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It is that evening at the Rusty Dragon. Catalena had agreed to do a Harrowing for Aendell and once she rises, it is probably a good time.

Rusty Dragon 1st Floor

[OOC: While this thread is for the two characters mentioned, depending upon how they set it up, others might see or at least know of it happening.]

Catalena

Catalena chose one of the private dining rooms the afternoon of the boar hunt.

"Shall we?" she had offered to Aendell. "It seems an opportune time, to grant your Harrowing. After all, there is meat to roast which should not be rushed, lending us sufficient time before revels might interfere with revelations."

She smiled invitingly and trailed a pair of sun-browned fingers along the traceries of steel in his armor as she passed though to take a seat in the corner, the window at her left.

"Close the door after you, if you don't mind," she requested, as she fished in her pouch for her sacred Deck of Harrow.

"Have you decided upon the question you seek to ask Desna?" she asked in a more trained and formal tone as she spread a deep purple velvet cloth upon the table before removing her cards from their box. "Our terms are nine coins. The metal of which is your decision."

A sudden cloud slides in front of the moon as the door is closed, giving the illusion of the room getting darker at Catalena's questions. Were the gods paying attention to this spiritual event? Did they care what these two lowly humans were doing in a private room in The Rusty Dragon in Sandpoint?

All knew the gods walked in the world of men and creatures, but neither of them could recall anyone they knew of actually seeing one. The gods in guises and mere creatures who meet them, don't always know who or what they are interacting with.

Aendell

"Indeed." He replies following her into the room and closing the door behind them. He takes the chair closest to the door as he doesn't know how this will play out. Reaching into his pouch, he removes nine coins. He just earned 50gp today, but he doesn't know when he might next see any coin so he offers 5 of those and supplements with 4 more silver. He lays the on the table in front of her and waits. "Does it matter what form the question takes, how long it is, or to whom it is directed?"

Catalena

Catalena smiled and slid the coins deftly from the table and into a pouch beneath the folds of her layered attire. She pressed her hands together in a silent, respectful show of gratitude. Then she answered him:

"Questions are as varied as the people who ask them. The Harrows will divine an answer and it is up to the questioner with my assistance to understand what they say. You can be specific or vague, immediate or farsighted, personal or communal.

"And answers are not always immediately evident or particularly rewarding as the questioner hopes. A general may wonder, 'Will we defeat our enemies?' and ride out in confidence but may find that she slew innocents over a misunderstanding. A widower may ask, 'Will I ever find happiness again?' when in his mind he envisions a beautiful new bride but in truth it is only the acceptance of his own solitude and what joys that may bring that was his answer. A gambler may ponder, 'Which horse will be the victor on race day?' and she may trust all her coin to the one that matches the signs, then when the horse finishes fourth, in her anger attempts to vengefully injure the beast finds her skull staved in by its hoof.

"My advice is to ask a question to help guide yourself but not rely on an answer as a sole motivator."

As she spoke, she sorted the cards into six piles. One by one she revealed the suits.

"Hammers: for questions of war, battle, or honor.

"Keys: for questions of trouble, children, or the performing arts.

"Shields: for questions of health, home, or suffering.

"Tomes: for questions of money, education, or the written word.

"Stars: for questions of history, morality, and the gods.

"And Crowns: for questions of politics, family..."

She lingered her finger over the last card, an eyebrow arched. "... or love."

Aendell

He nods as he follows her pointing to the different suits of the cards. "And a Harrowing is a single question, no follow up questions after the initial response?"

Catalena

Cat replied, "The cards are dealt after the question. Another question would be another reading. Rarely has someone asked me for a second, immediately following, and I do not recall ever complying with such a request. We must not overly grasp at the goddess's indulgence."

Aendell

"Alright then", he looks up from the table with his piercing blue eyes into Catalena's. "Shall I arrest Catalena Teodorescu for Fraud, Deception, and Theft as I have been charged to do?"

The candle flickered, almost going out, even though neither of them could feel any kind of draft in the room. In fact, Cat knew that there were no windows in this particular room, as it was an interior one for extra privacy since that was what she had asked for when securing it.

[OOC: Nice!]

