Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Thorns of Winter -(updated 8/1/2023)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Nthal" data-source="post: 8561629" data-attributes="member: 6971069"><p><h2 style="text-align: center">Illuminating Darks - 3/2/2022</h2><p></p><p>I knelt by the corpses and looked at the pair carefully. Their faces were puffy, and their noses had turned a deep black color. Their limbs were torn away from the torsos, but overwise, it didn’t look like the wolves had spent much time with them and looking beyond them were the much more thoroughly cleaned bones of horses. So, while their teeth while capable of piercing steel, they weren’t as good at undoing buckles. They killed them all, but spent time on easier to get to horseflesh, leaving the two men to rot. I brushed away the loose hair on their faces and closed their eyes for the final time before standing.</p><p></p><p>“I’ll bury them later, but they’ve been here a while, killed by these wolves,” I said sadly.</p><p></p><p>“They never got to Cattbron,” Sage remarked. “That means no oil is coming. It is up to us—”</p><p></p><p>“You!” Adrissa barked as she stomped over to the surprised warforged. “You hurt me!”</p><p></p><p>“I was protecting you,” he said levelly. “Or trying,” as he gestured at her. It was then that I saw she covered in blood on her left side. I moved over to her as she glared at the warforged and continued her tirade.</p><p></p><p>“Bashing me with your shield onto the snow is protecting me?” Adrissa berated the juggernaut towering in front of her.</p><p></p><p>“The winter wolves breathe frost that can kill a man—” Sage started.</p><p></p><p>“—Killed two of them and their horses—” Doxx pointed out interrupting.</p><p></p><p>Sage ignored it and continued over him, “And knocking you down allowed me to pivot and block the blast with my shield.”</p><p></p><p>“I can fight on my own. I’m not a child,” the girl seethed.</p><p></p><p>“I disagree,” Sage said flatly. “Even if you have been forced to grow up, you do not have the bulk of a fully grown human.”</p><p></p><p>Adrissa simply growled. Looking at her side, I found that one of the wolves must have snapped and tore into her right below the ribs. I put a hand on her side and reached within for a white strand, and I wove a lattice over the wound. Once complete, I pulled on it and gently snapped it. I could see the magic take effect as the wound closed and she reacted.</p><p></p><p>“Ow…that hurts,” she hissed as she looked down at me and then her mending flesh. “Why does healing hurt?”</p><p></p><p>“I…I don’t know really,” I admitted having never questioned it before. “Healing without magic can hurt too though, and it takes longer. It might be the price of speeding your body to heal.”</p><p></p><p>She watched as her skin closed, and the bruising beneath the skin faded. I then pulled on another white strand and used it to wipe away the blood from her skin and jerkin. Finally, I used white and dark ones, to mend her clothes and armor, fixing rents in the material. I looked up at her and met her eyes and saw that the dark thoughts that had been there moments ago had faded. They were replaced with curiosity, as she watched me magically stitch her back together.</p><p></p><p>“I…I…thought you only could—”</p><p></p><p>“—Killed people?”</p><p></p><p>She frowned and thought for a moment. “I guess. I’ve seen you do all sorts of things that caused pain.”</p><p></p><p>“Sorry that this was one as well,” I said with a small smirk.</p><p></p><p>“But you smile at doing both. Why?”</p><p></p><p>I turned away from her trying to hide my face from her. I didn’t realize that I was doing that, projecting an image of happiness during our fighting. I felt ashamed; it wasn’t something I should enjoy. The idea I was drinking in the violence like a cat basking in the glow of a sunbeam was repulsive.</p><p></p><p>“It probably was me gritting my teeth together,” I lied and I didn’t look up to see if she believed me.</p><p></p><p>“GROWfff…Anyone else with wounds?” Rosa said as the fur and claws receded and the halfling within emerged.</p><p></p><p>“Myrai has been bitten!” Adressa pointed at my thigh, where thick clots of blood had formed bonding my leather pants to my skin</p><p></p><p>“I can take care of that in a bit,” I said.</p><p></p><p>“I evaded the assaulting wolves with ease due to my honed skills,” The Blade said with a note of pride.