Joanna looks as if she's about to say something when she hears Teldon approaching. She closes her mouth and just sits there quietly.
No, there's more to it than being like a child. He must hate me. he thinks that I want to kill him, even when I-- or did I? Did I threaten to kill him?
She looks at her hands, and sees the blood that had stained them.
What good is a shield that can't protect? Iomedae, what good am I?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"You misunderstand me..." Teldon says. His eyes are full of tears but his tone is not at all accusatory, sounding more like a teacher explaining a lesson... "I do struggle with emotions; that part you have correct. But I had no attachment to that plan. It was one possible option out of three that I listed. I even said when I listed it that I knew it would be unpopular... the only reason I even included it in my list was because, while it may have been unfair for Gravendale, it actually probably would have had the most positive lasting impact on the town as a whole. But I wasn't surprised or hurt that it was not anyone else's preference."
"The thing that upset me is Joanna's ongoing pattern of threatening to take up arms against me in defense of people who are trying or have tried to kill us. We do see the world very differently but when we disagree I either try to explain my point of view or keep quiet and she threatens violence to get her way."
With the tears now rolling down his flushed cheeks, the exhausted young man's composure starts to break again... "When you foolishly charge off into danger with no consideration for your own safety or the safety of others, I follow you, even though its a terrible tactical decision that endangers my life, because I'm trying to be your friend and keep you safe. I've fought beside you, bled beside you, and it means nothing to you. No. Briana, I love you, but about this you're wrong- if she could tell her allies from her foes she wouldn't still be taking every available opportunity to remind me that she would gladly fight me on their behalf."
He sighs remembering that there isn't really anywhere in Viorec's house where he can go to get away, and that leaving the house right now would be a very poor idea... so he simply sits down on the ground next to the door and begins wiping away at his tears.
It has been a rough time for everyone, and for you all even more, because you lost a dear friend in Nalathi. I was just beginning to know her, and already liked her.
Arsith looks at Teldon and Joanna, and says calmly
Yes, we have our differences, our opinions. Let's put them aside for now. It's neither the time or the place. Let's remind what bring us together, not focus on what could separate us. It's because we fought side by side we are still alive. It's because we appreciate each other, because we are able to trust each other in times of need, despite our respectives point of views, that we prevailed against Ghaunder. We've done mistakes, errors, and we will do some again. Maybe some of our errors will cost us dearly, as tonight, because we mourn a friend. But whatever you think...
Arsith takes Joanna's hand in her rigt hand, and drag her toward Teldon. The white haired woman takes his hand in her left hand.
We will have each other. No one should be alone. I found solace and kindness in your words, Joanna, when we talked about my lost love. I find knowledge, and courage, in yours, Teldon. There's love and compassion in each of Briana sentences, and wisdom in Ziomarra's speech. We all bring something different to the table. We complete each other, we don't compete against each other. No one can be always right. So please, take each other's hand. Brianna, Ziomarra, come with us, please.
Joanna doesn't say anything.
What could she say?
Teldon was speaking the truth. She was reckless. If she'd been more careful, paid more attention, then Nalathi might not have died.
Joanna pulls her hand from Arsith's and stands up. Slowly she walks out the door, saying nothing.
What could she say? "I'm sorry?" "I'm sorry that I'm such a reckless fool?"
Teldon was right. She was wrong. There was nothing else to be said on the matter.
Slowly she slides down the wall of the house.
It hurt. It more than anything else she'd felt, even when she was seeing her father die. Teldon did believe it was her fault, though he may not say it. He didn't believe things unless he had proof. He never had before. The others would see it. They would wonder why, and when they think back on what Teldon had said, they'd know it was her fault. It was her fault Nalathi was dead. It hurt so much, but why? Why would the tears not come?
Joanna looked up into the night sky, her eyes dull and unfocused. She was pretending, wasn't she? She was pretending she was a knight, pretending she could be anything but a foolish girl. Iomedae may have humored her before, but not now. Not ever again.
Joanna pulled the silver holy symbol from beneath her armor and shirt. It had been her mother's and given to her by her father just before he died. She pulled the chain over her head and pulled her hair through it. She didn't deserve to wear it. She didn't deserve to have it, but she didn't let go of it.
"What good am I," she asked softly as she looked up at the heavens, "what good is a shield that can't protect? What good is a broken sword?"
I wish everyone understood that leaving the house is a bad idea... I drove her out, I better bring her back... what's one more time following her recklessly into danger...
Teldon takes a deep breath and composes himself. Standing up he musters a smile for Arsith, "Thank you for trying but I don't think she has any desire at all to be my friend."
He quietly follows Jo to the door where he stands listening to her words...
