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The Mother of Dreams - Episode 5 (updated February 1st, 2005)
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<blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 1822999" data-attributes="member: 63"><p><strong>Episode Four: My Hero, Section II</strong></p><p></p><p>“You understand anything she’s saying?” Babb asked.</p><p></p><p>Beside him, the lizard-skinned Seekan gave a restrained shake of his head. Babb expected as much.</p><p></p><p>Babb was unhappy with his lack of role in this endeavor. Seekan, pleased to find someone who spoke Lyceian, had proposed a job for them, saying he needed explorers. David, Allar, and Tri’ni were away purchasing the water-breathing magic they would need to retrieve the gem Seekan was interested in, and Lacy was using a new translation charm to find them a ship. And Babb was stuck with his sister, who currently was not able to talk to them in Lyceian, and Seekan, who was too business-like to make conversation.</p><p></p><p>“You hire adventurers often?”</p><p></p><p>Seekan shook his head, again with restraint.</p><p></p><p>Babb sighed. They were at the city’s port, full of high cliffs overlooking the actual harbor. Most of the buildings looked to be storehouses or homes, very different from the lush entertainments of the port of Lyceum. Even if Babb could speak the language, he doubted there would be any trouble worth getting into.</p><p></p><p>Lacy turned away from her conversation to look at them, and took off the necklace – woven from her hair and that of a guard at the city gate. She smiled eagerly.</p><p></p><p>“Throlt here has given me directions to someone who operates a ship in the area we want to go. Babb, you’ll never guess, but it’s a temple of Vanessi.”</p><p></p><p>“Really. Huh.” Babb leaned back in surprise, then nudged Seekan. “My sister is a priest of Vanessi. We grew up in a temple. Nice coincidence, huh.”</p><p></p><p>Seekan took half a step away, out of Babb’s nudging reach. “I am unfamiliar with the god.”</p><p></p><p>“You’re from Lyceum, right?”</p><p></p><p>“Not originally.”</p><p></p><p>Babb shrugged. “I’ll let Lacy tell you the details later. So, Lace, where to now?”</p><p></p><p>“Throlt said the temple is a little further north, between Firaelgu Cemetery and Vulfhant Garden. This way.”</p><p></p><p>They walked to the temple, the sound of deep bass drums pounding out occasionally further inland. Babb was certain it had to be nearing night, but the sun had been hovering above the north-western horizon for at least an hour. He yawned</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * *</p><p></p><p>“And so thankfully Lacy’s good with healing, or else I’d have much worse than just a scar. Damn do I hate acid.”</p><p></p><p>To Babb’s eye, Seekan was completely disinterested in his talk of old adventures, and it was beginning to frustrate him. He had been just too quiet since he showed up. With the translation charm, Lacy at least was able to talk to the locals and step into interesting shops along the way. He wondered if maybe the strange lizard-man would be more open about himself.</p><p></p><p>“So you’re a wizard, right?”</p><p></p><p>Seekan looked Babb in the eyes, then shrugged. “I have a few powers. I know many much stronger than I.”</p><p></p><p>“Look, don’t doubt yourself. I mean, every Nicholas Dragonsbane had to start small, I suppose. And you’ve got the whole ‘mystery’ thing down. Okay, the hood and robe is pretty stupid, but your face is nice and scary. It’s unique, you know?”</p><p></p><p>For a moment, Seekan smiled. “You don’t think I’m human, I hope.”</p><p></p><p>“I don’t really think much about that sort of stuff. David’d probably be interested in where you’re from more, really. I’m just curious what you can do.”</p><p></p><p>Seekan smirked with restraint. “Remain curious.”</p><p></p><p>Babb laughed. “Fine. If you want to keep up the mysterious pussy little wizard face, go ahead.”</p><p></p><p>He groaned and moved beside Lacy. They were skirting the tall iron fence of a graveyard now, but it was still bright, though the sun had set.</p><p></p><p>“Is this the place?”