CW / TW: Brief allusion to abuse by a romantic partner; Difficulty eating, due to being forced.
This section will be written in blue text if you wish to skip it.
~~~~~
Present Party: Keviks (aka Zephyr), Lupan, Nana, and Wren.
Setting: The city of Lanti, in the kingdom of Midtia.
With things coming to a slight lull while waiting for the king and queen to arrive, the party opted to look into another quest they'd received when they first came to Lanti. The Horizon Walkers Guild had informed them of two yugoloths - a merrenoloth and canoloth - out on the seas. They decided to attempt to pursue them, and made arrangements with Admiral Cromdor of the Midtian Royal Navy for a ship. He said he'd be able to get them one tomorrow night, but he wouldn't be able to captain it. Instead, he recommended Lieutenent Lysander Soriena: a young man from Aincour. He'd actually been invited to the engagement party, and was one of the few gentlemen who were staying at the Cromdor Estate as well.
 |
| Lt. Lysander Soriena, of the Midtian Royal Navy Wood Elf, age 102 (physical age 18) (Art by @Sonnet_Form on Twitter) |
Lysander was honored that the admiral had recommended him, and agreed to sail with the party. They also asked Fang if he wanted to accompany them, but he felt better staying behind.
"The last thing my parents need to hear when they get here, knowing that I got shot, is that I'm off demon hunting on the ocean," he reasoned.
They also decided to pay a visit to a traveling salesman that Wren and Keviks had met before: J. Mulaney, who worked for Hawe's Emporium of Mystical Creatures. She and Keviks had completed a quest for him in Kystad, and Nana had noticed their wagon on their first day. She'd spoken to Mulaney and discovered that they intended to be there until the 14th of the month. They visited and they were greeted by Mulaney: a tall, lithe man with pale skin, brown hair, and blue eyes. For the first time, they also met his boss: an older halfling gentleman with curly white hair and a bushy beard named Halfo Hawe.
The Emporium itself was contained in a covered wagon, but stepping inside revealed a much larger structure with two floors, several shelves, and all manner of strange creatures wandering about. The one thing about Hawe's Emporium was that if someone wanted to purchase a creature, the prices were high. The creatures they found were often hard to come by, and their establishment was more of a zoo than anything. The party also learned that Halfo actually created several new, never-before-seen creatures in his spare time: the result of splicing different creature types together.
 |
| "Vishap" from Stibbles Codex of Companions by Runesmith |
The party explored, but did not yet make any purchases. They hoped to return after receiving the sizable reward. Lupan, however, did interact with a dragon that appeared to be made of stone and that spoke Druidic. This creature was called a Vishap, and it hailed from the elemental plane of Earth. He asked the creature if it enjoyed living here, and the Vishap seemed content for the time being.
That night, Alaion came to visit the party again and deliver two of the three items Nana requested: the amulet and the pair of sending stones. Alaion also explained what he anticipated would happen next. Within the week, he expected to be called away to another part of Midtia. He suggested that the party get in contact with him at the end of the week, and he'd be able to tell them more.
He also informed them that Lord Sultasar of Erdia had contacted Draxon Turnuroth: the Erdian dictator. Turnuroth would be on his way, and would likely arrive in five or six days - after the king and queen of Midtia.
Once he left, the party delivered the amulet to Keviks, who attuned to it and created a disguise for himself. He was human, wearing dark clothing. If anyone asked, his name was "Zephyr" and he was originally a member of Hero's Way, who was hunting the human traffickers they'd heard about in Dragon's Valley. Now, he was the "new hire" for the Selection Party.
 |
| Quest The Copper Dragon Demigod |
 |
| Dragon Lancer: Axel Changeling Form Way of Mercy Monk |
Between the two of them, the party decided that Axel would be better suited to protect the royal family at the capital. Axel's spirit in the Silver Dragon's Staff, when asked, didn't seem to mind the idea. His only request was that he wanted to talk to Lupan before he left for Kystad. In the form of the staff, it was difficult for him to communicate. He needed to talk to Lupan in a form where he could truly speak.
Nana also decided to use Divination after that to try and find out more information about the yugoloths and where they could be hiding in the seas. She hadn't called out to any god in particular for the spell. She received a very interesting response in the form of two voices: one in her left ear and one in her right. Both were male.
The right one said, "I think it's funny that you reach out to the pantheon when you have two perfectly good gods right here."
"It is pretty funny how that works," the left one agreed.
When Nana opened her eyes, she was still in the room where they'd all met, but time had stopped. In front of her were two men. The one on her left was an elf with long, dark hair tied up in a ponytail, tan freckled skin, and one brown eye and the other green. The man on the right appeared human with pale skin, brown eyes, and long hair down to his shoulder blades. He also had a beard around his mouth. They both smiled at her warmly.
"We've met before," the elf told her. "My name is Celanwe."
Nana recalled the name; it was one Quest had mentioned a few times. Celanwe had been the copper dragon god before Quest. Her eyes turned to the human, wondering. He smiled knowingly at her.
"And I'm Myren," he declared. "And I am the first copper dragon god."
She had so many questions, but due to the spell was unable to ask them. They told her that if Quest was coming with them, if he followed the music, he'd find the yugoloths and their ship. They also revealed, of their own accord:
- Quest was the 67th copper dragon god.
- All of the former copper dragon gods still share one mind. Quest hasn't realized this yet, and they're playing a prank on him by not revealing it. Quest knows Myren and Celanwe exist, but not in his own mind.
- Myren requested that Nana thank Wren on his behalf for a very rousing game of chess. He'd played her while Quest's spirit was in the pan flute.
- Celanwe told Nana, "Quest does know how to transcend. He just doesn't remember. Remind him of his purpose. Then, he'll remember."
After that conversation, Nana filled the party in, and Quest was able to piece together a hypothesis for why he couldn't remember, and what his purpose might be.
"I... I'm a bard. Celanwe and Myren were bards too, I know that much. I'm a performer and a storyteller... but I haven't performed since I've been back."
They considered some options to help Quest, including the potential of keeping the party on for the 7th or even the 8th at the Mulcaster Estate. It wouldn't be an engagement party anymore, but the 8th was a holiday: Dragon's Day, celebrating the end of the Dragon War, 250 years ago. The king would also be in Lanti. It was the perfect excuse for Quest to have an audience to perform for.
After all this, the party filled Prince Fang in. Before dinner, Fang informed Wren that Sebastian seemed worried earlier. It had been something about their older brother, Orion. He hadn't come out of his room all day and he wasn't eating. Mirabelle and Cassandra had been worried too. Wren went to check on him immediately.
~~ CW BEGINS ~~
She knocked on his door, and told him who it was. Thankfully, he unlocked it and allowed her in. Wren watched Orion walk away from the door. He stood by the window and looked out.
 |
| Orion Mulcaster Human, age 25 Wren's older brother (Art by Tina Yeh on Art Station) |
He cleared his throat. "Yesterday afternoon..."
"Have you eaten?"
Orion hesitated, but then shook his head no.
"Why don't you eat with me, Cassandra, and Sebastian? It's been a while since we had a family dinner, with all this."
"I don't want to," he confessed. "I... I don't think I can keep it down. I stopped eating because I couldn't keep it down and... she would make me eat..."
Despite that, Wren ordered dinner to be brought upstairs, and she had a table set up for the two of them. "I'm not going to force you. I'm just asking you to eat what you think you can without getting sick. Even a little bit will help."
She sat to eat, but he didn't move. After a long time, he said, "Do you know that I envy you?"
"What do you mean?"
For the first time, he turned his head to look at her. "Do you know what I would give to travel? To sing? Do you know what I would have given... to continue my vocal lessons after father made me stop when I was fourteen? Do you know what I would give to play the cello for an audience?" He looked back out the window. "Maybe then none of this would have happened... Maybe then I'd actually be able to look in a mirror..."
It took more talk, more convincing, but finally, Orion sat at the table. He drank the entire glass of water and he slowly ate ten or twelve bites of his food. Then, he got up again, and went back to the window.
Afterwards, Wren approached him and asked, "Orion, can I hug you?"
He nodded, silently allowing her to wrap her arms around him. After several seconds, he wrapped his arms around her too. The hug was loose, unsure. And when she looked at him, his eyes were closed and he was focused. He was keeping his emotions in check.
Wren pulled away, and left the room, shutting the door after her. Behind her, she heard the scurry of footsteps and then the click of the lock.
~~ CW ENDS ~~
Wren decided to go for a walk through the Cromdor Estate after that, to clear her head. On her walk, she ran into the twins and Mirabelle. All three of them asked how Orion was doing, and Wren informed them that she managed to coax him into eating but that he wasn't well.
"He needs to go home," Cassandra declared.
"He needs the music room," Sebastian added. "I've had this idea. I want us to sneak back into the house with him, and get him to sing and play with us. Garret said he'd be able to help us in. I think it'd be good for him."
"And we could bring Fang along too," Mirabelle suggested. "You know, to..." She looked pointedly at Wren. "... spend time with Cassandra and I as well. I think he could use some music to help him relax."
To Wren, it was obvious that Mirabelle had every intention of setting up Fang and Sebastian, not Cassandra. The party knew that Mirabelle was aware of Fang's sexuality, being a close childhood friend of his.
They asked Fang, and he agreed that he'd tag along... so long as he managed to convince (or perhaps escape from) Castilian's watchful eye.
It seemed as though the Mulcasters were conspiring against their eldest brother... but for his own good.
~~~~~
ART LINKS
https://twitter.com/Sonnet_form/status/1074747966949224448
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4blGw4
No comments:
Post a Comment