IC VIII Lost in the Flood

[CWater]

Rhenner just waits nearby, leaning his back to a wall and his arms crossed. He nods to Natalia when she translates, but doesn't join their conversation.

[Admiral]

Natalia translates to Rhenner unless Jandar objects, though her translation slows as she mulls over the implications of his words. So he was born deaf, and he still sees himself as unhindered and whole. And if she were born like this there would be no hope for her.

"I understand and I don't understand," Natalia slowly says and signs in response to his question. "You were born deaf, and dont see it as a disability. But I'm not entirely sure why. You couldn't hear me, but I can't speak right. I never could. I know what I want to say, but the words don't come out right. Even now with this spell my speech sounds wrong and it's hard to get the words out. I would give...a lot to be able to speak." To not be Nuts. "Why don't you?"

Jandar shakes his head as he begins signing his answer. "I don't focus much on what I can't do, I think about what I can." He taps a small, silver cylinder on his belt with the appearance of a telescope. "With this I can watch an orc camp from two miles away. I can watch every orc there for days, and read their secrets right off their lips. Would I have learned how to do that if I could hear?" He shrugs. "Probably not."

"Not to mention what you learn from watching faces close up. I mean really watching them. The Minister's file on your gnome friend said that he was a talkative sort. Did you notice he barely spoke today?" He leans in a bit. "Did you look in his eyes, and see that for weeks he's had trouble sleeping?" His eyes glint with a moment of odd mischief. "Did you know your eyes linger on Mithril long after she speaks, or whenever you're afraid?"

"If I could hear, I'd have learned other skills with my time. More useful skills?" He shrugs. "I don't know. Would it make my life easier?" He scratches his head. "Perhaps? Does it matter? If you could change how you felt about Mithril, would it make your life easier? Would you do so, if you could?"

[CoffeeIncluded]

Jandar shakes his head as he begins signing his answer. "I don't focus much on what I can't do, I think about what I can." He taps a small, silver cylinder on his belt with the appearance of a telescope. "With this I can watch an orc camp from two miles away. I can watch every orc there for days, and read their secrets right off their lips. Would I have learned how to do that if I could hear?" He shrugs. "Probably not."

"Not to mention what you learn from watching faces close up. I mean really watching them. The Minister's file on your gnome friend said that he was a talkative sort. Did you notice he barely spoke today?" He leans in a bit. "Did you look in his eyes, and see that for weeks he's had trouble sleeping?" His eyes glint with a moment of odd mischief. "Did you know your eyes linger on Mithril long after she speaks, or whenever you're afraid?"

"If I could hear, I'd have learned other skills with my time. More useful skills?" He shrugs. "I don't know. Would it make my life easier?" He scratches his head. "Perhaps? Does it matter? If you could change how you felt about Mithril, would it make your life easier? Would you do so, if you could?"

Natalia falls silent for a while, in deep uncomfortable thought. It's like her mind has run up against a wall. What she can do instead of what she can't...she's never thought that way before. But then it's not like being Nuts gave her much opportunity to look at what she could do with it. It drove her away from most of her town, taught her to hide in the shadows, forced her...

...to practice at the gears and ropes and machines until even Torin and Karik were impressed, to prove that she wasn't helpless and someone to talk down to, to sneak and skull and hide, and brought her to people who seemed to fully understand her (although Mithril's recent behavior is making her become a little worried).

"Growing up Nuts was...horrible," Natalia slowly says and signs. "But it led me learning the skills that make me useful to my friends. It led me to sneak, and to traps and machines. And now that you ask it, I don't know if I would have known them as well if I were normal. I wish I didn't have that, but...I never thought about it that way before. And I don't know how to entirely answer your question. But...even if I become more okay with it, I don't think I'll be content with it like you are," she adds almost as an afterthought.

Jandar's comment on shiny makes her look at Rhenner and Kurt in alarm. "I thought something was wrong, but he wouldn't say," she says an signs. "I hope he does. I tried talking to him...I'll try again. BEtter this time."

And then he mentions Mithril. Natalia goes still, and a red flus creeps up her neck and across her face. She smiles ruefully as she replies, "Is it that obvious? She...doesn't care for me the same way, and it hurts to see her doing this to herself and going through all this pain and having people hurt her and seeing her shut out everyone and I don't know how to help her or if I even can! And I don't know if any woman I ever fall for will ever feel the same way towards me." Her voice cracks a little and her fingers shake. "I want to help Mithril. And I also don't want to be alone. I done know if either of these things are possible." Natalia pauses. "I don't know if I would change my feelings either. Not if I can help her. But I don't know if I can." she pauses again, then throws up her hands in the air in frustration. "I do and I don't, but not quote for the same reasons as my speech. I'm sorry, but I don't have a good answer right now."

