Faolan thinks he may have heard those lyrics, maybe in Morovsk - though by then, his time was divided between Fedir and ...well. Anyone else with coin. (He doesn't like to think about it.) (Better to look ahead. Better to think about Dima, whose hand is in his own again. Dima and the children they'll have, the family, and most of all, the love.
Dima loves him. He's sure of it.) (The more he says he's sure of Dima's love, the more he wavers, wondering if he isn't fooling himself. Somehow.)
His thoughts turn to Rin and what kind of life they lived before that clearing. They talk like they lived in less than ideal conditions - an orphan? A runaway?
He'll ask...sometime. Not today. Today's been colored darkly enough by the long-reaching shadows of Vytantus Rein.
"Elucidating as this is - and I can promise you both, I'll be cornering you to learn your variations," Sen interjects, "Vytantus isn't the only person in the wide world who's been known to spirit away children. Are we decided that this is his work?"
Faolan considers a moment, then exchanges a glance with Dima. "If the children from all five circles were taken in the same way, it's a high number. High enough to attribute to him, or else he has competition, and if that's so, it's safe to assume he knows who's taking business from him."
<.>
[q: would any of this recounting have brought up further info in dima's mind that he might have heard wrt rein? ARC: 26
a: Listening to this, Dima remembers somewhat vaguely that Vytantus was described by those who saw him as having "strange eyes" and odd patches of scales on the skin they could see. Dima probably dismissed those claims as overwrought imagination (or embellishing). On hearing the rhymes about abduction and control of shadows and darkness, Dima begins to wonder if Vytantus isn't a Yuan-ti pureblood.]
Dima returns Faolan's glance with a nod. "That's so. I wouldn't rule out coincidence entirely - as Sen's said, abduction on its own isn't uncommon - but the signals are too many too ignore. The scale of the disappearance, for one, and there's the potential presence of a tidal force.
"There's the capacity for taking an entire druidic circle - one, if not five - by surprise; there's the self-certainty required to storm the home of seasoned practitioners of magic. And there's the fact that this devastation has been held in relative secret. It's strange, isn't it, that someone or some force should wreck such devastation without announcing itself to the territories. Most attacks of this scale are leveled with the intention of making a resounding point, or building toward cultivation of formless fear— Or else wiping a field clean of enemies." A cant of his head, a click of his tongue, and he looks to Faolan. "Did your circle know themselves to be in the sights of a particular nemesis?"
He pauses, squeezes Faolan's hand. Offers a steady and steadying brush of his thumb, a sign that Dima is observing his Fae closely, ready to cease speaking at any sign that his Puppy may be crumbling inward. "There are other questions I'd ask, my Fae. Don't feel you must answer. Only speak if you feel able." A moment to let his meaning settle, and then, "Do you know whether the adult victims discovered were— Mm. You said that they were brutalized. It might be useful to know whether many were, for lack of a better phrase, missing pieces of themselves.
"Or whether there is anyone you know who we might ask."
Another squeeze to Fae's hand before he continues, words now addressed to the group as a whole—
"For our own purposes, it would be worth knowing whether abduction has been a commonality among other—" His brow furrows slightly, and he shakes his head sharply, frustrated. "Skirmishes; raids. Whatever it is we're calling these attacks. I'd like to know how many of them are related. I'd like to know whether other broad attacks have been committed and kept quiet.
"And whether the circle or circles were targeted in order to—" There's a slight catch in his throat, a look to Faolan, and, "—in order to take the children, or if the children were a manner of afterthought. Or, I suppose, incentive.
"A 'bonus' promised to Rein, if someone brought him in to execute their work." Again Dmitri shakes his head, then runs a hand back through his hair, exhaling a sharp breath. "This is all supposition, of course; half-educated guesses, at best. For all we can tell, there isn't a single shred of connective tissue between the raids and the ruin brought upon these circles, the poisoning in Loch Bien, the infiltration of the Nightmare Market—"
Another click of his tongue; a storm passes across his brow. "And the matter of Payl Gower's daughter. Most likely that's a separate affair entirely— But I can't quite trust to hope on this account, and I'd caution against overlooking the potential of connection."
<.>
Faolan listens, clearly deep in thought when Dima finishes speaking. It's Sen who pipes up first, quietly, as though he senses Faolan's wheels are still turning. "The thing about Vytantus, though - he doesn't like to draw attention. If he's involved, he's not masterminding it; it's too inflammatory, for lack of a better descriptor. If people even suspected he's to blame for the slaughter of that many people in one sweep, he'd go underground for a bit and pop right back up when some new devastation occurs."