"You have to decide," he says so matter-of-factly that its hard to believe he was crying on the floor only moments earlier. "You can't be a sword and a shield, they serve two separate functions. If you want to be a sword you have to accept that while you might be able to destroy the wicked you won't always be able to protect innocent. If you want to be a shield you'll need to learn to control the anger that drives you into your one woman crusades..."
He pauses for a moment watching Jo's holy symbol dangle from her hand. "I'm a very smart man, quite possibly the smartest you've ever met, but even I do not understand things on the level that the gods do... The Inheritor chose you because she knows something about you that I don't... that neither of us do, perhaps. Your failures are no reason to doubt what she knows."
"And, I meant what I said... Nalathi's death is not your fault. She wandered off alone and I didn't notice to chase her they way I'm always chasing you. She didn't recognize the need to trust and rely on each other... and even with that failure it's not her fault either- the blame rests on Kriegler and Alizna, the ones who did the actual killing."
"Now, come inside; its unwise to leave the house right now."
Nerves are frayed, tempers short and the mood in the house is less than convivial as the would-be fugitives wait... and wait...
The moon, somehow purer and more radiant tonight, is high in the sky when the soft knock at the door finally comes. Hooded figures, three of them, talk in hushed tones to Viorec... The conversation doesn't take long and, when it's done, a smile of relief on his face, Viorec turns to the friends "The coast is clear... Gravendale has demanded a curfew until things return to normal... We will not be seen"
Gathering Shel Lupescu and his children together then asking the folks outside to help with the baggage, Viorec quietly bids his home a final farewell...
He locks the front door as the last of the friends leaves, "Habit I s'pose... I'll miss the old place... But maybe I could never have seen it through the same eyes anyways? I don't know..."
Sneaking noiselessly through the village, the atmosphere over their departure a huge contrast to their hopeful arrival two days ago, the friends quickly arrive at the ferry... Where Cardzi, his boat already unmoored, nods in muted acknowledgement of the friends, "Boat's not big enough for everyone to safely cross together - Viorec, Shel and the children should cross first... The rest of you, keep a low profile until I get back".
Joanna looks up at Teldon as he comes out, she doesn't say anything. What could she say?
She gets up and walks into the house, pressing the symbol into his hands as she passes.
Joanna nods at the ferryman's words. She waits for the others to find a hiding spot before picking one for herself. Her stomach twists into knots as she waits for Cardzi to come back. What if this is a set up? What if the others ahve caught wind of what is going on? What if someone happens to see them leaving?
Paranoia fills her mind with dozens of horrific outcomes as she sits there, still and quiet.
Teldon looks down at the holy symbol in his hand and shakes his head.
well, now her question is valid... what good is she? With no sword and no faith she's just an angry little girl who doesn't like me and will distract everyone else from the mission...
He drops the symbol into his backpack and silently steps back inside, closing the door behind him.
Teldon is too exhausted, and too emotionally beaten down to protest the obviously risky plan of trusting Viorec and Shel to go first.
* * *
At Viorec's house...
Zee spends the evening brooding over her Harrow cards, laying out spread after spread and shaking her head, muttering to herself. None of you have seen her in a blacker mood.
We will wait here for you. Be careful.
Arsith seems to trust Cardzi, and let him go with his precious cargo
Teldon begins to grow impatient waiting for Cardzi's return...
The Lampblack is a wide river and, with the constant threat of discovery, the boat's passage to the far bank seems to take an age... But, in time, it slides against the riverbank and the Korzha family - with all of their baggage - step onto dry land... the broad river separating them from their lifelong home.
No sooner has the ferry emptied than Cardzi is making his way back towards Ravenmoor... and back towards the hidden friends. The moon, so bright in the sky, finally favours the nights endeavours as it moves behind a thick bank of cloud - and the village, so foul of deed, is aptly shrouded in darkness. Somewhere beyond the ruined church a dog starts to bark... an annoyed voice shouts exasperatedly at it... and, for a few heart-stopping moments, Cardzi holds his boat in position halfway across the river... but the dog stops barking, the sound of window shutters slamming tells you the person is trudging back to bed and Cardzi redoubles his efforts...
When the boat gets close enough, he calls out, sotto voice, to the friends, "Come on... Quick... Let's go". Time, maybe of the essence, the friends splash through the shallow water and clamber aboard Cardzi's vessel... Turning the boat to the west, each yard of water is a yard between the friends and danger - brought firmly into focus when the moon slips free of the clouds and picks put the ominous silhouettes of the wickermen just beyond the water mill.
Gravendale's curfew seems to have held through the night... and less than an hour after the friends left the Korzha house, they finally step on to the far bank. Cardzi, still as gruff as the day you met him, offers a hand of gratitude, "Kriegler was a bad man... A few of us saw it but who would dare to challenge the founding family? You have my gratitude".
