Toki
The primary thing that passed through Toki's mind was the fact that Jester had been assaulted and mind-raped by the plant. The bard couldn't have imagined such a thing could be done to a druid. Large gaping holes were in the back of the half-elf's skull from the vines and tentacles drilling through the bone to dig into the soft brain tissue underneath.
Zat and Sitho had ingested the pollen. They were off in their own little worlds. The elf was holding his kukri and rocking back and forth on what looked like a disheveled watermelon with sliced tentacles coming out of it. The gnome was a little bit better off, he was singing. He had just turned himself the color of butter. The tune wasn't bad, but the lyrics were pure shite.
"Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you. And everything you do. Yeah, they were all yellow."
The only thing that Toki could think of to use as a bandage were the leaves on the ground. It would only be temporary, but she had to stop the bleeding in the woman's skull. The alternative would only lead to all of their deaths.
Toki looked up at the trees and then to Sitho and Zat. They were hooped. Miles away from the nearest city and wanted by the courts of Maal. What else could possibly go wrong?
The half-orc still had her banjo and there were swords and bows in the brush from the last victims that the controller plant had consumed. A smile crossed her face causing the fangs in her mouth to gnash against each other. Toki was elated with the find. She had been without a bow since they left Latim. It would be good to get back into the game instead of playing as backup to the gnome and elves.
It's odd the last things that go through one's mind before darkness takes them over. No one ever thinks about their loved ones or family or how the bastard union between monster and man could make something so gentle, fragile with the soul of a poet and the appearance of a monster. Caught between two separate warring worlds and welcome in neither.
Toki didn't think of her biological family as the giant spider took her through the trap door that the thing had built into the forest floor. Instead she thought of the incidental family that she had grown fond of during the short trip. She didn't intend to become attached to the gnome and the elves, but found herself worrying as the eight terribly strong legs held her fast as spinerettes leaked the strong silk that was being used to tie her up.
She was only able to hear Zat's mal-aligned lyrics as the spider took her underground.
"I came along. I wrote a song for you. And all the things you do. And it was called 'Yellow'."
Fate
Fate.
He didn't choose the name, it was given to him by the celestial. His birth name was lost to the sands of time and the never-forgotten pain of blood turning against blood. No one in the Courts had ever questioned his name. It just was.
It was the gnome he had tracked down that was the first to ever even give a sidelong glance when he introduced himself by his name. To the gnome, the cleric's name must have been a joke. The gnome may have been chronilogically older than Fate, but the impish humanoid couldn't know what had gone on in the past. Maal's Wisdom prevailed once again as it had throughout his life.
Maal's Wisdom is Infinate.
"Son," voice spoke loudly in his head as he was interviewing the once-blue-but-now-yellow gnome and his elf sidekick, "they're on a holy mission. Assist them."
Fate knew instantly what he was to do. Desite the fact that the four (where was the fourth?) of them were criminals underneath the law of Latim, he was to be their aide, to be their support. Fate knew it was going to be a trial, but when the Lord of Justice speaks, the Officers of the Court listen.
Maal's Wisdom is Infinate.
The druid was nearly dead. There was no other choice but to heal the female half-elf. The bard was missing. Where was she? As a half-orc, Fate knew that she could take care of herself, but in the wilds, anything could happen. Fate knew that Maal had sent him to them for a reason, but they didn't know it yet.
Sitho Diver, Jester the Green, Zatqualme Damascus and Toki Wartooth; they were the ones who had caused the disturbance and escaped. They were the ones who had caused Fate to be selected out of all of the Officers of the Court to track them within the Dragon's Ridge Mountains. Fate frowned at the heavens. Maal's words were clear and his path was set.
Maal's Wisdom is Infinate.
It was in the dead of night that Maal had informed Fate of the next task.
"Centuries ago, the Fire Mage Sefara bint-Khalil crafted a great sword of immense power. She called it Sayf al-Qadar, the Sword of Fate. With the power of her magic and the skill of her sword, she roamed through the scorched sands of the desert nation of Agresia and united the roaming bands of Al-Bakhtiaria." Maal's rich and commanding voice drowned out all of Fate's fears.
"Sefara bint-Khalil gathered and led her army, Asfar Yad al-Naryne (the Yellow Hand of Naryne) against the treacherous Caliph Anwar al-Raman who usurped the throne from his brother. The great walled city of Ayn Minzar with its mirrored spires and golden mosques did not fall immediately to Sefara bint-Khalil and the Asfar Yad al-Naryne because the Caliph had not only his own army of soldiers Asad abd-Noran (the Slave Lions of Noran) who were all to eager to paint the desert red with the Fire Mage’s blood, but also an army of mighty jinn serving under him"
"The Fire Mage also had jinn as well as otherworldly hosts at her command. In the end, the battle was rumored to take nearly 40 days as the sands soaked up the blood and vultures feasted on the dead. Tired and wasting away, the Fire Mage surveyed her army and knew that she was fighting a loosing battle. There was no way within the realm of her control that she could take the city and remove the Caliph from the city."
