Cobal looked over at Mana, who was enthralled by the story. She talked about liking this kind of stuff earlier and he could see in her eyes that this came from a place of nostalgia. Cobal smiled as he watched her before turning his attention back to the storyteller as well. He’d taken a short pause, sipping on his drink while he looked over the crow that had come to listen to him. He put the drink down and continued his story.
“There’s something you need to understand about Algaror. Although the stories told about it are nothing more than rumors, the rumors themselves are consistent. It existed a long time ago, before us humans moved to this continent. It was home to a cat-like people, similar to some of the wild touched you’ll find on the eastern side of the continent.” He must have picked up on the confusion in some parts of the crowd, or perhaps this wasn’t the first time he told this story because he quickly added “the wild touched a druidic tribe that can change into animals. They often start to exhibit some of the characteristics of the animals they change into like ears, tails, hair and feathers. The people that lived in Algaror were similar but had a different origin. The city itself was large although I suspect most of it was still hidden under the desert sand. This desert wasn’t there when Algaror flourished, mind you. We believe the ground was much more arable at some point. The oasis we found was likely once a much larger lake, seeing as a lot of the area directly around it was devoid of buildings. Whatever turned this place into the dried out desert that it is now did a real number on the remains of the city. But after exploring a little bit and setting up camp next to the oasis, we quickly started noticing that something was off. At night, it felt like something was watching us. During the day some of the mercenaries that were with us started reporting that they saw something from the corner of their eyes or they heard a strange sound that they couldn’t place. We never found out what that was all about, but we did make an eerie discovery. You see, there was a tower on the far edge of this city. It took us a bit to find it because most of it was still under the sand. And although all the other buildings were made out of mainly bricks and some wood, this building was sculpted entirely out of bone.”
Cobal immediately looked at Eliana when the storyteller mentioned this. Eliana, who had been listening but not as intently as the other two had gone completely pale.
“We were scared to go near it at first, but eventually some of the braver mercenaries descended into this strange bone tower. We never saw them again.” Marvus paused his story for a little bit, testing how the crowd would respond to it. It was still quiet. “After we realized there was something dangerous about this tower, we decided to go back to the king and report. This was either a big mistake or a choice that saved our lives as when we returned to the ruins a few weeks later, with a small army to back us up, they had completely disappeared.” Marvus chuckled. “The king was really eager to throw us all in jail for lying to him, but we managed to calm him down. Fellow by the name of Rodred Farsep convinced him. The silver tongue on that man was incredible. As a storyteller it makes me jealous to think someone has such a way with words. Needless to say, we didn’t get paid for our failure of an adventure, but I got a great story out of it, so I’m not complaining.” He took a deep breath. “Ladies, gentlemen and others, I have been Marvus Greyvane and I do hope you enjoyed tonight’s show. If you did, make sure to leave a tip at the front of the stage and enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Cobal saw Eliana get up in the corner of his eyes. “Where are you going?” He asked. Her knuckles were completely white from clenching her fist. “I’m going to hold him upside down and shake everything he knows out of him.”
“Let’s take a moment to calm down. We’ll go down there and see if we can’t get a moment of his time.” he put his hand on Eliana’s shoulder. “No need to start with the shaking down part, we can always move on to that later.”
She let out a deep sigh and took a few deep breaths. “Fine.”
Cobal motioned at Mana to come with them and they quickly made their way down the stairs and out of the inn. The crowd was slowly dispersing and they could slip through and make their way close to the stage. Cobal saw Marvus standing with another person, both drinking next to a table. As they approached a young guard stepped forward. “Apologies, but you’re not supposed to be back here,” he said to them. Eliana grabbed his shoulder and Cobal felt bad for the poor boy as he got promptly and unceremoniously pushed to the side.
“You, storyteller, a word.”
“What is the meaning of this,” the other person next to Marvus said but Marvus made a motion with his hand and the other man quieted down.
“What can I help you with?”
“The bone tower.”
“Fascinating, isn’t it?”
“Did you really see it?”
Marvus’ eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask?”
“I saw a bone ship in the middle of the forest, many years ago. I need to know more about this.”
Marvus’ eyes went wide. He seemed to think for a moment before nodding. “Follow me,” he said. He finished his drink and put down the stein. “Cavres, I’ll be back later.”
The other man nodded and the trio followed Marvus away from the square. Two streets further he took out some keys and opened the door to a small home. He put down his bag and his other stuff and pulled out a chair. He motioned the other three to do the same. “You said you saw a bone structure in a strange place as well?”
