Shadow Academy: Progress is progress, I guess

I got a bit more done on Shadow Academy last night, despite being exhausted and unfocused. It's not much, but it's more than I had so I'll take it. (And it's still, basically, the story of a young man going off to magic school and what happens there.) I've also, in the interim, found recommendations for two more books in that same genre: 

• It Ends In Fire by Alex Schvartz, in which a young woman enters Wizard School for the express purpose of taking down the whole of magical society.
• Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell, the story of the worst Chosen One ever in his last year at Wizard School. Intriguingly, this book -- the first in a trilogy -- appears to have grown out of another book of hers, Fangirl, in which the main character is heavily involved in the fandom for the trilogy. 

I haven't managed to read either one, yet. (I'm finishing something else first.) But once I do, these two are next up on my list. (I may add Fangirl as well, if I enjoy Carry On.)

I feel like a lot of people are processing their thoughts about the Harry Potter books right now; it's been long enough to get some distance and perspective on them, and perhaps the author behaving badly has also caused a lot of people to reexamine them. I don't know, but I don't see that as any reason not to write my own Wizard School book. 

Duendewood vs. Solari 2: Negotiations with the Abbess

"Werendril," said the Abbess, "this is Ellywick. Ellywick, this is the paladin Werendril and the druid Shondrelle. Ellywick is our librarian."

Werendril bowed to the robed gnome. "A pleasure."

"Likewise, and very much so," she answered, studying him. "You're a true elf?"

Werendril nodded. 

"But you're not the father of...?" she trailed off, waggling her fingers vaguely in what might have been the direction of the practice yard. 

"No." Werendril shook his head. "Neither of them." 

"Yes, well, that would be a bit of all or nothing, wouldn't it? The Abbess tells me that you might have access to some historical documents." 

Werendril tilted his head and lifted his gaze to regard the Abbess. 

Hilda smiled. "The treaties," she said. "The ones that those adventurers obtained, the ones that form the basis for all those elvish claims to human lands. The ones that almost certainly aren't forgeries, no matter how much the King and certain nobles might protest. I think it might change things a bit if we, too, had copies of those treaties -- copies created and certified by an established historian from our order, and one or more from yours."

Werendril considered that. It made a sort of sense, though politics had never been his strength: the more well-established and widely available the documents were, the harder it would be for the aristocracy of Sol Povos to deny their existence or argue against their authenticity. A joint study wouldn't be unassailable, but it would be much harder to argue with than the claims of elvish scholars who kept the documents to themselves. "So what do you propose?" 

"I would like to send for a scholar from Caristhium, with your permission. He is a well-known historian, and has a particular focus on Saint Margery. I would like to send him along with Ellywick into Duendewood, under your care, to look over the treaties and make copies for our archives here."

"Does he have a name?" asked Werendril, interested at this insight into the way the Temple of Amun functioned: they were merciful, they were charitable, and they were not at all above playing politics or even going into battle if it would better people's situations. 

"Domian Ulthres," answered the Abbess. "Do you know him?" 

Werendril had heard the name, but that was all. He shook his head. "Not really. Enough to have heard him discussed, not enough to have an opinion about him." 

Hilda smiled. "Well, for my purposes what matters most is that he's an established scholar and a full-blooded human, without any particular political axe to grind. Pair him with an elvish scholar of similar standing, and while they might quibble over details I expect we'll get a firm assessment of the facts. Let Ellywick add a voice that's neither human nor elven but has an eye for the work of the divine, and..."

Werendril nodded. "It's a good balance, one that comes from both sides. Hard to take issue with something like that. Which is not to say that some on both sides won't try."

"They will," the Abbess said, "but anything that slows our headlong rush to war is all to the good. And while you're there, you can deliver my proposal to Sar Nathlinel."

Werendril glanced at Shondrelle, who nodded firmly. "Very well. So you want me to conduct these two scholars back to Duendewood, and try to arrange such a study?" He'd need his master's help for that, and possibly the weight of the entire order, but he thought it could be done. The Order of the Golden Bow served Corellon, and Corellon would desire above all else the preservation of the elves. 

"Just so," said Hilda. "I also thought I might send a couple of others along, to help protect the scholars. A priest and a paladin, perhaps."

Werendril raised one finger and opened his mouth, then sighed and let his finger drop. "In the meantime, your people will help funnel our refugees into Duendewood?" 

"We would do that anyway," said the Abbess. "I only regret that we didn't see the need for it earlier."

Werendril turned to look at the painting of the monastery. To his left, this felt very much like the right thing to do, and held the possibility of achieving some considerable good in the world. To his right, it was not going to please the human king -- or, very likely, the paladins of Helios -- or some of the political factions in Annun; they might all be condemned for treason, each by their own people. And that was leaving out entirely the possibility of having to introduce the wizard Baethira to the mothers of her grandchildren, a prospect that frightened him in an entirely different set of ways. Still, it was a task that needed doing, and it had fallen to him. He nodded gently to himself.

But it was Shondrelle who stepped forward, met his gaze, and nodded back. Then she turned and half-bowed to Ellywick, and finally she turned to the Abbess Hilda. "You entrust your people to our care," she said. "We value that. We will not disappoint you."

