BountyOfTheSeas/Session13

BEGIN CHAPTER 13
The Stormwind Rider conjured by Verdant Waves carries the sorceror, along with Callidora, Zeleny, and Pyhrra, skimming across the wine-dark seas.
oni-sama is now known as pyhrra
pyhrra is now known as Pyhrra
With the hurricane-force winds raging around them, the Solars hurriedly consider their course of action.
Pyhrra complains to herself and holds her tunic down. She didn't wear breeches after all...
Zeleny is vainly attempting to see through the winds to their quarry. His eyes are narrowed, and his hair wildly askew.
Staying low and out of sight of the dark ship, the magical conveyance casts a plume of water in its wake as it rapidly closes with the island's shores.
Verdant focuses on their destination, trying to steer the microstorm fast and quickly enough to reach its destination before its presence is noticed by the...things...aboard the black ship...
With the bulk of the island now safely between the Solars and the ship, the Stormwind Rider follows the curve of the beach until just short of within the ship's sight.
There it deposits the four Solars, with a small sandstorm and much whirling of sea mist.
Pyhrra lands a little wonkilly, her arms still not free from fighting the wind's pull on her tunic, she stumbles a little before regaining her balance.
<Pyhrra> "Never again."
<Zeleny> "It's a convenient way to travel," Zeleny comments, looking surprised at her discomfiture.
This portion of the island resembles what the four have already seen on their earlier visit with the beastmen: soft white sands, and lush foliage a few yards back - some of it mildly touched by Wyld energies.
<Pyhrra> "That may be so, for those with appropriate attire for upward lifting gale-force winds." Pyhrra complains
<Zeleny> "Ah. This is true." The corners of his mouth curl upwards, slightly.
<Verdant> "Ok, we have a ship of undead around the corner and you're worried about wardrobe malfunctions?"
(Besides, Verdant wears robes too.)
<Pyhrra> "They're undead?!" Pyhrra asks with surprise. "Good thing within bad I guess."
<Verdant> (V does wear pants underneath, we've been over this)
(Hee hee...)
Pyhrra explains further. "That ship is the reason I was stuck on 'monster island' for weeks, the fishermen I was sailing with tried to circumvent it - unfortunately we went right into a storm."
Zeleny is waiting for the good news.
Pyhrra shrugs "What?"
<Zeleny> "What's the 'good within the bad'?"
<Zeleny> "I can only see this news in a negative light."
<Pyhrra> "I didn't die?" Pyhrra offers.
<Pyhrra> "I didn't say it was neccessarily good news for everyone else, but it's good news for me."
<Zeleny> "Certainly it is good news," Zeleny replies, expressionless.
<Pyhrra> "You're about as convincing as a rock - no, less."
Verdant sighs, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Can we get back to what we're going to do about the ship full of undead?"
<Zeleny> "Destroy them all."
<Pyhrra> "It's a whole SHIP!"
Callidora: "O... kayyyy..."
<Verdant> "So?"
<Zeleny> "The ship too," Zeleny agrees oblidgingly.
<Pyhrra> "I dont want to be a nay-sayer, but undead dont just sail ships on their own."
<Verdant> "Oh, right, you weren't there when the Wyld hunt showed up..."
Callidora: "Yeah, Zeleny's made "ship-smashing" a specialty of his."
<Verdant> "Actually if memory serves, and it does, the undead ship's crew is...not standard."
<Zeleny> "It seems likely the Deathnight is still among them, still chasing Irisa."
<Zeleny> Privately, Zeleny rather wondered why Irisa was considered so enticing, but he forges onward, "he may be a difficulty."
<Pyhrra> "Deathknight?"
<Zeleny> "A large man. With a very large sword. Powerful." Zeleny shrugs. "That's as much as any of us know."
Callidora: "'Ship-sinking?' 'Ship-clobbering?' No, I guess 'ship-smashing' works... what do you guys think? What sounds better?"
Verdant nods at Zeleny.
<Pyhrra> "Why not a quick and quiet retreat then rather than you know... uh..."
<Verdant> "Given that he did it with bare hands, I'd go with smashing.
Callidora agrees thoughtfully with Verdant, head still in the clouds.
Zeleny glances at Phyrra, "And then what?"
<Verdant> "In any case, I don't know about anyone else but I still don't like my chances with that deathknight."
<Pyhrra> "Live to fight another day?"
<Zeleny> (We could all attack at once!)
Zeleny just looks at her. "Perhaps if we all attack at once..."
("Nonsense. Zeleny, you go handle the deathknight. WE'LL take care of these hapless extras.")
<Pyhrra> "That *isn't* very sporting."
<Zeleny> "He has a very large artifact weapon."
<Verdant> "That's actually a thought, captain. I could try the vine trick on him if he can be kept at bay long enough. No guarantees as to whether it'll hold though."
Zeleny shrugs. "And I'm not a sporting individual."
<Pyhrra> "So... we're going to tie him up and smash his ship?"
<Zeleny> "Tie him up and smash him."
<Zeleny> "And steal his ship, or gift it to the local residents."
<Verdant> "I'm not so sure I'd consider that ship safe, captain."
<Pyhrra> "Let's just get out of here while we can!"
Callidora, while the rest of the group has been arguing, has quietly slipped through the vegetation.
<Zeleny> "We're not going to abandon these people to the appetites of the undead."
Zeleny glances after her. "Verdant, where's she going?"
<Verdant> "Like I'd know?"
Zeleny looks back at him. He rather had expected Verdant to know, it becomes clear.
She's already disappeared in the lengthening shadows.
Callidora, for all her other quirks, is still a Night Caste, after all.
<Pyhrra> "My beautiful life is coming to an end." Pyhrra complains in a small voice melodramatically
<Verdant> "Captain, you know my attitude about her behavior. Generally speaking, by the time you notice what she's doing, it's too late to do anything about it."
Zeleny pats Pyhrra absently on the shoulder.
<Zeleny> He agrees with Verdant with a grunt. He crouches on the sand, picks up a stick.
<Zeleny> He draws the curve of the island as nearly as he could remember it.
<Zeleny> "Whereabouts did the ship look like it was headed?"
(From the vantage of the other island, the black ship looked to still be going strong in the direction of the beastmen village when it was blocked from your sight.)
<Zeleny> "The village is here.. We are here..."
<Verdant> "Towards the beastmen's village. Whether it was peacefully or as a warbringer, I don't know."
<Zeleny> He scowls at the distance between the two points.
<Zeleny> "I expect we'll hear the screams as we arrive."
<Zeleny> He stands. "Callidora will find us, I'm sure. Shall we make our way there?"
Callidora: "Ship's stopped, Cap'n." Her pronunciation of the title is an affectation of Salas Toad's mariner's accent.
The small woman is perched, bird-like, in the branches of a slender beach-tree.
Zeleny glares at her in a mild way. "Where?"
Verdant looks chagrined. He does not turn to face Callidora.
Callidora: "They're just waiting off-shore. In sight of the beastmen, but they don't look like they're doing anything."
<Zeleny> "Hm. The beastmen village seems the place to be. Perhaps the deathnight is attempting to form some kind of temporary alliance...against the mist-god perhaps..."
