the one handed girls
30
MAY/21
DM
David sits by the crystal clear water of the oasis contemplating his dreams, the new people that have joined his group, and the cruel humor of the gods that would place him in the forefront of saving this forsaken world. A woman walks by with a jug of water balanced on her head when something struck his eye. The human woman, no older than him was missing a hand. Without thinking, David asks, “What happened to your hand?” She stopped and looked down at her feet and turned towards him. “It is the punishment here for one that reads.” She then dropped the jug and ran off into the palms leaving David with his surprised expression painted on his face, and even more to ponder on.
Ixen
Ixen has never seen a puddle so large and clean before, and the grass around it is so tall. Ixen was examining small spiders who can walk on the surface of the water when he heirs a cracking sound of the jug falling and he turns just in time to see figure running into the very tall grass. Confused ixen looks toward David hoping he would give some indicator to do next or not worry about it.
David
But David offers no advice to Ixen. David seems lost in thought. Or discussion. But no one stands near him, yet Ixen is sure David is having a conversation somehow. Ixen assumes David has mind linked with someone, perhaps Vashir. Little does Ixen know that David no longer even has that power anymore, and the conversation he is having is with the voices in his head.
Arnia
Every once in a while, Arnia will notice David talking to himself, she’s hopes he’s alright and the sun hasn’t poisoned his mind.
Ixen
Seeing no visible response from David Ixen decided he will follow the individual who ran off, he didn’t want to come off aggressive but its better safe than sorry, she might need some help or she was spooked by David.
David
Ixen’s movement seems to snap David out of his discussion and he quickly follows the Dragonborn looking for any similarities between Ixen and Sora.
Vashir
Madit watched the outsiders as they wandered through the camp. Was it truly possible that they had descended from the sky? That their horses could fly? She had never seen anything like them before, could they be the ones the snake reader spoke of all those years before? She fingered the small blade on her hip and pondered and watched.
DM
Who is Madit?
Vashir
I just created that name Madit, don’t think it is an actual character we have met?
DM
Not yet. Lol. That’s what I thought but wanted to make sure
Ixen
Ixen feels a gaze upon him, he doesn’t know if he’s being watched or it’s David staring at him again
Vashir
Vashir snapped his fingers at a small boy and tossed him a ceramic coin, the money bouncing ignobly off of the confused child’s forehead and falling to the ground. The boy scrambled through the dirt to retrieve his treasure. “You there. Boy. There has to be a leatherworker or armorer in this camp. Lead me to him.” The boy looked up at him confused and then shot Vashir an obscene finger gesture and ran off towards the camps on the outskirts of Gulg. “Mental note, pay them afterwards” Vashir thought to himself. He needed to get someone to craft some heavy armor for Arnia put on the purple worm hide, and perhaps some stronger armor for himself. He hoped he had enough coin, and wished fervently that he had that platinum coin that Wink had stolen from him. What was it about stupid kids and his money?
Oni
Oni stared at Herman. Herman was happily rolling a ball of dung, making the perfect shape. He reached his manacles into from time to time to take a bite. This caused the shape to be wrong again. He rolled it more to make the shape perfect again before taking his next bite. Oni just stared, trying to know his friend again. Herman rolled the ding some more until finally the piece was too small to make perfect again. that is when he took his final bite of it.
Oni took that moment to interrupt his “friend”. He brought him up to look at him inches from his own face, “I know about the animals, Friend. Care to share?”
DM
Oni looked into his friends’ eyes, waiting for an answer. When in the background, in Oni’s peripheral vision, he noticed a slight commission. He saw Ixen heading deeper into the oasis. Was he stalking? David was not far behind, but the expression on David’s face was… wow, he does have a thing for dragon born.
Vashir stood up and started to wonder about the camp. Maybe he can find this blacksmith of sorts. After just a few minutes, he noticed that he was no longer with his companions; a strange thought crept into his mind: “Did they go without me? I need the gem, not them!”
Oni
Herman looked back to Oni. It is unclear if a beetle can tear up but Oni felt that his friend was deeply sad. Oni could not tell in the moment if his friend was sad for being caught in something or if he was sad about Oni’s own feelings. Oni seeing Inex and David beyond him, knew there was no time to worry about it now, “This can wait, but we will come back to this. Worse than me knowing, Mar’iya knows too. We will talk about this.” Oni placed Herman on his shoulder and ran out of the tent. He was about to run after David, but looked for Arnia and Mar’iya fist. He spoke out loud as searched, “Where the fuck are they.” Herman searched too, but did not answer.
Vashir
Vashir chided himself for his foolishness as he looked around for his companions, noting the looks of curiosity and animus on the faces of the Gulgans around him as they stared at him from within the dark shade of their tents. He shifted uncomfortably but tried not to allow it to show on his face, instead feigning the nonchalance of of a predator amidst fattened prey. He reached out with his mind and scanned the emotions and thoughts of a handful of the people around him, and found a mixture of hope and fear, smattered amidst other thoughts of greed and rage. Would any be brazen enough to attack him here? He shifted his focus to Speed of Thought, relishing the feeling of his joints and muscles being fused with psychic energy. If they did make a move, he knew he could escape, but he needed to get to the safety brought about by proximity to his companions. He didn’t like relying on others – a history of betrayal after betrayal made that foolish and dangerous – but these ones felt different from the others. Powerful and competent and willing to put up with his imperious pomposity. He needed them, he realized, and this thought gnawed at him as he wormed his way deeper into the encampment
DM
Ixen stealthed toward the tent where the crippled woman ran into. “This would be so much easier if I wasn’t in this top-world of trees and plants,” he thought. With the most careful movement he moved the tent flap slightly out of the way and peeked into the shelter and saw… this tormented woman staring right back at him, eyes growing wide in fear. And that is when the screaming started. “Tiamat’s Pawn leave me alone! I have done nothing! Be gone! Be Gone! [sobs, deep breath] I am but a servant who reached above her station, and have already suffered for it! Why do you plague me in my own home?!!”
