"Really, dear one, what on Ailizane has brought you this far north?" Elinora inquired tactfully as she approached Telion, her hands brought up to the healers shoulders as the blonde herself paced her breath. She had been on the verge of crying, almost hysterically even, from the amount of shit that had piled on Rickter. So much that was beyond his and her control, that all one could do was nothing but fuss over their situation.
"I... moved here." She clarified as the wolf looked down at her mournfully, saddened that she came all this way, only to fall for a mudblooded exile destined to wander alone. "I came to Kalzasi over a year ago, settled down here once I finally met Rickter." As she reached out to hold him Rickter felt her tug him closer by the forearm, the wolf quietly drew nearer if not to silently avert his gaze when Elinora looked him over.
"You and your husband are exiled then?" Telion looked ready to speak on their behalf, and yet, when she looked up to him Rickter's gaze merely diverted away. The lack of acknowledgment between them spelled enough to the woman, as Elinora momentarily averted her gaze before carrying on. "My apologies." The auburn-haired woman drew closer to give Telion a snug wrap of her arms, hopeful to reassure the healer before she looked up to Rickter next. "Tis, not an easy road you're about to walk, young one, believe me when I say that."
"Why are you in Karnor though? Shouldn't you be back in Oelivert running the inn?" Telion inquired lowly as the red-dressed woman guided the lot away from the gate, at least to a spot where several other travelers made camp. A bonfire had been built to help keep the cold at bay, while those waiting for the gates kept to themselves and weathered the temperature. When Elinora found seats for them to sit on, be they rocks or stumps, the innkeeper looked toward Telion with a faint smile.
"I came to Kalzasi for two reasons. The first; to seek an audience with the Shokoze himself... though I seem to be a bit late for that." Rickter and his party all looked to Elinora with shared concern, having not heard the news of what happened at all. "Secondly, all my sons are in that city. I was looking forward to seeing them again, and to learning about the culture of this city from them. Sad to say, I've not been able to get in for several days now. Nor has anybody been permitted to leave either."
"What happened to the Shokoze!?" Elinora looked to the black-robed mage casually, her eyes fallen briefly before the admittance she carried out followed.
"I'm afraid I do not know. Word has barely slipped out of the city, but the tension within the air has been palpable since my arrival."
"We weren't there for Talon's wedding either... If something happened..." Telion's concern led her to look at everyone sharply, urgency in her tone when she expressed what she felt needed to be done. "We have to find a way inside! There has to be some way to find out what's going on!" The wolf couldn't help but slightly wince at the mention of that, having remembered the promise he'd made to Telion earlier last Frost... Only to find out now, that something had gone amiss in their absence.
"Well, I'm open to suggestions." Trevor remarked as the wolf himself looked deeply into the embers of the fire, his shoulders still slumped forward as he rested his elbows on his knees. "The wards are all active now, not even Traverser's can slip in without activating a spell. What good will it do us raising an alarm, if we could even slip beyond the magical walls guarding the city?"
"We could get in from underneath." Hannah suggested with a look to Trevor and then Telion, the black mage shuddering in disgust when he caught the reference. "Ain't no way they're watching to see if people come out from the Midden, right?"
"The Midden?"
"That could work!"
"You're all forgetting something..." The wolf remarked before Telion's excitement grew too much. "Even if we slipped within, there's no guarantee they're not watching the streets diligently. If they see my face while inside, knowing what the Queen herself has ordered, then all of you as well as our boys might as well be dead."
"Do I need to smack you again?"
"Listen," the wolf deflected the threat with a stern look toward the rogue, "there's no need for all of you to risk your necks for me. Soon as all of you are back in Kalzasi, I'll retreat back out through the Midden. I'll find a way."
"That's not going to happen, Rickter." Telion objected firmly even with a small shake in her voice. "You don't know what'll happen once we're inside. Once we get in, we'll learn the truth about what happened, and then decide on how to act from there."
"I concur." The black mage agreed, as did Hannah when she nodded at Rickter and Telion firmly.
"Might I ask a request then?" Elinora weighed in gently as they all looked to her with varying levels of curiosity. "I'd like to accompany you through his Midden. If my gut is right, then you could surely use my help in your endeavors, and you'd all be doing me a favor by letting me reunite with my boys."
