The road to Getsemiel

[Graybeard]

Brad blinked at Sister Rose's question, too; he'd been around Eli and Desiree enough to have a pretty clear understanding of what the real relationship was ... but then he realized something.

His cousin was a fairly senior nun of the Veracian Church, after all. She'd have more than enough authority to preside over a wedding, even if it wasn't in a temple of Luminosita. And for that matter, the happy couple had been in that temple for the last day or so, hadn't they? Maybe they'd convinced Rose to sneak off and perform a quick ceremony on their behalf ...

... And oh my, did that give him an idea.

[Drusia]

I blink and look around between Lillith, Brother Timothy, Sister Rose, Brad, Eli, and the others.

Well shit.

"I was going to bring this up tonight," I say, sighing, "But since we're here early... Brother Timothy, I must apologize. I misled you out of fear. When I did so, I had no idea what sort of person you were, nor any idea that we would be traveling together." Of course, I still have no real idea of what kind of person he is, but he's seemed fairly kind.

"Eli and I are not wed, but we are lovers," I explain. "Casual lovers. I am a priestess of Anilis, the elven goddess of beauty, art, fertility, and passion. I have shared the blessing of passion with Eli, as I would with any friend who was so willing - and indeed, often have." There. Now he knows.

"I lied because I feared for my saftey, and for Eli's," I continue. "For lying to you, I am sorry." Well, sort of. I'm mostly sorry for any hurt feelings that might have resulted from my lies rather than the lies themselves. Those lies may have saved our lives. I plan to do so again the next time we end up in a scary town like that - the cover of being newlyweds served us rather well, all in all.

-- Desiree

[Porcelain Fish]

"Not to interrupt," Bryce said softly in Maduin's ear. "Because you seem to have the whole deep contemplation thing really going on - but you're missing out on our good Brother Tim turning all sorts of interesting shades. Apparently Eli and Desiree aren't married."

"That's nice," Maduin murmured absently, and then blinked, stirred out of his thoughts of rain and lightning and spilled blood, head turning sideways toward the wagon and its passengers. "Wait, what?"

The Veracian clergyman's eyes were fixed on his lap, but was that color creeping into his face? Maduin's gaze went to Desiree.

Ah.

She looked mildly apologetic, but not at all abashed. How very cosmopolitan of her.

Well, maybe the good brother would be losing his cherry before too long. Would that make him Reformed like Rose, or just fallen in faith? There was a world of philosophical discussion in there. Maduin didn't think for a minute the two of them would be getting it on inside the bonds of wedlock - Desiree likely wasn't that kind of girl, and Tim didn't seem like the sort who could really forgo all the temptations she had to offer.

Well, at least he'd have something to entertain him besides keeping Rose and Argus at a safe distance from each other, and that wasn't even counting Eli. "Casual" lovers? Maduin didn't think Desiree spoke entirely for Eli on that score.

Yes, the situation was rife for a love triangle that might well be epic in proportion, and while the sensible part of him indicated he should nip the whole thing in the bud because it would really affect the cohesiveness of their impromptu little road-roaming gang, the rest was inclined to sit back and watch the sparks fly.

"Bryce, you're a delightful man," Maduin said quietly for the soldier's ears alone.

Bryce chuckled. "Thought you might take an interest."

And speaking of Rose and Argus, the two of them were getting a little bit cozy. Maduin was going to have to put a stopper in that the next time they stopped, and he had just the hairbrush for the job.

[Jack Rothwell]

"Eli and I are not wed, but we are lovers. Casual lovers. I am a priestess of Anilis, the elven goddess of beauty, art, fertility, and passion. I have shared the blessing of passion with Eli, as I would with any friend who was so willing - and indeed, often have."

Eli couldn't stop a blush rising to his cheeks at Desiree's bald proclamation. Having their personal lives aired to the rest of the group that morning hadn't been something he'd planned on.

"Yes, it's true." He added, because what else was there to say? "A married couple is less likely to be troubled in a strange land and an occasional, umm, 'outburst' is easier to justify." He said, thinking about his temper getting the best of him the day before. "It wasn't our intention to mislead you, Brother, but... circumstances, you know?"

[Alberich]

Well, he couldn't just sit there catching flies. He'd have to say something.

