Eluna's Spire, Wolves, and More

Log Info

• Title: Eluna's Spire, Wolves, and More

• Emitter: Ravenstongue

• Characters: Harkashan, Ravenstongue, Rune, Seldan

• Place: Temple of Eluna

Temple of Eluna, morning.

The Temple is peaceful. The clear spring sunlight that comes down from above into the Temple through the ceiling is a clear sign of the Father's love for His Daughter, an affection that's warm and embraces the pool below. It is here by this grand pool of water that Cor'lana Lúpecyll-Atlon stands, staring down into the pool with restless violet eyes. She is dressed for war again, wearing her adventuring robes that she has worn on many occasions with intent to bring death, salvation, or both, but her eyes seem to be searching for that intent now in the waters.

Pothy is with her, as well, but he's concerned himself with fussing with Cor'lana's hair. He sits on her shoulder and picks gently at strands of her dark waves. Whatever gambit he was playing at is answered at last by an affectionate stroke of his head feathers.

"Thank you, little brother," she murmurs quietly. But her eyes are unmoving from the waters.

After a recent attempt in the Felwoods to get to the Spire that was originally dedicated to Eluna, Harkashan has been working on figuring out next steps on the matter. He's since come up with some ideas, but he's looking to see someone with a bit more experience under their belt than himself.

He dragged Rune along to visit her friend, to the Lúpecyll-Atlon residence which was... a mess. Rerouted by members of the Shining Chalice, they're instead pointed to the temple of Eluna if they were looking for Ravenstongue. Concerned about what might have happened, and why she might be at the Temple District - perhaps needing severe healing - he drags Rune along to the district.

Perhaps it's particularly ironic, approaching this temple in particular. The spire of Eluna corrupted. Rune's history for Eluna. The Werewolves associated with the moon. The creature of Nightmares being aimed to be set free.

All of it seems to keep centralized upon this one God.

Convincing Rune to at least step inside to check on her friends, promising she doesn't need to talk to any priests, the Deathsinger steps into the domain of another God.

Harkashan's footsteps are remarkably quiet, though his armor of course betrays his presence well enough. Approaching the Moonpool, he stops next to Ravenstongue and looks at her through the reflection in the water. The red and oranges and blacks waving across the waters, making it almost seem like the temple behind her had been set aflame.

"Are you alright?" Harkashan's first words drift with care and worry. "Where is Telamon?" An extension of that worry.

GAME: Rune rolls bluff: (13)+10: 23

The Temple of Eluna. It is a place in which Rune has not stepped foot since her ressurection into the world over a year ago. She had not drawn closer than the surrounding trees, despite the knowledge that the gods do not dwell in singular places such as these, alone. And yet, Rune would follow Harkashan barefoot into the fire plane should he ask it of her.

The moment she steps foot into those halls, Rune freezes in place. Struck by a memory that has her closing her eyes tight.

Cold.

Everything is ice. Her fingers, her toes, her lungs.

She tries to gasp for breath but it doesn't come.

A pinpoint of fire on her back, radiating outward.

Her body is glass.

Crackled and splintered from impact.

She tries to scream but there is no air, no words.

Everything is ice.

Everything is shattered.

Rune lets out a trembling breath, as if she only realized in that moment that she was still able to breathe. When her eyes open again, her pupils are wide, struggling on the edge of panic. Her mouth opens to say something, but nothing comes out, so Rune just coughs once.

She ends up lagging a bit behind, her feet treading on the floor as she quickens to catch up with Harkashan. She is trying her best to not give in to the feeling of something pressing onto her chest, clasping around her heart and squeezing. Rune is a remarkable actor in that regard, but her friends do tend to know those subtle signs that others would miss.

"You... look like you're ready to go to war." She adds, coming up short next to the Makari cleric.

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls hmm: aliased to Sense Motive+3: (11)+21+3: 35
GAME: Harkashan rolls Sense Motive: (10)+12: 22

Cor'lana lifts her head up at the sound of footsteps, and when she sees both Harkashan and Rune, she lifts her head and she smiles lightly, an expression that reaches her eyes and banishes the searching look that had been in them moments before. "I am well, Harkashan," she answers him softly. "Telamon is resting with the aid of the mansion spell you both have seen before."

But in truth, her gaze has been resting on Rune the entire time. Her eyes turn sympathetic--perhaps a touch more than sympathy, like she knows something of this--and she walks toward Rune.

"A pool of water. Sunlight filtering through the ceiling. A white raven." It doesn't take much to realize Cor'lana is naming off things and people in the room with them. Her voice is clear and at a moderate volume, loud enough to be an anchor but not so loud as to inspire fear. "Rune, it's Cor'lana, your friend. It is Tariday, the ninth day of Hattanai in the year 1025. You are safe."

She offers a hand out to Rune. "Take it if you need it," she says, warmly. The matter of this war she's about to wage can wait for a friend in need.

Harkashan looks back at Rune, lingering behind. Trying to read her expression. Even if he's not certain, he knows that there must be discomfort for her, being in this place. A quiet rumble coming from him, drawing a hand to hers, but Ravenstongue approaches.

So, he lays his hands behind his back for now, and waits. Letting the two interact, watching quietly. He'll bring up his reasons for coming to her later. "I'm glad you are both alright." He rumbles warmly.

