'The rest of the family' seems happy to see the beaming Aidwyn return... and a perhaps equally happy Spira.
In particular, Gaer, who has a majestic bird of prey perched on his shoulder, is the first to approach: "Aidwyn, welcome back! That new cloak makes me think that everything went as planned... Congratulations! Spira, may I introduce you" he nods slightly with his head to the bird "to Rubybreeze? She's a new friend..."
The tiefling ranger, however, opens his eyes wide in wonder at seeing Aedion: "Sister... have you found new company too? This... He looks like Bemon (at least Bemon as Rubybreeze described him to me), but in a smaller form... Is it... a Couatl? A baby Couatl? How... Where..."
He is unable to formulate a meaningful final question, but his curiosity is evident, deep in those solid-black starless-night eyes...
Meanwhile, Anita approaches the tiefling ex-prisoner: "Solitude! So everything went well... Not only is Aidwyn beaming, you seem more serene as well..."
"Dawnborn, my dare! My name is Dawnborn, now" the other smiles as she dismounts from her horse and hugs the ex-Zhentarim. "Yes, everything went perfectly - some setbacks during the trip, but nothing that we couldn't handle - and the good news are much more important..." she furtively looks at Spira for a moment, but then goes back to talking to Rash's partner "Now, like you, I'm a different person; that's why I choose a new name. It was Spira's idea... And you know what? I like my new self more!"
Just when they have dismount and after tapping the neck of her horse Aidwyn approaches to Spira.
"Spira, first of all I wanted to thank you for going with me in this journey. You've been amazing, as always. I want you to know that I look up to you... I mean... I admire you and I hope to become as good and efficient as you are... " she smiles to her friend "... so it meant a lot to me for you to come with me. I really appreciate your friendship and support. And" her smile gets wider even a little bit mischievous "Didn't want to intrude in your reunion so I did't say nothing earlier, wanting you two to have as much time for yourselves as possible but... I am so happy for you that you were able to reunite with Darvin. I am sure that he will do it in time to join us at the wedding, and if he doesn't make it he can endure your hangover! hahaha, but anyway he looks like a great guy and he is madly in love with you... I am so happy for you! "she embraces the Soldier of Arvandor.
"Now, where is my little winged nephew? oh there you are... come come... let's introduce you to the rest of the family. " and entangling her arm with Spira's she turns to see the others approaching.
Grinning broadly, the Soldier of Arvandor returns Aidwyn's hug. "Of course! And thank you so much. You're a good friend, and I think you are already at least as good-hearted as I am. Efficient? ... well, maybe I've had a bit more chance to learn how to do things well with all the practice wandering with Gaer as healers after we left Berdusk, but now you're a Dawnknight I trust you'll pick up skills pretty quickly. And to be honest, half the time its just carrying on through with an assured countenance and convincing everyone else you know what you're doing. Those are the times where giving in to doubt can kill, so you do your falling apart after, in private. And we both have someone now to hold us and get us through those times, so ... I'm so happy for you two! Dawnborn looks so peaceful now, and no one can miss how madly she loves you."
'The rest of the family' seems happy to see the beaming Aidwyn return... and a perhaps equally happy Spira.
In particular, Gaer, who has a majestic bird of prey perched on his shoulder, is the first to approach: "Aidwyn, welcome back! That new cloak makes me think that everything went as planned... Congratulations! Spira, may I introduce you" he nods slightly with his head to the bird "to Rubybreeze? She's a new friend..."
The tiefling ranger, however, opens his eyes wide in wonder at seeing Aedion: "Sister... have you found new company too? This... He looks like Bemon (at least Bemon as Rubybreeze described him to me), but in a smaller form... Is it... a Couatl? A baby Couatl? How... Where..."
He is unable to formulate a meaningful final question, but his curiosity is evident, deep in those solid-black starless-night eyes...
Meanwhile, Anita approaches the tiefling ex-prisoner: "Solitude! So everything went well... Not only is Aidwyn beaming, you seem more serene as well..."
"Dawnborn, my dare! My name is Dawnborn, now" the other smiles as she dismounts from her horse and hugs the ex-Zhentarim. "Yes, everything went perfectly - some setbacks during the trip, but nothing that we couldn't handle - and the good news are much more important..." she furtively looks at Spira for a moment, but then goes back to talking to Rash's partner "Now, like you, I'm a different person; that's why I choose a new name. It was Spira's idea... And you know what? I like my new self more!"
