592 réponses à ce sujet

[mysteriouspast]

Dog offered Rael a farewell before Mercuriel did. The mabari walked over, his tail wagging, and licked her hand with his long tongue in a show of fond regards. Mercuriel followed up this display with a dashing smile and his usual charm.

 

"Well, you always knew how to catch a gentleman's eye," Mercuriel gestured to the young man standing next to Rael. "Including my own," he chuckled heartily and winked at her. He bowed just slightly. "Best of luck to you on your travels, my elven sister. Your beautiful presence graced us for only a short time but it enlightened all of us."

 

 

Rael gave Dog an affectionate scratch on the head and returned Mercuriel's bow when the elf spoke. "Best of luck to you as well, Mercuriel, and thank you for your kind words. If you make your way back to  Denerim, I hope to perform for you once more."

[TreeHuggerHannah]

"Someday," Tempest agreed with Rael. "I shall look forward to it, and hold you to that promise."

 

Tempest hadn't known Rael for very long, but the two had had a few good conversations, and Tempest knew she would miss the elven bard. She did hope that someday she'd be able to make a visit to Denerim, and they'd see each other again. In the meantime, Tempest could merely pray for Rael's success in rescuing her brother.

[Lorien19]

much to Laurelin's surprise, it appeared that Rael was leaving the group.After being reunited with what appeared to be a long lost love from her past.She quietly approaches the red-haired elvhen woman and smiled at her wistfully.She was sad that another friend would have to leave but maybe it was for the best.Something inside her was telling her that things would only get worse from now on, hopefully she'd be safer anywhere but near that dreaded forest.

 

"You're leaving Lethallan...I will miss your songs...And you." She said with a faint smile "Maybe one day, I will get to visit you in the alienage... And see the Vhenadahl for myself." she took turned away from Rael and then paused, turning back towards the elvhen woman once more and gave her a friendly embrace.

" Creators watch over you and your brother,Dareth Siral"

[mysteriouspast]

"Please do, my friend," Rael replied as Laurelin embraced her. "Your face would be a welcome sight."  She clasped Laurelin's shoulders with both hands and smiled. "I'm only sorry we didn't spend more time together."

[obsessedwjpn]

Mercuriel wasn't sure exactly why but the touching moment between Laurelin and Rael made him reach out a hand and stroke Laurelin's arm gently. She seemed sad to see Rael go, as he bet they all were, but more than that he just felt the need to comfort her even over something so small. Perhaps his heart wasn't destroyed after all...

 

Dog's joviality over Rael's attentions quickly interrupted the moment though as the Mabari went stampeding back through the group and bumping both Laurelin and Mercuriel for further petting.

[Lorien19]

Laurelin's surprise was more than apparent when she felt Mercuriel's hand gently stroking hers.She faced towards his direction a mix of confusion and sadness in her eyes, but as soon as she parted her lips to speak, dog rushed towards them, bumping on them, asking in his own "dogish" language  to be petted.

 

 

Laurelin laughed heartily and started petting the mabari affectionately, for a brief moment she forgot about things like  Rael's departure and her recent encounter with his master and for that she was grateful...

[Aertioc]

As I entered the market, I found myself walking, as I always did, toward my stall. It was not until I looked at the bare table and realized that I did not have my usual wheelbarrow full of tools and weapons that I remembered that I would not be setting up shop today. So, I made my way to the bowyer instead. An obscene amount of silver later, I walked away with two fire arrows and a pot of grease. Perhaps I could study the design and undercut his prices once I was back in the forge... but no, that life is over for me, and good riddance. I've had enough of Coalan's drunken temper to last a lifetime.

 

 

But there was a commotion near the road. The elven minstrel, Rael, was under attack!

 

I ran toward her, but as I drew nearer, I realized that her captor was merely embracing her. There were some words about a brother, and a love confession, and a very nice piece of jewelry. I bent closer to examine the latter.

 

"Very nice!" I congratulated her. "Excellent clarity for an emerald, and the setting brings out the fire. Ah, and I see. Fereldan courtship rituals, which means more congratulations are in order, yes? I am sorry you'll be leaving us, but you have a brother to rescue and a new life ahead of you. May both be as rewarding and adventurous as you desire."

 

I bowed my farewells and returned to the others, a group augmented by none other than Bess's apprentice! Marvels abound, it seems!

 

"The wind's in the north," I greeted her, "and it blows before it the leaves of distant shores. Well met and welcome. I am Fabian Bredani, should you have forgotten. Have you met everyone, Philomena, or will you allow me the honor of introducing you?"

