Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

 Things are certainly proceeding! As we tarried in town -- some to drink, a couple to study, maybe some to shop -- the entire island jolted! Then it started to list to one side as a spire grew through the very ground! Spires don't just GROW! I would think it unprecedented! But then, is it? After seeing this nigh-impossibility, I rushed BACK to my studies and looked for different information. It's not UNprecedented, merely astronomically rare. I can find only two other instances: at the beginning of our calendar (presumably very shortly after the cataclysm), and in the year 1000. So, a thousand years between first and second, and a third 620 years later. If this is a recurrent phenomenon, the frequency is increasing (though I'll have to wait a few hundred years to confirm it, apparently). I don't remember whether it was Cole-Bay's idea or my own, but we got an ether compass to see if it would read the new spire. It didn't initially, but started to (very) gradually accumulate a reading. So, it would seem that the ether power didn't cause the growth, but now that the spire is grown, it begins to accumulate ether the way older spires do.

While all this was occurring, our new friend Aerathor caught a pink rat at the bar they were frequenting. It turns out it was more than a miscolored rodent, but a messenger of sorts, for it left an envelope with a letter for the Captain. "I believe our interests are aligning. Meet me on your ship." The implication that the author might be on the ship sped our heels to return quickly. She was not, but soon showed her well-known face. Mimi, whom we know from the bounty boards, apparently has a relic much like a sextant to help magically guide us through the maelstrom. It reportedly shows the path taken by Hector Cogsworth centuries ago. She also has two more of his letters! (I will include transcripts with this entry.) After some discussion, we followed the path the sextant showed and arrived at Titan Prime. We docked and walked toward the lake.

My Goddess! What a remarkable turn of events. I can FEEL the gears of history turning and returning!

Pirates!

 In the wee hours of the morning, I was unceremoniously jerked from my peaceful slumber (and some extraordinarily lovely dreams) by a shout. Pirates!

I suppose it had to happen eventually; this world is not a peaceful one. Sadly, there was no time to don my armor, so I grabbed my mace and shield and headed to the deck. I quickly manned a cannon amidships. Cole Bay assisted Ingrid in making an incredibly daring (and graceful) leap from ship to ship so she could mete out some justice face-to-face. Unfortunately, she was far outnumbered and felt the lack of backup fairly quickly, despite all the damage we were doing to the ship. I switched over to a ballista to harpoon the other ship and create a line to traverse...just in time to be of no use -- the pirate captain calling for a duel.

Of course, Captain was amenable (even eager), so she swung over like a hero from a bard's tale and they faced off. It was truly an epic fight (though quick). In the scuffle, Captain's sleeve was burned away, revealing a distinctive tattoo. It took me a moment to recall where I'd seen it before. It is the same worn by the dread Black Blade! Captain Aveline! Holy Mother, that was an unexpected turn of events. It gave me a shock, that's for sure. But, just as we seek to reform the planet that nurtures us, we must allow people the opportunity to reform themselves as well. For all the dark deeds laid at her feet, there will surely be countless redemptive ones. No sooner had all that raced through my mind than she ran through her opponent. In that instant, the Storm Goddess herself boomed out, naming Captain her champion!

The rest of the day was almost a let down after all that excitement: turning in bounties, purchasing new gear, some experimentation to identify the button-ring. Definitely a day of extremes. Lady Bless!

More Glimpses of the Past!

 We continued to search the ruins, and I quickly found a metal door. It had 4 hemispherical indentations in a diamond pattern. I suspected that there would be some orbs around to socket into these indentations, so continued searching in hopes of finding them. In a nearby room there was a chest with a ring...and a green orb! Not long later, Sonica found a chest -- guarded from above by another of those cursed spiders. Once it was dispatched, we discovered that the chest contained a different ring...and a yellow orb! Apparently, I missed the acquisition of red and blue orbs earlier, so that completed the set. We returned to the door and placed the orbs in the sockets and some mystical energy outlined the door, delineated a line down the center, and the two sides slid away to reveal a giant cavern ahead. It was so vast, it almost seemed like we were outside again.

The chasm is dominated by a dilapidated temple building of some sort, which -- though it is clearly in ruins -- is being swept by some sort of stone automaton or golem. It seems to assume that we are here to visit the church, so we agree and follow it inside. The focal point of the church, opposite the door we entered, is a statue of a woman or perhaps a goddess (it occurs to me that this could be an early representation of The One, but then it may not, there are many goddesses worshiped even now). I make a sketch for our records (see my last page), and engaged the custodial golem for more information regarding the murals still barely visible on the walls.

While I picked the questionable "brain" of our host, Sonica checked a chest in the corner. Inside, she found some sort of grappling-glove, a painting, and a letter. The painting shows a demonic figure magically restrained in a circular apparatus by a woman who stands in front of it. A small plaque on it reads: "The Great Adversary, now defeated, was imprisoned w/ molten stone, weakened and alone." The letter is dated "2/11/0001," 1619 years ago! It reads (in an ancient script):

"Like a comforting hug, traces of you surround this new world and powers stones that keep everything afloat. I long to find you again. As I look down at the swirling maelstrom below, I know you are out there among these beautifully broken lands. Like your essence, I will scatter these letters around in hopes that you will find them and remember me once again.

-With all my love, Hector Cogsworth."

I have not heard of a Hector Cogsworth. The only notable Hector I can recall is from our own religion, but he was a demon in the form of a man.

Having seen all we could see in this underground world, we return to the ship and rest as we fly off. Before heading to sleep, I draw my circle and investigate the rings we have found. The one with the circling arrows will be very useful; it will, from time to time, substitute its energies for your own when you cast a spell, so you pay no cost! The ring with various colored buttons eludes me, however. I'll have to discuss it with Cole on the morrow. Faith, but it's been a long day.