Catalena

Catalena Teodorescu very slowly blinked her eyes. She inhaled through her nose, held the breath a moment, then softly exhaled through her mouth. She met his gaze with her own brown eyes and answered in a performer's whisper that carries clearly across a room despite its softness, "Well, then. Let us begin."

Her mind raced while her practiced calm relocated five of the piles to the right side of the cloth. Arrest? Theft?? He is mad, surely.

"Stars, I think," she smiled, shuffling the nine cards and laying them face down in an arc with him at the center. "For matters of justice?" He's come from Magnimar, has he not?

"Kindly pass your hand across the Harrows and choose the one you wish," she instructed. "Just a tap of the finger please as these are my most treasured relics."

Well, she thought, Desna will provide her wisdom in any case. Trust in her.


((OOC Please choose a number from one to nine, going Aendell's left to right.))

Aendell

A soft smile crosses his lips. **Composure in the face of difficulty.** His hand passes across the cards back and forth as if searching for a sign. At last he extends an index finger and gently touches one of the middle cards.

(OOC - 7)

Catalena Teodorescu

Catalena carefully gathered up the other eight cards and shuffled them with the previous removed piles. Then she turned Aendell's over.


Before them was the image of a Cyclops pouring an arc of ale from one tankard to another. His expression was bemused as he stood among fallen drunkards, lost to their revels.

"The Publican," Cat mused. "Unexpected. This card you have chosen represents yourself in the greater reading. It is significant if it should appear in the spread."

She retrieved the card and reverently added it to the now full-again deck of Harrows and she shuffled. Aendell would notice that as she did so, she was careful to not bend the cards but with skilled fingers was able to slide them within one another while preserving their physical integrity.

"The Publican," she continued, "when in proper alignment in the top of the row, signifies comradeship and refuge."

She glanced up at him, and then down again to her work.

"When out of alignment, much like the pub, The Publican is a source of misinformation, unfounded gossip, and scurrilous rumor."

Cat smoothed out the cloth once more to prepare the Harrowing.

Aendell

He chuckles very slightly. "Actually reminds me a bit of Zack."

Catalena Teodorescu

"Indeed," Catalena voiced, laying out nine cards, three by three, their images aligned toward Aendell such that the top row was furthest from him.

She passed her hand down each column. "The leftmost represents what forces affect the past, the central column, the present, the rightmost, the future."

Then, gesturing to each row. "The top are the supportive forces, the bottom are the oppositional forces, the central row are forces that play some part to be determined."

Catalena then paused a moment to let the words settle, then she added, "I will make some general observations: Note that no cards are in perfect alignment though several are close. But there are two in perfect misalignment. She indicated The Rabbit Prince and The Keep. Also, note that three of the nine -- she pointed to The Foreign Trader, The Twin, and The Owl -- are reflections of equal balance. This indicates to me that the overall reading does not seek to pull strongly toward a yes or no answer, but to leave the decision in your hands, perhaps better advised through this introspection. Let us proceed."

She gestured to the upper-left card. It bore a well-dressed reptilian humanoid with a malevolent red eye and backward-facing palms. It sipped tea sitting on the back of a naked, abject human. "Let us begin, in your past. Your strength has come from The Rakshasa. While this is a card representing subjugation, usually of the mind, note that it is misaligned." She indicated the book symbol in its lower-left corner. "So in this placement, it represents the throwing off of a limiting burden. Perhaps you have risen above some past oppression that supports you?"

Moving down, she came to a figure of a humanoid rabbit. It wore regal clothing and a crown and an hourglass about its neck. It's fine sword was ready, but shattered. "The Rabbit Prince, in perfect misalignment, so this is a strong card for the reading. It is a capricious fellow, a seeker of conflict. But he also represents nobility. Misaligned so, I might wonder if it may be a noble who has brought undue influence to the question without cause."

Finally, she came to a fairly simple image of an owl upon a branch. It held a needle and thread in its beak. "Opposing your strength is The Owl. Pure wisdom, made without sympathy or malice. The Owl may bind the thread of life together or tear it apart as readily."

"And so," she concluded, "Such are the influences to your question from your past. Let us now look to the present."

"The Foreign Trader," she intoned, describing the colorfully clad figure, bearing exotic goods but hiding his face. "This would be an auspicious card to have here in your favor if you were seeking a fortunate bargain, but that was not your question. It suggests to me perhaps the caravan of merchants that brought you here as a positive force in the present, or he is sometimes viewed in these lands as the sign of a Varisian, as we do travel and trade and wear our valuables upon our person."

