Strangers in Paradise: A games of Fates. (Fate 2e, to be exact.)

[MatrimC]

Bothvar takes a long sip out of his mug of ale as he stares closely the figure wrapped in his cloak. The character sits slightly sideaways to him and manages to keep his face in the shadow of the hood to Bothvar. There is something in this person, in this figure in the cloak that bothers him. There is something in his character that makes Bothvar uneasy and it's no surprise that Bothvar has kept his eye in this person since he met him, Linden and this overly grown hound that also gives him chills.

Linden and Calix seemed so occupied in their discussion that Bothvar wouldn't have a chance to get a word to interupt them. He let's them be "Let them sort it out", Bothvar thinks and graps another piece of pork from the plate.

[happyturtle]

"In a time of great peril, the Dohiri gave birth to the the first druid. He had the head of a stag, and the voice of a raven, the wisdom of the oak grove, and the strength of the tide. The land spoke to him and through him, he became the guardian of the land and lived in the forest, with no roof over his head or boots on his feet.

The Dohiri sent followers to him, brave men and valiant warriors. They found him in the forest, came together in council at the sacred grove and swore an oath of protection and named him as their King. Then they set out to make the lands safe.

There is not time to tell all of the tales of the Great King. His first act was to slay the giant Efraug, who had long terrorized Orestes with demands of tribute and human sacrifices. To protect the land from the dragons, he led the first circle of druids in a spell that took two summers to cast, but gently put the dragons to sleep beneath the sea, to awaken on the last day of the world. And he defeated the Nynnian warriors, who came with iron weapons that none before him could withstand.

At the final council of the sacred grove, the Great King spoke to each of his followers in turn. "I do not release you from your oaths, nor does the land. If you are needed, you will feel the call, and you will be unable to rest until the land is safe again." Then he turned and walked into the mist, and was seen no more.

Now our land is threatened by the Strangers, and the oath has awakened and restored Nemain to life.

The druids found me in the snow, near death, and offered me to the land, and I was also restored to life. The Dohiri chose me as their servant, to walk Nemain's path alongside him and help him to fulfil his oath.

And now I see that it has chosen the two of you as well."

[Ipphli]

Calix strokes his chin at the end of the young druidess' tale. He looks at Neiman, then over at Bothvar, then back at Linden. He shrugs before replying with a smile,"So it seem. Perhaps I'll get to see some more of the world before this is done. And maybe we'll find your home along the way as well." He smiles reassuringly at Bothvar before looking over at Neiman. "Well sir, what do we do now?"

[Myshlaevsky]

Nemain listens but doesn't speak as the druidess recites her tale. He rubs one hand into the soft grass he's sitting on, and stares around, at the people and the little tree. When Linden has finished, and Calix has asked him the question, he stands up. Silhouetted by the sun, he looks even more out-of-place than normal.

"I don't know. Linden knows someone within this city. They may be able to help us. The Old King left no orders, no commands - no memories. This is... so important. The worms didn't touch my skin, but it feels like they ate their way inside my head. Do you have a God, Calix? One that you know?"

[Ipphli]

Calix smiles and nods. "Indeed I do. I am a follower of Maramros, god of travel. Do you know of him?"

[Myshlaevsky]

Calix smiles and nods. "Indeed I do. I am a follower of Maramros, god of travel. Do you know of him?"

"I don't know. Maybe I did - not now. The Old King... was like that. Like a god that you knew and prayed to and worshipped. Except you could touch him. He could talk with you, or drink with you. He could crush your bones with a word. It's hard to not know what to do when something like that has given you a mission. You're a priest of travel - do you have some idea of where we should go?"

[Ipphli]

Calix nods. "Well the...power that brought us together told us that we should seek it somewhere to the east. On a different island it would seem. Beyond that, I do not know."

[happyturtle]

"The Old King... was like that. Like a god that you knew and prayed to and worshipped. Except you could touch him. He could talk with you, or drink with you. He could crush your bones with a word."

Linden felt the thrill of terror and wonder that she so often felt when Nemain spoke. It was so hard to believe that she walked with a man who had walked with the Great King. If Gareth had spoken to Nemain, her brother would have understood why she had walked away from her family to pursue a higher calling.

"I wanted to visit a sage to see if we could learn more of the oaths that bind Nemain to the land. But we've been summoned--the first sign the gods have given us. I think the sage is unnecessary now."

[Altharis]

Under the shade of the fig tree.
As the four travellers sit and talk, pooling their knowledge on the east, both past and present, magical and mercantile. Most of the knowledge shared is common and disparate, but it is not long before a few points of knowledge cross over:

Linden thinks to herself for a second, and then opens her soul to the Dohiri, channeled through the empowered Fig Tree. It is not long before the notices something: A leyline, an ancient line of magical power sacred to almost all cultures, crossing with another to form a Node of power on an island a short way east and a tad north of Tanis. As she reveals this discovery to her group, it appears she is not the only one with something to shre about this island.

