[Game Thread] Chapter Four: Complications

[Blue]

She nodded back slowly, thinking.
"Aye. Let's."

Her tone didn't sound particularly thrilled or anxious. Though she couldn't predict the future she had spent a good while imagining possible ways the trip could go wrong and different ways to avoid catastrophe. Mostly, she was curious of how things would actually go. She knew many warriors whom by habit would check on their blade's sharpness before venturing forward and she had done so already before leaving her lodgings. There was no point in nervously double checking such details but she found that pressing her hand against the cutting edge of one of the large swords strapped to her comforted her somewhat. Unsurprisingly, the edge was as sharp as it was this morning.

What Morgan was saying as he returned didn't sound so good to her. It sounded like he was speaking of Shade when he mentioned the director and though it had come to her that he was probably much more than a just a spectator in this crazy business a part of her wished he had nothing to do with it. Another both hoped and feared he had triggered this whole chain of events for reasons good and bad.

[Makenshi]

Samael - the same one who had stayed in the room - nods, seamlessly continuing in the conversation. "Such is Shade's way. He and Fisali are alike in that regard. The belief that humanity must be allowed to do things itself but also that they must sometimes push things in the right direction."

"Except 'sometimes' seems to be cropping up a little too often for my liking." Didina cuts in sharply. "Or has Shade been manipulating things since the beginning?"

Samael shrugs. "In one form or another. You aren't wrong that he is seemingly more active now than before though, but given the dangers that is not surprising. He was late to act during the Betrayer Wars, or perhaps taking stock of what exact Zera had taken control of, but this time it looks like he's decided to be a little more direct."

"This is Shade being direct?"

"By his standards, yes. Usually he doesn't want people knowing where he stands or what he's up to."

Didina scoffs. "And we do? The man is the very definition of evasive and secretive?"

"He spoke to Nevh and Morgan during the engagement did he not?"

"He only answered questions if he wanted to though."

"I was under the impression that he gave an answer to all of them, even if it was only a hint to get you to find it yourselves. You also seem to be under the impression that he is in the habit of talking to people. That he answered one question is remarkable, but to answer so much and to also provide information not asked is something I have rarely seen him do. No. This is direct as I have ever seen Shade acting since the Demongate Wars. That in and of itself makes me wary of the dangers facing Aheka if he does not have the time or patience to play his usual games, and he has made his opposition to Zera clear, at least to the people that matter."

When it comes to the matter of meeting with the Children Didina makes a funny look. "Well, you all have good luck with that, but I think I'll give the army of renegade Fiend-hating zealots a miss this time thank you." Misa rolls her eyes, but appears to have given up trying to persuade the Tiefling to go with them.

OOC Last chance to persuade Didina to meet with the Children (if you want her along).

~MTWC

[SpatulaOdoom]

Morgan looks at Didina.
He cocks his head.
"You never struck me as a woman lacking in nerve.
Even the people who know these people say that your being a tiefling won't matter.
So what's really bothering you?"

[Makenshi]

Didina gives Morgan a penetrating look before eventually responding. "My mother raised me to be proud of my heritage. To wear the mockings and taunts others would throw at me as a badge of honour. These Children may indeed be part-Fiends, but they still hate Fiends and quite possibly the Fiends within themselves, whereas I wear my horns with pride for the power that flows through my veins. The blood which enhances the mind and reflexes; that allows me to tolerate fire, lightning and frost to a limited degree; and that allows me to see in absolute darkness with perfect clarity. Normal people pay good money for trinkets that do this, or waste their magical energy to duplicate what comes naturally to me. I will not be shamed into believing myself dirty or impure because one of my ancesters f*cked a fiend." It is obvious by her tone that this is a subject that Didina feels very strongly about, which is hardly surprising since Tieflings very rarely had an easy time in Aheka, even the nice ones like Lucretia, let alone the morally ambiguous Didina's of the world.

~MTWC

[SpatulaOdoom]

Morgan nods his acceptance. He was aware of her attitude, agreed with it even. He certainly wouldn't be in a relationship with Zilira if he didn't feel that who a person was was important, where they came from wasn't.

