Aside from a pulse of light twinkling across her skin as the stilted words of her language fall from Hadrian's lips, the entity has no outward reaction to the question immediately. A moment of silence passes, and she steps closer to the nobleman, allowing Xarianroom to pass if he wishes.
Hadrian As you search her face for some hint of her feelings or thoughts, you find your usual mortal tells useless. Reading her as you would another person is nigh impossible. She leans over, resting her forehead against yours for but a moment before straightening back up to her full height. The spot on your forehead burns. And freezes. And then something impacts your mind like a raging bull. Information - too much information. There are flashes of some things you find comprehensible. A clash of armies, made of denizens both terrible and beautiful. An oath sworn on the stars. An oath broken. A trickster's smile. The rush of feelings that wash over you are equally overwhelming, swinging to and from the absolute extremes of mortal passions. Soaring joys, crushing sorrows. Eons of loneliness.
'Trian om taba am siāon?' Will it let me leave my cage?
At first Hadrian considers the strange contact to be some kind odd cultural gesture. If only it were so mundane. He sways on his feet as the foreign memories (if that's what they were) burn through his mind. It was far too much to squeeze into a tiny mortal head, most of it probably already lost to him. He tries to hang onto what does make sense...But then the emotions swallow him like a tidal wave.
He laughs. He feels tears streak his face. To Xarian, he was certain he looked half-mad. As the intensity begins to ebb, he runs his hands down his face, once again biting down on a sarcastic remark. "She's trapped here."
"And trading for a desire, that let's you out?" He asks, unsure of how such a thing could break whatever chains bound her. But then again, very little of this made sense.
It was not lost on him that releasing such a creature could be devastating. Nor was it lost on him that such a creature would undoubtedly remember their unhelpfulness should it ever get out another way.
An emotion flickers across her face, and the glow of her skin darkens some. Disappointment. With a slow nod of her head, she moves out of your way. The exit awaits.
Hadrian takes a few experimentally steps towards the tunnel, keeping a wary eye on the woman. He feels a pang of something, sadness. Probably hers. There were still stray thoughts and feelings running through his head after she had shoved half her existence through it. Or maybe it was his own pity, he couldn't tell.
There was nothing he felt he wanted though, certainly not what she had already offered him. There wasn't some position of power he craved. No mistake he wished he cou-
"s'all of us. They already....Miriel..." The nobleman lets out a groan as the parting words of the young man they'd just rescued come unbidden to the forefront of his mind. How often was one given the opportunity to save someone they had already failed to save? He stops in his tracks. He turns to look at the impossible woman.
"You wanted what, my soul? To do something that would change the lives of countless people on the Sword Coast. What's the price to change just one?" He looks to the pit in the center of the room. "How much to bring back the one those bastards killed in your name?"
Xari continues to amble towards the tunnel leading back out into the night. He calls back to Hadrian, his voice labored, slow and thick.
"I'm sorry she's trapped. But she is beyond us. Others like her should free her, just like we freed our fellow mortals here. I think to her... to her, our lives are less than stardust spilling from gaps between her fingers. Those murderous bastards followed her, and now I don't see them... anywhere. Where did their bodies go? Death is death. I... I don't want to see anyone brought back with red stars for eyes. Not Miriel, rest her soul, and not you."
The way her head cocks to the side at your question suggests confusion - but again, it is difficult to tell with this strange being of starlight. Her mouth hangs open slightly. "Oh." A peal of laughter fills the room like a ringing cloister bell.
'Aldun ulluri, ol zir avtabas. Ol dorphaen mo cocasn.' Clay child, I have misunderstood. I see you now.
The light of her skin slowly pulses, like the ebb and flow of the tide. She bends at the waist, bowing low before Hadrian in apology.
'Bamm ol doalim.' Forgive my mistake.
In the next moment she is behind the young nobleman once more, walking around him in a slow circle with her brow slightly raised. Appraising. Choosing? The woman hums a delicate sound, like a soft wind through crystal chimes. She stops in front of Hadrian, a twinkle in her pale eyes and a smile that simultaneously lifts and terrifies you.
Bladesemmer.
Your family name rolls off her tongue like sweet wine.
'A teloc aldun ulluri trian apila.' The dead child of clay will live.
Her pale eyes flick to Xarian.
'Saga. Od omiran.' Whole. And itself.
She extends an upturned hand towards Hadrian, returning her attention to the young man.
'Trian mo na dooain lo?' Will you sing for the price of a name?
As she bows, he waves his hand awkwardly. "It's forgiven," he says stiffly. What she was apologizing for, what offense she thought to have given him, he hadn't the faintest idea. Referring to him as 'you' instead of an 'it' was certainly a striking difference though. Something had changed.
The way his name sounds coming from her makes him shiver, and bewilders him even further. His family name? She would take it from him? What did that even mean? A part of him felt that asking for clarification would end only in further confusion. So he did not ask.
Some stupid name for a life? It wasn't much of a decision. He had already all but abandoned it anyway. He rests his hand atop the one she offered to him. "Fine, take it."
"For the price of my name, bring that poor girl back."
'Uml i' trian noan, ol Adoni.' Then it shall be, my Adoni.
For whatever reason, the second voice layered beneath whatever strange tongue she speaks doesn't translate the last word. A title or name perhaps? But her smile smites your heart, and her skin glows bright enough to cast red light on the area around her. Gently, she turns your hand over in hers, lifting your sleeve and moving her hand up your arm until her thumb presses just below the crook of your elbow. Her touch is frigid and burning at the same time.
