lich ruler

[de-trick]

sorry my bad

[Daiyanissa]

"Ok, well since this is all we know, how about we go back to that pub and ask a few questions?"

She heads back to the Spitting Horseshoe

[de-trick]

Yorrick you travel for 3 days straight and then you see the outline of a city
there it is farwell about time these horses wouldn't be able to walk for another mile. You are taken quickly to the temple of lathender and the wounded man is carried into the temple and healed The old man says that thogh won't be able to help unload the cargo would you mind helping

[de-trick]

Neshi yiou walk in the desert dieing in exustion when you see a bright light infront of you and then you hear in a familer powerful voice come my child take shelter in my realm i will that you to where you were summoned BAMMMMMM Neshi you are teloported to farwell and rested

[Miraqariftsky]

Walking, walking,
Walking in the light of god...

The old hymn hums itself through Neshi's exhausted heart. On and on he plods through the shifting sands. He curses the messenger for leaving during the night at the last wayfarer's house they'd stayed in for the seventieth time.

March, march!
Ptah didst make thy feet,
March, march!
We ain't in no North'n peat,
March, march!

His parched, bleeding lips smile in remembrance of his former seargent and friend, Khur-kol. He straightens his stance and resists the temptation to scratch his weary, sweat-drenched back and marches onwards, ever onwards.

Hold your head up high
Victory is nigh
Strike and smite
With sword and spear
Fight with Horus' might!
Fight on, ye've naught to fear!

Strains of the old battle song sing into his sand-clogged ears. He grits his teeth against the pain of the heat, sand-son though he is. He looks up to the burning sun and asks in a cracked, bleary voice, "Eaaastward, e-e-ever Eastward... to thy home, O Re my fa-aa-ather... Please... ever r-red, the sands shall be... Have I not found favor in thine eyes, milord? GRant thy servant a boon, that I might serve thee better..."

Then, he stumbles... Neshi falls through a sudden bright light. A thousand times a thousand myriad voices sing in celestial tunes. He feels he exhaustion drained from him and an ecstasy flow into the void...

And then he falls to his knees.

TAK!

His bronze greaves clang against hard grey cobblestones. Dazed and wondering, he looks around but finds no sand except the grains that are now falling from his cloak and armor. He shivers in the suddenly cold climate.

Right in front of him is a pair of massive oaken doors. From within, he could smell the tantalizing aromas of foreign foods being prepared. His stomach grumbles within him. He also hears more than a dozen voices all speaking at once in strange tongues... but most of them sound like how the messenger spoke.

He looks up and sees a large rusty horseshoe beside the sign, reading, "The Spitting Horseshoe Inn". What is a horse?, he asks himself.

Clop-clop-clop-clop...

He turns around sharply at the strange sounds and is shocked to find a bustling crowd of people moving about on the busy street. But then, the greater shock to him is the beast and the vehicle it is pulling. A large, brown-furred, thick-maned beast, plods slowly onwards, idly chewing cud. Aha! It is a zebra without the white!, he belatedly realizes. A fenced "platform", laden high with goods for trade is harnessed to the "large black zebra".

(OOC: Yes, it's a horse pulling a cart)

Another marvel for Neshi are the spinning, many-spoked devices that connect the "platform" to the ground. Incredible! It hardly drags at all!

Finally, his jaw unhinges and his voice finds itself once more. "Hail! What manner of beast is that?", He asks the portly man in dirty clothes driving the "black zebra".

The man turns lazily in Neshi's direction, laughs and hacks up some spit but desists, seeing that the object of his derision is in fact well armed. Again, he laughs harshly and cracks awhip at the "black zebra".

"Hells!", he swears. "Ye daft foreigner! 'Tis bloody horse, damnit! Git, ya lazy bugger! Giddup, yo!"

Neshi's teeth grind as he restrains himself from cutting down the impudent peasant then and there. His hand strays to the hilt of his sickle... His blood is likely tainted with the blood of slaves. Filthy peasant! The vulgarity of such scum is unworthy cause to sully my family's blade. ... but he cracks his knuckles instead, in an exercise of discipline and self-control.

As the laden "rolling-on-circles-sled" passes and the traffic of people resumes in the direction of the inn, his breath catches in his throat. He gasps and his jaw hangs ajar and agape.

