Tales of Faerun

[GrueMaster]

We'tak looked at Hazel and chirped in great enthusiasm. *CHIR!* Finally, someone willing to share! "Oh, I would like that very much, Hazel!" The thri-kreen exclaimed as he ran. Before long, he reached his excited clutchmate and came to a slow stop, watching as Rhaine and the dark winged pointy-ear hugged one another. A dark winged pointy-ear female? She seems... familiar... He thought, curiously, but did not interrupt the moment, feeling that this was a very special event in some way for the two softskins.

 

Finally, the two females came over to the rest of the clutch, where Rhaine introduced the new arrival as Maydiira. *CHEE!* "Hi, I am We'tak!" the hatchling said more excitedly than usual. For some reason, this dark winged pointy-ear felt close to him somehow. Before anyone could say another word, We'tak rushed forward and nearly tackled Maydiira in a strong embrace and rubbing his cheek against her, not unlike a cat rubbing up against its owner affectionately, chee-ing happily all the while.

 

After a breath or two, he finally released Maydiira, not sure entirely why he reacted in such a way, but felt glad for it all the same. But no longer than had We'tak let go did yet another wave of questions began. "You came back to life? Is Eilistraee that strong? She must be a great spirit blessed by Mother Moon herself for such power. You don't seem to wear a lot of clothes like other softskins. Do you feel that so much cloth is strange, too...?"

[AurianaValoria1]

To Rameses and Eirene's comments, Rhaine nodded, "We'll have to get her some proper armor and some clothing as soon as we reach a town with a blacksmith. Though, knowing Maydiira here, she'd likely be just as satisfied going na-"

 

The Doomguide's words were abruptly cut off as We'tak crushed the drow in question with a massive four-armed hug, which effectively distracted Maydiira from Kellak's rudeness. Maydiira herself struggled to extricate herself from the thri-kreen's grasp, all the while attempting to answer his inquiries to the best of her abilities; it took a while, but she managed to free herself, and in no small amount of time, she finally mounted up behind Rhaine atop Kaliste, ready to join the party in their journey.

 

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The next few days were fairly busy for the group. The party finally reached Zorica's hometown the next morning - a small, wall-less village on the outskirts of the Yuirwood. It was there that the half-drow paladin rejoined with the brothers of her chapel and, by happenstance, learned some very important information regarding her initial quest. Feeling closer to her goal than she had ever been before, Zorica asked permission to part ways with Rhaine's company, wishing to complete the quest that she had long thought hopeless. The Doomguide granted the paladin's request with a heavy heart, wishing her luck and promising to pray for her in her endeavors.

 

While in town, a simple suit of shining steel half-plate was purchased for Maydiira, the backplate discarded and substituted with a custom panel of mail. The drow obviously did not prefer to be armored so heavily, but she realized the necessity for it, and so her complaining was minimal. Rhaine also took the time to buy some more travel food for the party, and it was then she noticed that their funding was running quite low. She hoped they would have the good fortune to run across a source of income soon...

 

As the party turned northwards, heading towards Furthinghome through the Yuirwood, Abby began having nightmares. They were random, sporadic, brief flashes of fire and screaming and terror, with not much sense to be made of them, but they plagued the halfling almost every night after their stop in Zorica's hometown. Despite this fact, however, the monk said nothing about it to the other party members, not wanting to bother them with trivial notions, as everything else they were doing seemed much more important than worrying about silly dreams. Meanwhile, Argyros spent more time in the air than usual, obviously enjoying the fine weather they were having (and not having to be called upon for any skirmishes). Despite his light mood, however, he kept sniffing slightly anytime he was near Eirene, and he would fall silent for a time after doing so, as if heavily contemplating something for quite a while...

 

Conall, too, was often quiet and introspective as of late, even though he always kept a sharp eye on We'tak. He did not speak to the others about his newly-acquired medallion, nor of the role that Selune had given him; he simply carried it out silently and with diligence. Like Argyros, he would occasionally look upon Eirene with suspicion, but also like the dragon, he did not say a word to her about his thoughts.

 

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Seven days after encountering the cursed knight and his enchantress lover, the party emerged on the other side of the Yuirwood and was following the road straight north to Furthinghome. With any luck, they would reach the city itself in two more days and have eleven to prepare for the gala where Gregor and Rosalinde's wedding would take place. Rhaine had hopes that having access to so many high-profile mages of Aglarond would also benefit the party's quest; surely someone among the plethora of arcanists would know of Shadovar activities around the province or in nearby nations.

