Hewligan's Rise of the Runelords: The Skinsaw Murders

[hewligan]

Danth had no time to rest and reflect on his heroics. He had been there with Jokad, toe to toe with that demon woman at the end, and he knew just how close they had come to death. Perhaps he was the only one who really knew, because Jokad seemed to enter some sort of 'other' place in combat, a place where his normal concerns for life and limb faded to leave just an incredible bravery and force. Danth was not so blessed. He had no shell to retreat into, and no raging energy to pour himself into. Each time he charged into combat he knew exactly how close to death they were placing themselves. A single blade to the gut, and his life could pour out onto the city streets.

He wasn't scared of his own death. He knew his Goddess would protect and collect him to her. But he was worried about those around him who relied upon him. His friends, but also the orphans who depended now on him and him alone for the finances to feed and educate them. He had this immense burden of responsibility on his shoulders that none of the others had ever had to contend with. For all practical purposes Danth was the father to a horde of abandoned children.

He poured his new-found wealth into the orphanage, and recruited a full-time teacher to work with the school. But perhaps most welcome of all was the gift from the city of Magnimar to his orphanage of the old clock tower. It was being pulled down, but the plot was unclaimed in the legal records and the Mayor organised its transfer to Danth as a final gift from the city. It was not a huge site, but it was close to the existing orphanage, and allowed Danth to create a second accomodation block for children. He worked like a frenzy on the plans, pressing his new-found contacts at the various noble invitations he received to press hard for charitable donations to help fund the new building.

The weeks bled away in a blur. The plans formed, the site was cleared, and the building work started.

OOC: Continued in separate post.

 

[frostrune]

-----

Amryl did not come that night, or the next. The day after that Jovik and Jokad decided to leave Sandpoint and head south to Magnimar again.

Both men felt heavy of heart on the journey south. Jovik felt as if his world had grown to such a degree that he could never fit back in to Sandpoint life, and didn't want to fit back in. The town just reminded him of how narrow life had been. He worried about Shalelu, and he worried about the fact he worried .... did this mean he was serious about her? Did he want to be serious about her? Was she serious about him? If she was, why was she so ready to disappear east at the first opportunity.....?

Jokad knew Amryl was thinking of him. He knew she would be crying herself to sleep at night. He knew she loved him. The only thing he didn't know was what he felt.

The pair walked down the road in silence, each lost in their own thoughts when Jokad inexplicably lauched into a stream of expletives, his frustration apparently finally spilling over.

"By the 10 great gods, what is wrong with these cursed women?! Why is everything so damnably serious? I'm too young to be married but is that all I have to look forward to? We've had a crazy run for a few months and the fame was fun but I'm afraid it may be years before Sandpoint sees any more excitement. And Magnimar.... Magnimar is just not for me."

"So what now? Is this my fate? Must I resolve myself to putting aside my sword, building some hovel, and a life of drudgery. Is this the price I must pay to have my Amryl? BAH!! Neither path seems as shiny as it did a few weeks ago."

"What are you for Jovik? It's plain you are done with Sandpoint. Are you going to chase the elf? I'll go with you if you want. I've never seen the elves before... well besides her. Their wood lore is legendary. That might be a distraction for a time."

 

[Fenris]

The pair walked down the road in silence, each lost in their own thoughts when Jokad inexplicably lauched into a stream of expletives, his frustration apparently finally spilling over.

"By the 10 great gods, what is wrong with these cursed women?! Why is everything so damnably serious? I'm too young to be married but is that all I have to look forward to? We've had a crazy run for a few months and the fame was fun but I'm afraid it may be years before Sandpoint sees any more excitement. And Magnimar.... Magnimar is just not for me."

"So what now? Is this my fate? Must I resolve myself to putting aside my sword, building some hovel, and a life of drudgery. Is this the price I must pay to have my Amryl? BAH!! Neither path seems as shiny as it did a few weeks ago."

"What are you for Jovik? It's plain you are done with Sandpoint. Are you going to chase the elf? I'll go with you if you want. I've never seen the elves before... well besides her. Their wood lore is legendary. That might be a distraction for a time."

