Veil of Madness

[Alaunavin_Arabana]

Feeling the a cold chill run through her, Alaunavin could only look to him in total shock. Unsure of how to answer, Eilistraee shook Alaunavin and whisper thoughts to her, but she just stood and stared at Vorrick. Something was telling her there was danger with in his words and yet could not tell if it was from Vorrick or from somewheres else. Alaunavin decided not to play the game and stood her ground as she stepped back and faced him.

"These 'Creatures' are humanoid as we are. We are different yet the same as we both bleed red. I am going to stay with them and help protect them if any danger arises." Speaking in a whisper for only for him to hear, she continues. "Vorrick, you can speak with me bout anything if you need too. I am here and am willing to help you if you need it. But... only you can come to me, I can not go to you as you must be willing."

With that Alaunavin took a step back hoping he understood her as she looked around as casually as possible to see if she could pinpoint where the uneasy feeling was coming from. But with no luck she smiled warmly to him hoping he would follow. She had much faith in him and Eilistraee was no sure why but stayed quiet as she watched from with Alaunavin.

[Vorrick]

At the mention of the colour of the humans blood Vorrick gives an evil grin. As Alaunavin finished Vorrick drew his dagger and pressing the point to his finger idly spins it and says, "Maybe they do bleed as we do. I suppose there's only one way we could no for sure," as Vorrick says this he draws the blade lightly along his throat. Putting his dagger back Vorrick walks to a nearby tree and leans against the trunk.

Drawing his sword he takes a whet stone from his pack and begins sharpenning it. As he does this he says to Silke, "Are you sure your servants will be able to keep up? If the forest is dangerous we may not be able to afford to drag these animals along."

Looking at Silke's father and remembering the connection he'd felt durring the healing Vorrick quickly averts his eyes. [i:1evii2e5]I'm sorry[/i:1evii2e5]. Returning to sharpening his sword a breeze carries the faint smell of sulphur to his nose. Nearly dropping his sword Vorrick couldn't keep the shock from showing on his face. Scanning the trees and making no move to hide what he was doing. Vorrick couldn't see the imp but knew it had to be somewhere nearby.

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The imp was using an amulet of levitation to float next to the priestesses ear. He could not hide the smell of sulphur but he did not want the sound or feel of him flapping his wings to tip her off to his appearance. He had heard Vorrick refer to her as Illorya and thought she would be the easiest to manipulate. Using magic to change the tone of his voice to sound like hers the Imp whispers in Illorya's ear hopin she would take it for her own thoughts.

"Vorrick cannot be trusted, he serves the Spider Queen. The others must be warned, must be told what he truly is. Must move quickly before he poisons their minds or kills them. He must be trying to find an enclave of the Dancing Lady why else would Lolth order him here?" The imp continued urging Illorya to take action, imploring her to save the others; always remaining on guard in case his presence was noticed.

[silke_rahn]

Silke sensed that something was not quite right with Vorrick yet she replied.

"Major Patwin is not my servant he is my commanding officer back home. He is quite capable of keeping up with us as is Captain Maine. In fact I believe Major Patwin is a better woodsman than I. He has served in tropical rainforest, above his homeworlds arctice circle, and in many deserts of his homeworld. Captain Maine has been to a couple deserts and has trained in woodland survival."

Silke cinched up the girth straps to her saddle. Then she looked back at Vorrick.

"We will keep up. By the way the first time I met these two was on the Isle of Elben Aator far to the southwest of here. My family moved there after the first destruction of our home in the Silver Marches. We rebuilt our House there and later moved back to the mainland. We still have a branch down there and if necessary I can go there to find shelter. All I have to do is get to Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter or any other port along the western coast of Faerun."

Silke then went to help Andrae Maine get her father on the trevois.

"Vorrick I sense that you are still a troubled soul. I will pray to Eilistraee and Mielikki that you find wholeness and resolve someday. As for now remember that we only sought to help you because we thought you were in need and I had not witnessed you commint an act of evil. Just so you know if I do witness such retribution will be swift. Until such time I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and will let your actions speak to you intentions."

Andrea looked up to Vorrick after Silke finished speaking and in perfect Ilythiiri spoke.

"Vorrick remember what Jabbress Silke has said. I will back her all the way. As a priestess of Lanthander I know that I can with the Morning Lord's help decern your true intents. I do not do those rites though without the willingness of the person being tested."

[Vorrick]

At Silke's response Vorrick stopped searching the trees for the imp. Wherever it was it was distant, or perhaps it was just a lingering scent from when it had spoken to him. Vorrick hoped no one else had noticed the faint smell of sulfur on the air, though he was more worried about the wolves than anyone else. He wasn't sure whether he wanted anyone to notice, he had to tread this ground carefully, trying to cheat a demon was neither easy nor safe but he would not let the demon corrupt these people.

