The cat is a walking ball of frazzled fluff, but when Isilme extends her hand, it sniffs her and it seems to calm down somewhat.
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"If the cat is possessed or a familiar or something, we're going to regret this," Val whispers under her breath. However, she really doesn't have it in her to refuse, so she focuses on loading as much food as possible.
Isilme and Valaria get to work, cracking open barrels and crates and shoveling grains and wax-sealed cheeses into their bags. One crate has a selection of cured meats.
By the time their bags are totally full, Xanderghul's invisibility spell has worn off. They abruptly appear out of nowhere.
"Potions and then out the way we came? Val suggests. "We should be able to get past the cultists upstairs with that and once we're heading out of the walls, we can just run if the demons see us. Or we can just teleport if you want to spend that now."
Isilme sets aside some of the meat and coaxes the cat over, placing a generous helping of the meat inside her pack as well, leaving it open for the cat to approach. While she waits patiently for the cat, she pulls out her scroll of dimension door, preparing to use it at a moments notice now that they had gone visible. Unfortunately, her first attempt spooks the cat due to her moving the scroll unexpectedly.
The second time she remains still, holding out the one of the pieces of meat for the cat on the palm of her hand.
"I do not believe it would be wise to leave the building now that we are visible, the schir are a serious threat. You would fit in without issue, but there is no amount of bluffing that would make them believe an aasimar was supposed to be here." she replies.
The cat is domesticated and therefore used to light handling. It moves into her pack with little resistance, though when she clasps the bag shut it wriggles around and whines softly at the sudden impediment to its freedom.
Isilme reaches in through the flap, patting the cat on the head gently before unrolling the scroll and reciting the final components necessary to trigger it. She visualizes the place where Ehren and Xanderghul had been waiting for her and places a hand on Valaria's shoulder. The twisting of space as the spell whisked them away was pleasantly familiar, a sensation of being somehow spun around before appearing in the snow where they'd been less than a quarter hour ago.
"That is certainly something I miss being able to do on my own," she says absent mindedly as she sets the bag down next to her in the snow. "Shall we head back?"
Isilme and Valaria find Xanderghul anxiously crouching in the snow, waiting for them. He sighs when they appear, standing up. "I'm ready to go now if you are," he says.
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Having anxiously stared at the fort from afar over the past several minutes, Ehren startles slightly when Isilme and Valaria appear from out of nowhere. He does not bother with asking how things went just yet - he was just relieved to see that they were all right.
"Yes, let's get going," he says as he gets up, dusting snow off his fur cloak.
After making sure that they are far enough away, Ehren briefly concentrates and once again sprouts into an absurdly large heron.
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Ehren shifts back into the form of an enormous heron, and the heroes hop on and fly back towards their camp to the north, across the river.
The cat, a small brown tabby, was calm at first, but a little while into the flight it starts to whine about being confined into such a small space. It whines in an increasingly loud voice the entire flight back, which is fairly grating on the nerves.
"Let me out. I want out. Let me out. I don't like this. Let me out of here. Stop it. Let me out. I don't want to be here. Let me out."
But then the flight is over and they're back, safe and sound, at their encampment. Once they're no longer moving, the cat goes quiet. It is late at night.
Xanderghul goes immediately to his tent to sleep. It was late. He was tired.
Once they've landed, Isilme finds a quiet, sheltered place near her tent to let the cat out, setting some water and more meat for it. She does her best to calm it down. "No need to worry about demons anymore," she says to the cat.
She makes a mental note to ask if any of the troops from Fort Vilareth were familiar with this particular cat in the morning. If so perhaps they would appreciate its presence. She sets her bag of holding down and prepares to rest for the night, knowing they'd be able to go over the supplies with the quartermaster in the morning.
Before retiring, however, she checks in with Ary and Hinagiku to let them know they had returned.
"That was a surprisingly boring trip," Val says stretching out once Ehren deposits them safely on the ground. She goes to check on Sosiel, Aron, and Ayavah briefly before they wrap things up for the day.
