Rel's Faded Glory III: Glory Reborn (FINAL UPDATE 6/22 - SHE'S DONE, BABY!!)
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Rel
Liquid Awesome
BardStephenFox said:I double-dog dare you to Rel!
Well, in that case, I guess I'm committed.
BelenUmeria said:
I can but I won't clutter the thread with it right now. I'll be having dinner with you in a week and I'll give you the whole boring spiel then. Whether you like it or not.
I gotta run now. My company is taking me out to lunch for Employee Appreciation Day.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Gah! I get back from running my errands and now there's a nasty thunderstorm sitting on my house. I'm gonna have to delay writing the update until the power to my house stops flickering. Sorry.
My wife and child depart in the morning for a long weekend visit to Colorado. So I should have plenty of time to post updates in the next couple days.
My wife and child depart in the morning for a long weekend visit to Colorado. So I should have plenty of time to post updates in the next couple days.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Well, I finally managed to get in some writing time after a weekend of little sleep. Here's the first half of my next update and the other should follow tonight. After that I'll slot in Cathal's excellent posts over the next couple of days and those will be the last updates until sometime after next weekend when I'm running the NC Game Day (number 5!).
Speaks With Stone knelt in the blowing snow with the body of his mentor, Feathers In Flight, laying before him. His companions stood close to each other and away from him. As dozens of questions swirled in their minds they clung to their silence out of respect for their friend. They were on the verge of attempting to find a way back down into the sinkhole to seek refuge from the rising blizzard when they heard a sound begin to rise in Speaks’ throat.
His body began to sway in time to some internal rhythm and the snow began to swirl around him somehow parting to let him work and focusing the energy of the wind and ice into his hands. A pale white light began to suffuse the air churning snow around him and then began a slow transformation to pale green.
The companions stood back in still amazement as this green intensified and became a deep, brilliant focus that seemed like the essence of all growing, living things was concentrated right on the tips of the Druid’s fingers. Then he touched the corpse in front of him.
The light immediately sank within the flesh of the dead man and disappeared as the world turned silent. Breathless seconds passed and then, the body began to take on an almost imperceptible inner glow. Speaks moved back slightly, acknowledging that his part of this ritual was done.
The glow became brighter until it achieved the same intensity as it had upon Speaks’ hands. It wasn’t blinding but it was bright enough to render the body indistinct. Then it became somehow “larger” and brilliant green filled the air, reflected off of the ground, the sky, the snow and the faces of those present. And then it faded, leaving the form of a large, brown bear, lying in the snow. Breathing.
******************************************************
They huddled around the warmth of the small fire and inhaled the aroma of cooking venison. Cathal had had to cut away some rancid sections of the meat, found in the satchel of one of the giants, but it was nice to have a meal consisting of something besides Shocker Lizard for a change.
The bear, Feathers In Flight, alive once more, slept nearby to try and regain his strength after having told his lengthy tale of what had transpired in the Empire in Speaks’ absence. The group now began to contemplate how this changed what they were to do next.
Feathers had explained that Speaks’ actions had come to the attention of the Druidic Counsel and heated debate had ensued as to how it was to be handled. For most of the party, this was the first they had heard of the history of the Druid Circle and how it was tied in with their own quest to find Ilrath and the City of Endless Summer.
Marius’ brow was wrinkled in thought and he spoke aloud, “Let me make sure that I understand what you’re telling us, Speaks:
There was a battle hundreds of years ago as the Empire began its conquest of the northlands. The Elves who lived in what is now the Darkwood had some sort of civil war and spawned the Dark Druids. Then, the real Druids, your Druids went to war with these Dark Druids with the help of the Cult of Bane. But later they found out that the Banites were evil and turned on them at about the same time that the other religions, primarily those of St. Cuthbert and Pelor, did. But they feared that their past alliance with the Cult would be exposed and therefore killed almost everybody who knew about it and covered up all the evidence of that partnership.
But now, us going to the City of Endless Summer threatens to expose those old alliances and put the Druid Circle out of favor with the Imperial government. So this Oak Tree guy decides to send these Night Druids after us to kill us and keep the cover-up going. And those are the guys who sent the weed-monsters after you and Cathal when we were just outside Aquae Sulis. And they’re the same guys who sent the Giants after us that we just killed.
Does that all sound right?”
All eyes turned to Speaks. “That is largely correct. These 'Keepers of Night' have apparently been around since somewhere in the middle of the Bane War and their mission is to kill anyone who threatens to expose the past link between the Druids and the Cult of Bane. They killed my father when his research through the Temple of Obad-Hai began to look in the direction of the Druid involvement in the Bane War.
