Chapter 24Ensconced in their room, Toshiro is going through katas as Cael stares at the old texts. "Well, Cael," Toshiro says as he shifts exercises. "I can understand this must be difficult but you do need to open the tome. What it contains just may be the truth you are looking for; the strength in its words to aid your quest...." Finishing his nightly ritual, he took up a cross-legged position accross from the young priest. Maybe this will help "Cael, please explain to this foreigner what the base teachings are of the current Eho and that of the book; I do not think Sam knew the major meaning of Al-Aja's words..." Cael makes no reply to Toshiro. In fact, he just stares at the books, sitting unopened in front of him. It was all well and good when returning to Ehosia was an abstract thought. But now.... They'll catch me. Hells, how could they not? I'm travelling with foreigners, elves even! How are we going to sneak into Ehosia? First time we use the Gates they'll have us! And how can we not use the Gates? A lone traveler might be able to travel unobserved, but a group of obvious foreigners? Visions of being staked out in the Great Desert, or burning in the Cleansing Flames fills Cael's mind. Suddenly, Cael stands up, overturning the chair he was sitting on, and heads out the door. "I need a drink...." Oi. Toshiro thinks as Cael's sudden action throws him off. "Wait up a moment..." He calls as he takes the tomes and places them in his bag, which he then hides in a corner among various bags of theirs. Toshiro then follows Cael down into the bar. Catching up to the young priest, Toshiro falls into step with him. "Cael, I wonder if the Oghmites would be willing to aid us? I am certain the Librarian had a long discussion on our appearance this evening and as to why she was told to give you the tomes...." Cael doesn't answer Toshiro until after he gets his first drink, which he quickly downs. Motioning to the barkeep for a refill, he finally looks over at Toshiro. "Aid us?" he scoffs. "They've probably given us all the 'aid' they will. Those books. Which is a double-edged sword for us." Cael sighs, and shakes his head. "Forgive me, Toshiro. This is still hard for me to deal with. Too many thoughts coming together at once. You realise, if we're sucessful in our endeavor, that tens of thousands of innocent people will die when those Gates fail. I'm not sure I can handle that on my conscience." Cael quickly gulps down his now refilled drink, and brusquely gestures for another. "The Gates are the key to most of my worries. They will cause us trouble even as we enter Ehosia. The priests monitor and guard the gates, as well as collect the tithes they generate. Aside from the fact that many of the cities are too far from each other for easy travel over land, it is frowned upon not to use the Gates for travel. An individual might be able to get away with it, but a group such as ours? Never." "Throw in a more personal conflict...." He glances towards the stairs, but never finishes the sentence. "As I said, I have much on my mind." You will have to confront her sooner or later, Cael, he muses to himself. "There is nothing to forgive" Toshiro says as he hands over a bit of coin to cover the drinks. Toshiro listens to the young mans words and considered all of it before he spoke. "It is true that there could be a catastrophe when the gates fail..." Picking up his drink, he motions for Cael to follow to a table. Once seated, he continued. "Would Eho truely condemn those in the gates to their doom if the network were to fall? I would think he would protect those of his followers that are innocent in the corruption running through your land." Sipping his drink, he continued. "Eho would most likely preserve the links but they wouldn't be as strong as they were....." Thinking for a moment, Toshiro remembers a way of priestly magic travel that Leah had used. "Cael, I think there may be a way for us to get around without the gates. Many years ago, I traveled with a group not much unlike ours. The priestess among us had a spell granted to her that allowed travel between two points; it allowed great distances to be travelled with but a step through the doorway it created. I am sure if you asked Eho for this boon as a way of aiding you in the quest he has set before you, he would grant it. From what I understood, it worked best when one casting knew the area he was going to. It would be about the only way to travel with out going overland or through a gate...." Cael shakes his head. "I do not think Eho would support the Gates. Falling Leaf told us of the Second Prophet's words, how the Gates were raised contrary to Eho's will. When priests began to die as the Gates drained their lifeforce, Eho did not