Talsil 2nd
After a hard night of goodbyes and troubled thoughts, the sun rose, bringing a modicum of hope to the battle-torn wedding lawn and shocked village populace. The injured were mended through a combination of healer's lore and Kalinda's divine grace. Cleaning efforts began. Though burdened friends had left under cover of darkness, and fourteen lives had been lost, there were reasons still to be thankful.
Kaylan knelt before the broken platform, gathering a small crowd of like-minded-worshipers paying their respects to the sun goddess. Thamior spent most of his morning on the roof of the Sunny Side, or else pacing, desperate to find clues to the mysterious ghost who'd all but promised his wife and children's destruction. Tyvis kept a sharp eye for trouble, and took solace in his little sister, still so brimming with life despite the tragedy hours earlier. Gens found he was a real catch, and ended up with four magic wedding gifts to eventually bestow on the newlyweds (and a warm bed should he ever require it).
Relic came by not long after offering to take Chiela under his wing, as he would be doing for Bella and likely Tina for the foreseeable future. Though the girl was appreciative of all Relic's efforts, Tyvis had accurately predicted she wanted to live with her momma. Of course, there was the small matter of getting Chiela back to Barovia, whereupon she asked Relic to be her escort so her big brother could stop some of his worrying.
While the cleric and the swordmage spent the better part of the afternoon enjoying Bella's company and figuring the best way to part with Tina, Chiela spent quality time with her brother and the new bard knowing full well their time together was growing short. However far they may be apart, though, Gens had given Tyvis a means for the he and his sister to always keep in touch. It was called a 'sending' ritual, which would allow them to trade short messages.
Yet despite the offered kindness, Tyvis had certain assumptions of the bard, namely that he was a womanizer looking for only one thing from ladies, which, by observing his one encounter with the village girl Merryweather, might have seemed accurate, if not for Gens protests otherwise. Tyvis ended up with his foot in his mouth when a curious Chiela asked what 'bedding' a woman meant, which began a rather coy series of masked commentary ultimately ending in Chiela's firm deduction: grownups are very, very, very silly sometimes.
The conversation prompted Chiela to ask Tyvis why he wasn't married, hitting a nerve in the young man and bringing both Waylans nearly to tears with memory of Kaern. Gens, taken entirely off guard, offered them some privacy, but the little girl was smiling in no time and ran off to get something to eat. Tyvis, meantime, wandered to the stream and glumly stuck his feet in its drink. Gens wandered after, insistent to know what that was all about, and eventually realizing Mara had wounded more than just Isabella.
At Kaylan's behest, Thamior retrieved Tina from the lawn. On their way back to the inn, she divulged to him that she'd heard a voice in her head during the events yesterday. This alone was enough to give Thamior alarm (for obvious reasons), but Tina said the voice sounded like her late mother. He'd actually come upon her praying for them. She was ashamed for having been thankful for the voice, even though it was heard in the midst of battle, but the feladrin assured her it was nothing to feel shame about.
She ran along ahead, entering Bella's nursery and planting her sister and second mother with a single kiss. As their family was joined, Tina knew something was wrong by the way Kaylan's face quirked and her eyes glistened. She told her story about the voice, and how much she loved everyone, hoping to clear the air. Kaylan, in turn, explained how much she loved her and how important it was she continue to be a good protector. Tina began to hyperventilate, knowing what was coming, even as Kaylan forced herself to say the words. For the girl's own protection, she must stay behind, with Relic and Bella, until it was safe again.
Tina despaired, cried, begged and refused. She wanted to protect Kaylan and Thamior, and be with them no matter how dangerous it was. She'd seen her mother and father and brothers killed. She couldn't just run away and hide and hope it didn't happen to her new mother and father. It didn't feel right. She flew out of the room sobbing, upstairs and into her room. Thamior comforted Kaylan a bit, then followed the girl.
When tears passed and minds were made, Tina had won Thamior and Kaylan over, and for good or ill the nine year old girl was coming along, to learn the ways of Kalinda from her new mother, encouraged by the voice. She was no longer afraid, how could such a young victim find fear again after so much horror had befallen her, but, she attested, gathering her meager belongings, pretty dresses and cherry blossom cudgel, she was ready.
And so the party of five set off on Finch's trail, following scorch marks and hoof-prints over miles toward a blasted ring of trees and a smoking crater.
Experience: 600 xp each (31, 528 total)
RP bonuses, 2400
Magic: Drakescale Solar Armor +3 (Kaylan), Circlet of Mental Onslaught (Kaylan), Drowmesh Displacer Armor +3 (Thamior), Chapeau of Colloquy (Thamior).
New NPCs
Merryweather: Havener girl of quaint appearance taken with Gens' beauty.
Cheta Torban: Athar barbarian wife of Sev Torban and the mother of Portia and Selja, come to witness the union of her daughters' dear friends. She had a brief conversation with Tyvis, wherein she proved resigned to the responsibilities of druids, but just as remorseful, and advised against letting a loved one join their ranks if it could be helped.
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