The healing light of Thea's touch makes the Elven woman perk up a bit, some color returning to her pallid cheeks. The thing on her neck shrinks away from her but doesn't quite leg go...
Almost as if they bore a great weight, the elven woman found great difficulty in trying to open her eyes. The nearby light and sounds almost overwhelmed her senses but she persevered even through the miasma and sludge that seemed to slow her mind and body, until finally, she felt like she had regained a semblance of control over herself once more. Despite her current condition, she stood up to her full height. She was rather freakishly tall at 197cm (6'5) and was most likely used to look down on most people, there was an air of nobility to her as well as an impression of supreme arrogance.
She was quick in inspecting herself, and to her relief, her items were still right there in her Sheikah-made Bag of Holding and as she was already aware of its content, she could instinctively tell whether they were present or not. She did notice the parasite leeching off her, she was naturally repulsed by it, but otherwise did not react further to it for the time being. With her personal safety and belongings assured in just a few moments, she finally turned to inspect her surroundings and her most likely saviors.
The elven woman would be a fool not to see it and if they had wished her harm, she had been defenseless while unconscious. She noticed they had partially undressed her, leaving only her bodysuit, most likely to tend to her wounds. Not that she seemed to care much about her modesty, she nonetheless pulled a cloth out of her Bag of Holding that seemed to shimmer with kaleidoscopic lights and change forms until it settled into what looked like rather expensive wilderness clothing.
"Who are you people? And where am I?" With furrowed brows that denoted a rather impressive glare, the ethereal elf inquired.
Thea's eyes brighten up as she sees that her little attempt at healing has made some positive effect. Screwing her face up with thought and effort, her forehead shines slightly as she channels more of her healing light energy in to the poor woman. While she doesn't feel her power as strongly as she hopes, she exhausts her day's supply trying to help her (7 more hp). Looking at her she says, "My name is Thea, what are you called? And how do you feel now?" She smiles at her encouragingly but she can't hide the concern in her eyes. She looks to the others to help explain how they found the woman and she sits quietly next to her waiting to see if she needs to do more healing spells.
Stasolya, when catching sight of the discourse between Ereni and the soldiers, and Ereni's seeming sanction to move amongst the ill, approaches the camp. She lags behind the others, at first, pausing as if listening to something only she can hear. As she listens, her posture straightens, her tail swishes, and a smile of quiet joy spreads across her face. Her eyes remain troubled, distracted, but her happiness despite this is obvious. She soon trots over to join the others at the bedsides of the infirm, assessing with concern the signs that the party first saw on an afflicted deer in their travels.
"Curing disease is troublesome," she says to Ereni in response to her request. "Disease in the body is like the Nothing and the Lord of Darkness in Hyboria. It strikes weaknesses only and is yet malignant. But I know a little of this art. I can try to apply it." She follows Ereni to her requested patient, the elven woman, whom Thea is giving some healing to already.
Stasolya pauses to watch the elf recover a bit and stand, nearly as tall as the centaur herself. This elven woman doesn't seem to be part of the band of soldiers; her clothing and belongings are quite unique. Stasolya says to her, "I am Stasolya, of the Kiros Clan. You seem to have found misfortune. What is your name?"
"Misfortune is a lacking description for my current situation," the elven woman scowled in the vague direction of Hyrule Castle, she turned back to inspect the people before her from head to toe as if putting them through a test and they were found wanting, "you may refer to me as Lelith."
"Are you heading to the castle?" The now named Lelith asked. She did not wait for their answer before continuing, it was clearly rhetorical as she had guessed their intentions, "if so you best dispel such thought and discard any plans you may have there. You will merely meet your death there. Not only did I fail in stopping the Calamity's birth, I helped it against my will. Many more lives were lost."
There was a brief moment of distress and pain as she spoke about what happened before suddenly, her expression snapped back to neutrality as if it was never there. Instead she found herself distracted by something else. Lelith narrowed her eyes at Thea, she brushed off her concern and did not answer her, as she seemed more preoccupied by something else, "you... are weird. Your smell is different."
Lelith decided to make a gamble on her guess and spoke the next words in Sylvan in Thea's mind, 'are you a feykin in disguise?' To illustrate her question, the elf reached out to the wild forest outside of normative space, flowers bloomed around them, butterflies and birds flocked around them, and the woman's eyes swirled with otherworldly iridescent colours.
Ereni steps back for a moment to lean on a tree as the tall elven woman rouses herself, content to let the others do the talking.