Fate could almost feel the eyes of the Lord of Justice, King of the Dead gaze upon him, yet he could not look upon the divine face of Maal. So great was his voice, so terrifying was his presance. Fate kept his head bowed.
"She prayed to Naryne with no answer. The Imams and other Shi’ars had no answers. Even her might army of jinn and otherworldly hosts gave her no advice. She only had one choice left; after all, the known mistake is much better than the unknown truth. Sefara bint-Khalil saw all of the dead and knew she still had an army."
"As she brought about the rites and rituals to raise the dead from the sands in all defiance of the Great Church and all she knew to be righteous and true, she knew her soul was damned to be ripped to pieces from the devils and demons of Hell. Sefara bint-Khalil wept as her undead army, her Azma bin-Azmati stormed the gates of Ayn Miznar."
"With the reinforced army, Sefara bint-Khalil overtook the shining city of Ayn Miznar and dethroned the Caliph and restored the balance of power to the blistering country of Agresia but not without a price."
Sweat poured out from the cleric from underneath his armor. He knew it was a dream, yet he could feel the physical manifestation from Maal's Divine Grace.
"Capture the sword, the Sayf al-Qadar for my brother's servant. The Darmonite Aziz al-Ajami has a destiny to fulfill. Our part is to set justice on the right path."
Fate awoke as the leaves parted to reveal the night sky. In the heavens, a shooting star passed across the darkness. Fate was revealed his path. For better or worse, he was Maal's servant and he would aide the criminals.
Maal's Wisdom is Infinate.
Zat
The Elven king was grey in color, his once beautiful hair was stringy and damp. It was as if he had been dunked beneath the ice floe and quick-frozen in place. The gnome stood in place, terrified as the fish dripped onto the tiled flooring of the throne room. Alffjörd, normally alive with the white and blues was paled. A sick yellow sunlight came through the stained glass windows.
"There's nothing you can do Tinelite! Nothing at all!" The shadow of the king launched itself across the flooring and wrapped around the gnome. The blackness lurched awkwardly and quickly seized the gnome's small booted feet.
Zat's eyes went wide as the shadow held him fast. King Amadire's form twisted and bloated itself into a form that Zat couldn't comprehend at first. A huge belly pushed out from underneath the vestments of his office. Sick grey skin mottled with blue veins pulsed with a beat that was unnatural.
The elf's body twisted and changed into an unholy representation of itself. Another set of arms pushed out from underneath the ones that were already in place. The robe ripped as the the new hands clawed at the fabric. Multiple glowing eyes popped into place underneath the crown of wet limp hair. Zat quickly counted eight all together.
King Amadire's mouth split as insectoid mandibles pierced through the mottled flesh of his jaw. Blood and ichor spilled out onto the hand-crafted tiles. Small tapping came up from the floor as Zat saw what had to have been Amadire's teeth bouncing on the floor.
"Your father has succumbed to the call, Tinelite." the beast form now growled from an alien visage. The once-king and now monster of Alffjörd made a sound that only could have been a mutated chuckle. "He now seeks Carcosa along the Lake of Hali!"
It was after Toki was taken by the spider that the dream had evolved.
Sitho
Sitho sat on watch and glared over at the human who had joined them. He had piched his tent near the opening that rogue had found.
The 'lawman' came.
Across the thrice-damned Serpent's Bridge and through the Dragon's Ridge Mountains, he still came. The fire blazed from deep beneath the earth where the giant spider's lair must be. If the giant beast were anything like the little ones, Toki would be dead by morning.
Damn Maal and his Court. Damn the short-lived humans. And damn Uncle Solar for putting him on edge! Sitho knew he wasn't even suppoed to be in Latim when the gnome started the trouble.
Sitho was expecting someone else other than the cleric. Cousin Reyna would be the logical choice from his family. She was quick and well outfitted. Her skills were something to behold. She had a deadly grace and a more than ample bosom. It had been more than once she had put him to the ground during combat training and more than once he had put her to bed.
All Sitho could do was to prepare. In the darkness and the soft glow of the fire burning 20 feet below ground, he sharpened his kukri. Hearing the stone slide across the steel seemed so natural and calming.
Shickt-ting. Shickt-ting. Shickt-ting.
Yeah, it would probably be Reyna.
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