Val groans, falling back on the ground and burying her face in her hands. "Damn it. Damn it! How in the Nine Hells did this happen? And you... you're Li'an's sword? Or the spirit in Li'an's sword. Wait, was her sword actually sentient? Gods, what the hell just happened? We almost had her back."
"Oh Elan, what kind of cruel joke is this?" she thinks to herself.
"I was Elan's... Li'an's father's companion, we traveled together extensively. Before the first crusade I was a Raelis, a kind of outsider native to Elysium. Afterwards... I was at his side in this blade," she says, pausing to examining the hilt closely, "until the day he died, and I was lost. I guess Li'an kept the blade with her afterwards," After a few moments, she adds "How long has it been since Elan died?"
"I... I don't know exactly. It's been a long time I think. Li'an was over a hundred when she... Do you remember how old she was when her father died?"
Val feels tears welling up in her eyes again. "She's gone. Actually gone for good now." The words repeat in her head over and over as she sits on the ground staring whoever is inside of Li'an's body now. She finally turns her eyes away as the tears start to overflow.
Watching the go between back, forth, forward and back,
Hmm is that not an interesting development...
"Well I for one am slightly confused by the confusion, between the sword and the person with the reincarnation magic that is, however pleased to meet you none the less?" Hrut is not really sure what to make of the development, but does not want to immediately put the 'person' off.
Well she does not appear to be a demon immediately... I wonder what weapon I would come back as if I were one, or if I were made into a weapon what would it be?
"Give her back." Ary says, her tone adamant. "She's not yours." Her eyes are narrowed and her breathing begins to speed up. Whether she cares about the discussion of the sword's losses or not doesn't register at all. "She's my best friend... Please." her voice finally breaks as for the first time, she breaks down without a target to take it out upon. Her grip on her sword weakens as she tries to blink the tears away, but fails.
Slowly walking over to the druids and whispering during the commotion,
"Have you heard of this before or are we in new reincarnation territory so to speak? I assume this is a Final thing, like no going back?"
Markus furrows his brow. "Um, Ehren. Can you scan her? Also...where's that paladin that we brought for Horgus?" He looks between his friends and allies. "What? I'm suspicious. As angel-y as this guy is...possession happens."
Isilme looks down at Valaria sympathetically, though she understands that there's nothing she, especially given the situation, can do to help her. She ponders the question for a moment, trying to come up with an answer. "I honestly don't remember," she says, frowning. "My life at Elan's side was somewhat... limited."
She looks at Ary at a complete loss. "If my death would bring her back, I would give my life a second time," she says to Ary, meeting her eyes. "Elan gave his life so she could live, and I would do the same a thousand times to ensure it wasn't in vain..." Her eyes well up, and she reaches up to wipe them clean.
Turning to Markus, she nods at him, looking defeated. "I understand, you have no reason to believe me. Do what you must." She lowers herself so she's sitting with her legs folded underneath her, sets the hilt in front of her, and looks up at the sky. She closes her eyes and begins to recite the names of stars while she waits for the others to decide what to do with her.
"Her father... died a year after I was born. About eighteen years ago." Ary says, making a quick, sharp turn on her heel as she sheathes her sword. She heads inside without another word.
His face still buried in his hands, Ehren replies to neither Hrut nor Markus. He makes no attempt to even look at "Li'an," let alone sense her aura. Whether she meant them any harm was not a matter that he had even considered.
Li'an... Valaria... everyone... I'm so sorry. A part of him wanted to just break down and give in to despair. His shoulders heave once with a barely suppressed sob, and then he slides his hands down over his face, gasping for breath. He takes several more deep breaths, trying his best to center himself. Only then does he turn around to face her again. Lleuad-a'r-Sêr. Isilme. Not Li'an. A mistake. If there was a reason for this, he could not even begin to comprehend what it was. Not yet.
Tears run freely down Val's face and a weak sob wracks her body. She pulls her legs in, burying her face and letting her grief show openly. She can't bear to look up at the celestial spirit using Li'an's face, but can't bring herself to be angry at the spirit that had no intention of robbing her of her... friend. With nowhere to direct her pain, she simply sits there, quietly sobbing and seemingly oblivious to everyone around her. "Li'an.
Aravashnial's voice is steady and monotonous. "I don't believe this is a trick. I suppose a sin seeker would be likely to reveal the truth, if you have doubts." He asks the group - "How large of a Crusader resistance is left in the city? Do you know?"
He then only addresses Isilme. "My face was wounded in a fight with a balor. I only barely caught the tail end of his whip. I suppose I was being arrogant and was too close."