Still chewing laconically on the forest herb she had plucked and ground up with her kit after having lost her lunch at the sight of the deer with the aberrant infection, she looks more closely at the manifestation of the disease. The one in the elf and also on the two soldiers who are too far gone.
Almost... almost... I think with just the right herbs and a bit of magic, I could... it's right there...
But then the words that the elf... Lelith? Anyway, a couple of the words that Lelith mentions draw her immediate attention.
"The Calamity's birth? What is the Calamity m'lady? Other than what our first few days at sea did to my fellow scout Malenia's gut? Is it to do with all that purple lightning and then everyone feeling like we all ate three-day-old stew from the mess hall? And that, ah... growth on your neck?"
Ereni's drawl is deadpan and morose. As if Vader and his army and Princess Andromeda's kidnapping weren't already beyond my ken.
Lelith looked to be irked and glared at Ereni. Whether it was her lack of tact, her interruption when she tried to discern more of Thea, or the reminder of what happened in the castle and what it entailed for the world, was unclear. Perhaps it was all of them at once. Regardless, she relented. What little remained of her pride would be of no use here.
"I have been through some... distressing events," Lelith admitted with some difficulty. "And so I am not in the best state of mind. I will do my best to answer your questions, regardless. I know nothing of the parasite, unfortunately. As for the Calamity..."
"Ganon is the Calamity, a combination of two evils, and you might as well consider it the end of Hyboria as we know it, a bringer of an apocalypse. The Spirit of the Hero was torn to pieces and scattered in the wind, and who knows where the Princess might be? Hylia's mortal avatar is nowhere to be seen since Hyrule Castle's fall. You guys are no good either, too weak. Far too weak. I think we might just be done for, this time for good," Lelith looked to be in despair, biting down into her perfect nails in anxiousness. She was of one mind to just pack up and go home, run back under the Winter Court's protection and the comfort of her family. Away from a realm she had no stakes on.
One second she had been the picture of calm and elegance, but in merely a few words she now seemed nothing but a scared little girl waiting for her death. "It was all my fault! Everything I've done up until now was all for nothing. All of my companions fleeing or dead, and the Kingdom destroyed... I left them all to die."
Ereni continues to chew her herbal leaf impassively, letting the words wash over her. Offering no unwelcome false comfort.
"Aye, that's as may be, m'lady. Though as to fault, who's to say. Seems to me, you've seen the darkest side of fate. Myself, I never wanted to see half the things I seen, and never seen half the things I wanted to. Don't think fault comes into it. When the foe is swarming the stockade, supply lines are down, and latrine pits overflowing from the bloody flux, question always is what you do now. All men must die, and all us women too. Damned if I'm going to lie down or run or drop my bow before I spit in the enemy's with my dying breath. Doubt my friends are running either, least of all the centaur."
The half-elven archer turns to the bard, having glimpsed the brief joy on her face. "Still, got to decide on a course and not blunder into a death trap. Any peep from your... connection Stasolya? And if there's ought we can do about that growth on Lady Lelith here before it spreads, all the better."
Thea looks around her to see who Lelith is referring to and then she realizes that she means her. "I...smell different?" She looks genuinely confused for a moment before she jumps and squeaks a little hearing strange words in her mind. She takes an instinctive step away from Lelith and Skot valiantly positions himself between Thea and this strange woman, tiny long sword drawn as he cries out, "What are you doing?!" It's clear that Thea is afraid of this woman's powers but then she looks around the forest with delight as the flowers and butterflies and birds swarm around them and her fear fades away into curiosity. "How- how did you do that? It's wonderful!" Her excitement fades as she sees Lelith fall into distress and she reaches out to place a reassuring hand on her arm. "My friends are amazingly strong. In fact, I think they're the strongest people I've ever met! I'm sorry for what you've been through. But please, let them...I mean...let us help you?" Her butterflies flit over to land on Lelith's shoulders-her own little effort of reassurance.
Cinder had remained quiet and behind the rest of the group for most of the interaction with the camp. The entire trip since they had left the ship that been uncomfortable. Not because of the heat, she could handle that just fine. It was the silence of the forest. And that deer... Cinder shuddered just remembering the thing. Her fingers itched, she wanted to burn something, but it would do no good here. All she would succeed in is maybe burning down the forest and any cover they may have from whatever monsters lurked within.
"It's not like we can really go back anyway. The ships long gone, and there's nothing there I care enough to go back to. Besides this little group is growing on me. As long as my friends here are willing to stand against whatever this all is, I'll stand too."
