Shadows 2.4!
Aug. 24th, 2006 12:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
measured_wordsI finished the last section of this chapter, yay! That leaves two chapters, at least, that I want to finish before we actually play again next Sunday, and Three if I'm really lucky. One is already started, at least. Anyone who wants to read this chapter all the way through can find it on its home at the Exia wiki, over here.
Shadows 2.4
He’d woken from terrible half-remembered dreams with Teah by his side and the palace around him in chaos. He’d seen Ishitaka first and then, after a short consultation on his self-medication, he’d met Osana. The lord had not been in the best of moods, having lost two of his expensive ornamental herd, his man wounded, doors broken and his House, as he saw it, infiltrated. There was no sense denying his associations with the Loyalist cause, so Hadyn didn’t. His business with Ishitaka had been completely unrelated. He was not a spy. He intended the lord and his household no danger or disrespect. No, he would not sell Teah. Yes she was unique. Yes, she did understand everything he was saying, and no, she was not amused. And so on. Osana had his priest call upon the spirits to discern the truth of his answers to a barrage of questions. Once he was satisfied, the lord informed Hadyn that he would remain as a guest in his household, though he could send a messenger to his allies and retrieve some personal effects.
For now, he was allowed to rest. Ishitaka stayed to ensure his health and make private apologies for the harm he had caused. He also relayed that the Daimyo’s guards now stood outside the doors of the Loyalist compound and that when Prince Lynel returned, he would be invited to attend an audience. The messenger left with Teah in tow, and returned with Volaris. He brought some of Hadyn’s spellbooks and took back assurances that the younger wizard was alright, and safe in Lord Osana’s care.
Strangely, Hadyn did feel safe, or safe enough, where he was. The idea of having his movements restricted usually filled him with both fear and anger, but this situation was different. For one, any of the Loyalists that he’d be wiling to trust enough to aid him in his current state were too busy to do so. If he had to accept assistance from an unproven source, better it be one that he could easily walk away from. He didn’t completely distrust Ishitaka, for that mater – he’d probed his mind and sense that the regret the priest expressed was genuine. Apart from all of that, he knew he still had the upper hand in the palace, and even more so since Volaris had brought the books that gave him access to all his standard magical precautions. Everyone in the palace was terrified of Teah, and he was considered a member of a Royal household, even if Lynel was not precisely in favour at court. If Hadyn really wanted to leave, it would be impolitic, and impolite, to stop him.
He’d had plenty of time to speak with Ishitaka. After tending to Meiko in the mornings, he would come to converse with his guest in the afternoons. He’d tried to convince Hadyn to cleanse his system, at last temporarily, of all his medications, but he refused. Instead, they worked together to develop a more careful, and hopefully more effective, regime of teas and other herbal preparations. The Southerner never probed too deeply into why he needed these sedative treatments – their efficacy was as obvious as their absence. There were some issues to work around, however. For one, Hadyn was not the half-elf he posed as, and drugs often had a different effect on his system. He’d retreated into his cowl and relied heavily on his various disguise spells during his stay. He tried to explain these differences as allergies or intolerances to certain substances. Hadyn was familiar enough with his own physiognomy to guess what to expect in most cases, and Ishitaka learned quickly what to avoid.
The other complication was the strange silvery potion provided to him by Nhabu, priest of Kaedus, that helped him keep the demon in his mind at bay. It was part herbalism, part alchemy, and part magic – Hadyn had no idea what was in it. Triskin and Valentine had been resupplying him whenever their missions took them north to Trylith, but he didn’t know what would happen now that the city had fallen. Ishitaka was not Nhabu, not by a long shot, but he was undeniably gifted with potions and alchemy. Hadyn had learned much from him already. If anyone would be able to assist him, surely Ishitaka was qualified… But he couldn’t do it. He was sure the other man must know he was holding back secrets – if nothing else, he would be able to sense the magic that surrounded him and possibly discern the nature of the spells cast. Be he couldn’t, and didn’t want to, share. There had to be another way.
His reverie was disturbed when the new screen door slid open. Ishitaka bowed as he entered. Hadyn, who’d been half-heartedly taking notes from a borrowed volume of alchemical recipes, stood and returned the greeting.
