Frankly I would've been surprised if you hadn't recognised me. Yes, tis I, Captain Sigmund Fairgraves. Wave Tamer, Piratebane, and conveyor of civilisation to barbaric lands.
So what am I doing here, apart from blowing my own bugle? I'm marooned. Languishing, thanks to a pair of pretty blue eyes.
Stuck fast in the filthy mud of Wraeclast, thanks to one sultry little slave girl. I liberated her from the flesh pits of Trarthus and she repaid me in full, with sleight of hand and swift feet. Turned the coat of my first mate, took my hard-earned Allflame, and with it the wind out of my sails.
Find my Allflame, I beg of you. Until I feel its warmth again, I'm trapped here, high and dry until the sun's final setting.
I hunted the vagaries of a near-forgotten myth to a shattered cathedral in the inner Empire. I took the Allflame, and encased it within a lantern of pure silver... the only element it seemed incapable of consuming.
Oh, the Allflame does many a marvellous thing, in the hands of one who knows how to harness its power. Banish any thoughts of using it for yourself. It would burn you alive.
My loveliest neighbour in this most salubrious of neighbourhoods. Facing Merveil and finding my Allflame are two mutually exclusive endeavours. I'd much prefer you to live to see your errand fulfilled.
Although, it is possible that my wayward slave girl fell prey to one of Merveil's slithering progeny. If that be the case, you look resourceful enough to handle a tentacled wench or two. But if Merveil herself has my flame, be very wary. That necklace of hers provides the old siren with some subtle wiles indeed.
If the history books are to be believed, Daresso the Daring presented the necklace to Merveil on bended knee. And from the moment he placed that little chunk of Wraeclast at her throat, Merveil began to sing. It's told her sweet voice grew to fill even the largest concert halls of Oriath, and brought warmth to even the coldest of hearts.
But then she began to change. Her mind and body twisted, as did her songs. The sweetness remained while the sanity fled. Knowing what little I do about the powers that lie dormant here in Wraeclast, I'd surmise that if you have Merveil's necklace, you have the Siren's voice.
Oh, you want your moment in the firelight now, do you? Unfortunately, necessity is what it is, and for the Allflame to give life it must first be kindled with life. And since suitable kindling is in short supply around these parts, I have little option but to make do with what I have.
Oh, you want your moment in the firelight now, do you? Unfortunately, necessity is what it is, and for the Allflame to give life it must first be kindled with life. And since suitable kindling is in short supply around these parts, I have little option but to make do with what I have.
Please understand that as a gentleman of honour, it pains me greatly to do this. Hard times call for hard hearts. I'm sure, were the circumstances reversed, you'd do precisely the same.