Werendril swallowed, then nodded. "Corellon grant it be so."

Apparently they were going to do this.

Sar Nathlinel is the head of the Exalted Order of the Bow Made Golden by the Touch of Dawn... erm, the Order of the Golden Bow... and Abbess Hilda Sturmgart's proposal to him is essentially a non-aggression treaty between the paladins of Corellon Larethian and Temple of Amun (which includes both the paladins of the Order of the Titan King and the priesthood of Amun). Essentially, they will avoid each other on the battlefield and may assist each other in healing the wounded and protecting bystanders. Abbess Hilda is entirely serious about trying to prevent the war and rescue everyone they can in the meantime.

It was July 20th in-game when the Abbess sent for Werendril; he arrived around August 5th; so the expedition back to Duendewood will probably leave the Temple around August 10.Which means that Ruin is not going to learn about the existence of his children until at least then, probably closer to August 20, unless... Oh.

Duendewood: The Battles on the Waves

We’re on the boat on our way back to Annun, and we’re under attack. There are two dire sharks in front of the boat, and something huge and skeletal under the boat. “Brace yourselves!” cries Ruin, as the skeletal thing moves towards the bottom of the boat. Captain Halmar is calling instructions to the crew. The sharks appear to be acting in a coordinated fashion to redirect the boat. 

Tentacles pop out of the water. 

One of the arms grabs Azrael, inflicting some negative levels on him. Ruin hacks one of the arms off. Martini casts False Life on herself. Grand Elder Keishara drops a flame strike on the vampiric kraken’s head, injuring it somewhat. Eva reassumes her dragon form and takes to the air. Azrael uses Dimension Door to escape the tentacle, and thus frustrates a vampiric dire shark that was moving in for a snack. 

The Kraken then grabs Ruin, inflicting negative levels on him. Geddy and Martini both turn invisible, and Keishara drops another flame strike on the Kraken’s head. Ruin tries to Dimension Door out but fails. One of the sharks promptly dominates him and he starts dog paddling towards its mouth. Another sailor gets dominated and dives into the second shark’s mouth. 

Invisible Geddy drops Cure Serious Wounds on the vampire kraken’s head, becoming visible in the process. Martini makes use of her slippers of spider climb and heads straight up the mast, then moves down to try to retrieve Ruin. Eva drops another flame breath attack on one of the dire sharks. 

Azrael finishes the vampire kraken with Disintegrate. Martini Water Walks over to Ruin and Dimension Doors him back into the boat and drops the bar across the door. Azrael keeps using empowered Scorching Rays on one of the sharks. We pound on the sharks a bit more, and they finally give up and swim off. 

So at this point we need Restoration for both Ruin and Azrael, and there’s only one way to get it: from Sascha/Kroni. Geddy goes to Kroni, who’s shouting threats and epithets, Dominates him, and sends him into quiescence. Sascha, temporarily back in charge, takes time to rest and pray for spells. 

We rest. 

The next morning is the Second of May, and Sascha is ready to cure Azrael. The next day he’s able to restore Ruin. So we’re back at full strength a couple of days later when we realize that we’re being pursued by another ship that’s closing on us. It… doesn’t have sails, and it’s moving faster than we are. It also has to be after us; there’s nothing else on the water, and it’s not being coy about heading directly towards us. 

We go ahead and cast Death Ward on everybody and drop some other prep spells. Geddy and Eva take to the air, Geddy on his Ebony Fly and Eva in dragon form; they use Invisibility Sphere to vanish. 

A dragon leaps off the enemy boat and comes flying towards us, though not at full speed; it seems to be hanging back. Geddy and Eva are looking to see how the boat is propelled but can't tell. It seems to be some sort of magic.

Four Blasphemes teleport over to our boat. Keishara drops Flame Strike on them. The enemy dragon “Drak” comes tearing over towards us. The blasphemes rip apart four of the sailors, and the others flee towards the back. 

Drak flies closer and throws a fireball at those of us on the poop deck. The sailors who had retreated back here get immolated. Ruin attempts to Dimension Door onto Drak, and succeeds, thoroughly distracting the dragon. 

Martini grabs Captain Halmar and the First Mate, and Dimension Doors them down under the decks. She grabs Sascha’s equipment and dumps it out, then opens his cage. “We need your help!”

Azrael, meanwhile, is high in the air and uses an empowered Scorching Ray on one of the Blasphemes, which does a ridiculous amount of damage but doesn’t actually kill it. Geddy keeps moving towards the enemy boat. 

Drak now has an elf on his back. He tries to shake Ruin off, and mostly succeeds; but Ruin catches a claw and starts climbing back up. Azrael drops an empowered Fireball on the Blasphemes, wiping out the wounded one and injuring the others. 

Sascha is now out and pulling on his armor while the others help. Eva gets into position beside the enemy boat as Geddy continues approaching. 

Geddy casts Rainbow Pattern and becomes visible, but fascinates all but one of the enemy wizards and warriors on the foredeck of the EvilBoat. 

