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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Graybeard
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Graybeard »

"Yessir, I'd be sayin' she does," the messenger answered, fully re-submerged in his accent. "Wit' a shotgun in one hand, a sword in the other, a pistol and a knife on her belt, and don't be forgettin' the lizard, she's loaded for bear or worse. 'Sides, rumor be that she be knowin' somethin' 'bout dark magicks too."

"Lizard"? Sister Rose thought. One of these things wasn't like the others ... "Thank you," she said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to -- invoke Our Lord Luminosita's help here." She muttered a brief litany under her breath, which served, among other things, to put up her Empathy magic.

He's genuinely concerned, all right. He's serious, as truthful as this spell will let me determine, more than a little scared. He also likes Tim, which is maybe the most important thing. No funny business here ... but the dark magicks part ... I don't like that at all.

She turned to Brother Tim. "Any thoughts?"

[OOC: This link to TV Tropes provided for your reading enjoyment, and to inspire a burst of creativity as regards the lizard. Really, I have no idea what she's got in mind with it. Trust me. :geek: ]
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Alberich
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Alberich »

Tim nodded. "Yes, I do. Just wait there, sergeant." He motioned for Rose to step to one side with him. Then he lowered his head, looked her square in the eyes, and spoke fast and low.

"What I think is this," he said. "We're a squad, all together, and we need our Tsuirakuans." In the air he traced the rune Argus had taught them. "The enemy of one is the enemy of all." And I hope I can get to that point with Eli. "So whichever one it is, get him to tell us what it's about and what we can expect. And use that information to ask Fred the questions we need. I can keep Fred company while you do that. He's a solid man. He'll be easier to work with if we don't take too long - he'll be anxious to get home."

He paused. "And then, when he's gone, return the favor. Tell the group - all of us - show us with visions if you can - what you saw, what you felt, what we're up against. The way you talk, it's horrible. But if someone's too afraid to be told now, they'll freeze up when we're fighting it later. I'm not telling what you've told me. But you should." His tone was steady, not accusing or defiant.

His hunches might be wrong, but it seemed to him she'd been holding back for some personal reasons, and not because of Church secrets. If he was wrong, she'd correct him and keep her calm. And if he wasn't, just maybe he'd be able to do some good here.
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Sareth
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Sareth »

Drusia wrote:"We're not so different," I tell her. "We've both suffered because of the elves. We shouldn't be fighting. Please, Lillith... let me be your friend."
The voice was pleading, almost desperate. Lillith couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest at the sound. Desiree had been uprooted from her home, the only place she had ever known to be sent off with strangers. She was desperate for someone, anyone, to whom she could relate. Eli was from her town, but he was, at best, a very earnest and serious young man, and thus unlearned in a woman's fears. Rose was a woman, but one that had taken and lost someone Desiree had loved, if Lillith had guessed right from the hints she'd received, and was 'older' in terms of biology. As for the rest, they were complete strangers to Desiree. But Lillith was a young woman, and another half-elf. She was the closest thing to Desiree there when it came to having the same needs and fears. Lillith could well see how Desiree was desperate for a connection, and the thought of the pain Desiree was feeling tore at Lillith.

She understood, only too much.

Sighing, Lillith pulled on enough clothing for modesty and stepped through the curtained door without a word.
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

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Sister Rose was taken aback by Brother Tim's little speech. Yes, of course they should all work together against whatever it was that Father Blaise possessed -- or the other way around. Of course they should share such information as existed about the mysterious, horrifying agents of death, which really wasn't much. So really, what was the problem here? She became aware that she still had her Empathy magic up, and decided to break a personal rule against using it with close friends and partners; after all, this young man wasn't really "close" yet, so ...

Oh.

"Let me explain some things," she said, her voice cooling slightly from its usual gentle tone. "On a conscious level, I cannot begin to describe what was looking back at me when Hamael used his death voice. It was literally indescribable, something for which there are no words, and probably no emotions. None, at least, except for being damn scary. Fortunately, it wasn't in my mind long enough for me to study it, or vice versa. If it had been, I don't think I'd still be here." She shuddered for a moment before continuing.