Still something bothered him.
"Forgive me if I'm missing something, but it sounds to me like refusing to be shamed would mean you would also refuse to avoid the Children simply because of their attitudes. If you refuse to hide your horns amongst the nobility, why hide yourself from the Children?"
The mage drains the last of his beer and glances at the bottle's label, wondering if the Olney family would ever make another batch.
"Your choice, no question. Personally, I'd like to do the important bits as a group. Not because I think having you there makes our chances better, although it probably does and I'd take comfort from you being there, but because we deserve to be there to see the fruits of our labors and the risks we take. And @#^& anyone who thinks otherwise."
He locks eyes with Didina and gives her a small smile.
"So how about it? Please?"

[Makenshi]

"Maybe because while nobles are dangerous, I don't have to worry about them stabbing me then and there?" Is Didina's wry response as Morgan drinks the last of his beer. "By all accounts these Children have dedicated their lives to killing fiends, and I am someone who takes pride in my fiendish blood and who worships a Fiendish Goddess, albeit one who deliberately keeps out of politics. But tell me, are people rational in your experfience Archmage? Because they aren't in mine. I've had to be around enough people who want to kill me without wanting to risk it with these." She glances towards Syoban. "Do you even know much about them? Or did you just visit them that one time?"

Blink is the one who responds. "We have met them only once. It was my sister, Ksenia, who knew of them and introduced us. She also told us what she could of them."

Syoban carries on, his tone almost brotherly instead of the joking manner they had become used to. "I don't blame you for being concenred Didina, but you've got the Children wrong, at least in one important regard. True, they kill Fiends, but every single one of them has a lot more Fiendish blood than the vast majority of Ahekans. Blood is meaningless to them. Actions are what they take stock in, and when it comes to people at least, they will not kill unless they truly believe their loyalties lie with the Fiends by the actions they take. Three of the Children I met before had been raised by Fiends. One was bred and raised to take part in some kind of survival battle to the death that powerful Fiends liked to play. He has killed countless people - most of them humans - to earn his former master honour, but now he fights against the Fiends. Another was raised to be a gladiator in a notorious arena where the only time they get to eat is when they kill someone. He fought there for almost half a century, for the amusement of Fiends, before the Children freed him. And the last was-"

"It is not your place to speak of his story Syoban." Blink interrupts, which catches Syoban off guard for a moment.

"Fine. But my point still stands." He turns back to Didina, giving her a wry grin and slipping back into his more familiar, playful demeaner. "Now, if you profess your undying love for Inanna and boast of the Fiendish blood and how it makes you superior then you'll probably get a lot of dirty looks, maybe some death threats and certainly make no friends, but that is the only way you'll be at risk of death. So just keep your mouth shut about it."

Didina rolls her eyes in response to his ending comment. "Fine. I'll go. But if they do end up trying to kill me I'll make your head explode first." She glances towards Morgan. "And yours."

"Wonderful." Syoban hops up onto his feet, grinning. "Then let's get going shall we?" He moves to exit the tavern and gestures for them to follow while reaching into one of his pockets. After a moment of rummaging he brings out what looks like a tuning fork and then picks out a ring from another pocket, all while leading them through the desolate town. He holds the tuning fork out in front of him, moving it from side to side, and occasionally seems to change direction randomly. Presumably he was using the item to locate the portal.

After a few minutes of looking and walking he eventually brings them to the edge of the encroaching forest, which Morgan recognises as the place where he had seen evidence of the Blue Woman's presence when he had arrived with Esiard and the soldiers. "Here we are. This must be where the Blue Women or one of the Godling brats used a portal to come here." He taps the tuning fork against the ring in his hand, causing it to chime in a high pitch but certainly not painful tone. The tone drones on far longer than natural however and as Syoban extends his arm first the tuning fork and then Syoban's entire arm itself, begin to vibrate violently and visibly, while the vollume of the fork increases. There is a strange sensation of pressure for a moment before it becomes silent and a pinprick of light appears in the air directly in front of the fork.

Syoban withdraws his arm and places both the ring and the fork into their respective pockets, while the pinprick of light quickly expands to become a 10ft circle of seeming absolute darkness, at least for those without any ability to see in the dark. Even for those with darkvision the view does not reveal much - a rocky mountain side at night seemingly, althrough the absolute darkness is certainly abnormal. "The Plane of Shadows mirrors and touches every other known plane. Judging distances is next to impossible and getting lost in it is ridiculously easy, so don't wander off." Syoban explains before turning to face them with a grin. "Last chance to make any preperations, and I'll see you on the other side." The Rudaa gives a mock bow before turning and stepping through the portal.