As Andrea spoke Vorrick felt hope, a chance to reveal everything that wouldn't seem like a betrayal to an outside observer. Composing himself Vorrick said, with all the Drow arrogance he could muster, "Feel free human, I fear neither you nor the meager powers of your pathetic god. Go ahead, read my intent though I feel it's only fair to warn you my mind is not a place you want to go wandering as Alaunavin can attest."

OOC: Sorry for the long break, been crazy busy.

[BaravarImrathiln]

((I must apologise as well. Shit went nuts over the summer and I'm only just now digging my way out of the shells. It's been bad stuff. Changing jobs, losing cars, pets...Blehehe...Sorry for the long absence.))

Illorya blinks a little, looking at Baravar to see if he had heard what she had heard. It did not sound like her to say such things, and she wasn't altogether certain that the Dancing Lady was all that wonderful just yet. She wasn't sure she wanted to help them... And yet this voice in her ear seemed to speak against the doubts in her heart. It didn't feel right. She sighs, shaking her head a little, dismissing the thoughts as a remnant of the panic a moment before. The former Priestess had to admit that she was suddenly thankful for the Ranger's presence at her side, and that he was willing to impose himself between her and danger. She looks toward the Ranger. He had remained where he had ridden up to, between her and Vorrick, and she could see his hand still on the grip of his weapon until the Sorceror had gone out of sight.

She mounts her horse and rides up to him, a short trip.
"Thank you, Baravar....I-I don't know what's going on...I'm too confused in my own mind to make sense of all this."

The Ranger looks at his new charge a moment, his posture easing a little bit.
"Do not concern yourself with Vorrick, Illorya. I think he is as confused as you are, and he does not yet know what to do with himself. He may be a danger, but he is close and is easy to watch. We will keep him close, and if he becomes a threat, it will be easier to deal with if it is close." The Ranger counsels patience and caution. Baravar isn't certain quite what's going on either, but he does see a lie in Vorrick's eyes, though he cannot tell precisely what that lie is.

"Do your best to quell the trembling of your heart, Illorya, and try to find some peace within yourself, some steady kernel of inward truth that you can build upon. For now, let me worry about the warlock."

She sighs, rubbing her nose, trying to get rid of the smell of sulphur, what she thinks is the scent of dragon on her horse.
"I will try, Istryl. I will try." She pauses. "Istryl..Do dragons smell of sulphur?"

The little dragon looks up and clambers back up the Ranger's shoulders, pausing to sniff the air a little bit, wondering about dinner already. It too smells the sulphur, and while it does not seem to tense, it looks toward Illorya, a soft, gurgling growl in its tiny throat. Baravar hears the growl and the question and looks to the dragonet and thence to Illorya, his brow furrowed in concern. Modi was not a flighty creature, flappy though he was. He did not growl unless he perceived some threat.
"Some do, though few that I have ever known. The Twins sometimes do, though often they smell more of ash and woodsmoke than sulphur. Why do you ask?"

"I can't get the smell of sulphur out of my nose." She thinks a moment. "It wasn't there a moment ago...I can't be sure, but I think I didn't smell sulphur until Vorrick accosted me with the sign of the spider..."

The Ranger frowns a little bit, sniffing the air and catching the whiff of sulphur that lingered about the clearing all of a sudden. He could be certain that it was not there a few minutes ago, and it smelled less like flames than the twins did. He gently takes hold of the pseudodragon and sets it on his forearm, holding the small creature out toward the former Priestess.
"What do you smell there, Modi?"

The creature stiffens as it smells the suphur again, though it tastes the air obediently, seeking for the source of the scent that has disturbed his friend. It would not take long to pinpoint the source of the scent, strong as it was.

[silke_rahn]

In the distance smoke is seen rising from a near by shrine to the Dark Maiden. Flocks of ravens and crows can be seen circling the column of smoke.

Silke lookes in that direction and brings it to everyone's attention.

"Look over there, that column of smoke rising into the sky."

[Vorrick]

Cursing it's luck the imp gave one flap of it's wings for momentum and then drifted. He was not moving very fast but didn't want to risk being found sooner. He wished he could just teleport but that was one way and his master would not be forgiving if he returned in failure. With any luck he'd be far enough away to flap continuously before the beast caught on to wear he was.
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Vorrick looked to the rising smoke and almost immediately dismissed it as nothing more than a large camp fire. It was only on a second glance that he noticed the birds circling.

Looking to Silke he asked, "Any idea what that might be?"

[BaravarImrathiln]

The demon's flap comes not a breath too soon, as he barely escapes the lightning reflexes of the Ranger. The small dragon had found him quickly with the strength of the scent, and as it had quickly zeroed-in, the Ranger's hand had shot outward toward the hidden presence. The single flap had taken the imp out of his place just in time, so that instead of the iron grip of an experienced soldier, all the imp feels is a breeze as the hand grabs the air where he had been a heartbeat before.

