(QW03) Mystery in company

[Oh it's like finally being able to confess 😂 ]

So Idris kinda just didnt think about this anymore and no one asked yet.

When he was a dum dum, right before he went all 🤓  He met Alistor a Death Eater Demon.
Death Eater wanted Idris to kill someone in his name. Idris only agreed to it if they stay on friendly terms, he reduces his killing to only necessary so that in the future they might even be able to become friends-
Idris sees him as reliable friend to call if he ever deems a situation as absolutely desperate.
Thats also why he wanted the scrolls of planar binding as backup plan and scroll of summon greater demon in case just shouting for his name isn't enough
When they killed the gnome that was the first time he "spilled blood in his name".
Whenver he murmurs something after a battle it's to ask Alistor if thats enough for him.

This also explains why, when in the astral plane(?) etheral(?) Idris had 3 connections to him. Deva/Angel (Lumalia), Demon (Alistor), Devil (Eefe).

Now for future plans. He wants to find a high level mage who can cast true polymorph on the dragon when he hatches so he can raise it as Human.
Also considering how dragon parts were used for the new blade (correct me if I remember wrong Babis) or I dont remember if its because of the influence but Idris thinks that part of unlocking the true potential of the sword lies in draconic power so he thinks at some point the dragon might be able to continue his legacy with the sword.

And now his newest great idea is to befriend talos :nodd:

Confession end.

Pine looked out at the scene of his sleeping companions from where he had been sitting, just having woken from his meditations.  The time fighting the Talos cultists had been brutal, and yet it was not the fight that remained with him; an uneasy fission of thought that lingered with him in the aftermath.

There Siax rested, calm in his own trance to recuperate.

He had not been calm earlier.

Truly, Pine had never seen him in such a state of emotional turmoil, and hadn't known what to do with it.  He never had when people reacted so strongly.  He understood that Siax was looking for a way to make amends for what was truly not his fault.  He understood that the right thing to do was to offer comfort and reassurance, but looking at the man there on his knees, tears streaming down his face, all he had felt was minor discomfort at the outpouring, and the ever present reminder of his inability to connect.

It had always been thus, ever since he could remember, even as a cub.  The way people interacted with each other was of interest, true, but he never really felt what they were feeling, he had never felt upset when others were, or anger, or any feeling of togetherness.  Siax especially looked for it in his companions, and it was something Pine had gone to great lengths to hide the lack of, or as much as he could.  On the day that Siax found out that Pine was unable to reciprocate the emotional bonds of friendship, he didn't doubt that the feeling of betrayal he had witnessed on that ship earlier that day would be similar.  Siax felt strongly in the things that mattered to him, and emotion tied him to those things far beyond what Pine had ever felt.
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That was not to say he felt nothing.  He did.  But it was muted compared to what he was witness to in others.  His sense of duty was strong, but he was far more likely to feel things when it came to the dead than to the living.

He stared out at the waves that lapped at the shoreline in the moonlight, and out to where Emberlost had sunk beneath the waves.  The failure there felt far greater to him than anything to do with the group, but Emberlost was Ularan's creature, and so it was not part of his duty to lay the fallen elf to rest.  Seeing to the dead had been the closest he had ever felt to what he saw in others, in that sense of duty, the sense of purpose.  The dead were easy to understand, and they rarely ever asked anything of him that he could not give.

The Three had, of course.  Their pleasure or displeasure felt pressing and immediate in a way that the living never did, perhaps because they were fallen gods, or perhaps because they were dead too.

Regret was there, softly in the edges of his chest, that he could not give what the others clearly needed.

The living had never been his forté.

Siax

Siax watched as Pine lay there lifeless. Urgency was filling his inner being. Nothing was working. Idris had tried to revive Pine with his healing techniques. Zenari had tried various methods but nothing was working.

The group had defeated the white dragon that had been plaguing the area and preventing any peoples from progression. The group had stopped many threats prior to defeating the dragon.

Grannok had been slain. The Talos cult  had been removed. Phandalin had been evacuated. Axeholm had been cleared and ready for the people of Phandalin to move into temporarily for safety.

There were many casualties during Siax's time in Phandalin. Siax's mentor and close friend Falcon had lost his home and his arm in defence of the land and its residents. Factore had nearly lost her life when the orcs had taken over a previous place of worship. Zenari had been hunted continuously. Pine had fallen before when ruins had caved in on him. Idris had nearly died when retrieving the dragon killing sword in the burrows. Siax had even faced death as he fell from the mountain peak on route to face the dragon.