"And you, sir, have ours," Teldon answers shaking his hand. "It's not too late to come with us... We have enough of the gold that Kriegler stole over the years in this chest for you to start over too?"
"Thankyou... But no... There are enough good folk here that we stand a chance...", nervously looking back towards the village, "Get away from here as quickly as you can, your horses are up around the bend... As are Viorec, his family and Shel..."
"Your friend is with them"
Joanna freezes for a moment when Cardzi mentions friend. Panic sets in and she races off down the path, a silent prayer that everything was alright running through her head over and over again.
No! Nonononono! All of us were over on the other bank!
Arsith doesn't event try to understand, and follows Joanna as quickly as possible
"You mean our friend's remains, correct?" Teldon asks shaking his head in exasperation. After Cardzi confirms his suspicion, he walks calmly and silently up the path towards the horses.
With a final nod of acknowledgement, Cardzi pushes his boat off towards the far bank... the trail ahead heads up a slope and around a corner - following Joanna, the friends make their way along the road. The tall corn where only two days... and an entire lifetime ago... you were 'attacked' by Applesauce, lines the side of the trail - quickly hiding Ravenmoor from sight.
Beneath the silvery light of the moon, a cart laden with the Korzha's baggage... and the friend's horses... stand waiting. Holding the bridle of the horses, the hooded figures that came to the Korzha household watch... And, as Joanna approaches, one of them throws back her hood...
...Mrs Kharvoski, a look of gratitude sweeping across her face, "To all of you... You have my eternal gratitude - thanks to you, we can lay Yve to rest... And no-one else need lose their daughter to that monster. I shall pray that Desna smiles upon your travels"
Joanna is struck speechless when she hears Mrs. Kharvoski give her thanks. She couldn't say anything, only nod her head as she stands where she had skidded to a stop.
She should have done more, done better, and here someone was giving her undying thanks.
"Th-thank you for your kind words," she says as she regains some composure and the others catch up, "though I don't think I am deserving of them."
Teldon shakes Mrs. Kharvoski's hand. "You're welcome. Keep your eyes open after we are gone, there may still be dark influences about. And, if you'd be so good as to do us a favor in return... When we get back to the city I plan to inquire if the church of Desna is willing to send a proper priest up here, would you be so good as to mention to the other townsfolk how good it would be to have one? Perhaps then they would be more open if and when one arrives..."
After receiving her answer he takes hold of his horse and contemplates riding. 'In this state riding is that last thing I want to do... Perhaps Shel could... No, she'll have Nalathi's...'
"Viorec, do any of your children ride? I'm not sure I'm awake enough to ride far..." he asks. Then turning to Briana he asks, "may I please ride with you?"
After either handing his horse's reigns to one of Viorec's children or lashing them to the wagon, Teldon climbs up behind Briana on her horse. Wrapping his arms tightly around her waist he lets his head fall forward on her shoulder so his face nuzzles into her neck. He struggles to stay awake enough to ensure that he won't fall off.
With farewells said and with the prospect of a Desnan cleric to the village vigorously welcomed, it is time for the friends to leave Ravenmoor behind. With Teldon in the saddle behind Briana and Nalathi, wrapped in a white linen cloth, placed with some reverence in the cart, two of the horses that were ridden to Ravenmoor remain riderless - the elder of the Korzha children whilst old enough to ride are far too tired at this hour. It is no big issue though, Viorec tethers the horses alongside the cart and, pointedly not looking back in the direction of the village, sets off along the track towards Galduria.
Several miles have passed beneath hoof and wheel when the first pink whispers of dawn start to appear on the horizon yet Viorec, passing the reins to his eldest so that he may snooze in the cart a while, countenances the group to push on, "It would be prudent to keep going - Gravendale will realise we are gone soon enough... And, when he does, he is like to send riders".
Joanna is silent through the night and day as they leave Ravenmoor behind. When they stop the next night, she's exhausted. In the past three days, she'd had only a couple hours of sleep, and she can barely stand when she gets off her horse. She takes off her armor and lays out her bedroll before collapsing on it and falling asleep.
Teldon drifts in and out of consciousness snuggled up against Briana as they ride. When they stop he slides off the horse and begins pulling tents out of the pack horse's saddle bags. Trying to think practically despite his tiredness, he offers, "These tents are built for two adults but they should house three if we squeeze... Briana and I would have room for one more, if she's okay with that? Shel, if you want to choose to either join us or join Joanna and Arsith, Zee could squeeze into the other tent and then there would be one tent left for Viorec and his..."
As he begins to unpack the first tent he notices Jo already asleep without one. "Well... I suppose if we leave her rest right there and one person stands guard at a time we won't need to squeeze..." Motioning towards another tent he instructs Viorec, "grab that one and I'll talk you and your boys through setting it up." Then with little pause and no segue he continues, "I'm sorry but I'll need to take the final watch."