Shining in the brilliance of the midmorn sun, a woman approaches the inn, clad in resplendent armor. Her copper hair is afire in the breeze and her fair face radiates an aura divine.

(OOC: Yes, I am describing Daiyanissa)

Neshi falls to his knees and beings his forehead to the ground repeatedly, bowing many times in homage. "I adore thee, lady" He reaches out and grasps one of her feet and kisses it. Tears stream down his cheeks and into the puddles of sand that had fallen from his clothes as he sobs, "My lady Lightbringer! Beloved Ankhutar, methought thou'dst feart we'd never again meet in this life... oh!"

[ByeLindgren]

Martin steps back, his brow creased and his left eyebrow raised. "Who... What's going on?" he manages to blurt out.

[Daiyanissa]

Daiyanissa stops at the praise of a strange foreigner, looking down at the young man grovelling at her feet, she senses no evil, and smiles.

"Hello sir, while I am honored and flattered by your praise, i am not quite sure I understand. Ankhutar? You speak a foreign dialect, from a foreign land."

She kneels down to look at his face, holding his chin up, she began to study the lines, creases and scars that told of many lessons learnt. She noticed his darker skin, the colour of a deep tan, suggesting long days in the sunlight. Skimming over his features, she was caught by the intensity of his gaze, strong grey eyes full of passion and spirit. Unusually disturbed by them, she released his chin and stood up.

"Now, there is no more need for this. Let me help you, I have some water and im sure I can line up something for you to eat. And possibly some more appropriate attire, you must be cold."

She extends her hand to the young man on the ground, offering to help him up.

"While I'm not quite sure how you came to be here, I would like to offer you my services. I am Daiyanissa, Paladin of Torm. Let us go inside, as you are not suitably dressed for this climate, and I will try to answer any questions you may have. But please, do remember, I have been asked to come here, as a Paladin of the light. I have not met with the person who has beckoned me, but should the opportunity arise, I would be honoured if you would accompany me."

Daiyanissa shines a brilliant smile his way, and leads him into the Horseshoe, setting him up with some water, ale and a meal. Readying herself for the explanation to come...

[Grix]

Martin steps back, his brow creased and his left eyebrow raised. "Who... What's going on?" he manages to blurt out.

Seeing that everyone was overly concerned about the death or in shock. He turns to answer the man. "What was just said was, the man was cheating. This lady stopped him from escaping and sensed EVIL in him. She was getting answers from him. But, was shot by a mysterious person from a rooftop as he was revealing something about the Shade guild..a theives guild and sewers. And like she said. Annnnd here we are."

He looks at everyone yet again. "Excuse me, my name is Zimdo. I am here for a special meeting with the council of Hothmalor. Perhaps I can mention this situation to them tomorow while I meet with them. Whatever information we find I can bring to their attension. I am sure they will have the means to take care of this."

[ByeLindgren]

"So that poor fellow was shot with a bow, yes..." Martin replied, regaining his grasp of the situation. "But I'd really like to know why that odd-sounding fellow in the odd-looking armor is clutching the paladin's leg."

He stood in quiet thought for a moment and added, "I'd also like to know how many people got that same call from the council of Hothmalor so we can figure out why we're all here."

[Grix]

"Odd fellow? What odd fellow?" He turns around and see the mentioned armored fellow. Not remembering if he saw him previously or not. He turns back. "That is curious, isn't it? So, wait a minute. Did you say that you had an invitation as well?" He turns to the others. "We should all go inside and get more answers and discuss the situation. And discuss about the meeting tomorow. I'm sure more of you are also invited." He tries to lead the others inside the Horseshoe Tavern.

[Daiyanissa]

As Daiyanissa sits down beside the foreigner, she stares at him, trying to figure out why she has such a strange feeling around him, knowing she has a mission to follow through on, but drawn to this fellow. Her thirst for knowledge won out this time. She decided to go talk to the others in a while, right now, she wanted to know more about him...

"So what brings you here?", She takes a drink of water and looks him in the eye, some suspicion showing

[Miraqariftsky]

Neshi’s mind spins with the revelation of a whole new world. The strange beasts, the air that’s cool as a mountain spring, his having been dropped here by a god’s hand but of them all, it is the radiant paladin who boggles him most.