'G' dooain blans de ol.' Your name will belong to me.
You can feel something being etched into your skin, into your bones.
'Cirp gnay ge hoxmarch. Aspt i' t' uls, g' trian blans plosi uml dooain.' But do not fear. Before it is done, you will possess many more names.
The pain in your arm subsides, and she releases you. When you look down, you see a red tattoo in some strange script where her thumb had been. She runs her finger along the odd letters.
'Aziele. Od g' trian zarman ol.' Aziele. And you will wear mine.
The woman whose skin radiates starlight steps back with a smile - the red glow growing brighter and brighter. The chamber is bathed in red once more, so intense that you're forced to shut your eyes lest you be blinded. And then it winks out. When you open your eyes again, she is gone. And in Hadrian's arms sleeps a young girl with blond hair.
Hadrian stays still as marble as the star-woman conducts her ritual, though he does not avert his gaze from her until forced to by her blinding light. Aziele she had called herself. Carved the name into his skin, into his very bone it felt like. He didn't know what to make of her omen about possessing more names, and he wasn't even sure what felt different now. In truth, those mysteries didn't matter too much to him in the moment. He had his victory in hand, however small it was.
Careful not to disturb the sleeping girl in his arms, he turns to follow Xarian out into the tunnel. "Ready to get back?" He asks simply, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just transpired.
Xari's slow trudge out of the chamber has come to a standstill. The big man stares back slack-jawed at Hadrian and the girl cradled in his arms. He tries to swallow and gulp, but all of the moisture has deserted his mouth. He coughs instead, but only a dry rasp escapes .
What... what in Tymora's name has just happened here?
And yet... Xari suspects. It is not as if the starlight lady did not speak in his mind too, offering him a future that was at once alluring, cathartic and terrifying in its merciless, cruel glory. Yet what she offered Hadrian is the girl's life?
The big man's gaze drops to the inscription inside the crook of his companion's arm. Xari is too far to read it, yet he senses that Hadrian has been marked.
"The g-girl. She truly lives." Xari's voice quavers, though it is not really a question. He breathes. He finally makes eye contact with the other man. This is far beyond you, Xari. Remember when Orlan told you that there are more things in heaven and earth than I could dream of? Yeah...
"All r-right." And then after a shaky pause, more steadily. "All right. Let's go."
"Whole and herself, as Aziele said."Hadrian says, echoing the words spoken by the red woman. Saying her name aloud was odd, the syllables tasted strange on his tongue. "For the terrible price of something I had already tossed aside, my name." He says with a chuckle as the big man makes eye contact with him. Before tonight, they had exchanged few words in conversation it had seemed. But after this...Well anyone else he tried to speak to about this would look at him as a madman. Xari was the only one who would understand. It reminded him of a line from some story he'd read as a child, 'demons such as these make brothers of all men.'
OoC: Unless there is anything you wish to do immediately after returning or the next day, I'll speed us on ahead to Greenest. Level your characters up to 2!
Hadrian Save for an ache in your arm where you've been branded, you feel no different. It would seem that whatever Azielemeant by taking your name was not going to be immediately obvious to you.
Xarianstrikes up one of the torches as you make your way back through the tunnel, guided in part by part, and in part by the sound of running water. Nothing disturbs you as you step back out into the open air. Strangely, the fog seems to have cleared completely. And hanging directly above your heads in the night sky is a star that wasn't there before you went in the cave, crimson in color.
You make the trek back to the caravan to find the wagonmasters had decided to stay after all, circling the wagons together for protection. They are shocked to see you, having heard the tale of what happened in the cave from Roga and Kite and believing you perished. Hours have passed since they returned, and dawn nearly approaches. It did not feel as long for you. Carrying a girl believed to be perished in your arms only amplifies their awe. Her brother Emric - who had been in the cave and witnessed her fate - looks at the pair of you as if you were gods yourselves. Their parents are nigh inconsolable as you return their daughter from the dead. A miracle they exclaim.
Your return ends up waking most of the caravan again, save for those who are more severely injured. Another half-hour passes as you're interrogated, regardless of whether or not you tell the all of the truth, some of it, or none of it. At last, you are allowed to sleep - excused from watch duty for what little remains of the night. The caravan resumes later in the morning of the next day. Rox still follows you around. Andy and Mary stick closer to you than ever.
You arrive at Greenest by early evening of the following day. The eastern half of the sky has already grown dark as the sun has dipped below the horizon. The red star stubbornly maintains its position in the sky above you as it becomes visible again, remaining still even as the rest of the sky follows a natural track. As the rest of the caravan disperses in town, Devrim stops to speak with you. He promises to get in contact with Pim's business partners to see that your payment - and potentially next job - are taken care of. Briefly, he mentions seeking an audience with Greenest's governor to inform him of the roadside attack.
After he leaves, Mary and Andy approach you. The weary mother bows her head slightly. "I haven't had the opportunity to thank you properly for...What you did." She says, ruffling the hair of Andy's head. "My brother should have a home here in town. Would you accompany us? I'm sure I could talk him into at least feeding you for the night, and paying for your rooms at the inn."