Up in the air, Drak tries to bite Ruin but fails. And begins flying higher. Much higher. “All right, you want to fly, sub-creature???”

The Blasphemes start scuttling around the deck, looking for living creatures. They’re still close enough together that Azrael can drop a fireball, so he does. Down in the hold, Martini turns Captain Halmar invisible. 

On the other ship, Kaz steps into a pool that’s been set up on the deck; a cloud comes overhead, and he hits Geddy with a lightning bolt. There are also some wizards on the poop deck of EvilShip, and they send a bunch of magic missiles at Geddy. Eva, meanwhile, scorches the foredeck and immolates almost everybody there, and even tags the Kaz for some fire damage; a Mirror Image springs into existence for him. The one remaining barbarian shoots an arrow at Geddy, who collapses and falls off the ebony fly and into the water. From the rear deck, two troopers turn magical ballistae to fire Acid Arrows at the young dragon. 

Drak is still heading up into the sky, intent on dropping Ruin from as high up as possible... 

Ruin Dimension Doors back down to the poop deck of our boat, leaving Drak way up in the air by himself. 

The Kaz tags Eva with a Ray of Enfeeblement, but she breathes fire again and kills him and another guy on the foredeck. The ballistae hit her again, but she moves down next to where Geddy fell. 

Drak realizes that Ruin is gone, and dives towards the boat, aiming for Azrael. 

Ruin silvers his blade and moves after the Blasphemes. Martini and the others have finished getting Sascha armored just as the Blasphemes find their way down into the hold; she tumbles around behind him. Then she make Keishara invisible. 

Azrael looks up and sees Drak on the way down, tries to hit him with a quickened Ray of Enfeeblement but fails, and uses Dimension Door to get over to the other boat… where he promptly gets hit by all the magic missiles in the whole world, which is not quite enough to kill him. 

Eva plucks Geddy from the water and flies him back over to the other boat, taking a couple of more hits from the Ballistae on the way. 

Azrael drops Cloudkill on the front half of the boat, and drops down under the bow to use the boat for cover. (He's flying; he's been flying ever since the battle started.)

Ruin comes in behind the Blasphemes and tries to attack, but slips and instead throws his sword at Sasha. Sascha smites one of the Blasphemes and takes it out, then turns and smites the second one and continues attacking it. 

Eva manages to heal Geddy back to consciousness, and he makes the two them invisible again. 

Ruin takes himself over beside Sascha and picks his sword back up. (He's still invisible, and has been since just before he teleported onto Drak; Martini took care of it for him.)

Azrael’s Cloudkill is making its way across EvilBoat, tearing up the enemy forces. 

Drak, meanwhile, tries to pilot our boat and fails, sending us veering off in a random direction. Keishara, meanwhile, is an invisible bird who’s summoned a lightning storm and is dropping lightning bolts onto Evilboat. 

Sascha smites one of the Blasphemes and takes it down, then starts smiting the next one; it goes as well. Ruin returns to visibility beside him: “How do you feel about dragons?” 

Sascha: “Evil dragons?” 

Ruin: “Very.”

Sacha: “I’ve got a few smites left.” 

Ruin: “Then let’s take this thing.”

Eva drops her weakening gas on Drak, who’s still on the poop deck trying to steer our ship. 

Azrael throws Obscuring Mist above his head, where it will sweep back along the deck of evilboat and hide him from view next round. 

At this point, Drak sees Eva and Geddy; he flies up off the deck and tries to hurl a cone of sleep gas back at them. Eva shrugs it off; Geddy passes out. 

Azrael rises up behind his cloud and drops Black Tentacles on the back of the boat, capturing two of the ogre barbarians and the one remaining wizard. Keishara takes a moment to cure Sascha of some of the damage he took. The boat turns abruptly, but everybody manages to keep their balance. 

Eva shakes Geddy awake and breathes her weakening breath on Drak again. Ruin, meanwhile, has charged up behind it and hit it on the tail. Geddy hits Drak with Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, and he collapses to the deck, dragon-laughing helplessly. 

Azrael sinks back down out of the line of sight, leaving the tentacles to do their work. 

 

Eva puts Geddy down and jumps on top of Drak. “Don’t you hurt uncle Geddy!”

 

Sasha hits the dragon, and at this point we’re pretty much all just pounding on him. Ruin is carving him up when Martini -- who’s been studying the dragon for the last three rounds -- steps in and assassinates him. 

Over on EvilBoat, one of the wizards miraculously escapes the tentacles, only to stop as Eva the dragon lands on the boat. Then Kasheira hits him with a lightning bolt and he dies. 

The barbarian who had ducked down below decks comes back up and sinks his greataxe into Eva. 

Geddy heads downstairs to get Captain Halmar so we can have someone steering our ship again. The rest of us head over to EvilBoat, and Azrael comes up and blinds the barbarian with Glitterdust… right before Eva burns his face off. Sascha moves over to engage King Charth, the ogre, who moves in to attack him; Kasheira drops a lightning bolt on Charth. Charth bludgeons Sascha pretty thoroughly, but Ruin charges in from the other side and does some damage; Eva moves in as well and bites him. Kasheira drops lighting on his head. Sasha takes a 5-foot step back and lays hands on himself, healing a lot of the damage that Charth did. 