Spira walks towards her brother and the new 'lady' in his life with brimming curiosity. She had been bursting to tell him all about Darvin and Aedion; but the sight of the beautiful blood hawk on Gaer's shoulder has put all else on the back hob of the hearth, so to speak. She knows her brother well enough to know that when he has made a new animal friend, it's best to yield the floor to him and let him talk about that creature first. Besides, Rubybreeze 's wild beauty catches at her own heart; and most importantly, she has never seen so deep a bond mirrored in his eyes before. But then, just as she is extending her hand to befriend the blood hawk, Gaer catches sight of Aedion; and his first words of reaction leave Spira standing motionless. Stunned. With her jaw hanging slack and her face ... normally the same subtly blue-swirled red as the rest of her skin ... struck literally as pale as the moon which is one of her goddess' chief symbols.
"B -- B ... Bemon?! Oh, GODS ... is Balfby all r ... and he must think I sent him off so I could steal ...
Roxana is surprised to see all the others after all the time they'd been away. She listens to Aidwyn and Solitude, who is now Dawnborn. She takes a step back a bit from Gaer to let Spira greet her brother. And then there is the couatl - she's not sure what to make of that. Or Gaer's comment that Bemon had looked like the creature. But it was Spira's last statement that had her really confused. "Do you know Bemon?"
Gaer, in fact, is no less surprised than Roxana at the Sergeant of Arvandor's reaction: "Do you also know Bemon, Quspira? Has our 'admirer' come to make friends with you too? Perhaps, by flying, he could have reached you, actually, after he met us and we talked about our deeds and Balfby... Oh, right," the tiefling ranger looks from Roxana to the new Dawnknight, to Rash and Anita "speaking of Balfby... who is indeed all right Spira, yes... You, Aidwyn... You're sure you can keep her under control, right?”
"Indeed we have someone. Davion is crazy about you, you know right?" says Aidwyn to Spira with a smile and a wink before they met the others.
After the exchange between the two brothers and equally amazed by the beauty of the blood hawk in Gaer's shoulder she looks confused
"Wait what? what's going on with Bemon? and... it's Balfy ok you say? Ok ok... keep her under control? well yes, I guess, I mean she is pretty feral you know, and she feels gratitude towards us for freeing her, she being a creature used to packs has decided that I, somehow, am the alpha from her new pack but I honestly think that she will eventually get bored and homesick and will return to the Feywild. I know that most people think they are evil creatures but I do not feel her as evil... she is just... different. I mean... wolves could be seen as evil when they kill cattle... making hard the life of the farmers but they are not evil, they are just trying to survive and thrive... and nature is harhs... even cruel by our standars sometimes... has she made anything wrong while we were away? "
"Balfy has done nothing. Yet," Roxana replies to Aidwyn. "The creature tortured the hastily convicted Zhentarim as expected. But we were left to wonder what stops her from just ripping apart any traveler she happen upon. She looked like she was about ready to kill us in fact."
She then pauses. "Back to Bemon. Do you know him also? He visited us, evidently a fan of our group. And evidently also a couatl."
Gaer, in fact, is no less surprised than Roxana at the Sergeant of Arvandor's reaction: "Do you also know Bemon, Quspira? Has our 'admirer' come to make friends with you too? Perhaps, by flying, he could have reached you, actually, after he met us and we talked about our deeds and Balfby... Oh, right," the tiefling ranger looks from Roxana to the new Dawnknight, to Rash and Anita "speaking of Balfby... who is indeed all right Spira, yes... You, Aidwyn... You're sure you can keep her under control, right?”
"Noooo, you don't understand! I SENT him to you. The whole mixup's my fault!!!," the Sergeant of Arvandor wails; and then the explanation comes spilling out. . .
"We met him on the road, I think it was just the day before I found Aedion's egg. And I didn't know he was a couatl then, not until we got to Waterdeep; but the circumstances were such that when I remembered some of the things I learned from you, I honestly thought a dying or imperiled parent had deliberately led peril away from their hidden nest, and would likely not return ... especially as we'd unintentionally further disturbed Aedion's nest. And I've told Aedion as much of this as I thought he could absorb at the time and I would take an oath before Angharradh that I've always meant to tell him the rest when the time was right. But if BEMON is related to him ... perhaps not his parent, Jandarthought he'd been born late and his parent had already left this plane ... but even related to him ... oh, gods."She gasps in a deep breath and then rushes on.
"When we met Bemon, he was headed this way, and the Zhentarim hadn't yet been tried. I worked things out and realized he'd get to this area the night after the trial!! He was in his human form and I didn't know he was more than he seemed, so at first I was afraid for him in case either Zhent had chosen the 'run for life till dawn' option. I tried to warn him obliquely without completely terrifying him letting him know exactly what sort of creature we'd brought back to Longsaddle; and he turns around and sets out to hunt Balfby down! We thought we might be able to get back just in time with Zentromya 's magic; and we really didn't want to spoil Aidwyn's initiation after she'd had such a clear calling; but as wonderful as meeting Darvin again was, even that has barely kept me under control from the constant nightmare that we'd come back and find Balfby dead, or Bemon dead, or both."
