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The Chronicle of Aldencia: Saving the Kingdom

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7-11-09: Comin' down the world turned over, angels fall without you there; I go on as you get colder [Jul. 17th, 2009|06:20 pm]

mendeia
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Night came quickly to Romdas, though it was a restless one for many. Oertan and Dora slept little and fitfully, as did Matthias. Theodor, well sated with drink, slept soundly and woke comfortably. Nahla, however, was left with Bendigar who needed to be reminded of the location of a convenient basin more than once over the course of the night due to his heavy sympathizing with Theodor that evening. Early in the morning, Dora woke, met a bleary-eyed Bendigar for breakfast (and helpfully made him some tea), and went to sit with Oertan and Elara. Matthias, after his own morning meal, set about gathering information. First, he located Myalin, a gypsy woman with knowledge of the occult. Though she could tell him nothing about the person named Andrew Wellin, she did know a bit more about the eternal and hidden ones, that they were everlasting individuals in the world, seemingly reborn each generation, and forever at odds with one another. The eternal one was said to be incredibly, incredibly dangerous, while the hidden one was not what she would deem “good,” but certainly not evil. Matthias also asked Myalin about the magic that had been used on Elara, if there was any record of it, and though she had not heard of it before, she mentioned that if it were a new kind of magic it wouldn’t be within her cope of understanding; in parting, Myalin mentioned how useful that magic might be against one such as the eternal one.

Next, Matthias met with Keleroth to speak with a local historian; the firemage was happy to accompany him due to his own research being periodically quite frustrating. The historian had been based out of Cath and focused primarily on very ancient history and lore. He knew in general terms of the eternal one and the hidden one, saying that they had been commonly spoken of in ancient times but somewhat lost after a sharp change in Aldencia’s civilization, perhaps due to their direct will. Of magic he knew nothing, but upon mentioning the name Andrew Wellin, the historian was much more helpful. He stated that the Wellin family was a very old one going right back to Lornam’s City, one of the favored families of the gods. He explained that when the gods cast men out of the City, some families were remembered well, and the Wellin was one of those, along with a handful of other known noble families (interestingly including the Vane family). Matthias speculated that Andrew Wellin might be in some way connected to Lornam’s City, or might have special, gods-given knowledge of it, and might therefore be a target for Dahlia. The historian also pointed out that the Wellin name was often used as a pseudonym due to its meaningful roots, and could therefore simply be a false name.

On their way back to Romdas, Matthias stopped again at the gypsy camp to ask Myalin if she knew anything about Lornam’s City, but she confessed that the truest knowledge of the City among the gypsies at all was with Elara, who had studied it intensely. However, Myalin thought she might have passed some of that information down to Oertan. Therefore, Matthias made his way to Elara’s room where he met both Oertan and Dora, alternately telling the comatose Elara stories. Dora, quite cold to Matthias after what she had perceived as his intention to sacrifice Elara to save Aldencia, listened stiffly as he asked Oertan what stories Elara had told of Lornam’s City. Oertan gave Matthias as much as he could, including the knowledge that the City could not be found but with a purpose, and not just the desire of one human heart. He also described how it was covered, each wall and stone and floor and ceiling, in the wisdom and knowledge of the gods, and therefore more precious than any other place in the world. Oertan asked if he might be able to join the party in whatever they did to help Elara, but neither adult in the room seemed in favor. Matthias spoke gently to Elara before setting out to find Bendigar, his next source of information.

Bendigar, having spent the entire morning sitting on his backside and drinking the restorative tea Dora had made, could shed a little more light on Lornam’s City. He knew, which Oertan had not, approximately where it was located – somewhere on the far eastern coast of the continent between the northern and southern mountain ranges. He also knew that more than once in history a criminal had been sentenced to journey to the City and return with proof – as it was tantamount to a death sentence – resulting in several missing criminals and one who had returned completely mad. This information combined, Matthias felt more and more that a trip to Lornam’s City was a part of the answer, possibly the key to either thwarting Dahlia, saving Elara, or finding Andrew Wellin. Therefore, the ex-general called a meeting, sending Nahla around for the usual party as well as Connor and Gentford, to discuss what he had learned. While Dora was on the way to the meeting, reluctantly, as she was still uncomfortable with Matthias, she was handed a message to be delivered to the ex-monk directly.

The first order of business was to investigate the message, which turned out to be from Rumor himself, stating that he would do business with Matthias but only face-to-face in Irenia. Matthias realized that Rumor must be operating either through magic or with some other aerial form of transferring information to have gotten a response to him so quickly. Thus, it appeared there were two competing courses of possible action: journeying to the east and the Holy City, or journeying to the west to Irenia to speak with Rumor. The group debated back and forth, eventually deciding that, while the Holy City might hold answers to some questions, Rumor was more likely to be able to provide greater information on several different issues more quickly. Matthias asked for volunteers for the trip to Irenia, and Theodor, Keleroth, Nahla, and Bendigar spoke up. Dora, however, looked upset about something, which both Keleroth and Nahla noticed. After the meeting, while Matthias spoke with Connor and Gentford about the state of the army, determining when they would be prepared for a full assault on Adzoral (and preparing the two in case Matthias were not to return from this mission), Bendigar and Theodor went to spar with one another, Keleroth took a nap, and Nahla went to speak with Dora privately.

At Nahla’s interest, Dora explained her conversation the previous evening with Matthias and her disgust with her continued presence within the rebellion. She had not yet made it known, but fully intended to leave the group and simply stay with Oertan and look after Elara until such time as her sister was restored. Nahla argued vehemently that Dora’s aims of protecting Elara could be much better served beside Matthias – only there would she have the power and opportunity to influence the ex-general’s thinking and encourage him not to sacrifice her if the situation arose. Dora left the conversation troubled, and took a walk to gather her thoughts. There, she realized that she, as the only one who could bear the Ojaluche, had no real choice but to continue down this path and hope Nahla was right in that her power to sway Matthias would be sufficient. She also stopped by the Menderskin camp to determine when they would vote on whether or not to take this attack on Elara as a call to arms themselves and join the rebellion; Baska confirmed that the vote would be that very evening and asked Dora to invite Matthias to join Oertan and herself, Oertan to vote in Elara’s absence, Matthias as a prospective member of the clan. Meanwhile, Nahla dropped in on Oertan and Elara, and promised the boy that she would send Bendigar in sometime soon to tell him some stories that the boy could repeat while they were gone.

Around dinner time, Keleroth sought Matthias out and mentioned that Dora had seemed upset during the meeting. They subsequently met her in the hall on the way to the evening meal, and Keleroth made his polite escape to let them talk. Dora explained her frustrations and was able to get some clarification from the monk as to his true intentions. In a whisper, Matthias confessed that he fully intended to get Elara’s soul back from Dahlia without revealing the information she desired, and that he knew such a course of action would probably lead to his death. Dora told Matthias that his solution, while admirable, was certainly not the only, or even the best one, and that Elara would be hurt to learn she was given back life only because he had lost his. However, they both felt better about the truth and were able to continue on to dinner more comfortably.

After the meal, while Bendigar and Nahla went to bed early for some time together, Keleroth spent a few hours reading the end of the book he had picked up in the labyrinth under Cath. To his surprise, he learned that the mage had met the eternal one, a man he said was incredibly, chillingly dangerous, and from whom he was very glad to hide the Ojaluche. Meanwhile, Matthias joined Dora and Oertan on the way to the gypsy camp. There, Baska pulled Matthias aside to discuss the upcoming vote, not only its significance to the clan, but the invitation to let the monk vote as well – Baska explained that he made this offer to Matthias as one close to Elara, whom Elara had evidently loved deeply, and that it was not meant as a political maneuver, but rather an invitation to join a family he might potentially be offered to join. Matthias, touched by the reminder of Elara’s love and also by the willingness of the closest man to her father there had ever been to invite him to a status so close to kin, accepted. The vote was taken after Baska’s explanation of what was at stake, what risks might stand, and what he felt, and it was very nearly unanimous, with Matthias, Dora, and Oertan all voting in favor for their own reasons. The Menderskin decided that, when Matthias went to war, they would join. The clan sent messengers out to the other clans to proclaim their intentions, and they settled into celebrate for the evening. Matthias elected to stay, while Oertan returned to Elara and Dora went to find Theodor, who had been avoiding her all day...
LinkStrike a blow

7-5-09: I'm going under, drowning in you; I'm falling forever, I've got to break through [Jul. 16th, 2009|07:00 pm]

mendeia
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Returning to the city house after seeing Madame Rhea, the group dispersed to gather more information. Nahla dropped into the seedier areas of the city to leave word that they were looking to barter with Rumor for information, before joining Dora to see what they could learn from her guard friend of Mother Wood. The gypsy, attempting to subtly flirt with the guardsman, was not so subtle as she had hoped. However, she was able to learn that those who were brought to the palace under circumstances like those that had surrounded the priestess’s abduction very rarely left it well – they were either transferred to other locations outside of Adzoral, killed, or they disappeared and even he did not know where they went. The guardsman expressed some concern for Dora, glad to learn that she did not know anyone “like those clergy-people,” i.e. strong users of magic. Thus, with their hopes for Mother Woods’s safety entirely dashed, the women returned to the house. In the meantime, Bendigar and Theodor had been following the trail of the rumored Edward, dropping into taverns to ask after the man who had eaten no bread. They were able to establish his pattern of staying a few nights before leaving, and that in no place but the most recent had he had any contact with anyone; at the last inn, he spent dinner with a person who wore the cloak of a guardsman. Unsure how to proceed, the men also returned to the house. Meanwhile, Keleroth and Matthias had spent the afternoon playing chess, with several hard-fought battles between them, though Keleroth was ultimately the winner.

Upon reporting their various findings to Matthias, the ex-general sent Nahla into the streets to see if she could locate the young guardsman who had been following Dora and Theodor and who was probably the same individual seen with the Edward-like visitor to the taverns. Matthias intended for Nahla to locate him, as they anticipated he would be watching the house, and bring word of his position back so they could detain and question him. However, things did not quite go according to plan. Nahla did spot a young guardsman that fit the description given by Theodor and Dora, and upon following him, witnessed him in conversation with a cloaked and hooded figure. She decided to follow the unknown figure, but as she turned a corner she was struck from behind and fell unconscious. Back at the city house, Matthias became nervous at how long their spy had been gone, so he sent Dora and Keleroth to find her, and Bendigar and Theodor to find the guardsman and bring him back by whatever means necessary. It was Keleroth and Dora, however, who spotted the guardsman heading towards the city house, and let the others back to their own doorstep. Meanwhile, a knock on the door had resulted in finding Nahla unconscious on the step with no one else in sight. Matthias, in his worry, feared for a moment that she had been killed, but she had simply taken a bad blow to the head. On her wrist was a note, which was a cordial invitation requesting the party’s presence at Romdas. Matthias ordered a quick packing for everyone and within the hour they had left the city (with the guardsman seeing them out from a distance) and were on the road heading south as quickly as possible. The first night spent on the road, after having stopped late into the night, Matthias had another dream, one that woke him out of a deep sleep.

Five days later, the party arrived at Romdas to find nothing out of place. Nahla had the odd feeling that something was indeed amiss, but she couldn’t quite place it. The whole group checked in with Gentford and Connor, but neither knew of anything that had transpired other than a message that the Menderskin were on their way to the fort. While everyone went to rest and clean up before dinner, on edge waiting for they knew not what, Matthias went alone to the chapel. While there, he became aware that he was not alone, and soon found himself drawn into conversation with Lady Dahlia herself. Off in a sheltered corner, the deadly assassin offered the ex-general a job of sorts: she was looking for information that she claimed only he and his people could retrieve, and she would pay for it with something she said he wanted very much. Though on high-alert in the presence of Dahlia, and extremely suspicious of exactly what she thought he wanted, Matthias listened politely to her request for the location of an individual named Andrew Wellin. Dahla told him she would find him when he had the information for her, and in exchange would give him something she pressed into his palm – it felt small and round and slightly warm. As the monk came into contact with the assassin, he fingered the ring from Mother Wood, which had become quite cold, but he was not sure what to do with it, so he simply ended the conversation, rather glad to still be alive after such an encounter.

Over dinner, Matthias casually asked if anyone knew of an Andrew Wellin, but refused to share where he had gotten that name from. Instead, he intended to keep his meeting with Dahlia private until the next morning; however, Nahla, as she was falling asleep, realized what had been nagging at the back of her mind all day – when they had ridden up to Romdas, she had noticed that Matthias’s window was open, an obvious breach of security. Suddenly panicked, she and Bendigar made for Matthias’s room at top speed. However, Matthias had already noticed the window and checked for anyone in his room, but there was no one readily apparent. After some worried questioning by Nahla, Matthias at last explained his encounter with Dahlia, and his rationale that no one would rest comfortably if they knew what had occurred, which turned out to be accurate; though he and Bendigar slept well that night, Nahla kept seeing shadows at every turn and barely slept.

In the morning, after breakfast, Matthias called a council meeting of his group, not including the leadership of Romdas, where he told everyone of Dahlia’s request and her proposed payment. There was much speculation of who “Andrew Wellin” might be, from the hidden one to Rumor himself. On a whim, Dora asked the Ojaluche about the hidden one and the eternal one, and the Ojaluche, to her surprise, told her that Dahlia was indeed the eternal one, and quite evil. As Matthias began issuing orders to begin searching for Andrew Wellin, a gypsy whistle sounded announcing the arrival of the Menderskin. After the initial whistle, however, a second one echoed, calling for the leadership to gather for an emergency. Dora dashed off with a brief explanation, everyone else at her heels. By the time she reached the ground and was at the gates of Romdas, a wagon had already pulled in, covered in darkened colors. Oertan appeared, his young face deeply troubled, and he presented a letter from Elara to Matthias, saying that something bad had happened. The letter read thusly:

( Elara's letter... )
 
Oertan explained that Elara was asleep and could not be woken. The gypsies in attendance unloaded her still form from the wagon and Matthias had her carried into a room in Romdas, pulling Dora and Oertan in. Questioning the child steadily elicited his story – he had been taken from the fields by a strange woman, who did something to him that left him unable to move or speak. At moonrise, his mother came for him, when he was given an antidote that slowly freed his movement. At the same time, the strange woman cast a complicated ritual around Elara, which made her scream in agony until she fell weirdly silent. Something small had dropped into the woman’s hand, and after examining her work, the strange person had left. Oertan also told Matthias that Elara loved him very much and had missed him terribly. Matthias told the boy he had been very brave and that he would now be called upon to help look after Elara while they did whatever they could to save her. Meanwhile, Theodor and Bendigar held an improvised “wake” for Elara, drinking themselves a little silly and preparing for what they would have to do to help, Nahla vented her frustrations in the forest against an unsuspecting tree, and Keleroth began doing what he could to look up anything on Andrew Wellin, the hidden one, the secret one, or the magics Dahlia had used to bring Elara down. Matthias, after leaving Oertan with Elara and sending someone to help them, spoke briefly with Dora. His sorrow had been profound, but now it was evaporating to fury and he was determined to save Elara or see her life ended and her soul freed from Dahlia one way or another. In consultation with Keleroth, however, the firemage confirmed that killing the body might not save the soul – it seemed they were bound by Dahlia, for now, at least.
LinkStrike a blow

6-5:09: Should I just give up or should I keep chasing pavements even if it leads nowhere? [Jul. 5th, 2009|03:15 pm]

mendeia
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In the morning, over breakfast, the group discussed their plans for their time in the city. It was decided that everyone would split into pairs to gather what information they could. Keleroth and Bendigar went into the city square to pick up whatever information they could. Coming upon a commotion, the two found themselves witnesses to a public execution. The word among the people and the posted declarations both spoke of treason as the reason for the beheadings, but surprisingly, Keleroth and Bendigar saw the captain of the guards who had been at the cathedral the night prior as the chief indicted traitor. Between the crowd and a later gathering at a tavern, Keleroth and Bendigar learned that such contradictory orders were becoming more and more commonplace – individuals praised by the king were condemned within hours. The people were confused, though afraid to voice any true suspicions.

