"Both my cousin and my sister were struck dumb by unknown forces. My cousin because he had to attempt to perform something because he knew we were ignorant to the danger and my sister, because she had no idea of the danger. And Mal over there, lost his right arm, because he was kept in the dark. Lau, walked out into an ambush that might have been avoided had information been shared."
"What angers me the most however, is that I had to get my most useful information from that half vampire the Rook and not from the people I thought were my allies."
“Lau’s death may have been avoided if you’d chosen to not stoke your own ego at Kreig’s expense!!” Olivia thundered over Caleb’s attempt to respond. She sat forward in her chair and stabbed a finger towards Karthan, tears in her eyes. “Oh, yes, ranger. Sacerdos told us of your return visit, how you couldn’t help yourself...”
”Olivia Duneheim! This is not the time or place to level…”
She slammed a fist on the arm of her chair, cutting off Caleb’s words. ”No, by the Fiery Sword! I’ve been spat upon for my faith, called stupid by those who think themselves above the worship of the gods, slandered because I’m a female playing at knighthood, but never have I sought to think myself better than those same enemies. If I am better, it is by faith in Iomedae that I’m made so, not by my bravado, and not by marking my territory like a runt seeking the approval of my alpha!!”
The Scroll stood and went to Olivia’s side. “No, there is no justice to be found here, young paladin. Only rest and strength. Please, do not go down this path…”
Olivia squeezed her eyes shut, Caleb’s words suffusing her body and soul. Her arms draped along her thighs as she hung her head in anguish and exhaustion, not wanting to say anymore, knowing that the emotion of the moment was only scrambling her thoughts. ”I’m sorry, Karthan.” She touched the symbol of her faith and looked upwards to meet the elf’s eyes. ”By my hope of wielding the Sword of the goddess, I apologize.”
Caleb looked down at the card on the table and seated himself again. ”The Cyclone…a force that tears through whatever it meets. A disaster that does not occur in the midst of order, but in the midst of Chaos… But in the right context, this signifies the calling of disaster from the plots of intelligent beings. War, fire, plans that destroy everything they touch.” He placed a thumb upon the card, drawing it towards him so he could pick it up and study it more closely. Caleb let his glasses drift a bit on the end of his nose so he could view the card with and without them. ”The dark red coloring in the picture, that is unique to most Harrow decks I’ve seen. I know none in my collection have such coloring…
”… Achaekek….if I’m not mistaken by the markings along the border…a strange form of Sylvan. The pattern on the card appears to be an invitation of some sort.” He handed the card back over to the elf. ”Sleep on what you witnessed, when you wake, tell me more about the character you witnessed outside the Toiling Gent. I think we could all use with a good night's sleep before speaking into the wake of this day's events.”
There was much truth in the elf’s earlier words though, but Karthan approached his conclusions like a stalking cat whose focus was entirely on the prey. ”Knowledge is power, an interesting saying I've always thought. As you get older, Karthan, you’ll slowly learn that knowledge is not power, it is…knowledge. Nothing more, nothing less.” He gestured towards the pewter pitchers. ”In that mulled wine Hindre used a type of star anise from the Mwangi Expanse that if left to boil too long will release a toxin strong enough to sicken those who ingest it. Hindre knows this, and either through negligence, lack of wisdom or malice, we could all be rendered sick for the evening.”
He poured a mug full of the mulled wine and took a long sip, smiling in memory. ”A friend I once found ourselves in the wilds of the Verudan Forest, embarking on a favor for a man in Woodsedge. We were to find the person responsible for the killing of several hundred elk in the deeper forest. We were given a good deal of information ranging from how the creatures died, their wounds and even the commonality of the breed of elk.” Caleb took another sip of the wine then put it down so he could pour a half mug for Olivia who sat by in silence. ”We knew the wounds were consistent with a broadhead arrow, that the weapons used were poisoned, and that the hunter always removed their arrows after the creature’s death.”
