All in the Asking

Together the three of them stood in the wilderness, a randomly chosen location amid the trees in the dead of night where they hoped no one would fall upon them by accident and certainly expected that no one would find them on purpose. Zeke shifts from foot to foot nervously, his claw half-lifting toward his chest and then falling away with a brief shake of his head before he looks to the other two gathered with him. "Thisss one isss ready when you are." He offers.

GAME: Seldan casts Tiny Hut. Caster Level: 16 DC: 21
GAME: Seldan used a Scroll of Mage's Private Sanctum.

Seldan does not answer immediately. He has come to this place in full traveling gear, as he always does when leaving the city, but he is still fishing from his pack a scroll case with a blue cap, and a small bead. The bead he tucks in his pouch for now, but he looks up at the sky, letting the chill rain that had begun to fall perhaps half an hour ago fall on his face. The forest canopy shields the worst of it, but he turns to the others. "A moment, and we shall be comfortable, as well as hidden."

He begins by chanting a spell, in a firm and confident voice, drawing sigils in the air before him. The sigils do not appear to do as expected, and he frowns, water beginning to run into his hair. A second time, and a third, the same apparent error. Finally, on the fourth attempt, the sigils burst to silver-golden life before him; he makes another gesture, and they sweep outwards, forming a dome around them just big enough for the three of them and yet small enough to fit among the trees. When it stabilizes, the rain begins to patter on the dome above, and not on them. He closes his eyes, drawing a deep breath, his lips pressed together tightly.

He isn't done yet, though. Next, he fishes from his pack a scroll case with a blue cap, and from it fishes a particular one. With a gesture, a small light appears at the top of the dome, and by this, he opens the scroll, scans its contents, and nods satisfaction, then casts this from the scroll. A charcoal-grey shimmer surrounds the dome as the scroll crumbles to dust in his hands, and then - nothing. He, however, seems satisfied at last, turning to the others. "Do we clear some space, I possess the means to make a campfire." He does not mention the struggle with the spell.

Serene , expression both grim and shadowed, tilts her own admission of readiness to Zeke when he makes his claim. This was an invitation she dared not turn down, though her aging bones still remind her of the clash outside of Alexandria not long ago. Her armour has been mostly repaired, though the rest of her accoutrements still show signs of the abuse they were put through. Promise sheathed at the hip, Discord strapped to her back, her cloak pulled over her shoulder to help shield her from the rain.. at least until Seldan provides his magic shelter for the trio. Silver is nearby, helping keep a watch for unwanted visitors... remaining grounded to avoid presenting himself as a signal of Serene's whereabouts.

"A campfire would not be unwelcome," she admits, "Though I shall be fine without it."

Zeke moves in somewhat, to be protected from the rain that he admittedly hadn't noticed until it ceased to fall on the others. His tail flicks-flicks behind him betraying his unease. "A fire would be welcome kin, thisss one will need sssome-thing with which to light the inscensse." He shivers lightly, then blinks his eyes slowly. One of the downsides of being a sith-makar is that the cold does not sit well with him. And he in particular is one that can not fail to notice such things.

GAME: Seldan casts Floating Disk. Caster Level: 16 DC: 19

"Indeed, I would find such welcome myself." Seldan's lips are still pressed together in silent annoyance, but he settles himself onto some brush, his cloak beneath him to keep him dry as he does so, and again begins to cast. This one, too, fizzles, once, then twice. Scowling blackly in frustration, he removes his gauntlets and sets them aside in the knapsack, replacing them instead with woolen winter gloves, then draws the sigil a third time. This time, it flares effortlessly into life, and he scowls further, gesturing the sigils down into a concave disk, where they settle a foot or so off the ground, a near-invisible blue-white disk.

His brows furrow, but at last he seems satisfied, casting the bead into the disk, where it bursts into merrily crackling life. The inside of the dome itself is warm, and the fire helps further, but when done, he tucks his hands inside the edge of his cloak, as if chilled. "Seldom does the chill trouble me so," is his only explanation. "Forgive me."