</p><p></p><p>Lacy looked down at him, then held up a hand for him to wait. She removed the translation charm. “Sorry, what? Oh, hold on a moment. I think we’re here.”</p><p></p><p>The road led up a hill to the temple of Vanessi, a wood and granite building flanked by two curving lines of flowering trees. Babb recognized the symbol of Vanessi’s clergy set in the stone above the temple’s entrance – a living tree facing upward, a dying tree facing downward, their trunks twined together in the center. Iron-wrought lanterns hung from the walls above windows on the second and third floors, but the entrance at the first floor was unlit. </p><p></p><p>“Not quite the same as home, is it?” Lacy said.</p><p></p><p>When they reached the entrance, the door opened and a short woman barely dressed in draping robes bowed to greet them. Babb’s eyes followed her chest as the dip revealed her smooth body. Her hair was braided up and held with a silver and gold pin, her lips glistened with the hint of a magical illusion, and her face was painted slightly red to make her look flush. A pendant with the symbol of Vanessi hung low between her breasts.</p><p></p><p>“No, not like home at all, really.” Babb whispered up to his sister, “Why couldn’t we have grown up at this temple?”</p><p></p><p>The woman shifted to lean against the wall, and spoke with a low, accented voice. “From Nozama, you’re? Well come to the Generous Temple of Vanessi. My name is a Therva. Well come.”</p><p> </p><p>After Therva finished her greeting, she hesitated, as if she were finally noticing who the visitors were. She nodded weakly to Babb and Seekan, then craned her head to look at Lacy. She opened her mouth in surprise, then smiled.</p><p></p><p>“Priestess,” Therva nodded to the symbol of Vanessi Lacy wore as a pendant, then bowed slightly. “You do have come to visit? You are dress in strange clothes.”</p><p></p><p>As she rose from her bow, Therva adjusted her dress to remain decent. Babb glanced from her to his sister, six and a half feet tall and clothed in brown leather armor studded with metal and stained with spots of her own blood. Then he glanced at Seekan; the man seemed oblivious to Therva’s sexual posturing, which only reaffirmed Babb’s distrust of him.</p><p></p><p>Lacy put the translation charm on again, and Babb tuned out the conversation. Soon the voluptuous priestess was inviting them in, and other priests brought out maps of the nearby coast and islands. Male and female priests alike were dressed suggestively, and while Lacy negotiated their trip, Babb waited and watched the women. Occasionally visitors would arrive, speak with a priest or priestess at the door, and then pay to receive a spell that turned them invisible. Later they would depart, visible again, seeming quite pleased.</p><p></p><p>“What the hell kind of business are they running here?” Babb said, to himself mostly.</p><p></p><p>Seekan lowered his head and put fingers to his temple like he was in pain. “It is a summer festival that the temple hosts to entertain visitors and receive donations. The invisibility magic ensures confidentiality when the visitors are having sex.”</p><p></p><p>Babb did a double take. “Holy <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />. What the hell is wrong with this temple? I mean, Lacy never had to do that for the temple back home.”</p><p></p><p>Sighing, Babb looked back at Therva, busy talking with his sister. “I bet she’s sad she’s missing all the fun. Hell, I’m sad I’m missing the fun.”</p><p></p><p>Suddenly Lacy and Therva laughed, and Lacy looked down, blushing. Babb grumbled and looked away. A few minutes passed, Babb stewing over the situation. Then he frowned and looked at Seekan.</p><p></p><p>“Wait, mystery mage. I thought you said you weren’t familiar with Vanessi. How did you know all that?”</p><p></p><p>The scaled mage might have winced; Babb couldn’t be certain. But then he stared into Babb’s eyes and said, “Remain curious.”</p><p></p><p>Babb walked away in frustration, suddenly uncomfortable in his old, rather smelly armor. He stood by a wall for a few minutes, biting his lip, but finally he opened his pouch and pulled out his coin purse. After all, he respected the goddess. He should make an offering.