"We are in Kenabres. It was attacked a few days ago. It appears that we have begun the Fifth Mendevian Crusade. It is going excellently," He adds, dryly.
"If the human druid, Ehren, is to be believed, Khorramzadeh is seeking to corrupt the ley lines for some horrible purpose. I assume this is being done through the wardstone - otherwise they would have simply destroyed it by now."
"There is a Crusader force left, though,' he concludes, thoughtfully. "I'm surprised. I can't help but wonder if the Storm King is intentionally dragging his victory out."
Meanwhile, Siga scans Isilme's aura, at Markus' request. "I'm not reading anything evil."
Horgus doesn't really understand what is going on - nor does he care. He claps a hand on Ehren's shoulder in approval. "You did a fine job cleaning up after yourself." He then walks back into the mansion, in good spirits.
Val goes very still at Horgus's words, her sobs catching in her throat. "You pathetic stingy old... Kul!" she screams bursting to her feet. "Do you care about anything other than yourself? Our friend, my... I don't know what, is dead! Dead and not coming back! This was our one chance... And you're more concerned with the state of f*cking garden. I'd ask how you'd feel if you lost your best friend, but I doubt you'd shed a single tear as long as it didn't affect your vault full of coins!" Her voice rises to a shriek by the time she's finished, her eyes red from tears. Horgus's accidental insensitivity gives her the perfect chance to lash out at something, if only to try and get the pain out.
"Eighteen years... She moved forward at least," she thinks as she continues reciting stars. It surprises her how naturally it comes to her, even though it has been nearly three-quarters of a century since she last performed any sort of obedience to Desna. "My lady, I don't understand your ways, maybe I never did. But no one deserves to suffer like Li'an's frie... no, really her family are. Not for me, I've done nothing to deserve life again, much less to merit taking it from her. Oblivion was preferable to this."
Isilme stops her recounting of names when Aravashnial speaks, though she can feel the distance between them keenly. She listens to Aravashnial's description of the situation, wondering how it is that things always seem to get worse. "I see... We've all paid for our arrogance, haven't we?" she says to Aravashnial with a half-chuckle. She remembers how eager they'd been at the start of the first crusade. They thought they'd dispatch the demons and end the fight quickly. "It didn't work out that way at all," she thought.
She gives Valaria a pained look and then looks back up at the sky, unsure of what to do.
It is a bright and sunny day. Crocris has worked miracles in Horgus' garden - it is full of bright summer flowers and inviting shade trees.
Horgus shrugs off Valaria's anger. "Girl, she was a soldier. Isn't that what soldiers do? How many corpses did we see on the sides of the road on the way here? Did you really think she'd end up any different?" He then goes back into his manor, intent on relaxing in the company of his new bodyguard. "Siga, if you please, I'd like to start the process of moving the supplies from my larder."
Aravashnial tilts his head, leaning against his quarterstaff heavily. "I suppose that is a good way of putting it. So, what are you going to do now?"
"And you think any of them wanted to die? You think that no one mourns them? You can make your excuses all you want, but it just proves that you couldn't care less. Forget it. I'm wasting my breath with you. Stay here and rot with your money." She tries to wipe the tears from her eyes, but there always seems to be more of them forming.
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There are no words.
I saw the sun set last night,
It was stark, and unwelcoming, yet still we persevered.
We pressed forth, and found a silver lining,
But within that silver lining, we found only clouds.
Dark storms have followed in the wake of the Storm King,
If only I were a sailor, the red skies wouldn't have doomed my outlook.
I found hope in this little girl that didn't have to be alone,
but what fate did we condemn her to? A lifetime.
A lifetime of knowing what she has lost by her own hands,
by my hands.
I couldn't save her. I couldn't save anyone.
I used to think that Kenabres was a beautiful place. It was far from perfect, but it spoke of things, of union, of commonality.
The world was better for knowing that even in the face of great evil, it marched on.
There are words to describe it, yet, in the wake of this terrible disaster. This... calamity that keeps taking and taking.
We don't march, we trudge, and it's impossible to shine in the darkness that has befallen, after that sun has set.
The sun rose today, but it was not the sun of yesterday. The world is colder for each day that passes.
Like Kenabres, we'll bear our scars to the end, we'll keep moving, until we all fall, or they do.
I couldn't save anyone.
But I will honor a sacrifice freely given.
And I will save her.