"But now it's even WORSE!!!!! IF HE THINKS I SENT HIM OFF ON A WILD GOOSE CHASE KNOWING ABOUT AEDION AND INTENDING TO KIDNAP HIM ... !!!!!!!!!"
Spira's terror is such that it has even completely driven from her mind the fact that she has yet to tell her brother about meeting Darvinagain, much less their mutual realization that they'd always loved each other.
Roxana looks at Spiira suspiciously. "Well, what you say of Bemon cannot be true! When we first met, he thought Anita might be you Quispira. Why would that be the case if you sent him to us? And then, you say you warned him of Balfby? He also came to us wondering why we had not eliminated the Yeth Hound in the vicinity of Longsaddle. Which would not have been the case if you'd already mentioned Balfby to him. I got the impression he expected us to eliminate the threat. In any case, he not only didn't give any indication he had run into you before meeting us, his words quite strongly suggest he hadn't. Or he's being duplicitous."
She honestly struggled to follow the rest of Spira's hysteric discourse. 'Who is Jandar? And Darvin? she wonders. But she figures such information will be revealed in time.
"Spira... just take a moment to breathe and think about this...
First of all, as unlikely as it may be, there is a chance that your hatchling might not be connected to Bemon at all. After all, just because both of them are human doesn't mean Roxanna and Aidwyn are secretly sisters. Not a perfect comparison, but my point is it could just be a bizarre coincidence.
Second, if you did misjudge the situation, you literally have another celestial here to vouche for your good intentions. Bemon seemed like a reasonable guy, otherwise he would have probably torn the town apart to find and slay Balfby already instead of seeking us out to find out what was really happening.
Try and relax, the apocalypse isn't coming down on our heads just yet... but... it is strange that he didn't mention seeing you on the road."
"Perhaps Quspira did not reveal her and the others' identities to Bemon..." Gaer hypothesizes, turning to Roxana "If she was suspicious of him..."
Meanwhile Aedion, amazed, communicates telepathically with his mother (but including everyone in the conversation): "What's happening, mom? Why are you getting so upset? We didn't do anything wrong, mom... You gave birth to me... You found me a dad and this wonderful family... You're helping me become a grown up couatl... What's wrong, mom?"
"Oh, er..." the tiefling ranger, with an unusual sweetness in his voice and eyes, reacts to the baby-couatl's words "Nice to meet you, Aedion! If Quspira here is your mother... I guess I'm your uncle now! I'm uncle Gaer, pleasure to meet you! However," he smiles at his sister "I agree with both Rash and my nephew, Quspira... I don't think you've done anything wrong! I don't think Bemon is in correlation with Aedion... or he would not have left him alone, as he was about to be born, to undertake a journey to Longsaddle which he might well have delayed. And as for Balfby, he inquired after her... but when he we reported that Aidwyn manages to control its impulses and that, therefore, the beast is not a danger... (at least for now...) he has given up on confronting her - and has limited himself to expressing his admiration to us; word of our exploits had reached him, apparently. Now, Quspira, how about you calm down and tell us who these 'Jandar', 'Darvin' and this 'dad' Aedion just mentioned are?"
“Jandar is simply a high-ranking member of the Order of Aster,”explains Dwanborn, coming to the rescue of the Sergeant of Arvandor “a chivalric order devoted to Lathander, into whose ranks, of course, Aidwyn was readily accepted. When Aedion was born, we didn't know much about his nature... Jandar had more experience than us in matters of couatl and gave us information". Regarding 'Darvin', however, she prefers Spira to talk about it in the way (and with the level of detail) she prefers...
With a gulp, a gasp, the reassurance of her brother and Roxana, and above all the realization that she's upsetting her 'baby', Spira finally calms down a bit. "I'm sorry, everyone. I guess I'm jumping to conclusions. And I'm sorry I got you upset, Aedion. This is part of what I planned to explain when I thought you were ready. Before you were born, you were in an egg ... Jandar told us that's the way all couatls are born, remember? But I'm a tiefling, which means I can't actually give birth to a couatl egg myself, since they're different types of creature. But when the couatl who did give birth to your egg had to leave this plane before you hatched, I'm starting to trust again that my goddess led me to you so I could adopt you. And I love you no less than if I had birthed your egg. It's just when I found out this person I thought was mad at me was another couatl too, I was afraid he wouldn't know that I didn't know what he was; and that he might think I ought to have asked him first before just deciding on my own to adopt you. It doesn't make much sense, I know, but the things that scare us the most sometimes don't." Turning to the rest of the group, she continues.
"As for the part about Balfby, it's a lesson to me not to be so coy. I didn't actually tellBemon she was a yeth hound flat out, just hinted around. I'm so relieved it turned out all right."
