View Full Version : Like a Virgin
Roscar Palidyne
08-21-06, 11:34 PM
Perfect time for a storm.
Gasping for every single breath his lungs would allow him, Roscar pushed his old body to keep running forward. Darkness and the blinding rainfall were making a good cover for his escape, but it was a double-edged advantage. Each of his eyes had their own deluge to look through, and the cobblestone road was not taking to Roscar's feet. A few times now, Roscar had almost found himself eating the ground face first. His heart pounded desperately, as the slight sound of ordering yells and clashing armor could be heard trailing behind him. Not even the occasional roars of thunder would drown out that cause of Roscar's fears. He turned a corner into a nearby alleyway at blinding speed, and dared not look back. Were the others nearby? Had they escaped too? Roscar tried to focus and remember if he had seen them, but weather was too disorienting and the road too uneven. Roscar tried to remember what happened to make it come to this, or what could have gone wrong, but it was as much of a blur as the street that lay before him. His pulse was becoming too fast, too hard on his body. His lungs were starting to give out, and the rain he sometimes breathed in wasn't helping that situation. The idea of escape was quickly losing credibility. Could he fight them off? No, no way. Roscar could barely see past his face, let alone wave a weapon around in a foe's general direction. Besides, there were entirely too many. He was out of options.
But fate never plays by the logic of man.
"Agh!"
A stone that was jutted upwards much further than the other rocks of the cobblestone had caught unto Roscar's left boot. All Roscar could do was turn himself as he fell, at least avoiding his face from being smashed by the inevitable impact. His skull, however, was not as lucky, striking a rounded rock. Pushing himself off the ground, dizzy and disoriented, he turned his body to see the crimson blood his head was leaking unto the drowning road below him, whisking away from him as the dilution of water caught it into its own current. Roscar snapped his head in every direction of the alley to look for a way out. His head was spinning, he was losing blood, and all he could see among the water-covered darkness was a light in one of the alley windows disappearing. His hope of escaping went with it. Resolute, Roscar pushed himself off the ground, catching himself with his knee before inching his way up to his feet. Flinging his drenched hair out of his face, Roscar reached behind his back to grasp his short spear. He was going to make this last fight hell. He was going to make his blood blend with theirs on the cobblestone. Roscar couldn't help but grin through his heaving breaths as the sound of his pursuers were edging closer and closer around the bend. He wasn't going to be forgotten. Roscar wouldn't let them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a few hours trek of rather monotonous plainsland, Roscar had finally found the backwater temple town of Anteria. It was a most peculiar place from a distance. The central portion of the town was set up like a big city. Streets were set up like squares, surrounded by stone residential buildings, riddled with allies throughout the area. The further one got away from the center, however, the less urban the buildings became, digressing from stone apartments to wood flats until the houses were nothing more than structures with a wood foundation and a sod roof. It would make onlookers think that Anteria had been planned to be an important center of Alerar, but had been abandoned mid-construction. The most prominent part of Anteria, however, was in the very center of it. A temple lay there with its main building being at least one stories higher than the rest of the town, but it was the spire that stretched at least thirty feet in the air above it that was truly impressive. When Roscar looked at the very tip of the spire, a faint blue glimmer caught his eye. He would have to ask about that structure when he got into town, but that was a secondary priority. The sky that lay behind the spire, to the east, was starting to build up ominous looking clouds. Roscar would first have to establish some kind of place to sleep, along with finding his employer for the job.
Originally, the first place that Roscar had visited in Alerar was the mighty, cold-hearted capital of the dark elves, Ettermire. It was there that he came across the bulletin request for those who wanted to work for the demons who had just taken their exodus from Haidia to the Tular Plains many miles south. He could get there in a few day's time, but his supplies were running low. Another bulletin was a request from the Alerarian government involving a lecher and virgins. The place this was going on in was only a day's time away, and Roscar would be able to conserve his food at least until he arrived there.
And here he was, at the edge of town. Dark elven sheep herders went about their business moving flocks, and a few other elves were tending to fields of corn. Roscar travelled forward, still somewhat fixated on the spire that lay at the center of town, when very suddenly Roscar found himself being run into by a smallish old elf. The crash was over quick, and the elf was already back on his feet and running past by the time Roscar was able to get a good look of him. Balding, with a drab olive-colored robe: that's all Roscar could get before he disappeared behind an alley he turns into. Roscar rolled his left arm a little, and continued towards the center of the city, the spire ever daunting.
"What a magnificent sound!"
The last notes were still resounding through the temple when Dorian spoke, stepping forward to clap his hands furiously. Behind the altar stood a female duet, a soprano and an alto. They had just finished singing an old Alerarian chant, Filikyr Murtun, an old dwarven song that came from before the Dark Elven exile.
Turning to his students, who were also clapping, he said, "Church music is one of the many forms of music. This particular piece was written ages ago, and this Temple is one of the only places that has a copy!" He was in a real state. When he had agreed to take a small group of students on foreign study, he had done so because he got the distinct feeling that the Dean would overlook his tenure and fire him if he refused. But now that he was in Alerar, in contact with a treasure trove of old music, he was in the most euphoric mood. His students, ranging in age from fourteen to eighteen, seemed equally interested.
"Does anyone have any questions for our good priestesses? They have graciously agreed to let you ask them questions about the art they make in this incomparable space."
The hands of his students shot into the air, and the priestesses, laughing as they stepped down from the dais, began fielding questions. Dorian took a moment to look around him -- and an incomparable space it truly was. The halls were hung with richly designed tapestries, and gilded carvings were tucked in every little alcove and nook. The central spire swept upwards almost directly above where he was standing. The entire ceiling structure was covered in golden leaf and stucco carving, fresco and tempura drawings. He didn't know what any of it depicted; he was not a religious man, after all. But it was beautiful, nonetheless.
Suddenly, he noticed that his students seemed to have finished questioning the two performers. They were dispersing throughout the chapel to gaze on the bronze statuary and play tag among the pews and braziers. But one of his students, a handsome young man named Hodson, was talking animatedly with one of the priestesses. The alto, to be precise. They were also nudging a bit too close for comfort.
He had heard rumors afloat that some people were coming to investigate the propriety of this particular order of holy women, and also to deal with any who had defiled them. So when he saw their earnest talk, he knew he had to act. Glissando Conservatory would not like it if he returned with one of his students executed. Taking a few steps forward, he said, "Hodson, come look at this painting...I think it might catch your fancy." Hodson looked at him, looked at the young woman, then waved goodbye as he raced over.
"Yes, Dr. Ionos?"
Dorian pointed at a painting of a young man standing on a tree stump, singing his heart out as battle raged around him. "I saw this, and it reminded me of you. What do you think of the artist's brushstrokes?" He continued to make small talk with Hodson. Inwardly, he congratulated himself. That could have been a close call.
Now this was a culture shock.
When Dayas had first gotten to Alerar, he had been rather... amazed, to say the least, at the sheer number of dark elves all around him. He'd heard a little about what they looked like and what they were supposed to be like, but hearing and seeing something aren't the same thing— not by a long shot. Seeing them made him feel both comfortable and self-conscious about his appearance; he had spent most of his life among people who had much lighter complexions than his olive-hued one, and yet at the same time he felt alienated, as if he was the only human in the whole of Alerar... or, at least, in Ettermire, where he found himself.
Ettermire itself had been an interesting experience. He had thought the city he was from was large, and yet this city made his seem infinitely small and insignificant by comparison. He had a hard time finding anything in this city, lack of a sense of direction notwithstanding. He had stumbled across the bulletin board by accident, and was suddenly very thankful he had; the first thing to catch his eye was a notice about some poor virgin girls out in the middle of nowhere being menaced by a lecher. This could be his big chance to score—whether it was gold, valuables, or something else was a moot point in his eyes. Playing "hero" to a few "damsels in distress" was an added bonus.
The only problem was getting there. As he stood there, pondering how to go about finding his way there without getting horribly, horribly lost (and, therefore, missing all the action!), a farmer who had been securing supplies in the city happened to come across him. After establishing that Tradespeak wasn't really his first language, but he was still mildly understandable, Dayas found out that he was from the outskirts of the village this was taking place in, Anteria. The farmer's daughter had recently joined the clergy there, and so he was worried for her safety, what with this lecher wandering around. The farmer promised a free ride to the village in return for Dayas's word to help his daughter.
Hence the reason why Dayas was currently lounging in the back of the farmer's cart as it plodded towards Anteria. I say "lounging," though it was more like he was cramped into the corner of the cart with the new, shiny, very sharp farm implements that the farmer had gotten in town, along with a few extra bags of feed for the farm animals and seed for the fields. It didn't exactly smell "minty fresh" back there, either; the odors of everything the farmer had been carting in this cart for the past week or so still lingered and mixed in rather unpleasant ways. It took most, if not all, of Dayas's willpower not to hurl every five minutes, or every time the cart went over a bump, whichever came first. Either way, it was still better than wandering the countryside utterly lost.