~MTWC

[SpatulaOdoom]

Originally Posted by Didina

"But tell me, are people rational in your experfience Archmage? Because they aren't in mine."

Morgan raises an eyebrow.
"Who said anything about rational? Not I."
He looks over at Mort.
"Talking cat, did I say anything about rational?"
Mort flicks his ears, his response is almost cheerful.
"@#^$ no you hallucinating drunken fool. You know if you ever complained about people being irrational I'd claw your eyes out for being the blackest pot on the stove. Same if you ever claimed people are rational."
"Do you think I should point out the logical flaw in her argument? That if people aren't rational then the Children won't be any worse or better than anyone else?"
"Probably not. She seems kinda pissy right now."
"True."
"You know if you hadn't talked her into trekking into the shadows with you I'd have a ride home. You did tell Kala you'd only be borrowing me for a little while."
"She'll manage. Besides this way you get to come on an adventure with me. Aren't you lucky?"
The cat's eyes narrow to yellow slits and the mage suspects he'll be buying a new pair of shoes shortly. None the less when it's time to go he hops up to his spot atop the satchel without hesitation.

On the way Morgan casts a few more spells. Syoban might think that the plane was safer than it used to be but as Morgan was fond of saying such things were relative.

Originally Posted by Syoban

"Here we are. This must be where the Blue Women or one of the Godling brats used a portal to come here."

"The Blue Lady"
Morgan says absently as he frowns back towards the wrecked seaside village, trying to superimpose the image of what it used to be.
"The grass this spot was frozen solid and thawed. It's mostly grown back in the weeks since but you can see it if you look."

After the Ruudan spy steps through Morgan closes his eyes briefly before stepping through.

[Blue]

She didn't really care whether Didina came or exactly why she hesitated to come. She thought that worshiping a devil was reason enough to think twice about going there.
Syoban's tuning fork was intriguing though. She thought having something like it would be nice, and that looking around for portals was sort of amusing, mostly considering how dangerous plane hopping could be.
She licked her thumb and passed it over her eyes, leaving them jet black as she cast Ebon Eyes, took a deep breath and stepped into the portal. She was quite curious as far as planar traveling came and taking another good breath upon arriving was the first thing she did to get a feel of the Shadows.

[Makenshi]

OOC Just to clarify Blue (since that spell has pretty appalling wording): Ebon Eyes isn't super-darkvision and explicitly doesn't help your miss chance in total darkness (magical or otherwise). In Nevh's case it will allow her to ignore magical darkness (which is a part of its spell effect) but only out to her darkvision range (60ft I believe), so beyond that she's blind without light like everyone else (except for Misa at least).

Blink watches the others, either waiting for them to enter first or having no intention of going with them while both Alyyryk and Didina activate DC 16 & 20 Psicraft check to recognise them (as in, they manifested the exact same pair of powers)a pair of identical powers, causing both of their eyes to light up. Misa, not being a spellcaster of any description, waits patiently for the others to finish their preperations.

Once they step through they find their first footsteps on the Plane of Shadows to be strangely...ordinary. The air was perhaps drier than they were used to but other than the total, impenetrable darkness it looked like they could be on a rocky mountain anywhere in Aheka. Misa moves in after Nevh and immediately moves around in a circle around where the portal opened up. If it were anyone else, they'd say she was 'looking around' by her behaviour, but they all knew by now it was more a matter of touch.

Just as Blink arrives through and the portal closes behind them Misa's voice resonates through their mindlink. "We're not alone. There's a little over a dozen people-sized beings within my 'sight'. They're spread around us at various distances, though none are close enough for me to get a good feel of them."

After having looked around himself Alyyryk speaks up, his grip firmly on his sword but not having drawn it yet. "They're people. Clustered in pairs and threes mostly, and they're very much aware of our presence and have their weapons out."

"I can see them too." Didina adds in. She opens her mouth, presumably to either say something to Syoban or to call out to the people around them, before there is a great blur of movement. In the space of seconds seven figures appear before them, standing no more than 20ft away at various points around them. Their movements appeared inhuman - almost as if their bodies had stretched from where they were to where they are, before becoming normal again. Two of the seven stood directly with swords drawn and pointed at the throats of Didina and Alyyryk, albeit they stood a foot or so away from them - enough to convey a warning and threat.