intervene. This says to me that Eho would not keep them open if we succeed." "And this spell you talk of, it sounds much like a Gate. But the problem is not getting from place to place, it is getting there without arising suspicion. Obviously, since this group is very diverse, we would try to pose as some sort of caravan or something. But caravans travel by the Gates. It is quicker and easier that traveling overland. And it is expected. The priests can monitor travellers easier if they use the Gates; those who don't use them are viewed with much suspicion." Toshiro pauses as Cael explains his thoughtos on the gates. Replying he pulled out his pipe and a small twig, with which he lit from a candle and then lit the pipe. "But the priest that were drained by the gates... weren't they ardent followers of the new doctrine? If so, then Eho may have indirectly punished them for their lack of faith." "It's not said whether the drained priests embraced 'the new order' as you call it. Most would probably just do what they had been told by their superiors, ignorant to the fact that they defied Eho's will," Cael replied. "The idea of the gate would be to go into a spot out of sight of officials. If one sees us in town after we've been there a bit, he or she may think we came in during a different shift at the portal. Incidentally, are there any keepers you think you can trust?" Toshiro continued. " As for our diversity, there are things that can be done to disgise our forms a bit, either through spell or through disguise. Me, it will be a bit hard for my eyes to change but I don't think it will be too much a problem." Toshiro stops speaking as a thought stikes him. "Do the Gatekeepers routinely check all traffic thru the gates for magic?" "Your idea about appearing within a city has some merit," Cael admitted. "However, even that will be hard. There are priests who routinely check for the remaining traces of cast spells -their signatures- in various cities, and hunt down the caster. We'll need some way to hide that signature from the Seekers." Toshiro nodded at Cael's thoughts about the drained priests. "Figures.... it would be a help to know which faction they belonged to..." "Hmm... I had not thought about the 'signature' of the spell." Toshiro mused. "But wouldn't andy such thing be at the departure point of the spell? I mean, I would think there is a way to hide whatever the spell gives off.... During the entire time Leah and the rest of our companions journeyed, nothing followed us when we 'disappeared' from wherever we were. And those we ran from... if they could track the signature, they would have- we were that big a threat to them...." "Unless, of course, it was a result of her avatarship that they couldn't..... Hmmm...." "I do not think you understand; perhaps I am explaining it poorly." Cael tried again. "There was no 'faction' at the time the gates went up. They were raised by patriachial decree. It was only much later, after priests maintaining the gates started dying, that the Second Prophet wrote 'Book of Conspiracy,' decrying the Gates. Before then, no-one knew the truth. Considering that many priests consider the Second Prophet to be a heretic, most are still ignorant." "Only a few know that the energy that powers the Gates is lifeforce drained from the forests, rather than a gift from Eho. One group is rogue priests like me, who have been open enough to be shown the truth by Eho. The others are those we fight; the ones who drain the power from the forests." ----------- Alone in a dark room, Falling Leaf drifts into a meditative trance. When the world is far away, she turns to look inside her own mind. Krissa Gallowglass, I call you. [Editor's Note: I had no knowledge of the Pokecraze when this was written!!] Hot damn, 'Leaf, I was getting bored as hell. I'm wondering if this job is worth the money after all. You will be paid well, Krissa. In any event, it is too late and you are bound to it. Yeah, yeah, whatever. Fine. I get to crack heads now? Soon. We are returning to Ehosia, in the company of some other like-minded individuals. Including a 'true' priest of Eho. Whaa? Don't trouble yourself with it. He is an ally. As for the rest... a mental stream passes from Prime to the construct who believes she is Krissa, characterizing the party and 'Leaf's opinions of them. If that's how you want it. So I'm to be introduced? Yes. We are in an inn, the Sign of the Golden Bear. Toshio and Cael are downstairs. Go and meet them, speak with them, get used to being 'out'. Then I go out again. Aw, just tonight? Just tonight, for now. We will build up until we get to Ehosia, and then it will be yours for the duration. Hot damn! Then get on with it! This was the terrible part. The pain was not great - Krissa was small in build and angular of face, so only minor physical adjustments had to be made. But the magics that effected the transformation came from the Masked Lord and always left one feeling... polluted. Krissa Gallowglass, sword for hire, clambered unsteadily to her feet in the dark room. Damn, but did she need a drink! ----------------- There's a spanging noise in the taproom as someone comes bounding down the wrought iron stairs. It's hard to believe a woman that small can make that much noise. Several patrons glance that way, slightly irked. If Cael and Toshiro look that way, they'll probably think 'Leaf is either out of her mind or in a big sort of hurry. With a thump, she hits the floor and approaches the pair at the bar. As she nears, they can see it's not Falling Leaf at all. Right height, wearing 'Leaf's clothes, carrying 'Leaf's sword. The long, dark hair is in a braid rather than a knot secured by throwing spikes, though. And the ears revealed are clearly human ones. If 'Leaf had a human sister, she might look like this. "Toshiro! Cael!" she hails them. Retaining his pokerface (but only barely), Toshiro greats the newcomer with a wave. Very interesting.... either Leaf is a master of disguise, a shapeshifter or something else entirely... Not unheard of but I don't remember her being a spellcaster.... Cael, having finally wrangled a bottle from the barkeep, is pouring himself another drink, so he doesn't bother looking up when he hears the 'spang' of the metal stairs. When an almost familiar voice calls out to Toshiro and him, though, his drink stops midway to his lips. He glances over at the newcomer, then closes his eyes and shakes his head slightly. ::Oh, no... :: He can hear Toshiro whisper "Breathe Cael, breathe.... It is her, I think..." "No, Toshiro," he replies, for the newcomer's benefit as well as the Jade warrior. "It is not either of them. She is a new one." He turns to the newcomer. "Greetings. You must be one of Falling Leaf's... ah... associates. Care to join us for a drink?" He holds up the bottle. "Damn straight!" She appropriates the bottle and, not seeing a glass within a convenient four inches, pulls a drink directly from it. Her eyes go a little wide as she swallows. "Hot damn! That hardly burned! Class joint." She passes the bottle back and sticks out a hand. "Krissa Gallowglass, sword for hire. Well, hired sword, I suppose. I'm to accompany the bunch of you into Ehosia in a couple of weeks." She grips each man in turn by the elbow and gives a single shake before letting go. "You'll be seeing more and more of me in the near future. I don't know how much 'Leaf bothered to explain. You know her, very closed-mouthed. We can talk later, somewheres more private, about that. Just thought we could have a get-acquainted session, is all. So, uh, how're you doing?" She absently reaches for the bottle again. "'Leaf has explained to us little... no, nothing. One of the others told me a little, and I have been able to figure out bits, here and there." Cael smiles as he hands the bottle back to her. Well, this one will be easier to get along with than 'Prime', I think. Wonder if she knows much about Ehosia? "We're doing fine, I guess, Krissa." Toshiro replied. "Just trying to figure out a way into Ehosia that won't have us butting heads with the priests right away. Any suggestions?" "Into Ehosia?" she echoes, before taking a reflective swig from the bottle. "'S usually easy for me when I'm alone... if I can find a trade coster heading that way, I hire on and then jump off again in Ehosia. They don't like Northies down there, but they do like trading with us. But yeah, Gwenh and Kyrial... gen'rally, no elf is dumb enough to sign on as a guard going into Ehosia." She frowns. "Well, Kyrial might be able to meet us there, or shadow us, or something. She's got to have some way in, right? It would be hard to explain the bodies, otherwise." She leaned in, grinning conspiratorily. "She beat 'Leaf to a target once. Hoo boy, was she mad! But if she can do that," she continued, leaning back precariously on her bar stool, "she's got to have a way in." "Gwenh... don't know. Disguise her, maybe? Magic, maybe? 