Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wicht" data-source="post: 374151" data-attributes="member: 221">Chapter 13 Xaarum     They sighted land in the early hours of the morning and beached the swan boat in the sand of a small, but hospitable bay.  One of the villagers recognized the location.      “We are only a few miles from home,” he said, and then realizing his home had been destroyed, “Or what is left of it.”    “How far from Taesoo?” asked Alairic.    “About six miles,” said the man.  With little to do during the trip but rest, most of the villagers felt awake enough to make the journey.    The sun was just starting to clear the horizon when the group tracked into Taesoo.  News spread quickly, and soon the whole village was awake and celebrating the return of their friends and family.  The whole village that is, except for the mayor, who rumor had it, rarely got out of bed until three hours or so into the day.  Alairic, deciding the mayor should be notified, led the way to his house.  He was indeed asleep, but soon the noise drew him out and as the situation was explained to him, he declared the day a town holiday.  Everyone cheered and clapped.    “I want to think you,” the mayor said to Alairic, Tilliana and Niccolo, “These are people we thought to never see again.  At least we know they have their lives, though of course, their houses have been destroyed and they have absolutely no money now.”    “Do they have any talents?” asked Tilliana.    “They are mostly just simple fishermen and the wives of fishermen,” said the mayor, his eyes darting craftily up, “If only they had something to fall back on, someone to help them.”    The three talked it over, including Kinshag in the discussion as he had earned a portion of the gold, and decided to help each individual.  Taking the gold they had taken from the pirates, the feathered creature and, apparently, the young dragoness, they counted out 50 gold pieces to each of the villagers they had rescued.  If there had been any doubt of the status of the four before, there was no doubt afterwards.  In the eyes of all, they were heroes.  The mayor smiled heartily and promised to spread the word far and wide of what they had done.    Later, after the festivities had died down a little, the four heroes took their leave of the village and made their way back to where they had left the swan boat.  It was gone.      “It must have vanished as it appeared.”    “Is the feather there?” asked Niccolo.  They looked for it but saw no trace of it.      “It must have been a one time only thing,” said the Paladin.    Taking stock of their situation, they decided to go back to Xaarum and report to Deochoo.  Having money to spend, Kinshag decided to accompany them.    It was getting close to evening when they walked through the city gates.  Several, recognizing Niccolo, Alairic and Tilliana, hollered greetings.      One in particular stopped to talk to Tilliana.  It was Rouna, her childhood friend, and now priestess in the Home Foundation.  As usual, she was surrounded by a flock of children she was watching    “Hi Tilliana!  Good to see you back safely.  I missed you.”    “Hi,” said Tilliana, “How are your children?”    “Oh the girl is as healthy as ever and eight more months still, more or less, till I get to see the other one!”    “That’s great!”    “Hey, have you heard, oh but you wouldn’t have, Xaarum’s not been safe here lately, there have been three murders over the past three nights.  Horrible things!  The bodies have been hacked to pieces and whoever did it wrote in blood on the walls ‘For the children.’  Can you imagine?  Who would do that for children?”    “I’ll say,” said Niccolo.    “Anyway, be careful,” said Rouna with a smile, “And come see me when you get a chance, I want to hear what you have been up to.”    “I will,” said Tilliana.    They made their way finally to their destination and entered in through the walls of the Citadel of Truth.  Deochoo saw them readily in his office and heard their account.      “We will talk more about this later,” he said, “But you have done good.”    That night they rested in the Citadel, on comfortable beds.    The next day the four companions set about to examine and split up the treasure they had taken.  A spell from Tilliana revealed that not only was Alairic’s sword and new-found bag magical, but so was the ring taken from the Pirate Captain and the mace Kinshag had taken from the feathered creature.  Many of the coins were not from Xaarum and were therefore illegal to use in the city.  There was also the matter of 11 gems.  They visited several merchants to get fair prices for the gems and then visited the money changers to exchange the foreign coins for Xaarum minted pieces.  When all was said and done each of the four had a share worth 1535 gold pieces, a respectable amount of money.  The money split, they took their leave of each other.  Tilliana desired to speak to Deochoo, as did Alairic, and Niccolo and Kinshag were interested in buying new arms and armor.      Deochoo was apparently expecting some sort of conversation and saw Tilliana in private first.  Tilliana, it appeared, was ready to be tested for advancement.  Speaking with her, Deochoo saw that indeed she was ready for greater duties and promised to promote her.  There was, it appeared, to be a feast for them that evening, in their honor.  The announcement would be made then.      “And now dear,” said Deochoo, “You must give thought to where you want to go.  There are a number of possibilities.  You may take either a fixed position or you may choose to undertake your quest of seeking, which will take you away from our company for four years.”    “What positions are open?” asked Tilliana.    “Well, there are two in the main, both of which you might be interested in.  The first is of course Giovan’s former shrines.  There is little doubt now that he is dead.  You may work between Foorun and Taesoo if you choose, tending to the needs and safety of those villages.  Or there is also currently a need for a servant in an area you are familiar with, Your father’s old territory.  It too is under my current jurisdiction and is in need of someone to tend to its needs.  There is also with that area another job the church wants done.  We have no temple in Geanuvue and that is not good.  But the city there is resistant to the faith and it has been deemed that the best way to establish a temple in the city is first to gain the trust and following of a large number in the area north of the city.”    From Tilliana’s expression, it was apparent that this last option appealed to her the most.  To work where her father had worked.      “Do not decide hastily,” said Deochoo, “it is a big decision.  You can let me know what you decide tonight.”    “I will,” said Tilliana, and she took her leave of the old priest.    Alairic, who went into Deochoo’s office as soon as Tilliana exited was also expected by the venerable priest.  Alairic, fumbling with his words, made it known that  also desired promotion, if possible, feeling that having completed his quest for the Swift Sword, he had shown some ability to handle responsibility.  Deochoo, with a smile, agreed to this as well and, just as he had promised Tilliana, so too he now promised to Alairic to make the announcement that evening.</blockquote>

Verification