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.