"I'm sorry about my friends," Lera's hands fiddled nervously. "And I'm sorry if I scared you."
Vera giggled. "No, it was a cool trick. I would have..." She paused thinking for the right word, before whispering, "...pooped myself."
"Can I help you?" Lera asked, happy she hadn't scared Vera away.
"I don't..." Vera looked around at the counters and dishes. "No. You should be at your party, not stuck in here doing chores! You and your friends are very strange, when it comes to parties."
"I don't want to be out there though," Lera smiled softly. "I'd rather stay in here. With you."
Vera laughed. "It's not much fun in here!" She moved to the makeshift sink and began to pick food ruminants from a pan.
"We could make it fun," Lera suggested.
Vera laughed nervously, paying *close* attention to cleaning the pan. "Y-yeah? H-how?"
"I don't know," Lera blushed. "What would... what would you find fun?"
"Oh, I... I dunno," Vera giggled nervously. "I have so much cleaning to do."
"Well I can help so you don't have to spend all night in here," Lera replied. "And we can make the time go by just by talking."
Vera nodded. "Okay. That... that would be nice."
“I don’t actually know the spell Singe used to clean things fast,” Lera grabbed a rag. “So, old fashioned way it is.”
"That's the only way I know how to do it," Vera laughed. "Then, there's the laundry I'll have to do tomorrow. Having that spell would be really handy!"
"I wish I could lighten your load more," Lera said softly. "You do so much."
"I enjoy it," Vera said with a smile, as she scrubbed a pot. "Hard work feels better to me than having someone wait on me hand and foot. The people here deserve it."
“And what do you deserve?”
"This isn't about me," Vera said, softly. "It's about them, what they've been through. I just want to make things better for them."
"I don't know, you've been through quite a bit too," Lera gave a little wink. "I think you deserve so much more."
"I'll figure that out once all of this is done." Vera dried the pot and placed it on the counter. "I guess you could say, it's all up to you."
"Up to... me?" Lera squeaked, momentarily forgetting about the dragon.
"Well... yes," Vera said, finally looking at Lera. "Just come back safely."
"Dragon, right. Don't get eaten," Lera shook her head. "Or turned into a popsicle... I keep on forgetting that we're going to fight a dragon tomorrow."
"Yeah," Vera whispered. "That's why you should be at the party."
“That’s... normal to me,” Lera frowned. “I’m here because I’d rather be in here with you.”
Vera blushed. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy your company."
"I enjoy your company too," Lera blushed, getting lost in Vera's eyes for a brief moment. She cleared her throat, snapping herself out of it, and grabbed the closest thing to clean.
Vera quickly turned her attention back to the dirty dishes, allowing the awkward silence to descend upon them.
"Soooo..." Lera said awkwardly. "You come here often?"
Vera burst out laughing. "Only every morning and evening. Funny, I haven't seen you here before!"
Vera giggled, brushing her hand against Lera's. "I'm glad you did."
"Me too," Lera reached out and grabbed Vera's hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting her hand go.
When Zamar takes over for Woe, she is relieved. Something has been playing on her mind and she is going to set things in motion again.
So, Woe makes sure no one follows or sees her when she leaves the dining hall. She takes some of the leftovers of the food, mostly meat from the pig, and goes towards the warm springs and finds a secluded natural alcove. Then she'll take out the sending stone and send the following message: "White dragon destroyed our airship in Cloud Peak, near Nashkel. We will fight it. If any advice, reply tomorrow at dawn! Afterwards might need transportation."
Then she sits back, thinking about their situation and how much has happened. The pork tastes amazing after the rations that they had to endure in the flying machine.
It's a few moments before there's a response, but eventually it comes. "Teleportation Circle at Nashkel Manor. Call on stones and Signore will open the circle."
Woe is surprised at what she hears. She was hoping Signore would give her a codeword to appease the dragon. Or maybe know of a specific vulnerability. She would wait again at dawn, maybe he had more information. Instead Lord Eltan was sending her right into their enemy's house. Thinking back about the teleportation device in Port Nyanzaru, it seemed that some nobles had magical ways of transportation. Specially those with powerful magics in their entourage.
Knowing what she just heard she understands the size of their undertaking. They are not fighting a dragon. They are fighting a noble with extensive funds and the powerful forces surrounding him. It was not going to be an easy fight.
A few minutes after Shanolia lays her head back down, she feels Singe tapping her head.
"Happy birthday, Shanolia!"Shanolia mumbles something, but it's muffled by the sleeve of her clothes. Perrin approaches a moment later with a smirk on her face.
"Hello, sleepyhead. Remember that conversation we had earlier?”The Halfling teases in a sing-song voice. Shanolia lifts her head at the mention of the conversation.
"A bit hard to be fun with death so close."She goes to drink from her empty glass but puts it down once she notices this fact. With a sigh, she pulls her mask back over her face as Singe sits down.
"Well, yep. It's probably going to kill us tomorrow. But today is your birthday. It was a bit hard to get you a present in the middle of the wilderness, but I managed."He slides a piece of paper toward the Elf, rolled up with a piece of ribbon tied around it. She eyes the paper curiously, delicately taking it into her hands.
"Thank you..."With shaky fingers, she unties the ribbon and unrolls the paper, finding a page with the spell Find Familiar printed in both Elvish and Common. Perrin just looks at Singe, surprised at his ability to get her a present amidst the chaos.
"Now, if we survive tomorrow, I will also buy you the proper materials as well as a brazier."
“That’s impressive. Perhaps just a tad bit more exciting than what I have planned.”
Unbeknownst to the two, Shanolia's lips curl into a smile, her eyes darting across the words in both tongues and committing each and every step to memory. Her shaky hands fold the paper into a small square and put it into the hand-sewn pocket on the inside of her old cloak's hood - at about neck level. Singe and Perrin catch a glimpse of what looks like a small book's worth of various pages inside the pocket before she lets go and the hood returns to its normal position, hiding the pocket. Shanolia then pulls Singe into a hug - something very uncharacteristic of her - and begins to cry softly. Singe, caught off guard by the hug, gives her a gentle pat on the back.
"Now, it isn't spellbook quality, it doesn't use any of the fancy inks. But if you want a spellbook page, let me know and I'll write it up for you."She keeps crying, not hearing his words."Well, I've got to go give Woe her gift."He pats her again before gently trying to peel her off. Perrin has a soft smile on his face, waiting for the moment to organically end before he grabs Shanolia’s attention again. At Singe's gentle push, she realizes the awkwardness of the situation and pulls back like she'd been electrocuted, drying her tears in a vain attempt to hide them.
"I'm sorry... It's so nice... Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. Happy birthday"Shanolia continues to dry her eyes as Singe walks away, turning to face Perrin.
"Fine. I lied about being fun. Happy?"
“No, because I don’t think you lied. You can have fun and are fun. You just don’t know how to show it or are too scared to show it. That’s why I’m here. Grab my hand.”Perrin says with a smile on his face and his right hand outstretched for Shanolia to grab. Her shaky left hand takes his and she stands, curious of what he has planned. Slowly, he leads her onto the makeshift dance floor. "You know how to line dance, right?"
"Line... Dance?" She cocks her head to the side, confused. Perrin just continues to smile.
“Don’t worry. It’s so easy even someone with two left feet like me can do it.”Shanolia looks down at his feet, genuinely confused, as he calls out;"Zamar. Get me a line dance song started.”Suddenly, the music changes. “Just watch and repeat after me.”He goes into a basic step, turn, heel, step with his left foot followed by his right foot.“Now you try.”She swallows a lump in her throat.
"I'll try... but no promises."She then attempts to replicate the moves Perrin had made. It isn't pretty, but it's definitely not as bad as it could've been.
"There you go~" His smile grows wider."Now let's try it together."He waits until the appropriate moment in the song before giving her a nod to repeat the sequence.
She closes her eyes and repeats the movements from memory, stumbling a little bit at one point but otherwise nailing the sequence spot-on. Perrin has a bright smile on his face seeing Shanolia nail the dance steps as he, too, continues with the step sequence.