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Ehren accompanies Isilme, mostly so he could inform her about what he learned about Mangvhune, but also so he could get to the bottom of his unexpected (and rather annoying) passenger's identity. He raises a brow when he first sees the tabby cat, looking to the aasimar for an explanation, despite it speaking for itself. Literally.
"Is dócha gurb é seo do theach nua. B'fhéidir go mbaineann duine de na daoine anseo leatsa?" he says to the cat gently.
Addressing Isilme, he switches to Common. "I scryed on Mangvhune earlier. As we suspected, he has a lair of some kind to work out of. It looked like a cave of some kind, but there is no telling where it might be. He's still wounded, but he noticed my sensor. Naturally, he assumed that you were the one watching him."
After checking in with the others, he retires for the time being.
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She pauses, brow furrowing at the last question, and eyes shooting askance. "You don't know..? And here I'd carefully skirted..." she huffs. "Well. Alright. They didn't really talk about it all that much, so what I know is what I pieced together. My dad was being sent out into the battlefield, and... I don't know why, but mom wasn't allowed to go with him. Prior engagements or something. I figure it had something to do with a vision, probably... since she never said anything about anyone having any sort of power over her. Well... dad left, and then he came back. The same day. Said he wasn't having to go after all. and, well... they did a whole lot of nothing. Then he was gone. Then he came back for real... then Ellie was born. Dad couldn't really take it. There'd been a lot done to his family, sure. But this was very, very different. They never really talked about it, so it's just what folks who knew them were willing to tell me. And most of the people from back then who knew him well aren't around any longer. I know they left around the time Ellie was born and that everyone knew it wasn't in him to abandon his oaths like that. By the time I was born, they were already living on the farm, and had been for a few years." she offers a small shrug. "And they were always careful not to really mention Mendev. Mom said a lot while I wasn't meant to be around to hear it. She always told Ellie the better stories. But mostly nothing about Mendev."
"Well, it is unlikely he will strike tonight then. We should begin our plan to entrap him tomorrow then," she says to Ehren when he brings up Mangvhune. "It is a shame we do not have enough information about his lair to successfully ambush him there."
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The cat is indignant at having been subjected to such a terrible experience and it turns its nose up at Isilme's offer to placate it.
It isn't surprised when Ehren simply speaks to it, and it understands it. It mews in response.
"Oh, lots of humans serve me. They bring me milk and cheese. But then my servants vanished one day, and now there are just strange, stupid people everywhere in my home."
"Hm... that's interesting," Nurah says. "I wonder what really happened. Tiefling births are fairly common, after all - though the Queen had to formally arrange for a group of Pharasmans to investigate those accused of infanticide back in the third crusade. But the Iomedaeans took a hit to their morale when the Bishops left. There aren't many old crusading families left, you know."
Before going to bed, Valaria checks on Sosiel, Aron, and Ayavah. Ayavah of course sleeps with her in her tent. Aron and Sosiel were not on speaking terms and sleeping separately. Sosiel seemed sad about it, while Aron, under the effects of the seed of discord, angrily shrugs off anyone who tries to talk to him about it.
21 Lamashan 4713
Another day passes without anything eventful happening. With use of calm emotions the clerics are able to maintain peace in the camp, and the unaffected crusaders are generally patient and understanding of their afflicted brethren.
Isilme finds that the cat is familiar with most of the civilians brought from Vilareth, though it is most affectionate with the children among them, likely because the stablehands tend to spoil it with scraps and food on a regular basis. Its presence brings some joy to the Vilareth survivors. She learns that the children among them call it 'Duke', an affectionate moniker that refers to how demanding and loud it can be when it decides it wants something from them.
In the morning, Irabeth gathers the heroes to the command tent to inform them of a troubling report she received from one of their long-distance scouts. Also present is Ser Jorsal, Ayavah, Anevia, and Sosiel.
"I think it would be best if you heard from her," says Irabeth, urging the young woman to step forwards. "Name and title, soldier?"