The upshot of all this, of course, is that the magic linking the imp to Illorya was shattered, unable to bear the sudden shift in the imp's concentration. The sudden return of her own thought patterns to full audibility and the reassertion of her own internal monologue are jarring at first, but familiar to enough to her that she finds herself relieved in her confusion. She had already had serious doubts about her judgement, and this hadn't helped, though she was curious at the sudden silence of this other voice.

"What did you do?" She hadn't recognized any magic in the Ranger's actions, but she couldn't altogether dismiss such a thing from her unusual companion. Baravar perplexed her, and she never really felt certain that she knew what to expect from the taller male. In many ways, he did not seem to fit well in the earthy colours of the ranger. His thoughts and attitude seemed to her more akin to those of a goodly monk or priest. He seemed to exhibit a level of faith in the way the the world worked that seemed peculiar, as if he had indeed been a priest. He disliked violence, it seemed, even when it was needful. Baravar seemed to her to be hesitant to draw blood, even when the promise of violence had been almost assured. And yet, his hesitance did not make him seem weak. Rather, she had come to believe that Baravar was far stronger than he let on.

"Nothing...But we were not alone." The little dragon had calmed a little, though it still sniffed at the air. The flap of the imp's wings had spoiled the trail. The Ranger himself was peering suspiciously at the spot where the imp had been, his hand once more at his side. He was confident now that the presence had been some kind of magical interference. Some other party was involved in this group, likely through Vorrick, given the play of events. Something inside him told Baravar that the smell was not linked to the tingling he had felt earlier when someone had tried to scry him out. This sulphuric presence was too obvious to be linked with that other, but he could not yet rule it out.

"Come, there is little to be done about it for now. Let us rejoin the others and be on our way."

The Priestess nods a little and brings her horse into line behind the Ranger's charger as they ride up the path to the other clearing.

[Vorrick]

Praising his good fortune the imp continues to sail until well out of ear shot and then quickly flies far above the Ranger. The imp had his orders and the price of failure was too high for risky actions. He would continue to watch from afar but he would not involve himself directly.
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Vorrick noticed Baravar and Illorya heading towards the clearing and turned to Silke saying, "Once the Ranger and Illorya get here we can head out to see what that smoke is. I confess I am not familliar with this area do you have any idea what it could be?"

[silke_rahn]

"Once before my former home in these lands was destroyed there was a shrine to the Dark Maiden in a nearby glen."

She looked of that direction. A sudden look of dread crossed her face briefly. She was glade her sister had stayed behind on this world to look after the temple out on the distant island south and west of the mainland, Elben Aator was its name.

"My sister or rather half-sister is the chiefpriestess at a temple, but it is far to the south and west even of Evermeet. It stands in the wilderness of an island down there. Like my mother before her she runs a sanctuary for Drow wishing to start a new life and turn away from the ways of darkness followed in the cities like Menzoberranzan. Faerun is littered with scattered sanctuaries and shrines. This smoke seems to be coming from one of the shrines near the ruins of the sanctuary I grew up in. We aren't that far from it."

She called up Muirith her panther. The big black cat came up to her and nuzzled her hand. Silke petted Muirith in reply. Muirith showed her appreciation by purring real loudly and contently.

Andrea Maine came up looking first at Vorrick then at Silke.

"Silke, I thought you mother now ran the Topeka congregation of Eilistraeean Drow?"

"Yes, Andrea, she does, but there are many worlds and many parallels. This is the main parallel for Abeir-Toril just as your Earth is one of the alternates for that dimension of the Prime Material Plane. Abeir-Toril has many alternates. On some my mother died in the destruction of our home on others we never suffered the destruction nor even suffered the curse that created the Drow from the Ssi'Tel'Quessir or the Dark Elves. Most though saw Lolth's betrayal of the Dark Elves and of the Seldarine or the gods of the Elves. Your world saw an accidental exile of many clans and tribes of the Ssi'Tel'Quessir after the Dispersal of the Drow. Mostly the magic changed the physiology of my Drow ancestors to where they are like Vorrick or the others in look and other triats."

Following Muirith's gaze she saw the circling birds over where the smoke rose into the sky.

"Yes, Muirith I see the ravens and crows."

She looked back at Vorrick and Andrea then back to the smoke column.

"I suspect that some anti-Drow fanatics or some fanatical followers of Lolth have burnt a shrine to Eilistraee and possiblely killed the priestesses and other Drow and non-Drow followers of the Lady of the Dance."

[Vorrick]

Nodding thoughtfully Vorrick began checking his gear; making sure his weapons slid easily from their sheaths and looking to see he had all his supplies in order.

Finishing his inspection he said, "Well if they're non-Drow bigots they act out of fear, an easy enemy to outwit and kill. If they're Lolthites, well that just makes it all the more enjoyable."

Eyeing the large cat warily Vorrick continued, "Hopefully Baravar will not be long and we can be on our way, I'm no great judge of distance but that smoke doesn't exactly look like it's a quick stroll away."