Chapter 10 - Enter Enderin

[itches]

Nicos walked down a path in a small wooden lane as the morning sun washed over him, and smiled. It was two weeks since he, Juni, Blarth and Shade had fled Tradeholm and the thieve's guild there that was hunting for the two women. In that time the small group had made it's way Enderin, found semi-permanent lodging and more or less settled down into a peaceful enough life. After the adventures of the last few weeks, the bard was more then happy to spend some time plying his trade in the city, at least until the boredom and monotony began to eat at him.

In the morning light the one-armed man slowly made his way back towards the city walls, he had spent the night entertaining a client at a private estate in the surrounding woodland, and the revenue he now carried back with him would be more then enough to pay the rent of the set of rooms he now occupied.

Nicos' bliss was marred but not broken when a man stepped out from behind a tree to block the path before him.

"Are you Nicos?" the stranger said without making any sign or sound of greeting.

"The one and only," the bard replied with a cocky grin. "What can I do for you on this happy morning?"

"I thought so."

Nicos looked at the man before him. Hair style, clothing, lack of weapons, even the way he moved pointed towards him being a monk from one of the various monasteries that crop up across the land. Renowned for their prowess at fighting while unarmed, monks have a reputation for being quick, and efficient. This man didn't put lie to the stereotype.

Moving before Nicos had a change to make an opening quip, the monk kicked at his opponent’s left hip. Twisting with the blow to rob it off power, Nicos slapped the offending leg down to the ground. Stepping back the unnamed monk grunted a quick comment.

"You have training."

Having been raised in a monastery, Nicos had mastered the basic forms of the unique unarmed combat that they taught. This alone had been enough to give him an edge over most people who engaged him in a fist fight or brawl. However, against someone who had studied the higher forms, the odds quickly shifted in the other direction. Add in the crippling injury which had cost Nicos the use of his left arm and it quickly became a fool's fight. Nicos was many things, not all of them positive, but a fool he was not.

As the unnamed monk closed again, the bard grasped the hilt of his sword and in one smooth move - a move that had taken took hours of practice to perfect - drew his blade and slashed out. It was only reflexes that boarded on the preternatural that allowed the monk to save his leg, as it was a bloody gash now decorated the limb.

"I have a sword."

Mocking the man's tones Nicos grinned and brought his weapon up to guard, the odds had just became more to his liking. The following minutes consisted furious game of feints, slashes and parries, the monk trying to get close enough to counter the swords reach while Nicos did all that he could to react faster then his foe.

It ended suddenly when Nicos fell for a feint and the unnamed monk grabbed his wrist in a grip of steal. With a simple yet painful twist the monk forced the bard to release the sword and then a swift head butt knocked him backwards to the ground.

Laying upon the ground Nicos clutched for the dagger in his belt as his eyes struggled to refocus on his foe. His hand found the empty scabbard at the same time as his eyes found the monk standing over him. In the unnamed monk's left hand was the recently captured sword and in his right, the dagger that had but moments ago rested at the bard's waist.

"You also seem to have a dagger."

The man's tone was absently curious as he looked the blade. Then with a studied indifference he tossed both weapons out of reach, stepped forward and viciously kicked Nicos as the bard attempted to rise.

His breath knocked out of him, Nicos felt a quick succession of blows land on his face and chest. As the first landed his hand floated down to his knee. When the second hit it was at his boot, grasping at the second dagger secreted there. By the third blow the blade was free and before the fourth had a chance the bard thrust it deep into the monk's stomach.

"Two ... daggers ... actually."

Nicos spoke through heaving gasps and slit, bloody lips to the monk, who for his part gazed in shock at the knife handle protruding from his belly. Then with a sudden yank the bard pulled the knife to the side, setting the contents free and finishing the fight.

[Maeko]

Nicos stood over the body of his fallen opponent, trying to get is breath and to clear his mind.
Why would a monk be out to get him? His past life was over with, and if misdeeds were there they were not the kind to leave anyone hot for his blood, nor had the aggressor anything about him that suggested he might have turned highwayman...

Nicos shrugged the thoughts away for now, he was kneeling to inspect the corpse when a movement glimpsed out of the corner of his eye made him turn towards the hearth of the wood.

Two figures were trodding the path towards Endering, two women, from their way of walking. Their faces were shaded by large, round straw hats and they wore nondescript clothing in shades of gray.
They moved purposefully, with the controlled energy of an hunting cat, only a blind man could have mistaken them for peasants or town-folk coming back from a stroll.

" You came with friends, huh? We'll see". Nicos addressed the dead monk, gathering his weapons in a hurry, he then scrambled to hide behind a large oak.

The two women were near enough to hear some snatches of conversation...if only Nicos had known the tongue they were speaking.
The words were long, liquid and full of vowels, slurred at times, and the high pitch of the women's voices made him think of sparrows chittering.

" Might sound nice put to music" came an idle thought, just before the voice of the shorter woman (a young girl, he had thought at first, but the voice was of a woman grown) froze him on the spot.

" Botahara sama wa sensei desu..."

How could this be? She had left these lands to go back with her sisters...

He stepped on the path, just a few steps in front of the shorter woman, she stood, with no outward signs of surprise, as if she had known he would be here.
She raised her head to look at him, Nicos saw her eyes widen when she took in his disheveled appearance and the corpse a little off.

" Good day, Maeko" was all he said, somewhat pleased of the matter-of-factness of his tone.

"Nicos...?" The surprise she didn't show in her stance was in her tone, " friend, you hurt?"

[Black Plauge]

This particular morning found Blarth waking well rested, an unusual circumstance for him since the group had fled from Tradeholm. Normally he slept in whatever temple lodging he could find, and most of the temples weren't all that accepting of orcs for more than a few nights, even the half variety. Last night, however, Nicos had been engaged to entertain all night and so Blarth had availed himself of Nicos's otherwise vacant rooms.

Splashing himself with some cold water from the basin, Blarth carefully cleans up after himself and leaves the rooms pretty much as he found them. On his way out, he stopped to return the spare key to the landlady, a woman who had taken a liking to the half-orc and saw no reason for paid rooms to go to waste, especially when they were occupied by a friend. Indeed, were Blarth to let her, she'd have probably seen to it that he had a room of his own and a job that allowed him to pay for it, even if it would have been far more humble than the ones Nicos was renting.

Blarth, however, wasn't interested in such an arrangement. He'd been forced to leave Tradeholm in such a hurry, that there had been no chance to go back to the academy and retrieve his brother's armor. It was and insult to Blarth's already injured sense of family honor. His brother's death, and now the armor gone, Blarth spent most of his days (and nights) in one temple or another hoping to find solace from the gods. Only when a temple turned him out and there was no space at any of the others, would Blarth find his way to accepting the charity of some one willing to see past or blind to his orcish looks.

Walking through the morning mist, Blarth wrikles his nose at the smells of the tanner's quarter. Normally he wouldn't be anywhere close to a place that smelled this bad, but he had met a man last night who had told him of a secret temple of Gruumsh under one of the shops here. Most humans were adverse to worshiping orc gods, believeing them to be crude and savage. However, if what he'd been told was correct, a retired trapper who lived in the tanner's quarter was a quiet devotee of Gruumsh, having grown up in rougher country where one's neighbors were far more likely to be orc than human. Maybe the god of his fathers could provide the solace that the human gods seemed unable, or unwilling to provide the half-orc.

[Gralhruk]

Shade squatted amongst the haphazard humps and ridges of the Inn's roof, one arm resting lightly on a raised dormer. She had a relatively unobstructed view of the western horizon where the sun was now sinking. In fact, she had chosen this unlikely place for exactly that reason. Even now, as the sun began to set, the world began to come alive for her. Colors deepened and shone, shadows glistened with slick beauty - somehow, everything seemed more vibrant than she could ever recall. For minutes, she watches, entranced, mind focused on nothing more than the scene before her. And then the spectacle fades, and she is left with only the icy, howling wind for company as the city slowly comes to life behind her.

The Copper Maiden was a well to do Inn in the merchant quarter, close to the western walls of Enderin. It wasn't the sort of place she would normally consider, frequented as it was by a higher class of people than she was used to. She hadn't been sure they'd let her stay, actually, but at the end of the day they were merchants and a little extra cash up front had convinced them. Well, that and the fact that she had a well to do looking young girl with her - she had asked Arjuna to accompany her, half because her part in their escape from Tradeholm interested Shade greatly and half because she feared Juni would end up staying with Nicos.

Shade kept to herself mostly, sleeping much of the day and going out near sundown. Every evening, actually, she slipped out the window and scaled her way to the roof to watch the coming of night. The haze that had surrounded her when the shadow attacked had dissipated, although not entirely. During the day and even at night, her vision seemed bleached - not impaired in any way but colors all seemed washed out, shadows too dark yet not dark enough. Except for those moments at sunset, when everything seemed incredibly vivid.

And then there was the amulet - Cadrius' amulet, engraved with the symbol of Hieroneous. It had saved her life, of that she was certain, blasting the shadow Salwisse into only the gods knew where. Yet since then she had not been able to physically touch it without searing pain. Right now it was secreted in her belt pouch - there was not pain, but she fancied she could feel a malevolent aura seeping from it. She shakes her head, unwilling to let herself consider the implications.

Like a ghost, she slips down the side of the building and into the alley behind the kitchen. Inside, there is the smell of food and the boisterous sounds of the common room. She ignores both and heads out to the steets, where she would likely wander restlessly for hours. She would need to talk with Arjuna soon - she could sense the girl getting frustrated with this lack of communication - but the idea of real conversation still bothered her.

Tomorrow. Maybe they would talk tomorrow.

[Kelemyn]

"Miss Arjuna?"

The serving girl's sudden appearance startles Juni out of a silly daydream. She'd been imagining herself as a gifted performer, like Nicos. Only she pictured herself as a stunningly beautiful crooner in a red silk dress singing steamy elvish love songs in a sultry voice.

Is this what I've come to? Juni thinks without looking up from her table. Wild fancies about what I could be doing with my life? Meanwhile, here I sit, wasting time in the common room instead of actually doing anything. She'd become obsessed lately with figuring out how she might make a living for herself, and so far had not come up with anything remotely practical.

"Miss Arjuna?" the girl says again, this time sounding a trifle impatient. The common room is crowded tonight, and she really has better things to do than wait around for this rich girl to snap out of it.

Juni sighs, but looks up with a polite smile. "Yes?"

"You said to let you know when the other one, when Miss Shade, goes out. She just has, Miss. Gone out, that is. Out the window, like you said she would. I set a boy to watch, and he just now come and told me."

"Oh, I'd nearly forgotten. Thank you. Did the boy see where she went?" Juni asks as she gets up from the table in a hurry.

"Yes, Miss. He says she climbed right up onto the roof."

"The roof?"

"Yes, Miss. The roof."

Now what am I going to do? Juni wonders. It had been her plan to make Shade think she had gone to watch Nicos perform, and then wait and follow the other woman wherever it was that she had been going every night.

"Is there a way up onto the roof from inside the building?" she asks the girl.

"Oh, you don't want to go up there, Miss," the girl answers, looking alarmed. "There's a trapdoor that the handyman uses, but it just wouldn't be safe, nor proper!"

Before Juni can protest, a small boy dashes in to the common room from the kitchen, and tugs at the serving girl's apron.

"Hey, Prissy, guess what? I just saw that crazy lady go sneakin' by the kitchen door. You know, the lady that was up on the roof? Yeah! I saw her go by, lookin' just like a shadow, but she was real. And you said she'd break her neck up there!"

"Thank you!" Juni calls back over her shoulder. She had bolted for the door as soon as she realized who the boy meant by the 'crazy lady'.

Prissy will think we're both crazy! I just hope she doesn't tell the landlord.

Outside it is fully dark. It takes a moment for Juni's eyes to adjust, but she remembers what Alek had told her once, and avoids looking at streetlights or the lanterns shining in windows. She peers around the corner of the inn, and sure enough, a dark figure is slipping away down the alley. Juni follows as quietly as she is able, moving quickly and stopping to hide behind stacks of crates and heaps of refuse whenever she thinks that she may have made too much noise. She manages to keep the shadowy figure in sight, though Shade moves with the swift, noiseless feet of a prowling cat, and takes a zig-zag course though numerous backstreets and alleyways.

The moonless night is brisk. Juni can see her breath misting before her as she hurries along. The wind picks up, and her dark cloak whips and billows around her. She struggles to fasten it closed with fingers numb from the cold, and wonders where in the world she is by now, and where in the world Shade is going.

What was that?

A sound behind her, like a step taken on loose stones. She looks back but sees nothing amiss. Looking ahead again she discovers that she has finally lost sight of Shade. Nothing moves in the darkness before or behind her.

[itches]

Looking at Maeko, Nicos suddenly felt his injuries as the adrenalin from the fight wore off. Whoever the strange monk had been, he had tried to beat Nicos to death and came closer then the bard would have liked.

"I'm fine," the man glibly lied as he slid down to the ground and rested his back against a tree. "I just had a rather pointed discussion with someone and need to sit down for a moment to recover. What brings you to my part of the world?"

[Maeko]

The look Maeko gave him made it plain the nun was far from convinced, but she choose to let the matter lay.
" That is long story", she answered, a faint shadow in her eyes, " we" and she nodded towards the other woman, " are all exiles now, our monastery has been destroyed..." She shrugged resignedly.
" Are the others here too?" she asked after a moment " Shades, Cadrius...?"

[itches]

"I'm sorry to hear about your monastery," Nicos said with a nod to Maeko's silent partner. "I came to Enderin with Shade, she's in there somewhere. I don't know about Cadrius, we split up a few weeks back, last I heard he was heading here but I havn't been able to track him down since.

"And if you'll excuse me for a second," Nicos groaned as he heaved himself to his heat. "I should take a look at the man before anyone else comes along."

Moving over to hastily examine the assassin, Nicos was only barely able to hold his stomach at the sight and smell of the gutted corpse. Finding only a black tattoo of a sun on the man's neck and a small purse with a few silver pieces, the one-armed man pocketed the money and turned back to the nuns, still struggling to keep from throwing up..

"Are you two heading into the city?" He asked, gesturing at his blood soaked clothes. "I'm about to head back there, but I need to try and get the blood out of my clothes first."

[Gralhruk]

At first it had been only habit that had Shade take a winding course through the alleys. After all, nobody even knew her in this town. Yet after a few turns she caught a glimpse of a figure behind her that she'd seen earlier. A few more random changes in direction along with surreptious monitoring of her surroundings convinced her that she was indeed being followed. Thoughts of Skathros brought a sudden, tight fear into her stomach. Her rationality quickly dispersed that idea - if he was tailing her she wouldn't know it until he stabbed her between the shoulder blades. And he was probably dead anyway.

Not one of his goons either, as they'd be slicker than this person. Too small to be a thug; probably an amateur cutpurse. She leads the way into darker environs and waits for a chance to slip into hiding. Her pursuer turns their head abruptly and she ducks into deep shadow and waits, confident of her skill. The figure eventually moves forward, looking around uncertainly. There was something familiar in the walk . . . Shade is afforded a better view of the cloak as they approach, and by the time she catches a glimpse of blond hair she already knows it is Arjuna. She waits until the woman passes by before stepping out behind her. The first thought in her mind was to give her a good scare but she decides against it, having seen first hand what the woman was capable of when pressed.

"You're out late. Looking for someone?"

[Maeko]

"Are you two heading into the city?" He asked, gesturing at his blood soaked clothes. "I'm about to head back there, but I need to try and get the blood out of my clothes first."

"Up there is a steam, if I recall", answered Maeko, with a nod towards a deer trail branching off the main path. "We have something that may serve, if you do not mind wearing clothes given in charity".

Nicos shrugged. He doubted the clothes he was wearing would be good for anything more than oiling rags, after today, and he didn't relish the idea of walking back to town in dripping clothes anyway.
" Thank you, I'll appreciate that".

With a nod to Maeko, the silent nun opened the cloth bag she was carrying, fishing out a trousers and tunic that, although evidently used, were also clean and reasonably well kept, she offered the items to the bard.

" Thank you", he answered with a slight bow.

" It is nothing" said she, in a pleasant contralto voice, less accented than he had thought it would be.

"Now if you ladies would be so kind as to wait for me here, maybe we can go back to town together..." not waiting for an answer, he headed towards the sound of water.

[Black Plauge]

"You don't look like you're from around here," the grizzled old man says after opening up the door.

Put off guard by being addressed in his native tongue, it takes Blarth a second or two to gather himself and think of a response, "Yeah. How did you know I was part orc? You just barely opened the door."

"Magic, my young man. The One Eye has lent me the use of his eye when I ask for it."

"How does a human gain the blessing of the One Eye?" Blarth stammers.

"Boy, I've probably lived with orcs for more years than you've been alive. But where are my manners? Someone like yourself can only be here for one reason."

Stepping back, the man slams the door in Blarth's face, and his voice drifts back through, "Only the worthy can seek the presence of the One Eye!"