And now the High Druid, Roots of Oak, has sent them after us because it is believed by many that some remnant of the Cult may have survived and fled to the City of Endless Summer. This decision to silence us formed a rift in the Druid Counsel and Feathers In Flight became an outlaw when he tried to come and warn us. A small number of other Druids on the Counsel also resisted the idea of killing us and they have now fled to Sythia.”
Marius nodded his head and continued, “From what the bear said, it sounds like they are few in number and, pardon me for saying so, somewhat leaner in power than the ones who sent the Keepers of Night after us.”
Speaks nodded his head solemnly, “Yes. Other than Feathers In Flight, Tumbling Rapids is the only one of any true power among the exiled Druids. Most of the rest are younger students who don’t wish to continue the sins of their elders into the next generation of Druids.”
Marius gave a wry grin. “So the powerful Druids, the ones with the seats in the Imperial Senate, are our enemies who are sending Druidic Assassins after us. And our friends are the bunch of kids huddled in the swamps of Sythia. Great.”
Speaks responded, “Well, for what it’s worth, the Keepers of Night sound like they’ve always been a very small organization as was necessary for the intense secrecy they relied upon. The pair that we killed were the only ones that I’ve been able to detect through my scrying. So it may be that there are few others after us. Perhaps none.”
None of the other companions spoke in response but it was clear from their faces that this was not a huge comfort to them. Marcus spoke plainly as usual when he asked, “The question then becomes, ‘What do we do now?’”
Lazarius piped up almost immediately. “As to that, I believe I’ve got an idea that will hasten our journey and simultaneously shake any further Keepers of Night off our trail. But I’ll need a few days to prepare…”
Speaks With Stone knelt in the blowing snow with the body of his mentor, Feathers In Flight, laying before him. His companions stood close to each other and away from him. As dozens of questions swirled in their minds they clung to their silence out of respect for their friend. They were on the verge of attempting to find a way back down into the sinkhole to seek refuge from the rising blizzard when they heard a sound begin to rise in Speaks’ throat.
His body began to sway in time to some internal rhythm and the snow began to swirl around him somehow parting to let him work and focusing the energy of the wind and ice into his hands. A pale white light began to suffuse the air churning snow around him and then began a slow transformation to pale green.
The companions stood back in still amazement as this green intensified and became a deep, brilliant focus that seemed like the essence of all growing, living things was concentrated right on the tips of the Druid’s fingers. Then he touched the corpse in front of him.
The light immediately sank within the flesh of the dead man and disappeared as the world turned silent. Breathless seconds passed and then, the body began to take on an almost imperceptible inner glow. Speaks moved back slightly, acknowledging that his part of this ritual was done.
The glow became brighter until it achieved the same intensity as it had upon Speaks’ hands. It wasn’t blinding but it was bright enough to render the body indistinct. Then it became somehow “larger” and brilliant green filled the air, reflected off of the ground, the sky, the snow and the faces of those present. And then it faded, leaving the form of a large, brown bear, lying in the snow. Breathing.
******************************************************
They huddled around the warmth of the small fire and inhaled the aroma of cooking venison. Cathal had had to cut away some rancid sections of the meat, found in the satchel of one of the giants, but it was nice to have a meal consisting of something besides Shocker Lizard for a change.
The bear, Feathers In Flight, alive once more, slept nearby to try and regain his strength after having told his lengthy tale of what had transpired in the Empire in Speaks’ absence. The group now began to contemplate how this changed what they were to do next.
Feathers had explained that Speaks’ actions had come to the attention of the Druidic Counsel and heated debate had ensued as to how it was to be handled. For most of the party, this was the first they had heard of the history of the Druid Circle and how it was tied in with their own quest to find Ilrath and the City of Endless Summer.
Marius’ brow was wrinkled in thought and he spoke aloud, “Let me make sure that I understand what you’re telling us, Speaks:
There was a battle hundreds of years ago as the Empire began its conquest of the northlands. The Elves who lived in what is now the Darkwood had some sort of civil war and spawned the Dark Druids. Then, the real Druids, your Druids went to war with these Dark Druids with the help of the Cult of Bane. But later they found out that the Banites were evil and turned on them at about the same time that the other religions, primarily those of St. Cuthbert and Pelor, did. But they feared that their past alliance with the Cult would be exposed and therefore killed almost everybody who knew about it and covered up all the evidence of that partnership.