[FreemasonGamer]

During the time in which the adventuring company traversed the Aglarondian landscape towards the vast Yuirwood bordering the northern horizon, Eirene attempted on multiple occasions to familiarize herself with her newfound companions. Although, the Mulhorandi sometimes struggled when she approached the others, either as they rode down well-trodden roads or made camp under the ever-gleaming stars of the night. In spite of her quivering optimism, she did often feel like an outsider among them, and her dubious introduction with the group only fed her hesitation whenever it peaked.

 

To make matters worse, Eirene always remained grimly conscious of the shifting moon above, glancing skyward each evening at the disk of milky silver. It was antagonizing how beautiful, majestic, and pure the moon appeared to be despite what horrible influence it held over the Mulhorandi. For most of her waking hours, Eirene tried to avoid any thoughts concerning her affliction, but those meager moments she spent each night gazing up at the moon before retiring to her tent reminded her of the danger she posed to those she accompanied through Aglarond. Nevertheless, the Mulhorandi bit her lip and adorned a hollow smile each morning, suppressing the dreadful fear welling up within her as the moon's phase grew slightly with each passing night.

 

Similarly, Rameses was plagued with troubles of his own as they all traveled through the scenic lands of hills and forests. Eirene's presence in itself and her former affiliation with Harlock Dorne frequently reminded the fire genasi of his harrowing experiences involving the man. Sometimes caught up in his own remembrance of the sinister individual, Rameses sometimes set himself apart from the others and as far away from the Mulhorandi as he could accomplish whenever they made camp. During such stupors which occurred a small handful of times, he also intently rubbed his right palm with a hazy look of nostalgia in his eyes, his szuldar dimly reflecting whatever light happened to disturb their faded radiance. However, the genasi thankfully had his companions who often brightened his days; We'tak most often brought amused grins to Rameses's countenance more so than any other companion of his, although an aloof smile did frequently cross the genasi's features when he caught sight of the fair dryad he had attained some dregee of fondness towards.

[josh900]

Leif had now been traveling for nearly a month now, while many would consider that being far too long a time spent away from ones family, not many were able to magically communicate with their loved ones, making the distance much more bearable, but not completely removing the feeling of their absence.

 

Intrigued by the newest arrival, Leif had warmly introduced himself to Mardiira, but had since kept some distance from her so as to not overcrowd her seeing as We'tak and Hexol both seemed to have a never ending supply of questions for her, it was also due to Zaph's unending need to prove his superior wingspan to her at every opportunity.

-----

 

The mere mention of the fancy party put Azuris on edge, the very thought of being stuffed into some pompous looking outfit and being forced to shave off his newly appeared facial scruff did not sit well with him.

 

Lucas meanwhile, hadn't thought much of the party, as he had no doubt that he would simply fade into the background and out of sight during the event.

[Macman253]

Kellak trudged alongside them in solemn silence. The raven that accompanied him came back and perched on his shoulder. The bird cawed loudly but he swatted it away, it hopped down to the horn of his saddle and rested there as Terra ambled alongside the party.

 

When they reached the city itself Kellak took the time to purchase some rations for Terra and a fresh batch of pipeweed for himself, buying a small keg of dwarven ale and tying it to the side of his saddle. During their trek through Yuirwood he had Haelga ready by his side, he didn't much like the stench of forests. The mixed smell of beasts, plants and decay. He spent the trip idly smoking on the fresh pipeweed and pulling a flagon of ale from the keg as they went. He stayed largely silent, reading one of his books, drinking and carving stones in the saddle as they went.

[GrueMaster]

As the days passed, We'tak, almost like clockwork, bombarded the others with the odd question here and there about the softskin world, still wanting to know as much as possible, especially since Maydiira joined them. However, despite his usual enthusiasm and outward appearance, the young thri-kreen was growing...uneasy. What is bothering clutchmates so? he thought, having picked up various, nigh-imperceptible changes in his clutch.

 

Several of his clutchmates seemed to be ill at ease, to various degrees. Abby, though she did not speak of it, seemed to be having something troubling her in her sleep; though incredibly hard to detect, her pheromones had a slight tinge of stress to them after waking up. Rhaine had some concern over something, but it did not appear to be serious. The fireskin Rameses would often wander a little ways by himself, pondering deeply, though since he still smiled often, We'tak didn't pay it too much attention. Kellak was silent, and We'tak didn't mind that; with the way the short softskin had acted towards Maydiira, whom the young thri-kreen had taken an immediate liking to (despite her decision to wear more cloth), he wasn't going to go out of his way yet to ask about Kellak's behavior.

