Bales and Tales

The rain has cleared on this side of the river, and the clouds have parted to reveal a wan winter sun. The Temple District this afternoon is a busy place, and off to the side of the mighty Temple of Daeus, there's a wooden cart, drawn by two strong draft horses still in their traces, a ramp dropped off of the back of the wagon to the cobblestones near a side door. Next to the ramp sits a short stack of wooden crates, and next to that several bales of hay.

Up on the wagon, Dolan, stripped of cloaks and wearing sheepskin jacket over woolen shirt against the chill, hefts another bale of hay and drops it over the back of the wagon to join its brethren. Sweat beads his brow, but he appears to be a good deal calmer than he was.

Aya knows not all the palces where Dolan might go when all is happy and bright, much less his prefered places to sulk or scowl. She only knows enough that the temples seem a good enough place to begin. If all else fails, taverns and pubs are a solid secondary option. Given the busy occupation of the square, she may have made a circuit or three of the same before she spies the man tossing bales. That is not what she expected, though it is not so foreign in hindsight. Her sister, and even herself, have taken to punching boulders in the past.

The mul'niessa makes her way to the wagon and unloader, keeping to the side opposite the cargo landing zone. "Furthering your good works for the people, putting your ire to good use, or both?" she finally inquires once near.

The cart is nearly empty, and it's at about this point that a couple of strapping acolytes emerge from the side door with the dragging of feet that says only too clearly that they've been sent out here rather than any desire of their own, and one of them walks to the back of the wagon. "Um, Corona, Sunguard Morello told us to finish the unloading for you."

Dolan, who had looked up at Aya's call, and was about to answer, turns his head and body towards the acolyte. "I'm okay. I'm almost done. Take those to the stables, would you?" He points at the haybales, and the acolytes swallow, but nod. Then, he turns his attention, and himself, back to Aya, favoring her with his full attention. "Supplies for the Temple. Someone's got to handle the work." A quirk of a smile follows, and he jerks a thumb at the retreating acolytes. "Work's good for the soul, says Papa, and I agree with him. What brings you here? Come to yell at me, have you?" He's about half-joking.

Aya's eyes shift from Dolan briefly to the help that has conveniently arrived just as the work is all but complete. After they depart, she nods. "Yes, someone must, and that someone does not look to be either of them. Not with any reliability." She then looks back to Dolan with full focus and shakes her head. "No. You were not wrong; not in your words nor the reasons behind them." After a pause, she adds with an exhale and light shrug, "Neither was he. There can be disagreement without any being wrong... or right, for that matter."

"I came to..." she pauses again and considers her words. "I cannot apologize to you for him, nor should I, but I understand his pain, his anger. I am not happy that you became a target for those."

Every trace of smile Dolan had been wearing vanishes. He hefts another crate, teh act of lifting clearly nothing new to him, and he's been taught how to do it correctly. The crate is set down at the back of the wagon next to the ramp, and he jumps off the back, then moves to heft it off the wagonbed and onto the cobblestones, with a grunt of effort. "Think I don't?" he answers roughly. "He thinks I ain't been where his brother is. He ain't know shit," he snarls, hefting himself back onto the wagon bed. "'F he asks I'll fucking track that devil of his down an' kill it. I ain't so proud that I ain't gonna put that first. That's the kind of shit that devils and demons and their ilk do, though. They'll put you in those situations where you think you ain't got a choice. But you do. You make that choice, you pay the price." He straightens up and looks down at her. "I ain't know all your story, but something tells me you know what I'm talkin' about. Am I right?"

"I know very well what you speak of," Aya confirms with a quiet neutrality. "I have stood where he stands, now. You aided me with that, and I am ever grateful. Before that, I was not so different from his brother. All of this from believing I did whatever needed be done to stop the fiend."

She exhales a breath. "A price I shall continue to pay."

Sobered, and listening, Dolan abandons the work, and sits down on the edge of the wagonbed, letting his legs dangle, clasping work-soiled hands on his lap in front of him. "What happened to Daed was part of that price, wasn't it." It's not a question, and the flesh-and-blood brown eye in the mobile half of his face is open and serious. "You were trying to stop one and got sucked into its trap." Real sympathy laces the words.

"But - you own that. You ain't trying to get out of the consequences. Shit happens. Those fuckers can catch anybody. It can happen to anybody."

Despite the understanding and sympathetic tone, Aya's eyes lower to a wheel upon the wagon. "Yes, though that was only part of the consequences to him... and he was not the only one who suffered for my choices. I am grateful for all that I was given anew," she now lifts her eyes back to him, "but I don't know that I will ever -earn- the rights to it in a lifetime."