[Athedia]

Avaralynn nods with a sigh. "Boccob's magic is not concerned with good or evil, law or chaos- only with their balance. The girl who came to me with the Book of transmutation, who had trouble letting go of a lost friend: she could not have opened this. And though she was strong, and she was brave, I do not know whether she could make the choices you will have to make." The priestess thinks carefully as she cradles the Book of Boccob. "Or perhaps I am wrong. Your friends have walked a different path thus far... perhaps, for good or ill, I cannot see beyond my own choices."

"The friend you lost in the caves..." she asks suddenly. "Do you still think of him?" Avaralynn does not look at Mithril as she speaks.

Mithril stared at the ground for a little, the silence becoming unbearable. "Often. His death... I had encouraged him, let him play at fighter. When Morton died it was... normal. He had dedicated his life to fight, he knew he was likely to die doing so. But he... Henry. Henry was young and bold and had the world ahead of him. I should have done more. I still have... well I had his horse. Morton's horse too. But maybe the dwarves have eaten her now." She thought of him more than that, more than she wanted to admit. "I see his face in dreams sometimes. Just the frozen scream and the stump and nothing else. I didn't know then, but this path is beyond dangerous, and I can never leave it. But if I can keep people like him... maybe their fates will be better."

[CWater]

Rhenner leaves Natalia with Jandar as their conversation turns longer. It saves Natalia the trouble of translating for him, and is besides somewhat personal in nature.

He doesn't really know what to do with himself, he's not tired and doesn't feel like sitting in a corner waiting for the moment to leave. He could be hungry, but for whatever reason that is not currently registering. There is an annoying bundle of negativity swelling at some part of his mind, frustration? anger?, he doesn't really know. In any case, he has a strong desire to break something. But since he has enough sense to guess that damaging their host's property would surely not go well with him, and they were forbidden to go out (with frustratingly good reason), the troubled cleric ends up just wandering around the building, killing time that way.

[Cavelcade]

Coming around a corner he bumps into Kurt coming the other way, the dwarf muttering an apology, stopping suddenly. He looks at the cleric thoughtfully, nodding some. "Rhennar can I ask you some things about the journey? Things not important to the report but..." He struggles for words to explain and gives up, hoping he'll get the message in general.

[CWater]

Kurt's sudden appearance surprises Rhenner who had been lost deep in thought, and it takes a moment for him to return to reality and register what the other said.

"...Sure", he finally replies, rubbing his forehead, "What do you want to know?"

[Admiral]

Natalia falls silent for a while, in deep uncomfortable thought. It's like her mind has run up against a wall. What she can do instead of what she can't...she's never thought that way before. But then it's not like being Nuts gave her much opportunity to look at what she could do with it. It drove her away from most of her town, taught her to hide in the shadows, forced her...

...to practice at the gears and ropes and machines until even Torin and Karik were impressed, to prove that she wasn't helpless and someone to talk down to, to sneak and skull and hide, and brought her to people who seemed to fully understand her (although Mithril's recent behavior is making her become a little worried).

"Growing up Nuts was...horrible," Natalia slowly says and signs. "But it led me learning the skills that make me useful to my friends. It led me to sneak, and to traps and machines. And now that you ask it, I don't know if I would have known them as well if I were normal. I wish I didn't have that, but...I never thought about it that way before. And I don't know how to entirely answer your question. But...even if I become more okay with it, I don't think I'll be content with it like you are," she adds almost as an afterthought.

Jandar's comment on shiny makes her look at Rhenner and Kurt in alarm. "I thought something was wrong, but he wouldn't say," she says an signs. "I hope he does. I tried talking to him...I'll try again. BEtter this time."

And then he mentions Mithril. Natalia goes still, and a red flus creeps up her neck and across her face. She smiles ruefully as she replies, "Is it that obvious? She...doesn't care for me the same way, and it hurts to see her doing this to herself and going through all this pain and having people hurt her and seeing her shut out everyone and I don't know how to help her or if I even can! And I don't know if any woman I ever fall for will ever feel the same way towards me." Her voice cracks a little and her fingers shake. "I want to help Mithril. And I also don't want to be alone. I done know if either of these things are possible." Natalia pauses. "I don't know if I would change my feelings either. Not if I can help her. But I don't know if I can." she pauses again, then throws up her hands in the air in frustration. "I do and I don't, but not quote for the same reasons as my speech. I'm sorry, but I don't have a good answer right now."

Jandar catches Natalia's hand while it swings through the air, and pats it in a calming motion. His eyes are soothing, and he lets go of her only to sign a response.

