Dining at the Water's Edge Epilogue (Naomi)
From Toosigma
| Title | Dining at the Water's Edge - Epilogue |
|---|---|
| Author | Philip Mann - Naomi |
| Campaign | Convergent Threads |
| Session | Intersession |
| Posted | |
| Game Date |
It amazes me how easy it is to blend right back into my usual life between adventures. One day I am fighting for my life in a long forgotten place in the Depths, the next day I am back at the Eyrie hopping tables. A few days later, I find myself pulling a scrawny little man from the edge of a waterfall in the middle of a goblin attack; then it is back to filling orders for Azarius. The stories that I hear about adventurers, one would never think that they have anything resembling a normal life. Maybe the truth of it is that some of us embrace what we want to be normal in our lives, only to find that we are ourselves contradiction enough that normal in the conventional sense still evades us. “I am that I am,” as I told Cald, and what I am is anything but what most would find to be normal. Of course, what normal girl would refer to a gargoyle as her big brother? No, I think that “normal” is an unattainable comfort that people cling to in order to feel as though they belong. I need no such labels because the Larans make me feel as though I belong and that is more than enough for me.
Seeing Arabel and hearing of her plight struck a chord that resonated very deep within me. Not so long ago I was penniless, dressed in discarded garb, and in greater need of help than I would have admitted at the time. That I could sense there might be something more to these refugees than they have said, or even that Tobias was the source of her difficulty, was of less importance right away than simply that this girl and her brother needed help. I knew that my family would take them in.
The phrase, “My family,” would be meaningless to me without the deep adoration that accompanies it. I am not bound to them by blood or marriage, yet the love and respect bonds us together in ways that I think many traditionally related houses may take for granted. I feel blessed to have found them before I became so jaded that I was unwilling to have faith enough to trust them. Cald and Jelicar, like me, have been brought into this house by the Larans and I know that they feel the same way. As Cald put it, “Nothing is more important than family.” I could not agree more.
At the alchemy shop, Arabel wanted to hock a necklace that could probably never be replaced. The centerpiece, a Siberys Dragonshard, was remarkable in more than its beauty; the stone was enchanted and seemed to be attuned in a way that would enhance the abilities of a Dragonmark. I cannot see how she would know of the abilities that the necklace holds or that it must have belonged to a member of a Dragonmarked house, or she would not have come to me to pass it off. Truthfully, had I known only that it could hold some memories of her mother and father I would have counseled her exactly as I did. While I could make such an item, my best skills would never allow me to create the memories that are tied to it. Maybe the idea of preserving memories is so precious to me because I have so few.
The evening that I went to talk to Tobias about their debt, I did not plan to do anything but talk. The answer seemed so simple to me, just convince him to accept a fair price and be done with it. Evidently, Mr. Laran and Cald saw that things would not be so easy. With my monstrous brother along, we made it through town at the late hour without incident, of which I was glad. We passed some unsavory-looking folks along the route, but all seemed to figure it was better to let us pass than to incur the wrath of a gargoyle at night. If only I had him with me the first time Tobias was around, maybe I would have been saved a great deal of complication with him and Aramil.
We arrived at the Knight’s Rest as I finished a small enhancement on myself. I still did not expect a fight and, at worst, I only expected to use a little intimidation, so I boosted my presence a bit to help in the effort to either end. Just a few seconds in the door, however, Tobias and his drawn short sword made it clear that he intended for us to leave in a few more pieces than we arrived. He called for assistance from a couple of his lackeys which made me doubly grateful for Cald’s presence. Without thinking I drove my fist at his knee, which was now at the perfect height with him standing on the bar.
I cannot deny that I considered killing him outright as he lay groaning and helpless on the floor, and I probably would have killed him and more if not for Cald taking care of the others. Instead, I decided to continue with my idea to convince him to forgive their debt, but intimidation was the only technique that I had remaining. This was twice that I had crippled him and I knew that the outcome here would certainly come back to haunt me in time, but my sole focus was still my reason for coming in the first place, so I was willing to push a little harder than I might have otherwise. As he sat on the stool bleeding, with his unnaturally bent leg, I reminded him that there are certain basic elements in his life that he takes for granted; things which are not safe from me if he refused to free them from his debt. Clearly, he did not want to cooperate and only did so out of fear. To myself, I considered that there could be a way to instill the same kind of fear a young girl must feel, as Arabel and her mother must have felt, under his thumb. I thought of a dozen different ways to make him pay, but each idea made me glimpse into my own soul…and I did not like what I saw.
