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Chapter Five: Melshaef and the Lost Mother

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Kaerri's Man. =)
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  • "<span style="color:rgb(255,0,128);">I will, Bren.</span>" Bria nods as she tightens her enchanted boots. With a little wave and strong, single-minded purpose, the Ko monk speeds away on eager feet away from those upon the smaller wagon. Powerpaw nods in affirmation to Bronze. "<span style="color:#ff0000;">I kin read three languages. Dis Common tongue we iz talkin', da Common language where I comes from, an' da language of Kitty-faces.</span>" When Bronze asks what weapons should be made, Powerpaw gives the question serious thought. Then his eyes light up. "<span style="color:rgb(255,0,0);">You kin makes 4 my-size masterwork throwing hammerz? I haz normal warhammers. I kin huck 'em at bad guys, but dey iz meant fer melee, not huckin'.</span>"



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Wolf looks over his shoulder awkwardly when Luna joins the scene, but he quickly regains his earlier confidence. After nodding politely at Bria he stares after her disappearing figure and comments in mild disbelief: "I'd like to know what was in the food we had that makes people jump off a moving wagon in the middle of the night and run off into the dark woods, completely clueless and not one of them a ranger at that!"


He returns a grin to match and nods in agreement with Stewart. "Now that is an alluring proposition. Luna?" He looks towards the sorceress, replacing the grin with a pleasant, inviting smile. "Care to see the world the way rangers do? Limited offer." He coughs the last part out for emphasis.
 
Bren smiles as Bria runs off, then looks back at the Daughters of Summer, only half listening to the conversation between Bronze and Powerpaw. "So, little friends, have you any other questions for me? Or is it my turn to ask?"
 
The three little woodland beauties huddle together for a span of about three heartbeats. Then they hop excitedly. "We asked about the wild elf's name!" "That means it's your turn!" "Go go go!"
 
Luna looks over at Wolf and raises and eyebrow. "Um, well. I am certainly open to learning new things; and learning to see the world the way a Ranger does couldn't be a bad thing, especially since we are all trying to be forrest friends. Yes, I would be honored to learn of the Way of the Ranger."

Level 0 - Message, Mage Hand, Detect Magic, Ray of Frost


Level 1 - Shield x2, Enlarge Person x2, Unseen Servant, Gravity Bow


Level 2 - Extended Mage Armor, Scorching Ray x2, Blur


Level 3 - Haste, Fireball, Flame Arrow


Level 4 - Extended Displacement, Ball Lightning


Force Missile x8
 
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Bren laughs. "Well, then! What can you tell me about the Wellspring of Change?" He settles in for what he hopes is a long answer.
 
The three faeries clap and dance about at Bren's question. "The Wellspring of Change took a really, really long time to come into being!" "It sure did. Most wellsprings are places of rest and solace - not this one!" "If you jump into the Wellspring of Change, you never come out the same!"


Then the girlish trio all take a deep breath, smile, and let loose in song!


"Wood becomes steel, short becomes long,


high becomes low, right becomes wrong,


for all you once were, for all that was true,


wave bye-bye to the same old you!


Rich turns to poor, dumb turns to smart,


within to without, mind turns to heart,


walk in like cats, fly out like doves,


hate different hates, love different loves!


The trick is in dreaming, not numbers or spelling.


Will you get what you wish? There is no telling.


There is no limit, there is no range,


All take chances in the Wellspring of Change!"


With that, the sisters clasp hands, giggle, and curtsey as one.
 
That seemed to be all that Wolf needed. "Excellent." he said. "This will be so much easier with your permission." And he grabbed the unsuspecting sorceress by the hand and dragged her off into the night.


The ranger drops them both down from the wagon, seemingly recklessly but actually with the utmost care - the same manner in which he proceeds to guide Luna deeper and deeper into the woods, never letting go of her hand once. Out here in the wilds he was truly himself. His feet tread along a non-existing path with the same certainty as if it were the only road in the world. The pace he sets varies from fast to slow to accommodate each part of the guided tour, only pausing briefly now and then. Wolf makes sure to point out any animal tracks they come upon or uncommon vegetation. He demonstrates how to pass through a forest with grace and without trace, holds the sorceress still while wolves howl in the distance over the calls of owls, and explains how to find one's way in a forest when lost. And finally, when Luna is effectively lost enough to make it doubtful if she'd find the wagons again on her own, Wolf halts them both at a small clearing to catch their breaths while fireflies flash nearby.


