Keeping a wary eye on the surrounding forest, you hurridly build a makeshift stretcher and carefully lower Raz onto it. You gently carry him back to the camp without any incidents.

It is getting quite late but Raz is probably safe for the night, being pumped full of elixir. You should reach Quoron around midday tomorrow.

Alarus sits silently near the campfire, listening to the forest's nighttime sounds as he writes in his journal. Having cleaned and bound Raz's wounds, he now sits in quiet contemplation and pens his thoughts, as he has done each night and morning throughout this arduous journey. Finally he closes his journal and stows it and his pen back in his knapsack. Drawing his cloak closer about himself, he stares into the fire with a weary, solemn look in his eyes. He seems troubled, as if something has been weighing on his mind for a long time.
This message was last edited by a game editor at 04:25, Wed 19 Sept 2018.

Efrem sighs and leans against a tree and looks calmly into fire before looking at Alarus.  After a pause, he speaks.

"I am tempted, good Sir to inquire what you are contemplating, though I am not completely sure I wish to know, or that you wish to tell me."

Alarus turns to the Pathcanon and lowers his eyes, frowning. "It has been long since my last confession, Father," he says softly. "I fear I may have erred in my judgment concerning a matter of life and death...and I question the rightness of the motives behind my decisions. Recently, I was presented with a choice between two paths — both of them quests upon whose success others' lives now rest. But many lives depend on the completion of one mission, while one life rides on fulfilling the other. I have chosen to pursue the quest which may save one life, and have trusted my companions with the quest which may save many — but I feel that protecting those lives was my responsibility, and is not my companions' rightful burden to bear. The Pancreator surely meant this to be a trial of my virtues, and I fear that I have failed it..."

Efrem emits a mirthless but sympathetic chuckle.  "Yeah... errors in judgment is what humans do, being sentient but non-divine."

He sits next to Alarus.  "If you'd like, I could get my vestments, but it'd take ten minutes of rummagin', so I'm fine just talking if you are."

Efrem rubs his beard and looks past the fire into the dark.  "Obligations and finding one's place is always a trick.  So, I guess my two questions... and by the by, let me know if I'm forgettin' my station here... but my two questions are: Why do you think the responsibilities skewed the other way, and why did you choose this path initially?"

Efrem quietly tries to remember the correct prayers and statements to say in proper, "Noble" language.

"In Acheon, I promised a friend that I would help him with a dangerous task he had undertaken," Alarus explains, "— tracking down an escaped outlaw named Jo'vet Siddir, who is known as the Strangler of Aylon. In an effort to gather leads, I visited a prison at the city's Coliseum, where several members of a terrorist group called the Alien Republican Army are being held whilst they await execution for their crimes. Jo'vet is rumored to have close ties to the ARA, so I sought to question their members about his possible whereabouts. I spoke with their leader, an Etyri named Brownbird, who agreed to provide information on Jo'vet in exchange for reducing his and his comrades' sentences. I was able to negotiate an arrangement with the Warden to reduce the terrorists' punishment to life imprisonment if Brownbird's information proved useful in capturing Jo'vet.

The information Brownbird provided led my companions and me to Jo'vet's hideout. But as we arrived, Jo'vet escaped the city on a hoverbike. My companions prepared to pursue him, but I had already promised Baroness Jeri'ven's chamberlain the previous day that I would depart with her by that evening. So I chose to part with my companions, hoping they would be successful in bringing Jo'vet to justice, and in so doing, save the lives of the prisoners whose sentences now depend upon his capture...as well as the lives of his potential future victims...

Protecting those prisoners' lives became my obligation when I negotiated the terms of clemency for them, and Brownbird placed his faith in my honor to do everything I could to save them. Yet, I abandoned that responsibility and left it upon my companions' shoulders...as well as their own safety in their hunt for a dangerous killer. I have betrayed their well-being, and the trust of those I sought to save. And all because I was too proud to tarnish my honor by breaking an oath to a person I did not know..."
This message was last edited by a game editor at 17:53, Wed 22 Aug 2018.

