Theme: The Memory of Trees
Inside, all traces of the supernatural banquet you enjoyed earlier have vanished; the table, chairs, crystal, and silver are nowhere to be found. With a gesture and a quiet whisper to her banyan tree, the dryad causes a protrusion of roots and branches to arise from the ground forming a sort of pedestal with a man-sized depression in the center.
"I sent messengers flying to the tower of light when the gnome's friend arrived with your missive." She nods to the pedestal in the center of the room. "Please, lay him here."
With a nod, the two lift Jask's cold, stiff body off the litter and set him down where Aycenia asked. The moment they do, tiny rootlets begin to grow around him, forming into young flower buds. Here and there, droplets of water trickle thru the dense canopy overhead, splashing where they will.
"I thank you all for your aid, you have done a great deed for which every plant and animal living here is grateful. I ask that you please leave us alone to pray after our own fashion. This man did us a great service, and for that we would honor his memory..."
"Sooo, you just want us to–" Sasha catches a dark look from Darvesch and points a thumb back outside, "OK so we'll just wait outside in the storm then I guess..."
Yeah, you're welcome...
With that, the two head back outside into the driving rain and howling winds.
"SO," she shouts over the peal of thunder, "YOU SEEM KIND OF TENSE. WANT TO GET A HOT BATH IN ALIS' TUB OR SOMETHING? PRETTY SURE I KNOW HOW TO WORK IT."
Darvesch nods his head. Despite his frustration at Sasha for earlier, his desire to get out of the weather is greater. He allows Sasha to lead them to the bath.
As strange chanting fills the interior of Aycenia's tree, Sasha shoulders her pack and squints thru the gale. Pointing to the edge of the jungle, she shouts, "OVER THERE, NEAR WHERE YOU'VE BEEN CAMPING!"
Putting their heads down, the two charge across the rain-slick grass to an area of respite beneath a broad-limbed camphor tree. Grinning and breathing deeply, she says, "I can see why you were sleeping over here, it smells really good!"
As she talks, she pulls a gold and porcelain contraption out of her pack. It's an oblong basin about 18 inches wide, one foot across with a depth of 8 inches. On either side are gold handles and four small gold claw-feet support the base. On one of the narrow ends, a gold spigot flanked by a pair of knob arcs gracefully over the basin. From its neck, a mithril chain secures a stopper that blocks a drain in the bottom that is filled with inky, shimmering blackness. On the front side of it, facing you is a dial currently pointing to the left.
Sasha grins and says, "I figured Lissi wouldn't want to do without when we left the lighthouse, so I made sure to snag it from that big chest of hers before we left! Ellie and I put this thing to good use on the trip down here, check it out!"
With that, she clicks the dial two notches to the right to it's next-to-last setting. In the space of a few seconds, the device grows into a large porcelain bath tub measuring 6 feet long, 4 feet across, and 3 feet deep. Placing the mithril stopper over the shimmering black drain, she pours some lavender salts from a mithril-topped crystal decanter along with some amber-colored liquid from another.
"Um... I think left is hot, right is pressure..."
Sure enough, Sasha sets the lever on the left about half-way before turning the knob on the right and a torrent and pleasantly hot water begins streaming into the tub, quickly filling it with a frothy bath. Beaming a huge smile, she begins stripping out of her wet clothes, jumping into the air a few times until she's able to toss them over a low-hanging limb. With a squeal of delight, the buck-naked ranger hops in disappearing beneath the bubbles for a few moments before springing up on the opposite side near the still metal-clad dwarf, wearing only what lather clings to her.
"Hey, you need some help getting out of your kit, Darv?"
"Yes, I could use some help. It's not easy getting in and out of this everyday, you know." He says as he unbuckles his armour. He places the pieces of his armour neatly in a pile before getting in the tub. He submerges his head to wet his hair and comes back up, "That feels great." he says, letting out an exasperated sigh, his body becoming visibly calm.
Sasha nods knowingly, "Yeah, nothing like a good bath to make all the wrong things right, right? This kind is a lot different than the ones we have back in Malatesta though. Back home, you start out taking a dip in a pool of cold water, then you go back and forth between rooms that are hotter and steamier than the last to work up a good sweat. You know, to clear your pores. After that, you have a servant give you a massage with oils to wash away all the dirt, and they scrape it back off you with these metal tools."