Xari is even quieter than usual, sparingly and stutteringly telling the bare bones of the truth in a dull monotone when questioned, despite the apparently miraculous outcome. After waking, the big man pulls a ration from his pack and distractedly shares bits of it with Ash, the owl who has "befriended" him, staring off into the distance as he chews. Occasionally, he mumbles and shakes his head as if arguing with himself, eyes tightly closed. He cleans his armor and weapons more meticulously than he ever has.
When Mary asks about visiting her family, Xari simply nods wordlessly in acquiescence and shoulders his gear, then turns to defer to Hadrian as a commoner defers to a nobleman. Or perhaps as a commoner defers to one who has been god-touched. Which after all, perhaps his companion has.
He recalls reading a book in Orlan's study one cold winter afternoon just before he was old enough to join the Amphail watch. A book of ancient poems.
... And all should cry, Beware! Beware! His flashing eyes, his floating hair! Weave a circle round him thrice, And close your eyes with holy dread For he on honey-dew hath fed, And drunk the milk of Paradise.
Out of fearing of being seen as mad, Hadrian is likewise opaque about the truth of what happened within the cave. The cultists' ritual backfired on them. Instead of summoning some elder evil from beyond the known realms, a miracle occurred, their sacrifice returned to life. He does not mention the star-woman. And he certainly does not allude to the deal he made. From time to time on the rest of the way to Greenest, he checks in on the girl, using the cover of concern to see if Aziele had been true to her word: that the girl was truly herself and nothing more.
Besides that, his spare time is split between trying to establish a mode of communication with Rox, and furiously scribbling in his journal. He recounts the encounter in as much detail as possible, taking special care to write down as much of the strange language as he could remember and what they translated to. At night, his eyes wander to the red star in the sky, wondering what the near godlike being was doing now that she had been freed.
In Greenest, he nods along to Mary's suggestion. "I'll take you up on a hot meal, but I insist upon paying my own room."
As they follow the woman and her son to wherever it is her brother might live, he falls into step beside Xarian. The big man had always been quiet, but he'd been more so the last few days. Not that Hadrian could blame him...But there was also something different in the way Xari was acting towards him. Though he couldn't tell exactly what it was. Fear? Awe? Neither case appealed to him. He lowers his voice, "you seem more quiet and less opinionated than ever before friend, is something bothering you?"
As they follow the woman and her son to wherever it is her brother might live, he falls into step beside Xarian. The big man had always been quiet, but he'd been more so the last few days. Not that Hadrian could blame him...But there was also something different in the way Xari was acting towards him. Though he couldn't tell exactly what it was. Fear? Awe? Neither case appealed to him. He lowers his voice, "you seem more quiet and less opinionated than ever before friend, is something bothering you?"
Xarian nods along and mumbles something to Mary about paying for his own room too. Hazel eyes, wide and almost childlike turn when Hadrian speaks softly. The big man glances up at the bleeding star in the sky, then back down. Finally, he opens up.
"F-friend. We are friends, r-right? Fought together. Came out of the d-darkness together with the not-dead girl. Just hours back." Xari swallows.
"L-listen, you probably guessed I'm trying to learn magic. That's what's in the book I keep reading. Spell book. So I get it. You have your own magic. I see weapons appear in your hand like a card sharp does with the Ace of Dragons. Even before you met... Her. N-no problem with that. And I'm sorry if I am acting powerful strange after... after that cave. But what I don't get is... how are you not acting strange? I feel like I'm losing my mind."
"Maybe I don't get it, maybe these things don't make sense to me cause I grew up an urchin. Trash, our betters in Amphail used to treat us like. But my mentor. He picked me out of the dirt. Gave me schooling, numbers, words, b-books. Read about histories and lore and all kinds of fantastic creatures from our plane and others. Giants and dragons, angels and demons, slaadi and modrons. N-not one of them had anything about a... a... lady from the sky like that. I don't even know what she is. But I look at you, and you act like nothing barely happened! Tell me I am not going mad, Hadrian."
"Sh-she knew m-me! Knew my pain, knew my anger, knew what I hated and what I wanted. And she promised me a future where I got it all. Boy did I get it. And... and in that future, I became everything that I hated. It.. it made me afraid... afraid of myself! Afraid of what I'd b-become."
"I heard you in back in that c-cave. She offered maybe something like that to you too, and you turned her down. But then... but then... you sp-spoke to her! I'm just... I'm just having a bloody hard time wrapping my head around how the same... I don't know... goddess? The s-same goddess who offered me the worst version of myself, same one who all those cultists were kidnapping and sacrificing p-people for, children even... the same goddess is just going to turn around and bring that girl back from Kelemvor's realm like nothing, and only want your, ah... your name in return?"
"B-but then what do I know. My mum, she used to take me to put a copper in the chalice at Tymora's temple once a tenday. Lady of Fortune. But hell if I've ever seen or heard or f-f-felt Tymora like we did with our Lady of the Red Star. Aziele, I think you said she's called, being on a first name basis and all. And she left her mark on you, Hadrian. I saw. On your arm. So I have to ask you. Are you feeling all right? Cause I have no idea how I'm feeling."
Xari trails off, breathing hard. Realizing that his voice had risen to perhaps a louder volume than he'd intended.
Slowly, Hadrian's brow gets higher and higher as the big man speaks. He had bottled up quite a lot it seemed. He waits patiently for Xarian to finish speaking. "I would think we are," he begins slowly. "Friends I mean, not mad. Though maybe we are that too."
