An Interview in Scarlet
81 Scion 1337 AE, Harvest Den - Lowland Shores
Janthir Syntri!
Finally an assignment befitting of my station.
Listening to these Kodan drawling on for an entire month has dulled my intellect.
You cannot get a straight answer from them.
I once asked directions to Haar Mire.
Instead, they spent the afternoon recounting an uninteresting old tale about valravns.
I’ve had enough of these oafs.
I’ve already read all the early survey reports.
The atmospheric readings are off the charts.
A Bloodstone! Now THAT’s why I joined the Priory.
However, I’ve been assigned the following bookahs as assistants: Arcanist Dobson and Novice Calypso.
All Dobson will do is take readings after readings. He’s blinded by numbers and never comes to any meaningful conclusion.
That Novice is like an annoying progeny. Always asking inane questions. No, worse than a progeny. At least the Colleges eventually straighten those ones out.
Bloodstone research is a delicate process. I cannot be distracted!
I’ll need to find a way to keep them occupied while I conduct my research.
Notes
- Acquire a Hemalitho-Sensor and Hematospectral Communicator
- Make even the ghost of Zinn jealous of my findings!
— Diary of Magister Vexx
Chronicler Jalinar ensured his equipment was properly calibrated then set the recorder down once more between himself and the sylvari. Looking outside the ruins sheltering them, he scanned the horizon for any wandering elementals or mistburned creatures that may disrupt their meeting. The coast was clear—for now—but the smell of ozone drifted in the air. He wanted to conduct this interview quickly before the weather turned. The second floor of the stone building he found himself in had long toppled over and lay in a pile beyond the the eastern wall. He only hoped the walls of the ground floor could withstand the wind and rain if it came to it. Brushing the thought aside he sat on the ground and spoke, “start from the beginning.”
The sylvari looked around nervously. “Isn’t it dangerous to do this here? When can I go on my next assignment?”
“You’re perfectly safe. We’ll discuss your next assignment once you’ve answered my questions, Novice Calypso.” Taking a notepad and pen from his bag, Jalinar started writing. “When you first arrived in Janthir Syntri, did you notice anything odd about Magister Vexx’s behaviour?”
“He was…distant. He gave us menial tasks. Move this. Take inventory. Survey the surroundings for threats. It was the same thing every day while he went out west on his own, only to return around sundown.” Calypso mindlessly plucked at the surrounding tuffs of overgrown grass as she talked. “He was avoiding us.”
“And Arcanist Dobson?”
“He didn’t mind. He was recording the ambient levels of bloodstone in the air, but his readings were off due to Seimur’s experimental bloodstone cooking. You should have seen his face when he realized what was happening.” A nervous chuckle escaped her lips. Her leafy hands began digging a small hole into the dirt between the cobblestones, occasionally plucking handfuls of soil and letting it sift through her fingers.
Seimur’s experiments were infamous amongst members of the Priory. The news of a Bloodstone being discovered definitely piqued his interest and brought him here. Most veteran Priory Archons avoided experimenting with Bloodstone, and yet Seimur flocked to them like he’d just discovered a new spice for his dishes. But there had to be something more, maybe a connection between his arrival and Vexx’s.
“Are you good friends with Sous-Chef Seimur?” Jalinar peered at Calypso over his glasses examining her expression.
“Acquaintances. His cooking experiments are peculiar, but he’s got a good sense of humour. He always has a joke for you.” Jalinar noticed as her gaze unfocused at those words and drifted over her right shoulder to the corner of the room.
“Oh, have you heard the one about the valravn and the asura?” Calypso said, a smile creeping at the edge of her lips.
“Yes, I have.”
“There’s this asura and this kodan—”
Jalinar followed her gaze before cutting her off. “Can you tell me what happened on 89 Scion?” He needed to keep her on track or the momentum would be lost.
At those words, the sylvari stood up and started pacing back and forth across the room. Soft cracks of crystal accompanied her steps.
“You’re no fun.”
“This is serious, Novice.”