Walking home with Cald, with my brother, felt somehow different than how we had arrived. The events with Tobias evaporated, and the emotion of the moment was replaced by something stronger than the companionship I feel when I’m adventuring with the others. While I know that Kara and Hero, and possibly Moolog, would fight at my side and do their best, I could see that Cald and the rest of my family would carve a swath of destruction through all of Sharn if I needed them. What we will do for one another is what separates friends from family. By witnessing something of me in such a situation, I believe Cald understood that I would do anything for them.
After a couple of days, I was able to ask Arabel if she knew what the necklace really was. She knew only that it had some sort of magic, which is what brought her to me instead of a traditional jeweler. I left her with an open offer to do whatever research needed to be done, or to have it done if I could not, so that she would know. Mayhap she will want to know more of it in time, for now it may be too difficult for her to hear.
I wonder if I will ever know what it is like to have memories of the time before I awoke. Before that night at the University, there is nothing except that I was made…and the dark voice. Every day of these few short months has brought new experiences that I will cherish for as long as I live. This holds true for the good and bad of life because, while I may at times regret the bad, everything that I have done has shaped me in some way. However, since I have felt the voice that comes from the pit inside of me, I hope that I am strong enough to remember my past if I ever do.
I have seen the vision of a bitter wrath brought against my sister, a vision in which I took her life for a reason that I can only imagine was hatred upon blind hatred. I recall with crystal clarity the moment of such contempt felt for a young girl that I nearly killed and the power that stayed my hand. I love Kayli with all of my being, but I doubt that love would be enough to keep her alive under the same circumstance because the love for her is a candle compared to the inferno of unchecked emotion stirred within me by that girl whom I have never really met.
If I had but one thing to hope for it is that the dark voice within me is not who I really am…
It rained this morning as I journeyed through the bridges and narrow paths on my way to wait for the sun. It was a soft rain, but still enough to make the city seem pure with its rinsed streets and renewed smell. I love how the sound of the rain mutes the world around me, and I love to feel the drops all over me. As they run down my body, it is as if they take a little bit of trouble with them when they go. I walked slowly, constantly looking toward the sky so that I could feel the cool drops in my face. My clothing was soon drenched and clung to me like a second skin, but I did not mind; for now, my world was filled with the sensations of the moment.
I smiled at an older couple as I stepped into the street to let them by. As they passed, I heard the woman say, “Earl, that one is going to catch her death of cold wandering around drenched like that…” I’m sure a lot of others were thinking the same thing during my travels, but I cannot see being bundled up as they were. Like the sunrise that I try to see every morning, there is too much glory in simply living to fret about things like getting wet.
The rain stopped as I neared my bench so I took the occasion to shake the water from my hair. Though it never became saturated and always appeared to be dry, the added weight was something that I could do without. As I fluffed it a bit to get the last of the water free, I had to chuckle to myself briefly as I pictured mama and how she likes to touch my hair. I imagine that she would be the first to produce a brush if it ever got out of place. That is not to say that I would stop her from brushing my hair for no reason other than she wanted to.
By the time I left my viewing area enroute to the alchemy shop my clothes were nearly dry. Since I only wear one layer of clothing instead of the plethora of undergarments common to the women that I see, my attire is seldom damp for long. I saw the warforged with the flowers again, but this time he was setting up to sell them in front of a store that was on my way. He was all business as I expected, but not unpleasantly so. I looked a bit before I bought a small bright red flower that he called a Dwarf Anthurium, which I slid neatly into my hair as I continued down the walk.
When Hero revealed his secret to me I wondered how much he thought he knew about me, but felt a mote of guilt almost immediately. I realized that my own family knows so very little of me, and that I would need to clear my conscience with them. Of course, I do not have the worries that Hero does because my family already accepts me for who I am. Besides, Mr. Laran is an extraordinarily perceptive man that may already be aware that I am not really an elf as I would appear. There is always the chance that the Larans are also something other than they appear, as with everyone I know. But, I am not one to take people for what I think they might be; rather I will take them as they present themselves and nothing more, or less.
I added silver tracery to Moolog, and such extended time together has allowed us to get to know much of how we each see things. Truthfully, I almost wish that the discussion had not been so and I could have remained with my delusions that the tactically-minded warforged would grow out of warfare. It seems that he is very absolutist in his expedience makes all things right. He would kill or destroy everything if it was in the way of his plan, an ideology that I find very distressing. He says that he wants to learn of things like family and friendship, but I feel that he does not want to embrace those concepts. Rather, he wants to understand how they can be used to fit into his schemes for power. I suppose I can be thankful that he says I am his best ally, but he has also said that allegiances are fleeting and more of convenience and the tide of battle than so enduring as true friendship. If he ever turns against us, I wonder if I will be the first that he kills or the last.
