Letter 10: Response to ‘The Widespread Demon Plague’
1929-05-13
To Pond Brownstump and all the Hordes of Icebrunt,
May the blessings of the Spinner, the Weaver and all of their Children be upon you.
I am Tong Shatterbone, leader of Shatterbone village. I can tell you how the Demon Plague began. I can also tell you how to stop it. But I fear that we are all powerless to do so. I believe that the Spinner and the Weaver have chosen two people to bear the burden of that Fate.
Their names are Billet Stormstone and Vilerend Skymarch. They are not native to Linomnount. They came to us from a land beyond the western ocean called Anchorgate. Vilerend and Billet witnessed the beginning of the Demon Plague. It began in a cavern here in Icebrunt. I will not share the location. The world does not need people wandering into this place and making things worse.
The Villain that brought this plague to our land is named Fern Quickstream. She explained to them what she was doing and why. They told me their tale while visiting my village. Fern sought to bring an end to death. Her goal was noble. She did not want anyone to suffer anymore.
She found a way to enter the After World through the Gate of Twilight. She performed a magical operation which generated a sphere. Fern brought this item back into the Living World. The Gate closed behind her and remains shut to this day.
People’s souls no longer pass to the After World once they have died. They return to their dead bodies. As an unintended consequence of her magical operation, the dead wake up and are uncontrollably violent. These demons are not the people that we once knew, though they can still speak and remember things. They are driven by magic that has broken the Natural Order of Things.
Vilerend and Billet are seeking the means to set things right. They have several tasks, the final one being the defeat of Fern Quickstream and the return of the Key Sphere to the After World.
Like Pond said in his letter, please spread copies of this around. It is hard to reach out to caravans. If you see one, share my words and ask them to aid Billet and Vilerend. I believe that they are our salvation.
Tong Shatterbone