</p><p></p><p>“That’s because you stand behind everyone,” Doxx said irritated.</p><p></p><p>“That’s the skill part,” The Blade retorted.</p><p></p><p>“Believe what you want,” Doxx said exasperated. “I did get some scrapes Rosa,” and Rosa moved over to the old woman and looked at her arms. “Still its cold in here.” I would have thought your ball of fire would have at least warmed us.”</p><p></p><p>Bookshelf stood there quietly for a moment before speaking, “I didn’t want you to feel it, so I controlled it so only the wolves would burn. But I can do something else about the cold. Gather close.”</p><p></p><p>The warforged walked to the center of the cave, and pulled out from a compartment on its chest, a yellow crystal. As we moved next to him, he started to mutter as runes floated to the surface of the shard. As Rosa healed the others, he continued to murmur quietly. Then I could feel the strands reacting to the ritual as the spell started to manifest</p><p></p><p>From the ground I saw what appeared to be glass shards grow out of the ground, and then from each other. It surrounded us in a perfect circle with Bookshelf at the center, and it continued to grow and arc above us. As it grew taller, the edge that touched the cave floor became thinner and smoother. The insides of the crystal glowed with a warm light, and I could feel warmth emanating from them as well. Eventually the crystal arced over us, until we were covered in a dome of crystal. As the crystal closed above us, it gave off a warm glow, and I could feel the chill in the air lessen.</p><p></p><p>Doxx looked around dubiously, “The warmth is nice, but the light will attract—”</p><p></p><p>“—No one can see the light from the outside,” Bookshelf said evenly. “You all can leave the confines. Just walk through it. I however must remain inside so the ritual will not be broken.”</p><p></p><p>Doxx’s face changed to one of approval, “That is a handy ritual.”</p><p></p><p>“I may wish to copy that one if you would permit,” Sage said.</p><p></p><p>“As would I,” I said. “But I’m going to bury these soldiers first. They deserve better, but it’s something.” The others nodded and helped me move the bodies outside. The snow was relatively deep, but I was able to push it aside with some light and dark strands, deep enough to lay them in. I recited the litany, once again and replaced the earth, and Sage was able to smooth the snow over the graves. We then returned to the warmth of the dome.</p><p></p><p>I unrolled my bed roll, sat, and then looked to my own wound. The pain was returning as my body thawed, the cold no longer numbing the gash. The leather of my pants was torn and shreds of it were now embedded in the thick scabs that had formed. Fixing my pants would be easy, but I needed to get the leather out of my wound so it could heal properly.</p><p></p><p>I pulled out the wand and tapped it, conjuring up a simple servant of force.</p><p></p><p>“E koka mai’i ia waho o koʻu sapa nila.”</p><p></p><p>The straps were pulled taut, allowing the buckles to be popped open. I undid the various belts holding up pouches, and my weapons, and laid them down next to my bedroll, except for a dagger in its sheath, which I kept in hand. Nearby Adrissa lay on her own bedroll and watched me quietly. It wasn’t long before the last buckle gave, and my armor fell away from my body. The back and front of the breastplate hung there for a moment, before drifting to the ground. As they fell, I focused and called forth Gossamer.</p><p></p><p><em>--“Nonono not the…cold? Its warm! Much bett…ouch. That’s a nasty bite.”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“Tell me about it. We’re supposedly safe in here, but well...go fly out of the dome and back in and check.”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>--“And why would I do that?”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“Goss—” </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>--“—I bet its cold outside this dome.”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“It’s refreshing. Go on, you don’t need to stay out long.”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>--“Fine…”</em> the tressym thought back and turned its nose up at me before flying out of the dome and the cave.