The boats are now just a couple of hundred feet apart, and more or less on a collision course; Captain Halmar finally takes the wheel of our boat again. 

Charth turns and tries to power attack Ruin, hitting… once. Ruin counters, and slays him as Martini finishes killing off the last of the ogres who are still trapped in the tentacles. The battle is over, and while our crew has been slaughtered we now have two boats at our disposal: one a traditional sailing ship, and the other magically-propelled monstrosity that we're absolutely planning to keep. 

 

We leave Captain Halmar and Grand Elder Kasheira to take our ship to a nearby island where they can recruit a new crew before heading back to Annun; the First Mate, Selussa,  joins us and takes over the steering of our new magical boat, which Ruin has tentatively named the Unwise Decisions. Our plan is still to stop at a point along the coast, then cross overland to where we can ambush the forces of Vecna as they try to bring the Apparatus of Kwalish through the jungle to retrieve the Hand of Vecna from the depths of Mar Dentro. We'll need to do this before the Hierophant Malefar arrives, because he's insanely powerful and he's likely to arrive with powerful lieutenants.

Duendewood: Captain Halmar

Our DM's take on recent events and setup for the next set of adventures... 

Halmar of Long Alley, an elf and a patriot, recently became captain of the Boner Galley, a ship whose fame grew with the day. It happened rather suddenly, just off Lighthouse Point. The Lord Provost’s band of spies and lackeys had been quickly rooted and replaced by Halmar and his crew, hand-picked by Ruin’s brother, Darvinin.

Standing at the gunwale, Halmar listened to waves lap at the hull of his vessel and stared across the deep blue ocean at a coast of tropical palms. A gust of wind rippled the sails and cooled his face, a welcome feeling after several days on Boiler Bay in the heat of early summer.

“Pirate’s point,” Selussa declared, walking up to stand next to him. She was his first mate and a damn fine sailor. “It seemed so fast. I suppose between the fear of being caught from behind and the adrenaline of the battle, we didn’t have time to stop and think. We just acted.”

Halmar turned to regard her with a grin, “You should have seen the look on your face when that dragon swooped in! I’m sure you shat your pants.”

“I did not,” Selussa said, leaning her forearms on the gunwale and pouting.

For several minutes, they stood in silence, as they had for many hours over the years on the open sea, staring at the undulating water. Suddenly, their reverie was disturbed by a crashing sound, followed by a snarl. Selussa turned but Halmar did not.

“I don’t like him,” Selussa said.

Halmar turned to follow her gaze. On the Fo’c’sle was an iron cage with a man inside. He was throwing himself against the bars, cursing and swearing vengeance. Three feet away, Ruin sat cross-legged, staring at the man with a stoic expression.

“Is he always like this?” Selussa asked.

“No,” Halmar replied, “Sometimes he’s coherent, claims he’s a man named Sacha. In those moments he’s a right fine fellow. Other times he claims to be Kroni, servant of the Dark One, and hurls profane curses at us, swearing that his master will be resurrected. In those moments he’s so beastly and carnal that he harms himself, rending his flesh and breaking bones in futile attempts to escape. It’s back and forth, but as we nurse him back to health I do believe we are getting more Kroni and less Sacha. Luckily, Geddy knows some healing so we’re able to keep him alive.”

Selussa shivered, “Why do we keep him? We should just kill him.”

“Geddy vouches for him.”

Selussa smiled, “Geddy helped me the other night, too. I had a terrible gash from our escape, and he used his magical hands to make it better.”

“Magical hands?” Halmar regarded her with a wry smile.

“Is it true about Ruin?” Selussa blurted, trying to change the subject.

“Ruin? What about him?”

“The girls,” Selussa said, “Is it true he…”

Halmar chuckled, “Oh yes, it’s true. Both of them. Just wait until Werendril finds out! How did you know?”

“Martini told me.”

“Ah, that reminds me,” Halmar said, turning toward the aft cabin, “I need to let the lady know that we’ve passed Pirate’s Point.”

-----

Laughter washed over Halmar as soon as he opened the cabin door. The common area of the Boner Galley was relatively large by naval standards, occupying most of the stern cabin, except for a small galley in the very back of the ship. It has been sparsely appointed when they acquired it, having been used to transport mindless skeletons, but Selussa had done a good job picking up a scattering of decorations at their various ports, and now the room was bordering on cozy. A round table occupied one corner. It was big enough to seat 8, 10, or even 12 people, but right now it had only three, crunched close together as if the rest of the table were unavailable. On his left, Martini and Lady Keishara were laughing hysterically, the latter with tears running down her face. On the right was Geddy.

“…and so I says to her, ‘Why don’t you have another drink, Kasadya? It’ll be our… SECRET!’ And she did, while I sat there and played my lute and sang my songs.”

“Oh my,” Martini gasped between laughs, “And they just stood there, while that ear splitting siren went off?”

“Well, you know, I just played a little louder is all!”

With this last punchline, Martini and Keishara broke into gales of laughter all over again.