"With your friend, I cannot help you. Though I have friends and colleagues, I have never minded being by myself," he replies. "But as for your voice, I think you may have accepted it more than you know. Here, I'll show you why."

Jandar swings his right hand in a motion that Natalia recognizes as the sign for the letter J. But as he does, he raises his left hand, and draws back the right in a motion that vaguely imitates an arrow being drawn from a bow. Through the spell Natalia recognizes this as the sign for archer.

"'Archer with a J'- that's my name sign, what friends call me," Jandar continues. "'Now you'll need one.'"

He raises his hand into the sign for "N", then makes a small twisting motion, representing the sign for a mechanical nut. Then he shifts his hand into what she recognizes as a "B", and moves it in a zig zag motion. Nuts with an N, Bolts with a B.

"If you hated being 'Nuts' so much," Jandar continues in sign, "I don't think you would have put it on your jacket."

Spoiler

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Mithril stared at the ground for a little, the silence becoming unbearable. "Often. His death... I had encouraged him, let him play at fighter. When Morton died it was... normal. He had dedicated his life to fight, he knew he was likely to die doing so. But he... Henry. Henry was young and bold and had the world ahead of him. I should have done more. I still have... well I had his horse. Morton's horse too. But maybe the dwarves have eaten her now." She thought of him more than that, more than she wanted to admit. "I see his face in dreams sometimes. Just the frozen scream and the stump and nothing else. I didn't know then, but this path is beyond dangerous, and I can never leave it. But if I can keep people like him... maybe their fates will be better."

Avaralynn sighs, suddenly looking old. "You do your friend well to remember him so. Your path may not be... 'good'... but that does not make it meaningless. I am glad that you know that."

The priestess puts her hand to her chin, and stares off into space. "I remember... so little... of what I once was. What do I remember, really? I remember the stars forming in the skies, the planet being forged, the first life being born. No, I am no immortal," she adds quickly, as if answering Mithril's thoughts, "though I am perhaps older than you would guess. These memories were not something I witnessed; they were a gift, the prize- and price- of my service to Boccob. As is my knowledge, however vague, of what is to come. Knowledge I would not wish on anyone."

She shakes her head and returns to reality, looking over at Mithril. "This reminds me. The story of creation that I told your friends, that is a... translation, of sorts. It is not how Boccob's most faithful speak to each other of the origin of magic; they tell the story a different way. Would you like to see it?" she asks, almost casually.

[Athedia]

Avaralynn sighs, suddenly looking old. "You do your friend well to remember him so. Your path may not be... 'good'... but that does not make it meaningless. I am glad that you know that."

The priestess puts her hand to her chin, and stares off into space. "I remember... so little... of what I once was. What do I remember, really? I remember the stars forming in the skies, the planet being forged, the first life being born. No, I am no immortal," she adds quickly, as if answering Mithril's thoughts, "though I am perhaps older than you would guess. These memories were not something I witnessed; they were a gift, the prize- and price- of my service to Boccob. As is my knowledge, however vague, of what is to come. Knowledge I would not wish on anyone."

She shakes her head and returns to reality, looking over at Mithril. "This reminds me. The story of creation that I told your friends, that is a... translation, of sorts. It is not how Boccob's most faithful speak to each other of the origin of magic; they tell the story a different way. Would you like to see it?" she asks, almost casually.

"Why offer to share this with me? I kept secrets from everyone, almost turned my back on my mission simply because of the Prisoner's voice, something I knew to be serpent tongued. I can not say I do not want to know, but now I wonder if I should want so much knowledge. But if you trust me with this, I would like to hear."

[Cavelcade]

Frowning, Kurt turns to walk with Rhennar in the same direction he'd be going, chewing on his words as he tries to work out what to ask. It's a delicate situation, but Natalia's request to talk has mad it feel a bit urgent he find out some more of what their quest was like, down in the dark. "...how were they, down there? I mean, I've heard the reports and what Mithril said but you were with them from when they started going down to when they came back up. How did they change? Are things really as dark as they make me feel?"

[CWater]

Frowning, Kurt turns to walk with Rhennar in the same direction he'd be going, chewing on his words as he tries to work out what to ask. It's a delicate situation, but Natalia's request to talk has mad it feel a bit urgent he find out some more of what their quest was like, down in the dark. "...how were they, down there? I mean, I've heard the reports and what Mithril said but you were with them from when they started going down to when they came back up. How did they change? Are things really as dark as they make me feel?"

"I'm not sure if I am the right person to tell", Rhenner replies, "I had just met you all just before we entered that place, so what I know I learned there. Whether my impression of them is true or fair, I can't say. The circumstances on that journey... were what they were."

