Great! I'll catch up and get a post in this evening. And yes, morning sickness = pregnant. #3 is due in April :).
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I'm not gone! Just off the grid for the past few weeks, thanks to severe morning sickness. I'm starting to get my feet back under me and would love to jump back in, if that's okay?
Raeli is out of her depth with this talk of demons and artifact swords, and given the descriptive title of the sword, she'd rather not have reason to learn more of it. She trusts Kiralinsee's assurance that the story, thus far, is true -- yet she is stuck on why the ring wouldn't work for the Thunder Jinn. It had bothered her the entire time she was tracking Raderol. "Is it possible the ring's creator was actually wise enough to build a safeguard in case it should fall into evil hands? Something that should be done more often, but it seems few wizards think that far ahead in creating their masterpieces. No offense." She offers the last to Quayne and Ulvak.
Raeli is slow to offer a response to Raderol's question. She hadn't ever become more involved with a man than a passing romance; though it always felt like more, she knew with the distance of time that what she had felt in those relationships was not something that would move mountains or bind her through eternity. But did she not love her family with such a love? She alone remembers them, cries over them, devotes her life, still, to them. So she answers, "Yes. I understand the power of such love. Now speak, and tell us what you have done in your passion." Her voice is rough and raw, as she remembers what she has done, and is willing still to do.
Raeli's face scrunches in confusion as Quayne babbles on. By about the tenth word she doesn't understand, she shrugs and shakes her head. The clarification makes her groan -- "Why didn't you just...nevermind. That's handy. I'd like to get moving, but we'd better take the time to find out who hired Raderol. So, whenever you're ready?"
By the time the sorcerer and the tracker return to the rest of the group, Raeli has recovered her normal composure and focus on the task at hand -- keeping the Ring of Kabraxes from other hunting parties. She gets straight to the point, as usual. "The Darkblades didn't order Raderol to steal the Ring. We need to know who did, because they are hunting us now." She pauses in re-tightening Karmel's cinch, thinking back to the exact wording of her question. "Or it could be a different group hunting the Ring now; I didn't have the chance to narrow down the 'who'." "So, did our prisoner give us anything useful on this topic?"
Ulvak: Raeli had not dared hope to have an ally in her secret quest, and had been relieved at simply having a confidante. Ulvak's stalwart support nearly overwhelms her, and before she can stop it, a pair of tear drops escape her golden eyes. This is what it feels like to have a House, to have family. "Thank you. You cannot know...I have carried this so long by myself."
Swallowing her tears, she realizes that having come this far, she will have to tell Ulvak everything or risk losing his trust entirely. But now is not the time, and she has given him plenty to ponder for the moment. "The Ring revealed to me that there is more than one surviving heir of Paelion, but I do not know how many or where. I did not expect that answer -- nor did I expect to learn that Elar Thuranni did not seek personal gain in destroying my family. That is why I asked you what you knew. I have always assumed he acted to gain power for himself, and I cannot understand what else would drive him to do what he did. And there is another responsible for this crime; someone not of a dragonmarked house, someone in Karrnath." Raeli is troubled by this revelation, unsure what it means. "Of more immediate concern, I learned that Raderol did not steal the Ring on orders from the Darkblades -- and someone else is hunting the Ring right now. Which means we should get moving. There is much and more I must tell you, and I have not forgotten that you owe me one question, but the others must be wondering if we've wandered into the realm of fey by now." She turns back toward the clearing and the road, then pauses to reach out and grasp Ulvak's arm. "Thank you."
Ulvak:
Raeli laughs, the action a bit incongruous perhaps, but she never expected to feel her burden lighten so much at sharing the secret she has kept for nearly three decades. "Clearly. But as our friend Quayne said so eloquently, our bodies are merely receptacles. I was killed by Elar Thuranni -- or at least, I thought it was Elar, but our prisoner just informed me it was another in disguise. In the moment before the sword sliced across my throat, my dragonmark manifested. It was only slightly less painful than dying. The next day, as far as I can determine, I awoke. In a different 'receptacle', as it were."
