048. Simmer's Letter

[Corwin]

[22:20] <Kotono> The next day is still rainy. Rainy and wet, Whimsical Sweets warm inside to compensate. Everyone gathers once more save for Josa, who heads downstairs. It's Orval who stands up, clearing his throat, "Aye, I have something to tell all of ya."
[22:22] <Whurric> "Speak away then," Whurric says cheerfully.
[22:29] <Kotono> "When I awoke, I heard a voice commanding me," Orval begins, "Aye, a voice that told me what must be done, brother. A voice I know that was Dumathoin's!"
[22:30] <Whurric> "You finally know what we were supposed to do here?" Whurric asks with a raised eyebrow. "Or are you gonna tell me it was t'deal with that crazed fey?"
[22:35] <Kotono> "I know what I need to do and what you need to do," Orval goes on, "There are things I need to do here and back in Irongates. For you...you need to stay here with them for now."
[22:36] * Whurric raises an eyebrow. "You're sure, brother?"
[22:36] <Kotono> "I am," Orval says, "I'm sure of it."
[22:38] <Kotono> From downstairs as you chat, "AAAAAAH!"Josa's voice carries, quite the scream!
[22:38] <Whurric> "Well, I can't say that's a bothersome task, to be entirely honest, though I wish you'd stick around as well. I don't suppose you were told just -why- I needed to stay and you yourself needed to leave?"
[22:38] * Arachiel blinks, then rushes downstairs!
[22:38] <Whurric> "...hold that thought!" Whurric declares as he immediately goes for the stairs. What the deviltry is going on? Some surviving sharran, his paranoid mind wonders.
[22:40] <Kotono> The party rushes downstairs! Josa is kneeling, his hands a flushed red as he blows on them! Before him is a small gray metal box, Josa quickly chanting! "Accursed..." he mutters in annoyance, going and working with the box again.
[22:40] <Aaeru> "Is the box evil?"
[22:40] * Aaeru doesn't wait for an answer before touching the half-elf and helping his with his suffering as only she can.
[22:40] <Whurric> "Why would a box be evil?" he asks.
[22:40] <Aaeru> "Maybe it's a puzzle box. From Hell."
[22:41] <Whurric> "They like puzzles in hell?"
[22:41] <Kotono> "It's not evil," Josa sighs, "All I know is that it's from the realm of Fire. Step back and hold on. I warded myself against heat just now."
[22:41] <Aaeru> "Maybe Simmer's saying hi!"
[22:42] <Arachiel> "Who's Simmer again?"
[22:43] <Aaeru> "Our fire dryad friend, of course!"
[22:43] <Kotono> Josa opens the box! Within are a few sheets of red paper, burning away! They dance with small flames, Josa reading silently, "Oh! YUour guess is current, Aaeru!" Gathering the papers up, "Come, let's go upstairs and I'll read them to you."
[22:44] * Aaeru nods in satisfaction, ready to follow Josa be it upstairs or downstairs or to the public baths, wherever he feels most comfortable reading to them.
[22:44] <Kotono> After a beat he looks back down, "Oh, and there's something else in here," he reaches in, taking out what looks to be a small red quartz. It flickers with heat, the air around it hazy. Once upstairs he puts the quartz aside, clearing his throat, "Ahem."
[22:45] <Aaeru> "Oh! When you translate, please don't add all the pointless words you do when you speak, okay?" Aaeru quickly requests for the sake of the team.
[22:46] <Kotono> "Yes, the paper burns. Yes, it's made out of fire wood. Not firewood like for a campfire, but wood that's always ablaze. It's all I could get a hold of on Fire." At that Josa pauses, adding in his own commentary, "Ironic, considering what Senaril wanted," he observes, "Also considerably useless to us, but no matter. Allow me to go on."
[22:47] <Aaeru> "Please do!"
[22:47] * Arachiel nods.
[22:47] <Kotono> That gets Aaeru a glare, "I am reading the selfsame words as written. My words are not u seless or pointless regardless, for in them holds greater culture and meaning than simple plebian discourses!"
[22:48] <Aaeru> "What did you just say?"
[22:48] * Arachiel blinks. "Uhhhh...what?"
[22:48] * Aaeru looks triumphant at that.
[22:50] <Kotono> "In other words, my education, refinement and greater cultural ability allows me to speak on multiple levels of meaning; these levels are above and beyond what many learn, including typical humans, as elven comprehension relies on more than one plane and thrust of meaning at any given juncture and epoch, for indeed meaning can be thickly layered like quartz over stone over fossils in the earth,
[22:50] <Kotono> all telling a greater story when all are seen and properly appreciated."
[22:50] <Kotono> "You have a disturbing fetish for running your mouth," Lyris says, "Just read the damned letter."
[22:50] * Arachiel looks dubiously at Josa. "Okay."