”My friend and I hunted for nearly two weeks until we came across a small rivulet. Nearly lost, just about out of water, we were thankful to refill our waterskins and camp in a descent location for the night. But as I lifted the waterskin to my lips, my friend caught my arm and pointed to the other side of the small river. A few paces off lay the dying form of an elk, the mighty creature laboring to breath.” Caleb’s lipped turned down with sadness at the memory. ”We crossed the stream and studied the animal, trying to comfort him. But before our eyes, we saw wounds open up from the creature, carving outward from within him and letting free a thorn that resembled the shape of a broadhead arrow. Then, as soon as it touched the air of the forest, the thorn dissolved into dust and drifted away.”
”Our little expedition managed to locate a small pool upstream where several creatures had been lured to the only watering hole in the area. Within that watering hole was a Viper Vine; a plant that poisoned its prey by reaching its roots to the surrounding area and draining all the standing water. Then it created a pool about itself to lay its trap. My friend and I had entered that forest with an assumption. All the information from the locals had been very accurate based on their understandings, but no one had accounted for a species of plant life that hadn’t seen the light of day in that region.”
”Perspective, Karthan. Maintain perspective. Would it have been better to fill your heads with my lack of understanding of the knowledge I’d gathered or to truly see why fate had brought you here to Absalom? I mourn the loss of our friend, but I’ve witnessed Lau Fu Shan hold a giant at bay.” He looked to Olivia and smiled with a since of sorrow. ”I knew the Chaplain-Protector and Fir’umil shared a secret of some portent, but I also trusted them enough to know such a secret was not held out of malice. There were reasons that I, in knowing their natures, I could trust.” He sighed and looked down at his hands, they were eager to play the lute, something for them to do. ”Am I free of blame in Lau’s death? I don’t know. Perhaps yes, perhaps no. I’m sure there will be accounting at the end of my life on such a topic.”
”I’ve expressed my reservation earlier with regards to Mal’undil visiting the Rook this morning. I thought it unwise given his history. But Mal learned more about himself in the encounter and for that I cannot fault him.” Caleb focused on Karthan. ”Now my question for you Karthan is this; knowing the nature of the Rook, why would you open yourself to any measure of trust in gathering information from him? Would you seek the poisoned well if you think it is the last water in the land? Are you so discerning that you could stake your life upon the truth or lie in each and every word from the Rook’s mouth? Are any of us wise enough?”
”The gods have funny ways of revealing the pathways of our lives. I think they make their best effort to ensure we’re ready for what we need to hear…and they have their agents to deliver such information…but we must decide how best we ready ourselves to receive it. Perhaps the track of your life had to include all of these events in order to provide you with the best way to decide to follow or decide to turn away.”
"What I understand Olivia, is that people like you paladin, need people like me to advance their cause. For all the spit shine and polish your commander displays he is ill suited to go the places we went today with Mal. You know where theToiling Gent is right? Feel free to go in and start smiting your way up the stairs to come away with what I got by showing enough courage to walk in their with nothing but my wits. Absolon is a big place, but the fact that your order lets a place like that exist tells me that there is a delicate balance at play. Maybe it is more accurately called a stalemate."
"How long, how many years have you known what Kreig and his crew do to people behind that bar? What did you do about it? You walked out of that brothel where that Inn Keeper pedaled young girls virtue and rented to the likes of Lamech. He did so knowing he had some demon beast in there with him. What did you do about him? This day saw the death of Lamech and his cult at our party's hands, but I made sure that the Inn Keeper met his end. I did hold my head high to the dwarf and later I watched him, his crew, and his hired barbers die on the ends of Mal, Sacredos and my blades."
"I did ride back to the Rooks afterwards and cast down their weapons in the common room. I let it be known that I did not seek any more entanglements with any in that place, but if they sought to call for any more of our blood they would suffer the same fate. I think it Is the weakness that was shown that emboldened those to attack us in the streets openly."
"Without me where would the Kukri have gone? What would the souls within it be enduring? Would we have a potential ally in the avenger guided to us by the hand of Rathigel himself? Would your masters have the book and knowledge that I brought to them from the Rook?"
"I wouldn't have let my friend go wandering about knowing what you knew at the time, but don't try to put your feelings of guilt and grief on me."