Syoban and Blink are the only ones who don't appeared particularly startled by the movement, beyond a slight take back when the figures suddenly appeared. Didina takes a step back, with Misa moving towards her protectively while Alyyryk goes to draw his sword before Syoban speaks up. "Take your hand away from your sword Alyyryk. These are Children, you have nothing to fear." There is a moment when the man in front of him and Alyyryk stare at each other before the Kashyyn lets go of his sword and raises his hand in a supplicating gesture. The two furthest forward share a look before lowering their swords, although all seven continue to look wary.

The one in front of Alyyryk turns towards Syoban, looking almost annoyed and slightly hostile. "You again? Bringing more people to talk will not change our answer Freeborn. We will not fight your wars for you." The Children they can see all appear to be young-ish, no older than 30 or so. Four of them (including the two in front of Didina and Alyyryk) are men, while the other three they can see are women. All of them appear to be wearing piecemeal armour and clothing that looks like it has been scrounged together and added to over time and was obviously made for function rather than fashion. All seven of them have a bladed weapon of some description - mostly swords - and most of them have at least two weapons, though only two have drawn and wield two at the moment, and several have shields too.

~MTWC

[SpatulaOdoom]

Morgan steps down into the plane of shadows with a certain degree of wariness. He's been here before, not this specific place but the Plane of Shadows, a couple of times, even recently. He knows enough to know just how deceptive it could be. The crowding darkness, the indistinct forms, the inability to tell one place from the next, frightened people at first. In time people got used to it and it became mundane, boring even. That was usually when the lurking danger decided to show it's face, swooping in from the darkness. All in all Morgan supposed it was like what Esiard described war as: "Long periods of boredom punctuated by brief flurries of terror."

He doubts it will be long before visitors arrive, still he keeps his voice low, almost a whisper.
"No light. A candle flame is like a beacon fire out here."
No sooner does he speak than Misa's voice comes through the mind link to inform them of visitors.

Morgan keeps his hands away from his sides and clearly visible throughout the brief tension. Once Alyyryk takes his hand off his sword and things calm down a little Morgan takes a single step forward and addresses the speaker.
"It might be more accurate to say we brought him as a guide."
He offers a short bow, keeping his eyes on the speaker at all times.
"Morgan Wainraith, Archmage of Halva. We're here to speak to the Eye in the Dark known as Kevian, and his father."

[Blue]

OOC Well aware.

As the humanoid shapes came closer, Nevh tightened her fingers into fists, then released. Ready to give them hell.
They certainly hadn't waited long to close around them, which made sense considering how Syoban's portal device apparently worked.
There was the small chance that these weren't the Children, still, so she released the central strap on her back, letting the two great swords drop on the floor behind her. She looked at them without a word for the time being. Trusting Misa and Didina to 'see' if more would be trying to get them from a blind spot. That thought briefly made her wonder how the Shadow plane felt to Misa.

Morgan had gone straight to the point, which might expedite the process. They felt like they might give them a hard time getting the audience but perhaps with Yostrah in the picture now those in the Dark were getting a little edgy and more open to new elements. Perhaps they didn't know, but with it didn't seem too farfetched to think that they would spending lifetimes struggling against fiends would make then Sword sensible to arrival of diminished Elder in Aheka.

[Makenshi]

A few more figures move within sight, including a man wearing a black, featureless mask over the top half of his face. Judging by the glances that the others give him he appears to be in charge, as they move to make way for him and the hostile Child in front of Alyyryk took a step back. Unlike the others, he did not have his sword drawn, however hanging from a silver chain around his neck was what appeared to be a holy symbol: an up-turned sword within a circle. He spoke in a much more measured tone than the other man. "Few people know Bane by that name, though given your guide I guess we should not be surprised." He glances around at the others. "Who are the rest of you then? And what is it you want to speak with Bane about?"

"Syoban Rudaa, Hand of Samael and guide to these representatives of Vulcar Halva II." Syoban gives a slight bow of his own.

Blink merely gives an inclination. "Blink. Hand of Samael."

