Post by Ser Baine Cinderwood 🔥🌼 on Mar 2, 2020 1:26:35 GMT
A tear-stained letter slowly winds its way across continents, travels miles and miles to finally find itself in the hands of one Theadora Thorne in the unremarkable village of Aschenwald.
A strange feeling grips her as she reads her name on the outside of the folded piece of parchment, like something had simultaneously gripped her heart and squeezed it tight for a second. It’s his handwriting, so he penned the letter, which means he’s alive at least.
She takes a breath and steels herself before breaking the wax seal and unfolding the letter. She scans it quickly, her hazel eyes darting across the page as she takes in the words, before she sits down heavily at her desk.
She puts a hand on her round belly as the little one inside kicks wildly a few times, stroking in wide circles.
“I’m alright, my love. Your uncle on the other hand…”
“Baine.
My dearest, dearest friend. I’m so sorry.
I know how much he meant to you, what he was to you. Please don’t blame yourself, no good will come of it. By the sounds of it, no good has already come of it, actually.
So you went into a quarry looking for trouble, and trouble found you - who would’ve guessed it. You and your Order, looking to do the right thing and lay down your lives for others because it’s the right thing to do. A thankless job, no doubt.
(A haunted quarry in these parts would have just been closed down. This Heret sounds like a dog with a bone. Perhaps he should’ve just left well enough alone, but who am I to judge.)
So, Te’Zeer showed up on the way there, not looking for you but for Serpentine? I take it she didn’t follow through on her deal with them that she made in the desert. That’ll come back to bite her, sooner rather than later. Horses on fire, stomping on everyone? And that’s probably not even close to what their worst is. Not that Serpentine’s safety is your top priority.
The quarry is cleared out though, you did that part. Lex, whatever he was, appears to be gone and hopefully won’t return. Heret destroyed whatever vessel was keeping Lex there and didn’t get sucked into it. You say you felt Lathander guide you, speak to you in the middle of it all. That’s a sure sign, isn’t it? You did what you set out to do, you and Varis both - protect the people of Daring Heights.
I know you’ve got your sights set on other things right now but remember that; remember that you made a difference. You already managed to keep so many people safe - in helping destroy Heilesna, in the war, and now in the quarry.
You say you’re going to make a deal again. You don’t need me to tell you that’s a really shit idea, you know that already. I’m sure a number people over there would agree (I’ll bet 10 gold pieces that you’re not telling Sunday about it before you’ve done it, are you?) but that’s not going to stop you. So all I’m asking is that you take good people with you when you go.
Do what you must, but be prepared to face that you might not be able to save him. I know that might be a hard thing to hear, but it’s true, and I don’t think he would want you to join him down there. The best thing you can do for his memory if you can’t bring him back is to continue what he started - to keep serving as a protector for the people in Daring.
I certainly don’t want you to join him down there either. There’s people back here I want you to meet someday. I want to see you again, someday.
Be as safe as you can. Stay close to Sunday. Use the anger in you, use the fire, kill as many devils as you like, but stay alive to see the sun rise again. I’ll be really fucking angry with you if you don’t.
Write me when you get back.
All my love,
Thea.
Ps. I know you don’t, but just in case you’re still angry and saying stupid shit with your big mouth: don’t blame Pieni either. The fault lies with no one but Lex and the very large man he decided to reanimate. Pi sounds like a lovely person and probably feels just as bad as you do. Offer him another ride on your shoulder when you see him next so he knows you’re not angry with him, he seems to like those.”
A strange feeling grips her as she reads her name on the outside of the folded piece of parchment, like something had simultaneously gripped her heart and squeezed it tight for a second. It’s his handwriting, so he penned the letter, which means he’s alive at least.
She takes a breath and steels herself before breaking the wax seal and unfolding the letter. She scans it quickly, her hazel eyes darting across the page as she takes in the words, before she sits down heavily at her desk.
She puts a hand on her round belly as the little one inside kicks wildly a few times, stroking in wide circles.
“I’m alright, my love. Your uncle on the other hand…”
“Baine.
My dearest, dearest friend. I’m so sorry.
I know how much he meant to you, what he was to you. Please don’t blame yourself, no good will come of it. By the sounds of it, no good has already come of it, actually.
So you went into a quarry looking for trouble, and trouble found you - who would’ve guessed it. You and your Order, looking to do the right thing and lay down your lives for others because it’s the right thing to do. A thankless job, no doubt.
(A haunted quarry in these parts would have just been closed down. This Heret sounds like a dog with a bone. Perhaps he should’ve just left well enough alone, but who am I to judge.)
So, Te’Zeer showed up on the way there, not looking for you but for Serpentine? I take it she didn’t follow through on her deal with them that she made in the desert. That’ll come back to bite her, sooner rather than later. Horses on fire, stomping on everyone? And that’s probably not even close to what their worst is. Not that Serpentine’s safety is your top priority.
The quarry is cleared out though, you did that part. Lex, whatever he was, appears to be gone and hopefully won’t return. Heret destroyed whatever vessel was keeping Lex there and didn’t get sucked into it. You say you felt Lathander guide you, speak to you in the middle of it all. That’s a sure sign, isn’t it? You did what you set out to do, you and Varis both - protect the people of Daring Heights.
I know you’ve got your sights set on other things right now but remember that; remember that you made a difference. You already managed to keep so many people safe - in helping destroy Heilesna, in the war, and now in the quarry.
You say you’re going to make a deal again. You don’t need me to tell you that’s a really shit idea, you know that already. I’m sure a number people over there would agree (I’ll bet 10 gold pieces that you’re not telling Sunday about it before you’ve done it, are you?) but that’s not going to stop you. So all I’m asking is that you take good people with you when you go.
Do what you must, but be prepared to face that you might not be able to save him. I know that might be a hard thing to hear, but it’s true, and I don’t think he would want you to join him down there. The best thing you can do for his memory if you can’t bring him back is to continue what he started - to keep serving as a protector for the people in Daring.
I certainly don’t want you to join him down there either. There’s people back here I want you to meet someday. I want to see you again, someday.
Be as safe as you can. Stay close to Sunday. Use the anger in you, use the fire, kill as many devils as you like, but stay alive to see the sun rise again. I’ll be really fucking angry with you if you don’t.
Write me when you get back.
All my love,
Thea.
Ps. I know you don’t, but just in case you’re still angry and saying stupid shit with your big mouth: don’t blame Pieni either. The fault lies with no one but Lex and the very large man he decided to reanimate. Pi sounds like a lovely person and probably feels just as bad as you do. Offer him another ride on your shoulder when you see him next so he knows you’re not angry with him, he seems to like those.”
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