When the tents are ready he groggily kisses Briana on the forehead and with an uncharacteristic neediness asks, "You'll join me soon?"
Teldon is already asleep in his armor when Briana enters the tent. He wakes when she speaks to Rowenna and he smiles weakly and says, "oh, how silly of me... I'll be right back..." Rising, he stumbles quickly out of the tent. He returns a moment later with a few of the salted fish from the barrel he bought before leaving Sandpoint. He drops them on the floor in the tent and, as playfully as he can manage adds, "I'm sorry for stealing your seat on the horse, Rowenna, please accept these gifts in recompense."
Having made his apology, he removes his armor and climbs into the cot with Briana. The fragile young genius wraps his arms around her and immediately begins falling back asleep. Before completely losing consciousness, though, he forces himself to mutter, "I'm sorry... my father said 'I love you' to my mother during an argument once and she did not like it... that's not how... not how I should have said it..."
"...I do though..."
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Joanna does not rest easily as the others go about setting up camp and eating supper. Every now and then, she can be heard muttering something, but the words are next to impossible to decipher, and the few snatches that aren't are too nonsensical to make heads or tails of.
A chill wind blew over the glass smooth water of the lake. The sky above was black as pitch and in the inky depths below, something glowed and flickered like dying coals, or a gateway to Hell.
Around her stood the others. Briana, Arsith, Ziomarra, and Teldon. All of them had turned their backs to her.
"What good is a broken sword," Arsith asked coldly.
"What use is a shield that cannot protect," Briana added before Joanna could reply to Arsith.
"What good is a priestess with no faith," Ziomarra asked, bitter contempt clear in her voice.
"What kind of a knight threatens her friends," Teldon asked flatly, coldly.
Joanna tried to speak, tried to explain, to apologize, but the words wouldn't come, they never would come, for her voice had gone.
Aw, poor Josephina. What's the matter? Cat got your tongue, Purred her step-mother's voice from the skies above, you should have stayed home, foolish girl. You should have listened to me.
As Joanna struggles to speak, to say anything, she tries to walk towards her friends, any of them. Tears well up in her eyes as her feet barely move. The four of them walk away from her, none of them looking back.
Oh, if only you had listened, then things might have turned out differently, her step mother says as Joanna finds herself moving of someone else's accord. I could have turned you into the envy of Magnimar, dancing the night away with suitor after suitor.
Joanna, to her horror finds herself dancing in the style normally used at the more formal balls and galas. She dips into a curtsey, using the tough, thick skirt that protected her legs down to the middle of her calves in place of the more delicate and lacy skirts that would have been worn at such an event. The late Andretti Kriegler, naked from the waist up and dressed in black gossamer, bows formally, accepting Joanna's hand, and the implied offer to dance.
It would have been wonderful, Joanna's step-mother continued as the couple danced to music unheard, A man of noble bearing and good stock sweeping you off your feet as you win his heart and leave him with no choice but to offer to take your hand in marriage.
Suddenly, Andretti and Joanna stop dancing, the young woman falling onto the surface of the lake that was as unyielding as stone.
Oh well, I suppose I should just enjoy the show seeing as you have ruined your chances of ever finding anyone but him to marry you.
Andretti moves forward slowly, hungrily. Joanna tries to back away, her hands and feet slipping on the glass smooth surface.
"Why Joanna? Why do you struggle? What have you left but me," he asks as he kneels and reaches out and grabs one of her ankles. Slowly, she is dragged to him. She tries to fight, but fear, the kind of fear that paralyzes someone, crushes her in an icy fist. Andretti pulls the boots off first, tossing them aside before pulling Joanna to him and standing with her helpless in his arms. Her feet dangle a few inches off the lake's surface as he whispers in her ear.
"I've waited, Joanna. I've waited as long as I intend to. You may have killed me but you're mine," he tells her, his breath hot on her neck.
He draws out the torment as long as he can, slowly stripping Joanna of every scrap of clothing, and leaving her pathetically trying to cover herself and silently sobbing. He roughly tosses her to the ground, taking up Nalathi's trident.
"And now, we consummate our marriage!" The cry rings out over the lake as Andretti pins Joanna down through her belly.
It was shortly after midnight. The others were fast asleep, only the one or two on watch awake as the coals glow in the fire pit that had been dug out. All is quiet.
Joanna's scream of agony tears through the night air, startling animals and humans, both awake and asleep. The scream is followed by the broken sobs of a young woman frightened out of her wits. She lays curled up on her bedroll, her clothes and hair soaked with cold sweat. The only sound or movement she makes are those from her sobs.
