Make Cookies Not War

There's a rapid, incessant, and loud knocking on the door belonging to Telamon and Cor'lana's home. Auranar would normally never be so rude, but she is beyond caring about something like social niceties. She knocks on the door, almost bruising her knuckles on the wood with her intent. Mentally her mind is half-frantic and driven to thoughtlessness. She's not sure if it's only been a few seconds or if she's been doing this for ten minutes. Maybe she should try breaking the door down. The insanity of that thought should drive her back into sanity, but it doesn't.

Thankfully for Auranar, she does hear a noise. There's the sweet voice of Pothy from near the door. "Laaaaaaaanaaaaaaaa~! There's someone at the door!"

Then there's the sound of footsteps coming up to the door--

"Hello--" It's a cheerful greeting, but Cor'lana, who is dressed for a nice and cozy, warm day indoors, certainly not as nicely dressed as Auranar, blinks as she sees the other woman's face stained with tears. "Auranar? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Immediately she puts her arm around her sister, moving to usher her inside. "Tel! Put the tea on; we've got Auranar here."

Pothy, meanwhile, is on the table, and while he'd been eating peanuts, it seems all thoughts of snacking, for the moment, cease. "Is... Verna okay?" he asks. His little boyish voice is so sweet with concern.

Upstairs, Telamon is putting the finishing touches on both a bit of oratory -- a written request for assistance from something he plans to call forth -- as well as a carefully scribed diagram on a large piece of parchment. "You never know how tough this is until you're trying to -call- something, not just summon up a shadow," he muses, finally putting his quill away and capping the inkpot.

And then he hears Cor'lana calling, both verbally and mentally, and he jerks upright at the unspoken telepathic worry leaking down the bond. Swiftly, he puts down his little speech, gesturing to dry the ink with a cantrip before raking his other hand through his hair. Dressed down for the day, in wool tunic and trousers with slippers on, he comes swiftly down the stairs. "On the way, love," he calls out, sliding past to head into the kitchen and start the teakettle brewing.

It's hard not to collapse into Cor'lana's arms. To seek solace from her embrace. Somehow though, Auranar stays on her feet. Even so, it's Cor'lana that guides her inside. Only for Pothy's innocent question to break her heart all over again. "No."

The word is soft and broken, and Auranar feels her knees threatening to give in. She has to be better than this! For Verna's sake she has to keep going. She can't seem to make sense of the room around her for all that it is familiar to her. The world comes in bits and pieces as she berates herself for her weakness. Verna needs her!

"H-he took her." The words are half rushed and heart broken. She looks at her sister and doesn't understand. "I don't even know who he is. Or what he wants. He... He just took her!"

The words bubble up into anger, anger that feels so much better than her despair. She's been wearing it like a well-loved cloak the whole way here, but it feels worn thin. "Those idiots! He told them not to move but they wouldn't listen and he was... he was draining life out of her. Oh gods..." She does collapse then.

Cor'lana's trying to keep up with the deluge of everything Auranar's saying, but the moment that her sister capsizes, she goes to secure her, wrapping her arms all the tighter. "Shh, shh, shh," she says gently, in a way not all too dissimilar to a certain Grandfather of theirs that they know and love. "I got you. C'mon. Over to the couch? Telamon's got tea brewing."

Pothy flaps over to the couch, seeming to be waiting in position for Auranar to take a seat. The bird will pounce onto her lap and act as an emotional support Pothy then. "Come snuggle with me," he offers to Auranar. "And then you can start from the beginning, okay?"

Telamon is picking up enough with those sharp half-elven ears of his, and the revelation that Verna was taken almost makes him drop the kettle. Almost.

He knows. He knows what that's like. But he also knows what Auranar needs is her brother the archmage, and so his expression tightens, his back straightening imperceptibly. A cantrip to quicken the kettle's heat, as he collects cups and tray.

"You said 'draining life'. Was he some kind of... wait, no, Pothy is right. Let's start from the beginning, Aura. What happened?"

Auranar only knows that she makes it to the couch and is sitting down because she actually is. Pothy hops into her lap and her fingers wrap around his small feathered body. She tries not to hold too tightly, but she feels like her world is collapsing. After everything. After defeating the Corpse Eater. After destroying Eclavdran... It should have been enough. They should have been free to live their lives in simple peace and happiness. She doesn't understand.