"As for the other agents of death, all we have is second-hand reports. None of us were there when Bree died, thank Luminosita, nor were we there for any of the other people who 'just stopped' the way Bree did. Wait, I take that back, there was one if I understand it correctly." She stared into space, thinking, for another moment. "Wilbur Hamael's son killed a giant beaver with a word -- no, I'm not making that up. His four-year-old son. I wasn't there when it happened, but Argus was. You might talk to him about it."

The temperature of her voice dropped another two or three degrees as she continued. "But know this. We have tried to be open with each other here, as we must; the dangers we face require it. But there are limits, and you are moving toward them. Let me be clear on one thing: my mind is not available to be rummaged around in. That is pushing things altogether too far, even in the hope of extracting something about that death presence that might be lurking in there, unknown to me. It will not be done, period, end of story. Is that clear ... Lieutenant?" Rose's voice was distinctly cold by now.
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Alberich
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Alberich »

Perhaps Tim ought to have felt ashamed. He didn't. What she said tended to confirm his suspicion - that it was some kind of personal fear or privacy, and not piety or reasons of state, that held her back. Well, if that was how she wanted to be, there wasn't anything to do about it. And if she was going to find such ideas personally offensive, he'd simply have to be more guarded around her.

Of course ("of course" in his own mind) he hadn't proposed "rummaging around" in her brain so much as having her project, if there was a way to do it, what she remembered, be it images or feelings. But it seemed she wanted to close the subject by being offended. That was her prerogative. He wouldn't correct her, argue the point, or explore it further. Besides, if strategy #1, "be angry to put him off," didn't work, she might move along to strategy #2, "ask awkward questions he doesn't want to be open about himself, to put him off." Of which there were a couple. You hypocrite, Tim. Shut up, me.

The thing to do was to wear the mask, use no injured tone (not even the slightest), and keep his answer short. "It is, ma'am. And you know my other thoughts." Which you asked for, so don't be angry about that. "What shall we do now?"
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Graybeard »

OOC: Oops. I had Rose reacting strongly to something that was said, but as far as I can tell, it was said in a private message, rather than in the play. Her reaction doesn't make any sense out of context. I may need to retcon here. There's also a possibility to go ahead and play it out this way, based on something that happened the last time she was in Getsemiel, but I'm going to have to recover from acute turkey intoxication before writing that. Go ahead and do stuff for other characters, but Rose is going to have to deal with this one in the morning. (Sorry about that, A.)
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: OK, let's try this. It's consistent with what has gone before, and what is to come at Getsemiel, which is not going to be exactly a barrel of laughs for Rose...]

Sister Rose's face softened. "I'm sorry, Tim. This whole thing is just bringing back a ... very painful memory for me. There's no way you could know about that, and it was none of your doing. I shouldn't be taking the pain out on you. Please accept my apology."

They had rummaged around in her mind after Kenny's death, Rose could remember that altogether too clearly. Rose couldn't blame them, actually. When something went drastically, fatally wrong on an Exotic Object Disposal mission -- what a euphemism, that -- the Powers That Be were understandably very anxious to know exactly what, how, and why, so that it wouldn't happen again. Still, one would have thought that even an Orthodox colonel in the regular military would have had the sensitivity not to conduct immediate magical questioning of the woman who'd just been widowed in the "event," wouldn't one? If so, one would have been wrong.

A horrifying thought crossed her mind. Did Kenny trigger one of these drop-dead-in-your-tracks artifacts, or traps, or whatever they are? Somehow, it didn't seem likely. At the very least, the circumstances were different. The magical mine wasn't anything that a renegade clergyman was going to be carrying for Luminosita alone knew what reason; that was basically the point of EOD being there. And when it -- did whatever it did -- there'd been a powerful surge of magic, that everybody in the vicinity felt. And a blinding green glow. And a -- a --

"Rose?" Brad's voice reached her through the haze. "You're -- crying. Is everything all right?"

What a dumb question, thought Rose, but it did serve to break her out of the remembered horror. "Sorry," she said. "I was just thinking about my husband." She took a deep breath. "Why don't you see if Lillith and Desiree are done with their bath so we can help them with the Barrier spell?" Maybe a teaching session would help. Or maybe not.
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Alberich »

Brother Tim would do the rest of his thinking about what she'd said, and how she'd acted, later on. For now there was another pressing issue - pressing to him, anyway.

