Interlude – Arcsinger’s Memories
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Interlude – Arcsinger’s Memories is the 49th chapter of Volume 10.
tl;dr edit edit source
- Many denizens of The Wandering Inn partake in the perusing of Elia's diary, especially for the interesting entries.
- The Adult Creler Incident denotes when Arcsinger’s Bows and a contingent of Haegris [Knights] were ambushed by an adult Creler and their horde.
- The Spice Incident/Revelation recounts when Elia found out that her Flame-Resistance Amulet also affected the spiciness of her food to the detriment of her mouth.
- The Onieva Encounter was when Elia attempt to warm herself up to the inn staff leads to accidentally interrupting Onieva and Ishkr's fornicating, the Half-Elf [Archer] gets taken around Pallass for a chat by Onieva to clear the air.
- The Hunting Event describes when Elia went out to hunt some game around Esthelm for the inn until she was attacked by a group of Goblins from Rags's tribe, she manages to incapacitate them and decides that she is going to quit.
- The Garden Revelation is when Elia, after a night of eating sushi and chatting with Calescent, is taken into the [Garden of Sanctuary] by Mrsha revealing some of the secrets within.
- The Statue portrays when Elia is shown the statue of Sprigaena on the hill of mists which reveals the truth about one of the memories that had haunted her for a decade.
- The Question tells of when Mrsha, after letting Elia in on a lot of withheld information, takes her into the [Palace of Fates] to see if she can help expose the truth of Goblins and their Kings. Failing that, Mrsha comes up with an idea to help share Elia's experience of her fight against the Goblin King.
- Nanette presents a 'Meeting of Foes' using the [World's Eye Theatre] as a way to display the opposing perspectives of Elia and the Goblins.
- Rags receives a message from Saliss about the 2nd Army's movements and the remaining time left to prepare.
Synopsis edit edit source
Elia, as she does every morning, wakes and goes down to eat her too spicy breakfast, as she thinks about the names of the Goblins she knows that she rather wishes she didn't, and of her diary that she writes in daily. Most of the entries are of mundane topics such as what she had for meals, but what keeps the Goblins and other mischievous elements in The Wandering Inn reading Elia's diary are the occasional interesting events written down. An entry noted as The Adult Creler Incident recounts when the Arcsinger’s Bows and a contingent of Haegris [Knights] were ambushed by a group of adult Crelers and their horde. Her readers notice the lack of descriptors in her writing, having to use other literature to cross-reference the event in order to get a more complete telling of what occurred. The inclusion of something, or lack thereof in Elia's diary was what fascinated her small audience.
The Spice Incident/Revelation: On the sixth day of her employment in the inn, Elia ponders on her past clientele as she watches Nanette requesting to learn dirty fighting tactics from Todi. Another day of guard duty as she watches the trusted staff of the inn work on something in the [Garden of Sanctuary], incredibly curious of it all. Hearing a conversation nearby, Elia tries to needle herself into it but fails, she lets two Antinium workers borrow her fire-resistance amulet for Garden-related work and goes back to eating her food. Unbeknownst to her until now, her amulet was weakening the heat effect from the spices in her food as well, so as she eats her hamburger her mouth explodes with pain from the spiciness. In the kitchen, Asgra reassures Calescent of the deadliness of his spices, but all he can feel is the failure of his death spice against the Half-Elf. Hearing someone screaming outside the kitchen, Asgra takes a peek and smiles at what she sees, the goblin then asks for the amulet from the two workers and hides it. Calescent, seeing what she has done, starts to hear the screaming as well and walks to the door with a smile appearing on his face as if waking from a long nightmare, he watches Elia writhing on the floor from his spices. Later on, Elia continues to eat her food at a reduced spice level, to the horror of Calescent, he resents Elia for not being the monster he imagined her to be, since she likes spicy food and is a good guest. He feels shameful for wanting to talk to the Half-Elf, as he got burned the last time he tried to open up to someone new.
