Tales of Faerun

[AurianaValoria1]

"Hmm..." Conall stroked his chin as he looked at Nawen, "Well, I suppose it could work. Only problem is getting the horses inside someth-"

 

At that moment, Aera, Arva, and Ianthe appeared, much to his surprise. The werewolf's brow furrowed, "Where have you been?"

 

Zorica cleared her throat and kept her eyes focused on her ale, her mouth a thin line.

 

Dagny raised a brow, "Aye, I'm with Sir Whitefang - where've ye been?"

 

Rhaine patted Ianthe's hand lightly, but her face did not express much happiness, "It has indeed been a while. We could have used your help against Valthanarax, but I see you had other plans...plans you did not see fit to tell the rest of us about."

 

Argyros stared almost unblinkingly at the three comrades who had been missing ever since their stay in Innarlith. However, he said nothing, as he was waiting for an explanation as to where they had decided to go and why.

[tokyobiohazard]

Aera gulped as a lump formed in her throat. "I just... I'd never been with a group like this before, and the assassination attempt really frightened me. My own mortality and a few other things sort of hit me all at once, and I fled. I'm deeply sorry."

Arva chimed in from across the room, "I couldn't let her go out there by herself, not when assassins were about. And Ianthe and I don't go anywhere without each other. It was a hard decision to make, but I decided that Aera needed us."

[Flipout6]

"Uh...." Weyland frowned, wondering where the hells Arva had just appeared from. "Well, a lot's happened, actually-"

"We went to rescue Kalin and he attacked us, we took out an entire group of psionics and zombies, now we're here." Arland interjected, before piping up and telling Aera, "By the way, Weyland split your assassin wide open, by the way. No need to worry about him."

 

"Tak'We didn't make it though." Weyland added soberly. "The ruin started to come down and he was buried. But we won, at least."

 

"Kalin and Tenebris are alive, but they left to go off on their own adventures or some such stlarn. Kalin, at least, is good riddance." He felt Rhaine's glare even before he turned around in his seat to witness it, but he shrugged it off. He looked her in the eyes, pointed and stated, "You know my opinion on it, don't start." Weyland cuffed him upside the head and for once Arland decided to return it. The cuffing stopped there, however, and Sybille didn't even have to get out of her chair to stop it. "Say, where were you three? We could have used your help when we had psychic ninja necromancers trying to kill us."

 

"They weren't ninjas, stop flattering yourself." Marie cut in with a raised eyebrow. "....I was, though."

 

"Oh-ho, is that so?" The youngest Grey shot back with an amused grin. "I thought ninjas were good at dodging swords."

 

"I let it hit me. Not fair otherwise." She shrugged. "If I made myself look too good it'd just be another case of Arland Grey getting overshadowed by his betters."

 

"Happens a lot." Sybille cut in.

 

"It's pathetic, really." Amendale couldn't keep himself out of it. When he heard Aera's apology, however, he stopped smirking and turned to reassurance. "Don't worry about it. I think we've all had that happen to us more than once. It's natural to be afraid. And you two-" he pointed to Arva and Ianthe. "-I'd say going with her was a good thing to do. Wouldn't you say so, Rhaine?" He gave her a pointed look.

Edited August 8, 2014 by Flipout6

[AurianaValoria1]

Conall's brow furrowed in disappointment as he muttered, "So she needed your help more than we, then?" With that, he immediately returned his attention to his dinner and said not another word, too immersed in his own thoughts and unwilling to voice them.

 

After Arland and Weyland gave the newcomers the run-down on what had happened in their absence, Dagny added, "Don't forget Theia, lads. We found her body in those ruins after she disappeared outside Innarlith. Drow got her. Wasn't pretty." She took a deep swig of her ale and shook her head. Beside her, Zorica gave a slight nod.

 

Rhaine bristled at Arland's order, "Excuse me?" In the few moments of silence that followed, Zorica nervously cleared her throat again, not looking up to see the narrowed glare that the Chosen was giving the Grey brother. Then, the Doomguide shot a glance at Amendale with a short, "No. Not without telling the rest of us, it wasn't."

 

"Now," she continued looking over the rest of them, "Do any of you have anything else to contribute to this discussion?"

 

Argyros nodded, "Conall mentioned a bit about getting the horses inside something...?"

 

"Oh, I know!" Heidi excitedly bounced up off of her stool from behind Weyland, "I can build a box! Like a chicken crate, only bigger! I'll just need some materials and I can get to work straight away!" She gave a sly grin, "But I will need...monetary compensation once it's done."

 

"Naturally," Zorica mumbled.

 

"Hmm," Argyros mused, "That could do it. What about all of you, then? Do you build a crate for yourselves as well?"

 

Dagny snorted, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't think I want to be stuffed into a box to be carried halfway across the Shaar."

 

Turning to Aera, Arva, and Ianthe, Rhaine added, "Oh, right. This wouldn't make sense to you without knowing that Argyros is a silver dragon...you missed that, too."

[tokyobiohazard]

The three friends shrunk away from a few of their friends, feeling a bit berated, as they well felt they deserved. They did not respond to much of the news they'd received except for the deaths of a few of their companions. The three began to mourn now, and whereas their companions may have already finished their mourning process, the three felt the wounds fresh in their hearts.

Arva looked to Amendale with a somber nod, "Thank you for backing us up."

Ianthe felt most hurt of them all, and soon her body was racked with sobs. Crying was not a usual activity for her, but feeling hated, rather than as if her friends were angry, on top of hearing her dear friends were dead, shattered her.

Arva got up from his table and protectively wrapped an arm around her, before glaring daggers at Aera, who then scrambled to apologize for all she'd done. She didn't want the entire group angry with her, and bit her lip before running in the direction of her room, regardless of the fact that someone else had booked it. She supposed she'd find out who when they entered and she was sleeping in their bed.

