[ 05-23-2003: Message edited by: Ukkagorn ]

Continuing in her accented elven, "Thank you Elder, Where to begin.."

ooc:
Don't forget to check the GM post at the bottom of page 8, everyone.

For those who recognize it, this spellcasting ritual was used by Gavin on page 1 of this chapter.

"I do not know what has transpired here," Gavin whispers to the dying man, "but no person deserves death in such a way as this." He places both his hands over the wound, pressing down on it as he tries to slow the half-elven man's bleeding. He shuts his eyes, and turns his face skyward.

"Oh mighty Pelor, giver of light, giver of life, thy humble servant calls upon thee. This child before me lies near death, and I have naught the ability to save him without thy blessing. I call upon thee to grant me a tiny amount of they blessed love, so that I might heal this one and he may once again walk under your peaceful gaze."

His prayer complete, Gavin opens his eyes, and looks down at the man's body. He thinks of the holy symbol hanging from his neck. Focusing upon his teachings, he opens himself up to the light of his god, and chants. The words are mystical, designed to call upon Pelor for a blessing of healing, the most powerful one a man of his simple faith can call upon.

She nods at the elder, showing no disrespect. "I'm surre the lizarrdman with me could use a brrreak frrrom all of this as well."

Esmerelda shrugs, "Most people suggest beginning at the beginning, though at times that leads to very long stories."

Ukko

After passing a group of waiting elves, you have a clear path across the benches to the oddly dressed fellin woman and her hovering companion. The fellin looks up at you from her seat, and says, "Hello. Would you like to sit down a moment?"

She has a little blue bird perched on one hand, which rests atop a wooden cane. A pink apron covers her chest, and hangs down in front of a white knee-length skirt. No other clothing covers her.

The little hovering girl, roughly the same size as Tina, wears a lovely little gown that covers her from neck to toes. She has a sash around her waist, a string of white round beads hanging across her chest at an angle, and a bag slung over her shoulder.

Falaanla

A large man wearing tight-fitting leather clambers over the benches, approaching you and Ralora. He comes to a stop beside you, and you immediately notice the halfling girl, Tina, riding on his shoulder. She wears simple garments, placing emphasis on her completely braided head of hair. You recognize the large man from when he sat in the front row, while the old elves put on their presentation.

Aanile, Reyolen, Taylen

"Still as much the loner as ever, cousin," Simfor laughs. "Has your training gone well? It's been so long," your cousin grapples you in a hug, pinning your arms to your sides. Twin Moon takes off in a flurry as her perch disappears.

"I apologise for being trite Elder.. the past few months have not been kind to me."

The fellin woman smiles gently, looking at you from the side of her eye. "All people feel lost at times," she says slowly, "but moreso those who rely only on what they see before them. When clear sight evades you, you must rely on that which sustains you. Listen for the wind through the branches. Offer your hand before you, in truce to the brances. Welcome the forest, and that which taunts you shall become your guide. Such is the way of all things."

"Quit talking in riddles," Tina complains from your shoulder, "I'm no good at riddles. The elf lady said to see you, miss cat person. Can you, um, untie my hair? Braids are pretty and all," her voice gains a bit of a child's whine as she finishes her sentence, "but they hurt my head."

"I will do what I can," the fellin answers, tilting her head up to look at Tina. "Come down here, and let me have a look at you."

Aanile

Twin Moon circles the room for a moment, moving into and out of your sight. After a moment, Simfor lets go. "Alright, alright, you don't have to squirm," he laughs. A few seconds later, your owl companion perches on a balcony railing near the exit.

Taylen, Aanile, Reyolen

Naeatalle chuckles, "Do you and your friends always talk in circles, Silvan?" She leans on her staff, glancing idly at you and your companions.

Pvednes

"Questions within answers, and answers in questions, but you do get right to the point," Esmerelda answers after a moment's thought. "Do not be concerned about your manner. Many have become apprehensive of late, and with good reason. But I will get to that. Let me start first with the simpler questions."