They were approaching Anteria now, though Dayas was too busy staring fixedly at his boots and trying not to puke or get stabbed to notice how the town went from sod-roofed housing to steadily more and more urbanized structures. The farmer shouted back vaguely to him that he was going to drop him off in front of the temple, and Dayas grunted a vague acknowledgement in reply. He tugged on the edge of his hood absently, trying to obscure his most noticeable features: his lack of pointy ears and his yellow-and-black hair. He was seriously hoping things would get better once he found the guy he was supposed to find and got this mission underway.
Roscar Palidyne
08-24-06, 09:42 PM
The city was alive today. Roscar felt the same, the pre-storm breeze starting to kick in was a delight on its own. A kindly old lady was selling fruits and vegetables sat behind a booth, and Roscar stopped by, smiling at her as he slide a silver piece her way, pointing to one of the fresh tomatoes she offered. She gently obliged, placing a fresh, perfectly rounded specimen in Roscar's hand. Roscar gave her a parting wave, admiring the general positive atmosphere that Anteria seemed to offer. It was something to be expected at a backwater area, since these people had no one but each other. It was natural to look out for everyone that came their way. Roscar bites into his tomato, and his eyes widen. The flavor was absolutely extraordinary! Never had he had produce that was cared for with such passion, giving it a flavor only those who truly cared for their soil could have beget.
Licking his fingers for the leaking juices, Roscar finally arrives at the towering temple after finishing a very much satisfying tomato. A couple templars were stationed just next to the small amount of stairs that lead up to the massive doors. These were soldiers that obviously weren't used to being at this station, as they had a habit of yawning, and were not very focused in their work. Their posture was terrible, keeping themselves upright by leaning on their halberds as if the plated armor they wore was something they weren't accostumed to donning. When Roscar walked up to them, they were in the middle of making small talk with some of the local women. Roscar was not planning on ruining their conversation, so he passed right between the soldiers. Roscar was only able to make it halfway up the flight of stairs before the men realized their mistake.
"HEY! Stop right there!"
Immediately the two soldiers, although bumbling a little, clangingly made their way to stand in front of Roscar. While trying to cross their poles together to block Roscar's path, they both smack each other on the head. They glared at each other, and as time passes it became apparent that the two men were actually having a staring contest with each other. Feeling a little pressed for time, Roscar clears his throat. "Hey, guys, sorry....I was just going to-"
"Aw shut up! Dammit, I mean, darnit, ya made me blink!"
The one on the left, who had a small dark mustache, grinning rather triumphantly, stuck his tongue out at the other one.
"And ya cussed on holy ground too! I could get cha whipped for that one, Yvonne! Hehehe."
The other one frowned with abnormally bushy brown eyebrows, looking at the ground. He kicked the ground with his foot.
"Aw, shut up, Dvonne."
The two then suddenly realized what exactly had sparked them into their little rivalry, and pointed their halberds directly at Roscar, giving him a curious, but serious glance. "What're you tryin' to do, sneakin' past us like that, gran? We gotta guard the temple!" speaks the one named Dvonne. Roscar brings his hands up, wondering how long it was going to take to get them to understand what he was here for, sighing a little. Suddenly a voice booms from behind them, making the two templars jump with fright.
"Yvonne, Dvonne! Let that man through."
The two men immediately bring their halberds to attention, parting the way for Roscar. From the temple, a man wearing extremely ornate robes patiently makes his way towards the steps. His face seemed to wear a look of enlightenment to it....so enlightened, it almost seemed smug. His hair was wavy and dark, neatly combed back to show his abnormally large widow's peak. He also sported a staff, neatly ordained at the top with a beautifully crafted sapphire gem wrapped in a claw of yew wood. He gracefully took his place behind Dvonne and Yvonne, looking at Roscar apologetically. "You will have to excuse them, they are brothers and they have a tendency of getting carried away with their honorable job of guarding our holy place. I assume you have arrived for the job of finding that dirty lecher?"
Roscar nodded, digging into his belt and pulling out a parchment which had contained the advertisement he had seen back in Ettermire. The holy man regards it, nods, and gives it back to Roscar.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am High Priest Doedrak, keeper of the very temple that stands in front of you. Follow me, if you will." The high priest looks back at the two soldiers, who were still at attention much too stiff. "And you two, if any other suspicious strangers come by, let them through without incident, would you?"
~~~
As the two entered the sanctuary of the temple, Doedrak began to delve into a history of the place, though Roscar could not find himself listening while in awe of the many frescos and paintings which lined the walls of the temple. There was a wide variety of artistic wonders, such as bronze statues of figures Roscar did not recognize. It was at the ceiling that Roscar truly found himself breathless with amazement. When one looked up, he or she could see a depiction of a sapphire gem in the center. From it, raindrops seemed to spread out from the center of it, which all fell on ground that lined the edges of the ceiling. On those patches of ground people could be seen, looking up at the rain in joy and praise as all their crops of corn, tomatoes, and all other types would prosper from the precipitation. The style of the fresco was simple, but in a way that was to be admired. The artist had certainly outdone himself. Roscar's attention elsewhere, he does not see the teenager running his way and the kid runs right into him, falling on his back. With youthful energy, the boy hops to his feet. "Sorry, sir!" he says hurriedly, before turning around and chasing a squealing girl around the corner of a pew, attempting to catch her.
"Oh, forgive me, I forgot to tell you," Doedrak remarks, halting his neverending history lesson, "We have a class of students visiting our temple today, hailing from a conservatory someplace or another. For a small," He stops himself, "donation, we invite teachers to teach their students about the many wonders of our holy temple devoted to the Prolonger of Life, Anterioch. We even have some of our talented priestesses perform music for them, singing or playing the harp."
Suddenly, a templar busts from one of the ajointing rooms, pushing in a teenage boy in by the back of his shirt collar. The boy was struggling with the templar ineffectually, attempting to shrug off the superior adult's strong arm.
"High Priest Doedrak, I found this little sneak prowling around the back of the temple, peaiking in on the virginal bath ceremony."
The priest looks flabbergasted at this news, and looks around the room, locking his eyes upon a man who had been gazing at some of the paintings on the walls. Roscar assumed this to be the teacher of the children who were on this field trip.
"Doctor Iono, this is an absolute outrage. We told you all of the rules when you came here and the absolute, very first rule we stated was that no one was to attempt to peak in at the virginal bath ceremony!"
At this raising of his voice, the entire church, including the laughing and playing kids that were encircling each other in silly games, had stopped and gone silent. Even the rambuncious boy who had been initially struggling with the soldier becomes completely still, listening attentively and nervously. The priest halts his tension for a minute to compose himself, before continuing on.
"I am afraid that the consequences cannot be avoided. The penalty for observing the holy sacriment is death."
At this, the children began to whisper amongst themselves at the sight of their youngest companion being treated in such a way. The captive boy, earlier struggling, was now thrashing himself violently against the templar, kicking with huffs. Realizing his efforts were fruitless, his attention flies to the teacher, pleaing desperately.
"Dorian, you gotta help me! Please!!!"
A thought then occurred to the high priest, which makes him turn away from everyone. Surely he was reconsidering, Roscar thought. Execution of a boy who had just hit puberty because he had decided to peak in on something he shouldn't have was much too harsh in Roscar's book. Doedrak began to scratch his finely shaved chin, an idea making way into his head.
"Unless......"
But before he made known his thought, he shakes his head and and closes his mouth. Roscar, and probably most of the room, wondered what exactly the priest had wanted to suggest. He hoped it was a solution that didn't end in death.......curious adolescents who gave in to their unquenchable hormones deserved at least some degree of leeway.
((I should have been more specific in my earlier post -- the youngest child with Dorian is right past puberty, around 14 to 15, and the oldest student is 17 to 18. Basically, high school age. I'll edit my previous post to show that a little more.))
Dorian and Hodson were admiring the painting, Dorian using all his arts of conversation to keep the boy's interest. Hodson was the oldest boy on the trip, a young man soon to decide whether to take the Artist's Vow and remain in Glissando or take a job somewhere teaching music to younger students. He was the most likely to get into trouble in this place, and so Dorian had to hold his interest.
But Dorian had misjudged who he needed to watch. A shout and a loud bang suddenly came from across the circular room him. He spun around to see a templar guard dragging a young boy across the beautiful tiled floor, and realized with a sickening lurch that it was Hodson's younger brother, Willem. Willem was the youngest; he had just made the decision to enroll in the Conservatory's youth programme.