"Influencing the present as neither ally nor foe, is The Queen Mother." Catalena dipped her head toward the image of an ant in crown and robes, caring for its grubby children. "The Queen of knowledge, but she withholds it from those who do not respect her and pay her homage. A Queen of the humble, the poor, the myriad." She touched her holy symbol of Desna and inclined her head again, confident in understanding the placement in the array.

Cat raised an eyebrow at the central, lowest card. "Hmm, interesting," she mused, looking at The Keep, a walled villa of handsome minarets, upon a block of stone which towered above a sea of angry figures upon giant mechanical legs. "The Keep is normally a symbol of silent strength, but here in this misalignment, it shows the danger of succumbing to weakness or temptation, or a greater strength in play may bring ruin."

She took a steadying breath and proceeded to the final column, what she had indicated was the future.

"Shall we seek to end on a positive note? Yes, I think we shall. So, let us first stay in the lower row and examine what opposes you in the future with this question." Moving her browned fingers, with coral-painted nails to her left, she pointed to a card of a frightening scene. A great beast of scales and tentacles surrounded by fire, swallowed hapless victims one after another. "The Fiend. Aligned, so a strong card. Always a sign of some great calamity, the deaths of innocents to some evil. Or metaphorically, I suppose, an end of innocence."

Bringing her hand closer to her side, she lingered over a pair of figures, nearly identical, only one bore a bared blade behind his back. "The Twin. A doppelganger. It shows indecision, a crossed-purpose, or divided loyalties. For a Harrower like myself, I am uneasy seeing it as it may also indicate an entire reading may hold a hidden meaning. But more like it may represent the crossroads of your decision as it neither hinders nor helps your future."

Catalena smiled at the final card. "What positive force does the future of your decision hold? It is The Dance." She showed a card of a woman in scarves, ribbons, bangles, and baubles whirling dexterously in pirouette with a filigreed baton surrounded by glowing spheres. "She is your only support in alignment and so is a strong presence. She represents staying in step with the Song of the Spheres, and knowing your own place in the greater good, and making decisions to preserve the delicate framework. To me, she indicates that the strength of your future is making a good decision."

She returned her hands to clasp her fingers together before her. "Or," she concluded, "Your strength of your future may come simply from a dancer."

Aendell

He watches and listens, eyes following her fingers as she points at each card in turn and launches into her descriptions. Once she finishes, he stares at the cards for another few moments and then lifts his eyes to look at hers, one eyebrow raised. "Is this the form all of your readings take? I don't mean the content. Clearly", he flicks his eyes to the unrevealed cards in the deck, "there are many more cards with similarly obscure images on them that would each have their own ...... description". His hesitation is in trying to be polite and not say 'tale'.

"What I mean is that there was nothing in what you just said that discussed what action I should take in regards to my question. Things about my past, the present, and the future are all things you know from our travels together and the cards themselves could be interpreted any way you choose with myself, and I presume your other clients, having no way to know any better."

He pauses. "If I might summarize your reading? I came from an oppressed background which I overcame. I have some alignment with those who care for the poor and downtrodden, and there is some great evil afoot with which I will contest." His raised eyebrow remains.

"Whether or not you simply relayed all of this from your own knowledge, or it is truly in the cards, I am not in position to determine with any degree of certainty. For now I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and accept that Desna provided you with insight. However, my initial question remains unanswered beyond, 'imake a wise choice'?"

Catalena Teodorescu

Catalena fixed him with her gaze for a moment. Then, she gave a slight frown and looked down and began to reverently collect the Harrows and return them to the deck. As she did so, she pronounced, "I knew nothing of you beyond that you had spent time in an orphanage in Magnimar with Zachergillan. But, I do now."

"Like some before you, you have received Desna's gift and choose to hold it in contempt. I heard your words, 'Fraud, Deception, Theft' spoken as charges and I hear them now unspoken as opinions. I believe I understand why you are here now. There was a noble family in Magnimar whose greed and shortsightedness had nearly brought them to ruin. They demanded of me a reading to tell them how they could regain their fortune. Like you, they wanted a simple answer and an abdication of responsibility for their own choices. I advised against the reading but they insisted and I was in need of coin for food.

