Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

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Drusia
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Re: Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

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"Speaking of those churches," she said, "there's something you should know, although you are probably not going to want to hear it ..." Her husband looked downright alarmed now, but she plowed ahead.

"The leaders of several of the churches have agreed that tonight, they are going to get together and try to perform an exorcism, to send the banshee back to wherever it came from."


"That's... an interesting idea," I say slowly, my mind boggling at the idea. How does one exorcise a goddess? "Of course, they are assuming that she is a hostile spirit of some sort. She isn't - she's... well, whatever she is, she isn't hostile. She's in pain."

I take a moment to think, spinning out possibilities. "If they are going to revert her to an earlier state, that might actually help her. If they can pop Compassion back into her birdcage then all will be well. Of course, that assumes that they have any idea what they're doing and aren't just making stuff up as they go along." Like, say, I am.

Okay, so best case scenario is that we get everything we want. Ha, yeah right. Okay, what about worst case? "On the other hand, exorcising her might send her back to Anilis and Sentlis, removing her from our world entirely. Since she wouldn't have completed her mission, that might be it, mission failed, or they might send her back - somewhere - to try again. We only just caught up with her, so that would set us back to less than square one since we at least had one clue then. We'd have to search the whole world to find her." I give Therese a pained look at that idea.

So best case they fix everything and worst case they mess everything up. Not helpful. "I suppose they might manage to exorcise the shadow that's tormenting her - or whatever it's doing to her. But since we don't know what it is doing to her, that could be equally unhelpful. If only we..."

I pause, a sudden thought occurring to me. "... whatever happened to Sasha?" If she was killed and became the shadow... could that be why Compassion keeps trying to help her? Is she trying to save her friend?

"Huh..." I murmur, more to myself than anyone else present, "... maybe an exorcism is the right idea. Just on the wrong target." I think... I need more information. Once we finish here, I think I need to talk to these priests.

-- Desiree
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Re: Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

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"... maybe an exorcism is the right idea. Just on the wrong target."

Therese, the deputy mayor, and the mayor's spouse (it still not being clear which was which) all looked like they were going to say something in response to this, but they were pre-empted by a curiously rhythmic knock on the door at the end of the hall. Lennart and Eleanor looked at each other, and the man swore softly. "Padre Glim," he muttered. "I'd forgotten he was coming. Excuse me for a moment." He stood and headed for the door.

Eleanor produced an odd, lopsided smile. "Speaking of the priests doing that exorcism," she said, "here comes one now." She rolled her eyes just as a sonorous voice spoke from toward the door. "May the peace of the Eternal Ones be with you, sir."

"And with you, Padre," Lennart's voice replied, and a second or two later, he returned to the sitting room followed by a squat half elf wearing flamboyantly colored vestments that neither Therese nor Desiree had ever seen before. Eleanor cleared her throat and made a motion with her hands, some kind of religious ritual, apparently. "And with you, Padre," she repeated as the man bowed from the waist, giving the impression of a bouncing red rubber ball. Eleanor turned to Desiree with the same odd smile. "Your timing is good. You may have some things to discuss with the Padre..."
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Re: Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

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"Padre Glim," he muttered. "I'd forgotten he was coming. Excuse me for a moment." He stood and headed for the door.
Eleanor produced an odd, lopsided smile. "Speaking of the priests doing that exorcism," she said, "here comes one now." She rolled her eyes just as a sonorous voice spoke from toward the door. "May the peace of the Eternal Ones be with you, sir."
"And with you, Padre," Lennart's voice replied, and a second or two later, he returned to the sitting room followed by a squat half elf wearing flamboyantly colored vestments that neither Therese nor Desiree had ever seen before. Eleanor cleared her throat and made a motion with her hands, some kind of religious ritual, apparently. "And with you, Padre," she repeated as the man bowed from the waist, giving the impression of a bouncing red rubber ball. Eleanor turned to Desiree with the same odd smile. "Your timing is good. You may have some things to discuss with the Padre..."


"Yes, thank you, Eleanor," I say, giving her a smile before turning to Padre Glim. "I am Desiree, a priestess from another settlement. This may sound odd, but I came seeking the Banshee's help - but I know her by another name."