</p><p></p><p>My armor now off, I unlaced the tops of my breeches, and pulled them down halfway down my thigh. I whispered in my native tongue, “Oka ea kai mai koʻu ʻiʻahu,” and the dagger left the sheath, which I dropped. I then slowly pulled them down towards my calves. The dagger cut the leather that was embedded in my skin leaving it in the wounds, while I was able to drop my breeches all the way down.</p><p></p><p>I sat down, and looked at the bite, and took the dagger that hovered in the air, I then slowly cut into the wound grimacing in pain. Then I gently pulled out the leather that was embedded there.</p><p></p><p>“Couldn’t you just heal it up?” Adrissa asked.</p><p></p><p>“Not always,” I said. “If the magic is strong enough, the wound closes and anything that isn’t supposed to be there just comes out. Things like arrowheads. But its better to remove anything that isn’t supposed to be there just in case.” I then pulled from myself a light strand and wrapped it around my thigh. I looped it around multiple times before I pulled on it, sundering it. I felt the warmth and a spike of pain, causing me to hiss behind my teeth. But the pain subsided as the wound closed and the scab like material fell away revealing smooth skin once again.</p><p></p><p>“Must be nice not having scars,” Adrissa said wistfully as she looked at my now healed flesh.</p><p></p><p>“Only on the outside,” I muttered as I sat down cross legged on the bedroll. I took the bits of leather from my wound and my breeches, and used light and dark strands, weaving around them like I did with my leg moments ago. But while it was easier to do, it took much longer to repair them. I focused on my breeches as the others spoke.</p><p></p><p>“We can cook up some of the wolves I suppose” Doxx said her face scrunched up.</p><p></p><p>“No need for that,” Rosa said as she focused a moment, and produced a cluster of berries in her hand, each the size of an acorn. “This will keep hunger away.”</p><p></p><p>“It is strange how these even help us,” Sage said as he awkwardly put a berry into his mouth and gnashed the fruit. “We can consume potions, to heal ourselves. But eating food is strange.”</p><p></p><p>Rosa thought a moment and looked at Sage then at Bookshelf, “So you can swallow things.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes,” said both Sage and Bookshelf at the same time.</p><p></p><p>“Food and drink right,”</p><p></p><p>“Yes?” Both said. “Why?” asked Bookshelf.</p><p></p><p>“So do…warforged…ever have to…” and Rosa waved her hand and leaned forward expectantly.</p><p></p><p>The two warforged looked at each other and then turned to Rosa again and Bookshelf said, “We do wave our hand like that. Usually as part of an incantation.”</p><p></p><p>Rosa grimaced, “No no, not that,” and she put her hand down as she tried to find a delicate way to ask the question. “Do warforged have to—”</p><p></p><p>“—Do regular maintenance?” Sage suggested.</p><p></p><p>“Nono…not quite, I mean—”</p><p></p><p>“She’s asking if you drop turds in the forest,” Doxx said exasperated. At the utterance, Adrissa coughed as she was caught in mid sip from a water skin.</p><p></p><p>“Oh. That. We do not,” Bookshelf stated simply.</p><p></p><p>“That makes warforged hard to track down,” The Blade said. “They don’t have patterns like dining out or needing to find a privy.”</p><p></p><p>I looked up from my work, confused, “You stalk people by the privy?”</p><p></p><p>“Oh. That. I do…sometimes,” The Blade admitted. “Easier to find criminals alone that way.”</p><p></p><p>“That does make tactical sense,” Sage said, nodding in approval.</p><p></p><p>“I’m sorry I asked,” Rosa said, her cheek flushing red.</p><p></p><p>I winced and nodded in silent agreement. My breeches were now repaired; the large rents from the wolf’s fangs, closed just like the wound on my thigh. I sat there quietly, steeling my resolve. After letting out a sigh, I reached over to my pile of belts, and pulled open the leather case, which held <em>The Apocrypha.</em> I held it in my hand looking at it with a small amount of dread. But there was no way to put it off; I needed answers.</p><p></p><p>I pulled out a stinger from my pouch and flexed. I felt the rush up and down my back as the ghostly wings flared for a moment, and the silver coin now glowed with a dim yellow light. I put the coin down on my knee, and then I pulled out tabs from the <em>Apocrypha</em> and looked for the section I needed. I then moved it so the section called “Rituals of Binding” was now illuminated by the lit coin, causing a single glyph in a stack to light up, and become readable.”