Meanwhile, Matthias and Nahla made their way to the Kass household to meet with Alfred. In spite of their working together, Matthias and Alfred had spoken face to face prior to this. It readily became apparent that some messages had not been making it from Alfred to the group at Romdas, in that the rumors of Edward’s location had been sent much earlier than they were received. Alfred explained that these rumors seemed to have much of a ring of truth to them. The individual in question appeared to be spending some time in quiet inns, then disappearing for a few nights, and resurfacing later. But the piece that spoke most of its veracity was that the prince had a very little-known condition, an apparent allergy to wheat, and this stranger never ate wheat or took any beverage that had been wheat-brewed. Either it was the true Edward, or a clever, clever imposter. The only other message Alfred had to share was one from Mother Wood – a letter and an enclosed ring that were addressed to Elara. The letter itself appeared genuine, and had been sent something approaching several weeks prior. If there was a message in the letter, it was meant only to be understood by Elara, as the wording meant little to Matthias. Taking the chance to visit with Wilfred Kass, Matthias was pleased to learn that the young nobleman, due to his “illness,” had taken up a new habit – birding. Wilfred had been keeping a large number of pigeons on the roof of the family estate, and training them for messages. Though they were not quite at the level he desired yet, he assured the monk that by the time they were needed as a method of communication, they would be ready for his use. Matthias arranged to pick up one pigeon before leaving the city so that it would know the way to Romdas, and left.

Dora and Theodor, taking the route of “shopping,” got into conversation with several merchants. These individuals were little involving themselves in the political matters, not concerned if orders from the palace made great or no sense, as long as they could continue to do business unmolested. Disappointed with their little information, Dora and Theodor were about to end their trip when they noticed someone, dressed as a guardsman, who seemed to be following them. Dora attempted to read him with her ring, but it responded only with blank, the dormant color. Unable to lose him in the streets, Theodor and Dora took refuge in an inn, buying a room for themselves and hiding out for the afternoon. When they departed much later, there was no sign of the young man and they safely retreated to the city house.

After each group had reported their findings to the others, Matthias decided to take Keleroth back to the cathedral to see what they could learn from Mother Wood, and what else they could discover about the odd attack the previous night. Posing as wandering monks from another village, Keleroth allowed Matthias to take lead, actively asking after Mother Wood, while he contemplated the situation in the garden and kept an eye on the ex-general. Through Matthias’s skilled use of his own disability and confusion and the ability to make allies in the unsuspecting, he learned that another raid of the clergy had taken place some weeks prior, placing it just a night after the letter and ring had been dispatched by Mother Wood to Alfred. Both attacks had two things in common – they had targeted ranking members of the clergy who were removed from the cathedral and not seen again, and the only members of the priesthood who were taken were strong users of magic. Higher ranking priests and priestesses were left untroubled while powerful healers, defensive magic-users, and those of particular skills were taken. And the news was not surprising that Mother Wood had been among the first to disappear in the raids. More troubled than ever, Matthias and Keleroth returned to the house and decided that the following day would be spent trying to locate the seer Madame Rhea, in the hopes that she might shed some light on all that was transpiring.

In the morning, the party of six set out for the old part of Adzoral, hoping they would find their way to the more unusual quarters. After wandering in circles for a while, the streets around them seemed to change, and then the group was before Madame Rhea’s door once more, not even sure how they had found it. The inside was a bit changed from their prior visit. Still stuffed of items and odd smells, the whole space seemed thinner, as though some of its substance was fading. The seeress appeared, and though she looked the same, her bearing and behavior showed much greater power than before – she accepted their presence and their questions without either payment or the traditional taking of herbs. She spoke of many things in that mysterious way of those touched by prophecy, knowing already that those present had been touched by one of her “sisters,” and hearing the questions in their minds before they had even been voiced. Throughout the course of the conversation, the place around them slipped closer and farther from the group, items and smells becoming more and less defined, as though the very space was not quite present always. The pieces of information Rhea gave in her own time and way included:

1.) The ring from Mother Wood was a weapon, a dangerous one, meant to be used against someone the seeress referred to as “the eternal one.” She advised that Matthias keep it close and not don it himself, and that he would know what to do with it when the time came.
2.) Upon questions of the eternal one, Rhea told that the eternal one had existed always, working in particular ways for aims that were always sinister and unseen until it was too late. The only force that could begin to match the eternal one was the secret one, who would also act in ways whose motivations were unclear until the end. She also hinted that some in the room had already encountered both the eternal one and the hidden one.
3.) The rumored Edward in Adzoral was not the one the party was seeking, but rather an agent of forces at play.
4.) The Ojaluche and the Madame Rhea had a silent conversation themselves which neither shared with the others present, but Rhea appeared pleased that the Ojaluche was present.
5.) In answer to some questions by Matthias, Rhea confirmed some of his fears that the times ahead would be difficult, and he may be called upon to sacrifice much for the right. Matthias was not surprised to hear that he might be himself in danger, as he had long suspected he would not survive this endeavor, but Rhea warned that his death was not inevitable, though much more likely if he lost sight of his aims.
6.) Upon Bendigar wondering if his wife could be pregnant, Rhea simply replied, “someday.”
7.) Looking at Dora, with the same question in her mind, the seeress smiled warmly, confirming all Dora needed to know.
8.) Dora and Nahla, both for their own reasons, were thinking of Elara, and how she should be present for these events. Madame Rhea responded to these unspoken thoughts with a chilling warning that, though it gave little of substance, made it clear that Elara’s part in events was not over, but that she might well not be present at the end of them, and that it might already be too late to save her.

These words and warnings in their minds, Madame Rhea dismissed the group, who, upon finding themselves once more on the street, were struck to quiet with all they had heard as they returned to the house.
LinkSee the carnage|Strike a blow

5-25-09: You make me sick, got me lit like a candlestick [Jun. 6th, 2009|05:25 pm]

mendeia
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The remainder of the trip to Romdas was largely uneventful, though both Dora and Nahla appeared to be somewhat under the weather, perhaps due to all they had so recently survived. Romdas met them in apparently fine form – the fort itself was alive with training and well-appointed activity. Immediately the party split up for their various goals. Matthias ascertained that all was indeed well, learning that, though Connor’s forces combined with the rebel army and Romdas’s own compliment were a formidable force, they were not yet ready for a major altercation. With Keleroth in tow, Matthias reviewed the messages that had come in from Aldencia. One, through the network that had been established, spoke of a “mutual friend who was much sought” who was rumored to be back within the city, obviously referring to Prince Edward. Another letter was included in the pack, addressed to Elara, but the men read it anyway, learning that Mother Wood was safe and well, and that the pressure on the clergy had apparently lessened significantly. Meanwhile, Theodor shared with his companions the joyful news of his proposal to Dora, which swept the men, particularly Bendigar, into the planning of a bachelor’s party to beat all others, including invitations to Matthias and Keleroth, the former of which declined but the latter prepared some spectacular fire magic for the occasion. Similarly, Dora and Nahla sat with Cynthia, who, upon learning of Dora’s engagement, rejoiced as only a noblewoman still young enough to squeal could – she set about planning the date, colors, ceremony, and all the details until Perenahl was nearly beside herself with stifled laughter.

Dinner continued much of the same train until Matthias put an end to the marriage fuss, instead turning conversation to anything else. Following the meal, he pulled his officers and the leadership of Romdas together for a council. With the army nearly ready for a major engagement, he felt it was time for him to set out the various plans and preparations for the inevitable attack in case he was not present himself when the time came to use them. General Connor was named as his successor, but all parties agreed that Prince Edward must be found if possible, as no military force should seize the throne. Thus, the tantalizing rumor that the prince was in Adzoral was debated at length, until at last it was decided for Matthias to lead a very small group to the city to investigate. The rest of the evening was lost to strategy for the militarily-inclined, and grateful rest for the others.

In the morning, however, it became quickly clear that all plans would have to wait. An illness seemed to have swept through the fort like a wildfire, striking one man in twenty with violent vomiting, fever, weakness, and other such symptoms. Dora and Nahla began running around as best they could to lend relief, but whatever had struck seemed resistant to everything Dora knew. The worst cases were Keleroth and Lord Warren, and later, Theodor, as the day wore on and more men fell ill. Matthias began investigating the cause of the affliction, until even he began to feel weak and had to rest. With the situation getting desperate, Keleroth (who had cleverly put a skull-and-crossbones sign on his door) began to wonder if this could be a magical construct, and more to the point, if it was something the Ojaluche could help with, so, when not actively wanting to die, he began pouring through the book taken from the labyrinth in Cath. Dora was beginning to wonder the same thing, though she had a difficult time posing her query to the Ojaluche in a way it could understand. Meeting in the middle, Keleroth laid his hand on the sphere, feeling his pain wash away, though the illness itself remained; the Ojaluche commented about something bad in the mage that was not of the world, affirming the suspicions of magical tampering. However, the experience, and his readings, combined with Dora’s persistent questioning, led the two to try setting the Ojaluche in water. Upon sipping a dipper of this water, Keleroth felt immediately better, the affliction falling from him in mere moments. Dora and Nahla spent the rest of the day delivering this cure to the other ill men, seeing near-miraculous recoveries in all cases. Meeting at the end of the day, the women took some water themselves, just in case, wondering about the earlier weakness they had felt before returning to Romdas. On a whim, Dora asked Nahla if she thought pregnancy might be possible, and though neither could know for sure, the possibility followed them the rest of the evening. Meanwhile, Matthias learned that the day prior 13 bushels of potatoes had been delivered to Romdas, but only 12 had been ordered and 12 had been supplied by the townsman. No one could account for the extra potatoes, but many suspicions circled around what might have been in that sack and what its intent had been.

Now forced to depart Romdas a few days later than expected, Matthias and his group spent their time recovering, preparing, and also experiencing Theodor’s party, one which would likely be remembered for years after Keleroth’s flaming entertainment. At last, though, Matthias, Dora, Theodor, Bendigar, Keleroth, and Nahla set off for Adzoral, making as much haste as they could manage. As they approached the city, the party encountered posted proclamations repeating what Mother Wood’s letter had communicated to Elara – the clergy and priesthood were now sacrosanct and protected beyond reproach by anyone. The group split into pairs to enter the city undetected, planning to meet at the city house they had acquired some time before. While the other two groups met nothing out of the ordinary, Matthias and Keleroth went towards the cathedral, dressed as they were as monks, and had an odd experience. Since it was near dusk and the curfew there were few people on the streets, but there, bold as can be, was a military group apparently taking some action against some members of the priesthood. When Matthias and Keleroth drew near for a better look, they could see that a fight had broken out in one of the buildings where the more senior clergy lived. A nearby sentry prevented their entrance, and though he could offer very little in the way of explanation for what was occurring, he did confirm that the order to attack had come from his superior, whom, he believed, had heard it straight from those closest to the king. Afraid of any discipline should someone learn that their activities had been seen, the guard encouraged Matthias and Keleroth to leave and spend the night elsewhere, telling no one what had transpired. There was little else they could do besides observe several individuals carted off by the royal guards. Meeting up with the others at the house, Keleroth and Matthias shared what they had seen, feeling something ominous in the situation, though they did not yet know what these events could mean.
LinkSee the carnage|Strike a blow

5-15-09: But down in the underground you’ll find someone true, a land serene, a crystal moon... [May. 25th, 2009|04:20 pm]

mendeia
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Having successfully passed what seemed like the final obstacle in their way, the party found themselves in a far more beautiful part of the labyrinth; where the previous corridors had been dusty and dark, this was bright, the walls and floor white instead of stone-grey, and leaved in gold. They continued heading uphill slightly, realizing with every step that the feel of the place around them was changing. The walls became covered with murals, as before, but instead of forest scenes, these were increasingly desperate views of disasters: floods, fires, torrential storms, that seemed to consume the land and all that lived there. As they walked, it became apparent that a central dark circle was becoming more and more prominent, and when Nahla investigated it a bit more in-depth, she noted that there seemed to be a “darker dark within the dark” that was not entirely of paint on stone. At the same time, an odd effect in the hallway was slowly making itself known, especially to Matthias. The farther the group walked, the more sounds seemed to be swallowed up around them. Though no one was walking any differently, the sound of their footsteps steadily got softer until it was barely audible. Similarly, conversations became increasingly difficult.

At last, they reached a large set of double-doors with words on them, which Keleroth translated for everyone as “shed no blood.” The party debated the meaning of this phrase, eventually sheathing all bladed weapons and sending Nahla (with her hand-to-hand skills) and Bendigar (with his blunt weaponry) to open the door. However, they pushed against the solid doors in vain until assisted by Keleroth and one of the guards. As soon as the two doors swung into the space beyond, true silence rushed out like water. No one could hear anything, not their own heartbeat, not any sound at all. For Matthias, this was particularly disturbing, as it left him entirely without any means of knowing what was around him, though he found an ingenious method of communicating with the others – he could alternately speak and have Nahla read his lips, and he could write and Keleroth could read and explain by way of gestures. A certain amount of awkward communication later, the group moved into the chamber beyond.

A huge dome-shaped space awaited them, seemingly carved directly from an almost luminous crystal instead of stone. A narrow rim ran around the edge of the circular room, with a walkway that led to an island in the center, upon which a wide, low pedestal could be seen. There was also a large hole in the ceiling that led up into darkness and out of sight. Below, water that smelled stale but not salty appeared to flow soundlessly. When everyone had moved into the room, however, the door swung shut behind them, and refused to budge. Bendigar, in command because Matthias was so much limited, ordered Nahla, Dora, and Matthias to investigate the center, while the rest of the group would fan out around the edge of the room in case of attack. Though more than one individual had misgivings about this plan, they went along with it, Nahla leading Dora and Matthias out into the center. The crystalline walkway and island were carved and patterned beautifully, as was the round table at the center, covered with flowers. In the very center of the room, the altar or pedestal had the most intricate carvings, edged with repetitions of the words “shed no blood.” Six hand-prints, facing outward, were also discernable around the edge of the altar. In its center, a slightly-glowing sphere sat. The pedestal was wide, easily 10 feet across, so it was difficult to see the orb clearly against its own luminescence.

Nahla signaled for Keleroth to come to join them in the center, to read the words to her. Dora climbed onto the pedestal and placed a hand in one of the prints, but nothing happened. While they pondered what precisely they were supposed to do, Matthias investigated the table with his hands, his only outlet to the world. The stone or crystal was smooth, almost soft, and just slightly warm. Counting the six hands, the blind monk wrote again for himself, Bendigar, Theodor, Nahla, Keleroth, and Dora to put their hands one in each, the reasoning being that these were the individuals present who had been given a specific prophecy by the seer of the gypsies. Bendigar and Theodor joined the others at the table, and after some finagling, everyone was in place on the surface of the pedestal. Matthias counted down with his hands, and everyone touched the prints simultaneously. The surface of the crystal beneath them grew warmer, and the orb behind glowed more brightly, but nothing else happened. Then, Dora heard a voice speak to her, the first sound in what seemed like hours, saying, “lift me.” After communicating her intention to Matthias through tugs on his hands, the healer moved to the center of the altar, which none had dared approach, and laid a hand on the sphere there. It flashed brilliantly, and three things happened.

First, and most notable to everyone, sound rushed back. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Matthias demanded an explanation of what had occurred. Communication was never so sweet as that moment when silence was lifted. Secondly, the water beneath them began to rise slowly, and it became rapidly clear that the space would shortly be totally flooded. Thirdly, the sphere in Dora’s hands lost its golden color, becoming as transparent as a glass globe, within which floated, of all things, a butterfly. The being, for it was no living creature, was a bright golden color, like a sunbeam momentarily shining in a jar, and fluttered and winked from one moment to the next. As Matthias warned the party to prepare to swim, the Ojaluche told Dora that faith would suffice to lead them to safety. Calling in the other guards, the entire party stood upon the pedestal and waited – when the water reached their very feet, it began to rise slowly with the tide, carrying them up through the hole in the ceiling and, eventually, out into a fountain in the middle of Cath. Sputtering and thoroughly soaked, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, then stumbled from the fountain, met up with their three guards in reserve, and the entire group found an inn for a night’s well-earned sleep.**

In the morning, everyone gathered in a private room for breakfast and discussion. Dora found that she could communicate with the Ojaluche, though only in specific terms, as it had particular limitations in understanding. After Matthias had asked several questions of the orb and received some answers, though not as many as he would have liked, the decision was reached to return to Romdas and move from there. Packing up their belongings and retrieving their horses, the journey back south would take approximately 7 days of traveling back through the deserted countryside, far more deserted than it had been before. While journeying, Keleroth made use of the book he had picked up in the labyrinth, learning some things about both its maker and the Ojaluche itself – primarily that the Ojaluche could not be lifted safely from its resting place or touched by any who had ever ended a life, but if held by one “pure,” could bring great good to even a blooded individual. Dora, in her curiosity, offered the orb to Matthias to touch while she remained in contact. The ex-general, to his great surprise, could see the Ojaluche in his mind quite clearly, and with its image came a rush of peace and comfort and a release to his pains, both physical and emotional, for as long as he was in contact with it. Upon releasing the orb, Matthias deemed that it should not be touched by any but Dora under most circumstances, as it was, in his words, “too dangerous.” And so the small group made their way back to Romdas.
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4-25-09: We’re living in a crazy maze and we’re fighting to rise above the haze [May. 15th, 2009|04:57 pm]

mendeia
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Taking the opportunity to rest, Matthias set a watch and encouraged his ragged party to sleep if they could. Dora offered herbs to help bring sleep to those who could not find peace after their ordeal, but most, including Matthias, refused them. Over the course of the watches, several individuals heard sounds coming from farther down the passageway, almost like murmuring, though they could not hear anything more distinct. When the time came to move on, however, they went to investigate. Indeed, the sounds were like voices, many of them, raised in waves of conversation.