Vashir
Vashir walked through the camp feeling exposed and alone as he tried to ignore the stares of huddled Gulgans as he did so. His heart leapt for joy as he caught sight of a familiar black cloak. “Ixen, thank the Five! The others have to be close by,” he thought to himself, but he could not see them. In fact, Ixen looked like he was trying to be inconspicuous, a difficult task for one of his size and bloodline up here on the surface world. Vashir followed from a safe distance and grew more puzzled when he saw Ixen pull open the flap to a tent. " Does he know someone here that he did not mention? What does this mean?" Movement around the tent caught his eye and he noted that a few Gulgans in red and gold silks had spotted the dragonborn and had begun unsheathing daggers…
Oni
Oni watched as Inex disappeared near a tent. David was still following him. Oni looked around again, “Curse the ten eyes of hell.” Herman tapped his front arms on Oni’s shoulder in the most annoying manner, “it is not really a big deal.” Oni wanted as many of the group together as possible and knowing Mar’iya could likely handle himself sprinted off low and crouched towards Inex and David, “it is a big deal you did not tell me.” Oni took a quick glare at Herman, “I said we will talk about it later.” he dashed between a couple of tents, "especially as part of your tales of your adventures. What the fuck, you are my most “Trusted” friend, or at least I thought you were." Oni moved up to the back of a tent so he could see better from a hidden location. He thought to himself, knowing Herman could sense most of it, “What in Tiamat’s Fire is going on, and what were they thinking running off by themselves.” Herman knew he should no longer try to defend himself now. He would have more time later. He shared his thoughts of Selise as a warning. Oni let out a little groan as he had the same thoughts.
Arnia
Arnia followed David following Inex. What was going on? Why was Inex looking into a tent and why was someone yelling? This isn’t going to end well
Vashir
Vashir looked around and spotted another child, a boy in his early teens, in the midst of the suspicious and angry crowd. He motioned the child over and produced a ceramic coin from the pouch on his hip. The boy’s eyes narrowed suspiciously but approached gingerly. “Who are those people over there in the red and gold?” he whispered, ducking a little so that he was hidden from their view by a neighboring pavilion. The boy opened a hand and responded simply, “five.” Vashir was confused. “Are they associated with Tiamat and the five heads?” Now it was the boy’s turn to look confused. “No. Five coins.” Vashir looked abashed and then pulled four matching coins from his pouch but did not hand them over – he might be a slow learner, but he was still a learner. He spoke into the child’s head, hoping to instill a sensation of awe in the child at his power. “These five coins are yours when you tell me what I wish to know.” The child looked nonplussed, and simply held up his other hand and raised two more fingers. “Now it is seven,” he replied mentally. Vashir flashed a wry smile, slightly tickled at the child’s brash nature. He promptly produced two more coins but did not hand them over just yet. “OK, these are yours. Who are those people?” “They are the Fajr Aldam, or the Bloody Dawn,” the boy replied, extending his hand for his treasure. “The Bloody Dawn?” Vashir wondered to himself as he replaced six of the coins to his pouch and tossed a solitary one at the boy, who caught it clumsily and shot daggers at Vashir for the betrayal. “Ahmaq!” the boy hissed, flashing an obscene gesture at Vashir before slinking off into a nearby tent. Vashir sneaked a peak over the tent and saw the silk garbed group fanning out, still staring intently at Ixen’s back. “The Bloody Dawn? Were they related to Lathander somehow, the Dawnlord? Or was this something else entirely?” he wondered as he ducked around the other side of the tent, staying low and out of sight, or so he hoped.
David
Hey, this entry is going to tie into what I am writing as a regular entry so bear with me. Ixen paused before responding to the crippled woman, and in that moment David entered. “Oh good,” he said, “I have some questions for you” and to Ixen’s surprise David turned to him instead of the woman and he said, “do the names, Nessy, or Ayasa mean anything to you?” David was studying Ixen very closely as he asked. Ixen gave a slightly confused look while he shook his head and said “no.” David seems disappointed and unsatisfied. “What about Miri?” He continued his focus on any reaction Ixen might give. Ixen just shook his head no again. He looked at David and waited, Ixen knew David had more questions. David took a moment, looked down, seemed to have an internal discussion and then said “ok, ok,” seemingly to himself. When he looked up Ixen thought David looked slightly different somehow, did his eyes change colors? And then David spoke, and it definitely sounded different. “What about Bhalgod? You in there boy-o, c’mon mate, give me a signal.” Ixen didn’t think he reacted any differently to that question than the rest, but judging by David’s reaction, Ixen thought David thought he had seen something. David smiled broadly saying “I knew it mate,” before shaking his head as of to clear it. Afterwards he looked like regular David, although much relieved, perhaps of some internal stress Ixen was not aware of.