<Pyhrra> "Shouldn't we wait? Maybe they'll go away. Besides if that's the case, dont you dislike that mist god whatever anyway?"
<Verdant> "That, much as I hate to admit it, has possibilities, but I'd like to get in on it before they lump us in with the mist god and decide step one is to kill us.
<Zeleny> "I'm sure they could be persuaded to see reason."
Callidora sticks her tongue out at Pyhrra. "Don't be a stick-in-the-silt. C'mon, let's go meet some new people! I never got to "thank" that so-called deathknight, anyways..."
She backsprings off the tree branch, and into the darkness of the foliage again.
Verdant sighs. "Like I said, too late to do anything about it.
<Verdant> (Dangit, keep forgetting close quotes.)
Pyhrra sighs exasperrated
<Pyhrra> "Can this wait?" Pyhrra hefts the orichalcum shield meaningfully.
<Verdant> "Hmm? What do you mean?"
<Zeleny> "We've a walk ahead of us."
<Pyhrra> "This thing is awful heavy right now if you catch what I mean."
Verdant pinches the bridge of his nose. "How long would that take?"
<Pyhrra> "Uh... some?"
Zeleny looks at her unreadably. "Very well. Be as fast as you can."
<Pyhrra> "Right. Well. Go amuse yourselves watching the ship, the less distraction I have the faster this will be, alright?"
Pyhrra moves off a little distance down the beach and straps the heavy shield to her arm after slipping the Siren Shield she made herself onto her back.
Verdant watches Pyhrra, wondering why she'd carry around an unattuned artifact.
<Pyhrra> She tests the weight a bit before drawing Memoir scraping out of its bent scabbard with her right hand. She begins simple, with some horizontal strikes with the sword, attuning the shield to her balance and style. All the while her brow is furrowed in a mixture of concentration and mild pain from the sore wound in her side.
Callidora's head pokes out of the leaves. "You comin'? They're not getting any deader over there."
<Pyhrra> She moves quickly, her booted feet gouging ever deeper furrows in the sand. She grumbles as she does some simple cartwheels and sommersaults, athletic manauvers that make for destructively powerful and hard to stop brawling attacks.
Zeleny watches her, glancing now and then down the beach.
Callidora rolls her eyes. "Fine. I'll go make sure they don't swoop down and slaughter us horribly." She disappears again.
Pyhrra finishes by testing some strong sheild smash attacks and practices the movements of her new Angel Rush strike. She hoped it was as successful as the theory at least...
Verdant feels his lips tug in a grudging smile. He murmurs, "Good. She's not letting her injuries impair her too much." His face darkens. "I...don't have time for maybes or should haves." He turns to follow Callidora.
Pyhrra swings her left arm around in a full circle with the featherlight shield, and holds it up in the air, gleaming in the sun, half its shadow falling across her sunlit face, eyes slightly sad. "Parn..." She bows her head and lowers her shield.
Zeleny nods to her, and turns to go after Verdant and Callidora.
Pyhrra is left standing on the beach, alone, as the other three Solars have already disappeared into the underbrush.
<Pyhrra> "You know." Pyhrra says to no one in particular. "I could just sit here, safe and sound."
<Pyhrra> She looks up at the sun, her golden castemark minutely mirroring its splendor. "But you know I wont, right?"
Pyhrra jogs into the underbrush in the direction the other solars took
Callidora, laughing quietly, flits from one impossible perch to another, calling to her companions to keep up.
In the rapidly-waning light, she is like a ghost amongst the low-growing scrub and trees here on the island.
Verdant is suddenly stopped by a hand on his chest. After a second's adjustment, he can make out Callidora's figure in the darkness. "Hold up. We'll be at the island's crest just ahead."
Callidora: "Very exposed. Creep to the edge of the foliage. I'll stay back and warn the others."
Verdant starts. He didn't see her approach. Not surprising in retrospect, but startling nonetheless.
Shortly, all four Solars are gazing over the rocky lip of the island's crest.
They can see more foliage stretching below them, then the cleared beach and the half-submerged huts of the beastmen. And there, anchored off-shore, are the dark sails.
<Pyhrra> "Now what?"
<Verdant> "Great. There might be something going on out in the water out there, but we can't tell from here."
<Zeleny> "So we get closer."
Zeleny examines the terrain, squinting as he tries to make out figures on deck...
Callidora nods at Zeleny's proclamation, and handily flips forward over the rocky ledge. She drops 6 feet or so into the foliage below, but the Solars above hear no sound of her landing.
It's impossible to make anything out on the deck of the ship from here.
Zeleny follows her down, climbing less dramatically.
The rest of the Solars make their way down by circumventing the rocky ledge. Callidora whispers to them from ahead, guiding them through the safest route in the uneven ground and thick underbrush.
Zeleny is second, this time, with Pyhrra behind him, and Verdant somehow found himself bringing up the rear.
There isn't much light left in the day, and the rock behind them blocks out still more. Ahead of him, Verdant notices Pyhrra's shield glowing, not with the light of the sun, but with a silvery-purple light that looks... out of place.
<Verdant> "Hmm? Pyhrra, what's that on your shield?"
<Pyhrra> "What do you mean?" Pyhrra whispers, "Isn't this a bad time?"
Stepping closer, Verdant can see that the glow emanates from runes written on the shield. They resemble Old Realm.
Verdant looks at the shield, studying the runes...
They are indecipherable. They resemble Old Realm, but they do not translate into any word that Verdant knows.
<Verdant> "Interesting."
<Verdant> "These markings resemble Old Realm, but if they are Old Realm...then either it's something I don't know, or it's gibberish."
<Zeleny> (Zeleny to the grownups: "Are we there yet?")
Zeleny , ahead of him, grunts.
<Verdant> "A matter for another time, I suppose. Let's keep moving."
<Pyhrra> "I'll let you look at it later." Pyhrra whispers.
While Verdant is still gazing confusedly at the runes (with the shield still strapped to Pyhrra's arm), the trio is halted a second time by Callidora's warning.
Callidora: "Bad news. While we were in the trees, a boat came out towards the village. They've almost made landfall."
<Zeleny> "Who is 'they'?"
<Verdant> "Who, or what?"
<Pyhrra> "What what what?"
Callidora: "Eight people. All I can tell you."
Callidora looks thoughtful for a moment. "Well, eight people-shaped things."
Callidora: "So, really, it could be eight anythings. So I guess that doesn't really help. But there ARE eight of them."
Callidora: "...I think."
<Zeleny> "...let's meet them."
Callidora: "Okay!"
<Verdant> "Usual eccentricity comment. Let's go."
Zeleny navigates his way down.
The beastmen are already out in force, apparently having been alarmed by the black ship's presence.
There are many more males in evidence now, at the end of the day.
Pyhrra follows behind now. "Am I the only one who views this as a bad idea..."
