Dragon's Egg - Act II

[Ireth]

I pace by the edge of the water, biting back the curses that swarm in my mind. What else can I do? Following Rydh as I am would be suicide, and following Ankari would only make him greet me with more scorn and spite. All there is left to do is wait for the latter to return.

 

[Nihal]

((They wrote with chalk. ;x))

As I feel the tension again, I hiss a warn to Baldhart and cling to the stone.

 

[Steerpike]

((Ah, chalk. OK that's a lot faster. We'll say the RP brings you up to the time of changing back)).

Fish-Mauve immerses herself in the cool water. It is pleasant to her transformed skin, but quickly the transformation takes over, her body curling in pain as she returns to her natural form. When the transformation ends she floats in the water, exhausted, and keenly aware of just how cold the water is to her unprotected skin. Though tired, she has enough energy to swim to dry ground.

 

[Nihal]

((Again being annoying: She wouldn't have to swim too far, she's a clever girl and lied down so the water reaches her gills but she wouldn't drown (unless she blacks out). ;x

I guess Baldy will help, so...))

The cold sinks it's claws in my flesh, the pain of the transformation blending with the one caused by the freezing water. I drag myself out of the lake, accepting Baldhart's help when she comes over.

"Finally."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Before Aliron can respond, I see Mauve twitching. No time to explain my hasty departure, I race over to her. I carefully place my sword by the fire, eyeing the scales exposing poor Mauve as she lays flat on her back in the shallow water. Her human form is small. I fear her head will go under or she'll drift from the change in size.

To my surprise, she drags herself from the water on her own. But I see she's looking to me for help. I pick her up and bring her to the fire. Her strips of clothing can be used for drying. She offered that to me, but I can take the cold longer than most. Fire and time left me dry enough, but Mauve can't wait.

"This is aw--"

Baldy! You're handling her as if she's a small child! The last thing she needs to hear is how awkward this is for YOU!

"--a good place to dry you off, Mauve." I use the remains of her old outfit to dry her. Dry enough! I wrap her in her cloak and seat her close to the fire. I hold her up in a sitting position, then make sure her cloak is wrapped around her modestly.

I speak softly. I want her to know I'm calm. "If you'd rather not have me holding you up like this, tell me the most comfortable position. I'll help you in any way you ask me to."

 

[Nihal]

In the past I would have been upset for being exposed like this, my skin bare in all its hideousness to anyone see. I'm not. It doesn't matter anymore, I'm past the point of having a normal life and the thought of being shy honestly sounds funny to me.

I laugh out loud, aware of how uncomfortable she is. "T-there is no w-way to make th-this situation any less em-embarrassing. I guess I owe y-you an apologize for t-t-throwing you into this."

I know what I must say to her, I've been reviewing it in my mind while I waited to turn back.

"Baldhart," I whisper, "tha-thanks. It i-is the f-f-freaking nicest thing someone has d-done for me in a long t-time." I give a half smile, leaning closer to the fire.

"I know... your de-devotion means a lot to you. So I t-told you that. I am not brave, and I do not c-care about being brave, I will f-fight if it will help me to stay alive and re-t-treat if I think it will get me closer to my objective. I am only doing what needs to be done.

"The corruption c-can not be undone. I am not here to merely put an end to the Taint like you, I am here t-to understand it, to learn all I can." My voice is barely audible.

"Do not get me wrong. I hate the corruption, I hate what happened to magic. If it had been fixed, 'today' would not have happened, it wouldn't wreck countless lives. I want it to end, it has to end. I will end the corruption even if it's the last thing I'll do, I'll do anything to heal our world, even if the corruption destroys my mind in the process I know I'll still do it, I won't forget, it's the only thing that matters." My face is hot. I breath.

"I will not ask you to break your vows. I will remind you to to keep your eyes on your objective, to think if throwing yourself in a deadly situation is the best way to achieve it. It is the best thing I can do for you. A meaningless death suffered only to show how 'brave' you are will not help you, will not help the people you want to save. I know you are brave, Nissa knows, your goddess knows. You do not need to prove it. You are still alive, then take your eyes off your paradise for a while and live now."