The old elf walks slowly over to the nearby bench, and leaning on her staff, lowers herself onto it. It seems everyone around here leans on a staff or cane when they age. Running her hands underneath her silver-streaked black hair to set it behind her shoulders, she looks back at you. "Come, sit. It will be more comfortable," she says softly, patting the bench beside her.

She does not wait for you to take a seat. "Yes, the gates are one of our city's distinguishing features. Destindeterre has stood here for more than ten elflives, since the times of the grey kin. Stories say that the last of the immortal elves came to this land from beyond the mountains. He carried with him a single seed, a gift from the Mistress of Forests. From that seed, a great tree spawned, the likes of which no mortal had yet seen. `Guide its will', she spoke unto him. Thus he crafted the Felesancienna, the castle crown atop our fair city. And thus he told it to grow three tiers beneath, that he might house the fair-skinned kindred in his service. Once the city had come to be, he summoned our ancestors in his wake, and beckoned the tree to grow three paths to the earth, by which we could enter."

Taking a brief pause, Esmerelda pulls a small leather book from a pocket of her robe that you had not even noticed, and sets it on her lap. "Over the years, the last grey placed enchantments upon the city, crafted from the wisdom of his years." She begins flipping the pages of the little book, reading softly from it. "Gates seen only by the blind eye, to ward off those who would wish ill fate upon us. Wards upon the ramps, to reveal those who would seek to deceive us. And for the Felesancienna, magics of which I will not speak, lest stronger minds seek to pry them from you." She closes the book, and slips it back into her pocket, which promptly fades from view.

[ 05-26-2003: Message edited by: Ford Prefect ]

Naeatalle frowns, leaning on her staff, and looks briefly at the ceiling. "Yes, I am afraid we do have some knowledge of what has brought the dark times back to our lands. As for matters of signets, I can offer little information. If you need to know about matters of the human hierarchies, you may have better fortunes by asking a human."

"And the path appears clear. Please come with me; I am certain others would like to hear the answers to your questions as well. Pardon me, young one," she says, taking a small step towards Freya's fellin friend. He steps aside, and Naeatalle walks past him, down the aisle.

"However, I suppose that the perils can be spoken of?"

[ 05-29-2003: Message edited by: Dr. Pvednes, PhD ]

ooc:
Falaanla, you've had more than long enough.

Sae looks at the other berries in her palm. These sure are filling, she thinks, as she tucks them away in her bag. As the large man with his shoulder passenger approach, she frowns, remembering how upset the girl had been moments before. Tina seems happier now, though, which is a pleasant thought. Saeessira's smile returns.

"Can we leave soon?" she asks after listening to the big man talk with Ralora. "I'm not hungry anymore, but this is boring."

[Drakkenclaw]

Drakkenclaw remains silent and immobile through the discussion and the departing crowd. When Freya takes his arm again, he says in a low rumbling voice, "I will follow."

Naeatalle leads you slowly down the ramp, into the center circle. Sorillin and another elf stand several feet away, talking with three lizardmen. They all appear engrossed in their conversation. "Wait here just a moment," Naeatalle tells you, before walking up next to Sorillin. She listens to the conversation, then approaches the other elven woman, who sits on the front-row bench talking to a human girl.

The two elven women look very similar. Both wear long green robes, and each carries a long wooden staff. Though one has raven hair and the other blonde, both their heads glisten with strands of silver. Naeatalle motions to you, "Come, young ones. Take seats if you will, or stand if you prefer. The story you wished to hear has already been slated for telling."

Janus Krug

A soft, shimmering light envelopes the holy symbol upon your chest. Slowly, the light travels through your armor into your chest, and you feel a warmth flowing down your arms into your hands. Your fingertips begin to glow, and blood ceases to drip from the half-elven man's chest. His wound begins to heal. Yet it does not fully seal itself. The man begins taking shallow breaths, but he does not wake.

