Joryn - 3

## Skaihl's Story Continued

Skaihl's story is difficult for me to fully accept—the existence of Lyth is never something I found reason to believe until recently. Circumstances left me with no better options than going along with it. Yet, now I suspect that Skaihl's story isn't so much of a religious struggle. Rather, it may just be a façade for assassinating Leopold.

Skaihl continued his story several hours following our first interview. He revealed what he may really be about. He seemed concerned about keeping Lagreth safe and advised us to not tell anyone else about him being an apprentice Great One. He also wants him to study the obelisks around the island to see if he can uncover Asher's secrets about leaving.

Up through that point, helping Skaihl seemed to align perfectly with my plans and hopes for getting off the island. Then he shared that we must also kill Leopold to escape. I don't completely understand his reasoning, but it has something to do with the pyramid, or at least something inside it, near the center of the Keepers' city.

I suppose that if Skaihl truly believes that Leopold is a Lyth then making sure he's killed would be natural for a devout follower of Dia. On the other hand, it's also a decent story to gain the allegiance of actual followers of Dia; to make them his puppets. It doesn't explain, however, why he would want Lagreth to study the obelisks. How would that help him with killing Leopold if that were his only goal?

Though suspicious, Skaihl's cause still seems to be my best course of action. If Asher really did exist and he used the obelisks to come and go freely, then helping Skaihl is the most likely path to put me in the right position for escaping the island. I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen if we do need to use the pyramid to leave, though. I have no interest in fighting Leopold whether he's a Lyth or not.

If Leopold has retained his youth for more than a hundred years, then he's certainly more than just a regular man. He could be a Great One. Perhaps he really is some sort of prophet of Dia that sacrifices boys in the volcano. Or maybe he just knows some secret about the volcano that replenishes his youth. Whatever the case, I don't like what I've heard about him from the People of the Ash. I need a different perspective. I need his story!

## Scavengers

I met the local armourer and blacksmith for the People of the Ash. He recently lost an arm to a Maar and is in the process of training two young apprentices. That gave me an opportunity to lend a hand, no pun intended, and an excuse to access his tools to make myself a new bow.

I lost my last bow, and most of my other gear, when I fell out of the rowboat just before being beached. At the time, I felt the waves and currents were too risky to try finding them. I was also more concerned about survival at the time and quickly forgot about it. I'm starting to regret that decision; I miss my backpack.

Metal ore and other supplies are scarce here. Most of their tools are made from materials found in wreckages. Among many other things, I had two short swords and four large knives in that pack! From what I understand, that'd be quite the find here.

Realizing their need for such materials, I requested help to reclaim my lost gear and perhaps find other materials from our wreckage that may litter the south shore. Instead, I got recruited to investigate an even newer wreckage on the north shore, which is quite a bit closer to our location. This one isn't just the remnants of the ship and floating cargo, rather it sounds as if the entire ship itself is accessible.

## Old Acquaintances

Our scavenging party consisted of the original four warriors that found me—Todd, Jake, Bron, and Fray—as well as a few other People of the Ash. Our goal was to reach and loot the wreckage before the Keepers arrived. Instead, we encountered a large party of them, outnumbering us more than two to one, on the way. They were unaware of our approach.

Todd, the leader of our group, felt that the ship was valuable enough to risk a conflict with the Keepers. His plan was to surround them the best we could and cause them to believe they were outnumbered.

As we were stealthily surrounding them, I noticed a few familiar faces among the Keepers; other survivors from my wreckage: Yavin, the Xolmeth warrior, and the sergeant from Moira's city guard. It was too late to mention this to the People of the Ash, but I still hoped to somehow signal my three former acquaintances of a potential friend on the other side. After all, they could be helpful in evening the odds and even provide me with a different perspective of Leopold and his Keepers.

Todd exposed himself to the Keepers by standing several paces ahead of them and stated that we had claimed the ship. He also announced that we had them surrounded and that they needed to leave. Yavin, unfortunately, called his bluff and convinced the Keepers' captain to proceed. The Keepers formed a defensive circle and engaged.

