Frozen Fire

1. Sairina Ondoculuina

2. On Ice

3. Yzzol

   4. Ice Giant

    Read the aboves ones first…

Listen to this while reading chapter 4 and this chapter on loop!

The elf somehow managed to widen his eyes as he witnessed the giant lifting his huge hammer above his head. It was obvious that his ice fae had hatched some plan with the ice giant, and now it was coming to fruition. The mage knew a combination of fear and hopefulness, both equally intense and overwhelming. What if this beast hit too hard and shattered him along with his bubble? How would his body react to the shock of the blow? But at the same time, there was hope of escape and of being able to touch his Yzzol finally.

The giant swung his hammer in a slow arc right toward the elf and his ice cocoon. It landed with solid *clunk* upon the great weeping shell of ice encasing the elf and actually bounced off. It was actually the first sound the elf had heard since being encased those many centuries ago. The giant hefted his hammer, as if considering another blow but held and regarded the ice bubble. The silence of his prison resumed momentarily as the giant and his Yzzol watched expectantly. Then there was a popping sound and a crack appeared in the face of the ice before him, and then a squeaking whine as the crack lengthened. The ice was still weeping and the cracks provided a channel for the water on the otherwise smooth surface. There was more popping and creaking as more fissures appeared and the web of cracks expanded in length and depth.

The cavity occupied by the elf was exceedingly small, squeezing him into the one place all these years. Now there was a notable shift as he felt that space expand. He wasn’t sure if he could move or even if he should but that question became moot as the shell popped open, one half of which yawed off to the side, leaving a wide open space to one side of the elf into which he promptly fell and collapsed.

He struggled in the snow, still clasping his staff, barely feeling the tremors of the earth as the giant hoisted his hammer upon his shoulder and trundled back to wherever he had come from having completed his task without further word or explanation.   Yzzol had ceased to dance and was hovering near with her hands in front of her mouth apprehensively. The elf managed to roll over on his back as his breathing and heart rate returned to some semblance of normalcy. This caused him to use more energy but now he could generate more mana. The wind had not blown in over a century so the air was still, but it was still extremely cold. But the mage had been nothing but cold for what seemed like an age, so this was not a new sensation at all.

He focused his eyes upon the hovering fae and tried to muster a smile which she returned, sending a wave of warmth through his body. She glided through the air towards him and reached out a hand. The elf mustered all of the strength and willed his muscles to respond, helping him sit up and stretched out his own hand to finally touch his wonderful ice fae—his Yzzol.

Even though it happened in the blink of an eye, the elf experienced it all in slow motion. As their hands met and fingers began to entwine, the elf felt an excruciating burn travel through his fingers and into hand and down through his arm, chilling him and nearly stopping his heart with the fiercest bite of cold he had ever felt, even in this plane. Whatever heat he had was simply sucked out of him. He would have instantly frozen solid but for his staff, Ventil, still gripped in his other hand and his cloak, Locecollo, still wrapped around him. While Locecollo had no great love for its master, it also did not savor the thought of never being able to fly again and being left in this forlorn place so different from the fire plane from which its spirit had come. For Daza had imbued this cloak with the spirit of a baby elemental fire dragon for the main purpose of flight, while it was still trapped in its egg. But it still retained a vestige of the dragon spirit. So for the first time ever, Locecollo took matters into its own figurative hands. Both the staff and the cloak responded in unison to protect their master in the only way they could from this mortal threat, sending forth magical heat energy. However this bit of salvation came at a supreme cost.

Yzzol had never seen anyone or anything from any other plane but her own. She expected the touch of this other-worlder to be greeted with the same soft frozen touch that she had always known, say from the snow rabbits. However what greeted her touch was a searing burning heat like nothing she had ever known in her long life. It shot up her arm and throughout her body. Yzzol had no magic staff or cloak to protect and look after her. She began to scream but no sound came forth. She was consumed in an explosion of blue flame, sending a shower of her fluid frozen self in all directions, only to freeze in mid-air and descend in a storm of bluish snowflakes to settle upon the white snow. And upon the elf who now saw his beloved destroyed before his eyes. By his own hand.

At that moment, all his strength failed him and he collapsed, as his own flesh was covered in bluish flakes. While his staff and cloak could keep him warm, they could do nothing to revive a darkened spirit and a broken heart.

Ice Giant

Previous chapters

1. Sairina Ondoculuina

2. On Ice

3. Yzzol

The days were as blissful as they could be when one is trapped inside of a bubble of solid ice. For years and years Daza had seen nothing but snow and the surrounding bleak landscape around him but since the arrival of Yzzol, things began to change. Orod was becoming more and more incorporated with the rest of the plane. Crystal trees began to appear and grow, spreading their impossibly intricate branches and soon it became a crystal forest, with ice branches, snow rabbits and ice wolves that would occasionally hunt them. Great birds began roosting on the trees, spreading icy wings in order to fly and hunt other ice and snow creatures.

And Yzzol never ceased to dance her dance for the frozen elf. How he longed to reach out and touch her! The closest he could get was to attempt to reach out to her mind with his. This was never fully accomplished as he simply could not generate enough mana to nourish himself, keep him alive and fully connect with this other-worldly beauty who seemed somehow bound to him. He could feel something akin to the warmth and fondness she felt for him and he likewise responded with his own mental affections. It was wisps of vapor, barely felt and never truly seen that passed between them over thought through space and time. And all the while his ice bubble prison weeped and gradually ebbed on the outside, while he detected more space on the inside enabling his eyes to blink and express just a bit more. His hand still grasped Ventil, his staff which he could make flash a dim light only with great effort.

His desire to escape his prison began to increase over time as he was attended by his ice fairy. Now that he had a better understanding of where he was, he could ponder this as he really had nothing but time and nothing to do but think, albeit at a much slower pace than he was wont to do. Yzzol seemed to have limitless energy for dancing about but had no strength as far as he could tell for breaking the thick shell that encased the mage. An idea began to grow in his mind, as he had a very faint and vague memory of another time in another place where he had encountered beings from this particular plane.

It was not a pleasant encounter as he remembered. Much blood had been spilled battling these powerful creatures. And now he was on their plane. He knew they had the strength to do what was needed, but then they could just as easily split his skull with their giant weapons. There was nothing preventing them from simply breaking the shell around him and then dispatching him as easily as yolk from an egg. He had yet to see these creatures here but was somewhat certain that this was their home plane.

Yzzol seemed to have sensed his thoughts. It was if this time she had spent around him had helped to forge and strengthen their mental connection. He was not in a position to yet read hers, but he did attempt to push the image in his mind to her. She stopped dancing as she peered into his eyes and the furrowed her brow as if trying to read more. Then her face darkened briefly before she resumed her thoughts and dancing. The dance was different– not as seductive or joyful but slower and more contemplative. She was thinking and pondering. While she had the elf as a captive audience, there was no real danger of him wandering away or even of doing anything to her. What would it mean to have him freed? The elf was reading her dance and her emotions thus when all at once she flitted away. It was the first time she had left his presence since she had begun dancing before him all those years and years ago. In an instant he felt the presence of her absence, and the loss of her company filled him with anxiety and apprehension. Where had she gone? Was it something he had thought? Would she ever come back?

And so he was there alone again, just as he had been all those centuries before she had arrived. Except now he had a crystal forest and a few of the snow and ice creatures who had moved in to the new habitat. But he had no concern for them, but only his Yzzol. The lovely and beautiful Yzzol who he yearned to touch and be with. Without her he was content to remain as he was. Indeed, he would rather die. But he held on to hope that she might return.

With no rising, setting or movement of a sun, it was nearly impossible to mark time save for his own muchly slowed heartbeat. However he sensed the time was relatively short when he sensed the familiar presence of his ice fae. And she was not alone.

She hovered near him and danced and twirled around him with anticipation and excitement for some time before he felt a second presence. What he felt was the ground shaking, thus shaking his ice bubble. The shaking became more and more pronounced until the elf could plaiy see that standing near was a huge ice creature— one of the ice giants. In one hand he wielded what appeared to be a giant hammer of a darker sort of ice. The giant stood, light reflecting from his rough bluish exterior and regarded the elf and his bubble for some time, even as the ice fae danced around the ice spherical prison. The giant seemed to be making some sort of internal calculation as it towered over the elf.

Giants are frequently regarded as dull, slow creatures, but Daza knewdifferently from his one single encounter on the material plane. There was a keen intelligence but it lacked the malevolence that he had seen in his one battle with them. This giant was regarding him with some measure of deliberation and then backed slowly away a few paces and stopped as if waiting.

Yzzol’s dance became more animated and excited, and she too backed away but kept her attention on the elf with a hopeful expression that seemed mixed with a degree of nervousness. Then the giant seemed to have reached some decision and picked up his hammer with both hands,

Yzzol

Listen to this as you read!  https://youtu.be/AoLnibW0_Pk

In the grand theme of things, those tremors he had felt those many eons ago were simply an event in a stream of uneventfulness. As it turned out, he had no ideas how to answer whatever call there was that came from those lands that he had been bound to. He had absolutely no idea if those lands even still existed as it seemed like an age had past since he had last felt or seen it.