She scoops up a handful of suds and seems to regard them thoughtfully, even as gusts of wind keep rinsing them away. "I think I like this elfy version better though, what about you? Do dwarves have bit bath houses like we do? Oh hey, try kneeling down, I'll work on your shoulders for a bit if you'll do mine."
Not really pausing for an answer, the ranger kneels in the tub behind Darvesch and begins to try and work the knots out of his shoulders, noting the two jagged scars from where the avatar of Typhon poisoned him in the dark cathedral below the lighthouse. "Oh damn, so that's what that big snake Ellie was talking about did to you! Sh1t man, looks like you got a couple of lances dropped on you from above!"
"Felt like it too." He answers as Sasha massages Darvesch. "Better me than anyone else," he says with a note of sorrow. Darvesch falls silent for a moment before speaking, "Here, let me work on you a bit." He says innocently before turning around to massage Sasha.
"Hmm, I guess. I don't think Lureene would look good with scars, although that Priyya chick seems pretty tough. I bet she's got a few good ones the way she throws down."
When Darv turns around, he finds himself looking the much taller redhead straight in the chest. While the lithe ranger is nowhere near as bosomy as Lureene or even Aerys, she's definitely well-toned and her shape could be described as pert if nothing else. As the dwarf hesitates, not nearly as used to seeing naked women as the others, Sasha grins a bit. "Yeah, I keep asking Lissi if I can trade her a couple inches of height for a bit more up top, but I've got better legs at least."
With that, she turns around and sits infront of Darvesch, back to him. As she goes to pull her hair out of the way, she turns abruptly and says, "Oh! You haven't seen my ink before have you?"
Grabbing hold of the edge of the tub, she leans over and rakes her hair out of the way revealing a large tattoo. Going down the center of her back is a black, saw-toothed weapon. Its guard is between her shoulder blades, with the length of the weapon pointing down her spine. Curling around the weapon and looping itself around the guard and hilt is a hissing red snake.
She points to it with her left thumb and says, "Reeeaaal classy, right?" When she does so, Darvesch notices that there is only a stump where her left pinkie finger should be.
Giving an overly excited laugh, Sasha sinks back into the hot water, arms folded on the side of the tub while awaiting her turn at getting her shoulders massaged. "So yeah, my mom wanted me to take up the family business as an assassin and even got me all inked up for it. Boy was she mad when I told her I didn't want to! Crazy old bat pinned me, pulled out a knife and said, 'You have 9 more chances left to reconsider,' before lopping of my damn pinkie!"
"Oh maaan," she groans, looking back at Darvesch over her shoulder, "can you imagine how pissed of she'd be if she knew who I was hanging out with? Lissi and them killed her grandmom when she tried to kidnap her royal shininess, and then all of us go and sack a damn temple to their patron! Er... well matron? Mistress? Whoever the hot dead lady was in that temple."
Giving a sigh, Sasha finally stops talking, giving Darvesch the chance to enjoy the relative silence of the howling storm and the melodious chanting coming from Aycenia's home.
Sense Motive Checks:
"One cannot chose their family. But they can chose which path they follow in life. Mine happens to be tied closely with family. You're doing just fine for yourself. Now relax while I massage you." Darvesch tells Sasha, as he rubs her down, massaging her.
"Hmmm..." Sasha gives a long contented sigh as Darvesch works her back and shoulders. Although her carefree nature seems genuine enough, his strong, thick fingers find plenty of tension in her lean athletic form, no doubt the result of being perpetually on edge.
After quite a long silence, particularly for Sasha, she says, "Yeah, I don't think I'd have picked my family if it had been my choice. Not that I didn't learn a whole lot, but I've got things I'd like to do and not having any say over it... well that's just bullsh1t! That's good that you've got a good family at least. Heh, you're probably the only one of us stuck here that lucked out like that."
