spyscribe
First Post
Part the One-Hundred Thirty-Ninth
In which: Eva finds her situation is even more complicated than she would have guessed.
Eva sits huddled in the corner of her room. The door is locked and barricaded, and the windows are shuttered and barred.
She has never felt more vulnerable in her life.
And as she sits there, trapped in a cage of her own making, paralyzed with fear of the lurking, mysterious forces that have somehow insinuated their way into her life. As she sits there at her moment of greatest torment, the words of Alirria float into her mind, unbidden. “Remember that you have the choice between flowing in two channels or blowing in one.”
I have a choice, she thinks.
###
Eva isn’t sure which sect of Alirria would be the best to visit, so she—ironically—decides to roll a die and let fate decide. The die sends her to the Temple of the Givers of Life, the sect devoted to medicine and healing.
Eva makes her way as carefully as she can, donning a disguise, and frequently doubling back on her own path. She is fairly certain that she has not been followed.
Eva is led into a small recovery room and asked to wait. Eventually, in comes one of the Givers, Sister Alanna. She wears the plain white robe of her order, with a blue symbol of Alirria stitched into the front. “Welcome my child,” she says. “What ails you?”
Eva tells her everything.
Well, not quite everything. She remains vague about the details of those who are harassing her. She was sworn to secrecy on that score and… well, she may have a choice, but it’s still not clear which direction she’ll choose.
But she does tell Sister Alanna all about the debriefing and her date, about her death and return, about her visions of Sedellus and of Alirria, about the tingling in her forehead during their brief stopover at Cauldron. And then she asks her all important question.
“What do I do?”
Sister Alanna contemplates for a moment. “Truly, you have been blessed. A vision from one of the gods is a rare give indeed. A vision from two…” she finally says, “And for you, as a non-Alirrian, to receive a Blessed Kiss from our Mother... Will you object if I invoke Her blessings to verify your claims?”
Eva does not object, and Sister Alanna casts detect magic. She glances at Eva’s forehead, but her attention is pulled away and instead she stares down at Eva’s chest. Her gaze rests there for some time. Long enough to make Eva feel self-conscious. “Er, is there—”
But Sister Alanna cuts her off. “Excuse me, my child, but may I borrow that?” She points at Eva’s holy symbol.
Eva doesn’t have the slightest idea what to make of that. It seems a truly strange request, but…
“Okay. Sure…” she says, and removes the symbol from around her neck. Sister Alanna takes it from her and, without a word, exits the room.
Eva sits there, wondering what exactly has just transpired. A minute later, Sister Alanna returns, without the holy symbol.
“Were you aware, my dear, that you are being monitored?” she asks.
“Well, yeah,” she says, mentally adding Hello! Have you been listening to anything I said?
“No, no,” Sister Alanna clarifies. “I mean you are being monitored at this very moment. There is some kind of divination magic active on your holy symbol. You have probably been monitored since you first put it on…”
Sister Alanna keeps talking after that, but Eva doesn’t hear a word she says. Somehow, quite suddenly, too much of her concentration is taken up with breathing.
###
A quick application of calm emotions by Sister Alanna brings Eva back to her senses. Sister Alanna explains that she has had one of the Mother Superiors perform a thorough magical examination of the holy symbol. It has been enchanted with clairaudience. Everything that Eva has said or that has been said to her since she got that holy symbol has been overheard.
Sister Alanna offers to attempt to dispel the enchantment, but of course, that would only alert whoever is listening that Eva is aware of their eavesdropping. That is not a step that Eva is willing to take quite yet. Yes, she is angry, but they’ve already made it abundantly clear that they can find her, and while she is furious about this, she’s not feeling quite reckless enough to risk open war with them. Not yet.
“We can protect you here at the Temple, if you wish,” Sister Alanna offers. “I doubt very much that even Sedellans would be foolish enough to come for you if you were under the protection of the Givers.”
