Six From Gate Pass - Chapter 2: The Indomitable Fire Forest of Innenotdar

[The Bashar]

Hrimr is worried by the purposeful gait and poise of Alric as he strides forward to this Tiljann with his sword unsheathed. Hrimr puts his shield on his back and strides forward to where Alric, Kirio, and the fey woman are standing.

"Greetings, I am Hrimr, Druid of Granite Hold. Alric, sheath your sword so this woman can tell us what is going on here. Be calm my friend and let us not do anything hasty.

Let us go into the tower and hear the story of this place. We have water and I have some food to spare. If those other Fey return we have a better chance of fending them off within the tower."

 

[Adjuntive]

Alric grinds his teeth at Hrimr's chidance feeling condescended upon, and bristles slightly.

			Damn you Hrimr, speaking to me in such a manner. If you knew who I used to be... Though there is some sense in his speech. It is not just my decision to end her life to meet the bargain with Indominability, and there is some relief in sharing that burden.

Alric sheathes his sword and motions as graciously as he can to the tower door, "Shall we Tiljann?"

 

[fromage67]

Hrimr is worried by the purposeful gait and poise of Alric as he strides forward to this Tiljann with his sword unsheathed. Hrimr puts his shield on his back and strides forward to where Alric, Kirio, and the fey woman are standing.

"Greetings, I am Hrimr, Druid of Granite Hold. Alric, sheath your sword so this woman can tell us what is going on here. Be calm my friend and let us not do anything hasty.

Let us go into the tower and hear the story of this place. We have water and I have some food to spare. If those other Fey return we have a better chance of fending them off within the tower."

Lars looks up from his constant nervous scrutiny of the flaming woods, "Yes, let's go inside."

He looks at the other male Seela, "What's your side of the story?" Lars starts walking towards the tower, getting ready to pick the lock once more. He stays within earshot, though, and waits for the others if necessary.

 

[Gregor]

GM: Lars, the males fled. They are not there now.

[sblock="for Kirio"]The word Seela means nothing to you. However, judging by the fact that they speak Sylvan and apparently live in the forest, you can assume that they are some kind of Fey. There are countless races of Fey, but all of them are extremely long-lived, if not ageless, and have some connection to nature, the earth, or elements.

As for the Song of Forms, it means nothing to you.[/sblock]

Tiljann accepts your offer to enter into the tower and she looks around the inside like an inquisitive child. After a few moments, she responds:

"Its ever so nice to meet all of you. Oh and one of you makes music! I have never met anyone from beyond the fires. I wonder what its like out there? Oh...sorry, I'm not answering your questions."

She sits down on the stone floor, and adjusts her wings so she can lean against the wall. Once comfortable she continues.

"Where to begin? Oh yes. Perhaps 10 or so years, as a human measures it I believe, before I was born from the will of nature and the first tree, a great evil came to the forest. We Seela are the first children of the forest. The oldest and wisest of the fey that lived here. We would sing news from one end of the forest to the other through the rustling of leaves in the wind, and it was us who first noticed the presence of evil. It spread through the woods, an incorporeal menace that would possess and endow its power upon several dying animals, who struggled to stay alive. Seeing the strange entity as a disturbance in nature, we called upon the elf-hero Anyariel to conquer the monster." She pauses for a moment, staring out an arrow-slit. After taking a deep breath, she starts to speak again.

"We seela sang the Song of Forms, an ancient hymn of history and events in the forest, a song woven in our very bodies. The song’s power trapped the evil in the body of a noble dire stag. Corrupted and possessed as it was, it rampaged through the forest. Anyariel pursued it to the center of Lake Seela, where she trapped it with a mortal blow of her sword. The creature did not die, but it cannot be released from a bodied form until we stop singing. Over time, its evil essence has seeped through Anyariel's sword, an ancient wooden blade cut from the first tree, and has spread into the forest. When the fires came, the creature was able to control both the woods and the flames. We are tied to the forest and if it dies, so do we."

She turns to face you with eyes welling.

"I urge you to come to the village. Speak with Papuvin, the Song Leader. He leads us and can tell you more. I know that you can help us end this suffering of the forest. I know you can help us find a way to live and free us from the flames."

 

[Bannock]

Bannock leans on his poleaxe and watches the parlay. Alric's emotional display is perplexing to his young mind. Hardened warriors are not supposed to act that way. Eventually he speaks up at Tiljann.


