And I can see that I am the last to post ..
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Sit down and cross my palm with silver and I shall Harrow your future ..
The Harrow reader sifts her deck of cards, watching the flow of people going by
Unnoticed in the shadows of a dripping market awning, a dark-haired woman follows the two with bright eyes.
Zaina shuffles the Harrow deck for Devlyn. She holds the fanned deck out to him: Take a card, Sir, and then show me what you have drawn. Devlyn draws a card showing a man on a throne surrounded by wraiths. Zaina nods The Survivor. You have been reborn many times through your ordeals. Please replace it in the deck. When he does, Zaina shuffles the deck and lays out the Harrow pattern. She flips the leftmost three cards in the nine-card pattern. A man in golden armor, a woman holding a baby upside down and a rabbit dressed in fine clothing look up from the table: The Paladin, The Midwife, and The Rabbit Prince. In the past you have been a steadfast defender of hearth and home, but you have recently embarked on a new path, in keeping with your Survivor card. Though you are a staunch defender, in the past you have relished your role too much, to the point where the combat became the ends rather than the means. In the past you have walked the narrow line of the berserker. Zaina flips the middle three cards. A man with a backpack and a walking staff, a hooded man with a key and a Cyclops pouring ale from one mug to another lie revealed on the dark wood. Zaina nods: The Wanderer, The Locksmith, and the Publican. In your present life you have found worth in what others have ignored or cast off. You have found good friends and camaraderie around you as you settle on your new path. These things hold the key to a new destiny, but you must fit the key into the lock for it to work. Zaina flips the last three cards. An upside down card of a man being grasped by a dozen hands, A desert sphinx in a fez, and a scene of two men facing each other over a gaming table with a human-formed crow standing alongside them are exposed. Zaina frowns slightly: The Beating reversed, The Desert and The Crows. Your future holds danger. You face a bleak path soon. Something personal of great value will be stolen by the forces arrayed against you. There will be attacks on you from all sides, but your strength in purpose holds the key to overcoming the evils that you will face. Zaina reshuffles her deck, and looks at Devlyn sympathetically. The cards’ predictions may seem harsh, but if you stay strong you will win through your coming trials.
Zaina smiles. We have the rest of your Harrowing first, Lady. Zaina flips the next three. The next three cards reveal The Midwife, The Keep, and The Cyclone. Zaina looks to Allura: You are unshakable when threatened. You have a new life emerrging from the ashes of your old. But plots and machinations swirl about you in a dark cloud. She flips the last three. The Fiend, The Rakasha reversed, and The Anvalanche reversed are revealed. The future holds many losses. There could be disaster, but The Avalanche reversed means it can be averted. Enslavement can be cast off for those that have the will. Zaina looks at Devlyn. You sir?
Zaina flips the first card. The Juggler: In the positive past fate has been on your side. The second goes over with a snap. The Peacock: There was sudden personal shift in your recent past. Its ramifications are unclear. The third and the final in line is revealed. The reverse Hidden Truth: There is a dangerous secret in your past. Zaina leans back and steeples her hands You have been at a transition. Things have recently shifted in your life. You are now unsure what is right, and you still have secrets from your previous circumstances.
Zaina brightens Ah! Freedom from bondage. A strong card. You are independent and free from servitude. Please, place the card back in the deck. When she does, Zaina shuffles out a nine-card spread. Let us see what the Harrowing brings ...
Allura takes a card, and then hesitates. Now what do I do? Am I supposed to look at it or not? Zaina smiles. Yes. Please look at it and show me. This is the card that represents you in the Harrowing.
Zaina takes the coin and shuffles her deck She offers them to Allura Please, Lady, take one. She offers, fanning the deck out
Zaina gestures to the empty chair across from her Please, lady, Sit and I shall read your Harrow. Cross my palm with silver and we shall see what we shall see. Zaina holds her hand out
Zaina smiles and looks up from the brightly-painted cards Not at all! They tell your future, or at lease the What Will Be. The cards tell me what comes... Zaina pauses Would you like a reading?
Zaina flips her cards and lies out patterns for patrons. Sometimes she leads patrons into a brightly-colored travelling wagon parked in the open lot behind her table. The lot is a profusion of vegetables and herbs growing. A pair of horses lie tethered near the wagon, one black with a white chest blaze, one white with a black chest blaze.
The dark-haired woman in the bright red dress idly lays out a harrow deck, reading the portents as the crowds wander by.
A raven-tressed woman in a bright peasant skirt sits at a tavern table shuffling a large deck of cards. She hums and taps a slender foot as she absently folds the cards over theselves. |