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Mikal

He stops a bit confused at the unexpected sight in front of him. He had expected something a bit more, well, foreboding.

"Excuse me, miss? I am looking for Lady Kara?"

Kadri:

For the moment, KAdri looks uncomfortably silent. And declines to change that.

The Heartwood
Bordertown
Rameday, The Twenty-First Day of the Month of Crown of Ice, 2623
The Last House on Lonely Street

Mikal

The young woman smiled and bounced down from her task.

"I'll go right around and get her for you, Mister ..."

Her pace was light and her colorful skirts swirled about her with each skipped step, as if it were already spring. At the door, however, she paused, stopped and turn around.

"Oh. Right.

"That would be me."

The Priestess of Krysta smoothed down the front of her tunic with the palms of her hands and offered Mikal a friendly smile.

"How can I be of service?"

Mikal

"You are Lady Kara? The one who has an Executioner in her employ?" He glances around behind her, trying to see if she is trying to have fun with him.

After a few moments of consternation, he shrugs. If she isn't who she says she is then she will be in for a shock.

He reaches over his shoulder and unbuckles the strap on the sword belt holding the Hellsword, then gingerly holds it out to the girl.

"Please be careful with this. I have it from an Easterner who tried to kill me in the Forest of Roth. I'd like to have it re-forged, but I believe it needs to be purified first."

He continues to look at her hesitantly.

The Heartwood
Bordertown
Rameday, The Twenty-First Day of the Month of Crown of Ice, 2623
The Last House on Lonely Street

Mikal

"He doesn't work for me, silly. We both serve Her."

The young woman folded her hands behind her back and bounced on her heels.

"Did you really expect someone draped in blacks and anguished looking, preying upon the living as if she were starved and you soul was her next meal?

"Here, I'll let you in on a lil' secret."

With a mischievous smile the young priestess leaned forward.

"It's non-negotiable. When you die, My lady gets your soul. Period. End of tale. No take backs.

"Knowing that, do you really think She worries whether or not you die from a cow falling on you right ... now ... or if you fade many years from now old and sleepy and in a bed surrounded by your family?

"In the end, you, me, everybody, we are Hers.

"Until then, life is a gift, life is to be lived in the fullest.

"It seems silly to squander it being all moody and grey and sullen."

The girl took the sword, fingers on its hilt, trailing along the scabbard. If she does falter it is not from its magics, but from the simple weight of the blade. Her lips twitch and she wrinkles her nose.

"No one likes thieves."

Slowly she turned, to walk into the house.

"There ... there .. there there now ..."

She spoke quietly to the blade.

"It's all right, you are with me and mine now. No more hurt, no more longing, no more emptiness.

"Come ...

"It's time to dance, yes?"

The Priestess entered her small, bright home.

The Heartwood
Bordertown
Rameday, The Twenty-First Day of the Month of Crown of Ice, 2623

Those at the Ruins

All were welcome in the Priestess' home, from the most questioning to the most quiet. Lady Kay looked to a kettle in her heart and asked simply,

"Tea?"

She then sat down at the end of her table. After, of course, setting out simple crockery cups for her guests.

"It's because its what he does. Some brothers know the names of all the birds, some of all the fish, some all the farms between Bordertown and Talesan's Village.

"Brother Random has been up in is towers with his genealogies since I first opened this Hospice, when I was your age. As for staying here, it's remote, it's quiet ... even if we have to board everything up every now and then. the riders from the forest tend to leave us alone; even they fear harming one of the Lady's acolytes and the Town is a far plumper target ... one that refuses to be ignored ... than a stone tower.

"And thank you all, for helping with the water."

She then poured herself a cup of tea, leaning back to listen to the two sisters talk.

Mikal

"Yes I did expect someone like that." He replies to her description of a black robed, brooding, priestess.

The comment about Krysta getting his soul when he died is a little disconcerting, as he'd hoped he'd be with Jvrill after his life ended, and he actually looks up and steps to one side when she mentions a cow falling on his head, then chuckles nervously.

In the end he nods agreement with her philosophy, though it still surprised him.

He follows her into the house, not sure she meant him to, but he doesn't want her to hurt herself with the heavy blade.

Bekkah

She listened to the woman and nodded at her reasoning. She glanced at Dazi to make sure she had heard the part about even the horde in the evil forest would not touch a Lady of Attera. Perhaps hearing it from this woman and seeing that she yet still lives, might make Dazi worry far less about her safety.

"I'm sorry Daxia, I barely remember them, probably no more than you do. Just images. I remember so much about you. I wanted to be your protector. You were so much more than a sister to me. You were mind to care for and I think all my memories just revolve around you. That's why it was so hard for me to leave you. Nothing short of my Lady could have pulled me from your side. Especially as young as you were."

