| Caseah Also with me: Esmerelda, Cauvin (as a unicorn), Selwyn
It came to pass that my friends went into the earth without me while I was engaged in the pursuit of studies that would increase my skills.
Chastity came to the door, asked me what we wanted, but I did not
Holly came to the door; her hair cut off and dressed in white robes. She looked tired and sad to me, but perhaps it was the state of my own mind that made her seem so.
She asked how it came to be that Cauvin had become a unicorn without a horn, but we could tell her nothing but that somehow Cauvin had been soul switched. Holly seemed able to speak with Cauvin in this new form, but I did not understand anything, and they did not tell me what they were talking about.
Holly impatiently told us that she was busy, trying to cast a spell regarding the authenticity of the man we had brought to her, but that the Galvin, the Druid of Loring Wood, would be here in the evening, and could possibly help.
And so we abruptly departed, each to our own task, returning to the Miller home in the evening.
The family was loading a wagon when we arrived; Esmerelda and Galvin talked about the issue. Galvin gave Cauvin a sprig of holly to eat and muttered a few words. I felt the pull of the druidic magic, but I could not connect to it. After fishing, Galvin said that Cauvin had about 3 weeks to live, to the next full moon, but that we must find his horn and restore him to health.
Selwyn suggested that perhaps Silveroaks might be able to help us, but Galvin said that no, the only thing that could save Cauvin was the return of his horn.
It came out that Aahz has the horn; and Galvin knew that Aahz had been a merchant from Felix Arabia.
“Do all the people look like Aahz on the other side of the world?” And then I realized how innocent and foolish a question that was, but Galvin answered kindly. “Aahzs was a merchant in life. He now works for a dark master.”
And Galvin continued with this suggestion: that we seek the unicorn Brightstar, who has a magic item, ivory hands that generate a coin of wishing once every moon. The longer the coin stays within the grasp of the hands, the wish grows stronger, and Brightstar has made it his life’s work to find those who poach unicorn horns.
And then Gavin gave us directions, a suggestion to find Brightstar, but I did not pay attention. Selwyn seemed to grasp the directions. Instead, I watched as Galvin wrought a spell that would allow Cauvin to speak the common tongue for 60 hours.
Galvin then gave us directions to a particular place in the Crystal Caves, where we should find a machine called the Tactile Digitizer, that would help us travel to where Brightstar lives.
I looked at him, puzzled.
“No, really. The Tactile Digitizer.”
“Huh?” And I continued to look at him in great bewilderment.
“That is the name it goes by,” he assured me, and continued to give directions. He wrote out a letter of introduction for us, but whether that will help us or not, I could not say.
Holly wished us well before she left, and I wished her Godspeed, and good luck. She did not seem to hear. She and Galvin rode towards the woods, and I prayed that they find the truth and no danger in those dread woods.
We boarded a boat given us by the Miller daughters. But in the end, we got off and decided to ride, for Cauvin seemed able to carry us all—truly, why shouldn’t he? We were a party of a human woman, a halfling man, and a cat.
When I boarded Cauvin, he shuddered, and turned to look at me. All amazed, he said, “What spell did you cast upon me? I feel so much better!” But I could tell him nothing. I’d cast no spell. I stroked his mane, and he shuddered again.
I should start to call Cauvin “she.” The unicorn body is female.
We traveled along the edge of the Darkwoods, following the river towards the Crystal Caves. For a while, we traveled uneventfully. In time, however, we came upon a slough, a place where the river had pooled and the ground was swampy. At the edge of the water we saw a creature laying upon the ground; tall, thin, hundreds of needle-sharp teeth, covered in algae, with about 10 spears sticking out of its chest. Around the body there were a dozen or more dead goblins on the ground, and a goblin shaman with 2 guards standing amongst it all. They raised their spears in menace, but as we did not approach them, they did not advance. We progressed quietly to Unda’s pool.
“The gifts are still here,” Selwyn commented—the gifts, I supposed, that they’d left for the fairy of the pool.
I’d never been here before; a large waterfall flowed here, and formed a pool. Following the pool to the base of the waterfall leads to a slippery ledge that leads behind the waterfall to the Crystal caves (expand this section to describe the awe-inspiring falls)
Esmerelda went first, disappearing into the spray.
Then Selwyn.
I clung to the cliff face, and slowly went forward. The ground was slippery and wet; the foam soaked me through to my skin. Upon crossing under the waterfall, I came into a cave, full of mirrored doors and walls; he surface of each door and wall was both translucent and reflective; it made me dizzy to look at them too long.
