Post by Glade on Aug 14, 2022 15:30:15 GMT
Co-written with the wonderful Youki
Glade wonders the forest for quite a bit, carefully navigating her was through the worst of the undergrowth. She only knows the general direction of where Sardaq has left for, so it takes her the best part of the day to stumble across the forest before she finally sees a light in front if her. She readies a spell just in case it's more of those will-o-wisps, but as she comes closer she sees a large lightning-scorched clearing. There is a hill with a cave on top of it on the other side, and the light is coming from there. As she approaches, it becomes clear that the light is coming from a small fire. Some mushrooms and roots are being roasted on a crude pan. Next to the fire rests a poisonous looking mound that is Sardaq. Deeper in the shallow cave Glade sees an enormous nest. Inside something small and blue is curled up, snoring quietly.
"Hello" she says in a tone loud enough to be heard, but quiet enough as to not wake up whatever is sleeping in the nest.
The mound shuffles, and in the light of the fire Glade can see two blue-green eyes peering at her.
“Oh, hello… carriage driver lady,” Sardaq waves at her, confused. “You’re lost in the woods?”
"Oh, no, I was actually looking for you. Urm... name's Glade, by the way" she says, extending a hand towards Sardaq. "Pleasure meeting you."
Sardaq looks around uncomfortably, and a patch of greenery points at the space opposite them on the ground. “Sorry, I… uhm, I don’t have any furniture, but feel free to…, well, to have a sit, I guess?” They look at her extended hand. “Oh, no, please don’t touch me. I’m very poisonous,” they add, withdrawing their entire body away from genasi.
"Oh... ok, I'll keep that in mind" she replies, awkwardly pulling back her hand. She sits down, cross-legged, near the fire to where they suggested, all the while looking at them, doing a horrible job of not to stare and make them feel uncomfortable. A lot about Sardaq does indeed suggest that, at some point, they were human, their blue-green eyes seeming to confirm this.
"So..." she begins, trying to break the awkward silence. "How long have you been in these woods?"
“These specific woods? Like… several months. Been in other woods before.” Clearly at a loss of what to do and where to look, they take refuge in their cooking, giving the pan a little shove. “You want some mushrooms? I‘ve gathered them this morning.”
"Thank you" she says with a small smile. "If you wish, I can make some berries after. Or... I could summon some friends to go out and forage some, if you don't want magical ones."
“Sure, I love forest creatures!” they say. The vines around the eyes don’t provide much in the way of expression, but Sardaq’s tone has the warmth of a smile in it.
"Alright." She takes in a deep breath, lifts her hand to her mouth, fingers curled in for a whistle, but stops herself right before blowing. She looks deeper within the cave, to the enormous nest, remembering the blue slumbering creature that she does not want to wake up. She lowers her hand and instead gives off a low but sharp whistle, something akin to a nightingale.
Sardaq watches as eight raccoons roll in from somewhere and arranging in formation around Glade. "Hey there!" she gives them a wave. "Would you be kind as to forage some berries and other forest fruits for me and my friend here?" The raccoons give a salute and proceed to move out, receiving a thanks from Glade as they roll back into the forest.
Sardaq extends their hand to pet the pretty creatures, but quickly stops themselves, green tendrils curling like fingers not to harm the raccoons. There’s a wistful look in their eyes.
“Was there a nightingale around?” A sleepy high-pitched voice asks from the nest, hissing and lisping ever so slightly.
“No, there wasn’t. It’s alright, you can go back to sleep,” Sardaq answers quickly, and turns to Glade with an apologetic expression. “Sorry about that, they are… well, sensitive to that particular sound. It’s of no trouble.”
"Oh, apologies, I didn't mean to wake them up." A shade of guilt sets upon her face, along with a slight blush, like a child caught in a lie. "Ar- Are they... all right?"
“Of course,” Sardaq nods, making the entire mound around them shuffle back and forth. “This is Iqpi, by the way. They’re… my charge, I guess. Very much an early bird. Darts all around the forest during the day. Sleeps through the night.” They chuckle fondly. “Keeps me company, too.”
They carefully take some of the mushrooms out of the pan and shove the somewhere in the depths of the vines surrounding them. “Do you often go into the woods?”
"Yes, many times, I actually grew up in the woods, although... on a different continent... back in Faerun," she responds, slight bit of nostalgia at the end. "However, I felt that my responsibilities recently have prevented me from spending too much of my time relaxing in the woods." Glade then looks around the cave, then towards the exit. "It's nice here."
Sardaq looks around as well. “A bit too quiet, but I guess it is nice,” they agree, glancing over the rocky walls. “Iqpi’s parent found a good place to nest, right? Nice meadow, a lot of room to fly around… and to perform their responsibilities. What are yours?”
"Well... my responsibilities, as a follower of Chauntea, is to preserve and nurture the life around me, to help heal the wounds of both the people and the land." She stares into the fire, with a slightly bleak expression. "After the invasion, I've been initially running around healing people, but ever since, I've been going in between the settlements and helped regrow the crops. Although winter is still a fair months away, it feels like there's so much damage and so little harvest." She then takes in a deep breath, lifting her gaze back at the person before her. "But... I feel better seeing the smiles of farmers as some of their crops grow back. The look of hope for the future on their faces is... warming" she says with a kind and warm smile.
Her gaze then shifts towards the nest "Who is Iqpi's parent and... what are their responsibilities?"
Sardaq listens intently, their eyes narrowing slightly at the mention of plants regrowing an people smiling. Glade understands now why people might not be fond of being around the fallen paladin - without a facial expression one could think they were frowning, but the general relaxed energy suggests their smile just widened, touching the corners of their eyes. “Iqpi’s parent was a servant of Lliira, like myself. Only without the whole oath-breaking part,” they shrug and avert their eyes in embarrassment. A batch of tendrils rises to reach behind their head in an exaggerated movement. Sardaq scratches the back of their head, or rather the poison ivy growing there. “Well, ehm… anyway, Iqpi’s doing the same thing, really. As their parent. That’s how they are, I’m told. They are watching over a favoured of Lliira, like yourself,” they nod towards the flower of music in Glade’s hair. “But that favoured really can take care of himself, so I guess… they’re just waiting for a new request. Training, learning. Like kids do.”
Glade cannot help but feel a bit of sadness for the poor paladin as they speak of someone being favoured by Lliira while being cursed by the same goddess. "Have you met this favoured of Lliira?"
There is an almost tangible light emanating off Sardaq. “Yes, I did! Well, technically I met him before the Lady favoured him, but, well… I found him again! Just a couple of months ago.” They look up with the same delighted glow. “Have you met him? You must be running into each other pretty often.”
She smiles at the clear fondness in Sardaq's voice when they speak of this person. "Maybe? I'm not sure who that might be. To be honest, I haven't known much of Lliira myself before I got this flower... as if I know more about her after I got it. What can you tell me of this person?"
“His name is Loff’Tarien. Although I think he prefers Toothy. He’s an adventurer, like yourself.” They gesture at Glade. “And it’s alright,” they add as they mow down a couple of potatoes. “In my experience Lliira is not very particular on those who favour her to worship… well, her. It’s mostly about having the right… disposition.”
Glade's eyes widen in recognition "Toothy? Yes, I have met him. Huh... I didn't knew his name was Loff'Tarien. But," - a small smile setting on her face, - "I can indeed confirm that he does have the right disposition. Every time I saw him, he always carried a small little animal that he's been taking care of. He was... there when I got this," she says, pointing towards the unique branch, the gift from Lliira, a small chuckle escaping. "It's hilarious how, in my attempt at appeasing my goddess, Chauntea, I ended up being favoured by another."
Sardaq gives another enthusiastic nod. “Lliira is more tolerant than many others to that. As long as you would prefer revelling in the fields to fighting or scheming in the city, she’ll look kindly on you,” they say with an air of inspired awe. Glade notes that this is one of the smoothest sentences to come out of the slightly socially awkward paladin so far.
The silence of the moment is slightly interrupted as the squad of raccoons returns, carrying lots of various berries, all being placed by Sardaq's side.
"Ah, looks like they were really successful in their search." Glade thanks them and with a smile and a wave she dismisses them as they all salute and roll off out of sight. "Oh, I just remembered, have you find anything about why those woodland spirits attacked us?"
Sardaq follows the raccoons with their eyes and then turns to Glade, completely distracted. “Hm? Sorry? Did you say something? Oh, the spirits? Yeah. Iqpi did some communing and said those were sent by Lliira,” they sigh. “Seems I just can’t stay on her right side, huh? I don’t know why they didn’t like your group. Maybe they just thought you were someone else? Like I killed a bunch of will-o-wisps earlier that day. Probably the spirits we’re going after them and lashed out at you. I mean, they’re sylvan spirits, but not infallible. I’m still looking around. Lots of Loviatans in the woods these days. Thought I killed off most of them. Guess not.” They shrug and absorb several berries from the pile.
Glade is saddened at the mention of the woodland spirits' unfortunate misunderstanding. "Maybe... I heard that, in some cases, some spirits may end up being maddened by the destruction around their place. I... remember my mentor talking about such incidents, that they feed off of the emotions and energy given off by living beings. Maybe the spirits that have attacked us were driven mad by the actions of the Loviatans?" She releases a heavy sigh. "Time will tell."
Glade clears her throat as she gets up. "Well, better not overstay my welcome. Thank you so much" she says, taking a bow and offering them a warm smile "our conversation has been enlightening. I hope we meet again in better circumstances."
The mound of vegetation waves at Glade awkwardly. “Okay. You take care, Glade. See you… I guess…”
Glade wonders the forest for quite a bit, carefully navigating her was through the worst of the undergrowth. She only knows the general direction of where Sardaq has left for, so it takes her the best part of the day to stumble across the forest before she finally sees a light in front if her. She readies a spell just in case it's more of those will-o-wisps, but as she comes closer she sees a large lightning-scorched clearing. There is a hill with a cave on top of it on the other side, and the light is coming from there. As she approaches, it becomes clear that the light is coming from a small fire. Some mushrooms and roots are being roasted on a crude pan. Next to the fire rests a poisonous looking mound that is Sardaq. Deeper in the shallow cave Glade sees an enormous nest. Inside something small and blue is curled up, snoring quietly.
"Hello" she says in a tone loud enough to be heard, but quiet enough as to not wake up whatever is sleeping in the nest.
The mound shuffles, and in the light of the fire Glade can see two blue-green eyes peering at her.
“Oh, hello… carriage driver lady,” Sardaq waves at her, confused. “You’re lost in the woods?”
"Oh, no, I was actually looking for you. Urm... name's Glade, by the way" she says, extending a hand towards Sardaq. "Pleasure meeting you."
Sardaq looks around uncomfortably, and a patch of greenery points at the space opposite them on the ground. “Sorry, I… uhm, I don’t have any furniture, but feel free to…, well, to have a sit, I guess?” They look at her extended hand. “Oh, no, please don’t touch me. I’m very poisonous,” they add, withdrawing their entire body away from genasi.
"Oh... ok, I'll keep that in mind" she replies, awkwardly pulling back her hand. She sits down, cross-legged, near the fire to where they suggested, all the while looking at them, doing a horrible job of not to stare and make them feel uncomfortable. A lot about Sardaq does indeed suggest that, at some point, they were human, their blue-green eyes seeming to confirm this.
"So..." she begins, trying to break the awkward silence. "How long have you been in these woods?"
“These specific woods? Like… several months. Been in other woods before.” Clearly at a loss of what to do and where to look, they take refuge in their cooking, giving the pan a little shove. “You want some mushrooms? I‘ve gathered them this morning.”
"Thank you" she says with a small smile. "If you wish, I can make some berries after. Or... I could summon some friends to go out and forage some, if you don't want magical ones."
“Sure, I love forest creatures!” they say. The vines around the eyes don’t provide much in the way of expression, but Sardaq’s tone has the warmth of a smile in it.
"Alright." She takes in a deep breath, lifts her hand to her mouth, fingers curled in for a whistle, but stops herself right before blowing. She looks deeper within the cave, to the enormous nest, remembering the blue slumbering creature that she does not want to wake up. She lowers her hand and instead gives off a low but sharp whistle, something akin to a nightingale.
Sardaq watches as eight raccoons roll in from somewhere and arranging in formation around Glade. "Hey there!" she gives them a wave. "Would you be kind as to forage some berries and other forest fruits for me and my friend here?" The raccoons give a salute and proceed to move out, receiving a thanks from Glade as they roll back into the forest.
Sardaq extends their hand to pet the pretty creatures, but quickly stops themselves, green tendrils curling like fingers not to harm the raccoons. There’s a wistful look in their eyes.
“Was there a nightingale around?” A sleepy high-pitched voice asks from the nest, hissing and lisping ever so slightly.
“No, there wasn’t. It’s alright, you can go back to sleep,” Sardaq answers quickly, and turns to Glade with an apologetic expression. “Sorry about that, they are… well, sensitive to that particular sound. It’s of no trouble.”
"Oh, apologies, I didn't mean to wake them up." A shade of guilt sets upon her face, along with a slight blush, like a child caught in a lie. "Ar- Are they... all right?"
“Of course,” Sardaq nods, making the entire mound around them shuffle back and forth. “This is Iqpi, by the way. They’re… my charge, I guess. Very much an early bird. Darts all around the forest during the day. Sleeps through the night.” They chuckle fondly. “Keeps me company, too.”
They carefully take some of the mushrooms out of the pan and shove the somewhere in the depths of the vines surrounding them. “Do you often go into the woods?”
"Yes, many times, I actually grew up in the woods, although... on a different continent... back in Faerun," she responds, slight bit of nostalgia at the end. "However, I felt that my responsibilities recently have prevented me from spending too much of my time relaxing in the woods." Glade then looks around the cave, then towards the exit. "It's nice here."
Sardaq looks around as well. “A bit too quiet, but I guess it is nice,” they agree, glancing over the rocky walls. “Iqpi’s parent found a good place to nest, right? Nice meadow, a lot of room to fly around… and to perform their responsibilities. What are yours?”
"Well... my responsibilities, as a follower of Chauntea, is to preserve and nurture the life around me, to help heal the wounds of both the people and the land." She stares into the fire, with a slightly bleak expression. "After the invasion, I've been initially running around healing people, but ever since, I've been going in between the settlements and helped regrow the crops. Although winter is still a fair months away, it feels like there's so much damage and so little harvest." She then takes in a deep breath, lifting her gaze back at the person before her. "But... I feel better seeing the smiles of farmers as some of their crops grow back. The look of hope for the future on their faces is... warming" she says with a kind and warm smile.
Her gaze then shifts towards the nest "Who is Iqpi's parent and... what are their responsibilities?"
Sardaq listens intently, their eyes narrowing slightly at the mention of plants regrowing an people smiling. Glade understands now why people might not be fond of being around the fallen paladin - without a facial expression one could think they were frowning, but the general relaxed energy suggests their smile just widened, touching the corners of their eyes. “Iqpi’s parent was a servant of Lliira, like myself. Only without the whole oath-breaking part,” they shrug and avert their eyes in embarrassment. A batch of tendrils rises to reach behind their head in an exaggerated movement. Sardaq scratches the back of their head, or rather the poison ivy growing there. “Well, ehm… anyway, Iqpi’s doing the same thing, really. As their parent. That’s how they are, I’m told. They are watching over a favoured of Lliira, like yourself,” they nod towards the flower of music in Glade’s hair. “But that favoured really can take care of himself, so I guess… they’re just waiting for a new request. Training, learning. Like kids do.”
Glade cannot help but feel a bit of sadness for the poor paladin as they speak of someone being favoured by Lliira while being cursed by the same goddess. "Have you met this favoured of Lliira?"
There is an almost tangible light emanating off Sardaq. “Yes, I did! Well, technically I met him before the Lady favoured him, but, well… I found him again! Just a couple of months ago.” They look up with the same delighted glow. “Have you met him? You must be running into each other pretty often.”
She smiles at the clear fondness in Sardaq's voice when they speak of this person. "Maybe? I'm not sure who that might be. To be honest, I haven't known much of Lliira myself before I got this flower... as if I know more about her after I got it. What can you tell me of this person?"
“His name is Loff’Tarien. Although I think he prefers Toothy. He’s an adventurer, like yourself.” They gesture at Glade. “And it’s alright,” they add as they mow down a couple of potatoes. “In my experience Lliira is not very particular on those who favour her to worship… well, her. It’s mostly about having the right… disposition.”
Glade's eyes widen in recognition "Toothy? Yes, I have met him. Huh... I didn't knew his name was Loff'Tarien. But," - a small smile setting on her face, - "I can indeed confirm that he does have the right disposition. Every time I saw him, he always carried a small little animal that he's been taking care of. He was... there when I got this," she says, pointing towards the unique branch, the gift from Lliira, a small chuckle escaping. "It's hilarious how, in my attempt at appeasing my goddess, Chauntea, I ended up being favoured by another."
Sardaq gives another enthusiastic nod. “Lliira is more tolerant than many others to that. As long as you would prefer revelling in the fields to fighting or scheming in the city, she’ll look kindly on you,” they say with an air of inspired awe. Glade notes that this is one of the smoothest sentences to come out of the slightly socially awkward paladin so far.
The silence of the moment is slightly interrupted as the squad of raccoons returns, carrying lots of various berries, all being placed by Sardaq's side.
"Ah, looks like they were really successful in their search." Glade thanks them and with a smile and a wave she dismisses them as they all salute and roll off out of sight. "Oh, I just remembered, have you find anything about why those woodland spirits attacked us?"
Sardaq follows the raccoons with their eyes and then turns to Glade, completely distracted. “Hm? Sorry? Did you say something? Oh, the spirits? Yeah. Iqpi did some communing and said those were sent by Lliira,” they sigh. “Seems I just can’t stay on her right side, huh? I don’t know why they didn’t like your group. Maybe they just thought you were someone else? Like I killed a bunch of will-o-wisps earlier that day. Probably the spirits we’re going after them and lashed out at you. I mean, they’re sylvan spirits, but not infallible. I’m still looking around. Lots of Loviatans in the woods these days. Thought I killed off most of them. Guess not.” They shrug and absorb several berries from the pile.
Glade is saddened at the mention of the woodland spirits' unfortunate misunderstanding. "Maybe... I heard that, in some cases, some spirits may end up being maddened by the destruction around their place. I... remember my mentor talking about such incidents, that they feed off of the emotions and energy given off by living beings. Maybe the spirits that have attacked us were driven mad by the actions of the Loviatans?" She releases a heavy sigh. "Time will tell."
Glade clears her throat as she gets up. "Well, better not overstay my welcome. Thank you so much" she says, taking a bow and offering them a warm smile "our conversation has been enlightening. I hope we meet again in better circumstances."
The mound of vegetation waves at Glade awkwardly. “Okay. You take care, Glade. See you… I guess…”