BountyOfTheSeas/Session4

And would anyone care to recap for us?
<Pyhrra> roger that nasty butler
Mei is now known as Callidora
Someone other than Zeleny, who did it last time.
<Pyhrra> *shrug* I left early
<Zeleny> ::Crickets::
<Callidora> We had a long meeting.
<Callidora> We agreed on something, now we're going to do it.
<Pyhrra> We agreed to *stuff*
...oy.
<Zeleny> Zeleny acquired a group of vicious pirates!
<Pyhrra> Pyhrra aquired buff jacket!
Zeleny 's gadget is better.
<Verdant> ...what did we agree on?
<Zeleny> Ferrying Irisa to her nemesis.
<Pyhrra> That we're going to Noar
<Zeleny> ...but going first to Noar.
<Callidora> Right.
<Callidora> And then dealingwith Slaves
Yes. Afterwards, Horak, where not only does Irisa think she may be able to track the identities of her assailants, but Callidora seeks the local Immaculate center.
<Verdant> Ah
The Starlit Waters will follow behind the Brilliance, carrying the slaves and the remnants of her crew.
Irisa will dispatch a boat, once the Brilliance reaches Noar, to ferry supplies out to the Starlit Waters on its slow and ponderous journey.
Zeleny will return, after the business at Horak is resolved, to escort the freedmen to their savage, backwards home to the north.
<Callidora> Well lets get on it
...am I missing anybody? Motivations all set?
<Callidora> Motivations set
<Verdant> Yeah, pretty much
Bonus.

BEGIN CHAPTER 4
It is the dawn of a new day, the light of which has seen Zeleny's miraculous conversion of the pirate crew.
Pyhrra stands on the bow in the dawn, idly cursing the fact that Callidora and Verdant only retrieved the pirates weapons and body, and *none* of the treasure. She would have to work many weeks in order to afford another boat when she got to Noar... every day she would l ag and trail behind...
The Brilliance is set to sail, with five Solar passengers, onwards to Noar... and Destiny.
Pyhrra sighs and scribes a few notes into a small red-velvet bound book before putting it back in its leather pouch. "Dont you ever slow down...?" she asks the air.
An austere-looking man with a shaved head, the former second of the Burning Rain, approaches Zeleny as the ship makes ready to depart.
Niehan: Beggin' yer pardon, sir, the men have a... grievance.
<Zeleny> "Yes?"
Niehan: "Well, we're a mite concerned about the fact that we're to be sailin' with..." His eyes dart to where Pyhrra, Irisa, and Callidora stand, scattered around the deck amidst the preparations.
<Zeleny> "Why?"
Niehan: "Thing is, the men'll swear to their graves that sailin' with women brings naught but ruin to a ship and crew."
Niehan: "'twould go a long way to improvin' morale if they were confined to quarters fer the trip, sir."
<Zeleny> "Superstition. They will not harm the ship or crew. More to the point, I would anticipate should anyone attempt to 'confine' five Exalted. The Rain had no women, I expect, but did not escape devestation."
(Typo? Can you clarify?)
<Zeleny> ("I would anticipate disaster should...."_
<Zeleny> )
<Zeleny> (That clear it up? Or was another sentence unclear?)
(We're good, sorry.)
Niehan coughs. "...ay, sir. Ay. I'll... tell the men that ye can cancel the bad luck of a hundred women, if need be."
The pirate lieutenant turns to his mates, shouting down their worries and urging them to make ready with haste.
Pyhrra just wishes this damn boat would hurry up. They lost enough time pussyfooting about on the starlit waters out of what? The captain's curiosity.
Pyhrra sighs. Curiosity killed the yeddim.
In short order, the Brilliance is ready to sail. Irisa takes a stance at the bow, peering ahead into the rising sun.
Pyhrra steps aside to give her room, but says nothing.
The practiced hands of the pirate crew make the launching much smoother than the Brilliance is used to. Gently, she drifts away from the Starlit Waters, before catching the wind and plowing through the waves towards Noar.
The bulk of the Starlit Waters recedes quickly into the distance, even as its crew continues to make it ready for the trip.
(Lemme check the map here... we'll have some downtime for the trip.)
(Yeah, the Waters was about equidistant between Cordon (where Pyhrra met Zeleny and Verdant) and Noar.)
(Sooo, that'll be...)
(We'll say, factoring in the winds, a week and a half.)
(Discuss.)
<Callidora> (Lets just skip it and get some action)
<Verdant> (Don't have anything to discuss.)
Pyhrra walks back down the ship towards the helm, her boots thumping on the deck. She ignores the glances she gets from the crew on her way, and heads up to Zeleny
<Verdant> (Well, besides the obvious stuff, of course)
Zeleny sees her approach, and turns in her direction.
<Pyhrra> "Captain." she nods. "Since we have had some new additions to the crew, are there any areas you wanted me to pay closer attention to. You have granted me passage as a guard after all."
Zeleny shakes his head. "Be alert, as always, but...no. I trust them."
<Pyhrra> "You have great confidence in mens' hearts."
Zeleny shrugs. "I must."
<Zeleny> "I should warn you, you may experience some ...harrassment. They are made uneasy by the presence of women on ship. If you do, teach them better manners."
Pyhrra quirks a perfect eyebrow. "Uh-huh..." The captain had a strange sense of right and wrong. No matter, she wouldn't have to concern herself with it once they reached Noar. He can cuddle to his breast all the bloodthirsty pirates he wants after that for all she cares.
The huge pirate who others called Grim, sitting nearby, picked at his nails with a long, thin knife, eyeing Pyhrra the whole time.
<Pyhrra> If he layed so much as a careless word on her they would be calling him Cry.
Zeleny glances at the man, and frowns slightly. Among his crew- well, his former crew- such a gesture would be enough to send the man running for cover. Grim, perhaps, doesn't know him that well. Yet.