Selwyn agreed to lead. He’d made copies of the directions, gave a copy to me, and to Cauvin. He tried to mark the doors as we passed, but the doors somehow sloughed off the marks.
When we moved into the next hallway, the wind picked up. Selwyn continued to mark the doors, simply to be certain that he was counting the doors correctly.
When we stepped through the third door, the wind increased mightily, and the simple blowing sound that we’d been hearing began to sound distinctly of tinkling crystals. When we next turned, the wind became so strong that we could barely move forward. I covered my ears and began to cry, as much from pain and surprise as from the strength of the wind in my eyes.
We came to what seemed a dead end, crashing into the wall unexpectedly. Selwyn grasped wildly and found a passage. As we stepped into the hall, the wind dies, and we found ourselves in a room with a bizarre machine. It looked dwarven—beautiful to dwarves, klunky to the rest of it. Selwyn suddenly laughed: “This machine has all the styling as would apply to Oswulf.” We all laughed, our nerves needing the soothing brought by laughter.
Selwyn and I sat in seats; Cauvin in the back. Selwyn followed the instructions that Galvin had given him, the instructions to start it.
There was a clunk, and then a hum. I felt like I was crushed, compacted, and then I felt stretched, pulled across infinite space, then it seemed snapped back. It was shocking, and not really something I can explain. But when that instant passed, we were sitting on the edge of a lake, with a waterfall, the water coming as runoff from the snow melting from the twin peaks of the mountain. The forest that stretched down the mountain was quite thick; there was a ring of evergreens down the mountain, as described.
The air was quite cold, and I shivered. My clothing was soaked. I pressed close to the unicorn. We looked about, and saw a small cave with sign that read Number 1; Mr. C. B. Esmerelda crept into the cave, and we waited nervously out of sight. I huddled against Cauvin for warmth.
Esmerelda ran back. “There is a small house in there.”
After a few minutes dickering, we decided to enter the house, knock on the door, seek help to get through the forest. The door opened, and standing there was a creature that looked remarkably like an alligator. He was wearing stripped pants and a purple beret.
(Hep cat—Chucky Baby--with hot tub, dryer, hookah, blender, et cetera. Gives us compass)
(Wizard, painting picture—Bushyreign, painting with golden brush and easel)
(Ariel, lady on white horse, tells us that we are on the right track, sends men to check out bushyreign, there is someone following us, give greeting to brightstar, or once brightstar was her mount)
(Giant; we are hanging on tight to Cauvin as s/he runs. The giant is chasing us, throwing rocks, but we manage to get away)
(Leprechaun, can’t get jar open; I fiddle with jar and get covered with green slime. Selwyn knows what to do. I tried to remove it with a stick, scraping and scraping, pulled my pants off to et it off before it gets to my skin; Selwyn pours oil over my hand and sets it afire, it takes twice burning to kill the slime. Selwyn heals me, but my hand is badly scarred. We get the pot of gold)
We find a ring of evergreens; Selwyn climbs a tree to ascertain that it is a circle. As we enter, treant speaks to us, threatens to kill us, but persuaded t allow us in.
Ring of flowers, beyond that a circle of stones, and there within was a young unicorn. Snowball. He lets us rest there; and as I spoke with him, I ran my hand down Snowball’s neck. The unicorn looked at me and said, “I love you.”
Between Cauvin and Snowball, I sat and waited for Brightstar, that he might be of help to Cauvin. And it was warm, sitting there, sandwiched between those two great beasts. Snowball laid his head upon my lap, in some sort of strange bliss, and we waited.
In time, Brightstar returned and, upon seeing his son with his head in my lap, became greatly angry and demanded that I walk and talk with him.
When we were well away, Brightstar turned to me and asked, “Are you worthy?”
I was puzzled. “Worthy?
“Worthy of my son.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Brightstar looked at me oddly, and then asked, “Have you lain with a man?”
I was too surprised by the question to be modestly reticent at such an inappropriate question. “No. I’ve never slept with a man.”
“My son has chosen you.”
And Brightstar tried to tell me then about the bond between unicorn and maiden, and that it was now time for Snowball to begin adventuring; Snowball had chosen me as his maiden.
I trembled. I never asked to be responsible for the molding of such a rare and great creature. And I understood that I must remain virgin for 8 more years; how can I be a priestess of Sune without knowing the fullness of love?
