Halcyon Harrowind's page

Halcyon accepts the gold gracefully and without counting it. "I am just glad I could help. Good luck!" She says that with such conviction that it would not be hard to imagine that she has the power to bestow luck on anyone she chooses. Nadya elects to stay behind and prepare her children for the separation that is to come.

Since there is no consensus yet on whether to wait or explore Pjalarane's Stone, I'm going to assume the group stays in the village and awaits news of Khristov's status.

Halcyon prepares two versions of the spell to remove Khristov's disease. As before, she fears her first attempt will fail so she calls on Chadali to give her luck, but the spell still fails. But on her next attempt, Khristov's fever breaks and he begins to recover his strength. He is still in recovery and at this stage cannot do much except walk slowly about, but in a few days he ought to be back to normal. "Chadali is somewhat whimsical in her blessings, but she respects persistence. It seems your friend will live. I will work on the curse over the next few days. If you want to explore Pjalarane's Stone, I suggest you go ahead. This fine weather may not hold and it will take time for Khristov to recover his full strength. May Chadali bless you all."

Before going to bed, Halcyon also offers to use a spell to predict the weather for the next 48 hours. She lights some incense, lays out some Harrow cards, concentrates for a bout a minute and says, "I see safe traveling weather while daylight persists tomorrow, but come sunset, expect some snow. The next day will be without rain or snow. The temperature will continue as it has been this week."

Note: While Halcyon has not asked for money in return for her spells, it is customary to pay for such services. Standard cost for a third level spell by a 5th level caster is 150 gp. For a spell that can fail, such as remove disease or remove curse typically half is expected in advance and the other half only if the spell succeeds. For a first level spell, the cost would be 50 gp. If you don't have the money, Halcyon is not the sort to make a fuss, but it is an important way an itinerant cleric such as herself sustains herself.

Dom nods in agreement. "What fate brings you to these lands, Halcyon? Are you from here, or did you travel here by chance?". He is a little puzzled by what he is experiencing.

Halcyon laughs gently at Dom's question. "Everything that happens to us is ultimately by chance. I was hired by a band of merchants doing trade with Irrisen but once here I decided I wanted to see more of this strange land, so I've been visiting villages around the lake."

She concentrates again, sorts through her harrow deck and selects a different card, this one bearing the words "The Big Sky," showing a man with broken shackles raising his hands toward the sun high in a clear sky while a woman still in shackles looks on.

She closes her eyes a moment and then pronounces words, this time in Vudrani, and moves her hands like breaking bonds, similar to the man in the card image.

She bows her head and sighs. "It is not to be tonight. However, I will try again tomorrow after resting. I will not leave his side until he has been cured and restored or until Chadali makes evident a different fate for Khristov. I'm sorry I was not able to help more tonight."

When Halcyon gets to where Khristov is resting, she asks if anyone has determined what his illness is. She goes on to do her own examination of the bard. To keep things moving, I'm going to assume Rurik tells her his diagnosis and what he has been doing to help the others.

She says, "I agree that you seem to be suffering from filth fever, an affliction that is all too commonly spread by the undead when they attack. I will need to meditate to draw from Chadali the wisdom to cure you. Rest now and I will be back."

Halcyon sits at a table and deals out a spread of harrow cards as she meditates, occasionally chanting softly in Vudrani or sometimes Varisian. After about twenty minutes, she returns. She selects a card from her Harrow deck called "The Sickness" showing a sick woman holding a stalk of onions in one hand and two dice in the other. She lays the card on Khrystov's chest and bows her head, then she casts a spell, chanting "Am aruncat această boală în numele lui Chadali"* while gesturing as if pulling something from Khrystov's chest. She immediately calls out "Noroc cu mine." **

She shakes her head sadly. "I shall have to try again tomorrow. It was almost successful. I can, however, try to remove the curse. Thay might help him as he fights the disease."

Halcyon nods but says nothing, instead reaching into a pocket in her robe and withdrawing a card. She gazes at it a moment and reveals it to the Damiano and the others. It shows an image of a male sphyinx in the desert, holding a traveler in his giant paw, a crescent moon hanging in the sky.
The Desert

The tall woman smiles enigmatically and says, "It is my providence to help you if I can. Take me to your friend."

As she walks with you, everyone notices a faint jingling sound she makes with each step, for she is wearing Ghungroos, anklets made of bells, worn by traditional Vudrani dancers.

"Tell me of your friend, how he came to be afflicted."

Maret leads the group through the village to a ramshackle cottage near the edge of the settlement. The door is open but no one responds to calls. Looking around Nadya spots it first. In the dying light, she spots someone in a pale yellow cloak walking eratically through the nearby woods, occasionally bumping into trees or getting caught in bramble bushes. Drawing nearer, the group sees it is a woman with a blindfold over her eyes. She continues this odd behavior until, by chance (?), she ends her ritual ten feet away from the group, removing her blindfold and smiling broadly as if completely expecting to see a bedraggled group in traveling clothes staring at her with perplexed expressions.

"Blessings of Chadali be upon you all," she says, her voice having the soft lilting accent of Vudrani. She has a tattoo in the middle of her forehead of a stylized water lily flower. She has caramel colored skin, jet black hair, and one of her eyes is green and one blue. "My name is Halcyon. How may I assist you?"

I would like to run in this campaign. I have two possible characters for your consideration.

Halcyon is an oracle, with a focus on divination and the Harrow Deck, and the Ancestors mystery. I would like her to eventually advance to qualify for the Harrower Prestige Class. Her background information is on her profile near the bottom. Although she is a divine spellcaster, her revelations make her capable of fighting effectively using a fauchard with magic armor.