"And as for Darvin ... !," she sighs and blushes happily, "let's say you and Roxana will soon have a bit more time to yourselves without an overanxious big sister in your hair, Gaer. You won't have to worry about how honorable his intentions are towards me either, dear brother, or getting to know him to see if he'll fit well into the family, It's Darvin Nolaras, Gaer, from back in Berdusk!!! He was apparently in love with me the whole time and just didn't know I felt the same for him; and the other way around! He left Berdusk shortly after we did and wound up in the Waterdhavian Watch, and we met again in a little town just before you get to the city. He's already said he won't lose me again, so he's resigning from the Watch there and he'll join us in Longsaddle in time for Lady Martha's wedding if he can wrap up his affairs by then." Quspira Inirali's heart is so full she can say no more for a moment, but lapses into a silence made all the more special by its comparative rarity.
With Spira's information about Darvin and her 'child' and Dawnborn revealing Aidwny's induction Order of Aster, it seems to Roxana that a lot happened on this journey. "Perhaps we should all sit down and catch up. It seems you two have had quite the journey!"
Spira laughs suddenly, at least as much from the sudden release of such long-pent fear as anything else. "That's a good idea, Roxana. Let's adjourn to the Fuzzy Quarterstaff. We haven't even gotten to the giant lobster that wanted Aidwyn's shield yet!"
And so it is that, now tackling the magical crossing of the Underbridge without difficulty, you soon find yourself gathered around a large Fuzzy Quarterstaff table...
Dawnborn, who maintains his new serene expression as he looks around while a conductor plays an invisible orchestra and trays with orders travel, in apparent autonomy, to the tables of those who ordered, admits: "Yes, we had quite the journey; but this one remains the most magical tavern I have ever seen".
Once seated and ordered a beer for himself, Gaer (who still has Rubybreeze perched on his shoulder, her claws gripping the tanned, studded leather of his armor) recalls: "Darvin Nolaras, from Berdusk... Yes, Quspira , now I remember him... He seemed like a nice guy... which is saying a lot, considering that at that time my opinion of guards and authorities was even lower than the, already not very high, one I have now. I'm really pleased" those solid-black eyes search for a moment those of the girl from Longsaddle, then those of the Sergeant of Arvandor "that you too have found someone capable of appreciating you. You really deserve it, Quspira. Apparently," he goes on to joke "only the best people in all of Faerûn are able to put aside the prejudices that tieflings are often subjected to, to instead discover their remarkable qualities!"
"But I would like to find out which giant lobster wanted Aidwyn's shield instead!" Anita intervenes, while she sips a glass of mulled wine "And what would it have done with it... Was it perhaps a giant lobster trained by the Zhentarim to rob passers-by?"
Aedion, who was lazily fluttering on the table, at face level, looking around with obvious curiosity and interest, responds excitedly: "If Zhentarim are fish-gods, then it must have been so! The monster wanted the shield to give to the fish-gods! But mom stopped him! Mom has very great powers! Mom made a dart with the light of the moon and threw it at the monster, burning it all! Then the monster saw Zentromya coming as she had become really really big! Her wings made a wind that almost took me away! One day I want to learn to become big like that too! And then..."
"Maybe it's better that we let mom Spira or stepmom Aidwyn tell the story..." the she-hollyphant suggests sweetly "Do you remember how good the two of them are at telling stories? You always listen to them so willingly, when they tell something... "
"Yes, Aedion, and if you remember Aidwyn and Dawnborn were pretty big heroes in the fight too! And we'd just gone to find out what the thing was when it rushed past us, so we didn't get to see too well some of the wonderful things your stepmoms did. I'm curious to hear how it was for them."
Dawnborn at first seems to wait patiently for Aidwyn to speak... but seeing her reluctant, with a sigh and a smile, she begins to tell: "Oh, that bipedal horror with giant crab claws was really impressive! It's true that Spira hit him with a powerful magical attack... but the monster reached Aidwyn all the same, as if it were unstoppable".
“I went back,” admits the tiefling ex-prisoner “hoping I could keep my distance and fight the enemy from range… and also trusting Aidwyn to do the same! But no… she stood there waiting for it! I wasscared for her... I screamed... But Aidwyn knew well what she was doing! When the monster grabbed her with his giant crab claw..." she mimes with her two arms the claw tightening around the young heroine "...Aidwyn fought back with sudden fury and a bone-chilling battle cry! I suppose Balfby must have taught her that... it was a really terrifying cry!"
"And that's why the monster, that giant so big that it seemed it could crush her at any moment, immediately let her go, scared!" Dawnborn now withdraws her arms, leaving Aidwyn free, and brings her hands to the mouth, to give the idea of fear "And it ran away, retreating into the pond from which it had emerged in the beginning! And it never dared to be seen again until the next morning! And anyway, the next morning, when it dared to approach us again, it still didn't dare fight us... it tried to convince Aidwyn to give up the shield to it with threats... You can imagine how it went, right?" and she points to 'Amazon's Guradian', the magical mithral shield still shimmering alongside the Dawnknight.