"We left the theater to go get a meal. Verna wanted to talk to me about scrying some fiend. I didn't want her to, and I was..." She won't cry, but it hurts not to. Like she can't really breathe. "We didn't get a chance to talk about it because some guy found a body in an alleyway. I didn't see it. While we were walking over this... guy appeared behind Verna. He just touched her."

Her eyes close, and she can still see Verna's face growing lines that should have taken them happy years to grow. "He told us to stay still. That he'd... feed on her if we moved. But they wouldn't listen." Tears leak from the corners of her eyes. "I don't know who he is. I... I don't know why he took her. He just... They rushed him and he-"

She's not sure she can say it again.

Cor'lana frowns deeply, taking a seat next to Auranar and wrapping her arm around her sister in a gentle, loving gesture. "We'll get her back," she says, softly yet firmly in its own way. "We'll get her back. Whoever that was... They messed with the wrong family."

She frowns then. "Do you know of anyone who would want to take Verna right now?" she asks. "That fiend that Verna wanted to scry? Would it have anything to do with them, you think?"

Pothy, for his part, nuzzles into Auranar's fingers. He's so soft. So warm in his own bird-way. It's the modicum of comfort he can give--something to occupy the nervous fidgeting that can come with feeling powerless to change something. It's a role he's played over and over again, and in this instant, he's happy to play it.

Telamon listens, his face becoming hard. "Maybe," he growls. "Simony has been speaking to me about tracking a fiend as well -- the one responsible for the mess at the Arcanist's dungeon. Coincidences happen, but I have some -serious- doubts about this one. Too convenient. They don't want Verna -- or you or me -- pissing in their porridge."

A muscle jumps in Telamon's jaw, and his eyes shine with a cold, steady light. "How did they get out of the city? They couldn't have teleported. The ward's still in place." He exhales slowly. "We can find her, though. Wherever I go, Ni'essa is there to light the way. I can find her." That calm confidence, radiating off him. "We'll get her back."

Auranar blinks her dark eyes open, petting Pothy with trembling fingers. "I-I know that we'll get her back." She has faith in that. But watching those years stolen from Verna had been... "I don't know who he is. Gray eyes, short brown hair. They... his eyes turned a sort of dull red color." She looks at them half-hopefully. Surely they know something. They'll help her bring Verna back. They have to.

There's a softer knock, quite polite on the door and Auranar glances toward it, her dark eyes narrowing. "If it's that fool having followed me here... I might kick him someplace the sun doesn't usually shine."

_Red eyes_. That remark makes Cor'lana remember something--the demon she'd killed on the blade of Mortal Dread had red eyes. How could she ever forget? The feeling of pushing the blade in and watching it rip open the fiend before it crumbles to ash...

Then there's the knock at the door. Cor'lana blinks and rises from the couch. "If it is him, I'll gladly lock him down with magic and give you the opportunity," she says. That's a threat she can certainly carry out, and her eyes narrow as she goes to open the door. "Hello?"

Telamon rises to his feet as well. "It might be Simony, or one of those 'extended wagon warranty' salespeople," he comments with a faint grin. "But if it is, he's remarkably foolish." He takes a deep breath, following in Lana's wake, a half pace to one side and just behind. His fingers flex absently, as he watches over his wife's shoulder, to see who knocks.

The door opens to show a rather odd looking man. From his ash-gray skin and pointed ears one might be forgiven for mistaking him for a mul, but his hair was a short, neatly coifed silver. As in a glittering silver. Neither skin tone nor hair matched the gold jacket and vest combination he wore. Though the black pants were more acceptable. The man offers a polite bow, and the combination of clothes and demeanor marks him as someone's servant.

"Pardon the interruption, but I have come at the request of mine Lord with an urgent message for the Lord and Lady of this house." The man returns to a more natural standing position, his glittering eyes layers of light blue, silver, and black. "I really must insist that time is of the essence on the matter."

GAME: Telamon rolls knowledge/nature+4: (19)+21+4: 44
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Knowledge/Nature: (14)+19: 33

Cor'lana inspects the man for but a moment before she clears her throat, standing up a little straighter. She goes from being merely Cor'lana to the stance of someone who is a prim and proper lady of that which the man serves in some capacity... even if no Court would give her a title or the respect of one. "I appreciate your urgency. Please speak your message from your Lord," she intones in her Grandfather's tongue. <Sylvan>

On the other hand, Telamon's expression is even more forbidding. But he doesn't figuratively jostle Lana's elbow. His starry gaze takes in the somewhat outre-looking messenger, and his eyebrows come together slightly -- but he merely nods in accordance with his wife. An invitation to speak the message, since alacrity is called for.

