JJJ's Haunting of Harrowstone

[stack]

To Kaythenk, "Yes, I have been gifted by the Lady of Graves. My sight is a small price to pay. Besides, everything interesting happens within ten paces anyway." He gives a half-smile at his own jest.

[Sarone]

Kaythek smiled when he heard Augustin's reply. "Aye, that's how it goes. Then again, ole Orthok had it worse, between him having some spirits riding his cloak and the tendency to speak in different languages," Kaythek mentions, remembering how the old seer was when he was younger. Not that I remember it all, but it still wasn't that long ago.

"But at least you know that it was one Goddess. Me," pointing at himself, "I have to go through the pantheon. The Gods and Goddesses of War and Battle all have a part to play. Inspiration, tactics, strength, tenacity, ferocity of the assault, and a dozen other aspects, each one an integral part to a fight. Granted, ole Lord in Iron will scoff at it, but he understands that a little thinking goes a long way and the opposite is true for the others, I believe."

[SanguinePenguin]

Tamara rushes over to hug Kendra again, "tea would be lovely, Kendra!"

After some exchange between Augustin and Kaythek, Tamara suddenly proclaims with surprise, "wait... you are both blind? How did you guys carry Petros's casket?" Seeming to ignore her own question, she notices Augustin's scars and then asks with more excitement in her voice than seems reasonable, "whoa! How did you guys become blind? Was it during an adventure? What happened?"

[stack]

Augustin looks the halfling directly in the eye so she can clearly see the white cloud were his pupils should be. He frowns.

"I can see well enough over short distances. My family's estate was overrun by foul abominations that we will not speak of here. In the fray I lost my sight, but gained the power to save myself and all my family. I would not change it even if it were in my power.

"I see the world in gray and anything beyond ten or so paces, man paces, not yours, is only a dark blur at night and a light blur in the day. That said, darkness no longer hinders me, though I do sometimes have trouble telling the time of day as a result. Though I would say right now is time for a drink." He again gives a wry smile, though he manages to resist the urge to pat Tamara on the head as if he were speaking to one of the village children. They rarely carried such swords.

[Sarone]

Kaythek raised his eyebrows when he heard Augustin's tale. Damn, that sucks, but then again it happens, thinking to himself. "That sounds about right," Kaythek says in agreement. "The divine don't just take it without granting something in return. For myself, it starts out a lot less entertaining."

Looking around, Kaythek takes in the view. "My story doesn't start out that interesting. Then again, my vision has been reduced for over a decade or so." Trying to keep pace with the group, the oracle takes a second to consider what started this from so long ago. "Like I mentioned back there, I had just lost vision before I was saved by the Professor and Zacharious. At the time, I was undergoing my trials and test for becoming one of a new breed of warriors the clan chief wanted. One of the first tests was a trial by fire. In it, we each had to stare into a fire that the shaman's put various dusts and herbs in. This was to see if the young bloods will recieve a vision, a test of thier fates as it were."

As Kaythek recites his tale, he recalls the day it happened, as though the Gods and Goddesses wanted him to remember it with clarity. "We were young, being told to sit in front of the fire as the shaman chanted to the divine. Unfortunately, I was one of the last to recieve a vision, and when it came, the sheer power of it knocked me on my back and caused me to black. When I came to, my vision was the same, but it quickly went into shades of gray as a deep fog rolled in."

Kaythek nodded to Augustin. "Likwise, I can only see out to a short distance, though time of day is only an issue if the day is dark. Othewise, you can tell a slight difference. Nothing far reaching, mind you," Kaythek says as he lifts his staff up a bit, "which is why I use a staff, to give the impression that I am truly blind."

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Morcaine

"The gods do not always feel the need to take something in exchange for power. Service is enough for the Light of the Sword, and that is what I give to her, ferreting out her enemies and bringing them to justice. That said, while my service is to her, I acknowledge the powers of the others. I carry a skane that belonged to an old friend in honor of Pharasma, who is ever close here, and the stave I carry as a tribute to Grandmother Crow, the Empyreal Lord Andoletta. Thanks to my mother, however, I've got a few tricks of my own. I inherited some of her terrible strength, and if I were to be found without my sword (not that that's bloody likely), my fingernails are sharp and strong like iron claws. I said my mother was a monster. That wasn't hyperbole. She was an annis hag that had terrorized entire counties, and who likely killed and ate whoever my true father was."