The Onieva Encounter: On this day, after eating her spicy meal, Elia feels bored with nothing much to do. With no one willing to talk to her, she begins to feel the weight of the isolation. Therefore, Elia makes it a goal today to attempt to get closer to her coworkers. Going through her candidates, she narrows her options down to a few, with Ishkr being the first she'll try to get along with. Entering Ishkr's room, she inadvertently interrupts the Gnoll [Waiter] having sex with Onieva. Finding the whole incident entertaining, Onieva clothes herself and catches up with the Half-Elf [Archer] to have a talk with her, introducing who she is. As Elia gets taken into Pallass, she questions her memories, as she can't remember any information about Onieva and her Named-Rank status. Onieva herself thinks of when she first met Elia, knowing she was a pretender to the rank from the start. After clearing the air about Onieva's history and Elia's intentions with Ishkr, the two talk about the many Named-Rank Adventurers they've met and their mettle. Onieva speaks on her view of Elia as half-grown corn and how her current employment is one of danger, but that it'll be good for her. Thinking on the conversation, Onieva suddenly realizes she has no recollection of past talks with other female adventurers, and that something was wrong with her memories. Trying to find answers, Onieva leaves to find Mirn.
Arriving at Saliss's home, Onieva finds a bunch of Drakes and Gnolls banging on the door, demanding the Alchemist's attention. After confronting them, a disconnect is shown by their lack of reaction to her. Thinking on the Wyvern attack a while back, she remembers the news covering Saliss's exploits but not one mention of her. Finding Mirn at his workplace, she takes him back to Saliss's home, chattering about Saliss being overworked with seith and her inconsistent memories. Accepting a tonic from Mirn, Onieva suddenly blinds him with it and slams the [Protector] into the wall demanding to know what's in the drink, and if he and Saliss have turned traitors. Telling her of the faerie flower tonic, Mirn then asks Onieva to think on the inconsistencies in her memory, leading her to realize that she is in fact Saliss. Onieva learns of the side-effect of the faerie flower tonic as once again, the pain and pressure of Saliss' life falls back onto her, but at the same time she felt relieved that she wasn't being tricked or losing her mind. Onieva wonders if she can leave it all behind, and Mirn earnestly encourages her to, as Pallas isn't worthy of her. Drinking the tonic and transforming back into Saliss, he replies that it doesn't matter if they were worthy or not, only that he still loves them. Saliss speaks on what it's like when he becomes Onieva, and that getting to be her for a third of his time is enough to bring him joy. Saliss promises one last time to fight the good fight for the Turnscale cause, whatever the outcome may be, and then fly away as Onieva.
The Hunting Event: On the same day as the previous interesting entry, upon returning to the inn after her talk with Onieva, Elia brings up to Ishkr the matter of the Inn staff being standoffish around her, and asks him how she can show the sincerity of her changing ways. Ishkr offers that she can only truly show it during the infrequent, dangerous events threatening the inn. In the lull between Solstice events, Elia hunts the best game the Floodplains have to offer for the inn staff, successfully hunting an octopus-fish thing Calescent is excited to make food with. After suggesting Drathian sushi to Calescent and accepting a request to hunt for turkeys, Elia compliments Calescent on his food before leaving in an embarrassed dash towards Esthelm. There, she is given a <Quest> to hunt for turkeys from Lyonette. As she was hunting some fat ducks, Elia is suddenly attacked by Goblins on Wyvernback and is forced to defend herself without killing her attackers. Elia contacts Ishkr for help but is informed by Bravehammer that the Goblins attacking her are from the Mountain City Goblin subgroup of the tribe seeking revenge for her attack on their home and the death of their Chieftain. She slowly incapacitates the group of Goblins trying to kill her before Ishkr and another group of Goblins arrive at the scene to heal the wounded Goblins. On the way back to the inn, Elia remarks that the Goblins that tried to kill her had the same look of rage as those she served with in the war against the Goblin King. Returning to the Wandering Inn, Elia tries to resign with the belief that she will never be liked by the Goblins there with various members of the inn trying to plead with her to stay. Making her way to her room, the Half-Elf finds a crowd of Goblins holding a platter of sushi with the words 'Sorry you got shot' spelled out. Elia leaves the room.