"Hmm. I guess you can never trust a floating voice made of flames. I think we're headed in the direction of your village, Ms Tilgin. We could escort you there if you'd like. Eh, not that it's really our business, but what was buggerin' those other fellows?"

He glances at Kirio, who appears to be giving Tiljinn lecherous looks. Remembering his capacity for murder, he says,

"Kirio, sometimes you scare me. I'd say you try to be a ladykiller, but I can't be sure how literal that might be!"

 

[Gregor]

Tiljann beams at Bannock's words. "Oh, I would be most pleased if you would come to our village. Papuvin will be so glad."

She stands up, opens the door to the tower and steps outside into the blazing hot air. Facing you in the doorway, the deep red and orange light forms a silhouette around her frail form and her insect-like wings look as if they are made from stained glass. With a smile she says: "I will head to the village first and warn them of your coming. Worry not about the others from earlier, they are unhappy Seela. They want the song to end. They want to be taken by the flames and want to die. But don't fret, they are just confused. I can manage on my own and will dash home as quickly as possible. When you're ready, just walk down the riverbank, following the flow to the lake. If you leave soon, you can be there by evening and I will have a meal prepared."

Then, she flashes you a broad grin and a big wave before jumping over the side of the bridge. Through an arrow slit you can see her glide down to the river bank and jog away.

 

[funkmamagoat]

"Kirio, sometimes you scare me. I'd say you try to be a ladykiller, but I can't be sure how literal that might be!"

Kirio graces Bannock with a wide grin and winks at him "Why my dear Bannock, you wound me. You need not be afraid; just know I do what needs doing when it needs doing, no more, no less. I'm quite capable of notching the correct type of arrow; the one best suited to the situation at hand." with that he winks again, stands and begins playing a lively tune on his flute.

"When you're ready, just walk down the riverbank, following the flow to the lake. If you leave soon, you can be there by evening and I will have a meal prepared."

"Well, I for one am ready, we have wasted enough time. I know you are ill Hrmir, and perhaps my fey cousins can assist you and Torrent in that respect. Let us be on our way, it is barely mid day, and it seems there is a a meal waiting for us after an invigorating walk..." Kirio flashes another crazy smile at them all, readies his bow and steps out of the tower ready to get going...

 

[Adjuntive]

As Kirio starts towards the door, Alric says in haste.

"Forgive me Kirio, and forgive me my comrades. Before we find ourselves among the Seela, I feel I must be clear on what our intentions are." Alric glowers knowing what this conversation might entail. "Helping these people means going against the spirit calling itself Indominability and possibly forfeiting the powers it has granted us. I like not the bargain since it was dishonorable enough to pressure an accord, nonetheless we have agreed and taken its boon. Though I usually prefer honoring contracts, I loathe being manipulated and would prefer to exact a measure of my displeasure upon it. And yet there is the issue of the urgency of our greater mission... Are we all in agreement, or at least in majority, for the time being, to recind its bargain with us?" Alric seems to focus this question particularly at Arnir, who has made no mistake of his pleasure at receiving the power granted by Indominability.

With this said he rises and makes ready to leave waiting for a simple tally of opinions.

 

[funkmamagoat]

Kirio turns to Alric "I'd say duress was applied, so... if possible to do so and remain alive, we stick your sword" he looks at Bannock and winks "the metal one, as that is most appropriate" back to Alric "right up his rear, yes..."

 

[Gregor]

Torrent has been refilling water skins during the discussion with Tiljann, and is now sharpening her axe blade with a whetstone. Having listened to the entire conversation, she now looks up and offers her opinion.

"I think you raise a good question Alric. I think we should consider what side of the fence we're going to play on. However, I don't know that I can render an opinion either way. As you say, we were pretty much forced, under duress, to accept Indomitability's contract and boon. It asked us to free it, and suggested we slay who we can now reasonably assume are the Seela." She pauses and slings the sharpened axe into her leather loop harness on her belt. Palming the whetstone and occasionally throwing it into the air and catching it, she continues. "Yet, now having met the Seela, we hear a story about how Indomitability is evil and has used its power to cause the strange unending forest fires within which we are now trapped. According to the Seela, they keep the creature captive because to release it would mean that it not only could possess them, but the fires would then burn uncontrollably, killing the forest and them along with it. Who is right and who is wrong? I have no idea. We're in a moral grey area and we need more information before we choose either path. At a minimum we should travel to the Seela village and learn what we can. Perhaps more clues await that can steer us in the best direction. To me, that direction is the one that gets us out of here alive and the stolen intelligence to Lyceum. That is where I stand."