Out of the Dark

[WindStruck]

Chandara nods and hurries off to find the temples the guard was speaking of.

Of course, she didn't really know the town at all, so hopefully she wouldn't miss them.

[Darth Ultron]

Much of the city is dark. Even in the places where a fire burns, they burn quite low. Even the glowing magically lights glow dim.

Shops and taverns and homes are all dark and quiet. Heading north, you do see larger buildings, but they are dark and quiet too.

Except for one, the whole large fancy building glows with a soft light, illuminating the area all around. glowing stone stairs lead up to an open door where a large candle burns on a gold stand.

Sitting just inside the doorway is a young female human in a blue robe, reading a book.

[WindStruck]

Chandara hops up the steps of the glowing building, figuring, or rather hoping, that this was the place. She greets the young woman reading a book.

"Hello! Excuse me. Is this where people come for healing?"

[Darth Ultron]

The young woman closes her book and sets it on the table. "Yes....is something wrong? Are you hurt? " She looks you over up and down.

[WindStruck]

Chandara shakes her head and shows the the small creature. "Not me. But this very tiny person.. I was meditating, and then when I came to, I found him dying on my window sill."

[Darth Ultron]

The young woman quickly casts a spell and touches the tiny humanoid. A slight glow covers his body and his eyes open.

"He is alive and safe."

Irithia Anveryn "I'm Irithia Anveryn a Dweomerkeeper of Mystra. You say you just found him?"

Tiny humanoid "Owww, where I am? What is going on? ''

Irithia Anveryn "Careful, I healed your physical wounds, but you are still weak."

[WindStruck]

"Thank you, Irithia. Yes, that is correct. My name is Chandara, and I am staying at the Sleeping Frog."

She looks down and says to the tiny person still in her hands, "Hello, little one. Perhaps you could tell us what happened? I found you on my window, as if you were trying to climb in. You were injured badly and covered in blood. There's still blood all over you..."

[Darth Ultron]

Pinecone Leafspeck "I'm Pinecone Leafspeck and I'm from..from...I don't know. I was caught...and in a dark room, in a cage...I think."

Irithia Anveryn "I'm sure the drained some of your memories when they drained your life force. "


Pinecone Leafspeck "what?"


Irithia Anveryn"I have seen this sort of thing before."

[WindStruck]

As poor little pinecone seemed unable to recall his past or what happened, memories were flooding back to Chandara. Countless slaves held in cages in cold, dark rooms... slaves she had to look at, feed.. even sometimes beat when told to. What happened to this tiny person was something she could imagine and did not want to repeat, nor experience herself. Except one thing..

"Drained his life force...?" she asks.

[Darth Ultron]

Irithia Anveryn frowns and looks sad "He is a fey, a petal. They have long life spans and good health, and some folks drain that to get long and healthy lives. Dark necromancy, but all too common.

It was good you found him when you did."

[WindStruck]

Chandara looked down at the little fey again. "Oh... that's right. I remember hearing something about them. Fairies, right? Don't they grant wishes to people or throw curses on others that offend them?"

[Darth Ultron]

Irithia Anveryn "Yes, you are on the right scroll. Fey are seen as easy targets by some as a lot of them are inoffensive. I lot of fey don't like to fight, even when attacked. "

[WindStruck]

"Hmm... hey, Pinecone. Do you remember anything else now?"

"And do you feel sick? Can you fly?"

[Darth Ultron]

Pinecone Leafspeck "No, I don't think so. I knew my name. There is nothing else."

Irithia Anveryn nods "They likely drained most of everything from his mind. Not only looking for fey secrets, but it's a good way to make sure they don't get caught. Even if they escape, like he has, he won't remember anything.

Pinecone half stands, wiggles his wings and floats for a couple seconds and then lands on the ground.

Pinecone Leafspeck "No fly"

Irithia Anveryn "Assuming you heal like a human, you should feel better in a couple days...maybe three.

Healing your wounds is easy, but I don't think most other healing magic made for humans and such will work on you. and, in any case, it is your mind that needs rest."

[WindStruck]

Chandara sighs and thinks. "What are we going to do now? Should he stay here? Or...

"Well I guess I could watch him. I'm sure Vilgertha wouldn't mind. No, she would be happy to help Pinecone. Though... I don't really know anything about fey..."

[Darth Ultron]

Irithia Anveryn "He can't stay here. We are warded against fey. They are mostly good, but all too often problematic.

Well, you don't need to know much. Treat him like any other hurt person. I'll stop by to check up on him....you said the Sleeping Frog, right?"

[WindStruck]

Chandara frowns and says, "That's too bad. Lucky you could at least heal him a bit, and I didn't set them off bringing him here, I guess." She was trying to differentiate in her mind if it was a matter of fey being too dangerous in general, or if evil dastardly fey would otherwise be a common occurrence, but couldn't reason any sense of it based on what she knew.

