Play by Post Thread

[Ebiris]

After session 32

Lucie

Ahh, the old neighbourhood down in Shadowshore. Where the everybody knows your name, but are they always glad you came? At the very least Lucie is familiar enough with the place - and familiar enough to the denizens - not to be assaulted or molested as she trawls its furtive streets. Finally reaching the end of the slums ruled over by the Cobra Fangs, she finds the much diminished gang tossing a ball around on the street in front of the rum distillery. It's really just Hermann and Dawley tossing it back and forth, the fat man often dropping it and the tall man seeming quite glum at the diminished state of his once feared gang. Maya seems quite oblivious to it all, teasing her enormous snake with a stick which it obligingly goes after without ever quite getting.

Hermann notices you first, putting a smile on his face and walking over. "Lucie! 'Bout time you got back, we were startin' to worry. Thought maybe you'd forgotten where you came from." He puts a friendly face on, but it's no secret to Lucie he's tense, perhaps still suspecting she's moved onto better things.

Henrietta

Finding a shrine to Hecate turns out to be surprisingly easy. The House of Olympus stands tall upon the highest slopes of Salerno, white marble pillars reflecting the sun and golden effigies of the Gods and Goddesses gleaming with polish and devotion. It's quite busy with people coming and going, seeking blessings from the gods, making offerings at statues, consulting with the acolytes who tend the shrines, marked by their robes and welcoming smiles for any who show the slightest interest in the Gods.

It also has nothing to do with Hecate, despite her being one of the Olympian pantheon. Fortunately a severe faced young devotee of Hera sends Henrietta off on the right path, to the crossroads leading up to Cloudcrystal Academy. It's a statue in black marble inlaid with gold highlights representing a woman in flowing robes who holds a book in one hand and a dagger in the other. Atop her head is a spiked crown, and as you get closer you can see it has three faces - two on either side of the centre one. On a foot high stand before the statue is a large copper dish which has several strips of meat within it, and occassionally someone will deposit another such strip - the people most oft to do so are scholarly robed students coming and going from the school nearby.

Several dogs of various breeds linger near the statue, but make no move to partake of the meaty offerings.

Glenn

Freshly cured and rested, you return to Arabani Manor and find it open and welcoming as always - in fact you're not the only one visiting, and you end up sharing a sitting room with several others, an overweight and expensively dressed man who complains to anyone in sight of utterly ruinous taxes that are positively ruining him - do you understand? Ruining! Besides him is a very soft spoken young woman with flowers in her hair and wearing gossamer robes that are just on the borderline of being indecent, who makes idle conversation about how too many businesses are infringing on services that should be reserved for the churches alone.

Thankfully Glenn is eventually pulled from the waiting and brought in before Lady Arabani, who gives him a brave smile upon entry. "Ahh, Mr Farrunner, wasn't it? I'm afraid if you've come about the extra reward I've promised, I only sent the... rescue, party last night," she hesitates slightly over the word 'rescue', eyes downcast. "It will be over a week till they return, I understand."

[Merc]

Glenn sighs and gives an apologetic glance at the lady.

"No, it wasn't that. Actually I had been hoping you had not sent out a party just yet, I wanted to see if I could provide a bit more information to help on the trip or see if your team had any questions or the like, but if they've already left, there's no helping for it," he answers. "It seems I underestimated how fast you'd be able to put together the resources for a trip to the island."

[Sierra]

"Couldn't ever forget that," Lucie drawls. "You're worried, I know. Can see it on your face. No point runnin' around the house first, then, may as well have it out: found new work, need a new place closer to it. Movin' out. I have to do this--things I need can't be found here, bigger world waiting for me.

"Don't feel like I'm leaving you all behind, alright? Shadowshore's a terrible place to be all on your own and I woulda been the past few years without the gang. Not about to forget everything. Expect to be kept busy in the future, but if you need help with something--look, I got a place over in Merchant, here's the address. Something comes up you can't handle on your own, send me a message.