 

The dark softskin Eirene, however, was the clutchmate that worried him the most. Lately, it seemed that she grew more and more anxious with each passing night, glancing up at Mother Moon as She crossed the sky with something akin to... fear? Why would she fear Mother Moon? We'tak couldn't help but wonder incredulously. And why is Conall and Argyros wary of her? It wasn't helping matters that Conall kept looking at the dark softskin female with suspicion and Argyros kept sniffing at her. The thri-kreen also picked up on the fact the werewolf was also keeping a watchful eye on him, too.

 

"Eirene?" he asked cheerfully, deciding that such suspicions were not good for the clutch and that the female needed reassurance. "Are you excited for the full moon? I am looking forward to it!" *CHEE!* "I am going to be two moons old, then!" *CHEE-CHEE!* Giving Eirene a quick hug in his elation, We'tak kept pouring out enthusiasm, even though his birthmoon was still several nights away. "We will get to celebrate and enjoy the night together, and you will get to hear me play strings!" *WEE!*

 

Suddenly remembering his strings, the thri-kreen chirped excitedly. "Oh, I know!" Speaking aloud to the clutch, he shared his idea. "These "weddings" are big important celebrations, like birthmoons, yes?" He looked at everyone, compound eyes reflecting his eagerness. "We should play music and bring gifts for it!"

[AurianaValoria1]

As Rhaine scouted out an area for them to make camp, Conall pulled Gaius to a halt and glanced at We'tak with concern in his eyes, "Gifts of appropriate nature would be fine, friend, but I am not so certain that we ourselves should play anything. They will have likely hired their own professional musicians, and I doubt competition would be welcome at such an event."

 

Argyros, still in his elven form, looked thoughtful from his perch behind Eirene, "I have yet to attend such a ceremony. It will be an intriguing thing to witness."

 

"I doubt one such as I would be welcome," Maydiira frowned, having dismounted from Rhaine's horse to stretch her legs, "But I will not shy from these people, if we are to participate in this gala."

 

"Ehhhhh don't worry about it," Abby grinned, pointy teeth glinting in the sunlight, "We'll just pretend we're circus freaks or something and it'll all be good."

[Macman253]

Kellak growled as they stopped. He shook the half-empty keg to check the levels of it's contents. The dwarf moved slowly, the strong dwarven alcohol was getting to him.

 

"Aye wee lass." He said to the pointy-toothed halfling. "We will just walk in, toss some balls around, dance about like elves fer' a few coppers an' a free meal." He swigged the last of the ale in his mug and climbed out of Terra's saddle. Odyn flew over and landed on the ground, he picked at a earthworm that had stuck his head over the dirt and pulled it out, guzzling the long worm shortly afterward.

 

The drunk dwarf swung around and gestured to Argyros. "I must agree Master Argyros, I 'ave to never been to a wedding... not many human-folk want a stubby legged dwarf dancin' about wit' te' bride." He said with a distinct slur. He shrugged his shoulders and went to drink from his mug again, remembering he emptied it a few seconds before after he shook it a few times and looked down into the stone carved mug that looked like it could be used as a weapon as well as a drinking cup.

[FreemasonGamer]

It was a warm, peaceful afternoon as the sun began its lazily graceful descent towards the distant horizon, and Eirene slowed the jittery pace of her horse's trot as her companions did the same; there was no reason to travel any further until the Doomguide returned from her scouting in search of a suitable camping site for the evening. As what had come to be the usual over the course of the past several days, the Mulhorandi quietly kept to her own thoughts while her fellow adventurers engaged in conversation. Blankly savoring the serenity of their natural surroundings, her gaze dimly settled upon the horn of her steed's saddle, her thoughts circulating violently and stagnating sickeningly like the clouded, filthy waters of a flood. So engrossed Eirene was in her own pondering that Wet'ak's seemingly distant volley of inquiries suddenly startled her back into reality upon reaching her ears.

 

"Well, We'tak..." The Mulhorandi clumsily began, clearly at a loss of what would be the best answer to the thri-kreen's first question, "If I am honest, no; I am not excited for it." She finally decided to remark, struggling to be as sincere as possible with her friend while also remaining secretive for her own well being. To make matters worse, Eirene sourly disdained having to dampen We'tak's lively anticipation for the lunar event since it meant so much to him. "That sounds wonderful, We'tak." She also noted towards Wet'ak's upcoming birthmoon with a vague, expressionless tone ushering forth from her lips.