She swallows nervously, realizing she still doesn't know what Ulvak will do with her secret, being the dutiful child of Phiarlan that he is. Too late to go back, and she's not sure that she would choose differently even if the worst should happen. Twenty-six years is a long time to keep a secret, even for an elf. Back in the disassembled camp, Karmel grazes on the grass lining the road, occasionally lifting his noble head to snort and listen for danger. Missy chases a squirrel off into the woods, returning happy and panting after a few minutes of futile darting in the underbrush.
Ulvak:
Raeli had braced herself for a question she wouldn't like, willing to pay the price she offered, but Ulvak chose the one question she feared the most. The answer, the full, non-evasive, honest-to-gods answer, catches in her throat. After stalling for a moment she forces it out, and behind it follows an unexpected rush of relief. "First, I must tell you that the wish you just cast on my behalf confirmed that great evil will come to pass if the Paelion line had truly disappeared forever, and that the family has a crucial role to play in the draconic prophecy. Or I should say, 'my' family. To answer your question as directly as promised: because up until a few moments ago, I was under the impression that I was the sole Paelion still living."
Seeing the skepticism in the Shadow elf's eyes, she unlaces the top of her leather vest, pulling it down enough to reveal the impossible. Yet what lies there is impossible to imitate, and why should the huntress fake the inky blue-black dragonmark covering her heart?
Ulvak: Raeli stiffens with frustration at Ulvak's vague and evasive answer. "We are in a bit of a quandary then. Until I know how much you know, I fear to share what I know. And I am guessing you feel the same way." She laughs, but there is no joy in it.
"I have never been good at these games of shadow, though I have no excuse for playing so poorly. Perhaps some new rules? If you will answer a question for me, I will answer a question for you, without evasion or deflection. Please know that I tread so carefully for your safety as much as for mine. Our goals are much the same."
"Knowing that Elar Thuranni ordered the assassination of the entire Paelion family, including babes in arms, do you think he should continue to walk free?"
Ulvak: The exact moment the spell ends is unclear, but before Raeli says a word she grabs a well-worn leather book from her satchel and writes down her answers. She doesn't go to great lengths to hide the page from him, for the script she is using is unlike any other and foreign to his eyes. The book, however, is a familiar sight in her hands these past several weeks -- he's noticed her sketching images of the party throughout the journey.
The information safely recorded, Raeli slaps the covers together and deposits the book into her satchel once more. When she speaks again, it is in the musical tones of her native elven -- one of her primary enjoyments on this hunt has been traveling with an elf, for there are few shifters in Korth with whom she can slip back into the language of her youth. "Tell me, Ulvak Thirkuira d'Phiarlan, what do you think of Elar Thuranni? Do you know much of the Shadow Schism, and how it began? I know you desire to see the two houses of shadow become one again, but do you think Elar should simply be pardoned?"
Ulvak:
Raeli nods her thanks to Ulvak for his acceptance, however restrained, of her explanation. Then she opens her mind to the answers she seeks, and a flood of emotions flash through her. Elation followed by fury then overridden by shock. Her brow creases with intense thought, every muscle in her petite body tensed and coiled for action. DM: Raeli's mind raced through the answers, sorting through the last few questions allotted to her by the spell.
16) Is the oathbow in Korth?
I don't read spoilers that aren't directed at me; I don't have a problem with anyone else reading *my* spoilers, but I prefer the surprise of learning things in character that might otherwise be, er, spoiled :).
