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| | | From: Hiel Troiye (Original Message) | Sent: 8/3/2003 1:46 AM |
| Location: Entering Elmshade, returning from a farmstead over run by undead, now burnt to the ground and in ashes. | | ~ ~ ~ Weary and numb from the horrors of the past day, the Shadoweir wanders back into Elmshade as the sun nears the western horizon. Barely having enough presence of mind, he brushes the silver buckle at his waist just before leaving the forest proper, and restores the illusion of humanity. It hides his equine ears beneath the layers of his thich auburn hair, and his legs and tail with black billowing satiny pants and hard-soled, pulled-down leather boots. It didn't hide his strangely shaped shadow nor the sharply pungent equine scent which surrounded him. He slowly makes his way toward the Temple of Mielikki to give his report to the High Priestess Siannodel. ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ She had to be told what had happened at the Gault Farmstead, and what may have happened to the Mcoul and Doyle farms also. At least that was the suspicion, Troiye harbored in the back of his mind. The fire which had destroyed the Gault place should have drawn the attention their two nearest neighbors... the Mcouls and Doyles. But no one from either farm showed up when the smoke of burning farmstead filled the morning sky which was the source of the Silenni's suspicion. He would return to reconnoiter those farms while the rest of his party fully healed and rested. He would find out if there was a threat to balance of the natural order, but first he need to rest and make his own prayers at the Temple. ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ Half way down the main street to the Temple, the preoccupied Forestal notices several wind swept pieces of papyrus blowing down the street toward him. When the rare and expensive bits of paper whirl past carried on the breeze, he snatches one from air, ending its flight to freedom, and stops outside the Twisted Root to examine it. Hi'el tiredly reads through the contents of the flyer written in abysmally poor Elvish, and shakes his head, dismayed and stunned by the proposals offered. He softly whispers to himself, "By Mielikki! What is the meaning of this!?" and suddenly grows furious, crushing the flyer in his grasp. ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ "Hunnnnn" Hi'el Troiye snarls, as he scans the street about him, noting the many posters on the walls and flyers littering the ground, and angrily strides away toward the Temple. "Of all the unmittigated gal, a slaver circus! As if it wasn't bad enough with Unlife threatening the balance! How could the Elves permit such a thing?! Mielikki will hear of this farce!" growls the Silenni, as he storms through the main entrance into the Halls of Worship so furious his claustrophobia is cowed by the fury of his anger. Among the priests, druids and other worshippers of Faiths, he loudly announces "Where is High Priestess Siannodell?! This cannot wait." ~ ~ ~ | | Hi'el Troiye | |
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(( Heh heh heh. Tied up and tickled with feathers, hmmm? *Grins* Well, that might be fun....except I'm not ticklish in the slightest... )) |
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| Location: Temple of Faiths, Elmshade. | | ~ ~ ~ In response to query about 'how many people have seen them', Hi'el snorts, and angrily declares "Everyone, judging by the quantities of these littering the streets." at Siannodell's back as she left to make her preparations. While he waited for her, the Shadoweir stops a passing acolyte, and pushes the flyer into his hands, telling him "Take this, and show it to Arienne and Raven. Tell them Siannodell and I have gone to confront those who've sponsored this abomination. Go now! Let nothing stop you." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Having dispatched the acolyte with his message to the Mages of Elmshade, the Silenni slumped back against the alter with his eyes closed to conserve his remaining energies spent the last few days battling Unlife, and try to regain his composure. He stands back erect at the High Priestess' approach, squaring his broad shoulders, and bowing slightly, replies to her question, saying "I know not from where these notices came, but Jarlosh may know. There were many of them outside the Tavern." Hi'el leads her outside and toward the Tavern, a grin of mirthless demeanor upon his face ~ ~ ~ | | Hi'el Troiye | OOC: Not ticklish, well, this calls for the Hot Wax and Whips treatment, that should have you screaming for mercy. |
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Siannodell nodded to Hi'el, following him to the Twisted Root. She paused outside of the tavern, silently asking her Goddess for forgiveness for entering this place of semi-heathenistic debauchery. She tried not to ever visit such places unless absolutely necessary, feeling that any contact with them tended to tarnish her holiness. These were exceptional circumstances, however, and the elder woman felt it was her duty to find and put a stop to the atrocities no doubt funded by the "arenas". And they're probably getting quite the audience, I imagine, she silently fumed. Her brown eyes snapped with her disgust and disappointment at the notion, and she strode into the tavern calling out for the hefty keep. "Jarlosh?! Jarlosh! Where are you, you overgrown alley cat?! I must speak with you at once, do you hear me!? It's High Priestess Siannodell, and I need to see you immediately!" Her tone brooked no argument or delay, and one of the tavern wenches looked at the woman, eyes wide. Siannodell stared her down and tamped her staff loudly on the wooden floorboards of the tavern. She looked at the girl. "Go find that son of a motherless goat before I decide to call down Mielikki's wrath right here and now!" she ordered her, and the girl nodded hastily in agreement, running to the back room to find her boss. |
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(( Hot wax and whips?...... .....ehhhhhh...okay, you win.  )) |
