Straehan shrugs, willing to go next. "Straehan S Straehan... I'm a shepherd." He chuckles, "You people are so serious! OK. Just 'Straehan', I'm from a parallel dimension to this one. I don't know where I grew up save that it was on the Mainland. I was a courtesan, possibly retired. I am a sorcerer and scholar. In that other world, I believe I was bent on finding and killing the dragon that fathered me. I have no idea if that goal brought me here. I vaguely recall books and private libraries. I'm fairly certain I liked alchemy. I've started studying it recently and it seems very familiar."
Findelgwing pouts and she asks helplessly, "Why Fin?"
"That question, my dear Fin, has a simple answer. You possess the two things that most men can't resist." He waits for her curiosity to be fully piqued before providing the answers while enumerating them on his fingers, "You are mysterious AND you appear unattainable."
He gives her a broad grin, "What man can resist that much temptation?"
Fin contemplates Straehan's words. While it was to some extent comforting to know that it wasn't simply her height, or looks, or hair, she wondered...
She frowns deeply and points to Ushari with her thumb.
Gads, I hope not. If it is, Priyya is OUTTA there!
Aquan #1
"You're still the new girl in a small town. When we get to a bigger city, you'll draw less attention."
Aquan #1
Straehan tries to not smile, "Fin, if I understood the minds of all women, I'd be a very rich man. You'll have to ask Ushari that question yourself."
Straehan tries to not smile, "Fin, if I understood the minds of all women, I'd be a very rich man. You'll have to ask Ushari that question yourself."
Ushari gazes off into the distance with an unfocused look in her eyes, a half smile playing on her face. The others see her gaze wander off towards the forests and wilds, where a certain guide has been known to wander.
Her focus is drawn back to the others, as she hears her name mentioned. She responds dreamily, "Ask me what?"
Ugh! Straehan thinks If she starts pulling petals off a daisy saying 'he loves me... he loves me not' and sighing heavily I may have to kill myself. Better end this line of questioning right now...
"How do you fit in time to pray and meditate with nearly all of your waking hours dedicated to mooning over some boy or another?" It's a teasing rebuke.
Findelgwing wisely stays silent and merely nods when Straehan asks his question.
"How do you fit in time to pray and meditate with nearly all of your waking hours dedicated to mooning over some boy or another?" It's a teasing rebuke.
Ushari laughs, "Simple, my deity allows me to do both simultaneously"
Jayse listens to the light exchange, enjoying the simple comfort of companionship. When the conversation quiets a bit, he speaks up, though his eyes focus on his thumbnail picking at a splinter of wood on the table. "And then there's Jayse. From what Isolde said, that is my name, and it feels right. Unlike you two, he says making eye contact with Straehan and Fin, "I'm from this world, though my memories show a place very unlike where we are now. And Isolde's words painted a very different picture as well. Not to mention my skill-set."
Jayse draws a tally on the table-top in water with one finger, "My training has turned my mind and body into a weapon. From my knowledge of unarmed and unarmored combat to the blade I can manifest at will, this seems to be the case. When I see people, my instinct is to size them up. To recognize exploitable weaknesses. I am a weapon of some sort, it seems." He adds a second tally to the first, "I'm from the Bolline Islands. I have memories of training on white sand beaches with cold climates and swimming in cold salty water. But the reputation of my people - at least on the Mainland - is a reputation of fear and mystery. Telepaths. Secrets." There is a pause and he watches you all, measuring your reactions to his next word. "Killers. Of some sort, anyway."
He sighs, wiping away the two marks on the table with his forearm, "And this says nothing of the shipwreck. I don't remember being on the boat at all. Did we know each other beforehand? Were we on the same boat by design or by happenstance? Plus, the whole 'how am I friends with people from other worlds and planes' thing."
He stops and thinks for a few minutes, "Isolde said something that touches on that though. When telling me about my stone," and he holds his hand up so the stone floats in front of everyone over his palm, "she said it's material originates on the Abyssal plane through a connection through Oxex… on the Mainland. Oxex apparently is a transitory hole through the planes… or maybe a shifting connection to other planes. Maybe a clue as to how the two of you got here?" He shrugs, exasperation entering his voice, "Though it still does nothing to explain the 'why'."
"Straehan, can you remember anything of plane-traveling from your studies?" He laughs for a second, though you note some discomfort in his voice, "Hey, maybe you recruited me and Ushari the master-thief to off your dragon-dad…" His voice trails off, realizing this may or may not be a sore topic of conversation.