“All right, time to add the next step.”He steps left bringing his right foot behind his left and then his left foot over the right ending with a heel touch and then repeats the motion but goes to the right. Once he's finished, she nervously attempts to replicate the step, not really having much trouble. Beneath her mask, she's smiling brightly; proud of herself for learning so quickly.“You’re doing so well. There’s only one more part,”He repeats the steps he already taught her and adds a right foot shuffle step - where he leads with his right foot and the left foot follows without meeting squarely up with his right and then he does this motion again but uses the heel of right foot to turn 90 degrees to the left as he takes the second step. This way he ends facing a different direction than he started. Shanolia watches him before closing her eyes and copying the movements, her feet getting slightly caught up in the same spot as before. When she finishes, Perrin can see in her eyes that she's smiling and enjoying herself, her previous sadness gone.
"This is fun~"
“Good now you get it. We just repeat this throughout the song and enjoy ourselves.”Perrin smiles before turning to everyone in the crowd.“Come on everyone, join us.”With that Perrin leads a line dance and enjoys the rest of party. Just beside him, Shanolia continues to dance throughout the rest of the party, eventually getting the hang of it so she doesn't almost trip herself every time.
Woe returns to the dining hall. She spots her half-empty bottle of Tej and sits down next to Koll while pouring herself and Koll each a glass. They nod to each other and drink silently.
“Happy birthday Woe” Singe says sitting down next to Woe.
"Thanks, Singe. Well, technically, it's not quite my birthday yet - only at midnight..."Woe looks Singe in the eye. She can see the exhaustion in his eyes, and wonders if she looks as tired. "How are you going, Singe?"
“Terrified. But tomorrow we might dead so tonight we celebrate your birthday.” Singe produces a vial and hands it over to Woe.
“This is a two part gift. This potion will protect you against dragon’s breath and the potion that I will get you gives you dragon’s breath.” He takes a breath. “Unfortunately, this potion protects against a red dragon’s breath not a white dragon’s breath.”
Woe was overtaken by a wave of gratefulness - until Singe added the last little bit of information. Then she just started to smile, then to giggle, then she fell into a full-on fit of laughter... she couldn't stop, tears were running down her face, she was slapping her legs.
When she catches herself, she says between breaths: "Singe, you're awesome! Where did you get such a potion?"
“Remember when you went to delivered the Thraul? We went to clear the woman’s attic, and I found this in the wizard’s pocket dimensions.” Singe pauses. “Along with a few other tricks...”
"Yes, that did sound like quite an adventure. Thank you very much for the potion. I will treasure it. Just too bad it won't help against this creature! Some sort of protection for all of us would have been nice!" Woe scootches over along the bench and pulls Singe into a hug. "You're a good man, Singe Harown. You will be an ambassador again one day and a good one at that. Thanks for looking out for all of us!!"
Singe smiles, “You don’t make it easy sometimes.”
"Ha, well, we're a strongminded, clever bunch! Of course there'll be different opinions. Eventually we'll hopefully get better at compromising!"
"Next time, if we can get Polly to stay we should be agreeing a lot more." Singe says rubbing his temples, "But first we have to get back home."
"There may be a way to get back home quickly. But that's a discussion for a later point in time - that is if we survive the encounter with the dragon..." Woe decides not so share the message she had received just yet.
Koll sits still next to Singe and Woe. He has been hanging back trying to get a read on the room, to see if the people here are all to be trusted. He is distracted by the performances and the thought of facing a dragon come morning. The idea of using Thraul to overcome the dragon is still on his mind so he broaches the subject.
"Hello, Woe. Happy birthday. This whole celebration has been a bit of a pleasant surprise." Then Koll continues: "I have been thinking, Woe, about using a certain something against the dragon tomorrow," he says with a knowing look.
"Singe, do you remember that I used some more of the Thraul at the Modron Temple to confront Lord Eltan?" says Woe. "We still have a little more. It seems Koll is thinking about using it as a weapon..." Woe looks expectantly to Koll. "Do you think we have enough? How would it work?"
"I think we'd have to get the dragon to take it willingly," he replies. "It seems that it goes straight to the brain through the sinuses - it's not processed through the body, so I don't think a dragon would need more despite its size. If we could trick it, then it would be out for hours. Whoever presents it to the dragon would probably have to take it as well. And the third dose might have to go to a test subject the dragon trusts. Once it is out, though, then we could spring a trap on it, take out the kobolds and what-have-you. I'm not suggesting we try and kill it while it sleeps - that seems, well, dishonourable. But perhaps we could chain it, steal its treasure hoard for leverage, I don't know, something along those lines."
"I think if we don't kill it while its asleep we'll never kill it," Singe says. "Could anything happen to it while it's under the thraul? What happens when you go into the 'thraul plane'."
"When you go to the dream-realm, as I've been calling it," says Koll, "you are either a master or a slave, depending on your force of will at the time you enter. If you are a master, you have control over slaves, and can dismiss them or yourself from that realm whenever you wish. But time is different, so a few minutes there is really many hours in the waking world. I don't know what would happen if your body was attacked - I imagine it would pull you out of the dream-realm."
Singe frowns, "Were there strings? White glowing strings that connect to people?"
"Huh? Ummm, no, I don't recall seeing anything like that."
"So you think a slave couldn't dismiss themselves from the realm?" Woe asks Koll. "And have you seen any creatures when you were in there? You were hurt in the dream world. Who knows, the dragon might kill people in there..." Woe shakes her head slowly. "I feel this might not be quite as easy in reality as it sounds as an idea."
Koll shrugs. "I didn't think about it hurting anyone. I was thinking it would just be so amazed and want to explore and experience the realm. I suppose I'm not thinking like an evil dragon. No, I didn't see any creatures there, but that's maybe because none have had access to it - it's made and used by people - I thought that might be part of the allure for the dragon to try it. To be the first of its kind to experience the power of the substance. There is no guaranteeing that the dragon will be a 'master' when it is in the realm, and if someone who accompanies it is, then we'd be able to control it. It is a gamble, obviously, but anything we do against such a foe will be a gamble anyway."
"White dragons are not as intelligent as other dragons," Singe muses, "as unlikely as it might sound, someone might be able to enslave the dragon or force it back out."
Woe says, "And who says that not someone else forces it out as soon as it enters the realm? It might not give us enough time to do what we need to do on the outside. But I guess you are right, Koll, if we could get someone else in with her, then it might work." She adds "The Dreamworld remembered. It wanted me to be a slave again, like the first time I entered. It took me everything I had to make sure I came up top the second time round. I am just wondering if it gets harder every time you enter. Or if it was because I was a 'slave' the first time"... Also, Lord Eltan is not entering the dream world by using the drug. He has some other way of accessing it, without any side effects and without addiction."
"A refined version," Singe offers.
"I don't think it has anything to do with intelligence, Singe," Koll says, "more force of personality and will. But that lack of intelligence could help us with tricking it into taking the drug. We should get everyone else's thoughts on this. We definitely need a plan."
"Yes," Singe agrees, "this is still reconnaissance. Koll, you went in, did you feel any of these side effects?"
Koll looks at his hands, at the ethereal claws he sees there. "There were other lingering effects..."
"Yes, I remember... We will get those looked at soon."
"I don't presume to understand it intellectually the way you would," Koll says, "but it makes sense in a spiritual way. I don't need them to be looked at."
"There may be some... consequences in a little under a month," Singe says with a worried look, "but a discussion for another time."
“If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you travel to?” Lera attempted small talk with Vera as they cleaned the kitchen.
"Oh, I don't know," Vera said softly. "I think somewhere quiet, away from all this chaos that seems to surround me. Someplace where nobody knows me, and just treats me like everyone else. Someplace where I can just get lost."
“That’s not specific,” Lera smiled. “But I like the idea.”
"I..." Vera says after a few moments. "I don't actually know of any place like that."
“Are you in a library? Or a city? Or a beach somewhere?” Lera suggested.
"Maybe a library?" Vera thought a moment. "No! A beach, reading a book. That would be lovely."
“Combining the best of both worlds? I like your style,” Lera laughed. “I just came from a tropical island. The beach was nice, but I think I like this better.”
"A stuffy old cave?" Vera looked at Lera incredulous. "I'd take a tropical island any day over this, honestly."
“To be fair, there were giant gorilla robots trying to kill me,” Lera laughed. “That might color my judgement.”
"Well." Vera frowned. "That doesn't sound like a very good vacation."
"All things considered, it could have been worse," Lera shrugged.
Vera chuckled. "Like a dragon?"
"Yeah, an ice dragon does sound pretty bad," Lera blushed. She was failing at Perrin's whole 'don't talk about the dragon' thing.
"I still don't know why you'd rather be in here with me," Vera said, changing the subject. "Instead of out there having fun."
"I am having fun," Lera blushed. "My dad is a bard, which means that if we wanted a place to stay, he had to play. We would spend almost every night at taverns or parties providing the entertainment. So that out there is just... Normal now."
Vera nodded. "I completely understand. My life back home was endless parties. Needless parties. Spending money while people were starving." She glanced at Lera, giving her a smile. "This is a nice change."
“But this party was probably the best I’ve ever been to,” Lera quickly added.
"I just wish I had more food to work with." Vera began to put clean pots and pans away. "It would have been nice to make a cake for your friends who have birthdays."
“Perrin made pies, which in my mind are way better anyway,” Lera replied. Not knowing where things were actually supposed to go, she started shoving the pots and pans in the closest open cupboards. “Don’t worry, Vera, we’ll get you food.”
"I'm not worried about myself," Vera said quickly. "We've run through most of our fresh food for this party." She quickly raised a hand before Lera could say anything. "Sam's orders. He's confident we'll be out of here in the next few days. I'm worried about the children. What happens if we aren't out of here soon? They need veggies not salted pork."
“We won’t fail.”
Vera smiled and placed a hand on Lera's shoulder. "I didn't mean to imply that you wouldn't. I... I just have to think of the children."
The evening wore on, and, for the Scarlet Dawn, had to been considered something of a success. Nobody was maimed, offended, or swore blood oaths. True, Since was toasted a little bit, but that was pretty normal for a Lera plan. Zamar held the stage for a while signing, playing, and telling stories. But at last, it was time for the party to wind down. He signaled Woe to find Lera and the two joined him on stage. "Good people!" he called out, grabbing the attention of the room. "We thank you for your hospitality and generosity. You have given much for this feast and we are grateful. Tomorrow we will prove that gratitude with our deeds and, hopefully, know freedom again! Before we turn in so that we may rest properly, we have one more number we would like to perform for you. It is the story of how this unlikely assortment you have met here became a family. It is the Origin of the Scarlet Dawn". He pauses to let the room soak that in. He and Woe previously discussed how they would alter the performance from the tavern and Lera was used to her father's improvisations enough that she would be able to follow along. With viol, drum, and illusion the trio weave the tale of the red stones, the scavenger hunt, and the hawk faced man. Lera conjures up images of the man stealing the stones, trying to flee, and getting his comeuppance. Drum and viol work in perfect concert highlighting different points of the story and adding suspense, mirth, and even a little fear as the dark thing comes up from the ground to capture hawk face. At the familiar point, Zamar switches to his magical Lyre and Woe glides to the front of the stage as she dances to Highway to Hell. The song ends with the hawk-faced man being dragged down to the flaming depths with Woe acting as the fates. The audience has not seen a spectacle like this in quite some time, if ever. The end of the song is the final release of all the celebration, joy, and hope. The energy is palpable as the three leave the stage on a performance high rarely felt.
The residents of the cave sit mesmerized by the performance, and once the show is over, many cheer, and the children run about, excited to ask the three questions and fawn over them like celebrities. As the night begins to wind down, people start wandering out, headed off to their respective beds. A few remained, milling about and chatting each other up, including Sam. He finally makes his way to the three performers. "Well done! What an enthralling performance. Get some rest, tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day."
Dapple sat transfixed as the trio performed their story. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen - an artful weaving of music, song, dance and magic. When it was over, he cheered with the rest, amazed by what he'd seen, and impressed with what the Scarlet Dawn had been through to get where they were today. He'd heard bits of the story in passing, but he was glad he'd now got it all in one go and gained a new level of respect for his friends. As the crowd drifted away, he bounded up to the performers, giving each an excited hug. "That was incredible!," he exclaimed. "I had no idea you could put on a performance like that!"
Perrin sits and listen to the entertainers perform. He chuckles to himself a little bit st some of the, creative flairs, Lera takes with her illusions every now and again. Perrin ends up going to his bed shortly after the end of the final performance. All of the days excitment finally catching up to him. When he body hits his bed Perrin is out like a light.
After the party was over, Lera returned to the quarters assigned to the Scarlet Dawn. She waited a while, laying in bed awake until she thought everyone else was asleep. The sorcerer then got up, and snuck back to Vera’s room. In the craziness of the performance, she had forgotten to wish the other girl a good night.
When she entered the room, she found Vera fast asleep, still in the fineries from the party. Lera sighed before turning to exit, realizing she had missed her chance. As she went to leave, Lera tripped over an uneven patch of floor and slammed into the wall. “Oops,” she breathed.
From the darkness, Lera hears a soft voice call out. "Hello? Wh-who's there?"
“Sorry, it’s me,” Lera turned bright red. “I didn’t mean to wake you up, I just wanted to stay goodnight.”
"Lera? Oh!" Lera hears shuffling and moving of things quickly, then a torch is lit. Vera steps out of her cell and looks down the hall at Lera. She's clearly nervous, wringing her hands together. "You didn't wake me. Well, you did... but it's okay! I... er... had a lot.. a lot of fun earlier. Do... do you want to come in? I mean, do you want to talk or something?"
“No... umm, yes,” Lera stuttered. “Yes to come in. Yes.”
Ever the proper lady, Vera motioned for Lera to enter. Once Lera had entered, Vera sat on the bed, nervously. "So, I... um... well... uh... your friend makes really good pies! Perrin! Sam's son! His pies are good!"
“Yes! He does,” Lera nods, sitting on the bed next to her. “Perrin is my best friend in the whole world.” Even after that stunt he and Singe pulled, she mentally amended.
"Oh!" Vera fidgeted slightly. "It must be nice to have a best friend. The closest I have are my little sisters back home, but we never really got along the best." Vera placed her hand on the bed next to her, then nervously placed it back in her lap.
“Do you miss them?” Lera asked. “I don’t have any siblings, but I think Perrin is like a brother to me now.”
"I... no. Not really." Vera began wringing her hands together again. "They didn't see anything wrong with our father did, so we never got along well. I... like the people here." She spared a glance at Lera, her face turning red again.
“I like the people here too.”
Vera quickly looked away, biting her lips. "I... I wish I had... refreshments... or something... you know, to offer you."
“I have everything I need,” Lera blushed. “I mean, I ummm, ate and drank enough at the party. Is it hot in here? It feels hot in here.”
"Yeah," Vera pulled at the neck of her dress. "I mean... it gets hot in here... you know... because of the hot springs." She put a hand to her face to hide a smile.
“Why are you hiding your smile?”
"I... uh... I dunno." Vera quickly dropped her hand to her lap again. "Just something I do... when I'm... uh... nervous."
“I’m pretty nervous too,” Lera admitted.
Vera looked at Lera, surprised. "R-really? Why are *you* nervous?"
"Yeah, you *are* you," Vera said, blushing again. "I... um... I've never, you know."
“Neither have I,” Lera turned even redder.
Vera bit her lip. "I never even... thought... about another girl... you know?"
“Yeah...” Lera’s voice trailed off as she looked at her lap. “I’m sorry if I crossed any lines. I, ummm, like I said, I’m impulsive. Sometimes I don’t think things through.”
"NO!" Vera quickly reached out and grabbed Lera's hand. "I... didn't mean to yell. I... it's fine, really... I didn't... dislike it! I just never thought that way before. You... opened my world a little more."
“Good,” Lera nodded, looking into her eyes. “I’m glad you didn’t dislike it.”
Vera looked down at Lera's hand in hers, blushing even deeper. She quickly pulled her hand back. "So, uh... what... er.... what do we do?"
“I just wanted to wish you a goodnight,” Lera said. “Then, you know, I’ve eventually got to go back to adventuring.”
"Right." Vera stopped smiling and stared at her hands, picking at a perfectly manicured nail. "The dragon."
“The big, scary, white dragon,” Lera mentally slammed her head against the wall. Perrin would be so mad if he knew how much she was mucking things up.
"Yeah." There was an awkward silence between the two women. "I... hope you come back. Safely. I hope you come back safely. I'll be here, worried for you. For all of you!" Vera slowly put her hand next to her on the bed, and lightly brushed Lera's hand.
Impulsively, Lera reached out and grabbed Vera's hand. "I hope I come back safely too," she laughed nervously.
"I hope so." Vera finally made eye contact. "I'd like to get to know you better."
"I'd like to get to know you better, too," Lera's voice caught in her throat.
Vera leaned over quickly and gave Lera a quick kiss on the cheek, much like Lera had done to her.
“Th-thank you,” Lera blushed, looking down at her nightgown.
"Y-you're... welcome?" Vera began giggle. "I have no idea what to do."
“Well, in the stories...” Lera cleared her throat, glancing down at Vera’s lips. “I think, ummmm...”
Vera watched Lera's eyes. She bit her bottom lip a moment, the quickly leaned in, kissing Lera on the lips...
Zamar settled into his room after talking with and encouraging all the children. He desperately hoped they succeeded. The Scarlet Dawn was likely the last hope these people had. They would all succeed or fall on their actions. The thought sobered him quickly, the performance high evaporating. He settled into his bed and focused on the ceiling. It was time for his nightly chat with his departed. "Hi, Kara. It's been another strange day. I'm not sure about this adventuring life. Lera and I have both been closer to death more times in the past week than the rest of our lives combined, and that includes when she set that inn on fire!" As he talks, he searches the shadows. He knows she won't be here, but for the first time, he finds himself wishing the shadows were real. He finds his mood colored by the events of the day; the crash, the fall down the mountain, the weird Celestial faces looking down at him. "We have a dangerous task ahead of us tomorrow, and this time more lives than just are own depend on our success. I pray that if someone must give their life in this venture, that it be me and not Lera or one of the other young ones. I've lived well and Lera will be well cared for if I am gone. She finally has a family. Perhaps I will see you soon. I love you."
When Woe wakes up early before any of the others have risen, she sneaks again down to the alcove at the hot springs, making sure that no one observes her. Then she uses the sending stone again: "One Scarlet Dawn member has vendetta against Lord Embree. What's your standing with him? Also need advice on slaying a white dragon."
The stone responds, "If Lord Embree falls, he may be replaced with someone worse. The Dragon... we can help. Use Thraul. Signore says...." The stone fades before the message can finish.
In the early morning hours, a bell can be heard ringing through the cavern. Slowly, residents begin to stir, waking from their slumber, and preparing for their day's work. Children dress and head to "school", while parents head off to their assigned duties, and the members of the Scarlet Dawn wake, knowing today was the day they faced the dragon.
Shanolia's eyes flutter open at the sound of the bell and she wordlessly begins to strap her two weapon belts across her body in the usual X shape, sliding the daggers and her shortsword in their respective scabbards. Once they're strapped and secure, she reaches into her hood and withdraws the same page from yesterday, writing a bit more to calm her mind before their inevitable meeting with the dragon.
"11th of Eleint. Day 8,852 The party was something I don't usually use get to describe; fun. I had fun. Perrin taught me how to line-dance, and even though I slipped up several times it was still an enjoyable experience - perhaps my last. The time has come, we either slay the dragon and make it back to Baldur's Gate as a unit or we die fighting for a group of rebels that don't even have the common courtesy to give us a second glance. Either way, on this day, we fight for the Winter Wolves - we fight for Perrin and his father and their home, that one day they may drag down the tyrant and reclaim their rightful place in this world. They have the strength to stand and fight this day; when the time comes, will I be able to muster the same courage?"
Her hand moves as if to write more, but no thoughts come. With a sigh, she closes the bottle of ink and returns it and the pen to her pack, folding the paper and returning it to her hood before throwing her pack over one shoulder and slinging her crossbow over the other. Inside, she isn't prepared to face the dragon. Isn't prepared to die fighting for others' freedom. On the outside, she tries to hide her insecurity, tries to appear strong and unbothered by her fear.
When she finishes getting ready, she sits back down and meditates with her hand on her pendant, muttering a soft Elvish prayer to her mother for strength.
Perrin wakes up feeling both excited and scared for what’s to come. He’s excited at the prospect of felling a dragon but also terrified at the same time. He would be an idiot not to recognize the dragons power. As he begins getting ready he doesn’t see his new armor about. Grasalfan must still be at Forge with it. Perrin thinks before he decides to head there and try out his new armor.
The forge room is quiet as Perrin makes his way over to it. Looking in, the embers have all turned to ash and the room sits vacant. A single set of crafted splint mail hangs from a rack, complete with gauntlets and a helmet. The plates, though taken from various other armors in the room, have been shaped to fit the halfling's form. Between each plate is Sam's old chainmail, weaved in give the splint mail the stability and strength it needs to be effective protection. Grasalfan is not there, likely sleeping after working through the night. His empty plate sits where Perrin left it last evening.
Perrin, seeing the armor, can’t help but smile at it. He then begins the 10 minute process of putting it on. He’s so proud of it. Perrin must make Grasalfan something special as thanks for this. After putting it on he returns to where he thinks the others are but only runs into Shanolia who is deep in meditation. Unfortunately for her Perrin’s Armor is loud and takes her out of it. Perrin gives her a sheepish apology before they go to the team meeting together.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Dapple had returned to the Scarlet Dawn's quarters after the party and slept the sound sleep of one who has no place else to be, no other concerns to bother him. Waking with the bells, he gathers his belongings, checks his armor and weapons and settles everything into place about his person. Nerves tickle his belly, but there is as much excitement as... fear? No, more concern for his friends and the people living in these caverns. For himself, he relishes the challenge of this unknown foe - curious how he will fare.
He joins the others for what breakfast there is, then there is nothing to do but wait. He sits, absent-mindedly fiddling with the hilt of his rapier, tail twitching with pent-up energy.
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"I'm sorry about my friends," Lera's hands fiddled nervously. "And I'm sorry if I scared you."
Vera giggled. "No, it was a cool trick. I would have..." She paused thinking for the right word, before whispering, "...pooped myself."
"Can I help you?" Lera asked, happy she hadn't scared Vera away.
"I don't..." Vera looked around at the counters and dishes. "No. You should be at your party, not stuck in here doing chores! You and your friends are very strange, when it comes to parties."
"I don't want to be out there though," Lera smiled softly. "I'd rather stay in here. With you."
Vera laughed. "It's not much fun in here!" She moved to the makeshift sink and began to pick food ruminants from a pan.
"We could make it fun," Lera suggested.
Vera laughed nervously, paying *close* attention to cleaning the pan. "Y-yeah? H-how?"
"I don't know," Lera blushed. "What would... what would you find fun?"
"Oh, I... I dunno," Vera giggled nervously. "I have so much cleaning to do."
"Well I can help so you don't have to spend all night in here," Lera replied. "And we can make the time go by just by talking."
Vera nodded. "Okay. That... that would be nice."
“I don’t actually know the spell Singe used to clean things fast,” Lera grabbed a rag. “So, old fashioned way it is.”
"That's the only way I know how to do it," Vera laughed. "Then, there's the laundry I'll have to do tomorrow. Having that spell would be really handy!"
"I wish I could lighten your load more," Lera said softly. "You do so much."
"I enjoy it," Vera said with a smile, as she scrubbed a pot. "Hard work feels better to me than having someone wait on me hand and foot. The people here deserve it."
“And what do you deserve?”
"This isn't about me," Vera said, softly. "It's about them, what they've been through. I just want to make things better for them."
"I don't know, you've been through quite a bit too," Lera gave a little wink. "I think you deserve so much more."
"I'll figure that out once all of this is done." Vera dried the pot and placed it on the counter. "I guess you could say, it's all up to you."
"Up to... me?" Lera squeaked, momentarily forgetting about the dragon.
"Well... yes," Vera said, finally looking at Lera. "Just come back safely."
"Dragon, right. Don't get eaten," Lera shook her head. "Or turned into a popsicle... I keep on forgetting that we're going to fight a dragon tomorrow."
"Yeah," Vera whispered. "That's why you should be at the party."
“That’s... normal to me,” Lera frowned. “I’m here because I’d rather be in here with you.”
Vera blushed. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy your company."
"I enjoy your company too," Lera blushed, getting lost in Vera's eyes for a brief moment. She cleared her throat, snapping herself out of it, and grabbed the closest thing to clean.
Vera quickly turned her attention back to the dirty dishes, allowing the awkward silence to descend upon them.
"Soooo..." Lera said awkwardly. "You come here often?"
Vera burst out laughing. "Only every morning and evening. Funny, I haven't seen you here before!"
Vera giggled, brushing her hand against Lera's. "I'm glad you did."
"Me too," Lera reached out and grabbed Vera's hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting her hand go.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
When Zamar takes over for Woe, she is relieved. Something has been playing on her mind and she is going to set things in motion again.
So, Woe makes sure no one follows or sees her when she leaves the dining hall. She takes some of the leftovers of the food, mostly meat from the pig, and goes towards the warm springs and finds a secluded natural alcove. Then she'll take out the sending stone and send the following message: "White dragon destroyed our airship in Cloud Peak, near Nashkel. We will fight it. If any advice, reply tomorrow at dawn! Afterwards might need transportation."
Then she sits back, thinking about their situation and how much has happened. The pork tastes amazing after the rations that they had to endure in the flying machine.
It's a few moments before there's a response, but eventually it comes. "Teleportation Circle at Nashkel Manor. Call on stones and Signore will open the circle."
Woe is surprised at what she hears. She was hoping Signore would give her a codeword to appease the dragon. Or maybe know of a specific vulnerability. She would wait again at dawn, maybe he had more information. Instead Lord Eltan was sending her right into their enemy's house. Thinking back about the teleportation device in Port Nyanzaru, it seemed that some nobles had magical ways of transportation. Specially those with powerful magics in their entourage.
Knowing what she just heard she understands the size of their undertaking. They are not fighting a dragon. They are fighting a noble with extensive funds and the powerful forces surrounding him. It was not going to be an easy fight.
A few minutes after Shanolia lays her head back down, she feels Singe tapping her head.
"Happy birthday, Shanolia!" Shanolia mumbles something, but it's muffled by the sleeve of her clothes. Perrin approaches a moment later with a smirk on her face.
"Hello, sleepyhead. Remember that conversation we had earlier?” The Halfling teases in a sing-song voice. Shanolia lifts her head at the mention of the conversation.
"A bit hard to be fun with death so close." She goes to drink from her empty glass but puts it down once she notices this fact. With a sigh, she pulls her mask back over her face as Singe sits down.
"Well, yep. It's probably going to kill us tomorrow. But today is your birthday. It was a bit hard to get you a present in the middle of the wilderness, but I managed." He slides a piece of paper toward the Elf, rolled up with a piece of ribbon tied around it. She eyes the paper curiously, delicately taking it into her hands.
"Thank you..." With shaky fingers, she unties the ribbon and unrolls the paper, finding a page with the spell Find Familiar printed in both Elvish and Common. Perrin just looks at Singe, surprised at his ability to get her a present amidst the chaos.
"Now, if we survive tomorrow, I will also buy you the proper materials as well as a brazier."
“That’s impressive. Perhaps just a tad bit more exciting than what I have planned.”
Unbeknownst to the two, Shanolia's lips curl into a smile, her eyes darting across the words in both tongues and committing each and every step to memory. Her shaky hands fold the paper into a small square and put it into the hand-sewn pocket on the inside of her old cloak's hood - at about neck level. Singe and Perrin catch a glimpse of what looks like a small book's worth of various pages inside the pocket before she lets go and the hood returns to its normal position, hiding the pocket. Shanolia then pulls Singe into a hug - something very uncharacteristic of her - and begins to cry softly. Singe, caught off guard by the hug, gives her a gentle pat on the back.
"Now, it isn't spellbook quality, it doesn't use any of the fancy inks. But if you want a spellbook page, let me know and I'll write it up for you." She keeps crying, not hearing his words. "Well, I've got to go give Woe her gift." He pats her again before gently trying to peel her off. Perrin has a soft smile on his face, waiting for the moment to organically end before he grabs Shanolia’s attention again. At Singe's gentle push, she realizes the awkwardness of the situation and pulls back like she'd been electrocuted, drying her tears in a vain attempt to hide them.
"I'm sorry... It's so nice... Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. Happy birthday" Shanolia continues to dry her eyes as Singe walks away, turning to face Perrin.
"Fine. I lied about being fun. Happy?"
“No, because I don’t think you lied. You can have fun and are fun. You just don’t know how to show it or are too scared to show it. That’s why I’m here. Grab my hand.” Perrin says with a smile on his face and his right hand outstretched for Shanolia to grab. Her shaky left hand takes his and she stands, curious of what he has planned. Slowly, he leads her onto the makeshift dance floor. "You know how to line dance, right?"
"Line... Dance?" She cocks her head to the side, confused. Perrin just continues to smile.
“Don’t worry. It’s so easy even someone with two left feet like me can do it.” Shanolia looks down at his feet, genuinely confused, as he calls out; "Zamar. Get me a line dance song started.” Suddenly, the music changes. “Just watch and repeat after me.” He goes into a basic step, turn, heel, step with his left foot followed by his right foot. “Now you try.” She swallows a lump in her throat.
"I'll try... but no promises." She then attempts to replicate the moves Perrin had made. It isn't pretty, but it's definitely not as bad as it could've been.
"There you go~" His smile grows wider. "Now let's try it together." He waits until the appropriate moment in the song before giving her a nod to repeat the sequence.
She closes her eyes and repeats the movements from memory, stumbling a little bit at one point but otherwise nailing the sequence spot-on. Perrin has a bright smile on his face seeing Shanolia nail the dance steps as he, too, continues with the step sequence.
“All right, time to add the next step.” He steps left bringing his right foot behind his left and then his left foot over the right ending with a heel touch and then repeats the motion but goes to the right. Once he's finished, she nervously attempts to replicate the step, not really having much trouble. Beneath her mask, she's smiling brightly; proud of herself for learning so quickly. “You’re doing so well. There’s only one more part,” He repeats the steps he already taught her and adds a right foot shuffle step - where he leads with his right foot and the left foot follows without meeting squarely up with his right and then he does this motion again but uses the heel of right foot to turn 90 degrees to the left as he takes the second step. This way he ends facing a different direction than he started. Shanolia watches him before closing her eyes and copying the movements, her feet getting slightly caught up in the same spot as before. When she finishes, Perrin can see in her eyes that she's smiling and enjoying herself, her previous sadness gone.
"This is fun~"
“Good now you get it. We just repeat this throughout the song and enjoy ourselves.” Perrin smiles before turning to everyone in the crowd. “Come on everyone, join us.” With that Perrin leads a line dance and enjoys the rest of party. Just beside him, Shanolia continues to dance throughout the rest of the party, eventually getting the hang of it so she doesn't almost trip herself every time.
Dungeon Master - LSoL
Kaori - Battlemaster Fighter 5 / Paladin 2 (Kenku) - TSR
Cherna Godhari - Grave Cleric 4 (Human) - TW
Breena Mahi'ai - Divination Wizard 8 (Halfling) - WoE
Sharyn Savonath - Open Sea Paladin 4 (Triton) - PoPI
Zephyr - Four Elements (Revised) Monk 4 (Air Genasi) - IO
Takeshi - Mercy Monk 6 (Protector Aasimar) - TBW
Avrui Sirsash - Genie Warlock 2 (Wildhunt Shifter) - WotBS
Woe returns to the dining hall. She spots her half-empty bottle of Tej and sits down next to Koll while pouring herself and Koll each a glass. They nod to each other and drink silently.
“Happy birthday Woe” Singe says sitting down next to Woe.
"Thanks, Singe. Well, technically, it's not quite my birthday yet - only at midnight..." Woe looks Singe in the eye. She can see the exhaustion in his eyes, and wonders if she looks as tired. "How are you going, Singe?"
“Terrified. But tomorrow we might dead so tonight we celebrate your birthday.” Singe produces a vial and hands it over to Woe.
“This is a two part gift. This potion will protect you against dragon’s breath and the potion that I will get you gives you dragon’s breath.” He takes a breath. “Unfortunately, this potion protects against a red dragon’s breath not a white dragon’s breath.”
Woe was overtaken by a wave of gratefulness - until Singe added the last little bit of information. Then she just started to smile, then to giggle, then she fell into a full-on fit of laughter... she couldn't stop, tears were running down her face, she was slapping her legs.
When she catches herself, she says between breaths: "Singe, you're awesome! Where did you get such a potion?"
“Remember when you went to delivered the Thraul? We went to clear the woman’s attic, and I found this in the wizard’s pocket dimensions.” Singe pauses. “Along with a few other tricks...”
"Yes, that did sound like quite an adventure. Thank you very much for the potion. I will treasure it. Just too bad it won't help against this creature! Some sort of protection for all of us would have been nice!" Woe scootches over along the bench and pulls Singe into a hug. "You're a good man, Singe Harown. You will be an ambassador again one day and a good one at that. Thanks for looking out for all of us!!"
Singe smiles, “You don’t make it easy sometimes.”
"Ha, well, we're a strongminded, clever bunch! Of course there'll be different opinions. Eventually we'll hopefully get better at compromising!"
"Next time, if we can get Polly to stay we should be agreeing a lot more." Singe says rubbing his temples, "But first we have to get back home."
"There may be a way to get back home quickly. But that's a discussion for a later point in time - that is if we survive the encounter with the dragon..." Woe decides not so share the message she had received just yet.
Koll sits still next to Singe and Woe. He has been hanging back trying to get a read on the room, to see if the people here are all to be trusted. He is distracted by the performances and the thought of facing a dragon come morning. The idea of using Thraul to overcome the dragon is still on his mind so he broaches the subject.
"Hello, Woe. Happy birthday. This whole celebration has been a bit of a pleasant surprise." Then Koll continues: "I have been thinking, Woe, about using a certain something against the dragon tomorrow," he says with a knowing look.
Singe looks at Koll, "What something?"
"Singe, do you remember that I used some more of the Thraul at the Modron Temple to confront Lord Eltan?" says Woe. "We still have a little more. It seems Koll is thinking about using it as a weapon..." Woe looks expectantly to Koll. "Do you think we have enough? How would it work?"
"I think we'd have to get the dragon to take it willingly," he replies. "It seems that it goes straight to the brain through the sinuses - it's not processed through the body, so I don't think a dragon would need more despite its size. If we could trick it, then it would be out for hours. Whoever presents it to the dragon would probably have to take it as well. And the third dose might have to go to a test subject the dragon trusts. Once it is out, though, then we could spring a trap on it, take out the kobolds and what-have-you. I'm not suggesting we try and kill it while it sleeps - that seems, well, dishonourable. But perhaps we could chain it, steal its treasure hoard for leverage, I don't know, something along those lines."
"I think if we don't kill it while its asleep we'll never kill it," Singe says. "Could anything happen to it while it's under the thraul? What happens when you go into the 'thraul plane'."
"When you go to the dream-realm, as I've been calling it," says Koll, "you are either a master or a slave, depending on your force of will at the time you enter. If you are a master, you have control over slaves, and can dismiss them or yourself from that realm whenever you wish. But time is different, so a few minutes there is really many hours in the waking world. I don't know what would happen if your body was attacked - I imagine it would pull you out of the dream-realm."
Singe frowns, "Were there strings? White glowing strings that connect to people?"
"Huh? Ummm, no, I don't recall seeing anything like that."
"So you think a slave couldn't dismiss themselves from the realm?" Woe asks Koll. "And have you seen any creatures when you were in there? You were hurt in the dream world. Who knows, the dragon might kill people in there..." Woe shakes her head slowly. "I feel this might not be quite as easy in reality as it sounds as an idea."
Koll shrugs. "I didn't think about it hurting anyone. I was thinking it would just be so amazed and want to explore and experience the realm. I suppose I'm not thinking like an evil dragon. No, I didn't see any creatures there, but that's maybe because none have had access to it - it's made and used by people - I thought that might be part of the allure for the dragon to try it. To be the first of its kind to experience the power of the substance. There is no guaranteeing that the dragon will be a 'master' when it is in the realm, and if someone who accompanies it is, then we'd be able to control it. It is a gamble, obviously, but anything we do against such a foe will be a gamble anyway."
"White dragons are not as intelligent as other dragons," Singe muses, "as unlikely as it might sound, someone might be able to enslave the dragon or force it back out."
Woe says, "And who says that not someone else forces it out as soon as it enters the realm? It might not give us enough time to do what we need to do on the outside. But I guess you are right, Koll, if we could get someone else in with her, then it might work." She adds "The Dreamworld remembered. It wanted me to be a slave again, like the first time I entered. It took me everything I had to make sure I came up top the second time round. I am just wondering if it gets harder every time you enter. Or if it was because I was a 'slave' the first time"... Also, Lord Eltan is not entering the dream world by using the drug. He has some other way of accessing it, without any side effects and without addiction."
"A refined version," Singe offers.
"I don't think it has anything to do with intelligence, Singe," Koll says, "more force of personality and will. But that lack of intelligence could help us with tricking it into taking the drug. We should get everyone else's thoughts on this. We definitely need a plan."
"Yes," Singe agrees, "this is still reconnaissance. Koll, you went in, did you feel any of these side effects?"
Koll looks at his hands, at the ethereal claws he sees there. "There were other lingering effects..."
"Yes, I remember... We will get those looked at soon."
"I don't presume to understand it intellectually the way you would," Koll says, "but it makes sense in a spiritual way. I don't need them to be looked at."
"There may be some... consequences in a little under a month," Singe says with a worried look, "but a discussion for another time."
“If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you travel to?” Lera attempted small talk with Vera as they cleaned the kitchen.
"Oh, I don't know," Vera said softly. "I think somewhere quiet, away from all this chaos that seems to surround me. Someplace where nobody knows me, and just treats me like everyone else. Someplace where I can just get lost."
“That’s not specific,” Lera smiled. “But I like the idea.”
"I..." Vera says after a few moments. "I don't actually know of any place like that."
“Are you in a library? Or a city? Or a beach somewhere?” Lera suggested.
"Maybe a library?" Vera thought a moment. "No! A beach, reading a book. That would be lovely."
“Combining the best of both worlds? I like your style,” Lera laughed. “I just came from a tropical island. The beach was nice, but I think I like this better.”
"A stuffy old cave?" Vera looked at Lera incredulous. "I'd take a tropical island any day over this, honestly."
“To be fair, there were giant gorilla robots trying to kill me,” Lera laughed. “That might color my judgement.”
"Well." Vera frowned. "That doesn't sound like a very good vacation."
"All things considered, it could have been worse," Lera shrugged.
Vera chuckled. "Like a dragon?"
"Yeah, an ice dragon does sound pretty bad," Lera blushed. She was failing at Perrin's whole 'don't talk about the dragon' thing.
"I still don't know why you'd rather be in here with me," Vera said, changing the subject. "Instead of out there having fun."
"I am having fun," Lera blushed. "My dad is a bard, which means that if we wanted a place to stay, he had to play. We would spend almost every night at taverns or parties providing the entertainment. So that out there is just... Normal now."
Vera nodded. "I completely understand. My life back home was endless parties. Needless parties. Spending money while people were starving." She glanced at Lera, giving her a smile. "This is a nice change."
“But this party was probably the best I’ve ever been to,” Lera quickly added.
"I just wish I had more food to work with." Vera began to put clean pots and pans away. "It would have been nice to make a cake for your friends who have birthdays."
“Perrin made pies, which in my mind are way better anyway,” Lera replied. Not knowing where things were actually supposed to go, she started shoving the pots and pans in the closest open cupboards. “Don’t worry, Vera, we’ll get you food.”
"I'm not worried about myself," Vera said quickly. "We've run through most of our fresh food for this party." She quickly raised a hand before Lera could say anything. "Sam's orders. He's confident we'll be out of here in the next few days. I'm worried about the children. What happens if we aren't out of here soon? They need veggies not salted pork."
“We won’t fail.”
Vera smiled and placed a hand on Lera's shoulder. "I didn't mean to imply that you wouldn't. I... I just have to think of the children."
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
The evening wore on, and, for the Scarlet Dawn, had to been considered something of a success. Nobody was maimed, offended, or swore blood oaths. True, Since was toasted a little bit, but that was pretty normal for a Lera plan. Zamar held the stage for a while signing, playing, and telling stories. But at last, it was time for the party to wind down. He signaled Woe to find Lera and the two joined him on stage. "Good people!" he called out, grabbing the attention of the room. "We thank you for your hospitality and generosity. You have given much for this feast and we are grateful. Tomorrow we will prove that gratitude with our deeds and, hopefully, know freedom again! Before we turn in so that we may rest properly, we have one more number we would like to perform for you. It is the story of how this unlikely assortment you have met here became a family. It is the Origin of the Scarlet Dawn". He pauses to let the room soak that in. He and Woe previously discussed how they would alter the performance from the tavern and Lera was used to her father's improvisations enough that she would be able to follow along. With viol, drum, and illusion the trio weave the tale of the red stones, the scavenger hunt, and the hawk faced man. Lera conjures up images of the man stealing the stones, trying to flee, and getting his comeuppance. Drum and viol work in perfect concert highlighting different points of the story and adding suspense, mirth, and even a little fear as the dark thing comes up from the ground to capture hawk face. At the familiar point, Zamar switches to his magical Lyre and Woe glides to the front of the stage as she dances to Highway to Hell. The song ends with the hawk-faced man being dragged down to the flaming depths with Woe acting as the fates. The audience has not seen a spectacle like this in quite some time, if ever. The end of the song is the final release of all the celebration, joy, and hope. The energy is palpable as the three leave the stage on a performance high rarely felt.
Zamar Zahuv - Level 4 Aasimar Bard in Whispers of Dissent
Golos - Level 1 Halfling Barbarian in Night's Dark Terror
Jerrok Flametongue - Level 6 Human Barbarian in Zendikar - Whispers of the Aeons
R'thr Ka'ri - Level 5 Paladin in The Adventures of Bubbles (every other Wednesday)
Johnathan Moonspeaker - Level 6 Druid in Web of Lies (every other Friday)
DM of Something Wicked This Way Comes - D&D Modernverse (every other Tuesday)
The residents of the cave sit mesmerized by the performance, and once the show is over, many cheer, and the children run about, excited to ask the three questions and fawn over them like celebrities. As the night begins to wind down, people start wandering out, headed off to their respective beds. A few remained, milling about and chatting each other up, including Sam. He finally makes his way to the three performers. "Well done! What an enthralling performance. Get some rest, tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day."
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
Dapple sat transfixed as the trio performed their story. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen - an artful weaving of music, song, dance and magic. When it was over, he cheered with the rest, amazed by what he'd seen, and impressed with what the Scarlet Dawn had been through to get where they were today. He'd heard bits of the story in passing, but he was glad he'd now got it all in one go and gained a new level of respect for his friends. As the crowd drifted away, he bounded up to the performers, giving each an excited hug. "That was incredible!," he exclaimed. "I had no idea you could put on a performance like that!"
Perrin sits and listen to the entertainers perform. He chuckles to himself a little bit st some of the, creative flairs, Lera takes with her illusions every now and again. Perrin ends up going to his bed shortly after the end of the final performance. All of the days excitment finally catching up to him. When he body hits his bed Perrin is out like a light.
After the party was over, Lera returned to the quarters assigned to the Scarlet Dawn. She waited a while, laying in bed awake until she thought everyone else was asleep. The sorcerer then got up, and snuck back to Vera’s room. In the craziness of the performance, she had forgotten to wish the other girl a good night.
When she entered the room, she found Vera fast asleep, still in the fineries from the party. Lera sighed before turning to exit, realizing she had missed her chance. As she went to leave, Lera tripped over an uneven patch of floor and slammed into the wall. “Oops,” she breathed.
From the darkness, Lera hears a soft voice call out. "Hello? Wh-who's there?"
“Sorry, it’s me,” Lera turned bright red. “I didn’t mean to wake you up, I just wanted to stay goodnight.”
"Lera? Oh!" Lera hears shuffling and moving of things quickly, then a torch is lit. Vera steps out of her cell and looks down the hall at Lera. She's clearly nervous, wringing her hands together. "You didn't wake me. Well, you did... but it's okay! I... er... had a lot.. a lot of fun earlier. Do... do you want to come in? I mean, do you want to talk or something?"
“No... umm, yes,” Lera stuttered. “Yes to come in. Yes.”
Ever the proper lady, Vera motioned for Lera to enter. Once Lera had entered, Vera sat on the bed, nervously. "So, I... um... well... uh... your friend makes really good pies! Perrin! Sam's son! His pies are good!"
“Yes! He does,” Lera nods, sitting on the bed next to her. “Perrin is my best friend in the whole world.” Even after that stunt he and Singe pulled, she mentally amended.
"Oh!" Vera fidgeted slightly. "It must be nice to have a best friend. The closest I have are my little sisters back home, but we never really got along the best." Vera placed her hand on the bed next to her, then nervously placed it back in her lap.
“Do you miss them?” Lera asked. “I don’t have any siblings, but I think Perrin is like a brother to me now.”
"I... no. Not really." Vera began wringing her hands together again. "They didn't see anything wrong with our father did, so we never got along well. I... like the people here." She spared a glance at Lera, her face turning red again.
“I like the people here too.”
Vera quickly looked away, biting her lips. "I... I wish I had... refreshments... or something... you know, to offer you."
“I have everything I need,” Lera blushed. “I mean, I ummm, ate and drank enough at the party. Is it hot in here? It feels hot in here.”
"Yeah," Vera pulled at the neck of her dress. "I mean... it gets hot in here... you know... because of the hot springs." She put a hand to her face to hide a smile.
“Why are you hiding your smile?”
"I... uh... I dunno." Vera quickly dropped her hand to her lap again. "Just something I do... when I'm... uh... nervous."
“I’m pretty nervous too,” Lera admitted.
Vera looked at Lera, surprised. "R-really? Why are *you* nervous?"
“Because you’re... umm, you,” Lera stuttered. “And I’m, well, me.”
"Yeah, you *are* you," Vera said, blushing again. "I... um... I've never, you know."
“Neither have I,” Lera turned even redder.
Vera bit her lip. "I never even... thought... about another girl... you know?"
“Yeah...” Lera’s voice trailed off as she looked at her lap. “I’m sorry if I crossed any lines. I, ummm, like I said, I’m impulsive. Sometimes I don’t think things through.”
"NO!" Vera quickly reached out and grabbed Lera's hand. "I... didn't mean to yell. I... it's fine, really... I didn't... dislike it! I just never thought that way before. You... opened my world a little more."
“Good,” Lera nodded, looking into her eyes. “I’m glad you didn’t dislike it.”
Vera looked down at Lera's hand in hers, blushing even deeper. She quickly pulled her hand back. "So, uh... what... er.... what do we do?"
“I just wanted to wish you a goodnight,” Lera said. “Then, you know, I’ve eventually got to go back to adventuring.”
"Right." Vera stopped smiling and stared at her hands, picking at a perfectly manicured nail. "The dragon."
“The big, scary, white dragon,” Lera mentally slammed her head against the wall. Perrin would be so mad if he knew how much she was mucking things up.
"Yeah." There was an awkward silence between the two women. "I... hope you come back. Safely. I hope you come back safely. I'll be here, worried for you. For all of you!" Vera slowly put her hand next to her on the bed, and lightly brushed Lera's hand.
Impulsively, Lera reached out and grabbed Vera's hand. "I hope I come back safely too," she laughed nervously.
"I hope so." Vera finally made eye contact. "I'd like to get to know you better."
"I'd like to get to know you better, too," Lera's voice caught in her throat.
Vera leaned over quickly and gave Lera a quick kiss on the cheek, much like Lera had done to her.
“Th-thank you,” Lera blushed, looking down at her nightgown.
"Y-you're... welcome?" Vera began giggle. "I have no idea what to do."
“Well, in the stories...” Lera cleared her throat, glancing down at Vera’s lips. “I think, ummmm...”
Vera watched Lera's eyes. She bit her bottom lip a moment, the quickly leaned in, kissing Lera on the lips...
Lera did not return to her own bed that night.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
Zamar settled into his room after talking with and encouraging all the children. He desperately hoped they succeeded. The Scarlet Dawn was likely the last hope these people had. They would all succeed or fall on their actions. The thought sobered him quickly, the performance high evaporating. He settled into his bed and focused on the ceiling. It was time for his nightly chat with his departed. "Hi, Kara. It's been another strange day. I'm not sure about this adventuring life. Lera and I have both been closer to death more times in the past week than the rest of our lives combined, and that includes when she set that inn on fire!" As he talks, he searches the shadows. He knows she won't be here, but for the first time, he finds himself wishing the shadows were real. He finds his mood colored by the events of the day; the crash, the fall down the mountain, the weird Celestial faces looking down at him. "We have a dangerous task ahead of us tomorrow, and this time more lives than just are own depend on our success. I pray that if someone must give their life in this venture, that it be me and not Lera or one of the other young ones. I've lived well and Lera will be well cared for if I am gone. She finally has a family. Perhaps I will see you soon. I love you."
Zamar Zahuv - Level 4 Aasimar Bard in Whispers of Dissent
Golos - Level 1 Halfling Barbarian in Night's Dark Terror
Jerrok Flametongue - Level 6 Human Barbarian in Zendikar - Whispers of the Aeons
R'thr Ka'ri - Level 5 Paladin in The Adventures of Bubbles (every other Wednesday)
Johnathan Moonspeaker - Level 6 Druid in Web of Lies (every other Friday)
DM of Something Wicked This Way Comes - D&D Modernverse (every other Tuesday)
When Woe wakes up early before any of the others have risen, she sneaks again down to the alcove at the hot springs, making sure that no one observes her. Then she uses the sending stone again: "One Scarlet Dawn member has vendetta against Lord Embree. What's your standing with him? Also need advice on slaying a white dragon."
The stone responds, "If Lord Embree falls, he may be replaced with someone worse. The Dragon... we can help. Use Thraul. Signore says...." The stone fades before the message can finish.
In the early morning hours, a bell can be heard ringing through the cavern. Slowly, residents begin to stir, waking from their slumber, and preparing for their day's work. Children dress and head to "school", while parents head off to their assigned duties, and the members of the Scarlet Dawn wake, knowing today was the day they faced the dragon.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
Shanolia's eyes flutter open at the sound of the bell and she wordlessly begins to strap her two weapon belts across her body in the usual X shape, sliding the daggers and her shortsword in their respective scabbards. Once they're strapped and secure, she reaches into her hood and withdraws the same page from yesterday, writing a bit more to calm her mind before their inevitable meeting with the dragon.
"11th of Eleint. Day 8,852
The party was something I don't usually use get to describe; fun. I had fun. Perrin taught me how to line-dance, and even though I slipped up several times it was still an enjoyable experience - perhaps my last. The time has come, we either slay the dragon and make it back to Baldur's Gate as a unit or we die fighting for a group of rebels that don't even have the common courtesy to give us a second glance. Either way, on this day, we fight for the Winter Wolves - we fight for Perrin and his father and their home, that one day they may drag down the tyrant and reclaim their rightful place in this world. They have the strength to stand and fight this day; when the time comes, will I be able to muster the same courage?"
Her hand moves as if to write more, but no thoughts come. With a sigh, she closes the bottle of ink and returns it and the pen to her pack, folding the paper and returning it to her hood before throwing her pack over one shoulder and slinging her crossbow over the other. Inside, she isn't prepared to face the dragon. Isn't prepared to die fighting for others' freedom. On the outside, she tries to hide her insecurity, tries to appear strong and unbothered by her fear.
When she finishes getting ready, she sits back down and meditates with her hand on her pendant, muttering a soft Elvish prayer to her mother for strength.
Dungeon Master - LSoL
Kaori - Battlemaster Fighter 5 / Paladin 2 (Kenku) - TSR
Cherna Godhari - Grave Cleric 4 (Human) - TW
Breena Mahi'ai - Divination Wizard 8 (Halfling) - WoE
Sharyn Savonath - Open Sea Paladin 4 (Triton) - PoPI
Zephyr - Four Elements (Revised) Monk 4 (Air Genasi) - IO
Takeshi - Mercy Monk 6 (Protector Aasimar) - TBW
Avrui Sirsash - Genie Warlock 2 (Wildhunt Shifter) - WotBS
Perrin wakes up feeling both excited and scared for what’s to come. He’s excited at the prospect of felling a dragon but also terrified at the same time. He would be an idiot not to recognize the dragons power. As he begins getting ready he doesn’t see his new armor about. Grasalfan must still be at Forge with it. Perrin thinks before he decides to head there and try out his new armor.
The forge room is quiet as Perrin makes his way over to it. Looking in, the embers have all turned to ash and the room sits vacant. A single set of crafted splint mail hangs from a rack, complete with gauntlets and a helmet. The plates, though taken from various other armors in the room, have been shaped to fit the halfling's form. Between each plate is Sam's old chainmail, weaved in give the splint mail the stability and strength it needs to be effective protection. Grasalfan is not there, likely sleeping after working through the night. His empty plate sits where Perrin left it last evening.
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Perrin, seeing the armor, can’t help but smile at it. He then begins the 10 minute process of putting it on. He’s so proud of it. Perrin must make Grasalfan something special as thanks for this. After putting it on he returns to where he thinks the others are but only runs into Shanolia who is deep in meditation. Unfortunately for her Perrin’s Armor is loud and takes her out of it. Perrin gives her a sheepish apology before they go to the team meeting together.
Singe wakes early the next morning. The threat of death is not conducive for sleep, he remarks as he puts on his cleanest suit jacket.
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"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Woe will head to the meeting, ignoring the freshly brewed coffee. Thinking about what she may have missed from the transmission of the stone.
Dapple had returned to the Scarlet Dawn's quarters after the party and slept the sound sleep of one who has no place else to be, no other concerns to bother him. Waking with the bells, he gathers his belongings, checks his armor and weapons and settles everything into place about his person. Nerves tickle his belly, but there is as much excitement as... fear? No, more concern for his friends and the people living in these caverns. For himself, he relishes the challenge of this unknown foe - curious how he will fare.
He joins the others for what breakfast there is, then there is nothing to do but wait. He sits, absent-mindedly fiddling with the hilt of his rapier, tail twitching with pent-up energy.