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This post is by guest writer Erin Burke.
Heart of Thorns
33 Season of the Zephyr 1329 AE
I have little time to rest, as Mordremoth’s army cuts its way through the overgrowth of Maguuma Jungle, moving closer and closer to the cities of man, asura, and norn. Even the Tamini centaurs who have wreake havoc on Queensdale and the surrounding countryside are in danger of extinction by the talons of the Elder Dragon. Only my small group of warriors: the charr Rytlock and Rox, the human lovers Lady Kasmeer Meade and Marjory Delaqua, the norn Braham Eirsson, and the poor sylvari Canach who strains against the dragon’s will so that he can fight by our sides.
Now I find myself dashing off into the green depths of the dragon’s lair in search of the remaining survivors of the fabled team, Destiny’s Edge. Logan Thackery, Zojja, and Marshal Trahearne have been captives of the dragon for so long. Perhaps if we’re lucky, we’ll find our companions alive and able to point out a chink in the enemy’s armor. That is if we are lucky enough to find them alive.
As we march cautiously along the vine covered path, Rytlock approaches and comments that I seem distracted.
“I have begun to hear the voices again,” I look sullenly over at the steep cliff dropping off to our right.
“As have I,” the charr growls under his breath, his calm demeanor belying the turmoil within. “In fact, ever since we got into Dragon’s Stand, they have been growing louder and louder. And now they are all a jumble, too, like the entirety of an army yelling at once.” I had heard them, too. A roiling plume of noise slowly rising to the top of my conscious. The silencing power of Glint’s egg had long ago worn off, but my adventures below Rata Novus had also silenced the undead voices to a degree. Now above the surface and away from the quieting powers of the egg and the ancient lost city, the heroes and villains of old all cry out at once for attention.
I can’t let the voices distract, for as soon as I reunite with our team, Mordrem Breachers burst from the ground, blocking our path and hurling forth Mordrem soldiers. Looks like Rox’s suspicions are right; we’re walking into a trap.
We can’t abandon our friends, and I inform the others that our trip to Rata Novus revealed every Elder Dragon has some kind of weakness. However, only Primordus was studied in detail by the asura, leaving the secrets to defeating the remaining dragons a mystery, for now.
Along the twisting path, we confront group after group of Mordrem Chargers and Trolls until we spy a fork in the road. Kasmeer volunteers to search ahead and find out if either of these trails lead to a dead end. Kas is a master mesmer with a deep knowledge of bending time and creating illusions to distract her enemies. I see her “blink” quickly down the path in a series of teleports and create a time bubble around herself to speed her progress while slowing the that of the enemies around her. By the time the Mordrem realize what’s happened, Kasmeer is well away and our group of warriors is upon them.
With the branching paths cleared, it’s safe for Kas to return and give report. Both Thackery and Zojja are buried deep in the thickets beyond, held separately at the end of each path. They group leaves it to me to decide which to save first. Although I know what my heart wants, I have to consider whether we could truly use Zojja’s innovation over Thackery’s muscle. In the end, I choose Logan, who has been there for me through thick and thin. Besides, I have to punch him for getting me into this mess with Mordremoth to begin with.
We continue up the very heavily guarded path until we reach the final barrier, a Veteran Mordrem Leeching Thrasher. This is a difficult fight as the Thrashers are known for poisoning the ground with their spores, making it difficult to move to attack them from behind without further injuring one’s self.
As the creature’s corpse melts back into the ground, a miasma rises up and spreads across the area. I back up from the deadly cloud and bump into what turns out to be a large yellow-green crystalis wrapped in vines. When I peer within, I see the large form of a human curled over on itself as if in pain. Not seeing any other alternative, I begin to hack away at the hardened globe until it finally bursts open with Logan Thackery tumbling out at me feet. Marjory helps me get him up as he is coherent enough to reaffirm our fears: the Mordrem have not revealed any new information about any of Mordremoth’s weaknesses.
The others have already engaged the guards surrounding Zojja’s pod. Canach and I rush to help our comrades as Marjory carefully guides the barely conscious Logan to our position. We finish clearing the attackers and I look up to see Caithe standing in our midst. Braham takes her weapons as she explains that Faolin is here and she must be stopped. Just as Caithe disarms herself, we find ourselves surrounded with vegetable copies of Zojja. The creatures plead for us to burn them, an eerie display of the psychic connection with their template.
After dealing with her doppelgangers, I am able to break Zojja free. Help has come too late for her, though, as she is alive but completely comatose. Logan and Marjory approach and the captain of the Seraph is about to ask Rytlock where he has been when we are interrupted by a vicious laugh. Up on a ledge stands the creature that was once the sylvari Faolain, now with the body of a Mordrem Vinetooth.
She mocks us and challenges us to fight against the will of the dragon. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Caithe tense at the bait her former lover sets before us. She comments on how Destiny’s Edge, in the form of Logan Thackery, Rytlock Brimstone, Zojja, and Caithe. Little does she know, Rytlock has already conceded the new group of Marjory, Kasmeer, Rox, Taimi, Canach, and myself has out stripped Destiny’s Edge by far when it comes to raw talent and cooperation.
It is this combination of team and skill that will finally end Faolain’s treachery once and for all. Kas and Rox escort Logan back to safety while the rest of us take off in pursuit of Faolain. She taunts us with the fate of Trahearne, insisting that he will serve the dragon in due time. I crush barriers of stony pale thickets until we find ourselves standing before a pool of blue-green liquid from spin a a pair of winding thorny helixes.
Carefully, I jump onto the rotating incline and start up the ramp, only to be stymied by a magical wall. I try to pummel it with my hammer, but vines sprout from the base of the helix and begin flinging deadly poison at us. Caithe and the others fight desperately to keep the vines off of Braham and myself as we take out the transparent wall with our melee weapons.
We finally meet Faolain in combat on a stony ledge, a massive tree towering over us all rises behind her. Behind her, we see Trahearne bound to a vine and hanging upside down, unconscious. This tree is dragon’s lair with Faolain serving as Mordremoth’s own guard dog. She taunts me with the fate of Trahearne, goads Braham with the death of his mother Eir, and mocks Caithe’s independent nature. When she falls, we leave Caithe to burn the body.
She says she has already mourned the passing of her friend long before. Just are I approach to free the captive sylvari, the vine attached to Trahearne snaps up and pulls him down off of the cliff into the pool below. The only thing left is to follow it and hope we can free him before it’s too late.
You can watch the full video adventure here.
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