The Belligerents #9

The Belligerents traveled through the jungle on their way to Ephemeraldion when they happened upon a grove of trees dripping with the black ichor they'd encountered numerous times already

Looking to gain further insight, Raithe introduced more of it to his blood. He was able to feel the trees saturated with the ichor, and when he touched one, his arm melded with the tree, grafting bark into his skin and leaving a fleshy hand behind on the tree

Brine the Baleful was very excited about this development and told Raithe he was part of a new order of creation, and this master would be thrilled about it

• Raithe could now commune with the voice that was simply an echo in his head previously, and it told him he was now a part of something greater than himself

The group arrived in Ephemeraldion, an ancient religious site with towering monoliths, overgrown temples, and ritual daises half submerged in the swamp surrounding it

• Around the area were built newer structures onto the very temples themselves, wooden scaffolding and domiciles built to house the new residents

One of those residents was a Firbolg named Glum, a generous and happy fellow who welcomed the group and helped explain the importance of the work happening there

• It was revealed Brine was in trouble with the Master for leaving, and Glum showed the Belligerents around while Brine spoke with the Master

• The group visited a beautiful art gallery in which a Tiefling named The Word was working on new painting, though they were incapable of complex speech, and their art was nothing more than splotchy splashes of paint on canvas, with an emphasis on the color yellow

  • Raithe made contact with his partner through his magical book, Mythranthar, who confirmed there was a group in Trine known as the Yellow Five who the Word may have had a run-in with

  • Before the group left the Word's studio, Raithe agreed to help the Word when asked, though it was not clear exactly what they wanted help with

The group arrived at the main temple and were greeted by a creature named Akaris, a large lizard bodied creature with six arms from various animals and species, no nose, and amber eyes

The Master of Ephemeraldion soon followed, a man by the name of Caster, who dismissed Akaris, his bodyguard, and greeted the Belligerents

• Caster was genial and polite but questioned whether Brine was loyal, going so far as to remove Brine's mouth to ensure the truth was spoken

  • The Belligerents lied to save Brine, claiming Brine was trying to carry out Caster's will out in the world

Caster claimed he would answer any questions the group had over dinner, and everyone headed off to a meal prepared by Glum