Turning a corner, the party was astonished at what faced them. The passageway ended abruptly at a large hole in the floor, as though a well had been cut straight down and happened to bisect where the corridor met another; across the way and to either side more tunnels were visible. But what no one could have anticipated was that up and down from their tunnel as far as they could see in the flickering light, the walls were covered with hands that moved. Hands and forearms seemed to grow out of the stone of the walls, populating the column as thickly as the dust that lay everywhere. These hands, coolly grey in color, seemed to have a magic of their own, for when they joined in two and three and for pairs to make faces, they spoke to one another in gravelly voices.

Matthias addressed the hands politely, and was answered back with a childlike understanding; the hands seemed to be part of the labyrinth, aware of all that occurred within it, but comprehending very little of what it meant. They knew that the party had been there, and that more had been recently, and that they were all probably heading towards “the center,” but not why or what lay there, only that it must be protected. After several minutes of conversation, Matthias asked the hands if they knew the way, and they offered to help in return for a story of the outside world. Deciding he could do nothing but trust, Matthias literally put himself into their hands, and was gently ported to one of the doorways across the chasm. He instructed everyone else to follow him.

This would have occurred without incident, but for the fact that Dora was unexpectedly ticklish in the grip of the hands, and in her squirming, was dropped. She fell for a few terrifying seconds until the hands, with apparently the experience to know how, gently slowed her fall and caught her. They expressed great regret at having frightened her and still more gently lifted her back to join the others, remarking again and again how grateful they were that she was unharmed. When the entire party had crossed, Matthias asked Bendigar to tell the hands a story, which he did with a flourish even if it was not his best telling. The applause that greeted him – for, indeed, how else could hands show their appreciation? – warmed the bard such that he told a second tale. The party wished the hands well and began to continue their journey. Nahla was momentarily overcome by her husband’s telling, to her great embarrassment, but only her pride was wounded.

After another length of corridor, the group came out into a room that, unlike everywhere else in the labyrinth, was somewhat more colorless and less elaborately decorated. Three doors appeared to lead from the room, and four when one closed behind them, and all were adorned with the same image – that of a young plant just beginning to grow. After searching around for an answer, the party hit upon the idea of splashing water on the carving. Immediately the rock changed shape, seeming to grow a little before them, though the door did not open. Subsequent splashings had no effect. There was, however, a source of light in the room, and using Matthias’s mirror, they shone the light on the carving as well. The image became a flower bursting to life and the door opened, revealing yet another long, foreboding corridor.

Before they reached the end of this hallway, they could smell and then hear the water that lay in their path. A wide cavern with passageways leading away met them, the water smelling cold and stale but otherwise not salty or briny. Since very few members of the party could swim, the group decided to send one person across with a rope and ferry the rest over one at a time. This was easily managed at first and one of the guards and Matthias crossed the water with no difficulty. However, Keleroth, not knowing how to swim in the least, felt himself struggling, unable to cling to the rope and haul himself over as well, and began to drown. To everyone’s surprise, while the guard on one end kept the rope taught and the rest of the group held the other end, Matthias himself went in after Keleroth, rescuing the firemage and dragging him, coughing and sputtering, to safety.

Bendigar and Nahla both crossed without incident, but Dora, too, found it difficult, and Nahla was obliged to go back for her. The remaining two guards came next, with only Theodor left behind, but something strange happened almost at once. The first seemed to struggle immensely with the water, losing his grip on the rope and vanishing beneath the water as though he were made of stone. The second guard and Nahla both entered the water to help him, but by the time she reached where he had gone down, the last guard was struggling as well. Nahla realized, this being her third time in the water, that it felt not like water so much anymore, but far denser and dragging against her. She was able to assist the still-swimming guard, but only just. The rest of the group latched onto the rope at their end and pulled, dragging Theodor across the water with great speed, such that he appeared almost bruised for going through it. They cast a rope with a hook into the near-still water, hoping their remaining comrade might be able to grab it, but oddly, the metal hook did not sink at once, as though the water had become almost solid. The guard Nahla saved began immediately to get sick, as did Theodor, and to their horror the party could see that the water they had swallowed was now quite solid and painful when it came back up. Keleroth, realizing how much he had swallowed, asked Dora for some herbs to cause him to expel the material, hardly classifiable as fluid now, rather than keep it within. Their hearts heavy at the loss of one of their own, and perhaps more frightened than ever of what else might be waiting, they continued down the corridor.

Around a corner and somewhat uphill, the carvings in this tunnel seeming far more elaborate than before, an arch awaited them. Upon it, looking down, was an odd statue of a creature with wings and claws and an almost-human female face. Nearby, a column proclaimed that the judge would only permit the worthy to pass. Matthias stepped forward bravely, moving alone ahead until he felt stopped at a point just in front of the statue. Then, he felt as though the sun were shining hotly on his face for a few moments, and had the sense of being weighed, though he knew not against what. The heat passed, and Matthias walked on until he was told that he had passed beyond the arch. Keleroth decided to venture next, curious, but when he reached the place where Matthias had stopped and the heat began on his face, his experience turned quite different. Pressure began to build in around his mind, and the firemage felt himself locked in a power and a judgment he did not fully understand. The statue moved then, her wings beginning to move downward towards Keleroth as though she would clap him between them. The tension in the air grew more thick and everyone could feel pressure bearing down on the scholar. Matthias, then, moved back towards his friend, placing his head alongside Keleroth’s and thinking with all his will that he would vouch for the firemage however necessary. The pressure and heat trembled ominously for a moment, then faded, and Matthias was able to lead Keleroth on. As the rest of the party began, one at a time, to pass through the arch, some with slightly more trouble than others but no one challenged as Keleroth had been, the firemage spoke shakily. He said he felt that he understood now – he had viewed the search for the Ojaluche as an academic pursuit, interested in the knowledge; now, he felt the weight of the search, the item they sought, and knew perhaps far more acutely that what they did here was far more important than satisfying his curiosity. With the party again gathered together, they continued down the passageway.
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Session 4-10-09: I’m going deeper underground – there’s too much panic in this town [Apr. 24th, 2009|10:27 pm]

mendeia
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The decision made to seek the Ojaluche using their newly-acquired knowledge, Matthias led his small group of rebels to the foot of the large dragon statue near the cathedral of Cath. With dusk to shield them and mostly cleared streets, the party moved quickly, first investigating the statue in its entirety around the base, then wondering if instead they should look in the dragon’s yawing mouth. The page Keleroth had taken from Jona depicted a man leaning against a wall of symbols with fire evidently radiating from something, the whole scene surrounded by something jagged from both above and below; the party realized this might well be an illustration of something inside the dragon’s jaw. Nahla climbed up easily, discovering that the back of the statue’s throat was intricately carved like the page they had, and was pockmarked by deep holes at irregular intervals, most of which had something small and textured deep in them. Piecing things together, Nahla asked for a lit torch, which she then pushed into the appropriate hole while leaning on the same place as the man in the drawing, and waited nervously for something to happen.

Down below, the others waited as well, Matthias having reminded them all that dragons breathe fire in old stories; Keleroth was concerned enough that he was prepared to douse fire if he saw it. Instead, however, the wall against which Nahla was leaning abruptly began to turn, and she only just moved out of the way in time to witness an entire half-circle of the floor of the dragon’s mouth rotate into presumably the rest of the statue, some time after which a deep sound of stone striking stone could be heard. Nahla informed the others that she had found the way in, and everyone in turn climbed up the dragon, some more successfully than others (Matthias was mostly pulled up via rope). The group split into two parties and this time allowed the dragon to “swallow” them. On their way down, however, Keleroth noticed that their activities were now being observed by two individuals, but as they did not appear to be doing anything threatening, the firemage chose to focus on the more pressing matters of the puzzle at hand and dismissed them.

The parties found themselves, after a long and dark tunnel that traveled straight downward, in a dusty corridor, apparently deep underground. The walls were lined with troughs filled with an oily substance that was burning, lighting the path in all directions – apparently the fire they used to open this doorway had also spread into the labyrinth far below. Moving ahead cautiously, the group found themselves faced with an odd sight to begin this dark journey: fire and water. An arch with the archaic word for “choice” revealed two tunnels leading away, one that burned violently and one that seemed to travel under a gentle waterfall. The party deliberated for a few moments before deciding almost unanimously that they had to choose the way of fire – both their previous experiences with magic as well as the warning that this journey was made to be difficult told them that the way that appeared safer could not be correct. Matthias decided that he alone would try first, and decided to wet himself in the water before attempting the fire. However, as he stepped into the water tunnel, he felt the rush of water pulling at him with surprising strength, and had he taken even another small step forward he would have been washed away. After advising the others to be careful as they drenched themselves, Matthias pulled up his cowl and moved towards the fire, but Bendigar instead insisted that he go first.

The heat and pain were momentarily intense, causing the warrior to cry out in agony. However, after a few moments, the pain and heat faded, and he felt as if he were not even burning. Calling back to the others, he moved on bravely. Matthias entered the flames next, also experiencing the pain and then sudden lessoning, and he caught up with Bendigar and reassured them all that the path was safe, though not easy. One by one, each member of the party fearfully made their way into the burning corridor, although Nahla and Theodor struggled to force themselves into obvious danger – it was Dora’s strength and courage that got them both over their fear.

Entering a wide space with several different hallways branching off in different directions, the party chose the path to the far right, entering another corridor lit on either side by the running troughs of fire, which they marked with an arrow (as they would at every pass) to ensure they knew which ground they had trod before, just in case. As they walked, Keleroth noticed that the ceiling, floor, and walls were all covered in deep and intricate murals, though they were quite dusty and nearly indistinguishable. Curious, he wiped away some of the dust, revealing a beautiful forest, but at the same time, something odd happened. Three members of the party, including Dora, Nahla, and one of the guards, suddenly found themselves in a gorgeous forest peaceful and lit by an unseen sun. They described with wonder what they saw, but no one else appeared to see it. When they touched trees, they felt bark, but the others around them saw only walls. Believing that the mural had cast some sort of illusion, one of the guards attempted to cover up the section Keleroth had revealed, but it did not shake them out of their world. Bendigar roped himself to his wife, particularly alarmed when she ventured off the “path” she saw before her – which coincided exactly with the hallway – and walked in place as though in a dream. The group could only hope that the illusion would wear off soon, so they continued, but they roped themselves together for safety. They came upon the remains of someone else who had very possibly been lost in this forest of the mind, and were even more certain that they did not want to let anyone fall into the trees.

Around another corner, an incredibly strong gust of wind blew Theodor off his feet; the party only barely managed to drive themselves forward against it in a line. After the wind died down some paces on, Dora broke unexpectedly from her illusion, though she admitted that the forest was a far better setting. Shortly thereafter, Nahla and the guard also returned to reality, but it was a much slower and stranger process for them.

At the end of this passageway, a doorway revealed a room down several stairs that was littered with old books and scrolls, and had three other doors leading away from it. The group moved in cautiously, noticing immediately when sand began to first trickle and later pour from the ceiling, steadily burying the room and its contents. Racing against time and an increasingly-difficult path to navigate, the party attempted to snatch scrolls and books on their way past. Dora, Nahla, and Bendigar all grabbed armfuls of scrolls, while Keleroth’s keen eyes seized upon a book that seemed particularly important – including the fact that it was locked – and he retrieved that, though it caused him to lose his balance. Even blind, Matthias was able to scoop up the fallen Keleroth as they sprinted up the stairs to safety in the right-most passage; Dora and Theodor were similarly able to assist one of the guards who also slipped in the sand. After a short rest and taking the time to read the scrolls, which mostly appeared to contain riddles, the party moved on. Several twists and turns in the hallway later, they found themselves approaching an area which smelled strongly of feces and had the distinct sound of breathing. Moving cautiously, the source of both the sound and smell became apparent: nesting in a particularly high recessed ceiling were two enormous bats, easily as tall as a man. As they stirred sleepily, Dora spoke to them, telling them to let her pass. The bats mumbled that they were sleepy and full and would eat the group later, and they went back to sleep, while the somewhat-nervous individuals below beat a hasty retreat.

Down another passageway to the right, they came to a door with a riddle inscribed upon it, which, after several minutes of thinking, Matthias was able to answer correctly, and it opened before them. Somewhat beyond that, a sweet sound from ahead drew the party near until they found themselves in a large room that was eerily blue. In the center, on top of a pile of shining items, three beautiful and very naked women sat singing. Their voices seemed to weave something around the three guards, though it did not appear to impact the others of the party. Suddenly recognizing the creatures from legend as sirens, Bendigar began singing the loudest, bawdiest song he could think of out of key, which seemed to incite some anger from the ladies, who approached the party menacingly. A fight broke out, with the entranced men escaping the ropes that bound them together to move towards the creatures, the rest of the group either trying to stop their comrades from getting hurt or combating the women directly, and the sirens slashing with golden nails that tore flesh. In the end, the sirens were dead – either burned by Keleroth’s fire or broken by the many weapons raised against them – the three guards were back to their senses, and most everyone had been injured to some degree. Taking time to lick their wounds, the party explored the room, finding beautiful treasures amidst the pile the sirens had claimed for themselves, and the remains of their victims along the walls. Some of those victims, they discovered, wore the recent uniforms of the guards, showing that someone had indeed penetrated these very tunnels a few days ahead of them in search of the Ojaluche, and they could only hope had not made it out; Dora remarked that perhaps those were the reason the giant bats were “full.” While a few raided bodies for armor and the pile for gold and silver, and Theodor located a pretty bracelet for Dora, Keleroth located a key that fit the tome he had taken from the sand room. Opening it, he found it contained an account by the man who had built this labyrinth for the purpose of protecting the Ojaluche until it was needed, and until it could be acquired by one worthy.

Continuing to take right-turns at each place, the party passed another riddle-door, and came upon some flowers growing in a corner. They looked harsh and somewhat menacing, but they also reminded Dora of plants she commonly used in certain types of healing tonics, so she collected a few. After yet another riddle-door, the party found themselves in a wide area that felt suddenly oppressive, as though an intent hung in the air. A voice called out from ahead, and as they neared, they saw a woman, lovely, and evidently quite lost. But her voice seemed to have a strange, tragic effect on Matthias, who stiffened in pain and horror as it became increasingly clear that the group looked upon the form of Lady Vane, once wife of their leader. Beside her shortly thereafter appeared Theodor’s deceased mother as he remembered her, not marked by plague as she had died. The sounds of a soldier from behind resolved into the form of Martin, Matthias’s son, also dead in the battle that had claimed him. And that battle began to form in earnest around the party. As the spectres pleaded for help, expressing fear and confusion at being in this strange place, the party felt their center give way as the pain of their presence tore through every heart – Matthias, lost in grief, was soon being carried as everyone began to flee the growing battle around them, a battle that was real and solid as any they had survived before. Other figures, including a man from Dora’s past, individuals from battles fought in the rebellion, Perenahl’s almost-husband, and scores of others began to join the chorus gathering around them. Lady Vane and Theodor’s mother cried out as the group rushed past, begging to be taken along, but they were shaken away or forcibly pushed as the rest raced for safety. Even Tera appeared alongside the fleeing group, and she agreed to Keleroth’s heartbreak to protect them from behind as they escaped. The party ran until the horror was behind them, and then much longer, driven near-mad in some cases with grief.