Even as the High Priest was calling his name, he was stepping forward to answer. "Your Holiness, in the first place, my name is Dorian, Dorian Ionos..." he placed a small emphasis on the s, in order to highlight the priest's mistake, "And you may call me Dorian, I do not mind. But I fear you may be too harsh on the boy! He's young, he was exploring the church -- and he does not speak your beautiful language." This was all flattery; Dorian thought Dark Elven vulgar and harsh.
"I'm sure he was just looking at the wondrous art on the walls and wandering through your marvelous church. He couldn't read the warning signs, is all, and as youngster may do he saw a closed door and went through it. This is our first day, we haven't learned the lay of the land yet."
Dorian knew full well that Willem had known what he was up to; upon arrival, Dorian had shown his students a map of the church and stressed heavily the areas off-limits. But Doedrek didn't know that, and nobody from his group was going to tell him.
"Now, I'm going to have to ask you to forgive the poor boy. Glissando, as you may recall, always sends its donation after the group returns. I can't imagine them failing to do so, but under certain circumstances they may be unable to pay what you're used to seeing. We wouldn't want that, would we?
"We've sent groups here year after year, although it certainly costs a pretty penny," he added, more than anything to remind the priest of who received those pretty pennies. "It may be costly, but we'd hate to be unable to come due to an unfortunate incident. Why don't you let me have Willem, and we'll depart for the day. I'll talk with the group, and we'll be sure to stay out of trouble when we come in for tomorrow morning's demonstration of sacred dance."
He hoped that stressing the amount of money the church stood to lose would convince the high priest. He himself risked a lot of money; coming back minus one student would certainly mean his salary.
As the cart trundled slowly into the square, Dayas finally noticed the rather abrupt change from dirt road to paved square, and took the time to look around him. Stone buildings towered over him, and he saw people— namely dark elves— bustling around the square, hurriedly trying to get from one place to another. There were merchants hawking wares mostly in the native tongue, but he caught a few shouting in Tradespeak from time to time.
"What the...?" Dayas exclaimed, terribly confused. "I thought this place was a village!"
"It is," the farmer replied.
"Are all Alerian 'villages' like this?" Dayas wondered, half to himself.
"Dunno," shrugged the farmer. "Only village I see is this."
"Really," Dayas mumbled under his breath. "Why were you in the city if this place has so much stuff you could get here?"
"More profit in city," the farmer replied. "Also, better tools-smith."
Heh. Figures, Dayas thought with a grin. Money keeps the world alive, doesn't it?
The cart pulled up in front of the largest building in the square, a temple with a huge spire reaching up higher and higher. Dayas caught sight of it and found himself craning his neck to try to see the top of it. He noticed clouds creeping up over the city, and realized that he'd really like to be inside right about now, before the sky opened up and started vomiting on him. The farmer came around back and helped him disentangle himself from his precarious position near the sharp end of the farming implements.
They approached the stairs to the temple, and were momentarily stopped by one of the two templars there. This suddenly made Dayas very uncomfortable; all of his thieving instincts were telling him to run, now, and not look back, but the presence of the farmer and the reminder of his promise to said farmer were currently strong enough to override those instincts.
"Uh, Yvonne, you do remember what the high priest just told us a few moments ago, right?" the one on the left said.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Dvonne, but this guy's a little too suspicious, y'know?" the one called Yvonne answered. "State your business, stranger!" he demanded, trying to sound tough.
"Oh, yeah, real tough Yvonne, that'll learn him," Dvonne quipped, rolling his eyes.
"Shut up!"
Dayas snorted softly at the two elves' bickering, trying to suppress a laugh. The farmer came to Dayas's defence, however, and explained the situation to the men in Dark Elven. ...Or, at least, that's what Dayas assumed he was doing. Dvonne nodded and said something smug in Dark Elven (probably an "I told you so," judging from the way Yvonne shouted back at him).
"Well, just to be sure you're not some weirdo in league with the lecher," Yvonne said to Dayas, switching back to Tradspeak, "I request that you remove that hood, so you don't look so suspicious."
Dayas hesitated a moment, before slowly and sullenly reaching up and pulling his hood most of the way off. The brothers stared at him for a moment, because in pulling back the hood, he revealed his strangely-colored hair. They stared at him, looked to each other, then went back to staring at him.
"...I don't really see anything wrong with him keepin' that hood on, do you?" Dvonne told his brother.
"...'Long as we can see his face, yeah," Yvonne agreed. They both went back to their original positions and without another word waved Dayas through.
Dayas pulled his hood back up, turned, and nodded a final farewell to the farmer before embarking up the stairs to the temple. The farmer stared after him for another moment, shook his head, and returned to his cart before driving off back to his farm.
((...God damnit, I feel like a turtle.))
Roscar Palidyne
08-25-06, 04:22 PM
The teacher, Dorian, was certainly well spoken, Roscar thought to himself. Calm and clear-headed, the fairly young man had thrown back some unrefutable points that had made the vindictive priest rethink his position. Doedrak licks his lips, looking up at the magnificient fresco above them before nodding his head and turning back to Dorian.
"Again, as I have stated, the laws here, especially in this temple, are quite strict. Retribution must be made, no matter the age, and even your eloquently worded threats, Mister Ionos, cannot change the absolute rule of our doctrines. However......this matter could easily be overlooked, if, say, you were to perform a small favor for our temple."
Meanwhile, Roscar, watching this dialogue between the two men, turns around at the sound of foot steps. Emerging from outside was a hooded figure, but as the man came closer, it soon became apparent who Roscar was looking at.
"Dayas!" Roscar exclaims a little louder than he intended, but nonetheless it was a joyous occasion to see a familiar face, one he hadn't seen in a good while. Dayas hadn't seemed to have changed one bit. "Are you here for the job, too?"
This gains the attention of Doedrak, who turns towards the new visitor with an overly inviting smile. "Ahh, perfect, glad to have you here, Mister Dayas. This adds in just fine with what I was saying." The high priest turns back to Dorian, gesturing towards Roscar and the hooded man who had just entered. "You see, these two gentlemen have been hired to snuff out a certain individual who has desecreted a member of our temple's most important and sacred individuals: our young maiden virgins."
The priest's attention, along with Roscar's, shifts to a maiden with hair the color of chestnuts carrying an ornate dish filled with an oily substance. Once she realizes that eyes are upon her, the maiden turns to the priest and Roscar with a genuine smile and bows her head slightly before continuing into the back room where the captive boy had first been ushered in from. The priest continues.
"Among our rituals, the most vital one that is performed is the virginal bath ceremony." Roscar suddenly realizes that the priest was no longer talking to just Dorian, but was addressing Roscar and Dayas as well. "It is an act of atonement for those that follow Anterioch, and virgins are needed because only they are pure enough to absorb the sin and the evil that the rest of the world produces. The ceremony takes nine virgins, eight virgins at each cardinal direction and one, the eldest Mother Virgin, directly in the center. From there they must immerse their entire bodies in a holy oil and then cleanse it from their bodies, doing away with all impurities that the holy oil captures. My job is to channel the negative and evil energies to the virgins from there," He pointed to the dais at the front of the sanctuary with his staff, "where the blessed waters of Anterioch will cleanse and purify those energies."
By the sounds of it, this bathing ceremony was any man's dream come true. Roscar arbitrarily looks around the room and is able to catch the boys who had been listening piecing together every single detail, a dreamy smile adorned on their faces as wishes of lovely ladies drenching each other in a pool of water coursed through their hormonal heads. The girls, however, were not so amused. One of them shoves one of the daydreaming boys, who shakes himself back to reality and glares daggers at her, apparently ruining a crucial moment for him. Roscar laughs to himself a little at the sights. He had yet to have a thought of lust since his awakening, but he could admire the beauty of the virgins at any rate.
"However, as you know, Mister Dorian, no one is to see the ceremony as it happens. Not even myself. This is a strict rule that has been imposed since the beginning of our practices. Sadly, this has not stopped some people." A darting glance of Doedrak's goes to Willem, who had stopped struggling, but was in serious thought. One could infer that his thoughts were divided by two things: lusty thoughts of virgins, and his live being at stake. "In fact, ever since your group has arrived at Anteria, Mister Dorian, we have been having individuals peek into this most sacred ceremony."
"Now, I am not saying that these criminals have been a part of your group. Nevertheless, it has been a trying period, and we must need put an end to this. So, onto my point." The priest pauses a little. He seemed to have a knack for involving dramatic effect into his rhetoric. "If you, Mister Dorian, accompany these gentlemen here and track down these lechers, I will make an effort to see that this heresy is completely forgotten about."
Doedrak turns and looks Dorian directly in the eye, wanting to make his final statement hit hard. "I do hope you agree. The Glissando Conservatory has been mighty kind to the Temple of Anterioch. I would hate to have to send an apology for the," a slight pause, "passing away of one of their students because a teacher had been inept in disciplining his class."