[Makleveh]

Wynette, straightfaced and deadpan.

"Your mother sounds like she'd get along well with my mother. She can be quite the harpy sometimes."

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Morcaine

"As I said, she is dead. Burned at the stake as a witch deserves."

[Sarone]

Wow, Kaythek thought as he pursed his lips, trying very hard not to say something funny and utterly failing. Bah, frack it. Today is a good day to die.

Quickly, Kaythek cleared his voice. "You know, in Magnimar, they always talk about how one parent or another were a pain in the butt. However, I think you are the first to say that your mother was an annis in more ways than one." Kaythek starts chuckling, slowly losing what bearing he had. "Just for the record, though, you shouldn't be saying that out loud in front of people."

"Afterall, any potential mates might have to rethink what would happen in the bedroom, let alone when the kids start coming along," Kaythek said as he slapped Augustin on the back, barely controlling his laughing.

After a few seconds, Kaythek stopped laughing, though he couldn't stop chuckling. But yeah, I don't think you need to be spreading that around," Kaythek said as he looked around for people passing by. "It'll be wierd enough that the proffessor, who is accused of witchcraft, is discovered that his students were among the weirdest beings in the village."

[Leviathan]

Briar

Doctor Zendlebiddle perks up at the mention of Morcaine's parentage. Not unique, but unusual; would make a fascinating case study. Unfortunate that numbers are not sufficient for ethnography in detail.

The gnome looks up at the inquisitor, her eyes peering intensely at Morcaine with undisguised curiosity.

Then she frowns, her brow furrowing - a look that makes her doll's face almost absurd to behold - at Kaythek's comment.

"Peculiar indeed, but outliers are the basis of all enquiry! Besides, it is not unusual that like attracts like; in fact, it is practically natural law!" Her voice rises in pitch, growing excited. "At least, it is subscribed to by all authoritative scholarship on the matter. Mostly."

[SanguinePenguin]

Tamara grins throughout the back and forth. Her halfling ears perk up at the mention of "foul abominations," but her enthusiasm fades a bit (back to her baseline energy of "extremely enthusiastic") when he doesn't wish to speak of it here.

When Morcaine tells her tale, Tamara becomes tremendously excited again. She studies her features for a moment, then professes, "wow! Your eyes are beautiful! Those claws are really neat too!"

Tamara suddenly starts speaking rather quickly, "hey, Wynette! You said your mother is harpy sometimes... is she a wereharpy? Was she bitten by one or born that way? Whoa! Are you a wereharpy, too?" Wynette's exceptional deadpan delivery coupled to the original topic at hand apparently has led to a good deal of confusion for the curious halfling.

[Makleveh]

Wynette stares blankly at the halfling for a moment before responding. "No, no. I'm sorry, it's a figure of speech. My mother's normal. Human, I mean. She's a cleric of Iomedae. It's just..."

She heaves a small sigh, and stares at her feet, "She's not the easiest person to get along with, and spent years when I was growing up planning on me being something I never became. She's disappointed in me. Terribly. We barely write anymore, and haven't spoken face to face in almost six years."

[SanguinePenguin]

"Oh... I would have really liked to meet a wereharpy," Tamara says, sounding more than a little disappointed.

She smiles as she talks to (or, perhaps, at) Wynette, "I wouldn't worry your parents too much. I get along well with my parents pretty well and I haven't seen them in..." Tamara pauses and stares off into space for a bit, "about a decade. I haven't seen my brother in five years either. He's in a cult or something, so we don't get along that well. I still write to him sometimes, but I don't think he reads my letters. Definitely doesn't reply. Maybe I should start putting gold coins in with the envelop - he'd probably at least open them then."

With no discernible shift in tone to accompany the change in topic, Tamara continues, "since you were a friend of Petros, then I am certain you are a truly wonderful person. If your wereharpy mum can't see that then that is her failing, not yours. I really like your hair! It's such a pretty color!" As if it flowed completely naturally, Tamara tacks on a non-sequitur directed at Kendra, "what kind of teas do you have?"

[stack]

"Morcaine, your parentage is of no matter to me. Your deeds have proven you true, I will stand for none to gainsay you. Not that you need the help of a blind man." smiling again with self-deprecation.