Sinking down onto the floor of a hallway, Dora shared around a flask of something strong to take the bite off of raw emotions, many of the group offering comfort where they could. They realized eventually that the place had not shown them merely the dead, but also those who were still living, as though it only brought the past to life, not the dead. Some found comfort in that (not including Nahla, who would have been far happier had her betrothed actually been dead), but to others the pain remained searing. Matthias, lost in pain for a while, eventually realized that what he had seen, whatever it was, had not been hell, but rather the creation of a man who was, in his words, nothing less than evil itself. Spirits drained and dwindled, the group could but go on a bit longer into the passageways, before even they were overcome with exhaustion.
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Session 3-21-09: Always talk in riddles so you keep them guessing [Mar. 26th, 2009|11:31 pm]

mendeia
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While the other members of the party had their various intelligence-gathering activities, Bendigar made his way to the barding school where he had learned the trade to ask his old mentor, Master Weatherby, about the Ojaluche. After some initial stumbling about a final assignment never turned in, the bardic master immediately got to work – on Bendigar’s newest song, a lament for Tera with lyrics crafted by Keleroth on the recent journey. The firemage’s work writing had been exceptional, but prior to this visit Bendigar’s setting the words to music had been less so. However, with the help of Weatherby, the tune began to take shape. After an hour lost in this endeavor, Bendigar finally managed to ask about the Ojaluche. The bardic master remembered that the item had been mentioned in two old songs, both of which came from old prophecies that the school had kept to make into songs someday, but upon seeking them in the stores, discovered they were gone. So he could only operate from memory. Weatherby was able to tell Bendigar that the Ojaluche was an object of power that could only be used once, that it was a small part of a much larger story against evil, and that its use could signal the tide in a great struggle turning towards good. However, this information was significantly less than Bendigar revealed about himself, his current companions, where they were, what they had been up to, and a significant other number of facts Matthias would have turned blue to hear shared with an unknown.

The group met at one of the inns to share all they had learned throughout the day. Upon hearing Keleroth’s report of Jona’s information and some of the raids on the library, he immediately ordered three of the six men who had accompanied them from Romdas to go to Jona’s house to guard her from anything that might happen to a person who might have valuable information that they so desperately needed. Then everyone split up, going their own ways. Theodor and Dora took the chance to enjoy the common room’s music and dance together, relishing the rare moment of peace both in public and then alone in the room later. Bendigar and Keleroth returned to their own inn, the former to practice the song from that afternoon and the latter to study the book Jona had given him – a history of the earliest city of Cath currently known to scholarship. Nahla took one of the remaining guards to a local tavern she had heard was a place to find traders to learn whatever she could. Finding a trader lately arrived in the port across the military’s wall, she was able to ply him with drink for insight on what was happening in the closed part of the city. The stories were mostly what she had expected – military discipline and control – but it was good to get details. Matthias, meanwhile, was doing something quite similar; he went back to the cathedral to see if he could learn anything there. Encountering a young trainee who was eager for company, the two shared long stories of the history of Cath, including its sometimes violent changes in scene when parts of the city collapsed in the past, the landscape of the city beyond the military’s wall, mostly the poorer sections whose residents were likely being pushed into labor, and the old stories and myths around the monsters and magic buried beneath the city.

In the morning, Keleroth descended earlier than either Dora or Theodor and found himself in a somewhat awkward situation in the common room of the inn when he was recognized, not as himself, but as the mayor of Cath. A particular individual became quiet convinced that he was the mayor and set about announcing this fact to anyone within hearing-range for the next hour, buying drinks and suggesting changes to the city. It was only the appearance of Theodor and Dora that extricated the firemage before he was recognized in another manner. Dora suggested they move and take a different inn just in case, so the spent the morning doing that. When Bendigar met up with them, he took on the role of tour-guide for Dora and Theodor, exploring the city, while Keleroth retired in the new lodgings to re-read his book and see what else he could learn. Interestingly, he discovered that he had missed something the previous evening – one section of the city had never changed even slightly in the recorded generations, and only one that he could see: the area around the giant dragon statue. Meanwhile, Matthias had asked Nahla to take him on a walking tour of the city to familiarize himself with it. While out, they were met by one of their men, reporting that four armed soldiers had entered Jona’s house. The ex-general, alarmed, immediately sent Nahla to gather Keleroth and the others for help, making his way as quickly as he could to the scene.

Keleroth wasted no time racing to Jona’s, meeting one of the two remaining guards set by Matthias on her porch. There had been no screams – it had, in fact, been deadly quiet. Matthias appeared moments later with the first guard in tow, and he ordered them all to action. Keleroth joined the third guard in the back, ready to race in through a back door to rescue Jona while Matthias served as a distraction out front, backed by the other two men. The ex-general, posing as a well-meaning but loud priest trying to return a scroll to Jona, eventually lured two of the armed soldiers out to remove him, and they were immediately set upon by Matthias’s men. Keleroth cast his haste spell on his own partner, sending him flying in through the rear entrance and emerging with Jona, unconscious and bleeding, over his shoulder. The two of them fled with her from the remaining two soldiers who quickly gave chase. To distract the gathering crowd out front, Matthias began a charade that the whole scene was, in fact, a staged morality play about respect for one’s elders, engaging his “audience” and averting their interest in the specific events beyond the immediate brawling. At about that time, Nahla arrived with the other three men, and they with Keleroth engaged the pursuers in combat while Nahla attempted to find shelter for the injured Jona. Unexpectedly, Bendigar, Dora, and Theodor also appeared shortly thereafter; they had been nearby on their tour of Cath and had heard the ruckus. While Bendigar joined the two who had flanked Matthias out front, Dora and Theodor raced on to give support to the more serious situation. Dora and Nahla removed Jona to an alley while Theodor unleashed his own fury and with Keleroth’s deadly precision and his brute force, brought the combat to a quick end. As Matthias led the crowd to a tavern for drinks and discussion, the aftermath of the fight was dealt with.

The fight’s toll was severe. One of the four soldiers was dead, two were beaten to a bloody pulp, and the fourth had been injured, but not too badly. One of Matthias’s men had also taken a light wound. But the most direly injured was Jona, who, it was revealed, had been stabbed several times, beyond what Dora’s healing could repair in time. With her dying words, Jona spoke to Keleroth about the book she had promised to give him, as well as what he would need to know. The book was gone, she confirmed, but what he needed to know was that the entrance he sought was at the dragon he had already noticed, that the path before him was meant to be hard, and he must therefore take the harder path, and that fire and light could defeat blood. As her last breath escaped her, Keleroth found a piece of paper held in Jona’s sleeve – a picture of someone putting a hand into a hole surrounded by symbols. While Keleroth took a moment to mourn, Dora and Nahla tended to the injured men, both one of their own and the attacker, before securing the soldier with rope. Keleroth then returned to Jona’s house to tell Matthias what had happened; the blind general having slipped the crowd in the tavern after starting a fascinating theological debate. The house itself had been torn up, as though it had been searched, and Matthias, after receiving news of Jona’s death, asked Keleroth to retrieve whatever items might be useful. He also sent one of his men to procure the use of a sturdy cellar somewhere in Cath, for they now had three prisoners to keep and some conversations to hold. Keleroth found a pile of books the soldiers had collected to take with them, and a list as well of names and locations, and these he kept along with a few other things that he hoped would be useful, or at least worth preserving. The group then took their two beaten prisoners, collected Nahla and Dora and the third, performed last rites for Jona, and made their way to the basement that had been rented for their use.

Matthias, his patience perhaps worn thin by the actions of the men before him, well and truly interrogated them with all the force and threat he once would have wielded as General Vane, learning everything he wished to know from the three. They had apparently been given the mission by someone not very high up in military rank to get a book from the woman by any means necessary, and also to make her reveal everything she knew about contacts who had also helped to rescue books and scrolls from the library, which was the contents of the list found by Keleroth. Matthias made it clear to his prisoners that they would do well not to antagonize him or their guards, as he intended to hold them as long as possible. Then Matthias announced that the party, along with three of the others, would need to prepare themselves immediately for an expedition to the dragon and to whatever lay beneath it, which he felt sure was where they would find the Ojaluche they sought. The three left behind with the prisoners were given strict instructions on how long to wait for the party’s return, and if they did not return, to go back to Romdas and serve under Connor, who would be forewarned by a message sent by Estel and Dora. Packing two-weeks of supplies, rations, and everything else they could conceivably need, Matthias advised his party to sleep for a few short hours before they began their journey literally into the belly of the beast.
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2-28-09: If the bright lights don't receive you, you should turn yourself around and come on home [Mar. 21st, 2009|06:51 pm]

mendeia
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The journey to Cath would take several days, and Matthias’s party spent the time each according to his or her own. Matthias himself spoke at length with Keleroth on the specifications of the city, its people, its political and military value, even its history. Theodor spent his trip carefully and precisely whittling a ring for Dora. Nahla, still somewhat raw after her recent shakeup of those thoughts and ideas she had held so dear, was uncharacteristically quiet, spending her time comfortably riding beside Bendigar. Dora took the chance to get to know Keleroth a little more, hearing his story of his merchant family and voluntary exile from the family for his intellectual pursuits, and also sharing her own past history.

As the group traveled, they noticed some oddities in the land around them. At first, in the foothills of the mountains, the land was much the same as the one they had left – hilly and wild. There were few settlements, small towns arranged with outlying farms surrounding them. The party avoided these diligently until, as they reached areas that should have been more populated, it became rapidly apparent that something was wrong. The fields had been left untended except in those acres closest to the houses of the small towns, and no one was about on the roads and paths. Curious, and a bit concerned, Matthias sent Nahla into the next town, one with obvious signs of abandonment at its edges. Posing as a lone traveler, she was able to question someone who was apparently keeping watch from a raised tower. He warned her that units of soldiers from the army had been traveling around, abducting anyone within reach – the men to be conscripted for the war in Irenia, the women for other purposes.

With these worrying omens trailing them to Cath, Matthias advocated for a particularly careful approach to the city. With Nahla’s knowledge of its layout from her previous visit there, she was the logical individual to scout out any possible dangers from inside, while Matthias would play the poor old blind monk at the gates to learn anything he could. It became rapidly apparent that there was a special military-only gate that was regulated quite differently from this commercial gate, which had mostly cursory security measures in place. Matthias was mostly able to overhear individuals being checked for any significant weaponry, confirmed not to be wanted by the army for any crimes, and otherwise waved in without much questioning. This was, according to Keleroth, quite common in Cath, given its focus on knowledge and trade, less on power and influence. He was also able to ascertain a place where a wandering monk could stay for the night while visiting near the cathedral.

Within the city itself, Nahla was quickly grateful for her previous experience, as the streets were a disorganized labyrinth that seemingly held no order and no pattern. While commerce still seemed strong within the markets, there was a definite lack of certain types of goods – gypsy, Irenian, and items from the south. However, the reason for this became apparent when Nahla moved towards the harbor and found that Cath had been literally split in half via a military blockade and wall, sealing the harbor away from the rest of the city. Within a block of the wall, buildings and streets were deserted, but the farther from it she traveled, the more normal the atmosphere became, as though the citizens of Cath were deeply in denial about the military force positioned so close. Carefully guarded openings in the wall at regular intervals were the only connection to the area, and only a very few sounds of shouting and drills drifted across. Nahla also noticed that wanted posters for Keleroth were common, but interestingly displayed – they were often defaced, either by those who had been obviously in support of him (and thus had been altered to bear less resemblance to him), or in hatred of him (with angry words or larger rewards written in). This information in hand, the spy returned to the gate to meet Matthias.

Rejoining the rest of the group after Nahla and Matthias reported what they had learned, it was decided to enter the city in groups of two, Matthias alone, to break up their numbers and hide their larger weapons. For the illusion, Dora thought it might be wiser to pretend that she and Theodor were married, which had the unanticipated effect of causing the young woodworker to propose marriage for real on the spot. He explained that he had been only waiting for the right moment, and this would do as well as any. Dora enthusiastically accepted, leading to much laughter at their unusual timing. Matthias gave the couple a warm and heartfelt blessing, and indeed, a glow from Dora in particular touched almost everyone, sorry as they were that Elara had not been present for the moment.

As the party approached the gates, Keleroth noticed at the last possible instant a nephew of his, son of his brother, serving as a guard, and he was only just able to avoid detection by sheltering behind one of the horses. Entering the city with no other problems, then, the party split to two different inns, Red Fish and Blue Fish, while Matthias made his way to the cathedral and met the other wandering clergymen, who were polite and ardent, but not as useful as he would have liked. Keleroth, with Dora and Theodor in his part of the group, bought the best wine from the innkeeper to celebrate the happy couple, whom he identified as son and daughter-in-law-to-be, effectively turning attention from himself to the others. The principals then met Matthias at the base of a large statue of a dragon, formulating a plan for the afternoon. Theodor, Dora, and Nahla decided to walk the streets, ostensibly shopping, while picking up whatever information they could. Keleroth decided to visit the library at Cath, the largest in Aldencia, in the hopes of learning more about the Ojaluche, and Matthias would see what he could find at the cathedral.

While Dora and Theodor wandered in a fog of happiness through crowds, feeling out the sense of the city as they could, Nahla was able to overhear some conversation about being glad that the army was on their side of the wall, a somewhat naïve belief that they would stay there if left untroubled, and otherwise a vast lack of interest in any of the power struggles transpiring in Adzoral. Matthias, in the meantime, was able to enter into conversation with a priest at the cathedral who was well-versed in lore and old stories, and through careful leading, was eventually brought around to the Ojaluche. He shared that his research told him it was an object of great power against evil, but as to what or where it was he could shed no light.

Keleroth, entering the library, was somewhat apprehensive – this had been his old haunt when he lived in Cath, and he was well-known to everyone who frequented it. However, it seemed that most of the old, familiar faces of the library were gone, replaced by new and a bit less-helpful individuals. Doing a preliminary investigation of the building, the firemage was not entirely surprised to see many books missing, those that might have referenced uprisings, rebellions, the past war in Irenia, and other such now-relevant topics. Also, there was a new and prominent section of works by local and current authors, evidently serving as propaganda. At the same time, several books on the history of Cath, including its ancient ruins underground, were missing. Keleroth also came across a woman called Jona whom he had known well as a sharp ally in the library, and perhaps one he could trust. Approaching her, he received a reception as warm as a cold spring rain, but that was true evidence of Jona’s appreciation to see him again. She told him about how the coup in the city had meant some censorship of the literature available, and that many works had been destroyed. However, Jona also hinted that some of the most valuable, ancient, or perhaps dangerous to the overthrowing forces had not been destroyed, but rather, had been hidden far from their reach. The elderly librarian led Keleroth to a back, little-used room to speak more freely. The firemage carefully spoke of the information he needed, and after some hesitation, Jona confessed some knowledge of the Ojaluche, and of a tome of knowledge that would help him, though it was with the hidden books somewhat distant from the city. She elicited from him a promise to return in two days, at dawn, and she would give him a book that might lead him to the Ojaluche, though she said she knew not where or what it was. At the same time, she warned him somewhat obliquely that seeking it would be quite dangerous and that he should be careful. Jona admitted that she was glad Keleroth was well, and she was willing to trust that whatever his reasons for seeking the Ojaluche were pure. Handing him a book under repair, she shooed him rapidly from the building.
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2-21-09: The miles just keep rolling as the people leave their way to say hello [Feb. 28th, 2009|05:52 pm]

mendeia
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In the intense quiet that followed the seer’s words, each person could feel her unseeing eyes upon them. To some, the seeress’s gaze was penetrating, but not particularly distressing; to others, the knowledge that the gypsy woman was staring into the fabric of their souls and knowing all they were was terrifying. After a few moments of this, the seer moved from person to person, from those who were more comfortable with her to those least, and laid a gentle blessing upon them before dismissing them. Each took the touch well, excepting Perenahl, whose prejudice and discomfort had grown to alarming levels. Though the spy was able to endure the seer’s touch, and heard her words, she fled at the very first opportunity, running so quickly from the tent that she ended up on the ground before the others. While Matthias and Keleroth strode off purposefully to write down the prophecy’s exact wording for study, and Nahla beat a hasty retreat to the nearest woods to consider her shaken state, Dora and Theodor noticed that Elara remained within the seer’s tent for a long while, so they chose to wait for her while quietly flirting with each other.

After several minutes, Elara emerged looking quite shaken; indeed, the priestess was obviously very troubled by something. Without much notice to her sister or Theodor, she went directly to Matthias and Keleroth, declaring she needed to tell them something immediately. Through a heartbroken voice, Elara announced that she had to leave the rebel group and return to her own clan, that she had no choice but to part ways with them all. After a moment to consider her words, Matthias asked for some privacy with Elara, which Theodor, Dora, and Keleroth quickly gave. Although Elara could not elaborate on why exactly she could not remain with the group, the seer had made it clear that Matthias himself would die if Elara did not depart, and the gypsy woman had made her painful choice based upon that. Matthias offered a certain amount of comfort, accepting the choice, but inside he felt far less than comforting.