We returned to the others, and Brightstar told Snowball that I belonged to him, and that he belonged to me, and that it was now time to depart from the safety of Brightstar’s home. Snowball protested, wanting to stay with his family, but Brightstar was firm.
Brightstar heals my hand of the dreadful scarring, and sends us on our way. How we will get back without access to the basilisk's machine, I do not know. | comments: Leave a comment   |
| Esmerelda runs ahead to warn Holly that we were bringing Roland back.
We stood at the gate, waiting patiently. Is it possible to be patient while one is fidgeting? Roland doesn’t look too good. But at last Holly opened the door.
“Is this him?” Holly asked.
The cat looked at Holly as if the woman was a dunce. “No,” said Esmerelda, “this is Selwyn; you know him.”
Holy gave the cat a hard, impatient look. Holly lets us bring him in; she doesn’t believe it is him: too young, no scars. Nonetheless, she heals him as best she can with a potion she has. I listened quietly as Esmerelda related the story; Selwyn Ever hungry made himself at home by entering Holly’s kitchen and preparing the breakfast. Brodie grabs the armor off the horse.
Holy, looking upon it, still is not convinced. She says it might be the Shadow Druids.
Shadow Druids?
Holly explained: a sect that believes that there is no way that civilization and the wild can co-exist, thus they believe that civilization be destroyed. They cannot be distinguished from regular druids.
Was the green druid a Shadow druid?
Roland and Holly battled a Shadow druid upon arriving in Spring Green; they have been enemies since.
I began to be angry as I listened to Holly deny this gift. “A man sold his soul to get your husband back!” I snapped.
“All the more reason to believe it is not really Roland. ‘Twas Shadow that brought this man back.”
As we discuss involving the Gods, Oak Father, Earth Mother, Selwyn brings in breakfast. Holly won’t be convinced, and I sense a growing frustration and impatience among the party members.
Roland sleeps on; we eat, Holly leaves to contemplate.
***
In time, Hope & Chastity return, and are amazed to learn that their mother has gone to the shrine. Selwyn tries to explain the situation without revealing that the man unconscious before the fire is Roland.
I watched Brodie carefully; he has a hard time keeping secrets. I could see him struggling, but he managed to refrain from blurting out the whole story. He went with Selwyn and the other men to help the girls unload the wagon, for they had brought many supplies home for a party of some sort.
I crept to the fire, watching Roland sleep. I bit my lip and stroked his hair. Kay sold his soul for this man. How can I bear it if that gentle knight sold his soul for nothing, merely to be the key in the machinations of great evil? He murmurs a bit, but there is nothing else.
Holly returned, and told us that she needed us to get some earth from inside the cemetery that had contained Roland. For a moment, it seemed to me that we could just do so tonight, for it is 3 days past the full moon, but Selwyn reminded me that it was the three days of the full moon rather than 3 days before and three days after.
I had disremembered.
And because I was dwelling on my poor memory, I did not really hear what plan was being worked out among the other party members to get us there and back without having to wait for the next full moon. All I really understood was that the Miller family would be able, amongst them, to create a magical item that would hold moonlight, and spread out properly and in the right place, would be a gateway to this world.
I agreed to the plan, not really understanding what I was agreeing to. Chastity is to come with us, to help protect us. Selwyn breezily assured Holly that Chastity as protector would surely be enough, for had we not come back and forth through the Dark Woods several times? And at that moment, I felt a great anxiety. I hate the Dark Woods.
The others argued about a Wish spell that is apparently a part of this plan. I mostly kept out of it, for it was my own impatient wish that left us without a number of key possessions. Times like this I thank Sune that Selwyn is easy-natured.
In time, Selwyn spoke his wish, and it was an easy wish; he received all his possessions back.
Holly and some of the others went to prepare the needed items. I briefly considered returning to the temple in this time. We had been up all night, though, and I sat for a moment by the fire, and drifted to sleep.
***
Chastity woke me after some time; we had a cold lunch and headed towards the Dark Woods upon some horses Holly leant us. The other three Miller daughters followed us—Faith, Hope, Charity—and they were to wait outside the forest for our return. When we come from the Dark Woods, we’ll stop, and let the girls find us. This, they felt, was the safest course of action.
So I rode upon Swish Tail, a fine mount, beautifully maned. Funnily enough, Brodie rode upon Bumpkin.
