, would only serve to confuse matters further. What I will say is that there was...something next to me, for an instant, for the briefest moment, and then there wasn't, and in its place were three bricks of perfect marble.

Three bricks...

I ran to the boat then, and ordered the men to sail away from that place at once.

The rest you know.

I am a coward, this is certain, one deserving neither of my position nor my titles. I am a blight on the Empire, and I offer this freely as evidence of my failures.

But I beg you to please understand the words I have written here. I truly believe that someone is still alive on Bilthaven, that they need us, and that if you don't let me return, they will become just another slab of rock to Indriel's glory...