The road to Getsemiel

As we play, occasionally we'll close a thread and open a new one to keep the size of threads (and relative complexity) down to a dull roar. Here's where we store the closed posts from the history of Errant Road.
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Sareth
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Sareth »

At the clear sense of loss and even fear in Desiree's voice, Lillith's shoulders sagged. She drew in a breath and sighed. "I'm sorry I shouldn't..."

Shaking her head, Lillith finished lacing up her blouse, then turned somewhat reluctantly back towards Desiree. "You have to understand. You grew up in a rich place surrounded by family and friends. Your village was not only not under threat, it was protected by... by an ELF. You learned elven ways, you have elven beliefs.You... You even kill children you are afraid might become errants. Your whole town may as well be happily, safely, comfortably elvish."

Lillith's face scrunched up, her voice rising. "My town... We spent every day desperately trying to survive. We had to work hard every day just to make it to the next one. Every rumor that there was an elf within a hundred miles sent the entire town into a panic. I grew up without anyone but my mother. No father. The other girls my age were a bit frightened of someone who talked to spirits... to herself, as far as many of them believed. Few people at home believed as mother and I did. The boys just wanted to use the fertility aspects of my beliefs as an excuse to have their first time, and were harsh to me when I wouldn't fall for it." Lillith paused for a moment, then spoke, her voice shrill, her face bitter. "Your home was a paradise. An elvish paradise. While Santuariel was a hell we dared not escape. Santuariel was..."

Suddenly the girl turned ghostly white. "I just said... I shouldn't have said that. I just... Oh god..."

The girl looked frantic, her head turning this way and that, looking at all the people surrounding her. Then, without warning, she leapt from the moving wagon and ran into the darkening woods, a rapidly fading white spot in the gloom.
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Alberich
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Alberich »

Brother Tim had indeed been paying attention to Maduin and Bryce. But he was aware enough of his surroundings to notice when Lillith was exposing her curves. In an effort to stay respectable, he focused so closely on Bryce and Maduin that, in itself, this would look indecent. He wasn't the focus of attention right now. Anyone who had been focused on him would've seen his eyes stealing over one way, then jerking back straight.

Well, there were some who said that elves were the embodiment of temptations - and he was thinking that the basic humanity of a half-elf had to do with her human blood, so that Lillith must be more human than not, and Eli the opposite, and Desiree best not thought about if he wanted to stay honest. Honest? Stop it. Concentrate on Maduin. Yes, look at him like a lover...

Then Lillith jumped off the wagon and ran into the woods.

Brad, without a moment's thought, jumped off and ran after her.

And Tim, without a moment's thought either, vaulted over the edge to pursue them both.

He was younger and spryer than Brad, and confident that he'd overtake the older priest in a moment. There was no time to think about whys, wherefores, or whethers (as in, whether this was a good idea). They were members of his mission; he liked them both; he wasn't leaving them to their fates without orders from Rose. And if he ran fast enough, she wouldn't have time to give those orders.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Eli had watched the conversation between the other half-elves with first disbelief, then horror as the name of Lilith's home fell from her lips. Now the girl was running full pelt into the darkness over her slip while Desiree seemed half a second from bursting into tears. Eli's eye oscillated between the two pretty women before a plan of action occurred to him.

"Stop the cart!" He cried and, after pulling Desiree to him with a firm hug and a kiss to her cheek which to strove to be reassuring, the half-elf rolled over the side of the vehicle and ran after Brad and Tim, calling for Lilith as he went.
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Drannin
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Drannin »

Argus sighed as the cart rolled to a stop.

"Not going after her?" Harker queried.

"No. She's got too many people going after her right now. Best give the child some space, let her calm down. I'll talk to her later." He paused. "But just in case she doesn't stop running, do you mind...?"

"On it." Harker vaulted from the cart and was off like a shot. Argus watched him go.

He turned to the others. "Well. Speaking of differences in belief."
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Drusia
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Drusia »

"Your home was a paradise. An elvish paradise. While Santuariel was a hell we dared not escape. Santuariel was..."
Suddenly the girl turned ghostly white. "I just said... I shouldn't have said that. I just... Oh god..."