As we rode, Charity began to mutter and question the need for this trip. “We are doing other things!” she complained. “We don’t have time for this!”
Brodie blurts out: “We are doing this to find out if he’s really Roland.”
I groaned aloud; I could not help myself. In moments, the Miller girls surrounded Brodie, demanding to know everything, and Brodie told them everything in excruciatingly detail. This slowed us tremendously.
And Selwyn turned upon Brodie when he was done relating this; calm though his voice was, he was chastising Brodie, telling him how he should modify his character, how he should control his wayward tongue. And again, I found myself suddenly angry, but I held my bitterness, and contented myself with a moody murmur: “Selwyn, you sure are good at telling people off.”
Selwyn snapped back: “Yes, when it concerns the safety of the party.”
But any argument that might have arose between us was diverted as the Miller girls came to us and announced that they would not do as they had been directed, they would follow us and go into the crypt that had once held their father. And so there was a stir and some yelling as the young Miller women insisted upon accompanying us and we insisted they not go.
But when Chastity blithely announced that there was nothing to fear, as she is a Paladin of Lysander, I threw my hands into the air, thought to myself, “Good Luck, sweetheart,” and said aloud, sharply, “Enough, then, let them come. They are adults, and it is not our job to protect them.”
We entered the Dark Woods as dusk was falling.
***
Once well in, we filed a crate with earth, and then we held hands in a circle, used the walnut. Faith stayed back with the horses; I was surprised.
The world swirled and spun; when all cleared, we were back in that dreadful cemetery.
When the world clears, we are before the graves, and digging in fresh graves are some sort of undead creatures. I thought to myself, I shall turn them! But then I thought, let that Charity take care of them. She is so very sure that she can take care of anything.
And apparently I was not the only one to feel so. Selwyn urged we walk on and leave them to their business. Chastity said, no, let us take care of them! And Selwyn told her calmly to go ahead and take care of them.
Shocked, Chastity asked, “Are you not going to stand with us?”
And we agreed to do so. Chastity cast a spell and, yelling “Sunrise!” created a glowing ball of bright light that made the ghouls scream and writhe in agony.
Esmerelda ran forward, enlarged, and attacked one; I saw the ichor spew forth. So also did Brodie hit; Selwyn shot.
I raised my symbol and screamed; I felt the voice of the goddess flow through me, and her strength empowered me, and 8 of the bastards ran.
And then Chastity called upon her goddess, and turned those who were not burning from the spell. Between Chastity and me, we controlled them well enough for the others to track and kill the ghouls and ghasts.
The stench of the burning flesh was terrible. I wished desperately for a sweetbag, to hold it to my nose and ease the pain.
Brodie wanted to fill the box with the dirt loosened by the ghouls; he did his best to make sure the dirt was clean. I don’t know what for, and I cursed my momentary lapse of attention when the plan was devised.
As soon as Brodie finished the task, Esmerelda suggested that she get a walnut from the tree, that getting a walnut would allow the Miller girls to come back later rather than deal with the crypt now.
Esmerelda, upon returning to her regular size, charged the tree; the squirrels shot her with arrows. But she got to the tree, and began to fight with the squirrels. She killed one, and the other missed her; she jumped over him. She managed to get a fruit in her mouth, and tried to knock a clump of nuts to the ground, but managed only to knock one away.
She was under such attack; I yelled “Esmerelda! One is enough!”
But it was too late; a squirrel stabbed her from behind, and she slumped, and fell from the tree. Brodie rushed up and was shot; he fell to the ground. Walter sprinted back into the cemetery; I frantically tried to untangle my sling.
Charity stopped me: Let us tie ropes around ourselves and run in. We’ll throw ourselves upon the cat, and even if arrows hit us, Chastity will be able to pull us back.
I tied the rope around me as quickly as I could. Charity finished first and sprinted in; as I tried desperately to catch up with her, I saw an arrow hit her, and she fell to the ground. I ran, feeling panic push me. I reached Esmerelda; as I threw myself to the ground, I saw the nut about 10 feet away. I tucked Esmerelda under my arm and low crawled towards the nut, but just as I was about to grasp it, I felt two small stings, and I began to black out. With my last thought, I tried to tighten my grip on Esmerelda and despaired of keeping hold of her.