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Jarlosh quickly rushes out of the back room, and into the main tavern area where Siannodell and Hiel stand waiting for him. He can see their both upset from the way they stare at him, and he calmy wipes his hands on a towel he carries, and walks up to them with a nervouse smile. "Well hello there Mother Siannodell, and Master Hiel. What can I do for ye both?" Some of the other patrons slink away, and out the doors. Each feeling nervouse and guilty as the pure Siannodell Priestess looks on them. They quickly whisper prayers of forgiveness to their gods, and sneak out of the door. |
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| Location: Twisted Root Tavern and Inn. | | ~ ~ ~ Hi'el takes up position behind the High Priestess near the door, and waits with his staff cradled in the crux of his left elbow. He felt extremely irritable and agitated as a result of the past few days, and being indoors only aggravated him more. He needed to retreat to the high forest meadows once the matters of the 'slaver circus' and Unlife threat were laid to rest. Otherwise, he might become unstable. Carefully, he watches everyone else in the tavern, looking for predatory reactions toward Siannodell and the words she was about to speak. ~ ~ ~ | | Hi'el Troiye | |
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As soon as the fat keep hurriedly waddled his bulk to the front, Siannodell fixed her deep brown eyes dispprovingly on his. She held up the flyer in front of him and asked him with just a touch of steel in her voice, "Jarlosh, what do you know about this?" She drew closer to him to study his reaction even further and said in a no nonsense manner, "And don't tell me you don't know anything," she warned. "Because you're this village's grapevine, and you see and hear more than most." As he guiltily took the flyer from her hands, she adopted a similar stance to Hi'el, crossing her arms and resting her staff in the crook of one, glaring at the hefty man with a serious gaze. |
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Jarlosh looked to the Priestess and spoke a little shakily..."This? Oh..this is nothing. Just the Arena circus thats in town. They set up in the Sparring Fields, and have been attracting a lot of the locals to their daily games. Kinda like professional Gladiators that travel the roads and provide entertainment." Jarlosh dares a laughing smile to the old priestess..."And boy can they fight! Hehe! They have moves that I aint never seen before. They even have creature matches." Jarlosh nods smiling, thinking it must be a misunderstanding. |
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| Location: Twisted Root Tavern and Inn. | | ~ ~ ~ "Nothing!?" ominously growls the normally good-natured Silenni, and steps away from door toward the barkeep, hammering his staff hard into the wood floor of the tavern. He punctuates every step closer to the man with a floor jarring blow of his staff, as he loudly and vehemenently declares "NOTHING! You call ENSLAVEMENT... FORCED COMBAT... and DEATH MATCHES... NOTHING! Can you even read the writing on these papers?!" Hi'el stops very close to the man, staring at him. His knuckles show white on the staff, he grips, and visibly shakes with suppressed rage. In a low voice, he tells Jarlosh "I could forgive you your attitude, IF you knew not what was written upon these." ~ ~ ~ | | Hi'el Troiye | |
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Siannodell laid a soft hand on the Selenni's arm, asking him quietly with her gaze to allow her to speak. Although Jarlosh easily dwarfed her small stature by at least a hundred and fifty pounds and almost a full foot, she stood her ground in front of him, making no move to vacate her position. "You don't see anything wrong with hunting beasts and/or humans for some sick, dimented game?!" she huffed, her brown eyes darkening quickly with her ire. She snatched the paper back from him and pointed to part of it with her staff. "What about hunting slaves? Slaves, Jarlosh! By Mielikki, I ought to call down the Goddess's wrath right here and now on the whole lot of you!" She turned slightly, glancing around at the quickly dispersing, guilty patrons and marked each and every one of them with her icy glare. "You! Yes, you, Rigel. And you, Ned! I'm surprised that you could allow this....would stand for it! Elmshade is a peaceful village, dedicated to upholding the values and tenets of the righteous and the just!" Siannodell was warming to her impassioned speech, and she directed it at the barkeep as well as the rest of them. She spread her arms wide and shook her head in grave disappointment. "We are not one of the larger cities that we should tolerate such toxic injustices, not only to the surrounding forest and countryside, but the very real threat it represents to our morals!" The elder, white robed woman shook the leaflet at all of them. "This," she said with evident disgust. "This kind of 'circus' is what is rotting the ideals and values of our society these days! What about the children?! At least think of them, I implore you! Would you have one of your own children grow up to become a slave in this kind of barbaric hunt?! Of course not! We owe it to the Goddess, her lands and animals, indeed to ourselves to put a stop to this immediately!" Siannodell brought her arms back to her side and held her staff gently. When she looked around at all of them again, her deep brown eyes held a pleading look, softened by the shimmer of tears. "I do understand that all of you feel that you need some sort of entertainment," she said more calmly, though her voice still carried. "But what these people are doing is wrong, can't you see that? They are destroying the animals of our forest! Hunting animals for food and clothing is one thing. But Mielikki will never approve such base, inhumane hunts merely for sport! And to think that your gold funds such atrocities...." she trailed off and brought a frail hand to her brow, frowning and closing her eyes. The silence in the room was almost palapable, fraught with guilt and accusation. Siannodell opened her eyes again and looked back at Jarlosh. "I, for one, will not stand idly by and watch our forest reaped and raped by those who care nothing for it! Jarlosh, I'm going to go stop them, and I'm asking you to come with me." She looked around at the rest of the tavern's crowd. "And I ask all of you, as well. Come with me, and show these barbaric, uncaring monsters that we want nothing more to do with their ilk, and that they should just keep traveling, because Elmshade is a better community than that!" Her gaze turned back to the Twisted Root's owner and proprietor, silently hoping and beseeching him with her stare to agree. "What say you?" |