The wolf could hardly blame the woman... right now all he could think about was his own kids. Both Kendric and Isaac were without their parents, probably tended to by the wetnurses of the palace. What a good father he turned out to be, already having to leave his own children behind... He wasn't far different from his actual father, much less the adopted one that left him much later. "Surely you wouldn't want to brave the Midden, miss Elinora?"
"It sure as shit ain't no picnic down there, darling." Hannah remarked after Telion, garnering a short laugh from the innkeeper as she looked about the group warmly.
"Oh please, I'm no stranger to danger. And please, call me Nora if you would!" The innkeeper then looked to Rickter specifically, as the rest of the group eyed him to see if he would allow her to come or not. The wolf exhaled sharply through his nostrils before he leaned back a little straighter, the fidgeting of his thumbs brought to an end as he rested his hands on each thigh.
"It will be dangerous... But... I'd give anything to see my boys again. I'd reckon you'd do the same if you were in my shoes..." There came a pause as he lowered his gaze once more, before the wolf shifted his eyes toward Hannah since she was the brains behind this idea. "How do we get into the Midden from here?"
"Relax, big guy, once we've rested our feet a bit we can hike it toward Lake Udori. There's a channel we can use to get into the upper levels."
"And hopefully, no cutthroats will be waiting for us down there." Trevor's sarcasm bled well into his cynicism at the remark, Elinora lightly chuckling as Telion looked to Rickter solemnly in her silence. The wolf's eyes merely remained averted even as Hannah rose from her stump, her hands rested at her hips as she looked out over to the lakeshore far in the distance.
"Oh don't worry, it'll be their problem if we show up on their doorstep. Besides, shouldn't take too long to find an exit into the Lower City of Kalzasi." The rogue figured as they all continued to get their rest, the fire warming Rickter to the bone but nothing beyond that. As the chat on how they would enter Kalzasi concluded then, Elinora took it upon herself to keep the conversations flowing between them. She mainly spoke with Telion about where they had last met, when the healer lived in a small town by the name of Loras, where apparently Elinora and her boys had dealt business with the tea market a bit. Trevor listened more than anything as he grew ever curious about the lot in front of him, while Hannah soon found herself weighing in on parts of Telion's story further down the line.
And for a while, even with their insurmountable obstacles ahead, the group felt a small sense of communion building between them.
"I... moved here." She clarified as the wolf looked down at her mournfully, saddened that she came all this way, only to fall for a mudblooded exile destined to wander alone. "I came to Kalzasi over a year ago, settled down here once I finally met Rickter." As she reached out to hold him Rickter felt her tug him closer by the forearm, the wolf quietly drew nearer if not to silently avert his gaze when Elinora looked him over.
"You and your husband are exiled then?" Telion looked ready to speak on their behalf, and yet, when she looked up to him Rickter's gaze merely diverted away. The lack of acknowledgment between them spelled enough to the woman, as Elinora momentarily averted her gaze before carrying on. "My apologies." The auburn-haired woman drew closer to give Telion a snug wrap of her arms, hopeful to reassure the healer before she looked up to Rickter next. "Tis, not an easy road you're about to walk, young one, believe me when I say that."
"Why are you in Karnor though? Shouldn't you be back in Oelivert running the inn?" Telion inquired lowly as the red-dressed woman guided the lot away from the gate, at least to a spot where several other travelers made camp. A bonfire had been built to help keep the cold at bay, while those waiting for the gates kept to themselves and weathered the temperature. When Elinora found seats for them to sit on, be they rocks or stumps, the innkeeper looked toward Telion with a faint smile.
"I came to Kalzasi for two reasons. The first; to seek an audience with the Shokoze himself... though I seem to be a bit late for that." Rickter and his party all looked to Elinora with shared concern, having not heard the news of what happened at all. "Secondly, all my sons are in that city. I was looking forward to seeing them again, and to learning about the culture of this city from them. Sad to say, I've not been able to get in for several days now. Nor has anybody been permitted to leave either."
"What happened to the Shokoze!?" Elinora looked to the black-robed mage casually, her eyes fallen briefly before the admittance she carried out followed.
"I'm afraid I do not know. Word has barely slipped out of the city, but the tension within the air has been palpable since my arrival."