[22:52] <Kotono> With a bit of a scowl Josa continues reading! "
[22:52] <Kotono> It's Simmer. Bad way to start a letter, isn't it? It's my first one so you can excuse that? Hell. I don't know. I've spent two hours staring at this paper without writing anything. I'm alive and I know you're alive, as the auguries I paid for told me that. I also know that some of you aren't so fortunate. Whichever ones of you remain, I'm sorry. If you're alive you got Senaril, right? She's a
[22:52] <Kotono> nymph, did she manage to make a dimensional door to get away? If she did, did you finish her? I can't get anything on her with auguries at all. Nothing. The Brother of the Pure Flame said a force was protecting her. When I mentioned her master's name - I don't dare write it here after what I heard later - he crackled and commanded me to not speak her name, on the penalty of Water."
[22:52] <Kotono> "Penalty of Water?" Yuria frowns, "I mean, wait, water isn't bad? Unless you're getting drowned or something?"
[22:53] <Arachiel> "Not if you're on the plane of Fire, I suppose."
[22:53] <Kotono> "To a creature of the utmost flame and the fury of the simmering volcanic, Water is no greater torment," Josa says with a wrinkle of his nose, "At least we can affirm that she was avenged twice over."
[22:54] <Aaeru> "Simmer sounds, like, really perky and lively and stuff!" Aaeru says happily. "Can we send an answer? Do we have paper that, like, burns?"
[22:54] <Kotono> "Anyway," With that Josa continues, picking up his reading. "The Brother of the Pure Flame is Hasel. He has high rank in Kossuth's clergy, having been rewarded with an eternal body of fire and freed from the inevitability of death. When I first woke up on Fire, I had nothing but the bark on my skin. I wandered like a dream for I don't know how long. I was home. I knew I was home, just as I knew
[22:54] <Kotono> about the cycle of nature and my part in it in my old life.  I eventually came to a settlement. Despite what you might think, creatures of Fire wear clothes. Burning clothes. No, I'm not kidding. Right now I'm wearing a dress that's made of magically enchanted magma.  It's gorgeous! Human clothing wasn't ever that interesting, but now this is good!  I can feel the magma on my skin, and it flatters
[22:54] <Kotono> my figure! It's so impossibly good and right and happy and everything!"
[22:55] <Kotono> "Such impossible fashions," Marianne snorts, "It sounds so terribly gauche."
[22:56] <Arachiel> "It sounds interesting!"
[22:57] <Aaeru> "Isn't the bark her skin?" Aaeru wonders out loud.
[22:57] <Kotono> "Details," Josa murmurs, reading further. "Sorry, I needed a moment. So much of Fire overwhelms me, let alone really learning how to write. Dryads can write Sylvan if we absolutely have to, it's born into us. But writing with purpose, writing with any sort of style? It's hard. I'm having to learn it as I go here. I'm giving it some attention, but what does it matter compared to Fire? It's like
[22:57] <Kotono> I'm mildly intoxicated at all times, floating on a cloud of brimstone and blaze.  Still, that's not where I was. I was talking about Hasel. When I stumbled around town naked, I got a lot of attention from the local population of azer and salamanders. Who knew certain salamanders have a taste for humanoid typed bodies? What's worse is that a fire spell to the face only made his declared love for
[22:57] <Kotono> me hotter and harder."
[22:57] * Arachiel shrugs.
[22:59] <Aaeru> "So when we go visit her, we shouldn't go naked. Got it."
[23:00] <Kotono> "Unless you want hard and hot 'love'," Josa snorts loudly at that, "I, for one, will pass on that." Clearing his throat to continue, "That's when Hasel came. He came to see the ruckus and told the salamanders to go Water themselves. It worked, since he has authority because of his status. He took me to the temple, gave me clothes and talked to me. I'm one of the few pyrodryads he's ever heard
[23:00] <Kotono> of. Apparently every once in a cold fire an immolated dryad may absorb the elemental power like I did.  It's rare, so rare that all the fey stories I know have never spoken of it. Since then he's treated me like a Queen, helping me with my magic and giving me a place to stay. In return? In time I gave him what only a woman can. I don't know if it'll go anywhere. From what I hear, most relationships
[23:00] <Kotono> in Fire burn brightly then sputter out, like the life of a fire. In my heart I know I'm as much a lover as a status symbol. To turn or find something that is opposed to fire into a part of Fire? The nets prestige each time he tells another of us. "
[23:01] * Arachiel looks confused. "What only a woman can?"
[23:03] <Kotono> Marianne laughs, "Oh ho ho ho. What she means is that she's spread her legs to make a man happy. I don't suppose you'd know that, though. Once she does that, this Hasel takes care of her. It's quite like a pretty commoner girl catching a rich merchant's eyes and marrying into a life of prosperity."
