Frozen in Time

This tale takes place in the great walled city of Teleste. Located on the northeastern side of the continent of Askye, thoroughly attached to the Unstable Sea through its massive harbor. A sprawling metropolis in what could only be called the New World. Wealth could be found throughout the inner ring of the city, opportunity throughout the middle ring, and bustling diversity in its outermost ring and harbor.

It was nearing the end of Valtia’s Love, the second month in the year, this meant winter was drawing to a close. Teleste’s proximity to the ocean meant snow was unlikely here, but the tale being spun by a roguish looking woman spoke of the frozen over lands of Kaldar, the continent to the north.

In the early morning hours at a small tavern at the edge of the middle ring, not far from an old clocktower, a nervous and bookish young man sat at a corner table taking notes as he timidly spoke to a woman with sharp features and a keen edge.

The Sleepy Deer Pub, with its cast iron sign dangling in the wind, was a quiet place this early in the week, leaving the two alone. The woman’s eyes scanned the surroundings as if watching for any sign, no matter how small, that would give her concern.

The young man could have sworn her eyes changed color as they focused or even shape briefly, but that may also have been his nerves playing tricks on him, she was unsettling, shifty, and far from the safety of his study and his books.

“My master’s work could benefit from what you have to say but he sent me to… protect his time so I do apologize about this added step.” He took out a rather large tome and set out his writing utensils with an almost obsessive nature. “My name is Kaleb. Please begin Ms. Anna.”

The woman across from him set her eyes keenly on him and the beads of sweat immediately began to slide down the side of his forehead before he produced a small leather bag in which a few small plates of platinum slid out, showing a small fortune to common folk, before he nervously pocked it.

“What specifics do you want?” she said tersely.

Kaleb looked around, failing to be inconspicuous, but to his fortune it was a very quiet morning here. “My master is a scholar of very ancient history; he wants to know what…” pausing briefly to consider the nouns and words. “Um… what the Doctor was after. We know of his ship, the Golden Pelican. We know of the massive ship, the Austere Enterprise, both ships are registered and common knowledge…”

Anna, whose hand had been on the table, flipped her fingers briefly showing him that she had already nabbed one of the small platinum plates and smiled. “This is the down payment. Know this, my information could be sold to the Eclipse just as easily as you, and your master not meeting me puts you at a disadvantage here.”

She leaned forward and spoke confidently and pleasantly. “The ships made their way north, to Kaldar, far up the coast to a fishing village, Trout something…” she paused as Kaleb took quick notes but mumbled “Troutberk” to himself. “The trip was fairly expeditionary in its nature, but something felt odd about it. So many experts, such an odd collection of people.” She paused as Kaleb mumbled a bit more “The Enterprise must’ve broken the ice, but why go then, what could be the urgency.”

With a quick glance to the door of the tavern as another patron walked in carrying a box of groceries and made their way towards the back, the roguish woman settled back into her tale.

“They made their way from the sea in land, traveling by Axebeak and using Mammoth’s to lug the cargo, the days were spent snowshoeing and pushing deep into the tundra. “There were ruins there, ancient and buried under sheets of ice. The locals viewed it as a cursed place, one never to travel to.”

Kaleb sighed. “How is this any different than any other expedition?” He then swallowed hard as her eyes leveled with him and almost looked snake like for a moment as they held a flash of anger.

“The Doctor traveled with them, taking his grunt Stormfist with him. They were after those ruins; they went with a purpose. The old dragonborn and his goliath soldier made the trek with my informant.” Kaleb went back to his notes. “The rest of the group was made up of specialists… they planned this down to the minute detail and kept it the utmost of secrecy. Hiding their intent under the guise of a mundane expedition.”

Anna pulled out a small piece of parchment and held it up. “The roster” she waved it, and Kaleb’s eyes lit up. “Uh, oh! Of course!” He fumbled with the pouch again and with a sigh, she quickly nabbed the whole pouch from his hands and set the parchment slip down on his book and as he went to protest. “This game of coin by coin is over. You will sit there and look as if you’re taking notes on the exploits of my life and stop looking like a nervous fool trying to buy stolen goods.” She felt the light weight of the small fortune and waited as Kaleb settled in with his truth and then looked over the roster. 

Reviewing the list Anna could hear Kaleb mumbling to himself and between the two they went over each member.

