Goriel and Beyond, Part 5

[Alberich]

"Right," said Tim. "Let's go!" A little exercise would do him some good, and if the false lead had brought them physically closer to the truth, so much the better. The Good Lord did work in subtle ways sometimes.

[OOC: Having the Gorielians disrespect their male elders that much is a pretty massive change in the way I've been portraying them. But, if no one else cares, neither do I. Also, given where the group is, I can wrap the "Blaise" thing up very quickly if that's what people want. Just say it plain!]

[Jack Rothwell]

"Hey... mmm... can I come?" Tamina inquired, raising a hand. "If it's magic, should look, elder said finding out 'bout other magics important."

OOC Tbh, the 'leaving the weak to die' idea does seem extreme, even by slave-owner standards. Doing that seems an indication of weakness in a society of people who try hard to come off as anything but. Where is the Blaize situation going btw?/OOC

[Drusia]

[OOC: Having the Gorielians disrespect their male elders that much is a pretty massive change in the way I've been portraying them. But, if no one else cares, neither do I.]

OOC: Well, not necessarily. You've established that respected elder males are very important - but that those males must continue to keep up the appearances of power and virility. All respected elder males you have shown have kept that illusion intact.

Perhaps this is why they must do that? If they are proven to be impotent (in any or all senses of the words) then this is the fate that awaits them - death by exposure? Note she said elderly and infirm, not just elderly.

On the other hand, Therese may have been speaking about their habits concerning elderly women (she mentioned rescues - I don't get the impression that Therese rescues men). Perhaps they put their elderly women out to die of exposure, thus inspiring Therese's comment? Since Therese avoids the more powerful clans, she might not be as familiar with their habits as she is with those of minor clans or the clan-less.

Anyway, I didn't think that one off-hand comment from a character really constituted a massive change so much as a minor detail - either a flaw of perspective (Therese is an outsider looking in on Goriel culture, much as Tim and Rose are, just a more experienced one), or one more facet to a complicated social structure.

As for the other thing you mentioned... perhaps you should discuss that with Graybeard via PM.

Edit for Jack: As I noted above, it might make sense as the fate of those who have proven they are weak, hence the need to keep on proving one's strength into old age. Or if it is typically only done to women, or clan-less men (both of whom are already considered weak by default).

[Graybeard]

[OOC: Well, then let it not be disrespectful. And to that end:]

"This -- isn't quite what I was expecting," Sister Rose said, gaping at the sight of the dead man.

Based on Therese's typically terse report, she'd been expecting to find the remains of a townsman who had climbed into the mountains unprepared for their rigors, and succumbed to the elements (or to Blaise's death magic?) in a harsh, hostile place, far from home. The reality was very different. The body lay supine in a position that looked almost restful, on a well-made mat that Rose would not have been ashamed to sleep on back at the mission in Kiyoka. Surrounding it were obvious emblems of a clan that she didn't recognize, some of them suggesting more than a little wealth, and others speaking of family members of at least two younger generations. The remnants of a dinner lay beside him, covered against the incursions of scavengers, although nothing could keep out a few ants, beetles and other small insects. A flagon smelled of strong drink. And the litter that had borne him up here, and might bear his desiccated body home again after the next year's snows, was rolled up in a corner of the shelter cave.

"This was no outcast," Rose guessed, confident that she was right. "He didn't want to be a burden on his people any more, so they gave him a good sendoff, I'd even say a loving sendoff. That last meal, which he wasn't able to eat much of -- must have had a terminal stomach disease -- was made of high-quality goods. I bet we'd find that the liquor in that jug was good stuff, and may have had a little something added to it to ease his passing." A lump formed in her throat. "Not the worst way to go, I think. And there's another thing..." She pointed to an object at his feet.

An object that looked unsettlingly, if not exactly, like the figurines that Blaise had carried.

"Our trip up here may have been worth the effort," she said. "Let's say our prayers for this man."

[OOC:

Anyway, I didn't think that one off-hand comment from a character really constituted a massive change so much as a minor detail - either a flaw of perspective (Therese is an outsider looking in on Goriel culture, much as Tim and Rose are, just a more experienced one), or one more facet to a complicated social structure.

Bingo. More on this with the next post, which will be later today.]

[Alberich]

[OOC: Okay, then I'll wait for the "next post" to see the rest of it.

Where is the Blaize situation going btw?