But this… this Daiyanissa and Ankhutar look exactly alike! They have nigh the same voice and the same hair and eyes. Their laughter is the sighing of reeds a-rustling at twilight and their smell is that of… of oiled metal, of soft spices and of a lotus in bloom…

Unknowingly, heedless of his confusion, his legs straighten and stand. When all the others have entered the establishment blest by a hung horseshoe, Neshi marches in with glazed eyes and military cadence.

With the grace trained into a former officer of a Nomarch’s royal guard, he lets the lady sit first before he himself sits down. As he sits down, he heaves a sigh and inhales once more the sizzling scents from the kitchen but then his heart quickens and pounds as his eyes focus once more and see her. By Hathor, she even smells the same as Lightbringer Ankhutar!

Making the sign of Horus the Vigilant upon his breast, he gulps and looks away, staring into the far wall just shy of Daiyanissa’s left ear. Concentrating upon that abstract point and summoning the strength that he had once only used during inspections and debriefings after a long and arduous march, he says, “Milady, I... do not know”

Seeing the suspicion dart across her face, he swiftly reaches into his bag, withdraws the scroll of invitation by the ruling council of Hothmalor, and presents it to her. His jaw clenches with frustration at his condition, but, after loosing a prayer on the wings of a falcon, he calms down and tells her, “Thou seemest sage and knowledgeable, wise in the ways of this world…”

His knuckles crackle and his jaw clenches once more. Through grit teeth, he continues, almost in a snarl, “Wise in the ways of this world… wouldst ye care to enlighten a pilgrim poor? I know not where I be, nor, nor... it cannot be... no!”

Gathering his courage, he unfolds his tale, with a grim light in his eyes, “I was once a warrior against the shadow hordes of Set...”

But then, for but a while, the gloom withdraws from his youthful face as he says, “A templar of the Sanctuary of Sekhmet, I was. ‘Tis the most wonderful place you could be in… the closest mortals could come to the Field of Reeds without dying”

He shakes his head, lines of pain streaking across his dark face. “This morning, I awoke in a sea of shards. All that remained of my home, my temple…” His voice quavers, and his eyes water. “…and all that I loved are bones, shards and a sea of sand”

Suddenly, his face contorts into a mask of fury as he shouts what seems to be a phrase from a song, “A sea of shards! Red, red, red, the sands do flow!” He bangs his gauntleted fist against the table, nearly hunches down to hide his shame and sorrow and tears but he straightens up once more.

With a bitter, defeated smile, he says to Daiyanissa, “I beg a thousand pardons, milady. I mistook thee for one I knew…”

I shall yet have your entrails, Apophis!

[de-trick]

The guards come by and pick up the cheaters corpse and takes it to the cemetery to get buried

[Daiyanissa]

She stared, not blinking, flinching or reacting, at the internal struggle the poor man seemed to be having. The outbursts telling of loved ones lost, Fury, passion, and what looked to be a brief moment of peace. Seeing the pain, a deep sense of understanding and sensitivity overcame her. She started to reach over to comfort him, but held back at the last second, feeling strange. He wasn't of this time, or of this land, She didn't understand how she was mistook for another, her features were exotic for this land, her eyes a most strange blue, sometimes as vibrant as the sky, other times as white as the snow they ofttimes enjoyed. Seeing the renegade tear dance on his cheek, she indulged in her comforting instinct.

She reached over and rested her hand on his, shocked at the electricity of his touch. She tried to concentrate on current matters, focusing on his eyes, she started, "There is no need to apologize my friend. I'm sure that things will explain themselves once your calling has been answered, although I am sorry about your family." She stopped, wondering if her next question would be to much, but she had to know. "Did you leave the one you love behind?"

She reached out and pushed the meal she had ordered towards him, with water and ale. Not quite sure how to handle the situation, and noticing the the warrior was nearing the end of his reserves, she readied to get up to organize somewhere to sleep.

She stopped at the sight of a scroll, near identical to what she had received. Realizing that this young man must be destined for great things, she handed his scroll back to him.