The man takes a breath and then offers his message. "The good Lord Folendel has noted your reluctance to choose a champion for the Ever-Child Apotheosis. As such he has sought a way to encourage you to take the challenge seriously. The Lord has there-by come into possession of knowledge as to the where-abouts of the sister-by-bond of Lady Cor'lana and wishes to trade this knowledge for the presence of the Ever-Child or his chosen champion at once."

The words draw Auranar to her feet, fingers protectively around Pothy. This... doesn't make any sense. Is this 'Folendel' responsible for Verna's abduction? How else could he know so soon? She holds tightly to the white raven. "Y-you know where Verna is?"

Cor'lana takes in a breath. It's all she can do to try and maintain even-keeled for the moment, as she's dealing with not only her own emotions but Telamon's, as well. The two are of certainly one mind on Folendel: namely that this must not come to pass. Pothy will die if he is to go to Folendel. And as for a champion...

"I would not be surprised if this was orchestrated with the intention of extracting a response," she says in reply to Auranar, before steeling herself. "Folendel is the Lord who... has challenged Pothy to a duel to the death, in the Court of Her Majesty, the Queen of Air and Darkness."

Pothy makes an unhappy noise then. "I didn't... I didn't want it to come to this," he says. "Should I go? I don't want everyone to keep suffering just because..." He burrows his little bird-head into Auranar's fingers, the sounds of tears coming from the poor raven.

Telamon's expression is now pretty much nothing but cold fury. For a few moments, he is silent, until he speaks, his voice having all the welcome and charm of a black hole. "I see the fall of Legus'elain did not sufficiently encourage Lord Folendel to abandon this pointless, stupid feud." At Pothy's noise, he snaps, "No, no you will not. Because I am done with this madness. People ask me, how far will I go to protect my family?"

"Very well. I name Tanithariairisixchel, Herald of Ni'essa, as the champion of Apotheosis. I do so of my own free will, with the understanding she will most likely demand a service from me in turn -- which I accept." He stares at the messenger. "Does this please Lord Folendel?"

The man blinks at Telamon. "Sir..."

Auranar steps forward, her own anger rising like the tempest in Telamon, and she moves to her brother-in-law's side. She offers him a smile, but her eyes are full of her anger. Full of her need to do something. Anything. She offers Pothy to him then. "Telamon. I..." The offer is a stroke of genius really, but she can't let this happen like this. "Verna is my wife, and Pothy... Is my brother." She gently strokes the bird.

"I'll go. I'll go in Pothy's place and you go with the information and save Verna for me. I know that... Tanith would probably do this favor for you, but we don't know what price you'd pay for it. This way..." Her eyes burn with tears and anger. "This way I can protect Pothy and be useful in saving Verna. I can't sit around and do nothing. I won't."

Pothy actually shakes a little, his best approximation of a vehement 'no' that he can manage. "Auranar, _no_." He's still crying, tears welling up in his bird-eyes. "If you go, and if Lord Folendel kills you... I'll feel horrible. Grandfather would hate me forever. Grandfather..."

He stills for a moment. "Auranar, _Grandfather_. Her Majesty once offered him a spot as one of her Ravens, and he declined. There's something here! You could do something! If you're able to stave off the duel and get Grandfather to come help you while you're in Quelynos--"

"Grandfather wants nothing to do with the Courts, Pothy," Cor'lana gently reminds him. "He just might decide that he's not _stopping_ at Folendel. He might decide to take to arms against the Court. Against Her Majesty herself. He's terrifying when he's angry."

She frowns. "That's how we lose Grandfather forever," she says. "I don't know. Auranar has a good point, though. What kind of favor can you repay the herald of a goddess, Telamon?"

Telamon looks sternly at Auranar. "And what? We know about Lord Folendel. Skilled with blade, skilled at fighting magicians. I won't put you at risk any more than I'd put Pothy in harm's way." He reaches out to touch Auranar's arm. "Thank you, but... no. You'll be needed to keep Grandfather in check as is."