Eva considers that. It is a kind offer, and might well solve her problems. On the other hand…
“Thank you, but no. I appreciate the thought, but I’m not so certain they wouldn’t find a way to get me. Besides, I may not know exactly what the goddess… what either goddess meant when She spoke to me, but somehow I don’t think They intended me to find out by staying here.”
“The Lady’s words are as opaque to me as they are to you. But keep them in your mind and wrap them around your heart. She would not have offered them to you if they were not needed.”
Eva nods. Small chance of her forgetting. Particularly now.
Eva’s holy symbol is returned to her. She and Sister Alanna stage a quick conversation for the benefit of anyone that might be listening, covering for the short period of time that they would have lost contact. Sister Alanna babbles a few Alirrian platitudes, and Eva feigns gratitude for the consultation.
And then she is on her way, alone.
It is a very, very, very bad hand she has been dealt.
She’ll just have to see how well she can play it out…
###
Back at the boarding house, Lira finds Eva sitting downstairs in the common dining area, staring at a cold mug of Mrs. Blackburn’s excellent coffee.
“Eva?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Fine.” As she talks, Eva slowly shakes her head from side to side.
“Are you sure?”
“Oh yeah.”
Lira frowns. The fact that Eva sounds as though she’s just been told she’s about to be executed does not exactly lend credence to what she’s saying. But before Lira can ask another question, Eva puts a finger to her lips, calling for silence.
Lira gestures, “What?”
Very slowly and carefully Eva points at the holy symbol that hangs around her neck. She beckons Lira closer.
Lira leans down, and when her ear is less than an inch from Eva’s mouth, the rogue whispers a single word, so low it is almost an exhale. “Spies.”
Lira sits down opposite Eva at the table. “You know, I was passing by the market today, and I realized, we should go shopping.”
“Shopping?” Eva asks.
“Sure,” Lira replies, pulling out parchment, quill, and ink from her pack and pushing them across the table to Eva. “Why don’t we start a list of all the things we need?”
Eva blinks. “Oh. Good idea.” She picks up the quill, and begins to write.
In which: Eva finds her situation is even more complicated than she would have guessed.
Eva sits huddled in the corner of her room. The door is locked and barricaded, and the windows are shuttered and barred.
She has never felt more vulnerable in her life.
And as she sits there, trapped in a cage of her own making, paralyzed with fear of the lurking, mysterious forces that have somehow insinuated their way into her life. As she sits there at her moment of greatest torment, the words of Alirria float into her mind, unbidden. “Remember that you have the choice between flowing in two channels or blowing in one.”
I have a choice, she thinks.
###
Eva isn’t sure which sect of Alirria would be the best to visit, so she—ironically—decides to roll a die and let fate decide. The die sends her to the Temple of the Givers of Life, the sect devoted to medicine and healing.
Eva makes her way as carefully as she can, donning a disguise, and frequently doubling back on her own path. She is fairly certain that she has not been followed.
Eva is led into a small recovery room and asked to wait. Eventually, in comes one of the Givers, Sister Alanna. She wears the plain white robe of her order, with a blue symbol of Alirria stitched into the front. “Welcome my child,” she says. “What ails you?”
Eva tells her everything.
Well, not quite everything. She remains vague about the details of those who are harassing her. She was sworn to secrecy on that score and… well, she may have a choice, but it’s still not clear which direction she’ll choose.
But she does tell Sister Alanna all about the debriefing and her date, about her death and return, about her visions of Sedellus and of Alirria, about the tingling in her forehead during their brief stopover at Cauldron. And then she asks her all important question.
“What do I do?”
Sister Alanna contemplates for a moment. “Truly, you have been blessed. A vision from one of the gods is a rare give indeed. A vision from two…” she finally says, “And for you, as a non-Alirrian, to receive a Blessed Kiss from our Mother... Will you object if I invoke Her blessings to verify your claims?”