As succinctly as possible, I describe how Therese and I heard of Sasha and her fairy-in-a-cage called Compassion, and how we followed their trail here. I describe searching the woods for them both, and finding no sign of them except for the burnt birdcage. I describe seeking the Banshee in the night, following it's cry of 'destiny' into the dark place. I describe seeing the 'banshee' up close - the fairy Compassion, crying in loss and despair. I describe too the dark thing that seemed to chase her, that Compassion seemed to want to cling too, but which only seemed to cause her pain. And I describe what I recall of my failure to help them both and waking up outside the dark place.

"Taking with Eleanor and Lennart," I conclude, "I had a thought. We've been so focused on Compassion... but whatever happened to Sasha? I wondered before what the black thing was... but what if it's Sasha's ghost? What if that burn is from some spell that killed Sasha, and the banshee wailing is Compassion mourning her dead friend - trying to help her, but unable to touch her. Hurt by her presence, but unwilling to abandon her friend to oblivion?"

I pause to let that sink in for a moment, and then add "Or I could be wrong. Maybe Sasha is fine, maybe she just wandered off somewhere. But as a theory, it fits what I've observed and it accounts for all the players."

-- Desiree
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Re: Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

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The Padre's reaction to Desiree's musings was probably not what anyone else in the room expected. "Oh, the banshee didn't kill her," he said, almost off-handedly. "She just left."

At this declaration, several voices said "Huh??" all at the same time.

The round man elaborated. "We let her stay at the temple for a while. In fact, some of her junk is still stored there." He smiled, an expression that was equal parts reassuring and unsettling. "Maybe if you catch up to her, you can take it to her. But anyway, the day after the banshee started, she got up early in the morning, almost before I was doing my Greeting to the Spirit of the Dawn --" he made a curious and obviously ritualistic motion with his hands -- "and said she was getting out while she still could, said she'd leave an address so we could send all of her stuff. But she never left the address, she just took off, almost running."

Eleanor was the first to recover from the wide-eyed astonishment that this bit of information produced. "Why didn't you tell us about all this?" she demanded, a distinct edge of command to her voice.

The Padre blinked owlishly at her. "You didn't ask."

Something had been nibbling at the back of Therese's mind since the "she just left" pronouncement, and it finally emerged. "Wait a minute. Our friend Lillith said that Sasha left town before the banshee started, by a few days."
(She did not add, and tried not to imply, anything about Lillith's decidedly hostile view of the wandering half elf; time for that later.) "Now you're saying she was still here until after it started. So what's going on here?"

The flamboyant priest could only shrug.
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Re: Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: I'm going to be out of pocket, or at best intermittent, for a couple of weeks. However, here's a little more for you to play off of with the "priests" and the "exorcism":]

Before either Lennart or Eleanor or the Padre could answer, there was another knock at the door, and Eleanor went to answer it, rolling her eyes. Lennart emitted a quiet "oh, damn" as she went, and then things stopped being quiet, as there was a rustling, jangling sound from the direction of the door. Therese cringed. "I have this awful feeling I know what that is," she said.

Whether it was what she was thinking of or not, Lennart groaned, "Another -- 'priest' for tonight," as the sound approached, and presently a misshapen man came into view, wearing a most peculiar outfit festooned with all manner of inscrutable metallic or unidentifiable artifacts. Now it was Therese's turn to groan, into Desiree's ear, hopefully so that no on else could hear. "We've seen this 'church' before, dear. Remember? In Kiyoka? The --" she could barely force herself to say it -- "Temple of the Divine Dwarf?"

And so it was. "Good afternoon, The Dwarves Love You," the armored priest intoned.
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Re: Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

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"Oh, the banshee didn't kill her," he said, almost off-handedly. "She just left."
"We let her stay at the temple for a while. In fact, some of her junk is still stored there." He smiled, an expression that was equal parts reassuring and unsettling. "Maybe if you catch up to her, you can take it to her. But anyway, the day after the banshee started, she got up early in the morning, almost before I was doing my Greeting to the Spirit of the Dawn --" he made a curious and obviously ritualistic motion with his hands -- "and said she was getting out while she still could, said she'd leave an address so we could send all of her stuff. But she never left the address, she just took off, almost running."
"Wait a minute. Our friend Lillith said that Sasha left town before the banshee started, by a few days. Now you're saying she was still here until after it started. So what's going on here?"
The flamboyant priest could only shrug.


