HLoM: The Firebird, Chapter 2

[Isabella]

"I have not heard of such a one as this Ezra," Rual says flatly, her face settling into an expression of angry skepticism.

"Nor do you recognize this shield," Richard said, his own features turning steely. "My lady, you say there is-is no castle here, and I-I-I will believe it. It was a-a haunted, cursed thing. You may believe me or not, as you wish, but your issue is with me. You will spare a-a fading woman the-the harsh brunt of your tongue."

"If you-you say this relic shall not leave this forest, then so be it." Richard quietly pressed it back to his chest. "But I-I-I cannot leave without it, and so I-I shall not leave these woods either. If that is not acceptable, then do as-do as you will. I-I-I have no arms to defend myself."

He took a step to the edge of the grove, going no further, so to make himself unobtrusive to the women's business.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Rual gives Richard a look of displeasure and seems about to give a sharp answer when Flora steps around her. "Will you give it to me?" she asks. "I will keep it safe this night."

As she speaks the Shield moves in Richard's hands, almost as if it were a compass needle turning to the north.

[Isabella]

Richard bowed his head, then looked up and actually smiled at her. "I-I-I will," he said, handing it to her with a sudden loss of his reservations. "May it keep you and-and your child safe as well, Flora."

[NeoTiamat]

As the maid slips out she turns her attention to Lena's second question. "I suppose I might?" she says, her brow creasing. "Did my husband mention them? That's not much like him. She's had them from when she was a slip of a girl; several of Diancecht, of course, and of Dagda and Belenus as well."

"Two interesting things happened during the conversation." Lena said by way of explanation, gathering her skirt and sitting down on one of the cushioned chairs. "First, Craig said that he and Brangain had fought, and that she had left to see friends. And... he was lying. It was written all across his face. So, Milady, we believe you."

"Secondly, he expressed a great deal of interest in what we knew about religion, and asked us about another goddess that appeared in Brangain's visions, the Lady Ezra of the Mists." Lena put her fingers together. "Which is... somewhat related to why my comrades and I are here." Lena inclined her head to Marcel -- if he wished to elaborate, then it was his choice to do so. "So I think that whatever motive your husband had for taking Brangain away, it's linked to your daughter's visions."



The fox, in the meantime, was starting to get antsy. Cattia was up there, and there was a monster on the far side of the door, and she hadn't noticed anyone else. It was time, perhaps, to call in for reinforcements. Decision made, Ushka trotted back up the castle, to try and find Renhalt, and Dundee, and Marcel.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Suddenly Tara's voice, low and distinct, sounds in Vasili's ears, speaking rapidly but clearly. "They think we're here for ApFittle. Took Rojan away. Fear I'll cast spells, watching close. Sticking to ghost story. Nice diversion."

Vasili relates all of this to Nuray as he continues to summon Leila.

"Altan?" he enquires through the whisper magic. If the Pit Fiend was loose, he could be a major asset...or a significant liability....

[Nathan of the FoS]

Flora curtsies slightly and reaches for the Shield with her free hand; the babe in her arms has worked one arm free of the wrappings that binds him and touches the Shield as his mother takes it from Richard's hands, and for a moment all three of them are touching it.

Richard feels something pass over his being, like the shadow of a hawk over a mouse, and he is plunged into dreams.

A woman's voice, deep and calm, says, "See, Richard, what must be healed."

Then

It is another night, but in the same place, lit by smoking fires and a full moon; the druid Rual, her face painted with woad, crowned in a headdress of antlers, stands over a young man beneath the great oak at the center of the grove. She drinks from a flask, then begins to speak (though all is silent, and you only see the movement of her mouth) and to gesture, carving the air with an antler, leaning over the youth and tracing signs and symbols over his supine form. With a slight shock you see he is restrained, bound hand and foot. He is oddly familiar--after a moment you realize he looks like Gilan, but perhaps three or four years older. Rual's expression becomes more impassioned, a mix of excitement and terror, and the form of the boy flickers, and for a moment there are two of them overlaid over the same space, a hunched bestial figure, fanged and clawed, writhing in torment and cursing, and a handsome youth reaching upward in terrified supplication, and for some reason this terrifies you so that



Richard gasps.

He is standing beneath the great oak, at midnight in the driving rain, and the woman Flora ApBlanc, ghostly pale and lit faintly from within, is approaching, her eyes fixed on him, her arms clutching something tightly to her bosom.

[Isabella]

Richard blinked, the sudden spray of rain jarring him to his senses. He shielded his eyes as he looked up at the softly glowing figure - face to face with her as if he'd never left the clearing, and yet everything had changed in between his heartbeats.

"Oh Flora," he said, approaching her. "I-I-I am sorry. I-I am so sorry. I-I-I wanted better for you and your child, even though I-I knew it was not to be."

