[HQ Ignorance] Scene 81: The Curing of Icthya

[Nic Hughes]

Sam Elliot wrote:
> "It is indeed northwards that we travel, says Icthya, dispensing with
> formalities in her weakness, "and it is a darkman we seek. But I must
> regain my strength first."
>
> "And," she says, breathing heavily for a few moments, "with all this
> travel in dark lands and far from the forest, I feel I must take
> something of Flamal with me, to give me strength and to hurt my
> enemies. Is there a grove nearby where I can consult the spirits?"
>
>   

Aalmon watched the elf walk off to parts of the forest where he would 
not be welcome. Unconcerned he unsaddled his mount and let it loose to 
graze then settled down with the bulky pack he had collected in 
Riverjoin and left unopened.

Icthya had a point, with just two of them they would need every power at 
their command to make the next part of their journey he thought to 
himself. Even so his hands trembled as he reached for the buckles that 
held the oilskin bag closed and clumsily began to open it. Opening it he 
looked inside and hesitated at the unpleasant memories that each of the 
contents evoked. For a while he sat and stared, the only sound the quiet 
crunching of his horse chewing on something green that had taken its fancy.

He took a fortifying swig from his hip flask then reached in and took 
out the the smallest of the items within. A silver necklace with a red 
stone lay in his hand, the stone not just in the shape of the moon but a 
very piece of Herself and glowing faintly with Her light. He undid the 
clasp and put it around his neck.

He reached in again and took out a book, turning it over he saw on its 
rather battered bindings the words in that friendly lettering so 
characteristic of the Cerise Bible. Yet he knew this book and it was not 
the common variety left by the bedside of every visiting dignitary or 
handed out for free to those who might have the curiosity to read it. 
This book despite is common appearance had a real feeling of reverence 
and power hidden within, as he opened it the pages seemed to turn to the 
most powerful prayers with a mind of their own. This one had a friendly 
familiarity that was welcome in his hand, like an old friend long 
forgotten and he was glad he had found the nerve to look back into that 
dimly remembered past.

Finally he reached in and took out the last item, a book far more grand 
and bound in strange leather and silver. This book had a slick feeling 
in the hand and had clearly suffered little from its long journey, as if 
the grime had slid off its polished bindings. With a little more 
nervousness he undid the clasp and opened the Tome of Humility and let 
his eyes wander across the words laid out there, yet still careful not 
to read too much for fear of unleashing the powers within - power that 
his hosts might not appreciate.  As he turned the pages he could feel 
the power of the book coursing up through his fingers into his very 
essence. Quietly, as if not wishing to upset the book, he closed the 
pages. He took another swig of fortified wine and sat thoughtfully for a 
while.

So there he had all that was left. The older testament was still lost 
and he would have to replace it one day. For now it should be enough to 
give them an edge, the memory of how to interpret the words and 
aphorisms came back to him for they were never truly forgotten - just 
suppressed.

OOC:

HP spend time on some things I led up to a while back when spending HP 
on making Aalmon a member of the Minderkind School. I don't think the 
Minderkind school are published anywhere so I'm going to make this up. 
The school is a distant offshoot of the main Lunar school of magic and 
as such has the Tome of Humility as one of its grimoires, Aalmon has Use 
Tome of Humility as his initial ability from his membership of the 
school (at 13)
3HP on making his Tome of Humility a sidekick. Its "species keyword" is 
its own spell list which is - Comprehend Rufelza's Love, Ease Suffering, 
Enhance Understanding, Shrive Pride, Tough with Joy. Its other 3 
abilities are Withstand Rigors of Travel, Find Meaning in Words, Induce 
Madness
1HP attuned essence of Tome of Humility

In typical mixed Lunar style the school also has the Cerise Book which 
is a Scripture, I think that the roles of wizard and cleric got a bit 
merged in Riverjoin during the Ban and the Minderkind philosophers cover 
both roles.
3HP on Read Cerise Book (it has a number of blessings, I will list them 
if nobody has ILH2)
1HP on making this particular Cerise Book an embodied essence - 
essentially a Guardian follower. Its 3 abilities are Understand Foreign 
Faith, Influence Emotions and Feel no Fear.

1 HP on the necklace which has the Moonstone 13 ability - which I think 
should probably work a lot like Heavy Gold but for Lunar magic rather 
than for sorcery.
1HP for the ability to cast the spell Tough with Joy at 13 (the necklace 
is the talisman)

4 HP on increasing his Seventh Soul ability by 4. He has been making a 
lot of bad decisions recently, he has learned something from some of them.



Nic

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