Upon inspecting the scene in the temple, Dayas felt it would be a good idea to use a little caution as he entered. He tried to approach the three other adults in the room as quietly as he could, but then one of them turned suddenly and spotted him. Before he had a chance to register who it was, the man shouted, "Dayas!"
It was then that he realized who it was: Roscar, a man he had met only once by chance, but who had most certainly left a positive impression on Dayas. Dayas grinned widely and quickly strode over to the man.
"Are you here for the job, too?" Before Dayas had a chance to answer, the priest noticed Dayas and gave him a huge smile that Dayas swore must have been fake. "Ahh, perfect, glad to have you here, Mister Dayas. This adds in just fine with what I was saying." The priest turned back to the teacher, and explained the mission he and Roscar had each agreed to go on.
"Snuff out." Right, Dayas thought, somewhat uncomfortably. He tapped the toe of the boot containing his hidden dagger on the ground distractedly. He wasn't exactly much of a fighter, so he hoped it wouldn't come to that.
A young maiden caught the attention of the priest and Roscar, and Dayas snuck a peek at her as well. She smiled at them before rushing off into a back room.
The priest began to explain something called the "virginal bath ceremony." As he described it, Dayas's mind began to wander down the same path as the teenaged boys listening in on the conversation. He grinned slightly as he imagined himself stealthily infiltrating this "forbidden" ceremony, watching as each girl flitted past his view from his hiding spot. A flash of jet-black hair swept past his view, and his coal black eyes locked with a pair of large, innocent blue ones—
Damnit, Dayas! he thought, abruptly shaking himself from his fantasy. Part of your whole reason for being all the way out here is to forget about that girl! Focus, damn it!
As Dayas slowly emerged from his own mind to join the "real world" once again, the priest began getting down to business, offering to overlook the students' relatively innocent transgressions in return for "Mister Dorian"'s cooperation with him and Roscar on the assignment.
Ah, blackmail, Dayas thought wryly. The weapon of choice for both the more unscrupulous and disreputable people and the more desperate people. Though it's kinda hard to tell which one this guy is.
Dayas looked Dorian over briefly and shrugged.
"Honestly, tracking this guy down is probably gonna be a lot easier said than done," he offered, hopefully to help Dorian feel less pressured into going along with this. "We'll probably need all the help we can get."
Dorian shrugged aside the man who tried to pacify him. He wouldn't take these sorts of shenanigans, especially not from a man who refused to acknowledge his doctoral degree. Dorian spoke once more, and as he did he strode forward, grasped Willem's arm tightly, and pulled the youth free from the Templar's grasp. The Templar would normally have been able to stop Dorian, but the surprise of the maneuver and the look of resolve on Dorian's face told him to stand down.
Firmly marching back to where Hodson stood, he addressed the young man. "Hodson, conduct the students back to the inn. Use your coin to purchase dinner and entertainment; I will reimburse you later. Clara," a young woman nearby looked at him, worriedly, and he said, "Please begin drafting a letter to Glissando conservatory explaining these unfortunate circumstances. Go." As the group scurried off, he turned to face the priest. His face said, quite plainly, that he expected his students to gain safe passage to a safe haven.
"I am sending my students home with the next merchant train, Your Holiness." The term was drenched in sarcasm. "This will serve as discipline for Willem's disobedience. As you well know, discipline is applied after an offense, and so any accusations as to my incompetence are thoroughly laughable. Please take note, my discipline is tinged with mercy. The sins of the world might be less black were mercy a virtue practiced by its priests." Dorian was truly incensed. The priest's pomposity had stoked his anger, and the priest's insistence on calling him "Mister" had pushed him over the edge.
Taking a step forward, Dorian pulled himself up to full height. "I will return to the inn now, and take my leave of this chapel. There are many more where Glissando can find a haven; Anterioch's light does not shine brightly enough to overcome the darkness of her failed hospitality. I will consider your offer, of course, but only if you can find the dignity to refer to a scholar with the proper titles. Who knows, maybe I can find it in my heart to recommend that Glissando pays you in full. But I have made sure to give you your title, Your Holiness, even though it is not deserved."
Dorian turned on his heel to walk out. He was being rather rash; while this solution may not lose him his job, it would definitely lose him some credibility back home. But he would not take the mistreatment of his title...his beloved honorific...lying down.
Roscar Palidyne
08-25-06, 11:04 PM
As the impassioned Dorian began his brisk walk towards the temple entrance, his back to Doedrak, Roscar kept his eyes on the suddenly speechless Doedrak. This was the first time Roscar had ever laid eyes on a holy man so incensed. His eyes shook with fury, and his right hand was clenched with a brutality only reserved for a man wanting to choke someone blue. This priest had certainly not been used to being dealt such a twist of defiance after imposing a blackmailing ultimatum. Roscar's respect for the passionate professor grew proportionately as his respect for the High Priest fell. Doedrak had played the wrong card, mistaking Dorian's age with Dorian's degree of intelligence and maturity. Threatening had resulted in only a set back, the High Priest being the loser. By his reaction, this was a mistake that he could not afford to allow.
But when Doedrak opened his mouth again, that rage was quickly melted away and replaced with that same calm control over his body and language, an apologetic smile spreading on his face.
"Doctor Ionos! Please, we must not let our emotions get the best of us. Forgive me, Doctor, I did in the midsts of my ramblings forget who I was talking to. It is a term hard for me to remember to say, Doctor, especially with a man as young as yourself. I do confess, upon first sight of you I was skeptical as to if you were a man with such a prestigious honor, as I cannot recall any man who had recieved their docotorate with so few years lived. But your brilliance, your knowledge of our hymns and the very elegance of your words proved beyond a doubt you were indeed who you said you were."
Doedrak slowly made his way nearer to the irate teacher, whom he hoped had stopped in his tracks by now.
"It was not my intention to cast down the very abilities you toiled so hard to achieve. Again, my sincerest apologies, Doctor. It has been a stressful past few days for myself, dealing with all this lecher business, and it grows weary on me and sends me into tyrannical episodes. Please, do not send the children back just yet either. They are certainly free to come in to see our sacred dance ceremonly that we hold once every month, and without a doubt I trust your hand that will secure and enlighten their blossoming minds. You have my word that they will be safe when they come here the next morning."
There was one thing to be amazed about this priest, Roscar observed. He certainly knew how to turn his entire views on something upside down and make it seem fairly natural in the process. Well....as natural as was possible in these events. This gift could have been one of the reasons a middle-aged man such as him had been able to achieve the position as pious as High Priest with such a tainted, self-serving agenda.
"In any case, I will hold you to nothing. You are free to choose to help these two men with their job, and you certainly free to take the students back to Glissando Conservatory. The loss of your company and your patronage will be a much remorsed incident, the former being the most regrettable. But I know you will agree with me when I say that we must think of what is best for the children. I am sure you have what is best in mind."
A sarcastic grin adorned Roscar's face, knowing very well that the "patronage" will be the only regrettable thing the priest had in mind. Roscar was truly starting to question if he should even take this job being hired by this equivocal clergyman. But he did need the money, which was the first thing to come to bat as a mental argument. Also, if he did not take it, that would leave Dayas to do it alone, and as much as he liked Dayas, he wasn't sure what sort of choices the oddly hair-colored man would make. Roscar would stick around for now, at least to be a voice of morality if something should come up.
"I truly hope that you will reconsider, Doctor." The priest patiently awaits for an answer.
((Sorry for the delay, I was first waiting for IBB and then I had to move into the dorms, where internet access has been difficult as my university transitions its security services. Sorry if IBB was still going to post next -- I think keeping the thread from stagnating is more important than waiting, at this point.))
Dorian heard the priest speak. He was prepared to simply walk out the door and be done with it. But the conciliatory tone in the priest's voice gave him pause, and he turned to listen. There, that's better. He knows who I am now, pompous git. Dorian maintained his stern, angry visage, but he was now willing to hear the priest through. The praise that the pontiff heaped upon his abilities didn't hurt, either.
As the clergyman finished his little speech, Dorian inclined to a slight bow. His anger somewhat mollified, he was at last thinking through the ramifications of a hasty return to Glissando, "Your Holiness, I will gladly consider your offer. Right now, though, I truly must return to my students in the inn -- Clara will be drafting that letter, and I'll need to tell her how we smoothed things over. Please, send this man," he gestured towards Roscar, "to see me in the evening, and I will give him my answer."
He bowed low this time, and concluded, "If I may bid you good day, sirs, I must attend to my students. But please do not consider our harsh words today more than tempers flaring on both sides. Send someone to me tonight for news of my decision."
And with that, Dorian left. Dvonne and Yvonne did not try to stop him.
