Tracking Hippareiones
Duskmeadow Fringe - June 28
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Tracking the Insect-Centaurs
Ayrrin, Indigo, Varg and Razzy leave Sigisfarne, the village built on centuries-old ruins. They travel south for half a day, towards Queensweald. At the Fairy Trail head, they meet the Horned Knight, who explains the Insect-Centaurs have been taking his goblins, the Queens’ gnomes and baby elves.
The Knight guides the group to the nearby river, where, by the bank, they find heavy horse hoof tracks entering the river by a ford but not leaving it. Older tracks, leaving the river, are found downriver, after the ford. Stone arrives on his boat and decides to help the group.
The Knight leaves the group to its burden, from Razzie’s deal with the Forest Queen. He laughs when Razzie blesses him under the Weeping Mother.
The next morning, the group visits Middle Waters Minster, which continues under famine. No one has ever documented or written about creatures like the insect-centaurs. But then Stone remembers the Underground Temple, where they freed the creatures.
Back to the Underground Temple
Following young Clive’s guidance a month ago, the group navigates the cave system and arrives at the Underground Temple. At the temple, doors have been shut, and corpses moved. Someone has been here in the last few months.
They find three bipedal insects with metallic coats on the temple’s deeper floor, besides the cathedral. Furrykin, as the group named them, seem docile and intelligent, but cannot communicate vocally. They seem to recognise the drawing of the Insect Centaurs, and offer some yellow dust for Stone to snot. Stone falls on his back and starts having a seizure.
Through his drugged vision, Stone communicates mentally with an entity - Snake Eyes. The entity drinks Stone’s mind, and the river-runner learns that the Centaurs, called Hippareiones, can be found on the Yellow Smoke.
Stone wakes from his vision and says “Hippareiones” to the metallic bugs. The bugs take the group through the cave on the lower level, and they see that the iron door that was closed months ago now lies open. Hoof prints are also found going to and from the flooded area of this cave, into the iron door.