"Fighting between us will do no one any good for I know I needed you and your betters to help save Mal and my sister. We all have our part to play."
Karthan mulled the bards words over in his head. "This is a human tradition from the nomadic Vistanni people right? The 54 cards of the Harrow do not tell you what you want to hear. No no. They tell you what was, what is, and what will be. Sometimes, a card comes up in your reading you do not want to see. One of those that nobody wants is the dreaded Cyclone. My sister likes this card game. If I remember she said as you did It expresses destruction and cataclysm. Worse yet, it symbolizes disaster wrought by thinking minds, and not the oft-random tragedies wrought by Nature."
"But, if I remember correctly if you draw this card all is not lost, for when the Cyclone appears in your reading this card of chaos and evil can actually signify renewal and rebirth after a blustery, trying ordeal. You must still endure suffering and tragedy, for the Cyclone never portends good tidings, but you shall survive the challenge put before you."
"Perhaps I survived the first round or maybe it is just some invitation from some other power involved in the struggle here. Maybe it will be more clear in the morning. . . We shall see."
Olivia stood slowly from the comfortable chair. "Perhaps you're right, Karthan. Perhaps it is the fresh viewpoint of a person two days to Absalom that I needed most to see what was plain before me."
"Olivia..." Caleb warned.
"...oh no, Lord Caleb. I'd never thought of it in this light before. All the years Iomedae has been a presence in this city. We've proselytized to those who wouldn't or would listen, begged them to come to the light, made the choice to not consort with those who willfully turned from the light as a matter of their own choice..." Olivia raised a hand to her brow, eyes wide with surprise. Caleb moved to say something but she raised a hand to forestall him. "The evil in that tavern where Kreig and his minions went about the business of killing those as evil as themselves, the whore house across the way where women Father Aegius and others have personally begged to leave their life choices behind but continued to ply their trade, the evil in all the little dark holes the church knows about, we've chosen to let them go about their own self destruction when we could have burned them out…purged them away.”
Caleb rested a hand on her shoulder. ”Olivia, please don’t…”
Again she ignored the old bard, pulling herself out from under his touch. Olivia gathered her things. ”If I’d have only gone to the Rook first, retrieved the book about cosmology…” she paused, finger to her lips in feigned shock. Then she pointed to the table top. On it were books and scrolls along with the food. ”…if I’d gone there I wouldn’t have had to wait several hours to get the same information here from Caleb's collection. Nor would I have had to wait more time for you to deliver the kukri you’d taken from the dead dancing girl. I could have gone in to have food and drink with the Rook.”
She grasped her holy symbol and whispered a prayer. The last she spoke in a gentle calmness and seriousness. ”Thank you for your insight this evening, Karthan Dawnsetter. I’ll see to it that the errors you’ve mentioned are rectified immediately.”
With that, Chaplain-Protector Olivia Duneheim turned and left, softy closing the door behind her.
"I doubt that."
”Oh, dear…” Caleb muttered. He sat down in the comfortable chair Olivia had vacated and heaved a great sigh. ”This day has been a pall upon us. If it would have prevented any of this, I’d have gladly shared all of my idiot notions with all of you. But Karthan, you’ll have to grow from this day. You’ll have to learn more discernment, must as the young paladin must also learn. I cannot change Lau’s fate, nor can I argue that those who were gathered here yesterday evening are not the solution to the problem Mal’undil described to me earlier.”
Caleb waived to the table. ”Please, I’ll see to it that these items are properly arranged for you tomorrow morning. Perhaps by then we can approach the riddle of these glass daggers with fresh eyes.”
Then the bard pointed to the harrow card in Karthan’s hand, then leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. ”You may have the right of it, Karthan. The card signifying renewal through trial is a proper definition when it is misaligned as part of the harrowing. That would be more in line with my supposition of it being an invitation of some sort.”
"Interesting, with the cast of characters already in play I cannot wait to see who else wants to take to the stage with me."
"Very well, fresh eyes then, but before I go to bed let me show you this book that she was speaking of. As Mal has probably already told you Lamech had a few constellations worked in to his . . ."
