1. Denníky

(RP25) Arya discusses agreements with Pine

RP

This scene took place somewhat early conversation when they were talking about what their business in this mere.



[Arya]

When Pine first told her about the deal he has with the three gods she would ask him: "so what are the terms of your agreement with them?"


[Pine]

Pine would look at her for a long moment, likely trying to work out why she was asking, and whether answering was a bad idea.  He knew little of her, and what he did know was not a comfortable understanding, so different she was from him.  And yet he had made no real secret of his deal with the Three before now, and so the information was there in others should she ask around, so he chose to answer anyway.


"I agreed to helping destroy the dragon that we had been hunting, and claiming its soul for their use, and then to be their agent in the aftermath.  In return, they agreed to return me to life, of a sort, should I fall.  They upheld their end of the bargain, for I stand here before you when otherwise I would not, and so I am their agent, and they have tasks for me as such.  Why do you ask?"


[Arya]

"To be their agent sound very vague it doesn't really explain what you are doing now or why?" Her tone is not judgmental in any way only curious. 


[Pine]

"Yes," he would admit, "It is vague, but that is why I was willing to agree when they did not trust me with the fullness of their plans.  To me, an agent merely works to further someone's position or interests in an area.  They have told me to go to the Mere, and so it is there that they wish their agenda advanced.  How I do that is up to me.  In time, I have no doubt they will specify clearer what they wish done there, but for now it is enough to know that I was to make my way to the Mere and find out more."


[Arya]

She looks more and more confused. "But why do it all then? Such a vague agreement you could find a way to do whatever you want." She looks at him pondering. "You don't really seem afraid of death as many here do and you seem to think that death is a natural part of life, so why was it so important for you to stay and not move one?"


[Pine]

Few had ever asked him why he did something.  Few ever thought to ask perhaps, and so because she did, he gave the question the consideration it deserved, trying to find a way that would make sense to someone whose experience of deals was different to his own.


"Here, generally, deals do not come with a power forcing compliance.  A person can choose to honour their promise, or abandon it.  It is common for people to abandon their promises, but I was taught differently.  To me, a promise should be binding, like an oath, like a geas, only it is my own will that makes it so.  Another person, they could take that wording and go elsewhere, maybe build a shrine and call their task done, but to me that would feel wrong in a fundamental way.  I agreed to be their agent, to furthering their cause in the Mere, to advancing their position.  To avoid doing that, to me, would be breaking the agreement I made, and I do not do that."


The last words held an emphasis that showed just how seriously he took that.  To the understanding of death and life, he would offer a nod of agreement.  Death was not the end.


"The spirit of an agreement is as important as the wording, to me."


He would watch her for a moment, before letting his own curiosity, his own concerns, fill the silence.


"And what of you?  As far as I know you have no reason to be here.  If you need an agreement to do a task, why are you here?"


It was not said aggressively, or meanly, but Pine had never been very good at making his words sound acceptable in many ways.


[Arya]

A smile spreading across her face when he asked why she was there. "Oh you got it wrong, I am not here to do a task, I am here cuz I think I have something to gain." The smile fading slightly looking around the group. "And I might not have that strong feeling of helping others because of some kind of code or honor as some of the others here but I don't enjoy evil either." She pauses for a moment... "and I think there is an evil here that can spread far and wide."


She looks back to Pine and continue "Your determination to honor your word or follow what someone else is telling you because you have promised to do so... it is making me a bit nervous... What if they tell you not to stop this evil but adding it?"


[Pine]

As Arya told Pine about her motivations for joining the group, he would, perhaps for the first time, seem uncomfortable.  For him, the words 'personal gain' brought to mind either the lawlessness of theives and bandits, or the mercenary nature of those from cities; of tricksters, of those who did not hold to the spirit of the agreement, of liars if they found some way to get what they wanted.  He tried to tell himself, in those moments, that personal gain could be something innocuous, like a hot meal after a long trip to the mountains, but her smile reminded him too much of tricksters in the city.


However as she turned her attention back to the matter at hand, and his place in it, the unease would fade back into his usual more stoic manner.  So that was what her path was.  He could accept that, even if he thought it would only bring trouble.


He thought of Bhaal especially, where each word was an encouragement towards murder, of Bane, who he had thought appeared like a general overseeing the tactics of a great war where many were likely to perish, and of Myrkul, whose domain was in some ways the most benign, but also the least understandable to others.  People feared what they did not understand.


"Although it would bring me no joy," he would say, with words like a line in the sand, "I would do so."  His word was his law, and he would abide by it.


[Arya]

"That might be a problem in the future, only time will tell." There is a tention in her face that is not normal for her when she says this. And if you really looked you would see a slight change in her apperance, her hair and eyes turning more towards red, but only for a second and then back to normal again.


[Pine]

Pine was paying attention, because social interactions were difficult for him and he generally didn't want to mess them up by missing some cue he wasn't used to noticing.  And so he did see the very brief change in her hair and eyes, like a warning of her nature that seemed to come with her intention.  That, at least, would be useful to check for in future, even from a distance.


"Not only from you, I suspect.  But life is not often so clean-cut as good or evil.  It all depends on your perspective, and what you are used to.  What is normal and good to you in the fae realm may be seen quite differently here."


He would shrug a little, not seemingly overly concerned by the fact that he'd just acknowledged the possibility of some of the group trying to stop him, or turn on him.  It was likely, since he was not adept at hiding strong feelings due to his body language being more expressive, that it either truly did not bother him, or he had come to terms with it at some point in the past.