With a smile, she says, "Well it looks as if you have been summoned, the same as I, and a few other adventurers. But first, I believe you need a bath, and some rest." She handed her key to him, "And I am sure you need those more than I. This establishment is close to full, so walk up those stairs," She points left,"And go to the 3rd door on the left. I will have your food and some appropriate attire sent up later. I will be back in the morning, we have a gathering to go to."

And with that she walked away, headed outside to check on her horse, and find out where the other adventurers were hailing from. Still suspicious of the electricity she had felt when she touched him.

[ByeLindgren]

Martin takes a sip from his ale and listens to the conversation between Neshi and Daiyanissa. He eyes Neshi's scroll and turns towards Zimdo. "I'm guessing yours looks like that as well." Another sip. "I wonder how many people have that same invitation..." Gulp. "I read in a book about how a grand team of adventurers met each other, and it was nothing like this, let me tell you." Martin finishes off the rest of his drink and faces the whole group. "But we can at least get to know each other some now, right? We're not too tired and hungry for that I hope. My name is Martin. What are yours?"

[Daiyanissa]

Martin takes a sip from his ale and listens to the conversation between Neshi and Daiyanissa. He eyes Neshi's scroll and turns towards Zimdo. "I'm guessing yours looks like that as well." Another sip. "I wonder how many people have that same invitation..." Gulp. "I read in a book about how a grand team of adventurers met each other, and it was nothing like this, let me tell you." Martin finishes off the rest of his drink and faces the whole group. "But we can at least get to know each other some now, right? We're not too tired and hungry for that I hope. My name is Martin. What are yours?"

Daiyanissa stops on her way out at Martin's voice, she turns back to the group and replies,"My name is Daiyanissa, Paladin of Torm, I believe that I have met some of you before" She looks them all over, pausing at Neshi, then continuing across the others,"You know... With the card cheat. We discovered something about a Shade guild, a thieves guild meeting in the sewers."

[Ka'ladun]

Loge approaches the table, a newly bought mug of ale in hand, the letter in the other. "The name's Loge. Loge Codicus," he says in between sips, tossing his letter down onto the table. "And Martin, I hardly think any of us qualify as grand. From my count we've got an overly compassionate paladin, an optimist, some gnome with a mace, and one yet unnamed lunatic. And me. Hardly the grandest of cabals." Loge's speech ends as he quaffs his ale in one large gulp and starts walking over to the bartender for a refill.

[Daiyanissa]

Loge approaches the table, a newly bought mug of ale in hand, the letter in the other. "The name's Loge. Loge Codicus," he says in between sips, tossing his letter down onto the table. "And Martin, I hardly think any of us qualify as grand. From my count we've got an overly compassionate paladin, an optimist, some gnome with a mace, and one yet unnamed lunatic. And me. Hardly the grandest of cabals." Loge's speech ends as he quaffs his ale in one large gulp and starts walking over to the bartender for a refill.

She sniffed at the remark, and glared at the newcomer. "Well please do not let me offend you with my compassion, I thought that it was a good quality. Rather then shooting first and speaking later."She looked him up and down skeptically,"And what do you bring to this party, if I may ask?"

[Ka'ladun]

"I'm not offended, you just seem to overdo the caring thing. As for what I bring to this party..." Loge walks back over to the table and loudly slams four large tankards of ale on the table with a grin. "Beer"

[Miraqariftsky]

He breaks from Daiyanissa’s gaze and drops his eyes to the table. Long he stared at the woodwork, pondering the doom that had befallen him. His mind is confused and his thoughts dart hither and yon with a thousand questions and lamentations.

Some rays of sunlight shine through the far window and shine upon his holy symbol and the key that Daiyanissa left for him. He takes the eye-in-sunburst in his hand and heaves a sigh. As you will, my lord Horus.

He looks upon the key once more, takes it and stands. He marches over to Daiyanissa and gives it back to her. Still holding himself back Neshi does not meet her gaze with his own. He stands at attention, salutes her by thumping a fist against his breastplate and says, “Far be it from me to displace a lady such as thee” Sweeping his arms around the inn, he continues, “If this wayfarers’ house is of stone wrought and of wood, then this is rich fare indeed. Fret thou not, milady, for I have slept on far worse places than this--- nobles’ outhouses, nomads’ camel corrals and broken steppes and red sands..."

