Research (Date 1/7/8)

Lexington stared at the ledgers for hours. There was nothing to find! Why had General Regar thought this book was significant? It was just a bunch of inventory reports and manpower schedules. Sure, it mentioned the people of Malwan working side-by-side with the elves, but that was common knowledge. There was nothing new here, nothing even remotely interesting, let alone anything which would cause the General to pale and grow silent.

“Why do you keep skipping that part?” Giada asked.

Euwyn poured over the tome, focusing hard to move from word to word with deliberation. He had no idea what Lexington was trying to show him, but he was happy for the distraction. His own research into Narlock’s journal was proving largely fruitless and a bit disquieting – the implications it contained about his bloodline could well rock the kingdom to its foundation. Better to work on what Giada and Lex had brought—

“See!” Lexington cut into his meditation. “You just skipped it. Man that’s weird,” he said to Giada. “Was I doing that?”

Marty prayed, opening his mind to the power of Strom. Since attaining access to the second tier of power, he had found it helpful to keep a portion of his grace… “unspecified” for just such situations. Euwyn wanted a spell to ward against enchantments… Well sure, there was one, it was just a matter of preparing his mind properly. CLICK!

“Okay,” he said as his mind settled. “I’m ready. Let’s try this…”

Justice waited in the crowd that was milling in the outer halls. The General’s health had long been in question, but this was the first time the whispers had risen above rumor. General Regar was in a coma, and the court was buzzing with concern and conjecture. It wasn’t long before the Prince arrived with his entourage. Justice hadn’t spoken to the Prince since his return from the frontier. He approached.

“What’s the word, my liege?” he asked.

While Marty prepared a spell to hopefully heal the General, the others exchanged their stories. The fort rehab was going well, the tree that broke the wall having been obliterated by a mysterious bolt of lightning. Narlock vanished in the northern hills seeking answers from the Sky Tower of the Ancients. The forest fort was built to block a powerful gate to the fey realm. And, a monster was stalking the lands near the lumberyard. So many worthy avenues to investigate…

Once the General regained consciousness, the group set off to deal with the giant.