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With a deep calming breath,
"We lost an ally, but gained a new one, these things do happen in war unfortunately, most of you have not witnessed this closeness and savagery from demons and their supporters. We can honor Li'an by continuing her fight and spirit. We can also welcome what appears to be a seasoned soul from earlier crusades, while painful, the enemy will not stop, and we must be harder than them. It is no ones fault that this happened, but this must be accepted as fact now, we take our new ally and move forward. As for Gwerm, he can stay here and rot, we do not need to come back or see him again after this, let others keep this supply line open."
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Hrut puts his helmet back on and begins overseeing the loading of wagons and keeping an eye out for dangers.
So many lost already. How many more? Who is next? I have seen family, friends, mentors all fall, some worse, I have had worse done to me...
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Markus looks between Ehren, crying, Hrut, stoically taking it, Valaria, crying... He sighs, pats each of them on their shoulder, and goes after Ary.
He approaches and lays a hand on the ranger's shoulder. "Listen, um...people die. It's just the wa- oh, f@%&, this isn't right. No. Okay, let me start over."
He takes a deep breath, takes a moment to compose himself... and then begins to speak again. "Li'an's loss is beyond tragic, and I won't ask you not to cry. I can't. Not you, or Valaria, or Ehren. But her last actions were of her own volition, and she's far from gone. She's still out there, wandering the endless fields of Elysium or strolling the shining streets in Heaven itself. Even if we never get to meet her again, her death wasn't the end for anything, and apparently proved to be a new beginning for someone else."
He coughs a little bit, and scratches through his long, grey hair. "Not that...I'm trying to sell it as a good thing or anything. I'm sorry, I'm no good at this. I'm sorry." He covers his face with his hand and turns to go.
Listening to Hrut's words, Isilme takes a deep breath. "Your friend speaks the truth of it. I cannot bring her back, and I cannot fill the hole left by her. Nor would I want to, for it is a sign that she was important to you all... though perhaps in different ways." she looks around the room, her glance lingering briefly on Valaria and then on the door Ary had disappeared into. "Do what you will to prove to yourselves that I am an ally, and then allow me to fight in her stead. Allow me to repay my debt by taking up her mantle."
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"I... wait. Thank you." Ary says as she looks up from her continued scribbling. "Writing helps. I see why she wrote in her journal so much." Ary says after a moment of hesitation. She closes the book with a thump, and places it back on the nightstand, sliding over to give Markus enough room to sit, as she fiddles with the Maralith toy.
"I really, really needed that to be a win... and it might be. I've no way of knowing what Lleuad isn't exactly what we need in this. Maybe it's a blessing... maybe she's happy where she is, and it was wrong of us to even try to call her back."
"But... it feels like we're losing. Bad. I'm trying to keep up morale, trying to be strong... but... my home was destroyed and I was powerless to stop it. In one day, my best friends all died. It..."
She shakes her head and closes her eyes. "I don't know how much I've really shared with each individual person. But... I asked about my sister when we met with Veserda. I asked because she's the only one not verified as dead of my immediate family. I lived on that farm until bandits came and razed it. I don't even know why they chose to burn down our farm. I just know that dad shoved me on our horse, swatted it, and it ran me to town. It was... exhausted. And I wanted so badly to go back, but... I couldn't. I didn't know the way, and if I stopped the horse.."
She shakes her head again. "I lost everything that day. It took me months to get my head back, and I was lucky for that. Now... I feel like I've lost everything. Even though I know I haven't. I hate when my heart won't listen to my head, but there's nothing I can do; though I'll never betray it, it likes to tear me to pieces on occasion." she closes her eyes for a moment. "I was gonna tell her how much she meant to me, when she stepped out of that circle. That she was my best friend. That I loved her. That if she ever died again, I'd kill her. It was going to be hilarious, and warm, and cheery. We... I needed that." she says, looking down, then drawing her eyes back up.
"I'll do my best to be strong for everyone... but the last few days have been... hard. Something like ninety-five percent of the city is either dead or unaccounted for. I don't know why I thought that I wouldn't be touched, but I did. We see where that got me." she gives him a small smile, then pushes her way up off of the bed. "I'll just have to do what I did last time... and hope for a few miracles. Just keep walking, you know? Do my best to honor her sacrifice, even as I know that every bit of it was unfair."
She sighs, "Sorry for venting on you. If you need to talk, I'm here. We should get to loading the wagons. Thankfully, most of the kids won't know Fen'wen enough to see much of a change." she says as she picks up her notebook and then heads for the door, holding it open for Markus.
