Same as It Ever Was (Part 11)

To resume a play after intermission is no easy feat. The stage must be set. The actors must come together again. And so our group of adventurers find themselves, having trained Nala for some time in their ways, on the precipice of action. Nala has emerged from her room, dreaming of having met Telanmo at the town square, after the group of adventurers have learned that the fae court situation is quite complicated in this timeline. Telamon and Aryia have graciously accompanied her to the Town Square. Zeke remains inside of the house, with Rune, Harkashan, and Simony staying at the house, but outside in the snow... Just in case.

Thankfully, Aryia, Telamon, and Nala don't actually get far from the house, and the group outside of the home can hear Nala's excitement as she sees Telanmo walking up the path to the home, looking a little perturbed as he sees the group (and Nala) ahead. "Oh! Oh my gosh! Oh! Does he know where I live?! Do I look okay?" Nala asks in a hushed whisper to both Telamon and Aryia.

GAME: Telamon rolls perception: (5)+33: 38 GAME: Aryia rolls perception: (10)+37: 47 GAME: Harkashan rolls Perception: (11)+33: 44 GAME: Rune rolls perception+1: (16)+40+1: 57 GAME: Simony rolls perception: (14)+28: 42

When the story picks up, Rune is outside the cottage, sitting on a tree stump nearby and running a rag of oil over one of her blades in something a care that has become something akin to ritual since the loss of the friend who made them. Her ear perks, listening to the sound of crunching feet in the snow and the call of Nala that hangs in the chill air.

Then, she pauses in her work to lay the blade across her lap, reaching to shift the collar of her jacket and scratch at her neck. Except, the itchy feeling doesn't go away, though. That is when Rune pauses as if realizing that the buzzing feeling in her skin isn't something ordinary. Tugging her jacket back up, Rune rises to her feet, hand clasping her sword.

"Something wicked this way comes..." Rune mutters, then looks around towards the others close by and calls out, "Heads up, we've got some Fae bullshit on the way. And it's some big Fae bullshit if my senses aren't playing tricks on me."

Harkashan steps out of the little house when he hears a ruckus outside. The calls of Telanmo - he wonders how strange it must be for Telamon. All of this. He's weirded enough by the existence of 'another' Harkashan, or Harka-like. He glances their way, while turning his head - picking up on other sounds in the distance.

"Alright. Then you're on Fae Bullshit Duty." Harkashan answers Rune, touching her shoulder and quickly casting a spell over her. One of these days, he'll have to work on getting her the permanent version of this cast. But for now, this will do.

He trusts that she knows what she's talking about. After all, if there's anyone who has had to put up with a lot of Fae Bullshit that's not Telamon and Ravenstongue... it's probably Rune, he thinks.

GAME: Harkashan casts True Seeing. Caster Level: 19 DC: 25

Telamon is feeling irritable, but it can't be helped. The apparently endless seasons away from the constant presence of his wife are leaving him on edge, only ameliorated by the old practices his father drilled into him for controlling himself. And so he doesn't immediately pick up on things. What he does pick up on are the calls of ravens at a time when they should be sleeping.

At Rune's warning though, the sorcerer's head comes up, eyes glowing with starlight. "I see," he says quietly. "And now I will see more." He begins to chant softly. "Irhandi igi-kar, namzu igi-bad." And then his eyes seem to go completely dark, the whites swallowed by the starry void, the blaze of distant suns. Worlds without number that gleam in his gaze.

GAME: Telamon casts True Seeing. Caster Level: 20 DC: 26

Aryia ambles along with Telamon and Nala on the trip to the town square with her hands in her pockets. The seasons passing has been a calming time, able for self reflection and various different knitting projects. Clad in her usual getup save for black scarf with white tassels, she side eyes the approaching figure.

Nala's excitement is bluntly ignored as a subtle sound echoes through the woods. The pugilist sighs, pulling her hands free and stepping up next to the two of them. Why is Telanmo here instead of the square?

The Goblin has found a comfortable spot to settle, where she can see down the front and side of the house. Her ears are picking up the nighttime sounds of animals, and her eyes are well suited for the dark. An interesting sound, something much like a Raven, has her canting her head side to side, trying to place it.

Rune's utterance causes Simony to straighten, and very quietly pull the warhammer from the loop on her belt. "Oh holy Raven, who soars above Knowledge and Time, grant us your blessings, that we may vanquish our foes this eve." As she prays, the Goblin's holy symbol brightens, and those around her feel the touch of the God of Knowledge.

GAME: Simony casts Blessing of Fervor. Caster Level: 18 DC: 22

Zeke putters around the kitchen and the house cleaning and keeping the place neat in the absence of the others. He'd thought about going with the young woman but... he's not really very good at the whole social scene. Still, he tends the hearth fire and hopes that the others fare well while he tends to the house.