The first thing that crosses my mind is that apparently this priest is the only witness to her leaving - and if he killed her, there is no one to gainsay him. Of course, that runs up against two problems - why would he bother, and why would Compassion fly off into the woods towards a black thing that she wants to touch but can't without hurting? It doesn't mean that isn't exactly what happened, but I'll need to find some actual evidence aside from a simple opportunity.

And anyway, another thing he just said caught my attention. "Might we see it?" I ask. Several blank looks greet me. Ah, I should probably be more specific. "Her junk, I mean. Maybe there's some clue to what's going on in there. Whether she left just before, or just after, it seems pretty clear that Sasha was involved in this somehow." Maybe Sasha left some clue to what the black thing is.

"Not right this minute," I add, just in case that wasn't clear. "I'm sure we have more to talk about. For example, how we might banish the black thing or draw Com-the fairy creature away from the ruins." And back into her cage? I wonder if there are any more bird cages in Sasha's junk.

Before either Lennart or Eleanor or the Padre could answer, there was another knock at the door, and Eleanor went to answer it, rolling her eyes. Therese cringed. "I have this awful feeling I know what that is," she said.
Now it was Therese's turn to groan, into Desiree's ear, hopefully so that no on else could hear. "We've seen this 'church' before, dear. Remember? In Kiyoka? The --" she could barely force herself to say it -- "Temple of the Divine Dwarf?"
And so it was. "Good afternoon, The Dwarves Love You," the armored priest intoned.


"I remember," I reply quietly to Therese. "I'm not sure why Argus thought their temple was a shop, but it was a most... unusual experience." I feel a sudden pang of sorrow - I wish Argus and Rose were here. I'm sure they'd have some good ideas about how to deal with the black thing and Compassion. I just feel like I'm running in circles.

-- Desiree
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Re: Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

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[OOC: If you don't mind, I'd like to throw something in before Desiree asks to talk about "how we might banish the black thing," etc.; to put it mildly, she's about to get her wish anyway... Incidentally, had to retcon this owing to a misunderstanding of something that happened earlier. I think it's right now.]

"Might we see it?"

The Divine Dwarf priest waved a dismissive, if oddly gloved, hand. "Pfft. Some piece of Tsuirakuan thaumatic claptrap, no doubt. Nothing of any practical significance when dealing with the divine." ("Says the man who considers a pencil sharpener a holy dwarven relic," Padre Glim sneered sotto voce, but loudly enough for Desiree and Therese to hear.) "Only a Holy Artifact of the Dwarves Themselves will help us in this matter."

Glim was getting a bit hot under the collar from this exchange, his florid face adding to the general impression his robe gave of a giant tomato. However, he calmed down briefly and turned to Desiree. "Yes, when we are done here, you may inspect what this Sasha left. In fact, as I said, you can take the damn things off our hands and send them to her if you wish." He snorted. "A better use of our time than debating the power of ancient slag metal, anyway," he said, casting an obvious (and obviously disapproving) eye at part of the Divine Dwarf priest's outfit.

That worthy, in turn, drew himself up to his full height, producing an even more curious image than earlier as the costumed hump on his back sank to somewhere around his eleventh rib. "Only the unknowing can dispute the Power of the Dwarves," he orated. "Now if we may return to considering how to channel that Power to this exorcism..."

Glim's face had turned an improbable plum color that clashed badly with his robe, but before he could release what no doubt would have been a colorful and scathing insult, Eleanor raised a conciliatory hand. "Perhaps we should -- postpone this discussion until the third participant in the exorcism gets here. Has anyone heard from Priestess Shamhat lately?"

Therese raised an eyebrow at the notion that Lillith's mother, with her odd animist practices, was enough of a "leader" of a "church" to participate in what was to come; everything Lillith had ever told her had suggested that her mother had a reputation in town as a bit of a kook. However, the Divine Dwarf priest nodded, the animus of a moment earlier seemingly forgotten (one might have inferred that he and Glim had clashed often enough to make a regular, maybe even downright enjoyable, habit out of it). "I saw her a while ago," he said. "She doesn't think she can make it tonight. Apparently there is some ritual she wants to do involving a particularly powerful rock." Glim guffawed at this, and Lennart and Eleanor didn't look far from doing the same, as he continued, "She said she's sending a last-minute replacement." And as if on cue, there was another knock on the door.

Oh, no ... by the Five Great Mothers, don't let it be Lillith ... It can't be, it mustn't be... Therese thought. Well, it wasn't. But ...