There was something Xari had said in the beginning that struck a nerve with him. "I don't know who exactly lords over Amphail. But if they treated you like trash, they were not your betters."Noblesse oblige was a concept he had taken to heart at a young age, however unpopular it might have been among his peers. Perhaps that was part of why he left.
Blowing out a long sigh, he then tries his best to explain his attitude. "I guess I'm just...In a sort of haze. In truth, that was not my first encounter of the sort. These past weeks have been strange for me. The only time I've found peace is when I'm moving forward instead of brooding over unanswered questions. Though make no mistake, there was been much brooding. It was not but two weeks ago that I was delving in some underground ruins in the High Forest with students from Arkhen's Invocatorium. Then I slipped down a passage no one else seemed to notice and..."Unconsciously he rubs his temple, this is where his memory went fuzzy. "I met something. At least as strange as what we just saw. My next clear memories are waking up close to Baldur's Gate, with dreams of a future that scare the daylight out of me and a compulsion to head further south. So that's what I did, and now here I am."
His eyebrow goes up again. "I need to stop going underground I think."
"And yes, she did offer me something, similar to what you saw I think. Perhaps in some corner of my heart it is what I desire but it felt wrong, like the worst interpretation of what I would want. Truth be told, I think those cultists understood her even less than we do. I'm not going to pretend to know her incomprehensible mind...But it's possible she offered us those things because it's typical of mortals to ask her for things of that sort. And I got the feeling that she was desperate for any kind of deal, she needed it to happen to get out of that cave. I saw an opportunity in that, so I took a gamble. I wasn't sure what she'd ask for though, and I would be lying if I said I understood what exactly I've given up."
He traces the mark idly with his fingertip as Xarian brings it up. "It's her name. Aziele, written in whatever script pairs with that odd language of hers. Said I would wear it. And I think your feeling is correct, that she's not a goddess like Tymora, or Chauntea, or Selûne. But to us mere men I suppose it makes little difference."
For his final question, Hadrian hesitates, then says slowly. "I've been zapped across the continent. Traded away some piece of myself. Dream of the Sword Coast burning to the ground every other night. I feel like a pawn in some game I didn't even know I was a part of."
But my legs still work, and I can keep moving forward. Maybe that attitude just makes me a fool." He says with a shrug.
Xari's eyes widen even further. He has no earthly idea what Arkhen's Invocatorium is, but...
"So th-this isn't even the first time something like this has happened to y-you? And you've been dreaming of this place, the whole Sword Coast, I mean, b-burning around us? I... I'm sorry, Hadrian." The big man shakes his head slowly lets out a long breath.
"I do see what you are s-saying. About the red star lady, Aziele. About her only offering us terrible versions of ourselves b-because that's what she thought all mortals want. Maybe that's what those cultist thugs wanted. But it seems way too cl-close to what all the stories say that evil powers do. Fiends. D-devils. Promise mortals power to satisfy their greed or lust or anger, and take part of our humanity in the bargain. Our souls..."
Xari looks down. He does not verbally contradict the part about the nobles who looked down on commoners and especially on dirty street kids as trash. Some things you can't ever change. You can only push back against the worst of it. The worst bullies. But Xari holds his tongue on that.
"Sure. One foot in front of the the other. I will try. It's just not something I can get over easily. Gods or devils or whatever She was, sifting through my mind, showing me visions, tempting and terrible. And my... my friend accepting bargains with them. Red star shining above us, not moving like stars should move. Dead children coming back to life. Going to take me a while, all this. B-but I'll still see this through with you. If... if you'll have me."
With that, the big man hunches his shoulders and trundles on. The owl, Ash, circles restlessly in the sky above him.
Hadrian You watch Miriel like a hawk over the remainder of the trip. There's nothing out of the ordinary in her manner at all. She's a bit quieter than usual, but that's understandable given the stress of her ordeal. From what you can glean, she remembers the kidnapping, but not being thrown into the pit.
You drop back far enough to have your conversation in privacy - Andy looks back at you occasionally. Rox walks beside you, oblivious as ever as to what you're even saying. Some of the townsfolk turn their heads at the sight of the goblin, but no one stops you.
It takes some time to figure out where to go. Mary has to stop and ask locals for directions more than once, you hear her describing her brother Leosin as "lean as as reed, usually with his hair pulled back and a dumb goatee that doesn't fit his face." Eventually someone recognizes the description, and points you in the direction of a simple home in the town's northwest.
Mary and Andy step up to the doorstep, knocking on the door. The door slowly creaks open, but the one standing behind it is not Leosin at all...
The door slowly opens, revealing a young elven woman standing just within the threshold. Her sharp green eyes fix on you. Unseen on the other side of the door, she grasps a sickle in her hand. A tangle of dark hair frames an angular face, marked by the faintest dusting of freckles across her cheeks. She wears frayed leathers dyed black, worn from use.
At first she doesn't speak, just watches, measuring with a subtle tension in her jaw. Finally, her voice cuts through the silence, low and dry: "Yes?"
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Aside from a pulse of light twinkling across her skin as the stilted words of her language fall from Hadrian's lips, the entity has no outward reaction to the question immediately. A moment of silence passes, and she steps closer to the nobleman, allowing Xarian room to pass if he wishes.
