On the trail of the shadows
Our four heroes set off once again for Selbinger Rock Island—this time without any external threats, but with a mystery to solve. Find out here whether they are on the right track and can finally solve the mystery of the whereabouts of the shadows:
Our four heroes, Theobald Bonter, Löwenzahn, Kel Tuh Las, and Aldric von Praven, are returning to Selbinger Rock Island. Having already arrived in Selbingen last time, they are not going to let anything stop them today. They leave the belongings they don’t need for this mission in their little beach house and then head to their pier.
There they find one of the boats they took from the mysterious Blassen several weeks ago. The Blassen were bandits from the island of Ceaydryssnar who used a potion to give themselves a ghostly appearance. They used this to terrorize the inhabitants of Selbingen. However, since this threat has already been defeated, our four friends can paddle to the rocky island in peace this time and safely set foot on the rugged coast. All except Aldric, at least, who is still terrified of water and is not enjoying the boat trip very much.
After a little more than 45 minutes, our friends finally reach the island and climb out of the boat. “Do you remember that last time we discovered a small cave where a rope, ink, and a telescope were hidden?” Theo asks the group. While Kel stares at him blankly, Dandelion at least looks thoughtful. “Yes, I think you’re right,” Aldric finally replies in a weak voice. His face is still snow-white from the boat trip, with a slight greenish tinge. “Yes, let’s go there,” Theo motivates his friends, and so the four begin their ascent to the higher levels of the island.
Since no Gragur lizards stand in their way today, they reach the cave in no time. As last time, it lies cold and deserted before them. The wooden bucket is still standing in the corner of the cave just as they left it a few weeks ago, and the ink vial is still untouched inside it.
They rummage through their backpacks for the binoculars and the long rope they took with them on their last visit, then look at each other questioningly. “So what now?” Dandelion asks the group, but only receives a helpless shrug in response. “No idea,” Kel finally replies, then asks, “Didn’t Kampf give us some water?” “You’re right,” says Aldric, taking the bottle out of his backpack. “But that doesn’t really help us now, does it?” The others nod in agreement.
Instead of continuing to look around helplessly, the four decide to thoroughly inspect the cave. They tap the walls for a double wall, feel everything for possible pressure mechanisms, and listen to the cold rock. But none of this leads to success. Half an hour later, they are standing in the cave again, looking at each other in frustration. “This sucks, let Kampf bring the amulet to his guild himself,” Kel curses and kicks angrily at a small pile of pebbles. While most of the stones fly through the air in a high arc, some roll across the floor—and suddenly disappear. “Did you see that?” calls Löwenzahn, dropping to his knees. He runs his fingers over the ground. “There are little holes everywhere here. Maybe the ink should be poured onto the ground, and then the water will wash it into the holes,” he muses aloud.
Suddenly, the others are wide awake too. They decide to try Dandelion’s idea and place one person outside the cave with binoculars. This person is to watch from the cliff next to the entrance to see if anything happens.
Shortly afterwards, Dandelion opens the ink vial and pours it onto the ground at their feet. Kel quickly pours the water after it. A black puddle forms and disappears second by second until it is completely gone after about ten seconds. “There!” they hear Theo call from outside. Kel, Dandelion, and Aldric rush out of the cave to him. Through the binoculars, they can see a fine black trickle flowing from the rock into Lake Selbig. “Follow the trail until you reach the shore,” Theo instructs Aldric, who has snatched the binoculars from his hand. “I see an old tree with a bird’s nest. There’s nothing else there – nothing far and wide except that tree,” Aldric replies. “Then we’ll have to go to that tree,” Löwenzahn concludes.
No sooner said than done: the four of them quickly rush to their boat. The excitement helps Aldric get through the trip surprisingly well this time, and they reach the shore a short time later. The bare tree stands right in front of them. “It looks pretty dead,” remarks Dandelion. “Be careful if you want to climb it. The wood is probably rotten.” “If you lift me up, I might be able to reach the bird’s nest without us having to climb,” suggests Theo.
No sooner has he finished the sentence than he feels Kel’s strong hands on his hips. Kel lifts him up to the height of the nest with ease. Theo peeks inside. “Bingo!” he exclaims, holding a small parchment scroll in the air.
But you’ll have to wait until the next episode of Arkanthia Pen & Paper to find out what new information it contains.