When Darvesch seems to be finished, Sasha turns around and leans back against the end of the tub, propping herself up on her elbows, seemingly unconcerned with the view she's affording the burly warrior. She casts an appraising look over his physique, brow furrowed in thought. "So what are dwarf girls like anyway? I don't think I've ever met any. Are they all short and curvy like Ellie and Lissi, or are they built like bricks and all muscly like Priyya? What's the story?"
"Like other beings, there are a variety of shapes and sizes." He says, not being able to take his eyes off the view he is afforded. "Some lovelier than others."
Sasha frowns a bit, clearly not impressed by so vague an answer. "Well I guess that kinda goes for anything, doesn't..."
Suddenly, the huntress seems to note Darvesch's gaze and she gets a sort of mad gleam in her eyes. She Stares back as if trying to drill a hole thru Darvesch's head with her gaze. Before he can react, the leggy redhead rushes forward, pulling a kukri from beneath the suds, the glint of steel drawing near his throat!
In the next instant, the draw feels the warm trickle of blood down his clavicle even as the naked madwoman slams full into him!
Initiative Rolls
surprised
Acrobatics Checks
yes!
"HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I HATE THIS ISLAND?"
Alis' years of training as a vocalist allow her to be heard over the fury of the driving storm, but only just barely.
From behind her, she hears Priyya offer a no doubt snarky reply, but whatever it is remains inaudible over the din. Beside her, Lureene is struggling even to keep standing and the high winds keep checking her movement ever time a rogue gust unfurls one of her wings. Just a moment ago, poor Gelik got smacked in the face by one, one of the tough cartilaginous ribs raising a welt across his cheek.
At that very moment, the succubus starts to lose her feet, just barely managing to grab Alis' hand in time.
"MAL, FIND US SOME SHELTER BEFORE WE GET BLOWN AWAY!"
So fed up with this place. This had better be worth it...
.
By the gods...it feels like the fury of the Abyss!
Lureene staggers along, trying to avoid being swept off her feet by the gale force winds. Behind her, Grak takes cover behind his mistress, unable to stay airborne, and crawls along slowly.
She does not bother to respond verbally to Alis, but the look in her eyes shows her complete agreement with her friend.
I hope this gale blows over soon...I sure hope Sash and Darv made it back ok.
Half convinced that his luck has come to it's logical conclusion and that he'll be joining Grimnon in the afterlife any moment, Darvesch instead finds himself getting pulled back to his feet by Sasha.
"Damn, I thought your head was going to crack the side of the tub! Your brains still in the right place?"
Looking up, he sees the ranger standing there with the body of a decapitated snake draped around her shoulders, blood trickling down her right breast. As he regains his feet, finding himself none the worse for wear, she shakes her head and says, "You're really lucky that I'm always ready for action, I don't think you'd have liked this guy's kiss as much as mine. Should make for a good snack though."
After a moment, she cracks a grin and says, "You know, I'm probably going to have a big bruise on my thigh from where you whacked me with your club."
She nods down to the surface of the water where Darv Jr. still stands at attention. "So about those different kinds of girls you like," she bites her finger tip, looking at him coyly, hips tilted, "you like to wine 'em and dine 'em first, or should we save that for later?"
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"My training does lend itself to exploration, after all.. Even Kahn must've had experiences like this, right? I mean, I know how she is.. But she's right here, right now.. Hell with it.. It's not like the others are here anyway, they're off talking with a friend of theirs.." Darvesch thinks to himself before he allows events to unfold naturally.
Time: 0:00et (eventide, 6:00pm)
"I'm telling you," Alis says as you ascend the hill towards Aycenia's grove, "if it wasn't for the dryad, I'd be tempted just to have the whole island razed. Is it honestly too much to ask for a single day without a monsoon or a disaster?"
Mal shrugs, hair still plastered to his face from the soaking you all received. "Well they're called rain forests for a reason and it's the middle of spring, it kind of goes–"
He sniffs the air and his eyes narrow, "I smell dinner cooking!"
With that, the big man charges up the hill ahead of you, Talvyra following in his footsteps.
"You know, Alis, my offer to take this little hunk of rock off your hands still stands."
A firm hand is set upon Alis' shoulder by the dauntless cleric, an affable smile upon her face as she points to the south. "Besides, I don't think you need to worry about remaining here for too much longer. Look there."