With no small amount of relief, Malenia cant help but let out a held breath. With the knowledge that whatever plagues these soldiers is not the same affliction she carries. Yet her concern is not faded by this revelation, whatever plagues these people seems nearly as terrible as her own affliction, if not more so.
"Calm yourself, If this Calamity is as you describe it to be. There is little a single individual could do to prevent it." Her tone is sharp and more than a little commanding, yet not without a hint of sympathy towards Lelith's sorrow. "This Hero, is meant to be the counter to the Calamity correct? You said the spirit was scattered, so it must be retrievable. If we are not capable to stand against the Calamity, Maybe we can find the one who is."
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Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
Stasolya listens pensively while the others speak, and then makes her reply. "Many there are who despair that Order will prevail, and they choose their loyalties accordingly. We do not need to be strong, we need only to be pure of heart. The Childlike Empress has risen anew, and but a word from her can remake Hyboria. Darkness will not prevail in the end. That is the hope that will never fail."
The centaur steps closer to the tall elf, her brow furrowed as she studies the pulsing parasite clinging to the elf. Reaching out a hand, she lays it on the center of Lelith's chest, not quite touching the growth, and sings softly, a melody that seems to wander and yet always to come back to a tonal center with a sense of deep relief.
"Others settled, farmed, and made We ran and sought the stars in plaid. Stories told and songs composed, Alone we held the truth disclosed.
All darkness, loss, and sorrow rent Tearing apart the firmament. But the forces of Chaos fall to dust In the gaze of the Empress, pure and just."
As the magic takes hold, the writhing mass seems to wither, and char, and then it does turn to dust, dropping in harmless blackened flakes to the ground, leaving Lelith's flesh as immaculate as it ever was.
Thea looks to her friends then back to Lelith with an encouraging smile. “See? Already coming up with a plan and the illness gone! We’ve been here just a few moments and already the scales have tipped for the better. Let us help you!”
Lelith seemed to sigh in relief as the parasite no longer drew from her body, every word from the people before her took her forward step by step until she regained her emotional stability and usual contenance as she faced the group before her. There was unfiltered genuine gratitude in the elf's expression toward Stalyosa, the centaur. Though, she did not express it in words, what her eyes carried as a message more than enough to make up for it.
"You are vastly underestimating what is at stake here," Lelith, while grateful, looked annoyed at their hopeful expressions, "your optimism is misplaced. Individually, each of you are leagues behind me. I can see it at a glance. You may think you are strong now, just as the fish in the pond do not know how large the ocean is. Fantasia's Empress, a formidable icon of Hyboria, I am sure. One who was felled by Lord Vader. A... hero twisted into evil, a subordinate of the Calamity. Do you still believe her capable of facing it?"
"Each of my companions were my equals and we surpassed you in numbers. We have halted hordes of undead and slaughtered them all, the Queen of the Gohma fled under blows as we hunted her and killed her, and there is so much more to say of our combined accomplishments. I have singlehandedly killed Guardians in open fields. We had the strength and we had the wit. Or so we thought. The enemy had laid us in his trap, he broke us apart and controlled us before we even confronted him. He had us from the moment we stepped unto this continent. A match where none of our knowledge, our planning, nor our strength mattered in the end. Then, and only then at that moment, did we really see how much larger the ocean was." Lelith's arms were crossed as she recounted her past adventures with her comrades.
"You?" She pointed at them rather rudely, "your power? Clearly lacking. Your wit? Debatable. You are approaching the castle with no clear idea as to what you are thinking of exactly doing. No plan that I am aware of. I may seem harsh to you but I do not want you, those who have lent me a hand, to walk to their death. So... Please, do heed my words. Do. Not. Go. To Hyrule Castle. None of you are ready to face the Calamity."
Lelith laughed mirthlessly at Malenia's words, "you speak truth. There is good logic within your reasoning and I will not lie, I have thought of it as well. I know where every piece of the Hero's soul is. I know it might be possible to retrieve them. Perhaps if we're determined enough, we could put them back together into one whole. We /could/. However, we will /not/. You do not realize what your words truly entail. It is best we do not speak of this matter ever again."
"... I will gladly accept any help you may offer me. I would be foolish to refuse," Lelith turned to the woman with the same hair colour as her, Thea, to whom her words were much softer and kinder. She had to be related to her homeland one way or another, everything about the one before her pointed toward such a conclusion. So she convinced herself of this resolution, any reminder of home she could cling to were an anchor in this sea of chaos and flames. "I believe our only hope lays in the Princess, the mortal avatar of Hylia. Every incarnation of the Princess had been instrumental in defeating and sealing the evil and darkness that plagued the world throughout every cycle of this blasted crisis. I want to find her. Will you help me in this task?"