</p><p></p><p>“What are you doing?” Adrissa asked, her head cocked in confusion.</p><p></p><p>“I’m doing a ritual to…find to guidance, or at least ask for it.” I said before correcting myself. “Well, more like demanding answers overdue.”</p><p></p><p>Adrissa nodded and said, “I have no idea what that means.”</p><p></p><p>I chuckled and smiled at the girl, “Well, I don’t usually ask for much. But I feel that I am owed an explanation. I will be in meditation to get it…I think.”</p><p></p><p>Adrissa shrugged, “Alright.” And she watched me doubtfully.</p><p></p><p>I sighed. The last time I did this there was a compulsion to do this; this was the first time I had tried to cast this intentionally. I focused myself and started to pull on strands, light and dark. I imagined them forming a circle around me, with the strands interweaved together. I pulled in every strand, every thread I had in me and then I looked at the text and said aloud.</p><p></p><p>“Mitate an texi ciro animun metanan.”</p><p></p><p>At the last syllable escaped my lips I could feel the world spin around me, as the mystical circle held firm. To my eyes, I saw colored lights, and the smells of spices in my nose as the weave started to tear around me, hurling my senses into darkness and then into a glittering expanse I had seen only once before.</p><p></p><p>I hung there in the open air, naked. My skin was covered as it was the last time in a lattice of silvery patterns. But now their complexity was greater. The fibers of magical power, the strands that connected me to the firmament around me, were thicker, and I could feel the power coursing through them into me. There were now more of them as well, with four white and four dark ones attached to me. I had barely a moment to think about it further, when I heard the voice again in my head, speaking in celestial.</p><p></p><p>“Element Myrai has returned. You are overdue to—” it started before I cut it off.</p><p></p><p>“Oh no you don’t. This isn’t about your agenda. Not this time. I’m here to get some answers,” I said aloud, even as the voice echoed in my head.</p><p></p><p>“Element Myrai should state the query in—” it started again, and immediately I cut it short.</p><p></p><p>“No. Not from you.” I said resolutely. The statement echo’d and hung there a moment before it replied.</p><p></p><p>“Who are—” it started again.</p><p></p><p>I crossed my arms and ‘stood’ in the air firmly as I demanded from the magical construct around me, what I wanted. What I needed now.</p><p></p><p>“I want to talk to my father. Now.”</p><p></p><p><strong>Session notes:</strong></p><p>It was overdue. Sorry about the delay here, but this part somehow wasn't jelling in timely fashion, and real life got busy. </p><p></p><p>The conversation of the warforged excretory systems used harsher language than this forum allows. I'm sure you can all handle it, like any other middle schooler does. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nthal, post: 8561629, member: 6971069"] [HEADING=1][CENTER]Illuminating Darks - 3/2/2022[/CENTER][/HEADING] I knelt by the corpses and looked at the pair carefully. Their faces were puffy, and their noses had turned a deep black color. Their limbs were torn away from the torsos, but overwise, it didn’t look like the wolves had spent much time with them and looking beyond them were the much more thoroughly cleaned bones of horses. So, while their teeth while capable of piercing steel, they weren’t as good at undoing buckles. They killed them all, but spent time on easier to get to horseflesh, leaving the two men to rot. I brushed away the loose hair on their faces and closed their eyes for the final time before standing. “I’ll bury them later, but they’ve been here a while, killed by these wolves,” I said sadly. “They never got to Cattbron,” Sage remarked. “That means no oil is coming. It is up to us—” “You!” Adrissa barked as she stomped over to the surprised warforged. “You hurt me!” “I was protecting you,” he said levelly. “Or trying,” as he gestured at her. It was then that I saw she covered in blood on her left side. I moved over to her as she glared at the warforged and continued her tirade. “Bashing me with your shield onto the snow is protecting me?” Adrissa berated the juggernaut towering in front of her. “The winter wolves breathe frost that can kill a man—” Sage