In that moment that Cor'lana speaks to her, the soft words seem to help bring Rune back to the moment. There is some easing of the tension around her eyes and a relaxing of her gaze. "I know." She whispers, offering only that up in exchange. Reaching out, she does take the offered hand, giving a soft squeeze before nodding once. "I... haven't stepped foot in here since..." And that is where Rune leaves that topic.

Releasing Cor'lana's hand, she coughs once more into her hand and shakes her head, "It's not exactly like the Sky-singer is going to strike me down for not paying my respects recently." Her blue eyes flit about. "Right?"

After a pause, "There's clearly other things to be worried about. What happened? We went by your place and it was trashed." Focus on the now, not on the past.

"I understand," Cor'lana murmurs for Rune's trailed thought, a look that echoes her words in her violet eyes. "It's okay. There are places that house moments that linger--and we often do not even need to be in those places to be brought back to those moments. It is about finding the way back to the present and to the here and now. There are tricks I use for that."

She looks to Harkashan with a little nod before she smiles more broadly for the two of them. "No, She will not. She is not who I offer my prayers and praise to, but I am fond of Her nonetheless, as she is my husband's goddess."

Regarding the question at hand, she nods. "Marsward happened," she says. "Telamon and I met with Micha, and thanks to information we learned from you, Harkashan, and a message N'thain passed to Dolan that was passed to us--we were able to get him to trust us. As a result... We know far more about the Hound's servants than before. The consequence: Marsward chased us, but when he saw a losing battle, he opted instead to go to our home and trash it."

Her violet eyes flicker with a quiet anger. "We have not been back since. Dolan has already offered to help replace the furniture. The Shining Chalice is keeping watch over it until we feel we are ready to return. But--as you said, Rune, it is not a safe place. For Telamon and I suddenly find ourselves at the center of a war that we have started."

She turns, and she motions for Harkashan and Rune to follow her. "I will speak of that, and answer any other questions you have, in a private room. Thankfully, the Temple here has many rooms for speaking." She leads them away from the pool and down hallways until she finds such a room, opening the door and taking a seat at a table within with seats for Harkashan (yes, that's a sith-chair) and Rune as well.

"I do not believe the Skysinger is that petty." Harkashan answers Rune when she speaks on being struck down, while keeping his hands behind him for a little while longer. He doesn't speak with the finality that Cor'lana brings to bear.

A deeper growly rumble erupts from Harkashan as she then speaks of Marsward. "A most childish of responses. To trash a house when one cannot reach its residents." He's glad that his information had come to use. That Micha had been someone that could in fact be reached. But he worries non-the-less.

He quietly follows behind Ravenstongue as she then proceeds to lead them to a private room. It's in that trailing moment that he moves besides Rune once more, and touches the back of her hand. It's not a full grip, but instead, he curls his index finger around Rune's own. That kind of grasp that shows affection and presence, without restricting her from movement.

Once they enter the chambers, and even settles into the Sith-makari seat, Harkashan takes a moment to take a breath, before he begins; "I actually wished to speak to you on the Felwoods. It would appear the Tower once dedicated to Eluna has been corrupted by the woods themselves - or whatever Curse lay upon that land." He begins, leaning forward. Drawing a circle onto the table with a fingernail. Not scratching it, but mimicing the circle.

"The tower refuses to remain in place, eluding us. But there's places at the edges of that circle that are outlying parts of the temple that may offer us a way to anchor it were I to... Remove the Curse." He emphasizes those words.

After all...

This is the Felwoods.

And Harkashan knows very well that he isn't as powerful a sorcerer or cleric as others.

The fact that someone else understands seems to be enough. Rune inclines her head. "I came of my own free will. In the end, I can't run from the Sky-singer, or my past, forever." She looks upwards, as if trying to find some sign of the goddess in this place, but in the end, it is just a building, at least at the moment. "Besides, I owe her my life, so... there's that."

As Cor'lana leads them towards the rooms of the temple, Rune follows with a halting step now and again. It is likely that she was resurrected in one of these rooms. Thankfully not the one that they end up stopping at. The touch of Harkashan's hand has her giving a small nod, steeling herself against the memories of this place.

After stepping in to the room, she hesitates and asks, "If he can become invisible, is there any way of securing a place against such intrusions?" Her slightly pointed ears twitch, as if she were trying to listen.

"Micha. That's the one that was speaking with Asphodel about making clothing, right?" She asks, brows furrowed. It's obvious that Rune hasn't been completely caught up on everything just yet. It's as good a time as any.

Rather than sit, she starts to pace the edges of the room, both out of her own security and her tendency not to ever really sit still for long. "Everything seems to come back to the Sky-Singer, doesn't it? Werewolves, Towers..."

Cor'lana nods gently. "That was her that he approached, yes. Micha is--or was-- part of the Blue Moon Brewery, the recruitment arm of the werewolf faction. That was why he'd approached her regarding the manufacture of uniforms. On Marsward's orders, that is. I will give you the details in short order, but from the conversation and escape from Marsward that followed--he was forced into serving Marsward. But he serves him no longer."

She looks back to Harkashan with the enquiry on the Felwood. "I have been able to remove parts of the curse on the Felwood by a casting of a dispel magic spell," she says. "It was, I believe, only possible by the curious nature of the ley lines that are there. There's... Something going haywire with the flow of magic throughout Alexandros, and the Felwood is one such place. If the Spire's appearance has to do with it..."