“Oh, excuse me,” Halmar said, “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Halmar, my man, you’re not interrupting. Come sit with us!” Geddy flashed an inviting smile.

“Oh, no, Lord Geddy, I simply couldn’t…” Halmar protested.

“Nonsense. We are just about to get down to business and will need to be advised on naval matters. That’s why I saved you a seat.” Geddy gestured to a fourth chair, pulled conspicuously out from the table. A fourth cup of wine sat in front of it. Was it for him? Halmar’s chest swelled with pride and he quickly took the chair.

“Now, Martini, what were you saying about that journal you so deftly recovered?”

The lady of Dwint’lithar quickly regained her composure but smiled at the compliment. “Yes, it is Drachma’s journal. The most interesting part is here.” She pushed the journal across the table, pointing to a passage that Halmar couldn’t read, but pretended to. “Basically, they’ve discovered some sort of magical contraption called the Apparatus of Kwalish. He believes they can use it off Titan’s Reach to dive all the way to the bottom and retrieve the Hand of Vecna.”

“So that’s the sea monster,” Halmar exclaimed, “A magical boat, that sails under the water?”

“Exactly,” Martini said.

The door creaked as Azrael strode in. He took one look at Keishara and Martini huddled around Geddy, spun on his heal, and started walking back out. Halmar didn’t think Geddy noticed Azrael enter, as his attention seemed to be focused on the journal.

“And just how,” Geddy asked rather loudly, “is some kind of magical contraption going to allow them to dive so deep. Won’t the weight of the water crush it?”

Azrael paused, turned slowly, and tossed his hair back with a twitch of his head. “Uhhh, the metaphysical ether will lend durability to the hull.” He stared at them as if this were obvious. “The MORTAL forces of the water will be nothing, as their futile efforts to exact physical force upon the device will translate into entropic dissipation in the astral plane. Duh.”

Geddy grinned, “Azrael, I didn’t see you come in! How you doing, big guy? Are your arms sore after that sword fight? Man, that was metal!”

Azrael looked down and scuffed his foot on the floor. “No… not really… Yeah, it was pretty metal.”

“You were awesome,” Geddy said, and gestured to Martini to continue explaining Drachma’s notes. Azrael looked around furtively and quietly made his way to the table, choosing a seat as far from the two women as possible.

“Well,” Martini continued, “the next few pages explain that this device is simply too heavy to transport by magical means –“

“Duh,” Azrael said.

“Right,” Martini continued, “As I was saying, it can’t be transported magically, so they had plans to sail it up the coast and walk it across land.”

“We must go back,” Ruin declared, stepping out of the shadows. Keishara let out a small scream and both Martini and Geddy jumped. They looked at each other across the table with alarm.

“Whoa,” Azrael exclaimed, “You’re getting kind of scary, dude.” He nodded his head appreciatively, “Metal!”

Ruin strode to the table in two steps, causing the occupants to lean back reflexively and give him space. “Look, they already have the Eye thanks to that scheming Provost. We can’t let them have the Hand as well!”

“We don’t need to go back,” Martini declared. Ruin gave her a skeptical look and she explained, “Look, it doesn’t do them any good sitting in their basement. They have to move it, and we know where they’re taking it.”

Ruin’s face lit up and he strode over to Martini, who pushed a pile of papers to the side so they could look at a map. They began pointing and talking excitedly.

“That song,” Keishara asked, “Is that what I heard in the castle?”

Halmar had been humming. “Oh, apologies, my lady. I just picked it up somewhere.”

“I like that song,” Azrael said, looking up for a brief moment before returning his gaze to the table directly in front of him.

“Yeah,” said Geddy, “That’s what I was playing for our good friends in Wellfort.”

“I heard it from my cell,” Keishara said.

“Did you like it?” Geddy asked.

“Yes!” Keishara, Azrael, and Halmar all responded at the same time.

“Well, we need to talk strategy now, but we’ll get back to the song later,” Geddy said.

“Oh?” Halmar asked, flattered, “You’ll play it for me?”

“I’ll do better than that, Captain, I’ll teach you how to play it!” Geddy gestured to the lute on his back.

“I should like to see that!” Keishara exclaimed flirtatiously. It made Halmar blush.

“So, they must go to Titan’s Reach and we will slay them there!” Ruin exclaimed.

“Impossible,” Martini said, “Malefar will lead this expedition personally. And he’ll have protection. This isn’t like Drachma, this would be suicide.”

“Quite a long walk for a hierophant,” Geddy mused, giving Azrael a knowing look.

“Yeah, no way,” Azrael said matter-of-factly.

“What are you talking about, big guy?” Geddy asked, locking eyes with Azrael.

The room was quiet and Azrael squirmed in his chair, “Just, he wouldn’t do that.”

“Why not, big guy?” Geddy asked.

Azrael tossed his head to the side, flicking the hair out of his eyes. “I mean, he’s a total badass -- totally metal. If I were him, I’d just make my underlings do it, and I’d teleport there like a total badass.”

Ruin stared at Azrael for a second, walked over, and pulled him out of his chair in a giant hug. “You beautiful, brooding bastard! That’s brilliant!”

