Dr. Si's Curse of the Crimson Throne - Seven Days to the Grave

HolyMan · May 20, 2010

Brindom takes and says a short little prsyer his techers had taught him, "Erastil's will is always done, like the rising of the sun. Bless us now if thy will, and keep us faithful still. -Ahem"

His prayer brings a warmth to the halfling as it's magic courses through him.

[sblock=OOC] Is it a skill cheeck, if so Then Yes I will. I don't know how it works LOL, and neither does Brindom. But a little prayer to help him along. [/sblock]

Ambrus · May 20, 2010

Dj'hân seems a little apprehensive as Brindom reaches a blessed hand out towards him. Then, as the divine power flows through his tiny body, the urchin giggles and squirms on Edmond's shoulder as if being tickled. That done, he then deftly slides down from his perch onto the foot of the bed.

Kneeling, the urchin flattens out the sheets in front of himself; being careful not to disturb the ailing girl. Dj'hân then removes the red stocking cap from his head and speaks, seemingly to the hat itself: "We're doing a Harrowing." The dangling tippet of the liripoop sways back and forth as something stirs inside its depths. A moment later, Majenko's horned head emerges from the darkened interior—a bundle wrapped in a red silken cloth gingerly resting in his jaws.

Taking the proffered bundle from his friend, Dj'hân sets down the liripoop and begins to unwrap it. Spreading out the silken cloth, the tiny urchin solemnly picks up the large human-sized cards and whispers to them. "We need your help Zellara."

Setting the cards face up before him, Dj'hân begins riffling through the deck, picking out each card that bears a shield image upon it. "Since she's sick, we're gonna try climbing the Tower of Constitution; it's about sickness, pain and health." Once he has all nine such cards apart, the young halfling turns them over and begins to awkwardly shuffle them in his tiny hands. He then sets the nine cards face down. "Everybody's got to think about Brienna, her being sick and her getting better. The Harrow will tell us which role we'll play in the Harrowing. Everybody pick a card when you're ready. The left over card will be Brienna's. This is the Choosing..."

OOC: More to come...

Ambrus · May 20, 2010

The Choosing.

Dj'hân's begins the Choosing by reaching forward, picking a card for himself and then flipping over the remaining one on Brienna's behalf. His face flushes with colour as he positively beams with relief. "Brienna's card is The Survivor. It shows that she's suffering now but that she can get better with the help of the people who are with her now."

Dj'hân then motions for Brindom to set his card face up on the cloth. He looks concerned once the card's revealed. "You've drawn the Tangled Briar. It means that you're caught up in a bad mess that started because somebody died in a bad way. You'll have to untangle this briar of old secrets if you want to get yourself out."

The urchin then motions for Edmond to set his card face up on the cloth. He smiles at the sight of this card. "You've drawn the Desert. This one means that, although you it might look like you're lost in the middle of a big empty place, you've got the smarts needed to guide yourself and others out of it. Maybe you can help Brindom find his way out of the Tangled Briar."

Dj'hân then motions to Majenko to set his card face up on the cloth. He smiles as his draconic companion spits his card out face up. "You've drawn the Trumpet. It says that you're brave and aren't afraid to go up against anything to do good. We'll sure need your help." The proud little dragon tilts his head back and roars briefly to display his fearsomeness; sounding more like an angry cat that a roaring lion though.

The urchin then motions for Mamusia Lela to set her card face up on the cloth. He offers the kindly midwife a sympathetic smile when she reveals her card. "You've drawn the Mountain Man. It means that you're up against something from outside that's too big to beat the way you're used to. You have to be careful. Simply getting out of its way might be the smartest thing to do."

Dj'hân then motions for Manachan to set his card face up on the cloth. He seems gravely worried at the sight of this card. "You've drawn the Sickness. It means that you're surrounded by sickness. You have to be careful; even if you don't catch it, seeing what it does to others could end up breaking your heart. It could be hard, but you have to try and not let it get to you."

The urchin then motions for Tayce to set her card face up on the cloth. He smiles up at the girl's worried mother. "You've drawn the Brass Dwarf. It means that you're plenty strong and that you can help others to endure. Just be careful; giving help could end up costing you dearly in an unexpected way."

Dh'jân then motions for Thorson to set his card face up on the cloth. The young halfling grins when he sees the card that his old half-orc friend drops onto the bed. "You've drawn the Teamster. Look; he's a half-orc just like you Mister Giant! And see there, on his shoulder, the little guy with the pointy red hat? That's me! It means that you're strong and can help us to win, even if we falter. We'll need your help before this is all over for sure."

The grin on Dj'hân's face from Thorson's draw disappears once he turns over his own card. "I've drawn the Waxworks. It means that, although I might be smart, I'm too little and weak to be of much help." The urchin tries dutifully to hide his disappointment in his own card as he gathers up all of the nine cards and goes about shuffling them back into the over sized deck. Then, holding back a sniffle, the urchin nods silently as if in agreement. "You're right... Looking up, the tiny urchin continues. "The meaning of the cards we've drawn for ourselves in the Choosing might change depending on what the Harrow reveals next. The Choosing is finished..."

OOC: Sorry this is taking so long. More to come...

Maidhc O Casain · May 20, 2010

Deleted Post

Ambrus · May 20, 2010

[sblock=OOC]

Mowgli said:
Manachan immediately steps forward and chooses the Trumpet, a slight smile on his face.