Pothy, in the meantime, seems to pick up something passing by. He takes flight from Cor'lana's shoulder and demonstrates his ability to open doors with careful manipulation of taloned feet. He peeks out the door, one feathered pale head...

"Seldan," he calls out in a mimic of Cor'lana's voice.

Whatever Pothy had picked up on, there's a sound from the cracked door outside, a sound of armor stopping short. A moment of silence, and then a light voice with a Myrrish lilt to it. "How might I be of service?" There is confusion there, but eventually, it is directed in Pothy's direction.

Harkashan leans back a bit, touching the bottom tip of his muzzle. Brow furrowed, clearly thinking about what Ravenstongue is speaking on. "That is a spell I have available to myself as well." He considers for a moment. "Perhaps a combination of the both of them would be helpful."

He then looks up to her. "Are you saying that with the current flow of magic going haywire, this may very well turn on me?" He asks of her, before looking to the side as Seldan is announced and enters.

"Seldan." He speaks his name. "I was inquiring about the Tower of Eluna that lies within the Felwood - corrupted. I'm looking at ways to remove the curses of the outlying locations, so we can enter it and perhaps eradicate some of the corruption there." He figures, a Silverguard may have particular interest around something such as that.

"Right now, the Tower keeps shifting in and out of existence, making it impossible to reach. To make things worse, it seems to only be accessible during a full moon. So each step has restrictions on time and efficacy."

"So I was right. It was about outfitting an army." Rune pauses in her pacing around the outer edges of the room, turning to look towards Cor'lana and Harkashan. "He said he wanted clothing for five-thousand people." A number that is far, far too high for a common brewing business.

She quiets again at talk of curses and dispelling magic. That is well out of her range knowledge, but she trusts that the spellcasters know what they are talking about. "We ran into these plant creatures which seemed part of the ruins at the outskirts of the Tower. We dispatched one of them, but taking on more seemed unwise."

Then, with Pothy taking wing, Rune hesitates, following the bird's path with a curious tilt of her head. The ginger-blonde man is only passingly familiar to her, the two only having met once during one of the many meetings discussing concerning matters in Alexandros. However, she recognizes the symbol and immediately bows her head in greeting.

Pothy returns back to Cor'lana's shoulder, seeming triumphant in his purpose. Cor'lana offers the bird a small smile before she looks at Seldan. "Seldan," she says gently. "Her light on your path. I was speaking with my friends, the Mourner Harkashan and Rune, regarding new information that has come to light regarding the werewolves--and the fiends that they consort with--as well as the current state of the Felwood and this spire of Eluna that dwells within. If you have a moment--it would be wonderful to sit and talk." She indicates Harkashan and Rune with a sweep of her hand with each name, introducing them briefly.

"Seldan is a friend," she says to Harkashan in warm tones, "and he knows more of magic than I do. He is a scholar of many things and has dealt with more than any one man ever should in a lifetime." The respect in her voice and in her face is more than evident.

"And also on yours, my lady," Seldan replies, pushing through the door with a wary eye on the bird. He closes it carefully behind him. "Peace upon your nest -" He hesitates, looking between Rune and Harkashan. "Mourner. Mistress Rune," and here, he politely inclines his head, his gaze sober and thoughtful. "Of this Spire, naught have I heard, I fear, though the magical anomalies are known to me. Some information do I have on that matter. If one of Her holy places is corrupted, I may be able to aid."

"Peace upon your nest." Harkashan answers Seldan, before noting to Ravenstongue; "We have met before." Though they've never properly had a time to sit down and discuss anything. The life of an Adventurer has ensured he's always busy and active.

"Please, Deathsinger if you would." Harkashan then requests of Seldan. It doesn't sound like he's going to insist, but he will still politely request. "Your assistance would be greatly appreciated." He then adds to that. "If you do not know much of the Spire in question, what might you tell me of the magical anomalies and the Felwood and its Curse instead?"

The bow is held a bit too long. When Rune lifts her head, one hand anxiously draws a few strands of dyed hair back behind a pointed ear. She seems to open her mouth, likely to dismiss the use of any sort of title in her regard, but her hesitation around those who serve Eluna has her muting that statement.

"We... we learned from the Sildanyari of the Mythwood that the Tower can only be reached during the full moon." Her voice had squeaked a little on the first word, as if trying to gather her courage to speak in the presence of someone like Seldan. "But it wasn't that simple. Some of the arcane magicians of our party identified that the Tower seems to have some sort of displacement effect." Meaning that it isn't where it seems to be.

Pressing her back against the far wall, Rune seems to keep her distance from the others, seeming curious about what might be shared in regards to the strangeness of the Felwood, even if that is beyond the scope of her usual understanding. Magic isn't her purview.

"I haven't seen this tower for myself," Cor'lana says. "We did not find it when I went on an expedition to learn more about the leylines and how they affect the Felwood. I have to admit my curiosity is intrigued, even if I am unable to devote my full attention to it given... current circumstances."

Pothy makes a whimpering noise. Cor'lana pats him on his little feathered head. "I know you miss your book nest, Pothy," she says, before looking up at Seldan. "The house was broken into by one of the leaders of the werewolf faction just two nights ago in revenge for Telamon and I rescuing a person who was unwillingly serving him. It appears I will be... 'in residence' at this Temple for some time, given that all of my furniture is reportedly shattered."

