Dragon's Egg - Act II

[Keitsumah]

I nodded in agreement, but it still hurt. "Maybe Cadell would have heard of him. If i remember correctly, my parents were around ten thousand in their years, and Ardoway was . . . five? Six thousand? They had decided to raise me all together in the forest far away from the other cities, but I remember hearing my brother being called the Silver Hand." a sly smile crossed my face and i laughed softly, "I had a habit of listening in on conversations my family didn't want me to hear. He was the kindest person I ever knew, but apparently he was ruthless in battle. One story was that a village was being attacked by a pack of Wargs and goblins, and he defeated them all with one blow each. He'd poisoned his blade with quicksilver and nightshade. Though he barely came out alive."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Oh! I keep forgetting how long you elves live! I imagine your brother was very experienced in battle and just about any dangerous situation. I wasn't thinking about how elves age, so I was picturing a boy, not a man who must've known saving you would cost him his life. I'll bet he gave it no second thought—just acted on instinct, and out of love.

"I know some people—humans, I mean—are jealous of your long life spans. I am not. I just find it interesting that you elves age gracefully, to put it mildly. Sir Cadell looks about my age, and if you don't mind my saying, you look like a teenager!"

 

[Keitsumah]

My grin widened. "That's because I am -I'm eighteen. It's a little odd now that I think about it -I'm considered young even by human standards, but I don't really think about it all that much. Life is life, and no matter how long you live you can die at any time. What matters is if you enjoy the time you have."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"Oh! Well, I'm twenty-three myself, so I guess I'm not quite old enough to call you young by my standards. If you ever go to a place where there are lots of humans, you'll see a lot of wrinkly-skinned, grey-haired people. Living to one's seventies is quite an accomplishment, so my people tend to cherish these years.

"Well… maybe it's more like the elders tell people in their teens and twenties to cherish the years."

 

[SeverinR]

Hearing Branwen babble with fear, I want to return, but then Mauve begins to hum.
She might not be totally comforted, but she will survive.

I move on, stopping to pick up the glow rock, tuck it away so the light would not give me away, I move on following the most recent footprints in the dirt, while trying to be more quiet then my initial step into the hallway was.

I continue down the hallway looking for Ankari's footprints. The song I sang to Branwen plays in my head as I move quietly on.

 

[Steerpike]

To the Surface

Once Baldhart retrieves the boat, the trip to the surface proceeds easily enough. Darin is glad to take an oar and row. When Baldhart speaks of Freya, he frowns.

"Careful with such talk once we reach the Drimmen-delve. I know you humans call your god Odin the All-Father, but he is not the All-Father that we dwarves recognize. The names of our gods are not pronounceable in your tongue. The dwarven All-Father is the creator of all things, and the founder of our tongue - the language of creation itself, and the basis for our rune magic. He sculpted the earth and set the sun high in the sky above it. At night, you can see the light of thousands of distant forges - the stars - in which the All-Father creates star-metal and at times sends bits of this most precious metal hurtling to earth. When you see a quick streak of fire across the night sky, falling toward land, it is the All-Father providing for us."

"The designation of Odin as 'All-Father' came from our own faith, but was co-opted by humans to name their most powerful god. As for Freya...you should know that dwarves do not look kindly upon her. Legend has it that she attempted to steal the knowledge of rune-magic from our ancestors, to share the secrets among human gods or perhaps even the humans themselves. She was not successful, for none but dwarves can utter the language of creation, and it is only in that language that our rune-magic can be cast."

Darin smiles. "You could not know this, of course, but there are many in my hall who would take your assertion that Freya is married to our All-Father as a grave heresy. When we are in human lands, we do not speak of it and we do not interfere in your beliefs, but in our halls it would be another story."

The trio continue their banter as they reach the surface. It is cold outside, and clouds are heavy in the sky. Thin light filters through to the ground, and it does not take long to find a number of cloudberry bushes unaffected by the Taint. You gather as many as you are able and head back into the tunnels, returning to the others.

In the Round Room

Branwen listens intently as members of the group speak, her gaze shifting from one speaker to the next. She stares curiously at the thaumatrope constructed by Mauve, then holds her hand out for it after observing how it works. If Mauve hands it over she plays with it for a few minutes, examining both sides independently and then working the device to make them merge together. If she reads anything into the presentation of a bird and a cage, she gives no indication of it other than a brief glance between the cage on the thaumatrope and the one in the room.

After playing with the device she seems a bit restless, shifting her feet and looking around the room. She moves to an area along one wall and then crouches down and relieves herself, not bothering to put must distance between herself and where the group has been sleeping. Unfortunately, she does not hike up her new gown and when she stands the back of it is wet and she whips around, trying to see. She holds the fabric away from her body and looks miserably at Mauve and Cadell, speaking a few words in her harsh tongue and trying to twist the clothing around to show what has happened.