"Straehan, can you remember anything of plane-traveling from your studies?" He laughs for a second, though you note some discomfort in his voice, "Hey, maybe you recruited me and Ushari the master-thief to off your dragon-dad..." His voice trails off, realizing this may or may not be a sore topic of conversation.
If the subject is uncomfortable for Straehan, he doesn't show it. It seems more like a curious intellectual puzzle for him. "With no memory of any of it, I suppose it is possible that I recruited you. Although, given our state when we first arrived, I think we'd be a poor hit team against a dragon... unless he is nearly dead or very very young. No offense meant to either of your skill-sets. I just don't see us as dragon-fighting material yet." He chuckles, "And that doesn't explain why I'd be here unless 'Dad' fled from my plane to this one. If Oxex touches my reality, it is possible that I got sucked through accidentally... and if I was dragon-hunting at the time I guess my father could have gotten snared as well. But I hope that isn't what brought me here. Chasing dragons when you've got just a couple of spells is not a winning proposition. I'm hoping the previous me wasn't that dumb."
"I learned quite a bit about plane-traveling when we got hit with that lightning from the grey lady. Is there anything specific that you want to know?"
"I don't really have any clue specifically. Just trying to jar ideas out of people."
"Reasonable. The first thing that occurs to me is to do some research when we reach Orfallen. I'd like to find out if some sage somewhere has compiled a list of the planes that Oxex transects. If it touches my plane and/or Fin's world then we have a pretty good idea of how we both arrived here. If it doesn't touch either or both... then we know we got here by some other separate means which makes our meeting on the boat even more improbable."
"It's a good idea. It'd also be a good time to look into the history of this Herald we killed. As well as any information we can find on who he's heralding for. Might also be a good chance to do a more in-depth look into any information we can dig up about the ship we seem to have been shipwrecked on."
"Yes. If I recall correctly, Thrane contacted the authorities here in Orfallen and on the isles of Aamari and Talin with no luck. So maybe we need to expand our search further. If there is some master manifest kept of all the legal boats running amongst the islands, we could at least find our boat's history. Excuse me a moment."
Straehan heads up the shingle to Thrane's house, returning a few minutes later. "So, the Shipping Guild's headquarter is on Long Lake Isle. We have a few choices.
Ushari pipes up here, "Actually, it would be better if we did the search ourselves. We do not know who our enemies are, no need to tip them off as to our intentions."
Straehan tips his head to the side, curiosity evident. "What are our 'intentions' that we need to worry about tipping 'them' off to? And who exactly are 'they' anyway?"
Ushari gives Straehan an amused smile, "Why, my dear friend Straehan, 'they' are whoever they are!" She chhuckles lightly, "As for our intentions, we are all united in a desire to find out what happened to us before we met. I would imagine if there was some agency behind this, then they would certainly be our enemies, would they not?" Her tone turns serious, as she finishes, "I just think we should be cautious here. We know the Dweller is our enemy, who knows what other servants or lackeys he has working for him?"
Once everyone has grown quiet in though, Findelgwing takes a deep breath and looks up, finally ready to explain what she remembers of her past (with Straehan's help, of course).
Translated from Aquan: 'For about the past 200 moon-cycles, it seems that Fin has lived alone on a tropical island with nothing more than its native animals and her father's sword for company. 200 months ago is when a group of pirates, whose sails bore the same symbol she saw on the Reaver ships, attacked her island. Back then, she says that she was small, still no taller than Ushari.'
She pauses for a moment, as if uncertain what to say. Looking up, at the sky, there is a momentary hit of a melancholy smile as she recalls her family. 'Her father was giant of a man, stronger than Jayse and even taller compared to how she was then as Fin compares to Ushari now. She remembers him having eyes like green jewels and a deep tan. Her mother was, a tall beautiful elf with silvery blonde hair and eyes like the blue sea. Her older sister and younger brother used to play in the sea and jungle together, they looked a lot like Fin apparently... At any rate, together, her parents fought the Reavers to protect their three children.'
Fin hesitates, her face a mask of sorrow, shame, and anger. 'The pirates were sneaky though. They must have known they would suffer heavy losses at the hands of the two. So while some of them went and kept her parents busy, the others captured her younger brother and sister, holding them hostage until the two surrendered. They had no choice... '
At this point, tears begin to flow unbidden down her pretty face and she hides her eyes with her hands, leaning heavily on the table with her elbows. 'Once her father threw away his sword, they hamstringed him and tied him between two palm trees. As he slowly bled to death, they– ... disembowled the boy and stripped and raped her mother and sister before– gods, they [i]skinned them alive!'[/i]
Fin slams the table with her fist, teeth clenched in grief and loathing. 'They set fire to everything that they didn't take. Apparently, after her father finally died, they tried to take Whoosh, it animated on its own and slew three men with lightning so they left it. The only reason Findelgwing is alive today is because she had been in the jungle gathering fruit and hid amongst the bushes. She the whole thing — too weak to help and too terrified to move.'
