Rashemen Book 2

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Atten wandered around the markets, a little aimlessly. He sold some of the herbs he had picked up from the forest as well as one or two rarer items he had harvested from his recent adventures with the Heart of the Earth.

What he really needed though were new boots. Usually he made his own boots from deer leather, which were fine for wandering around the forest, but really were not up to the rigours of travelling long distances.

 

As she waited Ciana decided to meditate, but found it difficult to achieve her center; it seemed flawed in some way as if a dagger had struck it leaving behind some stain. As she strived for peace, sweat broke out on her brow and dampened her mask; suddenly the voice of her friend Robin came to her "Linnet, my daughter you must seek a temple for help with your center".

As she surfaced from her semi-trance she involuntarily gasped "Corellon" she looked at the floor trying to ignore everything; she was unaware that Sepp had heard both her gasp and that she said before that "Robin, don't go"

 

Sepp had used his cloak to try and soak up Kelvados' blood. There wasn't much else he could do right now, until he or someone else figured out what was wrong with him.

He heard the wrapped lady gasp and say a name. He walked over to her and put his hand on hers. Something was pulling her away from herself. He connected with his mother through the crystal on his ring, firmly set at the center of the earth, and centered himself there. Then he let his spirit touch hers. Her spirit was losing its hold on her body, and grabbed onto Sepp's, firmly anchored to the earth. Whatever was pulling her yanked and tugged for a moment, then let go, and she fell solidly back into her center. She opened her eyes, and met Sepp's gaze.

[ December 29, 2005, 21:52: Message edited by: Scot ]

 

Boots, boots, boots. Atten wondered where he could find a good pair of sturdy boots in this place.

 

"Can you be sure that this lady is the same sorceress? She's probablly not." Jex whispered trying to comfort Del.

"I'm not under any spell. And I won't go with her if if matters that much."

 

Kelvados was still uncontrollably bleeding and Delinos was attempting to cast a healing spell upon him frantically. "Lionyt Quersera Baeita!" The blood seemed to slow a bit and Kelvados's eyelids flickered.

[ January 01, 2006, 18:53: Message edited by: Elwithral Irenicus ]

 

Nakia's sleep was unbroken and she awoke feeling rested. Dressing quickly she went down stairs just in time to see Jex and Del disappear through the Inn door, Kelvados lying on the floor bleeding with Sepp and Delinos trying to help him. There was a strange person sitting at table where she had first met Sepp and Jex.

It was obvious that something was wrong. She left Sepp and Delinos to deal with Kelvados and followed Jex and Del out of the tavern. Atten was no where in sight.

Coming up to them, "Jex, Del, what has happened?"

 

"It...it's nothing." Delphinae looked down, ashamed, then looked back up with intensity in her eyes. "Wait, you haven't talked to the sorceress, have you Nakia? You've had no dealings yet with the bald one?!"

 

"Sorceress? You mean that strange person in there? I didn't speak to anyone. Came directly out here. Sepp and Delinos seemed pretty busy with Kelvados. Saw you and Jex go out door."

Nakia takes a look through the door at the figure seated at the table. She was covered up with only her face showing.

"Tell me who she is, why you are so upset and what happened to Kelvados." Nakia spoke quietly and gently. She had never seen Del like this and it made her very concerned.

 

"Oh, thank Mielikki, you're untainted then! Don't be lulled by her words; even the most innocuous conversation with such a creature can be fraught with spellcraft." Delphinae grabbed Nakia up in a bear hug, and the halfling could feel the wetness on Del's face as she continued in a whisper, "Even Sepp's been affected, and I'm afraid Jex has too, even though he denies it. I'm so glad you're safe; I don't know if I could do this on my own."

 

Soft whisper back. "Let's take a walk and you fill me in." Then aloud so Jex can hear, "Del, I need to pick up some things. I'd like your advice. Do you have time? You can fill me in on what's happening as we go. Maybe we'll run across Atten."

 

Delphinae seemed to start as she realized Atten might be 'unaffected' too. Also realizing she was dangling Nakia of the ground, she gingerly set the halfling back on her feet and took her hand instead. Leading her away, she bluffed until they were out of earshot, struggling not to glance back at Jex. "Sure! I can show you some excellent leathers that Bendale has for sale, and I can spot an elven cloak at fifty paces. You want some new boots too? Oh, and I know this place that has the most glorious griffon-down slippers. I honestly don't know how she got the feathers, but you'll just die from comfort when you try them on."

When she was sure that they had left Jex well behind, her tone turned conspiratorial. "I don't know what the sorceress has done, if anything really, but their kind can't be trusted. When I was gone, after I'd hunted down the Fellowship, a sorcerer..." Del seemed to choke up at the memory. "He said he could help me, and his aura was clean enough. The other sorcerers I've met have been on the battlefield, but for some reason I decided to trust this one. He cast his spell after I agreed, but instead of helping me, it...it was so painful; I thought he would rip me in two. When I woke up, he was sleeping and another woman was nearby. I could tell she was the one who had hired him, so I ran as fast as I could."

Del shook it off and continued, "They can't be trusted. Especially not one who hides her aura like this one. I tried to read her with the Claw, but her aura rages so wildly; it must be a spell of concealment. It might even be the same sorcerer cloaked by some sort of illusion, come to take me back to his mistress. I don't know, but I won't go back to her. I just won't!"