DM:
1) Will great evil come to pass if the Paelion line is entirely destroyed? 2) Does more than one member of the Paelion line survive? 3) Does the Paelion line have an important role to play in the draconic prophecy? 4) Did someone besides Elar Thuranni arrange for the murder of the Paelions? 5) Did Baron Elvinor Elorrenthi d'Phiarlan know of Elar Thuranni's plan to kill the Paelions? 6) Did Elar Thuranni intend for the children to be killed? 7) Does my father live? 8) Does my father know I live? 9) Does the path to the justice I seek lie through Korth? 10) Did Elar Thuranni seek personal gain through destroying the Paelion line? 11) If I find the justice I seek, will the face I desire be restored? 12) If Elar Thuranni pays for his crimes, might House Phiarlan be made whole? 13) Is my family's oathbow still in Thuranni hands? 14) Did Raderol steal the Ring of Kabraxas on orders from the Darkblades? 15) Is someone else hunting the Ring of Kabraxas right now? Ulvak: Now Raeli gets the response she expected from Ulvak. She is walking a fine path through an unknown swamp, and she treads softly in her answer. "You have honored me with your trust, and I will not hold back the same from you, even if it comes to cost me. Though a cursory explanation it must be, for your own safety and mine. I can tell you this: everyone and everything I loved was lost the day Thuranni destroyed Paelion. I was there, in the conclave on Greentarn, when it happened. I remember, when everyone else seems to have forgotten. So, you see, the true history of the Shadow Schism means all to me. And more to me than to any other."
OOC: Commune is fine by me. I'll get up my 20 questions and an IC reponse to Ulvak shortly. Well, probably 15 questions and leave room for a few new ones based on answers.
Ulvak: Raeli is pleased that it takes Ulvak some time to consider his answer -- and is relieved to hear his choice. "Thank you. I know the cost of that promise, and value the honor and trust you give me by making it. I have spent much of the night considering how best to phrase my wish, and I believe simplicity is the path of wisdom in this case."
The shifter breathes deeply, then out spills the reckless request. "I wish to know the secret history of the Shadow Schism, the true cause of the Paelion murders."
Raeli goes perhaps a few steps further than necessary into the welcoming dark of the forest. When she turns to Ulvak, there is something beneath the determination on her face, but whether it was fear or anxiety or shame, it did not linger long. "The...event...I wish you to inquire about is one close to your heart, I have learned. Yet you will wonder why it holds such great import for me. I must ask, though it is against your nature, that you quell your curiosity. All I may answer is this: what I seek to know is on behalf of someone I loved and lost. Someone whose secrets I must protect. Can you give me your oath that what we speak of here today, you shall not tell to another without my permission? If not, I shall ask a different boon of the ring, and I will not hold it against you."
"It is true that his arrogance is his weakness. It may have simply been a matter of underestimating us. As for me, I have had my fill of touching Raderol's mind, for now." Raeli gestures toward the stone held by Vaelins, "Go right ahead. While you sort that out, perhaps Ulvak and I can work out my boon from the ring. Please do not take offense, but I'd prefer to ask my question without an audience -- some secrets are best kept as such, and not all I learn will be mine to share." So saying, she waits for Ulvak to follow her into the woods, away from Raderol and prying ears, before explaining further.
Raeli chews on Kiralinsee's observations, put off that she hadn't considered that perspective. Unlike Quayne though, she had already accepted that the little girl is much smarter than she is, and much more than she appeared. If she were as smart as Quayne, however, it might have taken her longer to realize that. "She's got a good point, doesn't she? I fear I hadn't thought to ask that question, intent as I was on tracking him. He should have been harder to catch. Fortunately his arrogance makes him cooperative, when it comes to sharing information. Did you get a chance to ask him about the ring, Vaelins?" She doesn't know what else the man would have been discussing with Raderol, but her knowledge of Vaelins is slim to none, as is the likelihood that she is the only one in this merry band with secrets. Which brings her back to her turn with the ring, and how far she can trust Ulvak. He is a pawn of The Twelve, and she will do well to remember just how clever he is if she hopes to keep anything from him.
Raeli stays to the background, letting the eminently better suited scion of House Phiarlan explain events to the Captain. She begins readjusting the gear on Karmel, happy he won't have to serve as a packhorse on the long road ahead. Overhearing Kiralinsee's musings, a quiet chuckle sounds low in her chest. She looks at the girl, shrugging and raising an eyebrow, clearly agreeing with the assessment.