Seldan adopts a parade-rest stance by the door, gauntleted hands behind his back, absorbing the information provided, along with the requests. His mien never wavers from that serious, thoughtful gaze, but something in his focus suggests clear and present interest. "As you will, Deathsinger," he seems to accept the correction without question. "I have access, though not upon my person, to a map of the location of all of the known anomalies. They are places where the ley lines have been - twisted. Redirected. Changed, or corrupted in some ways. The Void is active in at least some of these locations. One do I know of, where the ley lines must be reshaped to prevent a magical explosion. I have not the knowledge to do so, it would need one knowledgeable of the land. There are others, and those notes I may make available to you, with some notice. Again, if I may assist in the matter of reclaiming Her Spire, you need but speak. I would see the place of which you speak, and I fear not the Felwood."

To Rune, he inclines his head, but declines to comment, instead saying, "A displacement effect is strong, but may be dispelled, or placed within an anti-magic field to still it, for a time, does it not damage it. It is difficult to say, without setting eyes upon the energies that surround it, how best to go about gaining access. This am I willing to attempt, would you have me."

It is Cor'lana's information, though, that garners his attention most thoroughly, and draws a shift in his mien that includes raised eyebrows. "Even so? I pray that none were injured in such a rampage. Still - would I ask of you a favor, in that." A moment's pause. "I shall replace your eating table, do you permit me to utterly destroy its remains."

"I would be grateful for your help." Harkashan answers Seldan, before proceeding to explain; "From what we have been able to learn, the Spire has been there longer than the Felwoods themselves." He begins. "The Temple of Eluna was built to draw power from the Moon during a Full Moon. We believe that in the corruption of the temple, this draw has been repurposed to more nefarious means." He expresses.

"That would certainly explain a lot of what we encountered in the Felwood." Rune tucks one knee up, pressing the flat of her foot against the wall slightly as she seems to try to think through what is being laid out before them. "It almost seems like some aspects of the place is almost... intelligent. Like walking into a clearing and finding just the right number of place settings for members of your party."

The whimpering noise has Rune's eyes looking over to Pothy, sympathy evident in her gaze. "If... there's anything we can do to try to replace anything that was lost. Just ask." She hesitates again, "I'm no craftsperson, but I'd like to help." If only because the sadness from Cor'lana and her familiar feels wrong to her on a deep level.

"The map would probably help us as well, since it would keep us from stumbling into places that are might be bad news." Her teeth catch on her lower lip, one hand fidgeting with a necklace dangling from her throat. "We ended up nearly getting lost any number of times. When you're in the deepest parts of the Felwood, the Tower is the only real landmark and with it moving, it's easy to end up off-track."

"None were injured; Pothy and the pixies were the only ones home, and they all escaped. That table was one of the few things I deigned to keep from when the seller of the house offered to offload the furniture within to bring the price of the place down," Cor'lana answers Seldan. "But considering the way you reacted to it being in the home when you came to visit a few months ago? I can tell it would put you at great ease to have it destroyed. Consider it a deal, Seldan, although I may arrange for the replacement of the table to come from a friend of mine. It troubles me to trouble you to pay in order to destroy something that is upsetting... If that sentiment makes any sense at all."

She looks to Rune and smiles gently. "If there is anything that I would appreciate--it is a gift of something to decorate my home with, once it is fit for living in again. I ask for it to be small and not a burden on your financial capabilities. Furniture can be fixed and mended with crafter's hands and magic spells. But it is the baubles collected from friends and living that make a home feel like a home."

"Snacks," Pothy says quietly, looking at Rune with big blue eyes. He might have been uninjured in body, but it's clear something weighs heavily on his soul.

"A new snack bowl might be in order, yes, my little brother," Cor'lana says with a small scratch of Pothy's head. She looks bemused as she adds, "His snack bowl in the living room was a lovely pottery piece. I can only assume it was broken in the tossup..."

At any rate, she sighs, returning to the conversation of the Felwood. "It's a densely magical place, the Felwood," she says. "It is... similar to the woods of Quelynos in that it's easy to get lost. It is a malevolent place like that. But if the spire predates the Felwood..." She's lost in thought for a moment.

"The Felwood was first corrupted in the Demon Wars, ages past," Seldan answers by way of explanation. "Long has it been so, that the forces of Bauglir laid it waste and twisted it beyond recognition. Still, does the Spire predate it -" He trails off, reverence in his tone. "This would I see." A small smile touches the sober expression, but something much, much deeper lingers in blue eyes.

"No trouble is it, my lady," he counters at once, the small smile remaining. "Mal and I do not want, and dearly would I pay for the privilege of seeing that thing be no more. Not idly was it abandoned when I departed the city."

There's a quiet that overcomes Harkashan. Listening, his nictating membrane sometimes shifting. But his body still. The Felwood, the tower. There's no shifting of his posture and his tail stills for a moment, as his head tilts. This subtle shift that seems to suggest he's trying to recall something. A memory. Another shift, a minor squinting of his eyes.

Reaching for something out of reach. Trying to snag it with his mind's fingertips. Grappling with that sense of Deja Vu. Rune might notice the increase in heat that seems to originate from Harkashan for but a moment, before it fades again, and Harkashan lets out this little growl as if he'd held a breath, and only now could release it.

A quick blinking of his eyes, looking around to root himself in the moment. "I am certain a gift will more more than possible." Harkashan bids to Ravenstongue. "My people do have quite a many baubles. Though most are trophies." He expresses.