She finally looks up, cursing angrily at herself as she wipes the tears away. 'It seems the only reason she survived was because of her desire for vengeance. She had spent those 200 months carefully working with her mother's tools trying and rebuild the boat that her parents had built before her brother was born. It seems she always had a good memory and was able to remember the plans along with all their sea charts which she redrew herself. Most of what she has now is from a shipwreck that happened on the other side of her island near the end of that time. That's how she was finally able to finish her boat. It seems that it was much like... Mako?'
Fin points down the beach towards where she was working with Argyle and his boys. "Boat... Mako!"
'Ah, evidently she's decided to name our new boat Mako after sharks with long pectoral fins her mother taught her were not hostile. She says you can tell the nice ones because they don't cover their eyes with a film when they eat. At any rate, the last thing Findelgwing remembers was sailing north-east towards a place called Renatú. That was the direction from which the Reavers approached and the direction in which they departed after they massacred her family. It would seem that the Reavers were the first humans she had ever encountered up until meeting you two of you . She says that the reason she didn't kill you then and there was because your skin looked different somehow and that none of the Reavers were tiny women like Ushari.'
"As for our intentions, we are all united in a desire to find out what happened to us before we met. I would imagine if there was some agency behind this, then they would certainly be our enemies, would they not?"
"Would they? Let's assume for a moment you are right... that some agency erased our memories. If they had the intimate knowledge necessary to erase our memories, why not simply kill us? And if 'they' were concerned about us... why leave us together? Why not dump us on separate islands? This could just as easily be the work of a force for good. How do you know that we weren't brought here to save this village, defeat the Herald, and set on the trail of the Dweller?"
Her tone turns serious, as she finishes, "I just think we should be cautious here. We know the Dweller is our enemy, who knows what other servants or lackeys he has working for him?"
"Caution is fine but it seems the Dweller has had no problems observing you through a vision or finding us while we are all awake - given how quickly that giant arrived and the personal message addressed to us carved in its chest. Is it a dangerous enemy? Yes. Is it likely to find some advantage in discovering that we want to view shipping records? That's a different matter."
Heavy Duty Stuff...
Ushari sits in stunned silence, only now realizing the extent of Fin's hatred of the race that her and Jayse were members of. She thinks for a while on a response, and then something odd occurs to her.
She asks Straehan to translate into Aquan for her. "Fin, you are not of this world, you are from a place called...Elsemar, correct? That is where you..." She pauses, unsure how to delicately put this, "encountered the Reavers. That would have been on Elsemar, right?"
When Fin confirms this, she continues, "And yet we know there are Reavers on this world as well, we saw some of them while we were adrift. That is odd, is it not? It suggests these Reavers are not just simple pirates, they can travel between this world and Elsemar. Perhaps they know of a gate between here and your home?"
"Would they? Let's assume for a moment you are right... that some agency erased our memories. If they had the intimate knowledge necessary to erase our memories, why not simply kill us? And if 'they' were concerned about us... why leave us together? Why not dump us on separate islands? This could just as easily be the work of a force for good. How do you know that we weren't brought here to save this village, defeat the Herald, and set on the trail of the Dweller?"
Ushari nods slowly, "You could be right there, Straehan, I will not discount that possibility. Could it be related to the strange lady we encountered after we left the goblin cave?"
"Caution is fine but it seems the Dweller has had no problems observing you through a vision or finding us while we are all awake - given how quickly that giant arrived and the personal message addressed to us carved in its chest. Is it a dangerous enemy? Yes. Is it likely to find some advantage in discovering that we want to view shipping records? That's a different matter."
"I suppose so, I just have been seeing shadows everywhere recently. Who knows what the truth is really."
Ushari nods slowly, "Could it be related to the strange lady we encountered after we left the goblin cave?"
Straehan shrugs, "I don't know. Possibly."
Straehan shrugs, "I don't know. Possibly."
Ushari nods in agreement, "We should research her as well, I am curious to know more of her."
"So we check on the smaller settlements then head into Orfallen for some digging around?"
Fin's revelation
Straehan watches her for a long moment. "That's the best damn reason I can think of to hunt down and kill as many pirates as we can find. I say we do that."
