You see four figures approach you through the fog. In the lead is a tall adult human with long blond hair and a regal bearing. His armor gleams in the dim moonlight, more brightly than it should.
Next, two women ride side by side. One is on a horse, tall and willowy. She has the long ears and grace of a elf, but she has light skin, like no elf you’ve ever seen. It’s so very strange.
The other is a tall, auburn-haired human. She too is graceful, although perhaps a little shy.
The final figure is the strangest by far. A human, it seems, but unusually small. You’d suspect he was a child, but he has a beard.
“Hail travelers!” calls the tall human, “I am Roland the Pure. I can’t help but notice several Drow and a demon in your party. Why not drop your weapons and surrender now, so we don’t have to kill you?”
"So much for trying to stay out of sight," Chara mutters, no longer bothering to hide herself since it's clear she's already been seen. But she does find herself wondering something when 'Roland the Pure' orders them to surrender. She whispers: "Hey Lucian... this might be a dumb question... but what is a Drow?"
With a bit of luck, maybe Nikolai can talk these people down. Somehow, Chara doubts that these strangers will listen to anything that she has to say.
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Lucian looks back and forth from Roland to Chara before saying, "I...I don't know..." He frowns, wondering if the word was some sort of insult. Setting his jaw, he moves out from behind the cart to stand next to...and slightly in front of, Chara. For a moment it looks as if he will say something to the tall human, but he quickly decides against it. Instead he clenches his fists, not liking how this 'Roland the Pure' just threatened to kill them.
He glances at Eithne, and then at Nikolai, hoping that the two of them will know how to handle this...since he definitely has no idea.
A little upset at the threatening approach, Eithne places herself back in the middle of the way, ready to protect the others and replies, not even bothering to veil her sarcastic tone: "Oh, I guess your supposed 'purity' does not extend to your eyes, sir Roland. If you washed them, you would have not taken the wrong turn, after the gate before the bridge. The road to Castle Ravenloft was the other one. And is in the Castle that Stradh, the real devil cursing this land, resides. You would have also never mistakenly judjed any of us confiding only on your cloudy sight - for nobody here is a drow (since we do not ever know what this is) or a demon. Most gallant knights are supposed to be magically able to detect the evil... should you not try that before talking of violence? Unless your mentor gave up in desperation before completing your training, of coure..." she raises an eyebrow "Or is your heart as dirty and unwashed as your eyes?"
"Anyway" she shrugs "if you are unable to ascern the truth by other means and still wish to let the weapons do the talking, let's this at least be a one against one challenge and let the gods decide the outcome. Shall not we?"
The savage stranger awaits for the other's reply.
'Maybe I could have been a little more diplomatic...' she thinks in retrospective '...but, well, he also could have!'
When the knightly man speaks Lenn whispers to Chara and Lucian. “I do think he has some skills like mine. No need to hide…”
And he steps in front of the tiefling. He let Eithne speaks but at the end he steps forward putting a hand over the woman’s forearm.
“Peace..” he says raising the other hand to show that he has no weapons. He has left his greatsword on his back.
“Please friends, try to understand this travelers. They are crossing dangerous and possibly unknown lands for them, and they stumble against our… particular group, weapons at the ready. We have assumed the worst too when we had first heard them approaching. “ he then turns towards the travelers. “And you good travelers, please be at easy for we mean no harm to any of you. We are merely resting to continue our journey in the ere of day. “ he stares directly to the armor clad human. “I do not know what a drow is but you speak of them as evil creatures. You will not find evil among us. I am a follower of the Goodness and would never walk alongside evil creatures. Please stand down. If you want to keep on your journey” he steps aside even more “please do so. If you want to rest we can share our fire until morning and find security in our numbers. You are right to fear the nights in Barovia, but we are not who you should care about”
"We probably shouldn't stay back here," the she-devil says after a moment. "They might be more inclined to hear us out if we actually talk to them instead of hiding... I hope."
The demoness glances nervously at Roland's sword... she really doesn't want to get any closer to the man than she has to, especially after he loudly declared that he was willing to murder the entire party because of her demonic appearance and because some of her companions were 'Drow,' whatever that meant. Still... Chara really doesn't want to watch Eithne get herself killed in a duel with that brutish zealot if she can say or do something to stop the confrontation from turning violent.
Ignoring Roland, Nikolai addresses the mounted elf in Elvish:
"Greetings traveler. I am Nikolai, of the Vistani, and of the Elves of this Land, called the Dusk Elves. It is clear that you are newcomers to Barovia. Please tell this pompous ass to stand down, he is clearly a moron and has no idea of the situation here in our land. We mean you no harm. In fact, we can probably offer you some valuable information about Barovia and how to survive here. Or, you are welcome to simply cross the bridge in peace if that is your wish and continue your journey without any interference from us. But perhaps speak to your idiot companion here about showing some respect for the locals."