Eva does not object, and Sister Alanna casts detect magic. She glances at Eva’s forehead, but her attention is pulled away and instead she stares down at Eva’s chest. Her gaze rests there for some time. Long enough to make Eva feel self-conscious. “Er, is there—”
But Sister Alanna cuts her off. “Excuse me, my child, but may I borrow that?” She points at Eva’s holy symbol.
Eva doesn’t have the slightest idea what to make of that. It seems a truly strange request, but…
“Okay. Sure…” she says, and removes the symbol from around her neck. Sister Alanna takes it from her and, without a word, exits the room.
Eva sits there, wondering what exactly has just transpired. A minute later, Sister Alanna returns, without the holy symbol.
“Were you aware, my dear, that you are being monitored?” she asks.
“Well, yeah,” she says, mentally adding Hello! Have you been listening to anything I said?
“No, no,” Sister Alanna clarifies. “I mean you are being monitored at this very moment. There is some kind of divination magic active on your holy symbol. You have probably been monitored since you first put it on…”
Sister Alanna keeps talking after that, but Eva doesn’t hear a word she says. Somehow, quite suddenly, too much of her concentration is taken up with breathing.
###
A quick application of calm emotions by Sister Alanna brings Eva back to her senses. Sister Alanna explains that she has had one of the Mother Superiors perform a thorough magical examination of the holy symbol. It has been enchanted with clairaudience. Everything that Eva has said or that has been said to her since she got that holy symbol has been overheard.
Sister Alanna offers to attempt to dispel the enchantment, but of course, that would only alert whoever is listening that Eva is aware of their eavesdropping. That is not a step that Eva is willing to take quite yet. Yes, she is angry, but they’ve already made it abundantly clear that they can find her, and while she is furious about this, she’s not feeling quite reckless enough to risk open war with them. Not yet.
“We can protect you here at the Temple, if you wish,” Sister Alanna offers. “I doubt very much that even Sedellans would be foolish enough to come for you if you were under the protection of the Givers.”
Eva considers that. It is a kind offer, and might well solve her problems. On the other hand…
“Thank you, but no. I appreciate the thought, but I’m not so certain they wouldn’t find a way to get me. Besides, I may not know exactly what the goddess… what either goddess meant when She spoke to me, but somehow I don’t think They intended me to find out by staying here.”
“The Lady’s words are as opaque to me as they are to you. But keep them in your mind and wrap them around your heart. She would not have offered them to you if they were not needed.”
Eva nods. Small chance of her forgetting. Particularly now.
Eva’s holy symbol is returned to her. She and Sister Alanna stage a quick conversation for the benefit of anyone that might be listening, covering for the short period of time that they would have lost contact. Sister Alanna babbles a few Alirrian platitudes, and Eva feigns gratitude for the consultation.
And then she is on her way, alone.
It is a very, very, very bad hand she has been dealt.
She’ll just have to see how well she can play it out…
###
Back at the boarding house, Lira finds Eva sitting downstairs in the common dining area, staring at a cold mug of Mrs. Blackburn’s excellent coffee.
“Eva?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Fine.” As she talks, Eva slowly shakes her head from side to side.
“Are you sure?”
“Oh yeah.”
Lira frowns. The fact that Eva sounds as though she’s just been told she’s about to be executed does not exactly lend credence to what she’s saying. But before Lira can ask another question, Eva puts a finger to her lips, calling for silence.
Lira gestures, “What?”
Very slowly and carefully Eva points at the holy symbol that hangs around her neck. She beckons Lira closer.
Lira leans down, and when her ear is less than an inch from Eva’s mouth, the rogue whispers a single word, so low it is almost an exhale. “Spies.”
Lira sits down opposite Eva at the table. “You know, I was passing by the market today, and I realized, we should go shopping.”
“Shopping?” Eva asks.
“Sure,” Lira replies, pulling out parchment, quill, and ink from her pack and pushing them across the table to Eva. “Why don’t we start a list of all the things we need?”
Eva blinks. “Oh. Good idea.” She picks up the quill, and begins to write.