Still chewing on her herbal leaf, Ereni watches as the aberrant infection recedes from the elf's neck.
"Odd that. Thinking we are strong? Don't recall any of us saying we thought that. Well maybe Thea, but she admires everyone. Part of what makes her so sweet. Seems like you're referring more to yourself, m'lady, begging pardon, thinking you are strong. Could be, you are. But even if we are weak, which we are to be sure, compared to all this madness going on," (she gestures vaguely around), "if this Calamity or Garçon or whatshisname pooped his pantaloons and wants to end our world in a tantrum, what do we have to lose by fighting back anyway? Weak as we are. We're dead either way."
She considers a moment more.
"Happy to help find the Princess, though I don't rightly know which Princess we are even talking about anyway. Zelda, not Andromeda? Never was much for lore. Still, I have to ask," Ereni pauses for a moment as if she has lost her train of thought or has been distracted by a passing bird.
"Perhaps you did not inherit your elven parent's sharp hearing. If I was strong enough. I wouldn't exactly be here talking to you, would I?" Lelith snapped at the half-elf. "I am certainly stronger than you, mutt. Our group was... as well. And they still failed. This should be enough to dissuade any suicidal notion of going to the castle but since you seem so attached to the idea, please go and spare us your presence."
"Are there that many princesses associated with a goddess, Hylia specifically, one who's part of an elven royal family descended from her lineage, and once in a while welcome the reincarnation of her mortal avatar to save the world?" Lelith lectured and though, the half-elf seemed distracted, she could not really hide those piercing eyes trying to discern more of her. The Eladrin met her with her own.
Opposed Roll:31
"/You do not want to play this game with me,/" Lelith's eyes turned almost predatory. "I have been forthcoming. I want to find the Princess, because as I've stated, she is most likely our only hope against the Calamity. I do not know how we are going to do this exactly but we can figure that out /after/ we find her and ensure her safety at the cost of our very lives if necessary. I do not speak her name to be ambiguous but because names have power, and I respect her greatly. She is the closest thing we have to a god walking the mortal realms."
The elf would have glared some more but she seemed to relent once again as she spoke this time with less venom and more reasoning. "Hear me, Ereni. Can we engage in polite conversation with no provocations, suble or otherwise? You, though only a half-elf, would still be able to recognize what I am. I am not just any elf. I am an Eladrin, we are ruled by our core emotions. They influence our every being, even our physiology, and our /soul/. I am of the Winter, and we are the most controlled of my kind. However, I am not exactly in an ideal emotional condition considering what I have been through. I can be very erratic, one would say even bipolar. My body may be healed but my mind needs more time. You are not helping."
Ereni nods sadly and philosophically as if Lelith had just concurred with her on some somber, inescapable fact.
"As for not helping, m'lady Eladrin, beg pardon. Soldier's manners and all. My memory's none too sharp either, apparently - can't say as I recall mentioning I was set on storming the castle as you claim I did. Ah, well. Least my centaur friend took care of that little festering birthmark on your neck. Did it in a most interesting way too, not how I was thinking of doin' it with my herbs and... ah, sorry, look at me rambling on as I'm prone to."
She turns back to the others. "I'll leave the decision of what to do next in your hands, then. Stasolya, I think we could all use another one of your hymns about how being pure at heart and whatnot is what matters in the end. I know I could anyway." (Ereni means this sincerely).
Stasolya nods thoughtfully. "There is a great deal at stake in this war, and Lelith's appearance here, I believe, is not an accident. We are here to find the Princess. I think she may be able to help us with this goal."
"As a greater bard than I once sang, all that is gold does not glitter..." She smiles at her half-elf companion. "I do have some good news. AURYN has not failed us." The centaur pulls Ereni aside and quietly whispers in her ear.
Cinder looks up from where she had been playing with a small ball of fire in her hand, not really paying attention to the argument until it started to get heated. "So what's the plan exactly then? To the castle and certain death or randomly wander around after Zelda and also likely certain death? I'd much rather go and do something rather than stand here arguing about it in this creepy forest."