Then, he whispers over his shoulder in Infernal:
"Lenn, the big one quite possibly can detect or banish the undead. In case you... know somebody that might be affected by that."
“He is like me “ replied Lenn in infernal but switch to common “He has pledge allegiance to a deity but he doesn’t know how dangerous is to display their powers here, among the fog. Surely the Lord of this land already know that you walk in his territory.” He says to Roland “ You must be cautious “
The human woman leaps from her mule and dashes up to the party, standing between Roland and you all. She turns to him and says, in a distinct Barovian accent, "Sir Roland, you are hasty and rude. If these people were the Dark Lord's agents, they would already be attacking. Instead they are welcoming us to their fire and camp. Suspicion is a survival trait here in Barovia, but intelligence is a more important one. You must apologize."
The...elf?...and the small human both gasp.
Roland looks at the woman. After a moment, a smile appears on his face, although it doesn't reach his eyes. "Of course, my dear. I will apologize immediately."
He turns to Eithne, "It seems I may have misjudged. I am a stranger here, as you all have guessed, and I seem to have jumped to conclusions. In my land, elves that look like you, "he waves his hand toward Eithne, Nikolai, and Lucian, "are known to generally be a threat to decent people." He pauses a moment, closing his eyes.
He then says, "I apologize. You all seem like good enough people. Please allow us to join you for the remainder of the night. We need rest and more people probably means more safety in this land. My companions are Alona the elf and Rontic the halfling." He indicates the other riders. "And, of course, young miss Ir...er...Nadezhna, who so kindly intervened on your behalf. We have rations we can share and, hopefully, information."
The elf responds in elvish,
"The young knight is foolish, but a powerful warrior. Do not cross him, for he is quick to anger and slow to forgive. He calls himself "Pure" but the only thing pure about him, I think, is his ambition. I am called Alliana of the Pallynandi. I see you speak the true language; our people must have come to this forsaken place in the past. But what are your people doing on the surface? I thought drow mostly kept to their underground lairs. You must tell me the history of your people."
Lucian looks back at Chara, “Um… yeah your right.” He takes a small step to the side so that he isn’t standing in front of her anymore.
When Nikolai starts speaking in elvish, Lucian frowns slightly. It felt like ages since he’d heard elvish words…and he had to admit that what he did know was rather limited. Still, he understood enough to get the gist of what Nikolai was saying…which drew a half smile from him (and nearly a laugh), causing him to duck his head to hide the expression.
When Roland says that elves like…wait… Lucian glances at Eithne… With her hair covering her ears, he hadn’t considered how much she looked like a dusk elf… but she couldn’t be… could she? He would have to ask about it later.
When the pale elf responds to Nikolai, Lucian gives her a confused glance, before attempting to respond in elvish as well.
“Um… What do you mean? Why wouldn’t we be on the…surface? We…really don’t know what a drow is. …L…like Nikolai said, we are dusk elves.” He hesitates, realizing that he really doesn’t know if he’s dusk elf or not. “I’ve never…I’ve never seen someone like you though. You come from…” He makes a vague gesture, struggling to find the word. “Uh… You aren’t from Borovia?”
To those who don’t speak elvish, it is clear that Lucian hasn’t spoken the language in quite a while, as his words are slow and somewhat broken. He also makes a vague gesture towards the end of his last sentence.
Timidly, he steps up between Nikolai and Eithne, unsure if he should say anything to the other strangers or not. It seemed the tension had mostly dissipated (even if he still doesn’t think he likes Roland), perhaps these strangers will have interesting stories to tell.
Nikolai snorts, and replies in Elvishto Alliana, "Well I can understand that, I have a bit of a temper myself." As Lucian steps forward and speaks in his tentative Elvish, Nikolai rests his hand on his friend's shoulder, reassuring him.
Switching to Common, he continues, " I am Nikolai. My mother was Vistani, a human, and my father a Barovian elf. Most every elf I've met has a similar dark complexion to myself and these others, so clearly Alliana here comes from somewhere... outside. We call ourselves the People of the Dusk, or 'Dusk Elves'. As a half-Vistani, I know that Barovia is surrounded by a dense magical fog, but occasionally people from other lands cross through to Barovia. I've never heard of any of them leaving, though, or even surviving very long. The Vistani alone of all Barovians can pass through these mists and leave this place, although I personally have never done so. I think some sort of ritual or potion or something is involved. In short, welcome to our land such as it is. You are guests here. Remember that."
Turning to the Barovian woman he says, "Thank you, madam, for your courage and courtesy."
"I accept your apology, Sir Roland," sighs Eithne, her ears still well hidden by her thick hair "but allow me to correct you once more: despite my delicate features and complexion similar to Nikolai's and Lucian's, I am not an elf. And indeed any Barovian could explain to you that this would be quite impossible. There are no more dusk elf females here".