Telanmo, for his part, seems rather blissfully unaware, staring at Nala for a long moment. "Umm..." For a long moment, he seems quite bashful. "I think I just saw you? In my dream. I was... In a castle, I think? And when I woke up, I felt compelled to just keep walking, and, well..."

He smiles a little at Nala. "Hi," he manages.

Nala seems about ready to faint of joy, but then a bird swoops down from the trees and lands in front of the trio of Nala, Telamon, and Aryia. It lands in the snow, then its form shifts, becoming someone in a large robe.

"His Majesty summons you," a voice emits from the robe, genderless, yet oddly rasping about the edges. "I have been asked to escort the Princess to the Court. Are all of you her retinue?"

GAME: Telamon rolls knowledge/the planes: (5)+18: 23
GAME: Rune rolls knowledge/The Planes+1: (14)+25+1: 40

Telamon comes to a stop, his arm coming up to block Nala from getting any closer. "A bit abrupt," he says to the robed visitor, flicking a glance past it to Telanmo to make sure the lad's not about to do something -too- rash.

A little rash is one thing, but he doesn't want this story going sideways just yet.

"And there seems to be some question as to her past and her future." Telamon's voice drops to a more even tone, polite, even congenial. "So many seem to want our ward, yet none are willing to come to her with open hands... well, except one." His starry eyes twinkle. "So I'm afraid His Majesty needs to come forth with a better reason than 'I want her here'."

Rune shivers as the slither of magic flows over her, Harkashan's magic giving her normally blue eyes a storm-kissed countenance, with a bit of flickering shadows at the edges. It doesn't take an expert to know that something is about to happen, "Someone should get Zeke..."

All of this revolves around Nala, so she is bound to be the target of the unusual energy. The sight of the robed figure, however, has Rune squinting. Her enhanced sight is augmented by a flicker of iridescent color across her tinted eyes. "It's a servant of the Unseelie Court. Possibly a quite dangerous one. They're sometimes given powers of the Queen of Air and Darkness." Rune explains.

Then, she is starting in the direction of the others. Closing the distance relatively quickly given the magics that Simony had laid over them.

Simony watches in silence as Telanmo approaches, her eyes widening at the arrival of the robed one. Her eyes go back and forth between the three before the robed visitor, her expression pensive. She nods, then, at Rune, turning to the house and bounding to the door and throwing it open.

"Zeke, your service is required!", the Goblin calls out.

Aryia quirks a brow at Telanmo awkwardness, but looks past him, focused on whatever else is ongoing. If Nala fainted, she prooobably wouldn't be caught. She needs to practice falling anyways. And then that bird flutters down.

Muttered words of magic and cordial words from Telamon to the robed figure. She glances back towards the house to make sure folks were rousing before subtly cracking her neck.

GAME: Zeke rolls Perception: (6)+9: 15

Zeke blinks, holding a broom in his claws and looking toward the front door. Was that a squirrel outside chittering? Surely not. He shakes his head. His hearing isn't what it used to be, but there's a draft coming in now and the door's surely open so he makes his way to the front door wondering how it got open. Which is how he finds Simony standing there. "Sssaaa. Ssssimony. What are you doing here?"

The sith-makar allows himself to be spirited away back toward the rest of the group by Simony who will surely explain along the way. Hopefully. His hearth fire can wait. The world isn't real anyway.

Harkashan glances aside, but Simony is already getting Zeke. As such, he touches Rune's hand once more, and slowly steps forward to approach Telamon and co. "I am pretty sure you do not need my assistance on this." The Sith'makar rumbles to the Archmage. "But in case it matters, I always prepare Zone of Truth, if we want to question an annoying bird." He points out.

From behind the robed figure, Telanmo frowns deeply, stepping forward. "Yeah. What do you want Nala for?" he demands, in a way that is rather familiar to Telamon--even if Telanmo's cheeks flush a little as he says the girl's name. "Err. That is your name... right?"

"Yeah," Nala says, just a little dreamily. And then she seems to remember herself, looking back at the hooded figure. "If I am a Princess, then I demand to know why I am being summoned."

The figure under the hood gives a sigh, and then it reaches up with a strange hand reminiscent of a bird's talons, pulling down the hood to reveal a tall raven humanoid, something like an egalrin, but... more. Golden eyes peer out keenly at the retinue. "I know not of this Queen of Air and Darkness," he says. "I am a member of His Majesty's Chosen. He told me to expect some sort of resistance and questioning, so he prepared this."