"No... you're right," Ehren says to Hrut, without taking his eyes away from Isilme, "But we cannot afford to lose any more allies... not even Gwerm. And as for you... Isilme. I too, will accept your offer of assistance. What choice do I have?" He glances at Valaria ever so briefly before continuing, "I think... I think that is what Li'an would have wanted." In spite of his own words, he spoke to Isilme coolly.
The Eagle's Watch soldiers, Ary, and whoever in the group that wishes to help, focus on loading up the three wagons that have been brought along.
The children - who were not allowed to witness the reincarnation attempt, for fear that they'd prove too much of a distraction to the druids - get under heel and foot as the supplies are moved.
Afterwards, the Eagle's Watch paladins are careful to scan each and every one of the survivors being moved from Gwerm Manor to Defender's Heart. Satisfied that there are no demons among them, they get ready to leave.
Nira Loumis hugs Valaria, while her husband stands awkwardly nearby. "Thank you. We thank all of you. Hopefully...once we get our shop set up, we'll see each other again, yes? You'll always be entitled to fre-" She blushes at the look Belthis gives her. "discounted clothing at Fine Fittings!"
After the Loumises depart to stand next to the wagons - most are burdened with food, but one carries the books recovered from Blackwing as well - Thomas emerges, looking at Valaria quizzicially.
"M-miss Valaria? Thank you so much." He hugs her around the neck. "It'll be okay. I promise," he finishes, sweetly.
"Thomas!! C'mon!!! Stop making out with your girlfriend!" Chiles' obnoxiously loud voice echoes from the carts. Thomas turns a pale pink. "C-coming!"
----
Crocris places a hand on Ehren's shoulder, and murmurs. "Fior-charaid, níl a glacadh do lámh sna himeachtaí . Oibríonn an Glas ar bhealaí mistéireach . I mo thuairimse, go raibh an gceist a bheits." He nods, then addresses the rest of the group. "You have all done so much good. Please don't lose sight of that. I hope that with the Crusaders I can pay your good acts forward, at least until the city is reclaimed and I can tend to Truestone Park once more."
----
Aema appears suddenly next to Markus as if out of thin air. "Yooooou missed a spot!" She grins - and magically closes up a seam in the back of his clothes.
Fenna follows Aema, grabbing her by the hand. "Aema, let's go! You don't want to get left behind, do you?"
Aema pouts. "But I was hoping Master Markus would show me how to do more magic! Something harder than mending - that's too easy!"
"Aema, Master Markus is busy doing things for the Crusades. Stop being a pest!" She looks up at Markus and Ary and smiles apologetically. "Hey. I wish you guys the best of luck. Thank you so much for saving us back there. We'd be dead if it wasn't for you."
----
The various survivors and riffraff stream out to the street, in high spirits. Aravashnial lingers by Isilme's side.
He speaks to her in Celestial. He is fluent now, not the boy stumbling over the sibilant words and tones that she once knew. "أخشى لقد صيرت خارج طائل منه بموجب هذا" he says to her, his tone scathing and self-deprecating. "ولكن اذا كنت بحاجة الى التحدث الى شخص ما ... سأكون هنا."
"I'm afraid I've been rendered extra useless by virtue of this... disability."
"But if you need someone to talk to... I'll be here. "
Val sniffs, taking a few shuddering breaths as she fights to calm herself down enough to at least stop the flow of tears. She stiffens for a moment as Nira hugs her, then puts an arm around her, accepting the attempt to at comfort. "We'll try and stop by to see you once things settle down."
She puts on a smile for the kids, but it's obviously forced and her eyes are still puffy and red. She chuckles rather humorlessly but hugs Thomas around the middle anyway. "Thank you." She shakes her head at the other kids' teasing. "You're a good kid Thomas. Never let them get to you." She climbs to her feet slowly, taking a few deep breaths to keep herself steady.
Isilme moves with the others to the wagons, but mainly watches. It's clear to her that all the refugees they'd gathered had been affected by Li'an's friends, probably by Li'an as well, though it seemed they all gave her a wide berth now. "I can't blame them..." Still, she can't help but smile at the antics of the children. Somehow they seem completely unaffected by everything that's gone on around them. To Isilme, it is like seeing a flower standing tall in the middle of a wasteland, and she is heartened by it.
