The Day the Party Went to the Octurne
The Cathedral, in Galoring
In a mere blink of an eye, they were gone. The room fell silent for a moment, until those who remained began to chatter about the tasks of the day, and shuffled out.
Astarael stands there, arms folded across her chest. Like she’s waiting for them to appear again, if she just blinks once more. After a while she too turns and leaves.
Aimlessly she wanders through the grand halls, lost in thought. Until a guard startles her.
“M’lady, are you lost? These are the former chambers of Tyr Isendel. They’re off limits.”
She looks up to find her feet have carried her to a threshold she once knew well. She shakes her head.
“Oh! No, I, …I’m not lost. Just lost in thought. Sorry.”
She turns and continues down the hall, the plush carpeting swallowing any sound of footsteps she might make.
In the modest chamber that Astarael and Talith claimed following the capture of the castle, she sits at a small desk and dips a pen into ink. A gentle knock at the door stirs her from her seat. Good timing. The sealing wax is cooling on four letters.
She opens the door to find a parcel wrapped in waxed paper and twine. She packs it into her well-worn bag, and swings it onto her back. It’s a shame there isn’t time to do more repairs to it, but it’s serviceable. At least she was able to get some fresh traveling clothes, and a new pair of boots too.
With a sigh, she takes one last look around the room, and leaves.
Astarael passes by an archway, and through it spies Carter Blackwood. A bevy of stressed looking people surround her sitting at a desk, paper being doled out to each, as well as what seemed to be thorough instructions.
She looks busy.
A halfling woman rushes by, and Astarael puts an arm out to stop her.
“Hey, sorry, I have a small favor to ask. Would you please ensure that Baric Blackwood receives these?”
Astarael hands her the letters.
“Oh, yes, yes of course! Right away!”
And she scurries off, leaving Astarael alone in the corridor.
For a brief moment, it looks like Carter Blackwood can have a rest. The room has emptied of people, orders sent out. And then she turns, to see a halfling woman, holding out several sealed letters.
“Ma’am, I was told to deliver these to you.”
The top one is addressed to Carter. One to Sav, one to Talith, and the last one simply says, “To My Cherished Friends.”
Carter opens up the one addressed to her.
Dear Carter,
I can think of no finer person than you to trust to deliver these letters.Please ensure Sav gets her letter privately, and that the rest of the group opens the other one together. It will explain everything.
It’s been an honor to have you fighting by our side. May Isendel find peace and prosperity with your aid. It is my hope to one day have the same for Moraeth, and fair trade can resume between our lands.
With great respect, and farewell for now,
Astarael Belree
Astarael is walking down a main road in the middle of Galoring when it happens.
A boom like the loudest thunder she’s ever heard.
She turns towards the sound. The Octurne, the world’s surrogate moon, has begun to break apart.
She touches her face, and realizes it’s wet. Her instinct is to run back to the Cathedral. But it’s too late. They’re gone.
The world shakes beneath her feet. Everything is turmoil around her.
The meteors begin to fall, as she makes it to the gate of the city. She turns around, and takes one last look at the city, and then up to the sky.
“I’ll remember you all. Always.”
To my Cherished Friends,
I’m so sorry to have to leave this way. I hope that someday you will all forgive me for not being able to stay and say goodbye.
If I waited, I don’t think I would have been able to have the nerve to ever go.
We achieved what we set out to do for the barony of Isendel. May you someday make it a safe place for magic users once again.
But I fear it will never be a safe place for me, a Morathi.
The time has come that I must return home, and fulfill the urgent request of the whispering winds to remove Lord Vikarn from his place of rule in Moraeth, and free myself from my curse.
You are all the most wonderful people I’ve ever known. Please take good care of each other.
Until we meet again someday.
All my love,
Astarael
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