She takes a moment and shifts topic slightly. "I will never condone what his brother did, but I hope that he might one day recover some semblance of life and family, as I did."

Still that open, quiet gaze rests on Aya. "I'll still help the man, if he asks. I can't get him out of jail, but I ain't mind tracking down that devil and sending it straight to the Void. I'd do that for anyone. I just ain't like being told it's my fault he signed his name in blood, yeah? Especially not after a whole bunch of people risked heir lives for him and for every other living soul in that tent."

Aya nods. "I expected you would help him, and most certainly want to send the fiend back to the Hells. Maybe it will be polite enough to remain there." If only, but it is still a pleasant thought. "Aelwyn is angry, frustrated. He chose to lash out at you. He should not have. I wasn't so different when we found Daechir, in truth. You were able to hold his attention, while he was terrified of me. No matter how reasonable that was, given all that happened, it was still painful. I was envious."

Something he mentions belatedly brings something to mind. "After you left, Aelwyn mentioned others had spoken to his brother, and that there was no contract nor pact. That could mean that the fiend will no longer be involved."

Dolan listens carefully, and only after a moment does he speak. "You know something?" he offers, openly and frankly. "I ain't hold Daed. I ain't reach him, where he was. Not directly." He stops, a shudder rippling through him at some memory, his own gaze dropped. "No. I ain't reach him. The Sunlord did. All I did was summon His light. I think it was a moment of hope." He shuts up, staring at the cobblestones. "I ain't stupid enough to think that fiend won't try again. Fiends ain't like being thwarted, and it saw faces. My coin's on seeing that pile of shit again, his brother or not. But if he ain't have a contract - that means ain't nothing forced or manipulated him to do that. That ain't good for him, Aya. If he did that of his own free will - any domination magic or shit like that?"

"I do not know," Aya frowns at the point and the question. "What little I was told was second-hand, and likley .. slanted. I have not spoken to his brother directly. Perhaps I could, or should." She then exhales a breath. "I would very much like to believe that the fiend's intent was to sacrifice them both, and had no future intent... but I know that is a poor wager."

"That ain't a wager I'd take, Aya." Dolan crosses his arms and leans against the side of the wagon again. "It went back to the Hells, and there it'll stay until someone else is stupid enough to summon it. We can hope nobody is, but if that brother ain't understand how close he came to killing several hundred people-" He trails off, shaking his head.

That remains that way for several breaths, but finally he asks, "It ain't none of my business, but - I get the impression you know exactly what I'm talking about." It's an opening, and offer to say more.

"I do," Aya confirms, perhaps to little surprise, " as one who made two contracts with a fiend." She then pauses for thought and breath before speaking anew. "The first was not sought, but borne of dire lack of alternatives... or a perceived lack. Possibly not so unlike the position that Aelwyn's kin found himself in. Bargaining with the desperate can make a fiend seem a divine savior, and requires far less effort on their part."

Perhaps surprisingly, what appears on the mobile half of Dolan's harlequin features is less written in judgment, than in thoughtful interest. "What made you desperate enough to do that?" He's still open and listening, and appears to have calmed down a good bit. Enough to think, anyway.

One corner of Aya's mouth curls upward in a half-smirk, albeit one that is more self-deprecating than bemused. "My own survival. A strange relic was found. The moment I touched it, I was enthralled and compelled to leave with it. I then found myself in the Hells before the fiend who already had machinations upon the city and beyond. A choice was offered: serve him as eyes and ears, or suffer a horrible demise."

Her shoulders roll lightly. "There was little choice offered nor required. Dead, I could do nothing. Alive, I could learn more of his plans, his interests, and even feed misinformation. Such was my rationale at the time, though I realize now it was merely self-serving."

Still, Dolan listens, his expression fallen into a sober line, the brown eye thoughtful. "Yeah? From your tale, I am guessing that that didn't go as planned. Never does, when you're dealing with a fiend. They've had millennia to perfect their bullshit."

Aya frowns. "It succeeded for a time, as best as it could have. Just enough information was given to appease, key points were omitted. Once, myself and several others: two great Paladins, an archmage, and others, were all laid low after combating a creature of The Void. Those most able to stand against the fiend were bedridden; the opportune moment for the fiend to strike. I called upon our bargain and sought his aid to restore myself, so that I might stand against him if that came to pass. Unfortunately, his arrival in a temple did not go unnoticed, and my arrangement was discovered. As you might expect, my allies and acquaintances were rather displeased."

She does not dwell on that, however, and continues. "Unfortunately, I was not his only spy, and one of the secrets I protected was discovered. A kobold child had been taken in by some of the Makari, one of whom was targetted by the fiend. Despite the origins of her being found, she was ... innocent. Creative. Inventive..." Her frown seems to invert itself on its own as she recounts. Until it flattens again.

