Rashemen - Book 3

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"Do we?" Whispered Delinos with a hint of sarcasm, which he regretted instantly. "Sorry.. I agree, we do need to talk. I want to find Viconia." Kelvados cocked an eyebrow, then Delinos added, "As you may've as well, I've thought a lot during this.. length of time we've been here. You were right.." He paused, "I'm sorry." Kelvados went to reply, but Delinos interjected, "I know you might not be able to get past our battle or what I've said, but I think we should find our sister together. These blasted nurses and maids are getting on my nerves, and their useless medicines are making us worse. We should leave soon."

"What say you, brother?"

 

Kelvados paused for a moment. He thought of the pros and cons of having his brother along. There were many pros, but one very large con. A kin slayer is dishonarable thing, even an atempt to. They both tried, and so they're both prooved they are unreliable. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally he agreed.

"Agreed, we'll travel together. But Brother, it will never be the same." His brother sadly nodded, Kelvados got his equipement and marched out the door. A nurse walked by.

"You," he said pointing at her. "Where is the portal to the desert?"

She ave him the directions, she was about to warn, but he waved her off. He walked into the room, a frigthened cleric activated it. The door opened and oppressing heat beated down on them. The sun burnt their flesh, Kelvados pulled up his cowl, they were in the middle of a sand storm. He pushed through, the sand bit his cheeks and stung his eyes. He forced them shut and walked blindly against the wind, his senses told him he was going in the right direction. Viconia was East. He didn't look back, he only hoped Delinos kept up, he wouldn't search for him if were lost. His brother could take care of himself, Viconia needed him. He kept his mouth shut, but through his closed lips and howling wind you could hear, "Viiiccccooonia!"

As two dark figures stumbled through a sand squal, a group many kilometers ahead, were finishing off their enemies. Many battles and kilometers seperated the group, but hope still remains, that they would meet again. Ironicaly their quests seem intertwined indirectly.

 

Delinos thought as he made his way through the burning sand and scorching sunlight. The brothers always knew that the other had the blood of a Drow, and was therefore always unpredictable and unreliable. Why would this time be different?

He did realize that since they had departed from the Underdark, they had become closer, and more brother like. They trusted each other. But the Underdark had trained them, as did their trainers and family, that they would have to be prepared for a betrayal from everyone and anyone, and that this could not change the way they acted around the person, because putting up a facade and lying would get you farther than being yourself and telling the truth. Kelvados had indeed changed. Delinos had brushed aside what his brother had said earlier because he had believed that in his blind rage it meant nothing. Now that he thought back, Delinos took into account what his brother had said, and took it hard.

"You're right brother," he whispered under the howling wind, "It will never be the same. Nothing will."

 

Elendia walked into the temple portal room as the brothers disappeared. She looked around at the exhausted clerics, "Do you have the energy to send one more?" The cleric smiled weakly and took a deep breath. Elendia felt disoriented as the scene before her blurred and disappeared from sight. Suddenly she was accosted by scorching sunlight and the howling of a vicious sandstorm.
Elendia turns her back to the howling wind and prays to Tyr. A small globe starts to form around her holy symbol and grows larger as she continues her prayer. The expanding globe quickly surrounds her, protecting her from the biting sand and vicious wind.
Her heavy armor was unbearable in this heat. She quickly stripped it off and stowed it in her bag of holding along with her shield. She pulled a vicious looking club out of the bag and resettled her equipment on her back. She started towards Waterdeep wearing just a tunic with a mace in one hand and a club in the other.
The globe surrounding her provided stable footing so she didn't have to deal with the slowing effect of running in the sand. Due to her Ranger experience, her pace was hard, and she made good time.

[ January 18, 2007, 01:21: Message edited by: Cirrus ]

 

Posting as the halfling captured by Kongol

"No, don't kill. Couldn't help. One-Eye forced us. Nooo!" With that the halfling twisted in Kongol's grasp, screaming and then fell limp his life gone from him.

The various enemies having been vanquished Nakia walked sadly to where the halflings lay. Suddenly she leaned close to the bodies then turned, "Ciana, come look. See on their foreheads, a mark has been burned into them. It is strange to me." She turned to the others, "Do any of you recognize it?"