All he came to know was empty desolation in his ice bubble prison that had ceased to weep, and now only seemed to thicken over time. It was still crystal clear, but the light had a way of bending and refracting around it that cast various colors in the surrounding snow and shimmered as snow flakes floated and swirled around.

How much time had passed and how many meters thick his ice prison was, the elf had no idea but one day another event happened. He had a visitor.

Apparently the pretty rainbow colors had attracted the attention of a being the elf had no memory of ever seeing the likes of. She looked like a young woman, her skin as pale as the snow with only the slightest tint of blue, and her locks were also snow white. She was much smaller that the fairies he had known in his former life and she was without clothing, save for the snow she sturred as she moved past, flying on wings that he could not see. Her entire being seemed to be almost translucent as she swirled and twirled in the air around and about his ice globe. He had no idea there were any other beings here, but there she was. Or perhaps he was finally dying and these were but visions in his head, the final delirious imaginings of one who was finally going to be released from this void.

Credit Warriors of Myth Gallery

The elf had no idea when the last time he had done this, but knew it had been a very long time. He somehow managed to blink. As the dancing wisp of a creature floated, swirled and gyrated her body she peered and appeared almost as startled as he felt at the movement. But then she settled into a look of genuine curiosity and her own eyes never left his even as she never stopped moving about, up and down, to and fro. Her face finally broke into a a bright smile and her movements became less chaotic, almost rhythmic. Her body became slightly less fluid, and her arms raised above her head, her legs straightened and she twirled, bouncing up and down upon the snow without actually touching it. The little spritely girl was dancing.

As far as Daza could see, she was not singing anything, not had she really mouthed any words. She simply smiled and danced for a short bit before pausing and looked into his eyes as if she expected him to respond in some way. So he blinked. This seemed to please her greatly and she proceeded to dance again, only this wound involved her legs bending more and her arms by her side as twirled and spun before him. She paused again, and again he blinked and so she began another dance, prancing about with her arms outstretched, flipping through the air several times before pausing to look at him. His furrows must have creased somewhat or at least that is what he thought of doing as he was trying to figure out what she was doing in his frost-addled mind. She imitated the look upon her own face as she tried to read a face that was not otherwise very expressive. She repeated this movement of prancing, hands outstretched and twirling and flipping in a circle over and over, each time pausing to search his face for some sign of comprehension.

She was trying to communicate with him! This gave the elf mage some hope, but it was a vain help. Even if he succeeded in somehow uttering a whisper, it would never penetrate the thick ice that must have been severalm meters thick about him. He still could not move freely. But her did have something….his staff. There wasn’t enough will in him to use it to break through anything but perhaps…

He marshaled all of his will in a desperate gamble and the stone in his staff glowed for but an instant before going dark again. Daza simply did not possess the energy or stamina to do more. The idea of making his staff glow never occurred to him before, and why would it? In a place a perpetual day, there was no use for it. But the little ice fairy spotted it and her face lit up in wonder and joy. She danced this dance again and looked. The elf was only too happy to oblige with a single blink of his staff, which oddly took less effort than blinking his eyes.

And so the ice fairy danced. She danced and danced and danced before the elf, only pausing occasionally to give him a chance to respond, and then resuming with greater pleasure mirth and vigor. She danced for days and days, tirelessly. For weeks and weeks. Years and years. For scores of years, the little dancing fairy never left Daza, and danced her joy and her pleasure before her captive audience.

And indeed Daza was enthralled with this creature of the frozen plane. She seemed to have a truly endless repertoire of movements and dances. He could tell the difference between dancing and simply floating, as she seemed to punctuate these movements when she paused to look expectantly for his staff-blinking ovations. She seemed to sense his pleasure even though he was virtually expressionless, and her enthusiasm for her dances grew in more expression on her own face and more expanded movements on her part. It seemed the more frustrated he became by his own lack of ability to move, she made up for it in exaggerating her own gyrations, in the repeated, rhythmic patterns.

It occurred to him after some years, that she was in fact singing, only instead of through sound, she used her dancing to express herself and he attempted to put his mind toward deciphering her strange and exotic language. But he really needed some frame of reference from which to begin and had none since the only common denominators he could recognize from his own world and time were ice and snow.

At least this was true until they had another visitor to his ice bubble. It was tiny but in this unchanging world they both noticed it at the same time, the instant it landed. It was an ice fly, unique to the plane of ice and snow. If he could have possibly mustered it, his eyes would have bulged and widened in stark recognition of what they were and this told him precisely where he was. Or as precise as he could have hoped. For Daza had once summoned these very creatures to serve him on the earthly plane whne he was searching for someone. Her memory but a flicker of a winged creature from his past. But to see this fly here, in this place excited him greatly. And his dancing companion seemed to read his feelings as she searched his eye. She put forth a slender translucent finger and allowed the small insect to crawl upon it. And then she began a new and different pattern of dances which he began to comprehend as her naming this creature. She cast it into the air and it flew off, and she again danced a unique set of dances, interpreting what the small elemental insect had just done.

Orod was a relatively new addition to the frozen plane, but as time went on,the native beings and creatures began to find it. A snow rabbit hopped by, and the excited fairy danced her own interpretation of what it was and what it was doing. When a great ice dragon swepted overhead, the girl danced her excited song and slowly Daza began to be able to string these momvements together and re-interpret them into his own understanding.

It was at the point where he recognized one dance as her signature dance that he came upon her name as he could understand it. Yzzol. Arms wide with joy, a rather seductive gyration of her body repeated twice, a twirl and finally a stiffening of her body, arms straight above her and legs straight beneath, all done while hovering. The realization and naming of her must have registered somewhere, because she seemed to take great pleasure in this, and repeated it often.

Daza did not learn very much of her language at all, really. But he richly enjoyed the presence of this lovely and beautiful fairy who made his existence in the prison both bearable and unbearable. He yearned to reach out and touch her, hold her, dance with her and just be with her. For he had fallen in love with her, even though no words had ever been exchanged between them. She never left him, but continued to dance her joy tirelessly for him, and he was delighted by this. He had no idea from whence she came, but he was now endlessly happy that she was there. He had no idea why she had chosen this spot, or him to dance her dance, but she had. She had introduced a new warmth into his heart. Gladness replaced despair in his heart and hope replaced resignation.

At some point, his glass-smooth icy orb began to weep again. It was very slight, and it would take a million years to fully thaw, but as far as the elf knew, he had nothing but time. And his Yzzol. As long as she was there, dancing before him, he was happy enough to bide his time. One day, he promised himself inside of his frozen mind, this ice prison would melt and he would be joined with his beloved Yzzol. If anything her dances became sweeter, more seductive and more filled with joy the more his own joy rose. There was a connection here between these two beings of vastly different and separate worlds. Across the planes destiny had called him for just this this time and this reason. To meet, know and love this ice fairy who became his constant companion and comfort. He could feel more life stirring in him. If it took 100 ages, the day would come where he could reach out and touch her. Hope kindled and warmed an otherwise cold soul that had seen too much death and loss in the earthly plane. Now, here, he could live forever even if a prisoner. If he ever escaped his ice bubble, he resolved he would never leave. He belonged here, always and eternally with his little dancing Yzzol.

On Ice

His heart rate had slowed and his mind entered into a sort of twilight state where he no longer felt the cold and the wind.  Indeed he had entered another plane as the land that was under his feet was transported and whisked away by magics powerful and dark.

Unbeknownst to the elf or anyone else, Daza had come extremely close to his own salvation for he had trekked through the ice, snow and howling winds to the outermost borders of lands that he would have known.  For he had somehow trudged upwards to the top of a great and icy mountain that was known to its inhabitants and those of the surrounding lands as Orod.

But by the foulest of luck, just as he might have made his descent, the entire land was bombarded by elemental energies that he was not atuned to, and it was reclaimed into a hazy void.  Orod was gone and the elf was gone with it, into a place of perpetual winter.  His staff and his cloak were still with him but he was now far beyond the reach of whatever well-spring of power that he might have tapped into in order to regain himself.

Daza was frozen in time.

Because he was frozen, decay did not touch him over the years…the thousand years that he remained in the icey void.  He remained essentially unchanged and unaltered and untouched by the events of the world.  He was no longer of the world…at least the one that he had known.  He could have remained there eternally but for something that happened in the temporal realm that reached out to him.

The land that he was bound to in his previous life had undergone a tremendous upheaval.  Things had happened and the ebb and flow of the energies there sought him out.  Something foul had happened that was poisoning and killing the land.  It called out to him.

“Sairina Ondoculuina”

The elf was frozen inside a capsule of crystal clear ice that seemed to be in a constant state of freezing and melting, as if it was weeping.  The wind had stopped and the snow was still as it had been for the last 100 years in this plane, where there was no spring or summer or autumn.  Only winter.   But there was light of some sort, and the snow sparkled and glittered atop the mountain.  It was grotesquely beautiful, save for the temperature which was still colder than any winter Orod had known when it existed in the temporal world.

