Swan King Lore Event

The night air was charged. The impending fight was nearing and everyone could feel it. Cassius would be leaving with a small party of aphex to search the forest for any signs of the Queen. They had been lead to believe she resided somewhere deep in its depths given the pull of the amulet. The other three aphex coming along were each specialized in their own area, Cassius mostly acting as their guard, but also as the King’s most trusted member of the party. The first aphex to join him at the main gates was a green aphex with small wings on their hips. This aphex had amazing tracking skills and would serve as a survival expert in the forest if they needed more materials or ran out of supplies. This aphex went by the name of Moss. Second was the aphex Cerulean. Very arrogant in nature, Cerulean was an expert in all artifacts and trinkets you could imagine. With this extensive knowledge of these items, it would be easy to discover the general direction the amulet pointed them in. Their long peacock tail would be a problem, though, Cassius thought to himself. He was surprised to see that it was gone when Cerulean finally showed up, having molted it off for the season, leaving only a small tail of brown feathers. Lastly, a deep blue aphex named Yukiko arrived. Her survival skills were some of the best Cassius had known. She was excellent at trap making, camouflage, and hunting. She also was great at mapping via the stars, but that would be limited given they would be surrounded by trees. The sun had just set when the three set off on their journey. Yukiko got them to the forest’s edge with no issues. Leading them quickly into the trees for cover from the vast openness they’d just crossed. The brush was thick, with no pathway straight through from the area they’d entered. Cassius lead the way, closing his eyes and using his senses to guide them through the darkness. They entered a small clearing, taking a few minutes to get their bearings and for Yukiko to plot them a direction to head in. They were aiming for the center of the forest, for that’s where they were drawn to. There was a thick air about the forest. A mist swirled around their feet and magic seemed to seep from every living thing. It almost felt as magical as the Harrow, but Cassius could feel that this magic was much weaker than that of Arcade’s home. They took a moment to rest after plotting their path, and then returned to the darkness of the forest with Cassius in the lead. The darkness seemed to fade as the sun rose above the trees. Some areas filtered the sun through the branches but most sunlight never reached the forest floor. Each time they found a spot with sunlight, the three aphex would stop to soak up the rays for a minute or two, Cassius keeping watch as he could just eat if he was hungry. He considered the armor he was wearing. It was still comfortable and so close to his body he often forgot he was wearing it. None of the brush they’d been through had been caught up or stuck in the leather pieces or straps. They continued through the trees, coming to a place where the underbrush grew thick and streams trickled through. Each stream seemed to lead in one direction, all coming together in a large pool. The pool seemed to glow from below, illuminating the lilies and lily pads that crossed their path. Firebugs flittered through the sky, green and blue lights twinkling on and off in the dimly lit area. A statue stood near the center, beautifully carved in the likeness of the Swan Queen. Moss grew up and across the statue, missing it’s front left arm. The center of the chest is carved in a spiral pattern, similar to the pendant shown to them by the Swan King. Cassius wondered if there was some connection between the two. The party set up a small camp, taking their time to plot out locations of everything and make note of anything they thought to be important. Cassius walked the perimeter, keeping an eye out for anything or anyone he deemed suspicious. Once everything had been logged, they packed up everything and began to plot their path back out of the forest. They had to bring this information to the king as soon as possible. It had been almost three days of traveling in the forest itself already, and probably another three to make it back out. Cassius wanted to return to the castle to relay this new information quickly. The trek back was shorter than expected, the party having found a path that lead straight out of the forest from the pond. Crossing the open expanse of the plain again at night still set Cassius’s nerves on edge, but they were able to complete their mission and return back to the castle with no incidents. It was nice for a mission to go smoothly for once with no hiccups. The Swan King had retired for the night a while ago, so Cassius decided to sleep until he woke. Removing his new armor pieces, Cassius settled himself down into his comfy bed of pillows. Hopefully he’d be able to get a few hours of sleep in before the king woke.