They stand a careful distance from where the rowboat slides quietly into the wet sand at the sea's edge.
Five figures in robes leap from the boat, some of them dropping oars, and pull the boat onto dry sand. Then they stand back, adopting subservient postures.
Verdant turns to Pyhrra for a moment. "Not really. Come on."
Three figures, each pregnant with menace in their own way, rise from the boat and step down onto the island for the first time.
The first to step down apparently sights the Captain striding across the beach, and turns to speak to the others.
The last to leave the boat detaches itself from the others, and approaches the beastmen, gathered in a nervously milling crowd to the south.
In the rapidly lengthening shadows of the early evening, the other two figures stand arrogantly arrayed on the beach to receive the Solars. Their very postures make it seem as though Creation does not welcome them to its shores, and they consciously spite it by their presence. Behind them are the five servants
The figure talking to the beastmen, farthest away from the Solars, appears to be a tired, weathered old man. His frame is still powerful, his shoulders broad, but they appear bent by some great burden, and his head is always a little bowed. The man's clothes are a dirty brown, and mostly concealed by the similarly-colored mantle that drapes down his back and chest to knee-height. His face is similarly concealed by the wide-brimmed, well-weathered hat he wears; his jaw is unshaven, and his stubble is grey to match the long, stringy hairs that have escaped the hat. He is not visibly armed.
The youth facing the Solars is a direct contrast to the old man. His eyes are bright with some silent joke, and a casual grin slouches across his boyish face. His hair is medium-length, but spiked up in front. His posture is relaxed, arrogant, standing with all his weight on one leg, then shifting to the other, while he regards the approaching Solars with a tilted head and the same bemused smile. His clothes are not atypical for the region, although clearly of a finer craftsmanship than most poor sailors or fisherman could afford; the vest, open in front to expose his nearly-hairless chest, and the baggy pants are both a dark, rich black, or perhaps a purple so deep it is impossible to distinguish. He carries no weapon, but his feet are shod in massive steel boots that cannot be practical for mere locomotion; by his movements, they appear to weigh him down no more than a pair of sandals.
The final and foremost figure is a terrifying apparition. She is a woman of such radiant beauty that it becomes difficult to believe in her presence here, as though the world should not suffer such unearthly, sublime sensuality. Her perfect body is clothed in a simple black silk shirt with matching pants, both decorated with a small crest of the Skullstone Archipelago wrought in silver. She is wreathed by a raven-feather cloak, complete with a feathered cowl that frames her delicate face: a face seemingly carved by a master craftsman in homage to a beauty he could never hope to see brought to life…. Her eyes are a deep, rich brown, and her petite mouth is wearing a smile of warm greeting for the Solars.
WOMAN: "Greetings. It is fitting that we meet now, on the very cusp of day transitioning to night, no?"
Zeleny approaches them, head held back, unknowingly reacting to their arrogance with his own. His lips thin as he takes in the lovely lady. "Not particularly."
The woman is not moved by Zeleny's rebuff. "Please, allow me to introduce myself, and my companions. I am called Caress, and this is Laughter..." She gestures to the lanky youth. "…and Grave." She indicates the older man, who remains unmoving, staring down the beastmen. "We have come on behalf of the Skullstone Archipelago, at the behest of the Silver Prince himself, to offer his formal invitation to Skullstone, as well as his hu-
mblest apologies for the misunderstanding that occurred with his servant, Shroud of Darkness Passing."
<Zeleny> "Really."
The beastmen crowd has grown deathly still. They stare with horror in their tiny, crablike eyes at the silent figure before them. One by one, they begin to turn and drift back to their homes.
Once the beastmen have retreated from the beach, the silent man - Grave - slowly walks back to rejoin Caress and Laughter.
Pyhrra gulps, perhaps a little too visibly. She was a librarian by trade, and she knew what a villain looked like.
Caress: "Please, accept these gifts as signs of our ruler's beneficence, and his sincere desire for your forgiveness." Caress gestures for the servants to come forth, and each in turn steps forward, places a box at the feet of the Exalts, and retreats. They are masked and hooded in identical garb.
"First, a small offering of jade, to be spent as you see fit." The first chest contains more than a small amount of jade, and it all appears to be unmarked and untraceable.
Zeleny 's gaze flicks from the retreating crabmen, to 'Grave', to the chests placed before them.
"Second, for the valiant Captain: a gift of weapons. Our Lord has reason to believe you will find these particularly… useful." She indicates the glittering orichalcum… things. They appear to be massive gauntlets, but they have two blades apiece built into them.
<Zeleny> He wonders why people are continually trying to bribe them.
Caress notes with some amusement the involuntary reaction Zeleny betrays at the sight of the slashfists.
"Third, for the one who infiltrated the palace of Lao the Gilded: perhaps you will find these amusing." A set of boots, gloves, elbow- and knee-pads, all of black leather with orichalcum trim, rests inside the third box.
Callidora lets out a tiny squeal of glee.
<Pyhrra> (*hah*)
Only Zeleny's restraining hand, and a vague sense of decorum, keeps her from lunging forward to examine the gift.
Verdant holds out a hand in front of Callidora.
(RETCON: "Only Verdant's restraining hand...")
"Fourth, for the sorcerer, the most precious gift of all: knowledge. Yes?" An ornately decorated scroll rests in a velvet carrying case.
<Verdant> "Urk..."
"Finally, for the one most wronged by our dear Shroud's misunderstanding, we come bearing exquisite jewelry, and a contract to prevent such tragedy in the future." The third chest is much smaller, but displays a brilliantly designed, beautiful orichalcum necklace.
Caress pauses momentarily, for the first time since she began her speech. "I assume Mistress Irisa is still with Unoau?"
<Zeleny> "If you wish."
<Zeleny> (Judge's Ear, btw)
(For what?)
(A question? I don't think you can do that.)
<Zeleny> (I'm activating it for the scene)
<Zeleny> (I agree that questions can't lie)
<Zeleny> (But if she lies in the future: I"M ON TO HER)
Caress looks politely confused. "Why would I wish Mistress Irisa to remain in the captivity of her... shall we say, rather questionable uncle?"
<Zeleny> "I cannot control your assumptions. Why does the Silver Prince give us these...gifts?" Zeleny's tone, lingering on this last word, is ironical.
Caress: "Our Lord's wealth is vast, and his generousity legendary. He sincerely hopes that these gifts might go some small way to repay the damage his errant servant wrought upon you."