 

[Nihal]

Glancing at Cadell, I raise my eyebrows and smile.

See?

I return to the spells, letting Branwen play with her new toy and watching her when she gets up.

"Oh..." She kinda peed herself. "...oh." And I'm the one who will have to teach her, I guess. I wish Baldhart was still around.

She twists her clothing, making me sigh. "I will take care of her." Retrieving a tunic and rags from my bag, I get her hand.

She relieved herself too close...

I throw the clothes over my shoulder and walk slowly. "One." I raise one finger and give a step. "Two." I raise another finger, moving. "Three..." I keep increasing the distance from the campfire, making it evident to her, or at least trying. When we arrive at the other room and get out of sight I remove her wet dress.

"Do you know I had a little sister?" I talk to her softly as I clean and dry her. "I took care of her, that's what big sisters do. I know, you can't understand a thing I'm saying... Well, that's not that bad, isn't it? I can tell you anything and you won't tell anyone. Here, done."

My tunic looks big on her, but with some fastening it will do—I only hope she won't pee on it too. Now, the worst part.

"Watch." I retreat two steps, taking off my improvised shoes, then my pants and undergarment. After demonstrating to her how a proper lady should relieve herself, I dress again, wash the pee out of her garment and guide her back to the campfire.

 

[Ireth]

I give Mauve a half-smile when Branwen does not seem to react adversely to the spinning toy. I watch as the little harpy steps away to relieve herself, and sigh at the sight of her dampened dress. Mauve volunteers to take care of it, and I nod. "Feel free."

Now alone in the round room, I keep an ear out for the two of them and any sign of the others returning. Whatever became of Ankari?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Darin tells me soemthing I didn't know about Freya. Did you know, Nissa?

I heard a bit about that, but it's not really my place to speak for any goddess other than Brynhild.

Then it's not my place either.

"Thank you for telling me that, Darin. I didn't know, but then... Freya's path is not for me. As it is no secret to you that I am being trained by a Valkyrie, it must be obvious that I follow Brynhild. I hope mentioning Her name will not lead to hard feelings in Drimmen-delve. If so, I will avoid religious discussions altogether. And you may have guessed that Nissa will not make any public appearances."

I manage to pick thirty berries in half an hour. "Oh! Thirty-ONE! This one is too ripe to leave behind. Keitsumah, I suggest you use your magic on these berries immediately. Turn as many as you can. They're only good for a day, but... even if you have enough magic to turn them all, it's likely we'll need every one of them."

I look at Darin's neck. "How are you feeling, Darin? I know we have to face the lizard priestess, but not if you have yet to recover. Mauve learned that new healing spell. I suggest you go to her, and we give Keitsumah some time to learn that spell. It will give her time to recover some of her magic... and we'll be better prepared for those battles when we don't have any berry bushes around."

 

[Steerpike]

Darin says "I don't mean to imply that we dwarves have a problem with the human pantheon in general. We do not. We believe that your gods are all children of our All-Father, each given gifts from the All-Father that allowed for creation of the other races, and also given dominion over them. The reference to Odin as the All-Father grates us, and Freya is disliked for what she did, but we have no strong feelings one way or another for the others. Brynhild and her valkyrie reward those who have fallen nobly in battle. Such a death is a worthy one among the dwarves, and we have no ill will toward her or those who follow her."

When Baldhart asks about how Darin is doing, he shrugs. "We are a stout people. I am not in top form, that is certain, and going into battle I prefer to be at my best. If healing can be offered, I will accept it. If not, I will nevertheless stand beside you and face down this priestess!"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

I can feel the warmth on my face. I can't help it, Nissa!

"Your words are kind, Darin. I can't help but feel I'm following the best path a woman can. Well... one like me, anyway. I'm glad my mother chose to seek a husband, of course."

Darin shrugs as if his deep wounds are no big deal.

"Keitsumah and Mauve are the healers now, and if my word means anything I'll see you healed before we charge in. I suppose you're not accustomed to a bunch of women worrying about you in battle, but please don't think of it that way. The men who taught me about tactics in battle warned me--and the guys, too. I was the only lady present for Combat Sense training--but we were warned about charging into battle unprepared. You fight unprepared when you have to. If we have time to see you healed, we're fools not to."

I look at Keitsumah. "You, too, Keit. Your wound is mostly healed, but why not eat a berry or two?"

((Keit, I think you need 2 berries. I believe you were down 6 HP, got healed for 1 HP, then rested to get another 3 HP.))

