>>5256899Some of the Black Eagles move to carry the Professor, while others take some time to mend the wounds they received during battle, taking a short rest. Linhardt did a decent enough job of getting you back to full health, so you decide to use the camp time you’ve been given to do a bit of investigating. You’re interested in just who these foes you were fighting really are. While Kronya’s body has vanished completely, lost to Solon’s spell, the corpses of the other black-clad soldiers litter the forest, giving you plenty of options to choose from.
You settle on one of the Paladin’s that had entered the battlefield with Solon. The man’s horse must have ridden off somewhere, but his body remains, lying face down in the muck. You kick the body onto it’s back to examine it more closely. You had gotten only a glance before, but you knew you’d seen something familiar. The armor this man wears seems to have traces of the same black metal from Akzeriuth. You recall that Alena had called this Agarthium.
Kronya, Solon, and the Death Knight. The three of them have been in league with each other since the start, supposedly taking their orders from one known as the Flame Emperor and having access to this strange black metal that can only be found in Rusalka.
Kronya and Solon in particular demonstrated the ability to create and even control Demonic Beasts, similar to the Demon that Alena had spawned back in Akzeriuth. This foul, arcane practice might initially suggest that there’s some sort of link between the three, but it doesn’t appear to be that simple. You think back to that mission. Alena had been using the Demon to try and shut down Akzeriuth, halting the production of Agarthium. A move like that seems like it would come directly into conflict with Solon and his ilk. Could they perhaps be opposing each other somehow, despite employing the same practices?
Reaching down, you remove the helmet of the fallen Paladin. The sight that’s revealed to you makes you recoil. It’s not unusual for a dead man to be pale, but not to this level, and not one that died merely a few moments ago. The color of his skin is pallid and is close to a grey-ish blue. His eyes, frozen open from the moment of his death, are a deep void of black. You’ve never heard of any region before where the people look like this. Solon and Kronya both shared the same characteristics as well, or at least they did once they’d fully revealed themselves. Whatever these people are supposed to be, they’ve demonstrated the ability to camouflage themselves as ordinary humans. A strategic asset on their part, as they’d no doubt stick out like a sore thumb no matter where in Fodlan they’d go. Perhaps the Alena you’d met was employing the same sort of disguise?
You inspect the man for any other clues as to his identity but come away empty save for a single Pure Water, which you pocket.
>Obtained Pure Water 