“Prince Lynel, Prince-in-Exile of the City of Exia, has returned to Shinkyo with his entourage.”
“That is good to hear.” It was – no one had been precisely certain how the Loyalist faction had fared, other than that they’d helped prevent the loss of the Trylith navy and allowed the city’s defenders to destroy all the docks and facilities that would have made it too easy for Exia to gain access to all the shipping lanes of the North. He wondered if everyone had made it back, and if anyone had thought to contact them previously about the situation in Shinkyo.
“And, your prince has agreed to meet with the Daimyo.”
Hadyn nodded. Of course he would. He didn’t really have a choice. The Daimyo would likely offer Lynel the same extended hospitality that he was currently receiving from the cousin, and then be released. And then, they’d be evicted from the city. How long they would be given to relocate would depend entirely on the prince’s diplomatic skills.
It was strange to hear Lynel referred to as ‘his’ prince. Hadyn certainly never considered him such. He’d barely lived in Exia a year before the Fall. Heis allegiance to the cause was a complicated issue – as a member of the Alient Group, the strange outfit of semi-philanthropic mercenary-adventurers that had taken him in when he’d first arrived on Keth, it was personal. Their group, and his team in particular, had been set up to assist in the chaos leading up to the Night of the Crimson Death, and their leader, Alient himself, framed as one of he conspirators. Hadyn hadn’t really liked or trusted the old Elowyn as he seemed to know too much about secrets that at that time, Hadyn hadn’t yet breathed aloud to any soul on this world. But he could never dream him capable of willful collusion with the demon-corrupted church, or churches, of Salistrom. It was still unclear who all had been involved with the plot.
The second reason for his involvement with the Loyalists was Lendrick. His friend – one of few – had been devastated after they’d been forced to flee the city. The new regime had hunted Alient’s people as possible threats, and the people of the city had been unwilling to harbour them due to Alient’s perceived guilt. Lendrick had devoted himself to Exia – to its people and the spirit of the city. Losing and leaving everything had changed him, and not for the better.
But he’d still stuck with Hadyn, putting the paranoid wizard before himself in all things. In retrospect, it was clearly some kind of transference issues at work. Lendrick had been searching for a cause he thought he could win. They had lost heir other team members along the way, and been forced to rely heavily on each other to survive. Slowly, the half-elf had managed to break down his walls. Then they’d both gotten drunk one night at some dive in Trylith, and Hadyn had told his friend everything. Everything. And after what Lendrick had told him in return, after the warnings he’d given, he’d panicked. He’d fled the next morning while his companion had still been sleeping off his hangover. He hadn’t slept at all – he remembered that much.
Once he’d found out about the Loyalists, he’d contacted Lendrick at the earliest opportunity to inform him, and give him back some much needed hope. He’d stayed because he wanted to see Lendrick win back *his* city, and *his* dreams – not for Lynel’s crown.
And was that it? Was it really just guilt and a twisted sense of obligation or revenge that kept him here? He frowned. Was that enough? What else would he be doing?
“Zanne?”
He blinked.
“I see you are still having difficulties concentrating. We will have to further adjust for that.”
“Ahh. Yes. I was just thinking about Exia.” He shook his head. He’d been doing this since yesterday: he’d get distracted by some stray train of thought, and minutes would pass before he realized what was happening. He’d been making a concerted effort to keep control of these mental segues, but it was clearly an inefficient solution.
“The events in the North are most unfortunate. My lord and his esteemed cousin both remained convinced, however, that once your prince and his followers are removed from these lands, we will be better able to insulate ourselves from this growing evil.”
“Insulate? They can’t be that stupid.”
Ishitaka frowned.
“Really. There are already agents of Exia in Shinkyo. They’ve been here for months. Someone has been spying on us and interfering with our *local* operations. When I first arrived in the South over a year ago, we were already being harassed on our road here, again by local agents in league with the ‘evil in the North!’ It isn’t just in the North. *Someone* in your city has known our location for, as I said, *months*. And *after* our organization presents itself as a somewhat effective obstacle in their conquest of Trylith, *now* we are sold out to your Daimyo? They don’t want us to have an alliance here because it would be too advantageous for both of us.” He cut himself off – he could certainly elaborate, but he didn’t want to reveal any more than he already had. He found the Loyalists’s situation incredibly frustrating, and he was certain his tone was revealing in that regard.