Nemain then speaks, recounting an ancient tale of the Old Kingdom in his gravelly voice: "Once, during the first campaign led by the Old King, if campaigns is the correct word, he sailed to this island. Word had reached his ears that the people of this island, for fear of shapechanging beasts that stalked the night began burning the famous forests that cover most of the island and cruelly torturing animals cpatured during their hunts. The Old King walked into down in the form of a lean grey wolf, and when he was set upon by the townsfolk, who had by then already succumbed to madness, he revealed his true form exclaiming: "Know now that in your madness you have created your own fear, for the animals of the woods would not have risen against you without your fear to drive them to such desperation." And in saying that, the villagers recognised the truth of his words and wept for their crimes. But the old king was merciful, and in order to teach them to respect the feelings and lives of the animals they had so cruelly tortured, he changed them into the shape-changing animals they so feared. Once they had fled into the wilds to begin their penance, the Old King established a colony on this island to keep it safe from outside influence, and declared the entire island, save for the colony, a sacred temple that no man could enter. And so it peacefully existed until I can last remember. Is it still in existence?"

At the end of the tale Calix speaks up: "It was as you say for many years, I travelled there myself once. But recently there has been tell of a great exodus from that land, and the island is now marked on the charts as "Lay ye no foot here...", a marking abhorrent to Maramros. The fact that this coincides with the time of the Strangers' return bodes ill. I propose we invesigate this disturbance..."

[happyturtle]

Before they left Mapanos, Linden wrote a letter to her brother. She poured out her heart to him, telling him of everything that had happened since the day she awoke under the Linden tree. She told him of Nemain, how he had been summoned from his barrow by the need of the Dohiri. She told him of the ties that bound her to the land, that had changed her so that she could never live in a city again.

She told him how much she loved him.

Please, Gareth, say nothing of my survival. A public rejection of Tark would endanger the alliance with Orestes. Until he marries another, let him think that Corthana is dead. It is your duty to unite the southern islands before the Strangers pick them off one by one. My duty lies on another path.

May the gods bless you, hand and foot, mind and heart.

Your loving sister,
Corrie

[Altharis]

The temple-island of Jaorutis.
Though it took you all a great deal of haggling, bribing, barter, flattery, and in some cases flirtery to secure passage to Jaorutis, eventually something came up. When first he'd offered his services you dismissed him, I mean, anybody dumb enough to honestly believe that the Old King has a hidden city of gold on Jaorutis, a place known for the paucity of resources available. After going through all the available ships in port a second time, you still refused his offer. But by the fourth run-through, you were so desperate to leave for Jaorutis that you finally took his offer.

Along the way, you were regaled by captain Gareth's wild theories, as the excitable young man produced seemingly endless amounts of documents of "proof" and "concrete evidence" as could fit in the small quarters he claimed as his own. It is a relatively uneventful trip, besides having to listen to this loon's crackpot theories for the entire trip. No matter how dangerous or scary the trouble on Jaorutis turns out to be, it's better than the alternative.

After what seems like the longest and most mentally painful journey of your lives (Except maybe for Calix.), you arrive in the old harbour of Jaorutis Town. The boat docks, and the over excited Gareth is the first to disembark, proudly scanning the streets with a gleam in his eye. The houses lie empty, but strangely untouched. It seems that the inhabitants of this small town were not driven out by raiders, nor by freak weather, but left of their own volition, calmly and in an orderly manner... Something does not feels right. Not at all. Everything is too calm.

((OOC: Yes, a second Gareth. My bad, but it seems to fit too much to change.))

[happyturtle]

Linden stepped ashore. As her bare feet touched the land, she reached out with her senses, trying to feel the life of the island.

[Altharis]

Linden's Mind's Eye.
Even as Linden's senses begin to stretch out throughout the land an overwhelming rush of feelings floods into the her mind. Not only is there the characteristic throbbing feeling of a leyline, there is also a profound...wrongness on multiple levels. The land feels...pained, and the trees and stones cry out as one. All this is too much for Linden, and she faints under the strain.

Jaorutis harbour, deserted.
The rest of you look on in horror as Linden collapses, screaming, into a foetal position the instant she begins her concentration. As you rush forward to help her, you notice out of the corner of your eyes a medley of hunched figures loping towards your position from all four corners of the town...

((OOC: Roll initiative! Happyturtle, Linden will wake in three rounds. Though you can make Endurance rolls to expedite that. Others: Try not to let her die by then, 'kay? ))

[Myshlaevsky]

Nemain rushes out and grabs Linden by the left arm, ulling her up from the ground and whether or not she's injured. He swivels her body round to put it between him and the dog, facing the canine. The last thing he wants is Sage going for him.

Using his other hand to unclasp the weapon from his back, the old knight glares around the town and screams to the others, "Go! Form a circle!"

[happyturtle]

Spoiler

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initiative - (4d3)[1][3][1][2](7) = -1, using one aspect in Awareness to move a 1 to a 3, changing the total to +1

Sage growls at Nemain, but seeing the approaching figures decides that they are the greater threat. His hackles are raised and he barks to warn them off.

[Ipphli]

Calix frowns as Linden passes out. He steps forward and draws his quarterstaff as he sees the approaching figures. He moves to stand next to Nemain. "At least they can't get behind us, unless they come up from the ocean..."

Spoiler

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Initiative (4d3)[1][2][3][2](8)

[Myshlaevsky]

Spoiler

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If I can still forgo to give the bonus, I will. Otherwise:

(4d3)[1][1][2][2](6)