Zeleny nods to Pyhrra, and moves to discuss a provisioning matter with Salas Toad....
Pyhrra walks past the pirate and heads back to the bow of the ship. He was a lot bigger than her, and she didn't particularly feel up to establishing dominance in her state.
(Verdant, I'm trying to think of how to describe training Endurance.)
Over the course of the voyage, as Verdant Waves kept to himself in his cabins, and Pyhrra concentrated on regaining her strength, the two wildly-different crews of the Brilliance worked towards integrating.
By the time the shout of "Land ho!" rang out, new friendships had been formed, and bonds forged. Though the tension was still palpable on board, the general concern of having one's purse cut or throat slit had faded.
<Pyhrra> Even injured, training is not neglected, though it is slowed and with much wincing. A section of the Brilliance's deck is worn very smooth from her frequent footfalls.
Pyhrra is quickly at the bow, leaning out as if it would get her to Noar faster. At last!
The boat pulls in to dock; crewman make ready to tie her fast; port authorities make ready to exercise taxes...
Verdant leans on the railing near the bow, looking at Pyhrra. "Anxious, are we?"
Pyhrra remembers a little grace and poise and pulls back, hoping that not many of the sailors were observing her. "Ah... somewhat."
As Salas braces himself for dealing with the shark-like port authorities, Niehan smirks at him; pirates never have to pay port taxes.
Pyhrra heads over to Zeleny
<Pyhrra> "Well Captain, guess this's goodbye."
Zeleny nods slightly.
<Zeleny> "Pyhrra...if you do not find what you are looking for here...you are always welcome back."
Pyhrra folds the buff-jacket and hefts it over her shoulder. She would need to find a seamstress to tailor the damn thing. "Thank you Captain, but I dont think that will be the case. Best of luck on your continuing voyage."
Pyhrra turns and gives a slight nod to Verdant, then walks down the gangplank and into Noar...
Zeleny watches her go, frowning.
Verdant waves as she leaves, face deadpan.
Pyhrra kept on a strong face for the captain, but out of sight worry shows. She was weeks behind, she had no idea where she was, she had never seen Noar - it was huge. This was going to be very difficult.
The town of Noar, Noar Island: A picturesque community set against the well-wooded western slopes of the island's mountain, Noar survives despite an unfortunate proximity to a Wyld zone, largely due to the protection of the Guild and its major shipping route.
Verdant turns to Zeleny as Pyhrra walks further away from the ship. "If things keep going as they have been, captain...she'll be back."
<Zeleny> "We can hope," Zeleny agrees.
Salas Toad approaches his captain. "Sir, they're givin' us all sorts of trouble over the port fee. Say there's been a disaster, they've had to raise the prices for non-Guild ships moving through here in order to rebuild."
<Zeleny> He shakes his head, irritated to find a trace of sadness within him at her going, and moves the discussion on to other matters. "Has Irisa spoken to you of what she hopes to find on Hoark?
<Zeleny> "I'll speak to them." Zeleny goes to talk to some sense into these people.
Verdant seems about to reply until Salas makes his report. Verdant then glances at Zeleny, before looking at Salas. First things first.
<Zeleny> "What disaster?" he asks Salas on the way to verbally man-handling the port master.
Salas: "Fair Folk, sir. Noar's too big for 'em, but Hemlock, on the other side of the mountain... sounds bloody awful."
<Zeleny> "Fair folk. What do they hope to accomplish by raising docking fees?"
Salas: "To be honest, sir, I think it's just an excuse to gouge us. They've got their friends in the Guild, here, and everyone else can go hang."
<Zeleny> "Right." Zeleny quickens his step, and prepares to dispose of unworthy officials.
Niehar steps in. "If I may, sir, I think 'twould be beneath you to deal with these curs. Allow my men and I, if'n it please you."
<Zeleny> "No need to make unneccessary enemies at port. We don't grow provisions in the hold."
A suspect grin slides across Niehar's mouth. "Oh, no, sir, they'll be right friendly after we talk to 'em."
Bones, behind him, cracks his filthy knuckles, slowly and loudly.
<Zeleny> "I will handle this." He trusted them on a basic level, but on specific matters involving 'tactics'...not at all.
Verdant strides up to Zeleny. "What is the matter?"
Salas shot a look at Niehar, as he followed behind Zeleny towards the officials.
<Zeleny> "Docking fees. They're using some sort of disaster with the Fae as a reason to charge us a ransom."
<Verdant> "Fae." As he speaks it, a corner of his mouth curls upward into a snarl.
<Verdant> "Perhaps they would be willing to reconsider their prices for a ship carrying a warder..."
<Zeleny> "It's worth a try." Zeleny had just been planning on browbeating them.
<Zeleny> "Though don't get your hopes up. You have not seen venality or greed until you've met your average portmaster."
<Verdant> "Well, I'm sure you have your methods in that event."
<Zeleny> "So I do."
Zeleny and Verdant have by this time arrived to see the post master is waving a piece of paper at a stonewalling crewmember. Pirates lurk sinisterly at the official. Zeleny nods cooly to the man.
Tall and thin, his clothes aren't -quite- robes, but they give the impression of trying to aspire to it.
<Zeleny> "Sir." There is more than just a tinge of irony to Zeleny's voice. "We understand you have elected to...raise port fees. Something about a Fae attack?"
He lifts his nose. "You are the captain of this... vessel, I take it?"
<Zeleny> "I am."
Post Master: "My name is Winging Silver. I am the post master for Noar, and your representatives seem to be balking at paying our established fees."
Silver: "I can assure you, we are accustomed to more professional behavior here."
<Zeleny> "Your 'established fees'? I've docked here before. The 'established fee' is a tenth the price you're trying to swindle from us."
Silver: "Hmph! -Captain-, there have been some emergency measures put in place - purely for your security, of course."
Silver: "The Fair Folk are about - why, Hemlock itself was attacked this very day."