"Still, if you wish, I can tell you about that so fun trip in more detail than there was time or need in the meeting before, and then you can judge for yourself if there is a change", while his tone is generally serious, he can't help the drop of sarcasm slipping into it.

"That I have noticed myself though, that Natalia seems to know and speak of a different Mithril than who I have met, although I suppose her judgment on the matter could just be... clouded."

[Cavelcade]

"I'm not sure if I am the right person to tell", Rhenner replies, "I had just met you all just before we entered that place, so what I know I learned there. Whether my impression of them is true or fair, I can't say. The circumstances on that journey... were what they were."

"Still, if you wish, I can tell you about that so fun trip in more detail than there was time or need in the meeting before, and then you can judge for yourself if there is a change", while his tone is generally serious, he can't help the drop of sarcasm slipping into it.

"That I have noticed myself though, that Natalia seems to know and speak of a different Mithril than who I have met, although I suppose her judgment on the matter could just be... clouded."

Kurt nods seriously at the words, his face registering no reaction in response to the sarcasm as he accepts the reasoning behind it. "That's part of why I wanted to ask you. You've only known them while they were down there, so you can tell me how they were without comparing it to some idea from the past. I..."

He rubs his face, a tired, troubled slump to his shoulders tells a story of days without sleep, nights without rest as he'd struggled with his own path out of the dark. "You remember the slavers I - we - had with us when we got to Deldon? It's...odd. I brought them out of a sense of...well, I thought they could be saved." Rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands, he grunts, shaking his head at his choice of words. "Or not saved ,maybe, just shown how to be better than they thought they were." He reaches into the pocket of his tunic and takes out a silver, engraved ring, part of a matching set he'd bought when he got to the town he'd been transported from. "Now Hilton carries one of these, and has others for if he can convince the others to stay. Something real, proof they can change for the better. For myself, you understand?" Turning a searching gaze on the cleric's face to see if he does. "A way of knowing you can be more than you started as."

Slipping it away, he stretches out, shaking the tiredness from his limbs as he prepares for the next challenge. "I didn't expect to come back to find that those two might have needed it more. Things seem balanced on a knife-edge...that's why I want to hear what you think of them. It's pointless to try and force a change but I want to know who these women have become."

[CWater]

Kurt nods seriously at the words, his face registering no reaction in response to the sarcasm as he accepts the reasoning behind it. "That's part of why I wanted to ask you. You've only known them while they were down there, so you can tell me how they were without comparing it to some idea from the past. I..."

He rubs his face, a tired, troubled slump to his shoulders tells a story of days without sleep, nights without rest as he'd struggled with his own path out of the dark. "You remember the slavers I - we - had with us when we got to Deldon? It's...odd. I brought them out of a sense of...well, I thought they could be saved." Rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands, he grunts, shaking his head at his choice of words. "Or not saved ,maybe, just shown how to be better than they thought they were." He reaches into the pocket of his tunic and takes out a silver, engraved ring, part of a matching set he'd bought when he got to the town he'd been transported from. "Now Hilton carries one of these, and has others for if he can convince the others to stay. Something real, proof they can change for the better. For myself, you understand?" Turning a searching gaze on the cleric's face to see if he does. "A way of knowing you can be more than you started as."

It takes a moment for Rhenner to reply. "That you gave them another chance, that you believed they deserved such, I respect that. Too often people only seek to punish, to have revenge. I hope, seriously, that they'll hold on to that promise. Change for the better is what gives me hope in this mad world."

Slipping it away, he stretches out, shaking the tiredness from his limbs as he prepares for the next challenge. "I didn't expect to come back to find that those two might have needed it more. Things seem balanced on a knife-edge...that's why I want to hear what you think of them. It's pointless to try and force a change but I want to know who these women have become."

The medic in Rhenner picks up the signs of tiredness and is of the opinion that some good rest would be better than tales that could give reason to more troubles, but this time it's overruled. "What to say...", he sighs. It's strange, to describe someone to their old friend. How to scoop up the scattered thoughts and memories and make something coherent of it?

Spoiler: OOC

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I'll continue once I get home, I'll need my computer for this.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Jandar catches Natalia's hand while it swings through the air, and pats it in a calming motion. His eyes are soothing, and he lets go of her only to sign a response.

"With your friend, I cannot help you. Though I have friends and colleagues, I have never minded being by myself," he replies. "But as for your voice, I think you may have accepted it more than you know. Here, I'll show you why."

Jandar swings his right hand in a motion that Natalia recognizes as the sign for the letter J. But as he does, he raises his left hand, and draws back the right in a motion that vaguely imitates an arrow being drawn from a bow. Through the spell Natalia recognizes this as the sign for archer.

