Book 6: Chapter Twenty-One
“We believe we’ve found what the vampyr are planning.” Isla’s illusion of a man that served as her stand in told the assembled meeting solemnly. “Or at least, a major move they’re making that we cannot allow.”
The illusion gestured and aides started handing out documents to the assembled leaders of Avalon and the allies they had available. Zeia was obviously there, as was High Crusader Hearthbreaker, representing the two major vampyr hunting orders, who had finally sent missives back indicating that they were on their way to Avalon. Guildmaster Gemglass was present as she would be coordinating the Adventurers Guild’s assistance, which she had managed to secure. Murunel’s cousin and his wife were there as their own little pair, while they were subordinate to Kay in this endeavor their experience and insights could be useful, useful enough to let them attend the meeting.
“While we’ve managed to confirm that packs, and what we can only refer to as units or small armies, of vampyr continue to besiege the settlements that have managed to hold out and hunt down any stragglers or those fleeing falling settlements, that doesn’t appear to be their main goal.” Isla waited until everyone had a set of documents. “Long range reconnaissance through a variety of means has discovered that the vampyr are once again creating ritual sites.” She flipped to the second page of the report and pointed at the figures drawn there. “We only managed to document one site of the previous rituals that were carried out y vampyr, the one we presume allowed the eldritch incursion here at Avalon during the Shatterplate War, and the ones we’ve managed to document that are being created now are similar enough for me to confidently say they are for the same purpose, if perhaps a different target.”
Intricate circles and designs were drawn on the paper, creating a pattern that seemed to oscillate and shift as Kay tried to look at it.
“Even reproductions seem to be affected by the nature of the ritual they’re meant to allow, as seen by the difficulty our people faced even trying to record them, which to me indicates the powerful nature of what the vampyr intend. It is my belief that we cannot allow them to complete whatever it is they seek from these rituals.”
Eleniah looked up form her perusal of the document. “How many sites do we know of?”
“We’ve confirmed the existence of five and believe there are more.” The illusion seemed to take a deep breath and slowly release it. “And each circle that they’re creating is significantly larger than the example we have from the previous ritual.”
Grim expressions passed around the room at that piece of news.
“It’s not always true,” Meten told everyone, “But larger circles usually mean more powerful rituals. It works that way with runic magic too.”