Their advance was slow at first and was met by a barrage of arrows. Many Keepers were struck and taken down, including their captain and the Xolmeth warrior. Unfortunately, Yavin and the sergeant from Moira's Victory rallied the remaining men that still far outnumbered us and overwhelmed our positions. We eventually had to flee.

As soon as the conflict began, I attempted to discretely alert my three potential friends by calling out "Mareth, move out of the doorway!" The name "Mareth" was intended for Yavin and the sergeant, who both knew the Great One. "Move out of the doorway" was intended for Yavin and the Xolmeth, who had previously heard me shout that when we were engaging the gypsies. Unfortunately, my message and voice didn't seem to elicit a response.

I shouted out more and more blatant messages as the skirmish continued. It eventually boiled down to making it sound as if they were actually on our side to at least create some confusion in the Keepers even if the three didn't switch sides.

As far as I know, neither Yavin or the sergeant honored my appeals. Fortunately, it wasn't an entirely fruitless ploy. Some of the Keepers were at least temporarily swayed to consider the sergeant an enemy and the Xolmeth did finally join me when I announced that Leopold may be a Lyth.

## Failure or Success?

Near the end of the battle, I decided to try and get a few of the Keepers to pursue me so that Todd and the Xolmeth, who were near me at the time, could make a strategic escape. Prior to creating the diversion, I asked the Xolmeth to try to help two of the fallen People of the Ash; one of them was Fray. I hope they managed to escape; we'll need every able warrior we have if this does result in an attempt to assassinate Leopold.

The Keepers did manage to scatter us, but I don't think that they'll be in a position to take the ship. They suffered enormous casualties and didn't seem overly interested in pursuing us. The sergeant instead ordered them to allow us to flee and take care of the wounded. I hope that they'll find themselves unable to continue.

I only know of two casualties among the People of the Ash and those were the two that I asked the Xolmeth to assist. I hope that he was able to help at least one of them; otherwise, I'm not sure that he'll know how to find us. I, on the other hand, plan on heading to the ship.

## New Possibilities

I remember seeing the Xolmeth tossed overboard when we were still on the ship. I believe that he was the first one lost. Yet, he managed to make it to the island with most of his armor. That means that there may have been a number of other survivors, including his squire.

The Xolmeth's squire and Yavin both have demonstrated magical abilities in my presence. Did Yavin reveal his to the Keepers? If so, why was he not killed? Skaihl said that Great Ones are killed by Leopold. This presumably applies to anyone with magic.

A number of the Keepers also witnessed me making exchanges with various people on the battlefield. At least two of them heard the sergeant ask me if "the boy in gray" is alive. Believing that my answer would sway him to our side, I foolishly replied "yes." Instead, I may have indirectly told Leopold that we have an apprentice Great One among the People of the Ash. It wasn't worth the risk. I may have inadvertently provoked Leopold to attack the village.

The Keepers also witnessed me confess to Todd that I didn't actually know if my former three acquaintances were actually on our side. Todd had asked me to explain what was happening so I quickly explained my actions as I moved to help him fight off three advancing Keepers. I believe that at least one of those three survived.

I didn't expect the Xolmeth to switch sides. I'm very surprised that he was swayed by merely invoking the word "Lyth" and attributing it to Leopold. I've heard that Xolmeth are on some sort of crusade to eliminate them, but it still seems peculiar that he'd so quickly trust me. Did he already suspect Leopold or is he just a mindless puppet of his religion? I must hear the Xolmeth's story.

Yavin is the one that I did expect to be swayed. We had already fought and worked alongside together beyond just the fight with the gypsies. Perhaps that bond was terminated when I slit the throat of the gypsy. Perhaps he has already formed a greater bond with or allegiance to these Keepers. Or perhaps there never was a bond. I wonder if he has any loyalty to Vera… she's far more noble than me and Yavin seems to be one of that type.