"I-I am Private Eveth Johnston, of Banshee Squadron," she begins. Eveth has an angular face, with white-blonde hair and bright green eyes. She possesses an otherworldly beauty that suggests celestial heritage. "My assigned partner, Bethil, and I were scouting the top of the Worldwound cliffs, looking for immediate threats. We were assigned to the night crew because Bethil and I can see even in the deepest darkness. But we still... we didn't see them coming. They swooped down from the sky, these great demons with wings..."
Irabeth nods. "Some of our scouts have reported winged creatures flying in the distance during the daylight. Perhaps nabasu, perhaps something else entirely...."
"It seems unlikely that these demons are directly affiliated with Drezen, otherwise we'd have reports of demons mobilizing from the south, and the encampments at Vilareth and Keeper's Canyon appear unaware of our presence according to our other scouting teams. Therefore they must be based somewhere else," reasons Ser Jorsal.
"Commander," Eveth bends her head forwards, staring at the ground. "I am sorry I do not have more useful information. I panicked... when they took Bethil, I ran for it and didn't look back...I should have done more..."
You recall Nurah's map of the Worldwound near here noted that, about 15 miles away from your base, there was a small hamlet once named Sleekrun. The town was built by crusaders and was centered around a small chapel to Iomedae... it was intended to serve as a hospital for injured soldiers and a waystation for weary travelers in the First Crusade.
"Hmm," Isilme says, thinking about the situation at hand. If the demons had taken scouts, it stood to reason that they were more than simply just preying upon targets of opportunity. That meant they likely were returning somewhere. It had been some time since she had been in this region, but she still recalled her trip to Drezen which had not deviated too far from their current route. After all, cliffs had hardly posed a problem for her back then, given that she could fly and teleport. "There was a small hamlet... Sleekrun. It was a waystation and part of the supply line during the first crusade, and functioned as a hospital. I recall visiting it during my trip through this region on the way to Drezen. The chapel to Iomedae was surprisingly beautiful for such a small town, and the people there took great pride in it."
"That seems as likely a place as any. If the demons simply took Bethil, rather than killing her outright, that suggests they have some purpose for her," says Irabeth.
"A chapel might be a good place to try and find supplies, also," says Sosiel. He looks tired and worn-down. "Historically crusader chapels have well-hidden caches of healing magic and supplies... there's a small possibility that these supplies are still hidden."
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She spends a good bit of time the first day after the raid with Ledsa as well, thinking that with the woman's pregnancy looming, she would need to begin educating her about Yulin. She finds a quiet place with some privacy to discuss matters with the Kellid before speaking.
"Ledsa, mae'n bryd i drafod genedigaeth Yulin, oherwydd rydw i'n sicr eich bod yn gwybod na fydd hi'n hir nawr. Rhaid ichi wrando'n ofalus a chymryd y geiriau hyn i galon os ydych chi'n dymuno iddi gael y cyfle gorau posibl yn y blynyddoedd i ddod,," she tells the kellid. Thinking for a moment how best to phrase it, she continues, " Rydych chi'n gyfarwydd â'r cysyniad o gyffwrdd cysgodol?" she asks, using the Sarkorian term for those tainted by the energies of the Abyss.
"Bydd Yulin yn debyg iawn i gysgod-gyffwrdd, ac eithrio mwy felly. Bydd hi'n rhannu llawer o nodweddion ei rhiant arall, yn y ddau edrych ac agwedd. Dydw i ddim yn gwybod pa fath o ddamcaniaeth sydd wedi ei seilio arni, er y byddwn yn gwybod yn gyflym ar ôl iddi gael ei eni, ond bydd ei emosiynau'n cael dylanwad cryf gan hynny. Mae'n debygol iawn y bydd hi'n cael ei orchfygu gan emosiynau ac yn annog i wneud drwg, a bydd yn debygol o dreulio ei bywyd cyfan yn ymladd y pethau hynny."