[Leviathan]

Briar

The gnome nods heartily in agreement with Augustin's compassionate comment towards Wynette.

"Indeed," she squeaks excitedly. "Parentage is of little relevance! ...Except as it concerns upbringing, status, racial admixture, monetary funds to bring to bear for good of offspring, heritable traits, extended kinship network, psychological outcomes, table manners, sorcerous inheritances, some other aspects." She barrels through the list pell-mell, then takes a deep breath, pausing. "Some relevance," she amends.

"Still, considerable autonomy of action." Briar smiles weakly.

[Sarone]

Hearing others talk of their parents made Kaythek smile more, though on the inside he felt a bit depressed. At least their parents might be proud, he thought as Wynette talked about how her mother was a harpy, but not a were harpy as Tamara was suggesting. Kind of makes me wonder about my birthparents. Are they still alive? Quickly shaking his head, Kaythek's thoughts turned grim as Briar was explaining the virtues of parenting and such. My mother is either still a slave or dead, considering how they treat them, and my father is either dead from fighting or still being a typical orc.

Just as quickly, Kaythek banished the thoughts. It's neither here nor there, though. No reason to try to change the past because of what you want. Hearing Tamara and Augustin try to cheer up Morcaine and Wynette, Kaythek chipped in. "Morcaine, Wynette, right now I don't know you two very well. But you both are making good with your life." Turning to Wynnette, Kaythek hope his meaning is recieved well.

"Wynette, if the old bat can't see it, then by the Inheritor prove her wrong. Prove to her you can stand on your feet, Granted, that doesn't mean going to get yourself killed, but prove to her your strength." Smiling in encouragement, Kaythek turned to Morcaine and just shrugged. "Morcaine, whatcan I say? Your mother was a whore and disagreeable female who couldn't let you go and wanted to drag you down with her. That takes guts to stand up to her."

Kaythek turned to the rest of them. "But we still have the rest of the day and tomorrow. We can talk about how what could be, but at the same time still have to prove to the Gods and Goddesses thatwe are able to stand on our own." Kaythek turned to Kendra as they continued walking. ""What about you, Kendra? I know part of you want to be left alone, but it can stil be good to remember the good times. Afterall, maybe we can discover something that we never knew about the Mentor.

[jjj54]

“Say nothing more of it,” Kendra answers as she shyly takes Augustin’s arm to lead back towards town and her home… Only to be nearly tripped by Tamara’s over exuberant glomp a pace or two later. Still, instead of being angry she laughs at the halfling’s childlike exuberance.

“It seems to be settled then.”

As they make their way back into town, Kendra listens as the two oracles recount their transformation into divine emissaries. Though the cause of Augustin’s blindness seemed clear enough, given his scar, Kaythek is an oddity to her. Given that he admitted to being sanctified by the gods of battle, it would have made more sense to her if he had received his vision in battle rather than some coming of age ritual.

While they walked and chatted, everyone could feel the eyes of the town upon them. If anyone cared to pay attention, they’d notice some of the mob that rose to oppose them milling about haphazardly. It’s clear from their glowering faces that they still haven’t forgiven you for your interference, but alone they’ll hardly act on any lingering resentment. Kendra does take note of them and casts a worried glance at Morcaine as she openly speaks of her heritage.

“Kaythek is right. You should be careful. Towns like Ravengro take a fairly dim view of outsiders. Some people, like Gibs, will use take the slightest excuse to run a stranger out of town.”

But all this talk about mothers brought Kendra’s mind to her own. She’d never really known the woman, considering how young she was when she died. Considering how close she was to her father, it was a little disconcerting to think about drifting away from a parent enough to avoid them or even outright despise them.

“A great deal or relevance I think Briar,” she stated, sensing an intellectual challenge in the officious gnome, “Father was the primarily source of social interaction in my life. I think it’s due to him instilling his love of books into me. As you can imagine, I don’t get out much…”

Before long they were well past the town square and the unwelcome stares that followed them. As the houses thinned out and the became more and more run down, Kendra led them to a lonely steep roofed house. Inside every room was adorned with either a memento from some obscure adventure of the professor’s or a bookshelf dangerously overstuffed with tomes of every sort. After leading them to a sitting room, she reluctantly separated herself from Augustin’s side and decided to answer Tamara’s question by moving to a nearby cabinet and producing a bottle of Galtan wine.