He then finally looks to Seldan once again, making momentary eye contact. A comparison of moon and sun. "I will let you know when next we seek to travel there." He answers the man.

There is a quiet moment where Rune simply looks between Cor'lana and Seldan. She likely has very little clue as to why a table would be of such a concern, but it doesn't seem like something to get into at the moment, especially with the table's imminent demise already agreed upon. She just blinks twice in obvious confusion.

Then, as Cor'lana and Pothy clarify their requests, Rune offers a soft smile, "I'm sure I can figure out something. Though I might have to ask some help from some friends..." The wheels in Rune's mind are already turning at that.

That is when a flare of heat near her arm has her looking over towards Harkashan. It isn't the first time the Makari has exhibited strange behavior. Her hand that had been toying with her necklace reaches out and pokes at his nose. "Hey." Just a quick motion to bring the Death-singer back to reality.

"I would certainly be glad for any assistance next time we find our way into the Felwood. Though we may want to make sure we recruit a ranger or someone skilled with that sort of navigation." Her lip quirks, "Otherwise, we might end up somewhere else, entirely."

"Then I will impose only one condition, then," Cor'lana replies with a smile to Seldan. "When you bring me the new table, and the old is gone--you and I will share a meal together to mark a new chapter. I think that's a proper thing to do with houses, anyway, especially when such a calamity has befallen it and the rebuilding from such is concluded."

Pothy opens his beak, like he's about to ask if he's invited, but Cor'lana just scratches his head feathers. "Pothy will, of course, want to join us, so I will prepare a meal that is a suitable size."

Cor'lana looks away from Pothy to return to the Felwood conversation again. "A ranger is not a bad idea," she says. "Anyone gifted in tracking and finding the way is an asset in those woods, although there are certain challenges that may make it difficult for them. Do let me know when you make your next venture, too. If I am available, I will answer the call."

She regards Harkashan for a moment as well, but Rune seems to have the makari covered. "Is all well?" she asks, gently.

GAME: Harkashan rolls Bluff: (12)+3: 15
GAME: Rune rolls sense motive: (13)+8: 21

"It was in my mind that you and your lord would select a suitable table," Seldan replies, not having moved from his spot. "I am in a position to aid you, my lady, and I am pleased to do so, and more pleased still to accept your offer. Consider it done." He then turns his attention to Rune and Harkashan, and the matter of a trip to the Spire. "Do you wish an escort, leave word for me here at the Temple. For now, though, I must take my leave, and complete my errand."

"Hrrrm." Harkashan rumbles as Rune touches him, glancing to her as she helps root him in the now. A quiet nod follows, meant by her, before he tilts to look back to Ravenstongue; "I am well." Harkashan answers. "I just... lost my place in time for a moment." A rather strange statement.

He bows his head in respect to Seldan, waiting for him to leave, before looking to Ravenstongue.

"So... back to the Werewolves. Now that Micha is pulled out as a leader, we've cut off but one head of the multi-headed thunderlizard. How long until it regrows? How do we ensure the heart cannot escape?" He inquires. "It feels like Marsward is well beyond my own capabilities to touch or handle. But I would like to be of assistance."

Oh, there is a look that Rune gives Harkashan in that moment. Worry and frustration lingering in her blue eyes. With Seldan departing, she seems that much more able to ease into her normal self, not feeling as if she were under the eyes of Eluna.

"Hark..." She doesn't force him to talk about what has been going on with him, likely because she doesn't fully understand it, herself. So, Rune lets out a slow breath and shakes her head.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Rune starts to flick her finger time and again against her necklace. "My concern is that if he truly has that many people under his control, it's only a matter of time before they are mobilized." She looks up towards Cor'lana, "Is Alexandria ready for an army on their doorstep?"

Cor'lana offers Seldan a respectful farewell and a nod of her head as the Silverguard departs, and she returns her attention to Harkashan. "Do let me know if it happens again?" she asks. "It is only a short distance away to a healer capable of aiding you in the event of a disturbance of any kind, whether it be physical exhaustion or a maleffect of magical means."

She looks back to Rune and Harkashan. "So. There's good news. Micha said their numbers aren't that big regarding the brewery. However, nearly every single person from the Brewery is a werewolf. It's how they recruit."

Cor'lana smiles a little. "Let me start from the beginning, however. Telamon and I met Micha at the Shining Chalice, the organization where Telamon holds a mentorship position. We knew of N'thain, a man that Harkashan and Dolan both saw with Marsward at the Soldier's Defense as he was mistreated and abused by the man, and knew that Micha and N'thain are romantically involved with each other. Dolan gave us a message from N'thain to pass onto Micha that would let him know that he was safe and well. Unbeknownst to us--Micha was connected to Marsward by a spell that allowed Marsward access to Micha's mind. Marsward was trying to tell Micha that Telamon had hurt N'thain--"

And here, Cor'lana looks a little bashful. "Of course, when Micha asked to see a holy symbol of Eluna, I decided to earn his trust by pulling Telamon's totem out of his bag. His totem is the one that the Sky-singer made. Because he worships Ni'essa himself, his relationship with his totem is deeper than my own--as mine was made by the Tyrant--and when Marsward tried to force Micha to shift into a werecreature form, we were both able to feed blood to Telamon's totem to stop the transformation. This was what prompted Marsward to chase after us as we took Micha to this very temple."

