SolomonV2 Recap Page

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here is a recap page for ST:EM2 (4th iteration), separated by DATE, newest bottom. This is meant to be a running narrative, and a holding place until categorization later

9-11-2025

Family Expectations — Fire, Legacy, and the Name "Merlin"

The world opens on a quiet renewal as Solomon Waystone and his father, Hector Waystone, speak of the boy’s uncertain future. Hector insists that Solomon is meant for more than soldiering—his intellect and promise belong in the family gem business. They share talk of youth, temptation, and Solomon’s friend Joshua, who once boasted of a non-human brothel near Four Rivers.

Later, father and son work together in the sheds, burning away remnants of old projects. Among the papers marked for fire, Solomon finds a piece of vellum written in elegant hand. On its reverse lies a short note: Meet in the usual place Thursday. – Merlin. Over dinner, Solomon shows it to his parents. Hector remarks that Merlin was “an old friend… knew your grandfather, too.”

9-24-2025

The Shepherd’s Cross Incident — The Voice Beneath the Earth

Solomon joins a caravan bound for Toth Wynnd and takes a scout’s assignment alongside Jeffrey. They ride ahead to inspect the trail and watering hole at Shepherd’s Cross, only to find it dry and muddy. Jeffrey turns back to redirect the caravan while Solomon seeks the spring’s source. After hours navigating narrow canyons, Solomon discovers a high valley with a flowing spring that feeds into a hidden cavern below. Climbing to investigate, he glimpses a cabin and grazing cattle before slipping and falling into the cavern itself.

Inside, the space proves to be an ancient cistern. Solomon salvages driftwood to make a fire—evidence suggests fires had burned there before. His father’s sword is gone, lost to the depths. He cannot climb back out. Praying softly, he follows the current through flooded tunnels and over cascading falls, losing nearly all his possessions. Exhausted, he finds a ledge with stacked stones diverting the flow of water. When he removes them, a calm voice warns, “Brace yourself.” The released torrent nearly sweeps him away but restores the spring above.

Emerging into the late afternoon light after a full night underground, Solomon hears voices approaching. Instinctively he hides—just as men’s shouts pierce the air: “Find him and kill him!” A desperate chase follows. Cornered, Solomon fights one attacker hand-to-hand before Jeffrey and Bucephalus arrive, arrows felling the man. Kneeling beside the dying foe, Solomon asks quietly if it hurts—his voice filled with pity, not malice.

10-2-2025

Roads and Revelations — Wittich the Mage and the Family in the Dale

On the road beyond Emberton, Solomon seeks food and encounters again the mysterious musician he’d once noticed at a roadside club. The man, Wittich, strikes up conversation, bluntly asking if Solomon is attracted to men. Solomon declines the notion; Wittich only smiles, saying there is something unusual about him. Across hours of talk, Solomon confides that he heard a voice in the cavern. Wittich immediately recognizes this as the likely cause of the strange attention surrounding him. He names Franklin Flinch as a real and living person, then demonstrates his own power—retrieving a newspaper from Deepdale through a shining doorway. The revelation of true magic leaves Solomon stunned.

Wittich soon departs with another caravan. Solomon, weary, falls asleep on Topaz, who wanders from the road. He awakens in late afternoon to startle a bear, then spends hours regaining his bearings. Spotting what he believes to be his caravan in a dale below, he rides to it and finds instead a friendly family who know his parents. They feed him and offer shelter. That night, while he sleeps, a young woman enters his tent unannounced. By morning, Solomon realizes with unease that it was not the elder daughter he had been flirting with, but her younger sister. He departs soon after, finding Bucephalus waiting for him. The two ride together, Solomon confiding the strange and unsettling turn of his journey.

10-23-2025

The Crossroads Massacre and the Mage’s Door

Solomon Waystone and Bucephalus rode to catch up with the caravan, knowing they had one more night’s camp before reaching Toth Wynnd. The evening passed without trouble, but at dawn Bucephalus and Eddert, one of the hired hands, rode ahead to scout the way through the Bloody Hills—a stretch of valley descending toward the great clearing outside the city. For ten miles in every direction around Toth Wynnd, the forests had long been cut down to deny raiders and bandits any cover. The southern crossroads was their planned camp for the night, a common meeting point for caravans entering the city.