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * *</p><p></p><p>The robe fit oddly, but was much more comfortable than the armor he had been wearing for the past few weeks. His mind kept wandering back to that, and to how entertaining being invisible in a soapy bath had been.</p><p></p><p>“Babb, pay attention, please?” Lacy sighed with a nervous smile. She had not asked what he had gone and vanished off to do, but Babb was certain the guessing was killing her.</p><p></p><p>“Sorry, sis. Go on.” Babb yawned.</p><p></p><p>He didn’t worry that the details might not be interesting. He did not particularly feel like moving much right now. Listening to his sister would be a welcome rest.</p><p></p><p>Lacy pointed to the map, tracing a line from Palesi on the northern shore of Tennas, along the Stormchaser Coast to a small island. “Alright, this is about thirty miles. We’re two days from the solstice, and the priests always visit the island to perform the Tempest Ceremony. It’s a ritual to keep the sky clear on the solstice, when here in Palesi the sun will be up all day. From what I understand it’s similar to the Chuwian Frost Ritual from back home.”</p><p></p><p>“I like their rituals more than ours,” Babb laughed. Lacy frowned, and Babb shook a hand to wave off her concern. “Sorry. Go on.”</p><p></p><p>She pulled out a different map, with a clearly-marked scale of distance. “The old temple was on an island here, about a mile and a half away. It was destroyed by a tidal wave a few hundred years ago. They’d almost forgotten it was even there.”</p><p></p><p>Seekan nodded. “Then that is where the gem lies. All my divinations point to it. You will retrieve it for me, and then we will sail . . . here. Forty-five miles upstream of this delta is the Temple of Echoed Souls, where-”</p><p></p><p>“Wait a bit,” Babb said. “Lacy, we’re just going to share a ship with them to their current temple, then sneak out and loot their old one? I mean, sure, if they’re fine with that, better for us.”</p><p></p><p>Lacy looked uncomfortable. “I haven’t mentioned it to them, actually. I just said we wanted passage to the mouth of the Vespis River, then to Turinn. You’ll be alright if let you off at the river, Seekan?”</p><p></p><p>A restrained nod.</p><p></p><p>“Good. I arranged a decent price for the trip, since we’re only really putting them out of their way for the second half of it. We’ll have to find another ship to take us from Turinn to Seaquen. Should be easier, though.”</p><p></p><p>“Yeah,” Babb said. “At least they speak a real language there. But, Lace, you never quite explained how we’re going to get the gem from the sunken temple.”</p><p></p><p>Lacy sighed. “They don’t even know it’s there, so they can’t be angry if we take it.”</p><p></p><p>“It’s good that your conscience is clear, but that doesn’t help us get there. They’ll be suspicious if we all go for a swim.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, it will be difficult,” Lacy said, “but if we’re fast we can do it. The temple is further south than Palesi, and the cliffs to the north and east cast a long shadow, so there should be about three hours of night there. They’re going to be busy performing rituals all day, and they’re not supposed to go outside at night, so we should be able to leave and come back while most everyone is asleep.”</p><p></p><p>Babb nodded and yawned. “Alright then, let me get my stuff, and we can go back to the inn and tell the others.”</p><p></p><p>“Um,” Lacy started.</p><p></p><p>Seekan asked, “There is a complication?”</p><p></p><p>“There are actually two temples on the island. The other one is a chapel of Meliska.”</p><p></p><p>Babb shrugged. “Do they have sex rituals too? I can spread my prayers around if it will help.”</p><p></p><p>“Babb,” Lacy scolded. “Meliska’s clergy is opposed to Vanessi’s. We never had to worry about it back home since the nearest chapel of Meliska was thirty miles away, but the rivalry here is intense.”</p><p></p><p>Seekan stared at Lacy. “These are opposing deities?”</p><p></p><p>“Sisters,” Lacy said. “You honestly don’t know about Meliska? I thought she had a lot of followers in lower Nozama.”