The Winter and the Stone - The Wintervale Saga - Episode 29
7The Party takes a much-needed break within the safety of the Resistance headquarters, learning more about who they are and what they are striving to do... which unfortunately isn't very much. The Mayor has been adamant about wanting more proof of foul play before taking action, but such foul play has not been found, or at least in scant quantities for years.
Desperate for more than scraps of information, Mi'itrik (Going by the alias Whisper in the Wind) visits a Hag to the north and strikes a deal. 3 years of her life for any positive information on their situation. The deal was granted and that is where she learned of the Prophecy that states that "Heroes and Outsiders carrying the warmth of the Sun will bring Spring back to Wintervale." The Mayor did not put much stock in the prophecy due to it's source, but with the arrival of the Emissaries of Alexander, he and the rest of the resistance regained some hope.
Bell, however, was determined to make the Hag return Mi'itrik's lost years in one way or another. Though after a good round of fisticuffs, the to finally reach an understanding and Mi'itrik agrees that Bell should be free to do what he wants, despite the danger, putting her trust in him and his allies.
During this time, the party learns of the event that happened 10 years prior that caused a complete shutdown of the Island. Mi'itrik and her party was after a valuable stone called the Stone of Prayer, which the Archbishop has in his possession. Unfortunately, the heist ended in failure, resulting in Mi'itrik being the last one of her team still alive and her being stuck in Wintervale under a new name.
The Stone of Prayer has even greater mysteries surrounding it, but according to the parchment in Mi'itrik's possession, it is a stone that gains power through the prayers of others and that the wilder is granted fantastic power. It is assumed that the Archbishop is using the plight of his people to encourage more prayer in order to power the stone to incredible levels, but to what end is still a mystery.
In time, it was revealed that the Mayor was due back to Wintervale City with the remaining supplies from the Outpost, meager that they were. The party decide to go with him, fearing that his life was in danger and that the Frost Giant attack on the outpost was a hit on his life rather than a random assault.
Upon making it to Wintervale City, their concerns were realized as a member from the Brotherhood of Sol had assembled a town meeting to announce the Mayor's death, which could have only been possible if they had known about the attack in the first place as the Mayor, of course, was not dead and was traveling with the party.
The Brotherhood seizes this opportunity to take full political control over the city, turning it into one of Martial law. Completely distraught, the Mayor was practically carried out of the city as the Emissaries of Alexander see him back to resistance HQ to safety.
Now, the team must figure out what to do next as the firm grip of the Archbishop and the Brotherhood of Sol seem to tighten once more. And on top of this, Cyrus has been sensing the appearance of Gates for a while now, to the North and to the West of them. Things appear to be very bleak, but as the saying goes, things are always darkest before the dawn. Will the sun start to rise again?