As they finished their conversation, a messenger arrived for Matthias with a communication from Adzoral that had been intercepted on its way to the fort. It contained an order from the capital for Captain Coran to detain the Hermitkin seer and, with information gleaned from her, lead an expedition to Cath. Puzzling over the strangeness of this message, Matthias decided to call for a council meeting that evening to discuss it. Until then, he went about his usual administrative duties with Elara at his side. Meanwhile, Dora and Theodor took the afternoon opportunity to snuggle in an out-of-the-way tent and Keleroth found a quiet place to consider the prophecy on his own. The fire-mage did not recognize the item mentioned in the words of the seer, but he did feel strongly that the location had to be somewhere in or beneath the city of Cath.

By the time of the council meeting, the rebel leadership had been called together, along with the heads of the Hermitkin, Waterkin, and Tinkerkin, it was late afternoon. First, Matthias laid down the diplomatic ground for continued relations with the gypsies, including thanks for their aid in the nighttime battle and a reaffirmation of his support for them in general, to which they offered him their own support in the current crisis as the Menderskin already had. Also, the announcement was made public that Elara would be leaving the rebel group on, as Matthias put it, “an extended mission.” Most of the rebel officers already knew about this, but Nahla in particular did not, and it was quite a surprise to her, though she did not make it known as such. In determining what to do about the looming Fort Ambai, the gypsies confirmed that they were all departing the area immediately: the Tinkerkin for their southern route that would allow them to bring Elara to her own family, the Hermitkin for the most remote part of their range to retreat until called, and the Waterkin back to the rest of their clan. However, all three agreed to remain in place for long enough to show a presence when the general requested the surrender of those few troops still holding Ambai under siege, after which he would leave a small contingent of soldiers, led by Gentford, to hold the place. Then, his business with the gypsies concluded, Matthias spoke only with is own people about the prophecy and the intercepted message, agreeing with Keleroth’s theory that these could only mean he needed to move to Cath as quickly as possible. Whatever was happening around them by their enemies, they were already a few steps behind the game, and they needed to catch up fast. Thus, it was determined that the group would return to Romdas the next morning and set off from there with fresh provisions for Cath.

After the meeting, Matthias took Theodor up to the fort’s gate to try to encourage a surrender before leaving. Though his words seemed to have an effect on the remaining score or so of troops within the fort’s walls, none emerged, and it appeared that possible desertions were being handled quiet violently by Coran and his men within. Disappointed, Matthias returned to speak with Gentford about the details of how he and his 30 guards would remain in contact with Romdas, how they would hold Ambai, etc. Meanwhile, Dora, Elara, and Keleroth attended the evening gypsy funerals for the fallen Waterkin, and Dora and Elara continued on to the other ceremonies for the Hermitkin and Tinkerkin. Keleroth, however, returned to camp, coming upon the waiting Nahla on the way. The spy had not seen much of Keleroth since his return, and she wanted to talk with him. However, in attempting to fill the scholar in on their activities over the last few months, it occurred to Nahla that no one had yet told Keleroth of Tera’s death. The spy did her best to break the news gently, but the retelling opened up some old wounds and guilt from that time, and thus Keleroth heard the news somewhat poorly spoken. The two parted for the night, each mourning anew for the fallen warrior as they retreated to bed. Elara and Dora returned to the camp somewhat later after the gypsy funerals, though Elara’s sleep was troubled by nightmares. Dora offered sisterly comfort, but Elara could tell her no more than she had Matthias, that her leaving was because otherwise he would lose his life. They worried for each other for a while, Dora for Elara especially as the priestess was obviously not sharing all she knew and whatever she held back was tearing at her quite forcefully. However, in the arms of her sister, Elara found enough warmth to return to sleep for the night.

In the morning, amidst the preparations for the return to Romdas, Elara made her goodbyes to everyone. In particular, she pulled Theodor aside and asked him not only to look after Dora, but also, a bit strangely, to ensure that Matthias would “stay this course” no matter what. Nahla noticed that Elara seemed distant, so she did not ask the gypsy for any details, and therefore, never knew what Elara might have told only her. But before the sun was too high, the general led his smaller band back to the west and left Elara somewhere behind, one of her two earrings now affixed to his pendant. The trip was a five-day journey, and over the course of it, Matthias spent his days learning about Cath from Keleroth, while Theodor and Dora spent their time mostly flirting gypsy-style, which Theodor had finally mastered. One evening, Dora sat beside Matthias and asked him how he felt about Elara leaving, but he did not let her draw him out far – as he explained, it was easier to focus on the future and his work than on the discomfort of having the priestess no longer at his side. On the afternoon before their arrival at Romdas, Dora finally managed to pull Nahla into conversation, the spy having been far more reticent than usual since Ambai, and was able to identify some of Perenahl’s frustrations: the seer had forced her to face her bigotry with regards to gypsies, and she was now feeling that she was not, perhaps, the person she could have been. Confronted by a sudden and stark truth, Nahla swiftly moved away from Dora’s words and spent the rest of the trip in relative isolation, haunted by her own feelings and confusion.

The following afternoon, the group finally arrived back at Romdas, and they were all able to breathe a sigh of relief that the fort remained as they had left it, with no evidence of trouble. Bendigar enthusiastically greeted his wife, and was surprised to see Keleroth unexpectedly back, accepting the story of Elara’s “mission” without question. When asked by Matthias about the Ojaluche mentioned in the prophecy, the warrior-turned-bard was a bit taken aback that no one else had heard of it. Indeed, he knew a song that mentioned it several times, always as an object of great power hidden away for generations. The song itself was little-sung and told of the dangers in practicing evil magic, but the Ojaluche mentioned seemed to be some form of counter against it. However, there was no information in bardic circles of where it might be found, so Matthias confirmed his plans to set the whole group, along with a dozen or so men from Shaw, on a swift overland trip to Cath to see what they could discover of it.

The night in Romdas was spent by each according to their own: Keleroth explored the library, which he found to be vastly unhelpful, while Dora sat with Lady Cynthia, teaching her some simple first aid, and Matthias, Bendigar, and Nahla all saw to military business while Theodor went off to do whatever Theodor does in his quiet moments. For the night, Keleroth and Matthias each had separate rooms, but Nahla and Bendigar spent theirs together in exuberant bliss and Dora and Theodor took the opportunity to spend the night together in more ways than one for the very first time, in spite of Theodor’s gentlemanly desire not to rush things with his lady-love. By dawn, however, the time for such things was passed, as the party gathered their supplies and began the long trek towards the northwest and the mysterious port city of Cath.
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2-13-09: What you thought was real in life somehow steered you wrong...so find out where you belong [Feb. 23rd, 2009|10:19 pm]

mendeia
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The surprising appearance of Keleroth meant there were many questions and explanations to share around for the uneventful ride back to the fort. Upon returning to Fort Ambai, Matthias received word from one of the few individuals he had left behind that Captain Coran had been running several, visible military exercises around the fort during the afternoon, but that nothing else of note had really occurred. Accepting an invitation from the captain for dinner, Matthias hoped to gain better insight of Coran’s perspective, his opinion of the so-called Society for Freedom, and perhaps some idea of the captain’s stake in the game. The atmosphere around the fort was tangibly more tense, and no member of the party was immune to feeling it.

On their way to the fort, the entire leadership of the group attending in uniform or their “proper” clothing, it became apparent to more than one of the rebels that the military presence surrounding them was greater, perhaps much greater. Nahla in particular began to suspect that additional troops had been pulled in, and she shared her ominous concern with the general. At the same time, Dora began to notice some oddities in Coran’s behavior, from his reception of Keleroth to his conversation – oddities that were reflected by several unknown hues in her ring. Over dinner, Matthias worked at sounding out Coran on several fronts, mostly learning that the captain was genuinely disgusted with the Society and was seeking to find ways to limit them, but the general had the nagging feeling that such an action was perhaps not Coran’s most immediate, or most important, duty. Meanwhile, Theodor, Nahla, and Keleroth noticed Coran’s renewed interest in Elara, especially his sometimes less-than-subtle attentions to her in spite of his more important guest.

After the meal, the group retreated to a tent to share their reflections, and everyone agreed that it seemed something was in the works for the evening. Information was needed, and fast, and the only one really able to stand a chance of getting it from the elusive Enero Coran was Elara; therefore, she accepted a mission of returning to the fort to talk with him privately, although she voice more than a little anxious about it. Matthias sent Gentford and a few trusted men with her as escort. While she was gone, Matthias sent Nahla to wander the area and sound out the various posted sentries to see what she could learn, while the others went to visit the Hermitkin and Tinkerkin. Nahla, after some time spent watching, found herself in conversation with a young soldier who gave away perhaps more than he intended with his unschooled face: he was listening very, very carefully to the time-keeping announcements from the fort. Every fifteen minutes, the usual “X after the hour and all is well” pattern would be bugled, and twice the soldier listened intently for it.

At the same time, Matthias led Dora, Keleroth, and Theodor to visit with the leadership of the Hermitkin. The conversation was tense, the attitude in the clan’s camp far more wary than before, and the heightened concern was evident all around them. While passing through the camp, several of the non-gypsy noticed an oddly decorated tent that appeared to be quite set apart from the others. Dora explained it shortly thereafter as being the dwelling of the Hermitkin seers, well-protected and highly revered amongst her people. Entering the central tent, the leader of the Hermitkin spoke forcefully about wishing to remove all his clan from this dangerous place safely, but did not elaborate beyond what he had already said in negotiations about his perspective of the current conflict. However, a chance question from Keleroth – the scholar having made quite a friend amongst the Waterkin who wished to send a greeting to her favorite cousin – demonstrated that the leader had deep, angry, fearful emotions warring within that he was not sharing. The interview ended almost as soon as he had dismissed Keleroth’s query, and the group moved instead to see the Tinkerkin.

While between the camps, Dora explained the seers’ tent, and the group wondered about the boy Keleroth had asked about. Could he have been a new seer, and thus something was wrong that had so alarmed the Hermitkin leader? With few answers, they continued to the Tinkerkin camp. Meanwhile, Nahla observed Matthias and the others leaving the Hermitkin and entering the neighboring camp, and as she was about to move on from her position, witnessed something else altogether. A soldier from the fort appeared at the perimeter of the Hermitkin camp, met with an individual, and escorted that person back to the fort, all with an air of hurried secrecy. Curious, Nahla continued to watch the camps for other unusual activity.

In the Tinkerkin leader’s tent, Matthias entered into a much more frank dialogue, knowing that his position there was quite secure. The Tinkerkin leader stated that he no longer cared how things ended in negotiations – now, his concern was that something was deeply troubling the entire Hermitkin clan, and he felt strongly that he needed to help. They were family, after all, and the Tinkerkin only wanted to aid their brothers and sisters, if it could be done. Dora, on instinct, asked about the guarded seer tent among the Hermitkin, and heard a worrying tale when the non-clan had been escorted away. Seers amongst the gypsies were rare, but when born, were incredibly accurate and private, and they gravitated to the Hermitkin clan to avoid all contacts with the outside world, only calling for outsiders when their prophecies spoke to those specific individuals. The Hermitkin had not shared any prophecies with the other clans for some time, but this much was known: a recent vision had been so strong and terrible, far more so than the dire predictions that had begun more than ten years prior, that two of the three then seers had died in the seeing, and the remaining had cut off all contact until she could deliver her message. Whatever she had seen meant great ill, and Dora felt sure it was a message she must hear.

Reconnecting with Nahla, Matthias and his group returned to their tent to discuss things. The palpable tension in the air was far worse than it had been, and Nahla’s information was doubly concerning. Dora sent her hawk scouting, and it returned with a report of armored “predators” in the woods; Matthias immediately dispatched Nahla to investiage, while also sending Dora and Keleroth to the Waterkin with a warming that danger seemed to be immanent. Theodor shared orders across the rebel camp for all soldiers to wake and prepare themselves for a possible ambush, deserting their tents but leaving the whole camp with the appearance of being largely unaware of anything out of the ordinary. Nahla, venturing into the forest, stumbled almost into a group of soldiers, hidden in the dark, disguised, and apparently waiting. She circled around them partway until she felt that she could estimate there were at least as many of them as Matthias had at his disposal, possibly many more. Then, the quarter-hour pattern was called, but it was subtly changed, and everything seemed to happen at once.

The soldiers in the woods launched a charging attack on Matthias’s camp, overrunning it quickly but meeting with ready resistance from the rebel soldiers. Nahla rejoined the leadership of the group in time to attack with the center while Matthias maintained order and shouted through the chaos. After a few difficult moments in the pitched fight, a gypsy whistle calling the clans to defend their own echoed through the night, and with it the Tinkerkin roused to the battle as well, swelling onto the field to support the rebels against the soldiers. From the south, the sounds of the Waterkin similarly engaged could be heard, but there was no time to aid them yet. Keleroth did a fair amount of damage with his new and improved fire magic, and Theodor and Nahla helped to defend Matthias and Dora from the oncoming battle.

Suddenly the gypsy whistle sounded again, this time a more complicated message. It was Elara telling the Hermit kin “the boy is safe.” With that simple phrase, an explosion of familial anger erupted from the Hermitkin as they leapt to their horses and joined the battle in earnest. Matthias and his people were momentarily concerned that they would be the target of the gypsy clan, but instead the Hermitkin split their forces in two, half bound for Ambai itself, the other half now riding down any of Coran’s soldiers in their way. The leader of the Tinkerkin found Matthias in the chaos and explained that another, smaller fight appeared to be taking place at the very gates of the fort, and Matthias, seeing that his people and the gypsies had most things well in hand, accepted a ride from the Tinkerkin to northern battle. Nahla and Dora went with him, both swinging up to ride double, while Theodor and Keleroth moved south to assist the Waterkin as needed before they, too, were drawn to the situation at Ambai.

It became rapidly apparent that a small group, probably Gentford’s escort for Elara earlier in the evening, had broken from the fort and were trying to get away from their pursuers; however, the Hermitkin, mounted and furious, cut off the embattled individuals from Ambai and forced a rapid surrender. From the mess of individuals, Elara appeared, bleeding from a wound on her head and very tired, a small boy held protectively in her arms. Without hesitation, Elara handed the boy to the Hermitkin leader, taking a moment of grateful refuge from Matthias before everyone set off to handle the aftermath of the battle. Matthias had many logistics to manage, from the disposition of prisoners to establishing a secure perimeter; meanwhile, Dora set herself along with Nahla to work beside the many healers of the two-and-a-half gathered clans to offer assistance to all the wounded, both gypsy, rebel, and loyal soldier. Theodor took up his now-customary position as Matthias’s bodyguard. Elara retreated with the other clan leaders to discuss the situation, and as the night ended and dawn came, rejoined the rest of Matthias’s leadership to explain all that had occurred both before and during the very long night.

The tale truly began some weeks prior when a young boy was stolen from the Hermitkin and held hostage by Enero Coran at Ambai. He had, as he had explained to Elara that evening, learned that rebels to the crown might be connected to some gypsy clans, and he knew that if he could capture them he would gain great power and influence in Adzoral. Therefore, he forced the Hermitkin to call a near-feud with the Tinkerkin, knowing that whatever mediator both sides accepted would have to be connected to this rebel group somehow and might lead him back to them. When General Matthias appeared, Coran was momentarily thrown off – why would the Tinkerkin trust the army when they were openly allied with the rebels? – until he realized that the “army” and the rebels were one and the same. Then, his scenario became a concerted trap for Matthias, including the meeting with the Society for Freedom which allowed him to sneak additional troops to Ambai right under the general’s nose. However, Coran had not anticipated the appearance of Elara, and this gave him some pause. Ultimately, he decided to attempt to turn her to his way of thinking and enlist her as a spy against Matthias; if she had agreed, he would have sent her back that night and not launched any attack, and if not, the whole group would be taken. However, while his plan had failed to catch Matthias off-guard, he had also underestimated Elara’s determination not to be taken while in the fort, and she had instead located the Hermitkin boy and fled with him with the aid of Gentford’s escort.

The truth at last revealed, the Hermitkin leader apologized to Matthias and to his Tinkerkin brother for all that had occurred, though he maintained he could choose no other course than this. Both readily forgave him, for in the end, all their aims had been the same. Peace established, the Hermitkin leader then delivered a message from the one remaining seeress to Matthias and his group – she requested that they attend her immediately, for the vision that had robbed two other seers of their lives and had tormented her with its force was meant for them. Still reeling from the battle but knowing well that their journey was far from over, the group agreed and entered the seer’s tent. There, the blazing gypsy woman greeted them briefly, then her eyes rolled into her head and the prophecy spilled forth:

Enter the city beneath the world,
Beyond the path of the monster’s lair.
There shall you seek and wander through time
To find a weapon most rare.

Through dangers untold and strife unseen
The prize awaits deep below.
The Ojaluche is power to cast out dark strength
And vanquish the bringer of woe.