“I am not gifted with much insight into politics,” his host rejoined simply. He was still difficult to read at times, even after Hadyn had spent so many days in his company. “However, it is clear to me that the loss of Exia should be concerning to any who consider themselves scholars and men of learning. The further loss of freedoms, in the North or otherwise, is likewise concerning.”
It was a start, at least. “What we really need at this point is information about our enemy. We lack allies, but if we did have them, we’d hardly be able to tell them how best to help. Exia’s University was a great repository of information that could have helped us and we only managed to retain… a fraction of a fraction of that. We need better books.”
“Have you ever heard of the Quiet Sages?”
Hadyn shook his head. He wondered if Volaris had.
“They have access to diverse lores long lost to others. The Sages view themselves as guardians of knowledge and secrets that could be dangerous in the hands of the unwise. Their order is very secretive and selective because of this. It is only possible to join their ranks by procuring an invitation from a member who is willing to vouch for one’s commitment to the protection of humanity. Even then, one must present proof to the others that one also possesses access to such esoteric information as might interest their membership.”
“I see.” Hadyn could think of several subjects on which he considered himself amongst the foremost experts on Keth. “Are you a member of this order yourself?”
“No. It is an honour I have long coveted, however my research is not yet sufficiently advanced to merit their interest.”
“But you think they might be convinced to aid us.”
Ishitaka spread his fingers and lifted his hands – a gesture inviting possibility. “Perhaps. I do know the names of some members locally. If yourself or some other member of your organization believes they have information that would interest the Quiet Ones, it may be possible to broker some kind of arrangement. I cannot say that they would invite someone from outside the Empire into their society, however.”
Hadyn’s mind was already racing, having considered and dismissed a number of secrets he could bring to such a table. But no. He knew just the thing to tell them – it could not fail to intrigue, and it would release him from an obligation he’d willingly taken upon himself on the trek southwards. He doubted the others traveling with him remembered that particular encounter, not after everything else that had happened on the road…”
“Zanne?”
“Yes. Give me the names.”
Shadows 2.4
He’d woken from terrible half-remembered dreams with Teah by his side and the palace around him in chaos. He’d seen Ishitaka first and then, after a short consultation on his self-medication, he’d met Osana. The lord had not been in the best of moods, having lost two of his expensive ornamental herd, his man wounded, doors broken and his House, as he saw it, infiltrated. There was no sense denying his associations with the Loyalist cause, so Hadyn didn’t. His business with Ishitaka had been completely unrelated. He was not a spy. He intended the lord and his household no danger or disrespect. No, he would not sell Teah. Yes she was unique. Yes, she did understand everything he was saying, and no, she was not amused. And so on. Osana had his priest call upon the spirits to discern the truth of his answers to a barrage of questions. Once he was satisfied, the lord informed Hadyn that he would remain as a guest in his household, though he could send a messenger to his allies and retrieve some personal effects.
For now, he was allowed to rest. Ishitaka stayed to ensure his health and make private apologies for the harm he had caused. He also relayed that the Daimyo’s guards now stood outside the doors of the Loyalist compound and that when Prince Lynel returned, he would be invited to attend an audience. The messenger left with Teah in tow, and returned with Volaris. He brought some of Hadyn’s spellbooks and took back assurances that the younger wizard was alright, and safe in Lord Osana’s care.
Strangely, Hadyn did feel safe, or safe enough, where he was. The idea of having his movements restricted usually filled him with both fear and anger, but this situation was different. For one, any of the Loyalists that he’d be wiling to trust enough to aid him in his current state were too busy to do so. If he had to accept assistance from an unproven source, better it be one that he could easily walk away from. He didn’t completely distrust Ishitaka, for that mater – he’d probed his mind and sense that the regret the priest expressed was genuine. Apart from all of that, he knew he still had the upper hand in the palace, and even more so since Volaris had brought the books that gave him access to all his standard magical precautions. Everyone in the palace was terrified of Teah, and he was considered a member of a Royal household, even if Lynel was not precisely in favour at court. If Hadyn really wanted to leave, it would be impolitic, and impolite, to stop him.