Hadrian
As you search her face for some hint of her feelings or thoughts, you find your usual mortal tells useless. Reading her as you would another person is nigh impossible. She leans over, resting her forehead against yours for but a moment before straightening back up to her full height. The spot on your forehead burns. And freezes. And then something impacts your mind like a raging bull. Information - too much information. There are flashes of some things you find comprehensible. A clash of armies, made of denizens both terrible and beautiful. An oath sworn on the stars. An oath broken. A trickster's smile. The rush of feelings that wash over you are equally overwhelming, swinging to and from the absolute extremes of mortal passions. Soaring joys, crushing sorrows. Eons of loneliness.
'Trian om taba am siāon?'
Will it let me leave my cage?
'Om branuran doshae?'
What does it desire?
At first Hadrian considers the strange contact to be some kind odd cultural gesture. If only it were so mundane. He sways on his feet as the foreign memories (if that's what they were) burn through his mind. It was far too much to squeeze into a tiny mortal head, most of it probably already lost to him. He tries to hang onto what does make sense...But then the emotions swallow him like a tidal wave.
He laughs. He feels tears streak his face. To Xarian, he was certain he looked half-mad. As the intensity begins to ebb, he runs his hands down his face, once again biting down on a sarcastic remark. "She's trapped here."
"And trading for a desire, that let's you out?" He asks, unsure of how such a thing could break whatever chains bound her. But then again, very little of this made sense.
It was not lost on him that releasing such a creature could be devastating. Nor was it lost on him that such a creature would undoubtedly remember their unhelpfulness should it ever get out another way.
"If we say no, will you still let us go?"
An emotion flickers across her face, and the glow of her skin darkens some. Disappointment. With a slow nod of her head, she moves out of your way. The exit awaits.
Hadrian takes a few experimentally steps towards the tunnel, keeping a wary eye on the woman. He feels a pang of something, sadness. Probably hers. There were still stray thoughts and feelings running through his head after she had shoved half her existence through it. Or maybe it was his own pity, he couldn't tell.
There was nothing he felt he wanted though, certainly not what she had already offered him. There wasn't some position of power he craved. No mistake he wished he cou-
"s'all of us. They already....Miriel..." The nobleman lets out a groan as the parting words of the young man they'd just rescued come unbidden to the forefront of his mind. How often was one given the opportunity to save someone they had already failed to save? He stops in his tracks. He turns to look at the impossible woman.
"You wanted what, my soul? To do something that would change the lives of countless people on the Sword Coast. What's the price to change just one?" He looks to the pit in the center of the room. "How much to bring back the one those bastards killed in your name?"
Xari continues to amble towards the tunnel leading back out into the night. He calls back to Hadrian, his voice labored, slow and thick.
"I'm sorry she's trapped. But she is beyond us. Others like her should free her, just like we freed our fellow mortals here. I think to her... to her, our lives are less than stardust spilling from gaps between her fingers. Those murderous bastards followed her, and now I don't see them... anywhere. Where did their bodies go? Death is death. I... I don't want to see anyone brought back with red stars for eyes. Not Miriel, rest her soul, and not you."
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
The way her head cocks to the side at your question suggests confusion - but again, it is difficult to tell with this strange being of starlight. Her mouth hangs open slightly. "Oh." A peal of laughter fills the room like a ringing cloister bell.
'Aldun ulluri, ol zir avtabas. Ol dorphaen mo cocasn.'
Clay child, I have misunderstood. I see you now.
The light of her skin slowly pulses, like the ebb and flow of the tide. She bends at the waist, bowing low before Hadrian in apology.
'Bamm ol doalim.'
Forgive my mistake.
In the next moment she is behind the young nobleman once more, walking around him in a slow circle with her brow slightly raised. Appraising. Choosing? The woman hums a delicate sound, like a soft wind through crystal chimes. She stops in front of Hadrian, a twinkle in her pale eyes and a smile that simultaneously lifts and terrifies you.
Bladesemmer.
Your family name rolls off her tongue like sweet wine.
'A teloc aldun ulluri trian apila.'
The dead child of clay will live.
Her pale eyes flick to Xarian.
'Saga. Od omiran.'
Whole. And itself.
She extends an upturned hand towards Hadrian, returning her attention to the young man.
'Trian mo na dooain lo?'
Will you sing for the price of a name?
As she bows, he waves his hand awkwardly. "It's forgiven," he says stiffly. What she was apologizing for, what offense she thought to have given him, he hadn't the faintest idea. Referring to him as 'you' instead of an 'it' was certainly a striking difference though. Something had changed.
The way his name sounds coming from her makes him shiver, and bewilders him even further. His family name? She would take it from him? What did that even mean? A part of him felt that asking for clarification would end only in further confusion. So he did not ask.
Some stupid name for a life? It wasn't much of a decision. He had already all but abandoned it anyway. He rests his hand atop the one she offered to him. "Fine, take it."
"For the price of my name, bring that poor girl back."
Further on, Xari continues to glance back at Hadrian despite himself as he shuffles away, his mouth opening and closing without any words coming out.
He senses something momentous is happening between Hadrian and the interstellar being, yet he cannot think of a single further thing to say about it.
Nor is it my place. Perhaps gutter rats should not scurry where noblemen or demigods tread and converse.
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
'Uml i' trian noan, ol Adoni.'
Then it shall be, my Adoni.