I smile slyly and wave my hand, dismissing the thought of death. "Well, it's only what we can do, isn't it? Enjoy it while we can. Do what we came to do."

 

[SeverinR]

"welcome back, Mere-Wizard." I say quietly as I finish the last of the berries.
"I hope the cannoe hurries back, Because for battle, I am injured, you are weakened from the transformation, (changes to an aristocratic voice) and Baldhart's dress does not meet the required dress code for such an occasion." I smile as the pain in my leg subsides.

I look to the glowing rocks, looking for fist size rocks.
"might we take a few of the smaller glow stones? We could toss them ahead to light the way, rather then just depend on torches or lanterns? Much easier to toss and won't start a fire if they land in the wrong place. The temple fire has burned in my mind that I don't want to start another fire that could get out of control."
[[[If the stones are close enough I will pick one up and look more closely. While keeping most of my(eyes and ears) attention on the tunnel.]]]

 

[Nihal]

"I hoped they would be back by now. Someone was splashing on the water at other side, but the barbarian was already dealing with him. I do not think he was hurt to hinder everyone this much." I watch him picking the stones. "Could you gather some for me? I do not have a torch."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

She spoke to me... Baldy... I'm not a vulture after all...!

* * *

Nissa's words follow Mauve's words. Two very different messages, but both lead to the same conclusion! I can barely breathe. The prospect of my death was easy to handle. This is not. It's beautiful, but hard to take it all in at once...


"Mauve, I... I really appreciate everything you just said." I stare into the fire. "Don't apologize... you are right about bravery... almost..." I finally manage to take my eyes from Nissa. I move to Mauve's side, making eye contact but not blocking the fire. I keep a hand on each shoulder so she doesn't fall over. "You are brave... that's the only part where you're wrong... bravery doesn't mean getting yourself killed... it never did."

I look back at the fire. At Nissa.

"She's not a vulture...!" Mauve never heard that term from me. I better explain. "Nissa... she dreaded the prospect of seeing me die, and thought... she was like a vulture, just waiting... it's not why she's here, Mauve." Again, I look Mauve in the eyes. "You are right about Her... there is nothing to prove... it doesn't matter that I die here or in a bed when I'm thirty... Nissa isn't here to pluck the soul from my corpse.

"I'm supposed to live!

"I have to keep fighting, but keep winning, keep surviving! Mauve, I made that vow because I thought you needed me. But I also need you! You want to help me keep an eye on my objective, well guess what! Part of my objective is to live! Live or die, being a valkyrie is in my future... but I want to live!"

I want to hug her, but... she's not wearing anything under that cloak. She'd rather have more information than a hug, but I'm still processing what Nissa just revealed to me. It's like... well, no... it's not really the same thing.

 

[Nihal]

Ooh, I managed to get my message across at least once! Not bad.

Grinning, I tell her, "Eeeh, then I have permission to pull your ear if I think your courage is a bit misguided?

Anyway, are you sick? You keep talking as if you was condemned to die young... Nay, never mind, better not to talk about it now. You talk too much about dying, and dying young, a change would not be bad. I really meant it, about enjoying the life." I look at the fire and throw a sideways glace at her. "I came from a mountain too, not a famous mountain. A place in the middle of nowhere. I've never seen a dwarf before, only one or other elf from afar, in the villages I passed by while traveling to here. I did not taste half of the food here, I have not seen the sea—although I discovered its scent with the knife. These small things are sweet, I want to see more; that's how I'm enjoying my life. You could try it.

"Oh, and do not bother trying to convince them of my value. The ranger plainly hates me, the cleric is often angry or cocky, being prone to call me a coward—I guess he secretly loathes me. Sir Matthew is always watching. He does not trust me and will keep not trusting me." I smile. "I do not care. Trying to convince them will not do any good, it will be a pointless fight. We are better now. I do not want a fight."

 

[Ankari]

((To Darin))

"We can only try. Anything is better than standing idle." Before we leave the room, I grab a couple cooking pans to use as paddles.

"Darin, we may have started off on the wrong foot, but I am glad you are among us. Save for the height, we are similar in thought."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

I hear Mauve. Do I really not enjoy life? Did I really lose that?