His face darkens once more. Neshi's brow twitches and his lip quivers. He shivers as he whispers, "Red sands, milady. You asked of my beloved... I awoke this morn to find all... all shattered. I awoke to a sky of shards and a sea of red sands... sand and shards..."

Snapping out of the pit of his gloom, Neshi sips from one of the proffered tankards and blurts out, “What sort of vile camel’s spit is this wrought of? There seems to be barley in here!”

Restraining his rage, he composes himself and says to all seated at the table, “I apologize for my rash words. I offer my thanks but shall decline. My Order only allows alcohol on New Moon festivals and Harvest-tide”

He reaches to his belt and brings forth his waterskin. Uncapping it, he takes only three reverent sips. Gazing into the eyes of the “party”, he boasts, “This, this be liquid gold! Life, it gives and withering rot, prevents”

The aroma of the food placed before him beckons once more. Turning once more to Daiyanissa, he asks, “True, is it, that ye’d not mind the giving of thy food? Certain, art thou? ‘Tis but half-eaten--- I feel like a fool if I’d take it from thee thusly… But then, starving men should not be choosers, true, but… I can still subsist upon my trail rations” At this, he reaches once more into his pack and takes out a fistful of black, withered strips of meat and smiles as he presents it to the gathering. “Is any amongst you desirious of dried snake?”

[Daiyanissa]

Daiyanissa, confused at all that was said, tried to hold back a smile at the looks of disgust upon the others faces. Not succeeding, she Bursts out laughing.

"Hahaha! Well first of all young warrior, this is not the most luxurious of establishments, so take back this key, believe me, I can find a soft place to sleep, I would rather not leave my horse alone anyway. I have been trained well, and I am used to and more comfortable in a stable rather than a bed of feathers anyway. Second of all, while that may look half eaten to you, that is the size of our portions, for this establishment anyways. I haven't eaten a bite", She tries to hold her smile, and stop from laughing, a few more deep chuckles emerge from her throat, "And I apologize for my comrades, but they are not used to the fare of snake. You should put it away for now, You might wish to save them for the task to come. Accept thy fare, as I am offering it to you, one nights rest in a comfortable bed will mean the difference between a kind word, and a coarse one. Please accept, for more offers will not come from the likes of our society."

She turns to looks over the rest of the group,"As for the rest of us, I believe a good nights rest is in store, tomorrows council will be expecting us rested and at the ready for anything they might throw at us."

With that statement, she tosses back the key to Neshi and walks over to the Bar keep. She hands him a gold coin and 5 silvers ones, and directs him to send up a new set of travelers clothes, as well as a bath to the room where she had previously directed Neshi. She exits the tavern, and leads her horse to the stables, where she makes herself comfortable for the night.

[Methalor]

(OOC: Sorry guys, my internet went down and I couldn't post. Forthcoming later on, and sorry for posting in the IC thread; can't find the OOC right now, no time.)

[Daiyanissa]

Sitting up in the hay that she hoarded into the corner of the stall, Daiyanissa stretched her arms and leaned back. Finally alone she smiled and looked around, pleased to be back to basics. She started to unload her weapons, finishing with her crossbow. She pulled out a rag from her effects and started to polish it. Always happiest while working, she began to whistle.

Many thoughts running though her mind, why was that man transported here through time, and from a different land. There are so many with the same scroll as she did. What is going on? She allows herself to think back to her family, lovingly remembering her childhood. Playing in the cornfields with her brother, chasing one another in a game of tag.

'I wonder when it will be that simple again...'

Continuing to whistle she rubs her crossbow spotless, working into the morning...

[ByeLindgren]

Meanwhile... "I'll have some of that vile camel's spit if you don't mind, Loge." Martin pours himself a small glass. "I guess I was a little forceful before. We could all use a day's rest, and since it seems we're meeting up tomorrow, we can all make better introductions then." Martin finishes the ale with a refreshed sigh, waves and remarks, "Oh, try not to use the word "extraordinaire." Like Loge said, we're not that grand, at least yet."

Martin walks and stumbles back to the room he rented, trying to shake from his mind the dead cardshark and the grieving foreigner. If only the camel spit worked the way I wanted...

[de-trick]

The morning comes and at the tavern there sits a man wearing the same crest as the messengers had. He comes over to all of you. I am Drakon i am here to show you to the council.

