Jocelin’s Journal

JocelinMidsummer Festival, Fallcrest

Alright, I know I said I wasn’t much for keeping a journal, but today was important. Not just because of the festival (which was fun), or because Kvothe beat a bunch of children in a storytelling contest (which was hilarious), or even because I got mixed up in a secret resistance group (which, yeah, kind of a big deal). No, today was important because I made a choice.

The Womp Womp & Wizard Warnings

We started the day talking to Voren the Green, Fallcrest’s resident wizard and expert on all things weird and unsettling. We wanted to know if there was a pattern to the psychic pulses (which we’ve been calling the Womp Womp because, well, that’s what it feels like). He didn’t have much in the way of answers but did confirm a few things:

  • Mindflayers are probably involved. Fantastic.
  • Portals aren’t likely the cause. Less helpful.
  • His tower is warded against the Womp Womp, so if we wanted a safe place, we could stay there.
  • We should limit our interactions with dragons, even the "good" ones. (Kvothe actually nodded along like he agreed, which is ironic given how many dragons we seem to run into.)

Voren gave us some emergency teleportation tokens to use if another Womp Womp happened. I didn’t love the idea of depending on magic to escape, but if it meant not getting mind-blasted into unconsciousness again, I wasn’t going to argue.

Festival Fun & Kvothe’s Latest "Great Achievement"

The Midsummer Festival was in full swing, and for a brief moment, things felt normal. No undead. No kidnappings. No goblins trying to stab us in our sleep. Just people laughing, eating, and enjoying the day.

  • Zarah entered a strength contest and took second place. She wasn’t thrilled about not winning, but considering she beat a bunch of huge men and one very smug dwarf, I’d say she did fine.
  • Kvothe entered a storytelling contest and won. He strutted around with his little brass key like it was some grand artifact. It’s not.

(Kvothe’s note in the margin: “It is if you believe, Jocelin.”)

More importantly, no Womp Womp happened. Not at noon, not in the afternoon, not during the feast. Which meant either the source wasn’t ready, or something was interfering. Either way, we weren’t complaining.

The Silver Ravens & Why I Said Yes

Later that evening, a man named Elias approached me and said he worked with a group that had "similar enemies." That was vague and ominous, but Zarah and I agreed to check it out. Rindle came along in raven form (because of course he did), and Kvothe followed invisibly (because of course he did).

Elias led us outside Fallcrest, south for about fifteen minutes, then off the road into a grove of standing stones. There, we met the Silver Ravens.

  • Serena – Tall, elegant, dressed in silver and blue. Probably the leader.
  • Morgana – Motherly type, earthy robes, carried a staff. Kind eyes.
  • Jasper – A halfling bard in ridiculous colors. A little too charming.
  • Cedric – A squat, grumpy dwarf. Recognized him from the strength contest.

They’ve been watching the Iron Circle and confirmed what we already suspected:

  • The Iron Circle is staying in Fallcrest for a reason. They aren’t strong enough to take over yet, but they’re waiting for something.
  • They don’t know much about the Womp Womp but suspect the Iron Circle is either being paid or gathering resources for a bigger plan.
  • They know Marcus is dead. And Marcus’ allies are very, very mad about it.
  • They want to work together to remove the Iron Circle from the region.

Elias gave me a silver raven pin and told me they meet on the 30th and 60th of each month. If they can’t meet, they leave messages at the standing stones.

And this is where I made my choice.

I joined them.

Not officially. Not fully. But I agreed to share information, to help where I could. Because the truth is, the Iron Circle is dangerous, and we’re not enough to stop them alone. If we want to take back this region, if we want to stop whatever’s coming, we need allies. We need people who care about more than just themselves.

And the Silver Ravens? They care.

The Festival Ends & The Keep Beckons

The next morning, no Womp Womp. No sign of trouble. Voren took back his unused teleportation tokens and speculated that the pulses might not be on a set schedule. Whoever was behind them either wasn’t ready or was interrupted.

We didn’t wait around to find out which.

We headed to Nenlast to pick up Leander, our resident priest of Erastil, and bring him to Broken Spire Keep to finally perform the Hallow ritual. Kvothe also brought his dogs. I don’t know why I’m surprised anymore.

When we arrived, the Keep was undisturbed. No goblins had tried to take it, no new threats had moved in.

(Kvothe’s note in the margin: “This is suspicious. Also boring. But mostly suspicious.”)

Leander started the 24-hour ritual to cleanse the shrine of Asmodeus. While he worked, Rindle, Belthorne, and I tried to talk to spiders. (Again, my life is weird now.)

Turns out, the spiders have a deal with the goblins. The “small ones” bring them food. That’s… unsettling. And also, we don’t know what "food" means yet.

We asked if they’d lead us to the goblins in exchange for food, and one of them agreed before scuttling back into the trees. We’ll see where that leads.

I don’t know what the future holds. The Iron Circle is plotting, the Mindflayers are still out there, and now we have a vampire claiming territory. But we finally own something. A place to defend. A place to build.

And I intend to see it through.

—Jocelin