Rash listens to the strange story of the crustacean intently.
"Well... that's weird," Rash says after Dawnborn is finished. "I would imagine fish gods would have even less use for a shield than a giant crab would. Guess it's back to bugging Colin for any info in his library on aquatic deities. Speaking of... I do still have to deliver Kunnari to the Bloodskulls to serve his sentence. Whereabout did you meet the crustacean? I really don't feel like dealing with the blasted thing myself if I can avoid it."
"It came out from a pond somewhere between Red Larch and Amphil..." Dawnborn remembers "We were quite far south from here. Is your tribe to the south, Rash?"
[[OOC: In case the player doesn't remember, no, Rash's tribe is located further north of Longsaddle, therefore in the opposite direction to that traveled by the 'Party of Four' in their journey. A wrestling match between an half-orc wizard and a crustacean is therefore rather unlikely ]]
'The rest of the family' seems happy to see the beaming Aidwyn return... and a perhaps equally happy Spira.
In particular, Gaer, who has a majestic bird of prey perched on his shoulder, is the first to approach: "Aidwyn, welcome back! That new cloak makes me think that everything went as planned... Congratulations! Spira, may I introduce you" he nods slightly with his head to the bird "to Rubybreeze? She's a new friend..."
The tiefling ranger, however, opens his eyes wide in wonder at seeing Aedion: "Sister... have you found new company too? This... He looks like Bemon (at least Bemon as Rubybreeze described him to me), but in a smaller form... Is it... a Couatl? A baby Couatl? How... Where..."
He is unable to formulate a meaningful final question, but his curiosity is evident, deep in those solid-black starless-night eyes...
Meanwhile, Anita approaches the tiefling ex-prisoner: "Solitude! So everything went well... Not only is Aidwyn beaming, you seem more serene as well..."
"Dawnborn, my dare! My name is Dawnborn, now" the other smiles as she dismounts from her horse and hugs the ex-Zhentarim. "Yes, everything went perfectly - some setbacks during the trip, but nothing that we couldn't handle - and the good news are much more important..." she furtively looks at Spira for a moment, but then goes back to talking to Rash's partner "Now, like you, I'm a different person; that's why I choose a new name. It was Spira's idea... And you know what? I like my new self more!"
Rash nearly spits out a mouthful of ale as he sees the tiny coatl... that certainly was not expected.
"What...? How...?" he sputters.
Eventually though, he sighs.
"Well, knowing you folks it's almost a wonder you didn't bring back a red dragon... so, what's the little guy's name?"
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Grinning broadly, the Soldier of Arvandor returns Aidwyn's hug. "Of course! And thank you so much. You're a good friend, and I think you are already at least as good-hearted as I am. Efficient? ... well, maybe I've had a bit more chance to learn how to do things well with all the practice wandering with Gaer as healers after we left Berdusk, but now you're a Dawnknight I trust you'll pick up skills pretty quickly. And to be honest, half the time its just carrying on through with an assured countenance and convincing everyone else you know what you're doing. Those are the times where giving in to doubt can kill, so you do your falling apart after, in private. And we both have someone now to hold us and get us through those times, so ... I'm so happy for you two! Dawnborn looks so peaceful now, and no one can miss how madly she loves you."
Spira walks towards her brother and the new 'lady' in his life with brimming curiosity. She had been bursting to tell him all about Darvin and Aedion; but the sight of the beautiful blood hawk on Gaer's shoulder has put all else on the back hob of the hearth, so to speak. She knows her brother well enough to know that when he has made a new animal friend, it's best to yield the floor to him and let him talk about that creature first. Besides, Rubybreeze 's wild beauty catches at her own heart; and most importantly, she has never seen so deep a bond mirrored in his eyes before. But then, just as she is extending her hand to befriend the blood hawk, Gaer catches sight of Aedion; and his first words of reaction leave Spira standing motionless. Stunned. With her jaw hanging slack and her face ... normally the same subtly blue-swirled red as the rest of her skin ... struck literally as pale as the moon which is one of her goddess' chief symbols.
"B -- B ... Bemon?! Oh, GODS ... is Balfby all r ... and he must think I sent him off so I could steal ...
BEMON?!?!?!"
