Reggie just turns and stares at the man that once held a knife to her throat, arms crossed that icy cold stare. a smirk on her lips
At Kuzu, threat she lets a short dramatic pause and the makes a sudden jerk like she is about to jump him, Boo!
The old man cautiously approaches Mao (when he is able to,) still holding his table knife at the ready in case the last man tries anything.
"Doom is coming. But it will not take you this day," he intones, hesitantly holding out his hand. If she doesn't flinch away, he rests his old and rough-skinned palm on her arm, and casts Cure Light Wounds.
|
Mao watches the old man approaching her suspiciously. He's never seemed aggressive or violent towards her and she believes they have somewhat of a positive rapport...even if she doesn't actually know his name.
He reaches out his hand seeming somewhat hesitant. She stays still watching to see what he's doing. His palm touches her arm. His skin feels rough and calloused. Then she is aware of a feeling of her wounds easing. The blood coming from her wounds seems to slow.
He's a healer, she realizes. All this time this "crazy man" sitting outside the tavern was actually a healer. And now he's healed her in her time of need.
She looks over the man with a new appreciation and says, "Let me get you some soup," and moves from the chair toward the bar. As she walks away from him to get the soup, she says over her shoulder, "I'm Mao. I don't think I've ever caught your name...?"
Felstad hears something tenebrous and evil scratching at the window and whirls in its direction, brandishing his knife and shouting at whatever demon was dragging its claws against the glass. "Hieahahaaya!" he shouts, waving his knife around a few moments and startling the patron sitting beneath the windowsill.
Realizing his error a few seconds afterward, the old man quickly sets the knife back down on the table with a clank and turns back to Mao. He's visibly sweating.
"N...name! Name, oh yes, my name. They call me 'Felstad,' miss. Felstad." he gratefully sinks into a chair and grabs the nearest spoon in anticipation. Nearby restaurant patrons pick up their plates and move an extra table away from him in veiled disgust.
|
|
Mao smiles and continues getting the soup as the crazed beggar man yells at things that aren't there before snapping back into reality.
She gets the soup as he gives her the name Felstad. She wonders briefly if it really is his name or just some hallucination that has been with him through the years. Regardless, at least now they are properly introduced.
"Here you go, Felstad," she says, setting the bowl down before the man who looks more than ready to eat. "Just let me know if you'd like a drink to wash that down afterwards," she adds. She then returns to stand by Kuzu who has been dealing with the trouble-making thug.
Felstad looks down at the soup. A human eyeball looks back up at him from within the broth, and blinks at him.
The old man covers his face and tries not to vomit in disgust. It's not real, it isn't real, it isn't real... he mutters to himself, keeping his hand across his eyes.
He lifts his hand up again to look down at his soup...the eyeball was actually just a bit of onion. He sighs in relief, and tucks in to the soup, slurping it down off of his spoon hungrily.
Resting the large, now no longer glowing blade on her shoulder the fiery haired woman approaches the group.
"Doom is coming indeed" she mumbles to herself as she draws nearer and eventually stops. "I hope I did not intrude on a private dispute?" she asks as she looks at the collapsed pirate. "My name is Jamira Sunblade." she adds bowing her head slightly.
Once the ruffians are gone, Reggie sits back down to finish her meal.
She takes stock of the tavern to see what damage she may have caused. but she realizes they really didn't cause too much damage.
she doesn't say much, actually hoping nobody asks what that was all about.
The man does leave the bar under your three intense threats,but they seem to have gotten a weaker effect than you might of been looking for. He doesn't even react to Reggie,he just simply rolls his eyes and mutters something to himself as he exits.
Kuzu sheathes her rapier and sighs as she takes a seat at Reggies table, resting her boots on it. “Nice friends you have.” she says nonchalantly “I'm guessing this happens often.”
"Ifss hardly prabate," says Felstad with a mouth full of soup. He swallows, coughs a little, pounds his chest, and tries again.