"We weren't there for Talon's wedding either... If something happened..." Telion's concern led her to look at everyone sharply, urgency in her tone when she expressed what she felt needed to be done. "We have to find a way inside! There has to be some way to find out what's going on!" The wolf couldn't help but slightly wince at the mention of that, having remembered the promise he'd made to Telion earlier last Frost... Only to find out now, that something had gone amiss in their absence.
"Well, I'm open to suggestions." Trevor remarked as the wolf himself looked deeply into the embers of the fire, his shoulders still slumped forward as he rested his elbows on his knees. "The wards are all active now, not even Traverser's can slip in without activating a spell. What good will it do us raising an alarm, if we could even slip beyond the magical walls guarding the city?"
"We could get in from underneath." Hannah suggested with a look to Trevor and then Telion, the black mage shuddering in disgust when he caught the reference. "Ain't no way they're watching to see if people come out from the Midden, right?"
"The Midden?"
"That could work!"
"You're all forgetting something..." The wolf remarked before Telion's excitement grew too much. "Even if we slipped within, there's no guarantee they're not watching the streets diligently. If they see my face while inside, knowing what the Queen herself has ordered, then all of you as well as our boys might as well be dead."
"Do I need to smack you again?"
"Listen," the wolf deflected the threat with a stern look toward the rogue, "there's no need for all of you to risk your necks for me. Soon as all of you are back in Kalzasi, I'll retreat back out through the Midden. I'll find a way."
"That's not going to happen, Rickter." Telion objected firmly even with a small shake in her voice. "You don't know what'll happen once we're inside. Once we get in, we'll learn the truth about what happened, and then decide on how to act from there."
"I concur." The black mage agreed, as did Hannah when she nodded at Rickter and Telion firmly.
"Might I ask a request then?" Elinora weighed in gently as they all looked to her with varying levels of curiosity. "I'd like to accompany you through his Midden. If my gut is right, then you could surely use my help in your endeavors, and you'd all be doing me a favor by letting me reunite with my boys."
The wolf could hardly blame the woman... right now all he could think about was his own kids. Both Kendric and Isaac were without their parents, probably tended to by the wetnurses of the palace. What a good father he turned out to be, already having to leave his own children behind... He wasn't far different from his actual father, much less the adopted one that left him much later. "Surely you wouldn't want to brave the Midden, miss Elinora?"
"It sure as shit ain't no picnic down there, darling." Hannah remarked after Telion, garnering a short laugh from the innkeeper as she looked about the group warmly.
"Oh please, I'm no stranger to danger. And please, call me Nora if you would!" The innkeeper then looked to Rickter specifically, as the rest of the group eyed him to see if he would allow her to come or not. The wolf exhaled sharply through his nostrils before he leaned back a little straighter, the fidgeting of his thumbs brought to an end as he rested his hands on each thigh.
"It will be dangerous... But... I'd give anything to see my boys again. I'd reckon you'd do the same if you were in my shoes..." There came a pause as he lowered his gaze once more, before the wolf shifted his eyes toward Hannah since she was the brains behind this idea. "How do we get into the Midden from here?"
"Relax, big guy, once we've rested our feet a bit we can hike it toward Lake Udori. There's a channel we can use to get into the upper levels."
"And hopefully, no cutthroats will be waiting for us down there." Trevor's sarcasm bled well into his cynicism at the remark, Elinora lightly chuckling as Telion looked to Rickter solemnly in her silence. The wolf's eyes merely remained averted even as Hannah rose from her stump, her hands rested at her hips as she looked out over to the lakeshore far in the distance.
"Oh don't worry, it'll be their problem if we show up on their doorstep. Besides, shouldn't take too long to find an exit into the Lower City of Kalzasi." The rogue figured as they all continued to get their rest, the fire warming Rickter to the bone but nothing beyond that. As the chat on how they would enter Kalzasi concluded then, Elinora took it upon herself to keep the conversations flowing between them. She mainly spoke with Telion about where they had last met, when the healer lived in a small town by the name of Loras, where apparently Elinora and her boys had dealt business with the tea market a bit. Trevor listened more than anything as he grew ever curious about the lot in front of him, while Hannah soon found herself weighing in on parts of Telion's story further down the line.
And for a while, even with their insurmountable obstacles ahead, the group felt a small sense of communion building between them.
"Common" "Synskrit" "Norvaegan"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah" "Trevor"
"Rickter" "Telion" "Hannah" "Trevor"