Taken aback, Blarth just stares blankly at the door for a bit before finally recognizing the traditional hospitality of Gruumsh.

"I've been living with humans too long," Blarth mutters as he steps back to examine the door. It was of basic wooden construction, enough force and...

*crash*

The sound of splintering wood fills the alley as Blarth shoulders the door off its hinges. Of course, such a noise is highly unusual for the morning in the middle of the tanners district, and immediately attracts attention. People glancing down the street, see Blarth standing amongst the rubble of the door.

"For the worthy an audience is granted," the old man says as Blarth steps through the door, "Now, help me set this door to right before the city guard gets here. If it's back in place I can pass off what those who undoubtly have gone to get them saw as an illusion. They'll be far more accepting of that explination than the real one."

Reaching down to pick up some of the largest splinters, the old man directs Blarth to pick up the largest, most intact piece and place it back in the opening. Once it's there, the old man folds the hinges back into place, places the large splinters in place, and then casts a spell. At once, the door becomes whole again, with no sign of its recent shattering.

"There, now I'll be able to shrug off the guard inquiry. What do you say we have something to drink while we wait for the guards to show up?"

[Kelemyn]

She 'feels' a familiar presence behind her a split second before she hears the voice, so Juni doesn't startle at the sound. She turns around slowly, almost giving the appearance that she had been expecting Shade to turn up just so.

She has no idea what to say to her however. In fact, she feels more than a little bit foolish getting caught so easily. Why had it seemed like a good idea to follow Shade through the steets like this rather than just wait for her back at the inn?

Because I wanted to see where she's been going every night, and why she is so secretive, Juni reminds herself.

The silence grows heavy, relieved only by the whistling of the wind. Juni struggles with her wayward cloak, trying to keep it from flapping all around her, and still can't find the words to tell Shade what's on her mind. Shade's eyes narrow slightly, the only sign of her impatience.

"I was looking for you," Juni finally blurts out. She frowns, wishing that things didn't have to be so awkward. "I want to know why you've been avoiding me."

[Gralhruk]

Because it's what I do.

Shade shakes her head slowly, either at the thought or at Juni - impossible to tell which. Arjuna wasn't going to let it go, of that she was sure. Truth be told, Shade knew she owed her an explanation and - more importantly - she wanted to talk to her. Shade carefully averts her eyes, staring up at the night sky. After a while, she speaks, still looking away.

"There are things you don't know. They are good people; Nicos, Blarth -"

Cadrius

She shakes her head again.

"Not me. I'm . . ."

Thieving

Unworthy

Murderous

Deceptive

Tainted

"It doesn't matter."

Her cold grey eyes find Arjuna.

"You ought to go. Pack your stuff and get out of that room. It's a big city. You're safe here and you can find something to do. You don't need me."

[Kelemyn]

"But I don't want to do that," Juni protests. "I like where we're staying. I like sharing a place with you. Or I would if you were ever around."

There are things I don't know?

Juni doesn't doubt that this is true. One look at Shade and you just know she has secrets.

"I don't care about your past. You helped me when I needed it - that's what I know," Juni says slowly. She looks at Shade, thinking about the fight with the shadow back in Tradeholm and the rogue's strange reluctance to act against it. "Anything else - " she starts to say, then shivers suddenly, the cold bite of the wind finally getting to her.

"Can we just go somewhere and talk?"

[itches]

Nodding his thanks for the offer of clothing, Nicos disappeared into the trees, returning several minutes later changed and clean of blood.

"Okay ladies," he said with a shivering smile from the icy cold water he had bathed in. "Shall we make Enderin?"

[Gralhruk]

Shade stares at Arjuna, unblinking, while the wind knifes through her. Juni shivers and she realizes that the cold should be biting instead of merely annoying. She grimaces at this reminder of how estranged she has become from herself, then nods curtly at the other woman. Without a word she spins around and heads back toward the merchant's quarter, but away from their lodging. The place she chooses is called The Silver Serpent, a nondescript tavern that served as a secondary place of business for many of the traders. Here the lights were dim and small groups of people talked in low voices, doubtless working out agreements and deals.

When they have seated themselves and been served, Shade finally looks at Arjuna. Her hands are beneath her cloak, making no move towards the glass of wine she had ordered.

"So here we are."

[Kelemyn]

Juni could almost laugh. Why is she going to such trouble? Even now, when Shade says she's willing to talk, Juni can feel the wall that she's put up around herself. Why not just do as Shade suggested a moment ago? Pack up and move on.

She warms her fingers on the mug of mulled wine she ordered, and sighs.

"Yes, here we are."

How to go about breaking down that wall?

"You know, I never dreamed I'd leave Tradeholm someday," she begins, conversationally. "I was born and grew up in the slums there. Then, when my father became successful, he took me to live with him in the High End.

"It was a grand estate; he had the best of everything. But I'd left my friends and the family that loved me behind. Father kept talking about the opportunity I would have there, to meet the right people. I found out later that he was planning to marry me into an influencial family, to further his own career."

Juni stares into the depths of her wine cup. She has yet to take a drink.

"My father. He was a hard man, exacting. I hardly ever saw him - he seldom came around. But when he did, he expected to see results. All that money and effort he was pouring into my education had to be good for something. He had ways... of making sure I felt his displeasure when I didn't measure up."

She looks up at Shade.

"I killed a man," she says softly. "My teacher. I killed him, just as my father would've done. I waited until he thought I was asleep, then I used all my power to attack his mind. And when that wasn't enough to finish him off, I drove his own sword into his belly.

"So you see," she says after a moment's pause, "there may be things you don't know about me as well. I say, they don't matter, these things in our pasts. Unless... there's something you want to tell me."

[Gralhruk]

Shade sits back, eyes lazily studying the girl before her. So different, the two of them, yet at heart their stories were not so different. Had this been what Shade had sensed back in Enderin, the reason for her curiousity in Arjuna?

She looks away, down at the drink in front of her, puts her hands at its base. They reflect oddly in the silver surface, painted in shades of grey. Everything was like that now, familiar but subtly wrong.

"Fathers."

She spits the word out like an accusation.

"We're only property to them, something to be sold to the highest bidder. My father was only a potter, and a poor one at that, but he had me promised to an old baker for a few coins."

She final takes a drink, a long swallow, eyes still avoiding Arjuna. She had known the girl had killed someone and had assumed self defense. The fact that it had been pre-meditated was unexpected - and again, far too similar to Shade's own past. She refuses to comment, entirely unsure of her own thoughts in that regard and still unwillling to explore right and wrong when it came to death.

"It isn't all in the past. Not for me."

Now she looks at Arjuna, her eyes deep and wounded, cold stone scored by time and hardship.

"Something . . . happened to me in Enderin. I fought with one of those shadows, before the one you saw. I don't know why, but it was destroyed - magic from a pendant of Hieroneous that Cadrius gave me. But since then . . . I don't know what happened. I'm not right."

She looks at her dark reflection in the wine.

"The shadow. I think it might be part of me now."

[Kelemyn]

Juni trembles, the conversation adding to the chill of the evening. She finally sips at her wine, cupping the mug in her hands and letting the steam warm her face. Recalling Vywodor's murder had left her feeling shaky, for all that she had made it sound so matter-of-fact.

And now, what is this that Shade is saying about a shadow?

"I don't think that's possible," Juni says without much conviction. Of course, she really has no idea what is possible or impossible, not when it comes to the creatures of nightmare, like the one they fought back in Tradeholm. "I mean, how could it... do that?"

But wait. That might explain Shade's recent strange behavior, including her apparent reluctance to harm the second shadow that attacked her. Had she felt some sort of kinship with it?

"But what would that mean?" Juni asks, suddenly more than half believing that it might be true. Her voice falls to a barely audible whisper. "That creature was not a living thing, Shade." After a moment's pause: "Maybe you should see a priest."

[Gralhruk]

Shade's eyes go hollow at the thought of inviting a priest to investigate her soul. She remembers all too vividly the trial in Karkas and the rampant corruption of the so called holy men. They weren't all like that, of course, but what might a truly godly man think of her? They'd call her cursed, no doubt, and stone her if their moribund minds couldn't think of some more inventive way to kill her.

"No. No priests."

She shifts uncomfortably, rubbing one hand across the back of her neck. When she looks up, Juni is staring at her silently - a trifle scared perhaps, but honest and caring. The sincerity of that gaze is somehow reassuring, despite the uncertainty written there. For the first time in a long time, Shade relaxes a little. Her grey eyes look tired.

"I don't know what it means," she says quietly, almost to herself. "But I won't let them take away what I have left."

[Kelemyn]

Juni says nothing for a moment. She looks at Shade, her pale blue eyes seeming to lose focus slightly which gives her expression a dreamy, preoccupied cast.

"It will be all right," she says then, taking a final drink of the warm posset in her mug. "Let's go home."

[itches]

The borrowed dry clothing was quite helpful on the chill morning, but the blessing was almost outweighed by the itches it set aflame in Nicos' skin. In the years since he had left the life of a monk behind, the bard had taken care to only wear clothing as a certain quality, and had apparently forgotten just how uncomfortable cheaper clothing could be.

After the group made it through the gate with nothing more then a momentary queer look from the guards, Nicos pulled up.

"Normally it could take a few days to find Shade if she has decided she doesn't want to be found, but I'm having lunch with her roommate at a tavern. I think you'd like her, and if you come along she may know where we can find our shadowy friend."

[Maeko]

Maeko nodded thoughtfully, then exchanged a few sentences with her companion in what Nicos believed to be their mother tongue, before turning her attention to the bard again:

" Yes. We must go back to monastery now, but I will come to the tavern later.
Where is this place, Nicos?"

She sounded somehow constrained, was it the other nun's presence?
The Maeko Nicos remembered was somehow more comfortable with the world around her that she seemed to be now. Monastic discipline could have that effect, but Nicos somehow didn't think this to be the case, Maeko was nun to her fingernails but she definitely was not bitter or disillusioned about secular life.

He forced himself to stop this train of thought. The woman had just had the only home she had ever knew burned to the ground, that would have been more than enough to unsettle anybody, besides he didn't like where that train of thought menaced to take him.

" Ah, yes".
He gave her the tavern's whereabouts and, after agreeing on an hour, they went their separated ways, Nicos couldn't help, though, but stop and stare at Maeko's retreating back, musing.

[itches]

Nicos entered his apartment and immediately shrugged off his weapons belt and the borrowed tunic. Opening a chest at the foot of the double bed dominating the main room, the bard pulled out a green tunic then froze, a sense of alarm spreading through his body and his senses straining to the edge of their ability.

At the monastery everyone made up their cot the same way, day after day the repetition was taught to him until it became a second nature. Since leaving that life behind, how to make up his bed was one of the few habits that didn't leave him, and his bed was not made correctly.

Dropping the fresh tunic, Nicos silently made his way from room to room, not stopping until he was sure they were empty and nothing had been taken. Pulling on the tunic and adjusting to bed to how it should be, the bard tried to puzzle it out. Giving up on finding an answer on his own, the man made his way down to his landlady's flat and started knocking.

"Morning Saphrina," he said once she answered. "Did Blarth stay in my rooms last night?"

"Tha' he did," she replied giving him a strange look. "Was tha' a problem?"

"No, it's just he usually lets me know before hand I wonder - oh!" Stopping mid-sentence Nicos slapped his forehead. "That's right, I told him I was going to be out, totally slipped my mind. Did he say where he was headed?"

"No, but he didn' come back last nigh'."

"Maybe he finally found a better offer, if you see Blarth will you tell him I'm looking for him?"

"Tha' I can," the landlady replied. "And do I wanna to know why you've been out for two nigh's?"

"Ah Saphrina," Nicos said flashing his most roughish smile. "You shouldn't ask questions when you don't want to hear the answer."

[Kelemyn]

Juni slept a little better than usual that night although, as always, her dreams were full of confusing premonitions and forebodings. Vywodor had told her that, as a clairvoyant, the 'night visions' were something she would have to learn to cope with, even though it was likely that she'd never learn to make any sense out of them. Sometimes the dreams are enough to leave her feeling drained and sick to her stomach when she wakes in the morning. But today she is able to shake off the malaise, and jump out of bed feeling enthusiastic about the day.

She feels better for having talked to Shade last night, although she isn't sure what exactly was accomplished. Is it likely that Shade's behavior will change and she'll stop wandering the streets at night? Juni doesn't know, but at least the cause of her companion's unrest is now out in the open. What she needs is to get out and see her friends more, Juni can't help thinking. Unfortunately, Shade has declined every invitation that Juni has made her.

Juni spends the better part of the morning getting ready to meet Nicos for a lunch date. When she finally emerges from her side of the partioned room freshly bathed and smelling of lavender soap, she finds Shade sitting on the floor, cleaning and honing her blades.

"Where are you going all dressed up?" Shade asks, hardly looking up from what she is doing.

Juni checks her reflection in the tall wall-mirror. "I'm going to meet Nicos for lunch."

"Why?"

"No real reason, I just like watching him perform."

A pause. "You have to watch out for that one."

"Who, Nicos? He's sweet." Juni adjusts her skirt and the collar of her blouse, aware that Shade has stopped working and is looking at her now. "He's always been very nice to me."

Shade looks away, then runs the whetstone slowly down the edge of one gleaming blade. She stops again and looks at Juni.

"He can be a charmer - when he wants to be," she holds the blade up, examining its edge, then slides the fine steel into its battered leather scabbard. "I'm done here and I wouldn't mind stretching my legs . . ."

Shade hadn't looked close to done a few moments ago. Juni turns away to get her coin pouch and tuck it into her belt, hiding her smile.

"Well all right, if you really want to come along. But hurry. I don't want to be late!"

by Kel and Gral

[Gralhruk]

Shade walks next to Juni, her hood and veil down despite the chill. Her short, dark hair gleams in the cold light of midday. Her steely grey eyes sweep the streets around them restlessly. For someone on the way to a casual lunch, she seems too wary, almost like a bodyguard. Juni ignores the protective behavior, finding it more amusing than disconcerting.

They don't speak much as they walk - Shade, apparently, was not in a talkative mood. Arjuna's few short questions received shorter answers. Before long they have reached the tavern. The building itself is not particularly large, but there is a large, square outdoor patio of sorts. On one end is a raised platform of wood and stone. Large stone columns support a roof above this stage while the roof itself continues around the perimter of the patio. The open square in the center contains bench seating which looks to be able to hold a large number of people. At the current moment it is empty, and the tables beneath the shelter of the roof around the edges are only half full. All things considered, this isn't a bad day to eat out of doors - the sun is warm despite the cold air.

Nicos is waiting for them at one of the tables - the one armed bard is easy to spot in the less than crowded eatery. He notices them as they approach and stands; if he is surprised to see Shade he doesn't show it. Shade sits while he cordially directs Arjuna to do the same. She looks at him critically, noting the bruises on his face and the slight stiffness in his normally fluid movement. She stirs restlessly as he fusses over Juni.

"What happened to you?"

[itches]

"Ah Juni," Nicos greeted with his most devastating smile. "You look prettier everytime I see you, how is it that some dashing young nobleman hasn't stolen you away from us yet? Even though it breaks my heart I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you, I'm a tad out of sorts this morning and I had to cancel my performance.

Still it's not all bad news, now I can spend more time in your august presence."

"What happened to you?"

"Music critic," Nicos replied with a straight face. "There's just no pleasing some people, speaking of which I met an old friend earlier today. Maeko is in town."

[Kelemyn]

Juni doesn't let the compliments go to her head, but judging from the brightness of her smile she does enjoy them. She just can't help being charmed by Nicos.

"Cancelled your performance? I'm crushed!" She plays along, feigning a pout. "It will be a dull, dull lunch indeed."

While Nicos and Shade talk of their friend, Maeko, Juni watches people come and go. This is a bustling area of town, and the outdoor patio is a popular place to have lunch on a day like this. The tables are beginning to fill up.

[Gralhruk]

"Maeko?"

Shade can hardly believe her ears. The other woman was a mystery to her; in spite of that, the bond of friendship between them was strong. Quiet but filled with purpose, confident with no hint of arrogance, a warrior without anger or hate - this was a woman that Shade had respected, had admired more than she would admit even to herself. And Maeko had left abruptly, months ago, slave to the mysterious order where she was abandoned as a child. That parting had been painful and had served to deepen the depression toward which Shade had already been sliding.

"What is she doing here? Is she in trouble?"

[itches]

"She mentioned some trouble with her monastery , something about it being destroyed but I don't know if she was being extravagant," Nicos commented, resuming his seat as a young performer took to the stage and started so quietly play.

"I actually invited her here for lunch, Juni here usually knows where you are and I thought you might be interested."

Pausing for a moment to listen to the young women, Nicos silently shook his head but remained silent.

[Cadrius]

Cadrius has hardly slept since it happened.