She pauses a little to catch her breath. Just recounting it is a little heartbeat-racing. "We learned: he is a witch. He gains his powers from a familiar that is a scarab. Get the familiar and catch it--and he will be at a very severe disadvantage. That means anyone could deal with him at that point."

Harkashan knows to read that worry and frustration within Rune's eyes. He touches her leg for a moment, nodding at her. He knows that he worries her sometimes, but physically and emotionally, he is okay at the moment.

"It's okay." He whispers back to her. Then, to Cor'lana, he notes; "I'm planning to speak to some of the Keepers of my people. They may have answers for me." He remarks for now.

He then leans back a bit. The fact that the numbers aren't actually 5000 is good. But then, how many are there?

He listens. The tale told is a rather interesting one. "Then I am glad that I healed N'thain's injuries. He was on death's door." Harkashan had been the one to knit his body back together with emergency medical expertise. "I would not wish a separation." He rumbles.

The totem. The lies. Seeing through one's mind. He shows a bit of a grumpy crumple of his nose at some of it.

"A Scarab." Harkashan finally answers. "That's..." A tilt of his head. "Something..." Squint. He doesn't recall. He doesn't know what it is. Yet, at the edge of his mind. "Insect..." He whispers, questioningly.

There is a snort of sound that likely is quite reminiscent of a Makari tone of disbelief, but Rune doesn't press the matter of whatever is going on with Harkashan any further. She's learned well enough that he'll only talk about things in his own time and his own space. She still has her arms crossed, though, that closed posture shielding her feelings.

There is some relief though, passing her face at the knowledge that there is not an entire army of werewolves waiting in the wings. Rune lets out a breath at that, nodding her head, "Do we need to be worried about the Blue Moon Ale?" The fact that all of those involved are werewolves is enough to have her raising a brow, trying to sort through all the pieces. "I assumed it was just a way of making money, but... it's possible the drink itself could be nefarious."

Then, quieting, her fidgeting slowing a bit sa she listens to the story, Rune chews at her lip. "Will the temple be able to help them? Those that are infected and don't wish to be, that is." Her voice is softer when she speaks. Rune is no cleric, and her knowledge of lycanthropy is limited at best. "And... are they able to cut Marsward out of Micha's mind?"

The prospect of Marnsward being a witch is given only a thoughtful look, the half-sil tapping her toe against the wall. "Squash the bug, save the world. Easier said than done."

"Do not fear for Micha," Cor'lana says softly at Rune's concern for Micha. "I was able to dispel the magic once we arrived. He is free now--and he is reunited with N'thain. He took the opportunity that Marsward gave when the werewolf decided to turn around and go rampaging through my home to collect his beloved and take him to a place that Marsward does not know of. In the meantime: I will divulge more."

She continues. "The money that the werewolf faction makes from the brewery is completely clean. They have not been spending it in any untoward manner. It all goes to employing people, giving them food, jobs, and clothes--and then turning them into werewolves. The money that they are using for their real purposes is given to them by the Charneth Houses--who are also the ones summoning the fiends that the werewolves are using for various purposes. A noble in Selentia has also recently invested into the werewolves. Dolan believes this noble to be his fiancee's mother, the Lady Calogref, and he's taking Telamon with him soon to determine if this is the truth."

"Furthermore? Marsward is going around and recruiting other werecreatures to the cause--either by convincing them to join with old fashioned diplomacy and dealmaking, or killing off the leaders of packs and giving those left behind a choice to follow him. Micha and N'thain are weretigers; they were caught up with Marsward when Marsward took N'thain and forced Micha to spend a night attuned to a totem. The vision of Telamon that he said to have seen was from the totem--and Marsward told him the vision meant that if Micha killed Telamon, he'd get N'thain back, when the truth was that Marsward had given N'thain to the Charneth to abuse. Micha had no choice to obey, even though weretigers are not creatures of evil--he is not a fighter nor a mage, and while weretigers are bigger creatures than werewolves are, Marsward is a powerful witch with the ability to force werecreatures to shapeshift, in addition to being able to fly and turn invisible... So long as he has that scarab, of course."

She smiles a little. "I am telling you both all of this--because you have already impacted and changed things for the better. Harkashan, with your information, I was able to save two people from Marsward. You may both think you are incapable of doing much, but the truth is that you are both well on your way. Half of the measure of success is the conviction to proceed in the face of grave danger--and you both are doing so admirably."

There's this deep gutteral growl as Ravenstongue mentions Charneth. He'd been wondering how they are linked to this. And this, this is finally how. There's a little bit of black fume that comes from his nostrils at their mere mention.

"Yet, Alexandria considers a cease-fire." He grunts to Ravenstongue, recalling a particular tidbit he'd heard a few months ago. "Even though Charn still seeks to harm its citizens." There is a pause there... "Which... the politicians are not aware of and thus do not act on. And without proof - and with people like Lady Calogref helping - that will not change."

A huff.

"I appreciate that I have helped in this cause. But I would like to continue to..." He looks to Rune. Questioning. "Stick it to Charn? I believe the term is?"

Where Harkashan gives that growl at the mention of Charneth, Rune raises a hand and scratches idlely at her tattooed arm. "Of course, they'd be connected to all this." It is one of those moments where things start to piece together. Rune had died at the hands of the Charneth, and now she had been brought back and found herself facing off against their evil yet again. Perhaps that is purpose enough...