“We could have some of the teas a friend of father’s brought back from a recent expedition to Tian… But I was thinking about something a little stronger tonight.”

[stack]

Augustin glances over the mementos, feeling a pang of regret at not having followed on the many adventures. He looks at the bottle Kendra produces, "Galtan wine, an excellent choice. Always more calming than its growers. I sometimes wonder how anything survives their upheavals."

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Morcaine

"My thoughts exactly, Augustin. Though I'm more partial to Qadiran coffee myself."

[Sarone]

As they others took places to sit in the house, Kaythek looked at the various books. It's good to see that you haven't lost his touch after all these years, Kaythek thought as he glances over the various titles. It'll be good to be here. The knowledge alone in one of these rooms will be enought for those who crave such knowledge to try to come and take this.

As Kendra brought in a Galtn wine, the topic of alcohol and drinks was brought up. "Aye, the Galtans might have a good wine," Kaythek says as he goes to the room that the others are in, "but a good Dwarven ale is better. Zacharious always drinks it and does his best to make his own. Takes a while for it to be properly made, but if you have enough, you can live off it for a little while. Another reason why the orcs left us alone for as long as they did."

[SanguinePenguin]

Tamara is no stranger to alcohol, but its merits are far from her mind right now. Her memory takes her back to sitting with the professor and Kendra in this very room (during one of Tamara's unannounced visits), listening wide-eyed as he regales her with some of his tales of adventures, clinging to every word and sipping slowly at a cup of his fine tea. After some internal debate, Tamara says, "if it's not too much trouble... I think I'd like some tea. Do you still have any of that stuff from Tian Xia?" Tamara thinks the tea tastes like grass, but, for some reason that she doesn't fully understand, she really wants to have some right now.

[jjj54]

"That is true. I've never had the chance to sample much of it, but I've heard that the wine is the only consistent thing within that land."

She pours you each a glass and passes them out, laughing lightly as she looks into her own.

"This bottle was actually produced before the revolution. Father said that he could always taste the difference between this vintage and the ones that came after. That's why he kept this bottle for truly rare special occasions."

As Tamara makes her request, Kendra gives her an understanding nod and takes the wine glass back. "Of course. I should have asked in the first place. It will only take a moment to prepare."

[Makleveh]

Wynette will, as Tamara busies herself preparing drinks, slowly inspect the mementos she has collected over the years.

Spoiler

Show

OOC: Quick reminder- I will be in northern Maine (and thus away from high technology) from this evening until late Sunday afternoon. However, Wynette is shy enough and polite enough to be quiet, listen, and not ask any terribly embarrassing questions. She'll coast on autopilot, following the group, until I get back.

[stack]

Augustin examines the wine, holding it up, sniffing it, and swirling it in the glass. I wish I knew anything about wine, then this wouldn't all be for show. Still have to keep up appearances.

After all have been served, he raises his glass, "I can think of no better occasion. Now we celebrate the professor and all that he was. To Professor Petros Lorrimor, father, mentor, friend, colleague, may his work never cease!" He takes a sip.

[Makleveh]

"To the Professor!" Wynette raises her glass and takes a long sip.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Morcaine

"To Petros."

[Sarone]

"To the Mentor, may the wisdom and knowledge he has fostered through the years continue to grow."

[Leviathan]

Briar

Briar holds up her too-large glass. "To intoxication-induced memories of a felicitous nature!"

[SanguinePenguin]

Tamara giggles at Briar's comment. Then, holding up both her large glass of wine in one hand and her still steaming cup of tea in the other, she says cheerfully, "to Petros!"

[Gwynfrid]

Ulric silently listens to the conversations, smiling at the attempts at humor, nodding with understanding, but not wanting to intervene. The talk of parents sends him thinking about his own.

Pap, Mam... It's been quite some time... I should have paid a visit for sure...They know what happened, but they never saw me like this...

In the house, he looks curiously at the mementos, wondering what kind of adventures they relate to. He is a bit slower than the rest at shaking off the sadness of the occasion, but tries his best. These folks are right, life must go on and there is no use dwelling in dark thoughts forever. Besides, Petros would have wanted it that way.

He raises his glass high for a heartfelt toast.

"Then this bottle is a gift from him to us, precisely for this occasion... To Petros, who knew so much about so many things, including wine !"