Verdant glances from Caress to Zeleny, to the scroll...and then back to Zeleny.
"You must understand, Shroud was acting entirely independently of the Skullstone Archipelago. He was to barter an exchange of information with Lao the Gilded, and took it upon himself to - I really must apologize again, it is such a terrible embarrassment to us all - to take Mistress Irisa back to our Lord."
Caress: "Please, believe us when we say that no harm would have come to your friend. Shroud was attempting to save her from mistreatment at Lao's hands, misguided as his attempt may have been. You see, our Lord frequently entertains personages of great stature at Darkmist Isle, and Shroud presumed to present Him with Irisa and subsequently bask in our Lord's favor at his clever 'rescue.' Of course, once our Lord learned of the barba-
rous manner in which Irisa was to be transported, Shroud's punishment would have been even greater than it is now."
<Zeleny> "We sustained little harm from the encounter." Zeleny's gaze is level on her face. "Allow me to thank your lord for his - consideration - but please understand that I cannot accept his gift.."
<Zeleny> He knew little of Skullstone; less of its lord. But still- as delightful as the gold that glittered was, something about the dead sat ill in his stomach.
Caress adopts a look of concern. "Please, Captain, Shroud told us of his encounter with you. We know that you suffered a grievous indignation at his hands, if nothing else. The Lords of the Earth are deserving of more - and so our Lord attempts to provide."
<Zeleny> "Nothing is free." Zeleny shrugs. "Believe me, the insult is immaterial." Dealings with Lao less so.
Caress: "May we offer some alternate form of recompense?"
Caress: "Anything at all, Captain. Our Lord's reach is vast."
<Zeleny> "No recompense is required, for my part." He waves it away. There is a slight sarcastic edge to all his responses, as if he finds the forms of diplomacy, hard won, still slightly ridiculous.
Caress inclines her head diplomatically. She turns to the other Solars. "Are the gifts pleasing to you?"
<Verdant> "I would be lying if knowledge was not pleasing to my eye. But I am leery of the price attached to it."
Caress heaves a dainty sigh. "What have you to fear from simple gifts, sorcerer?"
<Verdant> "Beware of strangers bearing gifts. I know nothing of you or your lord, and the last time I have met his emissary was as a foe. Forgive me if I am hesitant to believe these are simple gifts. Even knowledge itself has a price. Ignorance is fleeting, but knowledge is eternal."
Verdant lets his eyes lose focus, turning his sight to what can be seen in Essence instead of reflected light...
Caress: "Surely, there is some knowledge worth any price, though? Knowledge lost for Ages, perhaps... or knowledge forever unattainable by the Dragonbloods?"
The artifacts, the jade, the scroll - all are devoid of any malicious magics.
The deathknights themselves, of course, are roiling with one or more Charms in effect.
Verdant shifts uncomfortably. "Unattainable? Anyone can read a manu...script..."
Caress sees the understanding in the sorcerer's eyes. "Please. It's yours. Your birthright." She inclines her head towards the scroll-box.
Verdant gulps.
<Verdant> "You must be joking. It can't be that easy..." Verdant's voice is rapidly changing to that of someone who does not want to accept what faces him.
Zeleny watches him, curiosity bright in his grey eyes.
Caress shrugs. "Sorcery is not to my taste. My lord gives you his word, however, that this will aid you in your quest for knowledge."
Verdant looks at Caress, then sighs and reaches for the scroll...
Verdant, with All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight active, dimly notices that Zeleny's gifted weapons are marked with runes that glow in the same manner as Pyhrra's shield's.
Verdant grasps the scroll as he notices the runes on the gauntlets.
Viewed with the Sorcerer's Sight, the runes appear to be a powerful binding. So powerful, in fact, Verdant marvels that he hadn't noticed them sooner. They appear to be the work of master-sorcerers, every bit as clever and intricate as the essence-driven machine back on the barbarians' isle. They constrict the power of the shield, which strains at the bindings eternally but will likely remain imprisoned until the end of Ages.
Caress smiles. She gestures for Pyhrra to step forward and take the jade, and for Callidora to take the leather equipment.
<Verdant> "Captain...I, ah, think you should take the gauntlets..."
Caress: "Captain, since your companions seem inclined to trust us, will you not at least try the gauntlets on for size?"
Pyhrra quirks her brow. If Zeleny didn't want the money, she's be happy to take it, a new boat, some armour and a reforging of Memoir's edge would cost the pretty penny she didn't altogether have.
Grave remains as stoic as ever. Laughter shifts back and forth, looking bored with the whole affair. He leans against the landing boat's edge.
<Zeleny> "Why?"
<Zeleny> And he hadn't seen much trust in the conflict in Verdant's eyes.
Caress looks to Verdant, as the Captain's question seemed to be directed towards the other Solar.
Pyhrra shifts her shield onto her back andkneels down, holding the box open with one hand while the other holds a handfull of jade, allowing the pieces to fall clinking back onto the pile.
<Pyhrra> Little stars of reflection dance in her eyes.
<Zeleny> (The question was to Carress, actually)
<Pyhrra> "I've never seen so much jade before..." Pyhrra murmers.
<Zeleny> (but either works!)
<Verdant> "Well captain, short version is trust or no, this is useful to us, and there are no untoward magics on these items."
Caress kneels next to the chest to look into Pyhrra's jade-dazzled eyes. "You are very beautiful."
Pyhrra's heart catches in her throat.
Zeleny glances at Caress and Pyhrra, frowns. He turns back to Verdant, with effort. "I never thought there were."
Verdant opens the scroll, and looks at the first line. "The night sky, eh? Interesting."
<Pyhrra> "I...I...I uh...so are y..." Pyhrra tries to fight the urge to retreat like a mouse before the beautiful woman.
Laughter rolls his eyes. He stoops, handily hefts one of the mighty gauntlets, and tosses it to Zeleny.
Caress smiles gently.
Zeleny catches it instinctually, one handed.
She places a soft, pale finger beneath Pyhrra's chin.
<Verdant> "Captain, I don't like this much, if any, more than you do. But, I cannot deny the value inherent in these..."
As soon as the gauntlet touches Zeleny's skin, the scene on the beach fades away...
A great palace- temple? - a mighty building, stretching to the sky...
White marble, shining with the glory of the sun, and gold trim on ornate tableaus detailing the works of the Unconquered Sun's champions...
A lifetime of memories, all in a heartbeat...
These gauntlets are Named, and they call themselves Inspiration of Men.
They will tear down the edifices of the unrighteous, and shatter the chains on mens' hearts and minds alike.
Zeleny is on the beach again, holding a massive war-gauntlet in two hands, the weight of it making his biceps sing with discomfort.
