An Interview with Limac the Boisterous

Hero of Kratas, Leader of the Elost Cult, Liberator of Seinragh

From the notes of Caarad Surestrider, submitted to Borrum Binbalik for his work "On the Bearers of Akasha"

Despite the conflict and chaos on all levels physical, spiritual, and economic that have struck Barsaive in the past few years, Limac has used his charisma to forge Seinragh into a bustling trade town, almost a smaller sister city to Kratas and a much more chaste sister at that. Even though the town is in its infancy, it already boasts (pun intended) six taverns, each named for an item of Elost Habroc. Each tavern, I am told, has the exploits of Elost and Limac featured prominiently. Further, I am told, Limac is only seen in those taverns which are named after items he himself found. In this case, we met at the Sword, bustling even in the mid-afternoon. Limac wore resplendent armor, around which fine purple robes made him look every inch the warrior ruler his legend made him out to be. He sat down, and with a large smile, greeted me.

“Ah, well met friend Surestrider. Although you yourself are a scholar of Legends, you too carry a mark of greatness, which has preceeded your arrival. We here in Seinragh are honored by your presence, and certainly I am flattered that the Great Library considers my association with the Bearers significant enough to warrant interviewing. Please order whatever you wish. As my guest, it is my duty and desire to provide for all your wants and needs.”

Although expecting a demonstration of his renowned oratory, I was still taken aback by his verbosity and eloquent style. I gave a slight murmur of appreciation for his offer to pay for my stay and, finding myself pleased by this turnaround of my fortunes, went straight on into the interview. My first question regarded the formation of the Cult of Elost.

“Ah, well…when I first discovered the Sword of Elost, I was overcome with a driving desire to reunite all the pieces of his arms and armor. To that end, I gathered my closest allies and, through the method of troubadours and storytelling, used them to spread the tale of Elost and myself so that any information that might be had would travel to me. Then, over time, a curious thing happened. In Kratas, there is little religion or faith in the gods. However, just because the Passions do not exist, it does not mean Name-giver desires do not exist. For many, that need to serve a Higher Purpose was a void for many, a void which my quest filled. Within a short number of years, my quest had turned into a religious crusade for many. Elost’s deeds and my own became things of good that my followers, many who had done great wrongs, felt were worthy causes that would redeem their own existences. In a political sense, this development helped me as it allowed me to grow big without drawing the wrath of any of the political powers in Kratas. In another sense, it also made me more responsible as so many had put their blind faith in me. I matured in a sense, but my drive to succeed was no less. It merely became more refined.”

I followed up by asking him what had become of the Cult since the successful completion of the quest.

“Determining what would become of the Cult is the primary reason why I abandoned the Bearers at their moment of greatest need. I do not flinch from saying ‘abandoned’ because that is precisely what I did. While I did work with the Bearers in some ways, my goals and responsibilities were never theirs. On one hand, I always had my followers and after the completion of the quest, I had the newly released citizens of Kaer Seinragh. In that moment, I knew firstly that these people had to be guided wisely lest they find defeat not in Horrors but in the thieves of Kratas or the slavers of K’tenshin. More importantly to me, though, was the fate of my followers. Without the Quest, I knew many would fall back into the downward spirals I had pulled them from. It was imperative then that I draw them once more to me and provide them with renewed purpose. The militia that you have seen, the artisans, labor and guards are all made up of my followers. Some have chosen to follow their own paths now, but many (most really) have chosen to join with me here in Seinragh, providing the town with a much needed sense of the world and determination to keep what is theirs.”

I continued by asking him to expand upon the desire that overcame him when he first found the sword and subsequently the boots.

“That there was magic involved is beyond question. The nature of that magic was never fully determined, although Sanjuro and I both agree that the motivating force behind it was that of Elost himself. As all legends of the man show, he was driven beyond measure to succeed in any task he undertook. Regardless of what some scholars might say about his methods, the fact remains that he saved many lives. Elost was supposed to return to Seinragh, but never did. He died outside the walls of the Kaer, protecting it while they attempted to put into place the final Rites and Runes. His body was borne to Kaer Nacu'ot, and along the way his items scattered. I suspect that his spirit could not rest without knowing if he succeeded or failed, certainly not that he was being made unwhole by the removal of his possessions. In that way, he embedded parts of his soul in each one, so that whomever might find them would be motivated to seek out the rest and ultimately himself so that he might go and bear witness to the results of his final act as a mortal. There are some who say that ultimately Elost’s goal was to possess whomever brought him back into the world and begin his wanderings anew. If that were the case, the actions of Sanjuro and I overcame it.”

We discussed details about his past, all of which he was vague on or merely reenforced rumors that were well-known to any troubadour. It was apparent that his image was something he managed carefully, having crafted it so deftly over the years. Our next spurt of detailed conversation came when discussing Sanjuro and the fate of the items of Elost.

“Sanjuro and I were are like sides of the same coin. That is one reason why we so adverse to each other before even having met. The other reason, of course, was that we were competing for the same goal. Thus, it would seem to many that we were on a collision course but when we met, an odd peace came over the both of us. I do not think that lesser men could have overcome the seeming fate of combat that awaited us, but in that moment we met and faced off we both realized that the Quest was more important than either of us. Although there was great mistrust, over time and through many conversations that mistrust turned into mutual respect. By the time the Bearers had liberated the Shield of Elost from that Theran, it wasn’t a consideration that either he or I would complete the Quest alone. Upon giving Elost’s spirit his final rest and freeing the people of Seinragh, we had come to a final realization – in following the Quest, we both changed. Following our separate paths, we did great good for Barsaive, matured in our view of the world and ourselves, and assumed and kept responsibilities. For Sanjuro, it was his association with the Bearers and orks of Viln and for myself, the citizens of Seinragh and my own followers. Having seen much of Barsaive between our experiences, we realized that while our responsibilities would draw us further from adventuring, the land still needed heroes to strive for and achieve greatness. That is why we chose to scatter the items of Elost again. No Legend can ever die, and soon enough some adventurers will, as we did, come across these items, and the Quest will begin anew. It takes a certain caliber of person to follow such a Quest. That is why, even if the scholars who feared Elost’s ‘self-serving nature’ were right, Sanjuro and I are confident that the degree of difficulty of gathering the items again would forge True Legends as we have become, and overcome any such trap as we may very well have done.”

At this point, a messenger came in and delivered a slip of paper to Limac. He read it, and immediately excused himself, citing a minor emergency that required his immediate supervision. As he was halfway to the door, I realized that he had not yet paid for our meals and also that I had not asked him the question I had been saving for the end. As I fumbled between duty and desire, Limac drew toward the exit of the tavern.

Finally, with my time having run down, I chose duty and while sadly reaching for my purse of coins, I asked Limac the one question I had been saving for last.

"Limac, tell me - did you ever meet Rokk Krinn and talk with him?"

Limac merely smiled, and with a last step moved out of sight.

Introduction to Limac

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