“Sairina Ondoculuina”

Daza was motionless as he had been for all time since coming to this place, but something had caused his mind to stir.  He was being called by the very spell that he had sworn to never utter again.  But there it was, somehow whispering and enticing him.

Life, frozen as he was and numb to all, on top of the mountain wasn’t much of a life, but it wasn’t death either.  It was peaceful but neither comforting nor distressing.  This was not at all measuring up to whatever expectations he might have harbored in regards to an afterlife.  He had expected to travel West with the other elves he had known and cared for…those who had passed on.  Failing that, perhaps he would have to face down demons and devils in some dark and hellish realm.  Or perhaps he would be granted passage to the land of Fairey where someone else he had once cared for had gone.  But no, the clerics had apparently gotten it all wrong.  It was neither glorious nor dreadful.  And it was not sleep either, although he was in a state of perpetual reverie it seemed.  But it was not the invigorating sort that elves would indulge themselves when they felt overly weary.

“Sairina Ondoculuina”

There it was again!  Those infernal words that seemed to be whispering upon the wind.  Except there was no wind.  There was just the stillness inside of his crystaline prison and without.   It was calling.

He had no idea how he would answer.  Or even if he could answer.  Or even if he should.

Fuck You Facebook

While I generally eschew the coarser invectives, this pretty much sums up my feeling toward a social networking site that has been hurtling toward self-destruction for quite some time.  It was getting harder and harder to find out what my friends were posting as FB began hiding posts or picking and choosing what I may or may not see.

One of FB’s policies indicate that they want you to use a real name.  I knew this when signing up with my SL name so it was always a risk I knew that might some day come back to bite me.  And a couple of days ago, it did, when I find out that my account had been disabled.  And thus I became educated in what happens when they decide that you aren’t a real person.

Keep in mind, I had been on FB for over 3 years, and FB chronicled many of my adventures, my ups, my downs, my relationships, my interests and my views.  I had made many friends who I had grown very close to and very fond of.  I even spent a bit of money through that account for a few of their games.  So when I got shut down, it was a bit of a shock.

It became even more of a shock since they did not merely freeze the account, but they totally removed it and everything that I had ever posted there.  All of my documents, pictures and posts: gone.  It was as if I had never been there.

As I said, I was ready to accept the whole thing as it was a risk I knew I was taking when I signed up.  Their terms of service clearly indicate they want a real person.  One can appeal their decision by providing proof that you are a real person by supplying them with a picture of a government issues I.D, such as a driver’s license.

Ummm…..no.  Even if it were my real life account, I wouldn’t do it.  The Snowden Affair provided enough of a wake-up call to let me know that that would be a no-go, supplying a company like FB that much information.  It’s bad enough they already have payment info on file, but a copy of my Driver’s License is simply going too far.

Fortunately Google+ has no such stipulation in their terms of service.  They’ll still track my browsing and habits and whatnot for advertising but at least I don’t have to worry about them yanking me off their service for not being real enough for them.  I had been considering a move anyway, but of course most of my friends are still on FB…I think.

It probably stemmed from one of my latest addictions which was the game Game of Thrones Ascent, and I had become a fairly good player in a fairly good and popular alliance.  I’ll have to write another post about that game at a later date but it had started to take over my FB feed entirely.  It is a cut-throat game made even moreso by some players who can be downright nasty.  Nasty enough to have people’s accounts suspended (even legitimate, real people using their real names).  FB doesn’t tell you exactly which of their TOS things you might have violated, or how they found out.  They simply let you know that you violated one of several things on their list.

Since I did have multiple accounts, that would be a second violation so either the first or the 4th or both.  It doesn’t matter what the reason, and FB is entitled to enforce their own policies– until they decide to change them.  FB has a history of screwing with people’s feeds, timelines, histories, content and many other assorted sundry things that have angered or offended their base.  But it’s where everyone is at the moment, which makes them the dominant platform for social networking– at the moment.

Someone might want to remind them of their predecessor: Myspace anyone?

Sooo….I’ve made the migration over to Google+.  I was already there, I had just forgotten about it.  I had one follower who was in my circle of “Favorite elves”  but I already spoke at length about her in my last few posts.

I suppose I need to login to SL and warn my friends that their days on FB just might be numbered since most of my friends were in a similar situation as me.  Who knows?  Perhaps one of them were nicked and it has worked its way down to me.  In anycase, FB’s outages and issues have also exacerbated the situation over there.  They likely did me a favor by forcing me to migrate to an outfit that is looking to be more stable. Of course, g+ isn’t perfect and doesn’t have quite all the bells, whistles and features but the Google universe certainly does have more to offer when you look at its entirety.  But then again, it’s good to have diversity in platforms, like using WordPress for example instead of Blogspot, which is Google’s blog platform.   Google isn’t immune from the syndrome of pulling the plug on things they don’t think are working.  Google Wave, anyone?  Or how about iGoogle?  That was one service I used a LOT but fortunately there were replacements that made importing those links and contacts painless.

Whether it’s better or not, I’m not going to argue, but I will say that I’m glad g+ is there as an alternative.  For the past couple of years FB has used its dominance to push, bully and corral its users.  The newsfeed has become littered with more spam and ads than ever before.  It’s become more and more of a junkyard.  So I get to try something new and see how it works.  And I get more work done.  Win-win win!

I spent at least 70% of my FB time under my SL account just because my gaming friends were more fun than family and ex-classmates.  I could be a little freer in my expression without having to worry about my siblings seeing my posts and could play games with other gamers.  My eyeballs (my real ones) spent a lot more time on FB under my SL account than it ever would with my RL one.  I posted, liked, shared, poked, chatted and was fully engaged in FB but did very few of those on the RL account where any employer, co-worker, neighbor or other nosey person could be looking over my shoulder.  I never posted anything wrong, I was just a bit more expressive.  In short, it was closer to being a real me than my other account could ever allow.   If FB thinks that by shutting this account down it will automatically increase the engagement with the “real one” they can think again.

Just be warned that all that content you post to FB is at risk, and if they shut you down it will be GONE.  POOF!  And your existence will be expunged, as if you were never there.  It’s a good lesson in spreading things around a bit and it was very fortuitous that I started THIS site as a result of FB and Google site shortcomings.  Wordpress has been around a lot longer than FB and it has the virtue of being open source and community supported, unlike the privately held corporate tentacles that have a stranglehold on other media platforms.

It’s sort of a new day and a new beginning more than an end and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next big thing is going to be.  I’ll miss some of my old friends, but if they wonder what is happening, at least they have a couple of avenues of finding out.

 

Role Plays with Gwynn: The Early Days

Someone had asked for a compilation of Gwynn’s RP’s so I’m offering them here, bringing them over from my Google Site.  I’m not sure how many of the NC’s I still have but I always favored the online versions anyway.  I’ll put a bit of commentary with each one…

The Fall of Gar Thurion – is Gwynn’s backstory.  She included the very last paragraph on her profile, but this is the complete version that I wrote for her, giving her character a bit of history.  Early on she did include picks of people she cared about in her profile but over time became more guarded in that practice but this one piece was always there.

The Red Headed elf Girl – This one does not contain any RP of her, but was a solo one I wrote and it does include a very lovely picture of Gwynn taken inside the house we built and shared together for a time.

Restoring Gwynn – is the RP we did in the Isle of Shadows (Ios) and was her first major RP.  Principal players included Parzival, Lexie and Montana and a few others who arrived in the Godiva tavern.  It is also her first capture RP where she becomes a “guest” of the empress, although she was locked in the infirmary and not the dungeon. Out of all my attempts to RP in IoS this was probably the most successful one I ever had the privilege of doing.  There are some good pics of most of the players and I think all will agree that Gwynn did a most excellent job of it.  She was nervous and in IMs with me much of the time, but really didn’t require much coaching at all.  Just a bit of virtual hand holding which is helpful for all new players.

Goodbye Gwynn – Another RP in IoS, this time my elf self is departing to visit the hidden city himself in order to determine the truth of what she saw in her visions and memories.  I give her an enchanted circlet that will allow some limited telepathic communication while being far away physically.  There are appearances by Lexie and Lady Corvus and some nice pictures of Gwynn with the golden circlet. That circlet was supposed to be a surprise gift, but the Marketplace was being crap that evening so I ended up just giving her the Lindens so she could buy it herself.

Daza’s first message to Gwynn – I was busy in RL so we did a series of solo RPs and this was my first one to her.  She did some subsequent ones which are buried either in Facebook or on a NC somewhere.  Google sites is not the easiest format to work with and I eventually dropped it in favor of this blog.  No pictures 😦

Talking Trees and other Mayhem – This takes place some time after the previous ones and by this time, we had the relationship firmly in-character.  During Daza’s absence, Gwynn ends up getting herself killed.  In this RP, Daza is determined to track down the killer which takes them to Taure Ru.  There, they meet Katja, Kethnes, Polly and a few other characters.  It was a fun and hilarious RP.  Gwynn was an old hat at RP by this time, already had made a ton of friends was already a very well-loved member of the realms.  A couple of nice pictures, one with all of the players near the tree.