Jovik listened to his friend vent for a while, walking quietly along side him. he was distracted himself with thoughts of Shalelu. Jovik shrugged.
"Yes, women are distracting, infuriating and confusing. But they are soft and gentle and make a bed much warmer at night. You need to get back out there Jokad, you don't smile unless your sword is red my friend. You can take the Shoanti out of a fight, but you can't take the fight out of a Shoanti. You need to be out there in the thick of things again."
"From what I can see you have a few options. I can shove a knife in Daddy's back so he can't say boo about it" Jokad stops and gives Jovik a shocked and angry look. Jovik grins back "I was kidding, Ok real options. Well, go ahead and marry Amryl if you want. To allay Daddy's concerns give a large dowery in case you die. Then you can still head out and fight the evil that is still out there, but still come home to Amryl. Of course, there are many many more women out there my friend. You had many looking at you in Magnimar. i am sure we can marry you off later if you like. But you cannot stay in Sandpoint right now, that much is certain. if you like, I will talk to Garridan, and I am sure I can get him to be reasonable. That is if you really want that, if you really love her. But let me know quickly. My feet grow restless. Sandpoint cannot hold me for long. I will set out to find Shalelu very soon. I would love to have you on the road with me."

 

[frostrune]

Jovik listened to his friend vent for a while, walking quietly along side him. he was distracted himself with thoughts of Shalelu. Jovik shrugged.
"Yes, women are distracting, infuriating and confusing. But they are soft and gentle and make a bed much warmer at night. You need to get back out there Jokad, you don't smile unless your sword is red my friend. You can take the Shoanti out of a fight, but you can't take the fight out of a Shoanti. You need to be out there in the thick of things again."
"From what I can see you have a few options. I can shove a knife in Daddy's back so he can't say boo about it" Jokad stops and gives Jovik a shocked and angry look. Jovik grins back "I was kidding, Ok real options. Well, go ahead and marry Amryl if you want. To allay Daddy's concerns give a large dowery in case you die. Then you can still head out and fight the evil that is still out there, but still come home to Amryl. Of course, there are many many more women out there my friend. You had many looking at you in Magnimar. i am sure we can marry you off later if you like. But you cannot stay in Sandpoint right now, that much is certain. if you like, I will talk to Garridan, and I am sure I can get him to be reasonable. That is if you really want that, if you really love her. But let me know quickly. My feet grow restless. Sandpoint cannot hold me for long. I will set out to find Shalelu very soon. I would love to have you on the road with me."

"BAH! I've enough of that scene for now. And enough of Magnimar too."

He pats the large Grey affectionately on the shoulder.

"I need space. The mist rising as dawn breaks on a mountain glen, the soft crunch of fallen leaves underfoot, and the smell of wet earth and evergreens."

"Nay, let us track down this fey beauty of yours and see what trouble we can get into along the way. Maybe find out what kind of man has taken over our old haunt at Ft. Rannick."

 

[Fenris]

Jovik grins again and with a flick of the wrist a dagger appears and just as quickly is flung. Gull's Wing cuts through the air as it hits an apple on a tree before the dagger magically returns to Jovik's hand. Jovik finishes cutting the apple and tosses half to Jokad. "You know how easy it would have been to steal apples this way" he says.

"I think you are right though. A road is what is needed. A road to carry our footsteps away."

Jovik paused. He was staring at something. Jokad looked and he too saw what had stopped Jovik. The glassworks. The macabre scence that had catapulted them into this. The place that said this was not mere goblins, but something more sinister. Jovik looked up the place with mixed feelings. He knew the place, knew it well, it was a part of his youth. But he also, secretly, was glad it had happened. This was the place, the event that had freed him of his bonds, allowed him to leave Sandpoint, see the wider world. So why was he so glum. Perhaps it was also the place where his innocence was lost as well.

"Come on Shoanti, let's go drink, gamble and wench to make Cayden Cailean proud. Tomorrow the road is our mistress"

At least until I find Shalelu added Jovik privately.

 

[hewligan]

One night, as Danth sat up awake in his simple little room, a mess of financial documents spread out before him, his eyes wandered from the drink in his right hand up, across the room, to settle upon his scimitar, resting incongruously above the fireplace.