"Hi," Brad smiled weakly as Lennart opened the door to reveal him in his Reformed Veracian Church vestments.
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Re: Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

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The Divine Dwarf priest waved a dismissive, if oddly gloved, hand.

I frown thoughtfully. Why is he wearing gloves? I don't recall that being a part of their vestments before. On the other hand, I wasn't paying that close of attention last time, and who knows, maybe he thinks they're dwarven gloves or something.

"Pfft. Some piece of Tsuirakuan thaumatic claptrap, no doubt. Nothing of any practical significance when dealing with the divine."

I repress a protest that 'Tsuirakuan thaumatic claptrap' might be close enough to elven to produce some rather alarming results. I was thinking clothes or books, but a novel device might prove... informative to Argus or someone similarly trained. Crap.

Glim and the Divine Dwarf priest argue a bit.

"Perhaps we should -- postpone this discussion until the third participant in the exorcism gets here. Has anyone heard from Priestess Shamhat lately?"
"I saw her a while ago," he said. "She doesn't think she can make it tonight. Apparently there is some ritual she wants to do involving a particularly powerful rock." Glim guffawed at this, and Lennart and Eleanor didn't look far from doing the same, as he continued, "She said she's sending a last-minute replacement." And as if on cue, there was another knock on the door.
"Hi," Brad smiled weakly as Lennart opened the door to reveal him in his Reformed Veracian Church vestments.


Brad...? Hm. Well, he did train with Rose. He... he must be nearly as competent. Right?

"Hello," I say to Brad. Then I turn to the others and say "I'd be happy to assist as well. I am a fully trained priestess, and skilled in various rituals. Although, perhaps now that everyone's here, we should discuss what I witnessed when I attempted to do so last night." Was it only last night? It's been a busy day.

-- Desiree
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Re: Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

Post by Graybeard »

The Divine Dwarf priest, who by now had been introduced as "Reverend Armature" (what in the name of the Five Great Mothers is an "armature?" Therese wondered, but now didn't seem like the time to pose the question), drew himself up as haughtily as his costume would allow. "And what, pray, can the finger-waggling priest of a nonexistent Veracian deity contribute to this operation?"

Brad looked hurt at this description, and Lennart and Eleanor looked uncomfortable, but in a way that suggested they weren't sure that Armature's position was entirely misguided. Therese, however, remembered something she'd picked up from traveling with the group; she couldn't remember whether it was from Rose or Lillith or Brad himself, but it didn't really matter. She slipped into the calm, self-assured pose that she'd become used to using in Goriel. "If I may," she said, "have any of you priests of your various churches ever performed an actual exorcism, or anything like it?"

Armature and Glim both flushed and looked at each other in silence. Brad also flushed, but he raised a tentative hand. "Well ... sort of," he said, and with a little prompting, he recounted what had happened in the valley outside Gervasiel. By the time he finished, the Santuarielites were staring at him in wide-eyed astonishment, and even Therese herself was revising upward her opinion of Rose's cousin -- and for that matter, of Lillith, whose role in proceedings Brad had, of course, taken pains to emphasize.

"Well," Lennart finally said softly, "there's strength in numbers, I suppose, and value to having someone with at least some experience with such things." He turned to Desiree and Therese. "I believe that you should also join this ritual, for the same reasons. Now perhaps you can describe what happened to you in the hills near Shamhat's shrine?" A hand raised toward Glim and Armature (not to mention a glare from Eleanor) indicated there were to be no interruptions.

[OOC: So do you want to go through all that again, or can we just move on? Brad and Lillith will want to talk to Desiree and Therese before the fun starts, but after that, I'm game to move on to the scene of the crime.]
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Re: Santuariel, Compassion, and the banshee

Post by Drusia »

"Well," Lennart finally said softly, "there's strength in numbers, I suppose, and value to having someone with at least some experience with such things." He turned to Desiree and Therese. "I believe that you should also join this ritual, for the same reasons. Now perhaps you can describe what happened to you in the hills near Shamhat's shrine?" A hand raised toward Glim and Armature (not to mention a glare from Eleanor) indicated there were to be no interruptions.

I describe again what I experienced. I again edit my account to remove my guesses and theories - I want their opinions about what happened.

-- Desiree

OOC: Sorry, didn't realize you'd replied so fast - particularly since I didn't have much to add yet.
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