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
Roxana is surprised to see all the others after all the time they'd been away. She listens to Aidwyn and Solitude, who is now Dawnborn. She takes a step back a bit from Gaer to let Spira greet her brother. And then there is the couatl - she's not sure what to make of that. Or Gaer's comment that Bemon had looked like the creature. But it was Spira's last statement that had her really confused. "Do you know Bemon?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard ||
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer || Bronnryn Hethgar, Cleric
Gaer, in fact, is no less surprised than Roxana at the Sergeant of Arvandor's reaction: "Do you also know Bemon, Quspira? Has our 'admirer' come to make friends with you too? Perhaps, by flying, he could have reached you, actually, after he met us and we talked about our deeds and Balfby... Oh, right," the tiefling ranger looks from Roxana to the new Dawnknight, to Rash and Anita "speaking of Balfby... who is indeed all right Spira, yes... You, Aidwyn... You're sure you can keep her under control, right?”
"Indeed we have someone. Davion is crazy about you, you know right?" says Aidwyn to Spira with a smile and a wink before they met the others.
After the exchange between the two brothers and equally amazed by the beauty of the blood hawk in Gaer's shoulder she looks confused
"Wait what? what's going on with Bemon? and... it's Balfy ok you say? Ok ok... keep her under control? well yes, I guess, I mean she is pretty feral you know, and she feels gratitude towards us for freeing her, she being a creature used to packs has decided that I, somehow, am the alpha from her new pack but I honestly think that she will eventually get bored and homesick and will return to the Feywild. I know that most people think they are evil creatures but I do not feel her as evil... she is just... different. I mean... wolves could be seen as evil when they kill cattle... making hard the life of the farmers but they are not evil, they are just trying to survive and thrive... and nature is harhs... even cruel by our standars sometimes... has she made anything wrong while we were away? "
PbP Character: A few ;)
"Balfy has done nothing. Yet," Roxana replies to Aidwyn. "The creature tortured the hastily convicted Zhentarim as expected. But we were left to wonder what stops her from just ripping apart any traveler she happen upon. She looked like she was about ready to kill us in fact."
She then pauses. "Back to Bemon. Do you know him also? He visited us, evidently a fan of our group. And evidently also a couatl."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard ||
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer || Bronnryn Hethgar, Cleric
"Noooo, you don't understand! I SENT him to you. The whole mixup's my fault!!!," the Sergeant of Arvandor wails; and then the explanation comes spilling out. . .
"We met him on the road, I think it was just the day before I found Aedion's egg. And I didn't know he was a couatl then, not until we got to Waterdeep; but the circumstances were such that when I remembered some of the things I learned from you, I honestly thought a dying or imperiled parent had deliberately led peril away from their hidden nest, and would likely not return ... especially as we'd unintentionally further disturbed Aedion's nest. And I've told Aedion as much of this as I thought he could absorb at the time and I would take an oath before Angharradh that I've always meant to tell him the rest when the time was right. But if BEMON is related to him ... perhaps not his parent, Jandar thought he'd been born late and his parent had already left this plane ... but even related to him ... oh, gods." She gasps in a deep breath and then rushes on.
"When we met Bemon, he was headed this way, and the Zhentarim hadn't yet been tried. I worked things out and realized he'd get to this area the night after the trial!! He was in his human form and I didn't know he was more than he seemed, so at first I was afraid for him in case either Zhent had chosen the 'run for life till dawn' option. I tried to warn him obliquely without completely terrifying him letting him know exactly what sort of creature we'd brought back to Longsaddle; and he turns around and sets out to hunt Balfby down! We thought we might be able to get back just in time with Zentromya 's magic; and we really didn't want to spoil Aidwyn's initiation after she'd had such a clear calling; but as wonderful as meeting Darvin again was, even that has barely kept me under control from the constant nightmare that we'd come back and find Balfby dead, or Bemon dead, or both."
"But now it's even WORSE!!!!! IF HE THINKS I SENT HIM OFF ON A WILD GOOSE CHASE KNOWING ABOUT AEDION AND INTENDING TO KIDNAP HIM ... !!!!!!!!!"
Spira's terror is such that it has even completely driven from her mind the fact that she has yet to tell her brother about meeting Darvin again, much less their mutual realization that they'd always loved each other.
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
Roxana looks at Spiira suspiciously. "Well, what you say of Bemon cannot be true! When we first met, he thought Anita might be you Quispira. Why would that be the case if you sent him to us? And then, you say you warned him of Balfby? He also came to us wondering why we had not eliminated the Yeth Hound in the vicinity of Longsaddle. Which would not have been the case if you'd already mentioned Balfby to him. I got the impression he expected us to eliminate the threat. In any case, he not only didn't give any indication he had run into you before meeting us, his words quite strongly suggest he hadn't. Or he's being duplicitous."
She honestly struggled to follow the rest of Spira's hysteric discourse. 'Who is Jandar? And Darvin? she wonders. But she figures such information will be revealed in time.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard ||
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer || Bronnryn Hethgar, Cleric
Rash sighs.
"Spira... just take a moment to breathe and think about this...