"Stop the cart!" He cried and, after pulling Desiree to him with a firm hug and a kiss to her cheek which to strove to be reassuring, the half-elf rolled over the side of the vehicle and ran after Brad and Tim, calling for Lilith as he went.


I was about to tell her that we're afraid in Snamish too, when she just... ran away. Why? What did I do this time?

It was right after she said Santuariel. As Eli hugs me, I realize that she's never actually said that's where she was from. I'd wondered. There aren't many half-elven villages around; after Snamish, Santuariel is probably the largest. My mother hasn't been there in years, but she's been there. She has a history with Santuariel.

Eli releases me to chase Lillith. After a shaken moment, I follow. This is my fault - and anyway, she's upset over nothing. I need to tell her that she hasn't endangered her town - that we know of and admire the people of Santuariel. That Santuariel wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for my mother and those like her.

"Lillith!" I shout into the woods, "Please, come back!" Explanations won't matter now - those will have to wait.

"I won't tell anyone about your town!" I call, "I promise!" I don't add that the reason I wouldn't do so is because everyone in Snamish already knows about Santuariel. Later, when she's calmer, I'll tell her the story about how Santuariel - the current Santuariel - was founded.

-- Desiree

OOC: Thanks to Poe's info on the Errant War (posted on weekends this summer) this is actually cannon. ^^ I love it when a good backstory gets supporting cannon.
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Graybeard
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Graybeard »

"I won't tell anyone about your town! I promise!"

That finally got through to Sister Rose, as she pulled the reins on the horses. She'd been paying so much attention to Bryce and Maduin, thinking so hard about their observations -- what could interest in ruling justly have to do with Blaise carrying Maduin's picture around? -- that at first, she hadn't noticed the conversation in the back of the wagon getting more, well, heated. Now, however, it was clear that something had happened, and it probably wasn't a good thing.

She started to call into the forest, then stopped herself. For one thing, she didn't know exactly what was behind Lillith's outburst. (PMS? She knew women in close proximity had a tendency to synchronize their biological clocks, and from what she knew of her own body, it was possible.) For another, there were plenty of others chasing after the girl, and one more wasn't going to help much. Besides, these were pretty "civilized" mountains, with few large predators or other natural hazards, and she wasn't going to be in unusual danger in the woods. (As if they hadn't had plenty of danger on this voyage already.)

Really, though: what had caused an eruption over Santuariel? Everybody in the party had already learned much about the half-elven sanctuary during their stay in another such sanctuary, Snamish -- no, wait, almost everybody. Tim hadn't been there. Was that it? Or did it even matter?

Rose turned to Argus. "Well, looks like we're going to be camping here, like it or not," she said. "Could be worse, it's a nice enough site and we'll reach Getsemiel at a reasonable hour tomorrow. Let's get things set up, and if Lillith hasn't calmed down by the time the camp is ready, you can have a little talk with her ...

"Daddy." That last with a wink.
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Alberich
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Alberich »

Five of the group were pursuing the nature priestess through the woods. Tim expected to catch Brad in a matter of seconds, but found he'd lost sight of him. Something about these woods felt strange. He was sure she'd gone that way - and then, before he knew it, the woods were filled with mist. It thickened quickly.

Where had it come from? Had Lillith herself called on her "spirits" or was it something more sinister? He had no idea. But he moved forward carefully, looking for a sign to follow, and broke into a small clearing, summer-warm and smelling of honeysuckle. Here the sun could still get through, though the woods all around remained thick-misted.

And here were some signs of digging, not extensive or deep, and a trowel stuck in the earth. That didn't make sense. What was there to dig for out here? And even if there was something, you wouldn't leave your tools lying around. He stepped forward to look.

And he wondered why he couldn't hear any of the others calling out - were they not calling? Or did the mist and misdirection swallow the sounds? He'd been saving his own breath for running, in case he got a better view. But Lillith, it seemed, had escaped them, and it was better to regroup.