<Zeleny> "As it happens, we bring a Wyld-warder with us. He has valuable expertise in such matters. Do you wish to drive away aid- ?"
Zeleny glances at Verdant to see if he wished to take over.
Silver: "Ha! This man? Why, he looks like no sort of thaumaturge to me. Where did he study?"
<Verdant> "I studied under Silent Ocean. If you want help against those parasites' predations, I would be happy to provide.
Silver: "Silent... never heard of him. Besides, the time for wards is past. The Fair Folk gutted Hemlock - they say that almost everyone is dead."
Silver: "If you want to help, you can help rebuild."
<Zeleny> "Which leaves them strong for an assault on Noble, no?"
<Pyhrra> (Noar)
<Zeleny> (er. Yes. I meant Noar.)
<Verdant> "Wait, are the parasites still *in* Hemlock?"
Silver sniffs. "The Guild has made provisions for Noar. We are too valuable to their routes for us to be left unprotected."
Silver: "Unless you think you can do better than the Guild's finest thaumaturges, and a full contingent of their guards."
<Zeleny> "You do not fear attack; you have allies. What then does an attack on the other side of the island have to do with port fees? You realize, I hope," Zeleny's voice becomes rougher, "that if you drive away all the honest merchants, that leaves you with...well."
Zeleny 's face is very cold, and there is the shadow of an implication of a threat.
Verdant snorts, frowning. "You have not answered my question. Are the wyld-spawn still in Hemlock?"
Silver: "I don't know, stranger. I'm -here-, whereas Hemlock is on the other side of the -island-."
Silver: "I do know, however, that we are safe regardless of what may be lurking still in that fly-speck of a town, Hemlock."
He turns to Zeleny. "And as to fees, well, we're merely interested in a relief effort for the refugees that will -invariably- come looking to the prosperity of Noar for succor."
Silver: "Surely you wouldn't deny the refugees some comfort, in this, their hardest hour?"

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(LAST HEARD: "...their hardest hour?")

<Zeleny> * Verdant turns to Zeleny. "Any chance we could check out Hemlock, captain? You know I don't like the fae's predations."
<Zeleny> <Zeleny> "Never let it be said that Noar will not profit of its neighbor's sorrows. There are no refugees. You have already said that those in Hemlock are dead. Cease these unreasonable demands."
<Zeleny> <Zeleny> "We will look into the Hemlock matter, if you wish," Zeleny agrees.
<Verdant> "How far away is Hemlock?"
Callidora is suddenly standing behind you. "Just on the other side of the island, a small fraction of an hour's sail."
Silver shrugs. "Fair enough, look if you must. But if you do not pay, you cannot stay here - perhaps you can dock -there-."
<Zeleny> "An excellent idea. Let's shove off, men."
<Callidora> "Lets. I believe the destruction may have been quite bad."
<Callidora> "Even the fish has fled."
Verdant walks alongside Zeleny. Quietly, he says, "How fast do you wish to get there?"
The crewmen return to the ship quietly, but one of the pirates flashes a crooked grin and a crooked-er dagger at the post master before turning to leave.
<Zeleny> "There is no reason to delay."
<Verdant> "More importantly, do you think the crew can stand up to the fae, or would you rather us go ourselves and the crew follow?"
Zeleny frowns. "I would prefer to keep the crew from danger. Go down in one of the smallboats ourselves."
<Callidora> "I suggest we not abandon the crew"
<Callidora> "The Fair Folk could easily be hiding under the water."
Verdant chuckles. "If we're going to go on ahead, I have a better idea."
Zeleny sighs. "Yes?"
Verdant speaks quietly. "I can get us there in a matter of minutes. Subtlety, of course, optional, but I would not reveal anything...untoward."
<Verdant> (arg. replace "optional" with "goes by the wayside")
Zeleny raises his eyebrows. "In that case...we could anchor in a shallow cove nearby, provide some cover..."
<Verdant> "Sounds like a plan."
(Verdant - you'll be in charge of describing the spell, if that's what you choose to do.)
<Zeleny> Before he leaves, Zeleny takes Niehan and Monk aside. "I want the two of you to take a smallboat ashore, and infiltrate Noar. I need a basic idea of the power structure- who's in charge- and an assessment of the Guild's activities here. How firmly they're intrenched, what they're buying and selling, what resources they can rely on, and so on. Can you do it?"
<Zeleny> (you get that all?)
Niehan grins, Monk simply nods.
Niehan: "Can I take one or two of my boys, cap'n?"
<Zeleny> "Who do you have in mind?"
Niehan: "Some top-notch infiltrators, sir. Can blend in to any tavern you care to set them down in."
<Zeleny> "Very well. Remember subtlety."
<Callidora> "Shall we go?"
Niehan: "Subtlety's our game, sir."
Monk: "I will ensure our mission goes smoothly."
Bones: "Suuure ya will."
<Zeleny> "I'm ready. Keep the ship out of trouble!" he calls to Salas Toad, as he moves to stand by Verdant.
Salas salutes casually.
(Verdant, you're up to bat.)
Verdant begins chanting, letting out Essence from within himself into the air around him. Instantly a circle of blown dust forms, winds swirling round and round, rising in a cylinder around the Exalts, the rapid winds obscuring vision.
Verdant as the cylinder forms, it lifts the Exalts up into the air, the wind column's ends closing into a sphere, that with a final shout from Verdant launches itself off towards Hemlock at great speeds...
<Verdant> (ergh. That should be "Verdant continues chanting as the cylinder...)

MEANNWHILE, WE REJOIN PYHRRA JUST AS SHE LEAVES THE BRILLIANCE... The town of Noar is abuzz with talk of the disaster that struck Hemlock. People are moving all over, supplies seem to be in short order, and a few refugees are scattered across town.
Pyhrra gulps. With all these rumours around, finding Parn would be like finding a needle in a haystack full of fae, guild and... hay.
