We begin on our night in the ruined temple of Torag...
I wish you guys would just be quiet so the others, meaning me, can get some sleep.
After a while Karthak starts to snore lightly. Seems like he's done meditating and he's recovering his strength.
"You told us you were a Riftwarden. I um, I was wondering what that is? I've, ah, I've read the name before, but I can't remember where. Is it old sorcery?"
He seems uncomfortable with your question, and swallows hard before opening his mouth to speak. Closing it and opening it again. "Riftwarden, ah yes I did say that didn't I..." He squirms slightly in his seat. "I am a member of the organization though its membership is not something one typically advertises. Giving this intense situation I may a said more then I should have."
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Pollux frowns as the ground is spit on before him. With a furrowed brow he looks up at Jokum as the Aasimar turns his back on him to leave, clearly offended. As he opens his mouth to speak, Jokum continues, this time giving him a backhanded compliment. He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes as he exhales.
"As I have said before to... Oh it does not matter to who at this point; my god is no mere devil." his emphasis on the word devil betrays an otherwise calm statement. "Nor have I --nor will I ever be-- a slave to anyone on Golarion or in hell." Pollux then steps forward again and looks up into Jokum's golden eyes with steely determination.
"I do not care if you respect my faith, for I am not one for evangelizing. However, you will respect me and from this point forward address me by name as I have so respectfully done for you and every other person we have met this day. Do I make myself clear, Jokum?" venom drips from every word as he stands unwavering, fists clenched tightly at his side.
He seems uncomfortable with your question, and swallows hard before opening his mouth to speak. Closing it and opening it again. "Riftwarden, ah yes I did say that didn't I..." He squirms slightly in his seat. "I am a member of the organization though its membership is not something one typically advertises. Giving this intense situation I may a said more then I should have."
The girl glances around the room. "All of our comrades appear to have fallen asleep. Surely we can discuss this openly between the both of us, without fear." The man's uncomfortable expression seems only to become more set, and Tess sighs in dismay. "I understand the value of kept secrets... But whatever nefarious deeds one may be capable of doing with this knowledge- I have no interest. See..."
The girl swallows hard, and tears come to her eyes, unbidden. "You cannot see me, sir, but my parents could- they left when I was a babe, but they could see the glyph imprinted on my skin from the moment I was born!" Her voice is hushed and quavering as the tears spill over her mismatched cheeks. "They were Riftwardens too, sir. I have this journal of my mother's- it's all I have of them!- and she... She said this rune was found on the babies of friends of theirs too..."
She grips the elf's hand in quiet desperation. "Please sir, tell me what you know! Help me find the reason why my face is half blemish, why my parents never returned!..."
He swallows again. "Truly? You bear the mark? The Sign of the Seeker's Spiral?" He reaches out for Tess's hand. His voice comes out as a quick and excited wispier barely audible even in the nearly empty chamber."Then I must tell you more of our order, but not here not now. I can tell you this though, we are dedicated to protecting the boundaries of the planes themselves. We protect what few can even comprehend for if we fail and the force we oppose succeeds,all of the material plane could become a place such as the worldwound is, a tear in the plane itself."
He looks solemnly at Tess clearly wishing he could see the young woman. "If i should fall before we return to the surface you must go to the Librarium of the Broken Black Wing you will find more of us there who can teach you more."
Jokum snorts. "What you are called is of little matter to me...Pollux. And besides, you have missed the point. I did not ask what you wished to be called, nor what your status in Hell was, nor anything else you told me." He steps right up to Pollux, looking deeply into the young man's eyes. "We have little time for petty power struggles down here. What I asked you was, do you know how to use that spear?"
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Pollux's face flashes an incredulous expression as Jokum speaks, and purses his lips as Jokum steps even closer, their chests touching now. "Oh! You are right, Jokum, I surely missed the point!" he exclaims sarcastically, stepping away and clasping his hands firmly behind his back. "You see I heard 'tell me slave to devils... did your masters teach you how to use that spear?' and thought you were asking if these slave masters called devils taught me how to use a spear. The answer to that question is a firm no, because I am not a slave."