For whatever reason, the second voice layered beneath whatever strange tongue she speaks doesn't translate the last word. A title or name perhaps? But her smile smites your heart, and her skin glows bright enough to cast red light on the area around her. Gently, she turns your hand over in hers, lifting your sleeve and moving her hand up your arm until her thumb presses just below the crook of your elbow. Her touch is frigid and burning at the same time.
'G' dooain blans de ol.'
Your name will belong to me.
You can feel something being etched into your skin, into your bones.
'Cirp gnay ge hoxmarch. Aspt i' t' uls, g' trian blans plosi uml dooain.'
But do not fear. Before it is done, you will possess many more names.
The pain in your arm subsides, and she releases you. When you look down, you see a red tattoo in some strange script where her thumb had been. She runs her finger along the odd letters.
'Aziele. Od g' trian zarman ol.'
Aziele. And you will wear mine.
The woman whose skin radiates starlight steps back with a smile - the red glow growing brighter and brighter. The chamber is bathed in red once more, so intense that you're forced to shut your eyes lest you be blinded. And then it winks out. When you open your eyes again, she is gone. And in Hadrian's arms sleeps a young girl with blond hair.
Hadrian stays still as marble as the star-woman conducts her ritual, though he does not avert his gaze from her until forced to by her blinding light. Aziele she had called herself. Carved the name into his skin, into his very bone it felt like. He didn't know what to make of her omen about possessing more names, and he wasn't even sure what felt different now. In truth, those mysteries didn't matter too much to him in the moment. He had his victory in hand, however small it was.
Careful not to disturb the sleeping girl in his arms, he turns to follow Xarian out into the tunnel. "Ready to get back?" He asks simply, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just transpired.
Xari's slow trudge out of the chamber has come to a standstill. The big man stares back slack-jawed at Hadrian and the girl cradled in his arms. He tries to swallow and gulp, but all of the moisture has deserted his mouth. He coughs instead, but only a dry rasp escapes .
What... what in Tymora's name has just happened here?
And yet... Xari suspects. It is not as if the starlight lady did not speak in his mind too, offering him a future that was at once alluring, cathartic and terrifying in its merciless, cruel glory. Yet what she offered Hadrian is the girl's life?
Passive Perception: 13
The big man's gaze drops to the inscription inside the crook of his companion's arm. Xari is too far to read it, yet he senses that Hadrian has been marked.
"The g-girl. She truly lives." Xari's voice quavers, though it is not really a question. He breathes. He finally makes eye contact with the other man. This is far beyond you, Xari. Remember when Orlan told you that there are more things in heaven and earth than I could dream of? Yeah...
"All r-right." And then after a shaky pause, more steadily. "All right. Let's go."
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
"Whole and herself, as Aziele said." Hadrian says, echoing the words spoken by the red woman. Saying her name aloud was odd, the syllables tasted strange on his tongue. "For the terrible price of something I had already tossed aside, my name." He says with a chuckle as the big man makes eye contact with him. Before tonight, they had exchanged few words in conversation it had seemed. But after this...Well anyone else he tried to speak to about this would look at him as a madman. Xari was the only one who would understand. It reminded him of a line from some story he'd read as a child, 'demons such as these make brothers of all men.'
OoC: Unless there is anything you wish to do immediately after returning or the next day, I'll speed us on ahead to Greenest. Level your characters up to 2!
Hadrian
Save for an ache in your arm where you've been branded, you feel no different. It would seem that whatever Aziele meant by taking your name was not going to be immediately obvious to you.
Xarian strikes up one of the torches as you make your way back through the tunnel, guided in part by part, and in part by the sound of running water. Nothing disturbs you as you step back out into the open air. Strangely, the fog seems to have cleared completely. And hanging directly above your heads in the night sky is a star that wasn't there before you went in the cave, crimson in color.
You make the trek back to the caravan to find the wagonmasters had decided to stay after all, circling the wagons together for protection. They are shocked to see you, having heard the tale of what happened in the cave from Roga and Kite and believing you perished. Hours have passed since they returned, and dawn nearly approaches. It did not feel as long for you. Carrying a girl believed to be perished in your arms only amplifies their awe. Her brother Emric - who had been in the cave and witnessed her fate - looks at the pair of you as if you were gods yourselves. Their parents are nigh inconsolable as you return their daughter from the dead. A miracle they exclaim.
Your return ends up waking most of the caravan again, save for those who are more severely injured. Another half-hour passes as you're interrogated, regardless of whether or not you tell the all of the truth, some of it, or none of it. At last, you are allowed to sleep - excused from watch duty for what little remains of the night. The caravan resumes later in the morning of the next day. Rox still follows you around. Andy and Mary stick closer to you than ever.
You arrive at Greenest by early evening of the following day. The eastern half of the sky has already grown dark as the sun has dipped below the horizon. The red star stubbornly maintains its position in the sky above you as it becomes visible again, remaining still even as the rest of the sky follows a natural track. As the rest of the caravan disperses in town, Devrim stops to speak with you. He promises to get in contact with Pim's business partners to see that your payment - and potentially next job - are taken care of. Briefly, he mentions seeking an audience with Greenest's governor to inform him of the roadside attack.
After he leaves, Mary and Andy approach you. The weary mother bows her head slightly. "I haven't had the opportunity to thank you properly for...What you did." She says, ruffling the hair of Andy's head. "My brother should have a home here in town. Would you accompany us? I'm sure I could talk him into at least feeding you for the night, and paying for your rooms at the inn."