"'Archer with a J'- that's my name sign, what friends call me," Jandar continues. "'Now you'll need one.'"

He raises his hand into the sign for "N", then makes a small twisting motion, representing the sign for a mechanical nut. Then he shifts his hand into what she recognizes as a "B", and moves it in a zig zag motion. Nuts with an N, Bolts with a B.

"If you hated being 'Nuts' so much," Jandar continues in sign, "I don't think you would have put it on your jacket."

Spoiler

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A name sign...Natalia hasn't really heard of them before, but even now she can tell it's somewhat significant. And as he signs the emblem on the back of her coat she twists her neck to catch a glimpse of the marking in the leather. He's right, though maybe not in the sense he's thinking, she realizes in a flash.

"I do hate the name, when people use it to call me crazy, helpless, incapable of anything," Natalia says and signs, twirling her finger by her forehead to show how people thought--and in some cases still think--of her. "But I'm good with machines. Nuts and bolts. So...if I couldn't stop people from calling me Nuts, then maybe I could take it and turn it from something I'm not into something that I am and something I can do. And that Nuts isn't so bad." She signs the name he gave her again again, the twisting metal and the jagged lightning bolt, and realizes that the signs are nearly identical in elven sign language and drow sign language. Natalia looks up at Jandar with a genuine smile. "I still want to speak normally, but this made me think about some things I never even considered. Thank you, Jandar." She starts to use his name sign, but only completes it if he indicates it's okay.

Spoiler: Admiral

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Is this okay? I rather enjoy this conversation; did you enjoy Natalia's side of it too? I'm starting to realize more that part of her identity is that she isn't quite sure of who she is, and is only figuring it out piecemeal.

Also, how many different sign languages are there? And you saw my PM reply?

[CWater]

"They are... complicated people, that much is clear", Rhenner starts, still trying to find the words, "Natalia... Most of the time she seems very nervous, and desperate to help anyone she thinks needs it. On the other hand, sometimes her fears get the best of her and she breaks. She's has strange manners and speech and ideas, but one gets used to those." There is a pause. "It's hard to believe that that worried girl is also a ruthless killer, and yet that is what she becomes in a fight. It scares Natalia herself, she wants to fight, but not lose her conscience. An admirable cause, in a way I suppose", Rhenner says and one side of his mouth twitches to a brief mocking smile, "And then she does things like shooting a running man in the back."

"Mithril... I don't understand. For the most part, she is cold, and apparently likes to keep her secrets. She can be ruthless too, and I fear at what lengths she would go, to reach a goal she'd think is important. She says she trusts no one, but it is hard for others to trust her either, or so I feel. Natalia keeps saying Mithril's a good person, yet I wouldn't put her in charge of a prisoner with information, for example", Rhenner gives Kurt a long look, "And yet sometimes she expresses sudden bouts of compassion and care, which suggests she's not completely indifferent to the feelings of others. First I thought she was a rational person, but later I started to wonder if she's entirely sane. She shuns from her comrades who wish to help, and then has no issue with dealing with a person who sends people to a fate worse than death." This memory causes his anger to resurface and he grits his teeth, staying silent for a while.

But the hard expression fades after a moment, a longish moment, but a moment nevertheless. "I'm being too harsh, maybe", Rhenner sighs apologetically and shakes his head a little, "And I'm giving you no context, which is not good either. Truth is I don't know where to begin, and reciting all the happenings of the whole journey would take longer than a rambling high priest's sermon."

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I don't want to Wall of Text too much, Kurt should have a chance to respond!

Rhenner is being a bit blunt, and his impression is maybe at fault in some regards. But this is how he currently sees things.

[Cavelcade]

"Mithril keeps her own counsel but she feels more deeply than she lets on. You didn't see her reaction to Henry's death...I wonder. I think it eats at her. She was afraid of her own power too." He pauses and looks at Rhennar speculatively. "They hadn't decided what they wanted to be before going down. Have they now?"

[Admiral]

"Why offer to share this with me? I kept secrets from everyone, almost turned my back on my mission simply because of the Prisoner's voice, something I knew to be serpent tongued. I can not say I do not want to know, but now I wonder if I should want so much knowledge. But if you trust me with this, I would like to hear."

"Even if that were true, this story cannot be betrayed so easily. If you have the power to perform it..." as she speaks the orbs of light around them lower towards the floor and dim. "...then you have earned the right to share it."

Avaralynn places her palms together in front of her. "The gods created mortals to be passive, powerless. We are created, then we are changed. We are consumed, or we are protected. We are commanded, and we are tricked. We are watched, then we die. That is all we are."

The priestess tilts her head forward, and opens her empty palms to face Mithril. "The Lord of All Magic made us more. He granted us power, the power to act."