Caress has looked up from where she kneels next to Pyhrra. She is studying Zeleny intently.
Zeleny is staring down at the gold gauntlet that had somehow find its way on it his fist.
<Zeleny> He clenches it, and the orichalcum feels as natural as flesh.
<Zeleny> He feels his resolve weakening.
<Zeleny> They were gifts from some fell power, at least in this lifetime. But - leaving them- it would feel like abandoning a friend.
<Zeleny> The conflict is easy to see on his face.
<Zeleny> (Come on Verdant! Tip the balance!)
<Verdant> "Captain, I doubt any of us are going to get assistance on a platter like this ever again."
Pyhrra is still trapped, with Caress's finger on her chin, entrapped by fear and the deathknight's beauty.
Zeleny nods at last, and picks up the other golden ally. He looks sharply at Caress. "Leave her be."
Caress stands languidly, leaving the girl gazing up at her flawless face. She nods tranquilly at the Captain's 'request.'
Pyhrra darts back, now that the invisible leash that Caress held is released.
Caress: "It makes me happier than you can know to see that you these gifts bring you pleasure."
Each of the Solars feels an involuntary rush of warmth at this proclamation.
Caress: "Now, to the business at hand..."
Callidora, still blushing a bit, speaks up.
Callidora: "Apologies. As ambassador from the Inestimable Water Court of Pearly Effervescence, I should have attended to our introductions earlier."
Caress bows her head. "Think nothing of it."
Callidora: "I am Callidora, Friend of Waves. This is Captain Zeleny, of the good ship Brilliance, and this is Verdant Waves, our sorcerer and esteemed Wyld-warder."
Callidora: "And this is Pyhrra, with whom we were fortunate enough to reunite only hours earlier today."
Pyhrra stutters an indecipherable quiet greeting.
Caress smiles warmly at Pyhrra.
Caress: "A pleasure."
Laughter: "Gah! I can't take it any more! Where the hell is this Irisa chick? We gonna have to bail her out, or what?"
Caress, betraying a momentary irritation, shushes Laughter. "Forgive him. Laughter's proclivities are not inclined towards... patience."
Verdant seems startled, and turns to face Laughter...almost as if desperately attempting to stop looking at Caress...
Caress: "His question was a timely one, however. Our Lord has many allies in the Spirit Courts, and has come to know of Mistress Irisa's fate. Is she still in Unoau's captivity?"
Zeleny 's gaze never leaves Caress's face. "She is," he admits.
Caress looks mildly disappointed.
<Zeleny> "Have you other business in these islands?"
Caress: "Have you met with him? What does he intend for her?" She directs these questions to the captain, her eyes transfixing him.
Zeleny 's eyes burn back at her. He smiles suddenly at a private joke, and shrugs.
Caress: "Our purpose here is three-fold: we were to find you as couriers of the Silver Prince's goodwill; we were to render whatever assistance we are able in Mistress Irisa's liberation; and lastly, Lao the Gilded had led us to believe that a powerful First Age artifact lies somewhere on these three islands."
Caress: "Otherwise, we would have had no dealings with that eel. My thanks to whichever of you finally did him in."
<Zeleny> "I see." Quite a coincidence, to bring the trio of -were they Deathnights?- on their three-fold mission, very near indeed a certain First Age artifact..
Caress beams. "It worked out well, no? We knew you would be here to rescue your comrade, and we could offer our apologies even as we helped to undue the tragedy Shroud had some part in making."
<Zeleny> "I am delighted for you," Zeleny replies drily. "You are welcome to accompany us to Unaou's island, if that is what you wish."
Zeleny was not in a particularly good humor with Unoau, and thus did not object to bringing death to his doorstep.
Caress makes a conciliatory gesture. "We will bow to your wishes. We are here to offer aid, if you require."
Zeleny glances at the others for their opinions.
Callidora looks uncomfortable with the idea. "It would not be... um... good diplomacy." She is fairly obviously discomfited by the idea of sharing a boat with the deathknights, as well.
<Pyhrra> *stares transfixed and frightened, deer in headlights, no communicateable opinion*
Verdant speaks evenly, with effort. "The situation spirals out of control."
Zeleny is vexed to see Pyhrra still entranced.
Caress: "What do you intend to do about Irisa's captivity?"
<Zeleny> He turns back to the Deathnight. "We will strive to comport ourselves about our affairs without you. I thank you for your courtesy."
<Zeleny> "End it."
<Zeleny> Though it was still possible she was not, in fact, a captive.
Caress smiles a tiny, wicked smile. "Of course, Captain. May we at least offer transportation? Our vessel is well-shielded against the Wyld..."
<Zeleny> (I spit upon your death-vessel, fiend!)
Verdant frowns. While he didn't like the idea of sharing such close quarters with undead...he could not argue her point, if true...
<Zeleny> "Very well," Zeleny allows. There is a sudden flash of anger in his eyes, but it is gone in an instant.
Caress: "We will leave the crew ashore here; quarters would be quite cramped otherwise. Laughter, Grave: come! Row for our guests!"
<Pyhrra> "N..." Pyhrra barely mumbles her disapproval
Callidora wrings her hands.
Zeleny grits his teeth, and follows the unclean things aboard...
<Zeleny> As soon as half a syllable leaves Pyhrra's mouth,
<Zeleny> he stops.
<Zeleny> "Perhaps this is not for the best." He glances at the girls.
<Zeleny> At least Pyhrra had finally stopped looking at Caress with that...struck look in her eyes.
Verdant looks Zeleny straight in the eyes. He mouths out one word: Charm.
Zeleny 's jaw tightens.
<Zeleny> He looks back at the beautiful Caress. "We will not impose."
<Verdant> "There are some...preparations we will need to make before such a trip."
Laughter and Grave have already seized oars.
Caress looks mildly disappointed. "As you wish."
<Zeleny> "We'll find you." Definitely a promise.
Caress nods. "Certainly. We shall search for the rumored artifact, in the meanwhile."
Zeleny nods back. "Farewell, then, for the moment."
The deathknights in the raft move aside to make room for their silent servants, who take up the oars.
Caress, from the bow of the tiny boat, makes a simple bow. Her raven-feather cloak swirls with the motion.
With a gentle launch, the rowboat retreats to the black ship waiting menacingly on the evening waters...
Verdant exhales a deep sigh.
<Zeleny> "Let us go to Unoau."
<Zeleny> He looks uneasily at the gold Inspiration that adorns his hands."I mislike this place."
<Pyhrra> "Aaaaahhh!" Pyhrra waves her arms around flustered and frustrated and walks a few brisk steps away and looks back at the island.
<Verdant> "I take it you'd rather go al...what in blazes?"
<Verdant> "Pyhrra, are you all right?"
<Pyhrra> "No! Yes. Uh... maybe."
<Verdant> "Well that certainly covers all of the possibilites. Care to pick one?"
Zeleny looks back at her, tries to be amused.
<Zeleny> "Any objections to knocking on Unoau's front door?" he asks, as Pyhrra unwinds.
<Pyhrra> "I care not right now. I don't like her..."
<Zeleny> "I'm glad," he says in an aside to the Dawn. "I don't either."