The Garden Revelation: While staying in the inn to heal from her injuries, Elia contemplates the fiscal realities of her occupation, as she is unsure of her employability, the troubles in regards to new currencies popping up, and the vague sense that The Wandering Inn is important. Feeling hungry, Elia leaves her room for the kitchen to find some food and encounters Calescent there. The two talk about why Elia of all people likes spicy food, and why Calescent doesn't hate her as they eat sushi together. Calescent shares his understanding of the cycle regarding Goblins and wants to comprehend the source of the anger. Calescent then sees Rags enter the inn heading to the [Garden of Sanctuary] to do more research on the bad-bad-death-death-Troll thing. Elia - knowing the Low-Goblin language - understood the whole conversation and asks Calescent about the bad-bad-death-death-Troll thing, thereby learning about the dangerous monster being held back deep in the underground by the Goblins and Trolls. After the conversation, Elia returns to her room only to find Mrsha and Nanette reading her journal and giving commentary on what was written. She makes the two girls leave her room, with Nanette condescendingly claiming that she'll be the one to help mend the hatred between her and Goblins. As Ushar takes Nanette away and Mrsha leaving through the garden, Elia is left with her thoughts on what to do next after leaving. Mrsha then returns to Elia's room to bring the [Archer] into the Garden to see if they can find some answers. Mrsha gives the Half-Elf a tour of the many places within the garden, one of them being the gold pile which Elia helps herself to, shoveling as much gold as she could into her bag-of-holding.
The Statue: Arriving at the hill of mists, Elia is led by Mrsha to a specific statue as they pass by a number of other ones. The two talk about some of the Archmages in living history, the intrusion into Elia's journal, and the Adult Creler Incident from her point of view in clear detail. Being scared by a Dragon statue, Elia was about to make a fuss until she sees the statue of Sprigaena. Looking at the similar yet distinct structural features of the Elven form, Elia can see that her face resembles Sprigaena's own image. Beholding that knowledge gives the answer to one of the memories that had haunted her for a decade, when the Goblin King paused in his madness looking straight at her with longing and recognition.
The Question: Elia remains dazed and crying until Mrsha shakes her from her state. Revealing whom the statue depicts, Mrsha further explains that the knowledge was acquired by Erin when she was with the ghosts in the Deadlands, the same ones that took their last stand during the battle at the Meeting of the Tribes. The Gnoll child the expounds upon the Seamwalker-like Beings and how one of them was the transgressor in the battle on the Winter Solstice, the reason for the Erin's absence from her inn and what the bad-bad-death-death-Troll thing is. In a panic about the overwhelming danger that surrounds the inn, Elia grabs Mrsha planning to bring her all the way to Terandria. Calming the Half-Elf down, Mrsha shares her initial thoughts on Elia being at the inn and, like her feelings in the past about Goblins, how they have also changed for the [Ranger]. Having Elia swear on her daughter to not share what she has seen, Mrsha takes her somewhere even more secret than the garden, the [Palace of Fates]. Blindfolded, Elia walks the hallways of the Palace, being led by Mrsha until they are found by Rags. The two argue about bringing Elia there but Rags concedes when learning of Mrsha's idea. The two have Elia open a large, green door that would show the moment when Velan became the Goblin King, only for there to be a black nothingness. They learn that even the level 70 Skill has limitations, refusing them access to secrets that are always meant to be secret. Overwhelmed by everything, Elia asks weakly to leave. She ends up telling Rags that she doesn't regret killing the Velan, wishing she could show them the monster the Goblin King was. Mrsha, thinking on the conversation, comes up with a great idea to share experiences, but says that it'll have to wait for tomorrow as she is sleepy. Leaving the Palace, Elia asks Mrsha why she was trusted with this knowledge and not someone like Lyonette. Mrsha reveals that in all the futures of the Inn where Elia is present, the Half-Elf never ran away, no matter what happened. Returning to her room, all Elia can do is lay on her bed and stare at the ceiling, feeling stupefied by the whole event.