This was different. Each time the group had been able to pull through. Each time people were able to be revived and would recover. Yet this time Pine laid there lifeless.

Finally the dragon was defeated, yet this felt like a loss. Pine had always walked a fine line between the living and the dead. He had told Siax and the group that was his calling. To help the living pass on peacefully. Siax didn't understand it too much. Magic wasn't something Siax had any understanding for. He had never used magic. His methods were of preparation. Arrows, traps and the hunt.

However Pine and Siax had been through alot. The whole group had. Siax couldn't allow any of the party to fall. Not after everything they had been through. Not after the many times the party had got Siax out of jam. He felt like he owed them everything. Survival in numbers and with Pine, Idris, Zenari, Falcon and Factore, he trusted them all with his life.

This couldn't be the end for Pine. Not after everything.

Then THEY appeared. Pine had called them the 3. Shadowy figures surrounded in deathly wisps. The faces and expression were unreadable. Unrecognisable. The group had met them before the clearing of Axeholm.

Siax wasn't a holy man and he didn't have a faith. However for Pine these "Three" were his everything. His purpose, his calling. Pine had made a deal with the three and Pine was not going to stop until his mission was complete. Even if it cost him his life.

There were times were Pines guidance had pushed the party forward. He had said that the three were guiding him to where we needed to be. Siax did not trust the three. But he did trust Pine.

The three looked at Pine as he lay there lifelessly. Seemingly happy that Pine had fulfilled his task. Not bothered by the fact he was dead. Not caring. Treating him like a pawn piece in some sort of grand master chess game.

That's when the deal was made. They would bring back Pine to continue their will. But only if the group agreed to fulfill their will as well. 4 acolytes instead of the 1.

Without hesitation Siax and Idris agreed. Anything to bring back their trusted friend. Zenari was more cautious. Possibly because of her better understanding of chaotic magic.

Siax had not realised the extent of the deal. Would Siax have done it again. Yes. Everytime. However Siax didn't like the feeling of being beholden to anyone. Even if they were a godly deity.

Siax would find out exactly what this deal was. Magically bound? Spiritually bound? He wasn't sure. Would it cost him his own life if he were to break the deal? Almost certainly. That will not stop Siax. He would need to find someone who knew more.

He will wait. He will prepare. He will watch. He will learn.

Then he will strike. One way or another  he will break the bond of the three. Siax is beholden to no one. Not even the three.

Arya has a hard time understanding the people in this group, their motivations for doing this is strange to her. Some seem to do it only cuz of the goodness in their hearts or because of a calling from some "higher" power. It is all confusing to her. She knows why she is doing this and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. So far their paths seem to be the same but she is unsure if that will continue to be so. She doesn't believe this Ularan can get her what she wants, so far Selephra seems like a safer bet. If she could only find a way to get in contact with her. But for now her best lead has sunk with Emberlost...

Loyalty is something Effie only feels towards those that have proven to be worthy of it; and those few, she considers family. First, the circus who took her in and raised her; the Baron who taught her everything she knows. Then the Birds that appreciated her skills and helped her develop them further. Nobody else has been worthy of loyalty. And some even deserve the opposite.

But now this group she's been travelling with, who at first were only a means to an end but have evolved into something more, she feels... loyalty towards them? Are they something akin to a new family maybe? And now her priorities are torn between saving a Bird, or following the group on whatever mission they're taking on next. Some weeks ago this would've been an obvious decision, but not anymore; and it's making her restless - will they make it there in time?

There are many people who claim to know Tiaumil.  Those that have travelled with him, who have traded with him, who have spent hours in revelry with him, and especially those who work with him.  All are likely to be of the opinion that Tiaumil's greatest character trait is his hunger for arcane knowledge.

This is a lie.

It is a lie he perpetrates, because no one wishes to show weaknesses to strangers, or even .  That is not to say that the trait is not one he has, for he does have a voracious hunger for arcane knowledge, spells, theories.  Yet that is not his greatest character trait.  While it influences his current path and life trajectory, in truth the one thing that is greater than this is Fear.

What it is he fears, and why, only one being knows the truth of this, and that is his patron.