Karthan laid a quick ground work for the Scroll to ponder upon during the wee hours of the night. He revealed to him the knowledge gained from the Rook and told him of the magical sword that Sacredos bears. If Caleb had any questions he tried to answer them as best as he could.
". . . And that is about it for this evening. Now I shall also take my rest. Luckily I may close my eyes safely knowing that Olivia cannot strike me down in my bed." Karthan says with a small smirk.
Zandra rides the winds, the moon close at her back, the ground far below. The membrane over her eyes keeps the wind from drying them, keeps her vision sharp as she scans the surface of the world. A forest expanse stretches from horizon to horizon with small meadows and clearings dotting the canopy of verdant greens. Her claws work beneath her feathered abdomen, anxious to find her quarry.
Her left wing dips a bit as Zandra turns to circle the lee side of a mountain. That’s when she spots the flash of white, the glimmer of moonlight of an enlarged canine. Invisible to all but her keen eagle’s eyes. Zandra pulled her wings in and dived, resisting her instinct to sound a death shriek. No, she had to be quiet lest she clue her quarry. The forest canopy hurtled towards her form and she penetrated like a crossbow bolt between two sets of trees, popping her wings open to come to a nearly dead stop as she soured to a nearby branch in view of her finding.
…there…stalking along a ridgeline…black fur blending into the night…cold yellow ring of color around black irises. A panther walks low and silent along the ridge, eyes fixed on a group of shadows below him.
Along the tree limb, Zandra turns rotates her head and follows his line of sight. Amongst the brambles and shrubbery and trees is a misty fog…a red fog floating along the forest floor. Within it, a feint torch light cast a dark red hue that emphasized the mist further…no, not a torch, a grouping of candles with light flickering.
The panther sits down languidly, long tail meant for balancing on the high rocks and tree limbs twisting with agitation and thought. He is coming to a decision… Zandra watches the powerful creature’s eyes, senses the conflict within him…
Within the fog below, the sounds of blades being drawn across sharpening stones. The candle light is now separated enough that a ring is evident within the fog… Zandra tilts her head so her left hear is canted towards the circle. She can just make out the soft chill voices of men singing a dirge-like tune. She can’t make out the words, but she wants to be away from there…she wants to leave. A fear akin to her experience in the shack of Lamech cools in her midsection.
She resist the urge to fly, instead turns her eyes back to the panther… She jumps back and off the branch just in time as the panther swipes at her with his claws, a snarl at his maw. How did he make it to the branch without her knowing!
Then the panther snarls again, leaping from the branch with mouth open, canines a flight of arrows aimed at her eagle heart. Just before they bite into her chest…
…Zandra’s eyes burst open, light from the dawn spilling through the slightly open window of the room. Outside, the next morning in the city of Absalom awaited.
The creatures walk on two legs, long legs that make them twice Karthan’s height. He pulls himself deeper into the hollow created by collapsed sections of wall, it’s warm there with the flames flickering and raking all around him.
Outside his hollow, the two-legged creatures move at rapid, predatory speeds. Their eyes are pure light, no pupils, no irises, just pure and blazing light pouring forth. Everywhere they look, fires erupt.
Karthan’s heart is pounding, his claws are digging into the wooden floor beneath him…there is fear, but he expresses it in a menacing snarl, whiskers splayed outwards, lips curled back to reveal gleaming white teeth...gold-rimmed eyes staring out from his hollow, ready to lock on to an enemy and attack.
His heart continues to pound, he can hear it in his ears as they curl back tight against his head…his heart pounds beneath his black fur that blends in to his hiding spot…
…other creature are screaming out in their death throes, the two-legged beings continue their attack…but their activities are making noises farther away…perhaps Karthan escape and get to high ground…set his eyes upon the situation and make sense of it… A growl comes from deep with his chest as he prepares to make his escape…he silently begins to leave his hollow, paws bringing him forward, claws digging into the wood…he’s just about to emerge…Karthan can see the exit that leads to the woods and shelter…
…one of the two-legs, burning and smoking robes about its thin body lands in front of his face…Karthan snarls and readies his claws and a massive bite…then the face lowers into view, eyes closed except for two burning slits…Karthan slashes outward and scours the creature’s face…but the creature turns back and opens its eyes…searing flames burn into Karthan’s mind first…then his heart…then burst through his pours in the most intense pain he’s felt his entire life…
…Karthan’s eyes fly open, the soft sunshine of the new morning bathing his face…he doesn’t move, looking to and fro…he’s in the room above Caleb’s shop…and a new day in Absalom has dawned.