Verdant glances at Zeleny. "Captain, Caress was most definitely using some kind of Charm, as were her companions...powerful ones, but I couldn't identify what their purposes were, but I suspect Caress'...enchanting nature...was due to one of them."
(Stormwind Rider, back to the barbarians' island? There to take tiny Wyld-proofed boat back to Unoau's?)
Zeleny nods. "Not...unexpected. I suppose."
<Zeleny> (certainly)
Verdant constructs a magical conveyance around his companions and whisks them back to the barbarians' island.
Verdant sighs at his castemark once again burning upon his brow.
In short order, they are all four seated in the boat again, and Zeleny's powerful (but slightly tired) arms are propelling them back across the night seas.
Pyhrra idly chews a fingernail and stares in concerned thought, taking a posture in the tiny hurricaine that minimises the winds effect on her clothing.
Verdant can feel the stone resting on his left arm feeding him Essence to replace that which was spent. If only that essence would remove the faint heat sensation from his forehead...but the Sun did not make him a Night.
Zeleny rows. He reflects that the acquisition of his freedom had not seemed to altered the pattern of his life.
Callidora idly inspects one of the tassles that form part of the Wyld wards. This one was turned into a bluish eggplant during their last sojourn into the Wyld.
She shrugs and tosses it overboard.
Verdant sighs and makes a few adjustments in the hopes of keeping the wards strong.
(If no one has further ruminations on their ph4t l3wt, or their unnerving encounter with the deathknights...)
<Verdant> "I'll concede that encounter did not go as well as one could hope, captain."
Verdant reads the scroll. "But you have to admit that it did indeed benefit us greatly."
Zeleny shrugs. He rows. "And yet somehow I feel we got the worst of it."
<Pyhrra> "What are we going to do when Caress finds that breadmaking machine?" Pyhrra asks
<Zeleny> "We might kill her." Zeleny does not sound adverse to this plan. "If we can."
<Verdant> "A pessimistic attitude, captain, but not one without merit."
<Zeleny> "Perhaps I am misled by my own superstitions..but I cannot think Skullstone would bring bounty to this little island chain."
<Pyhrra> "What do the dead want with bread?" Logic and reasoning are returning to Pyhrra's mind
<Verdant> "True. Anything given to us would be ultimately given in the hopes of furthering Skullstone's plans. Of course, such hopes can be ill-conceived, or shattered."
Callidora: "There are still people in Skullstone. They need to eat like anyone else. Although I hear they eat spiders over there..."
<Verdant> "Or furthered, if it furthers our own cause, as the case may be."
<Zeleny> "Something fuels the bread. There is power there, in the volcano- and perhaps more functions that the making of bread."
<Verdant> "Entirely possible, that is a first age artifact...which reminds me. Have you noticed the runes on the gauntlets?"
The gauntlets rest in the hull of the boat, near Zeleny's feet.
They gently chime when they knock together from the boat's motion.
<Zeleny> "No."
<Zeleny> He hesitates.
<Zeleny> "But I...remember them. They are called Inspiration of Men."
<Verdant> "They have a name? That isn't entirely surprising. They are very powerful...but that power has been limited."
Pyhrra's memory is sparked by this statement. She remembers when she had her flashback, to a great battle in which a she-which-was-not-she wielded the shield...
<Verdant> "Similarly to Pyhrra's shield. The powers of both items is locked away, held back by those runes."
The shield had spoken its name, although perhaps she had not heard, or had been distracted thereafter.
<Pyhrra> "Eh?"
<Zeleny> "What? Why?"
<Verdant> "The runes on the back of your shield. I figured it out when I saw the gauntlets, that's why I recommended taking them."
<Zeleny> "Who put them there?"
<Verdant> "The runes are a potent seal on the power of those artifacts, made by master sorcerers. As to the exact who...or the why...I don't know."
(Pyhrra! Your shield is Named, too. Just a reminder.)
<Zeleny> "Can they be undone?"
Verdant's Sorcerer's Sight is fading, but there is still enough of the magic in his eyes to see the runes as they really are...
<Pyhrra> (I know)
Each of the runes appears as a tiny, infinitely dense knot - as well as an assemblage of Old Realm and mathematical symbols. The knot and the writing overlap, and the writing seems to become the knot...
(The answer is: yes, but only by fulfilling specific conditions, particular to each Seal and each Weapon. Verdant will have to unravel the conditions required to break each Seal.)
<Verdant> "Yes...but it's going to take a lot of work."
(You can start on this trip, V! Hooray!)
<Pyhrra> "Hmm." Pyhrra unstraps the shield from her arm and looks at the image depicted on its face of the salmon swimming upstream.
(Make a Cryptology check at Difficulty 60)
(Just kidding.)
<Pyhrra> "There's a saying. 'Only the dead fish swim with the current.' How appropriate."
<Zeleny> (But first buy a Perfect Cryptology Decoder charm)
<Pyhrra> "Something of an accurate depiction of our lives. If you're not struggling against something, you're dead. Maybe that's what they do? Swim with the current?"
<Zeleny> "The Abyssals?"
("Deathknights.")
Pyhrra chuckles a little weakly and scratches the back of her head, trying to keep her voice even. "Sorry, wisdom isn't my strong suit."
<Zeleny> (Oops. Sorry!)
Zeleny looks at her for a monet, outlined against the moon, and then away.
<Verdant> "Swimming with a current is certainly easier than swimming against...hmm. Isn't that what we do?"
<Verdant> "We're Exalts. Impossibility is a much more fluid thing to us. Isn't that going against the currents? Making the impossible possible?"
MIST: "Your kind was always better suited to action than philosophy, Sun-Children."
The fogs of Unoau close around the Solars' tiny boat with startling rapidity.
<Zeleny> "Possibly so. You have been misleading us, Unoau."
<Zeleny> (Judge's Ear)
MIST: "And you, I. I can sense that the beastmen yet live."
(True.)
<Pyhrra> (Stop the boat, I want to get off)
<Zeleny> "We said we would investigate the matter. We have. The relationship between the beastmen and the people of the island seems mutual and productive."
MIST: "That is of little consequence to me. Those fool mortals worship a machine - a MACHINE! It is a waste!"
(True.)
Zeleny has quit IRC (Quit: Leaving)
<Verdant> "A waste? That machine feeds them, it buys them protection by trading that food to the beastmen."
MIST: "Turn their worship to me, I care not how. I shall provide them with all the food they need, and with my guidance they shall grow stronger and more numerous than ever."
<Verdant> "Turn their worship? Now that's interesting. I seem to recall you said that they were being terrorized by these beastmen, and they were once your worshippers."
MIST: "Truth is a fluid thing here in the Wyld, Solar."
<Pyhrra> "All the same they do not have a reason to want to worship you, they have everything they could need already."
MIST: "Their worship is only for that blighted machine. And the beastmen prevent me from putting them to greater use."