"I'm glad to hear that the two are free, though. It's one step." Lifting a hand to toy with the ends of her hair, Rune murmurs, "Maybe if we could convince bars and inns not to serve the Blue Moon Ale, it would help to cut off at least one stream of revenue and manpower." She laughs softly, then, "Though that might be better left to Lady Carrough. She's got the silver tongue for matters like that."

Then, her blue eyes turn back to find Cor'lana, pressing her lips together before giving an acknowledging nod. "My mother used to say that small steps are still movement. That's why all of us matter, even the little things." Her lip shifts upwrad, her smile subtle.

Then, she laughs, "That's one way of putting it." Her hand comes to rest on Harkashan's shoulders. "If we encounter anything else, either regarding the tower or the wolves, you know we'll pass it along."

"It sounds to me, Harkashan and Rune, you should be speaking to Dolan. He's been the one most concerned with the demons, and Lady Calogref is of particular concern to him considering that the woman is responsible for a number of personal woes in addition to funding threats to mortalkind." Cor'lana looks very sober at the notion. "And given how admirably you aided him when it came to raiding Zalgiman's camp..."

The mention of the name puts something sorrowful back into her violet eyes. She shakes her head after a moment. "I'm sorry," she says, lifting a hand up to her eyes and flicking a tear away. "I failed him. But I didn't fail N'thain and Micha. Thanks to your help, I could... I could save someone. I'm... I'm grateful."

It's an emotional vulnerability that she's showing now, a surprising weak spot in the armor that she otherwise wears. A woman who has had her house rampaged in by a wild beast and finally she breaks on this sentiment alone.

"Hrrm." Harkashan nods in agreement with Rune's words. He too is glad they're safe and healthy. But for Charn to come up again here, in the middle of the temple of Eluna. The irony here is steeped deep.

"Agreed, I..." His head turns towards Ravenstongue, and he sees that sorrowful look. He quiets as she remarks that she is sorry.

So, in that moment, the Deathsinger reaches out and offers an open palm upwards across the table. It's a quiet movement.

"We do not choose the ones that cross our paths. Some, it is but a fleeting glance, for others, we decide to walk besides them. And just like the great Am'shere paths, sometimes, monsters lurk. Remember; just as it is not us who choose who cross our paths, it is also not a singular being who chooses who remains at our sides. It was not you who failed him, there were too many monsters on the path who had poisoned him before you even came across him. Cherish the impact you make along the way. Know you gave hope. I am sure the memory of hope will remain as a fire of strength within him, where he is now. Just as you gave rise to a great fire within Micha."

"Last time we spoke to Dolan, it seemed as if he was recovering from something and... maybe shouldn't have been fighting in the first place." Rune explains, likely feeling a bit bad about that. "Like even simple movement caused him pain." She and Dolan certainly had a good bit in common, there, with certain darkness in their past.

And then... that sorrowful look on Cor'lana's features seems to seize both her and Harkashan's attention. Where Harkashan offers out a hand, Rune pushes herself off the wall and approaches the other half-sil woman. The two are strikingly similar and also opposite in so many ways, but Rune extends her arms, offering out a hug if needed.

She doesn't quite have Harkashan's gift for words, but what she does offer is this, "We'll always remember those we couldn't save." Her blue eyes look to Harkashan briefly at that, inclining her head to him as well before turning back to Cor'lana, "But remember that you save people every day, just by who you are. Like... silly wayward rogues who had forgotten what it's like to have friends."

Cor'lana takes the hug that's offered to her, shaking a little as she sniffles into Rune--no, she sobs into Rune. The tears flow freely. She doesn't try to speak--she only lets out what she's clearly been holding in for a while.

Pothy, who hopped off Cor'lana's shoulder to make room for the hug, lands on the table and just watches the two half-sil for a moment. He mimics a sigh, and he sort of waddles over next to Harkashan. It's clear he's seen this sort of emotional outburst before.

Finally, however, after a few minutes of this, she draws away from Rune and wipes her tears. "I'm sorry," she mumbles. "I am feytouched. My emotions--rise quickly, and when they do, it's intense and..."

She shudders a little, taking a deep breath. "Thank you. Thank both of you. You are both wonderful, wonderful friends, and I am grateful to have you both in my life."

Harkashan lowers his head a bit as Rune mentions always remembering those they couldn't save. That jewel between his horns jingling for a moment. He glances aside at Pothy, who 'sighs'. Harkashan waits, letting Cor'lana have her moment. But... that jewel. Rune's words echo in his mind as he waits...

... "Do not apologize. Your emotions are your own. They shalt not be denied." He bids...

... and eventually he lifts his hand and touches it. Carefully working the jewel with his fingers, unhooking it, and finally lowering the beautiful worked Lavastone onto the table. "Remembrance. You have poetry. I... I have these. For each person I bury." His armor, littered with countless lavastones. Small ones, big ones, everywhere. Some fresh, some old.

An unusual behavior for a Sith-makar. They do not look back. They do not hold onto the past very often at all. Instead, they look forward. It's why they don't normally write diaries either. Yet...

"This one..." He protectively holds it between his hands as the light coming in from outside plays with it. "This one... this one is Rune's." He admits. "And it is why it sits between my horns. At the crest. Above them all." His voice breaks a bit as he says this, rubbing his thumb over the stone. Not looking up.