Karthan awoke with a start, his body responding in a split second like a grasshopper that had been still as a leaf and suddenly lept for its life. He turned and saw that she was seated at the dresser with her back to him, but watching him through the trifold mirror.
"You dreamt." She stated annoyingly simply and accurately as she spun and braided her hair into an elaborate pattern.
"Everybody dreams." Karthan responded knowing that he was more than likely lose this soft gloved battle between them.
"You dreamt that that you were a panther."
"I did, but what of it? Are you doing that, that thing, the mana reading now when I sleep!?"
"No, I had no reason to invade your dreams. I was in your dream, or rather we dreamt together. I was the eagle and saw you from afar. When I came to see what you were doing ---"
"---spying on me?"---
---"Perhaps, or perhaps not? Perhaps you were in my dream, but it does not matter. You were the panther you were conflicted, watching something down below you, but not committed to whatever it is you were deciding. There was candlelight below the tree you were in. There was singing, but it was evil. It was along the line of what Lamech and his cult were up to. I wanted to fly, but---"
---"but, a flock of geese landed and asked you to blindly migrate with them?"---
---"No, Karthan, you attacked and killed me. First with your claws, then with your fangs like arrows, or at least I was about to die, but luckily I woke."
Zandra turned around on the swivel stool to properly look Karthan in the eyes with her large doe like orbs.
"I am not your enemy, why do you barb me with your words at every turn. Do you want to find a reason to hate me so?"
Karthan knew the dangers of dreams, especially to one as attuned to magic as Zandra was. There were others among the greys that were known as dreamers, elves that could harness the stuff of dreams and sometimes do extraordinary feats that defied the laws of the world. It was said if they died in the dream ways either their bodies would die or their minds would remain separated forever from their bodies and become like spirits trapped in whatever dreamworlds existed between slumber and reality.
Karthan was wounded by his sister, because he knew that her suffering was his doing. He had been overly cruel. While he could have his own opinions and express his thoughts, he has made it personal and petty. Now he felt ashamed, but blunted by his own headstrong nature.
"No! I mean, that is not what happened in my dream. The lights were not candles at all. They were these two-legged creatures moving at rapid, predatory speeds. Their eyes were pure light, no pupils, no irises, just pure and blazing light poured forth from them. Everywhere they looked fires erupted. I was going to escape, but …one of the things with its burning and smoking robes about its thin body landed in front of my face…I snarled and readied my claws and went for a massive bite…then its face lowered into my view. They were these two burning slits… I slashed out and scoured its face, but it turned back and opened its eyes!"
Karthan winced with real pain from the memory.
Gods be merciful, the searing flames burned into my mind first…then my heart…then burst through the very pores of my skin. it was the most intense pain I've ever felt in my entire life."
"Then." He swallows, "Then, I woke up and I was back here with you."
Interesting, the dreams are quite different. I think we will have to seek counsel to interpret them more, but it seems that Karthan can still benefit from what he has seen. Amazing that I didn't have to even summon up a tear. I will go easier on him than he was with me, but I shall let him squirm a bit.
"I do not know for sure, but I believe the dream was yours, for I woke up first. Perhaps the dream tells you, you do not know whom your enemies are. It could be you saw the creatures as they really were or the natures of the people we are up against. . . maybe the pain you felt was from experiencing killing me. . ."
"Don't say that! I would never hurt . . . Oh . . . I cannot say that. I am sorry dear sister. I can see now how I have been a tyrant and a bully. I have been like a wounded animal lashing out at everyone and everything regardless of their intent towards me. I did try to make my feelings known to you, but in a way that caused you harm, because I myself was hurting."
