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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4714372" data-attributes="member: 3285">Sibling Rivalry: Part 8 – QuintusQuintus was locked away in a side closet with only the carved corpse of his assistant as company. “Easy,” whispered Ilmarė.  She put her hands on his forehead, calling to the spirits of the air to heal him. “Easy.”“What happened?”“The Voei…” whispered Quintus. “They took us alive…planned to present me as a sacrifice for the tribal chief.”“What…” Vlad looked down in horror. “What did they do to you?”“On the second night following the raid, I tried to escape with my assistant…”“The stories are true,” Sebastian said grimly.  “They really are cannibals.”“We were captured,” continued Quintus.  “As punishment they killed the assistant.  And then…and then…”Beldin looked away.“THEY ATE MY LEGS!”  Quintus trembling hands felt at the stumps that were once the top of his thighs.  “I’ll never walk again.”  His eyes were filled with tears.  He turned to Ilmarė.  “I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.”“Stupid human,” Ilmarė’s tone was soft, despite her harsh words. “Why are you apologizing?”“I can’t…be the man I was.”“None of that matters now.”Vlad kneeled down.  “Can’t you heal yourself?”“You don’t think I tried?” Quintus looked at his hands, caked in blood and dirt.  “Illiir has forsaken me!”“What?” asked Beldin in disbelief.  “Why?”Quintus licked his cracked lips.  “I was there. The Emperor accused Felician val’Mehan of conducting secret negotiations with the heretical priests of the Dark Triumvirate of Canceri. Calsestus branded the Patriarch a heretic and a traitor.  Then…it appeared…”“What appeared?”“A Valinor.  It was glorious, radiant, terrible…and it witnessed the Emperor stabbing the Patriarch through the heart.  Then it declared him Chosen of the Pantheon.  It said: Let none doubt that Calsestus’ will is the will of the Gods. Then they sent me on this mission.  It was suicide…they knew it.  My loyalties to the Emperor were in question.  And yet I had to go.  When my contubernium needed me most, my divine might failed.  And now they are all dead.”Vlad moved to get up but Quintus grabbed him by the collar. “I will not let this quest be in vain! While others foolishly searched for some sign in the valley below the Corlathians, only I was able to decipher the secret of the living ice. The ice has moved up and down the sides of the mountain, scouring it of all remains and artifacts; pushing downwards in times of intense cold and retreating upwards during warmer ages. Given the proof provided by the corpse of that grotesque goblin, I know that their final resting place is close at hand.” With that Quintus, pulled from beneath his tunic a golden emblem upon a gold chain. There, in the center of the gilded disk, was an inscription in Ancient Altharin.Ilmarė squinted at it. “It reads: Judgment tempered by mercy, fury tempered by clarity. It’s the credo of the inhabitants of the lost city of Chendo.”“I know where the Pride of Chendo lies!” Quintus’ eyes were wild, desperate. “The glacier did move the remains up the mountain range. We must move quickly!”The other stood up.  The proud legionnaire was still on the ground, helpless. “Let me help you,” Vlad lifted Quintus up.  “I can fashion a harness.  It’ll be just like Calactyte and Kham all over again.” He tried to make a joke, but nobody laughed.Ilmarė looked away from them as they set off again up the mountain.</blockquote>

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