Peering thru a gap in the trees, you can see a gleaming shaft of light cut thru the hazy air like a broad scythe. Every few seconds, the beam flashes past again, the lighthouse evidently brought into full operation.
"Come on," she says, clapping the princess on the arm, "if we don't hurry, those two will finish whatever's cooking before we get any!"
"He better not, I'm FAMISHED!"
Without waiting for another moment, Gelik races on ahead surprising you with his swiftness, little legs a blur as he speeds away. Priyya darts off immediately after him even as Alis swears softly to herself and casts a spell to yield herself an advantage in the footrace, leaving poor Lureene and Grak behind even as King Tut hoots in protest to the sudden violent movement.
All of you are breathing heavily when you arrive, the smell of a cooking snake and some roasting fruits and vegetables filling the air. While Alis easily wins the race thanks to her spell, Lureene doesn't finish all that far behind the white-haired priestess who is holding her mid-section with a mild look of surprise on her stern face.
Priyya just shakes her head and jokes, "First the hair goes white, now I can't even run up a hill without getting out of breath. Damn elves and your magical cheats!"
Seeing that everyone is back, Sasha beams an absolutely huge smile and saunters over, a strange limp in her long gait. "Well heeey everybody, how about that little earthquake we had?"
"Earthquake?" Priyya raises an eyebrow. "I don't recall feeling one."
"Oh... Sasha just shrugs and waves a hand, smiling blithely. "Guess it was just me!"
Lureene gives Sasha an odd look, "Are you ok, Sash? You look...hurt."
Sasha's eyes seem to burn with a hungry green fire. Smirking, she says, "My thigh... bruised it while Darvie was helping me with my body."
Sense Motive Checks:
Gelik frown and scratches his damp hair. "The body."
"Huh?"
"You said you hurt yourself while moving your body."
Sasha bites her lower lip a bit and looks off towards the fire where Mal is busy wolfing down a snake that she was cooking on a spit. Seemingly unperturbed that her dinner just got stolen, she shrugs and says, "Yeah, whatever. I say all sorts of stuff, right? Anyway, Darvie's taking a nap so try not to make too much noise, the tree lady finally quit chanting a little while ago."
Lureene stares at Sasha for along moment. While the young blonde succubus may be naive and young in the ways of the world, there is one area of expertise she is, unfortunately, all too familiar with. That being the afterglow of a woman who has recently made love to someone.
It did not take a genuis to put two and two together. And while Lureene was not a smart as Alexis, she is smart enough.
Her jaw drops and she stares at Sasha, a tulmult of emotions running over her face and in her eyes. You....you and Darvesch...you...and Darvesch...YOU and HIM? That last wass screamed at the top of her lungs.
She walks over to the huntress and slaps her across the face. Hard. Her blue eyes crackiling with fury, she screams, She then turns and runs off out of sight, her sobbing still echoing in the jungle grove.
For one of the few times in her life, Sasha is left speechless. She puts a hand to her cheek where Lureene slapped her and just holds up her other hand in confusion.
As the sound of crying and snapping branches recedes, she gives Alis a helpless look, and asks, "What did I do?!"
Alis grits her teeth, glaring daggers at the taller woman before shaking her head. "Forget it. You wouldn't understand if I told you anyway."
Ignorant, single-minded, opportunistic, SLUT!
Shaking her head and doing her best to contain her anger, Alis rushes off in the direction Lureene ran. "EL! Wait up!"
Lureene runs away from the banyan tree, ignoring the branches scraping against her skin (not that they could penetrate it anyway). She runs for a while, not sure how far away she is from the grove and finally stops next to a tree, gasping for breath, and makes no attempt to hide herself which allows Alis to easily find her.
She sits down heavily on the ground, her wings curled around her body and lets her tears flow. Why? WHY?? I...I care for her SOO much! Why would she do that to me? Am I not good enough for her? Am I not good enough for anyone? She thinks, as she touches her wooden ring, a symbol of a man's love who is far away.
Is this MY fault??
It doesn't take Alis too terribly long to catch up to Lureene, her spell still active and her uncanny grace helping her to slip thru the jungle quickly. Upon seeing her friend curled up and the base of an old tree, the breath catches in her throat.