The Way Goblins and Half-Elves Might Understand Each Other Slightly: In the morning, Elia finds Nanette and Lyonette presenting to her an apology gift to for what happened last night and offering aid for her departure. Embarrassed, Elia informs them that she is reconsidering her options at the moment and returns to her room. Mrsha and Nanette find Elia hiding in the basement, sitting behind a sack of potatoes to hide from more embarrassment. Nanette pleads with Elia to follow her plan to facilitate a reconciliation between the Half-Elf and the Goblins. Elia follows Nanette into the [World's Eye Theatre] as the young Witch explains her Skill, [Shared Vision], and reveals that it synergizes with the Theatre. Seeing an opportunity for an audience, Elia decides that she wants to share it with all. As Calescent enters the theater, he nearly collapses as Elia gazes upon him, feeling an overwhelming sense of terrible loss. Regaining his composure, he sees that the Theatre is filled with people, among them individuals like Imani and Saliss. He comes across an argument between Lyonette and Nanette, with the [Princess] being taken aside by her knights for the Witch to have her chance. Nanette begins her 'Meeting of Foes' presentation by laying out the hostilities between Elia and the Goblins. Elia expresses to all that she will never apologize for killing the Goblin King. Closing her eyes and expecting retaliation, she turns around to she see her younger self on the battlefield, a recording of her memories.
Elia walks with her contingents of fellow [Archers] as Niers implores Evighe to retreat, as the Archmage refuses to do so. Trembling in the air notifies the group of the approach of the Goblin King. Calescent, viewing the memories, feels nothing as he sees Velan emerge. Looking at the audience in the room, he can see that many of them are on edge, ready for violence, while others are disheartened. Elia's famous killing shot to the Goblin king is shown, with Saliss applauding her for not running. Calescent says for all to hear that the Goblin King was a monster, to the shock of many of the Goblins there. Elia sits next to the [Spice Chef] as the Goblin's perspective of the Mountain City Tribe raid and other events are shown. Rags notices the final guest to appear at the theater being Drassi, one of first to change their mind about Goblins, watching and learning to try and find a way forward. Having put a stop to the Goblins throwing things at Calescent, Rags was mostly dozing off from so much time researching, until she gets hit with a paper airplane bearing a message from Saliss informing her about Pallass' 2nd Army's movements and the time she has left. Gazing up at the Named-Rank Adventurer, Rags rises from her seat, going over all she has done in preparation for this upcoming catastrophe. Meeting Mrsha's eyes, Rags sees wonder and magic in moments like these, and smiles in spite of her future hardships.
Characters edit edit source
( * = First Appearance)
- Apista (Mentioned)
- Asgra
- Bird
- Bravehammer*
- Calcirite* (Mentioned)
- Calescent
- Califor Weishart (Mentioned)
- Capoinelia Arcsinger (Mentioned)
- Ceria Springwalker (Mentioned)
- Chaldion Oliwing (Mentioned)
- Colfa val Lischelle-Drakle (Mentioned)
- Colthei Lacment (Mentioned)
- Cormen* (Mentioned)
- Dalimont
- Dolost (Mentioned)
- Drassi Tewing
- Earlia
- Edellein Blackwing (Mentioned)
- Elena Othonos (Mentioned)
- Elia Arcsinger
- Erin Solstice (Mentioned)
- Evighe (Memory Vision)