Pyhrra walks to the center of town and turns a brief circle around, unknowing which direction she would turn. Hell, she didnt know which way he would go... This way, it was as good a direction as any. Pyhrra heads down a road to the south hunting for an inn.
<Pyhrra> At least with all the fae apparently around, guard-work would be simple enough to find.
A pair of men, hauling wood and oblivous to nearby foot traffic, nearly collide with Pyhrra.
<Pyhrra> "Woah!" She jumps back and to the side, nearly overbalancing. "Sorry..."
<Pyhrra> The correct term would have been 'Watch it fool' But Pyhrra was in a polite mood.
...and very nearly steps on a refugee, who sits huddled in the street.
(Sorry, if that was unclear - Pyhrra is the one who almost steps on said refugee.)
Pyhrra gulps and retreats, heading straight for the tavern, hoping that this talk of the fae hasn't drowned out any memories of Parn
The tavern Gulping Tuna's Delight:
The tavern is nearly deserted. The only person standing around is the cleaning boy, and even he looks like he'd rather be somewhere else.
<Pyhrra> "Excuse me?"
<Pyhrra> "Hi." Pyhrra smiles her most brilliant smile
The boy blinks rapidly, several times.
"Y-y-yes?"
<Pyhrra> "W-whats wrong?" Pyhrra asks surprised.
"W-we, uh, don't get a lot of, um, wom- er, gir- er..."
"Um."
<Pyhrra> "Eeeeh?! Hahahaahahah! Relax, please!"
The boy tries to relax, but fails.
Pyhrra sees no point in trying to calm the poor kid. "I was hoping you would be able to help me, I'm looking for someone who may have passed through here recently... oh, a week ago maybe?"
"...w-we get a lot of people through here. G-g-guildmen like to c-come here..."
<Pyhrra> "Well I'm not after a Guildman (she hoped)" She says. "The young man I'm looking for is... uh... um...." Pyhrra tries to remember his features but fails utterly.
<Pyhrra> "He was..." she admits. "... an Anathema."
Boy: "M-m-miss... I'm not really the one to ask. I just clean - I'm usually too busy to notice even if we -did- have a demon in here."
<Pyhrra> It was the only bargaining chip she could rely on, which concerned her. That relied on him doing something memorable.
<Pyhrra> "Well then.. you haven't heard any rumours of one?"
Boy: "Miss, Hemlock was just attacked - nobody's talking of anything but that."
Boy: "And no one said anything to me about it - the men all rushed out as soon as word came... they left me here to watch the bar."
Pyhrra found herself growing more upset and desperate, she was no expert investigator or tracker, the trail had gone ice cold and was growing colder. She sits heavily on a chair.
The cleaning boy watches Pyhrra nervously. Not knowing what else to do, he resumes his slow, half-hearted cleaning.
<Pyhrra> She stands quitely with her eyes closed for a few seconds, then with an enraged roar slams her fist down on the table, splitting it in two with a loud crashing crack. "Hemmlock! Which way is it?!"
<Callidora> (nice)
The boy turns pale.
Quaking, he points.
"...o-o-other side of m-m-m-mountain..."
Pyhrra shrugs off her equipment and starts pulling on the buff jacket, fastening the straps and buckles. It was too big and hindered her movement, but it would do for now at least. "Which way is the road? Quickly kid!"
Boy: "O-o-out the door, east f-f-for half a mile, then s-s-south... it c-curves around the mountain..."
<Pyhrra> She clicks the belts and pouches back into place and straightened her equipment, Siren Shield on the arm, Memoir sheathed but not for long. With the heavy buff jacket she looked like a ship's sail. "Thanks, how do I look?"
The boy blushes, through his palor.
Pyhrra darts out and breaks into a run down the road. If she knew Parn, and she did. If he was here, he would have headed into the storm. The stupidity of walking into a fair folk town was lost on her for now, as were the tremendously slim chances of Parn even BEING on this island. It did not matter. Pyhrra concentrated on the road.
The road is paved in the city, but quickly turns to packed dirt running between close-set trees in the island's jungle.
The bright sun is dimmed by the overhanging leaves, making dappled patterns on Pyhrra's armor, weapon, and face as she sprints through the muggy air.
Pyhrra continues to run... then jogs... then walks. Pyhrra was strong and fast, but only for short distances. Fit was something she wasn't. Too many decadent years of reading and fine food. Well, realistically, bread, fish and mutton wasn't especially 'fine' but it was a damn sight better than millet and water.
The road is paved in the city, but quickly turns to packed dirt running between close-set trees in the island's jungle.
The bright sun is dimmed by the overhanging leaves, making dappled patterns on Pyhrra's armor, skin, and hair as she sprints through the muggy air.
Pyhrra wordlessly curses her more passive youth. Women on the islands were either Tya or they cooked and readied themselves for marriage, Pyhrra was not the auspicious and physically exceptional first group.
Without warning, Pyhrra bursts from the jungle into full light. She stands at the edge of a large beach, stretching away towards the sea...
She is on the eastern shore of the island, with the mountain at her back. The jungle is thick to the south, so the village must be along the beach a bit to the north.
Pyhrra skids to a stop, leaving two deep furrows on the sand.
As she looks out towards the sea to her east, some large and extremely noisy shape blasts from around the southern curve of the island.
...heading north, and getting rapidly closer towards the beach.
<Pyhrra> After a moment catching her breath, she resumes her pace north to the village, drawing her old sword Memoir as she runs. No light accompanies its unsheathing, no glorious ringing of orichalcum and heavenly bells, no swish of tassles in the wind - just the scraping and rattling of pitted steel on pitted steel.
<Pyhrra> "What the-?"


The sphere of storms hurtles over the water's surface, sending up huge plumes to either side. Noar is only visible for a second before being obscured by the curve of the island...