"Otherwise, well, the Dragons were loaded to the gills with cash and we parceled out an even share for each of you. Know money doesn't mean much to you, Hermann, and it won't bring Mort or Chekick back, but it'll make things easier easier for a while."

[Corwin]

"Excuse me!" Henrietta calls out to the student that had just placed another strip of meat as an offering for Hecate's statue. "Can I ask, that is, can you please tell me why the dogs are not eating anything from the dish?"

[Ebiris]

Lucie

Hermann's expression is stony as he listens to Lucie, accepting the note with her address on it and waiting until she's finished. Only then does he show emotion, flickers of disappointment, anger, and resignation seen as he screws up his face. "Shoulda known... who needs the neighbourhood when you can just trade up, right?" he asks bitterly, shaking his head and starting to pace. "Shit, Lucie! Thought you understood, thought you were one of us! Not just a sellout!"

Dawley hangs back as Hermann rants, giving Lucie an apologetic look but not doing anything to draw away the taller man's anger. Maya and her snake both look over curiously at the scene as well. "Fuck money!" he goes on, before pausing and almost laughing. "Fuck... your mom was around a couple days ago, looking for a handout. You want we should tell her where you're living now or just tell her you're dead or something?"

A subject change is about as close as you're likely to get for acceptance with Hermann the way he is now, really.

Henrietta

A bespectacled young teenager with a spotty face and unruly hair looks up at Henrietta, wiping his hand on his robes and smiling optimisticly. "They're really well trained, ma'am," he declares. "Plus they know they'll get to clear the plate at noon and sundown, so I guess there's that."

Glenn

"Yes... it's a slim hope, but every moment counts if he's captive in the state you described yesterday," the middle-aged noble nods forlornly. "In the face of that, what are time and money? Still," she puts on a hopeful smile, "If there's anything important you missed yesterday, there's still a way for me to pass it on to Captain Blake, so long as it's not too verbose."

[Corwin]

Henrietta nods to herself, her suspicious handily confirmed. There is nothing supernatural or otherworldly about the behavior of the dogs whatsoever. Clearly, it is all in their training by far more real and mortal hands!

"So I see," she agrees, and then hesitates visibly. "I am not from Salerno, as you might see, and, well, is Hecate not part of the Olympian pantheon? And yet, she was not worshipped over by the House of Olympus, as far as I could see. Why is that? Ah, if I may ask, that is."

[Ebiris]

Henrietta

The boy's expression is a visible war between ignorance and the desire to appear knowledgable as he hems and haws for a moment before a husky female voice pricks at Henrietta's ears from behind her. "How nice it is to see you've finally decided to give proper thanks to Hecate for your blessings, Henrietta Ul'Copt... have no fear, for I can answer your questions."

Sauntering around now to stand beside the shrine you can see the horned woman from the feast of Demeter, once more dressed in concealing yet alluring black robes and wearing a smug smile on her lips. "Hecate's place is here, at the crossroads, more than in that commercialised temple. It doesn't hurt that anxious young students are more apt to leave an offering if the shrine is conveniently on their route to class, isn't that right?" she looks to your young friend.

"Haha," the glasses wearing boy blushes and looks bashfully down at his feet rather than at the two beauties before him. "Got a demonstration on practical illusions today. Figure it can't hurt to hedge my bets, right?"

[Sierra]

"You don't need to tell her anything!" Lucie snaps. "She'll be coming with me." Although if Lucie's honest with herself for a moment it's more likely this means getting her mother a small place of her own somewhere safe. The desire to have some measure of personal privacy for the first time in her life is a strong one.

"And just because I was born here doesn't mean I have to die here. As it's likely to happen sooner for me than the rest of you, I bloody well have a right to choose where."

She looks over the group as a whole (what's left of it, anyway). "So do you want your shares or not?"

[Ebiris]

Lucie

"Oh, yes, I want to buy a new suit for Midolin!" Maya carols, walking unsteadily towards Lucie with her snake nudging her along. "Can we come and visit your new house, Lucie? I like it here most of all, but I'm sure if you're there it'll be nice."