[ByeLindgren]

Martin yawns and looks around, checking who's at the meeting. "Well, I'm ready to go see what this is all about, and I'm sure you're all as curious as I am. You just don't show it as much. Let's go."

[Daiyanissa]

Daiyanissa packed up her supplies, and walked her horse out of the stable. Tying him up outside, she entered the Spitting horseshoe. She went to the bar to refill her waterskin, noticing the messenger speaking, she sprinted upstairs to remind Neshi about the council meaning.

She knocks on the door...

[Miraqariftsky]

That morning…

Dogg…

Dogg-dogg…

Dogg-dogg-dogg… (OOC: Yes, this sound effect ALSO stands for Daiyanissa's heavy footfalls as she "sprints up the stairs")

The boulders that Khur-kol and his men had set to fall thundered down the ravine and crushed hundreds of the undead horde that was pursuing them. And yet they still came on, a seething, inexorable tide of darkness and death.

Captain Neshi nigh despaired but he knew that if he lost hope, then so would his men. In his heart of hearts, he wanted to be in the frontlines, to lead the charge, to take the fight to the enemy and die in a glorious rush but knew that the longer they held this horde at bay, the longer Lord Nimlot had to fortify the city.

He twirled his scintillating blade and called out, “Steady, men! Khur-kol, fall back! Lieutenants Hotep and Akhere, rearguard! Bring up the reserves. Wings, fold in--- steady retreat, cover ‘em wi’ slings! Center, hold steady! Steady!”

Looking over the heads and helms of those in the frontline, he glimpsed the scabrous ghouls and damned, dishonored dead break into a shambling charge. He bellowed, “Pikers and axemen, forward! Brace for a charge!”

Flpp-flthh-thhhh… (OOC: Yes, this sound effect ALSO stands for Daiyanissa's clothes and feet rustling outside the door)

Suddenly, the lines broke. Winged fiends and jumping corpses had scaled the heights and plummeted into the midst of the regiment and were then wreaking much havoc.

Neshi was about to charge when something foul and heavy slammed into him and sent him crashing into the nearby canyon wall and rattling his sword out of his grasp. Rocks rained down on him but his shield held them off. He stood unsteadily but recoiled at the sight of the leathery-winged, fire-skulled, scabrous fiend that had assailed him.

Its legs bunched for a lunge and Neshi tried to dodge and reach for his fallen blade but moved too slowly. The fiend slammed into him and grasped his head with both hands in a grip of unnatural strength. Neshi did not scream when the fiend smiled as it was about to bash his head against the rocks but tried his utmost to reach his khopesh and at least die with one final blow…

TOK-TOK-TOK! (OOC: Yes, this sound effect ALSO stands for Daiyanissa's knocking on the door)

Three loud knocks startle Neshi from his nightmares. Bloodshot eyes snap open and he rips his khopesh from its hasp. He leaps from the rock-strewn floor and slashes at the door with a mighty roar. “NYARGH! Die, foul abomination!”

KRAK-AASH!

The ancient, master-wrought blade punches through the woodwork of the door in a shower of splinters. The impact travels up Neshi’s arms and jars him into wakefulness. His jaw drops in shock and his eyes widen in fear but swift, they drop for shame of what he had done.

Through the jagged hole in the door, he sees Daiyanissa’s fair face recoil at the sudden violence.

Tang-kla-tangggg…

Creeeaak… Tok-tok.

His sword drops from nerveless hands and clangs discordantly against the cold floor. He drops to his hands and knees. Sobbing, he genuflects repeatedly in apology and at every bow, hits his forehead on the floor.

Slowly, the riven door, jarred by the force of the blow, drifts open on loose hinges to reveal Neshi prostrating himself once more before Daiyanissa.

Spoiler

Show

Yesterday evening (OOC: Here comes a little bit of comedy)

The others left soon after Daiyanissa did. Long did Neshi but stare at the food and the key. He pondered many things within his heart, but most of all, the dilemma that Daiyanissa left for him. I displaced a lady AND took her uneaten meal--- how much more dishonor shall I suffer this night? No. She gave them of her own free will… but, how fare shall she? And what did she mean by ‘a bed of feathers’? Why in blazes would beds be wrought of feathers?