His intention never had been to try and find them again, his former companions. In passing, Blarth had let her lie slip. Her intent had always been to leave. The confrontation with Nicos was a ruse and nothing more. As always, her ways were shrouded and the only counsel she kept was her own. She was a survivor at heart. Perhaps that is what she felt was necessary.

After Shade had left, he considered it his duty to make certain the others reached the soft riverbanks near Tradeholm. As they drew closer to the civilized lands of the south and east, it would become more and more dangerous to travel together. The clergy’s agents would, of course, be keeping a wary eye out for his reappearance. After Karkas any hope staying beneath notice was gone.

So it had been with a heavy heart that Cadrius had set foot in Tradeholm. His armor and weapons stashed outside the city walls, he’d hoped to avoid notice. Yet he was tall and broad of shoulder. And while perhaps he was not as big as Sir Garlen the Giant, even without the sword and mail he would be recognizable. The Order is small and they do not take betrayal lightly. He would be known by priests of his former patron. But what he had seen five days out from there was too dangerous not to try and track them down.

Finding any trace of them had been harder than he thought. It was difficult to remain discreet while inquiring after a set of rather noticeable strangers: a half-orc, a sellsword, and a flamboyant bard. Shade, he figured, was long gone. More often than not, he garnered attention from the wrong sorts.

It wasn’t until he slipped a serving girl a few coins that he even heard something halfway credible. It sounded like Nicos had brought some trollop up to his room with him. The other whispers he heard were wild with rumors and conjecture. They said a murderess stalked the streets. Perhaps Shade had not traveled that far after all.

But their trail disappeared and as the days passed he learned less and less. They had left Tradeholm, that much was certain, but to where? Cadrius picked a direction, found a trail, and began walking once more.

[Gralhruk]

"You arranged a meeting?"

Shade's narrowing grey eyes find Juni, more thoughtful than annoyed. She looks back to Nicos.

"Maeko isn't extravagant. If she said destroyed, she meant it. Do you think she could be in danger here?"

[itches]

"You arranged a meeting?"

"I invited her along," Nicos absently corrected. "If she was in trouble it wasn't anything pressing, she seemed calm enough if a little ... off put. I was too distracted at the time to pursue the matter any further. Still she should be here soon so we can find out easily enough."

[Black Plauge]

"...and then I *belch* found myself facing off against the meanest, nastiest, dirtiest, dire wolf you ever did see..." the old man was saying when a knock at his door interrupted his story. The guards had already come and gone hours ago, and the old man had posted a sign indicating he was closed, so the knock came as something of a surprise to the the two men inside. After looking at each other for a moment, the old man calls out through the closed door as Blarth reaches for his club.

"We're closed today. Come back tomorrow when I've got less on my plate."

"Uh... Sir... I... haveamessageforBlarth," a timid voice calls out from the other side.

"Who knew you were coming here today, boy?"

Thinking for a bit, "No one," Blarth replies shaking his head.

"What's this message?"

"Well... um... MistressSaphrinasentmetofindBlarth, and well..., um..., he'snotexactlyhardtofollow... well... beingtheonlyhalf-orcinthecity..., and well... NicosislookingforBlarth," again, an obvious level of fear is evident in the way the boy rushes through parts of his message and hesitates at others.

"Well, you've delivered your message. Now git."

Hurried footsteps are heard on the other side of the door as the boy scrambles away.

"Well, the boy was exagerating about you being the only half-orc in the city, but there are few enough that it's not surprising that he was able to follow you, even hours later. So, who is the Mistress Saphrinas and Nicosis?"

"It's Mistress Saphirna and Nicos," Blarth corrects absently, "Nicos is the one-armed bard I was telling you about earlier. I've been traveling for a time and he seems to be a fairly stand-up fellow, able to take care of himself in a fight, even without one of his arms. Favors lighter weapons, obviously, but under the circumstances I think that's forgivable. Mistress Saphirna is his landlady here in Enderin. She let's me stay in his rooms when he's out carousing all night as I haven't bothered to aquire any of my own."

"And why not? Strong young man like yourself could easily find work to pay for the rent on some humble lodging."

"True, but I haven't really felt like working much. See, when we left Tradeholm..."

While the recounting of Blarth's tale doesn't take nearly as long as the exchange of stories that the two men had been sharing since breakfast over drinks, the conversation that follows is drawn out slightly at it is almost an hour before it reaches any kind of conclusion.

[Maeko]

Turning the corner, she recognized the place from Nicos' description.
It seems to be a popular place with local tradesmen and artisans, generally a good sign if one were interested in good fare at a reasonable price.

Maeko just hoped she would be allowed to get in to look for her friends without fuss.

As she got near and a few people waiting to be served noticed her approach, conversations and banter started to fall into an uneasy silence.
Maeko approached the patio without changing her pace, nodding in a general friendly way to people on her path she started to look at the nearest tables, hoping to see either Nicos or Shade

[itches]

"Ah, there she is," Nicos said when he spotted the monk. "Maeko! Over here!"

"Maeko, allow me to introduce you to a friend of Shade and I, Arjuna. Juni this is an old friend Maeko. And if you ladies would excuse me for just a moment there is something I need to attend to."

Miming the removal of a hat, Nicos gave a rough version of a courtly bow before turning to walk into the tavern.

[Gralhruk]

Shade sat back in her chair, staring studiously at the beams above. She didn't like to be manipulated, and she suspected that was exactly what Juni had done to get her here. But if what Nicos said was true, then it was entirely possible trouble had followed Maeko. The rogue turned her thoughts to Maeko's departure, trying to recall the words and circumstances that preceded it. The sisters at the monastery had recalled her, after Maeko had found some holy item and been beaten near to death over it.

The monastery was gone. Shade wonders about the artifact - if Maeko had it, then she was still in trouble. Just as she reaches this conclusion, the nun arrives. Shade stands up, almost not hearing Nicos' introductions or noticing his hasty departure.

"Maeko."

Shade was immediately awash with conflicting emotions, all of which she kept below the surface of her demeanor if not out of her voice. She respected and admired the nun, but at the same time she felt her own shortcomings even more. Another woman would have embraced an old friend; Shade stands at arms length, as always trapped between who she was and who she thought she should be.

[Maeko]

Nicos had disappeared before Maeko had time to say a word, and here she was, with the one person she most dreaded, and at the same time wished meeting.
Why do I feel... guilt? I did what I had to do, I chose duty, obligation, and they understood, they understood...

But the thought she had repeated to herself many times since their parting still felt as hollow as it had every other time.
And yet, as much as she dreaded Shade's reaction, Maeko felt also happiness at her friend's sight, a sort of happiness that menaced to bring tears to her eyes. She forced herself under control before daring to speak.
How far I am from true enlightment, yet

She bowed deeply, as much to hid her inner turmoil as to show her respect.

" Shade".
Her eyes don't leave the other woman's, trying to espress what words can't.

[Kelemyn]

Juni's eyes had darted away from Shade's sharp glance, quickly fixing on the street beyond and the parade of people passing by. While Shade and Nicos talked, she watched the crowd.

The people here do not look like the people of Tradeholm. The most obvious difference is the way they dress. The street is a swirl of bright colors, bold printed fabrics, and - to Juni's eyes at least - outlandish costumes. Most of the women wear many layered skirts, ruffled shawls, and lace-trimmed mantles, all in rainbow hues. The men's clothes are just as colorful, if less frilly. They stride down the street in pants with wide legs, broad sashes at their waists, and wearing tunics with long, full sleeves. They all remind Juni of street carnival performers back home. But these are simply ordinary folk in Enderin, out to lunch.

The crowd seems to part as a woman approaches. Juni senses a certain hostility in the stares that greet the newcomer. Her dress is quite plain, drab in fact, compared to the locals. Nicos hails her - "Maeko! Over here!" It is the friend that he and Shade have been discussing.

Juni stands and bows politely when she is introduced. Nicos excuses himself, and suddenly she is left alone at the table with the two women and a deep, uncomfortable silence. The melodic strains of the bard's playing trill plaintively in the background. Juni opens her mouth to say something... anything. But she just can't bring herself to be the one to interrupt the moment.

[Gralhruk]

The silence stretches, though somehow that is comforting to Shade. In it, she can feel the kinship between them; the feeling is a good one. Finally, she smiles - a genuine display of emotion - and then gestures to their table.

"Join us. Nicos only just told me you were here. Are you in trouble?"

[Maeko]

Maeko couldn't really remember seeing Shade smile before, surprise and a warm sense of welcome gave her a smile of her own.

" I hope I will not bore your friend" she began with an apologizing nod towards Juni, " but trouble we have indeed". she paused a moment to gather her thoughts.

" My sisters and I were going back to our monastery, with holy relic. But we were reached by a message of our Abbess", she saw Shade's eyes narrow at her choice of words, but her friend didn't interrupt.

" The temple had been attacked and burned down, most of the sisters killed, we had home no more". as if fearing a loss of control, Maeko merely paused for a breath.
" We were helped on the road, good man told us here we would find merchant from our country.
Merchant Li Yan follows Master Botahara, he is helping us to build small monastery here, so that our order will not die."

Juni breathed in relief, at least the story seemed to end better than she had feared it would, the small nun looked worried, though.
" But...?" she couldn't help but add.

" But" ,aknowledged Maeko, " Things happen: yesterday's work today found destroyed, people strike a deal and few days after say not possible bring supply or work with us, and they look frightened.
...Some of these things not new: we are strangers, we are not used to your language, we dress and act strange, people being cautious, we understand. But this feels worse...and we do not understand, but fear things could become ugly, if nothing is done".

[Kelemyn]

Juni glances at Shade - no sign yet that she'd been forgiven for her little trick, but at least Shade is smiling now. Juni relaxes as the tension at the table eases somewhat and everybody takes a seat.

Then Maeko's story unfolds. Juni can see how the woman might feel uncomfortable. Tradeholm had been more of a melting pot where people were tolerant of foreigners. Here in Enderin, things were clearly different. She had felt it herself at times, although most of the people she has been dealing with are under the impression that she's well-bred and wealthy, and apparently are more forgiving because of it.

"People here are cautious, more so than where I come from," Juni says, patting Maeko's hand in a gesture of sympathy. "My mother was foreign, and I have her looks. They stare at me sometimes too." Juni fiddles idly with a lock of her silver-blonde hair, then pushes it back behind her ear. "But I am very surprised to hear that someone has been destroying your work. That goes beyond simple xenophobia, I think!"

[Gralhruk]

Shade stays silent as Maeko recounts her story. Silently, she agrees with Arjuna - this level of hostility went beyond simple distrust.

"This relic - you brought it with you?"

It is clear that she believes the artifact may be the source of the trouble.

[itches]

It only took Nicos a few minutes of moving around the tavern to find the information he wanted, smiling, laughing and a few coins spent later he returned to his companions with armed with a vague plan about tonight.

"Sorry about that," he said by way of apology. "In my business you're always working. What did I miss?"

[Gralhruk]

Shade shrugs, face expressionless, eyes steady.

"Nothing you don't already know."

[Maeko]

Maeko glances at Nicos as the bard takes his place, then brings her attention back to Shade.

" Relic with us. But I do not think this is cause of our trouble here. Those who stole it first, were in league with people from our country, wanting to discredit the order.
But now order does not exist anymore in the Empire, they have succeeded".

[Gralhruk]

Shade's grey eyes grow distant as her gaze turns inward and surveys the rocky landscape of her soul. Before her was a woman dedicated to higher ideals, unconcerned with the material, without malice for even those who would harm her. If such a woman was so beset, it was clear that this life was not one meant for peace.

Her eyes snap back into focus and she coldly appraises her companions and then rises fluidly.

"We'll meet again here in the morning. I need to check some things out. Maybe I can find out what we're up against."

She gives Maeko's questing gaze a hard smile.

Don't worry, I'll be careful.

After a moment, she looks at Arjuna, her face carefully neutral.

"Don't wait up."

Before they can protest, she slips into the crowd.

* * *

The next morning dawned cold and grey, no hint of the bright sun that had warmed yesterday's meeting. Shade picks up her pace with the intent to drive some of the chill and fatigue from her limbs. Things had not gone badly last night but it had taken quite a bit of time. She kept well away from the local guild for fear they might have heard of the events in Tradeholm. That didn't mean she was entirely without contacts, but she had to be damned careful.

It is early enough that their table from yesterday is empty when she arrives - first one there, it seemed. Good enough. She orders a mug of something hot and some bread, then sits and waits for the others to arrive.

[Black Plauge]

His soul sufficiently soothed by the morning spent sipping ale (in orc-sized sips) and soliciting the advice of another stranger in his own world, Blarth had joined the others for lunch, long after Shade had left and even late enough that the others were starting to think that he wouldn't show. He'd felt a bit guilty about this, until he learned they were meeting again in the morning for breakfast. Apparently Shade had left to find some things out before they took any action on... well, something. Blarth wasn't exactly listening to all the details has he had thrown himself into a hearty meal, accompanied by yet more ale, which combined with his morning to make things just a bit fuzzy towards the end.

This morning, too, things were a bit fuzzy, but that wasn't the result of drinking. Or rather, it was, but not because he was drunk. Spending more than half a day drinking was a good way of asking for a hang-over and Blarth was finding it hard to open his eyes in the bright sunlight. As a result he was squiting alot, hence the fuzziness of the world.

Arriving again at the tavern, Blarth squints at the tables to find Shade, plunks down into a seat, and then orders the strongest, and blackest, xioac that the inn serves.

[Kelemyn]

Shade said not to wait up, and Juni didn't. But she lay in bed sleepless long into the night, thinking about Shade and about the shadow that Shade said might have become a part of her.

Juni worried that if Shade really had become one with the shadow that attacked her, that she would then be drawn toward darkness and evil. It could be happening even now! Shade's activities - skulking around the city all night, for instance - would encourage the shadow part of her to grow stronger. Juni imagined that Shade would have to fight hard to keep that from happening and to remain true to herself. (Although she had to admit that Shade's nature was very shadow-like to begin with. Would that make it harder for her friend to resist the evil?) It scared Juni to think of an insubstantial Shade, lurking in dark corners and plotting against the living for all eternity.

Eventually, Juni did sleep. Indeed, she ended up sleeping later than she intended, and had to rush to get ready for the morning meeting at the cafe. Shade was not at home, and Juni could not tell if she'd been there at all during the night.

Feeling more concern for Shade's well-being than ever, Juni dashes down the stairs of The Copper Maiden, her pale hair flying loose behind her, and flies out the door without remembering to bring her purse or her cloak.

She regrets the forgotten cloak immediately. A cold, gray morning greets her with a stiff wind from the north and low clouds threatening rain. She joins the bustle on the street, her head down against the wind like everyone else's, and makes for the meeting place.

By the time she arrives, the low clouds have lifted somewhat and rain seems less likely. Juni scans the tables - mostly empty - and finds that Blarth and Shade are sitting in the same place as yesterday. She is relieved to see Shade apparently safe and sound and solid, and then irritated with herself (or with Shade?) that she'd lost sleep over the whole thing.

She takes a seat, smiling at Blarth but avoiding looking at Shade for the moment. She glances around the tavern for Nicos and Maeko. "I guess I'm not as late as I thought I was," she says with a small laugh. "Shade, will you buy me a drink? I'm afaid I ran out without my purse. What is that you're drinking, Blarth?"

[Black Plauge]

"Xioac," Blarth replies, showing Juni the thick, hot liquid. Seeing she doesn't recognize the name, Blarth allows her to take a sip and Juni finds it as bitter as bad coffee, but tasting like unsweetened chocolate.

"Good for getting rid of the groginesss of a hangover," he explains as he finishes off the mug and orders another.

[Kelemyn]

The coffee-like drink is strong, strong enough to make Juni shudder as it surges over her taste buds and down her throat. "Unggh!" she chokes, but it is not the caustic flavor that causes the upset; it is the buzz. The stuff seems to go right to her head, burning off the residual fog from her sleepless night and snapping her eyes wide open.

"Wow!"

And that was just one sip!

Plain water will do just fine for Juni after that.

"Well," she says, turning finally to Shade. Her resentment has passed. Now she's just curious to see if the rogue managed to find out anything that will help Maeko. "How did things go after you left us yesterday? Did you discover who has been making trouble for Maeko and her sisters?"

[itches]

Nicos walked into the inn, trying his best to ignore the haze caused by a night spent without sleep and the various injuries he had picked up, in particular a nasty looking cut through his right eyebrow. Following closely behind the bard was a young red haired woman, dressed in dark clothes and sporting a newly healed scar on on cheek. Spotting Shade, Blarth and Juni already seated, the bard grimaced them gestured for his companion to follow him over.

"Morning all," Nicos said settling down into a seat, his companion doing the same nearby. "This is Lynn, she gave me a hand with something last night so I thought the least I could do was buy her breakfast." Waving over a waitress and ignoring Lynn's eye roll at the bad joke, Nicos continued. "I trust we all slept well last night."

[Kelemyn]

"I trust we all slept well last night," Nicos remarks.