For those achingly long moments, Rune holds on to Cor'lana as the tears flow. She may not be big, or strong, but the thing that defines her has always been her heart. A heart willing to be a port in a storm of emotions. "You're not alone." They are words that Cor'lana and Telamon had offered to her, and they are given back freely.

When Cor'lana draws away, Rune lingers close for a moment, reaching a hand out to help wipe away a couple of those tears before she shakes her head, "Nothing to be sorry for. You have every right to feel as strongly as you wish. No one should ever be bothered by that."

And then...

Rune turns as Harkashan speaks about remembrance. He is a Death-singer. She knew very well that he carried with him each and every life that had passed before him. But Rune had never asked about herself. She hadn't wished to dredge up pain and loss...

So, when Harkashan shares that the lavastone is for her, Rune raises one hand and lays it against her chest, her expression bittersweet.

Fuck it. It is just one of those days. Rune just walks up to the big Makari and throws her arms around his neck. No words, simply a physical presence that speaks volumes.

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Perform/Oratory: (15)+23: 38

Cor'lana turns to look at them both for a long moment, watching them embrace. Her violet eyes are still quite red, but slowly, slowly, a small smile dawns on her lips like the beginning of a new day. Her mouth slips open, and she speaks:

"It is a consequence of living

That one comes to love another;

A resounding strike of the bell

Leaves behind echoes in its wake

And all in its path hear the toll,

And all who know the toll will weep,

And all who live know the pain of grief,

For they are left behind the departed

And seek to find closure like scraps

Left behind for the bird to eat.

But death is no true end, Leirune,

Death is no true end, Harkashan;

For within me runs the blood of many

Who have lived and breathed and sang,

Many who have lived and learned and yearned

For the knowledge is vast and the world--

Ah, the worlds are so wide and wild

Like the untamed hearts of all people.

It is possible to return from death,

It is possible to live as a ghost-not-ghost,

It is possible to live and wish to die,

But it is the spark of madness known as hope

That gives us the reason to keep breathing,

To keep yearning, to keep living, and

I know that in the end of the final days

I will put myself to rest and find repose

As sweet and blissful as it should be.

As for that consequence of living, love:

It is the principle by which I live.

It is the act by which I breathe.

It is the fire and the fervor I write.

It is the most holy and most sacred of all.

For people live and lived without number

And that is the most beautiful miracle."

A pause, only a moment's pause, before she lets out a small sigh of satisfaction. "You both have gone through darkness. I have as well. Dolan has as well. And as Pothy once told me--the gods have a way of putting together the people that people need. And for that... I am grateful. For that is the reason we are all here, right now, in this moment in time."

She gives the two a moment more before she adds, "Shall I let you go? I imagine you do not wish to stay overlong in this Temple. But know that if either of you wish to speak to me again, or Telamon, or both: we will be right here. And that is an open invitation."

It is indeed just one of those days. When Rune approaches, he doesn't move at first. His tail uncomfortably coiled around the seat. But the moment she throws her arms around his chest, he adjusts his head so that his horns don't accidentally end up impaling her. Laying his head to her chest as he had done many times before. Bumping his nose to her tummy and his crown of horns closer to one of her shoulders.

He is quiet. Speaker and Shaman. Deathsinger. Playing with that Lavastone between his fingers. Protecting it with one hand, while his other arm shifts around Rune's back.

Listening, quiet, his marks glow. Responding to the words, the memories. The echoes that Ravenstongue speaks of. Familiarity and Deja Vu grasping at his heart. But here, confusion does not take hold. What he holds in his hand, roots him in place. In the moment. As memories of others flow and shift through the turmoil of emotion, the moment remains a moment of clarity.

"Thank you, miss Ravenstongue. Have you considered becoming a Deathsinger yourself?" He asks of her with a slight crease in his expression. He then looks to Rune, nictating membrane opening and closing in quick succession. A glisten along his scales.

"Let's get out of here." He whispers to Rune, as he offers her the Lavastone. "Will you put it back where this belongs?" He asks of her.

For a long moment in that embrace, Rune's hands simply frame the Makari's scaled features. It is the tenderness of long years, built from shared experiences. The emotions that come from loss and reunion. Emotions that only seem to resound in the words spoken from Cor'lana.

Pressing her forehead against Harkashan's, Rune then leans back a little, using one hand to wipe one of her own eyes. It's still something difficult to talk about, but she leaves the poet's words to speak for her own feelings for the time being. That will have to be enough.

"We'll go. There's still a lot that needs to be done." Rune offers, but her words are quiet.

Gently, with a reverence that comes from knowing just what the stone means to him, Rune places it back into position between the Death-singer's horns. "Come on." She offers to him, "I think I need a drink. And definitely not Blue Moon Ale."

Cor'lana smiles brightly at Harkashan. "I promise myself to no deities. I am inspired by the Lady of Inspiration, and I venerate her as a layperson, but I am... otherwise spoken for in certain aspects. Yet the person who owns me is myself. At the end of the day, I am only a woman of some small amount of fae blood, plenty of mortal spirit, and some sort of soul in between, by my own estimation."

She grins all the wider. "There's always things to be done in this city," she says. "But there's also plenty of life to be living. Go get a drink, you two."

She turns back to Pothy as the two leave... And she scoops up the white raven into her arms, kissing him on the beak. "Everything will be okay," she asserts.

The time of war is at hand. And yet it is with a smile that Cor'lana departs the room, for she remembers and has seen so vividly the reasons why this war is being waged: so people can live.