Efrem shifts his weight before making a noncommittal grunt.  Mentally, he's clearly organizing a list.

"Did your companions know you were to leave for your current mission?  And did you talk to them before you parted ways, or did you disappear from the chase?"

Alarus nods. "My friend, Jonas, whom I had agreed to help, accompanied me when I met with the Baroness's chamberlain. After Jo'vet escaped us, I told him I could not risk delaying my assistance for the Baroness any further, lest her condition grow worse. Then we parted."
This message was last edited by a game editor at 02:45, Thu 23 Aug 2018.

Efrem nods.  "And this Jonas... what was his reaction to your decision?"

"He said—" Alarus hesitates and lowers his eyes as he recalls Jonas's farewell a few days ago. "He said he would not want to keep me from following my conscience..." He speaks slowly, as if considering the Engineer's words anew. "And that I had already helped him more than he had hoped or expected... He wished me luck and said he trusted that he would see me again very soon."

Efrem nods listening carefully to both what Alarus says and how he says it.

"Even before the suns began to fade, this universe was darkened and flawed.  Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations where no pure path is possible.  I do not know if you made the least wrong choice or not, but it is clear you worry you have betrayed a friend, and it is worth taking that seriously."

Efrem then leans in and stares into Alarus' eyes.  "I would also point out, my lord, that it is a form of pride to think that you are capable of breaking free of the world and make sinless choices in all moments.  That conviction can lead to dangerous but disguised form of over-confidence.  I would counsel humility on this hidden front.  Sin is often inevitable, as our path is never fully illuminated.  Plan accordingly."

Efrem then leans back.  "Now regarding penance, I recommend the Prayer for the Lighted Road, before you sleep, for the next week.  Additionally, I would suggest you contemplate how you may repay your friend when you see him next, and what humbly accepting a lack of pure choices may look like for you in the future, while also desiring the path and the light and rejecting antinomy."

Alarus considers the priest's words for a drawn moment and then nods. "You speak the truth, Father. I shall take your counsel to heart and do as you suggest. I thank you for your wisdom." He bows his head solemnly.
This message was last edited by a game editor at 04:53, Sat 25 Aug 2018.

Efrem chuckles.
"If it wasn't my job to try and be wise, I would take that as a comment about my age.  But you're welcome."

He then straightens up and looks a bit more somber.  He makes the sign of the jump cross.
"And now, in the name of the Prophet, go forth and be light in this world and all others you may walk upon.  Amen."

The next day, you continue on the road north to Quoron and approach the village in the afternoon.

Quoron is rather isolated and a wild place, confirming some of the Errysdale townsfolk’s prejudices. The village consists of small wooden houses with only a few brick buildings. Compared to Errysdale, Quoron is a bit smaller with about 100 inhabitants. The village is built into the hillside that rises up above the forest, and a 30-minute fatiguing hike up a narrow path is required to reach the settlement.

Due to the heavy rains of this season, the ground is covered with thick black mud and the timber of the villagers’ homes looks wet and dirty. In the center of town stands a large stone and clay house. Behind the large house are the peaks of the ever-snowcapped northern Wyeming Mountains, and the dark entrance to a cave, guarded by four villagers and one man bearing Temple Avestite robes.

Villagers peer out of their houses with trepidation as you arrive. An old man with a long grey beard comes out from the large house to greet you cautiously. He bows his head in respect when he sees Efrem.

“Welcome to Quoron. I am Bevan Helvold, What brings you here?”

EFrem offers a nod as a polite but rushed greeting as he looks around.  "Thank you for the greeting, Mister Holvold.  I am Pathcanon Efrem Khenzada, and the most pressing issue is that one of my group was attacked by a guernicabeast and needs medical attention.  Do you have a physick here?"  He makes sure toa dd a degree of urgency to his voice.