started. “—Killed two of them and their horses—” Doxx pointed out interrupting. Sage ignored it and continued over him, “And knocking you down allowed me to pivot and block the blast with my shield.” “I can fight on my own. I’m not a child,” the girl seethed. “I disagree,” Sage said flatly. “Even if you have been forced to grow up, you do not have the bulk of a fully grown human.” Adrissa simply growled. Looking at her side, I found that one of the wolves must have snapped and tore into her right below the ribs. I put a hand on her side and reached within for a white strand, and I wove a lattice over the wound. Once complete, I pulled on it and gently snapped it. I could see the magic take effect as the wound closed and she reacted. “Ow…that hurts,” she hissed as she looked down at me and then her mending flesh. “Why does healing hurt?” “I…I don’t know really,” I admitted having never questioned it before. “Healing without magic can hurt too though, and it takes longer. It might be the price of speeding your body to heal.” She watched as her skin closed, and the bruising beneath the skin faded. I then pulled on another white strand and used it to wipe away the blood from her skin and jerkin. Finally, I used white and dark ones, to mend her clothes and armor, fixing rents in the material. I looked up at her and met her eyes and saw that the dark thoughts that had been there moments ago had faded. They were replaced with curiosity, as she watched me magically stitch her back together. “I…I…thought you only could—” “—Killed people?” She frowned and thought for a moment. “I guess. I’ve seen you do all sorts of things that caused pain.” “Sorry that this was one as well,” I said with a small smirk. “But you smile at doing both. Why?” I turned away from her trying to hide my face from her. I didn’t realize that I was doing that, projecting an image of happiness during our fighting. I felt ashamed; it wasn’t something I should enjoy. The idea I was drinking in the violence like a cat basking in the glow of a sunbeam was repulsive. “It probably was me gritting my teeth together,” I lied and I didn’t look up to see if she believed me. “GROWfff…Anyone else with wounds?” Rosa said as the fur and claws receded and the halfling within emerged. “Myrai has been bitten!” Adressa pointed at my thigh, where thick clots of blood had formed bonding my leather pants to my skin “I can take care of that in a bit,” I said. “I evaded the assaulting wolves with ease due to my honed skills,” The Blade said with a note of pride. “That’s because you stand behind everyone,” Doxx said irritated. “That’s the skill part,” The Blade retorted. “Believe what you want,” Doxx said exasperated. “I did get some scrapes Rosa,” and Rosa moved over to the old woman and looked at her arms. “Still its cold in here.” I would have thought your ball of fire would have at least warmed us.” Bookshelf stood there quietly for a moment before speaking, “I didn’t want you to feel it, so I controlled it so only the wolves would burn. But I can do something else about the cold. Gather close.” The warforged walked to the center of the cave, and pulled out from a compartment on its chest, a yellow crystal. As we moved next to him, he started to mutter as runes floated to the surface of the shard. As Rosa healed the others, he continued to murmur quietly. Then I could feel the strands reacting to the ritual as the spell started to manifest From the ground I saw what appeared to be glass shards grow out of the ground, and then from each other. It surrounded us in a perfect circle with Bookshelf at the center, and it continued to grow and arc above us. As it grew taller, the edge that touched the cave floor became thinner and smoother. The insides of the crystal glowed with a warm light, and I could feel warmth emanating from them as well. Eventually the crystal arced over us, until we were covered in a dome of crystal. As the crystal closed above us, it gave off a warm glow, and I could feel the chill in the air lessen. Doxx looked around dubiously, “The warmth is nice, but the light will attract—” “—No one can see the light from the outside,” Bookshelf said evenly. “You all can leave the confines. Just walk through it. I however must remain inside so the ritual will not be broken.” Doxx’s face changed to one of approval, “That is a handy ritual.” “I may wish to copy that one if you would permit,” Sage said. “As would