OK, I found her but what do I say?
Alis approaches slowly, making certain to make just enough noise so as not to startle Lureene. Kneeling down next to her, she pats her wing and says, "I've got an extra shoulder and two ears, they're yours, El."
Lureene looks up at Alis and the princess easily sees the look of betrayal in the young winged girl's eyes. Still sobbing quietly, she lays her head on the proffered shoulder, trying not to break out in a fresh set of tears.
After a couple of minutes, Lureene looks up and Alis sees an odd expression on her face, one of guilt.
"'Lis...I...I don't understand. I..I really care for her..." She pauses, and blows her nose loudly on an old hankie which was formerly in her pouch. Alis recognizes it from the party at Countess Corrina's house a few months ago. "I thought she cared for me, maybe even loved me and she wanted to make me happy. Was I wrong? Did I misjudge her so?"
Am I not worthy of love? Is Rath-hun the only one who deserves me?
The princess recalls waking up yesterday morning with Sasha's arm wrapped around her, hand clutching one of her breasts. Sitting with Lureene's head on her shoulder, she continues stroking her hair, speaking quietly. "Some people just live their lives without care or concern for consequence or what the morning brings. I don't doubt that Sasha likes you, but I think she what she loves is excitement and whatever feels good right in the present."
She kisses the blonde curls atop Lureene's head and holds her close in a sisterly hug. "It's no failing of yours, Lureene, it's just... how she is. You can do better..."
...and so can Darv.
Lureene sobs ease up, and she brushes her tear-streaked tresses out of her face. "I guess you are right...it's just that--" She looks into Alis' violet eyes and sees love there, a love she has always hungered for. "I wish the pursuit of pleasure would not rule Sash so much! Look at me! If I let myself be ruled by my passions, I would be no better than my MOTHER!"
She rises to her feet and hugs Alis tightly again. "I wanted to show her there is more to life than just carnal pleasure, but she did not want to see that I guess. I...I worry about her, about her becoming HER mother, 'Lis. That SCARES me to death!"
Alis looks into Lureene's pretty blue eyes with concern and sympathy for what she's going through.
Mother and Father might be gone, but at least I never had reason to doubt that they love 'Sis and I. Poor Lureene's never had that... It's the same with Sasha.
"Well... unless her relatives find her first, I don't see Sasha taking up the 'family business'..."
She sighs and dries Lureene's tears with a clean handkerchief. "I'm not so sure that Sasha knows how to do anything other than live in the moment. Even if she'd never come out and say it, from what she's said in the past, it sounds like Sasha is deathly afraid of her mother. Sound familiar?"
Lureene smiles wanly, "It does, it does indeed. We are a lot alike, Sasha and I. I just was trying to-- I don't know...convince her, show her kindness and love, and she then turns around and--" she sighs. "Do you think she would ever be faithful to another, the way I am trying to be?"
Alis gives Lureene and encouraging smile and takes her by the hand. "If you're asking me whether or not a person can change, then the answer," she motions to Lureene's golden wings, "is yes."
She tips her head back up the hill indicating that they should start walking. As they trudge back thru the thick foliage, the glow of the setting sun penetrates the gloom beneath the canopy from where the jungle abuts Aycenia's clearing. From up ahead, you can see two tall figures one broad in the shoulders, the other more slender, making their way in your direction, calling out your names.
"El, people can change, you're proof of that, but it's because you wanted to change. If someone doesn't want to change, you either have to accept them as they are, or plant the seed of that desire within them. That's part of what it means to be a muse, to help inspire someone to greatness and bring out the best in them. That's what being like your mother and Charelle were originally supposed to do, that's why they have such power to influence others."
Although it's difficult to make out their features, silhouetted against the radiant sunset behind them, there's no mistaking that it's Mal and Sasha who are trailing after you, waving now that they see you. With a sigh, Alis returns their wave, indicating you are both alright. The princess squeezes her friend's hand tightly and gives a tug so that she stops for a moment. The sunlight filtering thru the translucent membranes of Lureene's wings casts an angelic glow about her, shining on the one gazing up at her intently.
"El, you have that same power within you, it's your birthright. I know that you are afraid of turning out like Avoreen, but you're a good person, you're more like what Súmalya would have wanted you to be than she is."
