Newspaper (Fae)

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

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It always seemed comical when she had to push her way through the tree branches and bushes that led towards the cave. Years of growth and very little interference from the druids and creatures alike had built up a decent natural defense and camouflage. She only knew where it was because of the amount of times she'd visited since becoming High Druid. Prior to her ascension, she never would have guessed that there was a cave here, let alone one that played host to what had the potential to be one of the most legendary magical objects still in existence. That begged the question of how many other locations just like this existed on Hy-Brasil? Guarded by dragons or behind charmed rock walls? Maybe even the merpeople protected pockets under the island, only accessible via swimming underwater. There was a lot of unknown around here still despite the druids inhabiting the island for centuries, and she always supposed that was due to years of oral history changing ever so slightly, and writings degrading with time. The archives certainly would have been more useful if they were labeled by year. As it stood, they weren't even done by century.

Pulling back the last layer of brush with a tap of Merlin's staff against the ground, Fae finally exposed the entrance to the cave. It was still hidden in the wall, having to squeeze through from an angle and then immediately turning a few more times until getting all the way in. She waited right next to the gap and then moved slowly so that Xiulan could see the correct method to get through. "It has a bit of a squeeze, but opens up right away," she stated as she started to shuffle through it. Dispelling any worries of claustrophobia was sort of the plan with how she described the way to get in. Once on the inside she tapped the staff on the ground again and a bulb of light formed at its tip, enveloping the gnarled knot of ancient English oak. The cavern was instantly illuminated.

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[xiulan zhou]

March 19, 2026

Fae cleared away some of the obstacles in their path by tapping the staff against the ground, and Xiulan felt relieved that they wouldn't have to clamber over anything. The entrance into the cave, though, was a different challenge altogether. It was a narrow entrance, and Xiulan watched as Fae made her way inside first. As Fae told her beforehand, it would be a squeeze, and it looked it.

Xiulan, who was immediately thankful for her own thin frame, wished that she had brought some Calming Draught with her when she had put her suitcase away, but she hadn't thought that it would be necessary. Without it, she had begun to feel slightly dizzy but trusted that the cave would be bigger on the inside, as Fae claimed.

She followed Fae into the cave, breathing more heavily than she would have liked as she relaxed somewhat upon making it inside. Fae had illuminated the interior of the cave using the staff as a light source, and Xiulan paused to get her breathing back to normal as she took it in. What was this place?

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

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Despite having been here numerous times over the years, and quite frequently as of late, the cavern always left her in awe when she first entered it. There were dozens of nooks and caves like this throughout the island. She wouldn’t doubt it if more were still unexplored or forgotten to time. But this specific one, the one that had been the home to Merlin’s Staff since Merlin himself had placed it there himself, was special. It was the literal interpretation of a cavern, where the ceiling was so far above them that the light from her spell didn’t even come close to reaching it. While she knew where the top of the dome technically was because she could walk there on the outside, it still felt humongous on the inside. Moss lined the walls near where they entered, a natural response to the high humidity of the interior. The fact that the cavern boasted its own ecosystem was amazing. If she hadn’t been so worried about fixing the barrier or solving the riddle of Yrisle, she would have been spending her time studying what the cave had to offer.

Tapping the staff again, the light turned into a globular shape and bubbled ahead of them, casting a bluish glow in its wake. Fae trailed behind it closely, though she knew the way to the center fairly well. “I suppose I should explain why we are here first, before we get too far in,” she turned and said to Xiulan. The blob of light bobbed back towards her, stopping right next to the staff again. “This is the cavern where Merlin placed his staff,” she stated, adjusting it in her hand. “When he did so, he cast a spell that created the protective shield around Hy-Brasil. That charm has, at least from my research, been lost to time. Somehow it was removed and when I arrived here, I found the staff lying on the ground.” That had been a dark day for druid kind. Fae had come to realize that their barrier had limited a lot of what they needed now, but it had still allowed for the animals that lived here to run in terror. Losing them had been the worst thing to happen to Hy-Brasil in centuries. “Considering Yrisle appeared soon after I gained possession of Merlin’s staff, I fear the two are associated. So that is why we have come here. Hopefully there will be something in the archives to guide us, but I need as much help as I can get. For all of our sakes.”

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[xiulan zhou]

March 19, 2026

"I suppose I should explain why we are here first, before we get too far in," Fae started regarding the cave they had entered. Though Xiulan trusted that Fae hadn't taken her there to trap her there, say, she supposed that it would be helpful to have an explanation about the significance of the cave.

"This is the cavern where Merlin placed his staff," continued Fae then, which certainly was an explanation. She clarified that Merlin had created the enchanted barrier that had protected Hy-Brasil's magic—a barrier that had since fallen. Fae said that she had found the staff on the ground, which apparently wasn't where it was supposed to have been.

"Considering Yrisle appeared soon after I gained possession of Merlin's staff," Fae went on, "I fear the two are associated. So that is why we have come here. Hopefully there will be something in the archives to guide us, but I need as much help as I can get. For all of our sakes."

Xiulan, despite having been left with even more questions than answers after hearing the full explanation from Fae, nodded. She still wasn't sure what Fae thought she could help her in solving, but she at least knew what they were working with. That was a starting point, and it wasn't a bad one. "I'm happy to help you with any research," Xiulan promised Fae, "but I don't have any experience with Shield Charms that strong." Her magical abilities certainly didn't rival those of Merlin himself.

fae iona cloudbreaker

[fae iona cloudbreaker]

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Whatever happened next was bound to be difficult. That was par for the course when it came to being High Druid though. Very few days were relaxing, even more so over these last few months. She knew that things would be taken care of eventually, for better or worse. For the time being, the most Fae could do was research and use the tools she had at her disposal. That meant joining with Xiulan and the Ministry and combining their knowledge of magic and history to try and solve the problem at hand.

Merlin's cave, while an important focal point for the island, was of no use currently and she had already scoured every corner for secret entrances or messages left behind by the warlock. Perhaps that was optimistic of her, as it seemed only the mainlanders had any sort of useful knowledge on his exploits in life. She didn't even know why he had come to Hy-Brasil in the first place, though it didn't take much imagination to assume it was for the purpose of research. The island wasn't exactly a holiday getaway, as much as some mainlanders seemed to believe it was. Proper education always worked out in the druids' favor though, and even during her years as an island tour guide she managed to sort them right out.

"That is fine. I merely need another pair of eyes to help look through everything," Fae responded. Truthfully, she didn't think the shield charm would ever come back at this point. Despite her title as High Druid, that didn't automatically make her as great of a witch as Merlin was in his life. Some members of the Council would argue that she was, but there hadn't been anything in her life that could prove it. She failed to keep the staff in place and was unable to step onto Yrisle. "Shall we head back now? We will have plenty of time to go over this again tomorrow...or however long it will take..." Prompting the blob of light, Fae turned to lead the two of them back out of the cavern and towards the town once again. Hopefully they'd be able to find something over the next day or so.

[The End]

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