The next morning, the others awaken to find Joanna up and ready to go. She doesn't eat anything, claiming she's not hungry. Those that look at her closely can see that she's pale, even for her fair complexion. They can also see that she likely didn't sleep anymore after she woke up screaming. She rides in the back of the group, a dozen or so paces behind, that day. When the group settles down for the night once more, Joanna helps set up the camp, but her movements are sluggish, and after messing up while helping to set up a tent for the third time, she just follows Teldon's orders to go find some firewood. She goes to bed that night without eating again, claiming to have eaten while riding. Once more, she sleeps outside, volunteering to take the middle watch.
Joanna lays curled up at the feet of her friends, her step mother, Andretti Kriegler, and Nalathi. All was dark, save their leering faces.
"Stupid girl, you should have known this was going to happen!"
"What kind of person threatens her friends?"
"Where is your goddess now? Why didn't she stop this from happening?"
"This is all your fault!"
"Never should have trusted you."
"You'd rather us die than the people trying to kill you!"
"All your fault!"
"What good is a shield that can't protect?"
"All your fault!"
"What use is a broken sword?"
"All your fault!"
"All your fault!"
"All your fault! All your fault! All your fault! "
Joanna covers her ears against the rising chant, but it still comes, louder and louder. She feels as if it is inside her head, and the volume will keep rising until her head bursts like an overripe melon. She can't take it. She can't!
"Stop it! Leave me alone! All of you," she cries when it becomes too much. Slowly, she looks up, realizing the chanting, and those around her, are gone. The pain though, that is still there.
"Momma, Papa, why does it hurt so much? Why," she begs softly as she curls up once more. But something makes he rlook up again, her mother and father stand over her, looks of concern and love on their faces. She reaches out to them, but as she does, they crumble into nothing.
"They are dead," Nalathi says coldly. Joanna turns to find the little gnome standing over her, her eyes glazed over in death.
"Their bodies have crumbled to dust," she says again, to her right. As Joanna looks, she sees another copy of the gnome sitting next to her.
"They are dead," the chant comes, only from two at first, but then from more and more voices, all of them Nalathi's. Dozens of grey hands grab her and pull her below the surface as the chant rings out. Joanna can't breath. She can't fight. She can't escape. All she can do is wait for the end as the pressure of the water crushes her.
Those on the first watch see Joanna come to relieve them over an hour early. Her eyes are red and swollen, as if she'd been crying. She waves off any questions. She's fine is all that she will say. She stays up through the night, not even bothering to wake those taking the last watch. The day that follows is much like the one from before. Joanna refuses to eat, and rides behind the others nearly a dozen yards back. The last night before they are to arrive in Galudria, Joanna doesn't bother laying out a bedroll, staying up through the night keeping watch.
By the time they arrive in Galudria, Joanna looks worse than she did after the fight against Natalya and the Tower Girls in the Underbridge. Her eyes are narrow and dark, and bruise-like circles line the underside of her eyes. Her skin is pale, almost as white as Arsith's hair, with a sickly tinge of green on her cheeks. Her once silky hair is a matted mess of brown. Her clothing is disheveled, slovenly really. The ghosts of the blood, filth, and sweat that had covered her that night in Ravenmoor can be seen. In short, the girl that rides into Galudria is a far cry from the one that rode out over a week ago.
Take some rest, Briana. I'll stand watch. Sleep beside the one you care for.
answers Arsith with a smile
When Joanna screams after her nightmares, Arsith will go and try to confort the young woman, to calm her, listen to her and wipe her tears.
Every night.
The weather, starting to cool as autumn truly takes hold, holds off from raining during the journey alongside the Lampblack – the group who, other than the children, remain mostly lost in their own thoughts, make good progress and, if anyone is pursuing from Ravenmoor, it would seem that they are too far behind. For the children, the journey is one great adventure; a moonlit escape in the middle of the night, the fun of camping outdoors, the sight of the enormous Churlwood forest and then of the majestic Ember Lake all making for a level of excitement… but when Galduria, so very much larger and busier than Ravenmoor, comes into view, the children are nearly speechless…
Even though it seems like a lifetime ago, the Festival of Lights that had just started when the friends first came through is only now coming to an end. Riding through the outskirts of the town, the sights and sounds of sideshows pitching for final performance and of large tents being taken down fills the air. But of the travellers whom you met upon first arriving at Galduria, the troupe of Varisians with the blinded bard, there is no sign; the pitch where they were setting up has been vacated – and, according to the locals, has been empty for a couple of days.