'...Except in my head, of course!' has just the time to think the savage stranger, before a wave of mental voices overwhelms her. 'We are here, Eithne!' 'We live in you!' 'Even if we no longer have a material form, it doesn't matter, the essential is invisible to the eye!' 'We are still here!'
"But now an elf has arrived, it seems!" the last of the dusk elf maidens, with a titanic effort of will, diverts her attention from her inner shouting and turns her azure eyes to Alona. "Nice to meet you, Alona the Elf. I am Eithne the Woman. Something tells me" (she understood very well what was said in Elvish) "that you are more used to reflecting than the 'purified' here. And I guess you usually come to more correct conclusions".
"Nice to meet you too, Rontic the Halfling" Eithne nods. “I've never seen one like you before… You're the size of a child, but the look of a man. But then again, I've never seen anyone from outside the mists yet. I'm Eithne the Woman".
"But you're from here..." the savage stranger finally turns to the pacifist woman "In your case, the pleasure of meeting you is double" she moves forward and shakes her hand. "You know firsthand what it's like to live in this land. What's more, without your intervention I believe that this land would have ended up drinking purified blood - and that would have benefited no one. Nice to meet you, I'm Eithne".
"Of course 'Ir-er-Nadezhna' is kind of a bizarre name" the last of the dusk elf maidens nonchalantly adds, joking with the way Roland corrected himself in presenting her. "And it's also bizarre that you're not among Barovians, but traveling instead alone with these newcomers. Plus, you joined them recently, otherwise they would know a lot more about this place...including why it's impossible for me to be a female elf. Of course you have your reasons, Ir-er-Nadezhna; I only hope for you that you chose the right company to... to face your reasons" Eithne's azure irises betray a good degree of concern and compassion. "You give me the idea of being a good girl, so, if you need help, what I can do for you I'll do gladly. But I won't insist, because I believe everyone has the right to keep their secrets - and to choose who to trust or not. Just be assured that if you want to talk to me, I'll listen to you".
"You're all welcome to camp among us anyway" says Eithne to the visitors.
The savage stranger thinks she's said all she had to say, so she takes her place again next to Juhowly, resuming her watch. She is really intrigued by Ir-er-Nadezhna. Something tells her she's in trouble. And trouble, near Castle Ravenloft, can have a really bad name... But if she prefers to trust the purified idiot, that's her choice... The last of the dusk elf maidens already has a hundred thousand women to manage, in her head... it's not that she is desperately looking for yet another one to take care of! She offered Ir-er-Nadezhna help sincerly. But she will not insist or impose said help on her.
"Hello," Chara says timidly to the strangers. "I guess I'm the demon. My name is Chara Leto... daughter of Cyrus Leto and Emmaline. I won't deny my infernal nature... but I swear that I mean no harm. I was born like this because of an infernal pact my father made, and I have spent my life working to escape the darkness that has followed me because of my father's foolhardy decision. If, as my friends have said, Sir Roland has the ability to magically sense evil creatures, then I am willing to submit to this test if it will put your minds at ease. I, like you Sir Roland and like my friend Lenn, am a servant of a divine being who deemed me worthy of His blessing."
Lucian glances up at Nikolai when the half-elf puts a hand on his shoulder, smiles timidly, then looks back to the strangers. He nods along with Nikolai's explanation of the dusk elves, then turns his attention back to him again at the mention of the Vistani and going outside. Sure, he'd heard that they could, but he'd never thought to ask Nikolai if he'd tried. ...though he has a feeling he knows.
When Eithne speaks up, he looks to her as she answers his silent question. If she wasn't an elf...or half-elf, then she must be human...right? Then why does she never seem to sleep? ...more questions for later...if he can muster the courage to ask anyways.
When Chara introduces herself, Lucian notes her father's name...making the connection between her expression when she'd named her pup Cyrus. He glances back at her when she states that she will willingly undergo whatever 'goodness' test Roland could do on her... As if that was necessary. In his opinion, if these strangers couldn't trust their word (which is what Lucian and his group will have to do for them) then why should they allow them to share their fire for the night? Maybe they should let Lenn do his 'goodness' test on them too. Then they would all know for sure that they were all not evil. Yet that seemed like a cheep way to gain trust, so Lucian didn't speak up about it.
"Oh... uh.." he says, realizing that he hadn't introduced himself yet. "I'm Lucian. ...and... um..I'm an elf." It felt strangely odd to define himself by his race, but since these people were doing it he supposed it was custom for them. Perhaps it would have been more accurate to introduce himself as Lucian the werewolf, or Lucian the Lycanthrope, but that wasn't a secret he was willing to tell these strangers.
Lenn relaxes a little bit while all the talking and introductions are done.