Isilme smiles when Aravashnial addresses her fluently in celestial, glad both to hear his progress and for the opportunity to talk to him. Seeing the pain on his face, she takes his hand, threading her fingers through his. She gives it a light squeeze and turns to him, gladly responding in her native tongue. "تذكر من الذي كنت تتحدث إلى، يا عزيزي. قضيت سبعين عاما منضم إلى السيف في جانب الهمة، وغير قادر على فعل أي شيء سوى الكلام ومشاهدة. هل تنظر لي من أي وقت مضى عديمة الفائدة؟ هل الهمة؟" To those familiar with celestial, her words seem to flow in lilting tones and quiet refrains, a characteristic of the speech of Elysians. She continues, "أنت لست حرا كما كنت، ولكن يمكن التغلب عليها. لا تسمح لها تستهلك تريد فعلت الهمة ونفسي. وسوف تكون على يقين من أن آتي إليكم ثم، أظن أنا بحاجة إلى التحدث مع شخص في الأيام المقبلة. و لا تنسى أن لدي آذان كذلك." As she finishes speaking, Isilme leans in and gently kisses Aravashnial on the forehead. She turns back to watch the others, but keeps hold of his hand for the time being for her own reassurance, even if it's selfish of her to do so.
"You are not as free as you were, but it can be overcome. Don't let it consume you like it did Elan and I. And thank you, I will be certain to come to you then. I suspect I'll need someone to talk to in the coming days. And don't forget that I have ears as well."
"Go beacht cad tá mé eagla," Ehren replies to Crocris, his expression softening somewhat. He adds with a wan smile, "Ach go raibh maith agat, go fírinneach."
"Before you lot finish leaving, I need Avi for a few minutes. I really need some answers if he's got them. I'd also like to talk to Butterfly, Shiny, Rocky and Gloomy for a moment before we get ready to go." She says leaving the sword out intentionally. "If you'll hold up for all of us, it will likely be safer if we move as a group until we have to split off." She says to the Eagle Watch.
Aravashnial stays by Isilme, listening, though her words do little to cheer him up. "حتى كسيف، هل يمكن أن نرى" he offers, curtly. "هؤلاء الرجال والنساء من ذوي المهارات، ولكن كانوا صغارا. وأنها سوف تحتاج إلى بصيرة بك. ربما أنها سوف يستمع. إليك أكثر مما كانت عليه لي.."
He breaks into a small smile. "غير أنه من الغريب أن لا تشعر بالحزن؟ يبدو أنني يجب، ولكن أعتقد أنني قد أنجزت جميع الحداد Elan يمكنني أن تأخذ منذ وفاة"
He offers Isilme an awkward, short, hug.
"حاول أن لا يموت. أنا لا أعتقد أنني يمكن أن تأخذ خسارة لك مرة أخرى."
"These men and women are skilled, but they are young. They'll need your insight. Perhaps they will listen to you more than they did me. "
"Is it strange that I do not feel sad? It seems that I should, but I think I have accomplished all the mourning I can take since Elan's death.
"Try not to die. I don't think I could take losing you again."
----
Captain Nalti salutes Ary. "Absolutely. Take all of the time you need."
Val nods, finally collecting herself enough to talk calmly. "Alright. I think we need to... resolve this before we move on. We're in no position to leave things hanging right now."
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Ary nods, and heads away from Aravashnial and Isilme with the others who are willing to come. She makes it short, sweet, and simple.
"That... whatever she is... is not Fen'wen. But she didn't ask for this. That's something that I learned at a young age. Far too often we get things we didn't ask for, and never would have. It's important to remember" She says, managing to maintain her composure, "That it also isn't her fault. That's our burden to bear. While we did everything we could... sometimes that is not enough. We went beyond what was required." Ary said, her voice rich and deep. You could almost forget she'd recently been crying. "While we couldn't protect her... We can't let this new person feel as though she is a constant reminder of what we have lost. No one can fill Fen'wen's place... but that also means that we shouldn't expect it of her. She is gone for now... but she won't be forgotten."
So maybe not short.
"Ehren... you reincarnated someone who had been dead for more than two decades without a body. Val... you made her want to worship, something I can't remember seeing her do in a long while. I wanted to specifically thank both of you for the incredible successes you did manage with her. All of us fought to keep her safe... and while we failed, we should honor her sacrifice. We should become better, stronger, and faster. Because there will be others that need us. Like Markus says. We need to count the living."
By the time Ary, Valaria, Hrut, Ehren, and Markus gather together to talk, it is mid-afternoon. The Eagle's Watch linger around, giving the heroes the time they need to recover and prepare for the trip onwards.