"We create." In Avaralynn's right hand there appears a small white marble. Conjuration.

"Then we change." The marble turns to black. Transmutation.

"We consume." Avaralynn flattens her palm, and the marble is surrounded by a bright and dense fire. Evocation.

"Or we protect." The flame ceases, and yet the marble is unscathed. Abjuration.

"We command." Avaralynn tosses the marble outward, and Mithril reaches out and catches it, her hand compelled by something beyond her will. Enchantment.

"And we trick." The priestess shows her palm, the marble still inside it- and looking down Mithril can see she has caught nothing but air. Illusion.

"We watch." Avaralynn tosses the marble in the air so high it nearly bounces off the ceiling, and without moving her eyes she reaches behind her own back and catches it smoothly. Divination.

"Then we kill." The marble shrivels, until it shrinks to nothing. Necromancy.

"That is all we do."

The priestess gazes down at her now empty hand. "The story is a single spell... a deceptively powerful one, and one you cannot learn from books or instructors. It can be taught only to oneself. And as I said, if you can teach yourself to cast it, you have earned the right to share it." She hesitates. "I wonder... have you ever seen it performed before?" And in the oddest way Mithril feels the spell looked somehow familiar, though for all her efforts she cannot remember where she might have seen it.

Spoiler

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Greater Prestidigitation
Universal
Sor/Wiz Level 9
No V, S, M components

[Athedia]

"Even if that were true, this story cannot be betrayed so easily. If you have the power to perform it..." as she speaks the orbs of light around them lower towards the floor and dim. "...then you have earned the right to share it."

Avaralynn places her palms together in front of her. "The gods created mortals to be passive, powerless. We are created, then we are changed. We are consumed, or we are protected. We are commanded, and we are tricked. We are watched, then we die. That is all we are."

The priestess tilts her head forward, and opens her empty palms to face Mithril. "The Lord of All Magic made us more. He granted us power, the power to act."

"We create." In Avaralynn's right hand there appears a small white marble. Conjuration.

"Then we change." The marble turns to black. Transmutation.

"We consume." Avaralynn flattens her palm, and the marble is surrounded by a bright and dense fire. Evocation.

"Or we protect." The flame ceases, and yet the marble is unscathed. Abjuration.

"We command." Avaralynn tosses the marble outward, and Mithril reaches out and catches it, her hand compelled by something beyond her will. Enchantment.

"And we trick." The priestess shows her palm, the marble still inside it- and looking down Mithril can see she has caught nothing but air. Illusion.

"We watch." Avaralynn tosses the marble in the air so high it nearly bounces off the ceiling, and without moving her eyes she reaches behind her own back and catches it smoothly. Divination.

"Then we kill." The marble shrivels, until it shrinks to nothing. Necromancy.

"That is all we do."

The priestess gazes down at her now empty hand. "The story is a single spell... a deceptively powerful one, and one you cannot learn from books or instructors. It can be taught only to oneself. And as I said, if you can teach yourself to cast it, you have earned the right to share it." She hesitates. "I wonder... have you ever seen it performed before?" And in the oddest way Mithril feels the spell looked somehow familiar, though for all her efforts she cannot remember where she might have seen it.

Spoiler

Show

Greater Prestidigitation
Universal
Sor/Wiz Level 9
No V, S, M components

Mithril watched the story, mesmerized by it. "I don't know. It feels like I have, but in the same way that I know I dream. I have no memory beyond familiarity." Mithril thought back on the story. "In the magic I have studied, I have avoided the schools of Enchantment and Illusion, but I can not truely be in service to Boccob if I avoid them can I?"

[CWater]

"Mithril keeps her own counsel but she feels more deeply than she lets on. You didn't see her reaction to Henry's death...I wonder. I think it eats at her. She was afraid of her own power too." He pauses and looks at Rhennar speculatively. "They hasn't decided what they wanted to be before going down. Have they now?"

"That you must ask them, I cannot say. You may be right about Mithril though.. I remember her mentioning this friend who died, and the memory seemed painful to her. She seemed to think hos death was her fault."

[Cavelcade]

"It's something that must be seen I think. We'll see...hopefully." He sighs again, that of a man with a job he'd been putting off at last competed and then let's out a jaw-cracking yawn. "Ah, sorry. Now I really have to sleep. I'll talk to Natalia tomorrow..."

[CWater]

"Why? You look like you could well go for another full week without sleep", comments the forever sarcastic cleric, "Yeah, get some rest. I'm sure they'll hurry us back to the road soon enough." He stops, "Guess I'm caught in this mess now too", he says, sounding a little nervous, "And I thought I had run into trouble before... Now I know someone is plotting against half the world or so. Truth is, I feel like I'm far in over my head."