Serene gives a small shake of her head, dismissing the apologie. "There is no need," she tells him. "Take your time, get settled. Now is a time for focussing on the answers we seek. And preparing to receive answers we may not wish to hear."

Zeke hovers near to the flames, stretching out his claws for the warmth though his left has no such real need for it. The light of the flames refract a million times off the crystal of his left limb and dazzle the eye for a moment. He glances at Seldan however, a trickle of worry tracing across his features. "Are you well Ssseldan? If not, thisss can be done another time." He has never seen his kin stricken by the cold, nor watched him fumble with the same spells so many times over and over. He settles back on his haunches to give the other man a sturdy look.

"I am." Still Seldan leaves the woolen gloves on as the warmth from the fire begins to wash over the dome and its contents. "Merely chilled, I think, although seldom does the chill trouble me, especially one so mild. Let us begin." He pulls his cloak more tightly around himself, leaving the gloves on.

Serene gives a short nod, then steps forward, closing the distance between herself and the others to become the third point in something of a triangle around the fire. "Begin when you are ready."

GAME: Zeke casts Commune. Caster Level: 14 DC: 19

Zeke nods to this, though he holds Seldan in his gaze a moment longer before pulling out some incense and setting it aflame. The scent of it quickly fills the air and Zeke takes a deep breath of it while intoning a prayer to the Dragonfather. His voice is deep and resonate, and it fills their small space as he pulls out a vial of holy water and alights it upon himself. This done he settles back on his haunches and with his voice still echoing in his own ears his green eyes open. There's a distant and far-away expression in his gaze, as if seeing a place or time that is not quite this one. It's an eerie sensation, but he seems at peace with it. "Asssssk."

GAME: Zeke used a Holy Water.

As Zeke began to cast, Seldan had watched intently, his cloak pulled closer to him with gloved hands, but towards the end of it, he had pulled another scroll from his knapsack, laying this on the ground between himself and Serene well clear of the fire. When the call comes to ask, he straightens, although remains wrapped in the cloak. "Is orb of stone that Seyardu brought me a thing of the Light?" he asks steadily.

"Thissss isss unscertain." Zeke's voice says, but his tone is dead and empty of emotion. His voice, his accent, but somehow not... /him/.

Serene bends her knees to crouch, both to give time for the answer to arrive, and so she can review the questions on the list. When the power answering Zeke's call speaks through the Sith makar, her lips curl into a slight scowl... but she nods. "Does the prophecy brought by the Queen of Winter originate from the fiends?"

"Yesss." A simpler answer this time, and one that is less convoluted than the last.

Seldan is stiller, although he is beginning to uncurl as the warmth of the fire sinks in. He listens steadily to the answers, then nods slowly, seeming satisfied. "The prophecy refers to a "heart of the world". Is this a place upon Ea?" he intones.

This time the question seems to take a moment, but the response is the same as before. "Yessss."

Serene glances at Seldan briefly before asking the next question, but the pause is slight, lest she be responsible for losing the attention of Zeke's communion. "Does the group of devils who originally held the orb oppose Eclavdran?"

"Yesssss." States Zeke, his body relaxed and his words coming with ease. It seems that in spite of the fact that he was rather cold a moment ago either the heat of the fire or the spell itself has sunken in.

Seldan does not hesitate, leaning forward and not bothering to consult the list for the next question. "Did Eclavdran's minions have the permission of the other group to have the orb in their possession?"

"No." The first negative in the line of questions.

Serene remains quiet while Seldan pursues his intuition... nodding once at the answer. She, however, remains with the ones on the paper, for now. "The female who leads this group of devils who oppose Eclavdran.. is she known personally by Eclavdran?"

"Thisss isss uncsertain." Zeke offers, the words perhaps not a desired answer, but then even gods likely guess at what things a duke of hell might know.

Seldan blinks in surprise at the answer, and pushes an unruly lock of hair away from his face, that lock that refuses to stay confined. "The scroll in Zeke's possession, that was made by Eclavdran. Can it be used against him?"