But then, his body decided the debate for him. His stomach growled and he frowned. “May the blessed Bast consecrate this meal. So mote it be”, he prayed.

With that, he took one of the strips of snake meat and ripped off the head in one mighty bite. He chewed it slowly, letting the bread and beans that had been stuffed into the snake upon its preparation come to the fore. “The Madness of Seth seizes those who are not moderate”, he recalled his grandfather’s saying.

Finally, Neshi’s hunger and curiosity overwhelmed his discipline and he took a tentative spoonful from the trencher of food that the kind paladin left. He distinguished by sight and smell of the onions, the beans and the lettuce, but it was the strange, red meat that truly intrigued him.

As he bit in, his eyes suddenly lit up and his nostrils flared with the sudden heat. “GWAH!” he gasped. Fumbling with the cap of his waterskin, he guzzled rapidly the liquid gold within, seeking to quench the fires that had sprung within his mouth. Once the exotic spice was quelled, he practically dove into the dish and finished it with all a soldier’s alacrity in under a minute.

He drops two coins of gold on the bar and says to the barkeeper, “Ho, thou tavern-tender. My compliments on the cooking--- ‘tis excellent fare ye have. Hast thou but nine candles I may use?”

The scrawny man in the grimy apron looks at him askance and bites into both coins to check their authenticity. Then, suddenly, he holds them to the light and turns them every which way. He beams at Neshi, his gap-toothed grin radiating greed. “Haaail, mighty traveler. Dese ‘ere gold be more’n hunnerd years ol’. Where’d ya gettem?”

Neshi looks at the little man quizzically and frowns. “Aye? I had them yesterday. And the day ere then and the day ere then…”

“Yeah? Well keep yer secrets then. Dese ‘ere pieces ye gives meh, der worth more’n a year’s wage, methinks… damned hells! Take ninety candles iffen ye wanna!” He drawls, then winks, saying, “Heh, looks like I owe the paladin a refund…”

“The nine candles shall do me fine enough, sirrah” Neshi relaxed his frown and said, “Well, mayhap if sometime, of a favor I am in need, I shall come to thee and thou’lt pay thy debt”

“Yeah, yeah, gerron wivvit alrea’y”, the taverner drawls as he hurries to pack the nine candles into a small burlap bag.

Neshi takes the bag of candles from him and checks if he had gotten the key to his borrowed room. His face flushes as he pats himself down and swears beneath his breath, “Misbegotten son of Seth!”

He leaps back to the table and prays a thousand thanks that it was still where he’d left it. What are ‘keys’ anyway, and, by Djauwety, are these things magical? Nodding his thanks to the scrawny man exulting in his ancient gold, he hurries up the stairs. Third door on the left… was that what she said?

He arrives at the third door on the left and stares at the doorknob and the lock mechanism below. He stares at it for a long while, then crouches and cranes his neck, inspecting it from every angle. He tries turning the knob but the door won’t open. He fumbles with the key and, after several tries at inserting it into the keyhole, finally succeeds. He turns the key with much trepidation in his heart and leaps back, gasping and astonished when the door opens. It IS magic!

He enters the room and finds that it is an affair made mostly of wood. Curtains dance from an open window and Neshi shivers with the night air. There is a large copper tub and a copper chamberpot in one corner. There are only around five square feet of open floor space. Pushed up against one whitewashed wall is a massive bed… or at least that is what it seems to Neshi for all that he had to sleep on back in the Sanctum were slabs of stone.

He inspects the bed more closely and is shocked to find that it is covered in various cloths and sheets of linen. Truly, these folk are rich beyond belief to afford so much linen but… how strange. Where is the neck-rest?

He tries sitting down on the bed and is shocked once more to find that he sinks into it. He pokes it with one finger and feels the softness of the fabric. He takes his dagger, cuts a small hole in the soft, fluffy thing near the headrest. He peers in and suddenly sneezes. Dear Djauwety! She spoke true, then--- ‘tis, ‘tis full of feathers! Most strange, these folk are, indeed…

Neshi frowns and drops his pack on the floor. He then takes off his all his arms and armor except for his ancestral khopesh. These he lays carefully on the bed, piece by piece, ending with the shield and helm on top of the neat pile.