[Cavelcade]

Kurt grunts, then laughs and shakes his head. "Join the crew. I think if I stop feeling that way I'll have actually gone mad." Chuckling, he shakes his head a bit the thought.

"How else should a mortal feel when striving with the Gods?" His tone starts off light, but falls to a dark place by the word Gods, obviously something that weighs on him, though he doesn't give Rhennar a chance to respond as he turns to go to his room.

[Admiral]

As Rhenner turns away from Kurt, weighed down with concern about the mission and his companions, he is startled when he nearly trips over a gnome who bursts out from around a corner: he couldn't hear a trace of him approaching.

"Why, Rhenner Rightrider!" Shiny exclaims. "Here you are in a whole new continent and you haven't even bothered to go outside. What would Fargaffleliggle, patron god of tourism and ten-pin-bowling, think of that?" he asks disapprovingly.

[Admiral]

Mithril watched the story, mesmerized by it. "I don't know. It feels like I have, but in the same way that I know I dream. I have no memory beyond familiarity."

"Hmm..." Mithril cannot tell if Avaralynn looks disappointed or relieved.

Mithril thought back on the story. "In the magic I have studied, I have avoided the schools of Enchantment and Illusion, but I can not truely be in service to Boccob if I avoid them can I?"

"I don't know that I would say that..." Avaralynn responds thoughtfully. "It would not keep you from learning the spell. And the Uncaring is not one to tell his followers how to serve him."

"But I've found rewards in all schools of magic... indeed, even the divine magic so often neglected by his followers. It is a choice you should make for yourself."

[CWater]

As Rhenner turns away from Kurt, weighed down with concern about the mission and his companions, he is startled when he nearly trips over a gnome who bursts out from around a corner: he couldn't hear a trace of him approaching.

"Why, Rhenner Rightrider!" Shiny exclaims. "Here you are in a whole new continent and you haven't even bothered to go outside. What would Fargaffleliggle, patron god of tourism and ten-pin-bowling, think of that?" he asks disapprovingly.

"Thank you, I just almost had a heart attack", Rhenner replies, choosing not to comment on Shiny's mangling of his god's name, "But.. yes, in other circumstances I would take look outside, but as the Minister said, 'we are not really here'. I pray Fharlanghn understands." The cleric does seem somewhat chagrined of this fact though.

[Admiral]

"Thank you, I just almost had a heart attack", Rhenner replies, choosing not to comment on Shiny's mangling of his god's name, "But.. yes, in other circumstances I would take look outside, but as the Minister said, 'we are not really here'. I pray Fharlanghn understands." The cleric does seem somewhat chagrined of this fact though.

"Oh, 'we're not really here...', as if that makes a difference," Shiny scoffs. "If you play your cards right, you're never anywhere, or anyone, you don't want to be." Quick as a flash he casts a spell on a copper piece he's holding, and Rhenner feels the familiar sensation of Shiny's sphere of invisibility draping over them, hiding them both from sight.

"I've been here before, I know the way out," Shiny remarks with a mischievous grin. "Now's your chance to see the other side of the world, if just for a few minutes. No one needs to know; no paranoid bureaucrats or voices in anyone's head. What do you say?"

[CWater]

"Oh, 'we're not really here...', as if that makes a difference," Shiny scoffs. "If you play your cards right, you're never anywhere, or anyone, you don't want to be." Quick as a flash he casts a spell on a copper piece he's holding, and Rhenner feels the familiar sensation of Shiny's sphere of invisibility draping over them, hiding them both from sight.

"I've been here before, I know the way out," Shiny remarks with a mischievous grin. "Now's your chance to see the other side of the world, if just for a few minutes. No one needs to know; no paranoid bureaucrats or voices in anyone's head. What do you say?"

Stunned silence. This is a bad idea.. But it is a whole other continent.. I agreed we should not go anywhere, I can see the sense in that.. He's right in that though, that it's almost sacrilegious to be this far and not even take a look... But still...
Shiny can guess from Rhenner's changing expressions how curiosity and common sense fight over the matter. It's an even match, but when it finally comes down to it, curiosity has stronger leverage and gains the upper hand.

"Okay, fine. But not far away, just to take a look."

[Athedia]

"I don't know that I would say that..." Avaralynn responds thoughtfully. "It would not keep you from learning the spell. And the Uncaring is not one to tell his followers how to serve him."

"But I've found rewards in all schools of magic... indeed, even the divine magic so often neglected by his followers. It is a choice you should make for yourself."