Efrem does not mention any of the other causes for their journey, and with good reason.  He'd much rather watch the town react to an emergency.  Who rushes into action, who watches helplessly, and who doesn't care.  Also, Raz really does need help, so there is no lie in any of this.

“No physicks, Father,” replies Bevan gruffly. “We trust in the Pancreator and his words to heal our wounds and cure our ails. That lad looks pretty bad. Are you sure he’s worth wasting good prayers on?”

“Now, now, Bevan – let’s not be rude to our guests.” The voice belongs to a lean and muscular man who appears in the doorway of the large building. He is of medium size in his early thirties, wearing faded Avestite robes and a hood. His face is scarred from burns and one eye is milky white.

“I am Father Elias. Welcome to Quoron! Bevan, please indulge me and take care of the lad. I will attend to him when I have spoken to these good people.”

At a gesture from Bevan, two burly men appear and carry Raz off to a smaller building nearby.

“Please join me inside,” smiles Father Elias, indicating the large building.


This message was last updated by the player at 15:39, Fri 31 Aug 2018.

Efrem dispassionately watches Raz disappear into a building before turning back to Elias.

"We appreciate your hospitality, Father.  Guernicabeast attacks in this barony are rare, but they sadly still happen, Pancreator show mercy."

He motions for Alarus and Alina to follow him, and then he goes with Elias.

Father Elias offers you a seat in a hall with a fireplace and asks the town elder and his family to leave. First Father Elias insists on hearing your story. Who are you and what do you want? Elias studies you closely, seemingly gazing straight into your hearts.

Efrem makes sure to smile and give a polite nod to the elder as he leaves his own home, and offers similar gestures to the rest of family as they exit.

Then, he emits a reflexive (and possibly genuine) sigh as he eases into a seat.

"In truth, the Pancreator's path for me has been a bit unusual as of late.  To answer your question simply, I am looking for two commoners.  For additional detail, well,
I suppose it all begins with a farmer named Willem..."

Efrem tales the story of Willem and his wife, framing it as a tragedy where love combined with error lead to sin and death.

"...And from there, I had to go to a town called Errysdale, as Willem's daughter lives there.  I arrived, held a service, and the next day I told her the most unfortunate news in the best way I could, which was still bitter news, I am sure."

Efrem shifted in his seat, punctuating the end to one story while beginning another.

"While there, their daughter and her husband, a shopkeeper named Tomas, expressed worry over two of their fellow villagers who had gone missing.  The missing were named Ayman & Osei, and were working for a Guildsman when they disappeared.  So, feeling a pastoral concern, combined with the thought that it may help Nora heal if she had villagers returned to her, I agreed to go looking for them.  We then set out on the roads suggested to us.  Along the way, we met a guernicabeast, and we thought we had successfully escaped it.  A few days later, however, it attacked Raz and then the rest of us."

Efrem ends this second chapter with a small shrug as he looks around.

"Does my tale connect with whatever inquisitional concerns have brought you to this domain?"  Efrem's facial expression is relaxed, friendly, and blank beyond a hint of curiosity.

”I will be honest with you," replies Father Elias. "It sounds as if none of us were aware of the bigger picture when coming to Baroness Jeri’ven’s fief. What I am about to tell you must not leave this room. I am now Father Elias, humble servant of the Temple Avesti, but I was born Marcus, bastard son of the Baron Eduardo Juandaastas who once ruled this land. The late Baron Lucien Juandaastas was my half-brother.

I will spare you the stories of my youth, but when I learned that my brother had suddenly died, I traveled hither to visit his grave and pray for his soul. The Baroness Jeri’ven, however, greeted me in none too friendly a manner and I could sense that she was burdened by a great sin. Her conscience was ready to burst with guilt and she took her frustration out on me, both a priest and her brother-in law. I swear by the name of our holy Prophet - something is amiss about my brother’s untimely death."