All the halflings had the mark on their foreheads but none of the orcs or half-orcs.

 

Ciana came over and looked, "It's the brand of Gruumsh, it is placed by a Shaman of One-eye's ans then the Shaman can control whoever has it. Once the shaman is killed the subjation is broken and the subject can recover with time."

 

Sepp growled at the halfling he had knocked the wind out of, "Stay on the ground!" Then he helped the other turn over onto his back. As he suspected, his back was broken, paralyzing his lower body. It would taking some major healing power to fix it. Maybe at that Sacred Grove Nakia had talked about.

"You two better tell us what you know about all this, if you want any help." he sternly told them.

 

"Wait, the halfling Kongol had died and Kongol didn't do it. He died when he tried to speak of the evil one. I have come across something like this before. Something is done so if the afflicted one tries to speak of certain information they die."

Tears streamed down Nakia's face. "Great power was used. The Hin were created to be resistant to exploitation of others including the gods, even if they have turned to evil ways. Daie, Maron, is there ought you can do? And the dead they must be buried. The sand is soft but we have nothing with which to dig. There is no Hin cleric to speak for them. Must their souls wander forever lost from The Green Hills?"

To the others surprise Nakia was in a state of despair they had never seen. With all they had been through she had been resilient but now dark clouds flowed from her spirit.

 

Daie looked down at the halfling, and frowned. 'I might be able to do something, but the mark will remain there, and he will simply die again. I can remove the mark, but it would take much time, and materials that I do not possess. I'm sorry, Nakia, but I cannot do it without access to a temple and their materials. In Waterdeep, yes.'

 

"The two who live, the one badly hurt is there nought you can do for him? The one can walk and Ciana says he is no longer controlled but should another Shaman appear would that be true? The one injured how can we carry him? We must be free to fight?

Standing thoughtful for a moment she pulls herself up and some of her halfling resilience returns. She goes and touches each of the dead halflings, "But these perhaps there is hope for them yet. Help me place them near the rocks."

The bodies of the halflings are placed near the rocks. Nakia takes out some food and ale and then addresses her comrades, "Sepp, I ask your aid in this. Join with me that we may pray the Mother and the Hound to guide their spirits home. I know the rest of you do not worship the halfling gods but I ask you join with us in wishing them well and for forgiveness of whatever ill they have done. They were forced to the latest act of that I am sure."

She places the food with the bodies and pours the mead over them. Then stands silently.

 

Jex had finished killing the few living but near death orcs. It was a gruesome task but it was needed orcs tended to be pesky fellows.

Wiping the gore from his blade he wandered over to the others. "Nakia it appears Gruumsh has made the first move and it readying for a fight. We can't delay to give these Hin a proper burial. I'm sorry but if we are to defeat a god I feel that we need to move and we need to move fast."

"If you want to give them a final resting, then we should do it quickly then rest and continue on at night. We might find that we can move quicker without the sun sapping or strength."

 

She looks up at Jex and then smiles rather sadly., "Aye, Jex, but a halfling burial is simple. From the Earth they came and to the Earth they shall return. Help me cover them with rocks and we will be about our journey. I am no cleric I can only ask the gods to be merciful to them."

She gathers the largest rocks she can carry and places them over the bodies.

 

Jex nods and goes to help Nakia. Looking towards the others he motions for them to help. "Lets be quick." He says carrying a large rock.

 

Kelvados stripped his shirt and leathers, and walked bare chested. His chest burned by the sun, but the heat was more excruciating. Sweat poured down his body, it stung his eyes and fell on his partched lips. It was salty and bitter, his mouth was partched and his throat hurt. It was too hot, he stumbled, he fell to one knee, he got back up. A couple steps later he fell again, it took him longer to get up the second time. He ascended a large sand dune, the desert went on past the horizon. His heart fell, he'd never get out alive. While descending he slipped on some loose sand and fell on his back.

He fell on soft grass, the lush green above him. Birds sang and chirped, he smelled water somewhere near, and he heard padded footsteps come towards him. A beautiful head appeared, Viconia's head, long, white hair. She reached down with a soft, ebony skinned hand. He grunted and reached up a weak arm. When their hands touched, terrifying strength pulled him to his feet.

Kelvados stumbled forward, he was standing and Delinos was behind him. No one visible helped him up. Kelvados shook his head, and started off again, this time faster and more determined. He felt it was urgent to get to Viconia quickly. He had no time to lose.

 

Sepp helped Nakia and the others move the stones, using muscle alone. He felt that was the proper way to do this. He didn't know the proper words to say, but his thoughts were sincere.

 

Maron offered her help in piling the stones, muttering an elvish prayer under her breath, while Daie stood back, watching, but not helping.

He healed the other two halflings easily enough, then returned to his watching of the burial, a strange look upon his face, before he shook his head and walked away from the group.

 

Inwardly, Atten thought Nakia was being a bit daft, but he didn't say anything, because he figured that some rituals were of as much benefit to the living as they were to the dead. In Atten's experience, it didn't matter too much what you did with something after was dead. Nature would deal with things, no matter what you did.

In the interest of maintaining some sort of group connection, Atten helped move a few stones.

 

The group finished accommodating the bodies of the lost Hins. As precarious as the burial was, Kongol understood the reason why Nakia would want so.

Kongol lifted his axe and pointed at the still alive Halfling lying in the sand “What are we gonna do with this one, his back is broken and is in no condition to be moved much either”. The Halfling started to laugh weakly “Ha…ha, He Who Watches will take care of me, ha…ha” as he finish with a heavy cough his chest started to burn, the Halfling twitched in great pain, screaming and yelling what could only be described as halfling cursing. Once the little one was dead, the fire on his chest went away, leaving in its place the twisted symbol of Gruumsh.

After the horror show, Kongol added the body of the Hin to the burial and turn to his companions, “I guess is time for us to go”; he took a small potion from his pouch and drank it taking away the last sensation of soreness from him. He moved to the front of the group and started walking to get back into the Black Road.

(Some time later)

The sun was at its highest and the heat was intense; a new figure can be seen coming from the south, as it came close his features can be seen. A shadow, riding what it look like a camel, approached Kongol, without a single saying the men show him a latter and ridded the way he came, to disappear in the horizon. Kongol opened the latter and read its contents,

…

I once saw you, wiping and crying. I once thought of a promise to a brighter future. I once believe that someone some day would come and take me away from evil.

Now you are here. Now I can see a brighter end. Now you can take me away.

Please, come. Please, save me. Please, take me away from certain evil.

Follow my shadow, to see us once and for all.


Miranda.
…

Kongol showed the latter to Nakia “Please, we most go, I plead you” he said waiting for a answer.

[ January 19, 2007, 02:26: Message edited by: Maurolava ]

 

Delinos too stripped off his jerkin and clothes, and walked bare-chested and burnt through the beating rays of sunlight. "Kelvados!" Delinos yelled through the sound of wind, catching grains of sand in his dry mouth. It took him a few more calls to get the attention of his brother. When Kelvados turned around, Delinos proposed that they rest, or at least protect themselves with some sort of spell.

"Otherwise, we're going to die under that wretched orb they call the Sun." Kelvados nodded and Delinos cast a spell that protected them with a light blue sphere. "It will slow our pace," Delinos began, the sound of wind and sand now muffled, "But not by much. I believe this will keep us from dying in the next few hours."

Over the following hours, the brothers actually had to put their clothes back on, it started to get chilly. The brothers soon came across a small cactus and decided to fill their water skins. The two men drank and talked quietly inside their bubble for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes. Delinos noticed a change in his vision and thinking.

"Brooooththththerrrr.. cough.. whaaaaayat arrrrrrre thossssee circleclecle birrrddss aroooound yourrr heaaad?"

 

In order for Kongol to show Nakia the letter he had to crouch down next to her so she was able to reach up and put her hand on his shoulder.

She looked in to his large worried eyes, "This Miranda she is important to you." It was a statement not a question. "How far do we need to go and what might we have to face?"

She turns her head and looks at Sepp obviously torn between two loyalties.