Val is quiet for a few moments after Ary speaks, clearly deep in thought. "It might be less painful if there was someone at fault for this. Then it might not feel like Li'an's gone by some cosmic chance. But... you're right. It... she... Isilme can't be blamed for what happened today." She sighs, hugging herself and rubbing her arms slowly. "We'll never forget Li'an. And we'll fight with all our strength to stop another loss like that from happening again."
She takes a deep slow breath and looks up. "We should get moving. It's probably safer to escort the convoy back to Defender's Heart, then go cleanse the Tower of those cultists."
"Definitely. We can see if Horgus will give Isilme Fen'wen's share of the reward. And... I can probably buy some things, so I'll grab my money. We should also debrief Isilme. Let's get going, then. Once we get our money out, I'll get my stuff ready to be moved with the cart." Ary says, thoughtfully. "We should move the swords and stuff from upstairs as well. We'll have to see if any of the others can deal with poisons or make sure the poison is cleared out."
Markus laughs, but he can only bring himself to do a short one, and he kneels down so that he's at the level of the children. "Listen, I've got a job to do right now - making sure that people like you are safer. But if I've ever got some spare time and you're there, don't think I'll let you go without a lesson. Remember to pay close attention to Master Aravashnial - he knows a lot more than I do. And..." he takes out Vagorg's wand. "Here. For homework, by the next time I see you, I want you to learn the spell in this wand. It can demonstrate for you what it does nine times, but don't ever point it at your friends."
He handles it carefully as he finds Fenna, specifically, to give the wand to. "It takes a lot more energy to cast spells that aren't cantrips, so don't be disheartened if you can't do it more than once or twice."
Markus listens intently to Ary, because he can't speak Celestial or Druidic and is exempted from the conversations between a few of the people. At Ary's last words, he just nods. "Every friend we have left is a blessing. Never forget that - it helps to get past the tragedy of friends we've lost."
Isilme doesn't push the issue with Aravashnial, knowing how he gets. "Sight without agency was hardly better," she thinks to herself, reliving the frustration and depression that had gripped her once she'd realized there was no way to undo what had been done.
"قبل أن يستمع لي، وأنها سوف تحتاج لقبول لي. أنا لا أعرف إذا كان ذلك ممكنا بعد ما حدث." she replies, skeptical that they'd be willing to take advice from her. When he explains his lack of feeling at the moment, she merely shakes her head and says "أنه من السابق لأوانه القول ما تشعر به. انا لا تزال تحاول أن تتصالح مع ما حدث.
She smiles at his concern for her. Though he is certainly more jaded than she remembered, she would be hard pressed to keep herself together if he had shunned her like the others. "وسوف تأخذ المشورة أعطى Li'an، ومحاولة عدم اضاعة هذه الفرصة الثانية لقد أعطيت." She couldn't promise him that she wouldn't die, at this point she knew better than that, and neither would she sit idle just so that she could continue living. Nevertheless, Isilme vowed to try to avoid the same fate that had befallen Li'an and given her this chance.
"Before they will listen to me, they'll need to accept me. I don't know if that's possible after what's happened."
"It's too soon to say what you feel. I'm still trying to come to terms with what's happened."
"I will take the advice I gave Li'an, and try not to waste this second chance I've been given."
On giving Isilme Li'an's money...
Horgus peers closely at the contracts Li'an and Ary both signed.
"This slip is for money that I owe to Li'an - since you are not Li'an the money is now mine. You'll note a similar clause... here... that states in her death the money goes to me." He hands the slip back to Isilme. "Everything checks out here, though," he says, giving Ary back her 200 platinum in full. "Ms. Bishop, if you ever need a job you know I would always love your service."
Ary and the crusaders help to move her stash of longswords and carefully wrapped holy symbols onto the wagons.
------
With Markus...
Aema's eyes light up but Fenna keeps the wand out of her reach for now. "This isn't a toy, Aema!" Fenna scolds. She glances at Markus appreciatively. "Thank you so much!"
-----
"I do not understand what this all means," Ehren finally admits to the others, still clearly downcast, but demonstrating better control of his emotions than before, "I don't want to believe that Li'an's death was meaningless. Isilme... she is here for a reason, just like the rest of us. Perhaps bringing her here was my purpose all along."
Ary shakes her head to Ehren. "You've got a lot more purpose than resurrecting a sword accidentally, trust me. I still have a pair of working arms." she gives him a grin.
"Well... it's still Fen'wen's body, yeah? It's kind of a confused point... and... she kind of has all the stuff that belonged to Fen'wen. Do you have anything in there for next of kin?" Ary asks, head tilted.