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The healing light of Thea's touch makes the Elven woman perk up a bit, some color returning to her pallid cheeks. The thing on her neck shrinks away from her but doesn't quite leg go...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Almost as if they bore a great weight, the elven woman found great difficulty in trying to open her eyes. The nearby light and sounds almost overwhelmed her senses but she persevered even through the miasma and sludge that seemed to slow her mind and body, until finally, she felt like she had regained a semblance of control over herself once more. Despite her current condition, she stood up to her full height. She was rather freakishly tall at 197cm (6'5) and was most likely used to look down on most people, there was an air of nobility to her as well as an impression of supreme arrogance.
She was quick in inspecting herself, and to her relief, her items were still right there in her Sheikah-made Bag of Holding and as she was already aware of its content, she could instinctively tell whether they were present or not. She did notice the parasite leeching off her, she was naturally repulsed by it, but otherwise did not react further to it for the time being. With her personal safety and belongings assured in just a few moments, she finally turned to inspect her surroundings and her most likely saviors.
The elven woman would be a fool not to see it and if they had wished her harm, she had been defenseless while unconscious. She noticed they had partially undressed her, leaving only her bodysuit, most likely to tend to her wounds. Not that she seemed to care much about her modesty, she nonetheless pulled a cloth out of her Bag of Holding that seemed to shimmer with kaleidoscopic lights and change forms until it settled into what looked like rather expensive wilderness clothing.
"Who are you people? And where am I?" With furrowed brows that denoted a rather impressive glare, the ethereal elf inquired.
Thea's eyes brighten up as she sees that her little attempt at healing has made some positive effect. Screwing her face up with thought and effort, her forehead shines slightly as she channels more of her healing light energy in to the poor woman. While she doesn't feel her power as strongly as she hopes, she exhausts her day's supply trying to help her (7 more hp). Looking at her she says, "My name is Thea, what are you called? And how do you feel now?" She smiles at her encouragingly but she can't hide the concern in her eyes. She looks to the others to help explain how they found the woman and she sits quietly next to her waiting to see if she needs to do more healing spells.
Stasolya, when catching sight of the discourse between Ereni and the soldiers, and Ereni's seeming sanction to move amongst the ill, approaches the camp. She lags behind the others, at first, pausing as if listening to something only she can hear. As she listens, her posture straightens, her tail swishes, and a smile of quiet joy spreads across her face. Her eyes remain troubled, distracted, but her happiness despite this is obvious. She soon trots over to join the others at the bedsides of the infirm, assessing with concern the signs that the party first saw on an afflicted deer in their travels.
"Curing disease is troublesome," she says to Ereni in response to her request. "Disease in the body is like the Nothing and the Lord of Darkness in Hyboria. It strikes weaknesses only and is yet malignant. But I know a little of this art. I can try to apply it." She follows Ereni to her requested patient, the elven woman, whom Thea is giving some healing to already.
Stasolya pauses to watch the elf recover a bit and stand, nearly as tall as the centaur herself. This elven woman doesn't seem to be part of the band of soldiers; her clothing and belongings are quite unique. Stasolya says to her, "I am Stasolya, of the Kiros Clan. You seem to have found misfortune. What is your name?"
"Misfortune is a lacking description for my current situation," the elven woman scowled in the vague direction of Hyrule Castle, she turned back to inspect the people before her from head to toe as if putting them through a test and they were found wanting, "you may refer to me as Lelith."
"Are you heading to the castle?" The now named Lelith asked. She did not wait for their answer before continuing, it was clearly rhetorical as she had guessed their intentions, "if so you best dispel such thought and discard any plans you may have there. You will merely meet your death there. Not only did I fail in stopping the Calamity's birth, I helped it against my will. Many more lives were lost."
There was a brief moment of distress and pain as she spoke about what happened before suddenly, her expression snapped back to neutrality as if it was never there. Instead she found herself distracted by something else. Lelith narrowed her eyes at Thea, she brushed off her concern and did not answer her, as she seemed more preoccupied by something else, "you... are weird. Your smell is different."
Lelith decided to make a gamble on her guess and spoke the next words in Sylvan in Thea's mind, 'are you a feykin in disguise?' To illustrate her question, the elf reached out to the wild forest outside of normative space, flowers bloomed around them, butterflies and birds flocked around them, and the woman's eyes swirled with otherworldly iridescent colours.
Ereni steps back for a moment to lean on a tree as the tall elven woman rouses herself, content to let the others do the talking.
Still chewing laconically on the forest herb she had plucked and ground up with her kit after having lost her lunch at the sight of the deer with the aberrant infection, she looks more closely at the manifestation of the disease. The one in the elf and also on the two soldiers who are too far gone.