He’d had plenty of time to speak with Ishitaka. After tending to Meiko in the mornings, he would come to converse with his guest in the afternoons. He’d tried to convince Hadyn to cleanse his system, at last temporarily, of all his medications, but he refused. Instead, they worked together to develop a more careful, and hopefully more effective, regime of teas and other herbal preparations. The Southerner never probed too deeply into why he needed these sedative treatments – their efficacy was as obvious as their absence. There were some issues to work around, however. For one, Hadyn was not the half-elf he posed as, and drugs often had a different effect on his system. He’d retreated into his cowl and relied heavily on his various disguise spells during his stay. He tried to explain these differences as allergies or intolerances to certain substances. Hadyn was familiar enough with his own physiognomy to guess what to expect in most cases, and Ishitaka learned quickly what to avoid.
The other complication was the strange silvery potion provided to him by Nhabu, priest of Kaedus, that helped him keep the demon in his mind at bay. It was part herbalism, part alchemy, and part magic – Hadyn had no idea what was in it. Triskin and Valentine had been resupplying him whenever their missions took them north to Trylith, but he didn’t know what would happen now that the city had fallen. Ishitaka was not Nhabu, not by a long shot, but he was undeniably gifted with potions and alchemy. Hadyn had learned much from him already. If anyone would be able to assist him, surely Ishitaka was qualified… But he couldn’t do it. He was sure the other man must know he was holding back secrets – if nothing else, he would be able to sense the magic that surrounded him and possibly discern the nature of the spells cast. Be he couldn’t, and didn’t want to, share. There had to be another way.
His reverie was disturbed when the new screen door slid open. Ishitaka bowed as he entered. Hadyn, who’d been half-heartedly taking notes from a borrowed volume of alchemical recipes, stood and returned the greeting.
“Prince Lynel, Prince-in-Exile of the City of Exia, has returned to Shinkyo with his entourage.”
“That is good to hear.” It was – no one had been precisely certain how the Loyalist faction had fared, other than that they’d helped prevent the loss of the Trylith navy and allowed the city’s defenders to destroy all the docks and facilities that would have made it too easy for Exia to gain access to all the shipping lanes of the North. He wondered if everyone had made it back, and if anyone had thought to contact them previously about the situation in Shinkyo.
“And, your prince has agreed to meet with the Daimyo.”
Hadyn nodded. Of course he would. He didn’t really have a choice. The Daimyo would likely offer Lynel the same extended hospitality that he was currently receiving from the cousin, and then be released. And then, they’d be evicted from the city. How long they would be given to relocate would depend entirely on the prince’s diplomatic skills.
It was strange to hear Lynel referred to as ‘his’ prince. Hadyn certainly never considered him such. He’d barely lived in Exia a year before the Fall. Heis allegiance to the cause was a complicated issue – as a member of the Alient Group, the strange outfit of semi-philanthropic mercenary-adventurers that had taken him in when he’d first arrived on Keth, it was personal. Their group, and his team in particular, had been set up to assist in the chaos leading up to the Night of the Crimson Death, and their leader, Alient himself, framed as one of he conspirators. Hadyn hadn’t really liked or trusted the old Elowyn as he seemed to know too much about secrets that at that time, Hadyn hadn’t yet breathed aloud to any soul on this world. But he could never dream him capable of willful collusion with the demon-corrupted church, or churches, of Salistrom. It was still unclear who all had been involved with the plot.
The second reason for his involvement with the Loyalists was Lendrick. His friend – one of few – had been devastated after they’d been forced to flee the city. The new regime had hunted Alient’s people as possible threats, and the people of the city had been unwilling to harbour them due to Alient’s perceived guilt. Lendrick had devoted himself to Exia – to its people and the spirit of the city. Losing and leaving everything had changed him, and not for the better.