"Yes, the Sleeping Frog. Pinecone, are you hungry? I think it will be some hours until the sun rises..."

[Darth Ultron]

Pinecone Leafspeck "I'm not sure...I don't remember eating before."

Irithia Anveryn "They took most of his mind. He will need lots of help.

You might want to keep him out of sight...or at least off the streets. "

[WindStruck]

Chandara gave Irithia the strangest look of confusion and surprise. "...what? Keep him out of sight? Why, is it illegal for fey to be here? Or do you think someone is just going to snatch him again?"

When she was first asked if she was fey, that rang a bell...

[Darth Ultron]

Irithia Anveryn "Everyone is welcome in Berdusk.

What I mean is someone no doubt captured him, drained his mind, magic and life. It's a vile act, of course, but it does happen.

I very much doubt they just let him go. They would have just been more likely to kill him. Why leave evidence?

So, if he did escape, there might be someone looking for him. Likely to kill him. "

[WindStruck]

That truth struck home hard with Chandara. It made perfect sense. In fact, she could even be in danger just keeping Pinecone around...

"Ah.. right... I suppose this would have been the safest place to keep him.
But the wards.... is there anywhere else then? With that kind of magic, I fear the Sleeping Frog is not ideal..."

[Darth Ultron]

Irithia Anveryn "There is no perfect place. There never is. And if there was, it would be an obvious place to look, after all.

The Sleeping Frog, one Inn among many really does make for a good enough hiding place. If they are looking, they have to search the whole city, after all."

[WindStruck]

"Alright... I'll try my best to keep Pinecone safe there. And I'm sure Vilgertha needs to know about this as well. Maybe some other friends I made could be involved. But yes,
you might be right not to show him in public..." Chandara says.

She bids farewell to Irithia and quietly walks back to the inn, frequently checking over her shoulder. The night air was cool, which wasn't good because she had left her cloak in her room, and more to the point had no way to easily hide the petal. Now that she was paranoid someone could be lurking around searching for the tiny fey, she regretted leaving all her stuff in her room. The only saving grace was that if someone was in the shadows, she would see them. At least, up to a certain distance.

Assuming she makes it to the Sleeping Frog, she heads up to her room and closes the door behind her.

[Darth Ultron]

Irithia bids you a farewell.

The streets are their normal late night/early morning empty, with just about no one around...even in the shadows.

The Sleeping Frog is just as dark and quiet as you left it, as is your room. Other then the tiny bit of dried blood now on the windowsill.

[WindStruck]

Chandara sets Pinecone down on her bed and rummages around in the trunk looking for her trail rations and water. She would try to give him a little food and drink for now. She opens her water skin, pouring a small amount into the lid, sort of like a small but awkward cup and tries to carefully hand it to him.

"Here, this is some water. You should drink it. Even if you don't feel thirsty or don't know what that feels like anymore. ...you do know how to drink things still, right? I mean, you can at least talk..."

[Darth Ultron]

Pinecone Leafspeck takes the lid and drinks down all the water in a single gulp.

"I still know many words. And how to use them. It is strange to know I have...forgotten things...but I don't remember missing them. I feel...empty...I guess.

I do thank you for your help."

[WindStruck]

Chandara was worried that he would never recover. From one perspective, it was probably as though he was just born, knowing nothing but his name and how to speak... He might have to relearn everything again. Maybe it would never come back, like an amputated limb.

"You are welcome. I think we will have to teach you everything all over again.. It's sad... and if it's not safe for you to be seen, that only makes it harder."

"Here, try eating just a little bit of this food too." Chandara breaks off a piece of her trail rations, roughly half the size of a marble, and gives it to Pinecone.

[Darth Ultron]

Pinecone Leafspeck takes a small bite of the ration and spits it back out

"That was food? It tasted like..like...something bad. Food should not taste so bad...I think. "

[WindStruck]

Chandara looks at the petal with a little worry, partially on her account. "Well... it's something that is supposed to stay edible for a long time. I admit it doesn't taste that good, but I don't really find it terrible?"

"Hm. I think it's just that you might eat different things... I don't know what fey eat. Let's just stick with the water for now."

She fills the lid with water for Pinecone again, and thinks about what she is going to do for the coming day...

"Do you feel tired at all? It might be a good idea to try sleeping a little..."

[Darth Ultron]

Pinecone Leafspeck "I do feel bad, but not hurt....not like before she touched me...and healed me?

Sleep....I do not want to do that...I think.

I want to be...not like this. Like how I was before. I don't remember how I was...but it has to be better then I am now. Right?"