First of all, as unlikely as it may be, there is a chance that your hatchling might not be connected to Bemon at all. After all, just because both of them are human doesn't mean Roxanna and Aidwyn are secretly sisters. Not a perfect comparison, but my point is it could just be a bizarre coincidence.
Second, if you did misjudge the situation, you literally have another celestial here to vouche for your good intentions. Bemon seemed like a reasonable guy, otherwise he would have probably torn the town apart to find and slay Balfby already instead of seeking us out to find out what was really happening.
Try and relax, the apocalypse isn't coming down on our heads just yet... but... it is strange that he didn't mention seeing you on the road."
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"Perhaps Quspira did not reveal her and the others' identities to Bemon..." Gaer hypothesizes, turning to Roxana "If she was suspicious of him..."
Meanwhile Aedion, amazed, communicates telepathically with his mother (but including everyone in the conversation): "What's happening, mom? Why are you getting so upset? We didn't do anything wrong, mom... You gave birth to me... You found me a dad and this wonderful family... You're helping me become a grown up couatl... What's wrong, mom?"
"Oh, er..." the tiefling ranger, with an unusual sweetness in his voice and eyes, reacts to the baby-couatl's words "Nice to meet you, Aedion! If Quspira here is your mother... I guess I'm your uncle now! I'm uncle Gaer, pleasure to meet you! However," he smiles at his sister "I agree with both Rash and my nephew, Quspira... I don't think you've done anything wrong! I don't think Bemon is in correlation with Aedion... or he would not have left him alone, as he was about to be born, to undertake a journey to Longsaddle which he might well have delayed. And as for Balfby, he inquired after her... but when he we reported that Aidwyn manages to control its impulses and that, therefore, the beast is not a danger... (at least for now...) he has given up on confronting her - and has limited himself to expressing his admiration to us; word of our exploits had reached him, apparently. Now, Quspira, how about you calm down and tell us who these 'Jandar', 'Darvin' and this 'dad' Aedion just mentioned are?"
“Jandar is simply a high-ranking member of the Order of Aster,” explains Dwanborn, coming to the rescue of the Sergeant of Arvandor “a chivalric order devoted to Lathander, into whose ranks, of course, Aidwyn was readily accepted. When Aedion was born, we didn't know much about his nature... Jandar had more experience than us in matters of couatl and gave us information". Regarding 'Darvin', however, she prefers Spira to talk about it in the way (and with the level of detail) she prefers...
With a gulp, a gasp, the reassurance of her brother and Roxana, and above all the realization that she's upsetting her 'baby', Spira finally calms down a bit. "I'm sorry, everyone. I guess I'm jumping to conclusions. And I'm sorry I got you upset, Aedion. This is part of what I planned to explain when I thought you were ready. Before you were born, you were in an egg ... Jandar told us that's the way all couatls are born, remember? But I'm a tiefling, which means I can't actually give birth to a couatl egg myself, since they're different types of creature. But when the couatl who did give birth to your egg had to leave this plane before you hatched, I'm starting to trust again that my goddess led me to you so I could adopt you. And I love you no less than if I had birthed your egg. It's just when I found out this person I thought was mad at me was another couatl too, I was afraid he wouldn't know that I didn't know what he was; and that he might think I ought to have asked him first before just deciding on my own to adopt you. It doesn't make much sense, I know, but the things that scare us the most sometimes don't." Turning to the rest of the group, she continues.
"As for the part about Balfby, it's a lesson to me not to be so coy. I didn't actually tell Bemon she was a yeth hound flat out, just hinted around. I'm so relieved it turned out all right."
"And as for Darvin ... !," she sighs and blushes happily, "let's say you and Roxana will soon have a bit more time to yourselves without an overanxious big sister in your hair, Gaer. You won't have to worry about how honorable his intentions are towards me either, dear brother, or getting to know him to see if he'll fit well into the family, It's Darvin Nolaras, Gaer, from back in Berdusk!!! He was apparently in love with me the whole time and just didn't know I felt the same for him; and the other way around! He left Berdusk shortly after we did and wound up in the Waterdhavian Watch, and we met again in a little town just before you get to the city. He's already said he won't lose me again, so he's resigning from the Watch there and he'll join us in Longsaddle in time for Lady Martha's wedding if he can wrap up his affairs by then." Quspira Inirali's heart is so full she can say no more for a moment, but lapses into a silence made all the more special by its comparative rarity.
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
With Spira's information about Darvin and her 'child' and Dawnborn revealing Aidwny's induction Order of Aster, it seems to Roxana that a lot happened on this journey. "Perhaps we should all sit down and catch up. It seems you two have had quite the journey!"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard ||
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer || Bronnryn Hethgar, Cleric
Spira laughs suddenly, at least as much from the sudden release of such long-pent fear as anything else. "That's a good idea, Roxana. Let's adjourn to the Fuzzy Quarterstaff. We haven't even gotten to the giant lobster that wanted Aidwyn's shield yet!"