Cupping both her hands together in his, he regards the sorceress with unhidden longing. "I've pondered these stars countless times," he tells her, only slightly tilting his head to look up, "But I don't think I've ever seen one that shined as bright as your eyes do now."
 
Luna does her best not to tromp through the forest like a fumble-footed elephant, but is hardly in the same area of expertise as Wolf is. She has some knowledge of Nature thanks to the wide variety of her training, but books don't always translate out to the real world well. As they finally come to a stop, Luna looks up at the stars with a smile on her face. Then, the man of her dreams makes one of the sweetest comments to her that she could ever imagine. She looks at the Ranger, her heart racing, all of her wonderful plans to be so suave and sophisticated gone from her head. Luna finally musters up the presence of mind to just let this moment happen. She leans over to her companion and slowly kisses him. After what seems to be an eternity, Luna comes up for breath. "Oh, my."
 
Otiorin reappeared further up the Road of Kings, Bria in his arms. At first glance, it appeared that they were simply having fun, but as the Half Elf drew closer, it became apparent that something was wrong. Bria's movements in Otiorin's arms were listless and disoriented and the rogue's fangs and claws could be seen gleaming in the moonlight.


He was also moving at considerable speed, bounding along on his enchanted boots.


"We need help!"', he called out to the others on the wagons, "Bria needs help and we've got big trouble heading our way!"
 
Wolf opens his eyes after the kiss. He reaches to fix a lock of her stray hair with admiration in his eyes. "I can't believe it took us this long to get here. Looking back, it seems like I've loved you forever."
 
Luna snuggles up into his arms with a happy sigh. "I have spent so much time trying to think of the right thing to say at the perfect moment, and every time I have absolutely no clue as to what to do. Being with you just seems so right, I'm just going to be quiet from all of my plans and let whatever happen, happen. I just have to warn you; I don't have much knowledge of what I'm supposed to do or say. The last boy I ever asked to the Mid-Summertime Dance told me he'd rather kiss an orc than go out with me. Then there was . . . oh, listen to me. I'm babbling. Perhaps I should stop talk-" She is suddenly cut off by Wolf kissing her once more, making the fire mage simply melt into the arms of her love.

I believe that Sparkle was left behind at the wagons, so if there is some attack going on, she could give Luna some possible warning.
 
Otiorin crosses the road with terrific haste until he sees the Adventurers' Wagon led by its powerful team of eight great horses and just behind it, Stewart holding the reins that direct and command such power. However, the last thoughts on the older man's mind are of anything save alarm and caution as Otiorin appears with one very loopy Bria in his arms. Stewart stands up and looks around in shock even though he has been quite alone for many minutes. It does not take nearly as long for the old gentleman to take action.


"Quick! Get her up here! What is that thing in her neck? Whoa there, whoa!" Stewart gently but quickly brings the team of huge steeds to a halt. The wheels of the Adventurers' Wagon cease in their turning and Stewart vacates the bench seat to make room for them.


"Mister dragon-person..." Bria looks up into Otiorin's eyes with a dreamy smile. "Otiorin is really... a gold-hearted sc--" She coughs. "Ow. Pardon me... Scoundrel... Please don't fly... off with him... I would really miss him... plus he doesn't know yet... Why does my neck hurt?"


Stewart's large owl-like eyes somehow appear even larger in the gloom. "What happened? Ah, stay here! I must alert the others!" Stewart rapidly climbs down the stairs and runs as quickly as he can toward the second wagon. "Bren! Bronze! Powerpaw! *huff huff* Come quickly! There is trouble!"


Deep in Shandra's Evergreen, in the private little clearing in which Wolf and Luna find themselves, there is nothing amiss. Even better, there are no troubles or dangers to disturb this first of firsts between them.
 