"Also... what can you tell me about Estrod's house? Any places where he could have used more maintenance or security?" she asked, "We're being told to head in, and make sure any cultists inside are routed. Did Estrod have anything you'd loaned him you'd like us to bring back?"
Ary would move to interrupt Not-Fen'wen and Avi's conversation, being careful not to eavesdrop.
"I have several things I'd like to talk with you about on the way back, Avi. You're free to listen in, Wen'Fen. We need to debrief you along the way, anyway," she said, turning her attention back to Avi "I really need your expertise on a ton of things, because... I really need to get things right. I need a crash course on Ley Lines... because what you said about him using the Ley Lines scares me a great deal... because if that's anything like dumping oil into a river... that might be how the Wound spreads, yeah?" she says quietly. "If I remember right, we're down to roughly two-hundred Crusaders who are working with Irabeth." she says, with a frown. "Nerosyan still stands. But it was hit hard. We're expecting reinforcements from out that way, and its wardstone is fine. So the barrier is weaker, but it's holding." she explained, then quickly transitioned.
"Likewise, I need everything you can tell me on Invidiak, and spare me none of the details. Most importantly, I need a surefire way to protect a little girl from one, and I'm willing to spend a lot of money to do it."
"Finally... I'd like to know what sort of things you've heard about the Tower of Estrod. I know you've been keeping your eye on the nobility, and you likely noticed something strange about him."
Isilme smiles as she listens to Horgus rattle off why she cannot give her Li'an's money. She cared little about the money herself, but denying something through contractual trickery incensed her greatly. Not waiting for someone else to step in, she plied her skill in wordplay to convince the man to do otherwise.
"Truly you are a master of contractual knowledge, Horgus is it? I cannot fault your logic in your decision, and certainly it is your right to keep the money if you so choose. But think how many would come to admire you if they heard that you generously donated that money that had belonged to a member of the crusaders back to the group which had accompanied her, so that they could put it to use in the defense of Kenabres. Surely the gain in reputation from such a deed would be worth far more than keeping the money to yourself."
...Speaking of blessings and friends, I'll have to be right back." Markus says, before he takes his leave of the little powwow and goes to see Isilme and Aravashnial. He addresses Isilme. "Okay, I... have a couple of things to say to you. First, I'm sorry about the suspicious I felt when you awoke. We'd just been dealing with possession, and...well, you know how it is in Mendev with possession. I'm glad Liotr wasn't here." He thinks for a moment and then explains, "Liotr is an inquisitor, here in Kenabres. He wouldn't have taken this well. Maybe you ought to steer clear of him, or pretend that you're Li'an when he's around."
"Okay, the second is that despite your existence sealing Li'an away from us forever, I'm glad you're here. With so many dead, it's hard to keep going unless you count the living. And if you count yourself as an ally, then you're a blessing."
"The third is more practical. I wanted to explain the situation to you. About a week ago, a balor lord attacked Kenabres with an army. You can see the results around you if you peek over Horgus' wall - the city has been completely destroyed, with thousands dead or missing. Only a few hundred men and women remain accounted for, within a fortified inn called Defender's Heart. We're going back there now, but we're not going to stay - we're on the way to the Tower of Estrod where we believe we're going to find cultists of Baphomet."
Markus fixes Isilme's golden eyes with an intense orange stare throughout his whole speech. He's not being sentimental, or emotional, but rather serious. He does, however, have a softening in his cheeks or thereabout - he feels great empathy for Isilme's situation. "We'd appreciate your help, if you'll have us. And we'd understand if you wouldn't - we're just as responsible for Li'an's death as you are. You gave everything to save her and we let her die. We'd understand any resentment."
Horgus is distracted from the contract talks by random questions about Estrod. "Estrod was a... historian, right? I don't know much about him. That ridiculous tower of his is an eyesore, though. I hope that the demons destroyed it."
He glances back at Isilme, surprised at her eloquence. "Intriguing! You are a different person, aren't you? I believe that my reputation is just fine, thank you very much, but I suppose I can't shy away from an investment opportunity to clean up this city." He allows her access to Li'an's 100 platinum.
----
Aravashnial with Ary...
"On the Ley Lines... perhaps you'd be better serviced on asking Ehren? My knowledge on the ley lines is limited - I understand that they are massive fonts of magical power that travel inside of the planet and even branch out into the cosmos of the other planes. I know that the menhir stones, those druidic artifacts from which the wardstones are built from, tap into that energy. I'm not sure what the menhir stones are actually capable of, but the wardstones gain the magical energy they need to create the wardstone field through the ley lines."