But now, us going to the City of Endless Summer threatens to expose those old alliances and put the Druid Circle out of favor with the Imperial government. So this Oak Tree guy decides to send these Night Druids after us to kill us and keep the cover-up going. And those are the guys who sent the weed-monsters after you and Cathal when we were just outside Aquae Sulis. And they’re the same guys who sent the Giants after us that we just killed.
Does that all sound right?”
All eyes turned to Speaks. “That is largely correct. These 'Keepers of Night' have apparently been around since somewhere in the middle of the Bane War and their mission is to kill anyone who threatens to expose the past link between the Druids and the Cult of Bane. They killed my father when his research through the Temple of Obad-Hai began to look in the direction of the Druid involvement in the Bane War.
And now the High Druid, Roots of Oak, has sent them after us because it is believed by many that some remnant of the Cult may have survived and fled to the City of Endless Summer. This decision to silence us formed a rift in the Druid Counsel and Feathers In Flight became an outlaw when he tried to come and warn us. A small number of other Druids on the Counsel also resisted the idea of killing us and they have now fled to Sythia.”
Marius nodded his head and continued, “From what the bear said, it sounds like they are few in number and, pardon me for saying so, somewhat leaner in power than the ones who sent the Keepers of Night after us.”
Speaks nodded his head solemnly, “Yes. Other than Feathers In Flight, Tumbling Rapids is the only one of any true power among the exiled Druids. Most of the rest are younger students who don’t wish to continue the sins of their elders into the next generation of Druids.”
Marius gave a wry grin. “So the powerful Druids, the ones with the seats in the Imperial Senate, are our enemies who are sending Druidic Assassins after us. And our friends are the bunch of kids huddled in the swamps of Sythia. Great.”
Speaks responded, “Well, for what it’s worth, the Keepers of Night sound like they’ve always been a very small organization as was necessary for the intense secrecy they relied upon. The pair that we killed were the only ones that I’ve been able to detect through my scrying. So it may be that there are few others after us. Perhaps none.”
None of the other companions spoke in response but it was clear from their faces that this was not a huge comfort to them. Marcus spoke plainly as usual when he asked, “The question then becomes, ‘What do we do now?’”
Lazarius piped up almost immediately. “As to that, I believe I’ve got an idea that will hasten our journey and simultaneously shake any further Keepers of Night off our trail. But I’ll need a few days to prepare…”
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Actually, it looks like there will be three updates before I start posting Cathal's. Expect the third tomorrow morning.
Two days later Speaks and Lazarius huddled on the snow-covered rocks that surrounded the pool in the center of the sinkhole. Though the blizzard had left several inches of snow at the bottom of the hole, the pool stayed clear of ice. Speaks guessed that it was fed by a stream warmed by the heat of the earth below.
“Let’s make this quick. It’s cold as an Ice-Demon’s horn out here,” groused Lazarius.
Speaks shook his head at the complaints of the Imperial Wizard, so used to the comforts of home and so ill at ease with the privations of living in the wilderness. “You’ve studied this spell as well as I have. You know that it takes time to do properly.”
Lazarius sighed in resignation. “Yes, yes. Well let’s at least go ahead and get on with it.”
Speaks began his incantation. He called upon the waters before him show him things within their depths. He focused his will and his power and shut out the howling of the wind above until, slowly, an image began to resolve itself in the dark waters of the pool. An image of Ilrath.
He looked haggard and dirty and tired. His face was grimy, his beard unshaven and caked with ice at the tips. Dried blood covered one cheek but it wasn’t obvious who it had belonged to.
He struggled along up a narrow defile, neither first nor last in the line he was part of. He stopped as he reached a place where the defile leveled off and made a turn. He gripped the shoulder of the man behind him and hauled him up the last few feet and did the same to the next one. Both bore the clothing and look of Fodor tribesmen. They were in no better shape than Ilrath.
Ilrath offered his hand to the next climber who reached out to take it…with a black-skinned hand with rough black nails on the tips of his fingers. His cowl was pulled close against the bitter winter air but it fluttered back to reveal the grinning, fanged mouth of an Orc. Ilrath gave a pull and helped the creature further up the steep path and did the same to the other five toward the end of the line. He then wordlessly fell into line at the back of the group and continued his climb.
Speaks let the image slip back into the depths of the pool and looked with astonishment at Lazarius. The Wizard was clearly just as surprised as the Druid. They withdrew back into the cave and spoke of this with their companions.
“Orcs!? Can you be certain of this?” Cathal was incredulous. “Why would Ilrath be aiding Orcs? Are you sure he wasn’t their prisoner?!”