Verdant focuses as he controls the steering of the Stormwind Rider, aiming for an open spot on the beach. The water plumes roar as the spherical windstorm flies unerringly towards its destination, pulling along a large wave behind it that crashes upon the shore as the Rider reaches land.
The Solars inside think they catch a glimpse of someone standing on a deserted stretch of beach, sword and shield in hand.
<Zeleny> "Is that- " well, swords and shields were not uncommon, right?
(Pyhrra rejoins this channel.)
Verdant closes his eyes for a moment as the windstorm stops in midair, then begins to sink towards the ground, its top and bottom opening into a column once more, before slowly sinking down into the ground. Finally, the winds disperse with a final outward burst, carrying a small amount of sand along the ground ankle high.
Pyhrra concentrates on her body a moment, tensing her muscles as essence flows through them, preparing for combat, hardening her body for the trials of battle
Zeleny sees her. "Pyhrra." He seems surprised.
The spell has carried the three to Hemlock... and behind them stands the golden-haired warrior.
<Pyhrra> The woman on the beach wears a familiar buff-jacket and the sketchy design on the shield can only be Pyhrra's. She pulls the shield away as the sand ceases blowing.
Verdant opens his eyes and sees Pyhrra. One corner of his mouth curls upward in a half-smile.
<Pyhrra> "You?!"
<Verdant> "If this is where you wanted to go, all you had to do was ask."
<Pyhrra> "I left the ship, it was not my place to concern and inconvenience you with my problems.
<Pyhrra> "
A scattering of buildings to the north must be Hemlock. You can see the remenants of a battle on the shore: dark figures sprawled on the sand, a few meager fires licking at the poor buildings. The plumes of smoke are too small to have been visible from the other side of the mountain, but from here they seem all too ominous.
<Pyhrra> "Anyway..." she says. "If you will excuse me, I must continue on my way."
<Zeleny> "If you wish. Do you go to investigate the Fae?"
<Pyhrra> "No." She breaks into a run over to the fallen, looking frantically at their faces. Would she even know His if she saw it now?
Zeleny glances at Verdant.
The bodies of many brave men lie dead on the ground. This must have been a slaughter: all the bodies are facing towards the sea, seeming to have died defending against some unknown foe - who apparently took no casualties.
Some of the bodies have suffered strange injuries. A few appear to have been mauled, several have been cut cleanly in half, the blood spilling from their shattered forms onto the white sand.
Verdant looks out at the devastation, hands balling into fists. Oh yes, the Fae would pay for this.
The village is tiny, simply a few huts facing the sea. All around the huts are what appear to be glass statues - dead glass statues.
<Pyhrra> "Gods..." Pyhrra gags. She may be a warrior, but wholesale slaughter and battle aftermaths were not in her limited experience.
The statues lie in various poses. Many of them are inhuman. One of them has feathered wings, one is covered with what appears to be a glass model of fine carpet. A third has tentacles for arms.
Zeleny walks slowly among the dead. He glances down at the corpses, wishes he were sure the Folk were gone that he could sent their bodies forth...
All are made of glass, all are lying on the sand, their glass faces twisted in masks of agony. One seems to have been shattered by a large golden disc - the head is here, the legs there, and nothing but shattered glass and the metal in between.
Verdant examines the disc.
The disc turns out to be a gleaming orichalchum shield, covered with some sort of green liquid. The shield bears an emblem of a salmon, leaping up a waterfall.
Pyhrra pants, trying to catch control of her breathing, but fails oh-so miserably. Her ragged breaths quicken and she screams into the air. "PAAAARN!!!"
Verdant looks at the shield, saying, "Six now?" Before jumping at Pyhrra's unexpected shout.
<Zeleny> "Do you understand this, Verdant?" The weird statues were unlike anything Zeleny had ever seen. He seems not to notice Pyhrra's agony.
<Pyhrra> She sobs a little and sits on her knees, sticking the sword into the ground before her.
Her head bowed, something catches Pyhrra's eyes.
The only -red- blood amongst the statues is a small trickle, leading in a line down the sand towards the pier.
Pyhrra wipes her face with the back of her golved hand and follows the blood.
Verdant turns to look at Pyhrra.
(If anyone has something to say, say it while she's walking towards the pier. It'll take a minute.)
(No?)
Zeleny says nothing, but his gaze follows Pyhrra as she treads to the waterfront.
Pyhrra leaves the sword stuck into the sand as she follows the trail of blood, her hands limp, feet dragging.
<Verdant> "What is going on with her?"
Through tear-blurred vision, Pyhrra can still make out something very wrong with the pier: the end of the dock has been ripped off wholesale, as though someone grabbed the end of it and hurled it bodily into the ocean.
(...okay, that's it for me. Take it away, folks!)
<Zeleny> "I wonder who she is looking for. And whether she expects to find him."
<Pyhrra> "Wh..." That kind of power was the realm of the exalted... or the fair folk. The beasts were all dead... She wades into the water a little
<Verdant> "It would seem that whoever she's looking for, his name is Parn."
Callidora calls out to Pyhrra, "Hon, come back! They could still be in the water!"
Zeleny glances around the sad collection of huts.
A burning hunk of thatch plummets through one of the huts' roofs.
Pyhrra turns a little reluctantly and wades back to the shore. Gone.
<Zeleny> He walks slowly to peer inside the dark interiors. He wonders how much time the people of Hemlock had had, before they saw the predators descending...
<Pyhrra> "The dock is gone... ripped apart..."
<Verdant> "On a different note, this here...this is a shield made of Orihalcum.
<Verdant> "And judging from how it was used, I doubt the wielder was unaware of its properties, nor unable to make use of them."
Verdant Waves is clearly correct. The shield is golden in a way that the gaudy jewelry of the rich can only aspire to be.
Zeleny walks back to the others. "And yet the shield is abandoned."
It is also far larger and thicker than any normal shield.
(Non-tower shield, that is.)
<Zeleny> "I fnd it curious. The women and children escaped. I suggest we follow them; they may have answers."