Azrael plopped back down in his chair ungracefully. “Yeah, whatever.”

Ruin paced around the room excitedly, “It’s brilliant. We know exactly where they’re going! And there’s no way the Hierophant is going to spend several weeks hiking through that dreadful jungle. It will be guarded by his underlings when it’s en route!”

“You sure earned those scrolls your sister valiantly snuck out of Drachma’s library,” Geddy declared.

“Yeah… thanks, Farta.” Azrael said begrudgingly. Martini beamed for a short moment before regaining her composure. Geddy caught Halmar’s eye and gave him a knowing wink.

“It’s perfect,” Keishara said, “They won’t have a choice, and we’ll be on our home turf in the forest.”

Geddy turned and took the grand elder’s hand, staring deeply into her eyes, “Sadly, no, my lady. Your king needs you, as daggers point to his throat from all directions. Though it thins our ranks of competent companions, we must lose you for the greater cause.”

Martini seemed to take a hint and took Keishara’s other hand. “Geddy’s right, Grand Elder. Though it breaks my heart, it must be this way. Please give my love to my mother, and tell her that I honor my father’s spirit by doing the business of all Sol Povos.” Keishara’s chest puffed out with pride and she nodded in silent agreement.

“Well said, Lady Dwint’lithar,” Geddy declared.

“And you, Captain Halmar,” Martini turned to face him, “You must take the creature alternately known as Sacha and Kroni to Lady Baethira and our own Hierophant, Saeledhel. They can advise us on what must be done with him.”

Halmar felt a fire burning in his breast and knew that he would sail the Boner Galley to the very gates of hell to complete the quest he was just assigned. “I will, my lady.”

“Great!” Ruin exclaimed, clapping his hands in the excitement, “Then it is decided!”

“Huzzah!” Geddy raised a toast, downed his cup and pushed himself off the tall chair. On small legs, he made for the door, grabbing Ruin’s arm on the way. “Come, Ruin, let us talk of fatherhood and apple pie!”

“Of course!” Ruin replied, “Wait, what?”

Keishara, Azrael, and Martini followed Geddy out the door, but Halmar remained for a moment, finishing his wine. On the deck outside, he could hear Geddy singing, and others joining in. It was the Rains of Wellfort, the song he’d been humming earlier.

Words of wood and words on high, ancient blood still runs through
And ours is pure and true my foe
As you are not my friend

And so she spoke, and so she droned
That lady of Lith’laur
And now the treaty lies unsigned
With no one there to see

Yes now the clouds kill o’er his halls
As all lay there to see

Duendewood vs. Solari 2: Priests and Paladins

"I don't think we're in any danger, here," said Werendril, "but I still want you to be cautious... and polite. The Abbess has offered an alliance of a sort, or at least a chance for our Orders to work together. I don't want to spoil that. If you're going to look around, travel in pairs and stay in the public areas. I'll be--"

He broke off, because Alviaris had met his eyes and looked significantly over his shoulder. Turning, Werendril beheld a woman in white and bronze robes standing at the far end of the short corridor that held their cells. There was a scimitar on her belt and an uncertain look on her face. 

"...How may I be of service?" asked Werendril, after a moment. 

"Ah--" she swallowed. "Are you Werendril? I'm Aesa. I'm sorry to interrupt." 

Werendril straightened. "I thought I was supposed to meet you in the morning." 

She shrugged. She was round-featured, barely into adulthood: one of the half-elves born of humans and common elves. It was suddenly easier for him to imagine Ruin taking an interest, especially if she'd been wanting to learn to fight. "I couldn't sleep," she said, "so I came to see if you were still awake." 

"Well... very well. Shondrelle, if you would? The rest of you find your places; we'll be back soon."

Shondrelle nodded and fell in behind Werendril as he approached the half-elf priestess. Her wolf sniffed the air again, and gave a peculiar half-whine as they neared the newly-raised cleric. He could hear doors opening and closing behind him, as the rest of the troop dispersed. 

"How well do you know Ruin?" he asked, as they reached her. 

Aesa shrugged, and-- was that a blush? "Not that well," she admitted. "He was only here for a couple of days. Would you walk with me? I'll bet Anica is still awake, too."

Werendril considered, but the cleric had already put her back to them and was starting down the hall. It was either a show of perfect trust, or extreme naiveté. "As you wish," he said. "Who's Anica?"

"She's my friend. A paladin of Amun -- human, if that makes any difference." She glanced back, and Werendril shrugged; he wasn't sure if it did or not.

"How far are you along?" asked Shondrelle. 

"About four months, a little less," said Aesa. "Anica, too." 

...And that was when Werendril stumbled over a perfectly flat stretch of polished stone floor. "Because of Ruin?" 

Aesa glanced back, but simply smiled and said, "Yes. Both of us. Not on purpose, exactly."

This is not possible, Werendril thought, and then immediately afterwards: Unless it is... There was something odd about the girl, a faint nudging at the back of his mind... "You worship Corellon, too?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm a cleric of Amun," she said, "but my father is an elf, and I worship Corellon too. I think this might have been His idea, but He hasn't said." She shook her head and grumbled fondly, "They might have conspired against me." 