Whilst the children, and Shel Lupescu, are enthralled by everything that they see, Viorec remains tense, ”We haven’t come far enough… even if they haven’t caught up with us now, folks from Ravenmoor will have cause to come to Galduria soon enough – we can stay here tonight but tomorrow, we should press on to Sandpoint”
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
During the journey, Teldon has found time to examine the Kriegler Book and, even though he has battled exhaustion for part of the trip, has managed to translate some of the earliest entries - there is more to work on, especially those passages written in Andretti Kriegler's hand but even the little that he has decoded damns the Kriegler line...
From the Kriegler Book
"...And on and on the trail led, deeper and deeper into the Churlwood. Still, Iola looked to the stars, even as the days turned into weeks, and her supplies dwindled, then ran out. Her visions spurred her ever onward, even when her boots wore through and her flesh grew thin and still- still, Desna encouraged her onward into the black woods. Her body dwindled and withered until Iola Kriegler could no longer walk, but instead merely crawled, on hand and knee, through the brush. Her clothing was torn to ribbons on the briars, and her flesh was knicked and bruised and her breaths came in ragged gasps, but still, Desna called to her... So great was Iola's love for her people and her trust in her goddess that she was willing to die in her quest to aid them, and she very nearly did.
It was then, as Iola found she could no longer will her body to move, just as the last of her life began to slip away, that the Goddess finally came to her. She had arrived at the holy place. Ravenmoor would be saved. But it was not Desna that had appeared to our ancestor; it was not a Goddess at all, at least not in the traditional sense. She was the Dancer in the Dark, an apostle of the Gossamer King. This was no messenger of Desna that had called Iola Kriegler to the Churlwood's deepest and darkest point, but the most faithful of Ghlaunder's followers. But Iola was too weak then to resist Beliandral's words, and so she was drawn in by the Dancer in the Dark's whispered promises. She could save Ravenmoor, Desna be damned!
And so for seven days and seven nights Iola consorted with the Dancer in the Dark, her withered form restored to life. Beliandral spoke to her secret words, secret prayers, and showed to her the sacred rituals that would hold back the blight. When their time was done, Beliandral sent Iola on her way, bidding her return to Ravenmoor to save her people and take the faith of Ghlaunder with her. To accompany her, she sent along two "druids," in reality the Ugothol, the faceless ones, that remain with our family to this day; in disguise, they would serve as Iola's advisors and protectors.
The Ritual of Ripening worked. Every full moon for many years after her return, Iola drew the corruptive power of the blight into herself, sucking it out of the land and the people and into her own body, where it began to coalesce and grow. Iola would not understand the true purpose of this ritual- the real reason for Ghlaunder's priestess sharing with her the only way to save Ravenmoor from the blight- until years later, when the Spawn of Ghlaunder that had grown from those very energies burst out from within her and flew away into the midnight sky. But this was not betrayal- no, far from it. Ghlaunder's scheme had given Iola and the people of Ravenmoor a true purpose. They would survive where so many villages had died slowly, every month drawing the blight out from their corrupted land and hosting it within the body of the reigning priest- always a Kriegler.
We are chosen, you see - chosen by the Dancer in the Dark to be the parents of Ghlaunder's children. The Blightspawn are born from the corruption sewn into the land so long ago, nursed within our bodies, growing fat and healthy and strong on that power until they are ready to come out into the world. We know not the purpose of these Blightspawn, but they are Ghlaunder's own blood, and it is our great honor to birth them into this world."
Teldon makes it a point not to share his translation with Joanna or Zee, for fear that it might drive them to make poor decisions. To Briana he confides, "It is exactly as I feared... there's likely at least one more influence of Ghlaunder in Ravenmoor. The book says there were two shapeshifting creatures sent to protect the Kriegler line. Alizna, I'm fairly certain, was one... its possible the scarecrow was the other, but also very possible that the other is still there hiding in plain sight. We can't tell the others about this. Jo might become even more despondent if she feels like leaving a threat there was another failure, and Zee may wish to return to finish what we started. I'll turn this all over to the church of Desna and perhaps they can send an inquisitor up there to sort things out..."
By the time they reach Galduria, a well-rested Teldon is back to his old self. As they roll past the makeshift shops and performers, he rides up next to Viorec and advices him, "When Gravendale's men arrive they'll be asking after all of us together... we should split up and stay at separate inns so that people are less likely to remember or identify us." He gives the father 5 gold pieces to secure food and lodging for his family and horse, and Shel, and to have some silver to pass out if he wishes to take the children to the festival grounds. He also gives him directions to an inn other than where they stayed on their first trip through town.
Returning to the inn they stayed at previously, he books several rooms, orders a hearty meal (and a saucer of milk for Rowenna), and schedules hot bathes for everyone (and an attendant to assist Joanna while her humors are out of sorts, if possible).
With those arrangements made, he heads to the Twilight Academy. There he takes a tour, enjoys conversing with the most educated people he's seen in months, and picks up some alchemical supplies.