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Jarlosh steps back, nervously twitching from the apparent anger of the priestly duo. "Now now. I didnt invite them here! Why are you yellin at me for? Yeah of course Im against slavery, but what the heck can we do about it. They brought the slaves with them, nobody was taken from here and put into slavery. Have you seen the size of these people? They're monsters! Huge! And I meant it when I said they could fight, even the so called slaves. They are professional killers, what chance does a barkeep, a priestess, a woodsman, and a group of farmers have against them. Im just happy they havnt decided to attack the village itself and ransak everything." Several of the patrons nod their heads in agreement to Jarlosh. Jarlosh folds his hands in front of him, and speaks calmly..."Lady Siannodel, and Hiel. We are just simple folk here, and anything new that comes around is gonna be excitin to us. We didnt mean to make the Goddess angry, and we sure didnt mean to start the destruction of our peaceful town. If not goin to the games anymore will help, then we wont go anymore" Jarlosh looks around to the other patrons, and they all nod their agreement. He turns back to the priestess. "But like I said, were not fer commitin suicide either, and thats what yer gonna do if you go confront them like this. You better bring an arsenal with ya..." ..a grinn comes to his face. "How bout the Mage Trinity? They could throw them out with a flick of the wrist." |
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| Location: Twisted Root Tavern and Inn. | | ~ ~ ~ When the High Priestess lays her hand on his arm, Hi'el flinches at her unexpected touch, his equine ears fold back against his head and his glittering green gaze snaps down to the point of contact then up to her soft brown eyes. The Shadoweir stares at her momentarily shocked by his own angry reaction, and slowly nods, stepping back from her so she could confront the barkeep. He looks up at the ceiling for several heartbeats, and blows out a breath he'd unconsciously been holding, trying to quell the furious emotions raging within himself. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ It takes several more heartbeats, before Hi'el recovers his composure, and once more becomes aware of Siannodell saying to Jarlosh 'Elmshade is a peaceful village... ' The Silenni shakes his head at the intensity of his emotions, and quietly stands listening to the rest of what's being said. Only when Jarlosh comments about bring an arsenal does he let slip a snort of derision, thinking to himself 'How typical for a non-believer to think they would need an arsenal when in truth they had the Goddess Meilikki on their side. The Outsiders would rue the day they came to Elmshade.' At Jarlosh's mention of the Trinity Mages, the Shadoweir clears his throat, and responds saying "I sent Acolyte Andro Yoril to find the Mages with word of our impending confrontation. These Outlanders, you say are located at the Sparring Fields, that's all I wanted to know." He goes to the door, and holds it open for Siannodell. ~ ~ ~ | | Hi'el Troiye | |
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Siannodell regarded Hi'el briefly with a faintly hurt, puzzled frown at his reaction to her hand on his arm, but she dismissed it as his anger and spoke her mind. At the expected reaction of the barkeep and the crowd, she shook her head sadly. "Very well," she sighed. "I understand your reluctance, and also that you have families to think of. I would appreciate it, however, if the rest of you would not give these villains any more gold, and kindly pass the word along to your friends and family. You have my deepest thanks for that, at least. Hopefully, the Trinity will be able to help us, as well. But I do not fear these heathens. I have the support of my Goddess, All Praise Her Holy Name, and if I, a woman long in the tooth and slightly frail in body can face them, then I would think that some of you younger, heartier men and women would have the courage." She sighed again and then looked at Hi'el with a grim, determined smile. "Nonetheless, Hi'el Troiye and I will face them, alone if necessary. Thank you all anyway, and may Meilikki bless you." With that, the spunky, elder priestess turned on her heels and used her staff as her walking stick, following Hi'el and preceding him out the door on their way to the Sparring Fields. (( I think we should continue this as a new thread under the Sparring Fields. What do ya think?)) |
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Jarlosh sighs heavily, knowing he'll have to keep his promise to the elder priestess. He turns to the other patrons inside, and gives them a frown... "You all heard her. They are usin slaves, and destroyin the place. No more visitin the pits, and if I catch a one of ye commin outa there, then dont bother commin here again. If I havta stay away from the pits, then so will you louts." .. he stomps past a confused Holga as he goes back behind the bar. The other patrons wisper, and shrug... finally deciding the Twisted Root was worth missing the fights. Where else would they get their drink in Elmshade. ((Yep. Good idea. Sparring Fields it is.)) ((( Thread Continued on "Sparring Fields" Board.))) |
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