He pulls out a slim piece of obsidian from within his robes and tosses it to the ground. An image emanates from it. Almost everyone here knows the appearance of 'Grandfather', aka Alud'rigan, the Feathered One. This time, he wears a crown wrought from some dark metal atop his brow, leaning back into a throne that seems like it was sculpted around his exact form. "I know, sweet and precious child, that you and I have never met. Yet I would seek to protect you from the marriage betrothal that was made when you were not yet even born. Come with my messenger. I will protect you. And--"

A voice whose speaker is not present in the image yells at the Unseelie King. "Alud'rigan! Are you muttering into discs again? Come to bed." It's a man's voice.

The Unseelie King blinks and then calls back, "Just a moment, my dear! I am leaving a message for our grandchild! The one who is going to be kidnapped by that sun-drenched fop of a bastard if we don't get her down here in time!" Then he sighs and says, "Just... please come. I'll have a feast waiting for you. And your friends. I hope you have friends, you should have--"

And then the image ends. The bird person sighs. "His Majesty is quite... chatty, when he records these things for his descendants."

GAME: Telamon rolls detectBS: aliased to sense motive: (7)+29: 36

Simony cants her head at Zeke, and she gestures with a hand, her voice lowered. "A bird just landed and changed into a hooded someone. They say they speak for 'His Majesty' and says that Nala must go with him. Telamon seems talkative, but Rune suspects fey and suggested I fetch you. The bird-person asked if we were Nala's retinue."

The Goblin moves out a few paces ahead of Zeke, but slows as the disc is thrust to the ground. She giggles madly at the appearance of the King. "Grandfather."

Telamon's eyes glitter. Patterns within patterns. "Myth becomes legend," he whispers to himself. The half-sil archmage ponders for a few moments, considering... before a mischievous grin appears on his face. Oh dear.

"There will be a condition," Telamon purrs to the fey servitor. "We will need to bring along this young man, here," and he gestures grandly to Telanmo. "For he has passed through the Castle on the Edge of Waking and wishes to pay court to His Majesty's most lovely granddaughter."

His eyes twinkle cheerfully. "After all, what better way to put a thumb in that 'sun-drenched fop's' eye than to encourage her to find happiness with someone that she chooses?"

Normally, Harkashan's defenses would have lowered. Even at hearing the more... human way of interaction. But he's still considering that the Queen is no more -- and now he understands why. Grandfather, it would seem, has taken her position in this reality as the leader of the Unseelie court.

"Well, that explains that particular inconsistency." He rumbles bemusedly. Noting that Telamon is taking this all as-is, relaxing him a bit.

Zeke has entered the scene just in time to hear the message and he blinks at the whole thing a little curiously. Still it seems that they may well be going to the court. Another regrouping? At least they can avoid the fae man trying to capture Nala there. Zeke nods to himself with determination. "Not retinue. Friendssss." He remembers this word from the 'recording'. Friends are important. He looks at the not-egalrin seriously. "Friendssss."

An eyebrow is quirked at the creature's lack of knowledge, but Rune doesn't press the matter further. What she knows is very rooted into their own reality, and may or may not have any direct parallels in this one. at the mention of resistance, the rogue looks down at her weapons, then back at the avian messenger.

However, when the shard with the message from this world's version of Alud'rigan appears, her blades lower slightly and she tucks them back into the sheaths at her sides. Instead of weapons held, she raises her hand to the shawl that is visible just beneath her outer jacket, one that was a gift from the Fae. She is no expert on Fae intentions, but in this case, she seems willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

However, there is one momentary flicker of uncertainty, mostly at the mention of her 'friends'. The memory of those other versions of themselves comes to mind, but... Nala will find them in the future, won't she? This is before those meetings, at least it seems so...

Aryia, perhaps understandably, is a touch on edge as the robed figure reaches into their robe. But then it's... Grandfather. No, the other one. On a piece of obsidian. The closeness to a certain sword gets her to shift uncomfortably, but she instead listens to the illusory message.

She stares. Then glances up towards Telamon. Well that is certainly a good plan. And dips her head in a nod as Zeke mentions this is all about friends. Better to see how this loop goes this way then?

The guard turns around and eyes Telanmo, who walks around to approach Nala (although he gives her a wide berth still, likely on account of Aryia being right there and looking a bit intimidating). "He may come," he says. "As well as anyone else that the Princess dictates."

Nala puffs up her chest a little, smiling broadly as her hands go onto her hips. "Well then. I appoint Telanmo as my intended who will travel with me." This garners from Telanmo a rather rapid blink of the eyes, but he doesn't object. "And I will bring with me my royal advisors: Deathsinger-Supreme Harkashan, Archmage of Ni'essa Telamon, High Temperance Simony, Platinum-Sunguard Zeke, Shadowblade-in-the-Night Leirune, and Unbroken-Fist-Bound-to-Sunder-Tyrants Aryia!"

These declarations of ostentatious titles do something odd. Everyone feels... Stronger. Just for a moment, and then it dissipates. Nala offers everyone a wide grin. "Because you're all my friends!" she says. "You're all coming with me, right?"