 

[Nihal]

Room!

The old knight is quiet when we return, listening, perhaps contemplating something. I'm not sure if I'm thankful for his company. In some rare occasions he speak his mind, becoming silent after done, just keeping to himself. It's the true danger, for I have no idea of what really goes through his mind. On the bright side, it's certain I'm in better company that with the human knight. Or the ranger... or the cleric.

I sit again, cross-legged, letting Branwen's hand go. Holding the side of the cloak up, as if it was a raised wing, I wait some seconds to see if she'll huddle with me or not, and pick the other parchment up.

Did they find any trace of the damn, stupid, odious, moron—cleric?

No one pointed fingers at me, no one blamed me. But I know better than that, I know they're thinking it's my fault. How long it'll take until they bring it up? Probably during some disagreement, a hidden trump to undermine me. I'm no fool, and I need some leverage. I sight, reading again the line I've just read.

I already have some leverage, I only need to watch my tongue. I can't repeat the cleric's... cleric. Oh, drat! I can't even bring myself to use their names! No wonder they're so suspicious, they know I know they don't like me. I can start by the names.

Rydh.

Ankari, Matthew.

Cadell, Aliron, Baldhart, Darin. Use their names, always use their names. Yeah, it's a good start.

 

[Keitsumah]

I nod, then take the berries off of Baldart's hands. "Well, I'll just set to work on these. . ."

[2d4+0] = 4+0 = 4
((OMG I JUST FIGURED OUT HOW TO COPY AND PASTE!!! NO MORE TYPING FOR ME!!! *happy dance*))

[2d4+0] = 5+0 = 5

[2d4+0] = 6+0 = 6

[2d4+0] = 3+0 = 3
((not entirely sure of my mana amount now so if i can still make more just tell me and I will))

I brush my hands off and set the good-berries into a separate bag, handing it to Darin. "Eat as many as you need -your wounds are worse than mine." Batos sniffs at the extra berries curiously, and i scratch his ears, immediately distracting him. Every time we used to find berries he would end up eating even more than me!

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

((If you have +2 WIS, you started with 8 MP; if you have +3 WIS, you started with 9 MP. In either case, four is all you can/should make. By the time we get back, I think you'll have 1 MP replenished or at least we'll be close to an hour's travel. If you study the new healing spell, that's 2 hours, so you'll at least gain 2 or 3 MP before we move on--and that's only if we don't rest a bit.))

"Eighteen have turned? Not bad." Keitsumah offers them to Darin. "Hmm... Darin, would you mind if we try seeing how the new healing spell works on you? I'd rather not cut into our berry supply too much, since magic can be replenished without having to take another trip up. If Mauve can't heal you enough, then of course feel free to have some berries.

"Keit, I suspect only a berry or two should make you good as new, so by all means heal yourself."

I keep the other thirteen berries with me, while Keit has the eighteen Goodberries... some in her pouch, and maybe a couple ingested. Once Darin and Keit seem ready to move, I say to Batos, "Don't worry, Batos. Getting you down the rope will be easier than going up."

And of course, when we get down, I try to hide my annoyance as I brush the wolf hair from my wool dress.




Nissa! Why does it cling?

I'm a Valkyrie. If you have a question about dog hair, ask the druid!

 

[Ireth]

I look up as Mauve and Branwen return. Mauve offers part of her cloak to Branwen like a mother bird's wing, and I smile at the sight. It fades a little when I see the anger in her eyes. What is she thinking?

"Mauve? What is it?"

 

[Nihal]

Room!

Oh, god damn, Mauve, you're retarded!

"Sorry—"

What are you apologizing for, no brain? He'll get suspicious!

I bite my lip, looking at him. He's watching me closely now, exactly like Baldhart did. She noticed I kept thoughts to myself and she didn't gave up. That was the best I could hope for, her insistence, I could have faced another hand squeezing my throat if she decided to take a different approach.

I sigh. A bit of truth won't hurt, uh?

"I'm still upset. The cleri—Rydh." Duh! "I am so angry at him..." I look down. "...and upset. I've made a mistake. Yes, I've made a mistake." It's easier to continue now I confessed it aloud. Okay, maybe it's too much truth, something I've been avoiding to think about it since he left. I take a deep breath. "He was leaving, I was angry, he hit me and acted like a jerk... again...! I was so mad at him and had no idea I was harboring such feelings until he decided to hit me. He never liked me; I was happy to punch him. I mean, I really was upset about him hitting me, but... it kinda..." I lower my voice and play with the fringe of my tunic to keep my hands busy.

