Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

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Graybeard
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Re: Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: Just to keep things from getting too predictable:]

Meanwhile, in a valley several mountain ranges to the northeast:

<"What I do not understand, my nephew,"> said the troll matriarch, <"is why you cannot stay here.">

The young troll bowed his head. <"Forgive me, Chieftess. I suppose that I should. This is where my people are now. Your people; I'm only part of them. But I don't understand. Why did you move out of --"> he produced an extended trollish rumble that had no exact translation, but "Northern Veracia" would be close enough. <"The tribe was happy there. Hunting was good. The Small Ones didn't bother us most of the time. I don't mean to criticize the decision of the Wise Women, but --">

The matriarch cut him off. <"Then don't. I'll just say that there is a particular band of Small Ones in that land that is becoming more aggressive. They have inhabited their own valley for a very long time, and now, under their own Chieftess -- that's unusual, by the way, the Small Ones usually choose males as their leaders -- they're starting to look for new fields to conquer. And they are fearsome fighters, even without magic.">

The youngster raised an eyebrow. <"Small Ones? A match for our own kind? That sounds -- strange.">

The matriarch scowled, quite the sight on the face of a 500-year-old troll. <"It is. And frightening. We decided to get out while the getting is good. But you haven't answered my question. Why must you go back?">

He thought about it. Really, there was only one answer. <"Honor requires it. I gave the Small One I call 'Mamma' my word that I would stay with her for the rest of her life, after her mate saved mine. A troll keeps his word, Chieftess."> There was an element of stubbornness in his voice that might have gotten him slapped down, if it was on any other subject. On this subject, though ...

<"Very well,"> the Chieftess said. <"It is as you say: a troll keeps his word. I just wanted to make sure. Now go, with the blessing of the Five Great Mothers."> A parting kiss, and the troll with the improbable human name "Sonny" started his long journey back to Cartish.
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Re: Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

Post by Alberich »

Tim interrupted Rose's catnap on schedule. Once the horsemen had trotted briskly by, making a noise not much louder than a couple tons of hikers jogging past, the newly-naked Harker used his well-developed stealth and hardy beaver rushes to shadow them. They weren't talking for now, but in time he thought he might learn something.

As the horsemen vanished to the north, Rose surveyed the campsite. There was a lot of weariness as might be expected from a hard night, rough travelling, combat, tension, frustration, and magical exhaustion. The day of rest she had planned might do them all some good. (A Californican temple, complete with bath, might do more, especially if their geteroi joined them.) Also, there were things to talk about and consider. What would Rose do and say?
Last edited by Alberich on August 3rd, 2012, 8:04 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

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[OOC: "Thundered by"? I thought you said they were moving slowly and deliberately. A mounted group of that size wouldn't be "thundering" down the road at a walking gait, they'd actually be not much louder than hikers. Or did they accelerate once they got over the pass? Please clarify. The speed, and noise, of their movement would affect just how long after their passage the following things would occur, since Rose would want them well away before she emerged from hiding. Anyway:]

With the Duravsky party safely out of sight and earshot, Sister Rose dropped the Damping spell, and emerged from the campsite. She beckoned to Argus, Drusia and Tim. "Let's see if we can learn anything here."

After a quick scan of the area to make sure they were alone, the four headed up toward the road, Rose wishing she had more skills at forensic magic. Simple detection spells revealed that there was no remnant magic along the road [OOC: feel free to correct if this isn't so, and I'll retcon -- /OOC], nor did an extension of her vision turn up anything notable from the horses' passage. She decided that the pile of, well, evidence that one of them had left along the trail wouldn't be worth bothering with; it would simply show that the horse that emitted it had been stabled in Goriel, which was obvious enough.

She took a long, deep breath (making sure she was upwind of the "evidence"), then shook her head. "I don't know what more we can do here," she said. "Any ideas?"

However, no one had a chance to respond before there was a tremendous whoop and holler from back at the camp; Lillith had just given Brad her news, and his reaction was just as Rose had predicted it would be.
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Re: Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

Post by Alberich »

[OOC: Okay, edited.]

"Not here here, I don't," said Tim. He couldn't think of any improvement on Rose's previously stated plan, as best he understood it, so he said no more.
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Re: Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

Post by Drusia »

"Such places exist," she answered calmly, "and some are within our reach. When we finish here, I'll have a word with one of my colleagues. Surely something can be done."
Her quiet, appraising gaze became just a shade more direct. "But what of you?"


"Me?" I say, "I'm stuck with these guys for the moment." I nod in the general direction of Rose, Argus, and Lillith. "And I already have a homeland where I can be as I am - I just didn't think Anfisa would fit in well there." Aging faster than everyone else in town... I don't think she'd enjoy that much. Also, I think Snamish would be a bit too much culture shock for Anfisa. Something free, but less... Rinkai would probably fit better.

