Ithildin Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 It wasn't long before Echo returned to the table, laden with dishes. A matronly waitress followed, carrying items the halfling wasn't able to manage in one trip, including an impressively sized steak. The woman hesitated. "For him?" she asked. "Yes," replied Echo, wondering what in the world the matron's problem was. She suddenly realized how this must look: an elderly gentleman stooped low in his seat, swaddled in a warm cloak, walking staff close to hand. "Er ... Grandfather still has all his teeth, and sure loves his steak. Loved it all his life, set in his ways, can't tell him otherwise." The waitress looked dubious. "Oh, of course. I meant no offense, sir. Enjoy, and let me know if there's anything else you need." She gave them an awkward little nod and left them to their meal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipout6 Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Weyland met up with Amendale at the post office, the latter having just sent his letter. "So apparently the group we're going ot be travelling with is staying at the Dreaming Dragon. I know where that is." Amendale followed him to the Inn. They didn't do much in the way of talking on the way there, given Amendale's quiet demeanor. The thought of Sana, who had once enslaved him, randomly crossed his mind at some point during the journey to the Inn, and Weyland's only thought regarding her was to kill her on sight. It wasn't long before they arrived at the Dreaming Dragon. A man wearing a full suit of armor was probably going to attract a little bit of attention, but not a particularily large amount. Looking around, Weyland noted a rather large collection of patrons sitting at a quieter table. He figured that they would probably be the group, they looked weathered and experienced enough. Amendale had reached the conclusion beforehand, and beat Weyland to the table. "Is this the group Rhaine spoke of?" He asked, his kindly voice tinted with curiosity. "The Doomguide." Weyland added helpfully. "Because if so, Amendale and I are going to be accompanying you on your trip....providing that's okay with the rest of you, of course." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ithildin Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Echo smiled shyly up at the newcomers. "Yes, we follow Lady Rhaine. Well met, good sirs, and please join us! If you're hungry, the food here is very good indeed. My friends are Nawen and Tak'we." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurianaValoria1 Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 The smith had done a fine job with her armor...which was saying something. Dwarven mithril was not easy to work for non-dwarves, but the suit looked as good as new...so Rhaine paid the smith an extra 100 gold for his excellent service. She returned to the Dreaming Dragon, armor pieces in a bag over one shoulder. There, she saw Weyland and Amendale with Echo, Nawen, and... ...the Doomguide grinned. The hunched form could only be Tak'we, as Xallistine never bothered disguising himself. She moved over to the table, "Good to see you are all doing well. We've a large sum of gold with which to purchase supplies, now. Let me go arm myself, and then we can set about gathering food and necessities for our journey. If you will excuse me." Rhaine then jogged up the inn stairs to don her armor, eager to begin the next leg of their travels. She was in an oddly good mood for someone who had faced death itself only three days earlier. Perhaps it was simply the joy of being alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrueMaster Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 The thri'kreen was about to dig into his meal when he noticed the two softskins approaching their table. As they introduced themselves, he studied the duo. That one is a fighter, he surmised as he looked at the way Weyland carried himself. As for the pointy-ear, he wasn't sure. Tak'we flinched slightly at the casual mention of his name, hoping no one overheard Echo introducing him. Very few people even knew his name, but it still bothered him all the same, and he couldn't help but look around again. He sat quietly at the table, still slightly suspicious of the two newcomers, but perked up when Rhaine walked in and lightly waved the top of his gythka in greeting. Noticing how she seemed to be comfortable with Amendale and Weyland, Tak'we relaxed a bit in his seat, nodding his head towards the two newcomers, and without a single word reached for something to cut his steak with. He was confidant that he was safe here, and started eating quietly, letting Nawen and Echo do the talking. ------ While everyone was sitting down at the table, Tak'we failed to notice one of the inn's guests leaving quickly yet calmly. The stranger picked up his pace after leaving the Dreaming Dragon, eager to get to his destination in a timely manner: Someone would pay a lot of gold for the information he had concerning a particular bounty.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipout6 Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 "I am Weyland Grey. Fighter and mercenary. This is Amendale. He doesn't talk much." He offered a handshake to each of them (save Rhaine, whom he had already introduced himself to) at the table. Amendale nodded politely. Rhaine mentioned supplies when she came in. "Oh, I bought food and other supplies for myself earlier today. I could go anywhere immediately." Weyland said. Amendale added his piece. "I have not. I can, however, get such things swiftly." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ithildin Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Mahira. A voice came to her in the dark, but it was ... indefinable, without pitch, without timbre. What was its origin? The only thing she knew for certain was that it was with her now, independent of her will to have it stay or go. She tried to answer, and found she could not speak; tried to move her hands, but had no hands to move. She struggled, and nothing changed; wanted to cry, but felt no sudden ache in her throat, no warmth of tears. What has happened to me? she thought, and was surprised to receive a response almost immediately. You cannot be shown before your mind is prepared. Who are you? she thought. You know already. A pair of white hands, bound at the wrist with a red cord. The Crying God. The Broken God. The Lord on the Rack. The One Who Endures. Names and images passed through her mind so quickly that she was overwhelmed. Ilmater ... but ... if you are with me, where am I? Echo's face was in her mind; she heard the halfling weeping, and she knew. I have ... died? Your body has, yes, came the reply. But what you truly are is something else entirely. Why am I allowed to speak with you? I have not been faithful for many years ... I have spent the better part of adulthood separate from