Karmel's angry snort is the first thing to alert Raeli to the imminent arrival of company. Laying conversation aside for now, she leaps into the saddle she had just finished cinching on, standing on top of it to get a better look down the road.
Raeli fails to suppress a quiet chuckle at Quayne's scholarly description of bodies as receptacles, her eyes widening a bit in surprise that he should view them this way. Yet she glances toward Vaelins, staring so intently at the gem, and she shivers at the remembrance of touching Raderol's mind -- the Thunder Jinn does not scare her, but she is disturbed by what he represents. Then Quayne draws attention to Ulvak's mention of living through the War of the Mark, and Raeli's mind spins at the claim. "Truly! I have met many an old elf, even some who had grandchildren before the Last War began, but I have never heard of one who lived for so long!"
Raeli thinks back to what was said last night. "You are familiar with the Darkblades, Kiralinsee? It wouldn't surprise her -- the girl knows all sorts of things she shouldn't know, and certainly much more than the rest of the group combined. "No, I can't say that he explicitly said one way or the other if the ring was a mission from them. I get the impression that he serves them completely, no side jobs allowed, but I could be mistaken. Either way, I'm sure a third party wanted the ring, and we don't know who that is yet." Her eyes are cast down toward the ground, realizing she should have asked that questions last night.
Having given the gem over to Vaelins with some trepidation, Raeli offers up what she learned regarding Raderol's employers. "He probably doesn't know much beyond what his boss told him to do, but he seems willing to answer questions, so we might as well ask, I suppose. He works for the Darkblade Mercenary Company, the head of which is the pit fiend Olarin Menes. If you haven't heard of them, they're motto is ‘In Nixum Aku’ -- To Facilitate Evil."
Raeli had spent well over an hour pondering what information to seek when it came her turn for the ring's power, poring over the questions inked in her journal in light of the new information from Raderol. Yet she still hesitates when Ulvak surprises her with first use of the ring. "I must admit, Ulvak, that despite my frequent work with The Twelve, the full potential of what I can ask for is not completely known to me. I trust your expertise to guide me here. I have it in mind to learn information about a specific event -- some of which may be secret to all but a handful of living people. Is this within the bounds of the spell?" OOC ruminations on using the ring:
Raderol:
"Not much. In fact, I'd likely last about as long as I could take a breath. I do think that my friends in The Twelve might think of a suitable end for you, at least. Olarin's annoyance or no, I will see that happen. For little Mari and Sirlenya with her unborn babe, and all the dreams that died with them. I have seen you killing them every night for nearly three decades. For them, you will be destroyed." Withdrawing from the thunder jinn's mental touch, Raeli stands and patrols the camp perimeter again, new information percolating through her mind while her senses search for danger. When she judges the time has come, she awakens the next shift and sits to write in her journal before falling into a restless sleep.
Raderol: The motto of the Darkblades makes her stomach twist in knots. How could the gods, even Eberron itself, bear the existence of such obscene evil? Yet the knowledge does make some pieces of the puzzle fall together more neatly, and she makes one more stab for information.
"I can assure you of this -- there will be irreparable harm to your masters before this is all over. Though it seems you have no concern about the harm I have planned for you, so I doubt you fear the fate of your superiors. Is it that you believe they will rescue you before I tire of listening to your voice in my head? For I'm beginning to believe you are no more than a lackey, in which case preserving your mind is suddenly of less interest to me. You know nothing but what your master commands you."
Raderol: "So, like you, only he's competent. I've seen his work. Yet even if fear of death could hold me back from revenge, I would hardly tremble in my boots at the thought of hunting him -- if he were truly so fearsome, why play mercenary lap-dog to Elar Thuranni? What could a jumped-up artist have to offer him in return?"
Raeli tries to hide her frustration that Raderol demonstrates no fear, or even concern. She cannot help but wonder why he is so eager to offer up answers to every question she puts forth, and the wondering makes her cautious. These mental games and manipulations are not her field of strength, but she needs more from this creature than his death, so she must play them.
