The Old Lantern

As the elf runs away on all fours scratching himself for fleas. As the door shuts behind him Rolf can't help but whole heatedly agree with Captios. "Dude has got to be missing a few cards in his deck. You're right Cap; he is as likely to be a hindrance as a boon."
Drinking the rest of his drink; Rolf motions for a refill.
"So, everyone, that guy knew more than he really should. We might want to keep up a higher guard. Do we have some short term plans?"
Syn lets out a small chuckle into her tankard as she takes a sip, placing it back down on the table. “Could be anyone we’ve come across on our travels that caught wind of the things we’ve done. Probably just someone trying to fuck with us, but them knowing about Ford? … We’ve been out in the wilderness that whole time so who knows. You’re right in that sense to keep our guard.” A small nod as she leans back and closes her eyes for a moment before opening them again to look across the party at the table. “Short-term is getting the hell out of here once we talk with Clemens. Slightly longer term would be making our way to the forges….without a sense of how to even get there.” Syn lets out a heavy sigh and leans forward to depressingly bang her head down onto the table, rattling the cups.“Dammit, no offence to any of you but I don’t have a clue on where to go from there. Alexa was the one that made those calls. I just beat the shit out of things on the way.”
She rolls her head to the side so her cheek rests against the table and red eyes peer up to the others. “Can’t you ask your dragon dad to help us out, Rolf? Or something in your fancy book, Captios?”
"Don't worry about it so much Syn. It's not like any of us have the information we need. Hell you've survived so many horrific encounters. You're a survivor Syn and that's what we need; To survive. As long as we are all alive we can always keep pushing forward and enact change."
Rolf thinks back fondly of his bolsterous and adventurous dragon Dad Lancyte. He could use his advice and some guidance on his abilities. Maybe even a quick training lesson. Though Rolf feels faster on his feet and heartier than when he first left home only a few months ago.
"I wish I could talk to Lancyte. I have a lot of questions about being his Vassal. I'd even like a few pointers on using my power better. Maybe you could help me Captios by trying to send him a magical message?"
Rolf let's out a exacerbated sigh. He wishes Lancyte gave him some way to keep in contact easier.
"Even if we can't reach him having the book provide us with more information would be very smart."
Captios furls his brow, thinking hard for a second. "The defenses around New Haven are Paulo's which gives me comfort." The loss of a mentor still affects Captios greatly. "Given that it's so late, I don't think it hurts to tell Lancyte where we are. I can send a short message to him and have him respond. No sweat on my end. In terms of getting more information, Paulo left me this book for a reason. We might as well use it. What are you thinking we should look up? And what do you want to send Lancyte?" Rolf Maximilian Sievert11/17/2020 A hint of excitement flutters into Rolfs mind. Hopefully he will be able to see Lancyte soon.
"Yeah let's send him Lancyte a message. Hmm how about..."
Rolf starts thinking of the limited amount able to be sent. His deeds and successes would have to wait. He would need to lead with a small explanation of who it is. Leading with a hook might be a solid idea. Should probably let him know our location too. Rolf starts to construct the perfect message to get Lancyte to come meet.
"How about this:
It's Captios and Rolf. Have a lead on the greatest adventure ever. Reth Released by Jacob Whyte. Currently in New Havens' Old Lantern. Assistance requested.
Does that seem acceptable Captios?"
Rolf ponders over the first question...
"I'm also not exactly sure what to ask the book. We could ask it for information on and the location of the dawnforges. That would probably lead to the most direct answer. Do you have any ideas Syn?"
"Yea that seems acceptable. Let's send this sooner rather than later. Hopefully he bites!" Captios waits for the word to go before sending the message.
A huff of air at the mention of Rolf wanting a training lesson from Lancyte. A moment of post-traumatic stress disorder sinks through her chest as she reflects on the lightning bolt that struck her down. “I second that idea of a training lesson.” She looks up at him with a smirk. Syn lifts her head from the table as they discuss reaching out to the dragon himself. “I particularly like the ‘greatest adventure ever’ part. Really puts a nice bow on the whole almost dying literally everywhere we go thing that seems to keep happening. Jokes aside, seems like a good enough message to me. I say go for it.”
She tosses them both a reassuring nod and promptly slams her head back down on the table. “To say I am tired is an understatement. I don’t even know where to begin with the topics we’ve been brushing aside the past few days, but yes, Reth is clearly out because of Jacob Whyte and Celestials are being major dicks. I gotta be honest, It’s not looking very good right now you guys. That’s saying a lot, I’ve lived through Avernus.”