That's what I was asking; I can leave it for the PC's to try to find him some more, using the information now at their disposal, as was my original plan; or I can wrap it up quickly so the PC's can get on to other adventures they like more in other places they like more. That would be a piece of cake under the circumstances and it wouldn't make nonsense of what's gone before. I'm asking everyone's opinon, not just Graybeard's; that's why I posted here instead of a PM.]

[Jack Rothwell]

"Our trip up here may have been worth the effort," she said. "Let's say our prayers for this man."

Tamina looked at the man with sympathy in her heart. She could smell the sickness in him plainly enough; a wasting disease uncommon in her people which the kobold would have been unable to heal if the man had been alive and well. The body, at least, served as a wake-up call to the humanoid that there were plenty of people who had it worse than she did. She made a mental note to try to cheer up; dragging other people down emotionally wasn't something Tamina had the stomach for.

She stepped towards the body and stopped, then looked around with a questioning expression to her companions.

"Don't know if humans know 'bout kobold beliefs but... umm... can I?" 'What was that expression?' "Cover all beasties? ...ahh... bay-says?"

Rose gave the killikah gah a nod. Tamina knelt by the man and scooped a handful of dirt.

"<Body return to earth.>" She said, sprinkling some on the ground then, blowing the rest off her palm. "<Life return to air.>" She put the same hand on her chest and closed her eyes. "<Memory stay with your people.>"

OOC Using that as an opportunity to expand on kobold culture a little. I figured their religion would be something more elemental than the churches or the elves take on things./OOC

[Alberich]

Tim didn't see any particular harm in the heathen ways of this strange, furry monster, but went ahead and completed the Church ritual he and Rose had done so often recently. He had a suspicion that this dead heathen's soul wasn't going to be any better or worse off for what any of them did - indeed, if the figurine meant he was serving the same demonic powers as Blaise, then not even the intercession of the Patriarch would make a lick of difference.

[Graybeard]

Her own ritual finished, Sister Rose listened to Tamina's version of what must surely be about the same thing, she thought. For a moment her attention wandered away from the dead man to the kobold. Would there be room in Luminosita's Presence for such as she, who had the spirituality of her own kind? Surely there must. There was probably a spiritual discussion to be had there, some time in the future, after the Blaise problem had been dealt with ... along with several other spiritual discussions that needed to be had, with varying degrees of urgency.

Speaking of which, she examined the scene more closely, thinking of what Therese had said about the body in the cave, or more accurately, what she hadn't said. Therese could hardly have missed the paraphernalia surrounding the dead man, yet she hadn't said a word about it when she reported his presence. That seemed peculiar until Rose thought about it ... and then it seemed sad. The explanation had to be that Therese was so convinced of the basic incivility of Goriel, its basic iniquity, its basic evil, that she simply could not recognize the signs of respect and affection for a deceased man of the city that lay before her here. She could look at it; she couldn't see. That was useful knowledge for calibrating further interactions with the woman of the Sisterhood ... and yes, it was sad.

She knelt to look at the figurine. There was no sense of menace such as she felt around the similar statuettes that Blaise had carried, which was a great relief, and she decided she could safely risk some detection magic. Indeed she could; not a shred of magic appeared to be present anywhere in this setting. That too was a relief.

For a moment she considered pocketing the figurine, to have it available later, although she wasn't sure why or how it could be useful. Then she decided against it. This poor man was entitled to his respectful passing, and the loved ones who'd left him here, to their own respect and memories. Instead, she simply committed the pattern on his clan bracelet to memory, so that she could look for that clan in Goriel, if they ever went back there.

"We've tarried long enough here," she said. "Let's go back to camp."

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

OOC: A couple of thoughts on Blaise. In principle, any of us could "resolve" the Blaise situation by simply writing something like

Sister Rose, Tim, Argus and the others noticed a man walking down the road toward them. As he drew near, they realized it was the man they sought. "I'm Father Blaise," he announced. "I hear you people are looking for me?"

However, it is more compatible with the conduct of the game to try to do this all in a way that is cooperative, collaborative, and consistent with all of the events that have been happening to date. It's really a matter of world-making with contributions coming from all corners, and ideally, with all of us leaving "hooks" around in the writing that each other can respond to. So also this little figurine, which is intended as a "hook" for the part of the world building where Goriel intersects with Blaise, and which can be used (or not) as we go forward either on this road, or back to the city of Goriel. There isn't a "right" answer to these problems; what's "right" is what we decide is fun and rewarding. So let's do what we can, in that spirit, and acknowledging the good character and setting development that has been going on here. That said, eventually I would like to resolve things with Blaise, because the real BBEG is still out there, waiting ... but it doesn't have to happen immediately.