Edited August 9, 2014 by tokyobleach

[Flipout6]

Weyland nodded solemnly and confirmed Dagny's statement. "Yes, Theia too. We burned the body, couldn't bury it. 'Least she should be at peace now."

 

Amendale momentarily scowled in response to Rhaine, but shrugged it off. "Well, what's done is done. As far as carrying us across the desert goes, I'll have to think about it before I have any ideas."

 

Arland sat quietly (for once) and stewed, caught between holding a grudge against Arva, Aera and Ianthe for not being there when any and all assistance was needed and waving it off as them looking out for their friend. Ianthe's sudden bursting into tears made up his mind for him, however. He watched with a wince as she cried, feeling a twinge of guilt that was only doubled by Aera's equally distraught dash to her own room, and then decided that he might as well cut them some slack seeing as nobody else save Amendale seemed to be doing so.

 

Annette, meanwhile, waited a minute and then bought a plate of food for a few bits and quietly slipped upstairs to Aera's room. Ianthe had Arva with her, but Aera didn't seem to have anyone's sympathy. She knocked lightly and opened the door a crack.

 

"You okay?" She asked. "I don't know if you're hungry but I have dinner for you if you want it."

Edited August 11, 2014 by Flipout6

[AurianaValoria1]

Argyros continued to thoughtfully ponder various solutions to their problem, starting on his second plate of rabbit. Rhaine and Conall remained silent and focused on their food as well, finished with conversation for the time being. Zorica was preoccupied with her drink...so much that she didn't notice Sir Meowsalot slip out of her pouch and crawl up behind Weyland. The brindle kitten boldly rose up on the warrior's ale mug whilst his back was turned (he had caught Dri sneaking bacon out of his plate) and took a great many tiny laps out of the pale liquid before hopping down onto the floor and making his way over to Ianthe. He then jumped into the nymph's lap and began licking her tears from her cheeks with his rough tongue.

 

"Meow?" he blinked at her, "Meow? Meow! Meeeeowwwwwmeowmeow."

 

Meanwhile, Dagny peered down into her own tankard and sighed heavily, "Speaking of crossing the Shaar...we're going to be headin' right for me clan's home - Eartheart. I..." she trailed. She had originally intended to talk with Rhaine alone about this, but she figured her companions had a right to input, and so she continued slowly, "I've been feeling it callin' me. Ever since we arrived in this part of Faerun, I've been missing me family more and more. I'm afraid they've been needin' me while I've been gone, and since we're passin' by there in a few days, I figure it would be heartless of me not to see them. In fact, I been thinking about stayin' there. Ye've all been wonderful company, and I'll miss ye dearly...but I don't think ye'll be any less off without me, and I figure I could do more good for me own back home..."

[Deleted6317247User]

At the sight of Ianthe crying, Nawen began to feel very guilty even though she didn't say anything to them yet. When Aera went upstairs to her room Nawen got up from her seat and approached Arva and Ianthe. "While I understand why Rhaine is upset, and I agree that you should have told us," she said softly, "so that we would know that you're unharmed, but I also agree with Amendale. None of us should be left alone. Not after an attack like that."

 

"We didn't get to the loot too." Shalena added. Her words earning her a glare from Nawen. "What? Somebody had to tell that." When Dagny mentioned her wish to stay with her clan, the piratess said. "We never got around to that drinking contest. Such a shame."

 

"You mentioned your family needing you," Nawen said to Dagny, "is it something serious or family matters? Maybe we could help?" She asked.

[josh900]

Tannin sat at the table and was only halfway paying attention to the current situation. He gave a small wave to the re-arrival of Ianthe, Arva, and Aera, before turning his attention back to his book. But not before throwing his two coppers into the mix. "Haste the dragon. Get us there even faster that way."

Since the night of Saris's defeat, Tannin had become more and more reclusive as the hours went on. His mood darkened and he started to spend more time engulfed in books and his writing than he did interacting with his companions. That wasn't to say that he was unapproachable by any means, but it was obvious that he was wanting to be alone for the time being.

--------

Lucas's mood had improved slightly, but Ianthe's crying had set him back into the feeling of uselessness. "Sometimes... You have to think about yourself." He said after a moment or two. "But goodbyes are hard. I get not wanting to say anything, I.. still haven't told the order that I left my old group." He said with a shrug, knowing that his words wouldn't really help, but he didn't want to stay silent in the matter.

----------

Hexol meanwhile was as talkative as ever. Talking in great detail and length about his adventures while away from the group, seemingly oblivious to the horror that he was inflicted on them from the horror story. It went without saying that it would be for the best of Hexol stayed out of the area for many years to come.

[tokyobiohazard]

Ianthe sniffled at the words of her companions, as she'd stopped crying after being comforted by the small kitten licking at her cheeks with his rough pink tongue. She wiped at her nose with the sleeve of her white linen shirt and had to choke out her words, but managed to say, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."

Arva gave her a gentle squeeze with the arm that was wrapped around her shoulder. "We'll have to earn your trust again, but we'd like to rejoin. We should have said something before we left."

Aera slowly opened her door a crack, "You can come in. I haven't eaten since midday. Thank you." She half-heartedly picked at a piece of unfamiliar fruit shaped akin to an onion with odd red chunks of fruit inside. She thought she'd heard someone mention it being called a pomegranate in the marketplace, but couldn't be sure.

She sighed and sunk her fanged teeth into a thick steak on her plate. Rare. She appreciated Annette's thoughtfulness and then said to Annette after she chewed and swallowed, "I deserted everyone, including you, and you bring me a tray of food cooked to my liking. I'm pleasantly surprised at your character. We haven't talked much, if at all. I want you to know I appreciate the gesture, but it doesn't make me feel much better."