I,” I said. “But I’m going to bury these soldiers first. They deserve better, but it’s something.” The others nodded and helped me move the bodies outside. The snow was relatively deep, but I was able to push it aside with some light and dark strands, deep enough to lay them in. I recited the litany, once again and replaced the earth, and Sage was able to smooth the snow over the graves. We then returned to the warmth of the dome. I unrolled my bed roll, sat, and then looked to my own wound. The pain was returning as my body thawed, the cold no longer numbing the gash. The leather of my pants was torn and shreds of it were now embedded in the thick scabs that had formed. Fixing my pants would be easy, but I needed to get the leather out of my wound so it could heal properly. I pulled out the wand and tapped it, conjuring up a simple servant of force. “E koka mai’i ia waho o koʻu sapa nila.” The straps were pulled taut, allowing the buckles to be popped open. I undid the various belts holding up pouches, and my weapons, and laid them down next to my bedroll, except for a dagger in its sheath, which I kept in hand. Nearby Adrissa lay on her own bedroll and watched me quietly. It wasn’t long before the last buckle gave, and my armor fell away from my body. The back and front of the breastplate hung there for a moment, before drifting to the ground. As they fell, I focused and called forth Gossamer. [I]--“Nonono not the…cold? Its warm! Much bett…ouch. That’s a nasty bite.” “Tell me about it. We’re supposedly safe in here, but well...go fly out of the dome and back in and check.” --“And why would I do that?” “Goss—” --“—I bet its cold outside this dome.” “It’s refreshing. Go on, you don’t need to stay out long.” --“Fine…”[/I] the tressym thought back and turned its nose up at me before flying out of the dome and the cave. My armor now off, I unlaced the tops of my breeches, and pulled them down halfway down my thigh. I whispered in my native tongue, “Oka ea kai mai koʻu ʻiʻahu,” and the dagger left the sheath, which I dropped. I then slowly pulled them down towards my calves. The dagger cut the leather that was embedded in my skin leaving it in the wounds, while I was able to drop my breeches all the way down. I sat down, and looked at the bite, and took the dagger that hovered in the air, I then slowly cut into the wound grimacing in pain. Then I gently pulled out the leather that was embedded there. “Couldn’t you just heal it up?” Adrissa asked. “Not always,” I said. “If the magic is strong enough, the wound closes and anything that isn’t supposed to be there just comes out. Things like arrowheads. But its better to remove anything that isn’t supposed to be there just in case.” I then pulled from myself a light strand and wrapped it around my thigh. I looped it around multiple times before I pulled on it, sundering it. I felt the warmth and a spike of pain, causing me to hiss behind my teeth. But the pain subsided as the wound closed and the scab like material fell away revealing smooth skin once again. “Must be nice not having scars,” Adrissa said wistfully as she looked at my now healed flesh. “Only on the outside,” I muttered as I sat down cross legged on the bedroll. I took the bits of leather from my wound and my breeches, and used light and dark strands, weaving around them like I did with my leg moments ago. But while it was easier to do, it took much longer to repair them. I focused on my breeches as the others spoke. “We can cook up some of the wolves I suppose” Doxx said her face scrunched up. “No need for that,” Rosa said as she focused a moment, and produced a cluster of berries in her hand, each the size of an acorn. “This will keep hunger away.” “It is strange how these even help us,” Sage said as he awkwardly put a berry into his mouth and gnashed the fruit. “We can consume potions, to heal ourselves. But eating food is strange.” Rosa thought a moment and looked at Sage then at Bookshelf, “So you can swallow things.” “Yes,” said both Sage and Bookshelf at the same time. “Food and drink right,” “Yes?” Both said. “Why?” asked Bookshelf. “So do…warforged…ever have to…” and Rosa waved her hand and leaned forward expectantly. The two warforged looked at each other and then turned to Rosa again and Bookshelf said, “We do wave our hand like that. Usually as part of an incantation.” Rosa grimaced, “No no, not that,” and she put her hand down as