"Yeah..." Dawley ambles forward at the mention of money, "I mean, I've needed a new bed for months now," he blushes, the fate of his old bed breaking under his weight a subject of much merriment to the other members of the gang since then.

Hermann just throws up his hands in irritation. "Might as well get something to show for Mort and Chekick buying the farm. Hope your new friends are worth that," he scowls angrily both at Lucie's departure and the failure of the remaining Cobra Fangs to properly censure her for it.

[Corwin]

"Don't misunderstand!" Henrietta protests, something inside her feeling irritated at the smugness displayed by the other woman and rebelling against it. "I just wanted to learn more because knowledge is power. That is all there is to it!"

Blatantly shifting her gaze to observe the blushing student, Henrietta asks him, "Would it not be better to practice more?"

[Ebiris]

Henrietta

"W-well sure!" the young mageling sputters, "I study! Lots! And hard! Like you wouldn't believe!" he insists. "But it just costs me a couple of coppers and a few seconds to make an offering, and if it can help then why not, right?" he looks at the horned woman for support, receiving a condescending smile and nod in turn.

"Right..." he blushes. "Anyway, yeah... I better get going for my demonstration. Bye," he backs away lamely before turning tail and scurrying towards the gates of the grandiose magical school ahead.

"Ahh, youth," Vriskna sighs wistfully, watching him go. "He'll probably end up making an offering to Aphrodite as well before the day's out."

[Corwin]

"I cannot see how that would possibly help him," Henrietta states, frowning. "But that is not my business, I suppose."

She gives Vriskna her full attention once more. "You remembered my name, I could not help but notice." Henrietta looks quite pleased with that.

[Ebiris]

Henrietta

"Of course," she beams, flashing a brilliant smile at the redhead, "How could I forget my self proclaimed rival? I've been waiting for you to seek me out - it seemed inevitable, considering the Goddess's interest in you, Miss Ul'Copt."

Still smiling, she steps towards Henrietta and primly smooths down her robes, causing them to highlight her figure in a way that's just too perfect to be anything but calculated, "Ask your questions and I will reveal what wisdom I can, blessed one."

[Corwin]

Henrietta perks up as their rivalry is so formally acknowledged, smiling back at Vriskna despite herself. She would certainly have to write her parents about that, and won't they be proud of her?

"I'm only just starting my studies, so the questions will probably be boring," Henrietta finds herself admitting grudgingly, much as it shames her to display a lack of knowledge of such magnitude. "Why associate dogs with Hecate? And do you believe her to work through them all for some all-encompassing goal?"

[Ebiris]

Henrietta

Vriskna rubs her fingers together which prompts a medium sized black dog to make a happy woof and pad on over, allowing her to scratch its head and behind the ears. "Do you know why dogs are so obedient to humans? So quick to learn our voices and habits, so eager to please and follow our commands? The reason is because they have human souls."

She smiles as if already expecting an outburst from Henrietta, but continues smoothly. "The story goes back to antiquity, when a tribe offended Hera and found themselves transformed into wolves, condemned to be feared and hated by their former brothers, running wild and desperate in the dark forest primeval... Noble Artemis took mercy on some who exalted in the hunt as she did. Today their descendants are known as werewolves and beastmen... but others could not bear their new existence."

"Thus a bargain was struck," she makes a gesture and the black dog sits down obligingly, tongue lolling out and panting, "Hecate would restore their connection to humanity, allowing them to once more understand their brothers, to be able to serve and earn their place back in civilisation, to be appreciated rather than feared. In return, their lives would be forfeit to her... the sacrifice of a canine was the culmination of any proper rite in the Goddess's honour..." she looks upwards and sighs wistfully, the dog at her feet emitting a fearful whine which seems to bring her out of her reverie. "Of course this is a far less bloodthirsty age, but the association with dogs still lingers, and they don't forget their ancestral debt."

A loud affirmative bark is heard as she concludes, the dog now wagging its tail and looking up at Henrietta.