"I used to insult them as tricks and manipulations, but those can be done with the tongue as well as a spell." Mithril shivered at the memory of the Prisoner. "I see their use now. All this choice, yet somehow I still feel trapped, like I am in an endless hedgemaze, except I don't think there is an exit." Mithril looked pensive before getting back to the task at hand. "You had a sending to do didn't you? Would you like me here or gone?"

[Admiral]

Stunned silence. This is a bad idea.. But it is a whole other continent.. I agreed we should not go anywhere, I can see the sense in that.. He's right in that though, that it's almost sacrilegious to be this far and not even take a look... But still...
Shiny can guess from Rhenner's changing expressions how curiosity and common sense fight over the matter. It's an even match, but when it finally comes down to it, curiosity has stronger leverage and gains the upper hand.

"Okay, fine. But not far away, just to take a look."

Shiny smiles his devious grin, then spins around and leads Rhenner down the corridor. The first door is locked, as is the gate they find at the bottom of the stairs, but Shiny's arcane spells make them open instantly. The cleric is concerned that Shiny makes no effort to move or speak quietly, until realizing that along with the invisibility Shiny has cast a spell to muffle their sounds.

The two sneak past a few guards; the compound is fairly well guarded, but after the challenge of sneaking through the Underdark this barely counts as a distraction. Within minutes, Shiny and Rhenner step out into the streets of the city of Hulburg.

They had left Marvell at the crack of dawn, and though Rhenner is well versed in how the time of day can vary between distant locations, he is still briefly surprised to find that the sun is now setting. Such a dance of time and space had seemed so theoretical to him before, as a student of the god of travel. The city is slowing down for the evening, with a few peddlers hurrying past them with sealed carts. The noise of a boisterous tavern floats to them through the air. The city is unimpressive by Eldgar's standards, with buildings shorter than Marvell's and far smaller than Cardonne's, yet to Rhenner the city could not feel more exotic, for every citizen that passes them by has their right hand bare.

"I do hate the name, when people use it to call me crazy, helpless, incapable of anything," Natalia says and signs, twirling her finger by her forehead to show how people thought--and in some cases still think--of her. "But I'm good with machines. Nuts and bolts. So...if I couldn't stop people from calling me Nuts, then maybe I could take it and turn it from something I'm not into something that I am and something I can do. And that Nuts isn't so bad." She signs the name he gave her again again, the twisting metal and the jagged lightning bolt, and realizes that the signs are nearly identical in elven sign language and drow sign language. Natalia looks up at Jandar with a genuine smile. "I still want to speak normally, but this made me think about some things I never even considered. Thank you, Jandar." She starts to use his name sign, but only completes it if he indicates it's okay.

Jandar smiles and bids Natalia farewell, and the rogue steps into the room that had been arranged for the party. She expected breakfast, but the food that is laid out on the table seems more suited to a late dinner. She reflects on this and realizes that with the time difference between here and Marvell, it must be late evening, and that in his paranoia the Minister would never arrange an asynchronous meal lest it give away the origin of his guests.

As she sits down, she glances at the crates containing their belongings, which have been stacked on the side of the table, and something catches her eye. In the corner of one box is an envelope she hadn't seen before, with her name inscribed on the front in a loopy scrawl. She immediately recognizes the handwriting, from the scrambled contents of Aicha's journal.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Jandar smiles and bids Natalia farewell, and the rogue steps into the room that had been arranged for the party. She expected breakfast, but the food that is laid out on the table seems more suited to a late dinner. She reflects on this and realizes that with the time difference between here and Marvell, it must be late evening, and that in his paranoia the Minister would never arrange an asynchronous meal lest it give away the origin of his guests.

Natalia's lost in thought at what Jandar said as she heads to the dining room, so reflective that she only barely registers the dinner laid out before her. It's odd, but after a moment it makes sense--if the sun moves across the sky then it's at different positions in different parts of the world at the same time. Though it's still a bit tricky to wrap her head around.

There's meat, and cheese, and vegetables, some sauces, and bread with chopped seeds and nuts. She takes a bread knife and carves out two slices of bread, then stacks one of them high with sliced turkey, hard cheese, vegetables (tomatoes and lettuce and squash, with some potatoes on the side), and then covers the whole thing with the other slice of bread. It's quick and easy to eat, and it looks like she could do it one-handed too.

As she sits down, she glances at the crates containing their belongings, which have been stacked on the side of the table, and something catches her eye. In the corner of one box is an envelope she hadn't seen before, with her name inscribed on the front in a loopy scrawl. She immediately recognizes the handwriting, from the scrambled contents of Aicha's journal.

That gets Natalia's attention. She's still holding the sandwich with one hand, but her other one snatches the envelope. She quickly inspects it, and if it passes muster she opens the envelope and reads what's inside while eating her sandwich.