"I am Lenn "he simply says "Lenn Kranne" he adds "please... come... sit and we can talk a little bit before we all take some rest... "
As they sit and Eithne resumes her watch Lenn doesn't resumes his position of being in second plane as usual. He offers the strangers water and keeps a polite, but small, talk with the others. It's seems that he is making an effort not to be as grim as he uses to be. It seems that he has felt that this was necessary for the party doesn't engage in combat with the strangers and he is taking this new role seriously.
When Chara offers to pass any kind of test he interrupts.
"But that wouldn't be necessary my friend. Surely our guests "he stares directly to Sir Roland "will not need further test. As Sir Roland dind't choose to be as tall as myself he can't blame you to be born as you did. Now, please tell us... how long have you been in Barovia?"
Chara looks from Roland to Lenn. She appreciates Lenn standing up for her.
"Well, if you're sure, then I'll defer to your judgement," Chara says to Lenn. "Thank you."
The she-devil proceeds to retrieve her puppy from the cart and re-join Lucian and Eithne. Even if he did back down when ordered to by the Barovian woman, Chara can't help but feel a little bit nervous about Sir Roland considering the fact that the first thing he did upon meeting her party was to threaten to murder everyone. She moves her bedroll closer to where Eithne and Lucian are keeping watch... ostensibly to help make room for the strangers, but honestly, she would like to be close to her wakeful companions just in case Sir Roland decides to play 'smite the demon' while she's sleeping.
"With my luck, his 'goodness test' would have been to throw me into a lake and declare me guilty if I floated," she whispers to Lucian and Eithne with a half-hearted smile when it doesn't look like Sir Roland is paying attention.
"Smart as he is, he could really have come up with that..." can't help but smile back Eithne "...failing to realize that you would have not floated... but flown away with your wings instead!"
Lucian doesn't settle down until the newcomers sit as well. Once everyone has found a spot to rest he follows suit, returning to his spot beside Eithne and Chara, all the while shooting timid glances towards the strange pale elf and Nikolai. He still wants to know what a drow is, and is curious about the outside. He pointedly does not look at Roland, as if glancing in the man's direction would somehow draw attention to himself.
When Chara whispers to him and Eithne, he doesn't laugh, "Well...if that was what he wanted you can be sure we wouldn't let him try it. Not unless he did the test on himself first." There is little humor in his tone as he whispers back to her, finding it difficult to joke about such things.
While he is curious, he does his best not to stare at any of the strangers for fear of insulting them. Normally in this situation he would have gone off to some corner to observe from a distance. As it is, he doesn't have that option, so he occupies himself with Juhowly and Cyrus since Eithne and Chara had the two pups with them.
Roland appears to do his level best to ignore all the insults and sarcasm flung his way. Seeing in Lenn someone he considers trustworthy, he pulls him aside.
My fellow knight, I see that you too serve the good. I ask that you keep what I am about to tell you in confidence. This Barovian girl has been hunted these last few weeks by the Dark Lord of this Land. We seek a place where she can be kept safe from his advances. But, as you have surmised, I am a stranger to this land and know of no safe place. Of course, for now we keep her safe, but perhaps you could tell us of a refuge in this valley, free of the Dark Lord’s influence. She could stay there until we dispose of him. It would be a noble thing for you to escort her there.
Alliana beckons Nikolai and Lucian over.
Please tell me more of your people’s history. In our land, dark-skinned elves are rare and live underground. They are a harsh and powerful people, known as the Drow, worshipping a dark Goddess of spiders. Your folk seem to have abandoned that path. Can you tell how your people came to that decision?
And you are both half-elves? Such exist in our realm, but they are rare as…um…intermingling is discouraged. Are the elves here tolerant of such dilution?
As Eithne and Chara, watch, and cuddle with their dogs, Rontic walks over to them. He pantomimes sitting by them, with a questioning look. He seems to look longingly at the pups.
Finally, Nadezhda gravitates toward Onika and begins to pepper her with questions about Vallaki, the biggest town she’s ever heard of.
Lucian hesitates when Alliana beckons to him, glancing at Chara and Eithne before finally moving to join the pale elf and Nikolai. Before he stands, he pats Juhowly and Cyrus on their heads, and he puts his blanket on the ground where he was sitting--thus indicating that he intends to return--and also giving the pups somewhere to curl up in the meantime if they see fit.
Lucian approaches Alliana timidly, waiting until after Nikolai is there to join them as he feels rather awkward approaching alone.
When she starts asking questions, Lucian shrinks back a little realizing that he can't really contribute much to this conversation. "Uh... I... Honestly don't know." He glances at Nikolai, "I haven't had much contact with other Dusk elves. ...and... no I'm not half-elf... at least... I'm pretty sure I'm not..." He averts his gaze, looking downward, "I... um... do I look like a half-elf?" He'd never thought he could be, but then again, with all the Dusk elf women gone, who could his mother have been? He glances at Nikolai, hoping that his friend can give Alliana better answers then he could.
You see four figures approach you through the fog. In the lead is a tall adult human with long blond hair and a regal bearing. His armor gleams in the dim moonlight, more brightly than it should.