"It's hardly private," he continues, gesturing around at the bar. "Those fools just needed a lesson. Happy to help, in exchange for some soup. Besides, can't let a ruffian challenge a pretty girl and go unanswered, eh?" He smiles, revealing a dirty mouth full of teeth so foul that they're almost black. The man has clearly been living in abject poverty for a long time, judging from the state of his oral hygiene. He goes back to his soup, scarfing it down messily in his enthusiasm. His face is practically in the bowl from having shoved his head lower, in order to make the distance from bowl to mouth very short for his spoon to travel. The beggar clearly hasn't eaten a decent meal in days.
Reggie goes to take a drink, only to discover her mug empty, having spilled during the tussle. Setting the empty mug back on the table, somewhat content that she isn't going to charged for damages. Well at least she hopes not.
They are not friends. jus some sore losers that bet on the wrong pers.... I mean, they made some bad bets, that's all
Anyway, I'm looking for a ship, not any particular ship, just one that could use an extra hand. doesn't need to be going anywhere special, as long as its leaving here.
not wanting to ignore the old man, she smiles at the compliment, once she is sure it was directed at her.
"I don't have a ship, neither am I a sailor, as you might imagine, I don't feel quite comfortable on the seas, but nonetheless I need some people who can hold their own in a fight. Admittedly the fights we are going to get into may be a bit higher stakes than a disgruntled gambler." Jamira stays at a respectful distance from Reggie's table as she talks to her.
"Leaving this city is wise," the old man says, nodding sagely before spooning more soup into his mouth. "Doom is coming, and none will be spared. It's a terrible thought."
Jamira studies Flestad for a moment weighing her options.
"Would you mind telling me about that?" she eventually asks.
Felstad glances over at Mao with a little fear in his eyes, and pulls his half-eaten bowl of soup a little closer to himself protectively. He recalls the last time he was in this bar, and how he was thrown out on his ass and banished for talking too much about the end of the world.
"I...er, I'd better not..." he mutters, lowering his voice and glancing from Mao to his precious bowl of soup. "People, ah...people don't like when I go into great detail."
Reggie glances at Jamira, and just who are you? and are you looking to hire me?
Felstad stares down into his soup a moment, remembering the visions. His hands begin to tremble all on their own, and he steadies them by gripping the edge of the table.
"My...visions," he begins, keeping his voice low, "they started when I came home from the War. I'd see the gods...Iomedae, Sarenrae, Abadar...walking, talking, eating, sleeping, laughing like you or I. Then a darkness came. It rose out of the ground and it plagued the skies." his voice is starting to get louder, trembling forcefully as the memories of the visions begin to return in earnest. "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn! The beetles, the beetles! Oh, for the lost virtues of eons past! For the first time we have risen, and I see we are being consumed. I see circles that are not circles. Billions of dead souls inside containment. Unravellers have eaten our country's moral fabric, turning hearts into filth. They are from a kingdom level above man, above gods! What does that yield? A death smile that he pounds his fist, holding his spoon, against the table. He nearly knocks over his soup bowl in his emphasis. He looks over at Mao in hasty embarassment, seeming to come back to himself, if only briefly. He sits down and covers his face with his hands, dropping the spoon to the table with a clatter. Other patrons are starting to look in this direction curiously.
"There is no hope. The wise ones have shown that not even the virtuous will be spared. Eaten whole by void. The hole inside. The hungering blackness. The squirming, crawling, oozing dark." He pushes away the soup bowl and begins to sob into his hands. He can hear the demons taunting him from just outside the inn, waiting for their time to eviscerate his soul. They torment him even in his despair.
Silence falls over the tavern, punctuated only by the old man's tears. You hear other patrons beginning to mutter among themselves nervously, and a couple get up to leave.
|
|
As soon as the beggar, whom she now knows as Felstad, begins his utterings, Mao quietly walks over and pulls a draught of the house's cheapest ale. She moves slowly in the direction of the table and waits until he has finished (including a rather embarrassed look in her direction) and then sets the ale down before him as he sobs into his hands. She rests her hands comfortingly on his shoulders and says softly, "That's enough, Felstad. Have a drink to soothe away what you saw."
