After the jailbreak, on our travels back west, we spotted what we first thought just a remnant of yet another submerged settlement. Little did we know at that time that the large statue of an armoured, rather nondescript man was a thoroughly magical construct, a gatekeeper for a mysterious, ancient power. But as we dove down and approached the plinth, we could hear a deep, resounding voice inquiring who of those approaching were "ready to undergo the Trial and confront their own strengths and weaknesses". Before we could decide on a course of action, of course, daring Carlton had answered in the affirmative, and things got into motion quicker than I could cope with.
Within a moment, we saw Carlton encased in a near transparent, yet utterly impassable cupola of whirling force, and we were confined to the role of spectators. Opposite of him, there was another, seemingly identical Carlton. Outwardly, there was no telling who was who, but then, while one of the Carltons started talking, the other one raised his musket and fired. His target was only grazed, though, and fired back in turn, but this shot hit its mark, and one of the Carltons collapsed in a gruesome display of blood, and then promptly disappeared.
The resounding voice stated the Trial was over, and Carlton could now state what reward he wished. Carlton, without much apparent consideration, wished that that twin of his really existed, and that he was the nicest person conceivable. Within a second, the voice replied that this wish had just been granted. Hearing this, I was doubtful, but also terrified of the possibility that there might indeed be a godlike power at work here, bowing to the whims of Carlton. For now, nothing perceivable had happened though, and the statue returned to asking who would take the Trial. This time, Master Krastus stepped forward.
This time, two indistinguishable scurillians fought a terrible mage's duel. And as we watched, the Captain speculated what one should wish for. He stated that by wishing that nobody would remember us, our problems would be solved, but it appeared that he had not pondered the consequences of such a wish at all. It was horrifying to thing that one could simply be forgotten by everyone, maybe even over and over again, being confined to a solitary half-life outside of other people's thoughts and lives, like a spirit trapped in the lands of the living, if such a thing were possible. The Captain found it hard to follow my concerns, apparently, and we were still discussing when the two Archmages had found a victor, who wished that he had a deep understanding of all things magical. He had been substituting raw power for more detailed knowledge of the arcane, and I felt he was shamed by the fact, though he did never display that. Again, this wish was granted in an instant, but there was no visible change for now.
The Captain had by now made up his mind, and had decided it was his turn now. Again, there were two Captains facing each other, and again, there was a combat, but this time it was a close one. Both drew their fencing weapons, and were prepared to duel to the death. Soon, both had suffered grievous injuries, and in the end, one of them went down and disappeared. Again, there was no telling which one had been the real Captain, or if this was a valid category at all, or if they were truly identical. I held my breath as the victor proclaimed his wish. Thankfully, the Captain did not follow through with his original wish, but he desired to become physically stronger.
To our horror, the wish was granted, in a fashion, and we had to watch the Captain's figure shift and distort until there was no longer the man we knew in front of us, but a large, blubbery grael that looked at us from his beady eyes. Dryly, the voice asked if anyone else was ready to undergo the Trial and claim their reward. My mind raced.
I was not at all prepared to kill anyone, much less myself, for a reward, even one as potentially invaluable as this one. Indeed, I considered this my strength and also my weakness. Yet, I was not sure if the guardian would follow this line of thought, or even, what its true purpose and intentions were. Would it force me to fight, or would it just leave me trapped there with myself for good? Who was that effigy, really, and if my decisions brought her into being, wouldn't it be an ethical necessity to allow her to take my place? Then again, any evil act I'd commit, I could order undone, but what if an imperfect wording backfired on me?
I was not prepared to take that risk and expose myself to such an unknown, godlike force. So I remained silent. As did Sira; she wasn't quite as mad as the others.
We returned to our ship, our crew needed to get accustomed to the fact that our Captain was now a walrus-man. His mind and memories seemed mostly intact, though, and he appeared in good physical shape, so the situation was not as bad as it could be. How our Captain coped with the change, as brutal and possibly irreversible as it was, was another thing. For now, he preferred to proceed ahead, and ordered the ship to sail on, towards the isle of Terras. There we would go ashore and approach the compound where the shipwrights were held, over land.
We agreed on a pick-up location, and Serene, Kylie and the others stayed aboard the ship as we others prepared for a short expedition. After just a while, we were on our way across the rocky countryside of Terras. After a few hours of march, we spotted a patrol in military garb, obviously part of the Kieran garrison, and we tried to hide. It turned out, though, that a few of us had picked their cover rather poorly, but amazingly enough, the soldiers appeared genuinely happy to see my comrades, recognising Carlton as one certain Barton Grey.
In my hiding place, I was terrified. Just so, this one hasty wish of Carlton's had really brought his twin brother into being, and in doing so, had profoundly altered the whole world to accommodate him, up to the very memories of these poor soldiers. They appeared genuinely happy to see this Barton again. They recognised Master Krastus, as well, for he was probably the most remarkable and infamous of us all, but they accepted Carlton's assurance that his presence here was just the way it should be. We could travel on, and when we arrived the outskirts of the settlement, we could spot its purpose. There was a ship's hull being built, barely half done, but evidently a new design that was far larger than any ship I had seen so far. Master Krastus estimated that completion was still months, if not years away.
We considered our options, and eventually decided to retreat for now, so we returned to our ship and sailed to the back side of the Kieran mainland. Since most of the timber would need to be imported, we could try to enter the settlement with a shipment of timber and some suitable documents. That would require sailing to Kiera again, though, and before we did that, we'd have to take care that Serene was safe from discovery. Master Krastus had made plans for a secret compartment earlier, and we found a hidden cove where he could cut the necessary wood and finish the work. On one occasion during our stay, we met a hunting party scouring the countryside, and they too were acquainted with Barton Grey, and praised him highly.
After a day or so, work was finished, and we had a space where about three people could stow away with little chance of being found when searched for with average enthusiasm. When we sailed back to Kiera, we could dock normally and were greeted by the usual harbour official. I had planned to make it appear as if the ship, including crew, had just transferred to a new captain, allowing us to shed some of the ill will we had accrued here and elsewhere. The harbour official questioned the "new captain", though, and sadly the transformation had taken its toll on the creativity and mental acuity of our dear Captain. So, when asked what his name was (customarily the first uttering a newborn grael would emit after birth) the Captain, after a short pause, bleated out "Wart...ez?". Oh dear.
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