* * * * *
"Thank you, Clara. Your help is much appreciated. Give me the letter, I'll polish up the edges and have it sent to Glissando by morning." The girl nodded and handed him the parchment. It was a smooth scroll wrapped around a quill pen. Taking up a fresh roll, he unfurled her work and began to read it.
As she was walking the door, he looked up and called out, "Oh, and Clara?" She turned.
"Yes, Doctor Ionos?"
"Please send Hodson over here when you get back to the common room. I need to speak with him."
"Yessir, Doctor. Shall I keep an eye on the others?"
"Yes, Clara, that would be nice. We can't be too careful, not after what happened this afternoon. Now go along."
She left, shutting the door behind her, and he stooped to his work. After reading what she had said, he dipped his pen in an inkwell and began scratching at the rough surface. Clara was a fine writer, but she hadn't known what he was planning.
ATTN: Dean Torvald Sommersmith
Glissando Conservatory
Radasanth
Dean Sommersmith,
Events in Alerar may be getting too dangerous for young Willem. I am sending him back early along with his brother Hodson. We had an incident in the Temple of Anterioch during the afternoon of our first full day in the village, and I would rather risk my own life than the life of a student.This, of course, wasn't entirely true. But it would make him look good to the Dean. He continued.
I will be assisting the High Priest with an investigation of sorts while I am here. He is worried over something only the priests of Anterioch would care about, but if I do not help him I worry worse could happen to me or one of the students. I put a premium on their safety, and so will accede to the priest's demands. But, I warn you, it may be time to look elsewhere for a travel study program. Doedrek is prickly about his rituals, and the age of our students does not mesh well with the tenor of his work.He examined his handiwork. It was all the Dean needed to know. A conclusion was in order.
Please refund Hodson and Willem for the days they missed; I will find a way to personally make it up to them upon my return.
Sincerely yours,
Dorian IonosHe rolled the parchment up and sealed it with some candlewax. He had no signet ring, so the red lump would have to do. Even as the last drop cooled, a knock struck the door. He stood up to open it, calling out as he did so.
"Hodson, is that you?"
((...Actually, I was waiting on you. Sorry. :o I think we need to have a little chat with Mr. Pla Ning... :p Sorry that the post's kinda short, too...))
Oh, gag me, Dayas thought half-jokingly at the priest's attempts to butter up the Doctor. He had to admit that his respect for Doctor Ionos was certainly far higher than his current respect for the high priest, though he did have to admire the priest's skill from a... professional standpoint. On the other hand, though, Dayas realized that he'd have to keep a close eye on the high priest; he could easily turn out to be trying to double-cross them— or maybe that was just thief's paranoia kicking in.
Once the priest had finished, Dayas watched Dorian bow slightly and answer that he would consider it, and asked that Roscar be sent around later in the evening.
"What, aren't I trustworthy enough?" he joked under his breath, grinning to himself. He gave Dorian a small mock-salute as he left before turning to Roscar. "So, you wanna get started on this job right away, or should we wait and see if we'll be accommodating a third first?" Dayas, personally, wanted to get things underway as soon as possible, just in case Dorian decided not to join them after all. It didn't matter much to him either way, though he had been serious when he said that they'd probably need all the help they could get.
A small frown crossed Dayas's face as a thought suddenly occurred to him.
"Uh, hey," Dayas said, fumbling for a name as he turned to the high priest, "exactly how many of these girls have been, ah, 'desecrated' so far?"
Roscar Palidyne
08-31-06, 04:04 PM
"Doctor Dorian?" A feminine voice comes from behind the door. As Dorian's door opens, the sight of a lusciously beautiful dark elven specimen presents herself as she drops the hood of her priestly robes. Her shoulder length blonde hair strikes the light of the lit candles in the room perfectly, making her baby blue eyes pop with an almost artificial plasticity. A rather confident smile is seen on her face.
~~~
Priest Doedrak's eyes follow Dorian to the last step as the teacher exits. There was a fierce intensity in his eyes as if some longing or fantasy was going on in his head, perhaps of Dorian's downfall. He quickly turns to Dayas, out of his haze, to answer his question.
"Well, Mister Dayas, we have no actual proof of a ...desecration. However, rumors have been floating, and the sightings of figures peeping in at our bath ceremony is only serving to worry our townsfolk and our maidens. There are not enough young pious girls around for us to risk losing any of our maidens' innocence."
Doedrak stops to look at Roscar and Dayas both, suddenly remembering something.
"I assume you both only just arrived in Anterioch, am I correct? We will be able to offer you lodging here at the temple, if you have none of your own already. I will assume you both know the rules, AND the consequences, should you decide to go wondering in place you should not be doing so."
Roscar nods, looking at Dayas out of the corner of his eye. He had a feeling things were not going to be as simple as he planned them, especially not with the young Dayas and his sheepish grins. Roscar would certainly have to keep a watch with him.
Roscar then realizes that he does not know the lay of the town all that well, and he might not be able to find the doctor so easily. He voices this to Doedrak, who turns away to think. Roscar could swear that he could see the corners of Doedrak's mouth twist into a smile, but for what reason it could not be known. The High Priest turns back to Roscar.
"Worry not, Mister Roscar. Instead of you delivering the message, you will escort my most trusted temple maiden. She, of course, is in firm knowledge of the town's layout." He turns his head towards the inner sactum. "Natalda!"
The doors open gracefully and Natalda, hooded, steps in to take her place next to the priest, smiling and bowing her head to both Dayas and Roscar. A hand of Doedrak's is placed on Natalda's shoulder with a friendly gesture.
"Dear Natalda, you remember our good friend Doctor Ionos? The teacher whose class you sung for earlier? I need you to go to the lodgings in town with Mister Roscar here and see if dear Doctor Ionos will participate in the investigation these two men will be partaking in tomorrow. And, give him my regards, would you?"
The priestess makes another smile and bows her head in respect to Doedrak.
"Of course, your Holiness. All for Anterioch."
Doedrak continues. "As for you, Mister Dayas, since the time is becoming rather late, I could have you escorted to your room. I am pleased to say that we have enough lodgings for both you and Mister Roscar here to have your own separate room." He stops to look around the room, and sees the girl who had come in earlier with the chestnut brown hair polishing one of the bronze statues. "Iessa! Stop your work and come over here."
Quickly, as if she were surprised and a bit nervous to be summoned, Iessa drops her rag and heads over to the group with careful steps to be in a more talkative range. She had her own beauty, but not the kind that overpowers like Natalda seemed to be going for, but one that adds to the pleasure that light brings the world.
"Yes, your Holiness?"
"Show Mister Dayas here where the guest rooms are. Do not dally, either."
"Yes, your Holiness."
She then heads towards the inner sanctum, turning to gesture Dayas forward to lead him to his room. Natalda watches her go with a kind of smirk. She seemed to enjoy the way that High Priest Doedrak had treated her, brisk and slightly unforgiving. There was a lot more to this temple than meets the eye, Roscar thinks to himself, and the idea of spending a night in this dysfunctional house of whatever the hell god they worshipped was really losing its appeal, and its warm safe feeling. Natalda taps Roscar with a slender, well-trimmed finger.
"Shall we go?"
~~~
"I hope you don't mind, Doctor," Natalda says, granting herself the privelage to walk into the room, gazing about the place as if a hovel as she did. After getting her filll of looking at the rooming arrangements, she turns back to the teacher whose room she had infiltrated, a sly grin creeping on the alto's face. "Dodson let me in." The priestess extends her hand to the teacher lightly. "My name is Natalda. So very pleased to make your acquaintance, Doctor."
"I know you may be surprised, but Mister Roscar wasn't sure where the inn was, and it would especially be hard to find at night, so instead I showed him the way." Her eyes began towander again. "He's with the children, if you're wondering. They seem to be very interested in him."
~~~
"Wow, that's a cool spear! Are you some kinda old warrior or something?"
Roscar winced to himself as he took in those words. He still had a hard time thinking to himself that he was actually old, and even then the idea didn't settle in well. He had a feeling it wouldn't for most people. Willem still kept pestering Roscar.
"Hey, can I see it? The spear? Huh?"
"Maybe he saved some princesses when he was a younger guy or somethin'," added the youngest girl.
I'm not that old.
"Nah, he definitely looks like he's a bum. Look at his hair! It's all grey and stuff."
I'm not that old........gah, I need to go see Dorian.
"Hey, kids, look, I -"
"Come on, Grandpa, tell us a story! Tell us of the good 'ol days!"
I'm not that old!
~~~
Natalda's eyes light up as she sees the letter that Dorian had just sealed on the table. Quickly she snatches it up, looking at it as she sits down on Dorian's bed.