Oh no please do go on. I should be ashamed of myself for it, but there is a little sweetness to this revenge. He will benefit from this in the end. Besides, he was a real a%%++~# last night.
"I forgive you brother, though I wish I wasn't the source of your disappointment. You have to understand that I can't ignore what the Green Man demands. I . . . I think I almost died yesterday Karthan. The Green Man came to me and helped me live long enough that you could save me and bring me back, but now I must honor my debt to him. I cannot defy nature itself. I am afraid of what is to come, but what other choice do I have. I am sorry Karthan. If only---"
"No need to apologize, I think I have wasted too much time and effort wishing we were or weren't something. You are who you are and I am who I am."
Gotcha!
"Yes, but now it's all ruined and what choice do I have, but to work with Beleg? Who else will be able to help me do this thing the Green Man wants?! I can't do it alone. I am not strong like you."
And tears of vulnerability in 1 . . . 2 . . .
"No you haven't ruined anything. If anything I can see others to blame for that. You are right about Beleg, as much as I hate to admit it, he is the best source of aid at this moment. And, don't worry, you are not going to do this alone, I won't let you. I am not going to just leave you with this burden. Not that I am thrilled about it mind you, but I can see that fate and destiny have converged upon us."
"But, I don't want you to have to do this. It isn't what you want."
"What I want is for you to be safe. No more of this emotional foolishness, I am going to help see you through this and I will hear no more of this kind of talk."
Zandra walked over and embraced her brother. The relief she felt was real. He had reconciled, with her at least, with what he was going to do. Truth be told she did want him by her side. She did feel a bit evil for having played his emotions like a lute, but logical argument would have taken days if not weeks to cause him to finally submit. Time was not on their side, but luckily millions of years of hominid evolution was on hers.
Sometimes a girl has to use the weapons at her disposal, no matter how underhanded it might be.
"Shall we go down stairs? I think I am ready to eat and I think Mal'undil will need our company today. You are much better at this human emotional business than I am."
"Yes, you are probably right, we should go downstairs. I hope that today will be more kind to all of us."
As the siblings descended the stairs, the smells of Hindre’s cooking greeted them first, then the refreshing sounds of laughter and Thor’s contented growls coming from the gathering room.
“…no, no, first he said no to wearing your cloak, then he said no to balancing on the crate to match your height!” Mal let out a guffaw of laughter, his fist pounding the dining table across from a frowning Fir’umil.
Caleb chuckled, puffing on a pipe that smelled of smoked fruits and tobacco. “Come, my friend, even you had to think it was a laugh watching him balance your voice and not falling off the crate!”
Mal laughed all the harder.
Fir’umil, despite himself, cracked a smile of his own. “There was no humor in the angry minotaur he was trying to convince…and I was half conscious at the time…but…” The wizard let himself laugh taking a sip of some tea to make sure he didn’t cough for the effort. “He never could get my voice just right…”
“To Lau!” Mal’undil raised a tankard, a smile on his lips and tears in his eyes that flowed from the happy memories of his best friend.
Caleb and Fir’umil and Hindre – who was seated next to Mal - raised their own beverages in response. “To Lau!”
Mirth gave way to a gentle question from the soft-spoken servant Hindre. ”You mentioned a brother?”
A heavy sigh from Mal. “Yeah, he’s back in their homeland, Tian Xen. He’s a samoor…” He paused and shrugged and looked to Caleb. ”Help me out, old man.”
”Samurai.” Caleb’s response did not hide his amusement.
”I sent word to him last night. They never got along anyway, but he should know about Lau. I haven’t met him…”
”Nor I.” Caleb remarked.
”I’m sure there were a great many things we did not know about our friend the monk.” Fir’umil said. His tone was not mocking, just a statement of fact, one that seemed to fit how they all felt about the monk because if anyone had been in the presence of Lau Fu Shan for any time, they had experienced the whole of him. ”Lau was one of the few humans I’d grown fond of since my time outside of Kyonin.”
Mal looked over, surprise on his face, but he let it go.