'Cause I can see the rest of us as silk merchants from the Jade Empire. You," she indicates Toshiro, "need some more gaudy clothes. You know, those big-sleeved things they wear in, like, a dozen layers? You can be our silk trader. I'm the bodyguard you picked up... well, here. Brygund's serving as a scribe and translator, Cael's the native guide and Gwenh... we need to work on Gwenh, but there'll be something. Always is. Consort? Just need Brygund to put away the Oghmite trappings is all. They'll respect a learned man, but one who consorts with 'demons' is in deep trouble." Toshiro listened to Krissa's suggestions and nodded at the silk merchant idea. "It could work... if we had the silk to tote along. I suppose I can try and come up with a suitable garb for myself." Well, there goes my courtly garb... "Kyrial will be a potential problem unless she chooses to go solo into Ehosia. As for Gwenh, I think she might not have a problem with the consort role. It really depends on her and if she can fit in with the role." Looking at Cael, he continued. "Cael, will you be okay with such an open position? Hiding in plain sight can be effective but will any recognize you?" Cael's brow crinkles in concentration as Toshiro's words tickle at his memory. "Gwen? Fit in...?" His eyes suddenly widen and he slams his glass down on the counter, sloshing booze everywhere. "That's it! At least, it might be! Toshiro, remember back in the forest, when we were trailing that despoiler? Gwenh cast some sort of scry shield to protect us. I couldn't even sense her casting it, and I was watching. And if I knew about it and still couldn't sense it, I doubt the priestly guards will sense it, either. If she knows a similar spell, to change some of our appearances...." He let his voice trail off. Oh Eho, please let her have some sort of spell that can help us. Toshiro thinks a moment. "Ah! Yes, yes I do. Very useful too; the despoiler never knew we were there untill we found him.... I imagine it would work and work well." "Do we know where she went? I'd like to ask her about this." "I believe she went out with Latara. The innkeep may know." "Hey," Krissa says sternly, leveling a finger at Cael. "You spilled some, you heretic. Gimme that." She swipes the bottle back. She takes another pull and leans her head back to howl at the ceiling. "Hoooo-ee! Hot damn, that's fine stuff. 'Leaf's gonna hate me tomorrow... so eh, lemme see. Magic hiding spell..." Cael's eyes narrowed and his face hardened for a moment after Krissa's comment, then he smiled and broke out in laughter. "Not everyone prays to the bottle as you seem to, infidel." His smile took the sting out of his words, and he raised his glass, still half-full, in a pseudo-toast. "To heretics and infidels." Krissa looks rather fuzzily confused, but smiles back, tings the glass with the bottle in toast. "Sure thing. Heretics and, um, infidels." Her train of thought regarding magic hiding spells is temporarily derailed. If a heretic is someone who spills a drink, what would that make an infidel? Wrong label? She squints at the bottle. Nah. Maybe because she didn't use a glass? Or would that be a heresy, too? Toshiro raises his own glass to the toast. "Here, Here." After taking a sip, he merely followed the train of thoughts being passed about quietly. Heretics and infidels, indeed. A motley bunch we, 'tis all we can be. May the gods have mercy on us all... With a slight shrug, Krissa gives up trying to extend the metaphor and sighs happily. "Whazzit... right. Magic. Um, if you think it'll work, I ah, I suppose that would be just, just dandy. Not one to put much trust in it meself, 'less I got to. Damn spells always foldin' at the wrong times, you know? And then you've got your arse hanging out. But ah, you seem to think she's a crackpot... no, wait, crackshot spell-tosser, so, well... sure." Cael seems much more relaxed. Whether it is due to the drink, or the possible solution to their problems, is unknown. "Gwehn has a way of doing magic that is unlike any I, and probably you, have ever encountered. If she has such a concealing spell in her memory, then I don't see the preists penetrating it." His smile slips a little. "If she has such a spell." He shakes his head, as if to throw off such negativity, then looks towards Toshiro. "In answer to an ealier question; yes, if Gwehn can conceal us somehow, then I have no problem playing the native guide. I can change my appearance enough mundanely that I will not be physically recognised." "Fair enough," Toshiro replies. "Then I suggest we go back to our rooms to sleep off our intoxicants and have clear minds for the morning. I imagine a trip to the merchant quarter will be in order to get materials for our little endeavor." Krissa shakes her head. "I'll be up later, fellows. I only just got up." She grins. "And don't you worry about tomorrow morning. 'Leaf's head is always clear, I think. Even," she starts to snigger, "even hungover." Chortling merrily, she takes another pull from the bottle. Wiping her mouth on her sleeve, she turns her gaze to the taproom as a whole. "Got mead," she mutters, although the bottle in her hand is of something rather stronger. "Got music. Need men." Hopping off of her stool, he heads purposefully (if unsteadily) towards an unsuspecting dandy.
End Book 2
|