"Oh, a letter? Is this a love letter, doctor? I could imagine you have many admirers. A man with such vast intelligence is surely to attract many people's attention, wanted or not. 'Dear Doctor Dorian! Oh how you sweep me off my feet!' " Natalda says, swooning herself onto Dorian's bed. She turns herself over, reclining herself on the bed, fumbling around with the letter a little, as she looks up with sweet attention to Dorian. "Do you have any love interests, Doctor?"
Dorian was expecting to see Hodson, or at the very least the man from before come to give him the priest's reply. The last thing he expected was to hear a woman's voice greet him. He was even more surprised when he saw the singer from earlier. Swinging the door wide to let her in, he stammered, "Uh...come in, my dear."
As she walked in, throwing back her cowl, he was able to see her shoulder-length, beautiful blonde hair. Blonde hair was in style in Alerar at the moment, but it was a rare sight nonetheless; most Dark Elves had dark hair. Dorian had heard rumors of Dark Elven women who washed their hair in horse urine in order to bleach it. I wonder... But the priestess didn't seem the type to endure such a shameful process merely for fleeting fashion.
Leaving the door fully open, he turned to look at her. "Dodson? Who's Dodson? Oh, oh," he realized, "You must mean Hodson. Where was he, did you see? I thought I told Clara to send him to me."
But she just kept talking, almost over him, and he nodded and listened, walking over to pour himself a glass of wine from a bottle atop the dresser. Taking out two glasses, he poured himself one, then turned to offer the priestess one. But before he did, he thought better of it. Holy types didn't always appreciate alcohol. But that wouldn't stop him.
Turning back, he mumbled as he threw back a swig of the light white drink, "Roscar, you say? So that's his name. Well, what did you come to ask...about..." He trailed off as he saw her reclining on his bed and holding his letter. She was babbling on about love letters and did he have a love interest. Striding over to her and snatching the letter from her hand, he said, "Madam, please! This is private correspondence. And please, I do have to keep up appearances, you know, I can't have priestesses falling all over my bed." He held out a hand to help her up.
A new voice came from behind him. "Doctor Ionos?"
He turned quickly, his hand still outstretched, to see Hodson standing at the doorway. A smile broke across Dorian's face, and he grinned ear to ear. Striding over to Hodson, he threw his arm around his shoulder and turned them both to face Natalda. "Madam, I'd like you to meet Hodson, my best student. Or have you met before? I think I saw you two having a chat after our performance this evening. Here, Hodson, I have something to give you." He took the letter and handed it to him.
Looking towards Natalda, he said, "Madam, I need to talk to the boy privately, if you would. Send my greetings to His Holiness Doedrek, and tell him that I shall take him up on his offer. Let's maintain good relations between Glissando and Anterioch, shall we? Oh, and send Roscar up as you leave."
He turned away from Natalda, all his attention on Hodson. It was not easy to tempt Dorian Ionos. At least not with a priestess.
"Young pious girls" or just virgins? Dayas thought, trying to hide a smirk.
When the priest mentioned "rules and consequences," he held his hands up in a somewhat defensive gesture.
"'You peek, you die,'" he said. "I think I've got the gist of it."
As Roscar voiced his concerns regarding how he would find his way around town, Dayas cast about for a place to sit. There were low benches arranged in rows around a dais situated directly below the spire structure. Dayas chose the nearest bench and sat down. As he sat down, he took the time to look upwards at the spire; it was just as impressive from the inside as it had been from the outside, though it felt infinitely more disquieting. From the outside, the spire had seemed like a solid object reaching up forever into the sky; from the inside it seemed more like an infinite void, piercing up and through the sky forever.
The priest's voice cut suddenly through his silent reverie, causing him to jump and look around hurriedly. His attention was swiftly drawn to the hooded woman who entered the room and took up position next to the priest. The priest explained to her what he wished her to do, and she smiled and bowed as she agreed to do it.
The priest then focused on Dayas and informed him about the living arrangements, before casting about the room and spotting the chestnut-haired girl from earlier. He beckoned the girl, Iessa, over, and instructed her to lead Dayas to the guest rooms. Dayas stood up and watched her head towards the inner sanctum, before she turned and beckoned him to follow. He turned to Roscar and grinned a farewell, before he turned and followed the girl out.
***
"So... how long have you been at this temple?" Dayas asked, trying to break the silence that had formed as they walked.
"Um..." Iessa thought for a moment, looking away from Dayas. "A-a few months."
"Really?" Dayas commented. "I would've thought you'd been here longer, considering the way you carry yourself." Dayas was largely trying to smooth things over and get her to open up a little. She seemed like a nice girl; if he got to know her now, then he might have someone who'd be more willing to help out on this case later.
Iessa giggled and shook her head.
"No, no," she said. "I haven't been here nearly as long as someone like Natalda, or High Priest Doedrak. I'm still trying to learn all the necessary rituals."
"Speaking of rituals," Dayas said, half thinking aloud, "have you ever been in the bathing ceremony Doedrak was talking about?"
"Oh, no," Iessa answered, shaking her head vigorously. "I'm still a little too young to participate in the ceremony. I just get asked to carry the holy oil into the ceremonial chamber from time to time. I won't be ready to actually participate for a long time."
"How old are you?" Dayas asked. "If you don't mind me asking."
"Fifteen," Iessa replied.
"Only fifteen?" Dayas exclaimed. "I could've sworn you were older!"
It was true; he had thought the girl was at least seventeen or eighteen years old when he first saw her. Iessa blushed, then looked up.
"Here is your room, mister Dayas," she said, gesturing to the room in front of them. Dayas looked up, then turned back and smiled at her.
"Thank you, miss Iessa," he said, causing her to blush harder and fidget. "You know, I was wondering... since I've only just gotten here, I don't really know my way around. Would you be so kind as to show me around tomorrow?"
"A-alright," Iessa agreed. She bowed hurriedly. "Good night, mister Dayas."
She turned and dashed off. Dayas lingered at the door a moment, smiling as he watched her leave, before he turned and walked into the room itself.
The room was pretty small and sparse; there was a low bed along one wall and a night-stand, but that was about it. Dayas looked around somewhat disappointedly before shrugging and shutting the door with a foot. He removed his cloak and tossed it over the bed before sitting down on the edge.
"...Okay, now what?"
Roscar Palidyne
09-03-06, 01:53 PM
Natalda, with a bit of a forced pout, takes Dorian's hand, elevating herself back to her feet. With the entrance of Hodson, however, her mood sours. That triumphant smile across the teacher's face was a stab at Natalda's pride. No longer is she the bubbly, flirty girl with a dainty smile and rosy cheeks. Something much darker takes her place. She downs the glass of wine that was in her hand with a swift throw-back and slams it down on the table.
"Well, it's plain to see that I misjudged you, Doctor. The love for your children," Her eyes trail to the arm that was draped over Hodson's shoulder, "far exceeds anything else."
Natalda throws the hood of her priestess robe over her head, and turns to the door. She stops at the doorway, and turns back to the doctor.
"Yes......you're right. We should maintain good relations. I hope we do. Good evening, Doctor."
She exits, closing the door behind her. Roscar enters the hallway, exasperated from the children but very eager to relieve himself of them, and sees her coming his way with a look that could only be compared to the rageful expression that Doedrak had shoot at Dorian earlier. After this, he had to wonder what exactly went on in there, and furthermore, had it been against the clergical laws. She brushes past the bewildered Roscar with a brisk and forceful gait, not even giving him one look of acknowledgement. Roscar watches her go, and then turns back to approache the doctor's door. He knocks with the hope that there would be nothing he'd be interrupting.
"Dorian?"
~~~
All seemed calm at the Temple of Anterioch. The torches among the walls of the temple burned, splashing light down the halls to reveal enough to navigate one's self through but not enough to force out the hidden secrets the corners could be offering. The hour approached midnight, and though there were distant claps of thunder heard every few minutes or so, the rest of the night air was gentle and soothing like a brief midsummer's shower.
But this tranquilty was brushed aside by the hurried steps of a girl with chestnut hair. Her breaths were hushed but heaving as if petrified. As she comes across the guest room, she plants herself to remember which room that Dayas, and bursts the door open, slamming it behind her as if pursued. The fifteen-year-old girl's eyes are filled with tears of fear, as she turns away from the door to look at Dayas, surely roused out of whatever he had been doing. Iessa spoked hurriedly, garbling some words through the frightened panting.
"Mister Dayas! .....I ....I .....saw .......shadow......priestess dormitories.........I...."
She hugs herself, turning away from Dayas, somewhat embarrassed that she had just burst into his room and was just a blubbering mess in front of him. She hoped he understood what she was saying. She didn't know who else to turn to.
Dayas had just kicked off his boots and laid down to hopefully get some sleep, when suddenly the panicked fifteen-year-old burst into his room, dashing any and all hopes of that happening. He jerked upright and focused on the source of the disturbance. Locating the source didn't help him much; when he realized who it was, he hurriedly scrambled for the discarded cloak at the foot of the bed, hoping to throw it on before she could get a good look at him.