Father Elias goes on to explain that he did reveal his identity as Lucien’s half-brother to the Obun Baroness, who received him ill and abed, though she acted very aggressively, dismissing him almost right away. Elias started his investigation, and gathered support from the Quoron villagers, but at first he could not find clues related to his brother’s death. However, he soon heard talk of a secret excavation project about which no one wanted to reveal details. When encountering the Engineers, they were immediately hostile. Something told Father Elias they were hiding some great sin. A fight broke out between his followers and the excavation security guards.

Elias admits he overestimated his control over the Quoron zealots and failed to have them stand down when the mercenaries provoked them. Elias regrets the loss of lives and feels responsible. After the violence, he inspected the underground tunnel and rooms, concluding that it must once have served as a scientific research center, but was unable to further identify its purpose.

Elias’ tale is in itself food for thought, but perhaps even more surprising is his plea to the cadre to join forces with him; ”I have already wasted a lot of time trying to solve this riddle. As you seem to be honorable folk I will ask you to consider aiding my cause. Perhaps together we can finally discover whatever malicious plot has been concocted here and bring the guilty to justice.”

Alarus and Efrem both study Father Elias carefully as he speaks, waiting for the telltale signs of deceit. But the Avestite seems honest and truthful. His regret that things have come to a point is plain to see.

Efrem engages in some light conversation with Father Elias and learns more of his background. Elias was born as Marcus, a bastard son of Baron Eduardo Juandaastas. As a bastard, he was excluded from inheriting any land and titles. Baron Eduardo raised Marcus as his proper son and offered him the opportunity to join the household guard as a non-commissioned officer as soon as he became an adult. However, Marcus never showed great interest in a military career and became aware of his true calling right before his fourteenth birthday when he met a travelling Avestite priest called Dalvarus. Marcus was impressed by the priest’s righteous determination and his high moral views. Without hesitation and despite his good relationship with his father and half-brother, Marcus turned his back on his family and noble life to join the priest on his journey to spread the word of the holy flame and to seek out and destroy sin and depravity.

He travelled under Dalvarus for several months until he was sure of his calling to dedicate his life to the Prophet. Upon initiation into the Sect, Marcus took a new name to symbolize his rebirth into a life of faith and piety. He served with devotion and fervor for more than fifteen years before he was finally rewarded with ordination to the priesthood. Although he is now a devout Avestite, he seems to have found a balance between zeal and common sense, a rare occurrence.

“Here is my suggestion,” says Elias. “We travel back to Baroness Jeri’ven together and tell her truthfully that Crafter Galen and his men are held by me here in Quron. I will agree to release the prisoners as soon as we establish a dialogue, and the full truth about my half-brother’s death and the excavation has been uncovered.”

"Please pardon me, Father," says Alarus, "but why have Crafter Galen and his team been taken as prisoners? What crime have they committed?"

Father Elias' good eye flashes with righteous indignation.

"There is Sin here, I smell it - and Sin will never be tolerated. It is the breeding ground of Darkness!

I will get to the bottom of this and until I do, I cannot allow these heretics and their henchmen to go free."

Efrem sighs and looks at nothing in particular as he stoically contemplates the exciting world that Nobles seem to always provide the commoners to live in, die in, and be held hostage within.

"I'm sure you can appreciate that what you've told us is quite a lot to take in, Father Elias.  Precisely because you seem the honest sort, your words have consequences... grave consequences."

Efrem scratches his head through his mane of hair.
"Well... let me be honest about my concerns.  I am Efrem Khenzada, a pathcanon who tends to the rural flock of this domain, a position I was blessed to achieve in part because I am a seventh son of a commoner, and as such was afforded an education my kith and kin rarely have.  My focus, as a reflex, is the masses of humanity rather than its leaders.  As such, I have a request: I wish to see your prisoners for pastoral reasons.  May I do so?"

Alina follows the conversation with her usual suspicion, but acts as if she is bored. Looking around the room, studying the trappings of the Avestite, and generally trying to gauge him. A few times she will nod at a point in the conversation as appropriate. When Efrem mentions meeting Galen and his team her attention snaps back to the conversation.