Telamon makes a small gesture to Aryia to let Telanmo stand next to Nala. Might as well get them used to each other -- just as he and Lana did. The thought makes his expression freeze for a split second, before he pushes onward.

"Of course. While I expect Telanmo will do quite well in any negotiations, it won't hurt to have help." He smirks slightly. "Plus, I expect Raeluin will be less inclined to chase after you into your grandfather's court if it's also being visited by friends who would take such an intrusion poorly."

At the titles, one eyebrow rises, but he also smiles, ruefully remembering the sobriquet he'd laid on Aryia: Boulder-Splitter.

The inflation of a Goblin's ego is a dangerous thing. Simony has the good sense to blush, her entire face colouring different shades of red. "But I'm not..." She stops and blinks a few times. Why /not/ High Temperance? It may be the only opportunity she gets, in a place where it doesn't matter.

Though it does. Less so to the Goblin, perhaps, but very much so to Nala.

High Temperance it is.

"I would not miss it. Not even the ending of Everything would I do so." Simony bows deeply to Nala. "High Temperance Simony, at your service."

Being so in tune with her body, Aryia perks as that sensation washes over her, ebbing and flowing. It's noted, threating a smirk on her face and stepping back at Telamon's suggestion. Totally not feeding into her ego.

Again, she bobs her head: agreeing to go, and cracking her knuckles as she does so. Though pondering on all the titles thrown about. Mouthing some of them. That's a lot of syllables. What was the longest title held?

In one series of words, Rune's uncertainty fades into the shadows as she raises her head. Her eyes turn to Nala and she shifts her head, almost in a slight bow. Something in the way that Nala speaks reminds her of Cor'lana, and it warms her heart even in the cold. Because without Telamona and Cor'lana and so many others, she wouldn't be who she is, today.

She steps forward closer to the others, her hands resting on the handles of her weapons. Simony gets a small nudge as she walks past, then a nod of affirmation. The Goblin sometimes seems to struggle seeing herself as the powerful force that she is, and may just need that reminder that not just Nala sees her that way.

"Yessss." Zeke says gently. "We are." He intends to go with her at least. He would not be left behind. Strange as it might seem considering that he'd let her leave him behind in the house. Being left behind on a date is one thing. Being left behind when one is going into the heart of Faerie is quite another. If he were being honest, the thought is terrifying. He looks at Telamon and knows that if the gate to Faerie opens to a plane of endless white that he might well freeze in place. He is not without fear after all.

Harkashan can't help but guffah at the idea of him being some kind of 'supreme' anything. Even as her words show once again what control Nala has on this world -- he is but a Shaman. A simple Deathsinger. Certainly, his bond with the Deathsinging Dragon has reached a mighty reach by now. But it is certainly a good reminder of what and who Nala is for this realm.

He glances warily at Telamon for a moment, then back to Rune - whose shadows seem to be responding to this power as well. So he awaits her, then touches hands to her. Ready to get moving once more.

The raven-person rumbles a little, a little noise that proves they are not far removed from some more typical-bodied avians. "Then I will open the portal."

With a magic gesture, they open one. It leads... into pitch black. As disconcerting as that is, at least it's not the endless winter that Zeke fears. "Follow," the raven person intones. Quick steps, and then the Courtly representative is gone.

So follows the group.

They emerge into a dimly lit castle that seems quite lively in discussion off in the distance. The smells of meats and vegetables and desserts waft through the air, as well as wine and, to Zeke and Harkashan's makari senses, tea. It seems they are several hallways away from the feast, and their escort is quick to bring them through long hallways of obsidian and dim torchlight. It's not the place of shadow, despair, and pain that Telamon and Aryia are acquainted with.

The raven person approaches a set of doors, which open at the flick of a hand. "Announcing Her Highness, Princess Nala Lupecyll, and her retinue--"

"Friends!" Nala sharply corrects, before tightly wrapping her arm around Telanmo's. "And intended." (Telanmo blinks and tries not to sweat.)

"Her friends and intended," the raven person intones, a stifled sigh barely being swallowed back. Diligently, all of their titles are called out again. The group has entered a very long hallway that is arrayed with tables, and at the end of it is... Alud'rigan, wearing a crown, who blinks and hops up from his seat in a lightning-fast speed.

"Nala!" His joy radiates in his face and voice, and he quickly comes down the hall to greet her. He holds out those rather sharp-looking talons of his as though to embrace her, before he seems to remember himself. Alud'rigan clears his throat. "Welcome home."

"Oh, finally! She's come!" That's a voice Aryia recognizes. Because it's her own. Indeed, off in one corner is the almost-Aryia that the party has met before, a glass of wine in hand. "Let me challenge your princess to a duel."

-TBC