[mysteriouspast]

(I'm doing two separate posts for my two different characters... it's just too hard to do them in one! Also, this is my last post as Rael, I think. No one will miss her like I will. Thanks for understanding, everyone.)

"Very nice!" I congratulated her. "Excellent clarity for an emerald, and the setting brings out the fire. Ah, and I see. Fereldan courtship rituals, which means more congratulations are in order, yes? I am sorry you'll be leaving us, but you have a brother to rescue and a new life ahead of you. May both be as rewarding and adventurous as you desire."

Rael clasped her hands together at Fabian's enthusiastic words. "I thank you, serah. Your praise is so uplifting, even as I set out on a difficult journey. I will keep your good wishes in my mind, though."

 

Looking around once more, Rael took in the faces of those she'd come to consider friends in such a short time. It was likely she would never have the occasion again. For a moment she considered what her future could have been had she continued on the path with them, into an unknown future of adventure and perils. Something inside her felt unsettled, as though lamenting a lost potential. Life was nothing but a series of difficult choices, it seemed, and opening one door meant the barring of another. Feeling rattled, but determined, she took a deep breath and faced those who were once her companions. 

 

"I will pray to the Maker for your safety, knowing what you face," she said somberly to the group. "May the Maker guide you all." With one final, regretful bow, Rael turned and walked away from them, hand in hand with Ellis, her future. Much as she wanted to, Rael refused to look back, knowing that doing so would shatter her resolve. She'd made her choice and nothing was left except to make good on it.

[mysteriouspast]

((Okay, on to Philomena))

 

"The wind's in the north," I greeted her, "and it blows before it the leaves of distant shores. Well met and welcome. I am Fabian Bredani, should you have forgotten. Have you met everyone, Philomena, or will you allow me the honor of introducing you?"

 

 

Fabian's effusiveness was perturbing, as usual. "I'm not so addled that I'd forget your name, Fabian," Philomena replied with the corner of her mouth upturned just t, an approximation of a smile. "I see you're not selling anything today today. Have you managed to cast of Coalan's yoke finally?"

 

The last part of Fabian's speech reached her ears and her face fell. "Everyone?" she repeated in confusion, looking back at Beldin and Laurelin then returning her dark eyes back to Fabian. "How many are you in this group?"

[Aertioc]

Laughing, I winked at her.

 

"Ten!" I proclaimed. "And I feel privileged to introduce them. It seems you are already acquainted with your petite companion, so I will begin with the authoress of our assembly. The fair minstrel who just departed is called Rael, as she graciously introduced herself. This big fellow is Ser Ox -"

 

"We've met," the man in question interrupted, but I ignored him and continued.

 

"Beside him stands the incomparable and serene Tempest, and beside her stands the mighty Tessa, cleaver of giants. Further, allow me to introduce Rhys ar Eirlys o Greenhold - pray forgive me if my foreign tongue becomes trapped in that name - and the intrepid Mercuriel and his dog, Dog."

 

I drew near my companion of yestereve and drew a tender finger down one golden braid.

 

"And here we have Bartha, jewel of Denerim," I said.

[mysteriouspast]

Philomena stared at the group a moment, choosing to remain somewhat apart as Fabian rattled off their names in such a quick and exaggerated fashion, she doubted she'd remember half of them. As he finished with notably intense attention to the dwarf, she found herself standing, staring, her hands clenched together.

 

How long had it been since she'd been in more than Bess' company, their silence only occasionally punctuated by the occasional shouts of children running through? And now she was to travel with... but there were only eight, not ten, as he'd stated. Perhaps more were arriving? Maleit, how had they managed to gather an army in such a small place as Vintiver?

 

Her eyes darted between each of the people he'd mentioned, instinctively searching for danger. None of them looked like Templars, or even recruits, but what did that matter, so long as they felt the need to uphold the Chantry's laws? They'd agreed to travel with a Dalish mage, clearly an apostate, but perhaps they'd given her an allowance due to her nationality, her existence outside of human society. There was no reason to assume she'd be given the same reprieve. Keep your nature hidden, girl, an old woman's voice whispered in her mind. They're not like us. They wouldn't understand.

 

She cleared her throat, feeling that further silence on her part would invite questions and she was wary of saying too much. "The smith neglected to tell you my name," she said with a brief glare directed at Fabian. "I am called Philomena, and I am an herbalist in the local woods. Laurelin has told me of your mission and I have volunteered to help guide you through the forest." She squinted into the sunlight, already telling its tale of hours spent. "Shall we be on our way, then?"

[TreeHuggerHannah]

Tempest realized she was going to need to get used to people coming and going. This group wasn't like her Circle, with more or less the same set of faces day in and day out. She would miss the people they had lost - but she had the opportunity to make some new friends, too. With others in the party to vouch for her, surely Philomena was harmless.

 

"It's nice to meet you, Philomena," Tempest said. "Yes, we'd best be on our way soon, to make use of the daylight while we can."

 

Her trip to the bookseller would need to wait till they got back, Tempest decided. She wouldn't feel right having a leisurely browse while the Dalish clan was in danger.

 

The prospect of leaving Vintiver gave her an odd, unexpected twinge, though. Tempest realized she liked the little town quite a lot. It was pleasant, present issues aside the people seemed generally nice, and it was one of the few places Tempest had ever heard of where humans and elves coexisted - again, present issues aside - without much tension. She could imagine being happy here. More importantly, she could imagine her Circle being happy here. She could imagine raising her children here.

 

Could that be a possibility? Were there any vacant properties her Circle might be able to afford? 

 

Tempest decided she would discuss that with Tarl when they returned. Who knew, maybe she had unexpectedly found a new home.

[Mahumia]

With mixed feeling Bartha watched Rael when she left, until she had disappeared from view. Perhaps it hadn’t been fair to call out on her. She did like Rael, although they seemed to have a hard time to understand each other. Hopefully the future would be kind to her.

 

Bartha felt a tingle down her spine when Fabian ran a finger down a braid. She gave him a confused look, unsure why he made the gesture, before turning her attention to the new woman. Her smile became wider when the woman introduced herself. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a similar accent. Nice to meet you, Philomela. And I am afraid I’ll have to correct ser Smith, as it is Rael who hails from Denerim.” She looked up at the man next to her, with a bit of a smirk before looking back at the Rivaini. “I have been to Denerim a few times, but my home is in Redcliffe. I hope you’ll like our little band of misfits, but I would like to let you know that I really appreciate your offer of guiding us through the forest. Do you also plan to join us after that?” 

 

She looked around to the others. "If you don't mind, could I please have a few minutes to stock up before we leave? I know what I want, so it should not take too long." 

[BFace]

Rael's departure left Tessa alone in the marketplace.  She browsed here and there, but she had no real need of anything so she wandered over to where the rest of the group seemed to be assembling around Laurelin and the lovely woman she was talking to.

 

As she listened to Fabian's expansive descriptions, she did not roll her eyes, but it was a near thing.  She was impressed that he remembered Rhys's whole name-she'd only done so out of shock. She nodded to their new guide with a smile.

 

"Welcome to our motley assemblage, Philomena. Your offer of guidance is greatly appreciated."

[mysteriouspast]

Philomena nodded back. "Of course, but, as I said, we are wasting daylight standing around here." She motioned towards the road out of town. "This is all of you, I presume?"

[Mahumia]

Bartha slipped away before Philomena had finished her first sentence.

 

She quickly made her way to the stand with all kinds of merchandise. Usually she would take her time to study the wares and barter, but the others were correct: they should take use of the day whilst they could. Traveling in darkness would prove to be more dangerous than usual, with these... things... lurking in the woods. She was pleasantly surprised to find a fine set of mountain garb, in her size. The fabric felt nice and warm, which would not be an unnecessary luxury now winter was setting in. She also ordered a rope and a set of lockpicks. She had no clue whether they would need them, but better to have them, just in case. The merchant grabbed them whilst she started to reorganize her backpack, in order to make room for her new equipment. Her eye caught a collection of sheep furs, but she quickly realized that she would not be able to fit one of those in her bag. Whilst wrinkling her nose, as the furs offer better isolation, she took an extra woolen blanket instead. She was glad nonetheless that the man had such a broad collection of goods, and complimented him about it. Not sure whether it was because of that, but she was pleasantly surprised when the man offered her a 10% discount. Usually she would aim for more, but it surely wasn't bad!

 

She swapped her lighter cloak for the woolen one, and put the former in her pack. She rolled up the blanket, and attached it to the top, with her bedroll. After thanking the merchant for the business, she made her way back to the group. "Alright, I got what I was looking for."

[Kerridwynn]

Rhys quickly excused himself from the group after a friendly nod of welcome to Philomena.  He really wanted those bowstrings.

 

He found the bowyer and was able to procure two bowstrings for 20cp which he gladly handed over.  He eyed the specialty arrows but decided against them for now.  After all, he wasn't going to get paid from this latest mercenary contract. 

 

He made his way back to the group at a quick jog.  "I'm ready," he announced. 

[berelinde]

{Continued here, Game Thread: Into the Forest}