The projection turned out to be a collection of images of different figures. As they moved from one to the next Lennint's voice narrated the importance of them.
The first was of a Leonin holding up a piece of wood with some ruins behind him.
"This picture is of the first recording of a piece of Cratezt's Box. The same box from the legend, it was discovered in a ruin found in the Dusty Sea. The Leonin led an archaeology team to explore the newly discovered area to see what was kept inside." The images flashed to a picture of a room with a doomed ceiling and a podium in the center.
"When they found it here, they could feel the power in it and realized this was the alter Cratezt used as his base in the war. Someone found it ironic to hide a piece of the box in his own home. And with this discovery, different kingdoms realized that the random wood in their treasuries were also pieces." The next picture shown was of a burning building with figures in black robes heading into the forest in the background.
"Once word got out that the pieces of the Box were discovered, a group formed that wanted chaos, that wanted war. They wanted Cratezt. The Formless Mist is their name, given to them because of the robes they wear that make it almost impossible to tell what they look like underneath. But it's the robes that identify their importance." The next slide showed several picture at once, each showing robed people.
"Black robes tend to be the main force whenever they attack. They are the ones sent to collect most pieces. The silver robes are team leaders. The only time they have been seen has been right before attacks from black robes. We believe they scout the area before making their plan of attack. And then finally the purple robes, the elites. They are the leaders of the entire group. They are rarely seen because they do the quiet missions that do not get a lot of attention. However, we know they are the leaders because my mentor followed a group of them to a base." The line timed with a switch to the next visual, an image of a run down shack. Vines creeped around it's corners and rot of the wood remained evident no matter where I looked. This didn't seem like a place for a large scale operation to be stationed.
"I know it doesn't look like much, but that's only because once my mentor came back to grab soldiers they had vanished. This picture was taken years afterwards after it had been abandoned. But my mentor had video evidence that the purple robes were giving all the orders. The video was destroyed, however, when my mentor and his other students were attacked and killed. I was away on a mission so I wasn't there, but I came back to our small sect being just me." His voice got quiet near the end. It seemed like some memories replayed in his mind. After that picture came a blank wall. The pictures had ended.
Lennint continued on, "If you hadn't realized already, this cult is after the pieces of Cratezt's Box to release him and start another war."
A voice other than Lennint's spoke up. "So the purple robe took my sister because of the piece she was supposed to deliver?" Soi asked. "You mean this piece?" And she held up a piece of wood that closely resembled the one from the first picture.
"You have the piece she was supposed to deliver?" I exclaimed in surprise. Lennint also seemed intrigued by this revelation.
Soi explained, "I'm stronger than my sister, and a pretty good shot with a bow, so I was the one holding onto the piece in case something happened. Turns out it wasn't an unnecessary precaution."
"So they kidnapped the one that was supposed to have the piece, so they are probably keeping her alive to figure out where it is," I thought aloud. "They didn't know about Soi until I told him, and even then I doubt they'd be able to guess they were sisters by looking at them."
"Wait," Lennint said, "You spoke with him?"
"Oh yeah, did I not mention that? He pretended to be a room service person to gather information from me, probably to verify that they had the right person."
Lennint's eyes turned round. "Please, tell me every detail you have of him. Anything helps that can be used to find them."
Well if he's pleading. I thought. So I summarized everything that happened in my interaction with the robes man. The raspy voice and the slight limp, both that seem capable of disappearing. Odds are he was faking them.
"But the one thing that stands out," I started to conclude, "is how he said he was scarred over his entire skin and didn't want people to see him. I believe he was telling the truth, his voice was rock steady as he gave his perspective."
Lennint pondered the information for a moment before stating, "Alright, this can be useful. Maybe not now, but we could potentially use his fear against him. We just need to learn more."
Soi looked a bit impatient. "Is there anyway we can find where she is?" She asked.
Lennint slowly shook his head, "While I have the tracker on him, that doesn't guarantee that he is where she is being kept. But we can follow his signal and scout the areas to see if we can find the spot."
"Then what are we waiting for! We've got to go look for her!" Soi shouted.
"Patience Harpie, rushing too fast will end up with all of us killed," Lennint advised. "You say you're good with a bow, and that's great, but my main magic is healing and I don't see this Dragonborn carrying any weapon."
"He's right," I agreed. I never got into any tussles at the village so my fighting experience is very limited.
"So our first course of action is get this gent a weapon, and make sure we can all hold our own in a fight. Only then can we have a chance of saving your sister," Lennint concluded. And that was the plan we made. Lennint showed us how to get out of his hideout.
End of Chapter 8
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