As the spectacle comes to an end, the crowds who have gathered around you depart, one by one, and proceed towards the aisle and the room's exit.

Pvednes

"You have a sharp mind, young one," Esmerelda answers. "These robes are yet older than their wearer, and for elves, that means a lot. They were left to us by the undying one, as his last gift, before leaving us to watch over this place. We do not know why he left, the records do not say. Perhaps we are better off not knowing."

"Our kind lived here in peace for many generations, troubled only by the occasional Dwarven traveler. You see, only elves and dwarves lived in these lands long ago, and we paid each other little mind. Our two kinds were satisfied each to inhabit our own part of the lands; elves walked the forests, while dwarves burrowed into the mountainous earth, and even when the forests reached from water to water, we knew only as much of each other as we desired to know."

"That is, until three elflives ago. Though by then we used a different measure for time. And it seems we may have a larger audience. Hello, Naeatalle, you're just in time."

Naeatalle waves for the two elves who followed her down the ramp, "Come, young ones. Take seats if you will, or stand if you prefer. The story you wished to hear has already been slated for telling."

Falaanla, Ukko

Tina climbs down from the large human's shoulder, and sits down on Ralora's lap. "You're a young one," Ralora smiles, running her free hand gently over the woven strands on Tina's head. "Not that young," the halfling girl answers, "I'm twenty three."

"In that case, stay young as long as you like," Ralora laughs. "Yes, I can get these out, but not here. Once my other charge joins us, we should head for the baths. She did want to go there anyway, so this works out well. Can you do a favor for me, large one? I'm waiting for a blonde-haired human girl. She's down there, in the the clearing at this hall's center. Can you ask her how long she plans to stay?"

Aanile

Silvan and Taylen follow the old elf towards the center of the room, while Simfor remains behind with you and the lizardman. When you whistle for your owl companion, she leaves her perch, and returns to your shoulder, where she nibbles gently on the tip of your ear.

"So, who are your friends?" Simfor asks. "You still haven't told me."

[ 05-30-2003: Message edited by: Ford Prefect ]

ooc:
I'll post for the group at the front of the room once more of you decide what you're doing.

At this distance, you find it difficult to tell who are humans, and who are elves. However, only a few people have not yet made their way to the exit. Of those remaining, the only human or elven women still in the room have gathered in the small clearing at its center.

As you approach the middle of the room, you pass by the armored man who entered the city with you. The gathering in the center of the room consists mostly of elves, along with three lizardmen, and a single human. The girl who sat near you before hasn't left. Though she isn't exactly tall (and sitting as she is, she looks as short as the elves), she meets the fellin woman's description.

One of the elven women, with silver streaks running through her raven black hair, turns and looks up at you. "Hello, young one. Come, sit, you may wish to hear this as well."

Pvednes, Reyolen, Taylen

The tremendous human, who had been sitting in the front row during Sorillin's earlier presentation, comes tromping over the rows of benches towards you. He stops just shy of the front row. He looks at each of your faces, until his eyes settle on the only human girl among you.

Shifting to Common Tongue from the accented Elvish she was speaking to the elder with, "Well, that's certainly an interesting way to introduce yourself."

[ 05-31-2003: Message edited by: Dr. Pvednes, PhD ]

Tania turns her gaze back to the Elder, considerably less sharply, and says in Elvish "I'm sorry Elder, please continue.."

ooc:
Anyone (PC or NPC) who has not gone to the center of the room may either do so now, in time to catch part of the story, or they may go elsewhere.

"I was Drakkenclaw," your lizard companion says quietly. He follows along behind you without saying anything further. Simfor proves a bit more talkative. "Sure, I could use a bit of entertainment. What do you think she'll tell us? It sounds like there's more to this than orcs and bandits. You have a cute pet."

Taylen, Silvan, and a few others have already gathered around Naeatalle when you arrive.