He frowns. "Only druids really seem to understand how to harness the ley, and they aren't keen on sharing their knowledge with other magical scholars. As for the Storm King, I honestly have no idea what he is planning. I don't know what the ley lines are capable of, but it can't be good, otherwise he wouldn't still be trying."
"Only two hundred in the city?" Aravashnial chuckles darkly. "This... wardstone gambit must be important to them, if they haven't yet crushed such a pitiful force."
"Purging a shadow demon is... divine territory. Perhaps you should ask a crusader? I understand that the Empyreal Guardians have developed special procedures to exorcise demons. I also believe that they've developed a ritual that they use to exorcise demons. However, you would need powerful spellcasters to pull it off to begin with. Shadow demons, have a trick though - they're weak to sunlight in their true forms. They don't survive long in it."
On the Tower of Estrod, Aravashnial has this to say - "Estrod was a historian... he died under... peculiar circumstances a few years ago. His tower used to be like something of a library - it houses one of the finest collections of history of the Mendevian Crusades anywhere, and was open to access by scholars through a petition. But when Estrod passed away, it became closed off to the public. It seems like an ideal cultist lair. I hope they haven't defaced the collection," he concludes, thoughtfully.
After handling that, she returns to Aravashnial and listens as Ary addresses them both. "Please, call me Isilme. I think I understand Fen'wen to be your name for Li'an, 'sword maiden' yes? Isilme is similar, it's 'moonlight' in elven, it was given to me by her father. To refer to me by her moniker reversed is... unpleasant? If you would prefer to call me something other than Isilme, you're welcome to, but please don't call me Wen'Fen." She otherwise keeps quiet, allowing Ary to question Aravashnial without interruption.
"I understand," she says to Markus as he comes over. She thinks for a moment, trying to remember if she recognizes the name. "I will take your advice to heart, even if I would prefer not to pose as Li'an."
"Thank you for the explanation of the situation. It is sad to see Kenabres like this." she says sincerely to him.
Frowning slightly at Markus's implication that they were partly to blame for Li'an's death, she replies, "I doubt Li'an would want you to blame yourselves for her death. What is it the Iomedaeans say? Something about honoring a sacrifice freely given? Also, I suspect that Li'an never told the story of the day her father died. She was led down this path to her death by the oath I extracted from her in exchange for her life that day. If I hadn't, she might still be alive today, though she might never have come to know you all. I cannot know whether the choice I made in asking that she devote herself to the crusades was the right one, but I can see that same oath through to fulfillment. It's the only thing I can do for her now." It's clear she's troubled by the situation, but is firm in her resolve to aid the group.
Ary nods slowly. "Sorry, I figured you might have studied ritual magic or something, but yeah, I can see how it's mostly druidic or divine. So I need to find a cleric or paladin to make sure I know how to deal with the Invidiak... or possibly Hrut's boss." Ary says, chewing her lip, before looking Hrutwards. "Or maybe I could start trying to figure out what all this martial tradition nonsense is about." she says after a moment.
"I'm sure there are more out there; I wouldn't have ever thought to go to Defender's Heart as anything but a thief, you know? And we can hope for reinforcements. Do you know anything about how things went down when other wardstones have fallen?"
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Continuing from Isilme trying to procure money from Horgus,
"Also Horgus you never state anywhere in the contract body and/or soul, so technically this vessel is owed the money, since physically she is Li'an."
Isilme winces at Hrut's reference to her as a vessel, but keeps her thoughts on the matter to herself. Even if she understood the group's pain, she didn't particularly enjoy being abused for it, or referred to as a thing. There wasn't much she could do about it, however, except to grin and bear it.
Val lingers around the group, remaining unusually quiet for the most part. Her eyes frequently linger on their new ally, but her face remains neutral, maybe even a little confused. She seems uncertain how to approach the situation anymore.
Finally, she steps up. "I don't think that you should be blaming yourself anymore than we already are. Blaming ourselves I mean, not blaming you. Because we don't blame you. Whether you asked her to swear an oath or not, she wasn't the kind of person who would just let someone get hurt right in front of her. She made her own choices. And maybe we could have helped her, or maybe that oath changed how she thought about some things, but I doubt she'd want you blaming yourself anymore than she'd want us blaming ourselves."
Isilme smiles softly at Valaria's certainty in Li'an's willingness to help others and decide her own fate. She doesn't let her eyes linger too long on Valaria, gathering that she, especially, was uncomfortable with Isilme's presence. "I'm glad to hear you say that," she responds quietly.