Be wary of silence and darkness as one,
For these portend evils are nigh.
But courage and light my yet bring you home,
When the Ojaluche lights up the sky.

Take heed of my words and care of your prize
For the Ojaluche once freed is then gone.
And to save the souls of a thousand blood-bound,
Wield it at the great battle’s dawn.

Following these words, the seeress peered at each individual in turn:

To Matthias: Lead your people to victory, or remain behind and bear witness to defeat.
To Keleroth: The fire of knowledge is your greatest power, and you must use all you have to navigate the labyrinth before you.
To Nahla: That which you see and hear may be your salvation, but fail to listen and you may fail to survive.
To Theodor: You who have defended others in the name of honor and love are steady, and by that steadiness may you be unmoved in the coming storm.
To Dora: You must cure more than spilled blood, and your courage shall save your heart.
To Elara: Beware the shadows, or you will join them, and only the most trusted shall save you.

Then she spoke to no one in particular, but these seemed addressed specifically nonetheless.

--The wielder of great strength is the hand of a just cause, but only if used with wisdom and patience.
--The one whose eyes are pure may see more clearly than those who have seen much.

Silence fell.
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6-22-08: If you’re not part of the future then get out of the way [Feb. 12th, 2009|07:35 pm]

mendeia
[Tags|]

The ride to the meeting place with the Society for Freedom took some amount of time, which the party spent alternately discussing their upcoming confrontation and sharing information on the morning’s activities. Matthias spoke to Elara about the meal she had shared with Coran, accepting any information she was willing to impart and refraining from pushing her on the matters of the heart that most concerned them both. Elara gave him all the tactical knowledge she had received, including her insights about the captain, but was relatively quiet on the emotional content of their time together. When the gypsy went to comfort her sister, Dora being more than a little anxious about the upcoming meeting, Nahla took her chance to fill in any gaps left by Elara’s report. Although the spy had been witness to more than Elara had told Matthias of, she did not elaborate much on Coran’s conduct or its response. Instead, Nahla spoke to the general of the captain’s obvious interest in Elara, omitting the unwitting opening the priestess had given for those feelings.

Arriving at the meeting location, Matthias marshaled his people into a basic plan which, he hoped, would protect them if the discussion turned sour. The mill, situated on a small hill near a creek, was mainly exposed, with only one clump of trees to the rear that could hide any approach. Many members of the Society for Freedom, all dressed in the robed and hooded black garb of executioners, stood around the large barn waiting, although none appeared to be armed. Matthias sent Captain Gentford with a small number of individuals into the trees to establish that there was no ambush waiting there before proceeding with his own small entourage, headed by Elara. If the Society members were surprised to see a gypsy in their midst, they did not show it. After some initial negotiation, Abram, the second-or-third-in-command of the Society, agreed to speak with Matthias outside in the open and the dialogue began. With Abram flanked by two of his men, Matthias by Elara and one of Gentford’s, the ex-general began to probe the mentality and motivations of the Society. Abram, at times quite candid and others a bit more fanatical, detailed economic pressures on the people of the region, as well as a general xenophobia, which appeared to be the root of their complaints with the gypsy clans. The Society could not, however, produce compelling proof that any direct gypsy actions were at fault in most of the cases they cited as justification for their behavior and aims.

A torrential storm blew up from the plains out of nowhere, but it could not entice Matthias to trust Abram any more than he had from a distance, so negotiations simply moved to a table under an under-hang as the sky echoed the turbulent emotions of most everyone in the immediate area. While Matthias kept his own feelings locked behind his an analytical view of the scenario, Elara struggled to maintain her composure in the face of such blatant and blind hatred, and Dora, though not angry, was far from comfortable herself. Nahla, on the other hand, found herself inadvertently agreeing with the Society at certain points in the discussion, and she was torn between disgust and interest. But to make matters even stranger, mid-way through the negotiations, a rider appeared declaring that a gypsy clan was on its way to join the meeting. The clan was the Waterkin, the same clan that Matthias’s team had liberated some weeks prior from the military and with which Keleroth was currently studying. Concerned that matters might become heated if the clan were to appear on the scene, Matthias cut the discussion short and instead removed himself and his people from the Society’s land.

On their way to meet the Waterkin on the road, however, an advance rider brought news to the rebel group that the clan had been accosted en route and were near to engaging in a violent confrontation with some young men. Elara, lost in concern for her people, broke from Matthias’s group and raced ahead, followed by the others at a slower pace. Upon reaching the somewhat-besieged clan, the gypsy interposed her horse between some of the young men and the more angry of the clan, attempting to protect her people. Some of the crowded locals began heaving rocks and pushing against the edges of the gypsy group, and soon a small-scale riot was beginning. As Matthias ordered his people into place to quell the unrest and restore order, Dora joined her sister in the midst on horseback, using her horsemanship skills to “bump” individuals away from each other. Elara, noticing trouble a bit apart, left her horse to Dora’s control and dismounted, attempting to intervene; an armed man was charging towards a wagon which held, she realized suddenly, Keleroth. However, in the process of casting a wind spell intended to knock the attacker away, the surging melee around her jostled her arm, and her control, and the spell instead launched him straight into Keleroth and sent them both sprawling into the wagon. While Elara rushed to help undo her mistake, which, at least, no one had seen, Keleroth was busy getting himself out from under the armed hothead, which he did very neatly by igniting fire in the man’s significant beard on fire. As he hurriedly lost any idea of harming the fire-mage and focused on patting out his burning hair, Elara arrived and tossed the individual to the ground. By this time, the rest of the battling had been brought to an end by Matthias’s armed troupe.

Admonishing the local men and sending them off in shame, Matthias received assurances from the clan leader that those gypsies who had been instigators in the fight would be appropriately punished. With a certain amount of amusement, the blind monk greeted Keleroth, remarking that the smell of singed hair had heralded his return. The peace established, Keleroth explained that the Waterkin, hearing of the trouble between the Hermitkin and Tinkerkin, had sent half their people down to aid in negotiations, and to return Keleroth to his own clan. Thus, the Waterkin joined Matthias’s little band as they continued back to Fort Ambai.
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Some character background, for anyone interested. [Feb. 6th, 2009|01:02 am]

sylmenya

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Because I've been working on it for a long while... [Oct. 5th, 2008|12:18 pm]

mendeia
( Creation Story of the Gypsies )
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4-20-08: Turn around, fake indifference and I watch their cold, dark silhouettes disappear [Jun. 18th, 2008|07:17 pm]

mendeia
[Tags|]

In spite of the unexpected emotional upheaval that had shaken the leadership of Matthias’s group, including Matthias himself, their work to both bring peace to the two feuding clans, as well as their efforts to gain more allies and resources, remained the priority. After taking a few minutes quiet to himself once Dora had left, the general emerged from the negotiations tent and made his way to where his people had set up their camp. With awkwardness in the air so thick it could have been tripped over, the group did their best to focus on the more urgent matters at hand. Dinner invitations had been extended from all parties, and Matthias deliberately selected which of his people would answer each, hoping that by so dividing his best individuals, he could gain the most from each situation.

Wary of Elara’s emotional state, Matthias sent her with Nahla to the Tinkerkin for the evening meal. He felt that the gypsy priestess might be off-balance enough to be more fiery than usual, and that sort of reaction would not necessarily help in negotiations with the Hermitkin, in spite of Elara’s knowledge of them. Therefore, she and Nahla dined with the Tinkerkin, which caused the spy no end of difficulty. The Tinkerkin were warm and friendly, embracing Elara and Nahla with open arms and easily moving into conversation with the women. The clan expressed great regret for the rift between themselves and the Hermitkin, but along with it a knowledge of the military’s activities in Aldencia since the coup and a deep and abiding unwillingness to side with them, even for the sake of their kin. Lamenting that such a situation had come so close to blows, the Tinkerkin urged Elara and Nahla to do all in their power to help the general bring the Hermitkin into his own fold, while carefully avoiding the military presence at Ambai. In the camp of the Tinkerkin, Elara felt warm and at ease, and Nahla attempted to keep her feelings to herself.

As emissaries to the Hermitkin, Dora and Theodor were the best choice. Sympathetic and understanding, Dora was able to begin conversations with the Hermitkin clan leader, and quickly the scars and struggles of the clan came to light. The Hermitkin spoke of their troubles, the poor trading, the Society for Freedom, and the cruel treatment they received at the hands of townsfolk throughout the region, detailing injustice after injustice. Thus, their alliance with the military, and the fort on the hill in particular, was a logical and necessary step for the preservation of the clan. The Hermitkin made it clear that, although they had been on good terms with the military prior to the arrangement, it was Captain Coran’s forbearer who had approached them with the deal, which they gratefully accepted. A closed and miserable family, the Hermitkin seemed grateful that Dora, a sister of the blood, was with the negotiating party, and they professed great faith in General Matthias to win over the Tinkerkin and restore peace among the clans.

Matthias himself accepted Captain Coran’s invitation to dine, in spite of the new emotional tangles distraction in place. Dinner at the fort was not the stately affair it had been at Romdass, a small comfort. Captain Coran seemed thoughtful, a bit distracted, and spoke more of military theory and history than the current situation. Matthias, tired in body and spirit, did not push the captain to divulge much, and instead took a measure of the man’s character. He seemed well in command of his men, and well-versed in all appropriate military matters, serious and intense, but he buried this beneath an unassuming and quiet demeanor. It was with great relief that Matthias excused himself to rejoin his own group for a report.

When everyone had finished their evening meal and conversations, they returned to meet in the tent being shared by Nahla, Dora, and Elara, as it was the largest. Each group reported what they had learned, seen, experienced, and surmised, slowly building a common understanding of the situation and the various interests and perspectives at work. Matthias decided to call for a dawn meeting of the two clans, with six participants from each side, during which they could begin negotiations. No military presence from the fort would be included. Everything decided, the men moved off to sleep in their own tents and left the women, and if Elara was noticeably resigned as she interacted with Matthias, no one made comment until the men were gone. Dora and Nahla, caring for the gypsy priestess, offered what support they could, but both knew that Elara was still reeling inside, her emotions still warring with one another.

Before dawn, the ex-general’s camp rose and began preparations to receive the representatives of the Hermitkin and Tinkerkin. The two delegations arrived, and both appeared eager at least to communicate evenly and fairly. Of course, it aided the entire situation that both clans felt absolutely certain that Matthias and his people would side with their position, so no one felt themselves to be working from a disadvantage. Matthias opened the conversation, stating simply his own desire to bring peace and avert any catastrophe within the clans, before giving each delegation the opportunity to speak. The Hermitkin, as they had to Dora and Theodor the night prior, expressed their struggles and sufferings at the hands of the Society for Freedom, thus explaining their almost necessary collaboration with the army for their own protection. The Tinkerkin, meanwhile, spoke of the political situation in Adzoral, their own run-ins with factions of the military that were not so supportive, and their pledge to the Menderskin for mutual support and protection. As each clan told their story, Matthias opened the floor to questions from his own people, encouraging them all to help clarify the situation. Thanks to several insightful queries, it became more and more apparent that there existed a deeper level to this situation, that of the army’s peculiar role in aligning themselves with the Hermitkin, that required investigation. Matthias closed the morning’s negotiations with a pact signed by each representative present that neither clan would enter into violence without returning once more to the table in an attempt to find a peaceable solution.

It was then nearing the noon hour, and Elara was pledged to join Captain Coran for lunch at the fort. However, her own hesitancy was obvious even to the blind general, and he sent Nahla and Theodor with her for her own protection. Elara did not feel physically threatened, but she was grateful for their company nonetheless. Matthias, in the meantime, asked Nahla to do what she could to overhear the discussion between his second and the captain and report anything she learned, and he requested she not share the fact that she was doing so to Elara, to which Nahla agreed.

While Elara, Nahla, and Theodor made their way up to Fort Ambai, a messenger arrived with a notice to General Matthias Vane. It was a communication from the Society for Freedom, requesting that they be permitted a place at the negotiating table with the clans. They offered to meet with Matthias and his people at a neutral location some distance from the fort that afternoon in the hopes that their interests might also be represented. Matthias, immediately suspicious due to the specific nature of the letter, including information from within the past day’s activities, feared that the Society might be planning some sort of ambush on them. However, the possibility of learning the identities of those behind the Society for Freedom and perhaps thus gaining the ability to act against them was greater than the risk posed in meeting them. The general spread word to his men to prepare themselves, and pulled Dora aside to ask her to join the party that would meet the Society. Dora, concerned about the danger, was extremely reluctant to go along, but eventually was convinced to participate. While she helped prepare the armed group that would accompany Matthias’s team, the general went to Fort Ambai himself to speak with the three prisoners of the Society to learn whatever he could.

In the prisons of the fort, there were three members of the Society for Freedom who had been arrested due to their activities. Matthias arranged to speak with each of them individually in their cells, hoping to gain as much information as possible prior to actually facing the Society himself. Although two of the three prisoners were largely resistant to him, the third was able to provide the general with valuable information regarding recent changes in the Society. Although the organization, and the sentiments that fueled it, had been part and parcel of the landscape of the area for as long as anyone could remember, the Society itself had become much more militant only recently due to a change in its leadership. Also, where two of the prisoners seemed to participate due to either societal pressures or other shallow reasons, the third was rabidly prejudiced against the gypsies, demonstrating an almost fanatical hatred of the clans. After using the more pliable prisoner to gain further details about recent Society operations, including sabotaging roads and tracks ahead of the traveling wagons, hoping to cause injury to the individuals themselves, Matthias believed he had the beginnings of an understanding of the mob-mentality that drove the group’s activity. He returned to the camp shortly before Elara, Nahla, and Theodor, and in the briefest of terms, explained the situation. Thus, without even having the opportunity to discuss Elara’s lunch with Coran, the party set out grimly for what could be a very treacherous encounter indeed.

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Session 3-23-08: Am I the face of the past? Am I the one who must finish last? [Apr. 11th, 2008|10:41 pm]

mendeia
[Tags|]

After a restorative night, the weary wanderers returned to the work that was waiting for them at Castle Romdas. Bendigar found himself pressed to stand in as a swordsmaster for an instructor who had been injured, while Nahla spent her morning in meetings getting caught up on the intelligence gathered (and the skills of those gatherers) while she was away. Dora found herself with a few new patients in the infirmary, and Theodor joined Eriksson on the training grounds to help and heckle as needed, especially when Bendigar was teaching. Elara returned to her customary place at Matthias’s side, quickly assimilating all that had transpired in her absence and lending all the aid she could to the retired general. It seemed a relatively normal day for the rebels, until shortly after lunch.

A visitor seeking Matthias was announced, and he quickly introduced himself, though vaguely known to Elara, as Nartal, a gypsy from one of the other clans. In a few words, and with some gestures in Illata for Elara’s benefit, the young emissary explained himself. Evidently, the Tinkerkin clan was struggling to maintain their relationship with the Hermitkin, a clan from the most remote eastern part of Aldencia. Due to recurring and extreme incidents of racially-motivated attacks against the Hermitkin in their area, the smallest of the clans had felt pressured to form an uneasy alliance with the military forces nearby, thus buying for themselves some measure of protection and order against the rampant hatred they regularly encountered. However, the Tinkerkin had already allied themselves with Matthias due to a clan-meeting with Elara’s own Menderskin, and thus, the gypsy clans were divided. Both sides, Tinkerkin and Hermitkin, were deeply passionate about the stance on the political situation they had taken, and for the first time in recorded history, the situation was near to violence. Thus, Nartal had been sent by his people to implore Matthias himself to come and aid them in diplomatically resolving the issue before the blood-kin gypsies came to blows.

When the tale was finished, Matthias called for all of his “regulars,” including Nahla, Bendigar, Dora, and Lord Warren and the captains of Romdas, to assemble for discussion. While these individuals made their way to the War Room, Matthias spoke briefly with Elara regarding the scenario. The priestess was shaken by the turmoil plaguing her people, and she confessed that she was afraid of what might result if the clans could not come to a peaceful resolution. Matthias, however, was more concerned that Elara herself might be compromised by her emotions, and this time more than ever he needed her focused and calm. After all, the ideal outcome for such a mission would be not only to quell the rising fury between the clans, but also to win the Hermitkin over to the rebels’ side without the military’s knowledge. Elara promised to do her best to maintain perspective, as she knew as well as Matthias how important it would be for her to aid in bringing a diplomatic solution to her peoples.