***
When I came to, I was back in the Dark Woods; Faith was bringing the horses. Hope looked terrible, and Esmerelda was with us. Thank the gods, all were alive, but some appeared so weakened, and those of us just awakening from the poisoned arrows
Suddenly we were surrounded by little fluttery butterflies; they swarmed around Selwyn, Walter, and I and I felt all my spells discharged.
We traveled on; out of the darkness came a voice that cried “Stand and deliver! Dismount your horses or you shall be killed!”
We dismounted. A man strode out of the darkness, wearing the tattered tabard of the Knights of (?); men, I later learned, were well known for their brutality. He demanded that we pay a ransom for our passage. I looked around desperately; we had nearly nothing of worth.
He grew fiercer, scowled. “What have you got? Otherwise, we can always sell you as slaves!”
Esmerelda murmured, “Sleep with him.”
I knew she did not mean it, but what else had we to offer? My spells gone, my personal items of no value, my body exhausted from a long night of trekking and the after effects of the drugged arrows! I stepped forward and desperately cried, “I’ll sleep with you!”
The man literally stopped in his tracks and his jaw dropped to the ground. He was speechless for some minutes. Finally, he said, “No one has ever offered that. I… I have to check! I shall be right back!”
None of us moved as the man disappeared. While we could see no other “knights,” we were all aware that we were surrounded. The occasional rustle of leaves and branches, the vagrant exchange of words: they were out there.
The man came back, bringing with him two other men. One of them, the leader, introduced himself as Sir Rhineburg. He seemed taken with the idea, told me that if I pleased him and a couple of the other men, that he would let us go. In my stomach, I felt great apprehension; these were unscrupulous men. Sune could manifest through me, and still they would say they were not satisfied.
“What if I don’t satisfy you?” I asked.
“You think you won’t?” the captain of these ruffians asked in return.
“Of course I will,” I replied.
“Then you have nothing to worry about.” He answered.
I glanced surreptitiously at the other women with us, for the Miller women certainly exceed my own beauty, but I saw them quietly stepping back, pulling their hoods more fully over their faces. Then they meant to let me suffer and sacrifice alone! Bitches. I will not forget this.
And so I expected to submit; I bowed my head. Perhaps Sune meant to use me as an instrument to touch this man’s cold heart; this was my only hope. For a dreadful moment, I thought he meant to take me in front of my companions, as they stood around and were forced to watch, but he was only setting them up to be guarded. As he led me away, I turned, looked at Brodie. He was mouthing something.
What?
“Do you really want to do this?” he mouthed again.
I was weak. I shook my head: “No.” And I turned my head forward, walking towards this dreadful knight’s tent.
But then I felt the hand of a god not known to me, or the work of some great magic user, for suddenly we were all standing before the house of Holly Miller, delivered safe from danger.
I fell to my knees, weeping, and thanked Sune and whatever force had made this great magic manifest. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I dreamt.
I was drifting towards a sun in a sea, fire under the water, not doused, but the water kept the heat from spreading . The world around was dim and gray; the sun's light so very weak. Not much time left. Not much time.
I could hear the voices of the others, but I could not tell what they were saying. Sune would not yet let me return. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I was walking towards the Gray Minstrel Inn, looking to bring a healing poultice to Oswulf (although what that old dwarf would need it for I do not know), when Selwyn startled me. It had been only a short while since the red dragon had been seen from the ramparts by the watch, and I was still a bit tense. Red dragons only mean danger, and I have not forgotten our encounter with Aahz, nor what Selwyn had to do to remove the threat of immediate death from himself.
I was lost in my thoughts, and I jumped when Selwyn called my name. But I soon realized that it was only him; together we went to the Gray Minstrel Inn.
Along the way, he told me the tales of his time since we last saw each other. Apparently, Walter and Selwyn were not the only ones to have made a deal with Aahz. Esmerelda did so as well, and they'd been about Esmerelda's business, gathering up a sword that imprisioned the soul of Holly Miller's husband.
I was taken aback. He'd disappeared long ago; we all knew him dead.
Now, said Selwyn, those who were available to help Esmerelda were again gathering at the Grey Minstrel Inn. Wasn't it convienent that I was heading there, charged with a simple task and nothing more? Oh, an that dragon would be back in 30 days to get the answer to a riddle; if we could not answer, the dragon would raze the town. Apparently, the sword had been in the Dragon's belly. Selwyn sure can find dragons.
Nonetheless, I agreed to help.