</p><p></p><p>Babb tossed up his hands. “Don’t worry about it, Lace. Meliska’s, what? Life and the sun? Vanessi is life and the power of nature. Why everyone makes such a big deal about it doesn’t make sense to me. Look, I’m tired, and no bed at a crummy inn is going to be as good as where I was twenty minutes ago, so to hell with more planning. We’ll worry about it on the trip there.”</p><p></p><p>Lacy sighed. “This <em>is</em> important, Babb. But if you want, we can go back to the others. I won’t bother you with the details.”</p><p></p><p>“That’s just the way I like it. Now, could you put that necklace back on and ask them if I can keep the robe? It’s like a warm towel.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RangerWickett, post: 1822999, member: 63"] [b]Episode Four: My Hero, Section II[/b] “You understand anything she’s saying?” Babb asked. Beside him, the lizard-skinned Seekan gave a restrained shake of his head. Babb expected as much. Babb was unhappy with his lack of role in this endeavor. Seekan, pleased to find someone who spoke Lyceian, had proposed a job for them, saying he needed explorers. David, Allar, and Tri’ni were away purchasing the water-breathing magic they would need to retrieve the gem Seekan was interested in, and Lacy was using a new translation charm to find them a ship. And Babb was stuck with his sister, who currently was not able to talk to them in Lyceian, and Seekan, who was too business-like to make conversation. “You hire adventurers often?” Seekan shook his head, again with restraint. Babb sighed. They were at the city’s port, full of high cliffs overlooking the actual harbor. Most of the buildings looked to be storehouses or homes, very different from the lush entertainments of the port of Lyceum. Even if Babb could speak the language, he doubted there would be any trouble worth getting into. Lacy turned away from her conversation to look at them, and took off the necklace – woven from her hair and that of a guard at the city gate. She smiled eagerly. “Throlt here has given me directions to someone who operates a ship in the area we want to go. Babb, you’ll never guess, but it’s a temple of Vanessi.” “Really. Huh.” Babb leaned back in surprise, then nudged Seekan. “My sister is a priest of Vanessi. We grew up in a temple. Nice coincidence, huh.” Seekan took half a step away, out of Babb’s nudging reach. “I am unfamiliar with the god.” “You’re from Lyceum, right?” “Not originally.” Babb shrugged. “I’ll let Lacy tell you the details later. So, Lace, where to now?” “Throlt said the temple is a little further north, between Firaelgu Cemetery and Vulfhant Garden. This way.” They walked to the temple, the sound of deep bass drums pounding out occasionally further inland. Babb was certain it had to be nearing night, but the sun had been hovering above the north-western horizon for at least an hour. He yawned [center]* * *[/center] “And so thankfully Lacy’s good with healing, or else I’d have much worse than just a scar. Damn do I hate acid.” To Babb’s eye, Seekan was completely disinterested in his talk of old adventures, and it was beginning to frustrate him. He had been just too quiet since he showed up. With the translation charm, Lacy at least was able to talk to the locals and step into interesting shops along the way. He wondered if maybe the strange lizard-man would be more open about himself. “So you’re a wizard, right?” Seekan looked Babb in the eyes, then shrugged. “I have a few powers. I know many much stronger than I.” “Look, don’t doubt yourself. I mean, every Nicholas Dragonsbane had to start small, I suppose. And you’ve got the whole ‘mystery’ thing down. Okay, the hood and robe is pretty stupid, but your face is nice and scary. It’s unique, you know?” For a moment, Seekan smiled. “You don’t think I’m human, I hope.” “I don’t really think much about that sort of stuff. David’d probably be interested in where you’re from more, really. I’m just curious what you can do.” Seekan smirked with restraint. “Remain curious.” Babb laughed. “Fine. If you want to keep up the mysterious pussy little wizard face, go ahead.” He groaned and moved beside Lacy. They were skirting the tall iron fence of a graveyard now, but it was still bright, though the sun had set. “Is this the place?” Lacy looked down at him, then held up a hand for him to wait. She removed the translation