"Rhoddais i chi fy air y byddwn yn helpu Yulin, ac rwy'n bwriadu gwneud hynny. Mae gen i ... ffrind," she catches herself smiling at the thought of seeing Ai'sintar again, though uses a more neutral term than how she felt to avoid overcomplicating things at this moment. "Mae'n dysgu llawer o blant fel Yulin, a byddai'n debygol o ddod o hyd i ffrindiau yn eu plith. Pan fydd hi'n ddigon hen, hoffwn iddi ymuno â nhw. Bydd cael ffrindiau sy'n debyg iddi hi a phwy sydd â phŵer fel hi hefyd yn ei helpu i ddeall ei lle yn y byd yn well. A bydd pob aelod o'r ffrind a'r teulu y mae hi wedi ei helpu yn y frwydr hir y bydd ganddi yn ei natur ei hun."
"Ledsa, it is time to discuss Yulin's birth, for I am certain you know it will not be long now. You must listen closely and take these words to heart if you wish for her to have the best possible chance in the coming years," she tells the kellid. Thinking for a moment how best to phrase it, she continues, "You are familiar with the concept of shadow-touched?" she asks, using the Sarkorian term for those tainted by the energies of the Abyss. "Yulin will be much like a shadow-touched, except more so. She will share many of the traits of her other parent, in both looks and temperament. I do not know what sort of demon sired her, though we will know quickly once she is born, but her emotions will be strongly influenced by that. It is very likely she will be overwhelmed both by emotions and urges to do evil, and will likely spend her entire life fighting those things."
She allows Ledsa a moment to take that in before continuing. "I gave you my word that I would help Yulin, and I intend to do so. I have a... friend," she catches herself smiling at the thought of seeing Ai'sintar again, though uses a more neutral term than how she felt to avoid overcomplicating things at this moment. "He teaches many children like Yulin, and she would likely find friends among them. When she is old enough I would like her to join them. Having friends similar to her and who also have power like hers will help her better understand her place in the world. And every friend and family member she has will help her in the long fight she will have against her very nature."
"Hopefully their purpose isn't more shadow demons," Val mutters as they gather and listen to Irabeth and Isilme's report. "But if there's any sort of demon force squatting in the old town, we'll probably need to do something about it before they alert anyone else to our location. Hopefully in time to rescue Private Bethil as well."
"You did what you could and what you were supposed to do, Private. If you had given chase, we wouldn't know of the threat, and we wouldn't have been able to help either of you. As it stands... I think this is a raid I'd like to participate in. Is it so large that we might want to mobilize our troops, or small enough for us to go alone..?" Ary asks, looking to Isilme.
Thanks to Sosiel, Ehren feels more limber than he has in several days. He is out taking a walk around camp when Irabeth first finds him. The bad news spoils his otherwise good mood.
"I could scout it out, but that might arouse suspicion, since it is in the Worldwound proper," Ehren suggests, troubled by the abduction.
"The town itself was small, but without scouting it out we have no way of knowing how many demons might be there. I believe our best bet is to approach cautiously and determine what is going on. Still, if it was a large force, why would they have abducted someone instead of simply coming to engage us? That they have resorted to abduction means likely the demons there are fewer in number and likely incapable of teleportation."
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Xanderghul wakes up every morning relatively early. He goes to each of the captains to see how many of the soldiers have shaken off the effects of the seed of discord by now, and then goes to stand a simple watch. He isn't used to not having anything to do, and finds it uncomfortable. Thus, when he is summoned to a meeting involving a missing scout and a potential mission, he is relatively elated. "I think we should just go ourselves," he says. "Whatever it is, I'm fairly certain we can handle it, and it would take forever to mobilize everyone."
"Plus, it just feels weird to go, 'oh, we the heroes are off to combat some unknown threat... let's assign a squad to ourselves'."
"Isilme and Xanderghul are correct in that we need to scout the area before we can make any more conclusions. Commander, do you intend to go with your team, or should we send some of Ser Ilivan's rangers instead?" asks Irabeth.