Next, two women ride side by side. One is on a horse, tall and willowy. She has the long ears and grace of a elf, but she has light skin, like no elf you’ve ever seen. It’s so very strange.
The other is a tall, auburn-haired human. She too is graceful, although perhaps a little shy.
The final figure is the strangest by far. A human, it seems, but unusually small. You’d suspect he was a child, but he has a beard.
“Hail travelers!” calls the tall human, “I am Roland the Pure. I can’t help but notice several Drow and a demon in your party. Why not drop your weapons and surrender now, so we don’t have to kill you?”
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
"So much for trying to stay out of sight," Chara mutters, no longer bothering to hide herself since it's clear she's already been seen. But she does find herself wondering something when 'Roland the Pure' orders them to surrender. She whispers: "Hey Lucian... this might be a dumb question... but what is a Drow?"
With a bit of luck, maybe Nikolai can talk these people down. Somehow, Chara doubts that these strangers will listen to anything that she has to say.
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Lucian looks back and forth from Roland to Chara before saying, "I...I don't know..." He frowns, wondering if the word was some sort of insult. Setting his jaw, he moves out from behind the cart to stand next to...and slightly in front of, Chara. For a moment it looks as if he will say something to the tall human, but he quickly decides against it. Instead he clenches his fists, not liking how this 'Roland the Pure' just threatened to kill them.
He glances at Eithne, and then at Nikolai, hoping that the two of them will know how to handle this...since he definitely has no idea.
A little upset at the threatening approach, Eithne places herself back in the middle of the way, ready to protect the others and replies, not even bothering to veil her sarcastic tone: "Oh, I guess your supposed 'purity' does not extend to your eyes, sir Roland. If you washed them, you would have not taken the wrong turn, after the gate before the bridge. The road to Castle Ravenloft was the other one. And is in the Castle that Stradh, the real devil cursing this land, resides. You would have also never mistakenly judjed any of us confiding only on your cloudy sight - for nobody here is a drow (since we do not ever know what this is) or a demon. Most gallant knights are supposed to be magically able to detect the evil... should you not try that before talking of violence? Unless your mentor gave up in desperation before completing your training, of coure..." she raises an eyebrow "Or is your heart as dirty and unwashed as your eyes?"
"Anyway" she shrugs "if you are unable to ascern the truth by other means and still wish to let the weapons do the talking, let's this at least be a one against one challenge and let the gods decide the outcome. Shall not we?"
The savage stranger awaits for the other's reply.
'Maybe I could have been a little more diplomatic...' she thinks in retrospective '...but, well, he also could have!'
When the knightly man speaks Lenn whispers to Chara and Lucian.
“I do think he has some skills like mine. No need to hide…”
And he steps in front of the tiefling. He let Eithne speaks but at the end he steps forward putting a hand over the woman’s forearm.
“Peace..” he says raising the other hand to show that he has no weapons. He has left his greatsword on his back.
“Please friends, try to understand this travelers. They are crossing dangerous and possibly unknown lands for them, and they stumble against our… particular group, weapons at the ready. We have assumed the worst too when we had first heard them approaching. “ he then turns towards the travelers.
“And you good travelers, please be at easy for we mean no harm to any of you. We are merely resting to continue our journey in the ere of day. “ he stares directly to the armor clad human. “I do not know what a drow is but you speak of them as evil creatures. You will not find evil among us. I am a follower of the Goodness and would never walk alongside evil creatures. Please stand down. If you want to keep on your journey” he steps aside even more “please do so. If you want to rest we can share our fire until morning and find security in our numbers. You are right to fear the nights in Barovia, but we are not who you should care about”
PbP Character: A few ;)
Chara exchanges a nervous glance with Lucian.
"We probably shouldn't stay back here," the she-devil says after a moment. "They might be more inclined to hear us out if we actually talk to them instead of hiding... I hope."
The demoness glances nervously at Roland's sword... she really doesn't want to get any closer to the man than she has to, especially after he loudly declared that he was willing to murder the entire party because of her demonic appearance and because some of her companions were 'Drow,' whatever that meant. Still... Chara really doesn't want to watch Eithne get herself killed in a duel with that brutish zealot if she can say or do something to stop the confrontation from turning violent.
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Ignoring Roland, Nikolai addresses the mounted elf in Elvish:
"Greetings traveler. I am Nikolai, of the Vistani, and of the Elves of this Land, called the Dusk Elves. It is clear that you are newcomers to Barovia. Please tell this pompous ass to stand down, he is clearly a moron and has no idea of the situation here in our land. We mean you no harm. In fact, we can probably offer you some valuable information about Barovia and how to survive here. Or, you are welcome to simply cross the bridge in peace if that is your wish and continue your journey without any interference from us. But perhaps speak to your idiot companion here about showing some respect for the locals."
