Duskpetals

And so we were, underneath the earth once again digging the innocent out from the bowels of the depths.
 

 
I took the north path to explore, finding books written in goblin and several enchanted swords. Lily was able to pick them up -- even though I could not.
 
Nearby, Venrick was investigating more books and furniture with the same strange symbol that I had seen earlier, on the shoulders of the now-dead goblins. "Terran!" I heard him exclaim, though the excitement was shortlived.
 
Upon return, I got a look: it reminded me so much of the Earth Scion. "I have heard of this, the Dweller Below. The goblins must have paid tithe to it, why they travelled underground, so that they would survive the journey." There was a fear there, a mote of angst that I could not place.
 
Lily returned, swords in hand. After investigation by the group, it seemed that I was only one who couldn't hold the sword. It shocked me, and no one else.
 
She also asked about the goblin books: one of them was filled with pictures of goblins burying humans alive.
 


 
Venrick swept the space I had explored, finding this time a map of the areas surrounding Erta. Using it, we reasoned there were more spaces like this, with goblins or other worshippers of the Dweller Beneath.
 
 

Words Passed in Twilight

We returned to Erta, and brought the injured (whom we had rescued) to the temple.
 
They asked that we put our light out. I frowned, but complied, as they were closing a religious service foreign to me.
 
"Praise be to the Lonely." (link)
 
When asked, Thorek, Tiberius, and I identified ourselves as the religious of our group. Priest Orish offered us money (part of the collection).
 

Why languish in darkness, when you can experience the radiance of the light?

— Book of Psalms 3:61

 
The service was in complete darkness, so I took my leave. Curie was outside, staring at the night sky. When I mentioned that these constellations were foreign to me, she was pleasantly excited to share her knowledge -- following along with the stars adorning her body.
 
Inside, Thorek and Tiberius accepted a gift: a soulseed, a fragment now attached to Thorek's spirit, of shadowsmith. "With it, forge those things you require from the darkness, the shadow itself."
 
We spent the rest of the night talking under the starry sky, about our pasts and what we missed.
 
As I led the tired ones home, one of the "lonely" intercepted me. He asked about the Radiant, and I told him what I could.
 
"Would you welcome me into the fold?"
 
Shocked, I nodded yes. "There is always space at the table."
 
He insisted on a name, and I panicked. "Spakos," I decided, the small town near Northreach Pine where I first travelled to as a new Radiant with dad and father.
 
And what should I call you? Light as my witness -- "Call me Warden."
 
I am so fucked.
 


 
Later, I realized my error: Spakos was the first Occultist, a human from the heat-drenched deserts from the far south. He had traveled the farthest to the Gold Coast, and I knew his name from the town of Spakos that was named after him -- its founding a few generations before my existence. As the Occultist, he was in charge of ritual and magic for the first iteration. After Adjucator Yowlah died and was succeeded by Adjucator Param Shah I, Param Shah II took the title of Occultist at Spakos' passing -- changing it to Hierarch as we know today, in charge of the House of the Commune.
 


 
Rick spoke to Tiberius, who featured a similar story with one of the rescued "lonely." They laughed, and agreed, and called it a night.
 
Now it was Curie's turn to intercept him: she wanted to speak with Rick. While at university, she secured a grant through Duncan (the one who exiled us to Erta). Part of her research led Curie to a small town with ruins, and with hirelings was able to delve deep within. "There, I found my familiar," she explained. Her research led her deeper into her familiar's history, and knowledge. "The Way," it told her, and she fearfully embraced it.
 
She continued: Curie is able to tap into the memories of her ancestors, whom are signified by constellations, in a way.
 
As she spoke, it dawned on me that Curie could be closer to my conrasu ancestry than I am -- that she has a connection to the conrasu in a way that I do not understand. From the way Curie spoke, she held much respect and much grace to that connection. And for that, I offered her the rite of communion, and in the way that I could I offered her an honorary title of conrasu. I do not know if that was within my power, but it felt right. I would beseech the Light later on this, and pray that my intuition was right.
 


 

Dwelling More

Most of us were silent on the walk; agreed on our goal but silent nonetheless. I found it easiest to focus on the task at hand -- like Caides would instruct -- and to let the problems for later lie sleeping.
 
Lily led us through this patch of woods, and very quickly we became lost. The woods themselves were playing tricks on us, and we were being made fools of.
 

 
We walked for nearly a half hour before we stopped to think on it. I tried my inner sight, unsure of how to proceed. Some of the trees gave off a feeling of whimsy -- a vague sound of music that I could not place [emotionally] -- and I followed those.
 
Eventually, the music of the woods led us to a house, and a great tent in a clearing. The house contained little of note, outside a book titled THE ENDLESS. We trouped on, continuing to encircle the tent but never getting close enough to gain entry. Curie nearly took a wrong turn, but eventually we all made it to a wooden gate, with the bigtop tents behind it. The forest contained not one striped tent, but three.