Role

Chapter 2

A swift wind blows up Voralia's Tears, carrying with it the fructifying
scent of spring. The faintest whisper of the breeze touches Jacintha's
lips, and she smiles at the pleasing scent. Jacintha turns to Burtrand, her
husband, and places a loving hand gently over her swollen stomach. She is
some seven months with child, but her stubborn love of adventure has kept
her on the road with Burtrand. The couple are explorer-mages under the
command of Burtralis, leader of the expedition investigating Azuremain.

So far, the work has been mundane - filing away various archaeological
finds, doing surveys of trans-planar activity traces, and other typical
investigative tasks. Due to the peace and quiet, Jacintha has been allowed
to travel with her husband, and both of them have holed up in one of the
stone houses while not patrolling the perimeter.

Night falls, and the couple fall asleep in each other's arms. Again, the
mysterious phenomenon manifests itself - a keep materialises and forms
above the ruins. Still, this has happened with such regularity that the
explorers are used to it, and think nothing of it. What Burtralis is trying
to find out is the cause of this phenomenon, but he has no answers as yet.