She then turned her attention back the Lady.

"I'd love some tea."

"Afterwards Lady Kay, is there anything I can do for you?"

Kadri keeps her conversation somewhat neutral when it comes to the topic of religion.

After all. Not everyone understands hers, and there is no sense tempting fate.

"I would love some tea - if you happen to have anything sweet to put in it, why - I would love it even more."

"Tea would be most gratefully accepted. "

Celi clasped her hands, rested them on her knees. She sniffed, looked around; her lips pursed in a brief moue."You grow your own? I saw verbena, hyssop and sassafras without..."

Daxia
with Bekkah, Dean, Kadri, Romana and Lady Kay at the Ruins

Daxia nodded at Lady Kay's information regarding the Eye of Hastur.

"You're most welcome, Lady. We're happy to be of service, if even in such a small way."

She reached an arm around her sister and hugged her close. "It's fine, Bekkah. It was long, long ago; and you left me in the best possible care when you went to Lilia's Castle, da?"

Smiling as she released Bekkah and turned back to Lady Kay, she said, "Thank you. Tea would be very nice." She glanced at their newest charge. "Romana? Tea for you, too?" There was something about the dark-haired girl that always seemed to get the redhead smiling.

"Lady Kay, would it be possible to talk with Brother Random about..." She paid a quick glance at Bekkah, then back to the elder Atteran with a smile. "...our portion of Everybody? I'd be happy to carry his meal up to him, if that would help you even further.

"And who might I talk with about the well and its history? It burdens my heart to see one of my Lady's wells tainted; if there might be some way to cleanse it, surely it is my duty to at least make an attempt." She sighed. "Although, no doubt more than one of my Temple-Sisters has been through Bordertown over this Age and had the same thought."

The Heartwood
Bordertown
Rameday, The Twenty-First Day of the Month of Crown of Ice, 2623

Those at the Ruins

"Grow my own?"

The old woman shook her head and held her small cup in both hands.

"No ... I am not much of a gardener. They do grow wild though, no matter what the weather."

She then returned her attention to the other Priestess, her head tilting.

"Actually, Lady Yurisdotter, if you could poke your head in the Jvrillian Temple? Like most men they are ornery and proud, and will let their hurts fester before coming to a woman for aid. the walk to town is hard on my old bones, that and Brother Random would forget his meals if I were nay here.

"As for speaking with Random, if he did nae accidentally lock himself in, the tower should be open.

"He's in there ..."

The Atteran priestess paused.

" ...somewhere.

"As for the well? As far as we know, its just another old well; like many scattered between here and the mountains. Do you think you could cleansed ... that would be very convenient.

"Are you saying it is special to you? Lady Captain Koromov has been here a few times, but usually because she needed some stitching or a bone set."

To one side, Romana quietly drank her tea. She sniffed at it, took a sip and then her eyes went wide.

"Hothothot!"

She then carefully blew across the top of her cup, before more carefully sipped at it.

"Different ...

" ... differents always good."

Bekkah

"Certainly. I will look in on them as soon as we return to the town. And it's not just the Jvrillians who are stubborn. It seems most fighters are that way, although men are certainly he worst."

She smiled at Romanas' reaction to the tea and blew on her own cup before taking a sip.

Celi hesitated, then said, "If you wish, I can pick some of the plants you brew for tea. AS I mentioned, I saw hyssop, sassafras, verbena and lemongrass en route to here. There are likely others. I could also replant any of them closer to your home, if that would be more convenient. And I can bring you actual dark mountain tea, sharp or smoke, when next I travel this way."

She looked down, then back in the Priestess' eyes. "You are of such kindness and service to those in need, I would be honored to in some wise repay you."

Daxia
with Bekkah, Dean, Kadri, Romana and Lady Kay at the Ruins

"Sister dear, are you implying that I am stubborn?" she asked with feigned shock and an enormous grin. But when she turned once again to the elderly Atteran, she was more somber.

"Yes, Lady. The runes of Time, Water and Horse mark it as a well dedicated to Dayala. I don't know the Purification spell, unfortunately," Daxia said sadly, "or I would most certainly cleanse the waters for you." She shook her head. "Captain Koromov, undoubtedly, cannot perform that spell either, for she would have cleansed it for you if she could. Any Dayalan would." She smiled, though it held no humor. "Sadly, we learn the combat-related spells first, and I am but an Initiate still with few spells at my command. And Captain Koromov..." Now Daxia's eyes held a glint of humor and her smile more warmth. "I believe the differences in philosophy between her and the Priestesses of Dayala at the Dawnview Temple cause her to spend as little time there as possible. I grew up there, and did not meet her until I ventured out from the Vale." She shrugged philosophically.