Werendril's mind spun, and he barely managed to follow her around the corner without walking into it. Ahead of them, a human woman was standing in front of a wooden door, longsword belted at her waist, swordbelt adjusted for the slight swelling of her belly.

"Anica?" called Aesa, and the other woman turned. 

"Aesa," said the human, and there was relief in her voice. "There you are." 

Aesa smiled at her. "This is Werendril, and... was it Shondrelle?"

Shondrelle nodded and smiled. "It was, it is. The wolf is Sweetfang."

Anica just nodded back. "Good to meet you as well, Sweetfang." She looked at Aesa, looked at Werendril, and then shook her head. "Why don't we step out to the practice yard? The walls have ears, in here." 

Werendril looked from one to the other, trying to see it. He could barely imagine Ruin encouraging someone to enter the priesthood. He couldn't imagine his cousin laying with a human at all. And yet... he didn't think they were lying, and he didn't think there was any confusion. So, "Let's," he said. 

The practice yard was a large, open area near the center of the monastery; statues at the corners had been imbued with light, but at this hour there were only two human priests practicing with staves, and they took one look at the approaching group and quit to the far side of the field to rack their weapons and towel off. 

"Do you mind if I ensure that we're all honest?" asked Werendril. 

Anica and Aesa exchanged a glance, then Anica said: "I'd welcome it, and I'll add mine to yours."

So Werendril cast Zone of Truth, and Anica repeated the invocation and added another layer of it. It was still distantly possible that one of them might be able to shake off the magic and lie, but it wasn't at all likely. And for all that he wanted this confirmation, Werendril didn't think they were lying. "So," he said, "apparently you both know Ruin, and apparently you're both pregnant by him? I trust you'll understand why I find this hard to believe?" 

"Because he's amazingly cranky and thinks humans are just the absolute worst?" asked Aesa, and Werendril thought, Yes, she's either met him or someone's given her very good information, before he remembered that he'd just cast Zone of Truth and the odds of her trying to deceive him were vanishingly small. Then they launched into their accounts of meeting Ruin, sparring with him, trying to kill him, seducing him, hitting him, asking the gods for help because of him, seducing him, and seducing him again. 

"I see..." he said at last. "I believe you. It's just..." He shook his head. "You took advice from a bard about how to properly apologize to a true elf?" 

Anica shrugged. "It's not as if I didn't like the idea," she said. "It's not every day someone just rips my sword right out of my hand."

Apparently Ruin didn't dislike the idea either. He still had trouble picturing it -- Ruin, laying with a human? -- but Ruin had always had a way of upsetting the table, placing all the game pieces into new and unexpected positions. Perhaps literally, in this case, he thought, and then firmly turned his back on that particular mental image. "So you're both carrying his children. That's... does he know that?"

They exchanged glances. "We're not sure. Probably not." Anica added: "I'm not sure the possibility even occurred to him."

Werendril spent a brief moment wondering if there was a spell that would let him slap the hell out of his cousin from miles away. He couldn't think of one. Corellon Larethian, help me out with this one. The answer that came back was just a sense of reassurance, a feeling that he would know what to do when it was needed. "So how much of a difficulty is this for you?"

Aesa shrugged. "The temple has a nursery. We'll raise them together. Just having the children isn't the problem. We're worried about what we don't know." 

"...Which is pretty much anything about what to expect when raising elvish children," added Anica. "And Ruin being a true elf, we're expecting... a lot of elvishness."

"That's not so hard," said Shondrelle. "They'll develop more slowly than you expect, but if you know that you can make allowances for it. And they'll be better at some things than you might expect, perhaps worse at others, but that is very much the way that raising children goes."

Aesa met her eyes. "Do you have any children?" 

Shondrelle nodded. "Three. My husbands are caring for them while I assist the Order."

Werendril crossed his arms and sighed. "I can get word to Ruin's mother, or his twin brother, if that's what you want. To Ruin himself, given time. Is that what you want?"

Aesa nodded. "I don't think it's fair not to tell Ruin, and the children should definitely know the rest of their family."

Anica added: "And we want them to learn the sorts of things that young elves should learn, too."

Aesa hesitated a moment, then added: "And if you're in the mood to do favors, well... my father is Jerivir Quindillan. He fled to Duendewood a year ago -- just before I came here. I'd like to know if he's well, and I'd like him to know that I'm well."

Werendil straightened. "Very well. Let me see what I can do." 

I'm thinking that Wood Elves like Shondrelle frequently marry in small clusters, as do wild elves. True Elves and common elves generally don't, but don't see anything wrong with the practice; Grey Elves, on the other hand, mostly consider it shocking and outrageous.

Also? I'm thinking of Aesa as being about twenty-six and Anica being about twenty-four, but given the difference in the way humans and half-elves age, Anica is actually more mature and something of an older sister to Aesa. She's also, in game terms, substantially higher level. 