He takes a few steps back to look into the chapel, seeing his spear propped up against the wall. "To answer the question I was meant to answer, having had the point plainly lain out for me..." he pauses, clearly pretending to be deep in thought, "maybe."
Letting out a nearly inaudible chuckle, he makes his way back into the chapel. "It is good to know at least one of us does not need to be told something twice. Have a good watch."
With that Pollux retires and leaves Jokum to his duties.
Jokum watches Pollux stalk off, brow furrowed. Damn. The only one here I feel confident could kill me without hesitating, and I don't know if he can actually kill me if he needs to.
Shaking his head, he takes up his post, watching as Ce-Eshna, Karthak, and Xaivan head to bed and Tess talks with the blinded elf. Tomorrow perhaps I shall find someone I can trust. For tonight...I shall not sleep.
Hargus notices that nearly everyone has gone to sleep. Slowly and quietly he gets up moving cautiously over to Jokum. He kneels by the man, whispering so as not to wake anyone else. "Your blade and bow are both impressive I can tell a man of skill when I see one."
He nods as if emphasizing the the wisdom of his own words. "A man with skills as sharp as yours is worth his weight in gold when the time comes... I want to hire you to get me out of here. Leave these fools behind, they'll only slow us down and cause far to much noise. If you can get me to the surface I'll reward you with two thousand gold dragons!"
The girl freezes but for the tears dripping down her cheeks. The Sign of the Seeker's Spiral.... She touches her birthmarked cheek in astonishment. "I... I..." Tess stammers. "That sounds... Rather important."
Her head spinning, she squeezes the elf's hand in gratitude. "Thank you!" The words burst out of her suddenly, and she can feel a smile breaking on her tearstained face. "Thank you so much for your confidence, Sir Aravashnial. It means the world to me to finally have some answers to the questions I've pondered so long...." Tess squeezes the elf's hand once more, and hopes he can hear her newfound optimism. "When we get to the surface, we'll go to the Librarium together!"
After they bid each other goodnight, Tess inscribes this new information into her journal, somewhat shakily. I can't believe how close the truth is-- Now I really can't wait to get back to the surface!
Jokum stares Gwerm down with his golden eyes.
"Mluvte Hallit. Ty by se nechat ostatní? Chcete-li zemřít?"
Hargus seems pleased with the request to use another tongue. "Ne! Samozřejmě, že ne! Dva postiženými tělesně osoby mohou pohybovat mnohem tišší a klidnější v jeskyních a pak nás všechny. Dostaneme se na povrch a já pošlu své soukromé stráže tady dole získat zbytek z nich."
Jokum eyes Hargus coolly, suspicious of the man's eagerness not to be overheard. Finally he stands, looking Hargus in the eyes.
"Můžete udělat nějaké dobré body, Hargus. Ale jak říkáš, jsme dva z nejvíce zdatný zde. Pokud bychom měli pokračovat, a jiní byli napadeni, co si myslíte, že by se s nimi stane?"
He turns away and goes to take up his watch. "Ne, já zůstanu. A já doufám, že se budete chtít také."
"No. I will stay. And I hope you choose to as well."
The cave is quiet now, the small talk and rummaging around gone as most of the weary bunch fall into desperately-needed sleep. Now and again the air is punctuated by the rustle of someone turning over or a frightened, unintelligible noise brought on by a dream, but the silence is otherwise as stagnant as the dank cavern air.
The girl sits with her back to the cleric's, facing the path from which they'd trudged. Her fox kit sleeps soundly in her lap. She strokes the russet fur methodically, lost in thought as if in a trance.
She catches herself nodding off, and bolts upright when her chin touches her chest. No! Got to stay awake, Tessie, they're relying on you this time....