Then, she glances at the woman with the large blade and says, "Was that more or less what you were looking for, Miss Sunblade?" There's a tone to Mao's voice. Perhaps sincerity, perhaps sarcasm, perhaps judgmentalism. Mao spent years learning to be hard to read.
Reggie was quiet only half listening to the story, well until the fist is slammed on the table.
Reggie jerks her head up glaring at the old man. You spill my drink, and I will see to it that this darkness consumes you tonight.
settling back down, besides, whether its true or not, I don't care. Let me go before Lady death and be judged. I already know my outcome. she says making a thumbs down gesture indicating a one way ticket to the depths of hell.
Jamira keeps her voice low, not interested in unsettling the other patrons further: "What he saw is vague. It might well be the hallucinations of a broken man, but it at least coincides with the reason I have come to Absalom. My temple sent me from Katapesh, the priests saw the end coming and this city at its epicenter. And I am looking for people not afraid to face what is coming to buy our world another age."
Felstad turns his attention to the ale that Mao sets before him and drinks deeply, finishing the tankard in one draft and setting it down with a huge exhalation of air. He hunches forward in his seat and clutches at the tankard with both hands.
"This...this is all happening for a reason, it...ah..." he clutches at his temple a moment, closing his eyes as a painful headache spikes. His eyes open again without moving his hand from his temple, his slightly crazed eyes flicking from Mao to Reggie, to the silent kitsune Kuzu next to her, and finally to Jamira, the woman of fire.
"Gathered 'round the table,
a meeting forged in blood
the faint hope of a dying,
silvery brotherhood..." he mutters to himself, half-reciting a poem, half-singing a stanza of a song.
"But then those who would gather
Against the dark alone,
A woman, hair afire,
A feasting on the stone...
A gathering of gargoyles
A quenching of the throne,
The woman, hair afire,
sees Absalom overthrown..."
He stares into his empty mug, then looks up at Jamira. He speaks and his voice is clear and steady for the first time since you've met him.
"It's clear to me now. You are to be the leader of the last hope, the screaming against the dark. And we are to fight alongside you." the wizened old man stands up from his table, and kneels before the ifrit, hiding a quiet groan of pain in his joints as he does so.
"I will follow you until the ending of this world. I have seen it. Though we may perish in shadows and flame, I will perish as a knight in your service." It's a variation of the oath that military servicemembers of Absalom take. Other patrons of the bar are openly staring in astonishment. Some are tittering. Felstad pays them no mind, remaining in a kneeling position before Jamira, with his head lowered.
|
|
"Umm, Mao says, not quite sure what to do with Felstad's statement. Instead, she sweeps a look around the bar, "Anyone need another drink?" and then she mutters under her breath, "because it looks like the five of us do," and she looks quizzically at her fellow Tian, Kuzu, to see how she's reacting to the spectacle that is now shaping up.
Jamira takes half a step back, surprised by Felstad's actions. She'd always felt called to something greater but it would have been arrogant to think she'd be leading the fight against the end of the world.
Confused, she looks to the other people gathered around and back to the beggar kneeling before her.
"P-please I'm just a humble servant of the Dawnflower, I cannot even call upon divine power... I'm not a priest or a paladin, only a simple warrior... please stand up" she says flustered.
Felstad looks up at Jamira, making direct eye contact with her. His eyes show no irises, no pupils, only a solid white. From his perspective, the flustered woman standing before him is wreathed in a destiny of fire and wrath, blood and glory. Demons beset her from every side but her righteousness is untouched.
He blinks a few times, rubbing his eyes and looking at her again. His eyes have returned to normal. "The visions aren't wrong," he says stubbornly, lowering his head again, still in a kneeling position. Without looking up, he mutters, "They're never wrong..."