Juni glances over at Shade. "Some of us... not so much," she says, more or less under her breath, then sighs and rests her elbow on the table, chin in hand. The caffeine-buzz was short-lived - maybe she should order a cup of xiaoc for herself!

She rouses sufficiently to be interested in Lynn, and smiles a welcome in the woman's direction. She wonders what Nicos means by gave me a hand with something but doesn't feel right about prying. She also wonders about the rather severe-looking cut over his eyebrow. That's two days in a row that he's come around looking the worse for wear. But again he doesn't seem inclined to talk about it. She doubts that there is much use in bringing it up.

"Have you seen Maeko this morning?" she asks instead.

[itches]

"Not since yesterday," Nicos commented, becoming distracted by the smell coming off the half-orc's drink. "Blarth, what under the stars is that?"

[Black Plauge]

"Xioac," Blarth replies, offering Nicos a sip from the fresh mug.

[Gralhruk]

Shade eases back in her chair, crossing one leg under her and resting her rapidly cooling drink in her lap, remaining silent until the others have made their introductions and gotten comfortable. She barely raises an eyebrow at Nicos' new companion, devoting only moment to make a mental wager on how long this one would last. Less grating than Gemoud, though, so that was something.

The morning sun bothers her eyes - yet one more reason to spill her news and then go get some sleep. For a long moment she stares into the rippling gray surface of her drink, all color having quite faded from the world with the rising of the sun. She felt faded herself, exhausted from not only last night, but from the cumulative stress since her battle with Skathros and his pets. For a moment she can feel the heat of the flames, the otherworldly iciness of the shadows, the twisting, living dark . . . now somehow a part of her.

She speaks to break the spell, banish the demons.

"I think I found our man."

Flat gray eyes match the tonelessness of her voice. They land briefly on Lynn, then focus on nothing. Nicos wouldn't have brought her if he didn't trust her.

"Thunn Torver. He'd be just another cheap thug - not enough finesse or brains for anything serious - except his uncle is Rilip Torver, a fairly powerful merchant with some shady ties. Deals with things the more respectable families won't touch, but nothing outright criminal. Both the law and the guild
are inclined to look the other way when Thunn does something, unless it's really stupid, in which case Rilip has thus far bought them off.

Word is that Thunn has no love of foreigners. It isn't much of a secret how he felt about Maeko's group. I found at that he's been seen casing the place and doing some minor mischief."

[Black Plauge]

Sipping carefully at the fresh hot mug, Blarth sighs, "So, I take it this uncle means I can't solve this problem the easy way."

Why did human problems have to be so complicated?

[itches]

Nicos coughed and pulled a face when he tried Blarth's drink, ignoring Lynn's smirk as she ordered the same drink from their waitress.

"Maybe we there is still a simple solution to this," Nicos said around a mouthful of eggs. "If we find him and confrunt him, let him know that Maeko has friends willing to help her. If this - Thunn was it? - is just bully then that might be enough to get him to leave her alone."

"This is about the fire that was started the other night?" Lynn ventured. "That's bigger then just being a bully. What if just confrunting him doesn't work?"

[Kelemyn]

"Maybe we could talk to the uncle," Juni suggests. "If we can convince him that his nephew's activities will only bring more trouble to the family..." She leaves the thought unfinished and shrugs.

[Gralhruk]

"Maybe," Shade says doubtfully.

She sits back and pulls her cloak a little tighter.

"Any volunteers? I hear Rilip is a hard man."

[Kelemyn]

Well, Juni has had some experience dealing with hard men, or at least one hard man: her father. She might even have a slight advantage in her dealings with Rilip Torver since it is unlikely that the Enderin merchant has anything like her father's masterful psychic powers.

She would be glad of the chance to do something useful for a change anyway.

"Since it was my idea, I'll go talk to him," she offers, sitting straighter in her chair as if to prove her capability in the matter.

[itches]

"It might not be that easy," Nicos commented. "Rilip is an important man - or at least he considers himself one - so it won't just be a matter walking into his business and demanding to speak to him. It could take us days, to convince him to see us without some elaborate sham."

"Actually," Lynn said, speaking for the first time since sitting at the table. "That's not entirely true. I know his er ... personal secretary and she owes me a favour. If you want I can get you in to see him, well right now."

Nicos looked at Lynn with an arches eyebrow, trying to read something from her expression before giving up with a shake of his head.

"Well I guess Lynn and I will be going with you Juni."

[Gralhruk]

Shade sits back, narrowed eyes appraising Lynn for a long moment, then flipping between Juni and Nicos. Like as not Rilip would do what he was going to do, regardless of who came knocking. Still, Nicos was persuasive and traveling with two women would make him seem less dangerous.

"Be careful not to threaten him. We don't want to end up with Rilip against us too."

She stands up and drains the last of her now cold beverage, then fixes Arjuna with a critical glance.

"Let me know what happened as soon as you get back. If I'm asleep, wake me."

With a curt nod at the rest of them she turns and disappears into the crowd.

[Black Plauge]

After watching Shade go, Blarth turns to the others and asks, "So, how about some breakfast? I heard the proprietor here has come up with this kind of thin cake that he cooks on a hot plate instead of in the oven. It's supposed to be really good with fruit and honey."

Gesturing for a serving wench to come over, Blarth orders a stack of the hot thin cakes and another mug of xioac. He then looks to the others to see if they want anything.

[Kelemyn]

Something hot would be nice.

"If you don't mind buying my breakfast," Juni says to Blarth, feeling foolish once again for forgetting her coin purse, "I'll have what you're having. But make it a cup of mint tea instead of xioac."

She sits back quietly while the others order. It's rather depressing to think that, even if she had remembered to bring it, there was nothing in her purse. A few coppers, yes. But that was all. Shade paid their room and board at The Copper Maiden along with any other minor expenses that cropped up. But there were things that Juni wanted that she couldn't ask Shade to buy. New clothes, for instance.

Juni had begun to think that she could be most useful to the group by keeping up the pretense that she was well-to-do. She had learned much in her father's house about how things are done in society. The appearance of wealth and gentility could very well open doors that would otherwise remain closed to her and the party. But the illusion would be difficult to maintain without the proper accoutrements. Juni had made creative use of her limited wardrobe so far, but certain items were beginning to show wear, and some were just not appropriate at all.

Breakfast arrives and Juni digs in with perhaps a little too much gusto for a lady of her apparent standing. She doesn't give much thought to strict table manners unless the situation absolutely requires it.

Mmmm! Hot thin cakes are delicious!

"I guess we should be on our way," she says to Nicos and Lynn when they have all finished eating. "Blarth, where will you be later this afternoon? We should all meet again then to discuss things further."

[Black Plauge]

"I'm not sure," Blarth replies, "I've been living off of charity for a bit now, but after yesterday I don't really want to be doing that anymore. I still have some money, but I'd like to actually be doing something, so I might try to find some short term work if there is any to be had. There should be some places that would appreciate a strong back for a bit."

[itches]

Juni, Nicos and Lynn head off through the city towards their destination, Nicos keeping up a more or less constant stream of chatter as they walk. Upon arriving, Lynn quickly took the lead in talking to the women who answered the door.

"Lynn!" the woman exclaimed with a pleased expression. "What brings you here?"

Your boss actually," Lynn replied. "We need to see him."

"It'll take a while to get an appointment, he does get busy this time of year."

"Kat, this is important."

"I can't just ..."

"Kat...."

"... okay, wait here I'll go get him."

[Kelemyn]

So... Lynn knows Rilip Torver's secretary. What a happy coincidence! thinks Juni as the trio is ushered into Torver's private office. They only have to wait a few minutes before Torver comes in to meet them, his face a mask of irritation.

"Yes, yes... What's this all about?" he asks, obviously in a hurry, and barely taking the time to do more than glance in their direction. He is going through the papers on his desk, and Juni has the feeling that when he finds the one he's looking for, he'll be out the door again before they have a chance to state their business.

So she walks quickly forward, reaches out and forcibly takes his hand in greeting, and with just a small push of her mind, shocks him with a brief glimpse of his own destiny.

It is, of course, quite disorienting. Torver reels back slightly, one of his finely manicured hands clutching at his lurching stomach, and looks up at her in surprise. She meets his gaze with a bright smile.

"It's good to meet you, Lord Torver," she says. "My name is Arjuna Khalidar. I know that you are a busy man, so my friends and I won't keep you." At this, she nods at her two companions, and introduces them. "We have a problem, you see. Another friend of ours is new in town, and there are some here in Enderin who have done their best to make her feel very unwelcome." Juni shakes her head sadly. "I am sure that you are as surprised to hear this as we were. But you are also probably wondering what it has to do with you.

"Well, my lord, it pains me to have to say this, but..." Juni pauses at this point, and looks slightly embarassed. "But I'm afraid it is your own nephew, Thunn, who is making trouble for our friend.

"Now of course we realize that you can't be held accountable for his actions. But it seems that the law may soon become involved, in which case, it could become costly for you. As has, unfortunately, happened on other occasions. Or so it is said in certain circles." Juni gives the merchant a knowing and sympathetic look. Nicos is a little bit surprised that she has managed to pull off this role so convincingly. She seems the very picture of a concerned fellow-merchant.

And Torver seems almost to buy it too. For a moment. Then...

"Who did you say you were again?" he asks critically.

"Arjuna Khalidar," Juni answers quickly. "I'm rather new to Enderin, but I'm doing business on behalf of.. my family. I have a room at The Copper Maiden, but if we like the look of the town, we may establish a more permanent presence."

It sounded good, but the wheels are starting to turn in Torver's head, and Juni can see it the moment he makes the connection.

"Khalidar..." he says slowly. "Yes, I know the name. You're from Tradeholm, aren't you? Related to Rynem Khalidar? I didn't know he had much in the way of family."

It was lucky that he hadn't heard yet that Rynem was dead. But he evidently hadn't heard of Rynem's daughter either. Juni laughs. "I'm the niece he never talks about," she says, taking the man's hand in hers again. "Thank you for your time, Lord Torver. And if you could just speak to your nephew for us, and ask him to let up on the poor nuns of Botahara, I would greatly appreciate it."

With one last psychic push, Juni lets loose a flood of half-formed premonitions on the man. As he falls back, retching, she shepherds Nicos and Lynn out of the office.

Outside in the hall, they run into Kat, the secretary.

"How did it go?" the young woman asks.

"Oh fine," Juni answers as they hurry back to the front door. "But I don't think your boss is feeling very well!"

[Gralhruk]

Shade was exhausted, having not slept well since leaving Tradeholm, since being attacked by that living shadow. Part of her wanted to blame it on the inner turmoil over Ricard - his betrayal, his death - anything to avoid thinking about the bizarre changes that attack had wrought. Even now it was all around her - everything in shades of grey, the sense of something foreign insider her, tearing away at who she was. With an effort, she pushes her mind back to Ricard and their final confrontation.

She'd been tricked her into killing him, that much was certain. But that didn't change the fact that he deserved it. And he did deserve it, for what he'd done. Shade would be dead if not for naturally quick reflexes and the luck of having Lorrus trailing her. He deserved it.

So why do I think it was wrong?

His manner bothered her - not angry, not afraid, not vindictive - nothing she would have imagined he would be. No, now that she had time to think about it, she truly felt that he was sad, as if he was holding something back that he wanted to tell her but wouldn't, or couldn't. There had been a moment in that last meeting when she'd felt connected to him, felt his pain over what they had lost. Was there something she didn't know about the events of that night, so long ago, when her love had tried to kill her?

It was quite possible. Her memories of the attack itself and much of the night were unclear, perhaps as a result of the trauma she'd suffered. She shakes her head and opens the door to her room at The Copper Maiden. Light was spilling in through the window, filling the place with a buttery glow. Juni was a good roommate, generally keeping the place in good order. She pulls the shutters closed, relaxing a little in the sudden dimness and then lays down fully clothed on her bed.

Arjuna was a grown woman who had constantly proved more capable at taking care of herself than Shade gave her credit for. And she had Nicos with her, who was very good at keeping himself alive. They ought to be able to handle a diplomatic mission with the requisite grace. She closes her eyes and listens to the muffled noises in the Inn around her, trying to will herself into much needed rest. She drowses uneasily, until a key sounds in the lock and the door scrapes slowly open.

She starts, as always ready to fight first and ask questions later, but it is only Arjuna. She looks unhappy. Shade frowns, eyes clear but hard.

"What is it?"

[Kelemyn]

"Oh. You're awake."

Juni isn't sure if she's pleased or disappointed that Shade is awake to greet her. She is reminded of the times in the past when she had to face her father and confess to making a mistake. Rynem Khalidar had been a man who did not tolerate mistakes, whether made by his underlings or by his daughter! But of course, Shade is not Rynem...

Juni steps into the room and closes the door behind her. She sits down at her dressing table, and begins unpinning her hair. She can feel Shade looking at her, growing impatient.

"It didn't go.. badly," Juni says finally, turning away from the mirror to face Shade. "Torver didn't throw us out or anything. But he isn't going to help us either. He . . ." She thinks of her last sight of the merchant looking dizzy and sick to his stomach. "I mean, I . . ."

Shade would probably laugh if she told her about that part of it. Well, maybe not... But Juni had thought it almost funny to see the arrogant merchant doubled over like that! And it was unlikely Torver realized that she was the cause of his discomfort. Nicos and Lynn hadn't caught on, not until she'd told them what she'd done afterwards. Torver probably just thought that he'd gotten a bad meat pie for lunch. A bit of a joke on him, actually.

On the other hand, Juni had let slip too much information, something that Shade undoubtedly would never do.

"I think I made a mistake," Juni says after a lengthy silence. Then the whole story comes tumbling out.

"I told him my full name, Shade. I was an idiot! I said that I was from Tradeholm and here on family business. He made the connection to Rynem Khalidar right away. If he has ties to the Tradeholm Guild he'll find out about my father's 'accident' and his death before too long. And then he'll know that the Guild is looking for me. I even told him where I'm staying! I can't believe that I was so stupid!"

Juni throws herself on her bed, feeling even more miserable now that her incompetence is out in the open.

[Gralhruk]

Shade's eyes grow less hard as Arjuna speaks and her frown becomes one of thought rather than annoyance. She crosses her arms and considers this information for a few moments.

"Well, it isn't as bad as you make it out. No doubt Rilip was going to have you checked out before he'd listen to you anyway. If you gave him false information he'd find out easily enough, and be that much less likely to heed your words."

She rubs one forearm distractedly.

"On the other hand, I hadn't considered how widely your father was known. Most guilds aren't too friendly with one another so it will probably take a while for the information to get back to Tradeholm. Still, we should probably find somewhere else to stay."

[Kelemyn]

Juni sits up and turns to look at Shade. She is... surprised. And relieved. She'd half expected Shade to give her one of her father's patented looks - stern and reproving, halfway between disappointment and scorn - and then just leave. After all, it wasn't really Shade's problem if the Guild was on Juni's tail again.

But Shade had said "we", as in "we should probably find somewhere else to stay". That must mean that she planned to stick with Juni, in spite of her blunder.

"I suppose that we should," Juni says in reply, and smiles in the face of Shade's friendship, feeling a warmth she hadn't known in a long while.

But Maeko is the one with the more immediate problem...

"We can look for a place after we figure out what to do about Thunn. The uncle won't do anything to help, so it will have to be us. What did Blarth mean when he said that we can't solve the problem 'the easy way'? There isn't an easy way as far as I can see."

[Gralhruk]

Shade smiles.

"You aren't Blarth," she explains. "He was raised with orcs, I think, who aren't particularly burdened by the trappings of civilization."

She starts packing, though truth be told she didn't have that much work to do. Despite living here for a while, she really hadn't moved in.

"He was probably hoping he could just smash Thunn and be done with it. I don't know what to do with it now. Confront him, maybe, and hope we can scare him straight without actually doing anything to him."

[Kelemyn]

"Hmmm... so we'll just threaten to smash Thunn, and hope that he believes we're capable of it," Juni muses, raising a skeptical eyebrow. She thinks about the 'enforcers' she'd known back in the old neighborhood. Big, beefy brawlers - 'no-necks', she and Alek used to call them. Even Blarth doesn't come close to fitting that mental image.

"Well, I guess all we can do is try. And we should probably do something very soon, before Thunn has a chance to cause any more mischief." Juni gets up from her bed, and turns to the mirror to straighten her hair and her clothes. "Tonight?"

[itches]

"Well that could have gone better," Lynn said to Nicos when they returned to a private room and the bard began to check his still fresh injury.

"I didn't see you making any suggestions." Nicos shot back.

"I'm merely the student remember? I wouldn't dream of interfering while a master like you was working."

"You know in the tales," Nicos said with a mock groan. "When the Master Bard, talented, cunning and handsome man that he is-"

"-not to mention modest."

"-takes on a beautiful apprentice she is always respectful and awed in his presence."

"And are any of your tales even remotely close to real events?" Lynn asked archly.