We arrived at the inn; I set the poultice on the bar, unnoticed as Selwyn and Oswulf got into a verbal spar. Esmerlda hopped up and took the conversation over; meanwhile, Selwyn found a little dragon and became quite frightened. But the little dragon seemed able to calm Selwyn down, so I did not concern myself with it.
Oswulf, long ago, was near-swindled into buying this bar, for it is haunted, hence it's name. Oswulf hates the Grey Minstrel. And when Esmerelda told him that the next step in her journey required summoning the Grey Minstrel, I thought Oswulf would die of an apoplexy. We had to promise to get rid of the ghost.
For an instant, I thought to myself--oh! I can turn that ghost--and then shame at my presumption crept over me, and I was very glad that I had said nothing. One such as I! Turning a ghost! I felt my cheeks grow hot as I bit my lip and quietly watched Esmerelda negotiate.
To summon the Grey Minstrel, one must sing a song that has never been sung before, and so we sat down to write it. Esmerelda sung it, and it was strange, for sure and certain, to hear the cat sing.
The ghost appeared, a very jovial ghost, who wanted to add the song to his repitoire. Esmerelda told him that we needed information, and he told us a little of the story of Roland Miller, but in time, the ghost became stubborn, would tell us no more witout us giving him the song, without seeing the sword that was Roland unsheathed. I whispered to Esmerelda, "Tell him that you'll only give it to him if he agrees to disappear again." And so this is what was negotiated: the ghost agreed to leave for a year, and would tell us all he knew about Roland Miller in return for the song and the sight of the sword.
I grew very still in my soul as Esmerlda agreed; we have many deadlines about us now. Walter and Selwyn and Esmerelda with Aahz; The riddle of the red dragon; now Oswulf will have our hide if we can't find a way to banish the Grey Minstrel before he reappears in a year.
Nonetheless, we found out what we needed to know: there were four swords all together, and we needed to reunite them. The other three rested in the hands of the Banshee Knight, she whose name is not spoken--and I know the name, but Selwyn snipped at me when I was about to speak it--she who dwells by the faery graveyard, the grave yard that appears in the Dark Woods during the 3 days of the full moon.
The Dark Woods. My stomache began to hurt. Are we never not within it?
***
In the morning, we gathered and assigned ourselvs tasks. Esmerelda went off to seek the assitance of Nova Moonstones, while Selwyn, Theodrick and I tried to get help from Dr. Nym.
The doctor was of some help to us, giving us a magical walnut that would transport us back to the graveyard, wherever it might be, and selling us thirty-six vials of holy water and beeswax to stop our ears. He suggested we find the help of a powerful cleric before going. I agree; I am no match for a graveyard full of undead fae, much less a banshee.
But we must do what we must do, and so we set out on the first night of the full moon. Nova cast a spell to give us a path through the dark woods, but that is all she could do for us, and we entered the Dark Woods.
We walked for quite some time. I was tired, stumbling a little, and I fell behind. I head a little sound, and I looked, and I saw a man in green armour, apparently relieving himself. stood there, stunned. Many odd things have I sen in the Dark Woods, but never did I expect a knight in green armor to be blitely pissing in the woods, his attention so copletely on his task that one such as I could creep on him unobserved. I crept in a little closer, to get a look at his sword. It was stuck in the ground, and it had wings on the handle.
I grasped it gently, curiousity getting the better of me. I head a little voice asking, "Are you going to take it?" But no, of course not: even if I was a thieving sort, I could not use it. So i crept away and then ran back to my companion.
We saw also a devil worlf cub caught in a trap. Esmerelda wanted very much to rescue it, but we dissuaded her; the thing is evil, and would only devour us in return for its freedom. And a little while later, we ran into a woman named Blaise. She asked us about what we were doing, an I started to tell her. We could not stop, our time so limited before the sunrise, so I told her I would tell her only if we would continue moving, for we could not stop. Selwyn nudged me hard, though, when I started to share the story of what we were doing, and I quieted from that moment. But Blaise followed us anyway.
And again, we walked, but we ran into a small encampment, found a knight by a fire. I looked at the shield upon his horse, blue with yellow keys, and before I could contain myself, I wondered aloud: "Sir Kay?"
The knight looked at me, surprised, and confessed that he was, indeed, Sir Kay. He was, he said, looking for the Questing Beast, and had become seperated from several of his companions.
I recall the stories of my childhood, the tales my brothers would tell me by the fire, and I recollected the story of Sir Gawain. "I saw a green knight some while back, could he be..."