Music: Dance With The Dragon

Dark Sarah:

Duendewood vs. Solari 2: Common Ground

Abbess Hilda was sitting at her desk, looking at a heavy, leather-bound book that lay open before her. The numbers there, carefully collected and arranged into rows and columns, confirmed her concerns. "Well," she said, "at least we don't need to dip into the reserves, yet."

"Not yet," confirmed Sister Tiva, a solidly-built dwarf woman in brass-colored robes lined with silvery gray. Though a perfectly competent priestess, Tiva's real skill was in her ability to analyze and balance the numbers, and her relentless attention to detail. "But donations are down, and likely to remain that way." 

"People are hoarding their money with the threat of war approaching," said Hilda. "They'd be fools not to." It was troubling, though eminently understandable. 

Someone knocked on the door, and Hilda sat back. "Yes?"

Birno opened the door and stepped inside. "Abbess?" 

She glanced past him into the antechamber, and said: "Oh. Yes, one moment." 

Sister Tiva was already closing the book and moving toward the door. "Tomorrow, Abbess?" 

"Get a good breakfast first," Hilda advised, and was met with a light laugh and a dismissive flick of Tiva's fingers. The dwarf never missed breakfast, and swore by the value of not trying to do math -- or anything else -- on an empty stomach.

Birno motioned the elves forward, and they followed him into the room. The one in front was clearly a warrior, dressed as he was in a suit of the thin, delicate-looking elvish chainmail and carrying a double-bladed scimitar on his back; the woman beside him was almost as broad-shouldered as he was, but wore a simple brown robe; a wolf walked at her side. 

"You must be the paladin Werendril," said Hilda, and he nodded. He was looking around, taking in the simple stone walls of her office and the three paintings that decorated them; then he turned back to the rest of his troop. 

"Wait outside," he said quietly. "We're in no danger here, and there's no call to crowd the Abbess. Shondrelle and I will speak with her."

Birno bowed immediately. "I'll fetch food and drink, then, and make sure the guest wing is prepared."

Hilda said, "Find Aesa and Anica, if you can, and let them know the elves have arrived."

Birno nodded at that and followed the scouts and paladins out into the antechamber, closing the door behind him. 

Werendril turned back to her. "I hardly know how to greet you, Your Grace." 

Hilda laughed. "You can start by dispensing with the formality," she said. "I am Hilda Sturmgart, or 'Abbess' if you must."

Werendril sniffed, but it was a sound of amusement; his lips quirked towards a smile. She'd read him right, then.

"As you wish," he said. "I am Werendril; this is Shondrelle, a wood elf of the circle of druids."

Shondrelle glanced at them, nodded, and went back to her study of the painting. It was a lovely piece of work, one of Akkora's best; a rendering of the temple atop its height, with all the colors of dawn in the sky behind it. 

"I'm glad you were able to come," she told him. "We have much to discuss, not least of which are several measures I have in mind to help protect both our peoples and ensure that our shared history is not lost."

"I am at your service," Werendril said, "though of course I cannot speak for the whole of my order. But -- if you'll permit me to put the personal before the professional -- am I to understand that Ruin recommended me for this? My master and I both were mightily puzzled by your invitation."

"Your master?" For a moment Hilda was confused. "Oh, yes. The Exalted Order of the Bow Made Golden by the Touch of Dawn uses an apprenticeship model to train their new paladins. Your new paladins. I'd forgotten."

Werendril glanced briefly away, then met her eyes again. 

Concerned, Hilda asked: "Did I say it wrong? I meant no offense." 

"No," said Werendril. "No, it's just that the Order took its name in nobler and more bombastic times. Nowadays most of us just refer to it as the Order of the Golden Bow. As to my question...?"

"Ah," said Hilda, and filed that away for future reference. "Well, several months back the Twice-born stopped here at the monastery. While they were here, the bard Geddy spoke with me about King Mythrandril and his political goals and hopes for his people. After they left, it occurred to me that I had been too focused on helping the people here, and remiss in looking at what might be done to discourage the likelihood of war and soothe the anger between our peoples. Ruin, as it happened, had mentioned your name to our newest cleric, so as a paladin and a friend to the Twiceborn I hoped you would be sympathetic."

Werendril frowned. "This would be the cleric that Birno said Ruin had... somehow helped to join the priesthood?"

"Yes," Hilda studied him, seeing the doubt in his expression. "Her name is Aesa."

"Forgive me," said Werendril, "but Ruin is absolutely the least religious person I know. He prays to no gods, makes no offerings or observances... I cannot imagine him being part of something like that."

Hilda offered a smile. "You should really have the story from Aesa, but my understanding is that he was actually trying to teach her how to fight. Your name came up when he was encouraging her to beat him over the head with a wooden sword -- to get her to stop pulling her blows, I believe."

Werendril said, "Oh," and his expression changed to something more speculative. "That... does seem possible."

"As I said, you should really have the story from Aesa; I'll arrange for her to meet with you in the morning. For tonight... Birno should be returning with food and drink, and I'm sure you'd like some refreshment and some time to think before we dive into the sort of political discussion that both our peoples might consider treasonous."

Shondrelle turned and smiled as Werendril rubbed at his forehead. "Yes, I suppose that might be for the best."