Sol is instantly surrounded by more than a dozen beggars, all pleading for money, and pushing in on the elf. Their hands reach out, their faces twisted in pain and desperation.
Solaufyn had a silver for each of them, though it would have to end soon. He hands one to each of the starving beggars, wishing every one of them the best while eying an escape route.
"How do we do that, Sol?"
"I have not thought that far ahead yet," he replies between silvers. "We will have to give them something to be happy for. That Circus sounds like a good way to start, actually."
"The Circus is an exciting place. When I was a boy I used to sneak in to watch the horse races or a boxing match", Tanith explains.
"If you think we can help Istivin by getting involved there we should stop by and check the rules for participation."
"The circus? Having flashbacks, Boris?" He jokes towards the docile and quiet bear. "Let's do it."
Tanith laughs.
"It's nothing like that. The Circus is a big arena where Istivin holds sporting events and competitions."
"Maybe even some wrestling."
Boris grunts in approval.
"Oh. Then you two should fit right in."
"There's no greater glory in the Brawler's eyes than an honest competition pitting strength against strength and skill against skill."
"They have archery contests on occasion as well. You should give it a go. You're the best archer I know."
Tanith wades in, clearing a big enough path for Sol to step out.
"To the Circus, or should we find a place to stay first?"
"I wonder why I don't see the Church of Pelor here doing more to help these poor souls. I know that simply giving away money to beggars isn't going to solve anything, but if it's hope these people need than the Shining One can bring it to them."
Mortifice ponders the idea of the circus for a moment. Perhaps if a servant of the Shield Maiden can earn some acclaim in the games, people will turn to Her for protection.
"Why don't we check out this circus? Once we're signed up, we can find an inn."
"Aren't I the only archer you know?" Flynt laughs.
"Istivin has always had it's share of poor", the big Kordite says in response to Mortifice. "I'd imagine churches like yours are busy all over the place helping people get their lives back together after the war."
Tanith considers Flynt's question for a moment.
"I suppose so", he answers with a laugh of his own.
"Follow me. I'll show you the way to the Circus. Not that you'd need a guide, the place is huge. It's the second biggest building in the city."
"Lead the way."
"Lead the way."
"The second-biggest building? I am glad we are starting there. I will say now, though, that competing, especially in hand-to-hand combat, is of no interest to me."
"If you're not going to compete how do you plan to stir the people's spirits?", Tanith asks in almost wounded disappointment.
"You're not so bad with that blade of yours", the big Suel says motioning at the longsword at Sol's hip. "You'd be a deal better if you'd let me help you build up your strength!"
"B'sides it's all for fun. People in the Circus rarely get hurt."
Solaufyn chuckles. "I have something different in mind. The Keeper's reputation had to spread somehow. I am certain that I can help spread yours more quickly than it would without my help."
"So you're going to be a promoter? Can you give us an 'M?'"
Solaufyn looks puzzled. "A what?" he asks.
"An 'M.' You know, it's a letter of the alphabet. You're always pouring over that spellbook, so I assumed you could read."
The elf seems totally lost now. "How does a letter of the alphabet help with promoting your reputation as Circus combatants?"
"Well, uhh... If you spell out my name all dramatic-like, it'll get people to recognize me. Right?"
Mort thinks for a moment, as if considering something.
"Unless they're all illiterate."
"I think I'd enjoy hearing the crowd chant my name. Would anything earn more glory in Kord's name?"
Seeing the alleys and buildings of his youth, Tanith becomes a bit introspective as he thinks about how far he'd come and how different things were after he'd found himself in Kord's teachings.
"Sol, you never said what happened when you left to find your moon-knights", Tanith asks in an attempt to distract himself. "Were they able to deal with that Turrosh Mak?"
"Sol, you never said what happened when you left to find your moon-knights", Tanith asks in an attempt to distract himself. "Were they able to deal with that Turrosh Mak?"
Solaufyn smiles. "The campaign was very successful, actually. The information we found in that farmhouse helped the Knights of Luna learn about how Turrosh Mak's forces are structured. They have so far managed to prevent the hordes from rampaging across the eastern portion of the Valley. Right now, they are holding the line along with the dwarves of Ulek. I sense that the fighting will take quite awhile to see through. The warlord Turrosh Mak has managed to cultivate, oh... eighty years of built-up hatred, and even worse, eighty years of breeding, and bring all of it against civilization?"
"I have fought with them a few times, helping out at important points. Perhaps once the giant problem is overwith, the King will be able to properly assist Ulek, as well as the Knights of Luna."
Tanith listens to the elf's story and nods.
"It was good of you to come back. I can't imagine fighting all those years without your magic, but why return here to Sterich when your people were involved in a war of their own against this warlord?"
"...why return here to Sterich when your people were involved in a war of their own against this warlord?"
He chuckles. "Simple... I was invited. As were you, I understand?"
Tanith laughs.
"That's good enough reason for me."
"That's why I came back. And I'm a little more concerned with women than with glory. Unless that glory leads to women of course. But some good PR work would be helpful in both our causes."
"I've found that the two often go hand in hand", the big Suel says with a grin.
"How was Nyrond Flynt? You don't talk about home much."
"I left one civil war, came back, and there was another one. To top it off, goods and weapons are scarce because of it. The only things to buy are bucklers made of Darkwood and shirts of Mithral. I had to detour into the Pale to re-outfit myself. That was fun...."