Almost... almost... I think with just the right herbs and a bit of magic, I could... it's right there...
But then the words that the elf... Lelith? Anyway, a couple of the words that Lelith mentions draw her immediate attention.
"The Calamity's birth? What is the Calamity m'lady? Other than what our first few days at sea did to my fellow scout Malenia's gut? Is it to do with all that purple lightning and then everyone feeling like we all ate three-day-old stew from the mess hall? And that, ah... growth on your neck?"
Ereni's drawl is deadpan and morose. As if Vader and his army and Princess Andromeda's kidnapping weren't already beyond my ken.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Lelith looked to be irked and glared at Ereni. Whether it was her lack of tact, her interruption when she tried to discern more of Thea, or the reminder of what happened in the castle and what it entailed for the world, was unclear. Perhaps it was all of them at once. Regardless, she relented. What little remained of her pride would be of no use here.
"I have been through some... distressing events," Lelith admitted with some difficulty. "And so I am not in the best state of mind. I will do my best to answer your questions, regardless. I know nothing of the parasite, unfortunately. As for the Calamity..."
"Ganon is the Calamity, a combination of two evils, and you might as well consider it the end of Hyboria as we know it, a bringer of an apocalypse. The Spirit of the Hero was torn to pieces and scattered in the wind, and who knows where the Princess might be? Hylia's mortal avatar is nowhere to be seen since Hyrule Castle's fall. You guys are no good either, too weak. Far too weak. I think we might just be done for, this time for good," Lelith looked to be in despair, biting down into her perfect nails in anxiousness. She was of one mind to just pack up and go home, run back under the Winter Court's protection and the comfort of her family. Away from a realm she had no stakes on.
One second she had been the picture of calm and elegance, but in merely a few words she now seemed nothing but a scared little girl waiting for her death. "It was all my fault! Everything I've done up until now was all for nothing. All of my companions fleeing or dead, and the Kingdom destroyed... I left them all to die."
Ereni continues to chew her herbal leaf impassively, letting the words wash over her. Offering no unwelcome false comfort.
"Aye, that's as may be, m'lady. Though as to fault, who's to say. Seems to me, you've seen the darkest side of fate. Myself, I never wanted to see half the things I seen, and never seen half the things I wanted to. Don't think fault comes into it. When the foe is swarming the stockade, supply lines are down, and latrine pits overflowing from the bloody flux, question always is what you do now. All men must die, and all us women too. Damned if I'm going to lie down or run or drop my bow before I spit in the enemy's with my dying breath. Doubt my friends are running either, least of all the centaur."
The half-elven archer turns to the bard, having glimpsed the brief joy on her face. "Still, got to decide on a course and not blunder into a death trap. Any peep from your... connection Stasolya? And if there's ought we can do about that growth on Lady Lelith here before it spreads, all the better."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Thea looks around her to see who Lelith is referring to and then she realizes that she means her. "I...smell different?" She looks genuinely confused for a moment before she jumps and squeaks a little hearing strange words in her mind. She takes an instinctive step away from Lelith and Skot valiantly positions himself between Thea and this strange woman, tiny long sword drawn as he cries out, "What are you doing?!" It's clear that Thea is afraid of this woman's powers but then she looks around the forest with delight as the flowers and butterflies and birds swarm around them and her fear fades away into curiosity. "How- how did you do that? It's wonderful!" Her excitement fades as she sees Lelith fall into distress and she reaches out to place a reassuring hand on her arm. "My friends are amazingly strong. In fact, I think they're the strongest people I've ever met! I'm sorry for what you've been through. But please, let them...I mean...let us help you?" Her butterflies flit over to land on Lelith's shoulders-her own little effort of reassurance.
Cinder had remained quiet and behind the rest of the group for most of the interaction with the camp. The entire trip since they had left the ship that been uncomfortable. Not because of the heat, she could handle that just fine. It was the silence of the forest. And that deer... Cinder shuddered just remembering the thing. Her fingers itched, she wanted to burn something, but it would do no good here. All she would succeed in is maybe burning down the forest and any cover they may have from whatever monsters lurked within.
"It's not like we can really go back anyway. The ships long gone, and there's nothing there I care enough to go back to. Besides this little group is growing on me. As long as my friends here are willing to stand against whatever this all is, I'll stand too."
With no small amount of relief, Malenia cant help but let out a held breath. With the knowledge that whatever plagues these soldiers is not the same affliction she carries. Yet her concern is not faded by this revelation, whatever plagues these people seems nearly as terrible as her own affliction, if not more so.