Then, he whispers over his shoulder in Infernal:
"Lenn, the big one quite possibly can detect or banish the undead. In case you... know somebody that might be affected by that."
Persuasion 17 (game log)
“He is like me “ replied Lenn in infernal but switch to common “He has pledge allegiance to a deity but he doesn’t know how dangerous is to display their powers here, among the fog. Surely the Lord of this land already know that you walk in his territory.” He says to Roland “ You must be cautious “
PbP Character: A few ;)
The human woman leaps from her mule and dashes up to the party, standing between Roland and you all. She turns to him and says, in a distinct Barovian accent, "Sir Roland, you are hasty and rude. If these people were the Dark Lord's agents, they would already be attacking. Instead they are welcoming us to their fire and camp. Suspicion is a survival trait here in Barovia, but intelligence is a more important one. You must apologize."
The...elf?...and the small human both gasp.
Roland looks at the woman. After a moment, a smile appears on his face, although it doesn't reach his eyes. "Of course, my dear. I will apologize immediately."
He turns to Eithne, "It seems I may have misjudged. I am a stranger here, as you all have guessed, and I seem to have jumped to conclusions. In my land, elves that look like you, "he waves his hand toward Eithne, Nikolai, and Lucian, "are known to generally be a threat to decent people." He pauses a moment, closing his eyes.
He then says, "I apologize. You all seem like good enough people. Please allow us to join you for the remainder of the night. We need rest and more people probably means more safety in this land. My companions are Alona the elf and Rontic the halfling." He indicates the other riders. "And, of course, young miss Ir...er...Nadezhna, who so kindly intervened on your behalf. We have rations we can share and, hopefully, information."
The elf responds in elvish,
"The young knight is foolish, but a powerful warrior. Do not cross him, for he is quick to anger and slow to forgive. He calls himself "Pure" but the only thing pure about him, I think, is his ambition. I am called Alliana of the Pallynandi. I see you speak the true language; our people must have come to this forsaken place in the past. But what are your people doing on the surface? I thought drow mostly kept to their underground lairs. You must tell me the history of your people."
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
Lucian looks back at Chara, “Um… yeah your right.” He takes a small step to the side so that he isn’t standing in front of her anymore.
When Nikolai starts speaking in elvish, Lucian frowns slightly. It felt like ages since he’d heard elvish words…and he had to admit that what he did know was rather limited. Still, he understood enough to get the gist of what Nikolai was saying…which drew a half smile from him (and nearly a laugh), causing him to duck his head to hide the expression.
When Roland says that elves like…wait… Lucian glances at Eithne… With her hair covering her ears, he hadn’t considered how much she looked like a dusk elf… but she couldn’t be… could she? He would have to ask about it later.
When the pale elf responds to Nikolai, Lucian gives her a confused glance, before attempting to respond in elvish as well.
“Um… What do you mean? Why wouldn’t we be on the…surface? We…really don’t know what a drow is. …L…like Nikolai said, we are dusk elves.” He hesitates, realizing that he really doesn’t know if he’s dusk elf or not. “I’ve never…I’ve never seen someone like you though. You come from…” He makes a vague gesture, struggling to find the word. “Uh… You aren’t from Borovia?”
To those who don’t speak elvish, it is clear that Lucian hasn’t spoken the language in quite a while, as his words are slow and somewhat broken. He also makes a vague gesture towards the end of his last sentence.
Timidly, he steps up between Nikolai and Eithne, unsure if he should say anything to the other strangers or not. It seemed the tension had mostly dissipated (even if he still doesn’t think he likes Roland), perhaps these strangers will have interesting stories to tell.
Nikolai snorts, and replies in Elvish to Alliana, "Well I can understand that, I have a bit of a temper myself." As Lucian steps forward and speaks in his tentative Elvish, Nikolai rests his hand on his friend's shoulder, reassuring him.
Switching to Common, he continues, " I am Nikolai. My mother was Vistani, a human, and my father a Barovian elf. Most every elf I've met has a similar dark complexion to myself and these others, so clearly Alliana here comes from somewhere... outside. We call ourselves the People of the Dusk, or 'Dusk Elves'. As a half-Vistani, I know that Barovia is surrounded by a dense magical fog, but occasionally people from other lands cross through to Barovia. I've never heard of any of them leaving, though, or even surviving very long. The Vistani alone of all Barovians can pass through these mists and leave this place, although I personally have never done so. I think some sort of ritual or potion or something is involved. In short, welcome to our land such as it is. You are guests here. Remember that."
Turning to the Barovian woman he says, "Thank you, madam, for your courage and courtesy."
"I accept your apology, Sir Roland," sighs Eithne, her ears still well hidden by her thick hair "but allow me to correct you once more: despite my delicate features and complexion similar to Nikolai's and Lucian's, I am not an elf. And indeed any Barovian could explain to you that this would be quite impossible. There are no more dusk elf females here".
