Chapter Twenty-Nine

At the Temple of Knowledge, Mikail studies the Rule of Distance and reveals two rare exceptions: presenting the king with a black egg from an amarth queen, or bringing the head of Staraheli, the long-dead northern leader. The group absorbs the dangers—amarth as lethal, speaking bird-humans; Staraheli’s grave likely in Marnan ice caves.

Euyn finds lore that the Golden Ring weakens a wearer’s blood; kings sought amarth eggs to cleanse it. This explains the egg’s value and the extreme rewards tied to both exceptions. Despite reluctance, they accept that one success grants a private audience with Quilimar.

Mikail assigns teams: Aeri and Royo to stealthily steal the egg in the Light Mountains; Mikail, Sora, and Euyn to retrieve Staraheli’s head near the ice caves. Rendezvous is set for The Revelry in Vashney in ten days, with a contingency to proceed alone if one team fails.

Connecting the pieces, Mikail concludes Joon likely learned these exceptions from a temple and kept the group alive to exploit their specific skills to approach Quilimar, potentially for Sora to poison her. The murders of the priests may relate to this knowledge, though motives remain uncertain.

Priest Luhk produces a hidden scroll stating Quilimar cannot wield the Golden Ring. Realizing the explosive nature of this secret and the danger it invites, the group decides they must leave the temple immediately before soldiers return.