<Pyhrra> "Unless they are now in the custody of the Fae." Pyhrra fetches the sword from the sand and resheaths it with a loud scraping noise
Verdant turns to Zeleny, his face grim. "It's possible, and unfortunately likely, that some or all didn't escape."
Zeleny looks drained. "True. And given that that shield's wielder did not come back for it....likely he is a prisoner of the Fair Folk as well. Such things are not forgotten."
<Pyhrra> "Then we have to rescue them!" Pyhrra says with certainty, as if it is easily done
<Zeleny> "First we must find them." Zeleny glares at the sea stretching away into the distance..."Verdant. You are the expert."
Verdant turns to Pyhrra. "Ah. Of course. Lead the way."
Pyhrra realises the difficulty after a moment. "If you can show me where they are, I can kill them."
(Booyah! Awesome!)
<Callidora> "I suggest we look for the visitors first."
<Callidora> err "I suggest we look for the villagers first."
Zeleny frowns down at the mix of sand a grit that comprised the soil. Any tracks?
A quick survey of the village's ruins reveals a few scattered tracks heading into the jungle closest to the village.
Tracking will be more difficult there, though...
<Callidora> (I think I can manage....)
Callidora strides off into the jungle.
<Callidora> "Let's go"
Verdant stands up, tapping the shield. "I don't think we should leave this behind."
<Pyhrra> "Then pick it up." Pyhrra says following Callidora's lead
It looks a little... -heavy-.
(Verdant = Str 2. Unattuned orichalcum weapon = fat chance.)
Zeleny proceeds after the others into the jungle. He keeps a close watch on the tangled vegetation, finding the path of the villagers- or someone- in broken twigs and prints in mud.
Verdant calls after Pyhhra, "Somehow I was thinking you'd be more interested in protective gear, given the gutting you got on the Rain."
Pyhrra looks at Verdant's woeful body strength and sighs. Never send a boy to do a woman's job...
<Verdant> (Verdant never bothered to try picking it up.)
<Pyhrra> "I'll carry it. But it doesn't belong to me." Pyhrra hefts the big golden disk and slings it on her back with a grunt of effort. It was heavier than it looked.
(Just making sure.)
Heavy, yes, but it felt comfortable. Familiar, almost.
Pyhrra, Flashback:
A brief glimpse of scaled warriors, with black swords that hummed, leaping through the air.
<Pyhrra> "Ah..." Pyhrra stops and blimks, looking around.
A golden disc lept out to intercept them, arcing from one to another like shining bolts of sunlight; each lizard-thing struck was sent hurtling through the air.
A weapon of some kind drives upwards into a lizard-thing's belly, then the creature is hurled aside as the disc blocks another savage assault.
At the edges of vision, shining warriors battle similar foes, golden weapons tracing deadly arcs of blazing death.
The flashback ends, as abruptly as it started.
Pyhrra takes a step to balance herself. "What?"
For some reason, Zeleny and Verdant, standing in Pyhrra's vision, remind her for just a second of the briefly-glimpsed warriors in her vision.
Then the feeling passes.
<Verdant> "Are you all right?"
<Zeleny> "You stumbled."
Pyhrra looks up sharply surprised at the sudden very real voice
(...voices.)
<Pyhrra> "Yes.. I'm fine...lets...lets keep moving."
<Pyhrra> (when I started the sentence only Verdant had spoken)
(Just making a note for editing purposes.)
Verdant looks at Pyhrra for a moment, then speaks slowly. "All right."
Zeleny glances back at her once more, than proceeds further into the jungle..
The hastily-forged path of broken branches and snapped vines leads the Solars directly to a tangled mess of vegetation.
Sounds of huddled, fearful humans come from behind the screening leaves.
Zeleny pushes the leaves aside...
A fairly sizeable group of villagers shrinks away from the towering figure of the captain, silhouetted by the jungle's dim light.
A small boy, no more than 9 or 10, weakly holds a knife to try and fend away the intruder...
...until they can recognize that he is human, and not a monstrous spawn of chaos.
<Zeleny> "We came from Noar..." Zeleny figures the simple half-truth was easier than extended explanations.
The people mostly quake, adrenaline and shock overcoming their systems.
But they seem visibly relieved to see capable-looking warriors.
<Zeleny> "What happened?"
Callidora is upset. This was new to her.
A young woman, apparently made of sterner stuff than her mother and sisters: "It was the Fae, sir."
Woman: "We only had a moment's notice - the shouts of the fishers out at sea."
Woman: "The men stood to fight, so we could escape..."
Callidora shakes her head. *this* was not new.
<Callidora> "You hid from them?"
Here, even this strong-willed girl's eyes fill with tears. "We... there was so much..."
Zeleny glances at Pyhrra. "Were any strangers among those who fought? A man named Parn, perhaps?"
The woman looks confused. "There... one man..."
<Pyhrra> "Who?! What did he look like!"
Verdant lays a hand on Pyhrra's shoulder, saying, "Easy, these people have been through much. Do not add to their troubles."
Woman: "We got scattered in the jungle. I think the Fair Folk took most of us, maybe some made it away safely. But we only survived because of a stranger, with a great sword and shield."
Woman: "Just as a Fair Folk attacked us, it was cut in two from behind."
<Pyhrra> "This shield?!" Pyhrra turns around to show the shield on her back.
Woman: "Yes! Yes, that one!"
Woman: "He lives? He saved us! He led us to this place, then said he would defend the village!"
<Zeleny> "Tell us of this man."
Woman: "We could hear the battle even from here! Surely, all the other defenders were dead or fled, but he must have fought them all singlehandedly!"
A little girl chimes in: "Mommy says the gods themselves must have sent him..." The mother shushes her child, pulling her close.
Pyhrra grits her teeth at the way these refugees stalled and dodged around what she wanted to hear.
<Zeleny> "What did he look like, this man?"
<Zeleny> Obviously, he was impressive. But more detail, certainly, would be of use.
Woman: "Uh... he was tall... it was dark, beneath the trees, and he did not stay with us for long."
<Callidora> "But he was definitily human?
A young boy offers: "He was glowing!"
The woman looks a little sheepish, but says, "Yes... yes, he was glowing."
<Pyhrra> "He was glowing... and you couldn't see him?"
<Verdant> "Glowing like the sun, perhaps?"
Woman: "Yes! Yes, like the sun, and it made it hard to see his face, so great was the light!"
<Zeleny> "Was there a shining mark on his forehead?"
Woman: "Oh, yes! Yes, shining even brighter than he was!"
<Zeleny> "What did it looks like?"
Woman: "A... a circle?"
<Zeleny> "Could you draw it?"
The girl draws a circle in the air with her finger.
<Zeleny> "Empty?"
<Pyhrra> (well that narrows it down to all but dawn and twilight)
The woman doesn't understand the question.
She clearly thought Zeleny didn't know what a circle looked like.
<Zeleny> "Was it like a gold ring, or like....the sun? Entirely golden?"
<Zeleny> "Do you think there are Fae still in the jungle?"
<Callidora> "Listen"
<Callidora> "Like this"
Callidora burns a mote of periphereal Essence
Callidora a thing golden circle burns on h er forehead
<Callidora> "Or maybe like this
The huddled refugees gasp.
Verdant grimaces and lets out a squeak of panic, too late to stop her.
Callidora grabs Zeleny, points to his forehead
<Callidora> "Or like this"
Callidora gives Zeleny a look that says "What, is your forehead broken?"
Zeleny hasn't burned peripheral essence.
<Zeleny> He gives Callidora a look.
Verdant grabs Callidora, and quietly hisses, "Stop molesting the captain!"
The woman, as soon as Callidora displays: "Oh! Yes, yes, like that!"
<Zeleny> "Ah. Thank you."
Callidora hisses back "He doesn't look delicate to me."
(RETCON: Callidora harassing other Solars. *grin*)
<Zeleny> "Any other questions for these people?" Zeleny asks Verdant.
Woman: "Sirs, I don't know if the Fae remain."
<Zeleny> "We saw none in your village."
<Zeleny> "And none have harrassed us. More than that...I cannot say."
<Verdant> "None that were still alive."
<Callidora> (wait, we retcon what?)
(Since the woman responded as soon as she saw yours...)
(I'll handle it.)
<Callidora> (ok)
<Zeleny> "We leave it to your judgment, whether or not it is safe to return."
The woman looks frightened, flattered, and flustered all at once.
Woman: "Me, sirs?"
Woman: "I am certain that that man must have chased them off. No doubt he pursued them, to liberate their prisoners."
<Zeleny> "I think that is unlikely. He left his shield behind."
The woman gestures towards Pyhrra's shield. "No doubt his haste was too great to return for it."
<Verdant> "Given where he left it, I doubt he was doing that badly."
<Zeleny> "Perhaps. I suspect he was overwhelmed and taken prisoner....but then you met the man."
Zeleny glances at the others. "Shall we go?"
Woman: "No man so mighty would fall without leaving a mountain of his defeated foes, nor allow himself to be taken by those... those... monsters!"
Verdant nods. "We found no living monsters, and many of their dead."
<Callidora> "I'd say he left a mountain of defeated foes"
<Callidora> "or maybe a 'sea' or 'field full' of them."
<Zeleny> "We have discovered what we can here." Zeleny bows to the woman abruptly, turns, and leaves the small hiding place.
<Zeleny> , his impatience betraying him.
<Callidora> "Alright, folks, lets get back to the village."
<Callidora> "so we can spot any attack before it comes."
Woman: "Wait! What about us?"
Woman: "Take us with you!"
Pyhrra watches Zeleny's back.
<Pyhrra> "Everyone get up" She says gently
The young woman hefts a small child and hurries after the retreating warriors.
Verdant stays to ensure everyone follows, and none are left behind.
<Pyhrra> Zeleny had a perverse streak to him. He would spare and befriend pirates, but villagers were left to their own devices.
(...thought Pyhrra.)
The refugees, mothers and children, assemble themselves as best they can.
Pyhrra shook her head and helped the refugees up, saying a kind word here and there. That was here. Once.
<Pyhrra> *that was her*
Callidora picks up any children who need help.
The ragtag group shuffles quickly along.
A very young child, whose mother has her hands fully, giggles on Callidora's shoulder, hand tangled in her long hair.
Callidora smiles broadly
Seeming to emerge directly from the matter of the forest, shifting color from the green of leaves to the green of a deep sea as it moves, a creature in the form of a man/woman blocks the path of Zeleny and the woman trotting near behind him.
Its voice is melodic and horrifying at the same time. "Ahy, my prettiez - now that yoor us-hurting/leap-punching/blood-taking friend iss not witth you, deatth descends for your hearts!"
Zeleny shifts to stand more fully between the creature and the woman.
<Zeleny> His punch daggers seem to leap into his hands, as he drops into crouch.
Twin wave-shaped crystalline daggers whirl between long, chitinous fingers.
Fae: "Eye taste sweet lyfe-water, yoors!"
Verdant eyes the rest of the forest, his eyes apparently unfocused.
<Callidora> (iniative?)
<Zeleny> "Beast," Zeleny greets the thing. He moves without warning, leaping forward, black iron khatars extended to slice at the Fae...
To Verdant's magically enhanced vision, the jungle is a riot of life-energy - but none of the chaotic patterns that predominate the form of the Fair Folk.
The twin blades taste only air as the Fae, insanely quick, twists aside, arms flung wide...
...but well-positioned to drive a knee into Zeleny's gut.
Zeleny twists, flipping backward with a kick off the approaching knee to land in front of the woman once more.
<Zeleny> He regards the Fae more warily now.
The creature's back bounces off of a tree, and it propels itself in a line straight for the woman - one blade aimed at her heart, the other at the heart of the child she carries.
<Pyhrra> "Callidora.. .Guard the children." Pyhrra taps her sword and shield quickly and lets the essence pour through her, charging in between the fae and innocents to soak up the blow.
Zeleny pulls the woman down behind him, presses her to the jungle floor. He brings up an arm to block the blow-
<Zeleny> he couldn't dodge in time. Not and protect the woman and her child.
One blade rings off of the khatar, the other slicing through Zeleny's buff jacket like it was gauze.
He grunts as his ribs are grazed, and blood trickles down inside his clothing.
The Fae leaps straight upwards, into the canopy...
<Zeleny> The grunt and a stagger is Zeleny's only expression of pain. He crouches over his protectees, iron khatars raised above him to stick the Fair Folk as it descended again...
With a cackling shriek, it descends on Pyhrra, who bolted to the lead of the line of refugees in a thunderclap.
(Out of Zel's immediate threat range.)

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(Did you get "...it descends on Pyhrra"...)
<Pyhrra> (negatory)

(BOLLOCKS.)

With a cackling shriek, it descends on Pyhrra, who bolted to the lead of the line of refugees in thunderclap.
Callidora shifts the child down, letting the child rest on her hip. Then she hefts her staff and prepares to fight.
(...out of Zel's immediate threat range.)
(Zeleny's "The grund and a stagger..." was the last thing I received.)
<Zeleny> * Verdant looks upward, following the trail of chaotic Essence. A decision is made in his mind.
Pyhrra rams the shield upwards to the sound of the air shrieking as it is cut with essence, the fae landing over the sheild, its sword grazing Pyhrra's other shoulder. She rams the sword into the fae, pulling the shield away to let its own weight impale itself.
<Pyhrra> She rams the shield into the stunned creature again with a resounding clang, then heaves with all her strength, throwing the creature upwards.
Verdant has quit IRC (Ping timeout)
<Pyhrra> She rolls back and propels herself upwards with her hands kicking her feet into the creature, her boots finding purchase on its already battered midsection.
Wounded and momentarily dazed, the Fae grips tree branches with hands and feet, hanging over the Solars...
...only to be hammered by Pyrhha's leaping kick.
<Zeleny> "Stay down," Zeleny orders the woman he had protected.
Pyhrra rolls to her feet - any mortal would be crushed, indeed a weak exalt also would be ready for their next life from a strike like that.
Though the armor spun from dreams largely protects the Fae, it falls to the ground in a delicate yet graceless heap.
Pyhrra walks over to it warily...
The inhuman creature looks unnatural, covered with dirt, twigs, and the trappings of mortal existance.
The creature flips over its head, feet locking around Pyhrra's neck.
<Pyhrra> "Wah?!"
<Pyhrra> Careless...
...leading into a rolling throw, through the thick underbrush.
The Fae is on its feet again, one glamour-knife lost, but with an unblocked path to three refugees.
Pyhrra sails sprawling through the air, slamming into a tree upside down and falling to the ground in a heap, the tree has a noticeable bend to it now.
(Heh heh heh!)
<Zeleny> As Pyhrra is thrown, Zeleny grips the khatars, hard, and with a movement like a punch, twin trails of crackling essence shoot from his fists to the Fae. He runs along the trail, gathering speed with impossible speed, to hit the monster with impossible accuracy. As his khatars impact the Fae, there the golden trails of essence explode.
<Zeleny> (*the golden)
<Pyhrra> "Urgh...." Pyhrra grunts from her unceremonious heap against the tree trunk.
<Zeleny> (*gathering speed with impossible alacrity)
The creature, caught unawares, is impaled, bending over backwards, Zeleny's twin blades protruding from it's unearthly chest.
Half-gills suck feebly at the air in a parody of biology, and the Fae's claw-hands reach for Zeleny's neck, but can't... quite... reach...
Zeleny tears his daggers from the thing's chest, ripping flesh and armor. There is smoke where the iron touches its skin.
Hissing and spitting, the heap of ex-Fae hits the ground.
Pyhrra picks herself up. Verdant Waves walks over, staff in hand.
Zeleny brings his boot down on the thing's head again and again, pulverizing it's skull. He didn't want to turn around and have the thing get up again.
Verdant Waves: "That... that will do. This one will harm no living thing again."
<Zeleny> (*its)
<Zeleny> "No," Zeleny agrees with some slight satisfaction.
Pyhrra scoffs. "Let's get out of here."
<Zeleny> "Are the villagers unharmed?"
A quick tally shows everyone to be in good health, although visibly shocked.
The young woman who spoke to the Solars before is mooning up at Zeleny.
<Zeleny> "Stay close. Obviously...there are still Fae on this island."
She clearly has no objection to those instructions.
The procession makes it out to the beach, where the evening's sun has begun to die the sky a light purple.
As the villagers survey the damage, a cry goes out over by the pier.
The young woman comes running up to where Zeleny and Verdant Waves stand. "My father's boat! My father's boat is missing!"
Woman: "He must have taken it! The man must have taken it to chase the Fae!"
<Zeleny> "Perhaps he has..."
Woman: "He could tell that it was the fastest boat in the village!"
Zeleny looks out across the ocean, towards the setting sun.
<Zeleny> "And perhaps..we will follow him."
Woman: "And the pier wasn't broken by the Fae - I bet he sailed after them so quickly, it tore the pier off!"
Verdant looks dubious, and Pyhrra can't help but smile a little...
<Zeleny> "We will see," Zeleny repeats himself.
Slowly, people from Noar trickle in to see the devastation of Hemlock.
As people pick up the pieces of their lives, and cope with loss and grief, four Solars stand on the beach, watching the twilight close in over a jungle island.
The night closes in, and a new leg of the journey begins.
END CHAPTER 4