OOC: You might want to reread the above post; Manachan's card is the Sickness.[/sblock]

Maidhc O Casain · May 20, 2010

[sblock=OOC]Sorry, saw the pics but not the text and the last thing I remembered from the previous one was an instruction that we each draw a card . . .[/sblock]

Neurotic · May 20, 2010

Edmond shortly picks up Dj'ahn and puts him on his shoulder.
"Look again how small you are. With friends we're all better then alone. You can be big, I can get humorous and even Manachan may become smart."
He grins at his old friend and then lowers Dj'ahn back to continue his harrowing.

OOC: DrSimon, do we get Harrow point sfor this. I have only one remaninng

Ambrus · May 21, 2010

The halfling child seems to have received some measure of comfort from Edmond's uncharacteristically warm words. He smiles hopefully as he's set back down onto the bed and gathers up the cards to resume shuffling. Watching the tiny urchin at work, its all those assembled can do to patiently wait for him to complete the task as he awkwardly shuffles the deck with hands that are far too small to easily manage cards sized for a human adult.

Eventually Dj'hân seems satisfied with his effort and begins laying out nine cards, face down, in three columns of three on the red silk. "This is the Harrowing." Beginning with the left hand column, the young Harrower flips over the top card, grins broadly and then continues with the middle card and finally the bottom card. "The Harrow speaks of the past. Ooh! And there's me, the Waxworks; though as an opposite match! That's very good. It shows that I broke free of my limitations and used my energy to change everyone's fate at a crucial moment; like against the dancing dead in the mausoleum." The guttersnipe positively beams with pride at this unexpected turnaround of his role. He then continues with a touch more seriousness. "There are strong alignments in the past. The Mute Hag, a partial match, shows that there are dark family secrets that someone wants to keep buried. Maybe that's got something to do with the Crimson Throne. The Forge, a true match, is like Edmond just said. Having come together we became stronger that we ever were alone; it let us survive the strife in the city after the King's death. It'd be smart to stay together."

The young Harrower then flips over the cards of the center column. "The Harrow speaks of the present. Hm. There's some alignment here. The Marriage speaks of what's resulted from Ileosa's doomed union to the late King; her ascension to the Crimson Throne. The Mountain Man, a partial match and Mamusia Lela's role card, represents the bad stuff that happened after the king's death and that it's still a danger to us. Maybe something you know, something you've heard about it happens to be true Mamusia. It could be your role to tell us about it. The Twin card, a partial match, says that there's somebody involved whose got two faces; one's a secret identity. I wonder who that could be..." The urchin smiles impishly at that.

Dj'hân then turns his attention to the last column, turning over the three remaining cards before continuing. He seems both concerned and relieved at the top most card. "The Harrow speaks of the future. The Sickness appears to be misaligned. It seems to show that Brenna's illness is bad and could be the beginning of a plague. But misaligned, it also shows that we've got a chance to stop it if only the Idiot's naive foolishness can be overcome. But even if overcome, the misaligned Midwife says that the solution to the sickness will bring little joy for us.

Finally, the twin card also hints that there may be a unknown and seemingly confounding cause for all the events represented in the reading; a secret plan or hidden maneuverings." The urchin pauses to solemnly make eye contact with all those present before speaking again. "The Harrow has spoken..." Leaning down, Dj'hân begins gathering up the cards.

The Harrowing.

Dr Simon · May 21, 2010

Mamusia Lela shivers, and tugs at her shawls.

"Do you feel the touch of Fate?" she asks, of no-one in particular. Reverently she touches the spread of the Harrowing and sucks her remaining teeth thoughtfully. "Tsss. Truly, little one, you have cast a Harrowing far wider than this room." Her green eyes, set withing deep wrinkles, search Dj'hân's face and peer deep into his eyes. "What are you?" she whispers, almost to her self.

Straightening as best she can, the old Varisian woman stands and sweeps her gaze around the room.

"Well," she says. "The girl is a Survivor, but we must help her as best we can. You, young gentlemen," she points a bony finger at Brindom and Manachan, "and me, together we will combine all our skills at healing to help the girl. We have one last chance to help her, but the Harrow has spoken. If we fail, only magic will prevail." She pauses to think. "Unless in our attempts we are the Idiot." She shakes her head. "No, we must at least try, that much is clear."

As she begins to assemble her ingredients, she glances over her shoulder. "I cannot think of any secrets that Old Mamusia Lela would know," she adds, "but if anything comes into my old brain, I will let you know."

[sblock=OOC]
Further details of the Harrowing and its mechanical effects are now up in the first post of the OOC thread. Note that, by including her in the reading, Dj'hân has given Brienna access to Harrow points as well, so she will get re-rolls on her Fortitude saves against the disease. Which might help.
[/sblock]

Ambrus · May 21, 2010

Dj'hân finishes gathering up the deck, bundles them with the red cloth and, holding them to his chest, whispers. "Thanks Zellara." The young Harrower then returns the deck to the depth of his liripoop before replacing it upon his disheveled little head.

Dr Simon said:
Her green eyes, set withing deep wrinkles, search Dj'hân's face and peer deep into his eyes. "What are you?" she whispers, almost to her self.

The urchin blinks confusedly for a few moments before standing, holding out his tiny arms and flashing the old midwife a cherubic smile. "I'm Dj'hân."