Tess shakes her head as if to clear out her cluttered thoughts. "So, ah... Pastor- Father?- Sir Pollux.... What was it you wished to ask me?" If I can keep talking, I'll be able to stay awake....
"....Handwriting?"
She's unable to keep all of the surprise out of her voice. We all nearly died today; what on earth is handwriting good for?!
"I write well, I suppose. I've never learned the more fancy scripts of a scrivener, but I'm able to add a few flourishes here and there...." She almost laughs. Handwriting.
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"All the same, I suppose." he says, pulling a small journal from his nearby backpack. One that he'd tucked away. He hands it to her. If she were to look at the first page she would see the most god awful chicken scratch ever penned to paper with incomplete sentences, run-ons, and more than the occasional misspelled word. Roughly The only section correctly formatted and spelled in the entire page is the date which read Oathday, 8th of Arodus, 4713. The rest was a rough account of Pollux's arrival in Kenebras.
"I must put to paper the events of these last two days. For perpetuity if nothing else. My hope was that it would inspire more crusaders from mighty Cheliax. Though, with that book I hope you can see why I fear writing the record myself has been for nought; I have a weakness with words..." he says this last part with a sigh.
"....I see..." she says lightly, brow furrowed as she attempts to decipher the messy text sandwiched between scratched-out mistakes and blots of ink. Is this Supposed to be Taldane?- it is? Oh dear....
The girl closes the book with a snap and rubs her eyes under her glasses. "Well, good clergyman, what would you have me do- transcribe this, ah, account? Simply be a walking dictionary for your consultation? Or do you think I have a spell to grant you artistry in your prose?"
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He chuckles at the suggestion of a spell, "And what good would such a gift be if I can't read it back to myself, little witch?"
He pauses for a moment before continuing, remembering he was techinically on watch. "I would not wish the cruel burden of deciphering that on to anyone, not even the bastards in Erebus. But the burden of recording the tale, why, I would not call that a burden at all..."
She almost- almost- flinches as the dreaded word escapes the man's lips, but quickly realizes that he wasn't making any of the harrowing accusations that haunt her dreams.
"So I'm to keep your diary as well as my own? And this is a privilege?" Tess laughs quietly. "Good Father, I believe you are entirely too enamored of your own voice."
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"It is no burden." Pollux corrects her. "Though the privilege will be mine if you agree to it... Better you than them." he nods toward the bedrolls scattered off to the side. "Every time I hear 'asmodite' I want to cut my ear off. I can not be certain what words are in the language, but I am quite positive that that is not one of them."
Tess grins to herself. "I wasn't interested in correcting him while he was criticizing you- perhaps Taldane's not the man's native language- but 'Asmodean' is the correct word, as I'm sure you're aware."
She stretches her arms with a yawn and relaxes a bit, her back leaning against his. "I don't know why they act so belligerently toward you; you've been perfectly decent to all of us. It's odd," she murmurs thoughtfully. "...I know the world's not perfect, but I always thought petty rivalries were something for children, that adults grew out of them."
The girl looks down into her lap, gazing at Sorua's peacefully sleeping form. She traces the mark that spirals over her cheek, her voice softer, sadder somehow. "And... if all these brushes with death won't let one trust someone different from them, what will?"
"....I see no reason not to," she relents.
"You'll owe me a favor, though. I'm not sure when I'll need it, but I know I can count on the devoted servant of the Prince of Law to keep his word." Tess turns to face him (carefully, so as not to wake Sorua) and offers her hand to seal the agreement. "Is it a deal?"
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Pollux smirks and takes her hand, giving it a light squeeze "My word is my bond, little witch". He turns back around and looks out toward the dark shaft again, throwing another lit stone down it, seeing little more than the make shift ladder again.