After returning to the inn, he carefully inventories everything they recovered from Ravenmoor. Then he sets up the alchemist lab they retrieved and sets about crafting a potent sleeping tincture (something that will set her sleeping deeply enough that if she dreams their memory will fade before she wakes).
At dinner, while a freshly clean Joanna sits without eating he openly pours the tincture into a small glass of wine and places it before her. "Please drink this. I believe it may help you sleep."
Joanna appears for dinner looking a little better. She had changed clothes, back into something more like what she normally wears, and the bath had washed away the dirt and grime that had covered her. Her long hair was once again smooth as silk, but the color is still dull. Her eyes are still dark, almost black, and her her skin is still too pale.
She wordlessly takes the glass, but she doesn't drink. Could she try? Could she face the nightmares again? What if it did help?
"I-i'm sorry," she says quietly to Teldon as she gets up and goes to the room she'd been given a key to.
Joanna lies curled up on the bed, her back to the door. She was grateful to Teldon, that he'd do something for her even after all that had happened, but she couldn't face what lay beyond the veil of sleep again. She just couldn't!
"I don't deserve any kindness from them," she whispers to the shadows.
"You're right. In fact you only deserve their hatred," her step-mother replies from where she sits to the side of the bed. "I don't know why they didn't leave you behind after you woke them up twice with your screaming."
"You're not real," Joanna whispers as she covers her ears and curls up even tighter, "you're still in Magnimar. You can't be real."
"Oh but I am," the older woman tells her as one hand grabs Joanna's wrist and pulls it effortlessly from her ear. "Did you think you could leave me behind by running away? Did you think you could escape by not sleeping? Honestly, you foolish girl, what good are you? You'd do everyone a favor if you just curled up and withered away."
Joanna feels her hand being guided to the dagger at her hip, and her fingers being closed around the hilt. Her step-mother guided the blade to her throat, then let go.
"It would be so easy, Josephina. A single stroke and you'd never hurt anyone again. After all, if it had been you that died, no one would be in this mess, wouldn't they?"
Joanna feels her body shake, just a moment, a single moment of pain, and then she could fade away. She'd not be mourned. Her parents were dead, and why would the others mourn someone that got one of their friends killed.
"All my fault," she whispers as she begins to press the blade into her neck.
*THOK*
Joanna sits on the bed, her eyes wide and her breathing heavy and ragged. He right hand is out stretched, her fingers pointed at the wall opposite of her bed. The dagger is buried a quarter inch into the wall, the light from outside gleaming off the fittings. A small line of blood seeps up from the shallow cut on her neck, just over her jugular. Her eyes stay fixed on the dagger as she pulls her knees to her chest and begins to cry.
There was no escape. There was no way out.
Teldon frowns as Jo excuses herself. "Arsith, do you think you could get her to drink it? It should let her sleep without dreams... or at least without waking me to them, or remembering them... We have to do something- if she won't or can't sleep thing are only going to get worse."
Many many miles south of Galduria hunkered down next to the sea, Magnimar - the city of monuments - is being lashed by an autumnal storm. The wind whistling from the sea brings a driving rain and whips up a savage tidal swell that has already broken two merchant vessels free from their moorings...
...it is certainly not a day to be outdoors yet one man, tired of being cooped up away from the city he loves, has decided that today is the day he checks out of the Nereid's Kiss - and bids farewell to the medicinal care that his benefactor had bought for him - and heads back to Underbridge...
One would think that the rain, and the consequential torrents of run-off, would be enough to wash half of the rickety structures in 'the Shadow' but somehow the huts, the lean-to's and the hovels all cling on... much like barnacles on the prow of a boat. Fenster coughs in the cold rain and mutters to himself as he makes his way to the derelict warehouse that he calls home - a shambling, shuffling wreck of a man, he still feels joy when he sees his 'house', the upturned boat in the warehouse, is still there and, even better, still uninhabited.
Putting his sign out, 'LEEV A GIFT AND WATE OUTSID', Fenster waits... waits to hear the stories of the city and, for the right price, to sell those stories on...
No, I won't get her to drink, Teldon, but if she allows me to, I'll keep her company tonight.
Arsith goes to Jo's room and knocks on the door.
Jo, it's me, Arsith. Do you want me in? You've been here for me when I felt bad and alone, I'd like to be here for you too.
The figure that approaches the warehouse is tall and broad, wrapped in an oiled cloak to keep the rain off. Heavy, certain steps pound the stone in a clipped tattoo against the wind and rain, and when the figure reaches the warehouse, the cloak sweeps off to reveal a Shoanti woman, bald and tattooed, clad in leather and chain and holding herself with stoic pride.