'...Except in my head, of course!' has just the time to think the savage stranger, before a wave of mental voices overwhelms her.
'We are here, Eithne!'
'We live in you!'
'Even if we no longer have a material form, it doesn't matter, the essential is invisible to the eye!'
'We are still here!'
"But now an elf has arrived, it seems!" the last of the dusk elf maidens, with a titanic effort of will, diverts her attention from her inner shouting and turns her azure eyes to Alona. "Nice to meet you, Alona the Elf. I am Eithne the Woman. Something tells me" (she understood very well what was said in Elvish) "that you are more used to reflecting than the 'purified' here. And I guess you usually come to more correct conclusions".
"Nice to meet you too, Rontic the Halfling" Eithne nods. “I've never seen one like you before… You're the size of a child, but the look of a man. But then again, I've never seen anyone from outside the mists yet. I'm Eithne the Woman".
"But you're from here..." the savage stranger finally turns to the pacifist woman "In your case, the pleasure of meeting you is double" she moves forward and shakes her hand. "You know firsthand what it's like to live in this land. What's more, without your intervention I believe that this land would have ended up drinking purified blood - and that would have benefited no one. Nice to meet you, I'm Eithne".
"Of course 'Ir-er-Nadezhna' is kind of a bizarre name" the last of the dusk elf maidens nonchalantly adds, joking with the way Roland corrected himself in presenting her. "And it's also bizarre that you're not among Barovians, but traveling instead alone with these newcomers. Plus, you joined them recently, otherwise they would know a lot more about this place...including why it's impossible for me to be a female elf. Of course you have your reasons, Ir-er-Nadezhna; I only hope for you that you chose the right company to... to face your reasons" Eithne's azure irises betray a good degree of concern and compassion. "You give me the idea of being a good girl, so, if you need help, what I can do for you I'll do gladly. But I won't insist, because I believe everyone has the right to keep their secrets - and to choose who to trust or not. Just be assured that if you want to talk to me, I'll listen to you".
"You're all welcome to camp among us anyway" says Eithne to the visitors.
The savage stranger thinks she's said all she had to say, so she takes her place again next to Juhowly, resuming her watch. She is really intrigued by Ir-er-Nadezhna. Something tells her she's in trouble. And trouble, near Castle Ravenloft, can have a really bad name... But if she prefers to trust the purified idiot, that's her choice... The last of the dusk elf maidens already has a hundred thousand women to manage, in her head... it's not that she is desperately looking for yet another one to take care of! She offered Ir-er-Nadezhna help sincerly. But she will not insist or impose said help on her.
"Hello," Chara says timidly to the strangers. "I guess I'm the demon. My name is Chara Leto... daughter of Cyrus Leto and Emmaline. I won't deny my infernal nature... but I swear that I mean no harm. I was born like this because of an infernal pact my father made, and I have spent my life working to escape the darkness that has followed me because of my father's foolhardy decision. If, as my friends have said, Sir Roland has the ability to magically sense evil creatures, then I am willing to submit to this test if it will put your minds at ease. I, like you Sir Roland and like my friend Lenn, am a servant of a divine being who deemed me worthy of His blessing."
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Lucian glances up at Nikolai when the half-elf puts a hand on his shoulder, smiles timidly, then looks back to the strangers. He nods along with Nikolai's explanation of the dusk elves, then turns his attention back to him again at the mention of the Vistani and going outside. Sure, he'd heard that they could, but he'd never thought to ask Nikolai if he'd tried. ...though he has a feeling he knows.
When Eithne speaks up, he looks to her as she answers his silent question. If she wasn't an elf...or half-elf, then she must be human...right? Then why does she never seem to sleep? ...more questions for later...if he can muster the courage to ask anyways.
When Chara introduces herself, Lucian notes her father's name...making the connection between her expression when she'd named her pup Cyrus. He glances back at her when she states that she will willingly undergo whatever 'goodness' test Roland could do on her... As if that was necessary. In his opinion, if these strangers couldn't trust their word (which is what Lucian and his group will have to do for them) then why should they allow them to share their fire for the night? Maybe they should let Lenn do his 'goodness' test on them too. Then they would all know for sure that they were all not evil. Yet that seemed like a cheep way to gain trust, so Lucian didn't speak up about it.
"Oh... uh.." he says, realizing that he hadn't introduced himself yet. "I'm Lucian. ...and... um..I'm an elf." It felt strangely odd to define himself by his race, but since these people were doing it he supposed it was custom for them. Perhaps it would have been more accurate to introduce himself as Lucian the werewolf, or Lucian the Lycanthrope, but that wasn't a secret he was willing to tell these strangers.
Lenn relaxes a little bit while all the talking and introductions are done.