"Xanderghul is correct. We may not have time to rescue Bethil if we wait for reports to return. We should investigate ourselves."
"If the town is as small as you say, I somewhat doubt that there is a substantial force there," Ehren guesses, though it was not an assumption he'd bet anyone's lives on. Except his own, maybe. He nods to himself. "I agree, we should take care of this personally."
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”Please, call me Hinagiku or Daisy. We’ve played dice together, there no need to be so formal.” she answers to Olen with a fain smile on her lips.
”Come then.” she then answers to Chaleb’s dismissive remark. ”We can check on him. If he’s sulking, than we can simply leave him alone.” she takes a few steps and turns toward the man, waiting for him to follow in her steps.
As they head towards Altel’s tent, Hinagiku looks at Chaleb, trying to read him… to no avail. People were simply too different here. But she would learn.
”Mr. Chaleb, do you remember our first meeting? Not in the worldwound, no. The first time we actually talked? You were pretty angry then… understandably. But it seems to me that you’re… happier now? No? I was wondering why…” she smile faintly at him. ”Of course, it’s a good thing, but it’s far from your idea of being a bouncer at a brothel.” she says, her voice serious. Yet, the smile on her lips grows, spurred by her kitsune’s playful mind.
”I’m asking because, truth is, even though I try not to preach, I still do care and think about you and your soul. It is something always on my mind, and I wonder whether you’d like to talk about it… or if you still don’t care.”
Hinagiku spends the day mainly focused on meditation and helping out Ary and the troops whenever she can. She does bring the commander snacks every few hours to make sure she eats properly. At night, she stays mostly awake, disguised as Isilme, and pretending to sleep next to Küle and Ledsa. She quite content to play the aasimar, although she does have to apologize to Annabelle for spending the nights away from her, especially with everything that has been happening with Aron.
And so, the following day, Hinagiku makes her way to Annabelle’s side for a short braiding session. She’s just about to finish when Irabeth comes to get her for the scout’s report.
At the meeting, Hinagiku nods in assent to Ary’s evaluation of the situation: the scout had made the right choice to come back.
”I always find it wiser to scout before hand. But if speed is of the essence, we can make our way there ourselves and have one of us scout the place…. Although, with these flying creatures, our enemies are likely to see us coming. We might be heading into an ambush.”
"It's not like we haven't done scouting before," Val says with a shrug. "We'll just have to make sure to look up while we're on our way to avoid getting caught off-guard."
Eveth relaxes noticeably at Ary's words. "Yes, Commander."
Irabeth nods. "Seems like it is settled, then. Don't hesitate to send for me if you need back up."
The heroes decide to head out into the Worldwound for Sleekrun. The "town" is no more than a small cluster of little houses surrounding a large chapel. The chapel is surrounded by a stone fence, and the gates to the courtyard lie smashed and broken with tall grass growing amid the rubble - witnesses to some battle from long ago. Two main buildings stand side by side within the courtyard - separate by a single alleyway. The smaller structure appears to be a stable, while the other is much larger with several doors and stained glassed windows. A statue of Iomedae stands on its roof, but she has been beheaded. A strong wind gusts over the Worldwound today, undulating the frail yellow and brown grass along like a sea.
Seeing Sleekrun again after so long is strange for Isilme. The parched, tainted ground and dead vegetation stands in stark contrast to the green lands that had once surrounded the small town. Coupled with the decrepit buildings that remained, it served as a potent symbol for everything the crusaders had lost in the aftermath of the first crusade, and for the view of the world people like Nurah had.
Crouching down, she takes time to scan the town and the skies above it, looking for any signs of the demons that had snatched Bethil. It would have helped greatly if they had been given a better description of the demon that had rushed them, but honestly they were just lucky that Eveth had not been abducted as well, or they likely would have had no clue as to what had happened.
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"Well several demons can actually take the guise of humans. But taking the guise of specific humans is a talent to itself, so that's a curious tale. Hm." Nurah seems deep in thought, scribbling away in her book almost absentmindedly. She is silent for a moment, then adds, quietly, "That is an interesting mystery. Thank you for sharing that with me."