She glances around the warehouse, frowning. It was empty? Perhaps her lead had been false. Then her brown eyes rest on the upturned boat, and the sign.
Scanning the words, she frowns, but shrugs her pack off one shoulder and rummages through it. Calloused fingers shift through coins and vials, and close around a small statuette - soapstone, carved to resemble a sleek rat. I suppose I can part with you, she thinks, placing the offering in the dish and stepping back. The carving was worth ten gold, easily.
sure... why give her something that will help when you can say things that won't... Teldon thinks with great frustration at Arsith's refusal to help. Scowling, he picks up the glass and follows her to Jo's room where he waits for the door to open...
The door swings open at Arsith's knock. Inside, she and Teldon can see Joanna curled up on the bed, crying, her eyes wide and full of fear as she looks at the wall opposite of her. Following her gaze, they see her dagger stuck into the wall, and on it's edge a bare sliver of ruby-red can be seen in the dim lighting of the room.
The young paladin doesn't seem to notice the two figures in the doorway, nor the small trickle of blood coming from the shallow cut on the side of her neck. Her whole body is trembling, from fear, fatigue, or just the shock at whatever it was that she had tried to do.
The Korzhas – and Shel Lupescu posing as Viorec’s eldest daughter – are staying at a pleasant tavern near the lake – the ‘Ember Vista’. When Briana arrives, Viorec is struggling to contain his children within the confines of the two rooms that he has taken – giving up as the children insist – again and again and again - upon seeing some of the fair, he sighs and asks Briana whether she would like to take a stroll with them through the town, ”We’ll have to keep our eyes open… but I doubt Gravendale would have countenanced anyone entering Galduria…”
The shows, sounds and smells of the final day of the festival fill the late afternoon air with excitement; sights that the Korzha children could only have dreamt about whilst living in the isolation of Ravenmoor – constantly pointing things out and asking to see this, eat that and have a go on the other, the children put a smile upon Viorec’s face. When Briana asks of Viorec’s plans, he confesses that beyond setting up in Sandpoint, he really doesn’t have a long term plan, ”I suppose Sandpoint would be a good start – I’ve got farming in my blood so I’ll probably look for opportunities there. ‘Course, the children are pretty excited about the big city – but I think that is somewhere to visit rather than live – you’re from Magnimar, right? What’s it like?”
At some point during the afternoon / evening, Teldon has time to further examine the chest that was taken from the Kriegler Manor – the accumulated currency, with some of the coins being more than a century old, within the chest is just short of 720 GP (when taking into account the small pouches of gemstones) yet this small fortune is of little interest when compared against the Thassilonian relics that the Krieglers were hiding. The ceremonial medallion that set the friends on their chase to the shady relic dealers of Magnimar, across Varisia and ultimately to Ravenmoor is exactly as Teldon thought it would be…
Of the other two pieces, one seems to be nothing more than a highly polished marble figurine of a rune giant (worth somewhere in the region of 1,000GP to the right buyer) yet the other piece seems to have some arcane or mechanical function. Constructed from brass and silver, the second piece is a beautifully crafted pin supporting a small scarab like device – when Teldon listens, he can hear a very subtle ticking coming from beneath the scarab’s sculpted wings…
The sound of water running from the warehouse roof isn’t loud enough to disguise the terrible rattling cough coming from somewhere within the ramshackle structure, ”Comin!!! Ol’ Fenster’s Comin!!! Just wait there a minit – be with yer in a minit”. Pushing aside a filthy tarpaulin, a rheumy-eyed wreck of a man smiles at Shadlah… Fenster the Blight…
”Information you be wantin? Always they come to me… Wantin’ to know the secrets of the streets… Well, let’s see what yer paid”, examining the statuette, fingers running over the smooth stone and lips noiselessly muttering, Fenster seems satisfied. ”Ol’ Fenster sees, Ol’ Fenster hears and Ol’ Fenster remembers… You are a lost soul, yes? Tell me, what is it that you seek?”
...Fenster, even from some distance, smells dreadfully...
...Fenster, even from some distance, smells dreadfully...
Teldon pulls the dagger from the wall and wordlessly tucks it into one of the loops of his explorer's outfit. Stepping up to the side of the bed he once again holds out the cup to Jo and softly says, "Sometimes when I get involved in reading or working on something I go days without sleeping... I have learned, first hand, that this takes a toll on the health of one's spirit... there have been times, in that state, when even the slightest disturbance has triggered overwhelming emotions... there have even been times when I began hearing and seeing things... You need to sleep and this should let you do so without dreaming... or at least without remembering your dreams by the time you awake."
Jo finally seems to notice Arsith and Teldon when he pulls the dagger from the wall. Her eyes fix on the two of them as she curls up tighter, hugging her knees to her chest.