Arc 3 - Glimmers in the Dark (Main Roleplay)

[Kowsauni]

As Kuori moves back into the healing ward she is followed by the two soldiers that were on her before and stand outside the little office of the ritual clerk. After Kuori finished what she was saying the woman would look up at her with a friend smile that only partly hid the malice in her eyes. "I only sent for help after you threatened to kill the patient by cutting of her head. The fact that they are specialized in dealing with this kind of situation was news to me as well. I simply manage the rituals and paperwork here. Now, I need to get the supplies together to save the patient so I'm afraid I cant help you. Please leave my office, or I will have to ask the soldiers to escort you out."

As Ruin and Valac walk out of the healing ward they see Irene sitting at table getting ready to play cards with one of the soldiers. Upon seeing the two of them she would stand up and ask. "Oh, it seems like things calmed down in there. Is everything alright?"  

[SCN_ Grey_fox]

"Well that was one large misunderstanding mix, with a sided of elephant dung. Good news the Faeleen girl will get the help, Revenge wanted to give. Bad news, Kouri put her foot in her mouth and her face into an officer's skull. Destroying Valac's chance to fight a devil, Kouri's chance at peaceful negotiations, and now we are to be escourted off the grounds." Walking over to the solder and Irene, Ruin would add "I am sure it was partially my fault, too."

Taking a moment to let out a worrysome sigh, he would look at the human noble. "Would I be outside the agreement between you and Kouri If I asked if you or Roland to stay behind and negotiate on her behalf? You were with her at the start of this and know what she needed. And it wouldn't be hard for you to catch-up with your wagon or black horse."

Giving her a moment to answer he would then turn to the soldier, "Sir, would you know the name of the young medic? I sent her to the gate, foolishly, and would hate to see anything bad happen because of it."  

[Mongooseh]

"Oh yeah just peachy." Valac answered stopping in his tracks, crossing his arms and continued to brood about this missed opportunity.  

[SCN_ Grey_fox]

Quote:

The mage would speak the to healers attending Faeleen. "Move the patient to the fort's church. That is the bast place to perform this operation." The mage would then tell one of the soldiers, "Get the ritual supplies needed from Maggie."

Ruin would turn to the brooding Valac. "I guess we should collect everyone and talk to the gods, before leaving. Maybe they will provide one on our mission."  

[Mongooseh]

"Never talked to the gods ain't gonna start now." Responded Valac.  

[SCN_ Grey_fox]

Ruin wanted to suggest they go to the church to interrupt the ritual, but with everyone involved in earshot he didn't want to say it.

Then again, Kouri would have to go along. And Ilikan was a wild card as well...

"Me Neither, but there is a first time for everything. And besides there is a chance, there is a lonely lass who needs those strong arms of yours." Ruin would fire back.  

[PupSage]

Kuori looks to the soldiers on either side of her. "Ma'am." She says firmly. "I was here before you asked me to help with that patient. And I stated then, as I will restate now, that removing her head will result in the devil being unable to take over her body. I forgive you for your ignorance in asking a cleric of a Goddess of Death to place her life and the lives of her allies on the line to save a stranger from being possessed and trying to use it as a bargaining chip when gold was already on the table. Likewise I apologize that you disagree with my very practical stance that the severing of one individuals head is less risky than several individuals risking life and possible possession themselves, but the fact of the matter is that I was here before that started. I can easily find the items myself under the watchful eyes of these strapping soldiers and leave the coin here if you are too caught up in your own pettiness to assist me. Though I do not care much about life, the afterlife is much more within the realm of concern for me. I fear for yours if you would put your pettiness up so high that you would risk the lives of anyone that dare associate themselves with me. The Paladin that soothed that girls woes, the soldier from this very fort who without us would be going into the Underdark alone, the Noblewoman doing research. You'd jeopardize their lives because you found my solution to a problem to be too cold for your taste?"

She sighs. "Tell you what. I wasn't willing to risk my friends or our mission to save one girl, but I am willing to provide some magical healing to the people in this ward. It will likely speed up their recovery. I will still pay for the supplies even, just let me get them and do this ritual, then my allies and I are out of your hair and on to the thing that the general hired us to do that you are actively preventing us from doing."  

[Rain Yupa]

"Ugh..." Revenge would groan, then sigh.

She was knocked down, but Kuori had gotten right back up and charged back inside. Goliaths were certainly made of stern stuff.

Revenge would force himself into a sitting position. The soldiers didn't rush to coup-de-grace him, so that was a plus. Valac and Ruin left the building, and everyone was back to talking.

"No, don't worry, I'm good," he would say as he climbed back to his feet, using a nearby table as a brace. He'd look to the other Tieflings, nodding towards the building. "So what, is everything good now? Back to talking like civilized humanoids?"  

[SCN_ Grey_fox]

"Hm?" The short tiefling turn his attention to Revenge. "Oh, sorry about that. I didn't notice you."

Looking at the door, "They don't want to send Kouri to the brig anymore. Instead they want us to leave." Lightly smacking Valac's lower back, "I was just trying to talk Valac here to come with me to the church. You should come to and you could teach us to prey and stuff."  

[Mongooseh]

"I've always been sieve-ilised Revenge its the rest of the world that's gone crazy and soft." Valac joked back at Revenge before being more definite with Ruin, "Look if you two want to go pray, leave me out of it. I ain't no fool to deny the gods their dues but if I want something done, I do it, not bother the gods for it. Don't ask the gods for favors, ask for wishes at least if they answer you then at least it ain't something you could've done."  