Eliana nodded.
“Tell me what you saw.” Marvus took out a quill and ink. “Any details that stood out are welcome.”
Eliana hesitated but then told Marvus everything she’d told Mana and Cobal a few days ago. She talked about the strange bone ship they found in the forest and how members of her traveling party disappeared and were found dead mysteriously. Marvus asked for a few details, like how porous the bone was, if it looked like it was shaped or like it grew that way. Eliana recounted how it seemed like none of it was built. If it was built – which was very possible – it was done so in ways that weren’t common now. After Eliana stopped talking Marvus kept writing for a little while, quiet filling the small room. Eventually he put his quill down and looked up. “This is the third of these structures I’ve come across now.”
“There’s more?” Mana asked.
“I’m sorry, I got so distracted by the topic you brought up, I forgot to ask your names.”
They all introduced themselves. “Well, Eliana, Mana and Cobal, after I encountered the bone tower in the ruined city of Algaror, I became interested in what it could mean. Sort of a morbid curiosity so to speak. So I did some research and learned about another one. I will say that I haven’t seen it in person, so I don’t know if it truly exists, but I heard a story about a tree made completely out of bone. If we include the ship you mentioned, that’s three now. This really makes me wonder how many more of these structures could be out there, and what they could be.” Cobal didn’t miss the grin that had appeared on the man’s face, made more ominous by the candlelight on the table. “Where did you find this ship?”
“I don’t remember where exactly, but a few days to the east of Tas’Irkan, a village in the Feral Wildlands.”
Marvus scratched his chin. “The tree was also supposedly in the Wildlands, but with how vast the unexplored region is, that isn’t saying much.”
“So what do you think these things are?” Cobal asked the storyteller.
He shrugged. “I have no idea if I’m perfectly honest. They creep me out. Despite that I have a morbid fascination with them. I want to learn more about them and if you ever encounter one again I’d love to hear about it.” He looked them over. “Assuming you survive of course, I don’t recommend getting too close to these things without a plan.”
Eliana nodded. “I’ve already learned that lesson, unfortunately.”
“Aye, I can relate.” He stood up and dragged a chest from under a nearby chair. He opened the clasps and revealed that it was full of papers. He rummaged through it for a few minutes, silence filling the small room, before he took out a piece of paper. “This is a copy of the report that we submitted to the king back then about this structure.” He handed it to Eliana. “I hope it can maybe give you some insight into what you saw in the wildlands that day.”
Eliana nodded and opened it up.
His Majesty King Hasbith,
As requested we have gone and visited the ruined city of Algaror.
I am hesitant to report that not only did we fail to find the treasure that is rumored to be hidden here, but we have also encountered an eerie problem during our expedition. At the center of this ruined city we found a structure made out of bone. It looked like a tower of sorts and although the structure seemed to be completely intact, we didn’t spot any other materials or things within it. It almost seemed like the bone was the foundation of a building and something else was used to complete it, but had been removed or destroyed as time went on. When we sent a handful of men into the tower to investigate the parts of it that were still hidden under the sand, we never saw them again. We sent in a second search party to find the men but we lost contact with them as well. Regrettably, we decided to call the mission a failure and we are on our way back to the capital. We hope you understand our decision and await your further instructions.
Rodred Farsep.
Eliana read the note out loud so that Mana and Cobal could hear it as well. When she finished reading it, she closed it and handed it back to Marvus. “This does sound similar to the discovery that we made that day. A bone structure with no real signs of other materials anywhere in a place where it felt like it stood out. People who went in to explore vanished and it seemed like it was doing strange things to those of us who stayed in the vicinity as well. I’m confident that they’re similar phenomena, which worries me. If there’s knowledge of three of these structures, I wonder how many more there could be out there.” She stared at the fire burning in the corner. Cobal could see fear in her eyes. The fierce pirate that wasn’t scared of anyone would fall into this state of vulnerability whenever she spoke about this event in her past. Cobal understood it though. Watching a bunch of your friends die with absolutely no explanation for how or what just happened had to be absolutely mortifying. It was impressive that she could even talk about it at all.
After staring at the fire for a few moments Eliana stood up. “Well, we shouldn’t take up much more of your time I suppose.” She reached out her hand and Marvus shook it. “It was a pleasure meeting you, and if you find out anything else about this, please contact me.”
Eliana nodded. “I promise I will, and you do the same.”
After waving goodbye to the storyteller, the trio went back to the Phantom Homestead for the night.
Opal Kaharis 