charm. “Sorry, what? Oh, hold on a moment. I think we’re here.” The road led up a hill to the temple of Vanessi, a wood and granite building flanked by two curving lines of flowering trees. Babb recognized the symbol of Vanessi’s clergy set in the stone above the temple’s entrance – a living tree facing upward, a dying tree facing downward, their trunks twined together in the center. Iron-wrought lanterns hung from the walls above windows on the second and third floors, but the entrance at the first floor was unlit. “Not quite the same as home, is it?” Lacy said. When they reached the entrance, the door opened and a short woman barely dressed in draping robes bowed to greet them. Babb’s eyes followed her chest as the dip revealed her smooth body. Her hair was braided up and held with a silver and gold pin, her lips glistened with the hint of a magical illusion, and her face was painted slightly red to make her look flush. A pendant with the symbol of Vanessi hung low between her breasts. “No, not like home at all, really.” Babb whispered up to his sister, “Why couldn’t we have grown up at this temple?” The woman shifted to lean against the wall, and spoke with a low, accented voice. “From Nozama, you’re? Well come to the Generous Temple of Vanessi. My name is a Therva. Well come.” After Therva finished her greeting, she hesitated, as if she were finally noticing who the visitors were. She nodded weakly to Babb and Seekan, then craned her head to look at Lacy. She opened her mouth in surprise, then smiled. “Priestess,” Therva nodded to the symbol of Vanessi Lacy wore as a pendant, then bowed slightly. “You do have come to visit? You are dress in strange clothes.” As she rose from her bow, Therva adjusted her dress to remain decent. Babb glanced from her to his sister, six and a half feet tall and clothed in brown leather armor studded with metal and stained with spots of her own blood. Then he glanced at Seekan; the man seemed oblivious to Therva’s sexual posturing, which only reaffirmed Babb’s distrust of him. Lacy put the translation charm on again, and Babb tuned out the conversation. Soon the voluptuous priestess was inviting them in, and other priests brought out maps of the nearby coast and islands. Male and female priests alike were dressed suggestively, and while Lacy negotiated their trip, Babb waited and watched the women. Occasionally visitors would arrive, speak with a priest or priestess at the door, and then pay to receive a spell that turned them invisible. Later they would depart, visible again, seeming quite pleased. “What the hell kind of business are they running here?” Babb said, to himself mostly. Seekan lowered his head and put fingers to his temple like he was in pain. “It is a summer festival that the temple hosts to entertain visitors and receive donations. The invisibility magic ensures confidentiality when the visitors are having sex.” Babb did a double take. “Holy :):):):). What the hell is wrong with this temple? I mean, Lacy never had to do that for the temple back home.” Sighing, Babb looked back at Therva, busy talking with his sister. “I bet she’s sad she’s missing all the fun. Hell, I’m sad I’m missing the fun.” Suddenly Lacy and Therva laughed, and Lacy looked down, blushing. Babb grumbled and looked away. A few minutes passed, Babb stewing over the situation. Then he frowned and looked at Seekan. “Wait, mystery mage. I thought you said you weren’t familiar with Vanessi. How did you know all that?” The scaled mage might have winced; Babb couldn’t be certain. But then he stared into Babb’s eyes and said, “Remain curious.” Babb walked away in frustration, suddenly uncomfortable in his old, rather smelly armor. He stood by a wall for a few minutes, biting his lip, but finally he opened his pouch and pulled out his coin purse. After all, he respected the goddess. He should make an offering. [center]* * *[/center] The robe fit oddly, but was much more comfortable than the armor he had been wearing for the past few weeks. His mind kept wandering back to that, and to how entertaining being invisible in a soapy bath had been. “Babb, pay attention, please?” Lacy sighed with a nervous smile. She had not asked what he had gone and vanished off to do, but