[23:04] * Aaeru grimaces. "It sounds creepy and we have to go help her!"
[23:04] <Kotono> Again Josa clears his throat, "We all must do what we need to for survival," He announces, "Let us not overly judge another's, especially one in dire straits-" A stop there, "Before we think of that, let us at least finish the letter, Aaeru!"
[23:04] * Arachiel looks even more confused and looks at her legs.
[23:05] <Aaeru> "Hey, you're the one who said you'd pass on that!"
[23:05] <Kotono> Going on from that, "I survive. That much you know now. Not only do I survive, I prosper as best I can. After all, I am home. I cannot return to the Prime Material for a long time, longer than any of your lives save for Silver and Josa's. I have read in vain, but it is a law clad in boiling iron and inviolate. I went as far as to find a portal to the Prime Material. Trying to enter it was
[23:05] <Kotono> impossible, I simply could not. I tried until I feared that I would break my shoulder futilely forcing ahead.  We may not see each other again in this life, but I promise you that I will not forget Whimsical Sweets. If we are so fortunate to meet again elsewhere, I await the day. For that I will leave Fire for a time. Little else can claim that."
[23:07] <Arachiel> "Well, at least she's doing okay?" Arachiel ventures.
[23:07] * Aaeru just looks depressed and doesn't comment.
[23:08] <Kotono>  To each of you I send my love and a personal message. They're not private. After all, I'm not sure which of you live and I have no secrets to keep from my time in Balmuria."
[23:08] <Kotono> Again continuing on, "To each of you I send my love and a personal message. They're not private. After all, I'm not sure which of you live and I have no secrets to keep from my time in Balmuria." Josa looks up, "Aaeru: Thanks for making me smile with your innocence. You make friends both in spite of yourself and because of yourself, so I know you won't be lonely if you are alive to hear this
[23:08] <Kotono> letter.  Say hello to Neveril for me, I never had a chance to meet her much."
[23:09] <Whurric> "It's a bit sad that she can't come and see her old friends again though," Whurric says. "Glad she found a way to send her messages at least."
[23:09] <Arachiel> "We could go see her! We have magic!"
[23:09] <Kotono> After that, "The rest are for people not here or beyond this life," Josa says, "Would you like to hear them anyway?"
[23:10] * Aaeru nods sadly at Josa's question.
[23:10] <Arachiel> "They should be said!"
[23:10] <Whurric> "We can keep Janson's message waiting for him, assuming Sylvie somehow comes back with him. You never know!"
[23:11] <Kotono> "Very well," Josa says, beginning to read. "Andrea: I don't know if you came back like Wayland did once before. If you did, thank you for your words and song. You have a cute friend in Brent, go make some babies! Human lifecycles are but a crackle in the fire of life. You'd make a wonderful mother. Janson: Thank you for everything.  I don't know what else to say to you.  You were you and invaluable
[23:11] <Kotono> because you were you; I treasure every day we knew each other.  You're also a survivor, you'll make it through. Take good care of Sylvie. Sylvie: Take care of Janson and Calley. Don't you dare quietly sigh when you hear that, I remember when you did that last time we talked! You know what you need to do. Wayland: Dammit, Wayland. I was going to ask you out soon! I liked you and wanted to see if
[23:11] <Kotono> anything would come of it. You were so strong and sexy when you were stoically silent. Your Air and my Fire could have intertwined, but it wasn't to be. Thanks for giving me something pleasant to think about in the Furnace below."
[23:14] <Whurric> "...well, your Simmer's certainly a passionate lass," Whurric notes.
[23:15] <Aaeru> "Did she say something to you?" Aaeru wonders, looking at Josa once more.
[23:15] <Kotono> Neveril smiles warmly, "She is. From what little I knew of her, she very much is."
[23:16] <Kotono> "She didn't," Josa shakes his head. "Going on?" After a moment, "I'll be in touch in a few months. Hasel and I are heading to the City of Brass for a month; an efreet noble wants to study me. I don't entirely want to go, but Hasel told me that the noble will owe Hasel a favor for doing it. Also, it's perfectly safe since he has diplomatic credentials from the Church and from his efreet friend.
[23:16] <Kotono> No, I'm not being indirect, Hasel told me not to spread his name around. The noble desires discretion. What sort of cowardly flame wants to hide it's blaze? I do not expect much from this noble. No matter. Once this is done and I'm somewhere stable, we'll see about finding some way to communicate better. I really dislike writing a letter, I think. It's hard to sound like I talk. It feels stilted,
[23:16] <Kotono> or like I'm over or under correcting. Enclosed is a jewel that will protect you. It will oppose the first cold or water spell that is cast on whomever carries it, likely disrupting it. Be safe. Simmer."
[23:18] * Aaeru frowns. "Josa," she says, then, "this sounds really bad. Do you read adventure stories?"