He sat starting at it for a while. He was two people, the one people needed him to be, and the one he wanted to be. When his master had died, he had been forced to assume leadership of the church in Magnimar. It may not be a large church, and in truth it acted more as a charity and orphanage than a congregation, but he was a faithful servant of his Goddess, and it was vital that the church remain strong in Magnimar. He was needed here. Really needed. But what he yearned for was freedom. He was a young man. He had tasted adventure, and he had found that he was good at it.

Not so good at organising finances. Well, good, perhaps, but not so passionate.

He rubbed his weary eyes. It was late, he was tired, and the cold spirit in the glass was dulling his mind. It was time for sleep.

-----

Danth knew he was sleeping, but yet he was alert. The room had dropped to the most incredible chill. He tried to sit up in bed. Was he still sleeping? He couldn't move. He was fixed to the mattress, as if someone was sitting on his chest. He was sleeping. He must be sleeping.

But he could see the mist rising from his nose as he breathed. The air was chill, the chill of deep winter. He tried to turn his head, but it would not move. He turned his eyes instead, towards the fire, and saw the ice that had formed there, glinting from the half-burned logs that remained in the grate.

He felt scared for a moment. Really scared. And then he relaxed.

Something had changed. The chill was still there, still incredibly in the way it needled into his flesh, but he felt comforted now.

And then the hearth burst into fire, the flames tall and strong, and she was there.

Sarenrae.

She was hovering over him, resplendent, magnificent. She was starting at him, her body glowing, her white wings wrapped around herself.

She spoke.

Danth Brinfield.

Her voice was like honey.

You have always been faithful, strong, a bright beacon. You understand my teachings on temperance and patience in all things. Compassion and peace are perhaps our greatest virtues, and if enemies of the faith can be redeemed, they should be. To that end you have done well. Tomorrow you shall see. One who was forsaken to evil, who killed, and yet who you allowed to live, he will be redeemed into me. You will doubt him, but have no doubt, his heart is pure. He has seen the Dawnflower. He has seen your redemption. You have saved him, and in time, through him, you will save others.

And yet there are those who have no interest in redemption, who glory in slaughter and death. From the remorseless evil of the undead and fiends to the cruelties born in the hearts of mortals. You have met many of these, and put them to your scimitar. This too is my way, and this too you have grasped.

You are favoured, Danth Brinfield, but there is work to be done, and much danger in it, and your life may be lost in its pursuit.

You must leave here soon. You will receive a call. Answer it. Know that this is your true calling. You may not return here for many years, but while your work here has been important, it pales against that which awaits you.

A great evil awakes. These things you have seen, they are connected. The forsaken sense the awakening too, and they are working to blow the sands of sleep from its eyes.

You will receive a call for aid. Answer it. You are essential in this.

And then she was gone, the chill was gone, the ice was gone, the great weight which had borne down upon Danth was gone, but the fire ... the fire still blazed.

-----

There was little sleep that night. The next morning, as the children were being fed, Danth received news of a visitor.

He walked the short distance from the dining hall to the front office, smiling at the children as he went, happy to see them develop so well, looking so strong and contented. They knew real happiness here. They belonged. He would be sad to leave them, but he had a path to follow.

When he arrived at the office he saw a blond haired youth. A man of perhaps 18, clean shaven, well dressed, finely scented, but his eyes were dark with lack of sleep, and had a haunted look about them. When he saw Danth he sobbed and fell to his knees, his hands reaching out to touch at Danth's robes.

"Father, forgive me. Forgive me. Please forgive me!"

His tears took a long time to stop.

From the second he had laid eyes upon him Danth had known it was one of the cultists he had let escape. One of the young men from the Sawmill. One of the murderers.

From that day he became a priest of Sarenrae and began his long journey towards true forgiveness in the eyes of the Goddess of compassion.

Danth welcomed him as a son.

And waited.

Waited for the call.

 

[frostrune]

OOC: Don't want to break the moment but these interludes are awesome Hew. Awesome.

 

[Rhun]

OOC: Don't want to break the moment but these interludes are awesome Hew. Awesome.

OOC: I couldn't agree more. Completely awesome!

 

[hewligan]

OOC: I don't want to post Kael's update until I see the conversion, as his choice for bloodline is clearly going to influence the IC post.

 

[Friadoc]

OOC:

I'll be finished in a couple of hours, sorry for the delay.