By the time the Barrickea Gem and Mineral Caravan reached the crossroads, the place was strangely empty. As dusk fell, theirs was the only camp on the flats. Uneasy, Bucephalus and Stoja, the second-in-command, rode out to survey the treeline, agreeing to return within two hours. Solomon, left in charge, ordered the others to stay alert. Stoja returned alone—nothing amiss, he said—but Bucephalus had not come back.

Solomon took rest before his watch, but sleep was short and troubled. When Bucephalus remained missing, he sent two riders to look for him, warning them not to go deep among the trees. They found nothing. When Stoja proposed a full search party, Solomon refused: “Bucephalus would never leave the caravan undefended to chase one man in the dark.” His steadiness impressed the others, who quietly praised his decision.

Moments later, the horses went tense, staring toward the eastern verge. Solomon turned to shout a warning—“Hey, somethi—” —and thirty riders in black erupted from the treeline. The camp dissolved in screams and chaos. Solomon ducked behind a wagon as the bandits butchered his men. Running would mean crossing open ground; staying meant death. He crawled through brush until he found shelter beneath tangled roots, watching helplessly as wagons were looted and driven away. When the raiders began counting bodies, they realized one was missing and fanned out with torches. Solomon’s mind fractured under the horror of it.

He watched as Topaz was struck and roughly saddled. A massive man tried to mount and was thrown hard, arguing with another who seemed no more in command. When the second man moved to take the horse, Solomon gathered his courage to rush them. He rose—and pain exploded in his chest as an arrow struck him through the ribs, another through the abdomen. One of the searchers had seen him rise and fired. As the world dimmed, Solomon heard a name spoken among the bandits—McLean. His fading thought wondered if they meant the ranger of legend.

Scene for the Audience

In a tavern at Toth Wynnd, Wittich sits with his companions Ossian and Riva, exchanging jests and stories of recent travels. Between laughter, Wittich remarks that he now understands what others mean when they say they can see potential in a person. As he speaks, a rider arrives outside and ties up a horse Wittich recognizes instantly. “That’s the horse of the young man I told you about,” he says.

The rider, pressed by the mages, confesses he was paid several hundred silver and a handful of gold to sack a gem caravan and vanish with the cargo. The three mages exchange grim looks and ride for the crossroads. By the time they arrive, buzzards circle the sky. Other caravans have stopped to bury the dead. Following a trail of scorched grass, the mages find a burned hollow and a body among the ashes.

Ossian kneels and turns the young man’s face toward the light. “It’s him,” Wittich breathes. They share a moment of sorrow—until fresh blood wells from the wounds. In a heartbeat they move: arrows drawn free, hands blazing with power. A doorway of light blooms open. Wittich, Ossian, and Riva carry Solomon through, disappearing into the forest beyond.

The Witch of the Forest and the Factor of Wynnd

Solomon awakens in agony, gasping as his head strikes the table beneath him. Voices surround him—urgent, commanding, foreign. Fingers press into his wounds; pain surges, then dissolves into the wild confusion of magical healing. Emotion floods through him: terror, ecstasy, grief, and wonder all at once. When it is done, his clothes are soaked with blood. A woman named Vordai offers him a fine shirt that once belonged to her daughter’s father, the cloth worth more than Solomon dares guess.

In the candlelight he meets his rescuers: Vordai, called the Witch of the Forest, the mages Riva and Ossian, and a quiet youth named Aerin. Vordai teases Solomon about giving her a granddaughter—or perhaps she isn’t entirely joking. Soon after, he travels by a mage’s doorway for the first time while conscious, emerging within the walls of Toth Wynnd to recover his horse. Bucephalus, however, remains missing, and Wittich departs to search for him.

The next day, Solomon meets the Factor of Toth Wynnd, Malachi Brunswick. Malachi offers perfunctory condolences for the loss of the caravan but is chiefly concerned about the missing cargo. He hands Solomon a parchment addressed to Hector Waystone. “If you don’t find your father,” he says dryly, “I suppose you can read it yourself.” When Solomon asks what he means, Malachi shrugs. “Caravans disappear, people die. Things happen.”