Akya, a sorceress or strange heritage. Eleanor and Jerwin, came as a set. Much like Hugh and Willow, the human and rabbit-folk. Mue, an Owl-folk. Leaving Romli, Osgood, and Zianna as the more mundane of the group. Kaleb attempted to piece together their unique skillsets based on this simple list but seemed to run out of interest in the puzzle quickly when Anna could not give specifics. “An eclectic group, and it seems there was a name redacted…”

As Kaleb looked it over and tucked it away muttering to himself, she spoke again. “They were the most sought after. A specialist in archeology, with a quirky hat and magic whip.” This drew Kaleb’s attention in. “They must’ve known…”

Anna arched an eyebrow quizzically before Kaleb scratched something on a piece of paper and slid it over. “Was this name mentioned?” and as the rogue picked it up, thought and then jingled the platinum in her hand. “Yes.” She then snapped her fingers and the paper burned up with a small bit of magical fire. Kaleb flipped through his tome, and she looked in as she saw the same words again, this time written over and over again. Via’ Agos, phonetically with pictures and diagrams, she committed this to memory as the young scholar likely didn’t realize she could also sell this information as well.

This confirmed her information was valuable.

When Kaleb looked up, flipped his tome back to his notes page and asked. “What did they do when they got there?”

“They traversed through frozen atriums, corridors, and began an archaeological expedition of a lifetime. The basecamp alone had murals that would be of interest to scholars for years, but they didn’t stay there long. They pushed deeper, almost immediately, as if urgency was paramount.”

Kaleb nodded and mumbled something about that being obvious as he scrawled notes.

“The rooms beyond were full of more history, more dangers, the group was split to cover more ground. One group dealt with the elements, while the other dealt with … constructs.” Kaleb’s quill was scrawling faster now. “The group had split intentionally, but later were forcefully separated and forcefully regrouped again as they pushed further and deeper in. The information on the walls was fascinating but they didn’t stop for that.”

Kaleb seemed a bit awestruck, but she could see the gears turning and she was waiting for the visual cue of the click, it wasn’t happening.

“Once they found themselves fully regrouped in one of the final rooms. My informant noted this is where they briefly discussed what they had found along the way, but this room corroborated that information as the murals there depicted some form of lost history.”

She looked around the room, it was only the two of them, the warmth of the hearth mingled with the cool air from a slightly ajar window as she was about to relay the sensitive details, she watched him finish and turn his eyes back to her. Anna briefly felt like she could hear the sound of servers walking around her but as she looked, she saw no one.

Kaleb cleared his throat to draw her focus. “The ancient people” Anna said instead of outwardly saying Via’ Agos, “seemed to have treasured a sword. One that their rulers used to protect them from an unknown threat.”

As she paused Kaleb muttered “calamity” and she tried not to roll her eyes at his speculation. “A strong unknown threat to them. The artwork told a story of a savior, one who wielded the sword. A sword strong enough to create a barrier to save a city.”

Anna saw Kaleb’s fascination; she then tapped the table. “What I am to say next will require more payment. I’ll tell this last part of the story, then I will write down what I won’t say out loud, and your master can do with that what he will.”

She continued, “my informant claims they battled ancient constructs with multiple limbs, multiple eyes, and their depiction does match your drawings.” As Kaleb looked at his book as if she had invaded his privacy, he spoke. “Exactly as such, they awoke as guardians.”

Anna rebuked, “they survived the guardians. They took what was guarded, and they fled the ruins down a treacherous chasm that formed as the ruins themselves shattered behind them. Whatever they took was what held that place together in the ice and stone.”

She then took the quill from him and wrote,

Via’ Agos guardians protected the needle.

The doctor was terminally ill. Now walks among high society in good health.

The needle is gone, presumably with the archeologist.

As she finished the note, she slid it over to Kaleb, and that’s when she saw the click, the one she had expected far earlier. The information began to make sense to him, and he began to hastily shove the information in his tome, flipping the latch, and the markings of arcane runes locking the book sealing it.

As he stood up, he seemed far more in control of his presence. Snapping a finger and the tome vanished from sight, as he stood and stepped to the side of the table. Kaleb set down a strange device in front of her. “To keep this information to yourself, this ought to be reward enough.”

The shining platinum of the device and the lightly glowing runes was enticing. She reached out to inspect it, her instincts kicked in, but by the time her hand touched it, it was too late.

Kaleb standing alone in the tavern, his form shifted from a bright eyed, awkward, young scholar to that of an older wizard, hooded and cloaked, his hand outstretched to pick up the device, leaving the empty seats behind him.

“Changelings make great spies. I was impressed, Ms. Zianna. I am grateful but you were far out of your depth and the information you know must remain mine alone.” The wizard stowed the device and turned to exit the tavern in haste.

Behind him, the sound of a busy tavern, full of life, patrons partaking of the morning rush echoed as the permeating illusion faded. The air felt chilled as the brisk winter’s breeze blew past, drawing a deep breath the wizard was filled with purpose.

“Now to find the archeologist…”