"When I was a boy..." he begins suddenly after many minutes had passed, "A nun found me beating a bunkmate. You see I was raised in a convent, so I had the good fortune of having more sisters than most, I had the bad fortune of those sisters all being weight-lifting devil nuns. This one in particular was a stout old crone whose uppercut could send a man flying for yards." he pauses and chuckles, "I know because that's what she led with when she saw me white knuckled and guilty hunched over that poor lad. After she gave me the beating of my life she got me and the lad to pack our things and marched us for three days and nights right up to the middle of nowhere. These were the years after goblinoids raided my homeland, so every child in Isger knew that the hobgoblins were still out there, waiting. She marched us right out into the middle of nowhere and left us there. Told us if a hobgoblin were to arrive and want our hearts for dinner, she would most certainly not object to it."
He pauses a moment, thinking back to that time, a fondness for it arrives in his voice. "I remember that lad was my nemesis right up to the point where we were under the threat of dying by the hand of something larger than ourselves. We were allies whether we wanted to be or not. So it was then on the fields of Isger. So it has been at the edge of the worldwound. So it is now under the ruins of Kenabres."
He takes a deep breath. "Do you understand?"
"Sir Breakbones?" she begins, timidly. "I, um. I don't think you did anything wrong. It's okay to not like my joke. It wasn't very nice," she admits, pushing her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose.
"It wasn't a nice thing to say, even in jest," she reiterates. "I was frustrated by being so useless while everyone else is doing so much to keep us alive.... " The girl hangs her head. "And I was mad that you guys wouldn't tell me what happened. I know I'm the smallest, and the youngest, but I do want to help!"
Tess looks back up at the man with a tiny smile. "So really, Sir Breakbones, I should apologize to you. I'm sorry I was mean. Thank you for doing so much to keep us all safe. I know it's not easy."
"Beasts don't hurt people just for fun, or make fun of you for being weak or... harass you for being different." She glances toward where the 'Asmodite' makes ready to keep watch and sighs.
The girl shrugs, and looks up at the golden-eyed man. "A mad dog is one thing, but I think beasts can sometimes be nicer than people. Is that silly, Sir Breakbones?"
"You must have misheard me, my wife is a member of the Eagle Watch." She scowls at the man unsure if his error was intentional or not.
He chuckles, then grows more serious. "I need a way to bind them together," he says quietly. "Or at least one of us will die down here."
"She is a paladin and leads solely by example. She is a just and true woman who looks beyond appearances and judges people by their actions. truthfully in the years I've known her I've never seen such discord as we have here in the time we need to be united most."
"I don't know how much I can trust anyone here with us, but you all helped me when I needed it and for as long as we're trapped beneath the earth I don't see what other choice we have."
As the group heads away from the bodies of the false crusaders, Jokum sees Tess pocket something shiny, and frowns. Could it be...yes. All else is accounted for. As they proceed, he waits for an opportune moment, then slips back to walk beside Tess, keeping his voice low so that only she can hear.
The girl nearly freezes mid-step at Jokum's quiet confrontation-- I was so careful! She swallows back her nervousness at being caught red-handed.
"I'm not a good liar, Sir Breakbones-- I never have been, so please trust that what I tell you is true when I say I have no ill intent in mind." A deep breath, a furtive glance at Karthak, and she continues. "I'm not strong; I'm not a good aim or of hardy stock-- but I can read, and take notes, and make inferences. Know thy enemy is the greatest commandment, and the only battle strategy I'm any good at. If this trinket can reveal more to others on the surface about possible false crusaders, than it is worth the weight it carries... But I didn't think the others would be comfortable if I carried it in their midst."
She trails off lamely, looking up for his reaction.
Jokum purses his lips and stares down at the girl. "I am no scholar, as you have probably guessed. But even I can see the worth of knowing whence an enemy comes, and what form they might take when they arrive. Very well then--keep the trinket. But best you keep a sharp eye out for the chaos such things can carry in their wake; and at the first sign of trouble, do not hesitate to abandon it. The Lord of Beasts is a cruel master, and I would not see you fall into his or his followers' clutches." He gives her a small, reassuring smile. "Though if anyone here can carry such a poisoned chalice safely, I imagine it is you."