"I read the Harrows for them. My Harrowing, I believed, was clear that they needed to change the path they were on, placing material gain above all other concerns, chasing each poor decision with one more desperate to recoup their losses and profit even more. They believed they merely needed to change their investment.

"Then I heard that this choice had gone poorly and they placed the blame on me. As they still maintained some political influence in the city and I merely a vagabond Varisian, likely already of suspect intent because of my race, I departed. I had believed that in time, wisdom and self-reflection may come to them, but instead I see that they are still driven by vengeance even to the point of hiring out common thugs with hope of some bounty, I suppose."

She finished putting the cards away and folded up her cloth. Her eyes held a steady fury.

"Desna clearly revealed to you who and what might have been your support. She also warned against decisions based on faith in established strengths and acting without conscience," she stated, standing up. "I had thought the answer was obvious. The Harrowing is meant to lead you to your own decision. Because it is always your own decision.

"But, like The Twin, I can see that for someone who has no trust in others, or faith in himself, who deceives his intentions and hides his aims, such wisdom is wasted and the Harrowing should be received as its opposite. I believed I should be providing you some service to help your life and was glad to do so. You merely sought to get me alone such as to improve your chances of collecting on some reward. Base and cowardly, bounty hunter."

She placed a hand upon her nodachi, pressed upward on the hilt with her thumb to loosen it in the scabbard.

"Here's a simple answer for a simple mind: Yes, go ahead. 'Arrest Catalena Teodorescu.' Or at least, make your attempt."

Aendell

He listens and watches as she picks up the cards and hurls one insult after the next in his direction. When she stands and stops to take a breath he waves a hand. "Oh sit down. I have no interest in killing you, so you will not prod me into it." He pauses and looks at her. "I presume you are done now, or do you have more insults to give?"

"You should at least know that almost everything you've said about the merchants is correct and almost everything you've said about me is incorrect. If you would like some honest feedback, you could use some work on reading people. I would think that would be an important skill in your line of work."

"I needed to see if you truly believe what you present in your Harrowing or if it is nothing more than a shell game for taking money from desperate people. I have seen enough con men in my day and the best ones seem to be as honest as the day is long, at first glance. You'd not have reacted as you did if you did not believe in what you do and Desna's place in it, and you'd not take such offense at any who take it lightly were you not sincere. So lets begin again?"

He takes a breath. "I am charged with your arrest, however I am not paid for this nor do I do it without the use of my own judgement. Just ask Selaim. In this judgement I see more than enough room for differences of interpretation and certainly the issue of buyers remorse and shifting of blame is present. I am also not obligated to do anything precipitously or on any timeline other than of my own choosing."

He purses his lips. "It appears it will take more study to truly see to the motivation behind the results. I already know you hold no evil in your heart, a solid point in your favor. So how about this? I place you under arrest, for observation. You are free to act as you will, just as before. Come and go as you choose. Do whatever you like. At some point Iomedae will judge, not me, and she will tell me what must be done."

With that, the entire room fell into darkness. There was still warmth at the center of the table, though neither of them could see it; they merely felt it. The room fell silent, too quiet to be merely an ordinary moment or effect. No, this was something powerful, something magical. Both could feel it deep inside.

Aendell felt a voice *Champion, you have come to Sandpoint to destroy a great forgotten evil. This is no simple task I set you to. It may take all you are to complete, but finish it you must.*

Light returned to the room as if it had never left. A quick glance around showed nothing had changed. Aendell might be perceptive enough to believe that Catalena had not heard the benevolence of Iomedae from her body language.

OOC: Cat didn't hear a thing in the silence, just to be perfectly clear.]

Catalena Teodorescu

Cat's eyes darted back and forth as light returned but then once again focused on the man.

"His honor has been impugned," she drawled. "He deceives me as to his aims when I offer him the gifts of my faith and art. He threatens me with taking away my freedom when I offer hospitality and protection. He deceives me further in order to 'test' my belief in my faith. Now he benevolently deigns to offer me the chance to be... under arrest but unrestrained so long as I am under his observation or to 'kill me' should I resist? But he is insulted! Yet somehow he still stands erect! No wonder Selaim calls you 'Princeling'. Who in the Nine Hells do you think you are?"