Duke is hot and cold towards Isilme - equal parts cold and aloof at her attempts to treat him, and alternatively demanding of her time and attention. On the second evening, he curls up with her when she goes to sleep, craving her body's warmth during the cold nights.
Ledsa smiles when Isilme comes to find her, speaking softly in Hallit, "Yes, the birthing pains have come more frequently now. It is almost time."
She listens to Isilme's counsel silently. When she is done, she gives her a reassuring smile. "I will love my dear Yulin however she returns to me, shadow-touched or otherwise. There can only be joy and light with her in my life, when compared to the years I had to face without her. I will do anything for her, anything, as long as I still have breath with me."
"Finding friends for her is a good idea. Children need to play and grow with others. Thank you for your advice, Isilme. You are truly a good person. Lady Pharasma must have sent you to me, to watch me in my pregnancy. I am truly grateful for you, Isilme," she says, tearing up.
Chaleb shrugs. "Hm... now that you mention it, I am a lot happier. Olen and Altel are a pair of dumbasses sometimes, but they're good friends."
"My soul...?" he asks, confused at first, before some measure of recognition comes over his face. "Oh... right. Hm."
"To be honest, I don't think I deserve any of this, any of you. You and the Commander, even after all the f@&@ed- excuse me, I mean messed- up stuff I've done, you still took us in, still took care of us." He frowns. "I don't think I've told you this, but when Kenabres fell, I was there. I got scared... I thought I was gonna die. I hoped that... if I found some favor with the demon gods who were causing all that chaos, maybe I'd live. So I teamed up with some guys I met, and they told me that the librarians over at Blackwing were running an orphanage and I..." he swallows, having difficulty saying the words. "I pretended to be there to save those kids, and then I tried to sacrifice them. I almost did, too, but then Valaria and Isilme showed up and stopped me."
"Damn, that's heavy stuff, Chaleb," Olen says.
He exhales, slowly. "Sorry for unloading all that on you. It was just... y'know. A dark time for me. I've never been so low and seeing you, Daisy, in comparison... it makes me feel ashamed. Sorry. I don't know what you think of me, now. You must think I'm a monster."
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Caught off guard by Hinagiku's offer, Ehren's mouth opens, but words do not come out right away; he decides to settle for another smile instead. After talking about the balance of the universe, speaking of something that is more delightfully mundane would be a nice change of pace.
"I think I would like that. You might be surprised, though. The flowers of the north are as hardy as the people that live here. There are those that can bloom even in winter."
Tiring of his hair being whipped around by the wind, Ehren tugs his hood over his head and sighs. He peers at the tiny little hamlet with a frown, knowing that it never stood a chance in the Worldwound. At a glance, it did not appear to be crawling with demons, but he knew better than to let that put him at ease. If anything, it just made him more anxious.
"You're probably going to have more trouble keeping the camp in line than we will with a handful of demons," Val tells Irabeth, trying to be reassuring.
As they make their way up onto the windy heights above the camp, Val pulls her cloak tighter around herself. With little in the way of other preparations to make, she simply takes her usual spot near the front of the group and keeps an eye out for danger.
Xanderghul stands with his hands in his pockets gazing at the town. "I bet there's tunnels underneath it or something," he says. "That's exactly the sort of f!~&ed-up s*&& we'd be subjected to today."
He looks around. "I suggest we do a little light scouting, yes? Or I can make an illusion of something and we see what bursts out to eat it."
Unlike the others, Hinagiku leaves her hood down and, eyes opened in a thin slip to protect her from dust and sand, she surveys the surrounding, alert to any danger that might lurk around.
The heroes gaze on the little town from afar, but even Ehren's keen eyes don't detect any signs of movement.
"Well... should we get closer? I can try sneaking ahead, if you want," says Anevia.
"Any signs of travelers in or out on the ground?" she says, looking to Ary and Ehren in turn.