"Well some of them," Nicos replied defensively. "Maybe. On accident."

"Of course," the young women laughed. "I won't slight your honour again by suggesting that you'd tell a true tale."

"Thank you," Nicos said with mock gravity, pulling himself to his feet. "Now come on, and bring your instrument. If you want to learn now is as good a time as any."

"Where are we going?" Lynn asked, the curiosity heavy in her voice.

"Impromptu street performance," Nicos intoned. "The eternal fall back of the wondering minstrel."

[Gralhruk]

Shade yanks the drawstrings tight on a cloth bag, stuffs it into her leather pack and buckles it shut. Her grey eyes give the remaining area a cursory glance as her hands deftly check her blades. She nods at Arjuna.

"Tonight. Meantime we find somewhere else to stay."

[-J-]

Isac huddled against stacked sacks of grain in the bottom of the river barge desperately trying to keep warm. For six months he had been traveling from Thuranoch. Six months for a voyage that was supposed to have taken him less than one. The sound of distant thunder drew his eyes upward toward the thick sheets of gray clouds rolling in off of the Eirinikos.

More rain... He sighed, resigning himself to yet another damp and chilly night. From his improvised shelter he looked out at the crew as they continually adjusted the tow ropes. Some were wearing simple linen shirts of varying colors, most were bare chested. His inability to get warm had become a regular joke on the voyage. One of the sailors had even offered him a brightly colored knitted woolen cap, saying that it had belonged to his daughter...his six year old daughter.

Sigh.

At least it was warm...

"Brother Isac," the captain's weathered voice boomed from the rudder. Working his way out of his mound of spare canvas and piled bedrolls Isac turned toward the stern. Immediately the wind cut into his face, sending a shiver through his core.

"Y...y...yes c..captain?" The captain was kind enough to only smirk at his discomfort.

"Enderin," he said simply and pointed ahead. Through the morning mist the vague shapes of builds glowered darkly. At last...

"Thank you captain," he did his best to keep the quiver out of his voice. He dropped down out of the wind and opened the large trunk that contained all of his worldly possessions. Rummaging around for a few moments his fingers finally find their objective. Carefully he removed the three foot long silvered steel flanged mace from the trunk. He sat there for a moment, feeling the weight of the weapon in his hand, letting its heaviness fill him with the conviction he needed.

Pelor is the Light, and the Way...

With an even heavier heart he let the mace handle drop into the leather ring on his belt. From a hidden compartment in the lid of his trunk he removed a large, sealed vellum letter and a sketch. He unfolded the sketch and studied the expertly drawn woman's face, like he had every night for the last six months. He had memorized every nuance of her face from her delicately arched eyebrows to the full curve of her lips. He had stared for long hours into those traced eyes and wondered what color they really were. He wondered what sorrow they had witnessed to make them so very hard and cold - wondered how she got her scar. Below the picture was a list of over twenty names, aliases she had used over the years.

Samantha Cooper...
N'jat Haurum...
Brin of Phror Molos...
Shade...

Opening his oiled leather coat he slid the letter into his chest pocket. With a numb precision he re-buttoned the jacket, hiding both the letter and his maille shirt underneath.

It was time to finish this...

[Black Plauge]

"Thrice damned rain..." Blarth mutters as he steps out of the hold of the river barge again and is, again, drenched in the cold water that is falling from the sky.

"Why the hell can't it just snow like it is supposed to in the winter..."

Looking for work that required only a strong back had seemed like such a good idea this morning at breakfast. After several days of moping about, Blarth had needed some real physical activity, and previous experience had taught him that humans generally did not appreciate the ways that orcs usually got their physical activity when they were bored. It had only been a friendly wrestling match in the town square, but the human he'd challanged (who, to be honest had looked just as bored as Blarth had felt) had considered it something called "assault and battery." Blarth had spent several months working in the town's quarry as a result of that incident.

Of course, once he was done, Trak had taken care to point out that if he had simply applied at the quarry office for a few days work, he would have accomplished the same thing and been paid for it.

So Blarth, restless now that his guilt over losing Trak's armor had lifted, had gone looking for some simple physical labor and found it unloading river barges at the dock. That had suited Blarth just fine at first, but some time shortly after lunch the rain had started falling. At first, that had been alright because the porter supervisor had immediately handed out oiled cloaks to all the porters unloading the barge, and so the first couple of trips in the rain hadn't been all that bad. But then the supervisor had noticed that Blarth was wearing the oil cloak and letting the sacks of grain he was carrying on his shoulders get wet. The supervisor had come down on Blarth like a ton of rocks at that point and now Blarth was unloading barrels instead of sacks of grain. That also meant that he didn't "need" an oiled cloak anymore, because the barrels were water tight anyway, and thus could get wet while the sacks of grain couldn't.

So, while the other porters were carefully using the oiled cloaks to keep both themselves and the sacks of grain they were unloading dry, Blarth had to face the cold and drenching rain every time he stepped out of the hold with another barrel. On top of that, while the grain was stored inside a warehouse, giving the porters unloading it two respites from the rain each trip (one at either end), Blarth had been instructed to stack the barrels outside, meaning he was only out of the rain once each trip.

Some days it just didn't pay to be a half-orc.

About the only good thing about unloading barrels were that at this time of the year there were fewer of them than there were sacks of grain. Grain crop excesses had only just started to be converted to beer and ale and the city merchants were far more concerned with laying in their winter store of grains than alcaholic beverages. Thus, Blarth was able to catch a much longer rest under the eaves of one of the warehouses as the other porters finished with unloading the grain shipment and the next barge cycled into the unloading area.

It was during one of these breaks that Blarth noticed the human passenger, clearly shivering far more than Blarth was, despite what looked to be adequate rain gear, depart one of the barges. The man was several inches taller than Blarth, though some of that may have been the considerable thickness in the soles of his boots, so perhaps he was closer to Nicos in height than he looked. Still, despite the height, he didn't have that sense of "bigness" about him that Blarth often carried because of his bulk. On the breast of the man's coat was a sunburst that Blarth recognized as being the symbol of the human sun god Pelor, a fact that brought a chuckle to Blarth's lips as he saw the man shiver once more.

"Apparently the lack of his sun god above him makes the man feel cold and alone. No god that limits his sphere of influence to such a limited heavenly body as the sun should be worthy of worship..."

"BLARTH!" the supervisor yells, interupting the half-orcs thoughts, "Stop telling yourself jokes and get to work unloading this next barge. I'm paying you to work, not remember the act of some good for nothing bard in whatever hellhole you stayed in last night!"

[-J-]

"Excuse me sir, which way to the closest inn?" The foreman's brow furrows in concentration as he tries to work through Issac's accent. A few moments later his eyes light up with recognition.

"The Copper Maiden be what you want," he says slowly as he points towards the wall of sea grayed buildings along the shore. ""Twixt those two buildings, turn right and then go thirty famn and it will be on the left," Issac bows graciously, slips the man a silver, then starts heading toward the town.

"BLARTH! Stop telling yourself jokes and get to work unloading this next barge. I'm paying you to work, not remember the act of some good for nothing bard in whatever hellhole you stayed in last night!" The foreman's voice booms with the weight of authority. Reflexively Issac turns and spies the object of his reprimand, a thick set half-orc. Reflexively Issac averts his gaze and gives the nahshkma, a combination of bow and hand gesture. It was a sign of deference he had painfully learned in the hot jungles of the goblin empire. You're not in the Hegemony any more... he chastizes himself.

Quickly righting himself he pushes on toward the Copper Maiden, memories of the Forbidden South swirling about him the same way the dark clouds swirled above. Several rain drenched minutes later finds him standing in front of the Maiden's proprietor signing a wetly splattered guest log.

"That'll be two silver for the night, two and a half gold a'fortnight," the innkeep says over his shoulder as he rummages for a room key. While the old man is distracted, Issac quickly flips through the previous entries. Not that he really expected his quarry to stay in this sort of establishment but...

Samantha Cooper.

"Here we go sir," the innkeep slaps the worn brass key onto the ledger. "How many nights then?"

"I think just the one will suffice. That's funny, I knew a Samantha Cooper from Tradeholm," the thin priest says lightly tapping the log. "I don't suppose this one is a big girl, with long red hair?"

"No sir. Quite thin, and dark hair. Nasty bit of work across the face," he makes a slicing motion across the bridge of his nose. "Shame too. Still," he adds with a knowing wink "wouldn't throw her in the stables for snoring if you know what I mean."

"Pity. Well thank you my good man," Issac smiles politely and drops three silver coins on the counter and then palms his room key. He turns, trunk in hand, and begins toward the stair.

"... I'm telling you Shade the Unicorn is a dive. The owner's second cousin runs about half of the cities prostitutes out of that place."
"Its more like a fifth."
"Well I heard from a spice merchant who heard from...oooof" her sentence is cut short as she rounds a corner and runs headlong into a heavy trunk, and its thin owner.

"I'm terribly sorry, please forgive me m'lady...ladies," he adds as Shade comes into view.

Well...this is awkward...

[Kelemyn]

Juni steps back, her blue eyes wide with surprise. For just a fraction of a second they seem to burn silver-bright as she instinctively manifests a precognitive power, too late to avoid this collision of course, but the increased awareness makes her feel more secure, if a bit dizzy.

It is a technique she'd been using since she was a child, but only recently fully mastered. She has to make sense of what is happening around her right now, in the moment; AND take note of fragmentary glimpses of potential near-future events as they play out in her mind.

The man's lips are moving, he is speaking... Is that happening now or will it happen five minutes from now?
The innkeeper calls loudly for the hostler.
A door bangs closed upstairs.
A carriage drives by splashing Juni with water as she stands near the street. Hopefully I'll be able to avoid that when it happens...
Shade nudges her in the ribs with her elbow.

Meanwhile I'm standing here like a lackwit!

It has taken months of practice, but Juni has finally learned to sort through the confusing visions while behaving at least semi-normally. She shakes her head slightly to clear it, and speaks:

"I am so sorry! It wasn't your fault, sir, it was mine.. please forgive my clumsiness. I didn't damage anything, did I?"

[Gralhruk]

Shade's eyes lock with the owner of the trunk for a moment and for some reason those pale sea-green eyes set the hair on her nape standing. The woolen child's cap he wore looked comical given his otherwise somber clothes; he wasn't a man that most would consider threatening but something about him put her on edge. She stirs uneasily, speaking to Juni without taking her eyes from the man.

"It'd take an axe and a strong arm to dint that chest."

She glances toward the door, then back.

"We'd offer to help you out but we were just leaving."

[-J-]

"Its no trouble..." he really hated this part. How exactly was one supposed to approach an assassin? Excuse me, if you're not terribly busy, would you mind killing a few people for the greater good... At least that is what he presumed he was doing in delivering sealed church documents, either that or Archbishop Orphrease had found himself a new plaything and Isac was here to collect her.

Murder and lust - cornerstones of the Empire.

Regardless discretion is called for.

"You must let me to make ammends for my clumbsiness. Please, allow me to escort you ladies to dinner tonight. My treat," he says with a warm smile.

[Kelemyn]

All the psychic noise is a bit distracting, but Juni picks out the thread that leads most directly to the reality of what is happening around her NOW; and she smiles because she knows just what the stranger will say before he even says it. Her eyes sparkle with a silver sheen, an effect both becoming and somewhat alarming. She is unaware of the distant, dreamy expression on her face. And she hardly realizes that she blurts out an answer almost before the speaker can finish his sentence.

"Dinner? That would be lovely!"

It feels just like the sort of thing that Lady Couertney would have arranged for her. Back in Tradeholm, she and other young ladies of 'quality' would often meet socially with various members of the clergy. There were luncheons and teas, picnics and excursions to the park. She had always felt a bit like an outsider in those situations, probably because it was all so new to her. But she had learned the proper things to say and do, and how to accept an invitation graciously.

But of course, this isn't Tradeholm. And she and Shade have another obligation.

"Oh, but I don't know that we'll be finished by dinner time... I mean, we have an important matter to attend to, don't we Shade? It could take a while to straighten things out with Thunn Torver. But maybe-"

Here it comes... Juni deftly sidesteps Shade's intended elbow-jab to her ribs, having foreseen it coming a moment ago. A slight smirk twitches the corners of her mouth, in spite of herself. It is quite an accomplishment to be a step ahead of Shade's elbow. She guesses that Shade is trying to tell her that she is talking too much. Is it her curse today to babble and prattle and spill secrets everywhere she goes?

But Juni is suddenly positive that having dinner with the cleric of Pelor will lead to a favorable conclusion. It isn't clairvoyance that informs her, but another kind of feeling. A priest of the Sun god... Maybe just the person that Shade should meet and get to know.

"Oh but this is such a fortuitous meeting!" she exclaims with just the right amount of enthusiasm. Lady Couertney would be so proud! "Our other business can wait. Don't you think so, Shade?" She doesn't wait for her companion to disagree but turns to the priest and continues. "We would be honored to accept your invitation for dinner. What time would be best for you?"

[-J-]

Isac smiles warmly as Juni's eyes return to their normal color, but inside apprehension fills him with doubt. No gestures...no visible components or incantations... Yet there was no mistaking the silvering of her eyes for anything less than the manifestation of...something. A sorcerer perhaps? Not that it mattered really.

Deliver your errand and be done with it.

"Well if you're pressed for time we could have a light brunch now," he motions for the innkeeper's dark haired son to come over. "Although you will have to pick the place." The adolescent boy comes meekly over, obviously uncomfortable and self conscious around the attractive adult women.

"Here lad," Isac says after a moment of fishing through his jacket pockets. He produces two shiny silver pieces and presses them into the boy's hand. The boy's eyes grow big as saucers as he stares at two months worth of wages. "Take my case and this," he holds up his mace, "to my room and leave the key with your father. Think you can handle that?"

The boy nods frantically.

"Good lad. Off you go now," he grins broadly and adds a playful tousling of the boy's hair. For a moment he watches the boy struggle with the heavy case, his youthful face taught with adult-like concentration. Out of the corner of his eye he can see the innkeeper quietly watching his son, his face bright with pride. A pang of jealousy hits the thin priest as he finds himself wondering if he would ever have a son - wondering if he would ever be able to have that look of glowing pride as his son grew into manhood.

Wondering if he should have charted a different course for his life.

Since he had returned from the goblin empire the idea had been growing with in him. Every couple he saw, every child that ran smiling into the open arms of their parent made him question his choice to remain a priest. He told himself that it was natural, that it would pass with time, but inside he knew the truth. He knew that he had begun to question this path long before he ever left for the Forbidden South, ever since...

Sshal' En Tuath

He quickly tries to push the place from his mind.

Deliver your errand...

Sheolign

..and be done with it.

Choking back the black bile rising within him he turns back to Juni and Shade, his warm smiling mask back in place. With a polite, courtier-like bow he offers his arm to Juni, "Shall we?"

[Cadrius]

There are those who have fortune smile upon them; charmed individuals who always seem to succeed against impossible odds. All the heroes of old are always said to be favored by luck—not to mention a god or two. As a boy, the legends he had heard from his father’s loremaster always played into this. Every time the hero, or heroine, was on his last legs, some turn of fortune would tilt in their favor and they would win the day. It happened so often that Cadrius wondered what the difference was between a hero and a lucky fool.

But Cadrius is not a hero, and he most certainly is not fortune’s favored son. Word of his former companion’s passing had been nonexistent within Tradeholm—at least to his inept efforts to find them, and he had not luckily stumbled across any evidence of their passing. While Cadrius is at home both in the practice yard and in court, he still has much to learn of life as a common man. Inquiring about an orc and a one-armed minstrel at best drew him confused looks. His attempts at bribery were clumsy and awkward and gave him nothing more than a lighter coin purse.

Looking at map had not helped much either. Spreading the vellum across a table, he had traced his finger along the small roads and trails winding away from the town. They would not have traveled back into the wild and toward the Citadel, but beyond that he had little insight. Shade had left his them and while he did not doubt Blarth’s ability to survive in the wild, he wondered if they might not stick a well-traveled road.

His thoughts had drifted back to the scarred woman, as they often did, and he wondered where she had disappeared to, and if she was even still alive. It was almost certain. Shade was a survivor, through and through, and even if it was only through sheer will alone, she would likely outlive every other member of their shattered fellowship.

Nicos and Blarth were an unlikely pair, but well-suited to each other. The orc was as strong as a bear and as fearsome as one in a fight. And while Cadrius found Nicos to be as tiring as he was useful, the fallen paladin had to admit that most would consider Nicos to bear a silver tongue. There were likely few situations where Blarth’s muscle or Nicos’ wiles would not see them through.

So why look for them? He asked himself one night while lying on the cot in the inn. He stared at the ceiling and wondered why he would put so much effort into trying to track them down. Shade was gone. Blarth and Nicos would be fine. Ben was a troubled soul, but should have little issue fending for himself. He was a free man now. Duty should not shackle him to these souls. He is not beholden to them, and there is still some work left undone.