"If you don't think I know how to enjoy life, maybe I'm the one losing touch with my humanity…

"Well, you did miss some good times. When we first came up north, I arm wrestled the biggest guy in the tavern. Burnbright was trying to earn a meal, so I gambled for her. I didn't think the biggest guy would take me on because I'm a woman. I didn't think I'd win either, but after a few minutes, Burnbright cheered me on. Me and that kid hit it off as soon as we laid eyes on each other. And the guy I wrestled, his name is Hrolf—nice guy—good sport—thankfully! And Rydh's not so bad. I was broke when I came here, so he gave me some gold. I bought that wool dress with it. A man named Arn made it—even designed that Valkyrie silhouette on the hem.

"Oh, yeah… so I was broke when I earned Burnbright a meal. That's why I had to arm wrestle. I offered a bottle of Gluhwein in case I lost. It's just common wine but you add two cinnamon sticks, an orange, cloves and honey… heat it up. I can make some when we get to the Crow! And we can have Arn make you an outfit!"

I look over to the cave. Our enemies lurk inside. No getting around it.

"If you want to enjoy life and… still do this, we need to plan for what we do after a battle. Let's shop when we get to town. A new outfit for you, maybe new armor for me from that big lizard thing—Arn specializes in hide armor—and while we wait, I'll make Gluhwein for everyone.

"If you want to plan long term, come to the Iron Mountain someday. The natives, those who were there before the Eisenberg clan settled—settled, not conquered… they're Uller worshippers. Uller is the god of archery, magic and skiing. That's a lot of things for one god but, point is, a magic user is more than welcome where I come from. No hate and fear. And skiing! Have you tried it? Even if I'm—"

Dead. Don't talk about it.

"—mmmmnot traveling with you… because… I'm already there and you visit me later, right? You just say you know me; I'm a friend of yours. My name will get you to the peak without trouble.

"Anyway. Skiing. Hot wine. New dresses. Those are things I like."

I hug her. It's weird for me. I let go, but then keep my arms on her so she doesn't tip.

"And hugs," I sigh. "Well! If you're the fun one, how do you plan to enjoy life?"

 

[SeverinR]

Ooh, I managed to get my message across at least once! Not bad.

Grinning, I tell her, "Eeeh, then I have permission to pull your ear if I think your courage is a bit misguided?

Anyway, are you sick? You keep talking as if you was condemned to die young... Nay, never mind, better not to talk about it now. You talk too much about dying, and dying young, a change would not be bad. I really meant it, about enjoying the life." I look at the fire and throw a sideways glace at her. "I came from a mountain too, not a famous mountain. A place in the middle of nowhere. I've never seen a dwarf before, only one or other elf from afar, in the villages I passed by while traveling to here. I did not taste half of the food here, I have not seen the sea—although I discovered its scent with the knife. These small things are sweet, I want to see more; that's how I'm enjoying my life. You could try it.

"Oh, and do not bother trying to convince them of my value. The ranger plainly hates me, the cleric is often angry or cocky, being prone to call me a coward—I guess he secretly loathes me. Sir Matthew is always watching. He does not trust me and will keep not trusting me." I smile. "I do not care. Trying to convince them will not do any good, it will be a pointless fight. We are better now. I do not want a fight."

"Seems the perfect group to send in first, the expenable thief, the mere-wizard and her protector.
But reversely, I also think us three have some trust between us.
The others I would agree haven't shown commitment or acceptance for the wizard, so I would not trust them alone with her."
I adjust my position, and test my leg, then add:
"It should go without saying, I don't fully trust the newest and loudest member, it is my nature not to trust."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

"The two of you have earned my trust. I was… hoping to trust the new guy. But actions speak louder than words. His words are exceptionally loud, but his actions… maybe I expect too much from a barbarian follower of Thor built like the ideal soldier: all brawn and no brain. My father always said the problem with guys like him is when they try using what they don't have. I expected that hammer of his to be more efficient than my sword. Instead, he drops the hammer to wrestle a giant monster then forces a retreat when we are evenly matched with an enemy in number.