"About Sergeant Tarmage," he asked. "Should we talk to Maduin and Argus, to see if we need to ask him any more quesitons, or should we just send him on his way? I'll have a word or two with him before he goes."
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

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"Should we talk to Maduin and Argus, to see if we need to ask him any more quesitons, or should we just send him on his way? I'll have a word or two with him before he goes."

Sister Rose was starting to pull herself back together. "One thing," she said, and walked back over to where the man from Getsemiel was waiting with his horse. I wish I'd kept enough energy in reserve for a minor shape alteration, to look a little more imposing, but we'll just have to make do.

She composed her voice to be as cordial and appreciative as possible, yet to express the, well, dignity of the church. Would the man take offense at being addressed by a nun (if a rather senior one) rather than a priest? Apparently not, from the looks of him. Tim's assessment seemed right: solid citizen, do what needs to be done, and all that. So maybe he'd thought of ...

"Thank you for that information, and Luminosita's Blessings be on you," she smiled. "The fact that our Tsuirakuan guests are under the Patriarch's Protection should suffice for all of us who love our Lord Luminosita, shouldn't it?"

The man's eyes got wide; even by firelight, it was obvious enough that Rose was not only a nun, but a decidedly attractive woman, even if she'd have preferred to downplay that part. He swallowed and answered. "Thankee, ma'am. I be 'ppreciatin' --" He caught himself and made an obvious attempt to speak in a more "polished" way. "I -- appreciate the blessing. Anything I can do to serve the Church and the Patriarch." He smiled back, apparently genuinely.

Rose produced a sigh that was just a tiny bit more theatric than she'd intended; hopefully he wouldn't notice. "Unfortunately, it seems that not all of our countrymen are inclined to respect that protection, doesn't it?"

"Yes'm." Fred's eyes were downcast, as if with embarrassment for being of the same nationality (if not the same species) as Ronnie's mother.

Rose smiled again. "Well, we'll make do, thanks to your early warning." Luminosita forgive me for the pain I suspect I'm about to cause this guy; he's a good man, to all appearances, but I don't think he thought everything through ... "As long as she doesn't follow us too closely, we should have plenty of time to set up defenses. Um ... you did take measures to throw her off your trail, didn't you? Because your trail would surely lead to ours."

Horror crossed the man's face, and she knew his answer before she heard his words, his attempt at polite speech now abandoned. "Uh, no, ma'am, I not be thinkin' of that, I be powerful sorry, truly I be ..." And the question of whether Maduin and Argus needed to know about this bit of news was clearly answered.
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Re: The road to Getsemiel

Post by Alberich »

Happily for Tim, Rose wasn't looking his way just then, so she didn't see his eyes go wide with rage. He calmed his face but not his heart. This latest display of "leadership" made him furious.

Maybe it was different in the special-secret-war-angels-of-a-very-superior-kind, but in the militia, you didn't treat an enlisted man like that. You gave him his orders, and if he carried them out well, you praised him for it and encouraged more of the same. The man was well selected to bring a message quickly and keep it to himself. He'd done that. If someone didn't think of all the other options, that was on the officers. And maybe if a certain officer had inspired a little more loyalty in her squad, she'd already know who was chasing them instead of finding out from the good men of Umbertiel.

Anyway, what in hell was the man supposed to do, to "throw her off his track"? The group was on a road - specifically, the road to Getsemiel. The entire town had seen the group roll off along that road, in broad daylight, a few hours back. So was he supposed to do - paint a tunnel on the cliffside and divert the road into it? [OOC: "Toons...gets 'em every time!"]

Maybe it was natural for Tim to feel a little protective of his town. A churchman dropped his family name (except for military purposes) and was typically moved away from his natural family. They'd been good to him, in Umbertiel, and he'd really felt like a "brother" there. This home-grown superciliousness didn't sit any better with him than the foreign kind (Maduin's) or the alien kind (Eli's). Given her latest "outburst" at him, he wasn't going to raise this issue with Rose - you had to pick your battles and this one didn't make the cut. But he'd make damn sure to have a quiet, soothing word with Fred before he left, perhaps while Rose was getting the Tsuirakuans.
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