He lay abed, thinking for several more hours. By dawn, he had left Tradeholm.

[Gralhruk]

The ease with which Juni sidesteps her intended reprimand gives Shade a moment's pause. Was she that predictable? She thinks back over the time they have spent together and decides that she must make for a dour companion. Over protective, too, no doubt.

Her hard grey eyes do not leave the man, whose name she does not know. Juni had spilled there names and more in the scant moments that had passed. The girl did need looking after but perhaps Shade was being too pessimistic, looking for enemies in even a chance meeting such as this.

"I suppose we can," Shade grudgingly agrees, "if we aren't too long about it."

[Kelemyn]

Juni 'turns off' her precog sense finally, perhaps belatedly. She hardly needs it to go out to lunch, and it is making her feel way too giddy. For a moment, her perception of things feels flat, and the world seems somewhat dull and lifeless. But the feeling passes quickly, and social interaction is suddenly much simpler.

"I know a good place for lunch," she tells the priest, allowing him to take her arm and lead her toward the door. "At least, I like it. The food is more home-like than at some places I've been to in Enderin. Of course, what's home-like for me, probably isn't for you." Juni can see that the man is new in town. But she can't tell by looking at him where he might be from.

"I don't think I've properly introduced myself," she continues. Of course, it would be even more proper if the man would introduce himself first, but so far he hasn't done so. "My name is Arjuna, and this is my companion, Shade." Juni looks at her friend with a smile, and for the first time really notices her wariness.

Not that she is surprised by it. It is Shade's way, after all, to be stone-faced and stand-offish. She never quite trusts anyone. Which, of course, is probably wise. But Juni has been a fugitive for only a short while. Caution and paranoia have not yet become as natural for her as breathing. And this is a priest of Pelor!

She gives Shade a reassuring look then sends her a quick, telepathic message: Come on, let's have fun! There's nothing to worry about...

[-J-]

"Forgive me, the name is Moore...Isac Moore," he gives an overly embelished bow. Righting himself, he offers an arm to Juni and procedes to escort her to dinner.

[Cadrius]

The first few days out of Tradeholm were liberating. His lungs appreciated the clean air and his throat the clear water found in the hills and streams outside of the settlement. Chill air fogged his breath at night when he slept beneath the branches of the pines and firs that lay within the vacant dells. The autumn nights being what they were, he kept the fire burning hot and slept as close to it as he dared. Mornings were crisp and a few deep breaths were as sure a way to wake him up as a bucket of water.

His conscience felt lighter too. The burden of responsibility was lifted from his shoulders and he found his mood elated. Walking the faint paths and game trails that cut back and forth through the landscape, he felt more cheer than he had in months. The work left undone would be grim, and blood would be shed before it was done, but he no longer needed to track the movements and safety of each of his companions. He did not have to concern himself with Nicos being killed for cuckolding some merchant or nobleman. He did not need to worry about the townsfolk’s reaction to Blarth’s skin. And he certainly didn’t need to worry about Shade and the fact that death seemed to follow her everywhere.

On the fourth day he found a fishing village. It rested on the banks of a broad river that Cadrius didn’t recognize. The water was quick and cool and as Cadrius walked along the stony shore he could see the trout and other fish swimming within its deep currents. A small dock jutted out into the water and the current splashed against the wooden beams.

He had hoped to barter, or outright buy, some provisions to replenish what he carried in his satchel. But as Cadrius drew near, he did not see any smoke billowing out from the chimneys. His pace slowed and the old wariness that had been banished amidst his solitude in the wilderness returned. Without thinking, the bastard sword was in his hand and the shield strapped onto his arm.

Advancing further into the village showed no signs of struggle or conquest. Nothing was burned and there were no signs of blood or struggle. Clothes hung on lines and fishing nets were laid out. The sense of disquiet grew. Cadrius avoided the center, unwilling to stray too far into a trap. Instead he nudged open an already loose door on one of the small thatch roofed houses on the outskirts of the village.

The light from the doorway threw back the shadows and displayed the wooden floor. It was hardly more than a shack, containing no more than two or three rooms that he could see. A small hearth lay opposite the door and a black kettle hung over the remnants of a fire burned out. Cadrius did not call out. He advanced across the floor, his boots thudding against the wooden floor. Moving to the hearth he grabbed the piece of metal that the inhabitant used as a poker. Cadrius brushed the top most layer of ash and soot from the fireplace and revealed some very faint, but still glowing, coals.

He felt his hackles rise and heartbeat quicken. Looking over to the remaining door, he swallowed his doubt, and advanced. The metal latch creaked as it popped up and the door swung open slowly.

The room was dark and Cadrius waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the thick shadows draping everything within. The single curtain was drawn across the small window. A bed was in the center and two forms lay beneath thick blankets. They were still and there was no rise and fall of chests. Cadrius swallowed and stepped forward. Taking the tip of his sword, he speared the corner of a blanket and cast it off the bed with a flick of his arm.

A man and a woman lied beneath in an embrace. Cadrius sighed. He pulled off a gauntlet and put a hand to the man’s forehead, but flinched back at the touch. Their skin was tepid. They had died recently.

All manner of possibilities swirled within his mind. In his journeys he had seen all manner of deaths. It seemed there were as many ways to have one’s life ended as there were ways to live it. Yet it wasn’t the threat of the supernatural or arcane that worried him. It was the fear of disease. He no longer possessed the divine protection borne by the Order. Disease could fell him as easily as an arrow or sword. Worse yet, he would die alone in the wilderness and never know what had happened.

Cadrius fled from the home and did not stop running until the hamlet was far in the distance.

[-J-]

Isac idly paddles his lamb stew with a wooden spoon as Arjuna regales the two of them with another story of mercantile intrigue. It is the fourth such story, but the priest is thankful for the distraction. He had run out of small talk almost immediately, and Shade...well Shade seemed content to sip tea and bore her gray eyes into his head. He could tell that she knew there was something more to this meeting than good manners, not that he was a particularly good actor.

At least the beer is good.

"...so the spice trader walks in on his wife and the camel merchant and says 'Keep her, the camel is better looking!'" Arjuna can barely get the punch line out before she breaks into another fit of infectious laughter. Isac can't help but to chuckle. It seems that he is not the only one who is enjoying the beer.

Shade quietly takes another sip of her tea.

"I'll get us another round," Juni says at length. Grabbing Isac's nearly empty mug she saunters over to the bar, leaving the table in a heavy silence.

The corner shadows cling thickly to the slight woman sitting across from him, only the paleness of her eyes seem unaffected. Like twin chips of polished flint, they peer impassively over her cup, waiting. Isac nervously clears his throat, suddenly aware that he can only see one of her hands.

"Well..." he begins hesitantly, "you undoubtedly have already guessed that our meeting in the inn was not entirely coincidental." He meets her gaze for just a moment. Nothing. No trace of surprise, anger, resignation touch her porcelain features.

Yeah...awkward... In retrospect, getting drunk before meeting an assassin might not have been the wisest choice.

"Right...I've been sent to give you something," his hand darts toward the inner pocket of his leather jacket then stops. The woman across from him didn't even move, but Isac can feel tension bloom between them, like the silence before a peal of thunder. Moving with deliberate slowness, he pulls out a sealed envelope and sets it carefully on the table in front of her. Settling back into his chair, he goes back to stirring his stew.

[Gralhruk]

Shade stares at the innocent object on the table between them as though it were an adder poised to strike. She makes no move for it, steel grey eyes sliding slowly upward to Isac's face. The man didn't look at her but she can feel the electric thrum of expectation - a boulder poised at the tipping point, an avalanche waiting to be unleashed. Beneath the table, her left hand carefully and silently draws her dagger as her eyes flick across the rest of the room.

She does not know him, of that she is certain. Her scan of the room likewise comes up empty, yet these two things serve to heighten her unease rather than settle it. Between them, the crisp outlines of the envelope mark a boundary. If she crosses there is no going back.

She could - should - get up and walk away, leave this town and this man and run. Because whatever it is can only be bad, can only serve to once more mire her in events that were beyond her control.

Shade has never been known for her prudence.

The blade of her dagger glints in the smoky torchlight as she raises it. Isac seems not to notice. Shade reaches out slowly and retrieves the envelope, the razor edge of her blade effortlessly slicing through the heavy parchment. Her flinty gaze never leaves Isac; Isac's gaze never leaves his soup. She unfolds it slowly, dagger still gripped easily in her left hand. The script clean and elegant, written in a strong, bold hand. She reads, color draining from her face as her mind processes the words. Understanding and confusion come to her together. Isac's dead gaze finally lifts, to meet her own without wavering.

Silence hangs between them - a dike holding back the flood. The colorless world around her suddenly seems menacing, bathed in the light of her new knowledge. Her gut twists.

"Who are you?"

[Gralhruk]

Isac's brow furrows slightly in confusion.

"Isac Moore," he says slowly. "Or if you prefer more formality, Brother Moore, Luminary Adept of the Sanctified Church of Pelor."

"Well, brother, you have made a mistake. This isn't for me."

"Are you sure?" he says slowly, as he removes the sketch of Shade from his jacket and hands it to her. "I was given this by the Archbishop Orphrease himself."

She had hoped, of course, that he really was wrong. After all, she hadn't done the things they claimed in that letter. If fact, she didn't know what the hell half of it meant. But she knew how these things worked, and she also knew that there weren't very many women running around with the kind of damnably identifying scar she had.

"Yes, I suppose you were."

She doesn't take the picture from him and after a moment Isac shrugs and places it on the table before her. Now what? She couldn't kill him here, which is probably why he'd wanted so badly to meet them for dinner in a public place. There was no guarantee she could kill him in any case - she doubted an Archbishop would leave this task in the hands of an incompetent.

"And I suppose that my denials mean nothing to you, though I tell you plainly: I did not do this thing."

A long pause while they stare at each other, unblinking, Shade's mind working rapidly while they sit. She would need to get away from him somehow, without endangering Arjuna.

"So now what?" she asked carefully, aware of how volatile the situation was.

A cold apprehension began to fill Isac as he tried to read her body language. Either she's a really skilled actress, or she really didn't do whatever the letter says she did. Either way he is being pulled into the center of something unpleasant. He stares into her unflinching eyes, like the sea rolling against stone. In the back of his mind he knew the truth of it.

He is being used.

He is being used and the only way out would be to leave, to walk out and return home. Or better yet find some small fishing village along the sea. Start a parish, maybe even marry and have children and forget he ever was a priest. Leaving, that would be the smart thing to do.

"May I see the letter?" he says at length.

Shade's eyes stay hard and focused on Isac, but his gaze is unwavering. With a frown, she slowly slides the letter across the table. She isn't sure of his purpose - after all, he was just a messenger. It wasn't for him to determine right and wrong, only to follow orders and bring her in. She watches carefully as he reads but his face is blank.

"I don't know where it is, or even what it is," she says flatly, "and I'm certainly not the victim of some bizarre curse."

At that statement, the dark seems to press closer on her colorless vision, highlighting her own mysterious ailment for her. Up until now she had dismissed it as a product of her battle Skathros' otherworldly servants. Shade really had no recollection of stealing what this Church clearly thought she had, but the description of the curse had wakened fears that perhaps her bizarre maladies were not dismissed so simply. It was not unheard of for the guild to use magical techniques to remove memories from agents in the case of extremely secretive missions, and something that went this high up would doubtless be considered as such. She presses her lips together against a sudden uncomfortable spasm.

Isac scans the document, his fears becoming manifest with each line of neat script.

Across from him, Shade stiffens as pain suddenly shoots down her arm. As casually as she can, she glances beneath the table to her hip where her left hand had been loosely gripping her still sheathed dagger. Those fingers are stiff now, frozen to the hilt and straining almost to the point of cracking. They looked old, withered almost, the skin like parchment. As she watches in horror, veined black lines crawl from the hem of her sleeve and trace necrotic rivulets down the back of her hand and across her bony fingers, skin cracking like ancient leather. A rattling hiss escapes her lips as she lurchingly stands, gripping the back of the bench with her good right hand, eyes turned inward against the pain, a sheen of sweat masking her face.

(by J & Gral)

[Kelemyn]

Juni seldom drinks beer. But Isac had ordered a round to go with the stew, and she discovered that that she liked the way this particular brew tasted. It wasn't until she stood up to walk to the bar that she realized it had gone to her head.

Leaning on the counter, she waits her turn for refills. It's a busy place, probably because the food is excellent without being overpriced, and it has a good location. An early lunch crowd, mainly artisans and merchants, has nearly every table filled. Other patrons stand at the bar alongside Juni, also waiting their turn.

"Having a nice lunch?" the man standing next to her asks pleasantly.

"Yes, very nice," Juni replies, happy to chit chat. "The stew is delicious!"

"Best in town," the man agrees. "So is the beer." He smiles and leans an elbow on the bar.

"Is it? I don't know much about beer, I'm afraid." Juni notices, as if for the first time, the three empty mugs she holds in her hands. "Oh, these aren't all mine!" she explains with a laugh.

Of course not, who would think that?

"I'm having lunch with friends!"

I'm sure he figured that out by himself.

The man smiles and nods. Juni looks quickly away.

That little voice in her head didn't quite seem to come from herself! It felt familiar, like it was almost her own thought. But the tone was a little bit off. Not her tone. Not her thought.

Hello? she thinks, feeling a bit odd about the whole thing.

Nothing.

Maybe it's the beer...

Probably not. And we should be focusing on things back at the table.

Juni's eyes widen as the second thought - where did it come from? - intrudes on the first.

We???

Yes, 'we'. Look!

Juni does look then. Back at the table, Shade is staggering to her feet, her face a mask of pain and shock. Juni drops the mugs on the counter, heedless of how they fall, and rushes back to Shade's side.

"Shade! What is it? What's wrong?" Then she turns on Isac with something like a snarl. "What have you done to her?"

[itches]

"So then she said 'How in heavens did that get there?'"
"No way it that a true story!"

Striding into the Inn mid-laugh, Lynn on his arm with the tail end of a story hanging in the air, Nicos glanced around the room out of habit, quickly taking mental stock of people present. Spotting Shade standing at a table with someone he doesn't recognise and Juni rushing back to it from the bar, his smile widens.

"Shade, Juni how are-" he began before the full reality of the situation sunk in. The look of pain and confusion on Shade's visage, anger decorating Juni's face. Something was wrong. Disengaging his arm, the bard moved through the crowd to his companions. "What's happened?"

[-J-]

“…bring us the scroll, and in exchange we will give you the reliquary, unless of course you prefer to spend the rest of your days as a walking corpse. You have, at most, a month before the curse claims you. Talk to the gravedigger at the Chapel of Eternal Light in Phror Khiliades to…”

Shade’s panicked scream breaks Isac’s concentration. Looking up he sees the rogue stagger backwards, her eyes wide and staring at the blackening flesh of her hand. Without thinking he snatches her arm from the air and draws it close. The rotting stink of necromantic magics fills his nose as he watches the lines of corrupting power wither her skin. His hand tightens vise like around her forearm as he wrenches his holy symbol free from his jacket.

Pelor is the Light and the Way

Piety fills his mind and heart, and he can feel the holy conduit opening. Like a bolt of lightning divine light surges through his flesh, turning it translucent. Time seems to stand still as he channels the heatless flame through his body and into Shade, willing it to burn the foulness that was burrowing towards her heart.

It resisted.

Like water breaking upon black rock, the healing power of Pelor crashes against the twisting curse to no avail.

“Shade! What is it? What's wrong?” the voice sounds distant and incoherent. "What have you done to her?" The thin priest is vaguely aware of hands grabbing him, trying to pull him away but he ignores them. There is more at stake now than just Shade. Beneath his hand the Pelorian can feel the black tendrils of ancient power working their way into him.

I am a servant of the Light. My body but a lantern for His Glory…

Burak furthrad gûlrhed. Burak furthrad gûlrhed, djrani gûlrhed . The Goblin words burn through his brain, as the curse touches his skin.

I see you.

Isac pours every ounce of his soul into pushing the darkness back, his features growing indistinct as he fills with the Light of Pelor.

I see you…

With a deep grunt he pushes the darkness back. Opening a weary eye he smiles as Shade’s necrotic flesh pinkens once again. He releases his grip and is immediately hauled back and restrained. He doesn’t resist.

…and I am coming.

[itches]

A black hand grasped in one of silver, a flash of light and it was over, leaving Nicos confused as to what had actually happened. Behind him he could hear Lynn curse in an unknown language while the phrase 'Did you see that?' started to be murmured in the people around them. Enderin was a long way from being a border city, but bigotry arose where it would and there were few places he knew of that weren't suspicious of strange magics. If there was to be violence it would take a few moments more for it to erupt, as the more alert patrons convinced their inebriated companions what had happened. If they acted quickly however, those few moments would be all they needed.

"Lynn," he hissed at the woman over his shoulder. "Get us a room at the Green Mary, first floor."

"Over the bakery?" She mouthed as she started to move to the door. "Got it."