But he’d still stuck with Hadyn, putting the paranoid wizard before himself in all things. In retrospect, it was clearly some kind of transference issues at work. Lendrick had been searching for a cause he thought he could win. They had lost heir other team members along the way, and been forced to rely heavily on each other to survive. Slowly, the half-elf had managed to break down his walls. Then they’d both gotten drunk one night at some dive in Trylith, and Hadyn had told his friend everything. Everything. And after what Lendrick had told him in return, after the warnings he’d given, he’d panicked. He’d fled the next morning while his companion had still been sleeping off his hangover. He hadn’t slept at all – he remembered that much.
Once he’d found out about the Loyalists, he’d contacted Lendrick at the earliest opportunity to inform him, and give him back some much needed hope. He’d stayed because he wanted to see Lendrick win back *his* city, and *his* dreams – not for Lynel’s crown.
And was that it? Was it really just guilt and a twisted sense of obligation or revenge that kept him here? He frowned. Was that enough? What else would he be doing?
“Zanne?”
He blinked.
“I see you are still having difficulties concentrating. We will have to further adjust for that.”
“Ahh. Yes. I was just thinking about Exia.” He shook his head. He’d been doing this since yesterday: he’d get distracted by some stray train of thought, and minutes would pass before he realized what was happening. He’d been making a concerted effort to keep control of these mental segues, but it was clearly an inefficient solution.
“The events in the North are most unfortunate. My lord and his esteemed cousin both remained convinced, however, that once your prince and his followers are removed from these lands, we will be better able to insulate ourselves from this growing evil.”
“Insulate? They can’t be that stupid.”
Ishitaka frowned.
“Really. There are already agents of Exia in Shinkyo. They’ve been here for months. Someone has been spying on us and interfering with our *local* operations. When I first arrived in the South over a year ago, we were already being harassed on our road here, again by local agents in league with the ‘evil in the North!’ It isn’t just in the North. *Someone* in your city has known our location for, as I said, *months*. And *after* our organization presents itself as a somewhat effective obstacle in their conquest of Trylith, *now* we are sold out to your Daimyo? They don’t want us to have an alliance here because it would be too advantageous for both of us.” He cut himself off – he could certainly elaborate, but he didn’t want to reveal any more than he already had. He found the Loyalists’s situation incredibly frustrating, and he was certain his tone was revealing in that regard.
“I am not gifted with much insight into politics,” his host rejoined simply. He was still difficult to read at times, even after Hadyn had spent so many days in his company. “However, it is clear to me that the loss of Exia should be concerning to any who consider themselves scholars and men of learning. The further loss of freedoms, in the North or otherwise, is likewise concerning.”
It was a start, at least. “What we really need at this point is information about our enemy. We lack allies, but if we did have them, we’d hardly be able to tell them how best to help. Exia’s University was a great repository of information that could have helped us and we only managed to retain… a fraction of a fraction of that. We need better books.”
“Have you ever heard of the Quiet Sages?”
Hadyn shook his head. He wondered if Volaris had.
“They have access to diverse lores long lost to others. The Sages view themselves as guardians of knowledge and secrets that could be dangerous in the hands of the unwise. Their order is very secretive and selective because of this. It is only possible to join their ranks by procuring an invitation from a member who is willing to vouch for one’s commitment to the protection of humanity. Even then, one must present proof to the others that one also possesses access to such esoteric information as might interest their membership.”
“I see.” Hadyn could think of several subjects on which he considered himself amongst the foremost experts on Keth. “Are you a member of this order yourself?”
“No. It is an honour I have long coveted, however my research is not yet sufficiently advanced to merit their interest.”
“But you think they might be convinced to aid us.”
Ishitaka spread his fingers and lifted his hands – a gesture inviting possibility. “Perhaps. I do know the names of some members locally. If yourself or some other member of your organization believes they have information that would interest the Quiet Ones, it may be possible to broker some kind of arrangement. I cannot say that they would invite someone from outside the Empire into their society, however.”
Hadyn’s mind was already racing, having considered and dismissed a number of secrets he could bring to such a table. But no. He knew just the thing to tell them – it could not fail to intrigue, and it would release him from an obligation he’d willingly taken upon himself on the trek southwards. He doubted the others traveling with him remembered that particular encounter, not after everything else that had happened on the road…”
“Zanne?”
“Yes. Give me the names.”