"Calm yourself, If this Calamity is as you describe it to be. There is little a single individual could do to prevent it." Her tone is sharp and more than a little commanding, yet not without a hint of sympathy towards Lelith's sorrow. "This Hero, is meant to be the counter to the Calamity correct? You said the spirit was scattered, so it must be retrievable. If we are not capable to stand against the Calamity, Maybe we can find the one who is."
Malenia - [Monk - Way of the Jedi] - Auryn: Princess of Destiny
Stasolya listens pensively while the others speak, and then makes her reply. "Many there are who despair that Order will prevail, and they choose their loyalties accordingly. We do not need to be strong, we need only to be pure of heart. The Childlike Empress has risen anew, and but a word from her can remake Hyboria. Darkness will not prevail in the end. That is the hope that will never fail."
The centaur steps closer to the tall elf, her brow furrowed as she studies the pulsing parasite clinging to the elf. Reaching out a hand, she lays it on the center of Lelith's chest, not quite touching the growth, and sings softly, a melody that seems to wander and yet always to come back to a tonal center with a sense of deep relief.
"Others settled, farmed, and made
We ran and sought the stars in plaid.
Stories told and songs composed,
Alone we held the truth disclosed.
All darkness, loss, and sorrow rent
Tearing apart the firmament.
But the forces of Chaos fall to dust
In the gaze of the Empress, pure and just."
As the magic takes hold, the writhing mass seems to wither, and char, and then it does turn to dust, dropping in harmless blackened flakes to the ground, leaving Lelith's flesh as immaculate as it ever was.
Thea looks to her friends then back to Lelith with an encouraging smile. “See? Already coming up with a plan and the illness gone! We’ve been here just a few moments and already the scales have tipped for the better. Let us help you!”
Lelith seemed to sigh in relief as the parasite no longer drew from her body, every word from the people before her took her forward step by step until she regained her emotional stability and usual contenance as she faced the group before her. There was unfiltered genuine gratitude in the elf's expression toward Stalyosa, the centaur. Though, she did not express it in words, what her eyes carried as a message more than enough to make up for it.
"You are vastly underestimating what is at stake here," Lelith, while grateful, looked annoyed at their hopeful expressions, "your optimism is misplaced. Individually, each of you are leagues behind me. I can see it at a glance. You may think you are strong now, just as the fish in the pond do not know how large the ocean is. Fantasia's Empress, a formidable icon of Hyboria, I am sure. One who was felled by Lord Vader. A... hero twisted into evil, a subordinate of the Calamity. Do you still believe her capable of facing it?"
"Each of my companions were my equals and we surpassed you in numbers. We have halted hordes of undead and slaughtered them all, the Queen of the Gohma fled under blows as we hunted her and killed her, and there is so much more to say of our combined accomplishments. I have singlehandedly killed Guardians in open fields. We had the strength and we had the wit. Or so we thought. The enemy had laid us in his trap, he broke us apart and controlled us before we even confronted him. He had us from the moment we stepped unto this continent. A match where none of our knowledge, our planning, nor our strength mattered in the end. Then, and only then at that moment, did we really see how much larger the ocean was." Lelith's arms were crossed as she recounted her past adventures with her comrades.
"You?" She pointed at them rather rudely, "your power? Clearly lacking. Your wit? Debatable. You are approaching the castle with no clear idea as to what you are thinking of exactly doing. No plan that I am aware of. I may seem harsh to you but I do not want you, those who have lent me a hand, to walk to their death. So... Please, do heed my words. Do. Not. Go. To Hyrule Castle. None of you are ready to face the Calamity."
Lelith laughed mirthlessly at Malenia's words, "you speak truth. There is good logic within your reasoning and I will not lie, I have thought of it as well. I know where every piece of the Hero's soul is. I know it might be possible to retrieve them. Perhaps if we're determined enough, we could put them back together into one whole. We /could/. However, we will /not/. You do not realize what your words truly entail. It is best we do not speak of this matter ever again."
"... I will gladly accept any help you may offer me. I would be foolish to refuse," Lelith turned to the woman with the same hair colour as her, Thea, to whom her words were much softer and kinder. She had to be related to her homeland one way or another, everything about the one before her pointed toward such a conclusion. So she convinced herself of this resolution, any reminder of home she could cling to were an anchor in this sea of chaos and flames. "I believe our only hope lays in the Princess, the mortal avatar of Hylia. Every incarnation of the Princess had been instrumental in defeating and sealing the evil and darkness that plagued the world throughout every cycle of this blasted crisis. I want to find her. Will you help me in this task?"