She puts a hand on Lureene's arm, violet eyes locked with blue. "Lureene, I know how hard you have been applying yourself, but the dreams, the omens... I don't think you want to admit it to yourself, but you are holding yourself back. Fear is holding you back."
She gives a short laugh, but it is tinged with sadness and irony. "Fear might be a good tool for keeping others in line, but you can inspire others to greater purpose thru baser emotions like that. The only thing fear will do is trip you up and make you fall. El," she lays a hand on the succubus' warm cheek, still damp from tears, "I love you dearly, but you're not Alexis, or Richardson, or Avoreen. The only way you are going to realize your potential is to become the best you that is possible... not to worry over trying to be like or not be like someone else. A lillend is what your kind was meant to be. You've already come pretty far, but you can't stop here — not because you are afraid of what you might become."
Her voice trails off as she pulls Lureene into a close hug.
"If you do that," she whispers, "then those who have been trying to stop you will have already won. If you want to plant the seed of hope in Sasha, if you want to be able to be there for me when I need you, then you can't let that seed of fear grow inside and entangle you. I know it might be scary, but El... you're not alone."
"Thank you, 'Lis."
Lureene takes comfort in Alis' embrace and knows time is short. She dreads facing Sasha after her justified outburst (in her own mind anyway), but she also knows there were not many places to hide on the Shiv, especially from one who was as skilled at tracking as Sasha.
As the two blondes approach the two hunters, Lureene's face is flushed and streaked with marks where the branches had struck her face earlier. Her thoughts are plain on her face, which is filled with self-doubt.
What should I do here?...How can I look at her without allowing my emotions to get away from me?? 'I care for her SOOO much...Lis is right, .I cannot change her, I can only show her what it is like to be me, to reject my my false heritage and be who I was MEANT to be. If she wishes to be my friend, then I HAVE to respect that, else I would be rejecting who I AM.
Alis' words have a calming effect on Lureene as she comes to that realization. Her heart set now, she is able to compose herself before the others arive. Once she sees Sasha, her face is calm and she gives the red head a wave in greeting.
"If you three are trying to turn my hair white too, then just keep it up. In case you've forgotten, you're in the middle of a jungle, not some royal gardens."
"Truly," Alis says calmly, "I'd almost forgotten. As you can see, we're all fine here, Mal. Now if you'd give us some privacy..."
Scowling deep at the red-headed floozy who provoked the hysteria, Mal grumbles something under his breath before turning to go.
[spoiler="Rolls"]Perception Checks
Sasha rolls her eyes a bit at Mal's comment, but seems focused on studying Lureene's face, brow furrowed in confusion, a crooked frown on her face. At length, she sighs and shrugs. "You okay, El? I don't get it, what did I do this time?"
Lureene stops and holds Sasha's gaze for a long moment, not saying anything.
She...she does not understand what she did, the pain she caused me...I have no way to make her understand...but I did wrong her in one crucial way.
She hesitantly reaches her hand out to caress the other woman's cheek, the same one she had struck earlier.
I am...I am better than this, acting like a jilted lover. She is SOOO beautiful to me...and she has caused me such pain...and yet she knows not what she has done...she is in many ways a child...the way I USED to be...
A couple of tears form in the succubus' eye, and she brushes them away with her othe hand.
I...I MUST forgive her...not for her sake, but for my own.
"I...I should not have struck you, Sasha. I was angry, angry at what you did to me. You did hurt me, and I lashed out in anger. I did not mean to hurt you."
Sasha gets a quizzical look on her face and merely reaches up to hold Lureene's hand to red palm-print on her face rubbing the smooth skin on the succubus' hand with her own calloused fingertips.
"You know," she says after a few moments, "I've had guys, and I have girls, and guys are a lot easier to figure out. Only thing is, they're really only good for one thing."
She gives the two blondes a big grin and says with a wink, "Women are good for six!"
Lureene smiles at Sasha, relieved the redheaded huntress did not seem to hold a grudge. As the flirtatious redhead finishes her statement, she is surprised to feel a blush creeping up her neck.
She glances at Alis, "Uhhh...six ways?"