When the summoned council arrived, Matthias explained the situation to everyone, seeking both information on the geography and society of the lands to the east as well as insight into the value of such a mission. Captain Gentford had once been stationed at the fort in the area and could attest to the nature of bias that permeated the local people, as well as the tactical value of having all the gypsy clans united within the cause. Thus, a decision was quickly reached: Matthias would lead a party himself to the eastern parts of Aldencia to mediate between the Tinkerkin and the Hermitkin, hopefully remaining out from under the eyes of the army, and would endeavor to unite the clans in both purpose and politics. Leaving Bendigar behind, the warrior-bard being not perhaps the most useful individual for a diplomatic mission, it was agreed that a party of approximately 50 individuals would depart at dawn for the east.

The journey took an uneventful week, at the end of which the party encountered the two gypsy clans camped at Ambai, where the rebels faced their first test. With Captain Gentford flanking Matthias, the ex-general identified himself as an emissary sent from Romdas for diplomatic reasons, thus publicly and overtly admitting his presence. However, though his action gave his closest friends heart-attacks, the move was not as risky as it would have been anywhere else; the fort was extremely isolated, unlikely to receive news anytime in the future, and was entirely outside the politics of Adzoral. By using his true name and rank, Matthias was able to quickly take command of the situation, thus offering a measure of protection to his people who had literally walked into a lion’s den.

After dispatching most of the troops to set up a camp of their own, Matthias led his chosen smaller party, including his usual officers, to the tent set up between the Tinkerkin and Hermitkin camps, where the commanding officer awaited him. However, upon entering the tent, something was obviously amiss. Though it looked like any other field tent and the young captain in command seemed competent and otherwise relatively predictable, Elara seemed to experience a bizarre reaction. While Captain Coran explained the situation in more detail, filling in the gaps in Matthias’s knowledge with precision and professionalism, everyone not watching the military exchange could see the priestess’s shaken and stiff demeanor. After the military matters had been completed, Coran made a point of speaking directly to her. Unbeknownst to everyone else, this captain was the same man whom Elara had known and loved many years prior in Adzoral, who was, in fact, the father of Oertan, though he did not know it. Their courtship had been broken off by his apparent death while on patrol, and thus the shock at seeing one another was clearly impacting both. Coran asked Elara if she would speak with him at greater length the following day, which she agreed to, before taking his leave to allow Matthias to conduct his business. Matthias, quickly surmising much of what had not yet been said aloud, sent every person away from the tent on important yet trivial matters, so that he could speak to Elara privately.

Once alone, Elara burst out with her confusion and suddenly-resurgent grief. Coran had been a man she had admired, and to see him alive after so much time of thinking he had been dead, after mourning him, shook her to the core. She answered Matthias honestly, explaining everything to him, including that Coran was Oertan’s father, trying to put her mind in order once more. But the experience had thrown her off-balance, and Elara was uncharacteristically stiff towards Matthias, causing the blind monk to become concerned. When Elara finally left him to seek refuge with Dora, the ex-general felt his heart become heavy under the weight of heretofore unexpected worry and pain.

Elara, meanwhile, raced to Dora, where she exploded her pent-up feelings upon her sister’s welcome shoulder. Dora, neutral, sympathetic, calming, slowly brought Elara back to herself, talking her through the surprise and confusion and pain of feelings that had been forgotten and gone for many years. Elara asked her sister to make it known to Theodor that she did not wish Captain Coran to know she had a son, that she was concerned he might use that knowledge to gain leverage over her. As she had explained to Matthias, Coran was a deviously clever man, with always more than one plan prepared for every situation. Though she had no real reason to fear him, Elara felt nonetheless that she would rather not give him reason to have any more power in her life than he already commanded. Calm, Elara left Dora to speak with Theodor while she went seeking Nahla, her other “sister.”

Nahla, for her part, had surmised most of what Elara had to say, as had the others, but had drawn a different set of conclusions along with those that were correct. Nahla, without telling her friend, vowed to keep an eye on the captain and be certain he did not press any advantage he held over Elara, both for her sake as well as Matthias’s. Elara reinforced Nahla’s caution by asking her to watch Coran carefully, not sure that her own view of him would still be unbiased, and she needed an ally to see what her emotional perspective might miss. Thus comforted by the ranks of her sisters, Elara settled into manual labor beside Nahla as she began unwinding the knots in her heart to examine them.

Meanwhile, Dora took it upon herself to visit Matthias, who had been rather abruptly abandoned by the distraught Elara. Working delicately, the healer began to draw Matthias out, slowly gaining more and more trust and honesty from him. It was more than the potential loss of Elara’s insight and perspective that was troubling the blind monk now; he feared he might also lose Elara’s heart to one who had loved her before, one who was, in his eyes, a better match for the vibrant, young priestess. Matthias, though he little admitted it, was faced with the possibility of losing Elara, not to a battle or a wound, but to a man who had once held her love. Matthias tried to rationalize it to himself, but both he and Dora knew perfectly well what he guarded deep inside. Dora did her best to reassure him, eventually even going so far as to touch his face as he so often did Elara’s, but the comfort did not quite take. Dora’s faith in her sister’s love was great, but Matthias more desperately needed that certainty from Elara herself, and the fact that he had not yet given him anything of the sort, indeed, had not even verbally confirmed it to Dora, shook him to the roots of his soul.
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Session 2-10-08: "Son," he said "Grab your things, I've come to take you home." [Mar. 14th, 2008|06:37 pm]

mendeia
[Tags|]

While Elara did her best to reach the young soldier, Edwin, whose life had been spared, Nahla, Theodor, and Erikson combed through the debris of the camp for supplies, armor, and anything else that might be salvageable or of use. Dora, thankfully, was able to distract the rampaging ants from their single-minded pursuit of the site, making the search far less uncomfortable. Once everything had been stripped, the party rejoined. Elara, having made relatively little progress with their prisoner thus far, instead resumed command of their mission, issuing orders to bury the bodies of the fallen soldiers as well as the land itself would permit. She could not in good conscience leave them to the wild. With Theodor, Erikson, and Edwin working together, they fashioned a grave under the rocks, and Elara’s last rites, while a bit stilted, were heartfelt and obviously appreciated by the lone survivor. Then, in the hopes of avoiding any reinforcements, the group began their trip back to Stone Cove.

With a small herd of horses at their disposal, it was both an easier and more difficult journey than the previous had been. Easier because most everyone could ride a horse of their own, excepting Bendigar, whose bruised ribs necessitated him sharing a horse with Theodor, and the mounts were well-trained to their work. However, the number of horses also meant it was far more difficult to cover their tracks, and though Nahla did an admirable job on her own, there would be no denying that they could be followed. While the others rode resolutely towards the elusive cove-town, and Elara continued her dialogue with young Edwin, Dora alone seemed to notice an odd occurrence. An eagle appeared to be following them. Now, the appearance of an eagle would normally have signaled very little, but the gypsy healer had noticed an eagle at the battle-site as well, one that circled the party and ignored her attempts at communication. Fearing that they were under surveillance by enemies, Dora alerted the party, putting already-strained nerves under yet more pressure.

It was the presence of the eagle as well as the proximity to Stone Cove that decided Elara in favor of pressing on into the night to reach their destination rather than stopping for rest. While almost everyone could continue, Edwin’s broken arm was causing him great pain, and he braced himself for the difficulty of remaining on horseback for any longer than necessary. Unable to let him suffer, Elara offered him some of her precious energy, healing him of all but the last of his injury. It was this gesture that began to turn the soldier to see his captors in a more favorable light, and he admitted great fear that he had been bound for torture and death at the hands of the feared Red Wolf. Elara admitted that Red Wolf was their destination, but not their commander, and she gave her word to do all in her power to protect him against any harm and to carry him back to Aldencia, which he desperately desired. But Edwin’s trepidation was severe, and rightly so from the descriptions of horrors he gave of the mutilated bodies their units had found.

When the party began their final descent to Stone Cove, precariously picking their way down the rocky embankment, they found themselves surrounded by a jeering and obviously lady-starved group of sentries who remained on the high ground in shadow and security. After identifying themselves, the group was given instructions to wait at the Mermaid’s Tale for a contact from Red Wolf “himself.” The head of the band expressed some hesitation regarding Elara’s prisoner, but the gypsy woman refused to yield in her staunch protection of the boy. She did, however, warn the sentries about the eagle that had tailed them all day, and their fears that it might not be entirely coincidence.

As the small group led their horses through Stone Cove to their destination, the party met with as little resistance as could be expected in the uncouth township. One particularly ornery drunkard attempted to intercept Dora, thinking she would be an easy and willing target, but a surprising right hook from the gypsy, followed up by a rather forceful punch from Theodor, convinced the man otherwise. In the chaos of the crowd, Elara took her opportunity to speak to each member of the party, giving strict instructions that her people were to protect Edwin, to flank him at all times, and to let her handle the situation. She comforted the young soldier, who was downright terrified, assuring him she would keep her word and get him home if it were at all possible.

At the Mermaid’s Tale, Elara made contact with the barkeep, who showed her group into a private room, at the same time taking the horses and supplies for use by “mutual acquaintances.” As they waited to be contacted by Red Wolf, Edwin burned his uniform, instead accepting a shirt from Bendigar, and the other companions waited tensely for whatever might come next. After food and drink had been provided, the one-eyed man who appeared to serve as an advisor to Red Wolf appeared. Elara presented him with the hard-won quarry, and, after a moment’s consideration, wrote a letter to explain her offering and continued alliance to the young woman herself. The advisor made a slight mention of the new addition to the party, but Elara refused to budge, never admitting outright that Edwin had been a soldier and assuming complete responsibility for and command over him. Apparently satisfied, the one-eyed warrior left an invitation for the party to remain overnight in the tavern, assuring them that all expenses of room and board would be managed for them. He then took his leave of the weary group.

Elara broke her party into two rooms, leaving orders with Bendigar to protect Edwin should Red Wolf prove less than honorable and attempt to interfere with him in the night. Both parties kept a watch, but the girls’ room short-shifted Elara somewhat due to her usage of healing magic which had tired her beyond the difficult travel. However, hers was the morning watch, and so it was Elara who met a knock at the door shortly after dawn with suspicion. It was a very unexpected visitor: the rat-faced man Elara and Nahla both recognized, apparently in the employ of Red Wolf, who had so often put the party on their guard. Reluctantly, the gypsy woke Nahla and Dora and invited the man in, as he desired private words with her. It was, for certain, the most dangerous moment of all their time in Irenia.

The man, whose name the party later learned was simply known as Rumor, spoke smoothly, gaining far more information about the three women than they ever could have hoped to glean in return. He spoke specifically to each of them, identifying their histories and past roles in the war ten years prior, although his knowledge of Dora was far less complete. He could, however, identify the Menderskin clan by true name, and he disclosed uncomfortable knowledge of Matthias Vane’s exaggerated demise. However, Elara, playing the game as best she could, understood Rumor to have not disclosed that information to Red Wolf or anyone else, and, with a golden coin slipped over, would keep the secret until a higher bidder appeared. But the most critical information gained from the professional spy, besides an insight into a keen and dangerous mind, was the fact that Red Wolf herself had been so touched by the offerings of horses and supplies by the little party that she had wept. He also informed them that passage on Captain Vartain’s ship back to Aldencia had been paid for should they choose to use it to return to their own shores.

After Rumor departed and the girls were able to breathe a sigh of relief, they roused the men, thankfully unmolested during the night, and checked in at the dock. Captain Vartain was as pleased as ever to see his recent passengers, and he informed them that they would depart the following morning, leaving the party a day in which to rest, attempt to relax, and be grateful that they were, as best as they could tell, within secure quarters for the time being. However, even the journey onboard the ship and throughout the southern lands of Aldencia could not quell the sense of somewhat-frenzied vigilance that each person had taken on while in Irenia. Though Dora and Elara continued to befriend Edwin, eventually winning him largely over to their cause, and Bendigar and Nahla celebrated their return to Aldencia as only they would, the tense air of watchfulness and distrust only lifted when they were at last within sight of Castle Romdas.

Matthias met his people at the gate, and it was a welcome and grateful homecoming. After everyone had the chance to clean up, Elara rushed back to the blind general, eager to spill out the events that had transpired, the insights and fears that had abounded on the trip, and the weights that had held her rigid and worried for days. The others also shared their opinions and versions of events, glad to leave the isle of intrigue and uncertain but ever-present danger behind. After a formal dinner, for what else would be served at Romdas, the party split into their comfortable couples. Bendigar and Nahla celebrated some more, while Theodor and Dora spent the evening together, fulfilling their needs for security and affirmation after such a harrowing journey. Elara, alone with Matthias at last, began the painful process of shedding the iron-heavy mantle of responsibility, talking and periodically weeping until her worry began to dull. Matthias, having known that very situation many times in his own difficult life, offered her the shelter and serenity she needed, accepting her fears and applauding her decisions. His warmth and understanding brought much peace to Elara’s weary soul, and as he spoke her to sleep, the two leaders of the rebellion fell back into their patterns of sharing the burden of command as best they could, and in that sharing, strengthening them both for the next wave of action to come.
LinkSee the carnage|Strike a blow

Session 1-13-08: Can you feel it coming in the air tonight? [Jan. 17th, 2008|05:19 pm]

mendeia
[Tags|]

The party rode until it was nearly too dark to see, finally deciding to stop on the open moor for the night. With no fire to betray them, the small band adrift in lands not their own tried to sleep, keeping a watch. Midway through the night, Theodor noticed a ruddy glow on the horizon, as of perhaps a fire in the distance, but he thought nothing of it. It was Bendigar who later recognized the light as either belonging to a burning building or a large encampment, and he quickly woke the others. Everyone felt that they might even now be within striking range of Talic Bloodreaver, and therefore they set off to investigate and possibly ambush the war-leader.

However, after riding their ungainly horses across the open plains, the party found not a destroyed village, nor a resting army, but rather the burning remains of a single homestead. The house and outlying buildings were gone, and the barn’s roof collapsed as they approached. Evidently a sheep-herding family, the remains of three wooly animals littered the yard as the party cautiously approached. Examining the site, Nahla realized at once that the barn had been chained shut and perhaps the family remained inside. Lost to her worry for the innocents in potentially fatal danger, the young woman flung herself at the burning doors, caught only just in time by Elara before she literally tried rushing into the heat. Though convinced that they were far past help, the priestess had Bendigar break open the doors with his mace while she lessened the flames with her water magic. Thus, three badly-charred and unrecognizable figures were revealed before the fire claimed them once more. The party swore vengeance and, following the trail of the band responsible, likely that of Talic Bloodreaver, they set off into the darkness in pursuit. With the aid of Dora’s falcon and Bendigar’s sense of direction, and a brief rest for the wicked, the rebel party caught up to the war-band.

The fog was thick, dense beyond sight, and though it muffled their approach, Elara and her team could hear enough to locate their quarry. They were just in time; the late-set camp was stirring and orders were being given to pack and be gone before dawn. After debating internally for a few seconds, the priestess drew the others near with her plan. Nahla would move first, circling around the small camp to be in position to provide a distraction when the first wave struck. Elara herself would lead Bendigar, Theodor, and Erikson in a silent charge against their enemy, counting on surprise and speed over stealth in allowing them to take the warriors by surprise. Dora would remain behind, and upon hearing the camp roused, was to summon whatever local animal aid she could by magic. Though they did not know how many foes might rise to face them, the party had no other choice.

Nahla managed to move silently through the fog, deftly evading the sentries as she positioned herself near the camp’s horses. She planned to free them before rejoining the battle, leaving chaos in her wake, of course. Meanwhile, Elara’s force hit the unprepared camp, and though one sentry managed a cry of alarm, she and Bendigar were beyond him and in their midst before anyone could react. The battle was pitched and fierce. Soldiers came out of bedrolls and jumped from their meal to face the four hardened warriors, often falling against their righteous fury. Nahla, though spotted, managed to loose some of the horses, who answered Dora’s call and stampeded through the battle. Then the spy was able to escape an armed man before he could confront her. Dora woke more than horses; fire ants, crickets, mice, and other rodents swarmed to her call and caught more than one soldier still abed with panicked frenzy. Theodor and Erikson, side by side, dispatched a few of the guards, the bulky berserker taking a nasty cut to the head that inflamed his temper such that he was more monster than man. Bendigar, meanwhile, answered the rallying cry of Talic Bloodreaver, throwing himself into battle with the captain. But the exuberant bard was outmatched and soon took several cutting blows which were somehow not quite fatal. Beset by three others who had raced to Bloodreaver’s side, the brave captain did his best to keep himself alive as he continued to battle the captain, eventually disarming him of one sword. Elara, meanwhile, traded angry blows with whatever man put himself in her way as she tried to reach Bendigar in time.