 

When the young thri-kreen gave the Mulhorandi a brief yet firm hug, her demeanor stiffened and became rigid as she averted her gaze, forcing a meager smile upon her countenance with a gentle nod. "I am afraid Conall is right, young one," Eirene quickly addressed We'tak's notion of performing music at the upcoming celebration, "Had Sir Gregor and Lady Rosalinde wanted us to perform at their wedding, they would have mentioned such before we parted ways. However, gifts would be entirely appropriate for such an occasion."

 

At which point, Rameses strode into the conversation, relaxed upon his lofty perch atop the saddle of his lumbering camel. "After all, it's only fair to bring presents in order to enjoy the refreshments." He mused humorously while absentmindedly scratching the gradually worsening stubble along his jawline. "Nothing is more horridly inappropriate or disrespectful to the bride and broom than neglecting them of gifts while still indulging in the free liquor and delicacies." Rameses soon added with a mischievous smirk and a sarcastically civilized, formal tone accenting his usually aloof and easygoing words.

 

Eirene immediately narrowed her hazel colored eyes in response to the genasi's smug jest, and she swiftly sprang onto the conclusion that he was mocking her. "Your familiarity with such indignant behavior must come from experience, Galeran." She snapped sharply, and the Mulhorandi quickly offered the reins of her horse to Argyros, who had taken a seat behind her, before she effortlessly slid off the saddle.

 

"Please take great care of my steed, Argyros, as I desire a walk alone." The young ranger attempted to remark as calmly as possible, but her words were clearly unwelcoming, hollow, and edged with an easily perceivable degree of agitation. Her angered gaze threw daggers at the fire genasi for a moment until she swiftly turned on her heels, briskly strolling down the path from which they came; not once did Eirene voice a single word or even exchange glances with her companions as she passed the bulk of their group.

 

Rameses turned around in Jarl's saddle to witness the Mulhorandi strike off on her own, obviously upset, and he released an audible groan before sinking into his seat. "As sensitive as a gods-forsaken bruise." He replied, rubbing his eyes as his szuldar flickered passively with mixed irritation and regret. His previous remark was indeed a teasing jab at Eirene's regal, sublime manner of speaking, but he did not intend to upset her as much as he evidently had. After a few moments of consideration, Rameses sighed to his adjacent companions, "I suppose I'll apologize when she returns."

 

With little else to do, Rameses simply listened to the others of their company as they discussed among themselves, and Kellak's drunken remarks soon drew his attention. While the dwarf's dialect in and of itself was difficult enough to decipher on most occasions, Rameses found it to be nearly impossible to understand alongside the dwarf's drunken slur. Furrowing his brow, the genasi simply observed the Kellak until he eventually realized that the dwarf warrior was referring to the wedding. "I do not believe we will be performing anything of the sort as this party, Kellak," Rameses finally remarked, reclining in his seat as Jarl lowered his head to graze, "We've been invited as guests, so hopefully we'll be the ones to be entertained instead."

 

His curiosity soon abandoning the intoxicated dwarf, Rameses's delayed internalization of their newest companion's utterance surfaced in his thoughts, and his gaze soon settled upon Maydiira once he spurred Jarl forward a few lumbering steps to close the distance between them. "We already have elves, a winged half elf, and one strange genasi with szuldar just as elaborate as your tattoos, which are fascinating, I might add," He noted while looking downward at the winged drow with an amused smile, "So I reckon you'd be just as welcome as any of the rest of us, Maydiira."

Edited November 6, 2015 by FreemasonGamer

[josh900]

Leif slid off the side of Zaph as the party stopped for camp. "I can juggle swords!" Leif said with a chuckle. "Think that'll help the circus story?"

 

"You're a big enough clown for it." Azuris grumbled from atop Bob.

 

"Never could do the face paint though, feels too weird and was never good at sitting still for it." Leif replied with a shrug.

 

"So you're a failure of a clown then?" Lucas asked as he rode up behind them.

 

"Yup, failed clown school, got kicked out, they said I wasn't taking it seriously enough."

 

"Shoulda kept my mouth shut." Azuris shook his head before dismounting Bob. "Still.... we're not outlandish enough to be considered a circus. We look bout like the average adventuring party to be honest. Don't need to be a circus to have unusual races traveling together."

 

"No," Leif agreed, "but it would keep people from asking us to clean out their basements of rats."