Delivering the Warning

Although it likely doesn't need to be said, I despite ratlins. Every last one of those filthy vermin deserves to meet with an untimely accident. They have utterly infested Echo Pass, and even the Enclave guards were having trouble holding them back. They're a damn plague.

Upon arriving at the Enclave, we discovered that the Vanquisher was not there, and the guards directed us to  Eldrayn, the Grand Regent.

We were too late. The Alchemist had already tried to enter the Enclave, although the vanquishers and the Grand Regent were able to keep him from passing through the gates. He instead circled around the Enclave and headed south, into the Temple Steppes with the Vale and a detachment of her vanquishers in pursuit.

Malia agreed with Vale's theory about why the Alchemist was travelling to the Temple. The Guardian of Water made the temple it's home, and the powers of a Guardian were likely tempting to the corrupt Alchemist. According to Malia, he has always been power hungry, despite the fact it destroyed him, and that it wouldn't surprise her if he intended to kill the Guardian for its power. Given that Malia was once enslaved to the same forces that the Alchemist was, I trusted her opinion.

We agreed to investigate, however one of the vanquishers stopped us before we could leave the Enclave. He was concerned about the fact that the Sturmbeorn had ventured into the Estherian Steppes, and even more concerned about the fact they were setting up a smithing encampment near the Enclave. Preliminary guesses pointed to the beast-like men using foreign schematics, and he asked if we might bring them to him, should we happen upon this encampment on our way to the Temple.

I made no promises, and we set out for the Temple.