"Although," I add, "I wouldn't mind traveling somewhere a little more open minded. Veracia and Getsemiel haven't exactly been good for my self esteem, and Goriel was rather more restrictive than I normally like." And it's saying something when Goriel feels like the lesser of three evils.

I feel like I should say more, but some... undercurrent here is escaping me. Therese seems interested in me, but she keeps switching between forward and distant. Is she playing hard to get? No, I don't think... hm. Well, better to shut up and let her maybe send a clue my way than to blather on and possibly stick my foot in my mouth.

-- Desiree
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Re: Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

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Therese raised an eyebrow, quite misunderstanding what Desiree was hinting at.

"Santuariel?" she guessed, then further misunderstood the resulting startled look. (If Lillith had been in earshot, there'd have been more than one look to misunderstand, and that one would have had some hostility in it, but she was busy with Brad.) "No, no, we can talk about it here," she protested. "We're far enough north here that the elves don't come this way. Well, other elves." She nodded to where Drusia was standing with Sister Rose, Argus and Tim, trying to divine something about the Duravsky force that had passed. "I can already read between the lines that she's not a problem, so we can be open with each other."

Desiree didn't look reassured, but she continued. "My people trade with Santuariel all the time. We do it very carefully, so that neither city exposes too many secrets at once, and the two cities are too far apart for the volume to be high, but it is done." A look of puzzlement passed her face. "I'm surprised you didn't know that."

She would have said more, but that was the moment when the Brad-bomb went off, and she looked up to see Brad almost strangling his wife in an embrace, the most blissfully happy grin she'd seen in months playing across his face ... and she felt a pang of jealousy.

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

"Not 'here' you don't," Rose parroted Brad. "But you have ideas for somewhere else?" Truthfully, she was distracted now, and wanted to get down to congratulate the happy parents-to-be ... but first things first.
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Re: Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

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With a mighty effort of will, Tim avoided rolling his eyes at Rose's semi-sarcasm. Probably she couldn't help it, feeling at a loss, having trouble with a decision, being peevish at him for not having the answers for her. Women just weren't made to lead missions like this, no more than he himself was made to give birth. He was going to have to guard his speech because they were all a little frayed and frazzled. These were the times that tried men's tempers. Women's even more. They couldn't help it.

"Well," he said, "The way I heard your plan before, we were going to spend the day in camp, get some rest, and talk to these newcomers. Who say they're looking for the same man we are, and they just came from the same place we were going! We still haven't done that and it still looks pretty solid. Maybe they know something we should too?" And I'm not going to say it out here, but one of them also knows about the Ralkin, and just maybe she knows more than she's said. "So, anyway, my only idea is to go back there and do that."

And if someone has something clever to do out here with this horse poop, I'm all ears. Oh, yes, say that one out loud. Yep, he could use a little more rest.
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Re: Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

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Sister Rose was mildly put out with Tim. Everyone's a critic. But if their only information source was indeed the kobold and the somewhat disagreeable Tsuirakuan who'd joined them, then so be it. "Very well," she said, and started back to the camp, but stopped before she'd gone a yard off the road, as she noticed something glittering. She stooped to pick it up.

"Well, well," she said. "This may be useful after all." What she held in her hand was a small stud that looked like it might have fallen off one of the saddles or halters or riders' chaps when the Duravsky party had passed. It wasn't much to look at, but at least it connected them to the party. She muttered a quick bit of magic over the stud, to preserve whatever essence of the party might remain in it, then folded it neatly away; it could come in handy later. "Seek and ye shall find," she said, somewhat pedantically; there might be a teaching moment here. (Or there might not.)

However, nothing else seemed to present itself as a useful tracking/divination resource, so the party went back to the camp, where Brad and Lillith remained inextricably intertwined. "Argus?" they chorused. "We have the most wonderful news! You're going to be a grandfather!"

Rose, of course, already knew this, but tried to match the broad smile anyway ... even as a puckish thought further turned up its corners. <"Which kind of makes me a step-grandmother too, at least for now,> she thought at Argus. <"And a second cousin at the same time."> The puckish smile widened. <"I feel like I'm in one of those bad plays they write about the rural towns of south Veracia where ..."> That thought probably didn't require completion, so she didn't complete it.
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Re: Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

Post by Drannin »

Argus blinked. The thought took a moment to set in. Many thooughts ran through his head during this time. Hope that the child would be all right. Where they were going to live. How far along was Lillith. Boy or girl. But one thought was pre-eminent above them all.

"Fayna's going to run mad when she learns she's an imminent Aunt."
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Re: Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

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"Fayna's going to run mad when she learns she's an imminent Aunt."

Oop
, thought Sister Rose. That thought had never occurred to her. She'd only been imagining the way Aron and Margot would react if ... if ...

She put that out of her head and switched to mind-speech. <"Is that going to be a problem? We can't let it be. We mustn't."> There was an element of pleading in her "voice."
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