Adherents
The ground shook, tearing apart as nature was reclaimed into the vast mouth of the earth. Lightning cracked through the air; flames erupted from the great forests as it struck. Wind and rain battered the once peaceful land… A lone man stood at the center of it all, unscathed.
“The land itself is rebelling against this... stranger.” The orc looked away from the crystal, having seen enough of this violent vision. The fur-clad man beside her bristled, gripping the weapon at his side. “We cannot allow him to be our downfall, Warlord,” she continued. “Everything we have built here… the people this land has saved… all will fall to ruin.”
“We must warn the Council. They must see that this man will kill us all.” The Warlord turned to leave the chamber. “We will not be driven from our home like mice, Saeyrlei. We are wolves… we will fight.”
“Yes, Warlord.”
The pair left the chamber, hearts heavy. For some, there was a chance of life outside of Mercy, but many did not know of or remember a world outside of the island. It was their home, and they would defend it to their last breaths.
* * * * *
Skylari
Councilor Tyraan and Maive knew what the arrival of the Stranger meant. Escape. Somehow this man had arrived from the waters and that meant that there was other lands out there they could get to. A rush of work began at the Observatory as the Skylari set about preparing new plans, drafting up new ideas at a furious pace.
Valen glanced at Maive, "Prepare all the plans you can, set everyone to gather all the resources we'll need and stockpile them here. I fear the Warlord will not appreciate our want to escape, so we'll need everyone ready at a moments notice."
Maive nodded as another ink splotch jumped up onto her face from the plans in front of her, “Of course Councilor. All of our people will be ready to leave as soon as we discover a way. And I think I have just the idea on how we’ll do it.”
The Skylari would be prepared to leave as soon as a path presented itself. All they could do now was wait.
* * * * *
Il’umar
Wylphen’s eyes darted back and forth between the maps and charts that Fletcher passed him, comparing them to the notes the other Il’umar had already brought him. There was no denying the reality of the evidence any longer; the quakes were opening up new caverns that had never been seen before. After more than a century, Mercy had something new and incredible to discover.
The sylph looked to his halfling friend proclaiming, “Tell the others! Tell them to prepare. We will convince the rest of the council to let us scour these new caves, Outcasts be damned!”
Fletcher nodded, “And who knows what we could find! This could be it. This could be our chance to understand why we were brought here!”
The Stranger’s presence would not distract their new mission. The Outcasts would not stop their investigations and the Council would not turn them down. The truth was still out there.