Determined to reach his father, Solomon pays a silver coin for passage on a river skiff bound for Toth Safira. The vessel rides low, heavy with cargo, and soon grounds on sandbars. Solomon helps the crew lighten her, earning a meal among them. During their talk, the captain and first mate, Janni, reveal that a crate was loaded aboard this very skiff the morning after the massacre—a revelation that fills Solomon with dread and resolve.

Upon reaching Toth Safira, Solomon goes to his uncle’s mansion but is refused entry by a servant. Through a window he sees his grandmother, Hemetia Waystone, matriarch of the Waystone gem empire, who tells him where to find his father. Solomon races to the warehouse district, where he discovers Bucephalus and his uncle in tense conversation with Hector. Reunited, Solomon embraces them both and recounts all that has happened.

Together they read the note from Malachi Brunswick. It contains only five words: “You owe me 350 gold.” The implication is clear—Brunswick arranged the attack as an insurance fraud, and the massacre of the caravan was collateral damage in a debt unpaid.

11-12-2025

The Party at Toth Safira and the Fall of the Waystones

At Sebastian Waystone’s estate in Toth Safira, a grand party brings together the region’s gem merchants, investors, and social elite. The event feels wrong from the start. Solomon Waystone senses tension beneath the polish — a forced celebration masking quiet schemes. Among the guests, Solomon notices Nessa, a frightened young woman being bartered for the evening’s entertainment. He intervenes, hiding her away and ensuring her safety before returning to the gathering.

Later, Solomon finds Bucephalus collapsed and incoherent, suffering from what physicians call a skull crush wound to the head. His mind reels, showing early signs of the dreaded stagger curse. Solomon carries him to an inn to rest and calls for help. Through fragmented speech, Bucephalus reveals that he knew of plans surrounding the caravan attack — but before Solomon can learn more, Bucephalus is found murdered the next morning in Toth Safira. His throat is cut, his body left as warning.

In the aftermath, truths begin to surface. Sebastian Waystone is revealed to have made a secret accord with the Brunswick family, aiming to force Barrickea Gem and Mineral into bankruptcy so that the firm could be reborn as an end-merchant enterprise — a long-held ambition of his. The mercenaries he hired were meant to stage a loss, not a slaughter. When the killings began, the situation spun beyond his control. Confronted by Solomon and Hector Waystone, Sebastian defends his actions as “necessary business.” Hector, disgusted, disowns his brother and assumes full responsibility for the Brunswick debt himself. They are thrown out of Sebastian’s house.

At Hector’s request, Solomon arranges passage aboard a vessel bound for Synhoven that same night — the fastest route out of Toth Safira. The family gathers under cover of darkness, fearful of reprisal. Hector arrives at the last moment, calming their panic only long enough to say that the Brunswicks “accepted the deal with impatience.” Once aboard, he confides privately to Solomon that the meeting did not go well and that the Waystones now flee for their lives.

As the ship cuts through the black waters toward the open sea, Hector speaks of sending Solomon and Melisande to Nialis to live with their uncle Steadig. Solomon pleads not to be separated — Hector will need his son’s sword arm for what lies ahead. Moved by Solomon’s conviction, Hector relents, and the family begins to make new plans for Nialis, the shadow of the Brunswicks’ wrath stretching long behind them.

12-03-2025

Waiting for the Dead and Meeting the Enemy

With the Waystone family scattered and the future uncertain, Solomon Waystone purchased a fresh horse and new equipment and drove the animal hard toward Troydon, seat of the Grand Monastery. Upon arrival, he intercepted and dispatched a courier bearing a letter from his parents to Count Margrave in Emberton. Solomon then took refuge at the monastery as a paying guest, where all travelers were welcome for a few nights. During supper in the dining hall, he was startled to see Nessa among the guests. The two shared a quiet evening together, a brief moment of calm amid the storm.

The following day, Solomon traveled back downriver toward Toth Safira, continuing on to Synhoven, where he had arranged to reunite with his father. Unknown to Solomon, darker currents followed close behind.

Scene for the Audience

Nessa is confronted by a bounty hunter in Troydon. He reminds her that she is a runaway bound by contract, and that her obligations remain unpaid. His threat is clear: she must return and fulfill the terms, or be taken by force. Solomon is not present for this exchange and remains unaware of the danger now closing in on her.