"But if there might be some other way to cleanse the waters, should I learn of another way to do so, I promise I will do that for you, or see that it is done, Lady Kay."

Celi

On some occasions, Celi had been able to determine what had befouled a water source simply by smelling it. Her sense of smell had been tested and trained by one of the really good noses in all of the Wild: Stormrunner. Smell was a skill that could be developed, improved, even trained and fine-tuned. She would never ever be as good as Stormrunner, but she was a lot better now than she had been when they first joined, and she could spot a large variety of both organic and inorganic contaminants by scent alone.

So, when she went to the well and took a sniff, it wasn't an altogether hopeless task. She wasn't going to drink her fill, or encourage anyone else to do so, since having someone die was not going to get her any closer to the contamination source. But if she could scent it, then she could look for it.

Daxia
with Kadri at the well at the Ruins

At Lady Kay's look of gratitude, Daxia said, "I cannot say for certain that it will be possible to make the well usable, but I might know more after I take a look at the well. And after that," she said with a smile, "I would be happy to bring Brother Random his mid-day meal." She turned to look at Kadri, and her eyes flickered towards the door.

Then smiling at Bekkah, she said, "If you'd like to stay and talk with Lady Kay and..." She looked over at Romana, who held the cup of tea in both hands, eyes closed, a radiant smile on her face as she inhaled the scent. "...and keep Romana company as she enjoys her tea, I will not mind." She looked around at the others. "Unless you know the Detect Magic spell, I do not mind going with just Kadri."

After a moment, she nodded to Lady Kay and returned outside. After a handful of steps, she stopped and closed her eyes. "I can almost see how it would have looked before it was destroyed," she murmured. "So much like home." She sighed as she opened her eyes, and blinked away images of a complete Dayalan temple to focus on the one that was now nothing but ruins.

She walked to the well, not speaking again until they reached the well. Unlike the well in the Dawnview Temple courtyard that was carved from the honey marble ubiquitous in Dawnview Vale and most keeps, this was carved from stone. The workmanship was so fine that, even after countless years, it appeared as though it had been hewn from a single slab of stone. It stood about two feet off the ground, and was about five feet in diameter. Runes of Time, Water and Horse were carved into the outer side and top of the stone.

"Gilly and I would sit at the well when she came to the Vale during the Dry Season," Daxia said, more to herself than Kadri. "It wasn't often, so it was special. She'd tell me tales of the world outside the Vale." Shaking herself out of her reverie, Daxia first closely inspected the stone itself, from top -- where countless Dayalans had sat in Ages past -- to bottom, where the was stone sunk deep into the ground. Then, leaning over the edge, she looked into the darkness. Looking up at the trees and at the foliage all around, she said, "It has likely been many fullhands of years since She has looked deeply into this well. Perhaps it is time for a small part of Her to do so once again."

She whispered a few words and cast her Starlight spell. Holding it in the palm of her hand for a moment, Daxia then sent the light down slowly into the well. In the confined space, it appeared brighter than usual -- though likely that was merely illusion. She made note of everything she observed -- the usual and the unusual -- as the light moved down and down.

The Heartwood
Bordertown
Rameday, The Twenty-First Day of the Month of Crown of Ice, 2623

Those at the Ruins

The ranking Priestess tilted her head at Romana's startlement, offering the young woman a curious look and then, slowly, a smile. In response, the dark haired lass retreated back into her hood. Though every now and then she'd peek back out to steal another sip of tea.

"I don't think it was for lack of concern ... but simple circumstances. We may overlook the town, but both Brother Random and myself cherish the relative privacy of this place. We can undertake our studies and work without becoming entangled in the politics of the town ... and being it a trading post with two of the most mercantile pagan cults those politics can make one down right grumpy.

"So most young folks, looking for the adventure that would have the minstrels sing of them, they stay down in the town, on the plains, dare the forest ... without the patient to share a kettle of tea."

Lady Kay then smiled.

"Why I thank you ... those stairs are starting to get a bit long for me, especially if he has hidden himself away on one of the upper ramparts. Here, let me get it ready; it should not take far too long. If you wish to stretch your legs, I'll call when its ready.

"And you study teas, Miss?"

She nodded to Celi.

"There are so many wildflowers and herbs that tumble off to the west. On some of Brother Random's maps they say Here There Be Beasts ... it is almost as if someone labeled the world, here there be tea ..."

There was a polite nod as Daxia and Kadri took their leave, and then a raised brow as Romana followed a few paces behind.

"They are still blooming, Miss ..."

She returned to the discussion of tea.

"As if they didn't even know it was the season of the storms."

