Dead in Daylight Part Two

Ash

As I left my bus behind and began the last leg of my trek to Lake Whitetree, I thought about how this would be my first time doing field work alone. As an apprentice, I spent most of my early months working with veteran experts and other recently certified archaeologists. It was on one of these group expeditions that I met my love, offering his usual services as an escort to the scholars. But how I could ever have done this before him seemed to escape me just then.

The lake was silent but for the morning bird songs coming from the trees to the west. I had beaten the weekend tourists who tore up the lake during the day and could not have expected anyone else to be there. But for the beacon that researchers had given up on ages ago, the lake was just a lake. It provided water for Blackstone Farm--and possibly some elven settlements on the other side of the border-- as well as the perfect climate for an afternoon playing in the water. In happier times, I would already be dressed down for a swim because Nathan would never have let me get any work done otherwise. But on this still morning alongside the great lake, I was free to focus as much as I possibly could.

The beacon had fallen back to its original place at the bottom of the lake due to years of neglect, but that was of little concern to me. Using a spell scroll I purchased abroad, I was able to part the water long enough to drag the ancient construct back to shore.  There was little to examine in this object-- a massive yellow crystal sealed in a tarnished cylindrical casing made from brass with spindly legs attached to it--that hadn't already been exhaustively covered in my studies, but with fresh eyes, I located a symbol in the etchings that I had been interested in revisiting. When translated from this arcane language that predates modern scripts, this particular symbol was believed to mean "blood"-- a misunderstanding that has led to many researchers cutting themselves open for the sake of knowledge. But looking more closely at it, I realized that the word could also translate to "ash".

Ash was never mentioned in any source that referred to the beacon, so I knew I had to be on to something. But this only led to more questions. Was I supposed to burn something to activate it? Was this a warning of what could happen to those who did? There were many possible ways to interpret the full line as it was translated now.

"Lost in ash, hope is found"

As I pondered this puzzling clue, I would hear a rustling in the tall grass to the east. My heart jumped as I scanned the landscape. Most people who visited the lake did so with the most peaceful of intentions, but I couldn't discount the possibility of an encounter with a wild animal or mischievous fey; no one is more vulnerable to ridgewolf attacks than the traveling scholar. The source of the noise did turn out to be a person, but he still turned out to be a more frightening sight than a hungry beast.

The man had a somewhat average build, but that was about all I could tell you about him because his entire body was covered in various gloves, shrouds, and bandages. The only physical feature of his that remained visible was his cold, lifeless eyes. My mentor, a sai'mul, told me about how her people would always soaked their body in medicinal bandages to keep their skin from rotting but this was different. The cloth that covered this man's body was completely dry and gave off no scent. Apart from that, he walked in lively strides that most sai'mul could never hope to mimic.

He walked right past me toward the beacon I uncovered. He stared at it lying there on the shoreline for a few seconds before looking right at me. The man's eyes seemed to be searching for something in my own, but he soon began to walk away. Clearly, he knew something I needed to about the subject of my studies, and Nathan would never have allowed me to let him get away. Swallowing the fear I felt at his unnerving appearance, I rushed up to him and begged his pardon while I asked him some questions. But his response left me so chilled that I hadn't even noticed him leaving.

"The dead ones cannot speak."