"She was leverage against many, so he struck at her. We tried to protect her, and failed. He consumed and transformed her soul into a broken servitor of his own. In my rage, I struck him down. This did little other than send him back to the Hells, and broke our arrangement. Suffice it to say, he was displeased. He attempted to claim his due from me at least once after. Fortunately, I managed to elude him, which only infuriated him more."

Dolan's lips thin increasingly as the tale goes on, all ease and good humor fading. "Yeah, I'd've been pretty pissed myself," he agrees. "And - that game of cat and mouse ended up with Daed captured in the Iron Hells?" he ventures after a moment, ignoring the acolytes around him as they return and start to haul crates and parcels around the side of the Temple. "He still after you?"

"No, that fiend is not," Aya assures. "I ended our game with the second agreement. That fiend is no more, though I was not alive to witness it, much less partake in his demise. One who believe that was the end of ..." Her frown returns as she gestures vaguely with a hand, "All of that, but it was not. He was not merely any fiend,but an archfiend; a Duke of the Hells. Many fiends served him. It was the... one that I became who targetted Daechir; they only learned of him through me, through my choice."

Dolan's brown eye goes wide, a nd he lets out a low whistle. "You are one lucky woman, Aya. I don't need to tell you a damned thing. You already know, so I won't bother. Just - it sounds like a lot of people paid the price for you being desperate." He continues to watch her, soberly. "Long as you tell me you learned better, and you never do anything of the kind again. Fiends like that - they'll set it up so you think you ain't got a choice." His stare is open and earnest, but deadly serious. "You got away with one there, girl."

"I am very fortunate that all unfolded as it did," Aya nods, her expression finally softening. "All could have been far, far worse. Still, there was great cost to many; I may never know of how much to whom. I am grateful, but also ... undeserving." After a moment, her eyes narrow and harden. "No. I would never risk what I have, nor what others have, so foolishly. Worse that we do not know if the chain is truly broken, whether there may be yet one more fiend seeking us out. All the more reason for us to depart the city."

Again, Dolan stares at her for a long, long moment, then nods, his arms still crossed. "You might have gotten through alive, but a hell of a lot of people suffered for it. Least you know that. Dozens or hundreds of people pay the price, for everyone who has to learn the hard way," he mutters, half to himself, his voice trailing off. His eyes snaps back to her her, then, and he nods. "You've decided then? You're leaving for good?"

Aya's lips purse, though she does not address his muttering directly. A nod is made. "Yes. We have had enough of the city, and likely it of me. A change of scenery will be beneficial to us all." After a thought, she does add, "Not that we cut all ties; we still have allies, friends, family in Alexandria. A visit in the future is simple enough should we wish to."

Dolan appears to have let the muttering pass himself, his expression returning to that open and earnest state, his earlier fury appearing to have cooled - most likely sweated out of him. "Rather you didn't tell me where you're going," he admits, tilting his head. "If there is a fiend shows up looking for you, I can tell 'em I got no damned idea where you went, now piss off, and it ain't a lie. What I ain't know can't be tricked or forced out o' me, yeah? Just - travel safe, all right? When you leaving?"

Aya's expression softens once more, now into a smile. A genuine thing, though it is also slight wry at Dolan's foresight. "Wise, though I think any fiends that expect to cajole you will be sorely mistaken. As for when..." She considers and rolls one shoulder. "I am not sure. We can depart at will. Had you asked me a week ago, I would have expected to be absent already."

"Good enough." Dolan squats down and hops out of the wagon, using his good arm to anchor himself as he hits the cobblestones. "Well, I'm sorry to see the pair of you go, but I think you're right. Maybe getting out of here is the best thing you can do for yourselves. Can't imagine Daed wanting to see much of this place after - that." A shadow passes across his features.

He offers a meaty hand to Aya. "So, I'll wish you two luck and the blessings of the Sunlord on your journey."

Aya accepts the hand and the blessing. The former receives a firm clasp in response. "Thank you, and for much more than a fare-well and blessing. We both owe you a great deal and I moreso. I hope to aid Daechir in finding enough peace and happiness to counter what he experienced. You helped make that possible."

"Then I've done the Knight's work. Here's hoping you both find your way." Dolan takes the clasp, holding it firmly for a long moment. "Andie and I are going to stay here for a while longer. I'm thinking the Sunlord ain't done with me yet, and there's more I've got to do, but I wish you both the best."

"I'm wholly unqualified to speak for the Sunlord or His works," Aya admits, finally releasing the clasp, "but I believe that you can, and will, accomplish much more in His name. All for the better of all. Until next we meet."