Zeleny (~RPGNet@61.51.197.***) has joined #exalted1220
Without being corporeal, the talking mists still seem to give a good impression of turning savagely on Pyhrra. "I will provide them with ambition! Foresight! They will remain forever nothings on that blasted rock without me!"
<Zeleny> (what'd I miss? last I got was waste worship on machines)
<Pyhrra> "What use?! Maybe they want to be nothing!"
<Verdant> "Ignorance, perhaps, but look from their perspective. Through that machine they have prosperity. They do not understand how it works, only that by uttering a prayer they are fed by magic."
<Verdant> "AMBITION! You would give them such a curse?"
(Unoau wants the Solars to turn the worship of the barbarians to the god. He (truthfully) claims that his leadership will increase their numbers, but that the beastmen prevent him from diverting their worship away from the machine.)
Zeleny glances at Verdant, blinks. "Is it such a curse as that?" he asks drily.
MIST: "What care you, Solar? Their desires are irrelevant here. Their worship is being wasted. I want it, and you want Irisa. We are bartering an exchange, and you refuse to hold your end of the bargain!"
<Zeleny> "Their desires are not irrelevant to *me.*" Zeleny replies, icy.
<Pyhrra> "This isnt an exchange, its blackmail."
<Verdant> "And another example of the fluidity of your truths. I seem to recall you claimed that Irisa was here of her own will."
MIST: "SILENCE! Your lives are in my hands, here, Solars - and the Heavenly Censors can not find me to punish me for your deaths. Do as I command, or you die in the ever-shifting waters of the Wyld."
<Zeleny> "These people are not commodities. Nor is Irisa. Even we must fight some quivering insubstantial godling, so be it."
<Zeleny> (*If we)
Verdant raises one eyebrow. "So you reveal your true colors. But I doubt you can back up your claims, as clearly you do not know us. You do not know me."
MIST: "How do you propose to do such a thing, Shining One? I am all around you, as eternal as the sea mists. You are but a fleshy assemblage of Essence, buoyed by a frail wooden construct."
(In response to Zeleny, not V.)
Zeleny glances at Verdant.
<Zeleny> "A coward then as well." Zeleny's voice is without the inflection of surprise.
MIST: *echoing laughter* "Should I face you then, in my frail Essence-formed body? So the brave Solars could trounce me thoroughly back into my proper place in your Hierarchy?" The mist god makes a sound as though he is spitting in contempt.
Verdant turns about slowly, raising up his hands, his staff in his left hand. "Indeed, you are all around us. You exist in the very air that surrounds our boat, above the waters we see. In other words....YOU ARE A FOOL!" Verdant's staff strikes out with blinding speed at the empty air.
MIST: "ARGH!"
Pyhrra has quit IRC (Quit:)
The sound of the god's voice grows distant, and the tone becomes strained. "Urh... well played. But you have not killed me, Solar, and your friend still resides in my sanctum."
<Zeleny> "Release her, then."
<Verdant> "Yes, aaand? Do you want to release her, or do you want me to come and kill you?"
MIST: "You will not fool me again, Solar. I will never be so foolish as to draw near one with the Spirit-Cutting Strike again."
<Verdant> "Where will you hide?"
<Zeleny> (I've...got..a sanncctum. Nyah nyahny boo boo!)
MIST: "My sanctum, where you shall never find it, Solar fool!"
Zeleny smiles slightly. "As we could not touch you, either?"
<Verdant> "Ahem. I am a sorcerer."
<Zeleny> He wasn't quite sure what a sanctum entailed, but he was sure Verdant had a way around it.
<Zeleny> And it seems his faith was justified.
<Verdant> "Do you want me to force open your sanctum, to come and slay you where we cannot hide behind your incorporeality?"
MIST: "Er..."
<Verdant> (oops, that should've been "where *you* cannot hide..."
MIST: "I shall fly, Solar, faster than your rowing-slave can propel you! Fly with all the speed of mist over water!"
<Verdant> "Pfft. You are the slow mists, you'll never be able to carry Irisa faster than a walk."
MIST: "If I am forced to flee, Solar, then Irisa will starve in the sanctum! Her death will be on your head, not mine!"
<Verdant> "Oh? Think that'll make things easier on you? I still don't see how mist can outrun a man's walk."
The mist's voice sounds uneasy now. "Er... SILENCE!"
<Verdant> "Shut up, arrogant coward. Surrender Irisa, and you can return to hiding in this Wyld place."
<Verdant> "Perhaps this might...encourage you."
MIST: "We are at a stalemate, Solar, except that -I- do not care whether Irisa lives or dies. I have the advantage."
Verdant lets his eyes narrow. "The second circle begins with the night sky. The power of the stars and moon are the purview of this circle, the powers of Luna and the Five Maidens...sound familiar?"
MIST: "..."
<Verdant> "You see, I know something, spirit. Your lives are not like ours. Nor is are your deaths. You see, we have souls, you do not. Oh, you can reform if disrupted...oh wait, there's a way to stop that, isn't there?"
<Verdant> "I wonder if you've ever thought what it must be like to face that blank void...to cease to exist...completely..."
The mist hisses in revulsion. "You give me your word, Solar, and you bind to it using Irisa's anima. You give me your word that you will never return here, never plague me again, and then I shall release her."
Zeleny 's eyes are warm with amusement as he watches the tableau.
(Bargain for another round of mystical propulsion back to the island, too. That was nice.)
<Zeleny> (yeah. especially for certain rowing-slaves)
Verdant looks almost disinterested, as he glances at Zeleny. "Thoughts, captain? Think that's worth our time?"
<Zeleny> He shrugs. "Well enough. If the mist-god agrees to leave the humans and their machine be as well."
The mist stifles a cry of indignation.
<Zeleny> (awesome to slashfist stats. I can't reply in the OOC channel at the moment, because the browser is locked up)
MIST: "Very well! But begone from my realm!"
Verdant ponders a moment. "Hmm. Throw in transport back to the island, and that'd seal the deal."
A splash somewhere in the mist is the only answer.
From the spluttering and flailing, it sounds like Irisa.
<Zeleny> "Irisa?" Zeleny calls into the mist.
Callidora slips over the edge of the boat.
In short order, she helps the bedraggled God-blood over the edge. Pyhrra tries her best to lift from inside the boat.
MIST: "Now! The oath..."
Verdant keeps a calm demeanor as he turns towards Irisa. "Well, I take that as an agreement. Very well."
Zeleny explains the deal to Irisa. "Best to bind him as well," he adds.
Irisa: "The oath must always have two parties." To everyone's eyes but Verdant's and Irisa's, she holds Verdant's hand in one of hers, and empty air in the other.
With the impact of silent thunder, and a swirling of Old Realm writ in Irisa's anima, the agreement is sealed.
The tiny boat immediately jerks to motion. Unoau's mists are rapidly left behind in the rosy light of dawn.
Reunited at last, a Perfect Circle in harmony, the five Solars race back towards the mortals, the beastmen, the Abyssals... and strange artifacts of untold power.
END CHAPTER 13