Sir Kay was very exited, and asked about the sword. I confirmed it, and told him where I had seen the knight, told him that I'd touched the sword.
Selwyn rounded on me, berating me for doing such a thing, and I cringed away from Selwyn's voice, for I realized that, in my impetuousness, I'd don something foolish again.
But Sir Kay's voice thundered across Selwyn's, ordering Selwyn to cease his chastisement. I straightened up and looked at the knight with wonder. He then invited us to camp with him.
And so I told Sir Kay that we could not stop, that our own quest needed to be fulfilled this night. Sir Kay then decided to join us.
He lifted me on his horse.
Something happened as I looked down on him, as his hands moved from my waist and I watched him prepare to mount the horse. For the first time, I felt safe, and very suddenly, I understood precisely why so many people come to worship Sune.
We began again to move towards the faery graveyard.
We arrived perhaps an hour and a half before sunrise. To my dismay, I realized that Sir Kay had only cotton to stop his ears; I tried to give him my beeswax, but he would not take it. And, after puzzling over the words written on the gate, we entered the graveyard.
It was completely foggy. We tried very hard to look for something in there, particularly something that would fit the description of the Grey Minstrel, of the thing without the gate. But there was nothing, nothing but fog, and when I lost sight of Theodrik for a moment, I suddenly panicked. How can we find anything? How can we protect ourselves? We don't have light, we have nothing but soundlessness and holy water.
Franticly, I pantomimed to Selwyn: Bury the nut, let's get out of here. Theodrick was also trying to say something, but I could not quite understand. When we got back to the gate area, I noticed Selwyn speaking to Sir Kay, who nodded and produced a rope from his saddlebags. Theodrick added his belt to the length, and we began to explore in a cresent shape from what we could tie the rope to, bu we could fine no thing. And with each passing moment, I became more uneasy and more uneasy. I can not protect us from a banshee. We need to leave.
In that moment, Sune grabbed my spirit out of my body. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | The sound of staves striking each other in defense lesson | | Subject: | The cave of the goblins | | Time: | 07:08 pm | | Current Mood: | ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) relieved |
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| It's been a long time since I have written. I've been busy. I suppose I should start with our last venture.
I was surprised when the companions came for me. After the last time we were out together, I hardly thought they would ask me for my assistance. I seem to do a very good job of getting us in hot water.
They came, nonetheless, and asked me to come with them, help them to place an early warning detection system of some sort to protect the town from the goblins. Holly Miller gathered the group and instructed them; I was not there.
And, had I truly understood the nature of the mission, and their intention to return again to the Dark Woods, perhaps I would not have gone.
It was Walter, Cauvin, Selwyn, and Joy that came for me. The white cat followed them. Selwyn kindly lent me his horse again, so that I could keep up and be no burden.
We rode off to the Dark Woods.
The trip was mostly uneventful. I quietly lagged behind the others, sometimes looking around for that great depression that had all those strange bones in it--the place whence came my club. The image of those giant bones still sometimes appears in my dreams. I did not really know where we were, how we were getting there; I have no tracking skills. I didn't want to be too close to the front; I don't want to make any more mistakes.
Eventually, I noticed that the group had stopped a bit ahead of me, and I reigned in the horse. Everyone appeared to be talking to a fox. I thought, after meeting that Elven cat the first time ever I went out, that such things as talking animals would not surprise me, but the sight of the fox speaking in the common tongue was a little unnerving, and then, when the white cat, Esmerelda, spoke back, I thought I would fall off the horse. She guards her secrets well!
As we were traveling, we found a smoking pipe lodged in a tree. Just, a smoking pipe. Lodged in a tree. I reached for it, then thought twice. I remember the blue bottle, and how smelling it gave me bark-like skin. I did not want to have to crawl back to one of the higher priests, or to Dr. Nim, begging again to have the effects of some magic removed from me because I was too foolish to refrain from trying a temptation.
But a small voice inside of me urged me to try it. I thought it some imp of my own making, but I surrendered anyway. The smoke was sweet and aromatic, and then it seemed to me that I heard the voice of Sune in my ear: Go ahead, she whispered. So I took a long draw on the pipe.
I was dizzy and blind for a fraction of a second, and when my sight cleared, I noticed the other members of the party were looking at me in surprise. I felt different, but I can not say in what way I felt different. Just... I felt different. One of the members of the party handed me a mirror, and I noticed that I looked ... different. I can't say how my looks differed, but they did, and the change was pleasant.