"Brad!" he called. No answer, no echo. "Lillith!" Not a sound. Well, she was trying to escape them after all. "Desiree!" - why had he picked her name next? This wasn't the time to think about that. Not that there ever was!

As if in answer to a wicked prayer, Desiree herself stepped out of the mist. She too had been separated from the rest of her companions, and confused by the mist and silence. The sight of her struck Tim dumb. It was up to her to break the silence.

[OOC: Others besides Desiree, please don't arrive in this scene just yet.]
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Graybeard
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: OK, a slight delaying action, then ...]

"Lillith! Lillith!" Brad called, love and anxiety in every syllable. "Come back! Was it something I said? I'm sorry..."

He turned to Eli, who was catching up to him; Brad was actually quite fit for a man in his thirties, but a soldier would move more quickly through the forest than a priest. "What did I do wrong?" he asked plaintively.

-------------

Back at the wagon, Sister Rose was asking herself the same question, if from a more inclusive perspective.

Poor Lillith, she thought. I forget sometimes that she's a fish out of water, a scared girl in a scary place. Are we just piling more on her than she can handle yet? Well, things would work out; the mountains were actually safer than where they were going (and where they'd been) in many ways, and people who cared for her were combing those mountains to find her. Things would turn out okay.

Sure they would.

She busied herself with setting up the camp, and as she did, she came to a realization: this might be an opportunity to raise a subject with Argus that might have been ... painful under other circumstances. "I can feel for the poor girl," she said, gently shaking her head. "It's easy to forget that she's pretty severely stressed from an emotional point of view. The way half elves mature, her emotional state may be not a lot different than mine when I was seventeen or so." She rolled her eyes and smiled wryly. "I wonder sometimes how I ever got through that ... and I really wonder sometimes how my parents got through it."

Well, here goes nothing. I think this was before what happened to him and his family, and if not, I'll apologize later... "If you don't mind me asking, what was Fayna like when she was a young teenager?"
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Drusia
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Drusia »

"Brad!" he called. No answer, no echo. "Lillith!" Not a sound. Well, she was trying to escape them after all. "Desiree!"
As if in answer to a wicked prayer, Desiree herself stepped out of the mist. She too had been separated from the rest of her companions, and confused by the mist and silence. The sight of her struck Tim dumb. It was up to her to break the silence.


I hear someone shout my name. It's a man's voice. Brad? I am suddenly struck by the fear that Lillith has fallen and hurt herself. I follow the voice -

- and find Brother Tim standing in the woods, looking startled. Well that isn't helpful.

"I don't suppose you've done much tracking," I say wryly. Assuming his answer is no, I continue "Me neither."

I walk over to him anyway. "We should probably stick together," I tell him. I grab his hand so I don't lose him in the mist and start off in what I hope is the right direction.

-- Desiree
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Drannin
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Drannin »

Argus chuckled at Rose's question. "Oh, weave... willful doesn't begin to describe it. I'm told she got it from me, which makes me want to apologize to my parents. Once Fayna had her mind made up about something, she was damned well going to do it, and to hell with the consequences." Argus shook his head, remembering. "Fortunately, she was a smart girl, and rarely did anything dangerous. I also had the knack for talking her around, more than her mother did. But sometimes..." Argus sighed.

"One time Fayna had this fool notion of a magical project. Was going to electrify an explosive alchemical mixture because she thought she could get... well, long story short, she was trying to make her own cosmetics. I told her this was foolish, and she should just go buy them. She wouldn't listen, and did it anyway. Naturally the solution exploded. Right in her face."

At Rose's gasp, Argus shook his head. "No, no. She wasn't injured. But her cosmetic experiment DID paint her face. Literally. She looked like an insane harlequin. And rather than admit she made a mistake, Fayna insisted on going out like that, as a fashion experiment." Argus snorted with laughter. "Later that day, Fayna hurriedly ran up to her room and washed her face, claiming that people had no sense of art. Never did it again. Prideful, that girl." Argus smirked. "Even if she refused to get rid of her teddy bear."
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