She snapped the big sword back in the scabbard and walked to the door.

"You realize you hold no authority here. If you have some warrant from Magnimar, then take it up with the Mayor and the Sheriff. 'So how about this?' You take your 'judgement' and keep it and stay out of my sight while you're in Sandpoint and I don't have your sanctimonious self arrested for threatening an officer of the law, something I actually have the authority to do."

She opened the door to depart.

Aendell

He pays little attention to her as the voice of Iomedae consumes his thoughts. As she steps towards the door he notes what she said, and sighs. "Leave or stay. It is up to you as I said. Insult me, insist on taking my words out of context and put words into my mouth in order to justify yourself to yourself and try to believe you are the wronged party. I hold no requirement nor animosity towards you. But consider who among us is a wanted suspect and who fled from the law before you get so far up on your high horse that you can no longer come down from it. I will not ask an apology from you, though I am due one. I will offer you one if you believe you need it."

Catalena Teodorescu

The door banged hard against the outer wall as she departed, passing through the common room in a clear fury.

Coral

At the bang of the door she looked up from the lit candle she had been playing with - alternately flicking its flame and holding her hand above it - the relatively untouched pint of ale on the table to one side.

She watched Catalena walk from the door to the common room.

The woman carried a face that told Coral to not interfere, so she didn't.

Selaim

She'd kept an eye on Coral during the banquet. Her watch briefly interrupted when Cat and the princeling rose and walk together to one of the meeting rooms. Her eyes narrowed at that until she realized that Aendell was possibly getting that Harrowing he'd mentioned. She respected Cat and hoped that whatever his business with the woman was went well. But still she was more concerned with Aendell since a Harrowing was seemed so out of character.

But her mind drifted back to Coral. She took another sip of liquid courage as she watched the girl playing with the candle. "Still playing with fire even out of a fight." she thought to herself.

Selaim shook her head at the thought and closing her eyes only to see coral rushing the boar barehanded. Shuddering she took a long pull finishing her drink and started to approach the girl that she'd thought she'd known. "Be nice" she told herself as she walked over. But her thoughts and approach were interrupted by Cat banging the door and storming through the common room.

Torn between checking on Cat and her benefactor she chose to rush to the room Cat had just left and looked in. "Aendell? What happened? Are you alright?"

Aendell

He sighs as she leaves, glancing up towards Iomedae and offering a prayer for serenity.

He is still sitting when Selaim enters. Looking up he offers a soft smile. "Worrying about me now, eh? Careful. I tend to grow on people."

He stands and adjusts his gear. "I am fine. I told Cat that she was a suspect wanted in Magnimar and she didn't take it very well. She did her reading, and it was nicely done. I am a bit skeptical, but it is clear she believes, and so unlikely to be a con woman. In any case, between my skepticism and possibly the surprise of learning I was here to find her and not just a friend she'd recently made I think she couldn't handle it. I have grown to like her, and I offered her a sort of 'house arrest' where she could continue to do whatever she wanted and I would simply observe and let Iomedae decide when the time came. She didn't take it well. She actually drew her weapon on me." He sighs again. "Called me all sorts of ugly names, but I am used to that."

He steps towards the door. "In any case, be careful. I do not know what she might do next and you are associated closely with me. I have no plans to force the situation. I will do exactly what I told her I would, even if she doesn't like it."

Selaim

She almost chose to ignore the comment about caring. Only narrowing her eyes. Another thing to think about and sort through. saying only "Ummm yeah. You probably were a little too blunt with her. She felt betrayed like you trapped her. And I can't blame her. I mean she has been helping us since we got here."

She rolls her eyes as he comes to the door. "Princeling placing someone like me on house arrest is as good as telling them you think they are guilty. Think about it. Why am I your ward? So you can keep an eye on me and make sure I don't slide back in to my old life. That is house arrest too. Except I was guilty. You just did something similar to Cat and you don't think she is guilty. By placing her on this house arrest you just told her you don't trust her even though she has done nothing to betray any trust in her."

She moved away from the doorway so he could pass.

"Sheesh, I need to find Zak so we can go talk to her. Because I think she needs to know that we do believe in her." she said going back to the Common Room looking for Zak. All thoughts of a talk with Coral gone.