she tried to find a delicate way to ask the question. “Do warforged have to—” “—Do regular maintenance?” Sage suggested. “Nono…not quite, I mean—” “She’s asking if you drop turds in the forest,” Doxx said exasperated. At the utterance, Adrissa coughed as she was caught in mid sip from a water skin. “Oh. That. We do not,” Bookshelf stated simply. “That makes warforged hard to track down,” The Blade said. “They don’t have patterns like dining out or needing to find a privy.” I looked up from my work, confused, “You stalk people by the privy?” “Oh. That. I do…sometimes,” The Blade admitted. “Easier to find criminals alone that way.” “That does make tactical sense,” Sage said, nodding in approval. “I’m sorry I asked,” Rosa said, her cheek flushing red. I winced and nodded in silent agreement. My breeches were now repaired; the large rents from the wolf’s fangs, closed just like the wound on my thigh. I sat there quietly, steeling my resolve. After letting out a sigh, I reached over to my pile of belts, and pulled open the leather case, which held [I]The Apocrypha.[/I] I held it in my hand looking at it with a small amount of dread. But there was no way to put it off; I needed answers. I pulled out a stinger from my pouch and flexed. I felt the rush up and down my back as the ghostly wings flared for a moment, and the silver coin now glowed with a dim yellow light. I put the coin down on my knee, and then I pulled out tabs from the [I]Apocrypha[/I] and looked for the section I needed. I then moved it so the section called “Rituals of Binding” was now illuminated by the lit coin, causing a single glyph in a stack to light up, and become readable.” “What are you doing?” Adrissa asked, her head cocked in confusion. “I’m doing a ritual to…find to guidance, or at least ask for it.” I said before correcting myself. “Well, more like demanding answers overdue.” Adrissa nodded and said, “I have no idea what that means.” I chuckled and smiled at the girl, “Well, I don’t usually ask for much. But I feel that I am owed an explanation. I will be in meditation to get it…I think.” Adrissa shrugged, “Alright.” And she watched me doubtfully. I sighed. The last time I did this there was a compulsion to do this; this was the first time I had tried to cast this intentionally. I focused myself and started to pull on strands, light and dark. I imagined them forming a circle around me, with the strands interweaved together. I pulled in every strand, every thread I had in me and then I looked at the text and said aloud. “Mitate an texi ciro animun metanan.” At the last syllable escaped my lips I could feel the world spin around me, as the mystical circle held firm. To my eyes, I saw colored lights, and the smells of spices in my nose as the weave started to tear around me, hurling my senses into darkness and then into a glittering expanse I had seen only once before. I hung there in the open air, naked. My skin was covered as it was the last time in a lattice of silvery patterns. But now their complexity was greater. The fibers of magical power, the strands that connected me to the firmament around me, were thicker, and I could feel the power coursing through them into me. There were now more of them as well, with four white and four dark ones attached to me. I had barely a moment to think about it further, when I heard the voice again in my head, speaking in celestial. “Element Myrai has returned. You are overdue to—” it started before I cut it off. “Oh no you don’t. This isn’t about your agenda. Not this time. I’m here to get some answers,” I said aloud, even as the voice echoed in my head. “Element Myrai should state the query in—” it started again, and immediately I cut it short. “No. Not from you.” I said resolutely. The statement echo’d and hung there a moment before it replied. “Who are—” it started again. I crossed my arms and ‘stood’ in the air firmly as I demanded from the magical construct around me, what I wanted. What I needed now. “I want to talk to my father. Now.” [B]Session notes:[/B] It was overdue. Sorry about the delay here, but this part somehow wasn't jelling in timely fashion, and real life got busy. The conversation of the warforged excretory systems used harsher language than this forum allows. I'm sure you can all handle it, like any other middle schooler does. :) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Thorns of Winter -(updated 8/1/2023)
Top