you, and from all the gods. It seemed as if she heard a gentle laugh, but it was unlike any sound she had known in her lifetime. What makes you think you were separated from us, merely because you no longer served House Melder Rythin? Was there nothing you did with your life afterward that might be worthy of notice? Echo's face appeared before her once more. I cared for her, yes ... is she ... special to you? To the gods? She is no more "special" than any other mortal, came the reply, but you made a decision to care for her, without being asked. You spent the rest of your life looking after someone apart from yourself. That is special. But the "rest of my life" was not long, she protested, and any parent or sibling would do the same. Yet you were not those things to her when you took her under your wing. You were loyal to a fault, and she was not the only person you felt such loyalty for. She hesitated. Rhaine, she thought, but I knew her only briefly! There was no answer for some time. Mahira felt nothing physically - not coldness, warmth, pain, or discomfort - and yet ... she still had her emotions. She felt regret, loneliness, and fear. Ilmater? I am still here. Two more questions I have for you, Mahira. You were willing to follow Rhaine without reward of any kind, no matter the consequences. Is this not so? Yes, I would have done. She was ... unlike anyone else I had encountered. It was ... life-altering, being in the presence of her faith and resolve. I ... can't explain it. There is no need. You would do whatever she asked of you, would give your life for hers - just as you would for Echo's - unfailingly and without question. Is this not so? Strangely, she knew Ilmater was right, yet she could not understand where this was going. Yes, my lord, I would, she replied. There is one who stands in Judgment, and Rhaine Alcinea is high in his favor. You will hear from him soon. Without warning, the darkness around her gave way to a formless gray. She looked down and could see something of herself, but it was not the mortal body she had once known. Her hands and feet looked as she expected them to; she moved them experimentally and found that they were under her control, but they did not seem part of her. It was as if only sight had been restored to her, and not her sense of touch. She was dressed in the same unrestrictive garments she had worn in Calimshan long ago: her favorites, lightweight, brilliant white to reflect the desert sun ... but there was no sun here. For a fleeting moment, she longed for her weapons, and then realized she would never have need of them again. The shapes of cobblestones gradually formed beneath her feet as bubbles surfacing from the depths of a lake. She looked up, and saw that she stood upon a path leading through a high gate into a sprawling city. The city was gray, and gray were its structures, as was the featureless sky above. The high gate divided what appeared to be a rock wall, perhaps two to three times the height of a man. The Supplicant's Gate and Wall of the Faithless, came a phrase unbidden into her mind; she wasn't sure whether it was Ilmater's voice, or some fragment of a distant memory. Without understanding what guided her, she passed through the high gate and made her way to the Basilica of Lost Hope. She stood there for a time with countless others like herself, as if waiting for something; none spoke, and not a breath of wind stirred. Then into the eerie silence came another voice, and she knew at once it was not Ilmater's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurianaValoria1 Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 (edited) Rhaine closed her room door behind her, quickly exchanging her robes for her newly repaired armor. As she swapped her attire, she found herself thinking of Mahira again, but she was unsure why. The Doomguide had barely known her, and yet in the short time that they had traveled together, the Calishite had become a close friend. She wondered if Mahira's spirit, wherever she was, was thinking of her in turn...and if she had found her proper place in the afterlife. She also wondered how Echo was coping with the loss. Rhaine knew that the halfling had been like a sister to Mahira. But if Echo was grieving, she barely showed it, at least in public. The Doomguide was concerned that if Echo kept her emotions bottled up for too long, they would eventually overflow... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Mahira of Calimport." The Voice of Kelemvor stood near his seat, his heavily-armored guards on either side of him. Garbed in the customary robes of a Kelemvorite, he bore a poise common to that clergy, but magnified. His blind eyes saw not the marble room around him, but the ever-massing throng of souls before him. The blessings of Kelemvor allowed him to know each soul as he glimpsed them...to know their faith and their loyalties. It was he who had been trusted with Final Judgment...he who applied the strict rules of universal law to every soul as they came to the Fugue Plane. And now he called another forth, as he had called countless souls before and would call countless more for eternity. One of the armored guards raised his voice, his piercing blue eyes fastening on the soul in question, "Step forward and receive your Judgment." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maydiira knew something was wrong the moment she rounded the bend. The two posted scouts were dead, poisoned darts protruding from their backs. She drew her sword slowly, her breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding in her chest. She was afraid to keep moving...afraid to face her greatest fear. Praying to Eilistraee that her gut feeling was wrong, she entered the cavern of Sel Sreen'aur... Edited January 14, 2013 by AurianaValoria1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ithildin Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Mahira walked forward and stopped a respectful distance from the one who had first spoken. She was afraid, but knew that whatever decision had been made about her fate, she would accept it with courage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AurianaValoria1 Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 The Voice looked upon Mahira but a moment before speaking again, "Mahira of Calimport. You once lived in a house of Ilmater, but you never fully devoted yourself to him. Indeed, your soul has not been committed to any god in particular, though you have acknowledged the existence of all. Your fate, therefore, shall be to reside within the City of Judgment forever, to be counted amongst the spirits of the False. Judgment has been passed." With that, the Voice lifted a hand, and Mahira's soul was whisked to its appropriate district of the City of Judgment...to reside there for eternity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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