Babb was certain the guessing was killing her. “Sorry, sis. Go on.” Babb yawned. He didn’t worry that the details might not be interesting. He did not particularly feel like moving much right now. Listening to his sister would be a welcome rest. Lacy pointed to the map, tracing a line from Palesi on the northern shore of Tennas, along the Stormchaser Coast to a small island. “Alright, this is about thirty miles. We’re two days from the solstice, and the priests always visit the island to perform the Tempest Ceremony. It’s a ritual to keep the sky clear on the solstice, when here in Palesi the sun will be up all day. From what I understand it’s similar to the Chuwian Frost Ritual from back home.” “I like their rituals more than ours,” Babb laughed. Lacy frowned, and Babb shook a hand to wave off her concern. “Sorry. Go on.” She pulled out a different map, with a clearly-marked scale of distance. “The old temple was on an island here, about a mile and a half away. It was destroyed by a tidal wave a few hundred years ago. They’d almost forgotten it was even there.” Seekan nodded. “Then that is where the gem lies. All my divinations point to it. You will retrieve it for me, and then we will sail . . . here. Forty-five miles upstream of this delta is the Temple of Echoed Souls, where-” “Wait a bit,” Babb said. “Lacy, we’re just going to share a ship with them to their current temple, then sneak out and loot their old one? I mean, sure, if they’re fine with that, better for us.” Lacy looked uncomfortable. “I haven’t mentioned it to them, actually. I just said we wanted passage to the mouth of the Vespis River, then to Turinn. You’ll be alright if let you off at the river, Seekan?” A restrained nod. “Good. I arranged a decent price for the trip, since we’re only really putting them out of their way for the second half of it. We’ll have to find another ship to take us from Turinn to Seaquen. Should be easier, though.” “Yeah,” Babb said. “At least they speak a real language there. But, Lace, you never quite explained how we’re going to get the gem from the sunken temple.” Lacy sighed. “They don’t even know it’s there, so they can’t be angry if we take it.” “It’s good that your conscience is clear, but that doesn’t help us get there. They’ll be suspicious if we all go for a swim.” “Well, it will be difficult,” Lacy said, “but if we’re fast we can do it. The temple is further south than Palesi, and the cliffs to the north and east cast a long shadow, so there should be about three hours of night there. They’re going to be busy performing rituals all day, and they’re not supposed to go outside at night, so we should be able to leave and come back while most everyone is asleep.” Babb nodded and yawned. “Alright then, let me get my stuff, and we can go back to the inn and tell the others.” “Um,” Lacy started. Seekan asked, “There is a complication?” “There are actually two temples on the island. The other one is a chapel of Meliska.” Babb shrugged. “Do they have sex rituals too? I can spread my prayers around if it will help.” “Babb,” Lacy scolded. “Meliska’s clergy is opposed to Vanessi’s. We never had to worry about it back home since the nearest chapel of Meliska was thirty miles away, but the rivalry here is intense.” Seekan stared at Lacy. “These are opposing deities?” “Sisters,” Lacy said. “You honestly don’t know about Meliska? I thought she had a lot of followers in lower Nozama.” Babb tossed up his hands. “Don’t worry about it, Lace. Meliska’s, what? Life and the sun? Vanessi is life and the power of nature. Why everyone makes such a big deal about it doesn’t make sense to me. Look, I’m tired, and no bed at a crummy inn is going to be as good as where I was twenty minutes ago, so to hell with more planning. We’ll worry about it on the trip there.” Lacy sighed. “This [i]is[/i] important, Babb. But if you want, we can go back to the others. I won’t bother you with the details.” “That’s just the way I like it. Now, could you put that necklace back on and ask them if I can keep the robe? It’s like a warm towel.” [/QUOTE]
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The Mother of Dreams - Episode 5 (updated February 1st, 2005)
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