"My brothers live! Take me to them!"
Boroi stands stunned by the incoherent spouting of poetry and please from the allip, well after the allip's magic has worn off. The man drops his blade on the ground, falls on his knees and hangs his head; the smallest of tears stream from his tired eyes.
"So there is is nothing left of my brothers, then. My crimes are complete. I hid them for so long, and now there is now way back." He looks up at Kris. "Please, destroy that thing. Let him end his suffering, I beg of you. Laurentiu told me your order fights against the Whispering Way, so you must despise the undead; please, I beg of you, end the abomination my brother has become."
He grows quiet and sits in silence for awhile, ashen face.
"At least I still have Anya and Marek."
As if summoned by her name Anya comes downstairs. She looks with a mixture of surprise, worry and confusion at the scene: heroes with a babbling, ghostly figure in tow, her strong husband weeping on the ground, and a woman of shadow playing in the sun with a Kayal boy.
For all of this, she holds her poise gracefully, although her body shakes a little. As a child of Nisroch, one can only imagine her to be resilient to a certain amount of bizarre. "By the blessed shadow, what is transpiring? Stepan, why do you weep? Will someone please explain this madness to me?"
|
Were Kris to not wear her hood, as per disguise, they would have shown a moment of surprise. "I completely forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me."
Kris nods in the general direction of the half-orc, "We will handle these direct matters, though we must keep ourselves separate of the Chosen's* future as much as possible. I trust you know what all to confess to, Lord Boroi."
|
"Lady Anya, your husband has been betraying his family in the name of power, and the recent "disease" was payback for refusing to honor his bargain. That spirit was his brother, the other already truly dead. Before he died, though, one of his brothers sired a half-blood child. That young boy actually has more of a claim to the position your husband holds than your husband does."
Anya's shaking increases and she turns a little pale in warm rays of the afternoon sun. She is the quiet for several minutes. She looks repeatedly at her husband, and then at the boy.
"Stepan, this half-blood speaks the truth regarding your brothers?"
The ashen-faced man looks up at his wife, and nods in assent.
The woman gets a stricken look in her face. "It would be best if you could produce some documents to substantiate your... bold claims. Yet I see my husband's face, and I see yours, and believe you."
She leans against the wall, as if faint.
"Suddenly I find myself a pauper Baroness married to kinslayer and nursing his disenfranchised son. I thought your Order was a blessing in disguise; now..."
Anya walks up grabs Chuurock's arms, pleading.
"Please, I beg of you. If the town were to learn of my husband's misdeeds, they would murder him, and perhaps Marek and myself in their anger. Who would blame them? Their sons and daughters dead on account of his bargains and misdeeds. Nor would they harbor any love for his successor." She gestures towards Sorin. "The boy may have claim, but I have seen the folk of this town. They bear no love towards the Kayal; placing one in the position of Baron could only lead to violence. Please, let this secret stay buried, and take the boy away. My.. my father could foster him, and the boy could do well for himself in Nisroch. Please." Her blue eyes seem to well with tears, and her voice quavers in desperation.
|
"The only reason the townsfolk are hostile is because of poor leadership. Ever since Stepan barricaded himself away, it's been martial law down there. If he would man up and the be a leader, he can steer the people. He can probably start by allowing the kayal back into the manor. More than just the houndsman. Lead by example, lead by force, just lead! And, m'lady, if I may say so, it may fall to you to start if he doesn't resolve himself soon."
|
|
"Baldwyn is wiser than he may first appear, milady. I will personally sponsor the kayal lad with my Order should your father be unwilling to raise him. He seems a promising youth, and my own mentor did the same for me a number of years ago. There is no sense trying to change the order of things in an instant, but I DO ask that you try, as sir Baldwyn here suggests."
Anna gets a glimmer of hope in her eyes, takes a breath and stands straighter.
"Yes, I can see clearly that certain steps need to be taken to mend this community. I swear that Lord Boroi will take the kayal back into our home and employ once the plague has abated." She speaks of her husband in distant tone, as though he were not there.
"You can take the boy away, then?" She looks out the door at the shae and the kayal, who remain outside enthralled with the profusion of color, light and warmth of this alien world. "Perhaps it would be best if your order took both him and his "unique" friend as charges. I am sure my father would have no end of headache trying to keep the two safe, with his already difficult political position. He cannot stay here; even without the fear of the townsfolk it seems my husband cannot be trusted in matters of blood."