[23:21] <Arachiel> "I don't think it sounded so bad. What was wrong with it?"
[23:23] <Kotono> "A few," Josa says, "I would be more worried if she asked for help, but ifa nything, she sounded content with her situation." He pauses to think, "Do you think otherwise?"
[23:24] <Whurric> "I don't know the lass well enough to say one way or another, to me it did seem fairly tame, at the worst maybe a bit resigned, but hardly a cry for help. Still, if you guys who knew her better feel she is in need of help, as always, my axe is there to aid you in your quests," Whurric offers.
[23:25] <Aaeru> "It's what she didn't say," Aaeru admits. "And the whole thing? She's forced into all sorts of stuff by this guy she doesn't really like, and she's talking about how she doesn't think it'll last, and she says his friend is shady and wants to study her. And that it's all because this guy wants to have favors and reputation and stuff. What if this shady noble guy offers him two favors for giving Simmer to him, like some sorta slave? What can she do then?"
[23:27] * Aaeru frowns. "And there's been months and she could've, like, sent a letter ages ago since she even tried to go through a portal before giving up but she only sends it now when she's leaving for, ah, a city of brasses?" Aaeru looks briefly confused, but doesn't let it stop her for long. "The timing is really weird! And those personal stuff, it's like she's saying goodbye! And she practically says she'll leave Fire if we went somewhere she could go, right?"
[23:27] * Arachiel sits up straighter. "That sounds awful! People souldn't be traded for favors!"
[23:28] <Aaeru> "And hey, if she likes Fire so much and it's her home, why did she, like, almost break her shoulder trying to leave?"
[23:30] <Kotono> "If all of you are concerned," Josa shakes his head and sighs, "I shall have a sending prepared to ask her. Let us do that before we hustle off into the unknowns of Fire."
[23:31] <Aaeru> "And another for, like, a day after she arrives to meet the shady guy!"
[23:31] * Aaeru blinks. "Umm, if she says it's fine for the first one, I mean."

[Corwin]

[19:57] <Kobrb> roll 1d100
[19:57] <Rei-chan> Kobrb rolled : 1d100 --> [ 1d100=63 ]{63}
[20:02] <Kobrb> The next day is gray but not rainy, at least not yet. Whimsical Sweets gathers briefly in the morning, Josa clearing his throat. "Ahem! I bring more news to allay concern and bring resolute tranquility to our greater mental states, for I can ascertain and promote that Simmer is not in need of rescure at this current juncture; she is not worried, though she sends her fair love and undying affection
[20:02] <Kobrb> to us all."
[20:03] <Aaeru> "Thanks for checking," Aaeru tells him, struggling to accept that despite her intuition. "We'll check again once she's met that shady guy, right?"
[20:08] <Kobrb> "Ah, it was just paranoia," Neveril sighs in obvious, deep relief. "Is there anything else today?"
[20:09] <Kobrb> "Nay, there is not," Josa says, "I will spend the next few days restocking our supplies and procuring work as needed. After our latest ordeal, live and rest." Gesturing wide, "Go forth and be merry, be alive, be fruitful."
[20:10] <Aaeru> "I'm going to be training and stuff," Aaeru responds. "Umm. I guess I'll be gone a few days, but you guys know where to find me, right?"
[20:11] <Kobrb> "Declare money isn't the root of all evil and you'll come racing up," Silver's voice carreis s she flies up the stairs and into the room.
[20:11] <Kobrb> "I can find you if needed," Josa declares, "Go then."
[20:13] <Aaeru> "I'll see you later tonight?" Aaeru asks Neve, kissing her on the cheek.
[20:14] <Kobrb> "Until then," Neveril returns the gesture. As this happens Yuria slides up to Whurric, "Say Whurric!"
[20:15] <Aaeru> With a friendly parting wave at the others, Aaeru leaves for the House of Suffering.
[20:15] <Kobrb> Lyris sits back a moment and exhales, "A few lazy days?" Her gaze is cast over to Arachiel, "You fight with archery?"
[20:16] <Whurric> "Hrm?" Whurric turns to look at Yuria at her call.
[20:18] * Arachiel nods cheerily, smiling. "It makes sense, kind of. I was already used to being a good shot with my light beams when I was an archon."
[20:18] <Kobrb> Yuria comes over, draping her arms over Whurric's chest from behind. "Say...like, wanna go do something now that you're human?"
[20:20] <Kobrb> "I thought so," Lyris rises, "If we're to fight together, we need to train together. Come with me." Lyris rises as she speaks, Marianne waving a hand. "Practice with her, I have my own affairs to see to."
[20:20] <Whurric> "Sure, why not?" Whurric says with a laugh. "You know, this reminds me of when you thought being a dwarf was contagious. Told you being human was moreso!"
[20:21] <Arachiel> "Okay!" Arachiel leaps to her feet, following Lyris.