Fortunately for him, she was too flustered and panicked to notice, and just hurriedly tried to stammer out what it was that had made her come rushing in. Dayas paused as he held the cloak in place with one hand, and then turned and blinked at Iessa.
"What?" he said, completely baffled. He hadn't quite gotten what she was saying, and the way she had said it hadn't made it any easier to understand. He saw her turn away and started to realize that she had been freaked out by something, probably whatever it was she had been babbling about. He debated how he should approach this for a moment, before he stood up and took a cautious step towards her. "Okay, uh... j-just try to calm down a moment. Take a deep breath and start over from the beginning," he told her. Because I did not get any of that.
Roscar Palidyne
09-05-06, 11:10 AM
Extremely flustered, Iessa inhales and exhales a couple of times deeply to calm herself and steady her voice. She then does the best she can to explicate, though still shivering.
"Well...I-I was finishing my cleaning of the s-statues..........a-and the halls were dark...........I wasn't paying attention a-.....and.....I thought I saw something! In the dark.....like a man or maybe even a monster!" Iessa bites her lip looking down to the ground as her eyes began to tear up again. "I...I couldn't tell but.....it...was right in the hallwall where the priestess quarters are."
Unable to contain herself anymore, Iessa rushes to the surprised Dayas and buries her head into his chest, hoping to cry the fearful scene away. After a good while, when she is able stifle her tears to just sniffling, she stands herself back up, blushing slightly, but wavering intent was much more in her gaze.
"I think the other girls could be in danger......Mr. Dayas, will you help me see what the shadow was? Please?"
The priestess uttered a few words, harsher than Dorian expected. My...children? I will never understand these Alerarans. But she seemed to temper her tone before she left, the door slamming behind her.
Removing his arm from Hodson's shoulder, he walked over to his desk, gesturing for Hodson to take a chair nearby. Sitting down himself, he catches the young man's eye, and says, "You're not going to like what's in that letter, but it has to be done."
Hodson sat down, saying as he did, "What do you mean, Doctor Ionos?"
Dorian leaned back in his seat, resting his back against the hard upright. "I'm afraid I'm sending you and Willem home. It's too dangerous for Willem to stay here -- if I fail in what I must do for the High Priest, he might seek Willem's life in payment. You are his brother, and I need you to leave with him to make sure he gets home in one piece."
Hodson looked crestfallen, but nodded reluctantly, "I suppose you're right, Professor. But are you sure I can do it, I mean, I'm only--"
"Only eighteen, Hodson." Dorian cut him off. "Almost nineteen. Graduating within the year, soon to decide if you want to pursue your own doctoral work or move into the world of performance and private tutoring. No, you're more than old enough, and more than capable."
Hodson smiled at the praise, but it was obvious he was still sad over losing the rest of the trip. "Professor Ionos, I wanted to tell you --"
But before he could speak, there was a banging at the door, and a voice called out his name. "My, my," said Dorian, "I'm the most popular man in Anterioch this night. Come, Hodson, you can tell me in the morning. You're leaving with a merchant train that I contracted when we returned. They'll take you to Etheria Port and then safely home to Glissando. You'll be reimbursed for the trip you missed, and so forth. Come, this is probably that man."
Walking to the door and opening it, Dorian saw an older man standing before him, silver-grey hair announcing his age, the spear on his back declaring his skill. Although, as a warrior, his body was probably a bit worn, it would serve in a fight. Bidding a good night to Hodson, who left promptly, Dorian threw out his arm in a gesture of welcome.
"Come in, come in...I take it you're Roscar? I'm Doctor Dorian Ionos, but you can call me Dorian, provided you aren't as pretentious as that silly priest. I'm afraid I'm going to have to send that young man who just walked out away, with his younger brother Willem. One or the other of them is getting in trouble if they stay here. So, Roscar, what are we doing? I don't understand half of what I've agreed to help with."
Walking into the room, he pulled the chairs around the room in order to be a bit more cozy for conversation. Pulling down the wine bottle again, he offered a bit to Roscar. "Would you like any? I've got enough for two more glasses. It's not the best...it's actually pretty weak...but wine is wine."
As the flustered girl spoke, Dayas frowned in thought.
"A man or a monster" in the priestess quarters, he thought. Either way, that can't be go—
Dayas took an involuntary step back as the frightened girl threw herself at him, and all ability to think coherently suddenly left him.
Crapcrapcrap she's fifteen if I do something I'm screwed what the hell am I supposed to do with a crying girl...?!
Dayas ended up simply standing there stupidly as the girl cried her fear away. When she had finally calmed herself down, he tried to avoid her gaze out of embarrassment. By now, the cloak had long since fallen off his shoulders, and now lay dejectedly on the ground at his feet.
When she asked him to help her, he was torn in three different directions; one part of him didn't want to risk being mistaken for the pervert, another was jumping at the chance to scope out the more appropriately-aged priestesses, and the third part was jumping at the chance to make some money from said priestesses. A fourth, smaller part was prodding him to do it because it was the right thing to do, but that part was mostly lost within the clamor of the other three.
"Uh..." he began, hesitantly. "A-alright." He cleared his throat to sound a little more confident. "Let's go back to where you first saw the shadow."
Roscar Palidyne
09-11-06, 09:50 PM
Roscar watches the leaving Hodson go, seemed to be the oldest of the children under Dorian's tutelage, before switching his attention to the doctor. Parts of him ached to ask about the sudden exit of the disgruntled priestess, but he figured it might be some sort of mishap that would be much more helpful not to be aware of. Besides, since he didn't know the man, the occasion called for something a little lighter to start off.
"Weak wine?" Roscar replies with a friendly smile, "Let me tell you, after spending most of my nights at shady inns and pubs where the 'special of the day' was brewed out of a worn-out dwarven boot, a light wine oughta be heaven." Roscar breathes out heavily, adding, "Especially after having to manage my way through your students. I think that Willem is just as interested in weapons as he is in the sacred and religious ceremony that these Alerians call taking a bath." Roscar meets the teacher's hand with his own, giving him a proper and respectful greeting. "Roscar Palidyne. That's about all I've managed to gather about myself so far."
Thanking Dorian, Roscar takes the glass offered to him and a seat across from the hostly doctor, hoping his little introduction had managed a laugh out of the teacher after the hard day he had been through. The doctor was indeed as handsome a young man as he had seemed back at the temple, and just as warm in demeanor when not pushed by blackmail. The wine was weak, as the doctor had warned, but there is something to be said about any kind of wine after being served stout ales and gritty wellwater for the whole of his travels. Roscar settled himself in to the hospitality, sipping his drink and gathering his thoughts to figure out for himself what the pretentious priest was planning for the three men.
~~~
"Oh thank you! Thank you Mr. Dayas!" The girl, quickly snapping out of her fearful state, hugs Dayas warmly and then grabbing his hand to pull him towards the door. "You're so courageous! I know you have to rest up for tomorrow but I just didn't know who else to turn to."
Once outside the door, her pace slows considerably as the dim torch-lit halls surrounded them. She takes her place behind Dayas, following very close behind him but letting him know the way as they travelled. She held very tightly onto Daya's arm, occasionally tightening her grip when a trick of the flickering lights caught her nerves offguard.
"I know you have to rest up so you can do your detective work tomorrow, but the guards wouldn't have believed me. I've seen things before." Iessa bites her lip again at the thought of those past events. "But there's never anything there. But I know something has to be there! I saw moving shadows and and.......I heard breathing!."
As they turned a corner, Iessa stops in her tracks, unable to go past the corner wall to the connecting hallway. She tugs Dayas back behind the wall, putting her finger to her lips to be extremely quiet.
"This is the place. The door to the priestess quarters is down there, I'm....too scared to go on. Please, be careful, Mr. Dayas!"
Iessa's watchful worrying eyes stay on Dayas as she peeks from behind the corner. As he goes further down the hall, disappearing into the dim darkness, she relays a silent pray for him.
~~~
"To be honest, Dorian, I'm not sure myself." Roscar remarks with another swig of the wine. "After the long speeches Doedrak makes about things I really could care less about, the important words were vague at best. After the events today, I'm not thrilled to be working for this priest. And I'm sorry your kids seemed to have been dragged into it."
Roscar puts his wine down on the nearby dresser, not done with it but rather doing it to make his words impact Dorian as sincerely as possible.
"You have my word that I'll do my damndest to keep those kids of yours safe. If we have enough priest gone wild moment like today, I'll put up arms. I just hope that it won't come to that."
With that, Roscar leans back into the chair, pondering some more. Suddenly a bit of information came back to him.