Meanwhile, Theodor and Nahla also joined the pitched fight for Bendigar’s life against the knot of soldiers and their commanding officer. While Theodor neatly defeated one, asking Elara whether or not he should offer mercy and staying his axe while he listened for her answer, Nahla was far more concerned with Bloodreaver himself. Armed with a bedroll covered with angry and swarming fire ants, the elusive spy flung the blanket over the captain’s face, the angry ants biting at him until he could remove it. Thus distracted and pained, he was unable to avoid Bendigar’s broadsword and caught the blow through the chin, immediately ending any threat from Talic Bloodreaver. However, the warrior-bard was still outnumbered and much weakened, and would surely have died moments later if not for the courage and quick-thinking of Dora. When joined by the camp’s battle steeds, the gypsy healer mounted, assessing the situation. Though riding into the teeth of danger, Dora flung herself through the battle its very heart, snatching Bendigar from certain death either by a final blow or blood-loss, and pulled him from the field. With Elara and Nahla left to dispatch the remaining guards, the fight ended just as the first light of dawn began to show in the sky.

Almost immediately upon quiet settling around the bloodied scene, the battle’s reality began to strike home. Bendigar was in need of more healing aid than Dora could give; he needed Elara’s magic. Nahla had also taken a grievous wound to the stomach, and Erikson’s head flowed blood. Theodor was the only combatant to be entirely unharmed. Elara, stricken by the wanton gore and suffering around her, barely kept herself together, bolstered by Nahla’s courage and Dora’s need of her skill. The priestess spent herself and her remaining energy to restore Bendigar as much as she could before promptly fainting. Dora cared for the others, talking Erikson back to humanity, no small feat considering that only minutes prior the big man had been pounding a dagger into the dead body of one soldier until it no longer resembled anything human. Theodor took charge of his prisoner, having never received a reply from Elara as to whether or not to strike a killing blow. And Nahla, after seeing to her own injury as best she could, gathered the up the ears and dagger of the band’s captain, claiming those items responsible for the battle, before submitting herself to Dora’s ministrations as well.

With several individuals injured and immobile, Nahla made the decision to move the party enough away from the site to be free of its immediate aftermath to wait for Elara and Bendigar to come around. While settling in, Dora began to wonder about the missing sheep from the fiery homestead that had started them down this path, and made a few futile attempts at summoning them, much to Nahla’s despair. After several hours of rest, at last the bard and priestess could be woken, and it came time to decide on their course of action. Dora was to help gather the horses that they might be offered with any useful equipment to Red Wolf along with her price of ears and dagger. It was, everyone decided, not quite worth it to bother finding the sheep and having to wrangle them back to Stone Cove as well, though Nahla admitted she could handle the beasts. Elara dispatched Nahla, Erikson, and Theodor to the remains of the camp to scavenge anything that might be useable, including, hopefully, a replacement for Bendigar’s shredded armor. In the meantime, the priestess began to attempt to talk with their prisoner; now that they had spared him, it wasn’t in her heart to order his death. But the truth was that once he had identified Talic Bloodreaver for them, the boy was a dangerous spoil of war whose very life was already forfeit. If he remained a prisoner, he would either die horribly by Red Wolf’s hands, Elara was certain, or he would have to die quickly by her own. Her only chance was to convert him, just as Matthias had so often done. And thus, a stone’s throw from blood-soaked ground, the heart-heavy priestess began attempting to save one life in recompense for ending so many others.
LinkSee the carnage|Strike a blow

Session 11-25-07: I have spent nights with matches and knives...cutting my heart, burning my soul [Dec. 7th, 2007|08:09 pm]

mendeia
[Tags|]

As the rebel party studied the strange woman, she stared at each of them in turn, seemingly reading and categorizing each person individually. Her eyes fell on Dora, and the intense regard she paid the gypsy woman was extremely disquieting to the healer. When she spoke, her voice was strained and battered, a further testament to whatever she must have suffered. Her cold, defensive, and abrupt manner was more than off-putting; it was laced with thinly-veiled risk. She demanded to know why a soldier, a spy, and a healer from Aldencia would seek her out except but to assassinate her. Thinking quickly, Elara attempted to build a peace between them, disavowing any loyalty to the regime in Adzoral and their activities in Irenia. As she explained her party’s position, goals, and offerings to the woman, the priestess lamented that she was without Matthias’s silver tongue and diplomatic skills, though the ex-general’s life would have been forfeit had he been recognized. A tense, uncomfortable dialogue followed, in which Elara gamely tried to win, if nothing else, enough goodwill to allow her people to leave Red Wolf’s presence safely. Indeed, she was not the only one now afraid that the party was far out of their depths and in more danger than they had anticipated. With only a few bargaining chips in hand, including the willingness to share information, limited but dedicated strengths of arms and warriors, and a mutual deep hatred for General Crom, the party scarcely dared to breathe as the traumatized and perhaps unstable leader of the Irenian rebellion considered their words.

Evidentially deciding not to kill them where they stood, Red Wolf asked the visiting party to wait while she conferred with her advisors. As the group was escorted from the room, the woman again sought Dora’s eyes, which the gypsy woman returned politely but noncommittally, Elara tight at her back. Led by a large and not quite so unfriendly guard, the Aldencian rebels found themselves escorted to what amounted to a dungeon: an airless, secure cellar that was obviously used for prisoners or interrogations. Provided with a lamp, they descended uncomfortably into the space, the door closed and guarded behind them. When illuminated, the room was far worse. Besides odds and ends that had been pushed out of the way, a barren mattress, a few rats, and a table with a few chairs, the main feature of the room was a horrible chair built to rend flesh from the arms of one strapped into it, a true device of torture. The smell of dank air was laced with the scent of blood, and though the chair and floor around it were dry, the stains of recent use remained.

Falling into their individual habits, the party each reacted according to their experience or responsibility. Elara leaned on the table, facing the door, and warned her sister against using even the slightest bit of magic, no matter how much communication with the mice might comfort her; instead, the priestess sang a soft gypsy lullaby to comfort her sister. She took up her post as leader and kept a watchful eye out, assessing her team, their situation, and the experience they had survived thus far. Nahla, for her part, after investigating the room sufficiently, moved from person to person, collecting impressions, perceptions, and other bits of information or insight the party may have gleaned from the interview, dutifully reporting everything back to Elara before waiting with her. Erikson, for his part, investigated the torture chair with a disturbing sort of ease, eventually electing to use it for his seat, nonplussed by its obvious use purpose and recent use. Bendigar, having also investigated the space, sat himself upon one of the long-forgotten chests and, after reporting in classic truthful but unobservant fashion to Nahla, began a rendition of a repetitive and long-winded ballad to mark and pass the time. Theodor, undaunted by the scenario, settled himself close to Dora to comfort her. For the gypsy healer was deeply uncomfortable in the blood-soaked space, and her strength in the face of such adversity failed her. Though somewhat warmed by Elara’s singing, Dora suffered the imprisonment terribly, taking some solace in Theodor’s attentions but otherwise lost to her own fear and phobia that the cellar embodied.

After what felt like an eternity, but was in reality no more than two hours, the door above opened and Red Wolf and the one-eyed man appeared. Without preamble, the woman explained that she cautiously agreed to the alliance proposed, but under one condition: Elara’s group had to first perform a task. Whether a test of skill or dedication, it mattered little. Red Wolf demanded that Elara’s people locate a captain of Crom’s army, one Talic Bloodreaver, and return with his sword and his ear. Explaining that the captain was a legend for burning and destroying villages and their inhabitants, Red Wolf also granted them safe passage from the house in which her headquarters were held, assuring them that they would be unharmed if they chose not to accept her charge. With characteristic brusqueness, she left them, the door to the outside open above.

Elara’s group took advantage of their freedom and quickly found themselves once again in the little entryway where their belongings waited, having been searched thoroughly of course. Once they were again outside and on the street, Dora revived somewhat, grateful to be free of the containing walls of the basement. A quick conference confirmed that the party felt they had little choice but to go along with Red Wolf’s commission, and Bendigar’s knowledge of Bloodreaver by reputation corroborated the ruthlessness and evil of the man in question. Thus, it was time for the group to discover where they could find the captain and intercept him before he did any more harm. To that end, Elara sent Nahla and Bendigar into a nearby tavern to chat with the patrons, hoping to hear rumor of the notorious warrior. Nahla, thankfully able to ply individuals with a clever mix of truth and lie, learned that the Bloodreaver had been at a nearby town four days prior, burning it to the ground. With that to go on, she returned outside to report. Hoping to learn better and more timely information, Elara sent them in again, taking up a seat in the corner herself, while Perenahl attempted her craft once again, this time with a local bard. However, though the bard could tell her nothing of Talic Bloodreaver, he did share something far more interesting: the folkloric history of the Red Wolf the party had met. In accordance with their suspicions, the woman was Red Wolfs daughter, who had sworn to avenge her father killed in the battle that “killed” General Vane. She had fallen into Crom’s clutches, and the horror committed upon her was told in no little detail. But the open admiration for both her skills and her dedication to Irenia leaked through every word of the bard’s tale. When at last he had finished, Elara’s people, the others having joined them after the tale wound quite long, left the tavern feeling rewarded and informed, yet perhaps even more cautious of their ally.

Deciding that they were unlikely to get any better information, the group went looking for horses; knowing that Bloodreaver was mounted, they needed to be able to catch up with him. Though the selection was limited to only cart horses, with Dora’s skill at speaking to animals, the party was eventually able to choose four great beasts that could each carry two people and were intelligent and willing enough to learn. Though mounting and instructing a horse on the spur of the moment was not, perhaps, the best idea, it was indeed all they could hope for. In spite of the fact that by the time the party had outfitted themselves with the extremely large equines it was nearly dusk, Elara had the group press on, both to accustom the horses to being ridden as well as to make up for lost time. Bloodreaver was four days ahead of them, and no one wanted to be too far behind. Thus, they left the nearly invisible town of Stone Cove, feeling much relieved to be free of its dour feelings, and set off into the wilds of Irenia.
LinkSee the carnage|Strike a blow

Session 11-18-07: There's no turning back from any course that's laid [Nov. 23rd, 2007|07:15 pm]

mendeia
[Tags|]

As the two ships grew nearer and nearer to the Stingray, it quickly became obvious that they were neither naval vessels nor benign merchants; their red sails suggested piracy. Elara sent Dora and Bendigar below, deciding to keep her sister as invisible as possible, and realizing that Bendigar may well be recognizable to anyone who had seen his wanted posters. Detailing Nahla to the task of ensuring both Dora and Bendigar were alerted in the case of fire, Elara positioned herself near enough to Captain Vartain to hear everything that came to his ears. In the guise of mercenaries, the small rebel group was indistinguishable from the rest of the privateer’s crew.

The red-sailed ships flanked the Stingray, all three vessels showing obvious signs of antagonism towards one another: the pirates had openly-burning arrows and other long-range weapons prepared, and the Stingray’s own offenses were raised and ready. A short conversation began to take place between the ships, with Captain Vartain shouting across the open water to the captain of the ship called the Ravager, one Sawtooth, so named for a wicked blade in place of his right arm. Eventually establishing an uneasy peace, Vartain permitted Sawtooth to come aboard the Stingray, the latter having indicated that he was in the services of someone whose name carried enough weight to earn a grudging trust from the former. As their spirited dialogue took place on the timbers of the Stingray, it was quickly made apparent that Elara’s group would not be traveling to their intended destination: indeed, the town for which they had been bound had been destroyed by Crom. Therefore, the Ravager and her sister ship intended to “escort” the Stingray to a place called Stone Cove, a heading obviously familiar and not undesirable to Vartain, as he admitted to be in possession of a cargo of weaponry bound for that very locale. The Stingray’s captain did, however, insist upon being given enough of a margin for comfort from the larger vessels flanking him, to which Sawtooth agreed. As the pirate captain returned to his own ship, a weasely man who struck both Elara and Nahla as being extremely familiar winked at the gypsy woman in a knowing way, unnerving her.

Once the Stingray had achieved some distance from her escort, Elara requested an audience with Captain Vartain. It was quickly becoming apparent to both that some honesty would be required. Playing a game of “Truth,” the gypsy woman and the privateer captain went back and forth, each asking a question which the other, on the rules of honor, would answer honestly and to the best of their ability. In this way, Elara learned that Vartain was, himself, in the services of Red Wolf along with Sawtooth, and that Stone Cove was the headquarters for the rebellion on Irenia. In return, she explained that her group was aligned “with the people” in the conflict of Aldencia, all but taking credit for the insurrection of which she was a part. Significantly, Vartain did not disclose all of his motivations for working for Red Wolf, and Elara did not disclose that she was under the orders of any but herself – both appeared to wish to protect someone. By the end of their conversation, Elara had a wary but genuine respect for and trust of the captain, and believed that she had earned the same. Giving her name on her way out, the gypsy leader breathed a sigh of relief that, for now, her people would be safe and their goals were closer than ever.

Elara joined all her people below deck where she told them everything she had overheard and everything she had learned from Captain Vartain, holding nothing back. The group agreed to continue their vigilant watches over each other day and night, still not quite sure how much they desired to trust any of the players in the game. That night, during a late watch, Nahla was awake to hear activity on deck. Investigating, she learned that the Stingray was due to dock within hours, the tides being just right for entering the largely-impassible cove. She woke Elara who ordered to the waking and packing of the rest of the group. Nervously, the rebel group stood on deck, watching an extremely deft but dangerous display of navigation as the Stingray made her way into the hidden place.

The cove itself was a well-guarded pirate town, that much was apparent from the start. As the Stingray docked and unloaded her cargo, Captain Vartain advised Elara and her people to disembark with his escort, to ensure that she was brought to the proper people. It was the dark hours of the morning before the streets were deemed quiet enough to be traversed without too much trouble, the captain leading the rebel group through the streets unerringly, in spite of their chaotic and often ramshackle lack of any distinguishable pattern, to a local tavern, the Mermaid’s Tale. There, they were met by a grizzled, one-eyed man who fit the working description Elara had for Red Wolf himself. Quickly identifying herself as the leader of the captain’s “passengers,” the gypsy made no secret of her desire to speak with Red Wolf regarding a possibly “mutually beneficial strategic alliance” independent of any of the gypsies’ interests. After the unnamed man completed his business with Vartain, paying the man in full for his delivery of a shipment of weapons, he told Elara’s group to wait, which they did.

It was well into true morning before anyone returned to the Mermaid’s Tale to collect the rebel party, however. The group had remained in one back corner, watchful in these unexpected circumstances. Around mid-morning, the weasely man the group had last seen at Sawtooth’s elbow appeared, evidently scouting out the inn for them. Shortly after he left, the one-eyed man returned and asked Elara’s group to follow him. Again traversing the crisscrossing streets of Stone Cove, this time under heavy guard or escort, the group found themselves invited into an otherwise unremarkable door in an unremarkable building. There, each person was asked to remove all weaponry, including knives and daggers, and submit to a search of their persons. The rebel group complied, even going so far as to remove their armor in a gesture of good faith. They left their belongings under the one-eyed man’s guards’ care, inevitably to be searched for anything incriminating or threatening.

As they were led upstairs, the group noticed a pair of guards flanking a door. Nahla’s experienced eye pegged one as a hand-to-hand fighter, moving with the unconscious grace of a man who needs no weapons to kill. Dora, meanwhile, identified the other as sensitive to magic, though how she could be sure she did not know. Her ring showed that he was extremely determined and loyal, and just a bit curious about this odd emissary. His attention wavered between herself and Elara, finally settling on the gypsy leader to be the most dangerous, and he actually accompanied them into the room. Indeed, the two guards were the quintessential professionals, gauging each and every one of the party for possible threats, remaining entirely focused on their duty.

Beyond the guarded door, the party found themselves in a room that could only be the true headquarters of Red Wolf. A bed had been hastily added to a corner, though it appeared that sleep came to Irenia’s rebel leader even less readily than it did to Matthias. Maps adorned the walls and the central table, all geographical renditions of the island. But behind the table sat the greatest surprise of the venture so far: a woman. Whatever Elara’s group had expected to find, it was not a female warrior younger even than Elara and Nahla. The woman was of a firm body, neither curvy nor slight, and her hair was pulled back into a simple braid, all giving the impression of one who was entirely committed to the business of war. She wore extremely well cared-for armor and two swords, one on her back and the other on a hip. Her hands, visible as she wore no gloves, showed the look of having been broken one finger at a time, and had not mended properly. Scars traced themselves up her arms, and those of the party who noticed assumed torture as the cause. The woman regarded her guests carefully and rose to meet them.
LinkSee the carnage|Strike a blow

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