Speaks shook his head, “He bore no chains or ropes and he willingly aided them in their climb. Also, I doubt that a prisoner would have been allowed to take a position as a rear-guard.”
“Why in Hell would Ilrath be allied with Orcs? Weren’t your people just at war with the Orcs a year ago, Cathal?” Marius too was puzzled at this surprising news. It was Lazarius who ended the speculation.
“This conversation is pointless. We can’t possibly guess the reason for this bizarre turn of events. Let’s just go there and ask Ilrath ourselves. Either he needs rescuing or he doesn’t. Either way, let’s go find out.”
Marcus was still a bit unsure of the description that Lazarius had given as to their method of travel. “And you’re just going to snap your fingers and take us there? I’ve heard of this kind of magic before but never seen it myself.”
Lazarius wrinkled his nose at the characterization of his magic, “It has taken me years and years of study and thousands of gold Imperials of expense, the majority of which I’ve had to pay out of my own pocket, to become adept enough to master the Spell of Teleportation. So no, I’m not just going to ‘snap my fingers’! It’s vastly more complicated than that. But yes, it will take us there, instantaneously.”
Marcus nodded his head slowly. “If you say so.”
Speaks headed off another diatribe that he could see boiling within Lazarius. “Did you get enough information from what we saw?”
Lazarius collected himself and responded, “I’ll need you to do it again in the morning. Hopefully they’ll be stationary then and I can get a better reference point.”
Speaks replied, “We can do that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go bid farewell to Feathers In Flight.”
Speaks exited the cave and found Feathers prowling around the bottom of the sinkhole, his ursine teeth crunching on the bones of some dead Shocker Lizards that he’d dug from beneath the snow. He turned to regard the approaching Druid, “These really aren’t too bad. I’d prefer they were warmed a bit, but they do taste rather like chicken.”
Speaks smiled. His master seemed to have adjusted fairly well to his bear form. That was only natural considering how much time that Feathers had spent shifted into forms other than human. “Do you feel that your strength has returned?”
“Yes. And I can use my magic freely now. It seems that it was only the Fetter that kept me from using it.” Feathers referred to a magic collar that the Keepers of Night had placed upon him, blocking off his abilities to do magic or shift his form. “I do hope it can be destroyed, but I agree that it will be essential if you run across any more of the Keepers. I’ll try my best to find out if there were more than the two sent after you.”
Speaks smiled. “That would be appreciated. And also, if you don’t mind, will you look in on my mother and make sure she’s alright?”
“Certainly,” replied Feathers, “after all, I’ll need to take refuge from the eyes and ears of the Circle and there are few places that I would not stick out aside from the Temple of Obad-Hai in Oar.”
Speaks chuckled for a moment before the sound died on his lips. “Also, if I don’t make it back for some reason, tell her about father.”
Feathers' big furry head nodded in a very human gesture. “You take care of yourself lad, and you’ll make it home to tell her yourself.” He looked skyward and saw that the clouds had now parted revealing the bright stars above. “Time I should be going. Take care of your friends, Speaks With Stone. And yourself.” With that, the bear shrank to a fraction of its size and became a falcon. With a flutter of wings the creature rose up toward the top of the sinkhole and disappeared over the edge.
Speaks quietly spoke into the sky, “And you take care of my family, Feathers In Flight. And yourself.” He turned and went back into the cave to pack his things and get some sleep. They would depart at dawn for wherever Ilrath was.
Two days later Speaks and Lazarius huddled on the snow-covered rocks that surrounded the pool in the center of the sinkhole. Though the blizzard had left several inches of snow at the bottom of the hole, the pool stayed clear of ice. Speaks guessed that it was fed by a stream warmed by the heat of the earth below.
“Let’s make this quick. It’s cold as an Ice-Demon’s horn out here,” groused Lazarius.
Speaks shook his head at the complaints of the Imperial Wizard, so used to the comforts of home and so ill at ease with the privations of living in the wilderness. “You’ve studied this spell as well as I have. You know that it takes time to do properly.”
Lazarius sighed in resignation. “Yes, yes. Well let’s at least go ahead and get on with it.”
Speaks began his incantation. He called upon the waters before him show him things within their depths. He focused his will and his power and shut out the howling of the wind above until, slowly, an image began to resolve itself in the dark waters of the pool. An image of Ilrath.
He looked haggard and dirty and tired. His face was grimy, his beard unshaven and caked with ice at the tips. Dried blood covered one cheek but it wasn’t obvious who it had belonged to.