Karthan and Zandra entered the room, Fir’umil the first to greet them with a nod. “Good morning, cousins. I hope your rest was sufficient, for we have a busy day.”
Thor was gnawing on a deer’ haunch as he lounged upon his steam-powered apparatus. Over on the table between the gathered men was a collection of scrolls, books and writing implements. There were many additions most likely drawn from Caleb’s library and whatever else Fir’umil had brought with him.
Mal stood and approached the two, acknowledging Zandra first then turning to Karthan to grip forearms. “I’m glad you were there kid, in the end. I’d take you gladly into a nest of scumbags any day of the week, twice on Sundays.” There was bravado in his tone, but Karthan could tell that there was a deeper gratitude being conveyed from Mal to the ranger.
”We have uncovered a source material for the puzzle of the glass daggers…” Caleb announced, waiving the two elves over to the table to gather food and drink and find seats.
”Maybe.” Fir’umil cautioned and pointed his kin to the materials on the table. ”I’d still like to see what my cousins can make of it.”
”We agree with your findings that the drawings you gathered from the dead minstrel’s satchel are of great importance. On them are depictions of constellations that when taken into context…” Fir drew forth the constellation book Caleb had provided (different from the one found at the Rook’s) ”…appears to depict the same constellation on two of the drawings, but the angle and direction they face are slightly off.”
Fir’umil set three of the drawings on the table right next to each other. Above them, the open tome showed the definition of the constellation and the list of locations in the sky based on time of year and location on the ground.
”What do you make of it, cousins?”
Karthan remembers back to his conversation with the Rook…
He used a finger to draw over one of the renderings from Agidor’s scroll case. Vivid details, an artist’s hand attempting to capture the moment of ecstasy in Lamech’s eyes as he raised his hands above the dead form of a man. Both were garbed in dark robes, but the pinhole constellations were detailed in the drawing upon them.
“This one, looks to be the Ferryman…” He flipped through some pages in the tome, stopping in a particular section. Then turned it towards Karthan so he could see. “…here, the Ferryman constellation…but it’s not quite right. The shape is slightly off…” He turned a couple of pages forward. “Here, the first was the constellation as viewed from Absalom…this other one is more of a match.”
Karthan saw the caption of the drawing stating that the depiction was as viewed from Varisia.
Caleb sips at his own cup of tea and points to the other materials on the table. ”I’ve managed to pull some older tomes from my collection that align with some of the scrolls Fir’umil was able to acquire at the Arcanamarium during his research.”
Karthan
arcana
history
religion
Zandra
arcana
history
religion
Fir'umil smiled as his cousins reviewed the materials. He would have been glad to have them last night to assist with the original research. But then again, he wouldn't have had access to some of the other materials had Karthan not visited the Rook. Though Fir knew little of the Dhampir, his elven sense of right and wrong loathed such an abomination being allowed to walk the land. An elf and a vampire?
No wonder he hides himself securely amongst the trash of Coppertown. Only there would he be safe from the seekers of the elven court who would no doubt desire his death. The blend of unlife and the eternal blood of Fir's kin made the skin at his back crawl.
The wizard shook off the thought and returned his attentions to his cousins and the cup of tea in his hands. "I see you're already upon the trail of knowledge, cousins. Good, good..." He sipped at his tea as his throat began to close and his voice grow hoarse. "I knew I could trust your intellect and instincts to draw forth more truth."
"The jovial mood of the room this morning is like birds chirping and flowers opening to the sun after a passing rain." Zandra beamed at the gathered friends. She then looked about, "Has Olivia not come out from her bedroom yet?"
Ah, she is up, well time to go over and let her give me the morning head pats and love rubs on my neck, she really looks forward to that in the morning. I like keeping my human happy and purring. Looks like the cubs are much happier this morning.
Thor walked over and leaned into Zandra pushing her off her feet and over a few steps as he burrowed his great head into her petite form while issuing a deep grumbling purr.
"No, child, the Chaplain-Protector spent her evening at the Temple." Caleb held close the troubled feeling he possessed regarding the topic.