EPILOGUE...
Bent over the bulk of Pyhrra's shield where it rests on the hull of the boat, Verdant Waves ponders the strange, wordless runes that glow idly on its surface. In front of him, Pyhrra slumps exhaustedly, leaning against the equally-weary Irisa. Callidora sits beside Verdant, staring with interest over the boat's starboard side. Zeleny is seated behind them, resting his arms on the oars, eyes closed. One of the massive gauntlets of Inspiration of Men rests in his lap; he idly runs his fingers over its eerily-familiar contours.

Verdant stares into the shield's runes. With the All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight, they each become a puzzle, a combination of riddle and maze. Picking one at random, he delves into it, devoting his formidable intellect to the task at hand...

Some time later, Verdant sits up and stares at Pyhrra until she notices and turns to face him. "You okay? You've been staring at that thing for, like, hours."

Verdant reflexively checks the time, expending a single mote of Essence in the process. "Two hours and 13 minutes, yes. I've deciphered the first rune." At this, the rest of the tiny craft's occupants perk up - even Irisa, who hasn't been briefed on the runes or their purpose yet. Verdant clears his throat. "1st Seal: 'Complete a journey in the service of thy God, the Unconquered Sun, Ceaseless Journey ever by thy side.'"

They stare expectantly at him for a second. Then Pyhrra looks exasperated. "What am I supposed to do with that??"

Verdant replies indignantly, "I just translate them. If you don't want help, you can read them yourselves."

"Well, translate another," says Pyhrra.

Verdant cracks his neck, and tries, as best he can in the small boat, to stretch his back. "I think I'll work on the Captain's for a while, if you don't mind." Pyhrra pouts. But only a little. Zeleny easily lifts the gauntlet one-handed, but Verdant has to take it with two and is still nearly tipped over backward by the weight. Once he has it safely situated in his lap, he eyes the Captain meaningfully. Zeleny shrugs, and casually hefts the other gauntlet.

Another handful of hours later (1 hour, 52 minutes, notes Verdant, with a dim irritation that he couldn't improve his time by more), the sorcerer surfaces from his work. "1st Seal: 'Convert an entire village, 500 heads or greater, to the worship of the Sun, with only Inspiration of Men and thine voice to aid you.'" He twists to look at the Captain, who has an unreadable expression on his face. Zeleny absentmindedly accepts the gauntlet back from Verdant.

"Now another one of mine!" Pyhrra's eyes shine with excitement. Verdant waves away the proffered shield.

"I think I'll take a break, if you don't mind, Pyhrra..." Verdant Waves, the sorceror who faced down a god but a scant few hours ago, has a terrible pain in his neck from staring down all morning.

Callidora idly speculates, "I wonder if all these Seals have a religious theme. That's kinda weird."

"Indeed," Irisa agrees.

The Sun shines on...