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
And so it is that, now tackling the magical crossing of the Underbridge without difficulty, you soon find yourself gathered around a large Fuzzy Quarterstaff table...
Dawnborn, who maintains his new serene expression as he looks around while a conductor plays an invisible orchestra and trays with orders travel, in apparent autonomy, to the tables of those who ordered, admits: "Yes, we had quite the journey; but this one remains the most magical tavern I have ever seen".
Once seated and ordered a beer for himself, Gaer (who still has Rubybreeze perched on his shoulder, her claws gripping the tanned, studded leather of his armor) recalls: "Darvin Nolaras, from Berdusk... Yes, Quspira , now I remember him... He seemed like a nice guy... which is saying a lot, considering that at that time my opinion of guards and authorities was even lower than the, already not very high, one I have now. I'm really pleased" those solid-black eyes search for a moment those of the girl from Longsaddle, then those of the Sergeant of Arvandor "that you too have found someone capable of appreciating you. You really deserve it, Quspira. Apparently," he goes on to joke "only the best people in all of Faerûn are able to put aside the prejudices that tieflings are often subjected to, to instead discover their remarkable qualities!"
"But I would like to find out which giant lobster wanted Aidwyn's shield instead!" Anita intervenes, while she sips a glass of mulled wine "And what would it have done with it... Was it perhaps a giant lobster trained by the Zhentarim to rob passers-by?"
Aedion, who was lazily fluttering on the table, at face level, looking around with obvious curiosity and interest, responds excitedly: "If Zhentarim are fish-gods, then it must have been so! The monster wanted the shield to give to the fish-gods! But mom stopped him! Mom has very great powers! Mom made a dart with the light of the moon and threw it at the monster, burning it all! Then the monster saw Zentromya coming as she had become really really big! Her wings made a wind that almost took me away! One day I want to learn to become big like that too! And then..."
"Maybe it's better that we let mom Spira or stepmom Aidwyn tell the story..." the she-hollyphant suggests sweetly "Do you remember how good the two of them are at telling stories? You always listen to them so willingly, when they tell something... "
"Yes, Aedion, and if you remember Aidwyn and Dawnborn were pretty big heroes in the fight too! And we'd just gone to find out what the thing was when it rushed past us, so we didn't get to see too well some of the wonderful things your stepmoms did. I'm curious to hear how it was for them."
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
Dawnborn at first seems to wait patiently for Aidwyn to speak... but seeing her reluctant, with a sigh and a smile, she begins to tell: "Oh, that bipedal horror with giant crab claws was really impressive! It's true that Spira hit him with a powerful magical attack... but the monster reached Aidwyn all the same, as if it were unstoppable".
“I went back,” admits the tiefling ex-prisoner “hoping I could keep my distance and fight the enemy from range… and also trusting Aidwyn to do the same! But no… she stood there waiting for it! I wasscared for her... I screamed... But Aidwyn knew well what she was doing! When the monster grabbed her with his giant crab claw..." she mimes with her two arms the claw tightening around the young heroine "...Aidwyn fought back with sudden fury and a bone-chilling battle cry! I suppose Balfby must have taught her that... it was a really terrifying cry!"
"And that's why the monster, that giant so big that it seemed it could crush her at any moment, immediately let her go, scared!" Dawnborn now withdraws her arms, leaving Aidwyn free, and brings her hands to the mouth, to give the idea of fear "And it ran away, retreating into the pond from which it had emerged in the beginning! And it never dared to be seen again until the next morning! And anyway, the next morning, when it dared to approach us again, it still didn't dare fight us... it tried to convince Aidwyn to give up the shield to it with threats... You can imagine how it went, right?" and she points to 'Amazon's Guradian', the magical mithral shield still shimmering alongside the Dawnknight.
Rash listens to the strange story of the crustacean intently.
"Well... that's weird," Rash says after Dawnborn is finished. "I would imagine fish gods would have even less use for a shield than a giant crab would. Guess it's back to bugging Colin for any info in his library on aquatic deities. Speaking of... I do still have to deliver Kunnari to the Bloodskulls to serve his sentence. Whereabout did you meet the crustacean? I really don't feel like dealing with the blasted thing myself if I can avoid it."
He takes a swig of beer.
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"It came out from a pond somewhere between Red Larch and Amphil..." Dawnborn remembers "We were quite far south from here. Is your tribe to the south, Rash?"
[[OOC: In case the player doesn't remember, no, Rash's tribe is located further north of Longsaddle, therefore in the opposite direction to that traveled by the 'Party of Four' in their journey. A wrestling match between an half-orc wizard and a crustacean is therefore rather unlikely ]]
(awwww. I was all set to buy front row tickets for the big G.C. vs Rashumon world championship bout ... LOL)
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1