Ushari nods in agreement, "We should research her as well, I am curious to know more of her."
"Ironically, we know far less and far more about her than the Dweller."
"So we check on the smaller settlements then head into Orfallen for some digging around?"
"If we're putting it to a vote, then I'd say we check out the encampments and then either continue up the coast to Orfallen or come back and head out with the cart to Colona first and then make our way to Orfallen. The first way will be quicker but the second may prove interesting as well if a bit slower."
Somehow her little brother always knows just the right thing to say and when. With a short exhale that might have almost been a laugh, Findelgwing rubs the sleeve of her bicep across her eyes and gives Straehan a melancholy smile before leaning over to give him a big hug.
Standing up, she takes a deep breath to clear her head and hoists him up onto her shoulders, his head now well over eight feet above the ground. She waves to the others and says, "See Mako!"
With that, she tells Straehan to hold on. He feels the winds suddenly begin to swirl around the tall elf and she takes off at a blistering pace.
Hoisted and carried off at speed, all he can say is, "Wha? Shiiiiiiii...."
Ushari watches Fin and Straehan take off, flyin on swift wings, it seems. At least she is happy now, it can only help soothe the hole in her heart.
She trails off after them, but is soon outdistanced. She smiles privately, and lets them have a few moments alone, apart from any other humans.
"Wha? Shiiiiiiii...."
;)
Jayse shares a smile and shrug with Ushari as Findelgwing and Straehan streak out of the building, following along at a pace the girl is comfortable with.
When they come into view of the newly-named Mako, he lets out a whistle, "It really is a nice looking boat." He raises his voice so Fin can hear, "So when do we get to take her out?
"Tomorrow, apparently. So we have a little bit of time."
During the week, while they wait for the Mako to be completed, Ushari painstakingly repairs Straehan's notebook - page by page. Pages where the ink has entirely bled are unrecoverable. The mending spell only turning them smooth and blank. Pages where blocks of the original text are still somewhat legible are made even more so by her mending spell. In rare cases, she watches the ink 'un-run' and reform letters and words, though she doesn't know their language. In the end, she is able to salvage about 30% of the book. She completes her repairs with a final spell to return the entire book to mint condition.
Straehan accepts the book gratefully, delighted at the ingenious way in which she recovered the text. He sets to reading it immediately, hoping to glean some useful answers...
U's spellcraft v DC:20
U's spellcraft v DC:20
U's spellcraft v DC:20
U's spellcraft v DC:20 Win
U's spellcraft v DC:20
Text Amount: %
Ushari walks along the street in Forestal, taking a break from her mending of Straehan’s book. Once again, her mind turns to Vargr, and how he had looked at her before. Now she could not find him as he has made himself scarce, but that did not stop her from thinking about him.
As she wanders along, a young farmboy sprints across her path, and into her. She stumbles slightly, but does not fall.
”Sorry, ma’am, dinna mean ta do that” he mutters as he runs off again.
Straehan sighs and closes his journal with a conclusive snap. He's read it, cover to cover, no less than five times. He looks at his companions. "So, I've found out a few things...
One - I write miserable poetry. Really, it is truly maudlin, terrible, crap. I'm inclined to burn those pages.
Two - I wasn't actively trying to hunt down my sire, though killing him was a long-term goal. So I don't think I hired any of you as part of a grand expedition.
Three - there is not one word, not one, about me setting out on an epic journey, traveling on a boat, heading to the islands, or showing any interest in Oxex. The last, still legible, entries have me running from a religious oligarchy in a demense called Karstaad and heading west towards a less hostile demense called Kennaquhair. It is close enough to the final inked pages that I think it highly unlikely that the missing pages will include how I got here."
He pauses briefly, "I'm forced to conclude that whatever event brought me here, it was sudden and utterly unexpected."
Ushari gives Straehan a long steady look, "If you even think about burning any of those pages, considering the trouble I went through to put that journal together..."
Once she has calmed down, she responds, "Well, we know a little bit more than we did before. Straehan, we may want to consider retracing your steps by traveling to Karstaad and heading to Kennaquhair, should we decide to head to the Mainland. In the meantime, we should check into those two demenses when we reach Orfallen. Who knows, we may find additional hints there."
She muses, "An event. Perhaps we were all transported somehow to the ship, just before it was sunk, or maybe we were sent there after it sank. But why?"
She muses, "An event. Perhaps we were all transported somehow to the ship, just before it was sunk, or maybe we were sent there after it sank. But why?"