He struggled along up a narrow defile, neither first nor last in the line he was part of. He stopped as he reached a place where the defile leveled off and made a turn. He gripped the shoulder of the man behind him and hauled him up the last few feet and did the same to the next one. Both bore the clothing and look of Fodor tribesmen. They were in no better shape than Ilrath.
Ilrath offered his hand to the next climber who reached out to take it…with a black-skinned hand with rough black nails on the tips of his fingers. His cowl was pulled close against the bitter winter air but it fluttered back to reveal the grinning, fanged mouth of an Orc. Ilrath gave a pull and helped the creature further up the steep path and did the same to the other five toward the end of the line. He then wordlessly fell into line at the back of the group and continued his climb.
Speaks let the image slip back into the depths of the pool and looked with astonishment at Lazarius. The Wizard was clearly just as surprised as the Druid. They withdrew back into the cave and spoke of this with their companions.
“Orcs!? Can you be certain of this?” Cathal was incredulous. “Why would Ilrath be aiding Orcs? Are you sure he wasn’t their prisoner?!”
Speaks shook his head, “He bore no chains or ropes and he willingly aided them in their climb. Also, I doubt that a prisoner would have been allowed to take a position as a rear-guard.”
“Why in Hell would Ilrath be allied with Orcs? Weren’t your people just at war with the Orcs a year ago, Cathal?” Marius too was puzzled at this surprising news. It was Lazarius who ended the speculation.
“This conversation is pointless. We can’t possibly guess the reason for this bizarre turn of events. Let’s just go there and ask Ilrath ourselves. Either he needs rescuing or he doesn’t. Either way, let’s go find out.”
Marcus was still a bit unsure of the description that Lazarius had given as to their method of travel. “And you’re just going to snap your fingers and take us there? I’ve heard of this kind of magic before but never seen it myself.”
Lazarius wrinkled his nose at the characterization of his magic, “It has taken me years and years of study and thousands of gold Imperials of expense, the majority of which I’ve had to pay out of my own pocket, to become adept enough to master the Spell of Teleportation. So no, I’m not just going to ‘snap my fingers’! It’s vastly more complicated than that. But yes, it will take us there, instantaneously.”
Marcus nodded his head slowly. “If you say so.”
Speaks headed off another diatribe that he could see boiling within Lazarius. “Did you get enough information from what we saw?”
Lazarius collected himself and responded, “I’ll need you to do it again in the morning. Hopefully they’ll be stationary then and I can get a better reference point.”
Speaks replied, “We can do that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go bid farewell to Feathers In Flight.”
Speaks exited the cave and found Feathers prowling around the bottom of the sinkhole, his ursine teeth crunching on the bones of some dead Shocker Lizards that he’d dug from beneath the snow. He turned to regard the approaching Druid, “These really aren’t too bad. I’d prefer they were warmed a bit, but they do taste rather like chicken.”
Speaks smiled. His master seemed to have adjusted fairly well to his bear form. That was only natural considering how much time that Feathers had spent shifted into forms other than human. “Do you feel that your strength has returned?”
“Yes. And I can use my magic freely now. It seems that it was only the Fetter that kept me from using it.” Feathers referred to a magic collar that the Keepers of Night had placed upon him, blocking off his abilities to do magic or shift his form. “I do hope it can be destroyed, but I agree that it will be essential if you run across any more of the Keepers. I’ll try my best to find out if there were more than the two sent after you.”
Speaks smiled. “That would be appreciated. And also, if you don’t mind, will you look in on my mother and make sure she’s alright?”
“Certainly,” replied Feathers, “after all, I’ll need to take refuge from the eyes and ears of the Circle and there are few places that I would not stick out aside from the Temple of Obad-Hai in Oar.”
Speaks chuckled for a moment before the sound died on his lips. “Also, if I don’t make it back for some reason, tell her about father.”
Feathers' big furry head nodded in a very human gesture. “You take care of yourself lad, and you’ll make it home to tell her yourself.” He looked skyward and saw that the clouds had now parted revealing the bright stars above. “Time I should be going. Take care of your friends, Speaks With Stone. And yourself.” With that, the bear shrank to a fraction of its size and became a falcon. With a flutter of wings the creature rose up toward the top of the sinkhole and disappeared over the edge.
Speaks quietly spoke into the sky, “And you take care of my family, Feathers In Flight. And yourself.” He turned and went back into the cave to pack his things and get some sleep. They would depart at dawn for wherever Ilrath was.
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