- Fetohep (Mentioned)
- Fightipilota (Mentioned)
- Garen Redfang (Mentioned)
- Goishart* (Mentioned)
- Goldbody (Mentioned)
- Greina (Mentioned)
- Halrac Everam (Mentioned)
- Hammernail*
- Hedault (Mentioned)
- Hekusha (Mentioned)
- Imani
- Inreza (Mentioned)
- Ishkr Silverfang
- Itreimedes (Mentioned)
- Izikere (Mentioned)
- Jorrus* (Mentioned)
- Joseph Ortega (Mentioned)
- Kasigna (Mentioned)
- Kevin Hall (Mentioned)
- Krsysl Wordsmith (Mentioned)
- Laken Godart (Mentioned)
- Lehra Ruinstrider (Mentioned)
- Liska Silverfang (Mentioned)
- Lyonette du Marquin
- Magnolia Reinhart (Mentioned)
- Mavika (Mentioned)
- Merdon (Mentioned)
- Merish (Mentioned)
- Mirn
- Mivifa Selifscale (Mentioned)
- Mortemdefieir Titan (Mentioned + Name Revealed)
- Mraxine* (Mentioned)
- Mrsha du Marquin
- Muscane* (Mentioned)
- Nailihuaile (Mentioned)
- Nanette Weishart
- Niers Astoragon (Memory Vision)
- Norlis Reinhart* (Mentioned)
- Normen Callesn (Mentioned)
- Numbtongue (Mentioned)
- Octavia Cotton (Mentioned)
- Palt Fenrisol (Mentioned)
- Peggy
- Picker (Mentioned)
- Prixall (Mentioned)
- Rabbiteater (Mentioned)
- Rags
- Rasen Verithe (Mentioned)
- Razia (Mentioned)
- Redscar
- Reiss (Mentioned)
- Relc Grasstongue (Mentioned)
- Rhaldon Flemmens
- Rhisveri Zessoprical (Mentioned)
- Rose Cinevoy
- Rosencrantz
- Ryoka Griffin (Mentioned)
- Saliss Oliwing/Onieva
- Saltshook*
- Shaerrha Brasswing (Mentioned)
- Shaestrel (Mentioned)
- Silverboots (Mentioned)
- Sinegean (Mentioned)
- Snatcher/Headstealer (Mentioned)
- Sprigaena (Statue)
- Sticks (Mentioned)
- Teithde Verithe (Mentioned)
- Telleis (Mentioned)
- Tessa (Mentioned)
- Thallisa (Mentioned)
- Todi
- Tolveilouka Ve’delina Mer (Mentioned)
- Tremborag (Mentioned)
- Troydel (Mentioned)
- Tyrion Veltras (Mentioned)
- Ushar
- Valeterisa Imarris
- Vaulont (Mentioned)
- Velan (Memory)
- Verdan Blackwood (Mentioned)
- Wrymvr (Mentioned)
- Xarkouth (Mentioned)
- Xif (Mentioned)
- Yelroan (Mentioned)
- Zel Shivertail (Mentioned)
- Zeter (Mentioned)
- ? - Mountain City Goblin*
- ? - Mountain City Hobgoblin*
- ? - Pallasian Drake*
- ? - Pallasian Gnoll*
Groups/Organizations edit edit source
- Order of Haegris (Mentioned)
- Gemhammer
- Thronebearers of Calanfer
- Rheirgest's [Necromancers] (Mentioned)
- Flooded Waters Tribe
- Griffon Hunt (Mentioned)
- Chess Club (Mentioned)
- Horns of Hammerad (Mentioned)
- Redfang 5 (Mentioned)
- Iron Vanguard (Mentioned)
Creatures edit edit source
- Creona Flashbird (Mentioned)
- Mothbears (Mentioned)
- Crelers (Mentioned)
- Adult Creler
- Juvenile Crelers
- Quillfish
- Octopus-fish
- Garbichug Revolters (Mentioned)
- Frost Wyvern
- Ducks
- Bismarck (Mentioned)
Locations edit edit source
- Izril
- High Passes
- Floodplains
- The Wandering Inn
- Garden of Sanctuary
- Hill of Mists
- World's Eye Theatre
- Kitchen
- Elia's Room
- Garden of Sanctuary
- The Wandering Inn
- Esthelm
- Floodplains
- Pallass
- Saliss's Home
- High Passes
- Palace of Fates
Items edit edit source
- Elia's Diary
- Arcsinger by Krsysl Wordsmith
- Amulet of Fire Resistance
- Springstep Oil
- Ice Arrow
- White Silken Handkerchief with a Goblin Face
- Wand of the Mrsha
- [Box of Incontinuity]
Statistics edit edit source
Statistics Revealed edit edit source
Jorrus edit edit source
- Skills:
- [Tremorsense]
Elia Arcsinger edit edit source
- Skills:
- [Natural Foe: Translate Language (Low Goblin)]
Nanette Weishart edit edit source
- Skills:
- [Shared Vision]
- Spells:
- Tier 0:
- [Light]
- Tier 0: