Ereni becomes subdued as she hears Malenia's answer, feeling a foreboding dread she cannot describe start to gain a foothold at the edges of her heart.
She too turns inward as they trek through the nightmarish Mirkwood, finding comfort only in Joy's fur, eyes often staring at the middle distance as if haunted. Entire days pass during which, other than the sparring sessions with Malenia and Judal, she speaks only to the dog, hugging and burying her head in the animal's fur as if to weep. Yet like the sky, no drops fall, for Ereni's tears ran dry long ago.
"Thunder above and nightmares below. Like Big Borresquieu sleeping on his bad side back with the Infantry, snoring as if the skies would split open. Kept everyone awake half the night and gave us all bad dreams for the other half. Damn lucky, old Borresquieu, never having to hear his own snoring. Always woke fresh as a daisy at dawn, bellowing laughter twirling his greataxe like a toothpick."
At Malenia's suggestion, Ereni (passive perception20) and Joy do try to look for the hidden passage, though she suspects the Jedi will be even better equipped to find the location than she will for multiple reasons.
During their time traveling and walking and such Judal continues on much as he has been so far. From time to time he wastes ten minutes of rest to ritually cast Magic Mouth for one reason or another, he spends some time focusing on Joy, if Ereni allows, and (helping?) train her in the basics such as stay, sit, fetch and the like. Eventually Judal ties a piece of cloth around Joy's neck as a makeshift collar (assuming the canine is not already wearing one.) Soon after there are some changes to Joy...
Whenever Joy squats to urinate she shouts out "Gimme a minute, peeing!"
Whenever Joy squats to defecate she shouts out "Privacy, please! Pooping!"
The first couple instances of this happening amuses Judal to no end and he is unable to conceal his snickering smirk. Joy's voice is most definitely in Judal's "Joy" voice but, being a bard and skilled in performing, it's a good voice. There are also other instances of Joy now being able to talk...
Whenever Joy picks up something we have thrown and commanded her to fetch she shouts out "I got it! I got it!"
When Joy returns and drops the fetched item at our feet she says "I'm a good girl, aren't I?"
Whenever one of us three (specifically) yell out "Joy, where are you?" the Joy voice shouts out in return "Here I am!"
Joy also now snores whenever she is asleep and Ereni is the only one awake to hear it.
If it had not been noticed and inquired about before now, the Joy voices would likely make it more noticable to Ereni and Malenia that there are, at certain times, very quiet whispers coming from Judal. Not from he himself, but his area. Judal will explain that he used the same enchantment on his own items as he did for Joy's collar.
"It's a minor enough enchantment but quite useful if used correctly and repeatedly," he explains. "The various pins I have surrounding me on my cloak, for instance, each hold an enchantment to whisper to me when someone approaches from a certain direction, once they get a bit too close. It can create a bit of a hushed cacophony if I am in a crowded room, admittedly, making it next to useless... But in more normal times, of when I believe I am alone, it makes quite an efficient early warning system. I know when anyone who can be seen, were I looking that way, draws a weapon or casts a spell. It's also quite a deterrant to pickpockets when your coin pouch screams whenever anyone but I myself touch it..."
Judal perhaps does not reveal every enchantment and Magic Mouth trick he has upon his person but he will point out he has several stones, each marked with a different code, that do different things.
One rock will call out to awaken Judal whenever a creature larger than a badger approaches when it is out and Judal is asleep.
One rock will call out whenever it starts moving when placed against a door.
Another couple call out whenever they are out of the pouch and someone is crawling in or out of a window or chimney.
A marble will call out Bloody Murder whenever thrown and hitting the ground.
"I have more and am always considering new options... It's a personal amusement but they can also come in quite handy as well," he explains. "It only has about a thirty foot range and can only be triggered by things one could see or hear... But beyond that, it's just limited by my imagination. Well, and the length of the message..."
"I've seen happier places than this in Nockmaar," Judal absently notes while they traverse through Mirkwood. "And you grew up here?"
"Is there anything particular about this small passage? Something specific enough that perhaps one of my enchantments would help ensure we do not miss it? My mind wanders sometimes... The enchantments have no such issues."
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We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
Ereni stoically accepts Judal's indulgences with Joy. Everyone has their way, as she found out so often in The Infantry. And the dog had no collar yet.
As for canine training, Ereni has had an advantage throughout. She casts Speak with Animals once a day (lasting ten minutes) without a spell slot using Primal Awareness, and more often if needed using spell slots.
In this way, she converses directly with the old dog in a manner that most pet owners cannot. And in truth, Ereni does not think of Joy as her pet, but rather a fourth member of the party and soulful friend. So she has not taught her the traditional stay, sit, fetch, heel commands, but more body language and facial expression-based cues with the occasional murmur. Always being open to what Joy herself would like to do.
So when Judal adds his flair by casting Magic Mouth, Ereni just chalks it up to another deadpan story she can laconically tell later. She directly informs Joy through Speak with Animals exactly what is going on so the poor dog is not suddenly surprised as she is relieving herself and such.
As for Joy's own reaction, who is to say? If it involves just a little friendly urination on Judal's bedroll to mark her territory while the bard has strolled away from camp, he might only find out if the Magic Mouth is audible to him, and then only if he is close enough to spy just where Joy is doing her business. Or the damp spot could give it away if it has not yet dried once he tucks in.
Malenia eventually regresses to a point in their journey where she is no longer speaking aloud, much like she was when the Answer first formed nearly a month ago. Instead choosing to communicate with her allies Telepathically. The hours of solitude she finds in the mornings thanks to her Eladrin nature, Being that she does not require a solid 8 hours of rest, only 4 hours of Meditation. Leads her to tackle the visions she is plagued with well before the others awake, while also keeping a careful watch over their surroundings to ensure nothing attacks them while Judal and Erenislumber.
She openly chuckles at Judal's arcane speech for Joy, being a very observant individual she is able to tell that it is Judal within the first instance. Finding a sort of comfort in Ereni's canine companion during their journey and the circumstances in which Judal speaks for her via Arcane means.
Still a sense of forboding change lingers within her, The electricity sparking from her prosthetic limb whenever she thought of the Power she wished to utilize and what it may cost.
Active Perception: 21 Passive Perception: 22
Of course being familiar with this area and what they are searching for, Malenia stays in the lead while they search for the passage.
In response to Judal, her soft voice creeps into his mind while her thin lips remain sealed. "Nothing of a Magical nature marks the entrance if that is what you are asking.....It's just well hidden. To prevent wanderers from stumbling upon the Haligtree."
She thinks of her Brother, How he brought her here and left her alone for decades while searching for a cure to the Rot that plagues her. Unconsiously she grips her Prosthetic shoulder, where the rot had eaten away her own flesh. It had been......forty years since she last saw Miquella. She wondered if he was even still alive.
"When we get there.....Try not to touch anything." A warning in advance that both Ereni and Judal hear within their mind.
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Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
When Malenia finally detects the opening, the others can hardly believe it's there. It's barely more than a crack, concealed by the illusion that it's not there at all. Only a keen eye with experience in searching for it could have seen it.
Entering the channel that will take them from the edge of the Mirkwood back into the little Goron Mountains is a claustrophobic experience. The passage is almost consitently less than six feet across, usually half that, and it's filled with chunks of rock that have fallen into over the years that make it no simple walk. There's climbing up, climbing down, jumping, and a ballet of artistic movements to be made with their feet just to continue to press forward.
And then, after miles of this arduous trail, they arrive.
How anyone couldn't know of the enormous Haligtree is bewildering. The base is expansive. The stem seems to stretch miles into the sky. The bows are are golden, shimmering...
Even Joy looks reverent.
Scattered around its base, in the mountain clearing that homes the tree, are multitudinous abandoned stone huts.
At the base of the tree is a recess housing a sturdy looking wooden door...
Ereni is just about ready to make a gloomy, sardonic comment about the spacious, comfortable, unobstructed path along which the four have journeyed when the sight of the Hagiltree renders her silent with solemn awe. So different than the trees among which she wandered when young.
Instead she simply looks her friend jedi in the eye, hesitating. Ereni's words emerge slowly as if dragged, the role of providing encouragement and guidance to others feeling utterly foreign, her plea creaking forth like a song from one sworn to silence.
"Remember Malenia, you are not Vader the bloodthirsty butcher that he is. The power-hungry despoiler. Strength be damned, by your deeds, you are the one he should strive to be. Malenia. Defender of Argos and Jappiter. Please do not forget..." She trails off uncertainly.
A sigh of relief escapes her as they step into the outskirts of her home, With a deep inhale she takes in the familiar smells of her home. Of rotting wood and crimson wildflowers that grow around each of the stone huts. Exhaling she leads the group into the abandoned village without so much as a whisper from her, content just to let them discover her home for their own. Already the familiar feeling of the soft earth hugging her feet with every step has her excited, Visibly her posture is improved as she is standing taller.
Quietly she leads them to the hut that had been her home for decades, tucked behind a few of the abandoned homes and close to the Haligtree itself. Visually, her home on the outside appears to be the same as the rest. If a little more taken care of, the crimson wildflowers surrounding it are in full bloom and vibrant. Obviously well taken care of and very healthy, a simple wooden door that is weather and has seen better days is shut with a latch holding it closed.
Picking up the latch, She swings open the door and steps in. The inside is VERY modest, with only two pieces of furniture. A singular chair and a small table with an empty clay bowl on it, It is just the one room. At the back of the room are a pile of worn blankets and furs that she used as a bed during her exile. There is no food or loose items of clothing, Whatever was here. She had taken with her when she left over a month ago now.
"You can stay here, Or try your luck with another of the Huts. No one is around to stop you." The first audible words spoken by Malenia in days comes across as steely and cold, as this Homecoming is haunted by the reason she had ventured here. Stepping out to marvel at the Haligtree, It's golden branches still left her with a sense of wonder.
Staring down at the simple wooden door at its base, Malenia curls her toes in the dirt. "Thank you Ereni.....I....." Her voice trails off as she stares at the door, reaching out with the Force in an attempt to feel the tree.
"I Think highly of you, Of the both of you. I would even call you friends.....Thank you both for accompanying me but......You cannot enter the Temple."
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Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
"Home again, home again, jiggity jig," Judal says quietly, almost solemnly. The hidden entry to the crazy chasm and that eventually ending in the sight before him? Surely he'll need to memorialize that in story or song... Some day. Some day far in the future. When he can be sure of just what he is talking about, what it's role in history is and, perhaps most importantly, be sure he is not accidentally revealing what obviously needs to remain sacred. He nods a mindless agreement with Ereni's words but adds none of his own. He does not know either of them well enough yet, best to not put his foot in his mouth during such a homecoming...
The spartan dwellings do not surprise him in the least. He is accustomed to better but he's also found the more comfortable a people are the more they tend to ruin everything... "Anything will be fine," he replies to Malenia. "Do what you need. We'll be fine and here if you need us."
The Temple, Judal thinks when she informs them that they may not enter. Is that what the Haligtree is? It appropriate even if it looks like no temple he is familiar with.
While Malenia settles in or whatever she needs to do, Judal will do a perfunctory look around the surrounding area and the huts. He is not looking for anything so much as just reassuring himself there is nothing to be found.
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We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
As Malenia disappears into the depths of the Haligtree, Judal, Joy, and Ereni are left alone on the surface to explore the many abandoned huts around the base of the great tree...
Ereni slowly wheels around, overwhelmed by the strangeness of the place, and by the tree itself. A sensation akin to mild vertigo asserts itself.
She feels no need to explore and scout as the sense that she does not belong here becomes overwhelming. There is no party or company of soldiers behind her intent on advancing into any area she would scout in any case. So she and Joy try to perceive what they can, not doing the best job of it.
Suddenly, she realizes that not only has Malenia gone into the Hagiltree, but Judal is no longer there either. She begins to look for areas of cover from which a surprise might come, or for darkness in which to conceal herself. Though she suspects that any threat here may not be physical.
Ereni begins to hear soft whispers and whispers back, voice canted strangely in reply to words that perhaps no one else hears. "Sounds a mite like my commanders. At the end with the Infantry. To save the village, it was necessary to destroy it. Peace may be a lie, and yet... yet that phrase requires bloodthirsty butchers like Vader to make it so." Her green eyes turn further inward and it is not immediately clear who she is addressing.
Casting Speak with Animals as she does at least once a day, she pats and scratches the short hairs on Joy's back, near the scruff of the dog's neck for comfort. "Just you and me for now, girl. Stay close. This place..."
As Malenia departs, Judal starts strolling through the area. A casual look-see hardly worthy of the term search. He thinks they’re alone as there doesn’t seem to be anyone around. Still, best to be sure…
But before he gets far at all it seems as darkness tugs at the corner of his vision and that the bright world he had been brought to beneath the Haligree tree was suddenly growing dim…
Judal pauses and looks around despite his narrowing vision. Who said that? he wonders. Or did he imagine it? His eyes seemingly betraying him, Judal unconsciously puts a hand upon the hilt of the dagger he wears up on his chest, the one with the black pearl nestled in its pommel, and closes his eyes so as to not confuse himself with too many senses.
Everyone suffers, he thinks deliberately. What matters is how they deal with it.
Looking around with his eyes closed reveals nothing new. If anything he gets a feeling the something is bleeding over from somewhere else… seeping into his senses. Why? From where? From the temple? It does seem the obvious... He walks a bit towards it to see if he feels more assaulted or not but gains no new information in this way.
Judal looks about for Ereni to see if she feels the same effects. She is gone. Nowhere to be seen. Ereni and Joy both… just gone. He calls out their names. No response. He calls out “Joy, where are you?” to trigger the enchantment ge had placed on the dog’s collar… Still, nothing.
“Well,” he says to, apparently, nobody but himself. “This is disturbing…” Eyes open once more, Judal sees no more or less than he had with them closed. Reluctantly he reach back and grabs the hood of his cloak. With a flick of the wrists, a bit of concentrated will, the hood is pulled up but there is no longer a Judal. Nor indeed a cloak or hood. Instead there is a sleek, dark, ferocious looking black hound with red eyes and faint wisps of smoke snaking up out of its nostrils at it breaths.
The hound hisses a growl and looks this way and that as it breathes the air searching for a scent. Ears stand at attention, attuned and ready, almost swiveling at each perceptible sound. The beast howls, saddened and maddened when its companions do not respond. It is a pack animal and it wants its pack back… it searches and seeks, ready to take down whatever may come between it and its companions.
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We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
Ereni and Joy appear around the corner of a nearby hut, clearly searching. The ranger's face looks pale behind her dark green face scarf. As if she had recently seen something she dearly wishes she had not.
Using her already cast Speak with Animals, Ereni addresses the hound in a canine language that Joy can also understand.
"Hail Moonsinger. We mean you no harm and offer respect if this is your territory. May we know your name? I am Ereni. Joy and I are looking for our two-legged companions. Malenia with the red fur on her head and pointy ears like mine, and Judal with the long, straight metal claw. Have you seen or scented them? This appears to be a strange place which plays tricks on the mind. Possibly dangerous."
(She repeats the same in Common, just in case, using fewer of the animalistic references such as "Moonsinger" for dog).
Ereni maintains a respectful stance and keeps distance, not knowing what the hound's reaction will be. Urging Joy to do the same, hand on her back fur.
The Hell Hound looks at Ereni suspiciously at first and backs up onto it's haunches... It gives out a snort and paired rushes of dark smoke raise from it's nostril as it gives out a low growl. Then, after cocking it's head a bit to listen to the common, the Hound gives himself a shake. The shake typical for all hounds which starts at the head and works it's way down to it's tail. Somewhere along the way though, the hound is no longer a hound... Rising from it's dark form and the smoke from it's nostrils is Judal.
"I believe you already know my name," Judal says a bit cautiously as he looks around for a bit, not quite looking at Ereni for the moment.
"Possibly dangerous, you say?" as he turns to look at her finally. "There is something most definitely dangerous here. The question is, what?"
"But no. You both were lost from me out of the blue and I could find hide nor hair of you. That is why I used my every trick to find the two of you. It worked, I guess... After a fashion."
Judal slowly draws his attention from Ereni to Joy and gives the canine a long look. "And how did you two find us?" Judal asks in his talking to Joy voice. "Where did you two disappear to anyway? And what were you up to while gone?"
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We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
With painful breaths, Malenia steps out from the temple hidden with the roots of the Haligtree. Holding the wooden door open with her Prosthetic arm, she looks over her shoulder. She had found her answer, Her path. It was not the one she had sought before coming here, but it was one she was determined to explore. Although doubt remained within her, To stray from the path she had walked for decades in an effort to carve her own was not an easy choice and it would be one she would have to wrestle with.
Closing the door, she stumbled forward out into a grove of crimson wildflowers. Looking out amongst the stone huts that were her home in search of her allies. Then a thought crossed her mind.....now that she had her answer.....She needed to reach the Answer, But how?
"Judal?......Ereni?" Weakly she calls out into the stone huts, beginning the search for her friends.
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Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
Judal turns his head in the direction of the sound and his hand instantly moves towards his weapons. He pauses without drawing. Waiting. He turns his head back to Ereni to assure himself that she is still there and then back to the direction of the sound. "Did you hear it too?" he asks warily.
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We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
Ereni stares as the Hell Hound changes back into Judal, then ignores the phenomenon for now. Oh. He is a shape shifter. Bit like Big Borresquieu would speak of being able to shape shift a side of ox cooking on a spit into a pile of bones before the rest of us could even sit down in the mess tent.
"Joy and I did not go anywhere. We remained where we were and suddenly could not see you any more. As I said, this place plays tricks on the mind. I had... an experience... that I'm not likely to forget. Same happen to you? It is only just now that we began to look for you among these huts and -"
Ereni hears Malenia. Without finishing her sentence, she breaks into a sprint towards it, bow ready in case there is any threat. Haste overriding caution.
"Malenia? I was afraid you might be... I saw... are you all right?"
Maleniastaggers but catches herself, Her long elven ears perking up when she hears the distinct sound of light footsteps approaching her. Her mind flashes to the events she had experienced only moments before, Of footsteps in the darkness. That Hoarse, mechanical breathing and the flash of red. Immediately her Prosthesis whirs to life, ejecting one of her weapons into her open palm as he other hand clutched at her abdomen. Where a fresh wound had been seared into her flesh.
She looks up just as her weapon ignites....****y to see Ereniand Joy. Her shoulders relax, her weapon retracts. "Ereni, Im alright." She winces in pain as she stands straight, returning her weapon to its concealed compartment. "Are you alright? Is Judal? How long was I gone?" The events that she had experienced felt like they had dragged on for days. She smiles weakly, a rare gift she had once shown to Ereni when they parted ways for a time.
"I found my Answer."Malenia looks like she could keel over at any given moment, she is covered in sweat and fresh burn scars left by a weapon like the ones she uses.
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Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
Ereni rushes to Malenia's side, helping support the Eladrin with one arm while she mumbles and gestures with her other hand, casting Goodberry. Joy nuzzles up to Malenia from the other side with a warm, steadying presence, tail wagging. Ereni returns Malenia's smile tremulously and offers the Jedi the dark green berries, which smell of deep forest and pine. While she does so, she calls back behind her shoulder to their swordsman companion.
"Judal, do you have something more to heal her?" Turning back to Malenia, Ereni's voice is matter-of-fact, though uncharacteristic worry creases the ranger's usually stoic face. "You should eat a Goodberry. Eat all ten. You are hurt. It has only been several minutes, but this place is strange. Judal and I disappeared from each other and each had different experiences..." Ereni's eyes look haunted at that last bit, eyeing Malenia's scars.
Only then does the Eladrin's final statement register. "You found your Answer?"
Judal follows Ereni to Malenia but does so at a much more controlled pace and keeps his distance from the pair, allowing them to have their moment.
What did you see? Judal wonders, but Ereni does not finish the thought.
"I am uninjured," Judal advises when Malenia inquires.
"I believe we both are," he adds, looking to Ereni to see if she is injured at all or not. He shifts from foot to foot, uncomfortable and unhappy to be here. "It is... hard to say how much time truly passed. I suspect not much more than ten minutes or so..." but then again perhaps things worked differently here, he continued to himself.
"Oh, of course," Judal adds when asked about healing. He continues to stand apart but he mutters some words and a healing wve flows over Malenia and soothes some of her wounds. (9 HP healed.) Judal eyes her to see if she needs more and will speak his healing words several times if needed. ((Can go high level and multiple casting if needed.))
"We of course want to hear everything, always and all at once but... Is this the best place for it? Do you have more you must do in this... place... or should we away?"
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We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
Malenia slowly chews on the berries provided by Ereni, with the efforts of both of her companions she is looking slightly better but still sporting some rather nasty wounds.
"We should be safe here for a night, Of course I will tell you about what has happened......I think it was a worthwile journey....but" Her face sinks, her eyes glaze over as she thinks of Stasoyla, Thea and Cinder. "I fear my selfishness has led me down a path I thought was right, But now know to be wrong." She leads the three of them to her home, Scruffing Joy behind her ear as they move.
"IN my pursuit for strength.....I nearly fell into the temptation of the Darkside, The same power Vader wielded. The power to change the outcome of any battle I may find myself in. It's lust was so tempting, I led us away from our comrades in a selfish search for that strength. Stasoyla was right, I nearly gave into my anger and became that which I fought against." She pushes open the door to her home and makes her way to the pile of furs and linens at the back of the small home. Leaning against the wall and sinking down onto them.
"Within the Temple, I saw him. Vader, I fought him. He demonstrated the power i sought, The power I nearly gave into. I would have, If not for you Ereni." Her eye's flick up to her friend. "During our journey here, You reminded me that I do not want to be Vader or like him. It was you words that prevented me from falling to the Darksides seduction."
"Just when I thought I had the upper hand in my battle with Vader, he cast me aside with that power.....and just when I thought my sould was full of days, the killing blow never came. Instead I awoke, to find another figure. A wise Jedi Master by the name of Qui-gon Jinn, It was through him did I realize the fault in my Code, In the Jedi Code."
"It is neither good nor evil, The Force that is. Theis thing I am able to control. There is no Darkside or Light side, there is only the force. It depends on the nature of individual to determine what they use it for. With this revelation.....I suppose I am no longer a Jedi......Im something else, Something new."
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Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
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Ereni becomes subdued as she hears Malenia's answer, feeling a foreboding dread she cannot describe start to gain a foothold at the edges of her heart.
She too turns inward as they trek through the nightmarish Mirkwood, finding comfort only in Joy's fur, eyes often staring at the middle distance as if haunted. Entire days pass during which, other than the sparring sessions with Malenia and Judal, she speaks only to the dog, hugging and burying her head in the animal's fur as if to weep. Yet like the sky, no drops fall, for Ereni's tears ran dry long ago.
"Thunder above and nightmares below. Like Big Borresquieu sleeping on his bad side back with the Infantry, snoring as if the skies would split open. Kept everyone awake half the night and gave us all bad dreams for the other half. Damn lucky, old Borresquieu, never having to hear his own snoring. Always woke fresh as a daisy at dawn, bellowing laughter twirling his greataxe like a toothpick."
At Malenia's suggestion, Ereni (passive perception 20) and Joy do try to look for the hidden passage, though she suspects the Jedi will be even better equipped to find the location than she will for multiple reasons.
Mud(Paladin2):Frandal's Scourge/Inge(Barbarian1):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Shin(Wizard2):Dimir_MTG's Surviving
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric3):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard2):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter5):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Rel(Warlock2):Uhtred's Phandelver/Xarian(Fighter1/Wizard1):ShieldHero's Drakkenheim
During their time traveling and walking and such Judal continues on much as he has been so far. From time to time he wastes ten minutes of rest to ritually cast Magic Mouth for one reason or another, he spends some time focusing on Joy, if Ereni allows, and (helping?) train her in the basics such as stay, sit, fetch and the like. Eventually Judal ties a piece of cloth around Joy's neck as a makeshift collar (assuming the canine is not already wearing one.) Soon after there are some changes to Joy...
The first couple instances of this happening amuses Judal to no end and he is unable to conceal his snickering smirk. Joy's voice is most definitely in Judal's "Joy" voice but, being a bard and skilled in performing, it's a good voice. There are also other instances of Joy now being able to talk...
If it had not been noticed and inquired about before now, the Joy voices would likely make it more noticable to Ereni and Malenia that there are, at certain times, very quiet whispers coming from Judal. Not from he himself, but his area. Judal will explain that he used the same enchantment on his own items as he did for Joy's collar.
"It's a minor enough enchantment but quite useful if used correctly and repeatedly," he explains. "The various pins I have surrounding me on my cloak, for instance, each hold an enchantment to whisper to me when someone approaches from a certain direction, once they get a bit too close. It can create a bit of a hushed cacophony if I am in a crowded room, admittedly, making it next to useless... But in more normal times, of when I believe I am alone, it makes quite an efficient early warning system. I know when anyone who can be seen, were I looking that way, draws a weapon or casts a spell. It's also quite a deterrant to pickpockets when your coin pouch screams whenever anyone but I myself touch it..."
Judal perhaps does not reveal every enchantment and Magic Mouth trick he has upon his person but he will point out he has several stones, each marked with a different code, that do different things.
"I have more and am always considering new options... It's a personal amusement but they can also come in quite handy as well," he explains. "It only has about a thirty foot range and can only be triggered by things one could see or hear... But beyond that, it's just limited by my imagination. Well, and the length of the message..."
"I've seen happier places than this in Nockmaar," Judal absently notes while they traverse through Mirkwood. "And you grew up here?"
"Is there anything particular about this small passage? Something specific enough that perhaps one of my enchantments would help ensure we do not miss it? My mind wanders sometimes... The enchantments have no such issues."
We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
-- Eleanor Shellstrop
Ereni stoically accepts Judal's indulgences with Joy. Everyone has their way, as she found out so often in The Infantry. And the dog had no collar yet.
As for canine training, Ereni has had an advantage throughout. She casts Speak with Animals once a day (lasting ten minutes) without a spell slot using Primal Awareness, and more often if needed using spell slots.
In this way, she converses directly with the old dog in a manner that most pet owners cannot. And in truth, Ereni does not think of Joy as her pet, but rather a fourth member of the party and soulful friend. So she has not taught her the traditional stay, sit, fetch, heel commands, but more body language and facial expression-based cues with the occasional murmur. Always being open to what Joy herself would like to do.
So when Judal adds his flair by casting Magic Mouth, Ereni just chalks it up to another deadpan story she can laconically tell later. She directly informs Joy through Speak with Animals exactly what is going on so the poor dog is not suddenly surprised as she is relieving herself and such.
As for Joy's own reaction, who is to say? If it involves just a little friendly urination on Judal's bedroll to mark her territory while the bard has strolled away from camp, he might only find out if the Magic Mouth is audible to him, and then only if he is close enough to spy just where Joy is doing her business. Or the damp spot could give it away if it has not yet dried once he tucks in.
Mud(Paladin2):Frandal's Scourge/Inge(Barbarian1):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Shin(Wizard2):Dimir_MTG's Surviving
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric3):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard2):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter5):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Rel(Warlock2):Uhtred's Phandelver/Xarian(Fighter1/Wizard1):ShieldHero's Drakkenheim
Malenia eventually regresses to a point in their journey where she is no longer speaking aloud, much like she was when the Answer first formed nearly a month ago. Instead choosing to communicate with her allies Telepathically. The hours of solitude she finds in the mornings thanks to her Eladrin nature, Being that she does not require a solid 8 hours of rest, only 4 hours of Meditation. Leads her to tackle the visions she is plagued with well before the others awake, while also keeping a careful watch over their surroundings to ensure nothing attacks them while Judal and Ereni slumber.
She openly chuckles at Judal's arcane speech for Joy, being a very observant individual she is able to tell that it is Judal within the first instance. Finding a sort of comfort in Ereni's canine companion during their journey and the circumstances in which Judal speaks for her via Arcane means.
Still a sense of forboding change lingers within her, The electricity sparking from her prosthetic limb whenever she thought of the Power she wished to utilize and what it may cost.
Active Perception: 21
Passive Perception: 22
Of course being familiar with this area and what they are searching for, Malenia stays in the lead while they search for the passage.
In response to Judal, her soft voice creeps into his mind while her thin lips remain sealed. "Nothing of a Magical nature marks the entrance if that is what you are asking.....It's just well hidden. To prevent wanderers from stumbling upon the Haligtree."
She thinks of her Brother, How he brought her here and left her alone for decades while searching for a cure to the Rot that plagues her. Unconsiously she grips her Prosthetic shoulder, where the rot had eaten away her own flesh. It had been......forty years since she last saw Miquella. She wondered if he was even still alive.
"When we get there.....Try not to touch anything." A warning in advance that both Ereni and Judal hear within their mind.
Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
When Malenia finally detects the opening, the others can hardly believe it's there. It's barely more than a crack, concealed by the illusion that it's not there at all. Only a keen eye with experience in searching for it could have seen it.
Entering the channel that will take them from the edge of the Mirkwood back into the little Goron Mountains is a claustrophobic experience. The passage is almost consitently less than six feet across, usually half that, and it's filled with chunks of rock that have fallen into over the years that make it no simple walk. There's climbing up, climbing down, jumping, and a ballet of artistic movements to be made with their feet just to continue to press forward.
And then, after miles of this arduous trail, they arrive.
How anyone couldn't know of the enormous Haligtree is bewildering. The base is expansive. The stem seems to stretch miles into the sky. The bows are are golden, shimmering...
Even Joy looks reverent.
Scattered around its base, in the mountain clearing that homes the tree, are multitudinous abandoned stone huts.
At the base of the tree is a recess housing a sturdy looking wooden door...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
Ereni is just about ready to make a gloomy, sardonic comment about the spacious, comfortable, unobstructed path along which the four have journeyed when the sight of the Hagiltree renders her silent with solemn awe. So different than the trees among which she wandered when young.
Instead she simply looks her friend jedi in the eye, hesitating. Ereni's words emerge slowly as if dragged, the role of providing encouragement and guidance to others feeling utterly foreign, her plea creaking forth like a song from one sworn to silence.
"Remember Malenia, you are not Vader the bloodthirsty butcher that he is. The power-hungry despoiler. Strength be damned, by your deeds, you are the one he should strive to be. Malenia. Defender of Argos and Jappiter. Please do not forget..." She trails off uncertainly.
Mud(Paladin2):Frandal's Scourge/Inge(Barbarian1):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Shin(Wizard2):Dimir_MTG's Surviving
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric3):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard2):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter5):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Rel(Warlock2):Uhtred's Phandelver/Xarian(Fighter1/Wizard1):ShieldHero's Drakkenheim
A sigh of relief escapes her as they step into the outskirts of her home, With a deep inhale she takes in the familiar smells of her home. Of rotting wood and crimson wildflowers that grow around each of the stone huts. Exhaling she leads the group into the abandoned village without so much as a whisper from her, content just to let them discover her home for their own. Already the familiar feeling of the soft earth hugging her feet with every step has her excited, Visibly her posture is improved as she is standing taller.
Quietly she leads them to the hut that had been her home for decades, tucked behind a few of the abandoned homes and close to the Haligtree itself. Visually, her home on the outside appears to be the same as the rest. If a little more taken care of, the crimson wildflowers surrounding it are in full bloom and vibrant. Obviously well taken care of and very healthy, a simple wooden door that is weather and has seen better days is shut with a latch holding it closed.
Picking up the latch, She swings open the door and steps in. The inside is VERY modest, with only two pieces of furniture. A singular chair and a small table with an empty clay bowl on it, It is just the one room. At the back of the room are a pile of worn blankets and furs that she used as a bed during her exile. There is no food or loose items of clothing, Whatever was here. She had taken with her when she left over a month ago now.
"You can stay here, Or try your luck with another of the Huts. No one is around to stop you." The first audible words spoken by Malenia in days comes across as steely and cold, as this Homecoming is haunted by the reason she had ventured here. Stepping out to marvel at the Haligtree, It's golden branches still left her with a sense of wonder.
Staring down at the simple wooden door at its base, Malenia curls her toes in the dirt. "Thank you Ereni.....I....." Her voice trails off as she stares at the door, reaching out with the Force in an attempt to feel the tree.
"I Think highly of you, Of the both of you. I would even call you friends.....Thank you both for accompanying me but......You cannot enter the Temple."
Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
"Home again, home again, jiggity jig," Judal says quietly, almost solemnly. The hidden entry to the crazy chasm and that eventually ending in the sight before him? Surely he'll need to memorialize that in story or song... Some day. Some day far in the future. When he can be sure of just what he is talking about, what it's role in history is and, perhaps most importantly, be sure he is not accidentally revealing what obviously needs to remain sacred. He nods a mindless agreement with Ereni's words but adds none of his own. He does not know either of them well enough yet, best to not put his foot in his mouth during such a homecoming...
The spartan dwellings do not surprise him in the least. He is accustomed to better but he's also found the more comfortable a people are the more they tend to ruin everything... "Anything will be fine," he replies to Malenia. "Do what you need. We'll be fine and here if you need us."
The Temple, Judal thinks when she informs them that they may not enter. Is that what the Haligtree is? It appropriate even if it looks like no temple he is familiar with.
While Malenia settles in or whatever she needs to do, Judal will do a perfunctory look around the surrounding area and the huts. He is not looking for anything so much as just reassuring himself there is nothing to be found.
We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
-- Eleanor Shellstrop
As Malenia disappears into the depths of the Haligtree, Judal, Joy, and Ereni are left alone on the surface to explore the many abandoned huts around the base of the great tree...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
DM of Legacy of NIMH
Ereni slowly wheels around, overwhelmed by the strangeness of the place, and by the tree itself. A sensation akin to mild vertigo asserts itself.
She feels no need to explore and scout as the sense that she does not belong here becomes overwhelming. There is no party or company of soldiers behind her intent on advancing into any area she would scout in any case. So she and Joy try to perceive what they can, not doing the best job of it.
Ereni Perception: 15 (Passive 20)
Suddenly, she realizes that not only has Malenia gone into the Hagiltree, but Judal is no longer there either. She begins to look for areas of cover from which a surprise might come, or for darkness in which to conceal herself. Though she suspects that any threat here may not be physical.
Ereni begins to hear soft whispers and whispers back, voice canted strangely in reply to words that perhaps no one else hears. "Sounds a mite like my commanders. At the end with the Infantry. To save the village, it was necessary to destroy it. Peace may be a lie, and yet... yet that phrase requires bloodthirsty butchers like Vader to make it so." Her green eyes turn further inward and it is not immediately clear who she is addressing.
Casting Speak with Animals as she does at least once a day, she pats and scratches the short hairs on Joy's back, near the scruff of the dog's neck for comfort. "Just you and me for now, girl. Stay close. This place..."
Mud(Paladin2):Frandal's Scourge/Inge(Barbarian1):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Shin(Wizard2):Dimir_MTG's Surviving
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric3):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard2):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter5):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Rel(Warlock2):Uhtred's Phandelver/Xarian(Fighter1/Wizard1):ShieldHero's Drakkenheim
As Malenia departs, Judal starts strolling through the area. A casual look-see hardly worthy of the term search. He thinks they’re alone as there doesn’t seem to be anyone around. Still, best to be sure…
But before he gets far at all it seems as darkness tugs at the corner of his vision and that the bright world he had been brought to beneath the Haligree tree was suddenly growing dim…
Judal pauses and looks around despite his narrowing vision. Who said that? he wonders. Or did he imagine it? His eyes seemingly betraying him, Judal unconsciously puts a hand upon the hilt of the dagger he wears up on his chest, the one with the black pearl nestled in its pommel, and closes his eyes so as to not confuse himself with too many senses.
Everyone suffers, he thinks deliberately. What matters is how they deal with it.
Looking around with his eyes closed reveals nothing new. If anything he gets a feeling the something is bleeding over from somewhere else… seeping into his senses. Why? From where? From the temple? It does seem the obvious... He walks a bit towards it to see if he feels more assaulted or not but gains no new information in this way.
Judal looks about for Ereni to see if she feels the same effects. She is gone. Nowhere to be seen. Ereni and Joy both… just gone. He calls out their names. No response. He calls out “Joy, where are you?” to trigger the enchantment ge had placed on the dog’s collar… Still, nothing.
“Well,” he says to, apparently, nobody but himself. “This is disturbing…” Eyes open once more, Judal sees no more or less than he had with them closed. Reluctantly he reach back and grabs the hood of his cloak. With a flick of the wrists, a bit of concentrated will, the hood is pulled up but there is no longer a Judal. Nor indeed a cloak or hood. Instead there is a sleek, dark, ferocious looking black hound with red eyes and faint wisps of smoke snaking up out of its nostrils at it breaths.
The hound hisses a growl and looks this way and that as it breathes the air searching for a scent. Ears stand at attention, attuned and ready, almost swiveling at each perceptible sound. The beast howls, saddened and maddened when its companions do not respond. It is a pack animal and it wants its pack back… it searches and seeks, ready to take down whatever may come between it and its companions.
We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
-- Eleanor Shellstrop
Ereni and Joy appear around the corner of a nearby hut, clearly searching. The ranger's face looks pale behind her dark green face scarf. As if she had recently seen something she dearly wishes she had not.
Using her already cast Speak with Animals, Ereni addresses the hound in a canine language that Joy can also understand.
"Hail Moonsinger. We mean you no harm and offer respect if this is your territory. May we know your name? I am Ereni. Joy and I are looking for our two-legged companions. Malenia with the red fur on her head and pointy ears like mine, and Judal with the long, straight metal claw. Have you seen or scented them? This appears to be a strange place which plays tricks on the mind. Possibly dangerous."
(She repeats the same in Common, just in case, using fewer of the animalistic references such as "Moonsinger" for dog).
Ereni maintains a respectful stance and keeps distance, not knowing what the hound's reaction will be. Urging Joy to do the same, hand on her back fur.
Mud(Paladin2):Frandal's Scourge/Inge(Barbarian1):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Shin(Wizard2):Dimir_MTG's Surviving
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric3):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard2):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter5):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Rel(Warlock2):Uhtred's Phandelver/Xarian(Fighter1/Wizard1):ShieldHero's Drakkenheim
The Hell Hound looks at Ereni suspiciously at first and backs up onto it's haunches... It gives out a snort and paired rushes of dark smoke raise from it's nostril as it gives out a low growl. Then, after cocking it's head a bit to listen to the common, the Hound gives himself a shake. The shake typical for all hounds which starts at the head and works it's way down to it's tail. Somewhere along the way though, the hound is no longer a hound... Rising from it's dark form and the smoke from it's nostrils is Judal.
"I believe you already know my name," Judal says a bit cautiously as he looks around for a bit, not quite looking at Ereni for the moment.
"Possibly dangerous, you say?" as he turns to look at her finally. "There is something most definitely dangerous here. The question is, what?"
"But no. You both were lost from me out of the blue and I could find hide nor hair of you. That is why I used my every trick to find the two of you. It worked, I guess... After a fashion."
Judal slowly draws his attention from Ereni to Joy and gives the canine a long look. "And how did you two find us?" Judal asks in his talking to Joy voice. "Where did you two disappear to anyway? And what were you up to while gone?"
We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
-- Eleanor Shellstrop
With painful breaths, Malenia steps out from the temple hidden with the roots of the Haligtree. Holding the wooden door open with her Prosthetic arm, she looks over her shoulder. She had found her answer, Her path. It was not the one she had sought before coming here, but it was one she was determined to explore. Although doubt remained within her, To stray from the path she had walked for decades in an effort to carve her own was not an easy choice and it would be one she would have to wrestle with.
Closing the door, she stumbled forward out into a grove of crimson wildflowers. Looking out amongst the stone huts that were her home in search of her allies. Then a thought crossed her mind.....now that she had her answer.....She needed to reach the Answer, But how?
"Judal?......Ereni?" Weakly she calls out into the stone huts, beginning the search for her friends.
Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
Judal turns his head in the direction of the sound and his hand instantly moves towards his weapons. He pauses without drawing. Waiting. He turns his head back to Ereni to assure himself that she is still there and then back to the direction of the sound. "Did you hear it too?" he asks warily.
We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
-- Eleanor Shellstrop
Ereni stares as the Hell Hound changes back into Judal, then ignores the phenomenon for now. Oh. He is a shape shifter. Bit like Big Borresquieu would speak of being able to shape shift a side of ox cooking on a spit into a pile of bones before the rest of us could even sit down in the mess tent.
"Joy and I did not go anywhere. We remained where we were and suddenly could not see you any more. As I said, this place plays tricks on the mind. I had... an experience... that I'm not likely to forget. Same happen to you? It is only just now that we began to look for you among these huts and -"
Perception: 20 (active roll same as passive).
Ereni hears Malenia. Without finishing her sentence, she breaks into a sprint towards it, bow ready in case there is any threat. Haste overriding caution.
"Malenia? I was afraid you might be... I saw... are you all right?"
Mud(Paladin2):Frandal's Scourge/Inge(Barbarian1):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Shin(Wizard2):Dimir_MTG's Surviving
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric3):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard2):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter5):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Rel(Warlock2):Uhtred's Phandelver/Xarian(Fighter1/Wizard1):ShieldHero's Drakkenheim
Malenia staggers but catches herself, Her long elven ears perking up when she hears the distinct sound of light footsteps approaching her. Her mind flashes to the events she had experienced only moments before, Of footsteps in the darkness. That Hoarse, mechanical breathing and the flash of red. Immediately her Prosthesis whirs to life, ejecting one of her weapons into her open palm as he other hand clutched at her abdomen. Where a fresh wound had been seared into her flesh.
She looks up just as her weapon ignites....****y to see Ereni and Joy. Her shoulders relax, her weapon retracts. "Ereni, Im alright." She winces in pain as she stands straight, returning her weapon to its concealed compartment. "Are you alright? Is Judal? How long was I gone?" The events that she had experienced felt like they had dragged on for days. She smiles weakly, a rare gift she had once shown to Ereni when they parted ways for a time.
"I found my Answer." Malenia looks like she could keel over at any given moment, she is covered in sweat and fresh burn scars left by a weapon like the ones she uses.
Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
Ereni rushes to Malenia's side, helping support the Eladrin with one arm while she mumbles and gestures with her other hand, casting Goodberry. Joy nuzzles up to Malenia from the other side with a warm, steadying presence, tail wagging. Ereni returns Malenia's smile tremulously and offers the Jedi the dark green berries, which smell of deep forest and pine. While she does so, she calls back behind her shoulder to their swordsman companion.
"Judal, do you have something more to heal her?" Turning back to Malenia, Ereni's voice is matter-of-fact, though uncharacteristic worry creases the ranger's usually stoic face. "You should eat a Goodberry. Eat all ten. You are hurt. It has only been several minutes, but this place is strange. Judal and I disappeared from each other and each had different experiences..." Ereni's eyes look haunted at that last bit, eyeing Malenia's scars.
Only then does the Eladrin's final statement register. "You found your Answer?"
Mud(Paladin2):Frandal's Scourge/Inge(Barbarian1):Krayveneer's After the Fall/Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles/Shin(Wizard2):Dimir_MTG's Surviving
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric3):Vos' Beyond the Veil/Soren(Druid4):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft/Nivi(Rogue3):Raiketsu's CoS/Lyra(Warlock2/Bard2):BlameItOnWinter's Will of the Ancients
Joren(Fighter5):NotDrizzt's Simple Request/Quyen(Adept1):Constance's Nentir Vale/Rel(Warlock2):Uhtred's Phandelver/Xarian(Fighter1/Wizard1):ShieldHero's Drakkenheim
Judal follows Ereni to Malenia but does so at a much more controlled pace and keeps his distance from the pair, allowing them to have their moment.
What did you see? Judal wonders, but Ereni does not finish the thought.
"I am uninjured," Judal advises when Malenia inquires.
"I believe we both are," he adds, looking to Ereni to see if she is injured at all or not. He shifts from foot to foot, uncomfortable and unhappy to be here. "It is... hard to say how much time truly passed. I suspect not much more than ten minutes or so..." but then again perhaps things worked differently here, he continued to himself.
"Oh, of course," Judal adds when asked about healing. He continues to stand apart but he mutters some words and a healing wve flows over Malenia and soothes some of her wounds. (9 HP healed.) Judal eyes her to see if she needs more and will speak his healing words several times if needed. ((Can go high level and multiple casting if needed.))
"We of course want to hear everything, always and all at once but... Is this the best place for it? Do you have more you must do in this... place... or should we away?"
We're doing one small murder-y thing for a bigger, better reason. The ends justify the means.
-- Eleanor Shellstrop
Malenia slowly chews on the berries provided by Ereni, with the efforts of both of her companions she is looking slightly better but still sporting some rather nasty wounds.
"We should be safe here for a night, Of course I will tell you about what has happened......I think it was a worthwile journey....but" Her face sinks, her eyes glaze over as she thinks of Stasoyla, Thea and Cinder. "I fear my selfishness has led me down a path I thought was right, But now know to be wrong." She leads the three of them to her home, Scruffing Joy behind her ear as they move.
"IN my pursuit for strength.....I nearly fell into the temptation of the Darkside, The same power Vader wielded. The power to change the outcome of any battle I may find myself in. It's lust was so tempting, I led us away from our comrades in a selfish search for that strength. Stasoyla was right, I nearly gave into my anger and became that which I fought against." She pushes open the door to her home and makes her way to the pile of furs and linens at the back of the small home. Leaning against the wall and sinking down onto them.
"Within the Temple, I saw him. Vader, I fought him. He demonstrated the power i sought, The power I nearly gave into. I would have, If not for you Ereni." Her eye's flick up to her friend.
"During our journey here, You reminded me that I do not want to be Vader or like him. It was you words that prevented me from falling to the Darksides seduction."
"Just when I thought I had the upper hand in my battle with Vader, he cast me aside with that power.....and just when I thought my sould was full of days, the killing blow never came. Instead I awoke, to find another figure. A wise Jedi Master by the name of Qui-gon Jinn, It was through him did I realize the fault in my Code, In the Jedi Code."
"It is neither good nor evil, The Force that is. Theis thing I am able to control. There is no Darkside or Light side, there is only the force. It depends on the nature of individual to determine what they use it for. With this revelation.....I suppose I am no longer a Jedi......Im something else, Something new."
Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny