Post by Ser Baine Cinderwood 🔥🌼 on May 23, 2020 9:00:52 GMT
Dear Thea,
Still alive. We’re getting to that point again, like during the war: No News Is Good News. So if you don’t hear from me for a while, that’s fine. I promise.
But yeah, we’re all still here. The Vanguard is stepping up their game but they haven’t gotten to us yet.
We went back to the Crystal Spire recently, trying to build relations. Ori put together a whole thing, looking for representatives from the Dawnlands. Not very good at diplomacy but I went cause we need to get in with the Shunned, we need to all stand together if we’re gonna have a chance in hell (ha) to stop Zariel.
When we first got there we had some time to spare so I got to build some more stuff with the Orcs and hang out with the kids. Turns out they maybe don’t dislike me because I’m half human, so much as they don’t trust outsiders. Plus I’m big and scary-looking and I sauntered in there with no warning, looking to hang out with their kids and build their houses. Not my best move.
It went better this time though.
Then there was a fancy dinner thing. Ori turned his nose up at my armor (it’s adamantium!! Doesn’t get fancier than that) so I had to get a tunic made. It’s a bit tight but apparently that’s a good thing. It’s got the Crimson Fist embroidered on it, which does make representing the Order a little easier, I’ll admit.
I arm-wrestled an incredibly strong frog at one point during the evening. I won, obviously. Also got told off for bringing my Maul into the fancy dinner party. Like I’m gonna go without armor AND weapon, ever. It’s war time, you muppets.
Next day there was a bit of a war council that anyone could sit in on. Went to that, obviously.
It’s funny, the whole point of the meeting was information exchange but all these spies and dignitaries are so greedy with their secrets and they don’t trust anyone but themselves - neither Kasath nor Jadefist was willing to spill the beans. So I did. That got them going a little, Jadefist mainly to make a point of saying how I didn’t speak for Daring Heights. (She don’t like the Order. Not many on the Council do. We’re a “private army” this and “follows no one but Varis” that. I mean, they’re technically not wrong but fuck me running, we’re here to help, unclech for a second and fight the actual bad guys instead.)
And like, I’m not saying I told you so, but I totally am. Because at lunch, we got attacked. Some servant guy had had his family kidnapped by the Vanguard and got blackmailed into Literally Stabbing The Crystal Spire-Spire and letting some fiends through. There were hellhounds and one of those flaming horses again and a bunch of civilians got hurt. We got it all sorted in the end though, and just in the nick of time ‘cause some Very Large fella was trying to come through as well. BB patched up the crystal, Ankhet and Pi and Alanea helped treat the wounded and I interrogated the servant guy. Not much to interrogate though, the poor guy just wanted to keep his family alive.
Before we left the Shunned got us Dawnlanders some gifts ‘cause we did so well dispatching the fiends, so I’d say it was a resounding diplomatic success. If that actually means something in the coming weeks, well.. We’ll just have to see.
I’ll keep you posted.
All my love,
Baine.
PS. Stay off your feet and let that idiot husband of yours do the work for once. That kid isn’t due for another while yet, let’s keep it that way. DS.
He doesn’t know if it strictly qualifies as meditation but as Baine thinks he might be on the right track at least. He tells his brain to shut the fuck up for a second and lets the pins and needles of Lathander’s magic swirl between his palms, flowing slowly back and forth between his right and left.
The world falls away. The chill of the slight breeze, Frankie’s head where it’s resting on his lap - they all fade for a moment as he focuses on nothing but the first rays of sunlight creeping across the horizon. He smiles, and closes his eyes.
When he opens them again the sun is warming his face, fully risen, and Frankie is sniffing carefully at the two small statuettes on the floor in front of where Baine is sat. Rubbing his hands together to warm them a little, he gives Frankie a nod of agreement.
“Yeah, I reckon we should give it a try. Not much else for it.”
He picks them up and looks them over carefully, one at a time. They are beautiful depictions of two lions sitting down, waiting and watching, made of solid gold. Where their manes should be simple fur they appear to instead be wreathed in flame. They look to have been made identical, but one of them has clearly seen more use than the other; it’s missing half an ear and has several scratches down the side of its face, not unlike Baine himself. Carved into the base of both is a flowing script that Baine can just about make out.
“...Ari? Ari. And… Ag- no, Asad. Brothers of… fuck does that say? Firefang? Okay, that’s cool. Uhm.. Apparently I’m just supposed to like, chuck ‘em on the ground. And that’ll make ‘em big. We’d best go downstairs, it’ll be pretty cramped up here.”
Frankie barks once and takes the lead, thundering down the steps, through the stables and into the compound training yard. The morning mist is slowly retreating and from the barracks he can hear the first sounds of soldiers dragging themselves out of their bunks. No time like the present, he thinks, and throws the statuettes to the ground.
At the impact there is a split second of flame and smoke, silent but white-hot before they appear - their eyes glowing a bright yellow, shaking out their burning manes and baring their teeth, hissing their affront at being summoned.
They pace around him and Frankie both, keeping an even distance as they trace a wide circle, their growling reverberating against the brick walls. Frankie gives a small growl back before Baine hushes him. He squares his shoulders and locks eyes with one of the lions, the one with the scars and the missing ear. Ari.
“Sit,” he says simply.
Ari snarls and lunges with his teeth bared, pulling up just short of where Baine is stood, unflinching. The lion is large enough that it barely has to look up to make eye contact with the half-orc and for a moment they stare at one another, sizing the other up, before Ari slowly sits back on his haunches.
Baine gathers his thoughts and speaks.
“You were given to me as a gift. I know I could command you to fight but I’m not in the business of forcing other beings to die for me. But if you would be willing, I could use the help. I'm trying to protect people.”
There's a tense moment before Ari lowers his head slightly and blinks slowly at him. He conveys his assent with a quiet dignity that reminds Baine of Varis, the kind he himself never managed to pull off. Asad stops his pacing beside his brother and butts his large head firmly against Baine’s sternum, purring. Baine sinks both hands into his flaming fur and there is no pain, only a soothing warmth and a faint smell of smoke.
“Everyone loves scritches, I keep saying.”
Frankie - moving very slowly so as to achieve invisibility - has just managed to wedge himself in between Ari’s massive front paws when the door to the barracks opens.
“What the actual fuck, ser?”
Baine looks over to where Floris and Kedi is staring at the lions like it's just a little too early in the morning for something like this. He grins.
“Wanna wrestle a lion?”
Still alive. We’re getting to that point again, like during the war: No News Is Good News. So if you don’t hear from me for a while, that’s fine. I promise.
But yeah, we’re all still here. The Vanguard is stepping up their game but they haven’t gotten to us yet.
We went back to the Crystal Spire recently, trying to build relations. Ori put together a whole thing, looking for representatives from the Dawnlands. Not very good at diplomacy but I went cause we need to get in with the Shunned, we need to all stand together if we’re gonna have a chance in hell (ha) to stop Zariel.
When we first got there we had some time to spare so I got to build some more stuff with the Orcs and hang out with the kids. Turns out they maybe don’t dislike me because I’m half human, so much as they don’t trust outsiders. Plus I’m big and scary-looking and I sauntered in there with no warning, looking to hang out with their kids and build their houses. Not my best move.
It went better this time though.
Then there was a fancy dinner thing. Ori turned his nose up at my armor (it’s adamantium!! Doesn’t get fancier than that) so I had to get a tunic made. It’s a bit tight but apparently that’s a good thing. It’s got the Crimson Fist embroidered on it, which does make representing the Order a little easier, I’ll admit.
I arm-wrestled an incredibly strong frog at one point during the evening. I won, obviously. Also got told off for bringing my Maul into the fancy dinner party. Like I’m gonna go without armor AND weapon, ever. It’s war time, you muppets.
Next day there was a bit of a war council that anyone could sit in on. Went to that, obviously.
It’s funny, the whole point of the meeting was information exchange but all these spies and dignitaries are so greedy with their secrets and they don’t trust anyone but themselves - neither Kasath nor Jadefist was willing to spill the beans. So I did. That got them going a little, Jadefist mainly to make a point of saying how I didn’t speak for Daring Heights. (She don’t like the Order. Not many on the Council do. We’re a “private army” this and “follows no one but Varis” that. I mean, they’re technically not wrong but fuck me running, we’re here to help, unclech for a second and fight the actual bad guys instead.)
And like, I’m not saying I told you so, but I totally am. Because at lunch, we got attacked. Some servant guy had had his family kidnapped by the Vanguard and got blackmailed into Literally Stabbing The Crystal Spire-Spire and letting some fiends through. There were hellhounds and one of those flaming horses again and a bunch of civilians got hurt. We got it all sorted in the end though, and just in the nick of time ‘cause some Very Large fella was trying to come through as well. BB patched up the crystal, Ankhet and Pi and Alanea helped treat the wounded and I interrogated the servant guy. Not much to interrogate though, the poor guy just wanted to keep his family alive.
Before we left the Shunned got us Dawnlanders some gifts ‘cause we did so well dispatching the fiends, so I’d say it was a resounding diplomatic success. If that actually means something in the coming weeks, well.. We’ll just have to see.
I’ll keep you posted.
All my love,
Baine.
PS. Stay off your feet and let that idiot husband of yours do the work for once. That kid isn’t due for another while yet, let’s keep it that way. DS.
He doesn’t know if it strictly qualifies as meditation but as Baine thinks he might be on the right track at least. He tells his brain to shut the fuck up for a second and lets the pins and needles of Lathander’s magic swirl between his palms, flowing slowly back and forth between his right and left.
The world falls away. The chill of the slight breeze, Frankie’s head where it’s resting on his lap - they all fade for a moment as he focuses on nothing but the first rays of sunlight creeping across the horizon. He smiles, and closes his eyes.
When he opens them again the sun is warming his face, fully risen, and Frankie is sniffing carefully at the two small statuettes on the floor in front of where Baine is sat. Rubbing his hands together to warm them a little, he gives Frankie a nod of agreement.
“Yeah, I reckon we should give it a try. Not much else for it.”
He picks them up and looks them over carefully, one at a time. They are beautiful depictions of two lions sitting down, waiting and watching, made of solid gold. Where their manes should be simple fur they appear to instead be wreathed in flame. They look to have been made identical, but one of them has clearly seen more use than the other; it’s missing half an ear and has several scratches down the side of its face, not unlike Baine himself. Carved into the base of both is a flowing script that Baine can just about make out.
“...Ari? Ari. And… Ag- no, Asad. Brothers of… fuck does that say? Firefang? Okay, that’s cool. Uhm.. Apparently I’m just supposed to like, chuck ‘em on the ground. And that’ll make ‘em big. We’d best go downstairs, it’ll be pretty cramped up here.”
Frankie barks once and takes the lead, thundering down the steps, through the stables and into the compound training yard. The morning mist is slowly retreating and from the barracks he can hear the first sounds of soldiers dragging themselves out of their bunks. No time like the present, he thinks, and throws the statuettes to the ground.
At the impact there is a split second of flame and smoke, silent but white-hot before they appear - their eyes glowing a bright yellow, shaking out their burning manes and baring their teeth, hissing their affront at being summoned.
They pace around him and Frankie both, keeping an even distance as they trace a wide circle, their growling reverberating against the brick walls. Frankie gives a small growl back before Baine hushes him. He squares his shoulders and locks eyes with one of the lions, the one with the scars and the missing ear. Ari.
“Sit,” he says simply.
Ari snarls and lunges with his teeth bared, pulling up just short of where Baine is stood, unflinching. The lion is large enough that it barely has to look up to make eye contact with the half-orc and for a moment they stare at one another, sizing the other up, before Ari slowly sits back on his haunches.
Baine gathers his thoughts and speaks.
“You were given to me as a gift. I know I could command you to fight but I’m not in the business of forcing other beings to die for me. But if you would be willing, I could use the help. I'm trying to protect people.”
There's a tense moment before Ari lowers his head slightly and blinks slowly at him. He conveys his assent with a quiet dignity that reminds Baine of Varis, the kind he himself never managed to pull off. Asad stops his pacing beside his brother and butts his large head firmly against Baine’s sternum, purring. Baine sinks both hands into his flaming fur and there is no pain, only a soothing warmth and a faint smell of smoke.
“Everyone loves scritches, I keep saying.”
Frankie - moving very slowly so as to achieve invisibility - has just managed to wedge himself in between Ari’s massive front paws when the door to the barracks opens.
“What the actual fuck, ser?”
Baine looks over to where Floris and Kedi is staring at the lions like it's just a little too early in the morning for something like this. He grins.
“Wanna wrestle a lion?”