Esmerelda grabbed the pipe. But it happened opposite for her; her fur matted and she looked worse. Joy tried it and became stupid; Walter tried it and became foolish. I was worried; how could we do our job with half our party too foolish for words? Their mental lacks made my errors look like brilliant moves. Selwyn, though, his luck seemed good, and he became suddenly extraordinarily healthy.
But the Dark Wood has many strange things; it is almost like it is the dreams of man made manifest. We traveled on--and it was hard, dragging along foolish friends who wanted to do everything but travel--and came to a vendor, selling strange things. Not like Whitethorn, but a man in a striped jacket named Phineas Goodfellow, selling treats. I spent a little money on some chewy substance that is strong enough to hold an elephant; I bought 3. The others bought things that managed to cure their ailments.
The fox eventually led us to the goblin cave--or, at least, close to it. We crept up to the cave, but before we could really start our work, we saw a great Druid, all dressed in green, marking a stone in the Druidic Runes. A danger mark, he said, when we crept up and he spoke to us to warn us back, a note to let all the druids that come know that there are goblins dwelling in the cave. We asked him why only a warning for druids, but the man was cryptic, and disappeared over the ridge without answering, without even telling us his name.
We placed the warning system quietly, and without incident. We dropped acorns beneath the branches of a number of oak trees, and we left.
We dickered for some few moments about the best way to leave--the shortest way would be to head straight out through the Dark Woods, the safest way would be to head to the south, get out of the woods, and return to Spring Green in the twisty way that would be ours if we skirted the wood's edge. But as we finally decided and made a move to go, we stumbled on an encampment.
"Curse these damn woods and the spirits within!" I muttered sotto voce. There was a tent, like the traveling shows, and a funny little man who kept trying to persuade us to sign a contract with him, give us our wildest dreams if only we would bargain with him. He said his name was Aahz. Walter seemed happy to see him, but Selwyn and the others walked out of the camp almost immediately. Aahz tried to persuade me, asking if I would not desire to spread the worship of my god, not realizing, of course, that all the man-like races will come to Sune at some point or another. I backed away, and left, looking for Selwyn. I tried to persuade Walter, but he just shrugged and laughed. So I turned and walked away.
As I got closer to Selwyn, though, I noticed that he had this look of great fear on his face; a dragon was flying overhead. Selwyn passed me, heading back to Oz, and we all quickly followed.
Walter was making some deal with Aahz, a deal that would improve his skills as a mage. Selwyn was forced to do the same--Selwyn's marvelous health came from the pipe, yes, but it was stolen from the dragon. My heart dropped to my feet--did this strange new beauty flow from that dragon, as well? For the dragon was looking to kill Selwyn to get his health back. But Selwyn sold away his gains and promised some great sum of money in order to keep out of the dragon's eye. Esmerelda made some deal, too, but I did not really understand it. I thought that perhaps I would be forced to make the same deal with Aahz as Selwyn did, and while I did not want to lose this strange new aura, I did not want to die, either. But apparently Sune wants me to have it, for Aahz turned his attention from me, and sent us safely back to Spring Green.
When I returned to the temple, I got down on my knees in my private chamber and thanked Sune from the bottom of my heart for not requiring me to make a deal with that Aahz. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | The shound of the kitchen acolytes fighting. | | Subject: | Hello, world! | | Time: | 12:17 pm | | Current Mood: | ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/confused.gif) confused |
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| I'm thinking I'm not cut out for this.
It's always been weird, being a bit older than all the other girls in the system, being the only one who actually got Called, but this...
It's like doing 'shrooms.
So far, I've met a talking rabbit that gave me a clock that got stuck to my hands, smelled the fumes from a bottle that turned my skin to bark, and been chased around a crazy mansion by this iron man thing.
Like, WTF?
The clock thing, though, that had some amusing moments. To get my hands free, I tried sticking it under my shirt, and the thing stuck to my tummy. So there we were, in the middle of this forest, and I pulled off my shirt and posed with my arms in the air and yelled, "Look! I'm like one of those lady-ith-a-clock-in-her-belly thingies you see on people's mantles!"
It was funny, but I also got told in no uncertain terms not to be loud in the forest anymore.
We're supposed to go out again on Thursday. I don't know if we should. I don't think I'm cut out for this. Maybe I should just be a dedicant. | | comments: Leave a comment |
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caseah's journal