Raderol: "What?! The lying coward -- I should have known he wouldn't have dared risk himself in the assault. Yet it was still his orders, so he will pay nonetheless." Her nostrils flare, the night's smells so strong she can practically taste them. But the only input that truly registers to her mind is the voice in the gem.
"Well, I suppose you'll have a mystery to ponder inside that gem, until my thirst for revenge overwhelms me someday and I crush you into fine dust. The more questions you answer truthfully, the further off that day lies. Now, tell me exactly what Elar told you when he hired you."
Raderol: "I thought not. We last met twenty six years ago, and you were rather busy. Murdering my family. Perhaps their name comes more readily to mind. Paelion?
I watched you kill even the babes, but I do not know why you were there. Did Thuranni pay you to come along, or do you routinely involve yourself in their mass murders?"
Raeli's spine tingles at Kiralinsee's whispered words, the hair rising slightly on the nape of her neck and along her arms -- a shifter trait she still hasn't grown used to, much less learned how to control. She had been planning on working on Missy's training, but as she watches the dog happily snuggle up to Kiralinsee, she decides it can wait. There are, after all, matters at hand that she has waited three bodies to deal with. Wrapped in her cloak against the night's chill, she draws back from the fire and stalks a wide perimeter around the camp. Completing the circuit twice, she settles against the base of a tree where she can view the whole of the little clearing, pulling out the gemstone holding Raderol's soul. Knowing what she does about the monster within, she is surprised that the gem isn't black with stain. Taking a deep breath, she remembers who she is and sends her mind to touch...him. Raderol: "Raderol. Do you know who I am?"
Incapable of quelling Kiralinsee's enthusiasm, Raeli smiles and tosses her the brush. Karmel won't let just anyone tend to him, but he seems to like the odd little girl -- as demonstrated by the soft snort of acceptance and the fluttering of his lips against the top of her head. The shifter huntress pulls a comb out of a pocket and goes to work on the horse's silky mane and tail while Ulvak and Vaelins go on about fates and prophecy. They are no concern of hers, as she can put names and faces to the "fate" that put her where she is today. Somewhere in the recesses of her heart, however, this thought does not ring entirely true. If fate, prophecy, whatever word you use for intangible forces of the universe acting upon a helpless soul, had no part in her life, then how to explain this body, and the one before, and the one before? And she can hardly ignore the mark of the draconic prophecy emblazoned onto her chest -- though she gives it a valiant effort. "Be sure to rub with the hair, Kiralinsee, very good. Don't worry about getting his back, I can reach it when you're done."
Raeli looks up from picking the dirt out of Karmel's hooves, and she laughs so at Quayne's unexpected transformation that she nearly falls from her precarious position crouching over the horse's raised foreleg. Fortunately for her dignity, Karmel shifts his weight just enough to steady her balance. Once the humor of the situation passes her by, she looks at the pirate-Quayne with a more critical eye. "The dreads are a good touch, though with a peg and a hook, I'd take you for a very poor pirate. Or unlucky at best." She releases the hoof and straightens her body, wiping dusty hands off on her pants, which are surprisingly clean where they are usually covered by her thick gray armor. "I do recall your mother's name, and a fool I feel for not connecting you with her earlier. But as you say, she's not a major player in the Principalities and I believe I've only seen her once." To ward off too many probing questions, and perhaps to take her mind off the mention of Thuranni incursions, she quickly explains -- "Her island is home to some interesting creatures I needed to track down for a contract, and I sought her permission before hunting them. The little I know of her, I regret to hear she may have fallen upon foul times." The story is true, for the most part -- thirty years prior, she had done a survey of some of the islands' fauna with her mother, collecting exotic specimens for House Phiarlan. While she talks, she pulls a stiff brush out of the saddlebag and continues her evening routine of tending to her four-legged companions.
