Your Mysteries in Progress

This document is meant to collate the various mysteries and facts about them you are uncovering. Connections will be emphasized, and this document will be updated regularly depending where you stand. More over the table, I plan to have this be a halfway point between details you slowly accumulate and more polished lore documents I intend to 'make public' when you basically have the details ironed out, collated, and some semblance of where they fit in some grander scheme to things. This will be at my discretion. I will tell you there's a new link to play with in the 'Ancient Secrets' tab and the relevant smaller details will get deleted from here.

Crystals, Orbs, Powders

Haunting Substances of Strong Magic?

• Glass-like orbs or bulbs found in ancient cave dungeon west of Mountport proper. They are hot to the touch, but not scalding.
• Those that are empty have thus far appeared in a network of three, connected with strong tethers of magical cord, white in color.
• One so far has contained a crystal, jade green in color and glowing with extremely prominent magic. Too prominent to make out. It was anchored to the inside surface of the bulb with the same white tethers. It is unclear how the crystal got in, as the bulb lacks a seam or lid-like mechanism.
• Crystal has some sort of effect of value deep in Fisk's psyche.
• Crystals also found as last remnant body of would-be Kelzyr assassin. Crystals that seem to slowly turn into a cerulean powder that defies material walls to return to the earth.
• Process of decay into powder in assassin's case only tangentially linked to Vaer'Thalas processes.
• In the second cave, you have seen an instance of an orb that is half melted next to a block of ice of similar status. The orbs are typically warm, and the ice is not. Their container does not seem to have inherent refrigeration properties.

Killers, Strange Camp, Tattoo

A Faction of Some Kind?

• Assassin at Kelzyr fight, shouts "Die, you foul project!" and throws knife. Efforts from Haneastacia and mysterious Bard associate ensure the throw misses its target.
• Assassin immune to enchantment, but able to be magically restrained.
• Dispatched with some great effort, though uses magic and a mysterious cerulean powder stored in a pendant they wore to end their own life rather than be captured or killed by the party.
• Bard Ver Rismol associate claims investigation further is not worth it, offers to take burden of body off party and city hands. Storms away and tells party if they will live to regret further investigation not to blame her for it. She tried to dissuade them.
• Body carted to Eldath temple, placed in capable hands of Mitchell Csatlos (Cousin in Eldath), Barin of Whayleave (Paladin), Feoria (Head of Her Green Grace's Medicines), and Salvatore (Temple Initiate). Despite the good care and attention for last rites and a thorough investigation, the body crumbles to glowing crystal and powder.
• The crystals teem with magic that is disorienting to Feoria.
• The body bears no evidence of ever having a soul, which is odd. Only other autopsy finding before severe crystal-and-powder decay a tattoo on the back of the neck, proclaiming belonging to a "strange camp" of some sort. Unclear what this means or who they might be, even after Tina asks sixty other islands worth of officials.

The Rismol Story

What's Out There?

• More than two hundred years ago Ver and Jennevere Rismol set sail for the Lyndrake Expanse in hope to spend their thirtieth wedding anniversary on a great adventure alone together.
• They found a villain with a plot of magnitude in progress. They elected to forfeit the battle after gaining the upper hand, instead conversing with this villain, receiving lavish gifts, including a tamed Vaer'thalas beast, and swearing off their opposition to the end of the known world.
• They have since lived a simple life, albeit one of great privilege and a curious sort of fame. They await the world's end together, and will stay side by side until there is no world left to stay side by side in.
• Looking for some income and trying to bust some boredom, Ver Rismol eventually settled on the V.R. persona she invented up in the hopes of gaining fame for writing about her original Lyndrake Expanse voyage. But, fearing that 'What's Out There' might not appreciate such authorship very much, kept things rather strictly hidden.
• They have seen the same caves that trouble you, especially Fisk, but claim to have little worth saying for the sake of the souls of everyone involved. Similar is said for the 'Strange Camp' assassin when Kelzyr asks them about the subject.