 

"So she is an unknown quanity. We need to know more about her without falling under any spell. If we wander around maybe we'll come across Atten. He doesn't like villages and probably spent the night in the forest. He too is an unknown factor. Don't think he knows himself how much he has grown and what he might be able to do. His ties are to the forest and the earth. Hey he can turn into a squirrel. Maybe something small like that could get near her without arousing suspicion and get some information."

Nakia dances along with Del looking out for Atten.

"I'm glad you're along Del. There aren't many female adventurers and most of those are mages, clerics folks like that which make me uneasy. Sepp is me blood and very good. I hope the power never corrupts him as it has so many."

She sticks a hairy, thick soled foot out in front of her, "I don't need boots but a elven cloak would be nice if it was small enough. This land is cold even for me who comes from the North. It's warmer near the ocean."

She pauses and looks longingly to the Northwest then moves along with Del.

 

Jex stood confused. He watched Del and Nakia stroll down the road. He knew in his head that he should follow them, but he wanted to see what it was about this sorceress that set Del off so badly. So instead of entering through the front door again, Jex headed around back and entered through the kitchen. Nodding to the cook, he headed upstairs to his room. He was worried about the brothers but with Sepp they should be able to handle it.

 

Ciana's mind was in turmoil, thoughts kept tumbling around "I can't meditate", "I need to get to a temple" and "What's wrong with me" were chief amongst the spiralling confusion. She tried to think straight and to approach the problem(s) logically as Robin had taught her breath hitched as she managed to suppress a sob.

Calming herself slowly with breathing exercises she started to attack the problem, meditation was difficult her centre had been changed, altered in such a way that she hadn’t recognised nor wished to embrace it. Only one thing could have had that sort of effect on her, the Mage, at this thought a flash of hot anger tried to surge through her but she was almost prepared for it and suppressed it easily. She thought of what had happened with Torturus and all the pain, exquisite pain that he had caused; it was then that it hit her what part of the problem was she’d begun to enjoy the pain. Without consciously realising it she’d become used to his ‘experiments’ anticipated them and welcomed the pain, but at the same time her conscious mind had recoiled and almost hidden itself to avoid too much harm.

Now there was a strange dichotomy within her most of her was as before a carefree bard happy in her travels and gaining knowledge trivial, mundane or extraordinary, and of course assuaging her love of architecture and her search for rare books for Robin; knowing how much they delighted her mentor. But there was now another part of her, a darker side that revelled in pain and this repulsed her normal sensibilities and she had to do something about this before, before madness set in.

She knew there was a temple of Corellon to the west, it was important that she get there as soon as possible, but could she or would she be allowed to leave this group that she had such an effect on without really trying.

 

"I hope Atten didn't decide to stay in the forest. I have a hunch we need his aid. Del, have you any idea what shops he might visit? We could check to see if he is there or the shopkeeper has seen him."

 

With Kelvados' bleeding slowing somewhat, he seemed to be out of danger of imminent death. Sepp tapped some of the lifeforce of the biomass living in the dirt nearby, there seemed to be plenty of it coming from the tavern's root cellar, and transfered energy to Kelvados. It gave some health back to him. But he was still bleeding. Delinos was looking worried, but hadn't told Sepp what was wrong with his brother.

Sepp had gotten an odd feeling off of the wrapped up lady. Maybe she had something to do with this. Turning back to her, he said.

"My name is Sepp. My friend Kelvados there is having some obvious problems, and I'm wondering if it has something to do with your presence here. When I tried to help you find your center, I felt something odd, somewhat like what I felt from my brother the last time we talked. He's been extensively tortured too. What is your name? And what do you know, if anything, about what is going on here?"

 

Ciana stopped her contemplation of the floor and lifted her head to look at the halfling, “Hello Sepp, my name is Ciana,” a brief smile flashed across her lips.
“That’s the easy part, 4 months ago I was captured by the Mage Caldar Thurwithel but he prefers the name Torturus about every third day he would come and experiment on me and tell me of his findings and his life history, it seemed I was to be his crowning glory, his masterpiece” whilst she was talking Ciana had undone the knots at the back of her skull which held her mask in place and removed it.
“This is some of his handiwork” she continued in a monotonous voice devoid of emotion, her scalp and the back of the skull where her hair had once been was full of the bubble scars that you saw and associated with burns. There were some faint wisps of darkly coloured hair showing and then you saw her face, scars criss-crossed the skin, some were simple ones like those caused by a cut; but some looked like the skin had been peeled back allowed to heal and repeated so that ridges of scar tissue had built up.
“It’s not pretty is it ? I managed to escape about 5 days ago and having heard about the brothers from Torturus I tried to track them down. I heard that they had stayed at this Inn and was pleased when I found them here, as you know I approached them with the need for vengeance high on my mind. Then that lady Ranger came in and things changed not wishing to cause any hurt I tried to meditate and as you know my centre was different, also when meditating I can use my ring to commune with my mentor Robin. She told me that I need a temple to cure me. Whilst sitting here I’ve come to the realisation that part of me has come to enjoy what He did to me and this is causing the change in my centre
“My goal now is to seek out the temple of Corellon to the west and then to take things from there. I think I may need help to reach the temple and that my troubles are really just beginning.
“As to why your friend started bleeding I have no certainty and I don’t think it was through any action of mine”

 

Atten saw an old building with a shoe hanging by the door and wandered in. Inside, he saw an ancient-looking man bent over a work bench. The man looked up and seemed to stare right through Atten, before turning and pulling a pair of boots from a shelf benhind him.

"Here; these should be close to what you are looking for."

 

Double Post, sorry!