Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 2023036" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #301] Sisters of Mercy[/PLAIN]There was a definite flow of energy in the air that Ledare sensed at once; the hair on her neck seemed to bristle as she curiously studied the two women. There was an unmistakable familiarity about them - a feeling that she has felt at various times in her past, but had never been able to place. Now, as the sensation recurred, Ledare at last felt confident about its source. As Soriah had suggested: the time had come for her to understand herself. Feeling as if she has met the two women before, but sure at the same time that she had not, she stepped forward and spoke on behalf of the group."Thank you," she said with a smile. "In fact, we have been looking for you.""You have?" the older woman asked with a bemused smile."Yes," the Janissary said, nearly laughing with contained excitement. "However, first there is a more pressing concern. Several members of our party have fallen ill, and the disease has gripped our halfling the worst.""Oh dear," the woman replied with genuine concern. She looked at Vade, asking, "What has afflicted him?"Vade seized the opportunity to put to good use all of his innate huckstering skill, responding in his most sympathy-inspiring voice complete with a pathetic grimace and huge puppy dog eyes. "I'm sick. I've got the Red Ache," he moaned. "Oooohhhhh, am I aching.""Oi, I do believe we could use your help, lassie," Karak barked, stomping to the front of the group. He jostled Vade out of the way as he came. "If my chalak be here he would know how to say it better, but these two have been affected by the Red Ache the worst." He said, cocking a thumb at Vade and Ledare. He then pointed to Morier and Ixin before adding, "These two shrugged it off early on, but they should be cleaned out too.""Is there someone who might tend to him?" Ledare translated the dwarf's blunt statement into a more diplomatically acceptable form."Certainly!" Matriarch Lenoire said, putting her pail and brush down so abruptly that soapy water sloshed out onto the hem of her skirt. "Please do come into the shrine. Sister Betina, please fetch my kit from the wagon.""Yes, sister," the taller woman said before rushing off toward the wagon they all had seen parked in front of the tavern.They followed the priestess of Flor into the small shrine and found it to be in the process of being renovated. Only Karak had entered the shrine on their first visit to Flavonshire, so only he was in a position to appreciate the difference that fresh whitewash and the smell of disinfectant made on the place. It was clear them all, that someone - presumably the two women - had been busy over the last several days.Matriarch Lenoire drew Vade toward the altar and examined him by the light of the candles burning there. At once she announced, "The little one HAD the Red Ache, true enough. But he suffers from it no longer. I can help you with the weakness in the morning. Were you few the only ones afflicted?""Mostly," Karak told her and pointed at Bisayo. "As for fancy pants, here, well he just missed out on all the fun. We lost Feln to the beast. Poor orc blood was nothing but goo when I found 'im in the belly of the beast." Karak bowed his head a moment in reflection."What beast?" Sister Betina demanded as she ducked into the shrine, a massive healer's kit in her arms. There was a look of concern on her face, but also one of resolve."Perhaps we should explain what we're about?" Morier suggested and Karak nodded."Aye, lass," he said to Ledare. "I do beleive these be the followers of Flor we been lookin' for. Makes sense to tell 'em what's what." The Janissary nodded in agreement before turning back to Matriarch Lenoire."We come from Barnacus and travel to Myth Drannor to do what we can in the battle against Aphyx," she said and saw Sister Betina make the sign of the dove at mention of the Diseased One. "We carry an important message from the Great Oak.""Aye," Karak added. "The great big Tree wanted us to let ye know that 'is shrine be all but empty. If ye would be so kind as to go reconsecrate the shrine, it would be a great help to the fight against Chaos."Matriarch Lenoire looked confused. She blinked as she tried to make sense of what she was being told. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're telling me. A tree asked you to have me reconsecrate a shrine?""Well, not you specifically," Vade added. "He just said to find followers of Flor and pointed us in this direction. You're the first followers of Flor that we've come across.""A tree said this?" the woman asked again, her voice dripping with incredulity. But the others nodded ernestly."Perhaps they were meant to find Brother Simon?" Betina offered. "If not for his death, we would not be here. And he was a follower of Flor." Matriarch Lenoire nodded."Perhaps," she said. "That would make some sense since it was a follower of Lady Death that slew Brother Simon in the first place. Or so his spirit intimated.""What do you mean?" Ledare asked."We were summoned to Flavonshire by a rider dispatched by the shire reeve, Goodman Hillshire. When we arrived we found Simon, the former patriarch of this Healing Hall, dead by magic most foul," the woman explained gravely. As she spoke, she looked at the spot on the floor where Karak had seen the corpse laid out. "It was well beyond my power to bring Patriarch Simon back from Myrkhul's shadowy hall, but I called upon the White Lady to allow me to speak with his spirit and he related to me the events leading up to his death at the hands of one he had once called friend.""You have heard of Plonius? The Hound?" Betina interrupted. All of the companions nodded."Well, Simon had always looked up to the man; it was the Hound who put him on the path to Flor," Lenoire continued. "When he saw Plonius approach, Simon was overjoyed at his good fortune and rushed up to greet the ranger. It was clear that something was wrong at once, for Plonius seemed not to know him, and rather than greet his friend, tried to put him off. But Simon was insistent... and then he noticed the unholy symbol Plonius was wearing around his neck and recognized it immediately as being  the Rot Queen's.""A snake swallowing its tail," Karak grunted. "With a rat's skull in the middle.""Yes," Sister Lenoire admitted sadly. "It seems the shock of discovering that his childhood hero was a follower of the evil goddess of disease was almost too much for Simon to take. But with the zeal of a newly-ordained priest, he pushed aside his feelings of confusion and betrayal and called upon the power of Flor to sustain him. Simon's last memory is of Plonius snarling at him wickedly and invoking divine magic of such potency that he was slain at once.""We have heard this tale from one of the villagers who witnessed the incident," Ledare said. "And we have uncovered some things that might shed some further light on the matter.""Listen close, fancy pants," Karak said to Bisayo as Ixin and Ledare began to weave the tale of their recent past. "Ye wanted to hear what we been doin' and 'ere be your chance.""I have a feeling you may already be aware of a great evil pushing its way into this land," Ixin told the two women. "Aphyx is behind it but she has many powerful minions. We have been traveling throughout this area, trying to find clues to help us stop the spread of chaos. We have won some battles, but there is much yet to do..."The light outside had dimmed toward sundown by the time the VQS had fully recounted their adventures opposing Aphyx. Sisters Lenoire and Betina's moods had likewise darkened with the telling."We have several places we need to get to: Myth Drannor to find further assistance and Rhadcliffe to fight more evil," Ixin told them. "Do you have any idea about how to get quickly to either of those places? Preferably Myth Drannor first.""What about Thumble?" Vade interjected. "Have either of you been there lately? Have you ever heard of Vadenhuffer Briarhopper or Mama Briarhopper?""Shush, hobbit!" Karak growled, waving his waraxe in Vade's general direction."We passed the road to Thumble on our way to Flavonshire," Betina told the halfling. "But we did not stop.""About Myth Drannor, I know nothing," Matriarch Lenoire replied. "But I am familiar with Rhadcliffe; it lies in Pellham. We Florians consider it a major holy site. There is a temple there that houses a statue of Saint Dridanis. Any who touch the holy statue are cured of disease.""I doubt that evil could long go unnoticed in Rhadcliffe," Betina added. "But I am troubled by mention of the two using the same breath.""As am I, sister," Lenoire admitted and got to her feet. She produced a key from her robe and offered it to Ledare. "We have a room at The Hard Cider Tavern - the only room in town, from what I understand. You folk are welcome to stay there for the night.""What of you?" Ledare asked as she accepted the key."The Faithful Daughter and I have much praying to do," Matriarch Lenoire explained. "We need the Gentle Lady's guidance and answers will not come more easily within the walls of the shrine.""We will have answers in the morning," Betina said. Looking at Ledare, she added, "Perhaps you would like to join us?"Without hesitation, Ledare said, "I would." She handed a bewildered Ixin the room key and shrugged Ravager off her shoulder. Ixin looked at Karak and the dwarf shrugged."I could go for a spot of ale," he said as he turned to leave.</blockquote>

Verification