Aftermath Revisited (Elliana Fairchild)
| Aftermath Revisited (Elliana Fairchild) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 25 January 2014 |
| Location: | Temple of Nightmares, Terra Majora |
| Synopsis: | The mysterious man from before now searches for the Lord of Nightmares, and stumbles across the scene of Elliana's crime. |
| Cast of Characters: | 92 |
| Tinyplot: | New Blood |
ONE WEEK AGO, IN THE TEMPLE OF NIGHTMARES
The torches sputter fitfully, but they do their job. The illumination is certainly strong enough... and then, as the small party steps through the ominously-broken doors, they find that the torches aren't needed. The lights are put out to allow the sunlight streaming through the hole in the ceiling to illuminate the large, intricate chamber. Or what is left of it.
"What happened here?" The question is asked by a lean, athletic woman with a series of long scars down her cheek. Well-armed and moving with fluid grace, the bulk of the party gives her a wide berth.
One of the frail-looking men in robes looks up from inspecting the shattered remnants of a golem. "It... it appears that there was a battle."
A firmer, clear voice rings out from the doorway, "I can see that for myself. The question is, what has become of the Lord of Nightmares?" The tall, youngish man stepping through causes everyone, including the dangerous woman, to snap up to attention. Even she swallows as the man picks his way through the strewn rubble, squatting down to look at an ancient bloodstain spattered over fading markings upon the stone floor.
"My Lord," the woman states softly. "The markings... the blood. They are old, but not nearly so old as the last Sealing. Two, perhaps three years at the most, I think." She scans the area, frowning. "It looks as if something went terribly wrong here."
The frail man who spoke earlier, the most experienced Binder in the group, also squat next to some of the markings. Most were destroyed, eroded by time or battle, but he could still make out a few. "This is... a variant of a Binding. Far more complex than any I am familiar with. Dangerous, from the look of it."
"Blood sacrifice," the dangerous man speaks calmly. "Someone tried blood sacrifice. But..." His eerie calm fades to a perplexed expression. "You are correct. Something went wrong here. The Lord of Nightmares is gone... yet we would have heard if he were running wild across the world. Something else ha-"
The man's voice stops as he hears a *SKRRTCH* noise under his boot. Everyone is silent, staring while the man kneels down, digging something out from the bottom of his boot. When he rises, he's holding something tiny... a small cylinder, smaller than his pinkie in width, apparently made of brass. He stares at it for several long seconds.
Finally, he turns. "Marisa. Locate the next Shajem in the list. It seems we have offworld interference." He holds up the cylinder. "Find me a diviner. If we find what weapon used this, we will find our Lord of Nightmares, I think."