"And what did you mean with that whole eat like a bull thing? Bulls eat grass, not meat. I still don't get it."
Tanith laughs at Flynt's confusion over the subtleties of the Brawler's teachings.
"The lesson is that you must eat a great deal, like a bull, if you hope to be as strong as one. Not necessary eat what a bull eats."
"Are things in Nyrond so boring that your people turn to warring with each other that often?", the Kordite asks in disbelief. "Does your kingdom not have a king strong enough to keep his people united?"
"You've been to the Pale? Are things as rigid there as rumors tell?"
"Oh I get it now."
"I don't think its boredom. It has something to do with one of his sons being greedy for power or something. And I think that some people just want change so that's why they revolted along with him. But change just for change's sake is dumb. As far as the Pale goes, its actually quite nice. A little cold, but if you're not a priest that worships a non-Pholtan god, the authorities leave you alone. Mostly."
Tanith nods.
"Is everything in the Pale so cold? Are its women frigid?", the Suel asks with a grin.
"Not with me at least." Flynt returns the grin.
Tanith laughs and claps his friend on the back again.
The entrance to the Circus was just around the corner...
A civil war... followed by another civil war? For change's sake?
Why do humans turn on each other so easily? Solaufyn wondered to himself. Is it simply in their nature to betray and murder each other?
Perhaps it was.
"You've just reminded me, Flynt," he added to their conversation. "I met the loveliest lady in the Glades of Shadows Lurking, and she could certainly be called 'cold.'"
"Was she dead? Or just immune to your charms? There is a difference."
"Was she dead? Or just immune to your charms? There is a difference."
Solaufyn seems shocked by the thought. "No, of course she wasn't dead! And to be honest, I did not actually try to be charming with her.
"She was an Unseelie, actually. A faerie of the..." he searches for the right descriptor. "Of the unpleasant variety. They are almost always best left alone. As I said, she was lovely, as she was a nymph, only a nymph whose home was a rather chilly pool of water."
"Nymphs! I've only heard the legends. Is there any truth to them?", Tanith asks with growing interest.
"Unseelie?"
"So you had a chance with a nymph..." Flynt seems to be at a loss for words.
Solaufyn nods. "Of course they exist. Though, to be honest, I did encounter them while in the Fey Lands, so I can't entirely speak to the truth of that. Whether or not the denizens of the Fey Lands exist depends on your point of view, to be precise. I'll have to detail it some other time, though. This topic is better discussed in front of a warm fire, over drinks."
His gestures indicate that he is summarizing now. "But I can say, from my point of view, that yes, they do exist. And I guess I did have a chance with that one, though I didn't want to take it.
He stops summarizing when he goes into the topic of Unseelie. "Now, this particular nymph, I am pretty sure she was Unseelie. In our world, we like to label certain things as 'good' or 'evil.' Well, that doesn't quite apply to the fey. They have 'Seelie' and 'Unseelie,' and those terms tend to mean..." He searches for the right word. "Pleasant and unpleasant, that sounds about right. The nymph, she probably had fangs or really sharp fingernails or something."
"That doesn't sound so bad. I've certainly laid with worse", Tanith says with a booming laugh. "And some of my best friends have fangs."
With that last part, he glances at Mortifice and cocks his head in confusion.
"Don't orcs usually have big tusks?", the Kordite says while jutting out his lower jaw for effect. "Where's yours Mort?"
Mortifice had only been half paying attention to the conversation up until this point; tales of women and of the fey do little to pique his interest.
At the mention of orcs and fangs, he gives Tanith a pained expression.
"Orcs," he began, "are vile and wretched beasts who I would prefer not to associate myself with."
He thought for a moment about leaving it at that, but the question remained unanswered.
"I removed them myself.""
Tanith's eyes go wide.
"Removed them? Yourself?!"
Tanith touches his jaw unconsciously.
Mortifice nods.
"It wasn't so bad, really. I heal my own wounds, you know?"
"True, but the pain must have been intense. I've always known you were tough but that's rough."
"Well Kord does teach us that pain often follows the road to growth."
Mortifice shrugged. "A few minutes of intense pain to avoid a lifetime of misery? I'll take that any time."
"Your Kord, though. He sure does have a lot of teachings. Some of them sound like they could be from the Shield maiden, though her words tend to be more straightforward."
"The Brawler is a god of might and valor. Some believe the ways of his faith are crude and they are, for the uninitiated", Tanith says.
"The subtleties of his teachings can be difficult to explain to those that do not understand the true value of strength."
"Ahh, yes. I certainly agree that there is value in being strong. Mayaheine teachers us that we should use our considerable strength to help defend the weaker among us."
"And Kord, that that a leader must be strong enough to defend the weak."
Tanith smiles, "Our faiths aren't so different."
"I'm not well versed on faith, but it reminds me of something. I was a scrawny kid growing up. Got picked on a lot. So my pop took time out of his day to help me get stronger. I used to ask him why me as opposed to my brother who was way bigger than me. You know? Why waste time on me? He said it was because the strong man who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength, of the value of power. He said that i would appreciate the effort more than anyone. So I understand more than you think."
"That may be", Tanith says as he claps Flynt on the back.
"You never said you had a brother."
"Yea, I don't talk about him. Technically he's younger, but he was always bigger than me. It's a little embarrassing. I mean, getting saved by my "little brother" is not something I'm proud of. I'm just glad he wasn't a jerk about it. You got any siblings, Tanith?"