He takes Lana's hand now. "I don't know," he says honestly. "But the alternative is that I follow in Grandfather's footsteps, and we just start laying waste to everything and everyone associated with Lord Folendel. I will -not- hand over Pothy, and playing games with Verna's life?" His eyes glitter. "Despicable. I am -done- tolerating threats to my family."

Auranar turns her smile on Pothy, petting his little head. "Cor'lana is probably right. It would probably be best to keep Grandfather out of this as much as is possible. Folendel isn't going to kill me. No... I..." She takes a breath and looks at her beloved family solidly. "I'm not asking for permission. I'm going. I have to do _something_, and if this gets us even one step closer to Verna, then I'm doing it."

She looks at Telamon specifically then. "Since Folendel offered the challenge, I can chose the means of our combat." There's a sudden deviousness in her dark eyes. "So I'll win, and he won't bother Pothy anymore. And we'll rescue Verna."

Cor'lana blinks. And then... she goes to take a step toward Auranar, wrapping her arms tightly around her sister, being careful, of course, of Pothy in Auranar's arms. "You? You are _brilliant_," she says gently. "I hope Verna tells you that every single day, every single hour. I know Grandfather says it all the time, but you really are."

Pothy looks at Auranar with big blue eyes. "... She was fond of elderberry tarts," he says gently. "Make one so he _chokes_ on it." The raven knows exactly how to strike at Folendel's heart, it would seem.

Telamon stares at Auranar as the lantern (metaphorically) goes on over his head. Then his eyes narrow, studying her, and he takes a long breath. "If you're sure, Aura," he says levelly. "But don't try anything too foolish -- I want you and Verna back together. Just because I'm an archmage now doesn't mean you should take unnecessary risks."

The starborn half-elf puts his arms around Aura and Lana in turn, hugging both of them close. Taking a deep breath. "I have a couple things I need to do," he says quietly. "To deal with the fiend. I can't help Simony directly, but... I have an idea of my own."

He lifts his head to stare down the messenger. "Very well. I name Auranar Lupecyll-Atlon as Pothy's champion. As challenged, she will determine the nature of the combat."

Auranar could almost cry all over again at the implicit trust and understanding that her family offers her. She lets them embrace her and returns their affection full-heartedly. "Yea." She nods and pets Pothy's little head. "I'll make them for her Pothy." But really she'll make them for Verna. She steps away and nods to the servant in the door.

"I'll come with you right now, but I want the information given before I go." She's not leaving until that is done. She needs to know where Verna is.

The servant gives her a somewhat skeptical look and then nods. "Verna is in the Keep of Mor Kulkodar Kala in Caracoroth's Teeth." He extends a hand to Auranar expectantly and she takes a small breath before handing Pothy off to Cor'lana.

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Intelligence: (7)+6: 13
GAME: Telamon rolls Intelligence: (14)+8: 22
GAME: Ravenstongue rolls 1d20+2: (7)+2: 9

Cor'lana lets go of her sister and carefully takes Pothy in her hands, smiling at Auranar. "I know you'll be fine, but... Be wary, okay? Remember everything Grandfather's taught us both." She knows that he's taught them both so much about interacting with the fey. No thank yous. No name-giving. Things like that.

She looks thoughtful for a moment. "We'll have to do some information-gathering on that Keep," she says, looking at Telamon. "You and I can handle that okay, right? Or I can if you've got your hands full."

"I know where he's talking about." Telamon's voice is like chipped stone. "Caracoroth's Teeth is a mountain range, marking the northern border of Charn where the Desolation begins." He takes a deep breath. "The keep's name translates to 'Black Dragon's Nest'. Whether it has one or not, well... doesn't matter."

He looks at Lana. "I'll have one thing to do, and then we're both going to get Verna." Tel's eyes glint. "Remember, we work better together."

Auranar gives Telamon and Cor'lana one last look, comforting her sister with a smile before allowing her hand to be taken and herself led out by the servant. They'd have to leave the city of course, but she knows approximately where they're headed. She lets her dark eyes set in determination, and a feeling of purpose. She's doing her part to rescue Verna, and helping Pothy in the process. When she returns they'll set siege to the nest if necessary. They'll get Verna back and somehow.... Somehow they'll retrieve the time that was stolen from Verna.

They'll get their happy ending yet.

-End