Book 2 Ch 40: Red Leaves

The continent of Manacht seems exotic and strange to the average new explorer. In truth, the world is full of places that make it seem like you’ve only walked from one block in Brevantiss to another.

• Lenn Braun, Chief Traveler of the Explorer’s Guild

The following morning Solomon felt refreshed and ready for the next phase of the journey. The others were in similarly raised spirits, though several of them seemed to be nursing hangovers from the previous evening. Edmure, Solomon noticed, had a slight jingle with every movement. He presumed his valet had been as successful at his card game as he always was.

They loaded into the cart and as they were doing so Solomon noticed that the Untoss were all taking the time to light torches. They all smelled of earth and spices and let out a crackling sound as they burned. The jungle they were about to travel through was certainly darker than the plains, but he doubted they needed the torches just for the light they’d provide.

“Sergeant, why the torches?” he asked.

“The jungle has gods. The One that Hungers, The One that Thirsts, and The One that Craves. The torches are made of herbs and spices that act as an offering and also a form of protection to keep them satisfied and at bay.”

“They’re dangerous?”

“Extremely, but easily appeased. We won’t be in much danger during the day as they prefer the night for their hunting, but even then we should be fine as long as we keep a fire burning with the same incense. The men lost to them usually wander too far from camp to relieve themselves or are lax with their fires.”

He looked to Solomon.

“Don’t worry, we were allotted thrice the usual spices because you’re with us. We should have no issues.”

Solomon nodded and the Untoss gave their ichthyn a firm pat to get them moving, pulling the cart forward as the rest of the group either stayed mounted or walked alongside it. As they passed into the jungle the canopy shrouded them in shadow and he immediately felt a sense of unease. This jungle bared little resemblance to the forests back in Drakthiss. The red leaves and vines brought to mind blood and they were grouped far more thickly together. If one found himself in the brush of a forest in Drakthiss they could usually at least push through it. The jungle in Manacht was so thick that he could only imagine being trapped by it, unable to move.

In spite of his unease the first day of travel passed uneventfully and aside from some strange dreams, the night brought no troubles either.

The next day was much the same, but Solomon found himself concerned. That night would be an Arcana meeting. From what he could tell, the mages with him didn’t have the ability to see mana as he could, but he was still concerned about risking the ritual. He believed he could write the ritual on a sheet of paper from one of his notebooks and cast it within his tent, but he’d be vulnerable. If there was danger then Aristopheles would warn him, allowing him to break from the meeting to deal with whatever it was. It was still a risk though. At the same time this would be the meeting in which the Major Arcana would begin offering.

In the end he decided to take the risk. He didn’t want to fall behind the other Arcana and had gained too much from even the regular meetings to consider missing one that appeared to be so special.

When everyone else was asleep aside from those on watch and maintaining the fires in the camp, he carefully drew out the ritual circle before whispering the needed incantation. After a moment of darkness, he was standing among the Arcana.

He saw that it was as full as the prior meeting had been, at least of the lesser Arcana. They were all crowding around the side of the ballroom where the ledgers resided. Even the Knight of Pentacles wasn’t in her usual spot on the pillar.

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Of the Major Arcana he could see The Magician, The Empress, The Devil, The Lovers, and Temperance. They were all arrayed above the rest of them, engaging in their private conversations and watching the lesser arcana mill about.

When he caught Temperance’s eye he gave her a congratulatory nod and smile which she responded to with a smile of her own.

His respects paid, he made his way to where the other lesser Arcana were. While he’d initially thought that the Major Arcana would simply have a ledger room of their own, it appeared he’d been lacking in imagination. Arrayed above the space of the ledger room was a row of floating tarot cards on which gleaming text could be read detailing different pursuits and rewards. He quickly began reading them.

Locate the Fool: True name Byron Moss, last seen in the Elven Isles. Is known to travel in a circus, an acting company, a band of explorers, a coven of witches, an orcish warparty, and a wandering orgy. He is short in stature, with dark hair and light eyes. If he is in a group he is typically their leader. He cannot age or die by any method known.

The first of them was a surprise. They’d lost The Fool? And he seemed to be quite the traveler. Reading through the listing a number of times he wondered just exactly how one was meant to find him. He knew that divination could assist with such things, but he imagined that the major tarot themselves would’ve tried that. The fact that he couldn’t die seemed strange. Perhaps that’s how he would find out, just kill anyone that matched the description and see if it stuck. He continued reading the postings.

Locate the rest of The World’s soul: It is known that it is hidden somewhere within the astral plane.

Determine the fate of the lost city of Swent: It vanished along with all of its residents. It is unknown how or where it went.

Procure Blackburn: The Dentus family’s ancestral weapon was lost during their rebellion.

Disrupt the Union: The greater the disruption, the greater the reward.

He could certainly see the value in locating the rest of the World’s soul as his knowledge seemed to be hidden away with it. As for Swent, its loss was one of the great mysteries of Drakthiss history. For an entire city to simply disappear was completely unheard of. Blackburn was probably a more mundane loss. It was a powerful weapon that had been lost during the Dentus family’s revolt. It could be buried beneath a hill, or perhaps hanging hidden in a noble’s gallery somewhere. The last of the postings surprised him. To deliberately cause disruption in the Union seemed foolish. He knew that the Union had caught members of the Arcana in the past, though he presumed that Death somehow kept them from ever speaking of the group itself. To directly go against them though… Perhaps it was a method of weeding out the more foolish among their ranks. It certainly seemed like the easiest of the tasks he’d read so far, and likely the one many would choose to attempt.

He was going to continue reading when he saw the Knight of Pentacles approaching him.

“Knight.”

“Page.”

“Thoughts?” asked Solomon.

“Numerous and ever expanding. Yours?”

“Similar. Any of these in particular interest you?”

“All of them interest me at least a little. Not least of all because they tell me so much more about our betters.”

“That’s how I felt about them as well.”

“I’ve already been hearing a number of others planning their little murders and terrorist acts regarding the Union one.”

“Seems we’ll have fewer attendees soon.”

“My thoughts as well.” She shook her head. “Still, it does give us more to strive for.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m at least calling you Queen instead of Knight by the time the year is out,” said Solomon. “Though perhaps Strength or The High Priestess are out of reach for some time.”

She nodded, her helmet clanking a bit.

He read through the rest of the postings, noting that many of those that remained involved the acquisition of rare materials. A dragon’s heart, a basilisk’s tongue, the head of a gorgon. Those seemed more like the Major Arcana giving them their shopping list, but he memorized them anyway. It was important to be ready for any opportunities that may arise. When he was done he turned to the Knight.

“Do you recall when you were tested? When you first arrived?”

She nodded.

“Are we able to test spells at will here? To cast them as if we were back in the real world.”

She frowned. “I believe that space is special. Otherwise we’d be seeing demonstrations of spells for sale constantly.”

“Do you think the Major Arcana would allow someone to use it?”

She tilted her helmet.

“Perhaps… Though no one has asked. Why would you need it?”

“I just saw a number of spells cast that I’d never seen before. I wish to see if my memorization is valid, but I can’t test them openly at the moment.”

“Ah. You’re travelling.”

“And you’re as clever as always.”

“True.”