Didina still looks more than a little wary, but effortlessly slips into old habits. "Lady Didina Reid of Halva, a friend of King Vulcar Halva II."

Misa stands defensively in front of Didina, despite being a little shorter than the Tiefling, but likewise slips into the old habit of being polite while making introductions. "Lady Misa Serokai, also a friend of the King's."

"Alyyryk of the Kashyyn. In service to Princess Celes Alexein, King Vulcar's fiancé, and opponent of Zera."

Once the other introductions are made the Face turns his attention back to Morgan Wainraith. "And what is it you wish to discuss with Bane?" Both times he seems to have pointedly ignored the mention of Kevian's father.

~MTWC

[SpatulaOdoom]

"Bane? Mainly I'd just like to meet him and see what sort of person he is. Nothing serious.
It's his father I really want to talk to and I figure speaking to Bane first would be a requirement of getting that meeting. As for why I need to speak to them..." Morgan regards the masked man with a sober expression. "The truth is I'm not certain how much I should be telling you because it's a family matter. Bane and the Sword in the Dark may prefer it to remain private."
Morgan gives the man a small toothy smile.
"If not I assure you that the first part of the conversation will be entertaining."
For anyone watching from the sidelines at least. For Morgan himself it might not be so good.

[Makenshi]

The man appears to think for a moment before answering. "Very well. We will take you to see Bane, though we can not promise you will get what you want." He makes a series of hand gestures - presumably some kind of code or language - and four of the original seven (including the two who had came closest) move to surround them. "We will escort you to the camp. Keep your weapons in their sheaths and use no magic or you will no longer be welcome among us." He raises a hand and gestures to a ring on it. "And do not think that using magic without components will help. This ring detects and identifies any spell used around it." Three more Children approach and take up positions around them, although unlike the others they had seen these ones weren't wearing armour. Mages perhaps? Two of them had black orbs floating around them, although exactly what they were wasn't clear.

The Face moves a little ahead of the group, gesturing for them to follow, while their escort of seven remains positioned around the group and keeping an obvious and watchful eye on them. Syoban took the opportunity to enlighten them a little on the Children. "The man with the mask is a Face in the Dark. They're the most powerful clerics of the Children, though their main job is infiltrating Fiendish cults." He gestures to the two men who had stretched in front of Alyyryk and Didina. "Those two are Hands in the Dark. The most elite warriors of the Children. They're not a talkative bunch, so I was never able to actually find out what that strange movement is." He gestures to the ones with the black orbs floating around them. "And they're Eyes in the Dark, like Bane. The mages and scouts of the Children. Those little black orbs are like the Prying Eyes spell, except much more difficult to spot if they don't want to be found. Bane used them extensively last time I was here. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if at least one of those orbs was one of his, in which case he'll know we're here already."

It takes almost a half hour of walking in silence before they come before a cave entrance, the mouth of which is engulfed in darkness so great that even those who can normally see in the dark find it impenetrable, except for Nevh thanks to her Ebon Eyes and Misa because of her own senses. The group walk straight through the darkness and they all get the distinct impression that someone is watching them as they pass through. It takes them almost ten minutes before there is an end to the darkness, however they suddenly find themselves in a great open cave, aglow in soft light from orbs stuck into the walls and ceilings. It was not a very bright light - not compared to what they were used to at least - but it was enough to see well enough and to be a little uncomfortable after their time in the darkness.

The size of the cave was immense, filled with people in similar piecemeal clothes, armour and weapons as the Children they had already met, albeit going about more mundane business. Some were mending or making things, others were sitting around and talking, a few were sleeping and in the centre of the cave there was a large group of them gathered together. It was towards this group that the Face took them, drawing curious looks from the people they passed on the way, including a few children who seemed to be amassed in groups of a half dozen or more accompanied by a few adults - classes perhaps?

