I was weak when I left the stronghold of Mondain, and were
it not for my burning desire to drink, I might have taken to
the ground, and slept the sleep of the dead. But I was parched,
and so with my mind fixated on ale and wine, I climbed to safety,
carrying only my sword and a small bag of crystal shards.
Inside each shard I could see, by turning them this way
and that, little pockets or mirrors of movement. They were
like one of the childrens toys that Nystul had shown
me, with pictures of clowns or warriors that danced and moved
when the light hit them from different angles. But then, they
were not like that at all. For the movement I could see within
each of the shards was different, both from the other shards
and from the way the it looked itself in the light.
When I arrived at Lord British's castle, I assured all that
Mondain had been defeated, and his evil ways would no more
corrupt the land. With the Gem of Immortality destroyed, Lord
British was quite sure that we were free of its influence.
I showed Nystul the shards of the Gem. He was instantly fascinated
and scurried off to his room to study them.
Id forgotten about the shards over time, but many,
many years later, upon returning to aid Lord British once
again, I discovered that others had not forgotten about them.
I arrived at Lord British's castle weary, but in good spirits,
as I was assured that evil had once again been defeated, and
the land would be corrupted no longer. In fact Nystul was
quite sure that the evil spell that had covered the world
would never again be rekindled. When I asked Nystul about
the shards of the Gem, he became visibly upset and vanished
into his chambers.
I spent the next week in the company of Lord British himself,
and was pampered by wine, meats, and riches. I woke one morning
to find Nystul in my room, waiting for me to awaken from my
slumber. He bid me to wash up and come to his chambers, and
I did so (but only after having a hearty breakfast). I found
his chambers, as always, covered with musty tomes, books,
scrolls, and the occasional vial or beaker of strange fluids.
On a large table at one end of the room a rat ran dizzily
back and forth through a glass maze. Next to the maze sat
Kyndeera, Nystul's cat, keeping a close eye on the rat's progress.
At the other end of the room sat Nystul, awaiting my presence.
On the table in front of him, he had several of the larger
shards of the Gem being held up by wire stands, so that he
could look at them from almost every angle without touching
them. Id forgotten how beautiful they were. He beckoned
me to come over, and as I did I noticed that even from where
I stood ten or so paces away from the table, I could see movement
within them. I was startled as I approached closer, and using
the glass end of one of Nystul's magic spyglasses, I was able
to look deep into the gem. And what I saw astounded me.
It was Britannia, the same that I stand on now, the same
that I stood on as I looked into the shard of a gem and saw
what I could only think of as Lord Britishs realm. And
the movement! It was amazing. Farmers toiled in fields outside
of Yew. Paladins trained in Trinsic to do battle with the
orcs that I could see amassing just outside of Cove. Ships
sailed the oceans. A dragon darted into a cave north of Minoc.
It was tiny, but with Nystul's glass I could see it all.
What does this mean? I asked Nystul. He simply gestured
at the other shards. When he finally did speak, it was like
he was afraid of each word coming out of his mouth. His discovery
had made him weak and as he spoke he grew weaker. He told
me that each of the shards contained a copy of the world of
Britannia. Complete with Lord British's castle, the dungeons,
Blackthorne's castle, and even the shrines. He was fascinated
to find that in many respects, the mirrored worlds were the
same. Shopkeepers, shoppes, taverns, bars. These could be
found by looking in each of the mirrored worlds.
But at the same time there were striking differences. Nystuls
voice dragged as he told me that in some worlds towers and
castles were being erected in the dangerous areas outside
the guards control. In some worlds murderers ran free throughout
the woods, killing innocents with no thought to the consequences.
He went on and on, for he'd been watching the worlds constantly
for the last few days. He'd dreamed of them, and he'd had
visions of their fates. He would reveal none of this to me,
but instead, collapsed onto his bed and slept.
It was days later that Lord British invited me to visit
his trophy room. I'd tried to forget about the shards of the
Gem by then, losing myself in the majesty of the palace, and
all the wine and food I could stuff into myself. Seeing Nystul
in the trophy room arguing with Lord British about something
brought me back to reality, and I realized just before they
saw me that one of the shards was displayed prominently in
the center of the room. I vaguely recalled there being a picture
there before, but before I could remember what it was I was
shocked into the present by the booming of Lord British's
voice.
He bade me come in and have a look at his newest trophy.
A shard of the Gem in which you could see the daily life of
Britannians in a distorted reflection of reality. He seemed
very pleased with it. Nystul was disdainful, but in the presence
of our ruler he kept his head and made no disparaging remarks.
It was while glancing at the shard on display that I realized
which picture was missing. On a plaque just below the dais
on which the shard sat were the words: SIEGE PERILOUS, and
I recalled that it was a painting of my first trip to Sosaria
through a moongate of that name.
I spoke with Lord British for several minutes about the
shard, and he explained that he was most curious about the
world it contained. What if, he asked, the world inside this
shard is the real world? And we are merely a copy of the truth.
Perhaps our world would soon be crushed under the heels of
a tyrant and with its destruction would come our doom.
I spoke plain and true, explaining to Lord British that any
world which I inhabited must be the true real world. I was
surprised that he did not share my view. But he merely smiled
and nodded and Nystul mumbled something about arrogance.
Lord British was called away soon after, and once I was
alone with Nystul he unloaded his doubts and fears on me.
He led me back to his chambers and showed me one of the other
shards. One in which war had broken out all across the land.
I was reminded of the time I spent in the Stygian Abyss as
I watched the battles play out through the shard. When he
thought I'd seen enough, Nystul took the shard and wrapped
it in black cloth.
He told me that he planned to destroy it later, using a
method he could not describe. He was fearful that the fates
would make things worse in the worlds of each of the other
shards. To me he gave the task of separating them. They have
more power, he said, when they are together. They somehow
remember their time spent as the Gem, and they try to force
their way back together, he told me. I reassured him that
I would distribute the shards out amongst the world. The shard
of Siege Perilous would remain behind in Lord British's trophy
room. The rest would be taken to the four corners of the world.
I arranged to have a couple of the shards taken across land
to remote locations in the woods or mountains. The rest I
put on ships, to be taken far to the east and west, and in
some cases around the world to distant lands. I don't know
what happened to the shard that reminded me so much of the
Abyss, but if Nystul is to be believed (and he usually is)
then it's doom is forthcoming. I wonder sometimes, even now,
what happened to those who inhabited that world.
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