Daza’s Oath – This was a tipping point in getting my elf self toward the darkness adapting and using Tolkien’s Oath of Faenor as the template.  I include a link to a video made by a fellow who does a recitation of this oath in Quenya that is beautiful and haunting.

Two suspected Avarial Killers – I wish I had a picture of this one.  Malada, Katina, Kaelen and Rhianne are featured in this RP along with Gwynn and myself as we continue to track down her killer, the trail leading to Sylvhara.

Daza Meets Zos – Another RP in the Godiva in IoS.  Zos and Daza have a rather long history, as Zos was once his apprentice.  By this time Zos himself is turning dark and will eventually become the arch mage of IoS.  Rhianne is his former mate and the closest thing that Daza has to a sister, thus this little RP mixes a good deal of familial history along with the intrigue and mystery. This features myself, Gwynn, Rhianne and Zos.  Another RP with no pics, which is tragic because this is the last RP I did with Gwynn before we split up.

I took some time off from SL before continuing my elf’s decent into darkness and madness without Gwynn.  And in all future RP’s this would be one of those things that would vex me as we never had a proper in-character closure to what we had started.  However, out-of-character we eventually became good friends and each moved on.  Her to Sylvhara and me to Lundene.  She was a person made for love and would have many other suitors lining up outside what would become her chancellor door.  Sometimes she would confide in me about her feelings about new paramours and it was difficult not being a bit jealous of them but I have always treasured the time that we shared.  The one thing that we always shared was that each of us wanted the other one to be happy.  This is what Gwynn always wanted: those around her to be happy.  She would go out of her way and do whatever she could within her power to bring happiness to her friends.  Even if it meant getting captured or having her head chopped off!

I will always carry a bit of sadness for losing her and for unfinished business.  But I will also carry with me more fondness and happiness that she brought me and so many others during her all-too brief time with us.  It has been so encouraging hearing the stories of others whom she has touched, and I know she will never be forgotten.

The sudden loss of such a vibrant part of life in the realms has devastated everyone and each person must grieve in their own way in their own time.  But I know it would distress our dear friend if we lingered in those shadows for too long.

So let love rise,

So let Love depart,

Let hope have a place

In the Lover’s heart.

Hope has a place in the lover’s heart

Look to Love and you may dream,

And if it should leave, then give it wings.

But if such a love is meant to be,

Hope is home and the heart is free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

OOC: Remembering Gwynn

The hardest thing we will ever have to do, is to say to someone we love “You go first.”

They might be only pixels on the screen, but the feelings are very real.  Always.

I met Gwynn on day one of her existence in SL.  This was actually her first manifestation, before she was Adaralinwei (renamed Gwynn just because she liked that name).   I was in one of my alts taking a break from medieval RP trying out something different.  Namely I was helping people new to SL in a way I sometimes wished that someone would have helped me when I first started.  And I was feeling down on that January day so helping other people was one way I could lift my spirits.  And I needed to be away from Daza, my elf self, for awhile.

On this particular avi, I kept a few freebies and various landmarks for getting free stuff.  I basically milled around a few places where noobs frequented and if they looked confused, I would IM them and we would go from there.  I had already helped a few folks get their start over a period of a few days when, I think it was the the infohub in Hyannisport, where I saw a brand new avatar (the one with the black hair and the dark mini skirt) rez and she tapped out “Can someone please help me?”

So I IM’d her and I can’t remember exactly what she was looking for, but this began a very grand adventure and a rather torrid love affair.

One of the first places I took her was Sweethairs, where an avi of less than 30 days old can get free hair.  She spent a lot of time looking around and once I explained how to try on demos she was hard at it.  I remember watching and sort of hoping which one she would pick and sure enough she picked the red hair.  I had absolutely no idea at the time, but it turns out that she was a natural red head, and that color of hair would become her trademark in SL.  And of course I loved it as I would come to love almost everything else about her.

We spent an entire day fitting her out with a new shape, new skin, new AO and then I helped her fix up her profile, taking a few pics of the new Gwynn.  For some reason, I thought she was British as she had a very sophisticated way about her but I would later learn she was from Texas.

Gwynn also had a friend named Jo, who was also on day 1 of her existence in SL and I spent a bit of time helping her too.  Jo was quite a bit wilder than Gwynn and consequently required a bit more help to learn the ins and outs of SL.   The two were initially roomates, getting their first SL house together, and so my days of hanging out at infohubs came to an end as I spent almost all of my time with Gwynn.

Those of you who knew her know that Gwynn was a fairly shy and guarded person, especially at first.  She had seen enough hardship in her real life that she had been jaded when it came to relationships.  However the newness of SL had a way of opening her up slightly where she was keen to explore new places and things.  That very first day we visited the little sim of Hawaii, and explored its beach and tropical setting, and ended up finding this hammock in the middle of nowhere.  I had no experience with this particular bit of furniture but it looked innocent enough.  Well, as it turned out, it had a less innocent side which kind of embarrassed us both but we did end up laughing about it.  I later purchased that hammock for my own little parcel because I had such fond memories of it.

After a few weeks of hanging out and basically falling in love with this sweet lady, I was getting anxious to go back to my elf self.  And so I told her about my double life as an elf mage and the little community of friends that I had there.  Gwynn had never done any role play before but at this particular time we were pretty much inseparable.  And so it was that she decided that she would be happy to go where I would go.  And she absolutely adored and loved the idea of being an elf.  I loved and adored the idea of her being an elf…MY elf.

And so her new elf self was was born– the Gwynn so many others have come to know and love so much.

At that particular time, Vana was long gone and Lexie tossed out the idea of Daza being the arch mage of the Island of Shadows.  But Daza had always been a very light elf even if his magey self had greyed a bit.  And so began a very difficult and arduous transitioning into darkening him even more to make a better fit in a dark realm.  But if Daza was an ill fit, Gwynn was an even poorer fit even without any sort of history at all.  It was obvious to her and almost everyone else, that this was a lady of light who simply did not have an evil bone in her body.  Several tried to talk her into darkening her character but it would never work.  Gwynn was a light elf because at her inner most core, she was a being of light and life.  It was her most outstanding and attractive trait.  She was always a giving and generous person and she could not even pretend to be otherwise.

In those early days, Gwynn met and made friends easily, but she still relied on me to help her with her story.  I wrote her backstory and we developed a bit of a story together around a shared homeland, shared culture and shared language. We got a parcel together and made a little SL home together, which she took great delight in decorating and surprising me with the …erm…fun furniture she would discover.

In my 6 years in SL, I have had the privilege to be partnered 3 times with 3 VERY wonderful people, each of whom I have loved at different times in different ways.  I had sworn off such arrangements before meeting Gwynn, but what we had was very intense and powerful.  And deep.  And too short.

Alas, I had (and still have) a real life job that demands a LOT more time than during the days when I was under employed.   Me not being able to be around for her put a big strain on our relationship.  Gwynn relied on me for so much, and I was just not able to be inworld or online with her as much as she wanted or needed.  So I encouraged her to go to Sylvhara, join their healers guild and find her own way in the GA.  As everyone now knows, she more than exceeded anything *I* had ever done in the short time she has been a part of it.  We parted as good friends and have always remained friends.  There was a point where we entertained thoughts of perhaps getting back together but even though we still had feelings for each other, we were still separated by a lot of time and distance and history that was not going to be bridged easily.

Or, as it turns out– ever.

I’m not sure how to describe the news of her passing– how it touches me.  I am at a loss for words but not for tears.  SL has made me cry many times when nothing else would soften or bend me.  But this…it is beyond grief.  To know Gwynn is to love her, and she has touched so many people with her gentle, good and giving nature.

I thought purging my memories of her here might offer some relief as writing has often been my refuge in times of grief.  But the words of the times and memories…they fall short.  It is a loss on a deeper level that mere words can ill pay homage.

It’s a pain I am not prepared for.  I’m not ready to say good bye.  I don’t want to say good bye.  My lover, my friend, my elf…

What can you see on the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea, a pale moon rises.
The ships have come to carry you home.
And all will turn to silver glass.
A light on the water, all souls pass.

 

 

Sairina Ondoculuina

He clutched at his staff and his cloak, trying vainly to fight against bitter shards that were battering at his face.  Every breath was as being stabbed in the chest with a dagger, and his eyes stung against the frigid whiteness and the wind lashed about him, making his hair twist and flap around his head.

“How did it come to this?” He thought to himself.  But he knew only too well that his own pride had again gotten the best of him.  Again.  He had foolishly set out on a quest to solve the mystery of the secret stone without telling anyone where he was going or why.

“Bah!  No one ever listens to me, anyway! No one ever listens to the elf.”

He had searched for clues in all the great libraries and archives and had followed the few scraps of knowledge toward other halls of learning and other places, big and small.   Not all of these places welcomed him, for many lands had a deep suspicion of outsiders.  So he found himself lurking and sneaking further and further from Lundene.  And as he did so, his strength and power diminished.

“It was those damned druids!” He would rant and rave within his mind while trudging through rain and mud and dung and briars and brambles on goat trails where even goats refused to go.  He cursed them, but of course the gods would pay him about as much heed as the winds and the ice that currently raked at every bit of exposed flesh. It was they who had bound him to the land and the queen who ruled it.  It was they who put these limits upon him and now he was reaping the bitter harvest of having gone entirely too far from the wellspring where his powers lay.  But in the depth of his mind, he knew that was the price for having a body that was capable of being cold, wet, hungry or annoyed.  The druids were not here in the frozen waste to aid or vex him.  He was alone, trying to make his way south to not be alone anymore.  He had to see if he could possibly save himself and the land he was bound to from some terrible cataclysm.

He was in the oldest archives of the ice elves when he first felt a massive disturbance deep within himself.  He thought it might be indigestion or perhaps some internal excitement at having found a crucial clue to the mystery.  In fact what he had found may have been the cause of whatever it was that was happening to Lundene.  For no sooner had he read the ancient elvish words, than he had felt something massive lurch, twist and crack within him.

“Sairina Ondoculuina”

He said these in his mind for he dare not utter those words aloud again.  The texts had warned against it, but of course prohibiting a thing makes it so much more difficult to avoid doing.  It was the Mother Stone but of course it was more than that.  There was no common tongue equivalent to what it was exactly or the power that it possessed.  Of course the parchments he found were incomplete and nearly disintegrated with every touch.  And when he uttered those words aloud, he fell backwards in a cloud of dust, old bark, charred ash and old mold spores.  He had knocked over the several stacks he had been combing through, clutching at his chest, seeing horrific destruction in his mind’s eye.  He could not tell if these things were yet to pass or had already taken place.  But he felt the urge to make his way back.  Back to Lundene and his keep.  Back to…..his home.

And so he set out on the trek back against the counsel of his bluish skinned kin, who warned of the approaching winter storms.  The mage had of course ignored their warnings with a dismissive wave.  He had made his way all the way up to the most northern kingdoms and would return the same way.

But the storms had been much more fierce than any he had ever known.  In truth he had not known many winters, but was only alive because the body he now inhabited had experienced harsher climates.  This was not the same body that had existed and grown accustomed to the warmth of Vana.  It was the body of some northern noble elf who had spent much time outdoors.  But even the ice elves were loathe to venture out in such storms. as this one and so the suffering was very real.  He could not fly and he could not portal.  In fact he could do very little except rely on the warmth of his staff to guide him ever southward.  Whatever was happening to Lundene had a severe impact upon his magical powers and it was becoming more vexing every day.  He knew he was getting closer, but did not know what he was getting closer to.  His staff seemed confused, as it seemed to be leading him through strange paths in what he was sure was not the way he had come.  Perhaps he was wrong to trust Ventil, or perhaps it was also being affected by whatever disturbance was causing knots in Daza’s chest.  But he trudged on, for to stop was to die and to die alone.  He had come to far and endured to much to stop now.

“There!  Was that someone ahead?  A building…an animal…a person?”

His eyes strained but the wind whipped and howled around him and whatever he thought he saw disappeared in an angry cloud of snow.

“Get up you fool!  you want to die here?  Go!  Keep going!  You’ve come too far!”

He sank into the snow and caught his breath, looking and peering ahead, still not sure what he saw.  He was weak and tired.  Perhaps a small, quick nap….

“You swore an oath!”

Yes he had, indeed sworn an oath to his queen.  But his will and his body where fading.  He squinted, looking into the grayish white horizon.  He thought he saw something move but in an instant it was gone again.  He was sure he must be hallucinating, for he could have sworn he had seen a swan ship.

“The ships of Cirdan…ha!  I am indeed going insane!”

And of course it was gone in the next gust of wind and cloud of snow and ice.  He continued to to trudge as his body and mind both numbed.  Perhaps his mind was telling him that it was time to go.  It was finally time to say goodbye.

“But you swore an oath!”

His mind was a cruel slavemaster, and so he trudged, fell, got up and trudged some more before falling again.  Each time he stumbled, it took a bit longer to regain his feet.  But he still kept going.  He had to get back before it was too late.  His mind replayed his one of his favorite expressions he had heard from some other mage:

“A wizard is never late.  Nor is he early.  He arrives at precisely the time that he means to.”

Daza could only laugh hysterically into the teeth of the wind that forced him to his knees yet again.

“What if he’s never meant to arrive at all?”

After the Battle: Memories and Confession

As Talonia leaves, the subject shifts to Tamashi’s particular dilemma…

Daza (daza.mistwalker) waves Be well and thank you again…I’ll be visiting the tavern more regularly….and I have not forgotten you Tamashi…this memory business is on my list”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Of course. Though now I have another place to look with these draconic symbols intriguing me”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) gives her a sidelong glance “Well I hope you weren’t a dragon in your former life…hopefully something perhaps more…cuddly and furry”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) laughs. “Perhaps I merely knew one, or had a distant relative. I may have even been a scholar of such things. Only time and exploration shall tell.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker): “I’ll send for you at some point if you’re still interested in regaining those memories, but you might consider simply living your life as it is now…looking forward instead of into the past”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I think there are some things I would like to know…such as whether there was some draconic connection, and perhaps the identity of someone in my memories. Little things.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) shrugs “Suit yourself, but think on it. sometimes there are reasons the mind chooses to forget.”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I lost my memory at the hands of spider priestesses who would have taken my life. I was robbed of it, and it was not a choice.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker): “well, it might have been a curse or it might have been a favor….but such information is very useful to know as it gives me a starting point for breaking through”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) snorts. “The spider does not grant favors, especially to those who protect rival priests. They tried to take my eyes and my life, and had Vhaeraun himself not interfered out of spite to the spider, I would have been dead.” She shrugged.

Daza (daza.mistwalker) arches a brow “Well you seem to have some very keen memories of that part”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I only have them thanks to help from a druid of Sylvhara. Before that, I had only the memory of priestesses and dark magic, and a fear of females of my kind.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) sighs “Well I will help you if I can. I warn you that mind work can be a very treacherous thing…it always changes the people involved”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) sighs. “I have been warned on such already. Just do not make me a spider worshipper and I shall call it even”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) laughs softly “That’s the last thing I would do! But when next I see you we can make an attempt. Once I have this place made conducive to lighter such magics as we might attempt”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) nods. “Perhaps we can start with a small question or two to answer and go from there, rather than a full recovery. I would rather have little questions answered if nothing else works”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) nods “I’m merely opening things up as much as is allowed…no more. I have no desire to curry the attention of anything that might be too dark within you”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) arches an eyebrow. “Just because I am drow does not mean I was ever dark, memory loss or no.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) snorts “It has little to do with being a drow…I would not say unless I’ve experienced such myself. ”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Then why even bring up the subject of darkness at all?” She sighed. “I do not doubt your experiences, but I am rather aggravated when people look at me with wariness by appearance alone. I just cannot help but wonder what you are thinking when you say such things.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) folds his arms “Your friend, Zandelin…whom we talked with before coming here….he killed me. Do you know why? Because I was a dark and evil mage. I spent many, many moons as a ghost, haunting and being mischievious before getting reconnected with this body with the help of several angelic beings. I know the dark”

 

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) arches a brow. “I only met him today, as with you and Kiila. But if that is all you were speaking of, then I feel better. I just do not like someone looking at me and thinking ‘evil drow’. I am sorry for what you have gone through, however.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) narrows his eyes “And the Shadow…do you know how I knew about the ship? Because I was once of his crew, forming a dark and evil pact with another foul creature named Xaoc….one does need to be a drow to know the darkness”

 

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) sighs again. “Again with the drow knowing darkness. I am beginning to wish someone had told me I was a dwarf after I had lost my memory instead of drow. With the way the talk goes, the idle amusement among others might have been more pleasant.” She paused. “You have, however, proven your experience in the matter and then some.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) shakes his head, red faced at his recollection and subsequent confession “Those are memories I would sooner not have to carry with me, Tamashi. But that is the price I pay for the things I’ve done. The spider queen’s curse could be an unintentional favor. You have a chance to start anew without such burdens. I’m not saying to have done wrongs such as I…but you are a clean slate now untarnished. I rather like that in you…unburdened by cares of the past”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) chuckled softly. “You need to work on your compliments, Daza…for a moment you were having me ashamed of what I was…I wonder if I should be still from what you say. There is nothing wrong with knowing a thing or two here and there. I might like to know if I have a family that exists. Be it for good or for ill, some things one likes to know”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) smiles wanely “Then I’ll help you as I’m able. I’ve forsworn the darker side of my path, but the past is still there and on the day we discover yours, you’ll come away with a taste of mine, as well. Forwarned is forarmed.”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I do not suppose it is possible for you to give warnings and caution without making one feel afraid and inadequate? Though I do know you are trying, and for that I am grateful.”

 

Daza and Tamashi

Daza (daza.mistwalker): “Hehe….that was not my intention, but merely trying to lay it out plainly. Mindwork is no casual thing and as a young healer you’ll gain a bit of knowledge in the process for it”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I’ve been warned on it more than once, but Lady Snow put it more delicately than you did. You really ought to be a bit more delicate in your warnings with some of us females, though perhaps with the ones carrying swords, not so much.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) laughs “Probably why I am ill-suited for the healing arts. It’s so much easier commanding the forces of the weave than cajoling and beseeching”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “You need to spend more time around Lady Snow or another female who can elbow you to be polite on occasion. It helps that you mean well, so I do not have to be angry with you.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) smiles “I do enjoy Lady Snow’s company and she does have a way of bringing out the better side of people. But the reclusive ways of a mage do not always lend themselves to such niceties”

 

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) laughs. “Then you need practice at not being a mage. Perhaps I could have you over for tea and we could practice. Of course, this place is larger than my inn room, so perhaps this is better. Or we could have it at the citadel.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) makes a bit of a face “oh..Avina…hrmm…yes….well perhaps I’ll have to have some sort of tea service around here and someone who is practiced at brewing something less powerful than various potions that turn skin to stone”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) laughs. “Well I can brew tea and some basic potions; I used to brew them all the time back in Ru. I can help with that if you’d like.” She chuckled. “Oh, and do keep your reclusive mage attitude for stubborn soldiers and warriors who need healing; they need such encouragement.”

 

Daza (daza.mistwalker) shrugs “Well generally when I offer instruction, not following them has dire consequences and the soliers are getting used to that after seeing their fellows suffer needlessly through ignorance”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Well yes, there’s that. The same could be said of healing too, or any other magic perhaps.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker): “Very true, though as you can plainly see my touch is generally less gentle. But know you are welcome to visit any time you feel you can put up with it!”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) laughs. “Well, at least now I know it is just the way you are, and I shall try not to be so sensitive about it. Perhaps I can jest with you about it instead. I am, however, looking forward to seeing what you can do with the tower”

Daza (daza.mistwalker): “ahh…well don’t expect TOO much….I prefer a more spartan surrounding for my serious work. Less trouble to clean up after any unfortunate accidents”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) laughs. “Well, if you do have any accidents, I shall try and help you clean them up if I can”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) brightens a bit “OH! Yes…very useful to have a healer about for certain projects, yes!”

 

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “And I could use the practice, no doubt. Perhaps I shall consult with some of the healers in Sylvhara for practice as well; I do enjoy their tea.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) nods “Aye…and a few of the older ones might have a story or two about my days as an adept there. Fact is, many are high healers now largely because of the practice I provided”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) laughs. “Then perhaps they owe you a heal or two in thanks. “But a good story is always interesting.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) looks at all the books waiting to be read and nods “Yes, a good story is always interesting and they have plenty of them, I’m sure. ”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I am certain you have interesting ones as well, but you are no doubt tired from this effort today, and I am certain I have kept you far too long.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) smiles “Well it has been my pleasure but you are right….I have not had a proper rest in days trying to make this place habitable”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “If you think the tower is safe enough now, then rest here, I say; otherwise, perhaps rest at the inn or the citadel”

Daza (daza.mistwalker): “hehe…I think there is enough safe space here now to suffice. My prior resting place was the healer’s hall and its good to be out of there. Besides, I have so many more books to read now!”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) laughs. “Then rest here, and then read books. But you must rest first, as tempting as the books can be”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) shrugs Books make excellent pillows, I have found”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) laughs. “Get yourself a proper pillow…you can bring a book along, but you must rest lest i have to sit on you and make you, though we both know that is not possible.” She laughed.

Daza (daza.mistwalker) rolls his eyes while trying not to fidget “I’ll make the best of it, I assure you!”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) chuckles again. “Go now, and I shall leave you alone this time,” she teased.

Daza (daza.mistwalker) clears his throat “OH! Do you need another portal down to the ground? The one outside comes out at the top of a mountain…long walk”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “If you are not too tired…if you are, then I shall walk and make the best of it

Daza (daza.mistwalker): “Hmm…well no trouble at all….this one will take you to the Citadel….I hope” He concentrates and again claps his hands, opening another portal

Tamashi’s Portal

 

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) chuckles “Rest well, and I shall hope too.”

 

 

The Assault on the Mage Hall

For days he had been walking around the keep, stabbing into the waters with his staff, abjuring the wards that protected and surrounded the exterior:

 

Nai vanwa mordo!

At an i undume!

Nai vanwa ar entulesse!

moica vantil núre moica yala!

 

Be gone shadow!

Return to the abyss!

Never to return again!

Heed my staff and obey my call!

 

The ground shuddered and the sounds of thunder could be heard around the keep as he continued through the long day and into the nights, taking neither reverie nor food until at last he grew wearie enough to return to the ground through the portal and take nourishment. But as soon as he was able, he returned and resumed his rounds, attacking the wards over and over until they finally began to crumble bit by bit. He could now sense what was within and the mage was nonplussed as he could feel a certain presence within from beyond the mortal plane. He recognized it well for he had, in his prior life, transcended those boundries himself, summoning those reluctant and hostile creatures and tearing them from their home. Even if he never did so again, he would forever be seen as hostile in those planes, and the creatures would seek their vengeance. He would need help for this next phase.

 

He went through the portal and down the mountain, making a note to move the portal to a more convenient location in the future. He stopped by the tavern to grab a bite to eat. He found it empty, but managed to get warmed and find a bit of bread and meade when he heard voices out the back of the building. He walked around the building to see several milling about.

 

Kiila Blackheart: *her brow lifts again at a new approach *

 

Daza (daza.mistwalker) looks at the rather motley bunch, making a note of any weapons and noting something that looks like a staff on one, only recognizing one of the party “Greetings Tamshi…friends” and bows a bit to the rest

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) nods and offers Daza a smile. “Daza.”

Kiila Blackheart: *stepping lightly to the side to keep all in view smiled at the man “Vendui ” a neutral greeting

Zebeyanna Baen’ath (artic.scribe) snapped out of her thoughts and gave an audible growl. Baelwhelar’s name was mentioned and it was a hated name now. The unfamiliar scent came to her as well as the man stepped near. She took a step back, her eyes never leaving him.

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) looks over at the mage saying….”How’s Daisy been?” He remembers when the mage had been cursed to be a girl, low born one at that. Her name was Daisy.

Daza (daza.mistwalker) gives the gate guards a small salute and steps a bit closer “I see you’ve found some new friends here” He addresses them “Daza, at your service. Arch Mage of Lundene” He gives Zan a look and his eyes twinkle a bit, as he vaguely recalls a far more recent encounter “Still working with the rangers of Sylvhara?”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Oh, Avina was talking with Kiila, and Zand and his friend recently joined us,” she mused to Daza.

Kiila Blackheart: *grins unable to help herself “Vendui Daza Arch Mage of Lundene. I am Kiiila, Ban Drui of the united Realms and serve here as a High Druid. we were jsut discussing my present .. umm.. coloring..”

 

A crowd in Lundene

Daza (daza.mistwalker) smiles “Well met, Kiila of the Realms, I seem to remember hearing of a druid of some reknown but hadn’t thought to ask of her…erm…coloring”

Kiila Blackheart: *chuckles* when I walked these lands last my skin was fair and hair ebony.. which yes.. *lookst Zande* I think i’d like my old coloring back.

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) nods to that, “The pack’s moved to Sylvhara, so yes. Good to see you still are yourself, i was wondering if you had forgotten you promise when you helped Parzival amd Dinna again me and Argo that one time, you do remember that promise that brought you back?” He was a wolf then, but was there, when the mage had been freed. He’s tossing a reminder of it back at him, his way of getting even for that day at Godiva’s

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) looks over at Kila, “Oh xas, i meant help with the earthquakes, i don;t think stone singing would help with your skin tone milady killa, sorry…

Daza (daza.mistwalker) scatches the back of his neck “Well I recall a promise of fealty to the good queen Beatrix…and to be a better caretaker of this body than the last one…as for prior to that, whatever I did or said; those promises perished with that old body”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I suppose if I had changed appearance, I might wish my old appearance back.” She glanced from Zand to Daza with interest, then glanced at Kiila. “You do look lovely the way you are, however.”

Kiila Blackheart: *chuckles* I will take your aid in creating quakes. You are like to find the weakness within the stone where it is weak and I can touch off a few earthquakes ” then gives Daza a specoulative look “But perhaps another can do something about this coloration issue.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) nods with some agreement “It’s what is inside that counts, and I find your present coloration seems to become you, dear Kiila”

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) chuckles at Daza, “Well if you start tip toeing through the daisies again, i warned you at least. I don;t think that goddess will give up so easily on your promise.” He looks over at Killa and asks, “Killa, would you happen to have any clue where the Shadow might hide someone from our noses? We know our friend was in the land, but we are unable to trace his scent down.

Kiila Blackheart: Neither fully one of the other.. not elf, not drow.. its my boon and curse both.

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) shrugs. “Be who you like, as I am, though at times I am frightened along the way.”

Kiila Blackheart: *looks back at Zande * “depends on tehe abilities of those who seek .. if it was me looking he’d hide someone under stone or over water.. the two places the first song cannot reach.

Talonia Moonshadow walks out from her tavern and wonders what the ruckus outside was.

Kiila Blackheart: *Nods at teh newcomer* “Vendui ”

Talonia Moonshadow looks up and nods slowly in acknowledge. “Greetings”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) listens with some interest to this talk of a shadow which reminds him of his own business this evening “Well…changing exterior appearance is merely a matter of illusion if you wish it enough. Otherwise a more permanent solution gets a bit more complicated. And if you, my wolfish friend, seek the Shadow, you might find him aboard his ship”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) arches a brow “Ah! Red! I see you’ve come prepared and brought a weapon with you!”

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) shakes his head, “there is no hiding something in stone from me…and we’ve been through every river in this land. It down right baffling. Unless….” he mulls over some things in his mind. “A ship….that explains things.”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Again with the talk of this Shadow fellow…he seems quite known wherever I go.” She looks up and nods to Talonia. “Vendui.”

Kiila Blackheart: *carefully blanks her expression* ” siyo Daza.. I think we should talk later together. as charming as I find my lords opinion of my appearance I do have a reputation to live up to .. and a well known state of dark locks. ”

Talonia Moonshadow looks to Daza a little confused a moment. “Umm……I have a weapon yes always do but…what are you talking about? ” looks to teh other and smiles in greetings.

Kiila Blackheart: *bites her lip softly knowing what would happen if she gave aid agaisnt the Shadow.. what if he decided she was no longer ‘useful’ and held her peace. but dteremined to relay the conversation to him.

Daza (daza.mistwalker) rocks back on his heels, considering “Well…I happen to have a bit of a job that might require some skill with weapons”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) listens with interest

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) looks back at zebe and says, “time to go home sister. We have our answer finally i think. Time to find out if those nordsman friend of Freya’s still have the 52 gun ship available…If the shadow has had Tel on a ship, we’ll board, get him back, and then bast the shadows ship back into pre history.”

Kiila Blackheart: *ears perk up* Tel? Telryn?

Daza (daza.mistwalker) glances over “Tamashi, you remember the door we were looking for? Well we found it and it led to an impressive keep. I have taken care of the wards, but…welll there are other creatures occupying that need to be evicted”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) turns to Daza. “Really? What sorts of creatures?”

Talonia Moonshadow grumbles something under her breath a bit before looking at everyone and back at Daza. “A job you say? ” taps her chin softly before listening. “What is my compensation for such? I must ask only seems fair no? WHat creatures are we taking out?”

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) turns nodding back to Killa, “I’ll have to let the Queen know we’ll be bringing a war ship into the waters around here. If we can get them to help….” He starts planning a few things in his mind. Logistics of a ships battle, dealign with the pirtates that will also be around, avoidign, international incidents int he process…. he scrunches up a brow.

Daza (daza.mistwalker) makes a bit of a face unsure if he wants to reveal the true nature of them “Well, they are rarther…ummm…tenacious and nasty….not at all the sort one could live with. But they could be vanquished with a force of arms. As for compensation….well I *am* a mage. Perhaps some future small-ish favor could be arranged.”

Kiila Blackheart: *nods* I am a Druid Zande.. a few things like obscuring banks of fog are easily arranged.

Talonia Moonshadow nods in agreement. “That is fine I am sure that will come in handy.”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Were I a more skilled healer I might offer my aid, but it sounds as if you have some good aiders in mind with our friends here,” she mused, nodding to Talonia and Zand.

Daza (daza.mistwalker) fidgets a bit “Well, such favors assume you…ahh…survive of course. A healer might be useful to that end”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I can do what I can. Anything serious I will have to seek the aid of another, but I know at least two skilled healers”

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) bows head to Killa and Daza, “My thanks for the clues. Now that I look at it, a ship is the only way to keep us from having found him for so long. I dislike water so i hadn;t though of a ship as a place to hide someone.

Zebeyanna Baen’ath (artic.scribe) heard her brother and silently fumed. Her thoughts focused upon her companion, an unearthly growl formed. “Nau!” she yelled. “He is here, brother. I can feel him…feel his thoughts!” She stepped back growling still. Every fibre of her being trembled with rage. This was false information given to them by those who associated with that…murderer. “Nau…I won’t believe it.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) sighs “Mind yourself around the shadow’s ship…he is a wiley one. Even if you don’t find the one you seek, the Shadow still uses it as a place of refuge. It will not be easy to catch him unawares”

Kiila Blackheart: its my… gift.. I can sense life.. anywhere, all life.. blades of grass, insects.. trees.. people..but only when they are set upon the taig .. when they are over water or under stone I can’t doso..its how he hides from me.. but I know the moment he comes within range. *felt her cheeks color ing with a mix of shame , regret and tenderness *

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) nods, “excuse me…” he moves off to Zebe

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Ah yes, the one who leaves black roses. I wonder what his fascination with them is? He wanted to see the Valuk Relonimar once, but the Valuk was busy.” She glanced at Kiila. “that is a wonderous gift indeed.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) taps his chin and looks at Kiila “Any experience with…ahh….fire elementals?”

Kiila Blackheart: *Nods* fires is mysecond element. though last I banished a earth elemental

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) says, “Zebe, we’ve been here three days now and are no closer to finding him, then the moment we got here. Daza says the shadow has a ship. The Shadow knows a wolf was with Telryn. WHat better place to hide Telryn from us then in the middle of the sea, where our Noses can;t go?”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) thinks long about what he sensed on the other side of the heavy doors “Hmmm…could be useful although these are some ill-behaved and ill-tempered creatures”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) chuckles. “So, not the type to offer us tea, I take it?”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) chuckles softly “aahh, sadly no”

Kiila Blackheart: we might have to work out an exchange then Daza.. *smiles at him* as mycurrent countenance shows.. I am , in the end, drow.

Daza (daza.mistwalker) considers, his mind turning “Hmm…well fair enough…changing your actual body could be tricky, but appearances are oft decieving. I can’t make you NOT be a drow, but what you look like is mostly cosmetic…practically speaking”

Zebeyanna Baen’ath (artic.scribe) just stood there…fighting tears, fighting falling apart…fighting herself and what she heard. “Nau…nau…” she kept repeating herself. ‘So close…so close’ her thoughts kept repeating…seemingly tormenting her. Her breathing came in gasps as she tried to formulate the words her brother spoke. Her words now came out in growls as her native tongue spoke. “I don’t believe it. I can’t. Why?!” She felt like she’d lost everything. A ship…a damned boat! “Why?” she whispered in wolven.

Kiila Blackheart: Then we have an agreement. I’ll get rid of your heat issue there and you will do something to return me to my usual self.

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “It sounds like a fair agreement to me…and with any luck, all will work out.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) nods “Done! Perhaps something to keep the buggers from coming back once we evict them. Then we might have a place to actually conduct such a ..erm…procedure”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) looks over at the 3 ladies “Well…are you game to attempot this extrication now?”

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) looks Zebe over, he could force her to come with him, but, this is not a hunt, and not her eating before her beta. He says, “If you want you can stay, but I have to follow though on this. If for no other reason then confirm he;s not on a ship. I hate to say this though he probably is, keepign soemthign on the sea isabout the only way to hide them from a wolf’s nose.

Kiila Blackheart: I can banish the elemental now if you need

Talonia Moonshadow: “Lets do it.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) tilts his head “Well…seems you might want to have a look at the project first. I can;t guarantee that is all we have to contend with”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I do not know how much aid I will be in this case, but I can try if you wish me to come along

Kiila Blackheart: ok Daza.. lets take a look.. I can provide some elemental protection as well

Daza (daza.mistwalker) nods “Well if that staff has any power to it, you might find it handy….It is a bit of a trek up the mountain but I might be able to portal you directly to the site…might be easier”

Zebeyanna Baen’ath (artic.scribe) closed her eyes and the tears that had brimmed fell, released of their tiny prison. She nodded wordlessly and cried out in thought to the Great Wolf. She felt His embrace and it gave her strength when she had none at all. Softly she whispered to her brother “Let’s go.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) draws his staff and grips it “Are we ready?”

Talonia Moonshadow nods. “I vote for easiest.”

Kiila Blackheart: *snorts* ever heard of wind walking? its like a mages gasetous form spell but takes a group you just might be a bit.. umm.. insubstantaial for a few minutes

Daza (daza.mistwalker) concentrate and opens the portal with a clap

Daza (daza.mistwalker): wormhole

 

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey) nods, “We’ll go home, look into get a war ship, and be back with a seven day, hopefully with enough cannons to to put the shadow’s ship out of buissiness. After we get get Telryn back….

 

Zandeln Venoch (beaurey): Lets find that knight before we go, i want him to know what we are up to next. Last thing we need is for someon to sink our ship by misatake

 

Daza watches as the 3 women enter the portal and disappear before stepping through himself. When he appeared at the front of the keep he looks around, seeing all made it “okay…get ready because when I open these doors….all hell will break loose”

Kiila Blackheart: *thumps her staff on the ground*

Daza (daza.mistwalker) opens the doors and cautiously steps in

Kiila Blackheart: follows, a chant ready to her lips, the staff held securely in her hands*

Talonia Moonshadow readies her sword and follows behind

 

for a moment all is tense, but then nothing happens and nothing appears, the mage begins to wonder if he had misread something. He furrows his brow “well…this don’t look so bad”

 

as soon as he uttered the words, a pair of alien-looking fire elementals pounce upon the party

 

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) recoils from the fire as the pair are soon joined by a second pair of the creatures. While Tamashi hides in a corner the other 3 battle the creatures with staff and sword, taking them out one by one, vanquishing them and sending them back to their own plane.

 

.: Fire Elemental shoots a fireball at Kiila Blackheart

Fire Elemental: The Monster absorbs the fire and looks revitalized

Kiila Blackheart the Arch Druid of Flora casts Sylvan Bounty and restores 5 points of food and 10 points of health to all those in a small area.

Fire Elemental: Monster resists the spell!

 

Battling a fire elemental

After the battle in the main hall, Daza grumbles “Damn things seemed to really like me!”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) coughs and comes out of the corner she was pushed into. “Is everyone all right?”

Kiila Blackheart: *snorts indelicately*

Talonia Moonshadow nods and just breaths

Daza (daza.mistwalker) scans the room “I told you they were nasty…whoever last had this keep kept interesting pets”

Talonia Moonshadow: Well at least you know very few would come near

Kiila Blackheart: *mutters something that sounds like ‘bloody mages’ *

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I wish I knew of a fire protection spell….” She sighs. “I might have been of more use.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) relaxes some what and looks around “Indeed….it looks as if it might have been a keep of some mage…it has been hidden for quite some time”

Talonia Moonshadow snorts. “Explains alot.”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) approaches the center and looks around. “An elemental mage no doubt.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) spies the painting on the wall and growls “Dragons” He looks at the other furnishings “skulls…some dark sorcerer or mage”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) follows his gaze to the painting. “Or a dragon.”

Talonia Moonshadow shrugs. “Looks pretty nice in here actually.” looks around. “Or a lover of dragons.” smirks

Daza (daza.mistwalker) shrugs “Well this was before the Queen;s time…she had no idea it was even here”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Once it is cleared of troublesome vermin, perhaps it can be turned into something useful.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) nods toward the stairwell “Well..this level looks good…care to venture a guess as to …up there?”

Talonia Moonshadow: Lets give it a go I say

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) nods. “I am anxious to see as well…thank you for having me along.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) shrugs and looks at the steps warily “I guess..I’ll go first” He climbs the steps to where he can look down on the main great room from which they had just come.”Oh…nice balconey!”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) follows up the steps, looking about cautiously. “It is lovely,” she mused, pausing to look over the balcony.

 

On the Balcony

At that moment, another fire elemental comes blazing down the step from where Talnia had just disappeared into and another skirmish ensues until the creature is vanquished back from whence it came, but only after knocking them off the parapet onto the ground below.

 

Talonia Moonshadow: I swear there was another

Daza (daza.mistwalker): hmm…only one this time?

Talonia Moonshadow: I suppose so. Back up we go

 

As they begin reclimbing the steps they are met by Tamashi “There is a scorpion of some sort up at the top…I backed away from it”

Daza (daza.mistwalker): I just saw the one…oh?

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Up there”

 

Again a small skirmish ensues and the creature is killed within the smallest and highest tower.

Talonia Moonshadow kicks it

 

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Are you both all right?”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) grumbles “Aside from Tal wacking me with her sword…”

Talonia Moonshadow glares. “It was not on purpose. I did try to avoid you but it is hard when the fire is attached to your…..um yea.”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) grins. “I might be able to give you an herb or two for the bruise. And were you burnt? I could have a look.” She peered at him innocently.

Talonia Moonshadow smiles. “You may need to give him a full body search. I am sure he bruised alot falling.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) looks around in the tower, aside from the dead scorpion, too distracted to notice any burns “More dragon, skull stuff”

Talonia Moonshadow: “Perhaps whoever was here was a dragon collector.”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Well, there is a bit of water and a nice bed for him to stretch out…I’m certain something could be arranged.” She nods. “Perhaps indeed.”

Talonia Moonshadow smiles and winks at Daza. “You may have a nursemaid to tend to you.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) snorts as he tosses the dead creature out the window “I’m not keen to stretch out anywhere on these hidous furnishings!”

Talonia Moonshadow looks around. “Shall we continue on then?”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Well, perhaps we could replace it with something nice in blue velvet?

Talonia Moonshadow: “No offense but…I ready to kill some more creatures.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) sighs “I would sooner simply leave it clear for a nice friendly spell circle…a good place to meditate orrr….perhaps help restore old memories”

 

Dead Scorpion

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) nods. “That might be a good thought as well….a spell circle would be nice here”

Talonia Moonshadow: “Right…..meditate.” coughs and continues on

Daza (daza.mistwalker) looks around “Well…we might as well see what else is here in the way of traps or creatures”

The trio head back down the stairs and into what appears to be a large study. The room is surrounded by chelves of books and in the center is a desk, surrounded by a large spell circle inscribe and glowing on the floor.

 

The Study

Talonia Moonshadow sees something of interest and sits to read it.

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) pauses to look around, and runs a hand over the books cautiously. “It seems like a nice enough study”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) walks in and sees all the books and scowls “Don’t touch anything!”

Talonia Moonshadow looks up and looks innocent.

Daza (daza.mistwalker) looks at the circle around the desk and grumbles “I recognize those symbols”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) walks away from the bookcase and observes an herbalist table with a skull on it

Daza (daza.mistwalker) hisses as he remembers the crazy draken named Perwin once gave him a most arduous task of translating “Draconic”

Talonia Moonshadow stands and begins to move away

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) turns her attention to the circle and eyes the symbols. “I do not understand them, but they seem familiar”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) nods “yes…the original scroll that led us to the secret portal was written in draconic…it was a dragon mage that once lived here”

Talonia Moonshadow looks between the two. “Well then ….. what kind of meaning comes form these writings then?”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I see..that makes sense. Still, I wonder why the symbols are so familiar….” She leans over to take a closer look.

Daza (daza.mistwalker) arches a brow “you read draconic, Tamashi?”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) shakes her head. “I cannot remember; perhaps it is a lost memory. But these symbols seem familiar, as if I have seen something like them somewhere. I could not tell you what this says, however.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) scrapes his staff on the floor “It’s rather simple actually…the cardinal directions of the winds”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) sighs “Getting rid of this one will take a lot longer than the furnishings”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “It sounds more and more like a mage of the elements…but then who can tell.” She nodded to Daza. “Do you suppose the person will return, then?”

Talonia Moonshadow shakes her head. “This is beyond me. I will leave it to you then High Mage. Though some of these furnishings look nice. Like this desk for example. Very COmfy chair.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) shrugs “This place was long abandoned and the creatures left here to guard or simply moved in on their own.”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “In that case, if the creatures seem to be cleared out, then perhaps it can be used for a better purpose. Though the writings are intruiging.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) looks at all the books “Those will stay….but if the creature that once lived here was still alive, they would have showed up whilst I was breaking the external wards, if they were able”

Talonia Moonshadow looks around and begins to walk back to the entry way. “Wel I am sure you can find some use for this place. SInce there was no external force to question you while you broke down teh wards then I guess you should claim this tower as yours then.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) nods “It will make a fine hall for mages I think. It already has a portal system…it just needs a bit of recorating and updating”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “I agree…and I had not thought much on that.” She chuckled. “We would have had more to worry about than those creatures if this tower were not abandoned.” She nodded at his thought. “A tower for mages it is, then; I agree. I do hope you do not mind me visiting.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) chuckles “Well you’re welcome to visit…I’ll try to warn you if I acquire pets of my own to guard the place”

Talonia Moonshadow looks around. “Oh I don’t know feels very mage like now. Though if your do not want all these perhaps you can bring some of it by the tavern and i will be happy to take some of it off yours hands. ” SMiles softly and sweetly. “Mages and pets…”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt): “Yes, please do…I do not wish an unpleasant surprise.” She laughed. “Pets, now there is an idea. Perhaps I should get a pet.”

Daza (daza.mistwalker) sheaths his staff “Well thank you ladies, for you assistance…and I’ll need to see where Kiila has got off to, as she needs to lay down some elemental wards to keep the nasties from returning”

Tamashi (georgia.bettencourt) nods. “I do not know how much help I was, but I do thank you for inviting me along. Safe paths to you.”

Talonia Moonshadow nods. “Anytime Daza feel free to stop by for a drink or some food. It was a pleasure to help. I shall be returning to my tavern and make sure those wenches are not leaving dirty dishes again. Be well.”