"Well… maybe he'll redeem himself next battle, but let's be sure enough of us remember we depend on each other for survival. You both understand that I never charge an enemy if I think it will get myself or others killed, right? Not fearing death isn't the same as wanting it.

"Even if I want it, my Go—" Breathe. "Nissa will not allow me to sacrifice my life to save others. It won't change how I fight. Just know that if I ever seemed to entertain the thought of getting myself killed for some blaze-of-glory reason, that's not an option for me."

 

[Nihal]

Holding the cloak, I hug her back.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you! What I was trying to say was to not get so fixated with death, honorable last effort, these things. Before you said you thought you was going to die and was happy because maybe your mission was giving the knife to me... err... or something like that. Be happy because you're alive, dammit!

"Just now you were going to say 'Even if I'm dead', weren't you?" I raise one eyebrow. "See? Just forget about it, worry when you're dead. You'll have a plenty of time to do this, won't you? Think you'll see your mountain again, and we might skii... whatever it is.

"Now, I am the fun one." I fake an arrogant voice.

"How do I enjoy life? Starting by food, of course! And beverages. Alcohol! We hadn't it at home." I gesture animatedly while I talk, grinning, until the cloak almost slides off. "Oh." I hold it, with an idea in mind.

"And there are the men..." I smile slyly and let the words sink in before adding, "Hey, I'm joking!"

"I'm not sure about dresses. Somehow I've been ending improperly dressed at the end of every day, I don't want to show anything by accident even when dressed. Well... Can you get my backpack? I still have clean, dry clothes. And wine. Tastes bad but makes wonders to freezing fingers and limbs. And hey, it's still alcohol.

"I know, you must be thinking I am crazy. I'm just glad my magic is back and the worst passed. I had some pretty shi—bad days, but now things are better." I look at Aliron. "I also owe it to you and also to Sir Cadell. I feel safer after you spoke up for me. And more welcome now."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

I get the backpack. "Here's your clothes… and Aliron, Mauve's the better looker, so if you have to avert your eyes away from one and at the other, choose wisely." I take off my armor exposing myself completely in front of them. I see Nissa giggling by the fire. I slowly slip into my dress. The armor fits comfortably over it.

I get the bottle of wine. I'll just pull the cork off.

"Stubborn… grrrr… damn thing…"

"Anyone… gotta… grahhh… corkscrew…?"

"Screw it!" *POP*

"Let's drink. To what?"

 

[Nihal]

I wait her dress herself, then slip inside my clothes. "One more fight won? Oh, did you see it, I was so ugly they ran from me!" I laugh.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Laughing with her, I raise the bottle, take a sip, pass it along, then say, "To my fellow women-at-arms… I know, I know, typical of a Brynhild follower, but I'm going somewhere with this…

"To Mauve and Nissa, for both telling me to stop sacrificing myself, and to Hiljikki for giving me the means to prove I listened by providing me with this…"

I take out a goodberry, show it to my friends, then eat it.

"…goddess-damned fruit that must've come out the wrong end of a bird! Holy shi—quickly, keep the bottle moving! I gotta wash out the taste!"


((Baldy's HP is full / 7 berries left))

 

[Nihal]

"Santé!" Raising the bottle, I say, "To Baldhart, who just said a swear word! Yes, I heard that. Here, drink, and don't forget Aliron." I give the bottle back.

"We are a merry group, uh? We should put a serious face before they arrive, or they will get pissed." I sigh. "I'm too agitated, heh. When those lizards return, they'll be stronger." I look at the tunnel and retrieve the string from one of my pouches and some of the rings I used on my hair from the other. I tie one at the end of the string and put them back on the pouch.

 

[Sparkie]

My teeth would be chattering were it not for the blade in my mouth. But even cold as I am, I cannot help but acknowledge to myself the primeval beauty of this place. As I look up and around me in the dark, I feel like I'm under a backlit canopy with holes punched in it. Remarkable.

I hear a splashing noise, and see a shape approaching. I hope it's the boat. I tread water, take the sword from my jaws, and wave as it approaches. "Over here!" I call, just loud enough to be heard...