Letters to Jo ((Closed))

The letters arrive in a sturdy leather folder bearing the seal of the Argent Crusade. Both are written in a very cramped but neat handwriting. 

Jo.

Orzka and I were called to duty abruptly when Argus came, but things have settled for now and we made it to Venomspite. I waited at the road, but here is what she reported, translated from Orcish:

"I found Venomspite with fewer guards than usual and the others seemed on edge. I asked a few if they had any missing members. They immediately said that around fifteen guards have vanished, along with reports of another five travelers who had come from Agmar's Hammer to the west or from the Fjord."

"I asked after if there had been any activity in New Hearthglen. They said there was. Lights have been seen in the windows of chapels and houses that have been dark for some time. New banners have been seen on a few buildings as well, reported by travelers who flew past the town on their way to Venomspite. With such reduced numbers, they are unwilling to send guards into the town to investigate. I mentioned a group investigating disappearances of undead and they said they would assist if requested although they would only be able to offer two or three soldiers."

She says to write back if you have more questions.

Light's blessings,

John Havershook
12 August

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Pinned below the above letter is an earlier, longer one.

Jo.

It has taken a bit of experimenting, but Alex and I found a way of communicating via using cards with letters of the Common alphabet on them. It takes some time to arrange letters into words, so an explanation of this length took some time. I also don't believe this is a subject he likes to dwell on. 

In his words, though, is what happened:

"My patrol had flown towards the old vrykul ruins above Death's Rise to make sure they weren't being misused. There was a bad blizzard. Lost sight of everyone. When that happens, we call out and halt. I called. Heard something behind me, turned, and stepped in a rune cast under my feet. Frozen. I heard fighting behind. I think something attacked my patrol as a distraction. Had they been watching me?"

"A mage in winter armor and an archer in the same, both with the fire emblem, took me via teleport to the island. I was chained. I tried to fight. They put me in stocks."

"There were more at first. Ten undead portaled in. They looked like troopers. All chained. Me and four others had our hands removed. Their alchemist - you have his notebook - took my blood from my hands. He kept boiling it, I could smell it. They didn't think I spoke Common then, so they talked more in front of me."

"Alchemist told Mage that we would be 'remade by the order' and that we deserved our 'punishment' because we are undead. Full group name is Order of the Scarlet Fire. Some are former Scarlets, others joined more recently."

"They made something out of the Ichor of Undeath he got from my hands. I never saw it but Alchemist was excited. He pulled three undead to the station and did something to them. It sounded painful. They screamed a lot and told him to stop. They stopped screaming. Mage was summoned and I heard a teleport and did not see them again."

"Alchemist put the other no hands into a chest. She was sewn and nailed into it. The chest was placed in a rune of necromancy. It started moving after two weeks."

"The others had pieces removed. We were all beaten. There were Light users in and out. They burned one to death. The others went mad. Alchemist had them put in a cage to be strung up. They were lowered sometimes to be played with by Order."

"I was a test subject."

[John note: I didn't press. He's not ready to talk about it.]

"They cut out my tongue once they realized I understood and spoke Common. I could pass on what they do. They didn't want that."

"They saw you coming across the ocean on the boat. I heard them talking. Alchemist, two priests, Archer, and a different mage were there. The island was their backup, if another place was ransacked. They stacked up crates in the middle of the chapel and the other mage portaled them all out. We were abandoned to be killed, I think."

"Alchemist forgot his notebook. In it are experiment logs. He wrote things down."

"If you have more questions, I can answer then if I can."

"Thank you for rescuing me."

"Alex."

[And John.]
7 August