He lays out eight of the candles in a circle. Taking his flints, he painstakingly lights every candle and murmurs a litany over each. Neshi continues his prayers as he puts away the flints and, cradling his sickle-sword on his lap, he settles into the center of the bright circle and begins to meditate in earnest.

“Hail to Horus-Re, King of Falcons
Praise Horakhe, Lord of Virtue and Vengeance
Honored be the Lily-born, Son of the Sun’s Scion
Gracious and loving, wonderful and mighty is
Horus-Aton the Sun-Sword and Scarab-Shield
Hail to Horus-Re, King…”

[Daiyanissa]

((OOC: Oh dear...hahaha.. im sorry, but that was so cute! (read spoiler) ))

Daiyanissa's face drained of all its color at the sight of a sword slashing through the wooden door, and the anger and pain twisting the once handsome face of it's wielder. She stepped back, to allow the door to open, only to find a quick change in the warrior. Once again... he was prostrating himself at her feet.

...."Sigh".....

She tip-toed closer to him, until she was beside his shoulder. So absorbed in his misery, he didn't even notice her movement until she touched his shoulder to rouse him from his sobs, when he jumped near 3 feet in the air in surprise. The corners of her lips turned up just in the slightest, trying to ignore the fact that he was near naked and that he cut the door to pieces.

"My My you are high maintenance, come on, get up," She grabbed his hand and assisted him to a standing position, Turning away to blush at his missing clothing."Umm, I hope you do not think me coarse or rude, but... would you like me to leave for a moment....while..you..." She clears her throat and looks to the Travellers clothes that she had sent up last evening, "Umm... put on some clothes?"

She moved away to turn around and looked at the room for the first time since she saw it the night before, gasping, she walked over to the bed and looked at the rips in the pillow and mattress. Looking at the 8 candles on the floor she was confused and angered.

((OOC I note that She is overreacting in the next few lines of speech))

"What the hell did you do in here last night!? Why is the bed torn to shreds?!", She turned to look at him with pure annoyance in her eyes, Turned to a metal grey in her anger and misunderstanding."Oh goodness, and there isn't even enough time to sew it back up.... We have to get going soon for the council meeting..." She took the covers and abrubtly tried to cover up the mess while Neshi got dressed, mumbling, 'Well i guess i owe the barkeep an extra two gold for this...'

[Miraqariftsky]

(OOC: Crash! Wait, was that the fourth wall breaking?)


Blazes of a thousand fires! I knew that she should have kept this room... a worm such as I is unworthy of such luxury... but then, at what price is this luxury... one's soul?

Neshi stands dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events. One moment he was slashing at a fiend, the next, he'd chopped right through his host's door and nigh into his benefactor! Truly, he feels wretched in his state of disarray.

"Stan' straight to attention!" He heard his father's voice, whipping him back to his senses and forcing him to attend to the task at hand. He quickly grabs a sleeved tunic from the top of the pile of Northern clothing that the maids had given him last night and ties it around his waist. Fumblingly, he takes a pair of breeches--- one that already had a gaping hole in the crotch, and thrusts his arms into the pant legs, struggling with his head. Finally, he gets a kilt and dons it over his head and on his shoulders like a coif.

"Report, damnit!" Neshi could practically feel his father's spray of saliva as he roared out at new recruits.

"I..." He starts. "I comply by thy request, milady, but for the life of me, I cannot decipher the mystery of the clothing of the North"

With that, he gathers up his kit and dons his armor... albeit clumsily, for the novelty of the new clothing is still quite an obstacle. At every item that he picks up, he murmurs soft prayers and bows toward the Eastward window. Finishing, he takes his holy symbol and waves it many times over the mangled bed, chanting in a strange tongue.

His preparations complete, he scrapes up the candle stumps, replaces them in the burlap bag that the taverner had provided him. His back hunches as he creeps through the door.

It is only when he is out the door that he tugs at Daiyanissa's arm and pulls her away from the room. Neshi struggles to control a shudder born of genuine fear as he whispers to her, a near-manic, frightened light in his eyes, "Cursed! That bed is accursed! It sucks you in and lulls you to the slumber of doom. It is cursed! Cursed, like the dreaded K'wek nar D'nas 'tchar! Cursed, I tell you, cursed!"