Bren laughs at the Daughters' antics. "A nice performance! Sadly, I feel my understanding is still lacking. How does one..." His question is interrupted by the sound of Otiorin's voice, though he can't quite make out the words from his position behind the Grand Wagon (and all its horses, not to mention the two he's driving). His curiosity is further roused when that wagon stops, but Stewart's sudden appearance and calls for help cause the big fighter/ranger to set aside curiosity in favor of duty and friendship. "Woodland friends! Please keep the horses where they are for now - someone will be back if we need to move again." With one hand, he sets the reins on the seat behind him*; with the other, he scoops up the faeries and deposits them gently on the seat next to the reins. Then he jumps from the wagon and runs to see what the problem is.


*If there's anything convenient (a bar or footrest, anything with a space to loop through), he'll tie the reins to that instead of leaving them loose on the wagon seat. Loosely tied, so the horses aren't stressed, but firmly enough the reins won't fall or flop.
 
"We're horsie-riders now!" The Daughters cheer together as Bren loops the reins around a side post meant for that purpose (and for use as a handle to help people get up into the seat from the ground). From their new seat, the faeries watch the three Wanderers with girlish wonder. Then they begin talking to the horses, apparently in their own language. The horses flick their ears and turn their heads to the sisters. Bren speeds off as Powerpaw gracefully bounds along on all fours beside him.


"What da face?!" is all he can think to say until you reach the front of the wagon and see Otiorin and Bria. "BRIA!" That maul appears in his hands as if by magic accompanied by a vicious snarl. Powerpaw goes back and forth between trying to make sense of Bria's disoriented state and watching for enemies in the night. A second switch of arms produces the large and powerful composite longbow, but the heavy growling born from inside his savage chest does not quiet or fade...


Bria looks over to Powerpaw and points. "Bren? Is that you? What a nice... beard you have!" Then she peers dreamily up at Otiorin.
 
"Um, I don't..." Bren notices Bria is pointing not at him, but at the even bigger person beside him. "...ah." Quickly realizing the monk may not be the most reliable source of intel at the moment, he speaks instead to Otiorin. "What happened? Is she hurt? What's coming?" Like Powerpaw, he reaches for his own composite longbow, keeping his attention is on the forest around them, but doesn't put arrow to string just yet.
 
Wolf greets his beloved with a wide smile once he pulls back from the kiss. His right hand is wrapped around her while his left plays with the locks of her hair. "You needn't worry so much, Luna." he tells her softly. "At this point you're not getting rid of me easily, whether you want to or not. Besides, I find your lack of experience... cute. Although I don't have any myself, come to think of it. But... perhaps it's all the better?"


He proceeds to draw invisible lines gently across her cheeks and temples with the fingers of his left hand, maintaining eye contact.
 
Those looking at Bria notice a tiny feathered dart protruding from her neck.
 
"Serious problems ahead. There's a band of slavers, followers of Loviatar, called The Painless.", Otiorin began, forcing his draconic marking to recede, " I saw them in a clearing further up the road. They had some poor woman trapped in a cage and.... and they had been torturing her!"


He bristled again at the sound of the leader's threats.


"Anyway, they discovered that our wagons were on their way and correctly recognised them as belonging to Bilal the Rich. Their leader, Garran the Sinister, intends to sell their captive to Bilal. I was heading back to warn everyone, when I saw Bria wandering alone on the road. I mean, seriously, Bria on her own at this time of night in this location? She got ambushed by a Bard, one of The Painless, who shot her with that dart. I fought and killed him, but I daren't take out the dart, lest it be dangerous to do so. Maybe these will reveal how dangerous that dart is."


He pulled out a black, leather-bound book and three sapphire potion vials.


"He is, I mean, he was adept with a blowpipe, not that he could actually do any harm to me and his magic seemed to focus on incapacitating foes. So I don't think the dart is especially deadly, but maybe one of these vials is an antidote."


Otiorin thought for a moment longer. Was there anything else?


"Oh! There were about five Painless, after I killed the Bard, and ten huge things they called Brutes. I couldn't get a good look at them to see them, but they were the size of the Minotaurs we fought."
 
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Luna can feel her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest as Wolf gently traces his fingers across her face. She closes her eyes and submits herself to his gentle touch completely. "Oh. I don't want to get rid of you. I don't ever want this moment to end, but I am at the same time both afraid and excited. I don't know what to do anymore. Its not like I think you would ever hurt me, so why should I be so frightened?" She nuzzles her face against the hand that is caressing her. "I want to be with you more than anything I have ever wanted. But I've never done anything like this before. All the years of learning at the School has practically made me a spinster, with no experience with men."
 
"Experience can only come with the passing of time." Wolf replies. "I'm not saying we should rush things, of course. We'll take it at a leisurely pace suitable for both of us." He plants a quick kiss on her forehead. "How's that?"
 
Bren pales as Otiorin recounts his story. He's right...I shouldn't have sent her alone after him, I should have sent Powerpaw or someone with her at least. Grim-faced, he nods. "Thank you, Otiorin. It's a good thing you went out; now we know what we're up against. Can you take a look through that book, or hand it off to someone to look through?" Absently, he slings his bow back into place and leans in to carefully inspect the dart, the vials, and Bria herself, calling on what little he'd learned from his wife, a Pelorian priestess focused on healing, in an attempt to identify either the dart, the poison, or at least the sect it came from. "Odd that followers of the Maiden of Pain would call themselves the Painless. Anyone heard of these people, know what they might be using? Bria seems rather... happier... than I would have thought, given the source."

Bren's looking to try Heal first, for the poison; then Knowledge: Religion for the dart and the Painless. If neither of those is successful, he's wondering if Knowledge: Nature or Survival will be of any help in identifying the poison itself, or Knowledge: Local for the Loviatar sect (Loviatar being directly opposed to Mielikki, one of the biggest local deities).
 
The young Half-Elf nodded grimly and opened the book, poring over every page to find something, anything, that might shed light on what had affected Bria and how to counter it.

What roll would I need to read the book?
 
Bren sez,

"Bria seems rather... happier... than I would have thought, given the source."
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Bria weakly waves at Bren. "Hi, Devanne... You're hunky.... but you're dumb... but you're happy that way!" Her lips are smiling but her eyes continue to roam confusedly.


"Uh, Bria," Powerpaw grabs hold of his long swishing tail and holds it up to show her, "I iz Powerpaw. Dat's Bren-face. An' dat's Otiyo- Wait. Oh-tee-oh-rin? Uh.... face. Can't you sees?"


"Oh! What-- what's wrong with me?" Bria's smile fades as recognition dawn in her eyes, and with it, wisdom. She realizes something is seriously not right.


Meanwhile Bren and Otiorin look determinedly for answers.


Stewart turns to Bren. "I understand you are in charge now, Lord Sarabina. Wolf and Luna are off in the woods together. Sounding my trumpet for them might be a prudent course of action. Shall I do so?" Stewart grasps his trumpet in readiness.


 
Bren wracks his brain trying to come up with answers, but his brain does not seem to be cooperating at the moment.


But that does not come close to comparing to the ill luck now experienced by Otiorin when he undoes the leather strap on the black leatherbound book and opens it - to receive a suddenly receive a blast of orange flame to his face and hands! The now-tattered and burning book falls from Otiorin's hands and onto the wooden deck of the wagon. But as for the unlucky half-elf...

[dice]5962[/dice]
 
"No, Stewart," Bren says absently as he metaphorically digs through his mind. "Unless such would be standard procedure for Bilal as well. We don't want our foes knowing the situation's changed." He closes his eyes for a moment, searching his inner knowledge. "I wish I could remember something useful about this stuff. It doesn't seem directly harm--"

Dannigan said:
But that does not come close to comparing to the ill luck now experienced by Otiorin when he undoes the leather strap on the black leatherbound book and opens it - to receive a suddenly receive a blast of orange flame to his face and hands! The now-tattered and burning book falls from Otiorin's hands and onto the wooden deck of the wagon. But as for the unlucky half-elf...
Click to expand...
"Saint's Mace!" Bren flinches back from the sudden flame so close at hand. "Well, that tears it! Otiorin, are you all right?" Without waiting for a response, he yanks off his pack and starts digging through it, looking for a particular, honey-colored glass jar. Finding it, he carefully removes the lid and bends over Bria. "Hold very still, would you, and let's see if this helps enough you can get to healing again..." Gently, he applies the salve to the wound on her neck.

One use of Restorative Ointment, coming right up...
 
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