He returns an amused look. "Or maybe there was never a boat at all... As for Karstaad and Kennaquhair, I was apparently passing through. Neither was my home and they are neighboring Demenses with differing approaches to rulership. From what I've been able to gather, they are the same in this universe. Karstaad is an oppressive religious oligarchy friendly only to humans and deeply suspicious of every other race. My sorcerous skills brought me to the attention of the Karstaad Inquisitors which seems to be the reason for my flight. Kennaquhair is largely a conglomeration of human and other races that have fled from less tolerant regions around them. A road exists between the capital cities and the area in between is mostly farmlands - so I'm not sure what retracing my steps would gain us. Besides, it isn't clear whether I was fleeing this Karstaad or my own. There may be nothing to retrace. I somewhat suspect I was in my own Karstaad, although I have no concrete proof of that."
He returns an amused look. "Or maybe there was never a boat at all... As for Karstaad and Kennaquhair, I was apparently passing through. Neither was my home and they are neighboring Demenses with differing approaches to rulership. From what I've been able to gather, they are the same in this universe. Karstaad is an oppressive religious oligarchy friendly only to humans and deeply suspicious of every other race. My sorcerous skills brought me to the attention of the Karstaad Inquisitors which seems to be the reason for my flight. Kennaquhair is largely a conglomeration of human and other races that have fled from less tolerant regions around them. A road exists between the capital cities and the area in between is mostly farmlands - so I'm not sure what retracing my steps would gain us. Besides, it isn't clear whether I was fleeing this Karstaad or my own. There may be nothing to retrace. I somewhat suspect I was in my own Karstaad, although I have no concrete proof of that."
Ushari smiles, "Well, there was certainly wreckage of a ship, at least. This we know for sure. As for the idea of traipsing all over the mainland, I am not keen on the prospect. The only reason I suggested it was it might trigger past memories for yourself. It would be a long and difficult journey, to say the least, but if we have no other choice..." she leaves the rest unsaid.
Jayse finally speaks up, "The Herald indicated that his master brought us here. Or at least he hinted that we came here for something specific... to serve some role, whether that role is for against his master is beside the point. If we were all brought here for s purpose, whether it was by the Herald's master, tha gray woman, or some as-of-yet unknown entity, then the importance of the boat is... well, less important. Though I'd still like to look into it in Orfallen. Any clue might be helpful in untangling this mess. More and more I'm thinking it's the why we're here that's more important than the how."
Ushari nods at Jayse, "Your words make sense, Jayse. Since Fin and Straehan are not from this world, it lends credence to the Herald's master bringing us together. But for what purpose?" She pauses, recollecting the final confrontation with the Herald. After a few moments, she speaks up, "He mentioned heroes and that it required heroes to awaken him. What I am wondering is if this event that brought us together caused the Herald to awaken, or whether it was the Master, or this Grey Lady, who brought us together."
"Since the Dweller wants us to leave, I doubt he brought us here just to tell us to go. Hell, if he wanted to us 'go' he could have just left us where we were - Fin and I weren't even here. I think Ushari's idea makes the most sense. We were brought here - somehow - which awakened the herald as some sort of early warning system for the Dweller. I'm not sure WHY our memories would need to be taken as part of that... but that's my best guess at the moment."
Straehan looks at Jayse, "As you said, the HOW is less important... although if we can figure that out it may tell us something of the WHO that is behind it. Assume, for a moment, that my reading of the fragments in my notebook are correct. Imagine that I was just 'snapped up' from my world and dropped here, on a boat or in the ocean, with my memories wiped. Let's further assume that the same thing happened to you folks as well... So I'm grabbed from a parallel universe, Fin is taken from another planet, and you two are teleported from distant spots on this world. That is a hell of a lot of power for anyone to wield. I'm not even sure there are any spells used by mortal casters that could accomplish all that.
And then we are conveniently dropped in a spot where we trigger the awakening of the Herald who works for the Dweller who appears to think he can kill this world. Seems a bit more than coincidental."
Ushari leans back in her chair, gazing up at the blue sky, and responds softly to Straehan, "Why US? What makes us so special?"
Straehan shrugs, "That's the key question, isn't it? The Herald said our potential must have awakened him... but who knows if that's why we were brought here in the first place."
Ushari responds, "Potential? I wonder if we are the only people with potential that would awaken an undead monstrosity, and draw the attention of a world-spanning evil force dedicated to destroying this world Miir." She smiles at her companions, and raises a glass of the Eel Tequila, holding it up to toast her companions.
"Here is to us. May we all find the answers we are looking for, and may we all grow together, in bonds of friendship, and of camaraderie."