MagiStream

BBkat wrote:Ohh, nifty!

Quest text-
Quest - Candle in the Water: The Delegation
Location: The Keep

Spoiler

A caravan! You run down to the courtyard as soon as you hear the news, and you're not the only one. Half the Keep seems to be milling in the courtyard, waiting for the visitors to come through the gate. The Keep Watch announcement said they weren't one of the regular merchants that came by the Keep, and new people usually meant new stuff. Maybe even new creatures!

Except when the caravan finally does enter the courtyard, it's easy to see they're not merchants. Too many guards, too few wagons, the lead wagon too fancy, and the flags it flies too plain. Many of the gathered wander off as they realize these are diplomats, but you stay, still curious. You recognize those flags.

But what is a delegation from Alveus doing here?

A man in the lead wagon stands, and though he eyes the gathered mages nervously, his voice is loud and steady as he says, "I am Gallus of Theia, designated representative for the Alveus region to the Magi Keep. I must speak with Archmage Thane or his duly appointed representative immediately!"

"I'm here." You're not sure when the Archmage arrived, but suddenly he is impossible to miss, standing in a gap in the crowd near the wagons. He bows to the delegation. "Welcome to the Keep, all of you. We can speak inside while the housing staff arranges-"

"We'll talk here," the man interrupts, and gestures towards the last wagon. Immediately two of his companions jump from his wagon to get something out of the one indicated; you notice they are both wearing heavy gloves. "We're not going to allow you to cover this failure, this breach of good faith. You said you'd purge all the magic residue in our lands in exchange for free passage there. You told us it was done! So how do you explain this?"

One of the men holds up something from the wagon bed, covered in dark cloth. The second removes the cloth, revealing a large glass jar filled with... something. Something lovely, glowing and swirling like liquid light, a soft blue-green-white that brings to mind sea foam. A soft chorus of 'ooooohs' rises from the gathered magi, which does nothing to soothe the diplomat's temper.

And then, after a clear in a moment of silence, you hear Talyn say, "Hey, that sort've looks like the same glow as my statue. "

---------------------------------------------------

It takes a while to calm Gallus, but he and his retinue finally agree to come to the Great Hall to discuss the situation. Now they sit at the head table with the senior magi, the jar of glowing water, and Talyn's likewise-glowing statue.

"So," Thane says. "Talyn claims it was a gift from someone he met in Triathe, in one of your prisons." The delegation doesn't seem to catch, or appreciate, the humor. "But Talyn didn't seem to know who the man was or where he'd gotten it originally."

"Let's just destroy it!" The diplomat shouts. "Clearly its the source of this problem!"

"Now, lets not be hasty," Thane says, holding up a calming hand. "Why do you think this piece here is the source of your troubles?" While he spoke, he took out a pure white crystal, holding it over the jar and the statue. You recognize it from your first year lessons as a crystal that will immediately detect any source of magic.

"Every year," Gallus says, his face red with anger at the display of magic, "The coast of Alveus sees an influx of glowing water, in the fall, which is clearly...I mean, we assumed it was part of the cursed magic infecting our area from your mage wars long ago. So our people were terrified and upset when it came back after this summer's cleansing, and appointed a delegation to insist the Keep magi return to finish the job. Which you must do!"

"Well, we are more than willing to help," Thane said. "But there's just one problem. There's no magic here." Thane sets the unchanged magic detecting crystal aside. "It might be some kind of residue, but if that's the case it is so faint as to be undetectable - and the source should be brighter than the sun."

Gallus shakes his head stubbornly. "Of course it's magic! What else would cause a light like this?"

Master Belmos clears his throat. "There are quite a few things, especially creatures, which glow naturally. Fireflies, some fungi, deep sea fish..."

"Does it look like there are fish in here!?" Gallus protests, shaking the jar emphatically. His companions immediately try to calm him, very obviously afraid he might spill the glowing water.

Thane, too, tries to intercede. "Gallus, please! While we cannot detect any magic in the sample, or in Talyn's statue, it's possible we might find something if we go to the location. I will take a delegation of magi to Alveus, and we will investigate these glowing waters. We will ensure there are no harmful magics in the water, and if possible find the source of the phenomenon."

Another trip to Alveus! By the murmurs around you, plenty of people are as eager as you are to see the source of this glowing water. Master Belmos stands and looks around the room, bemused. "I believe there are enough people here for this to count as an official announcement. We will be taking volunteers to assist with this investigation. We leave for Theia as soon as possible, and from there will travel to the coast. Please spread the word among your friends and classmates. Dismissed."

Join the delegation in Theia?

Accept/Decline

Once you accept it redirects you to the main page of The Keep section of the world.

That, seems to be it. nevermind, it moves to Theia.
(Should I make a thread in the Community Discussion to gather this stuff? Or keep it all here?

Jeccakat wrote:Was Somni there before? I don't remember.