Raeli nods, ceding the wizard's point. "True. The knowledge I seek is not nearly as ambitious as all that. In fact, it is very precise and narrow -- merely difficult to find. I am, after all, and above all, a hunter, and a hunter requires a specific and finite target." She doesn't usually use words like "merely" and "finite", but when she speaks to Quayne she feels like a bumbling idiot and occasionally overcompensates. She doesn't know what motivation opens her mouth, but she finds unbidden curiosity rising to her lips. "What knowledge do you seek, then, Quayne Dovarr? Perhaps I might fare better at finding your elusive target than I have with my own quarry."
As she walks alongside Kalemar, having consented to have the noble warhorse carry some of the brave warrior's gear, Raeli ponders Quayne's question -- and wonders how the others will answer. "Knowledge is what I wish for. Knowledge I have sought for many years now." She is instinctively careful about mentioning any specifics about how long she has been searching. It is too easy to spark questions when the number is longer than her apparent age.
Watching the last of the pyres consume the bodies, Raeli is silent as she remembers another pyre that burned away decades ago. Beneath the deep tan masking her face, she is pale and still for several minutes. Hopefully her intensity passes for simple fatigue. Without segue, she turns and smiles at Kira and Missy rolling in the long, clean grass at the edge of the field of carnage. Even Karmel is watching them with something akin to amusement in his wise horsey eyes. "You two ready to wrap things up?", she calls out to get their attention, though she has learned that the strange little girl is almost always aware of what's happening, even when she seems engrossed in some silly pastime or another. To Quayne's questions, she responds, "As there is no bonus for quick return, I admit I'm inclined towards the slower, and possibly more rewarding, return. And I agree on both accounts -- if we stick to the road, we can put some fair distance between us and this place before making camp."
"When you say it like that, this all sounds like a merry day at the carnival." Raeli laughs at Ulvak's summary of events. "Let's hope it all goes so smoothly on the way back." She may be disappointed not to have participated in the execution of Raderol, but she is pleased that she'll have plenty of time to question the soul bound within the gem. And then to find a way to really kill him...
Raeli understands something about planar energies and divinations in Quayne's impromptu dissertation, but for the most part she lets the words slide past her ears while maintaining a politely interested expression. The only part she really cares about is the last sentence before he hands the gem to her -- which she rotates once, examining the light through its facets, and places in her pocket for later questioning. "Oh, there is nothing to forgive. It is well that the brute is dead, er, sort of anyway. He more than earned his death. I just didn't expect it to be over so quickly, and me not even here to cheer you on." The money she gladly pockets as well, and then sets to work alongside the others in setting a funeral pyre. The ring adorning Ulvak's finger draws hardly a glance, though she mutters encouragingly when he asks if it sets off his eyes. "If you could keep Missy out of my hair, Kira, I would be much obliged. She still doesn't know much beyond 'fetch', but I'm sure you can think of something fun for her to do."
Raeli's breath slows, the muscles in her shoulders loosening beneath her thick gray "second skin". Awkwardly, she returns the hug and a hint of a smile sneaks into the open. "Ah, well, that is interesting. I take it you recovered the artifact from among his possessions, then? And I would like to ask him a few questions -- have you already contacted him in...there...?" She looks mildly skeptical regarding the gem, but she has seen stranger things in her time working as a free agent for The Twelve.
"Killed him?" Her hand freezes in mid-air, fist clenching. A flurry of emotions sail across her face, none taking hold long enough to establish dominance. She asks no questions, for the moment, concerning the artifact they were sent to retrieve.
Dismounting in one swift motion, Raeli drops her reins and strides quickly over to examine the crystal. "That is Raderol? Is this some form of imprisonment, a spell of yours?" She reaches out a hand expectantly.
The crashing of Karmel racing through underbrush announces Raeli's arrival at the edge of the meadow, and disappointment is etched deeply across the shifter's face as she emerges from the shadows of the Nightwood. Missy leaps from the saddle, circling the corpses and growling at the sapphire in Quayne's hands. "Dolurrh! I see he stopped for some fun. I rushed back as soon as I saw the trail left by the Regulars, but too slow. Did you see no sign of him?"
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