Sunset: 1830
- 1180 Prelate (Countess) Ferris V coronated in Prelacy of Almor
06 Erndalar 1210
Crystal Springs, County of Urnst
According to plan, we rode early from Doselford on the 3rd day of Erndalar. Apart from noting that Sergeant Nyra served as our navigator through the thick forests (though I know not how she did it; I couldn’t make head or tail of the direction at all!), there is so little to tell of our journey – even the Lieutenant has seemingly overcome her odd behavior – that I have made no updates for some time. Today, however, is well worthy of noting for posterity, and not just for the soreness of our feet or the size of our blisters!
We began the day following the Franz River toward its headwater, the Crystal Spring itself. A half day’s walk from the headwaters, the river has an odd bright blue tinge to it. We were initially at a loss to explain this remarkable color, though as we proceeded upstream, we found the explanation. The ground here is remarkably broken and hilly, like a washboard in huge scale, each valley hiding the view of everything but the next summit. From one of these valleys, we could see a blue glow over the hills. Our guide says it is the corruption of the demons of the hills, but none of us could make any sense of that statement, and so discounted it. One thing is certain though – we definitely began to feel progressively more nervous and uneasy the closer we got to the source.
When we crested one hill, we finally found an explanation for the blue water and the blue glow, and we were stunned. Below us, the valley floor was covered with crystals, some more than 10 feet tall; each one a brilliant blue. We were forced to climb over and among them to reach the headwater of the stream – which at the point it comes out of the ground, at the base of a particularly large crystal, is actually hot to the touch! It is a decidedly odd place; besides the hot stream, the general atmosphere, for reasons we are still unable to understand had us all feeling increasingly tired, sweaty, and very uneasy the longer we remained in proximity to the crystals.
Eager to find our way underground (which apparently is where the missing Mayor went), we sought, and ultimately found, a cave entrance. It was tiny, forcing us to squeeze through one at a time (a particulary disconcerting process for the huge bulk of Shasivin!), though eventually we gained entrance to a sizeable cavern. All of us except for our superstitious guide, that is, who refused to set foot underground.
Through a large hole in the cavern’s floor (thanks to the blue glowing crystals) we could see, some 20 feet below us, an even larger cavern. A quick climb down a rope brought us all to an absolutely huge cavern – it must have been hundreds of feet to a side, and simply littered with the glowing blue crystals. Standing in the middle of this impressive expanse are a large pool of water and a geyser! Unfortunately half an hour’s searching quickly proved that there is no other way in or out of this cavern. If the missing Mayor came here, he must have left by way of the hole in the ceiling.
I thought we would leave at that point, but I was wrong; instead, I bore witness to a most unusual ceremony involving Sulius, Clio, and Firena. I will not describe it in detail, but suffice to say, the presence of Demeter was felt strongly, as well as being visible in a white glow from Sulius and Firena that could not be explained away as a reflection from the crystals. Basically, Firena offered the Temple the water transportation deal, in exchange for Firena’s being (and here I quote), “cleansed of iniquity”. I was not initially sure what that meant, but following later conversation with our leader, I now know it was a ritual designed to rid her of Wolsig’s presence. Time will tell if it was successful.
Following the ceremony, we had a good look around for signs of the missing Mayor of Doselford, but there were none. With no clues as to his presence, or the reason for his disappearance, the Lieutenant made the decision to vacate the cavern and continue on our journey.