Pvednes, Reyolen, Ukko, Taylen, Aanile

"With pleasure, young one," replies Esmerelda, as she props one leg up on the bench, shifting her position to face everyone. "Following the time of our city's founder, elves roamed these lands in peace for many generations. That ended three elflives ago; just over two thousand years by modern reckoning. At the time, the dwarven cities of Almadaen and Thesdaen stood watch over the mountains to our west. Elf and dwarf alike thought these cities impassable."

"But in the span of a single night, both our kind learned the falsehood of such presumptions. In the dead and calm of winter, the world shook beneath our feet. Where dwarven Thesdaen had stood for countless years, forces beyond nature wrought havoc upon the land, and tore the mountains themselves asunder."

"Through the void, vast armies came. Beasts of black hearts and hideous reflection, the orcs poured into the eastlands as though they had awaited that very night. They marched through the land, destroying the forests, desecrating the earth, and slaying anything that stood in their path. We elves only survived by retreating into the sanctuary of Destindeterre."

"Over time, we learned to fight back against the orcs, with limited success. Compared to them, our numbers were few. Though arcane magics answered our call, we knew nothing of war, and could only drive them short distances from the city at best. Even the powers of the Elders, keepers of the Felesancienna, could do little against their armies. For three hundred years, scarcely an elven foot fell upon the earth. Then the second army came."

"Landing on the easternmost shores, the clans of humanity sought sanctuary from great wraths beyond the sea. Much as the orcs had charged into our lands from the west, the humans conquered the eastern shores. They tore down the trees, building fortresses of wood and stone. Humanity's arrival was, for us, both a curse and a blessing. For within two hundred years, they had driven the orcs back, until the two armies clashed beneath the branches of Destindeterre itself."

"Most of our kind thought the humans were as much a plague to the land as the orcs, if not worse. Where their numbers spread, so did their fields, leaving no trace of the forests we strove to reclaim. Yet the priestess Lethtrahala, daughter of the Elder Matorati, saw another possibility. She walked out of Destindeterre's eastern gates, and approached the first human encampment she found."

"If the records hold true, the human response surprised everyone, even Lethtrahala herself. Unlike the orcs, who attacked all life without mercy, the humans began fawning over the young priestess, to the point where she could not get a word in edgewise for several hours." Esmerelda chuckles, "I suppose we've gotten that sort of response ever since. But I digress."

"Lethtrahala's efforts brought her to the king of the human settlements. With him she struck an agreement, which called for two sacrifices on our part. First, a part of the lands we loved would remain in human hands, and it has done so to this day. The second sacrifice was made by Lethtrahala herself. To secure peace between our peoples, she married the king's second son. Her two children were the first of a new breed, and their descendants still walk our lands today."

"Together, human swords and elven minds drove back the orc hordes. The dwarves, too, joined us in battle. Together, we drove the horrors back to the mountains' edge, where our peoples fought one final battle. What remained of the orc hordes turned for a last, desperate charge. Though we had cut their numbers to naught, we discovered then the true foe we faced. A creature of ancient origins led the orcs; it had the face of a beast, and its skin was untouchable by the weapons of man. Many good hearts gave their last strength, and in the end, the Dark One lay slain."

"When the war finally ended, the human nation built a great wall across the ruins of Thesdaen. Over the years, we have shared our knowledge of arcane magics with humankind, and in turn they have given us a knowledge of steel, and taught us the ways of war."

"Many changes have come to this land since that time. Lizardmen came from the south, bringing with them the jungle race known as Fellis. Humans have become a part of the land, forming a permanent bond with elvenkind. Now the troubled times return. A new Dark One has risen. Some have even seen the creature's face, though they rarely live long enough to speak of it."

"The orcs, too, have returned, and though their numbers are few, they have found ways to confound our efforts. Human bandits turn against their brethren..."

"And the time has come," Sorillin interrupts, "for the alliance of elves and men to renew its ancient promise. I must go now to gather the hunts. Much preparation is needed before the dawn." Intently, the grey-haired Elder marches up the aisle towards the exit. One of the lizardmen follows, while the other two remain.