After a moment, he takes a deep breath. On the exhale, the old man rises to his feet again, grimacing at the pain in his joints. With difficulty, he seats himself once again. "Mark my words," he says, quietly, to those at the table. "None of these people matter. They will fall like wheat before the scythe. Only we have any hope at all of standing before the coming darkness. If we fail, all will be consumed."
Jamira is still somewhat taken aback "Well... I have one standing with me. I apprectiate your conviction..." she is visibly at a loss for words.
She looks at the others "I don't have a great offer to make, other than a chance at the continued existence of the world as we know it..."
Felstad shakes his head mysteriously. "No offers need be made, Sunblade. My beliefs are not a matter of faith. They are only a matter of time."
He falls silent, only interacting further when directly spoken to, for the rest of the evening.
Perception checks everyone please!
Reggie and Jamira
Jamira's attention suddenly shifts as she turns toward the door. "Did anyone else hear something?"
Both hands on her sword she rushes out to the street and scans the distance.
Felstad gulps down the last remnants of his soup and stands, knocking over the bowl in his haste to follow Jamira. She's the important one...keep her alive... he mutters to himself.
"Might as well see what all the fuss is about." Kuzu says with a shrug before addressing one of the barmaids. "We're going out for a bit. Keep this place in one piece while we're gone won't you?" She then strolled out of the tavern, following the sound of surprised onlookers.
As you all run out,you all hear it now. A roar that strikes fear directly into your hearts. As you scan around you,your eyes lock a massive shape in the sky. The shape of a Dragon.
This beast is massive,larger than all of he stories you have heard. And as you look at it,you know one thing about it,and one thing only. This beast,this goliath of a Dragon,this creature,is Death.
And even as it's roar ends,it swoops down near the city,and a glow from deep within its chest surges forth. Reaching only 20 feet above the cobbles of the street,you hear only three words.
YOU...WILL...BURN!!!
And with that,dark flames surge forth,burning the skin from the bones of the terrified people below. Most don't even get a chance to scream before they are literally disintegrated. The cobbles are reduced to molten slab where the fires touch,and the buildings begin to burn with shadowy flames,like dark torches.
Felstad falls to his knees. As terrible as the visions were, the truth of reality is infinitely worse; he knows this is real, this is actually happening. The heat sears his face, instantly evaporating the tears that stream from his eyes. His fingers clutch vainly at the sky as he sobs in despair. "It's real, it's real, IT'S HAPPENING!" he shouts, and his sobbing turns to maniacal laughter. He clutches his own chest with both arms and rocks back and forth, giggling madly.
|
|
"I...that's.." Mao says, finding herself at a momentary lack of words. Regaining her composure, she turns to the greatsword-wielding warrior. "So, warrior-priestess, if you want to start praying or doing miraculous fighting things, this would be a good time." Then, turning back to Felstad, she adds, "Your visions didn't happen to show how to stop that thing, did they?"
There is no answer from the ifrit. Instead a loud clanging rings as the massive sword drops from her hands and she silently stares at the monstrosity strafing over the city.
While her body is stupefied, her mind races.
"Ahaha...hee...hoo hoo.." the deranged old prophet's laughing trails off as Mao addresses him. He turns to her, his eyes wild, but clear, without any trace of the madness that was plaguing him just seconds before.
"We must fight alongside her." he points insistently to Jamira. "She is the key. To EVERYTHING, you understand? EVERYTHING! She is the one to save us! The savior! Right there!" he stabs the air in her direction over and over.
He crawls over to Jamira on his hands and knees, clasping his hands together before her.
"Please," he begs her, "the prophecies...you have to know what to do. You have to! What do we do? WHAT DO WE DO?" he shouts insistently at her, as the world seems to burn all around him.
Jamira knows almost nothing about this Dragon,even it's type eludes her as she searched her mind for any information.
Reggie watches the skyline as the dragon makes its attacks.
looking at the others. then back to the skies. she tries to guage the next attack.
We need to get out of the city. either shelter below or out to sea.
Jamira shakes off her stupor and collects her weapon. "You're right, we cannot fight that creature. Best we can do right now is help people get to safety."