"Thisss isss unsscertain." Zeke's brow twitches at his words, and he takes a deep breath of the incense to maintain his concentration.

Serene's scowl deepens... clearly not happy with the amount of uncertainty being returned. She presses her lips tight for a moment... then asks, "Can the orb be trusted by us?"

"If it be true - yessss." Zeke's answer again takes a moment to come, as if the celestials above were questioning how to word the answer.

The question on Seldan's lips is asked, before he can do so, and he relaxes visibly, letting out a breath, and a small smile. "Very well. Is the beast referred to in the prophecy Eclavdran?"

"Thiss can not be known." Responds the sith-makar, his stiff posture resemblant of one in a deep trance. Yet his tail flick-flicks behind him in concentration.

GAME: Serene rolls wisdom: (13)+5: 18
GAME: Seldan rolls wisdom: (6)+5: 11

Serene opens her mouth, then shuts it quickly... narrowing her eyes. As unsatisfying as the number of non-definitive answers they've received are, at least they are gaining some knowledge from this. "Do other orbs like the one Seldan possesses exist?"

"Yessssss." A sigh, an exhalation. Zeke seems to relax and the answer seems a relief to him.

Seldan blinks, the question not having occurred to him before now, and again pushes that unruly lock of damp hair away from his eyes, then flexes his hands. The wash of warmth from the fire appears to help. "Do these other orbs take a similar form to the one I possess?"

"Identically ssso." Apparently just a 'yes' would not have sufficed in this answer.

"Will stopping whatever is bringing Eclavdran forth into our world end his interest in coming here?" Serene asks, the words somewhat bitter on her lips.. but an option that should be explored.

"It isss unlikely." Zeke replies, his answer somewhat short and unhappy.

"Are the priests of this cult the reason why Eclavdran takes an interest in coming here?" Seldan listens closely to Serene's questions, and her answers.

"No." Another short answer, but this one seems to relax Zeke again, as if it's an answer waiting to be answered.

Serene considers a moment, then shakes her head, gesturing to Seldan as she settles back.. an indication that she has said her piece.

A quick blink as Serene concedes the last question to him, but Seldan leans forward, elbows on knees, this time ignoring the damp lock of hair that falls in his eyes despite his and his gear's best efforts to the contrary. "Is it possible for mortals to end his interest in coming to Ea?"

"That, isss up to you." It seems another in a long line of cryptic answers and Zeke takes a deep shuddering breath at the end, blinking his green eyes back into this realm. He sneezes loudly, and shakes his head at the scent of lingering incense. "Ahh... that isss alwaysss a little disscomforting." He looks at Seldan and Serene a bit morosely. "It sssseemsss ass though the ansssswersss were... a bit vague thisss time yesss?"

Serene's expression could be called flat, perhaps, for what little it deviates from her norm, but she shrugs at Zeke's 'return' and comment. "More than we could have hoped, but there were answers to be found. Perhaps some new avenues to investigate."

"Vague indeed, and yet have we learned some things," Seldan agrees, and for the first time, pulls the stone orb from its safe place in his haversack, holding it in one hand and contemplating it steadily. "You have my thanks for undertaking the attempt." His gaze is steady, even, watching Zeke closely.

The orb which had grown dark in Seldan's absence is slowly but surely illuminating in his hand to a soft cool glow not unlike that of the moon.

Zeke nods tiredly at the thanks, and eyes the orb with some curiosity. "It sssseemsss asss though we learned little enough about that unfortunately."

Serene straightens, standing once again as she lets her gaze drift into the fire. "Unfortunate, yes. But... ah, it is fine. Yes, thank you for your efforts here tonight, Sunguard. It was still worth doing. We know more now than we did before."

"That we do," Seldan agrees. "You should rest, and it is in my mind to allow the rain to subside, ere I love. It is not the only one of its kind. There are others. It can be trusted, but its nature is more complex than I could put to them."

-End