Posting Order: Itin, Huntsman, Amari, Nightspoison, Vixen, Venex
The chill of a winter’s night, pervading the room even on this mild island. The sounds of a breeze knocking branches against the walls of the hall dismissed the thoughts of Ben Adelphar as he sat at a table by the fire contemplating the chain of events he was about to start. Hell, it wasn’t every day that you went about trying to pick a fight with a force that regularly took hostage the minds of gods and mortals alike. Yet, it was time to confront that little shard of his past. The man stood, old bones cracking, joints complaining with dull bursts of pain as he rose from his chair. The room, lit from above by a multitude of lamps, was momentarily taken up by the click of shoes on a wooden floor before silence once more reigned.

“With some luck, some willing soul will show their face soon, else I fight a pointless battle” Ben muttered, looking down at the stack of papers he’d prepared while he absently scratched his beard. The old cleric raised his eyes to the door, examining the whorls and waves of the grain and scrutinizing every knot and imperfection. The paint on it had long since become chipped and worn. The door itself was probably even more ancient than him. He chuckled at the thought, a weary smile showing itself on his face as he did so.

Ben began pacing, walking the length of the room and back, stopping occasionally to stretch a leg or crack his knee. The pace soon became a march, the old man falling back into the habits of his youths’ years spent in the armies of several different rulers. One, two. One, two. Click. Click. Turn on heel. Repeat. The motion had calmed him many times throughout the years, on those stressful nights when it seemed that not even the gods themselves could save a dying man.

The old man’s reverie was interrupted by the whoosh of the heavy doors swinging open and the winter winds dancing through his facial hair. A group of people, wrapped tight in their jackets and feet adorned in sturdy boots walked into the room, taking seats on the chairs scattered in a circle around the middle of the chamber. “Welcome! Welcome” Ben said cheerfully as he gestured to the ring of seats. “Come in and sit, and make sure to close the door!” He returned to his table by the fire, picking up his sheaf of papers and setting them down on a stool in the center of the room.

“We await any more who wish to attend this meeting. I beg your patience good sirs and madams.”