The Heartwood
Bordertown
Rameday, The Twenty-First Day of the Month of Crown of Ice, 2623
The Last House on Lonely Street

Mikal

The inside of the temple ... house ... is like the outside. Simple, clean, bright; it could have been any farmhouse or young merchants. There were hints that she did not work the fields or the days of a farmer's wife; there was time to clean, to arrange wildflowers in a tall leaded glass vase ... or two .. or three. There were hints, however, that this was no normal house. Between two tall and narrow stained glass windows - themselves perhaps even richer than the windows of the Dragonstooth - was a huge bar of what appeared to be polished silver, beneath which were two curved verticals.

A person sized rune of Death.

It reflected the colored glass pastoral image with a soft shimmer, gentle and soothing, as if it were misted in ever shifting emerald and rose water.

Beneath the rune was a heavy wooden cube, large, its top bearing the scars of many axe strokes..

Aye.

That exactly.

Lady Kara drew herself up before the rune, falling silent.

It was reverently that she she held the darksteel blade up, closing her eyes and then setting it down upon the executioner's block.

She drew herself up, folding her hands at the small of her back.

The young priestess looked back over her shoulder to Mikal with a small poignant smile.

"This is nay going to be the most exciting matter in the world. And it will take time ...

"You do nay have to be staying if you don't wish to."

The Heartwood
Bordertown
Rameday, The Twenty-First Day of the Month of Crown of Ice, 2623

Out at the Well

The circle of stones were silent as Daxia approached.

She was shadowed by Romana, the slender lass like a wraith to one side of the Dayalan. She swallowed, once, and while daxia walked right up to the edge she stayed a few paces back. Her head was ducked, her expression unreadable within the shadow of her fur lined hood.

Looking down into the well and one was looking into the night. Especially with the sun slipping to the far horizon; and aye, from atop the ruins it was if you could see to the very edge of the world, the darkness was impenetrable only handful of feet below.

Still, far darker that it should be.

A moment, then two, and a few reverent words spoken.

The blue-white star shone bright; though it provided little illumination against Her light. That is until Daxia sent it down into the tainted well.

For a long while it drifted, a shimmering sphere of light slowly drifting deeper and deeper. It brought light to a ring of stone, and that ring of what could be seen also moved lower and lower, a gentle star lit drift. The stone was smooth; the craftsmanship obviously very high. Though it was not perfect; every now and then there were scratches, scars and chipped cracks in the stone- as if they had been hit by something hard.

A full hand feet down and the stone vanished

The star was still there, still continuing its drift down and down and down. But at least for a space of another fullhand of feet there was nothing within its range to reflect upon.

Finally, there was a glimpse of a ring of flatness ... then once again the circular walls of the well.

Truely finally , far far below, the bottom of the well was a black disc. It shifted, it shimmered, it reflected back the cool light of Daxia's traveling star.

Still water.

A closer look and there was something else.

The hint of some thing ... of some things else. They reflected white.

That was not quite true.

They reflected ivory.

Kadri:

SHge looks down, whistles.

"Bones, Daxia?"

She looks over, raising an eyebrow.

Daxia
with Kadri and Romana at the well at the Ruins

"That would certainly explain why the well is tainted. The cracks and scratches," she said, pointing to the imperfections in the upper stone segment, "weren't made by just a body being tossed into the well. Or even a handful of bodies." Daxia looked up at Kadri. "Unless the bodies were armored, armed and alive when they went in." She shuddered before looking back down into the well.

"The middle section... where there is no stone lining... that's not normal well construction. It's almost as if..." She looked up again, then out over Bordertown and the expanse of the Tarn. "...as if it was pulled apart," she whispered. "As if the ground itself tried to distance itself from the taint."

Turning back to Kadri and Romana, she said, "Whatever is down there needs to come out. That won't be easy."

Kadri eyes the well speculatively.

". . I could try climbing down there, given a rope. . . See what it looks like at the break?"

Daxia
with Kadri and Romana at the well at the Ruins

"Yah. Think see dirt, maybe roots," Daxia said, unconsciously falling back to her native speech pattern, as she looked into the well again. "Need much rope... more than three fullhand. Dazi only have three handful! Hmmm, good thing Bordertown big market place, huh?" She narrowed her eyes as she stared into the depths. "Now Dazi want to know who in well. Easterners throw... sorry, Romana... bored Eastern princes throw Dazi Sisters, other defenders into well? Or Dazi Sisters throw bored Eastern princes in well? Well go bad either way." She shrugged as she straightened. "We tell others what we find?"

Kadri, With Daxia and Romana at the well.

"Could be. Could NOT be. Only can know by seeing. If the body is already bones, been there for a long while, especially if its in cold water, no?"