As they got closer to the large group in the middle they heard the distinct sound of metal clashing against metal, and not of the forging kind, but of the fighting kind. Despite the large crowd they could see a figure in the centre of it all, seemingly surrounded by all the others and darting about, however there was something odd about them. It wasn't until they got closer that it dawned on them that either everyone in the group was small or the one in the middle was a giant. The circle of watchers parted as they saw them approach, giving them a better view, and then they finally saw what was going on. Two people were fighting. One was a giant of a man, standing at a little over eight and a half feet tall - a full two feet taller than even Morgan Wainraith, while the other was a slip of a girl, about three feet smaller than him and looking no older than sixteen or seventeen. The man was wielding what looked to be a greatsword in each hand, swinging them about so deftly and quickly that it looked unreal, and the man himself seemed to move around far quicker than anyone that large had a right to. Fortunately the girl was just a little bit faster, which was just as well when one of his swords narrowly missed taking her head off.

After taking in the fight Syoban glances around the ring before gesturing to a familiar figure standing on the opposite side of the gathering. "That's Bane." Other than having more stubble than the image they had already been shown and perhaps looking a little older, the figure looked just as they had been expecting: a taller, more Elven version of the One King with the grey eyes of the House Halva. If he notices their arrival then he makes no show of it.

"We will wait until the spar ends." The Face informs them, and both he and the other Children appear to relax a little more now, focussing their attention on the sparring pair.

The two are moving at a blistering pace. Circling around one another, darting to and fro, exchanging blows. Surprisingly, although she appears to be slightly faster than the massive man the dark haired girl also manages to deflect and parry some of his swings, albeit by putting both of her hands behind her single sword. She only does it as a last resort however, as the force of the blow has a tendancy to knock her back or even off her feet on a few occasions. Overall the two appear evenly matched for the most part, with the big man perhaps having a slight advantage due to his obvious reach and strength advantage.

The two continue to spar for some minutes before the man manages to clip the girl's shoulder with one of his swords before immediately following up with the other. She manages to bring her own sword up to block the blow, but either due to tiredness or the injured shoulder, she doesn't fully deflect the blow and is sent sprawling. In the blink of an eye the man darts over and begins to swing down, however before he can cleave the prone girl in two he is suddenly dragged back by an invisible force so that his sword digs into the ground between her legs instead.

There is a great cheer from the crowd who immediately begin to chat among themselves and start dispersing. The massive man, who's eyes they can now see are red, looks confused for a moment before shaking his head, as if to clear it, and sheathes both of his swords before walking over to the girl and stooping down to pull her up, both of them grinning. Before either can say anything another man, standing about the same size as Alyyryk and with an almost Quallish look about him, walks over to them looking more than a little annoyed.

"A girl died again." He says in an exasperated tone, walking over to the girl.

She returns his annoyed look. "I lasted longer than before at least."

"A girl could have won if she listened. She uses this-" He grabs her bicep and shakes it a little. "-instead of this." He pokes her in the middle of the forehead with his forefinger and middle finger. "A man did not win The Games three times and earn his freedom by being the strongest. He did it by being the smartest."

While the two of them argue one of the Children approaches the group, walking with a distinctive and noticable limp and looking more than a little curious. There was no other way of describing it: he was stunningly handsome. So much so that even the men among the group would be taken aback by him at first, and that all of them would be under no doubt that it could not be entirely natural. He has blood red eyes, short blond hair and bat-like wings which are folded up at the moment, as well as a fleshy tail with a pointed tip, all of which points towards a Succubus heritage when combined with his stunning appearance. The fact that he was wearing the same piecemeal armour and clothes as the other Children didn't seem to detract from his appearance either.

His eyes roam across the whole group, though they linger a little longer on Didina than the others, before he addresses the Face. "Let me guess, Syoban wants to speak to the Sword in the Dark?" Everyone they had heard speaking so far was doing so in Elven (or mostly Elven at least), although they had an odd accent that they couldn't quite place.

The Face nods. "First Bane though. Do you know if he's busy?"

The handsome man glances towards the girl and the giant, who have now been joined by a few other people, including a woman with a black mask over the top of her face and Bane, who was ruffling the girl's hair and seemingly teasing her. "That depends what they want to talk about."

"He-" The Face gestures towards Morgan. "-says it is a family matter, and that Bane and He Who Comes Wrapped in Darkness might not apreciate it being spoken of."

That seems to pique the man's curiosity, and he turns towards Morgan. "We know who he is, if that's what you're worried about. Coiya Halva, son of Minloth Zilira and grandson of Ashtarte. Who he was born to and his relatives don't matter, only what he does now, so you need not fear alienating him from us."