Anna turns her attention back to Stepan, a frown on her face. "Stepan, tell me now what secrets you have been keeping from me. All of them, otherwise I will be forced to ask these fine folk to escort Marek and I to my Father's residence."
Stepan yields up his confession in a weak monotone voice, confirming his previous revelations: his deal with Nicasor, the betrayal of his brothers, the midnight mirror, the true source of the plague. Anna looks weary after the revelations. She turns to the Pathfinders again.
"I would offer you hospitality again but I believe it would be best if you leave. I will happily to pay for your return passage, and to give you a sum for the care of the boy. And... my thanks. It seems you have done a great thing for this town, although they may never fully appreciate it, I am sure you will be remembered fondly." The pale woman hugs herself and smiles weakly at the six.
Sarenrae shines brightly on Karpad. Outside, in glowing light, Shandor's figure can already be seen growing smaller as he walks past the Chandlery on his way to the inn. The day beckons warmly.
|
|
As they depart, Baldwyn looks genuinely satisfied at the outcome. "It probly's better we leave. Seems there're some private matters to see to." Leaning in towards Anna, "Keep the baron on the straight. Hell, maybe take charge yourself. Let the townsfolk grow to love ye' and they can deal with Stepan all they want, heh heh heh. Anyway. Baroness." He finishes with a nod and casual yet sincere salute before exiting to the welcome warmth and sun.
"So. Who's up for a pint?"
|
|
The Faith of Grim Harvestman has few tenets, though one common trend is to let things fall as they may. Some find it best to push along painful accidents, but that's what separates Kris from the more bloodthirsty kin.
Kris leaves with the last group, with only a single comment to Anna. "Doing great things rarely comes at little cost." Finding the outcome in a fragile state (and one less dependent upon the stranglehold of a god,) she is pleased and drinks with the group.
Epilogue
Over the next few days, growth of Tallowthroat cases in Karpad wanes to a halt, thanks to the actions of the Pathfinder. With the lack of new cases, Priest Radu Miklos makes progress in curing the surviving townsfolk, subjecting his wretched faithful to Zon-Kuthon's excrutiating rites of purification. Karpad appears to be saved.
Before the six begin their return journey, Gavril the houndmaster finds them, and thanks them for finding the body of his beloved mistress Irini. Not wishing to live in a town of bad memories, he accompanies the the Pathfinders on the boat as far as Nisroch. On the way, he tells the six that the Boroi's quickly (and quietly) moved to execute the imprisoned Shae left by the Pathfinders, fearing for the political stability and safety of their family should the Shae escape.
Manar is silent for several days after she learns of the fate of her father, but as the group reaches Nisroch and eventually Absalom the woman of shadow opens up again with endless questions about the outside world. Both Sorin and Manar prove to be eager charges, taken with the world of light, heat and color. Neither makes mention of the vendettas of their predecessors. Manar proves to have a keen mind; like a sponge she absorbs every odd fact someone is willing to share with her.
The Society settles both outsiders in Abaslom, and from time to time the two visit the Grand Lodge. Eventually, young Sorin applies for, and is accepted into, the Pathfinder Society - one of their more unusual recruits, but one particularly skilled in information gathering and subterfuge. Manar stays with him until he grows to adulthood, but then wanders wide in her explorations. The last you hear of her travels, she has disappeared delving into a supposed opening to the Shadow Plane (in the Blackrose Museum, no less!).
Lady Anna Boroi writes a letter some two years later. She explains that Karpad has roughly returned to the status quo from before the Tallowthroat Plague, with the economic situation of the Kayal slightly improved. However, she then goes on to explain how a strange thing is happening: no more Kayal are being born. She mentions how Stepan theorizes a link between the broken mirror leaking shadowstuff and the Kayal births. She thanks you again for your efforts in saving her family and holdings.
With the mirror gone, the Kayal population slowly dwindles in Karpad. Given the long lives of the Kayal it takes several generations, but Karpad eventually becomes a human-only town.
What of the six? Open roads go on forever, and there are always new paths and new secrets to find. Their chronicles, of these and other adventures, become easy enough to find years later. Every young lass and lad with a heart for adventure reads them, and wonders if they will ever destroy an artefact, explode a plane, save a town, or perform other legendary deeds...