[Nathan of the FoS]

"She was...she felt she had received a calling. Feels she has received a calling. But she didn't...doesn't know which of the gods she's being led toward. I...there was a time when I had the same feelings. I served Diancecht for three years, until my husband persuaded me to leave my vocation and become his wife." Isolt twists her hands in her lap, caught up in a not-entirely-happy train of memories. "I know my husband has no great love for priest or druid, but...perhaps she told him she had decided to take up a religious life, and he...I don't know what he would do."



Renhalt and Dundee are readily available for further exploration, once Ushka has explained (through Dundee's good offices) what has been happening in the dungeon. Perhaps ten minutes later the mage, druid and fox arrive at the doorway, finding Cattia looking down at them through the trapdoor. "Money!" she notes briskly. "Mostly silver. Some books, a bow and quiver, but no sign of the girl up here. I take it you've come to lend a hand?"

[Nathan of the FoS]

Flora does not respond directly to Richard's words; approaching him, she lifts the bundle of cloth in her arms and whispers, "Please, sir. Please. I know I have done wrong, but my child is innocent. He is innocent. Please, save him." As she speaks her she begins to look around her with frightened, hunted eyes; crouching, she seems to place her body between the bundle in her arms and some unseen menace.

DC 24 Will save or be fascinated by Flora--you'll be obligated to at least keep watching her, and no hostile actions (you may approach and interact with her if you want to).

[Isabella]

"You did nothing wrong," Richard replied. He wondered if that was true. What else was there to say? He held out his arms, knowing it would not matter. "Here. I-I'll take him. Come-come with us, Flora."

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Leila again at his side, Vasili emerges from the tomb and sees Richard and Flora. Giving a great sigh of relief at the return of Richard, he smiles even more at the realization that Flora is yet another ghost. "Perfect..." he breathes. He turns as if to speak to Nuray, but finds himself unable to take his eyes off of Flora. Leila, nuzzling at Vasili's side as she shares his thoughts of what has happened in her absence, is also drawn to this newcomer, and zips up to perch on his shoulder for a better look.

"Small change of plans, Goodyf," he says without turning his head. "Let's go meet her."

Without looking, Vasili fumbles for the familiar copper wire for his whisper-throwing spell, and reconnects to Richard with an arcane gesture.

"Richard," Vasili whispers, "Can you introduce us to your new...acquaintance?"

Without waiting for a reply, Vasili and Leila head out to join Richard at the side of the glowing woman.

[Isabella]

Richard jolted as the voice whispered in his ear. "V-Vasili! Oh, thank the Lady you're-you're alright. This is-this... her name is-is Flora. Flora, this is-is Vasili, and Leila. He is a-a-a... magician, and Leila a-a guardian. They can help keep you and-and your child safe."

[Nerit]

Nuray had followed Vasili out, but it seemed to be of little use. Despite what struggle she looked like she was having, Nuray could not look away from the ethereal Flora.

"What...is she doing? Richard?" she managed, merely from the sound of his voice.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Flora's head jerks around as Vasili and Nuray approach, seeming to turn a few more degrees than a human's neck really should. She seems to relax slightly when she gets a better look at them and bobs the briefest of curtseys. "Thank you, thank you," she whispers, caressing the bundle at her breast. "It was wrong. I know that. Even though he was my wedded husband. But it's not Tristen's fault. Raise him up well. Tell him...his mother loved him." Looking Richard directly in the eyes, she says, "Tell my granddaughter the stranger's holy gift is under the flagstone by the well." Thrusting the bundle in her arms at all three of you, more or less equally, she says, "Take him. May the gods bless you and him."

[NeoTiamat]

"Your husband has a curious interest in the divine, to be coupled with the kind of antipathy he has shown to both the Druid of Morrigan and to your daughter's visions." Lena murmured. "Can you tell us, perhaps, more of him? He is Laird ApBlanc, this I know. What were his family like? How old is he?"

A small part of Lena wondered at something else. When she'd first come across the Laird and Lady ApBlanc, she'd thought them newlyweds, for Craig looked so young. But he had grown children, three of them. Of course, uncommonly youthful features are not unheard of in Barovia. And it is precisely that uncommonly youthful features are not unheard of in Barovia that Lena wondered at them.

"And one more thing... did Brangain ever speak to you of a shard of a shield? Does it mean anything to you?" In brief words, Lena sketched out the Shield of Ezra's description.



Ushka wagged her tail (given her size, it turned into more of a full-body wriggle). She could not, unfortunately, lend a hand. The lack of opposable thumbs was a bit of a problem there. But she could lend a paw, or more likely, a nose. She did do a brief imitation of a setter and pointed to the door where she'd recently smelled decaying and wolfen things.