"I think the priest said that we'd be informed after some kind of dance ceremony tomorrow. I don't know, Dorian, I've seen some shady fellows but Doedrak? There's something about him that doesn't belong in a church......something beyond the religious fevor he seems keen on retaining."
Roscar downs the last of the wine, staring at the bottom of the glass. A distorted reflection of his weathered visage gazes back at him. Distracted by the image, he finishes his thought.
"I might be just paranoid. Anyway," Roscar stands, "I really don't want to keep you. And I have to see to that Natalda. It'd be my luck that she gets attacked on the street and the insane priest blames the event on me." Roscar turns to face the teacher, holding his hand out to thank him again for the hospitality and drink. "Have a good night, Doctor."
Roscar makes sure to close the door quietly behind him, before heading back down the hall. All the children were much more mellow as the hour was getting late, but Roscar still ran into a more mellow but still inquisitive Willem. With a warm smile on his face, Roscar ruffles the young boy's hair before heading outside the end to a cool evening with silent streets to walk on. All seemed rather peaceful here this evening, and the night clear despite the clouds Roscar had seen earlier. The sky was clear and the moon was enough to guide his way through the streets the priestess had shown him through. He heartily hoped the rest of the night was going to go without event. He wondered how Dayas was faring. Imagining the man sleeping didn't seem feasible. Passed out from liquor, maybe. But surely there wasn't much that Dayas could get himself into at a quiet little temple in the middle of nowhere.
~~~
"Mister Dayas!"
An extremely familiar voice booms accusingly from behind Dayas. Emerging from the shadows further down the hall was a fairly irrate High Priest Doedrak sharply glaring at Dayas.
"Do you mind explaining why I have found you lurking the halls like some uncouth degenerate while I am finishing preparing for the ceremony tomorrow morning?"
The situation only seemed more dire as the priest saw the door to the priestess quarters only a few feet nearby, and nobody else with him. Looking at this, his glance became more threatening, his voice more withstraining.
"Well?"
Before Dayas had a chance to respond, the girl threw herself on him again, this time in a hug. Dayas felt his face get very hot in... embarrassment? It was hard to pin down exactly what he felt at that moment, but embarrassment was definitely high on the list. Too out of it to resist, he allowed her to drag him toward the door.
He followed the girl's directions, choosing to stick to the walls. He was starting to get used to the cowardly girl's behaviors, and so the tight little grip on his arm didn't bother him, until she squeezed it. He decided not to say anything about it, however, understanding that the girl was pretty much scared out of her wits by everything.
She sees things? I'm not entirely sure I like the sound of that, Dayas thought to himself as she spoke. Just hope nothing goes wrong with this.
He turned a corner and found himself being tugged back behind it. He turned to the girl, who held a finger to her lips to signify being quiet.
"Okay, then, stay here," Dayas told her, motioning her to stay. He then turned the corner and tried to be as stealthy as he could. Unfortunately, this was not one of his stronger abilities. He wasn't exactly the "sneak around and steal purses" type; he was more of a "shmooze with the girls until he can palm something from them" type.
How much trouble can a thief get into in a quiet little temple in the middle of nowhere?
"Mister Dayas!" Apparently, a lot.
Unfortunately for Dayas, a certain little goldfinch at the back of his mind decided to take over the moment the priest startled him. With a rather loud "Poof!" and a flurry of bright yellow and black feathers, a goldfinch hovered about where Dayas's head had been a moment before. Any trace of Dayas was nowhere to be found.
Aw fuck, Dayas thought.
All Perchik the goldfinch could do was warble at the priest.
((Dayas is going to be stuck like this for a while...))
Roscar Palidyne
09-19-06, 02:08 PM
Doedrak had never been more surprised in his life to see the thief vanish in front of his eyes. The bird, with its constant warbling, did not help much to calm his nerves, and in an impulsive act to gain control of the situation (or rather, himself), he began to fruitlessly try to catch the goldfinch in his hands. Every time, the bird's form barely passed between the priest's long fingers, missing with every attempt. Before the priest really lost his cool, however, Iessa came running, thinking that the priest was pounding his fists upon Dayas from her point of view from behind the wall.
"Please, your Holiness! He was only seeing if someone was sneaking around! He would ne....."
But instead of her eyes laying upon what she thought would be a flustered Dayas, his form had been replaced with a goldfinch. As pretty of a bird as Perchik was, it wasn't Dayas, so she started her worries again. Maybe he would be stuck like this forever??? Her sympathy overflows inside her and the tears began to pour out again. Doedrak looks at her, ready to explode in anger.
"Iessa! What in the name of Anterioch is going on here??? What sorcery is this?!"
Gaining some control over herself, she wipes her eyes, turning back to the priest.
"You see, I thought I saw something prowling here, and I-I wanted Mr. Dayas to c-check it out for me and......Oh, Mr. Dayas!"
Meanwhile, Roscar had made his trek up the stairs and entered the temple, only to hear the faint but somewhat audible cries of Iessa. His thoughts immediately went to the pervert, and so he ran full speed in the direction he thought he heard the cry echo from.
In the dark, dismal hallways of the Temple of Anterioch, Roscar found three things: A crying girl, a disgruntled priest, and a bird. A bird? Doedrak and Iessa both give their accounts of this strange occurance, and all Roscar could get out of was that Dayas had been turned into this tiny yellow creature hovering around them. The old Roscar was absolutely baffled at this point, patting Iessa's shoulder to hopefully get her to stop crying. Finally Doedrak ends the brief period of silence.
"Well, it is late, we should all rest up for the next morning....it is going to be a long day. Mister Roscar, please take him," He points to Perchik ", uh, it.....gah, just go back to your rooms!"
The flustered Doedrak stomps down the hall, presumably heading back to his quarters, leaving Roscar, Iessa, and 'Dayas' to themselves. Roscar turns to Iessa, patting her shoulder once more, somewhat at a loss to know how to help her.
"Don't you worry about Dayas, alright? I'm sure there's a way to return him back to normal....or whatever has happened to him. You just go to bed, ok Iessa? I'll take care of ...him."
Iessa stops her tears, nodding slowly, before making her way down the hall. She was a fragile little girl, but she seemed to care very deeply for the cheeky little Dayas. Roscar grinned, wanted to tease the man about the crush Iessa had on him, but instead all he had was a little warbling bird whirling around his head. Holding out his hand, Roscar begins to call out to the bird, hopefully to get it to land on his hand. He couldn't just leave the bird-Dayas here over night, some stray cat could attack him or something.
"Come on, Dayas. That IS you, isn't it? We gotta head to bed."
Hopefully with Dayas in hand, Roscar started to head to their room, which he was told was on the opposite side of the temple. It had already been a long day and a tiresome night.....who knows what the next morning would bring?
Gah! Hey! Fuck! Cut it out! Dayas thought, as Perchik ducked, weaved, and slipped between the priest's fingers. Damn, and I thought evading people was hard when I was a normal human...
As the girl ran out to stop the frantic priest, the only thought that came to Dayas's mind was, Oh, shit. As the girl also became frantic, Perchik flew over to her and circled her head, warbling, "Hey, now, please don't cry! No harm done! Hey!"
As the poor girl tried to explain what Dayas had been doing there in the first place, the goldfinch landed on her shoulder. "It's the truth, I swear!" he warbled, trying to back up her story. Of course, it wasn't like anyone was actually going to understand him, but it was a nice gesture nonetheless.
When Roscar arrived on the scene, Perchik didn't exactly make the scene any less confusing as he left the sobbing girl's shoulder and circled the group, occasionally warbling his contributions to the conversation.
They can't even understand you! Dayas yelled at the perky little critter. Why the hell are you even bothering?!
Well, it's worth a shot! Perchik rejoined in their mental conversation. Dayas found himself unable to come up with a proper counter for that, and so settled for grumbling at the back of their shared mind.
After a brief period of silence, the flustered priest ordered Roscar to take Perchik back to their rooms before storming off.
Yeah, there's a way to return me to normal, Dayas thought, casting a mental glare at Perchik. Iessa left, and Dayas found Roscar grinning at him. What the...? He seemed like he wanted to say something, but decided against it and instead held his hand out as a perch. Dayas was kind of indignant at being treated like an animal (not like he had a choice in the matter, given his current state), while Perchik was kind of indignant about not being referred to by name.
Tough. It's my body, Dayas said, mentally sticking his tongue out. You're just borrowing it for a while.
Perchik landed on Roscar's hand and puffed his feathers out in an indignant huff. Dayas found it rather demeaning to be carried around like this, but at the moment, both he and Perchik were a little bit too tired to really care either way. Perchik settled into the man's hand and nodded off as they went back to their rooms.
This thread hasn't been posted in a month. I'm closing it up due to inactivity and moving it to the "Unresolved" Forum. Please Private message me to retrieve it if you intend on completing it further. Thank you.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.