Xari is even quieter than usual, sparingly and stutteringly telling the bare bones of the truth in a dull monotone when questioned, despite the apparently miraculous outcome. After waking, the big man pulls a ration from his pack and distractedly shares bits of it with Ash, the owl who has "befriended" him, staring off into the distance as he chews. Occasionally, he mumbles and shakes his head as if arguing with himself, eyes tightly closed. He cleans his armor and weapons more meticulously than he ever has.
When Mary asks about visiting her family, Xari simply nods wordlessly in acquiescence and shoulders his gear, then turns to defer to Hadrian as a commoner defers to a nobleman. Or perhaps as a commoner defers to one who has been god-touched. Which after all, perhaps his companion has.
He recalls reading a book in Orlan's study one cold winter afternoon just before he was old enough to join the Amphail watch. A book of ancient poems.
... And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
Out of fearing of being seen as mad, Hadrian is likewise opaque about the truth of what happened within the cave. The cultists' ritual backfired on them. Instead of summoning some elder evil from beyond the known realms, a miracle occurred, their sacrifice returned to life. He does not mention the star-woman. And he certainly does not allude to the deal he made. From time to time on the rest of the way to Greenest, he checks in on the girl, using the cover of concern to see if Aziele had been true to her word: that the girl was truly herself and nothing more.
Insight: 24
Besides that, his spare time is split between trying to establish a mode of communication with Rox, and furiously scribbling in his journal. He recounts the encounter in as much detail as possible, taking special care to write down as much of the strange language as he could remember and what they translated to. At night, his eyes wander to the red star in the sky, wondering what the near godlike being was doing now that she had been freed.
In Greenest, he nods along to Mary's suggestion. "I'll take you up on a hot meal, but I insist upon paying my own room."
Passive Insight: 14
As they follow the woman and her son to wherever it is her brother might live, he falls into step beside Xarian. The big man had always been quiet, but he'd been more so the last few days. Not that Hadrian could blame him...But there was also something different in the way Xari was acting towards him. Though he couldn't tell exactly what it was. Fear? Awe? Neither case appealed to him. He lowers his voice, "you seem more quiet and less opinionated than ever before friend, is something bothering you?"
Xarian nods along and mumbles something to Mary about paying for his own room too. Hazel eyes, wide and almost childlike turn when Hadrian speaks softly. The big man glances up at the bleeding star in the sky, then back down. Finally, he opens up.
"F-friend. We are friends, r-right? Fought together. Came out of the d-darkness together with the not-dead girl. Just hours back." Xari swallows.
"L-listen, you probably guessed I'm trying to learn magic. That's what's in the book I keep reading. Spell book. So I get it. You have your own magic. I see weapons appear in your hand like a card sharp does with the Ace of Dragons. Even before you met... Her. N-no problem with that. And I'm sorry if I am acting powerful strange after... after that cave. But what I don't get is... how are you not acting strange? I feel like I'm losing my mind."
"Maybe I don't get it, maybe these things don't make sense to me cause I grew up an urchin. Trash, our betters in Amphail used to treat us like. But my mentor. He picked me out of the dirt. Gave me schooling, numbers, words, b-books. Read about histories and lore and all kinds of fantastic creatures from our plane and others. Giants and dragons, angels and demons, slaadi and modrons. N-not one of them had anything about a... a... lady from the sky like that. I don't even know what she is. But I look at you, and you act like nothing barely happened! Tell me I am not going mad, Hadrian."
"Sh-she knew m-me! Knew my pain, knew my anger, knew what I hated and what I wanted. And she promised me a future where I got it all. Boy did I get it. And... and in that future, I became everything that I hated. It.. it made me afraid... afraid of myself! Afraid of what I'd b-become."
"I heard you in back in that c-cave. She offered maybe something like that to you too, and you turned her down. But then... but then... you sp-spoke to her! I'm just... I'm just having a bloody hard time wrapping my head around how the same... I don't know... goddess? The s-same goddess who offered me the worst version of myself, same one who all those cultists were kidnapping and sacrificing p-people for, children even... the same goddess is just going to turn around and bring that girl back from Kelemvor's realm like nothing, and only want your, ah... your name in return?"
"B-but then what do I know. My mum, she used to take me to put a copper in the chalice at Tymora's temple once a tenday. Lady of Fortune. But hell if I've ever seen or heard or f-f-felt Tymora like we did with our Lady of the Red Star. Aziele, I think you said she's called, being on a first name basis and all. And she left her mark on you, Hadrian. I saw. On your arm. So I have to ask you. Are you feeling all right? Cause I have no idea how I'm feeling."
Xari trails off, breathing hard. Realizing that his voice had risen to perhaps a louder volume than he'd intended.
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
Slowly, Hadrian's brow gets higher and higher as the big man speaks. He had bottled up quite a lot it seemed. He waits patiently for Xarian to finish speaking. "I would think we are," he begins slowly. "Friends I mean, not mad. Though maybe we are that too."
There was something Xari had said in the beginning that struck a nerve with him. "I don't know who exactly lords over Amphail. But if they treated you like trash, they were not your betters." Noblesse oblige was a concept he had taken to heart at a young age, however unpopular it might have been among his peers. Perhaps that was part of why he left.