"Ah."

Oh, very witty, Tim.

He didn't want to think about what he was feeling right now, and for him, the best way not to think was to get some talk going. He thought they were half-elves, because he remembered hearing that female elves were taller than that, but they were worshipping elven gods, apparently. Which was not too surprising - elves were all about temptation, that's what Bradway's book was all about, and naturally their religion would be a tempting one.

"So, ah, then, is that the elf custom, what you use where you come from?" - he'd have more control over his sentences in a second or two, but he might as well know just what his companions' customs were. Come to that, it would be good to know for Brad's sake - you'd have to be blind and half-deaf not to see that Brad was smitten with Lillith there, and if she wasn't the marrying kind, he might be in for a fall in more ways than one. So might you - aren't you just trying to find out how easy she is? No. No, really?

[Graybeard]

"Ah! But I know just how to deal with that!" Brad piped up, with that rapturous look on his face that Sister Rose knew meant three things: he'd just had an idea, it involved Lillith, and it was a mistake, probably a big one. "There are three priests of Luminosita now in the party," he continued, "so we can do our own wedding ceremony right here and now. Rose is senior, so she can preside, and Tim, you and I will be witnesses. And there's more! After that, Rose can do the same thing for Liloof!"

Rose looked around from rummaging through her traveling bag, which somehow had managed to make contact with Brad's midsection as she shifted it. "Not the time, Brad," she reproved him gently. "Such things shouldn't be rushed into." Yes, I recognize my own subtext ... but we're hardly rushing, are we? "Besides, we have a mission to do, and I have to read up on some background material before we get there." She extracted the diary, making sure to let everyone see it was real, but also not to wave it around too flagrantly. "Let's defer this idea until -- later. First things first." As Brad subsided, abashed, she bent over the book, her body language suggesting that it was a closed topic.

Of course, there was another little bit of "background material" that was not so closed. <"So what do you think of that figurine?"> she asked Argus mentally, using the reading as cover.

[Jack Rothwell]

"I think." Eli began carefully, in the most diplomatic tones he could muster. "That perhaps a wedding is a topic for a different day." 'Maybe a day which will never come...' He projected mentally into what passed for Brad's mind.

[Alberich]

Tim was quite glad of Rose's interruption. He knew these Reformed priests could marry if they wanted, and their doctrines weren't fatal to souls, or else they'd be suppressed - but still, asking him to serve as a witness to the marriage of a priest...no, that was really not on. Especially not a hasty one, between a human and some kind of elf or half-elf, doubly-especially not if she turned out to share Desiree's views.

He didn't interject any words. If Desiree chose to answer his question, he was still interested in the answer. At least for Brad's sake. Riiiight, for Baby Brother Brad, you goat. If Rose succeeded in changing the subject, and wanted to share a little more information germane to the mission, well, he'd accept that too, and leave the cultural exchanges for later.

[Drannin]

Argus gave the mental equivalent of a shrug <"I can't make heads or tails of it, really. There's definitely some magic about it, or was, but beyond that, I can tell that it's old. Real old. Possibly created by ancient, and very skilled magicians. Craftmanship makes me think human, though. On the other hand, it's very well-preserved, and cared for. The other possibility is that this device is a fairly recent replica of an old device. I would have loved to examine it in good condition; it would have been fascinating."> He paused. <"Yet something else that I really wished I knew more about.">

Meanwhile, Harker slid over to Eli. "Hey, since we're on topic..." He handed Eli a bunch of folded papers. "Sketches. Thanks for the inspiration!" With a wink, Harker slid away.

Argus gagged.

[Alberich]

Seeing, misunderstanding, Brother Brad bounded over to Argus' side of the wagon, with a panicked, "It's all right - it's all right." Taking the older man in his arms, he reached for his mouth to dislodge whatever he was choking on, and applied a dose of healing magic to clear the patient's breathing passages.

Argus' cold stare and a curt word or two made clear that these well-meant ministrations were not required. In the aftermath of his last effort, Brad's complexion went from Cherry Blossom to Beetroot.

[OOC: Hey, he's an NPC, I can kick him around if I want. If I got Argus' reaction wrong, tell me & I'll edit.]