In Synhoven, Solomon checked into an inn under the name Elumas. Each day for the next week, he asked the front desk if anyone had arrived for him. Each day, the answer was no. He haunted the docks, questioning captains and stevedores about arriving ships, first cautiously, then openly, no longer caring if he was recognized. By the twelfth day since his separation from his family, despair had fully taken hold. Certain something was wrong, Solomon went to the Barrickea Gem and Mineral factor shop in Synhoven seeking news.

The news was devastating. Wreckage had been found along the route of the ship Nina, and no word had been received from her crew or passengers. A dark northern vessel had been sighted in the same waters. Solomon’s heart collapsed inward. His father Hector Waystone, his mother Laeala Waystone, and his sister Melisande Waystone were presumed dead.

Solomon took a horse from the factor shop and rode it mercilessly back to Toth Safira. He delivered the news to Hemetia Waystone, who collapsed under the weight of it. When Sebastian Waystone appeared, Solomon confronted him with raw fury, declaring, “You’re dead to me.” He left the estate and rode out of the city, eventually stopping to make camp with a passing caravan.

At dawn, Solomon discovered Jarrus of the Toth Safira warehouse cooking over the fire. After Jarrus departed, Solomon offered prayers to Franklin Flinch, asking for guidance in sharing food and mercy with those in need. He returned to the Waystone estate, apologized to Hemetia, and then went to the Toth Safira warehouse to take stock.

There, Solomon learned that Sebastian had been telling the men that the caravan massacre had been Hector’s fault. Enraged, Solomon asserted his assumed authority as majority shareholder and declared it a terminable offense to slander either his father or his uncle without proof. Reviewing the books, Solomon discovered that the deal involving the murdered caravan did not exist in the ledgers at all — implying the presence of hidden accounts. One worker approached Solomon privately, asking to meet later at the Old Fish Inn by the wharf. Solomon, overwhelmed, forgot the meeting and never went.

That evening, Solomon shared tea with Hemetia in the arboretum. He apologized to Sebastian for his earlier cruelty, though he did not retract his words. Confronting him again, Solomon demanded the lies about Hector stop. Sebastian admitted he had sold shares to the Brunswick family and that their agreement required full control of the company. He warned Solomon that it would be in his best interest to abandon the Toth Safira location entirely. Questions about the hidden books went unanswered.

Solomon returned to Synhoven and met with a warehouse manager recently returned from Van Oerendia. There was no sign of the Nina. Solomon ensured the workers continued to be paid during the transition, then boarded a ship bound for Van Oerendia, intending to continue onward to Nialis to inform Steadig of his sister’s death.

Three hours into what would be a two-and-a-half-day voyage, Solomon encountered Damon Brunswick. With calm efficiency, Damon asked Solomon about his intentions regarding the company. Solomon restrained his anger and answered honestly: he was grieving and not yet in a position to decide. Damon clarified Sebastian’s situation and surprised Solomon by his candor and restraint. He suggested that, when the time came, Solomon should speak with his sister, Zarra Brunswick. Over the next day, the two spoke casually, and Damon repeated that Solomon and Zarra should meet.

Unable to sleep one night, Solomon went to the deck around the fourth hour. There he witnessed Damon speaking quietly with Zarra, urging her to get to know Solomon. Damon explained that it would do her good — and that it might help if Solomon associated the future of the company with a friendly face.

Solomon later awoke to a hand on his shoulder and a voice: Zarra Brunswick.

Over coffee, Solomon and Zarra spoke for more than an hour. Solomon felt a connection unlike anything he had known — not lust, but depth and clarity. Zarra offered, without prompting, to help him search for news of his family. Solomon accepted, adding quietly that she might accompany him to tell his uncle that his sister was dead. They spoke of cities, travel, and favorite places, agreeing to be fast friends and see as much of the world as they could.

Scene for the Audience

Zarra later confronts Damon privately, asking whether he intends to kill, extort, or threaten Solomon. Damon answers no. Zarra tells him she has offered to accompany Solomon in his search — or to deliver the news of death. Damon accepts this without objection.

As the ship neared port, Solomon and Zarra arranged a place to meet. When the time came, Solomon admitted uncertainty about her preferred mode of travel. He planned to walk the city and buy a horse, offering to arrange a carriage if she wished. Zarra smiled and told him she could walk just fine. The two young heirs stepped together into the streets of Van Oerendia.