“Fine.” Calypso straightened her tunic and folded her hands behind her back. “Vexx. Magister Vexx. He…he came to us one day.” The sylvari’s voice trembled at the recollection. “He was angry. Yelling. Shouting.” Her voice rose with every word. “He was brandishing one of those shards at us. Accusing us of putting it in his bag. Saying how reckless we were.” Her gaze snapped towards the southern wall. A segment of the wall a few feet wide had crumbled away long ago. Only a low wall about three feet high remained. Placing a hand on the opening, she leaned her head outside the ruins, and continued, “he was holding it in his bare hand. We were the ones being foolish?” she loudly exclaimed.
“Novice Calypso? We don’t want to attract unnecessary attention. Back to the topic at hand. Please sit.”
The wind picked up, tussling Calypso’s flowing petal hair. Paying it no mind, she gestured at the devastated land beyond and the dark clouds forming over it. Red crystalline craters were strewn about the landscape—left behind by the Bloodstone explosion centuries ago. “It’s strangely beautiful, isn’t it? Bloodstone. I had never been out here before. I never saw what remained of the Bloodstone until…” her voice drifted off.
Her eyes returned to Jalinar and softened. She approached the Chronicler and knelt on the ground. “I’m sorry.”
“Do you know where the bloodstone shard came from?”
“No.”
“What happened next?”
“He had someone discard the shard. After that, he took us west with him. Saying he couldn’t trust ‘bookahs’ like us being out of his sight. Eventually, we made our way to the research camp.” Jalinar noted her fingers scraping against tiny shards of bloodstones hidden in the dirt. The shards left small lacerations on her palm, but she appeared unbothered. “He would take us into the field, just out there during the day. To take measurements and study the effects of bloodstone concentrations on fauna and flora.” The first few raindrops plopped outside.
Calypso’s green eyes glazed over as she peered at the corner of the room once more. “It’s never good when it rains here, you know. Bloodstone dust is water soluble. It gets into the river, washes out to sea. It can get in your water supply and you wouldn’t even notice it. Dobson said… What’s in the corner?”
Jalinar jotted down a few notes as his equipment chirped. Five minutes remained before the battery would be drained. Time was slipping through his fingers. “There’s nothing there. Focus, Novice.”
Calypso blinked a few times before turning back towards him. “Vexx got sick. Bloodstone sickness it’s called. It’s common amongst bloodstone researchers. You take a few days to rest, stay away from any of that stuff, and you’re back in the field.” As she spoke, sap dripped from the lacerations on her hands and pooled in the hole by her side. “But Magister Vexx, he only got worse. He started to hallucinate, saying the White Mantle had stolen his research. That we were agents of Inquisitor Machalina—she’s been dead for hundreds of years." Calypso looked down at her hands, the drip of her sap hitting the ground in rhythm with the rain. “My…hands. What’s happening to my hands? Why don’t I…”
“Let me take care of that.” Jalinar placed Calypso’s hands into his own. “You just cut yourself on one of the sharp rocks on the wall.” Healing waters flowed from his palms to her own, Jalinar winced as he felt the pull of his magic into her. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself from the magical grasp binding the both of them and looked down at her healed palms. “Good as new. You were telling me about Magister Vexx’s illness.”
“Thank you, Chronicler. Vexx. He became violent. We had to restrain him and send a missive for back-up; we couldn’t transport him ourselves. We had rotating shifts guarding him. One day, Dobson and I were in the field continuing our research. Dobson went up to investigate some ruins up on a cliff. He was gone for longer than I expected, so I followed after him.”
The rain outside had progressively turned into a downpour. Water dripped from cracks in the stone ceiling and formed rivulets lazily flowing through grooves in the dirt between the cobblestones and out of the room. Jalinar observed as the fine layer of bloodstone dust covering the ground around them was washed away as Calypso had described. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought of the people and creatures this toxin could infect and warp. Realizing the room had gone silent, he turned back to Calypso. The sylvari was standing once again.
“I stood in that doorway. Dobson was here. Vexx as well.” Pointing to the crumbled wall, she took a hesitant step. “Vexx swung at him. Dobson tried to avoid the blow, but I saw him stumble.” Calypso choked on her words. “It all happened so fast. Vexx grazed him then his fist hit the wall and it shattered. Sunlight streamed into the room and that’s when I saw it. It was wrong… The light made the shards of bloodstones protruding from his arm gleam. It bathed the room in a sickly red glow.”
Jalinar listened with rapt attention. The fixation with the crumbled wall and why she returned to it with every retelling of the events finally made sense to him now.
His equipment emitted another high-pitched chirp and Calypso turned towards it.
“That’s where Dobson fell.” Taking a step forward, she crouched near the whirring asuran machine. Her fingers gently traced the dials, the wires, the emitters, and landed on the figure slumped against the wall. Seemingly noticing the body for the first time, she stared for a moment at the bloodstone crystal protruding from its chest propping it up in a sitting position. She placed a hand on the glassy gemstone and closed her eyes.
Jalinar observed her, a bead of sweat slowly forming on his brow. One minute left. The device would soon turn off, but he was close. Too close. He needed her to keep going. Just one more question.
“Vexx was completely out of his mind. He hadn’t noticed me yet. He tried to swing at Dobson again and…and…I… What did I do?”
“You did what was right, Calypso.”
“Yes, that’s it. I pushed Dobson out of the way. Then I must have struck my head when I hit the ground. I woke up and you were here.”
“Did this act fulfill your Wyld Hunt?”
“Yes. The Bloodstone, danger, and dread. I saw it, felt it in the Dream.” She paused for a moment. “How do you know that? I’ve never told anyone.” Her hands had moved from the crystal to the withering figure, caressing their face.
“You did. Earlier today, during our first interview.”
Approaching her, Jalinar stifled a painful grimace as he laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. At this touch, Calypso turned to Jalinar—her face a mask of confusion, streaks of tears running down her cheeks.
The device beeped loudly then flatlined. As her gaze met the Chronicler’s, a smile broke on her lips.
“Hello, I don’t believe we’ve met before. My name is Calypso.” Standing up, she looked out as the rain turned to a drizzle. “Oh, that’s not very good around here. I guess this shelter is as good as any. It should be over soon. How should we pass the time? Have you heard the joke about the valravn and the asura?” Her speech became faster, slightly erratic.
“We’ve been through this already, Calypso. I’ve heard it five times today.” Walking over to his bag, he stored the notebook and pen. “I think you’ve told me everything I’ve needed to know. I won’t keep you here unnecessarily. It’s time.”
“But, we’ve just met. Wait. Your uniform. You’re a Chronicler! Are you here to give me my next assignment?” Jumping from one idea to another in quick succession. Those were the signs. This was always the most difficult part of his work.
“Not quite. You don’t need to go on any more assignments for some time. Your actions have proven to the Priory that the title of Novice no longer befits your station.” The promises. Offering hope. The lies. It usually kept them going just long enough to sever the connection. Walking back to the corner of the room, Jalinar removed the emitters around the body. “We’re sending you back to the Priory first.”
“Why is that machine making an awful ringing noise? Where’s Dobson? Where’s Magister Vexx?” Calypso’s voice cracked as she pointed to the impaled figure in the corner of the room. “Who’s that?” She suddenly clutched her chest. From the corner of his eye, Jalinar could see a dark spot spreading across her chest and blotting the fabric of her tunic. “Why does everything hurt?”
“It’s alright. Everything will be alright.” Quickly flicking a few switches on the Hematospectral Communicator, the ringing stopped and he sighed in relief. Time was up. He couldn’t keep her here any longer. The energies that composed her form would soon dissipate and she would be at peace.
A cold hand grasped the back of his neck, unnatural strength pulling him to his feet. “Enough platitudes.” Her voice erupted all around him as she slammed him against the wall. “I… Yes… I remember. You asked me questions. Always the same ones. Over and over again. Then your device chirped and I forgot. We started over. And over again.” Her hand tightened against Jalinar’s throat. “I’m done playing your games.”
“Who is that in the corner? Why are you interrogating me in the same room as a corpse?” Calypso pointed at the figure. “Answer me!”
“It’s you.” Jalinar managed to croak between ragged breaths. The truth was all he could muster in that moment. He hoped it would be enough.
“What? That’s not me.” Her hand loosened around Jalinar’s windpipe “I told you to stop with the games.” she cried.
This moment of confusion was all he needed. Forcing a ghost to face the reality of their situation usually did it. The first trick you learned in this trade. Simple, dirty, effective.
”I’m…sorry, Calypso.” Were the last words he said to her as winds whirled around him, sending her and the communicator crashing into the middle of the room.
The device sputtered and sparked for a moment before turning off. In that moment, Calypso’s features blurred and discolored into the dark blue and black typical of bloodstone ghosts.
As she stumbled to her feet, staring at her limbs in disbelief and incomprehension, the winds continued to blow around her. Jalinar faced her and commanded the element to his aid. Sweeping his arms in wide gestures around him, he maneuvered the air surrounding her and forced her back a few more steps until she reached the opening in the wall.
Calypso tried to shout over the rush of wind, but with a flick of his wrist Jalinar disrupted the vibrations and silenced her. Calypso had reverted into a shade. He could not let her words sway him. Rage and fury were the essence of bloodstone ghosts in their natural state. She could no longer be reasoned with. Concentrating air into his palm, he took a deep breath. As he exhaled, he let the energy go, hitting her in the chest, toppling her over the wall and down the cliff below.
Jalinar let all the tension in his body subside. He had hoped their interview would end in a more amicable manner, but bloodstone ghosts could become unpredictable once a communicator was deactivated. Running the clock down and turning his back on her had been foolish.
Walking over to Calypso’s body in the corner of the room, he gently pulled her off the bloodstone crystals Vexx had impaled her on. He laid her down in the middle of the room and covered her in a sheet to hide the worst of her injuries. Rays of sunshine pierced through the clouds and streamed through the various openings in the ruined structure illuminating the dark complexion of her pink bark.
Picking up the recorder from where it lay, Jalinar spoke, “after lengthy interview sessions with the stabilized bloodstone shade of Novice Calypso, I determine this investigation concluded.” Clicking the recorder off, Chronicler Jalinar placed it into his bag next to Magister Vexx’s bloodstained diary and what remained of the Hematospectral Communicator. He would get an earful from the quartermasters for destroying their precious device. He stepped outside of the ruins and activated the locator beacon, signaling his team for retrieval.
When he stepped back into the room, he sat by Calypso’s side. Jalinar was one of the few in the Priory who took on the mantle of a Chronicler. He was different from Archivists who found their truths in old stuffy librarians, reading books written by those who were long gone. Dead, lifeless knowledge. A Chronicler’s duty was to uncover the stories of those who lived or lingered, those who were left behind and those forgotten by time. Chroniclers ensured their stories were recorded. They remembered those who were unable to live their lives to the fullest. This was his burden. His duty of care.
He held Calypso’s lacerated hands as they waited the long minutes that followed. Her bloodstone shade had borne the same wounds. The wounds appeared during each interview with Calypso. Body and soul remembering her last moment of life as she desperately tried to protect herself from Vexx’s assault.
Water flowed from Jalinar’s hands into Calypso’s.
116 Phoenix 1338 AE, Mistburn Barrens
Steward Gixx,
It is unclear how Magister Vexx was first inoculated with bloodstone dust, but I think he may have ingested food prepared by Sous-Chef Seimur believing it to be rations for the camp or his water supply was contaminated as explained by Novice Calypso.
The proximity of the team to an unstable source of bloodstone energy must have accelerated the effects of Bloodstone Psychosis.
I’ve personally taken care of Novice Calypso’s remains.
We’ve ensured that her ashes were purified of any bloodstone corruption before being delivered to the Grove.
Please review my recommendation to promote her to Arcanist posthumously.
Her brave actions during the altercation with Magister Vexx saved the life of her colleague.
Arcanist Dobson is recovering from his injuries in the Priory.
Once his own bloodstone hallucinations subsided, he was able to corroborate the events described by Calypso.
Archon Thunderfoot has located Magister Vexx near Bava Nesos. He will be dealt with appropriately.
As per my report and the evidence shown hereinabove, I recommend the closure of this investigation.
PS: If Seimur continues his “experiments”, I will personally deal with him. He has blood on his hands.
— Chronicler Jalinar