She shuts her eyes as she listens to them converse some more before chiming in again. “The location would help tremendously, and maybe if your dragon dad actually shows up, he can fly us all there. I wish I could be of more help for the location, but Paulo teleported us there and we ended up inside the forge. We never saw the surrounding area. I just remember the…” She pauses to think with her eyes still closed. “Aquarius…? That sounds right, lots of books and stuff in there, you would like it Captios. It reminds me of your fancy book but this place was a whole library with tons and tons of books about everything you could imagine… And annoying clockwork owls that offered me tea.”
Captios closes his eyes as he sends a message off to Lancyte. "It's Captios and Rolf. Have a lead on the greatest adventure ever. Reth Released by Jacob Whyte. Currently in New Havens' Old Lantern. Assistance requested."
As he waits for a response, Captios looks over to Syn. "How are you doing Syn? With everything that's happened in the past 24 hours, I'm surprised you are still holding it together. To be honest, you are right, we're in a really shitty situation. We can't really go up against Celestials without reinforcements. We would most likely get eaten alive going head to head, even with you and Ozy. If Jacob released Reth it means he has a means to control Reth which means he's definitely way more powerful than we thought going in."
"Given what I know of the Celestials from reading his rare book collection, thanks Syn for carrying a bunch of those books, we've got to convert some of them to our cause. The ones that have the people's best interest at heart. Given that Pangur is still with me, it means Pisces is on the side of humans which is a plus. Where the rest of the Celestials align is as good a guess as any, but I imagine based on what they represent, most can be swayed to our cause. It'll be easier to do if we can get a hold of their books. It's like their central nervous system. I imagine those are at the forges, and unfortunately, Jacob's books don't talk much about where they are, more about what they are."
Excited that the message was sent successfully Rolfs spirits lifted higher. While his family might aknowledge that he could be in danger; he wonders if they ever cared deeper than superficial familial bonds.
"I do hope you're doing alright Syn"
Rolf chimes in with a sympathetic tone. The splitting of the party and the non stop action has not left time for proper grieving.
"I hope you know that despite the lack of length for our relationship; I trust you. You've saved me more time than I can count. I'm going to rely on you and I hope you learn to rely on me."
This small group feels more like an inclusive family than Rolf has ever really had.
Listening to Captios' sound logic and reasoning; Rolf can't help to agree. We need some reinforcements and the path would be difficult. As Captios ends his explanation on the controlling factor of their books a question comes to the front of Rolfs mind.
"Hey Captios how many Celestials are there and what do they represent?"
What seems like a common question actual has greater depth. It wasn't more than a few months ago that all this would be viewed as a bad children's story that a parent might tell their child in an effort to correct behavior.
Rolf let's out a sigh...sadly an act he is becoming accustomed to.
"I'm not really knowledgeable on the subject. Maybe if we were able to isolate and pick out an individual we could start to formulate a concrete plan..."
With her head laying down on the worn tavern table, she listens to Captios send out a message to Lancyte. Her hand extends out to play with a fork sitting beside a plate of various cheeses. She thinks back on Solus’ and Alexa’s faces and their words spoken before leaving. For a moment, her reflection in its silver handle stares back, the blurred figure of herself with infernal horns rising from her head takes her to an old memory where a fork found its place into the neck of a particular Devil that sits not far from the party.
I don’t want to be a house cat, but being a lion means everything I love disappears.
She thinks to herself in the moment before twirling the fork across her thumb and slamming it down into the wood. The prongs strike through the oak and leave the fork standing upright. “I’m fine.” She replies to Captios and Rolf.
A lie
“Jacob Whyte has always been several steps ahead of everyone else. I know this; Ozy knows this. It’s extremely frustrating, and I look forward to the day all that comes crumbling down, but in a world where running in blindly to get killed and no real understanding of what’s going on with people dying, everything feels so much cautious than before. It really irks me, but I accept the fact that we need reinforcements. Where we place those reinforcements is another thing, but your idea seems solid enough, Captios.
There is a pause for a moment, rolling her head slightly to look back up to the others once more. “I hope you both are doing okay. I suppose that sounds lackluster coming from me, but we’ve fought together for a bit now, so it’s only fair I ask the same. I can’t have you two breaking down in the middle of a battle against Celestials.” She smirks.