Blowing out a long sigh, he then tries his best to explain his attitude. "I guess I'm just...In a sort of haze. In truth, that was not my first encounter of the sort. These past weeks have been strange for me. The only time I've found peace is when I'm moving forward instead of brooding over unanswered questions. Though make no mistake, there was been much brooding. It was not but two weeks ago that I was delving in some underground ruins in the High Forest with students from Arkhen's Invocatorium. Then I slipped down a passage no one else seemed to notice and..." Unconsciously he rubs his temple, this is where his memory went fuzzy. "I met something. At least as strange as what we just saw. My next clear memories are waking up close to Baldur's Gate, with dreams of a future that scare the daylight out of me and a compulsion to head further south. So that's what I did, and now here I am."
His eyebrow goes up again. "I need to stop going underground I think."
"And yes, she did offer me something, similar to what you saw I think. Perhaps in some corner of my heart it is what I desire but it felt wrong, like the worst interpretation of what I would want. Truth be told, I think those cultists understood her even less than we do. I'm not going to pretend to know her incomprehensible mind...But it's possible she offered us those things because it's typical of mortals to ask her for things of that sort. And I got the feeling that she was desperate for any kind of deal, she needed it to happen to get out of that cave. I saw an opportunity in that, so I took a gamble. I wasn't sure what she'd ask for though, and I would be lying if I said I understood what exactly I've given up."
He traces the mark idly with his fingertip as Xarian brings it up. "It's her name. Aziele, written in whatever script pairs with that odd language of hers. Said I would wear it. And I think your feeling is correct, that she's not a goddess like Tymora, or Chauntea, or Selûne. But to us mere men I suppose it makes little difference."
For his final question, Hadrian hesitates, then says slowly. "I've been zapped across the continent. Traded away some piece of myself. Dream of the Sword Coast burning to the ground every other night. I feel like a pawn in some game I didn't even know I was a part of."
But my legs still work, and I can keep moving forward. Maybe that attitude just makes me a fool." He says with a shrug.
Xari's eyes widen even further. He has no earthly idea what Arkhen's Invocatorium is, but...
"So th-this isn't even the first time something like this has happened to y-you? And you've been dreaming of this place, the whole Sword Coast, I mean, b-burning around us? I... I'm sorry, Hadrian." The big man shakes his head slowly lets out a long breath.
"I do see what you are s-saying. About the red star lady, Aziele. About her only offering us terrible versions of ourselves b-because that's what she thought all mortals want. Maybe that's what those cultist thugs wanted. But it seems way too cl-close to what all the stories say that evil powers do. Fiends. D-devils. Promise mortals power to satisfy their greed or lust or anger, and take part of our humanity in the bargain. Our souls..."
Xari looks down. He does not verbally contradict the part about the nobles who looked down on commoners and especially on dirty street kids as trash. Some things you can't ever change. You can only push back against the worst of it. The worst bullies. But Xari holds his tongue on that.
"Sure. One foot in front of the the other. I will try. It's just not something I can get over easily. Gods or devils or whatever She was, sifting through my mind, showing me visions, tempting and terrible. And my... my friend accepting bargains with them. Red star shining above us, not moving like stars should move. Dead children coming back to life. Going to take me a while, all this. B-but I'll still see this through with you. If... if you'll have me."
With that, the big man hunches his shoulders and trundles on. The owl, Ash, circles restlessly in the sky above him.
Inge(Barbarian2):Krayveneer's After the Fall| Seri(Cleric1/Sorcerer1):Uhtred's Windward Isles| Xarian(Fighter2):NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4):Vos' Beyond the Veil| Soren(Druid5):Bartjeebus' Ravenloft| Nivi(Rogue4):Raiketsu's CoS| Ophelia(Sorcerer4):Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6):NotDrizzt's Simple Request| Toa(Barbarian6/Fighter4):MrWhisker's Dark Lord's Return| Sabetha(Monk3):Bedlymn's Murder Court
Hadrian
You watch Miriel like a hawk over the remainder of the trip. There's nothing out of the ordinary in her manner at all. She's a bit quieter than usual, but that's understandable given the stress of her ordeal. From what you can glean, she remembers the kidnapping, but not being thrown into the pit.
You drop back far enough to have your conversation in privacy - Andy looks back at you occasionally. Rox walks beside you, oblivious as ever as to what you're even saying. Some of the townsfolk turn their heads at the sight of the goblin, but no one stops you.
It takes some time to figure out where to go. Mary has to stop and ask locals for directions more than once, you hear her describing her brother Leosin as "lean as as reed, usually with his hair pulled back and a dumb goatee that doesn't fit his face." Eventually someone recognizes the description, and points you in the direction of a simple home in the town's northwest.
Mary and Andy step up to the doorstep, knocking on the door. The door slowly creaks open, but the one standing behind it is not Leosin at all...
OoC: Take it away, Evelyn!
The door slowly opens, revealing a young elven woman standing just within the threshold. Her sharp green eyes fix on you. Unseen on the other side of the door, she grasps a sickle in her hand. A tangle of dark hair frames an angular face, marked by the faintest dusting of freckles across her cheeks. She wears frayed leathers dyed black, worn from use.
At first she doesn't speak, just watches, measuring with a subtle tension in her jaw. Finally, her voice cuts through the silence, low and dry: "Yes?"