[Rain Yupa]

"... no. No, I don't think that I do," Revenge would say to Ruin, looking in the direction he believe he saw Faeleen go. "She's apparently in good hands, and a place of worship is not a prerequisite for the Gods to hear our prayers. I can do so on the road."

Revenge would turn to Valac, he'd add, "For what it's worth, I'm a bit put off too. Though our motivations are likely different, any paladin worth their weight in plate would relish the opportunity to slay a devil or demon. Though I tell you what, I have a hunch we may be able to find one on the battlefield if we detour through it. This obviously wasn't the first such weapon the enemy used, and there may be cadavers that have been possessed, or something."

Revenge wasn't actually sure if it could work that way, but it was something to motivate Valac.

He would turn to Irene. "Sorry if this mess gave you a start. Kuori's been a bit headstrong. Once I was in a battle with her and at the time, she sided with one group while I was largely unaligned but protecting the other side since hers lashed out first. For my efforts, she shot me with her bow." He would shrug. "She is a well meaning individual, even if she doesn't come off that way."

He'd seem to realize something, and then turn to Ilikan. "Speaking of which... when I was down on the ground, what was that... thing... you did? It was hard to place, but it almost felt like a creeping sensation at the edges of my soul. It only lasted for a few moments, but it felt like you were about to lay into Kuori and I even though we were laid out and unarmed, despite not being poised to do so. It's hard to describe." Despite the inquisitive tone in his voice, Revenge did not look amused upon asking this question.  

[Psychofish]

Tension left the warden, but he still frowned as he watched the goliath head back inside- keeping an eye over in that direction with some concern even as the others filled in the young noble- and took in Revenge's words about the cleric, even without looking. He wasn't certain if those made him feel any easier, but at least there seemed to be an effort to make peace now.Well- he could work with that.

"I regret it coming to that," he said to the tiefling. "Your friend seemed fixed on starting a fight and I was hoping to discourage either of you from pursuing that. I fear that might have turned fatal if either of you had decided to draw steel again." He didn't say anything about which side he'd have been fighting on- he greatly preferred that they were all in this together, but he'd made it clear he stood with the men he'd campaigned beside and was on hire of first and foremost. For the term of his contract at least.

"Call it... a warning. Like that thing your god lets you do? My friend is a bit more local than the gods, but it's difficult not to notice when when his eye is on you. I'm not sure how to properly explain it," he scratched his chin. He didn't even have a name or a fixed description. It spoke to him, but not with words, and it was a ram made of ice, deep winter thunder, it was the howl of air through high peaks- but not any one of those things. He'd not understood it himself until he had first hand experience with the spirits the Vaimei-Laga had talked to him about. It was just one particular spirit that had taken a fixed interest in him, but not one that served him. Friend was a better term- they did each other favors freely, though he found he needed them more often than the spirit did. Finding this village wasn't exactly that, but it did feel like something the gods or spirits must have wanted to him. A goliath village had saved him- now perhaps he could save a village.

"I hardly think we'd need to teach Valac about prayer though. I'd say he's been pleasing Kord since I met him."  

[Rain Yupa]

"Thing my god lets me do?" Revenge would parrot back inquisitively, his left hand moving towards his holy symbol. He thought about it for a moment, since Ilikan had not seen him using any divine attacks powered by his prayers to Sehanine. Plus, it didn't seem to be a logical comparis-

"Oh!" Revenge would say aloud in realization, lightly pounding one fist down into an open palm. "No, Sehanine doesn't let me do what you're thinking. A valorous and just heart is the source of that ability you saw me use earlier. Sehanine notices my conviction and if she finds me sincere, her divine will punishes those who spurn my intentions. Sehanine isn't an exploitable resource, like whatever source arcanists draw their power from."

He would look to Ruin. "Er, no offense."

Revenge would look back to Ilikan again. "Whatever this inexplicable friend of yours is, try to talk him into turning his eye to something more dastardly than an unarmed woman in mourning, desperate to bring aid to her people. Sound amicable?"  

[SCN_ Grey_fox]

"You make is sound like years of Hard work, dedication to a craft, and discovery is a bad thing. Only to be reminded time and again, I took a supposedly easy path. To which, I must say... Meh." Ruin stated with an uninterested shrug. "I don't really care what you think about the Wounded One's bargain. Nor what you think an arcanist goes through for our power."

"Though, while we are on the topic of gods and devils... I noticed that the worm didn't find your heart sincere. Logic would say, either You were sans sincereyness or your god doesn't like me." Ruin would smile, "Though, I will forgive your god. You on the other hand should go and pray for Faeleen's forgiveness."  

[Rain Yupa]

"I don't know who that is," Revenge would respond flatly upon the reference to the Wounded One. "I never said it was easy; just different. But I'm comparing apples to oranges at this point. I think you can agree to that, at least."

Revenge would reach up and scratch his cheek with one finger. "No, no, the sincerity thing is between Sehanine and me. It was there, and as such, she was punishing the worm for its insolence. You... probably just didn't notice because you were... ah... inside of it?" Revenge would try to explain to his fellow Tiefling. Talking to someone about a recent traumatic experience was never easy.