Part 1

"So, you've seen some things in the forest?" Vaust asked a patron of his Inn. "Strange things?"

"Yeah, strange even for the Dragontail Mountains. They looked, almost like they were stitched together?" The man replied, pointing at his limbs. "Like someone sewed their limbs back on."

"Intriguing. I think I know who to have take care of this. I'll pass it along." Vaust replied, hiding his concern.

A couple hours later, while the Inn was less busy, Vaust ducked into his kitchens, nodded at Sirene Ignitis, who barely acknowledged him, slipped through the solid floor and landed in a sealed room with no exits, made entirely of stone.

"What are you up to, Gustav?" Vaust said aloud to no-one, before drawing a very specific sigil on the floor and returning back upstairs to the kitchen.

"You went to the stone. What's happening, Vaust?" Sirene asked him, blocking his way. "Time bubble, speak freely." Sirene continued, interrupting him before he could object to his name being spoken. Vaust looked around and noticed everything beyond them was distorted, and moving extremely slowly. He nodded, then spoke.

"Trouble. It doesn't require a God's intervention, but it needs to be passed along to the right person." Vaust replied. "Strange animals stitched together with the wrong limbs, too many limbs. I think it's Gustav, so I've sent for Yurn."

"The Templar." Sirene said, smiling as she crossed her arms.

"Indeed. Fate will bring him here eventually, now that the tangled web of luck has been set. All that remains is the final move."

"Oh?"

"You're going to leave a letter with me for him, of course." Vaust said with a smile. "The chess piece cannot move itself."

"Of course." Sirene said, shaking her head. She snapped her fingers, and the distortion around them faded. "Shall we?"