He turned to the materials on the table. "It's good to see you both this morning. Come, eat and avail us of your observations."
Karthan Sense Motive
Zandra Sense Motive
"Well, you seem awful calm about that, but in light of last evening, did she have an escort? We got in awfully late last night. I thought she was looking forward to getting here for the evening."
"Olivia said herself that, "we should be together. If for anything, alone we tend to do foolish things." She spoke truthfully enough in that, but apparently did not take her own advice."
"I might be somewhat to blame, present company excluded, I find it difficult to communicate with humans at times. Their passions and emotions drive them with the force of a dust devil, prone to spout up, whirl around causing havoc, only to suddenly disapate with nothing but motes of dust to show for their passage. By the time they have gained the life experience to temper that . . . That . . . Raw form of excitement and energy, they are matured and advanced in their years it seems."
"Combine that raw excitement, passion and emotions together with being a young woman and . . . Well, I'll tell you I don't know classify it. It is exhausting."
"I would suppose it would be fair to say we echanged words last night, Olivia believes I might have been the cause for Lau's death. I stated the logic behind my actions and some of my frustrations with the situation. She passionately expressed he emotions and perhaps some of the inner issues she if working out within herself. Caleb called an end to it and I thought we were moving on when she left. However, had I known she was intent on leaving I would have tried to speak some sense to her and asked her to stay rather than go out. I thought it best to give her space she appeared to need at the time.
"But Zandra, I am sure she is okay, there were a lot of grey cloaks out last night and I am sure patrols were more alert."
"What is done is done and we cannot affect the outcomes of the past. It is time to put focus forward."
Karthan's only aw knowledgement was a slight incline of his head. Zandra obviously felt Caleb's subtitle magic and personal magnitism was at work and did not wish to break that spell. The ranger half wished he had spoken differently to Olivia last night, but he had spoken truthfully to her. If she could not handle that and became swamped with her own inner turmoil that was on her. He had given his form of an apology.
Karthan bowed his head to Mal'undil as a student would to a master at court. It was a nod to experience and a public show of respect to one who had earned his honors through deeds.
"Our combined weapons and wits saw us through, but without your guidance I would have been even more like a ship without helmsman."
"Don't get so poetic, kid, you'll get me all misty." Mal smiled back at the elf. He gestured to the table and returned to his seat, grabbing up a couple of grapes and popping them in his mouth. Formalities made his neck hairs stand on end.
"Indeed, Olivia is well capable of taking care of herself. Perhaps the night air and time spent at the temple will buoy her spirits."
The old bard leaned back in his chair to relight his pipe. He flicked his fingers and wrist and produced a strike stick from up his sleeve. "With the events of yesterday came lessons for all of us, I'm afraid. Our dear paladin has much to work through, and I'm sure Olivia is up to the task."
Caleb puffed his pipe to life sending smells of spiced apple tobacco throughout the room in artful smoke rings. "But be mindful young one, 'αν και τα χρόνια του γέροντα-kin εκτείνονται από ορίζοντα σε ορίζοντα, ένα μόριο σκόνης που φέρει τη σοφία της αιωνιότητας από τις ακτίνες του ήλιου το πρωί.'"
"An ancient, tested and true statement most learned one." Huh, I guess he didn't hear me say present company not included. Hopefully he wasn't offended. I must remember that their hearing is less sharp than ours and fades as quickly as their bodies.
"And good morning to you as well cousin. I trust you were able to recover your magic for today, I fear we will have need of it. I am interested in what you have found with the resources you have at your disposal, but as requested I will inform the group as to what I learned."
"You seem bigger, but somehow lighter on your feet today Thorendel."
"Indeed I did grow stronger and more agile overnight. Both you cubs and some of the others grew in other ways over night. I can sense other spirits that will now answer your call from the green dream. They wait for you and watch. None of them are as magnificent as I am of course, but they have their uses."
Zandra knelt down and hugged Thor, then stood and ruffled his fur between his ears with a smile.
"No need to worry no one could replace you my big amazingly hansome, incredibly intelligent, and extremely confident companion."