It was not terribly long before the Caelid scouts returned. Limgrave was ruined as we feared. Caelid hadn't changed much. They reported the same troubling news about the Divine Towers in Limgrave and Caelid. There was a dragon statue seemingly looking toward the inland sea.
There were superstitions about the sea, and most travel in the Lands Between were overland. I knew them only vaguely myself, for the Fire Monks cared little about things outside their own communities. However, now that the sea had boiled away, would we see the truth of those superstitions?
I dismissed the news again. Later. Immediate threats now.
My scouts had outdone themselves. The man who stood before me was more qualified for command than any of our patchwork community, myself included.
His armor was burnt and battered, his plume tattered, but here stood the last of the Redmane Knights. He had long abandoned Redmane Castle and their obsession with their lord Radahn, instead seeking to do the demigod proud in battle elsewhere. He would be honored, he declared, to serve in the land where the Red Lion had been reared.
He did indeed have solutions for the rotkin in the tunnels. His spear was an ideal weapon, and he had learned incantations to counteract those of the Cleanrot Knights so long ago. Of course, the Frenzied Flame was no concern, for the Redmanes were masters of fire.
I appointed him my right hand, and we began to make plans to defend our resources. Most crucial was his information that the Scarlet Rot could infest even crystalians. I had thought to negotiate with the dragon about using them in the tunnels, but it seemed doing so would only give my ex-wife extra forces.
We had begun to set up a workable plan when the consequences of the scouting mission manifested. Suvivors from Limgrave and Caelid now knew the Academy was a safe haven. We saw them coming from across the lakebed. That gave us enough time for a quick discussion with the faction heads, but it did not make things any easier.
We still had no source of renewable food, and our water was questionable to begin with. Each extra person would immediately reduce how long we could hold out. It was one thing to bring in a knight who had fought alongside the demigod Radahn against the Scarlet Rot. It was another to bring in George the Tailor.
Even if we had unlimited food and water, the barrier choked us. There were only so many glintstone keys, and each would only let its assigned person pass. Even just letting a camp form at the foot of the Academy was dangerousd. Such conditions often became rife with disease. We could not risk that with the Scarlet Rot so near.
I ordered the knights to clear them out.