Turning back to the table, Nicos took in Shade's pain, Arjuna's anger and traces of fatigue on the stranger while the noise around them grew.

"Juni, not now. Not here," he said in an urgent low voice. "Get Shade outside, head to the Green Mary." Turning to the stranger, he indicated the door with a short nod. "You too neighbour."

If he knew how to read a crowd - and he did - things were almost to the tipping point. Either those who had seen the flash of magic would convince their friends to cause them trouble, or be convinced that they were seeing things.

[Gralhruk]

Shade shakes her head at Arjuna, cradling the hand Isac had cured with her right. Her head was still ringing with the double assault of corruption and raw, pristine power. One small human was insignificant in the face of those two monoliths.

"Nothing. He didn't do anything. I'm okay."

The concern doesn't leave Juni's face but she is focused on Shade now rather than the priest. She grimaces at the attention drawn to them, already worrying about the stories that would be told and the ears that might hear them. Nicos was right, and Shade is more than happy to follow his orders and let him deal with the mess.

"Let's go."

She leans on Juni as she turns for the door, trying to squeeze the spots from her vision as she fights off a wave of dizziness. Her skin prickles with sudden chill, her sweat slicked skin cooling too rapidly and leaving her shaking with cold and fatigue.

"Let's go," she repeats weakly, needlessly.

[-J-]

Isac flashes a nod to the one armed stranger as he and the rest of Shade’s companions begin to work their way out of the inn. Smiling through the residual pain in his hand he addresses the crowd.

“My apologies, good people. My companion and I have been drinking far too much and I fear we had a slight accident with our table candle. But don’t worry, as an ordained priest of Pelor I was able to heal her burn,” he turns slightly, making sure that all can see the large holy symbol hanging from his neck. “Please, allow me to make amends for ruining your fine food and even finer ale. Barkeep!” he says with a smile as he drops a handful of coins into the hand of a nearby serving girl. “A round on me!”

He spends the better part of an hour thanking patrons for their concern and apologizing profusely for interrupting their meals. He plies the crowd with ale, food and warm effusive small talk. He even heals an old man’s arthritic knee and the barkeep’s wife’s sciatica. He moves amongst the patrons with a practiced ease, smiling through their stories, and laughing at their pastoral humor. But behind that warm smile his heart was cold with fear as the goblin words bore ever deeper into his brain.

I see you…and I am coming.

[Gralhruk]

Shade does not recall much about the trek to the Green Mary other than it seemed to take forever. In fact, she wasn't quite sure how Arjuna had even found the place. Shade had certainly never heard of it.

She stares with flat grey eyes at the staircase leading upward to the room Juni had just acquired, her face a paler shade of that same color. The trembling had stopped but she still felt weak and disoriented. Thought of the curse sets her teeth on edge and she can almost feel the corrupting influence within.

Don't think about it.

She shakes off the hand Juni lays on her arm, disgusted with herself for allowing that weakness to show. Squaring her shoulders and mastering her emotion, Shade grimly ascends the stair to their room.

[Kelemyn]

Once inside the room, Juni closes the door and leans her back against it with a sigh. She is physically and emotionally drained.

How did things go so wrong so fast? They were just having a pleasant little lunch with a chance-met, traveling priest. In spite of Shade's usual reluctance to participate in conversation, Juni had been having a good time.

She locks the door behind her and turns to Lynn. "Thank you so much for running ahead to get the room." She remembers that she hadn't even said a word to Nicos before hastening to lead Shade out of the worsening situation at the tavern. She wonders how he and Isac were faring with the crowd.

But she is more worried about Shade than anything else.

"How is your hand?" she asks quietly as she joins the other woman near the window. Without waiting for an answer she takes Shade's hand in her own and begins to examine it. It looks fine, although it feels unnaturally cold. Like the hand of a corpse.

"It wasn't something that the priest did?" she asks after a moment.

No, of course not. The priest healed it afterward. Didn't you see the bright light when he touched her?

Yes, I saw.

Oddly enough, she is starting to get used to the voice in her head. It had been quite helpful on the way here, reminding her to take the back way and drawing her attention to Lynn where she waited in the common room.

But the priest set it off somehow, even if it wasn't intentional.

Juni clasps her friend's hand in her own, warming it as best she can. "Shade, what happened?"

[Gralhruk]

"He was after me the whole time."

Her grey eyes are staring straight ahead, at the closed door, as if they could bore through it. Shade has an unfocused look, as if her mind is somewhere else, and the hand Juni holds is likewise listless.

"At first I thought maybe it was you he wanted, or that maybe he was from the guild. But it wasn't right. He was too serene, too unconcerned."

Shade's voice is a monotone as the words drone out. She believed him. Not just because he had healed her, either. There was something about him . . . something true.

"He is from the church of Pelor. They say . . . they say I stole something. Some relic of the church. And they want it back."

[Cadrius]

There was a time when Cadrius was more than this, better than this. His shoulders were not as steeped with sorrow’s burden, and while he has always borne the mantle of duty, it did not weigh upon him as heavily as it does now.

His life had been one of privilege. As the eldest heir to his father, the duke, he was to inherit the lands of his ancestors. They had ruled for centuries, claming their land at the fall of the high king and the birth of the hundred duchies. What had once been rolling hills and farmlands grew to hold villages and forts. They named their family keep thus—Harcourt, the fortified farm.

During the rainy days of spring, his father had him sit in the library tower and study the familial history and lore of the Vanes. The heavy tomes were rarely used and dust and time sat thick upon their covers. Once upon a time, his family had been minor nobility, landless under the high king’s rule, who rose in prominence in the aftermath of his fall. They leaned up their allies and used what money they could purchase sellswords and turncloaks. Adalius Vane had been a shrewd negotiator and a skilled warrior and through silver tongue and strong arm he had forged a small bit of order amid the swirling chaos. He had dedicated his family’s triumph to Heironeous, promising not only his devotion, but the service of all his sons to come. Since then, each generation has served the will of the Archpaladin. Their family’s legacy was one of loyalty and every son joined the order, pledging themselves to the church’s code. In his old life, his former life, Cadrius had been a good knight and a dutiful son and brother. He even had a love, beautiful as falling snow.

All of that is gone.

He cups his hands and plunges them into the stream, savoring the brisk water as he splashes it against his face. It chills his skin and droplets cling to the whiskers growing across his cheeks and neck. He stares down at his reflection, muddled by the current. The water is swift here, rushing onward out of the rocky foothills and down toward the forests and plains of the south.

Fear, an all too common feeling for him now, lingers, leaving an acrid taste in his mouth. The hamlet full of the peaceful dead had sent him flying. In his younger days, he would have stayed and dug graves for each and every one of them. He would have spoken a benediction over each body before laying it to rest. But those were the old days, when the brush of divinity still shrouded him.

The Order of Heironeous went by many names. The men-at-arms in his family’s keep always called them Fists on account of the holy symbols they bore. A visiting emissary from a southron land had called them Lightning Lords. But in truth, Cadrius sees him and his line as just another means to an end for the church. They were a marcher duchy, and were needed to maintain order. When the dukes were not squabbling among themselves there were often bandit kings and barbarians probing the borders for weakness.

While the bureaucracy of the Order did not directly run their estates, Cadrius’ family was often in lockstep with the Order’s goals and agenda. In turn, they provided men and arms for the Vanes. Each son becomes a page, and then a squire, learning firsthand what it means to be a knight. He had been squired to Sir Cargyle who taught him of horse and lance. His father’s master-at-arms, a gray knight named Sir Talbot, had taught Cadrius all he knew of swordplay. Yet the Order also sent men of learning, priests and Heironic scholars, who tutored the Vanes in the realms of history, religion, and mathematics.

Yet the greatest gift came not from the clergy, but from Heironeous himself. The knighthood of the Vanes is more than just rights and property granted, it is a bridging of two worlds. The paladins of Heironeous become mortal vessels that carry the merest spark of divinity within their chests. He had not known what to expect during his sacred ceremony. There was no fanfare when it was complete, just a solemn acceptance into a brotherhood most would never understand. He almost didn’t notice the difference within himself. It manifested itself is a sense of warmth and security and pride. It was like getting an approving nod from his father.

But while the divine connection was not overt in its manifestation, it still conferred a host of mighty boons. Cadrius no longer knew fear. Nothing could conjure it within his breast. Any danger or threat was calmly assessed, without terror’s hysterical voice screaming in his ear. The peace it granted him had been exquisite, and he regarded death with a pair of fresh eyes. It wasn’t the going that would be hard; it would be the leaving others behind.

But all of that changed a few years later when he was cast out into exile for the most despicable of crimes—kinslaying.

Cadrius looks at the man staring up at him. He wants to blame his fate on the gods, but cannot. This is his doing. He has dug his grave, now it is time to lie in it. He cannot atone for his sins, cannot change the past, but he would give anything he has left to see his father one more time before he dies.

Steel and leather scrape and creak as he rises to his feet. The village is a half mile behind him, full of dead bodies. They might have passed in peace, but they would not rest without a proper burial. In the old days, Heironeous’ blessing would have protected him from any lingering pestilence. He would have easily gone about his work without a care. But he’s learned in the long years since his fall that it is through fear, and only fear, that a man can ever truly be brave.

Cadrius turns on his heel and walks back toward the village. He has work to do.

[itches]

"Pelor?" Lynn asked in dry disbelief from where she looked out the window into the city. "What's valuable enough to steal that you'd risk a temple's wrath?"
------------------------------

As the stranger leapt into action to sooth the crowd, Nicos stepped back into the background to observe, slipping into the seat at a table already occupied by an elderly man getting an early start on his drinking. The stranger - either a Mage posing as a priest a truly a holy man of Pelor - was doing an admirable job of distracting the crowd. It was different to the way he would have handled it, each flash of gold, splash of drink and hurried conversation - not to mention the calling on his god to perform magical healing! - was adding fuel to the story that would spread quickly and linger for weeks. But it was a story of an eccentric cleric that would neatly brush over an trace of he or his companions, and wooed by the food, drink and conversation, the crowd shifted from outrage on the verge of violence to an uneasy acceptance.

Smiling, the bard leant back, ordered a drink and wondered where he could find a holy symbol without drawing the ire of the religious. After all, the moment you stop learning new tricks is the moment you die.

[Gralhruk]

Shade frowns at the question and averts her eyes. Lynn was no fool and in this case the truth was implausible, yet no more believable lie comes to mind.

"I don't know."

She had no reason to be ashamed. They all knew enough about her past to know how she once made her living. They had been through enough together to call each other friends.

"I have no recollection of the theft."

The admission burned just the same.

[Kelemyn]

"You don't remember? How do they know it was you?" Juni tries to make sense of Shade's words. It shocks her that the other woman seems willing to accept that the thing is true even though she recalls nothing. What convinces her? Something the priest said?

"Shade, that still doesn't explain what happened to your hand. Unless ... "

A holy relic. What would happen to a thief who stole from the Church of Pelor?

"Oh."

A curse!

That would explain some things about Shade's recent behavior. Almost, Juni feels relieved to hear it. A curse is better than slowly being consumed by Shadow, isn't it? A curse has a cure. Return the relic and the Church will be satisfied, surely. They'd remove it and that would be that.

Except if Shade does not remember stealing the relic, then she likely has no idea where the relic can be found.

"Do you think the guild - your guild, the one you used to belong to - had something to do with this?"

[Gralhruk]

Shade looks at Arjuna, a semblence of her former stoicism apparent in her eyes, and nods slowly.

"I think that I was used."

She leans back, unconsciously shifting her blades to a more comfortable position. What did Isac know? What would he tell her?

"But I don't know anything for sure yet. Maybe there is some way to make this whole thing just go away. But I need to talk to the priest."

[itches]

Dozens of minutes pass in the inn room as Lynn, Juni and Shade wait for Nicos and the cleric of pelor to arrive. When the pair arrive, Nicos firmly ushured Isac through the door and closed it behind him.

"We're fine for the moment," the bard said. "What's happening?"

[Black Plauge]

Shaking the rain from his eyes has he steps inside, Blarth looks around the common room of the Copper Maiden for signs of his companions. Not seeing any, Blarth wanders over to the barkeep to order a drink and enquire after them.

"What have you got to slake a working man's thirst?"

"If you're thirsty, then you'd probably best go with the ale," the bar tender replies, drawing a mug and setting it in front of Blarth.

Thanking the man, Blarth proceeds to drink half of it down quickly. Belching in appreciation, Blarth draws some dirty looks from some of the other patrons and he decides that he'd better slow down.

Damn humans have no sense of manners.

Looking around the common room as he drinks, snatches of conversation float to Blarth's ears.

"...there was this light and my knee felt right as rain.."

"...bought me a drink he did. Right generous fellow..."

"...I wasn't here but my lad said..."

"...gave Old Man Sedgwick back his sight, he did..."

"...came to see for myself..."

"...probably tired after all that..."

"...Pelor, I think. He had this sun medallion..."

"...glowed like the sun..."

Hmm... Wonder if that priest I saw at the docks is staying here?

Finishing his first mug, Blarth calls the bartender over to get another, and to ask him a few questions.

"I was supposed to meet some friends of mine who are staying here. Arjuna and..." wracking his brain, Blarth tries to remember the name Shade told him to ask for her as.

"Samantha," the bartender fills in, "I'm afraid you missed them. They checked out just before lunch. Hey! Gram! Did those two ladies who checked out this morning leave any messages?"

"Nope. I think they had lunch with that priestly fellow though, Moore I think his name was. He's staying in room 6. He might know where they went."

Nodding his thanks to the barkeep, Blarth leaves a couple extra copper as tip and drinks his ale as fast as he can without belching. Putting the mug down, he heads upstairs to knock on the priest's door. His knock, however, gets no response and after several minutes Blarth wanders back down to the common room.

"...was going to give this fellow back his arm last I here..."

"Nicos!" Blarth remarks, suddenly reminded of who might know of Shade and Anjura's whereabouts.

"No, don't think that was his name son. Izik or something like that."

"Sorry," Blarth responds to the man whose conversation his exclamation had cut off, "I wasn't talking about the priest. Your comment about a missing arm simply reminded me of a friend of mine who I need to go find."

"Ah, well, if your friend is missing an arm he should find this Izik fellow. He cured my son's broken leg just this afternoon, and I bet he could give your friend his arm back."

"Yes, thank you, I'll tell him that."

Excusing himself, Blarth heads back out into the rain to head for Nicos's lodgings. The down pour, however, manages to get Blarth turned around when he misses a turn without realizing it and before long he ends up in a part of town he doesn't recognize.

"Stupid orc looks lost."

"What do you expect, it's not like they can read the street signs."

"Ah, come on Thunn, I here some orcs are real smart like. My cousin in Liman says they train up better than dogs."

Laughter ensues as a group of thugs emerge out of the rain to continue mocking Blarth.

"Bah, that ain't smart. Dogs sniff their own buts so being smarter than them just means that orcs can tell a good smell from a bad one."

"Yeah. Monkeys, now they're smart. Saw this one once that could pick a skinflint of his last copper."

"Like to see some orc do that. He'd probably leave a gold behind to replace the copper so the skinflint wouldn't notice the change in the weight of his coin purse."

As the thugs laugh again, the name Thunn clicks in Blarth's mind.

"Thunn?" he asks looking at the thugs.

"You know this orc?" one of the thugs asks another.

"Don't think so. Maybe he works for my uncle lifting rocks or something. What do you say orc? Did my uncle send you?"

Guessing that whatever Shade and Anjura had been going to try hadn't worked, Blarth decides to settle things his way for once. Saying nothing, Blarth lets Thunn draw his own conclusions, hoping that the rain will prevent his face from giving anything away.

After a moment, Thunn looks at his buddies and says, "Go on, scram. I'll catch up with you just as soon as this is done."

Looking between Blarth and Thunn, the other thugs leave one by one, clearly not willing to challenge their leader's orders, regardless of their feelings about Blarth.

Once they're gone, Thunn snears at Blarth, "So what does my uncle want now? And why the hell did he send a fist maker like you?"

Looking around to confirm that they are alone, Blarth steps up next to Thunn and whallops him one in the gut, doubling the man over.

"Your uncle didn't send me, but you've been bothering a friend of mine. This needs to stop, now."

Using his knee to smash in Thunn's nose, Blarth continues, "You're going to leave the nuns alone. If you don't, I'll find you again."

Recovering himself after the surprise, Thunn lunges at Blarth, catching him in the midsection and momentarily turning the tables on him as the two men fall to the ground together. Blarth, however, draws on his racial strength and quickly pins the smaller human beneath him. Straddling him to pin his legs and spreading Thunn's arms out wide with his own, Blarth elongates his face into that of the wolf and snarls at the human.

"If you think your friends can help you, you'd better think about that again. I'll tear their throats out just as soon as I tear your's."

Snarling again, Blarth bashes Thunn's head into the cobble stones, knocking the man out.

There, that should take care of things.

