Once the wagon for Firian’s Scenic Tours has returned to the southeastern gate of Weldyn and everyone has disembarked, Tric compliments the woman on the production and tips her five coins.
“Why, thank you. Your own tales last night were very engaging. I’m glad you were able to attend my show in return,” she says.
“My cousin Heppa and I have an interest in this topic. We’re trying to better protect our forest, and we really appreciate the way you help educate people on this. It’s a very difficult topic to discuss, but you make it very engaging,” Tric tells her.
“It was a lot of fun,” Heppa agrees.
“That’s the best way to teach history, I find,” Firian says.
Heppa asks whether she has ever had any problems on the tours. Firian starts to answer about some unruly customers who showed up already drunk, and Tric clarifies that his cousin means problems with the undead. Firian shakes her head. “I’ve never personally seen any undead, myself. I’m too young to have any memory of the war.” Now that the rest of the audience has all shuffled back into the city, she pulls off her kerchief and gray wig and straightens her posture, showing herself to be a little older than Alric. “I’ve watched Weldyn rebuild. When I was a kid, these fields were still all torn up, but I’ve never seen so much as a twitching thighbone.”
“It’s only a problem if you dig them up,” Heppa says.
“If those are the thrills you’re looking for, maybe head up into the hills southwest of here. Pack supplies, though, as it would be a week’s journey at least,” Firian recommends.
“What about undead anywhere else? Have you heard anything?” Heppa asks. Lord Volas wanted them to gather this sort of information.
Firian shrugs. “The mainland of Wesnoth is secure, thanks to the work of the horse lords following the war, but if you cross any of the major rivers, you’re taking your chances. Beyond the Weldyn, the Aethen, or the Great River, who knows?”
Although the lands east of the Weldyn are Gweddry’s earldom these days, the elves are not surprised to hear that humans here still consider them wild. Firian’s words also support what they heard from the Beard about fighting undead north of the Great River and what Lady Ethiliel said concerning the tainted lands south of the Aethenwood.
“If you venture into unsettled lands, you risk running into any of these necromancers that Mal-Ravanal was an inspiration for,” Firian adds.
Heppa comments on what sounds like an interesting distinction to her. “Oh, so because the necromancers are there, not that the undead are.”
Firian tilts her head in confusion. “Well, necromancers raise undead and control them, so they’re the source of the danger.”
“We ran into a few—what would you call them?—rogue undead,” Tric shares. “Remnants of undead armies in the Estmark Hills.”
“That there was no necromancer controlling?” Firian asks. “No necromancers around at all? Just undead on their own?”
“No, no necromancers,” Tric says, though inside he cringes a bit. Every single incident of undead activity that he and Heppa have experienced could be traced back to Kachen. His unguarded presence drew them to the village in the Estbryn Forest.
“There were artifacts,” Heppa inserts, backing up Tric’s claim, not just to protect Kachen but because she really thinks there might be a connection. “I pulled one from the swamp, and the undead was holding onto it.” Of course, Kachen was there in the Foul Fen with them.
“Right, and that other time we dug one up out of the ground under South Tower,” Tric adds. Kachen was not there when they were, but he had been along that route earlier. “Artifacts are an interest of ours, too. We’ve successfully found some, which we’re keeping safe in our village. They’re probably dangerous to humans, but it’s not as much an issue for elves,” he says, downplaying any concerns there might be.
Heppa is not so sure she agrees with what Tric has claimed about artifacts being safe for elves, not after what Lady Ethiliel said. I need to make sure to tell Daddy about Mal M’Brin so that he knows to be careful with them, she reminds herself.
Elves amassing artifacts, remnants from the time of the war… That could make a good addition to the story, Firian reflects. “Artifacts are powerful things,” she says aloud. “The war could not have been won without the Null Stone. Mal-Ravanal could have just teleported away again if our side hadn’t had it.”
This piques Heppa’s curiosity. “Do you know what became of the Null Stone?”
“Dacyn was the advisor to King Konrad II, and he continued on as that for the rest of his days. The Null Stone is either with the king or with his current magical advisor, I assume. As far as I know, it was not consumed on use.”
Heppa thanks Firian again for what a fun time they had, and then she and Tric return to the Elvish Retreat for their last night in Weldyn. They have enjoyed their stay at the establishment and not been killed there, so Tric decides he will give a ribbon to the innkeeper in the morning. Heppa agrees; no one took her dancing or on a tasting tour, but this inn is still fun. She updates her own map with new information gained during the day, but she also works on a separate one to leave behind. Her artistic rendering of Estbryn Forest’s location can serve as a wall decoration for the inn. She includes the other main forests for reference, since Seimon really seems like he enjoys those kinds of details. However, unless someone already knows where Estbryn Forest is, this stylized map is unlikely to help them find it.
When they see Seimon early the next morning and present their parting gifts, Tric has a recommendation for the innkeeper. “Since our forest is a bit more secluded, maybe the room my cousin and I shared could be made a private Estbryn Forest suite,” he suggests.
Seimon agrees to the request and thanks the elves for staying with him. With their accounts settled—much smaller than the tab they have at the Parting Glass—the cousins head to the warehouse district to resume their role as caravan guards. The long, dusty road to Dan’Tonk awaits.
Fin