"It felt nice. It was a excuse to take off all the resentment I had, which I didn't even know I had, and I messed everything up by doing this. But what was I supposed to do?! I can't let people hurt me and walk away, right?" I raise my eyes. "He... he gave his word that day! And then he turned against me, without a second thought! Why I'm the one who should think better, avoid conflict, calm down...?

"I know you're thinking it's my fault. It's so unfair, I tried to avoid conflict since the first day, but no matter what it never worked, it only came around and blew right in my face, and it always feels like it's my fault. But it's not my fault, I did nothing wrong to deserve this. But it is my fault, I should know better, I shouldn't be caught off guard by them... by myself.

"I can't understand what I'm doing so wrong. I'm trying, really! What should I do? Did you ever felt this lost, like if you were doing the right thing but at the same time it was the wrong choice?

"I... I'm sorry." I shake my head and fiddle with the parchment. "I don't shut up, you're thinking I'm acting like a stupid teenager or something and I should be studying this spell. It's so embarrassing! I'll just... study."

 

[Ireth]

I listen in silence as Mauve speaks, thinking it better to let her vent her feelings uninterrupted. Only when she falls silent do I speak again.

"It isn't your fault, Mauve. Rydh broke his word to you, and only he can be blamed for that. But violence is not always the right answer, even in anger." I lower my eyes for a moment, shoving back memories. "Pain begets pain, and it is a neverending cycle. Someone has to stand up and break it. I'm not saying it had to be you in this case, but you certainly had the chance."

I meet her eyes. "Whatever happens in the future, if there are things you need to speak of that you don't want the others to know, you can confide in me. I will not reveal anything you wish to be kept secret."

 

[SeverinR]

With an arrow ready, I stay back until he enters the archway, then move up to keep him in sight.

never trust your life to someone elses ability to spot a trap. I dislike moving forward with only the ranger and I, but I doubt he would consider returning. For stealth there is no better combonation, but in a fight I need someone to distract the enemy so I can do my magic, its hard to distract a groups attention with one person.

 

[Nihal]

Room!

"If violence isn't the answer, then what am I supposed to do?! I cannot allow an attack go unanswered, it's not only pride or revenge, it's... survival. They..." I open and close my mouth, hesitating. How would he receive this? "Every time they perceived weakness, they mistreated me. The ran—An... Ankari. He thought he could control me, cower me into submission, kill me easily. He perceived me as weak, someone vulnerable he could use, and he had this look in his eyes; until I fought back and hurt him he truly thought he could do anything, he just grabbed my throat and... He went mad when he realized I could fight back, when he failed to stab me...

"But now he understood I'm not to be controlled so far he stopped threatening me. Rydh wasn't that different, when he felt I was vulnerable he attacked me, with words first, now with hands. It's repeating." I take a deep breath, trying to organize my thoughts.

"I was so happy everything was working right. I did not want him to leave; he does not like me, I do not like him, but I understand everyone needed him. I am upset because I made him leave, with him because it was his fault, with me because I am feeling so guilty when I should not—but I feel anyway, because I messed everything up. No matter what I try, it feels like when people take a closer look at me they see something so terrible, so hateful that they feel compelled to turn against me. And here I am again, trying to figure out how avoid it.

"That sounds so ridiculous." I chuckle.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Approaching the Stone Door...

I lead the way, keeping concerns to myself that Mauve and Cadell aren't enough to protect Branwen if anything gets into that room. Of course, I'm not expecting any danger... but that's the whole point, isn't it? The lizards are cowards, it seems. But the shaman had a couple strong men with her. I can only assume the priestess will have strong bodyguards, and if it's rare for a lizardman to get that big, the priestess will keep most of the big guys to herself.

Splitting the party is fine for berry-picking, but Ankari really made a mess taking off like that. If anything made it in here, it's because he gave away our position.

((Not sure if I can move the characters ahead this much, so I'll write this next bit as a mental picture, keeping actual location vague.))

I picture myself approaching the stone door. Low stance so I don't bump my head on the way through... again. Left hand on the door handle, right hand fingers caressing the strands of hair by my ear that I can never really figure out what to do with. It'll look like I'm playing with my hair, but I'll really be keeping my hand close to the hilt of my sheathed blade.

If anything happens to that little girl, or to my friends, the monsters that did it better be too strong for me! I'll rip them apart! I'll make them suffer!

Try to be a little more optimistic, Baldy.

Sorry, Nissa. I guess Ankari's not the only one who's ready to finish our job here.

Yeah, but the difference is you recognize that not everyone in your group is ready. That's important. In a party of this size, survival should not be compromised to hasten victory. Once members start to fall, future victories are less likely. My Sisters have witnessed this over the years. So have I...