[Alberich]

[OOC: So I've got one "let's resolve this," one "either way is fine with me," and no one else voting. Since I placed Blaise per our earlier agreement, and since no one else knows where he is, and where and how I placed him is integrated with all the Gorielian plots I've been doing -- then let me wrap it up like this. Just as you, presumably, will give us the end of the BBEG plot, since nobody else knows what it is, and I think you'd be peeved if someone else changed it on you, whether by "hooks" or any other means. And yes, the figurine business actually makes sense in relation to this, or can certainly be made to. And no, what happens here isn't what anyone was "supposed to do." It just happens.]

Rose, Tim, and Tamina returned to the campsite in somber mood. Udo, oddly, had sat it out, perhaps sensing that a group having spiritual experiences was no place for him. He was carefully putting away a very valuable piece of original artwork when they returned.

"Well," said Brad, "What did you see?" Rose described the scene, the figurine, the careful arrangement of the body, and they fell to talking about what it might mean. Harker then came up with his disturbing news of the conversation between the Duravsky party and the Gibazov patrol, and Drusia called Desiree out to hear about it. (Anfisa stayed inside for now; how to break this to her was a matter best left to Desiree.)

So now there were several matters to be thought of at once. The Gibazov mine lead was a bust; and why in hell would anyone have started that rumor? The figurine suggested at least some connection between him and this region, but what connection? And now the Duravsky men, who had been so willing, almost eager, to let them go, seemed interested in finding them again - and didn't care whether any Gorielians with them, male or female, lived or died. Why was that? An extra complication wherever they went. And where were they supposed to go? The inspiration was flowing like glaciers. The conversation was desultory. People were saying so little, the priests among them might've been engaged in silent prayer.

And sometimes prayers are answered. And sometimes blessings come in disguise. And sometimes the disguises look like curses. So it was in the late afternoon --

"Hey, Bluebow! Pussycat!" called a cheerful, wicked voice. Every head turned that way. Of course it was she. Jamie grinned a vicious grin, and called out with the assurance of one who has never failed to get away with anything she wanted, ever.

"The fucker's dead! Piece a' cake with no baggage. Dumbass was holed up with a big ol' group of dirty bandits, not so far off after all! I found one of 'em and asked him about newcomer evil wizard guys. He was glad to tell me. Well, I made it so he was glad" - perhaps it was better not to ask the details. "They had the dumb fuck in a cave all safe like. But I figured these poor-ass bandit bastards don't have indoor plumbing. So he had to come out to pee sometime. That's strategy! Bam! One shot, one kill! Didn't have time to get a single spell off. Never knew I was there! Moved like an old fart, too.

"So, anyway, bad man dead. Now I just have to get back after they calm down a bit. Get his head in my little bag, and off to riches and fame! Or at least bar fights and booze. Just came to collect my best girl and, ah, whatever he is, and off to the races.

"Oh, by the way, other dudes, they may be trying to follow me. I think they got another wizard with 'em. Kinda flashy. No guns, though. Nothing sexy. Might want to watch out for 'em."

This was a decision point for Tamina -- Rose and her friends had some interest in stopping the Ralkin; Jamie had eyes only for the shinies. It was a decision point for Udo, too, but his decision would most likely be driven by Tamina. (Did he value her more than riches? Or did he have a realistic expectation of just how many of those riches would actually stick to him?) He did, however, have one question for Rose, Argus, and Brad, whichever way this went -

"So," he asked, "You won't be needing those papers anymore, I guess...?"

"For my part," said Tim softly to Rose, "I won't believe it 'til we see the body ourselves."

[Graybeard]

OOC: Rose and Therese will definitely respond to this, but before they do, we need to figure out exactly what's going to become of Jamie -- and also Jasmine. That would obviously shape what Tamina and Udo are doing as well (which is really the reason for asking). Note that Rose would definitely NOT welcome Jamie to travel with the main party, and I don't think most of the other party members would either. So where does she go, and what do Tamina and Udo do in response?

My preferred outcome here is that Jamie high-tail it away from the group, to become a shadowy NPC who appears occasionally without ever being a regular part of what's going on. That would leave a heartbroken Tamina (and an opportunistic Udo?) traveling with the main group and looking for her. If this is satisfactory, I'll make it so, with a seriocomic moment involving Jamie's preposterously implacable mother, and we can get on with it. Please respond quickly if you have some other preference, although I really don't see viable alternatives (which isn't to say I might not be missing something).