"I am Lenn " he simply says "Lenn Kranne" he adds "please... come... sit and we can talk a little bit before we all take some rest... "
As they sit and Eithne resumes her watch Lenn doesn't resumes his position of being in second plane as usual. He offers the strangers water and keeps a polite, but small, talk with the others. It's seems that he is making an effort not to be as grim as he uses to be. It seems that he has felt that this was necessary for the party doesn't engage in combat with the strangers and he is taking this new role seriously.
When Chara offers to pass any kind of test he interrupts.
"But that wouldn't be necessary my friend. Surely our guests " he stares directly to Sir Roland "will not need further test. As Sir Roland dind't choose to be as tall as myself he can't blame you to be born as you did. Now, please tell us... how long have you been in Barovia?"
PbP Character: A few ;)
Chara looks from Roland to Lenn. She appreciates Lenn standing up for her.
"Well, if you're sure, then I'll defer to your judgement," Chara says to Lenn. "Thank you."
The she-devil proceeds to retrieve her puppy from the cart and re-join Lucian and Eithne. Even if he did back down when ordered to by the Barovian woman, Chara can't help but feel a little bit nervous about Sir Roland considering the fact that the first thing he did upon meeting her party was to threaten to murder everyone. She moves her bedroll closer to where Eithne and Lucian are keeping watch... ostensibly to help make room for the strangers, but honestly, she would like to be close to her wakeful companions just in case Sir Roland decides to play 'smite the demon' while she's sleeping.
"With my luck, his 'goodness test' would have been to throw me into a lake and declare me guilty if I floated," she whispers to Lucian and Eithne with a half-hearted smile when it doesn't look like Sir Roland is paying attention.
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"Smart as he is, he could really have come up with that..." can't help but smile back Eithne "...failing to realize that you would have not floated... but flown away with your wings instead!"
Lucian doesn't settle down until the newcomers sit as well. Once everyone has found a spot to rest he follows suit, returning to his spot beside Eithne and Chara, all the while shooting timid glances towards the strange pale elf and Nikolai. He still wants to know what a drow is, and is curious about the outside. He pointedly does not look at Roland, as if glancing in the man's direction would somehow draw attention to himself.
When Chara whispers to him and Eithne, he doesn't laugh, "Well...if that was what he wanted you can be sure we wouldn't let him try it. Not unless he did the test on himself first." There is little humor in his tone as he whispers back to her, finding it difficult to joke about such things.
While he is curious, he does his best not to stare at any of the strangers for fear of insulting them. Normally in this situation he would have gone off to some corner to observe from a distance. As it is, he doesn't have that option, so he occupies himself with Juhowly and Cyrus since Eithne and Chara had the two pups with them.
Roland appears to do his level best to ignore all the insults and sarcasm flung his way. Seeing in Lenn someone he considers trustworthy, he pulls him aside.
My fellow knight, I see that you too serve the good. I ask that you keep what I am about to tell you in confidence. This Barovian girl has been hunted these last few weeks by the Dark Lord of this Land. We seek a place where she can be kept safe from his advances. But, as you have surmised, I am a stranger to this land and know of no safe place. Of course, for now we keep her safe, but perhaps you could tell us of a refuge in this valley, free of the Dark Lord’s influence. She could stay there until we dispose of him. It would be a noble thing for you to escort her there.
Alliana beckons Nikolai and Lucian over.
Please tell me more of your people’s history. In our land, dark-skinned elves are rare and live underground. They are a harsh and powerful people, known as the Drow, worshipping a dark Goddess of spiders. Your folk seem to have abandoned that path. Can you tell how your people came to that decision?
And you are both half-elves? Such exist in our realm, but they are rare as…um…intermingling is discouraged. Are the elves here tolerant of such dilution?
As Eithne and Chara, watch, and cuddle with their dogs, Rontic walks over to them. He pantomimes sitting by them, with a questioning look. He seems to look longingly at the pups.
Finally, Nadezhda gravitates toward Onika and begins to pepper her with questions about Vallaki, the biggest town she’s ever heard of.
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
Lucian hesitates when Alliana beckons to him, glancing at Chara and Eithne before finally moving to join the pale elf and Nikolai. Before he stands, he pats Juhowly and Cyrus on their heads, and he puts his blanket on the ground where he was sitting--thus indicating that he intends to return--and also giving the pups somewhere to curl up in the meantime if they see fit.
Lucian approaches Alliana timidly, waiting until after Nikolai is there to join them as he feels rather awkward approaching alone.
When she starts asking questions, Lucian shrinks back a little realizing that he can't really contribute much to this conversation. "Uh... I... Honestly don't know." He glances at Nikolai, "I haven't had much contact with other Dusk elves. ...and... no I'm not half-elf... at least... I'm pretty sure I'm not..." He averts his gaze, looking downward, "I... um... do I look like a half-elf?" He'd never thought he could be, but then again, with all the Dusk elf women gone, who could his mother have been? He glances at Nikolai, hoping that his friend can give Alliana better answers then he could.