Episode 3 Sneak Peek #14

Some WIP text where the player can define what gift their mentor gave to them. This isn't guaranteed to appear in the game, but there's a good chance it will. There are 3 mentor specific options and 3 options that can be chosen by anyone. Choosing Option #2 unlocks the first Wayfarer tenet if the player has not done so already. Option #4's description changes depending on the player character's origin.

Options #2, #3, and #4 use Cenric as the default mentor.  

You retrieve your pack and hoist it onto your bed. Pulling it open, you slip a hand inside to double-check its contents. With the exception of the weapons Rasmira took from you yesterday, everything is as you left it—an assortment of equipment and tools stuffed between a handful of useless objects. The mysterious bronze sphere Hera gifted you, the strange idol you took from Drakehand’s establishment on a whim, the silver cube you plucked from the site of the Marshwall massacre… You don’t know what to do with any of it. Keep it? Sell it? A decision for another day.

Your fingers brush a familiar object buried in the bottom. You pause, momentarily caught off-guard. You haven’t seen it in months. You assumed you lost it in Rona, forgotten in your apartment long before you set foot on the Dareia.

A gift from Cenric/Sero/Varyn, given to you on the day of your inauguration.

[CENRIC ONLY] 1. A whetstone crafted of Alassar steel.
[SERO ONLY] 1. A compass inscribed with the Wayfarer sigil.
[VARYN ONLY] 1. A tinderbox that contains a piece of pyrestone, a stone that always sparks when struck.
2. An inscribed wood carving no bigger than your palm.
3. A piece of fannarl antler, polished and strung on a small chain.
4. An understated gold earring.

[CENRIC] 1. A whetstone crafted of Alassar steel.

Whetstones like this one are rare. Since the ability to forge Alassar steel was lost, so too was the knowledge of tools to care for the historic weapons. You recall Cenric telling you once that by his day, most whetstones had been lost or destroyed. While regular methods are more than sufficient, nothing sharpens Alassar like Alassar itself.

The whetstone isn’t large—just large enough to get the job done. It once belonged to Cenric himself, and his master before him. He gifted it to you when you graduated, citing he had little use for such tools now that he no longer went into the field.

Like $blade, it is a relic of a bygone age with a lineage all of its own, passed from one Wayfarer to the next.

[SERO] 1. A compass inscribed with the Wayfarer sigil.

Without magic to guide your way, the compass has been a vital tool throughout most of your career. Its casing is no bigger than your palm and expertly crafted from a rich, dark wood.  Luminescent stones line the edge, though some have been knocked free after years of use. They glow softly in the dark, ensuring that you can always use it. The Wayfarer sigil is emblazoned on the inside of the lid, the delicate points detailed in gold leaf that has partially worn away.

You remember Sero joking the night they gifted it to you. They flashed you a wink and a smile, and loudly declared that the Order’s sigil was designed to look like a compass so no Wayfarer would ever lose their way. You are wanderers, travelling far across the world in pursuit of magic gone wrong.

Or you once were.

You hold the compass in your palm and turn, sending the needle spinning. You stare at the opposite end, watching it balance until it settles, pointing south. South to Artanis. South to the Frostmarks.

South to the Spire.

[VARYN] 1. A tinderbox containing a piece of pyrestone, a stone that always sparks when struck.

The box is elegantly crafted. Rich carvings adorn the sides and lid, reminiscent of Sathiric motifs. It is far too sophisticated to be a tinderbox; if you didn’t know what was inside, you would assume it was a jewelry box. Inside, it is divided into compartments. One contains a block of pyrestone, its yellow-gold sheen worn and scratched from use. A small firesteel nestles in the section beside it. The last compartment is empty, save for a few remnants of wood shavings. It’s been months since you resupplied; good tinder was difficult to come by in Rona.

An inscription is carved into the inside of the lid in an elegant hand: May you always find a light when you need it the most.

You remember when it was gifted to you. The box was crafted by an artisan in Tyridian, the firesteel forged by a Wayfarer smith at the Spire, and the pyrestone hand-selected and prepared by Varyn herself. Fire is difficult to come by on the road for magiani. Without magic, you cannot rely on conjured flames to warm your hearth or cook your food or light your way. She gave you a tool to serve you in any circumstances, preparing you for the hard life ahead.

2. An inscribed wood carving no bigger than your palm.

The wood carving is oblong in shape and intricately engraved. The Wayfarer sigil is emblazoned on the back, the delicate points detailed in gold leaf that has stood the test of time. On the front is an inscription in a strong and steady hand, written in your native language:

To protect others, I must first protect myself.

It is the first of the Wayfarers’ tenets. In the final years of your apprenticeship, $master told you that the tenets were the words of the founders, a collection of six oaths have come to define the Wayfarer Order.

It has been centuries since they were treated with any gravitas by active Wayfarers. To be honest, in the decade since your graduation, you’ve all but forgotten them—save this one. A few words of wisdom from ancient Wayfarers pale in comparison to everything else Cenric taught you, but it doesn’t make his gift any less meaningful. Holding the wood carving now… it’s a reminder of who you are and where you came from.

And what you’ve lost.

3. A piece of fannarl antler, polished and strung on a small chain.

The curved spike is stark white and smooth to the touch, fitting easily into the palm of your hand. You flip it over, the chain tangling in your fingers, and recall the night Cenric gifted it to you.

He took you for a walk on the ramparts, slowly climbing to the Spire’s highest point. From that vantage, the Frostmarks spread out below you, the snow-covered peaks stretching far into the distance beneath the green and violet canopy of the southern lights. You stood together, staring in the direction of the clearing where you fought the fannarl all those years ago.

He had saved it, this tiny piece of antler. Broken off from the original monster and taken before Quirinus disappeared with the corpse. A decade later, he passed it to you as a reminder of the night you joined the Order—and how far you had come since then.

4. An understated gold earring.

The earring is a small teardrop with a Sathiric motif. Though your home was far behind you, Cenric never forgot your roots. He knew how much you enjoy small fineries, difficult thought they are to come by. The earring was a small gesture, something to remember him by when you were traversing the world alone.