Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Revealed

After the party, Virgis' familiar gave us a choice. Treasure, or a draw from a magic deck of cards. I had heard of these cards - they could give you great fortune, or death, or anything in between. I'm sure my mother would have dissapproved, but I wanted to take the chance.

It was...a mistake. Somehow, my ring went missing...and they saw for who I really am. Most took it with aplomb, but Salbadore...he called me a spy! He blames me for the death of his friends, calls me a traitor.

Traitor to an emperor such as his? I wish I could explain somehow, make him understand...let him see what really goes on, and how people suffer. But I fear it is too late, and I will become a fugitive.

I suppose it could be worse...

13 comments:

HomoDM said...

Laurie suddenly finds herself in a large, dark chamber, empty save for Virgis Grimrune in a chair, a candle, and the blue box. There is also another chair across from him, empty; presumably it is for her. The Arch-Summoner looks annoyed, and the shadows cast by the wan yellowish light of the candle make his craggy features appear all the more menacing.

“Please be seated,” he says, more of a command than an invitation.

He sighs and rubs his temples. “Three surprises are quite enough for one day, I think.”

“I had sensed something peculiar about you,” he continues, “though I was so distracted by more pressing matters that I did not pay as much attention as perhaps I should have. So here we are: you, bereft of illusions; and I, undecided as to your fate.”

He leans in, his fingers steepled. “The magicks which you heretofore had employed to disguise your true heritage did not come to you by chance, nor, I suspect, by your own skill. Therefore, someone with proficiency in the Art must have been assisting you, which further suggests that you are not working alone.”

“Naturally, I have questions. And since your kind cannot be trusted to be altogether forthcoming, I have lit the Candle of Truth to encourage your candor. So. Whence came you, and wherefore? What is your purpose here, girl?”

fishofdeath said...

Laurie attempts to keep her cool about her as she sits in the chair, although those with skill in reading people could tell otherwise. Occasionally, her eyes glance towards the blue box, and then she quickly looks away.

"I come from the lands of my mother, that I might seek the one who sired me, and learn more of his people."

HomoDM said...

The brevity and obtuseness of Laurie's response communicates plenty.

"From the land of your mother, you say? So you come from the sky, then."

"And your mother's people outfitted you with a disguise... to keep you safe, perhaps, or to help you assimilate."

"What is it you seek to learn about those of us who dwell under the clouds? Is it true what I have been told -- that you are a spy?"

fishofdeath said...

Laurie becomes almost indignant. "They asked me to tell them if I saw anything interesting. I was never a spy! I just wanted to learn about my other half...what it was that enchanted her enough to have a child. What you are like, how you lived, how you play, how you love...that's all."

HomoDM said...

"Love..."

Virgis stands from his seat and begins to walk in a slow circle around the two chairs.

"Once upon a time, when I was much younger, I loved a woman. She was bewitching in her beauty, her elegance, her brilliance."

"And although she could overlook my own infernal pedigree, it was not within me to be as charitable with regard to her Elvish ancestry, diluted as it was."

"We parted ways. It seemed the correct course of action at the time; but looking back, I wonder if I might have been happier had I been more forgiving."

He looks at her, his expression inscrutable.

"Your 'mission' seems innocent enough, but in good conscience I cannot simply release you back into such a hostile world."

"I am willing to protect you, but in exchange, you must take no action that would bring dishonor upon my name. If you agree, you will accord yourself as if you were my emissary."

"What say you?"

fishofdeath said...

"It is a proposition I would entertain, but I admit, I don't know much of your...philosophy. I do not wish to err unknowingly."

HomoDM said...

"For you, I'll keep it simple: conform your behavior to the laws of the land, conduct yourself in a dignified manner at all times, and accord respect to others as befits their station."

"Clear enough? I figure that should keep you out of further trouble, at least until you are capable of extracting yourself from situations such as this one."

"But if you find these conditions too restrictive for your liking, if your free spirit dictates that you simply must live a life of wantonness and abandon, you are welcome to depart from this place at once with only the mercy of others to shield you from the cruelty of the world of Men."

Orthos said...

"I thank you for your kindness and generosity, Lord Virgis. Should I find that I simply can not abide by these restrictions in the future, I will make sure that I dissolve our arrangement with the same care that you have shown me in offering it."

She bows deeply.

HomoDM said...

"Be seated while I formalize our agreement in writing," he instructs.

Seemingly from out of nowhere, he produces a piece of vellum and a quill. In the diminishing light of the Candle of Truth, he takes perhaps ten minutes to enscribe the terms of his leniency onto the thin sheet of animal hide.

As the Arch-Summoner hands Laurie the quill and the vellum, she cannot help but notice that unfamiliar arcane sigils have been enscribed among the conditions.

"Leave your mark at the bottom of the page," he says.

fishofdeath said...

Laurie reads the page carefully, and with trepidation, signs the bottom.

HomoDM said...

"So it is written, so it is done."

As the ink dries on her signature, Laurie feels a burning pain on the back of her neck.

"Don't be alarmed," Virgis says. "That is merely my mark appearing on your flesh. It will serve as proof to others that you are mine and that you are to be left in peace."

"It will also remind you of your oath to me, should you perchance to stray from it."

fishofdeath said...

Laurie rubs the back of her neck as she looks to Virgis. "If our business is concluded, I would like to return now."

HomoDM said...

"Behave," Virgis cautions her a final time before she finds herself returned to Orthos' room as abruptly as she left it.