Still chewing on her herbal leaf, Ereni watches as the aberrant infection recedes from the elf's neck.
"Odd that. Thinking we are strong? Don't recall any of us saying we thought that. Well maybe Thea, but she admires everyone. Part of what makes her so sweet. Seems like you're referring more to yourself, m'lady, begging pardon, thinking you are strong. Could be, you are. But even if we are weak, which we are to be sure, compared to all this madness going on," (she gestures vaguely around), "if this Calamity or Garçon or whatshisname pooped his pantaloons and wants to end our world in a tantrum, what do we have to lose by fighting back anyway? Weak as we are. We're dead either way."
She considers a moment more.
"Happy to help find the Princess, though I don't rightly know which Princess we are even talking about anyway. Zelda, not Andromeda? Never was much for lore. Still, I have to ask," Ereni pauses for a moment as if she has lost her train of thought or has been distracted by a passing bird.
"What are you planning to do once you find her?"
Insight: 23
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
"Perhaps you did not inherit your elven parent's sharp hearing. If I was strong enough. I wouldn't exactly be here talking to you, would I?" Lelith snapped at the half-elf. "I am certainly stronger than you, mutt. Our group was... as well. And they still failed. This should be enough to dissuade any suicidal notion of going to the castle but since you seem so attached to the idea, please go and spare us your presence."
"Are there that many princesses associated with a goddess, Hylia specifically, one who's part of an elven royal family descended from her lineage, and once in a while welcome the reincarnation of her mortal avatar to save the world?" Lelith lectured and though, the half-elf seemed distracted, she could not really hide those piercing eyes trying to discern more of her. The Eladrin met her with her own.
Opposed Roll: 31
"/You do not want to play this game with me,/" Lelith's eyes turned almost predatory. "I have been forthcoming. I want to find the Princess, because as I've stated, she is most likely our only hope against the Calamity. I do not know how we are going to do this exactly but we can figure that out /after/ we find her and ensure her safety at the cost of our very lives if necessary. I do not speak her name to be ambiguous but because names have power, and I respect her greatly. She is the closest thing we have to a god walking the mortal realms."
The elf would have glared some more but she seemed to relent once again as she spoke this time with less venom and more reasoning. "Hear me, Ereni. Can we engage in polite conversation with no provocations, suble or otherwise? You, though only a half-elf, would still be able to recognize what I am. I am not just any elf. I am an Eladrin, we are ruled by our core emotions. They influence our every being, even our physiology, and our /soul/. I am of the Winter, and we are the most controlled of my kind. However, I am not exactly in an ideal emotional condition considering what I have been through. I can be very erratic, one would say even bipolar. My body may be healed but my mind needs more time. You are not helping."
Ereni nods sadly and philosophically as if Lelith had just concurred with her on some somber, inescapable fact.
"As for not helping, m'lady Eladrin, beg pardon. Soldier's manners and all. My memory's none too sharp either, apparently - can't say as I recall mentioning I was set on storming the castle as you claim I did. Ah, well. Least my centaur friend took care of that little festering birthmark on your neck. Did it in a most interesting way too, not how I was thinking of doin' it with my herbs and... ah, sorry, look at me rambling on as I'm prone to."
She turns back to the others. "I'll leave the decision of what to do next in your hands, then. Stasolya, I think we could all use another one of your hymns about how being pure at heart and whatnot is what matters in the end. I know I could anyway." (Ereni means this sincerely).
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Stasolya nods thoughtfully. "There is a great deal at stake in this war, and Lelith's appearance here, I believe, is not an accident. We are here to find the Princess. I think she may be able to help us with this goal."
"As a greater bard than I once sang, all that is gold does not glitter..." She smiles at her half-elf companion. "I do have some good news. AURYN has not failed us." The centaur pulls Ereni aside and quietly whispers in her ear.
Ereni has no reaction to Stasolya's whisper other than another somber nod.
Leaving the decision in the hands of the others, she wanders off laconically, still chewing her herbal leaf.
Perception (see channel for purpose): 20
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Cinder looks up from where she had been playing with a small ball of fire in her hand, not really paying attention to the argument until it started to get heated. "So what's the plan exactly then? To the castle and certain death or randomly wander around after Zelda and also likely certain death? I'd much rather go and do something rather than stand here arguing about it in this creepy forest."