Falaanla

Shortly after the large human's departure, a voice startles you from behind, "Saeessira, y'wanna go exploring? Hwah!?" It's Relmido, hovering so close behind you that you slap him in the face him with your wing as you turn around. "Sorry," he says, rubbing his cheek, "didn't mean to scare you."

"It looks like they may be a while," Ralora says, gently scratching under Ithar's chin. "Everyone's gathering around the elders. when that happens, it usually means they're about to tell histories. We can wait, or if you'd rather, I can take you somewhere and come back."

ooc:
After that much writing, I hoped for more responses.

The blond-haired elven woman (Naeatalle) sighs, "Despite our efforts, we have yet to understand the motivation behind the Dark One's tactics. We have had little success in drawing answers from any human bandits. And the orcs of the woods have grown increasingly resilient."

"Perhapsss we can sshed sssome light on thisss," one of the lizardmen hisses. "Asss we told the Sssorillin, we have dissscovered a ssslaver camp to the sssouth. Terranada preparesss to attack the camp. We came ssseeking elvesss to ssstrike with usss. The fellisss warrior Sssoranil hasss already agreed."

[ 06-02-2003: Message edited by: Trillee ]

After Naeatalle's comment, "Hrmm, how would the bandits know anything of that?" She scowls at the thought, "Stupid animals that they are.. many may as well *be* orcs."

The lizardman answers in a half-growling voice, "You have ssspirit, woman. That isss good. Perhapsss you will come with usss, and meet him at the battle. I did not meet your Sssoranil persssonally. He ssspoke with our commander. But I did meet hisss elf friend. Sshe wasss a druid. Sssmall like mossst elfsss, but sssmart."

"We have considered that the Dark One might have demonic roots," a melodic voice enters the conversation. Its owner, the chestnut-haired male elf in green robes, turns to look at everyone. He has a vague expression of tranquility on his face, which seems to not quite fit with what everyone has been talking about. When he speaks, his words almost sound like singing, "A demonic enemy would fit with what little we know, though I must admit that we know less than we would like."

"Most of our information comes from people like the halfling girl, Tina," Naeatalle explains. "During the last war, Destindeterre protected us from the invaders. Now we find ourselves constantly fending off the Dark One's efforts to covertly enter our city. He cursed Tina to braid rope and tie knots in it, as he has done to others before her. If she hung a rope from the lowest tier, he could evade the defensive enchantments of the city gates."

After a brief pause, Esmerelda adds, "He was also responsible for the assassin. When I sensed the half-human, he was thinking about a contract. Five thousand gold pieces for each Elder he could kill. A spell sealed him to the task. Now that he has failed, the curse would kill him, even if Sorillin's arrow did not."

"Device?" Naeatalle asks, turning to Silvan and Taylen. Her voice takes on a mix of curiosity and determination, "Tell me everything you know."

"When a couple of them came back to life, before we realized this, they ran back to their camp. Me and Frey followed them back and killed them and the orcs left behind at the camp. Well in the center of the camp was a glass globe on a stand with four posts sticking out around it and the globe was full of a red liquid. When the four posts were pressed in the rings would ooze a red liquid from the spikes in them, we collected samples of that liquid along with samples of the liquid mixed with orc and dwarf blood."

"However I only have the sample with the dwarf blood, other companions of ours have the other two samples and I am unsure where they are right now. I know they followed us into the city however."

"As a final note, rings that were removed from the orcs before the others came back to life, oozed liquid right before the orcs came back to life. I assume indicating that the rings either operate automatically also, or that somehow the orcs were able to activate them from the camp. Though I would lean more towards the former as I am unsure how the orcs would know to activate them otherwise." Taylen then offers the ring to Naeatalle. "Here in case you would like to take a closer look at the ring."

((Edited to allow for paragraphs at the request of those who are forced to digest all that info))

[ 06-04-2003: Message edited by: Taylen ]