Since he seems to have no intention of introducing himself, Syoban does it instead. "This is Toy. One of the more talkative Children."

Toy snorts. "We're plenty talkative. You just ask too much and give too little in return. We have little patience for that."

~MTWC

[SpatulaOdoom]

Originally Posted by Face

"We will escort you to the camp. Keep your weapons in their sheaths and use no magic or you will no longer be welcome among us."

Morgan nods agreeably.
"Your house, your rules."
He continues keeping his voice down, there was just something about this place that seemed to encourage quiet.

The hand gestures were obviously a form of sign language. Something Morgan had considered trying to teach the others. Kala's Hands might not be as sophisticated a language as the major spoken languages but there was no chance of others detecting or understanding it with normal magic like Comprehend Languages and Tongues spells. And as they'd demonstrated it was quiet and somewhat discreet. Unfortunately he didn't think they all had the months it would take to learn the language.

Morgan walks in a silence abnormal for the chatty mage, speaking neither with his lips nor his mind during the entire trip to the Children's camp. His thoughts are turned inwards. What might he say or do when he finally saw Coiya. The man, now god, was a figure of myth. The greatest king Halva had ever known. Yet that image contrasted starkly with the image Zilira had painted of a conflicted and unhappy man struggling against his father's expectations and the situation he'd been forcefully thrust into.

All that had happened long long before Morgan had even been born. Would he be poking at still painful wounds or nothing more than the ashes of a fire long dead?

He's dragged out of his reverie as they enter the cave and he returns to observing their surroundings with keen interest. The skirl of metal on metal brings back memories of Esiard, training Rhys or the temple guardians, or even occasionally Morgan himself much to the young mage's painful recall. He'd never demonstrated more than basic proficiency, even under pressure, but Morgan had to admit the sessions had done much to toughen him up and help learn to dodge a blow.

He watches the fight between the giant and the girl with great interest, trying to get a feel for the rhythm of the fight. At the end he takes special note of the tall one's confused look and the shake of the head. Berserkergang, or at least someone with difficulty controlling his obvious demonic heritage. He can't help but agree with the circlemaster's opinion.

"The backdrop is different but it reminds me of Esiard's training." He's not sure who he's talking to. Whoever was interested in listening he supposes. "A kind, honorable, gentle man everywhere but the field of battle or the training ground. Only the newest guards actually used padded training weapons. After that it was blunted iron. For the veterans, full edged.
He always said that the entire purpose of training is supposed to prepare you for the real thing, so it should mimic it as closely as possible. Pain and blood and everything."
Morgan smiles, remembering how scared some of the newbies had been when it was time to move up to blunted iron. Morgan himself hadn't really understood either at the time, not until he'd been in a few real scrapes himself. If you couldn't take the pain, if you couldn't find the courage, in training you sure as hell weren't going to when lives were really on the line.
"Granted having some of the most skilled healers in the world immediately on hand made the broken bones and such much less of a problem than it might have otherwise been. Heh, actually provided plenty of training for the healers too. Probably why they let him get away with it."
His eyes focus on the girl.
"She's skilled, very skilled, but she's treating it like training, not the real thing.
If it is supposed to be treated like the real thing she shouldn't be trying to win head on, fair and square, where she's at a pretty obvious physical disadvantage, she should be trying to win period. He's got something going on in the head." He glances at their mask wearing guide "Bloodlust?
Use it to pull him off his focus."
He might not be able to walk the walk, but he could talk the talk.

The newcomer pulls his attention from where the fight has wound down. His incubus heritage would have been obvious if only in the attraction he immediately felt even were it not for the wings and tail. It might not be the sort of house Morgan would want to live in but Morgan was secure enough in his own sexuality to admire the architecture.

When Toy addresses him directly Morgan offers a smile and his hand.
"Morgan Wainraith, pleased to meet you.
That's good to hear. What we know about your people is limited to say the least and I try not to make assumptions about how things are. You know what they say about making assumptions.

The truth is I'm more trying to spare Coiya's feelings than anything. I don't know how touchy he is about the past. I'm rather hoping he's been able to make peace with it, but some wounds don't ever really heal completely."
Morgan's thoughts turn momentarily to the Tomb of Vulcar.
" We'll also probably wind up talking about some secrets we are literally unable to discuss with anyone other than Coiya."