Standing up, Blarth pulls his hood up to cover his altered face. He was going to have to stay outside until it wore off, which meant he was going to get even wetter.

[Black Plauge]

Gruumsh damned rain.

Still waiting for the effects of his power to wear off, Blarth was really beginning to regret having used it to scare Thunn. So long as it remained he couldn't exactly go inside looking for Nicos, at least, not without scaring the shit out of some townsfolk and probably getting the guard called on him. Humans seemed to have this innate fear of wild animals that would set them off at a moment's notice. Plus, being mistaken for a werewolf generally wasn't much fun since it usually meant a solid month of captivity and being forced to eat that horrible belladona root.

So Blarth stayed out in the rain, wandering the streets and not really paying much attention to where he was. Just enough not to get lost.

His inattention, however, missed something else.

* * *

"You see his friends anywhere."

"No, but Thunn said they stayed hidden until well after we left."

"They're probably waiting for the orc to find another victim."

"Okay, enough chatter you guys. We'll follow the plan and wait for Thunn, Reg, and Billy to take on the orc. If his friends show up we'll deal with them, now shut up so you don't give us away."

* * *

Roaring in pain, Blarth collapses to the ground as a knife snakes out of the dark and severs the back of his leg. Blinking the rain from his eyes as his hood falls back, Blarth looks down to see the water washing red away from his leg. Gritting his teeth, he tries to stand, but the injured leg refuses to support his weight.

"Not so tough now, are you orc. No friends to help you this time."

Looking around, Blarth makes out three shapes, one close by and with a knife in hand, the other two further back but similarly armed.

"Come on Thunn," one of the further shapes says, "his friends could be here any moment. Just kill the damned thing and be done with it."

"Oh no," Thunn replies, "I'm going to make him pay dearly for what they did to me." Squatting down to put his knife in Blarth's face, he lowers his voice so that only Blarth can hear him, "Besides, we both know there are no friends out here to help you."

Yelping in pain, Blarth instinctively flinches as Thunn's knife scrapes across his nose, the pain amplified by the power that made it extra sensitive.

Laughing, Thunn stands up and turns around to face his friends, "See, we caught him just like I said and his friends are too cowardly to face us all. Add to that the rain that's keeping everyone off the streets and we'll be able to play this game all night."

As Thunn speaks, a low humming, hidden at first beneath the rain begins to be heard. It continues to buzz at everyone's ears, however, as Thunn continues.

"Reg, take your shot. You've been itching for a chance to get back at the orcs for your uncle in Gundar. Here's your chance."

Looking around hesitantly one more time, Reg steps forward, his confidence growing with every step. By the time he reaches Blarth he's grinning in anticipation, even as he swats at his ear, brushing away the bug that the buzzing says is there.

Wait, a bug, in this whether?

With a very wolf-like growl, Blarth lunges suddenly at Reg, his mouth closing around the poor man's throat. With a startled gasp, Reg tries to draw a breath, but his windpipe is crushed by Blarth's extended jaws and his eyes only go wide with the effort.

"Billy, call the rest of the boys over. It seems we have a fighter here."

At a call from Billy, three more men emerge from the shadows and move to form a ring around Blarth and Reg as the rain keeps pouring down.

"The orc's leg is cut so he can't get up," Thunn declares, reassuring the men who are looking at each other, "Reg got too eager and careless. Keep track of his arms and good legs and you'll have no trouble with him."

"Which one is his good leg," one of the newcomers asks.

"The one that's not bleeding, stupid."

"It don't look like either of them is bleeding to me."

"Rain must be washing away the blood. Just watch to see which leg he favors."

Moving forward, Thunn grins evilly at Blarth, his knife in front of him.

Blarth releases Reg and the man falls to the ground, his breathing more of a gurgle as he drowns in his own blood and the rain. Growling at Thunn, Blarth shifts his weight around as he remains prone, to get a better angle on Thunn's line of approach.

"There, you see? Now, your turn Billy."

"Ah, come on Thunn, you're closer and it's your revenge here."

Turning to face Billy, Thunn ignores Blarth for a moment to reprimand his underling.

"When this filth and his friends attacked me, they attacked all of us. We're all going to teach him a lesson here. What?"

Seeing Billy's face change from one of shame at having questioned his orders to outright fear, Thunn turns around to find Blarth on his feet, both legs clearly supporting his weight.

"Surprise."

Two practiced steps close the gap between Blarth and Thunn as the half-orc snaps at the man's leg in an animal imitation of the move that had brought him down just moments ago. Thunn, however, is clearly more practiced at the maneuver than Blarth as the half-orc manages to do little more than draw blood and make Thunn stumble a step or two.

"You'll pay for that," Thunn declares, throwing his knife at Blarth and drawing another.

Shrugging gently, Blarth barely flinches as the knife swerves unnaturally in the air. Using the moment of astonishment that brings, Blarth snaps at Thunn again, forgoing any attempts at fancy maneuvers and simply trying to take a chunk out of the man.

"Attack you fools," Thunn yells, as grimaces in pain and slashes at Blarth with his knife. Once again, however, the knife's trajectory is unnaturally altered and it does little more than rub the flat along Blarth's arm.

"He's protected by devils!"

"Don't be a fool. His friends must be using magic from hiding."

"Either way, I'm out of here!"

As the Billy bolts from the scene, the others hesitate, but only for the moment that it takes for Blarth to bite at Thunn again, this time clamping down on the man's knife arm hard. The sound of bones breaking beneath the force of Blarth's teeth destroys any morale Thunn's followers had left and the flee into the rain and the night.

Now screaming in pain, Thunn finds his eyes locked with Blarth's as the half-orc steps in for one last bite on the man's neck, cutting the scream off.

Breathing heavily, Blarth releases Thunn who's heart tries mightily to keep him alive, but which in the end only serves to pump his blood out onto the pavement that much faster.

Spitting, Blarth growls, "I've tasted pig that was better than you."

Looking around, Blarth sees no sign of Thunn's men. A good thing, as it turns out, because that's the moment when his facial power finally wears off.

"You should have waited a bit longer," Blarth comments as he steps over Thunn's body and away from the scene of the battle. Both men were clearly bitten by a wolf-like animal. With any luck, the guard wouldn't discover them until after the rain and even then they'd be looking for a wild animal in the city, not an assailant. Thunn's men would probably set them straight eventually, but there wasn't much Blarth could do about that except to leave town before that happened.

"Better find Nicos quickly."

Stopping at a rain barrel, Blarth carefully washes the blood of Reg and Thunn off his face and shirt. The water was cold, they way it should be for a proper cleaning.

[Gralhruk]

Shade hasn't moved from the spot she had taken when they first entered and her ears detect the sounds of feet in the hall before the door opens. Steel grey eyes fix on sea green and do not waver as Nicos speaks. Shade is expressionless, motionless - predator poised for the kill or prey paralyzed by imminent doom. Her world was never so black and white, always shades of grey like her cursed vision and haunted with ghosts of the past. The moment seems to last forever, the weight of this night's happenings pressing down like mountain upon them. She knew the source of her hesitation, her fear: there was no easy way out. To speak was to make it real.

To stay silent was to die without a fight.

With a slight twitch of her shoulders Shade breaks the spell that pins her, fear of helplessness outweighing fear of the unknown. Her cold, hard eyes stay upon Isac though they both know it isn't his fault.

"What's happening is that my past has come home. I'm going to need to leave here, soon."

That much she knew. The rest she didn't want to know, didn't want to talk about. She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

"But first we need to figure out what is going on, don't we Isac?"

[itches]

"Lynn," Nicos said, waving the woman over to one side of the crowded room, then leaning close to speak in a hushed voice. "I'm pretty sure I'm heading out of town soon."

"Worried about -" A glance at the others "- our friend from the other night?"

"Amongst other things, overall I'm starting to get the feeling that it's time to make a quiet exit. If you want to ..."

"I've invested too much in keeping you alive to walk away just yet," Lynn retorted. "Besides, romance of the open road? Sounds like fun."

"You’ll get over it," Nicos said. "If we leave we won’t be coming back anytime soon, how long would it take you to quickly pack some things up?"

"I don’t know … 30 minutes maybe."

"Thirty Minutes?!" Nicos exclaimed before catching himself. "Shit. Okay, you better go head a head start. After you’ve finished head over to my place – you know where it is right? good – and grab the bag under the bed, it’s already packed. Throw in everything that is in the bottom draw next to the bed and then come find me. I’ll either still be here or I’ll meet you 5 minutes past the south gate."

"I’m packing your stuff too am I?" Lynn retorted, not pleased.

"For as long as it takes you 30 minutes to pack you are, now go and hurry."

[-J-]

“Actually, first we need to get moving. The longer we stay, the more we endanger your friends, and anyone else that gets caught between you and…her.”

[Kelemyn]

There had been no word from the little voice in her head for quite a while now. And it seems that Shade and Lynn are preoccupied with their own thoughts. So Juni sits quietly on one of the beds, waiting and thinking.

It occurs to her to look through her bag and order her things while she waits. She carries almost everything she owns (except for her other set of clothes and Vywodor's sword) in a leather pouch tied about her waist. She spills the contents of the bag out onto the bed beside her and begins to look through it.

There's a nearly empty coin purse, a comb, some hair pins, a needle and thread, and an egg-shaped stone wrapped up in a spare handkerchief. There's also another, smaller pouch of black leather that had belonged to Vywodor. Juni doesn't open or look through that pouch. She feels rather guilty still for taking it, and she doesn't know what the things inside - a couple of vials, a ring, and some small bits of stone and wood - are for anyway.

She reorganizes, packing everything back up neatly into the pouch, except for the egg-shaped stone. It's more of a crystal than an ordinary stone. She looks at, glittering like a lump of blue ice in the palm of her hand. Oddly, it feels warm to the touch. She closes her fingers around it and notes with satisfaction that it seems to fit her hand perfectly.

Good. Have it strung on a chain and wear it around your neck. I can do you more good if you keep it out in the open.

The voice is stronger now, and as it 'speaks' inside her mind the stone seems to vibrate ever so slightly in her hand.

Now it makes sense! A psi-crystal! Juni remembers that her father had given her the stone and said that she'd understand why later. She must have finally become attuned to it! Vywodor had taught her that psi-crystals are stones that hold a part of a psion's personality within them.

So, she really had been only talking to herself all this time! Well, talking to a fragment of herself that had broken free and taken on a life of its own inside a specially prepared crystal.

Is that what you are, a psi-crystal?

Well, I guess you could put it that way. But I'm NOT the stone - I just exist in the stone. I hear all your thoughts, and I see what you see. But out here I can also see what the stone 'sees'. If that makes sense to you. And I can help you focus much better on using your power.

Oh. That's handy. I get distracted sometimes.

Yes. You do. Now, open your hand.

Juni opens her hand flat so that the psi-crystal lies in her palm.

Try to see what is on the other side of the door.

Clairvoyance! That's a hard one for me. Vywodor always tried to make me spy on the servants. I hated that.

Nevermind about Vywodor. We just want to see what's outside in the hall. I'll help you concentrate. Close your eyes if it makes it easier. I'll still be able to see what's happening in here.

It is easier with her eyes closed, and soon Juni has a view of the hallway, almost as if she had opened the door and stepped outside. It is odd to look down and not see her body standing there. She almost seems to be floating in mid-air!

You are not paying attention - look around!

I am looking around. Down is a valid direction to be looking. That's where my feet should be! This feels so weird...

Juni imagines that she can hear her psi-crystal sigh.

All right. I'm looking all around. I can't move at all, but I can see in any direction. I can hear things too. There are footsteps coming from the stairs. Someone is coming!

Who is it?

I can't see anyone yet. Should I tell Shade? Oh wait, it's Nicos! And Isac is with him.

The one-armed bard strides purposefully down the hall. Juni feels as if he is about to collide with her, and she jerks her mind's eye away and back into her body. She looks at the door just as it opens and Nicos and Isac step through.

That was... disorienting, she thinks, but she is immensely pleased to have mastered this useful new trick.

Unfortunately, she can't share her excitement with anyone. The expressions on all the faces around her are too serious, too worried. And of course they have a right to be. Juni remembers Shade's hand blackened by a curse, all because of a missing relic. She gets up from the bed and goes to stand by her friend's side.

"Actually, first we need to get moving," Isac says. "The longer we stay, the more we endanger your friends, and anyone else that gets caught between you and… her."

"Her? Who do you mean?" Juni asks. She still holds her psi-crystal in the palm of her hand.

"I don't know who is persuing Shade, but I'm fairly sure I know what is pursuing her. She's a patoh girak kree, in common it translates loosely to Sister of the Jade Eye."

Juni blinks. It's not a who, it's a what. Sister of the Jade Eye. Curious name.

"I don't understand..." she says, shaking her head. "But whatever it is, it's dangerous, that's what you're saying. And we can't stay here?"

Isac nods, his voice growing distant. "She is drawn to the curse that is eating its way through Shade, and will follow her from now until Judgement Day. The real question is why. What could someone have possibly done to draw the wrath of the Goblin witches all the way from the Forbidden South?"

[Black Plauge]

The power that distorted his face finally ended, Blarth no longer walked aimlessly through the rain, but made for Nicos's flat with a purpose. Hopefully the bard would be in, or at least Saphrina might know where he was performing tonight, and Blarth would be able to connect with him quickly.

Fate, it would seem, had related, but not nearly the same plans. When Blarth got to the flat he found it deserted, and Sphrina had no clue where Nicos was that night. Dejected, Blarth was on his way out when he ran, quiet litteraly, into a striking young woman who looked familiar.

"I'm very sorry, miss. I'm afraid I was kind of lost in my thoughts there and didn't see you."

Where have I seen her before.

[Gralhruk]

She is drawn to the curse that is eating its way through Shade

The words fall on her as a wave of remembered pain shoots down her arm. She steels herself against the doubt that assails her, finding once more the rocky solitude that is her refuge. Death could only find her once.

"You got rid of it."

She holds up her hand as proof, knowing it for the falsehood it is.

"I'm fine. No need for anyone to pack. Isac is going to tell me what I need to know and then I'm going to go and take care of it."

[-J-]

"I cannot stress enough how much danger you are in right now. There is no "getting rid" of the curse, only a postponement of its effect. Eventually it will consume you, transforming your body into an eternally rotting prison for your mind," he sighs wearily.

"I don't know what it is you think I know. It appears that I have been used by the same people within the church that wrote that message. I have no idea what it is that you have taken, but it appears that both this Council and the Sisterhood want it."

[Gralhruk]

"You know more than me," Shade snaps back, anger finally making a return. "You know the council, you know something about this sisterhood, and you know what is after me. I don't even know what it is I stole.""

[Black Plauge]

"Blarth, right?" the woman asks, confirming the half-orc's suspicion that he's seen her somewhere before.

After Blarth nods in reply, the woman continues, "I'm Lynn, a friend of Nicos. Are you looking for him?"

Another nod.

"I've got to grab some stuff from his room for him. If you'll help me carry it I'll show you where he is."

Nodding again at this fortuitous circumstance, Blarth turns around and follows Lynn up to Nicos' room where she grabs his backpack from under his bed and rather uncerimoniously dumps the contents of one drawer into it.

Finally connecting the dots that the young womans own travelling pack should have already tipped off, Blarth asks, "So, then, Nicos is planning on leaving town?"

"UmHmm," Lynn replies, "Probably. Some things are coming to a head that it really wouldn't be good to stick around for. Not to worry though, I know where to find him if he has to get moving before we reach him."

Grunting an acknowledgement, Blarth quickly learns that "helping carry something" means "carry it for me" as Lynn hands him Nicos' bag and then leads the way out of the flat, into the rain, and across town.

[Kelemyn]

"Yes, Isac," Juni says soothingly and with a sharp look at Shade to chide her for her outburst. "You do know more than the rest of us about all this. Explain about the Sisters of the Jade Eye, for instance. They're goblin witches? How do you know that one of them is pursuing Shade?"

[-J-]

"I know of the Sisters because I spent twelve years as a Harappan slave, and I know that one of them is pursuing Shade because when I healed her, the curse opened my mind to the one that is here and now..." Isac bites back his words and takes a deep breath. Shame and anger at his past flushed his cheeks. He takes another breath letting his emotions cool.

"Look, I'm sorry," he says at length. "I shouldn't have been short with you, and I apologize. I will happily regale you with all of the political minutia of the Hegemony later. Right now what you need to know is that a very powerful spell caster is coming here to find you. If you are still here when she does, she will not hesitate to kill every living thing in this city to get to you. That is why we need to go now."

[itches]

Nicos had no clue what was going on. It was exciting.

"We-e-ell if we're going to go," Nicos drawled, slouching against a the door. "We should get moving. They don't close the gates so we can leave tonight."

[itches]

Moving quickly, the group were soon walking out past bored gate guards and into the hills to the south of Enderin. A short time later Lynn and Blarth joined them, were caught up on what was happening. Together, it was decided that more information was needed and they set out in search for such.