He shakes his head. "He might be profiting off it, certainly. Fucking vulture, him."
Faolan nods agreement to this statement and contributes, "If pieces were missing, I'd believe that's where they went. But - Dima, I couldn't tell. Between their killers and the animals - the wild ones and their own, they -"
He takes a sharp breath and clears his throat before he continues.
"The other thing. I wasn't one of them, exactly, so I wasn't party to much. I -" He feels a sudden flash of breathless loss, a swift blow when the thought rises that he never will be, because they're gone, the entire Circle of Wildfire, and there's no one but him, and he's no archdruid. He's barely a druid.
(He'll never sit with them again. He'll never indulge their children with games of chase again, or listen to the elders' stories, or feel the budding camaraderie that comes with slow acceptance -)
It takes him a moment. It takes another firm squeeze of Dima's hand to remind himself there's still good ahead.
"I don't know who might have been a nemesis, particularly. If it'd been only the one circle, I'd blame orcs or lizardfolk, but it's more widespread than that. And the raids at the borders makes me wonder if it isn't the same folk doing it. Mercenaries from Striker's Bay or someone looking to throw the whole continent into upheaval, which and whatever -
"That's connected, if nothing else."
<.>
The hand at Faolan's arm caresses steady, steady, and the squeeze is returned with redoubled pressure. He thinks again that this man - this man who is, really, very young in the world - is brave; he knows he himself is fortunate to have Fae's trust.
And no one ought to witness the devastation, the physical rending of a community that took them in, even if at the outskirts.
Just as no one ought to have been sold to the keeping of pirates, or come upon the corpses of mangled compatriots.
There's pain in the air, suffusive, today. There's likely more to come— But perhaps they can stem some measure of it.
Perhaps they can search down the bastards responsible, and light havoc to their being.
"It'd say so, yes. And the choice to target the druidic circles first - to, mm, speaking indelicately, remove their force from the field - seems a pernicious strategy, and long-planned.
"If the endeavor is progressive upheaval - as looks to be the case - there must be some force or some being capable of profiting from widespread chaos.
"The ruling class of Loch Bien has been wiped aside. ...As have a number of ranking dignitaries from adjoining territories. Morovsk is made to appear responsible. Every border seethes with hazard. The druidic circles have been ravaged.
"I'd like to know what damages Mysos has suffered.
"And what profits have come to the canals." He shakes his head. "There's something to those fucking things, as well.
"As for Striker's Bay—" He glances at the others. "We've had no luck with them in Morovsk. Those sent seeking council don't return, or are returned to us in inanimate form.
"What do any of you know of the place?"
Note also: Liv has been and will continue flying overhead while they travel, keeping an eye on the areas around.
<.>
[INT r: 6 s: 2 f: 11
Rin probably doesn't know much at all about Striker's Bay, and probably never had any interest in learning. Sen and Fae don’t know much, either.]
There's a collective shaking of heads at the question, which isn't really surprising, given what Dima's encountered with regards to Striker's Bay. They continue on in silence, each of them left to their own respective musings about the thread of intrigue before them.
Eventually, Sen begins humming, then singing a song he may or may not have invented, the tune cheerful enough to stave off melancholy for them all. This song becomes another that Faolan knows, so he joins in gladly, obviously with lifting spirits.
Nothing transpires on the first day, and they make camp near, but not on the banks of, the river at Faolan's suggestion.
Two days pass like this, only once do they divert a mile or so off course at Liviana's warning of a large host of bipedal, frog-like creatures ahead. (But not frogs. She is clear in this assertion to Dima, or as clear as she can convey that they are not frogs.
They get lost in the process, though Faolan is able to get them back on course with only an hour wasted (despite Sen's best efforts to 'help'.)
Once, a hopeful bear attempts to get into their packs for food; twenty percent of the rations are gone before anyone wakes up, and Rin chases the beast off. (Rolls for perception, percentage lost, and who did the chasing.)
After a while, Sen offers or acquiesces to carrying Rin piggyback.
Faolan is indefatigable in leading them; it's obvious he knows the forests here quite well, though he admits they're reaching the boundaries of his familiarity, which ends at the mountains looming nearer and nearer.
They're entering the borderlands.
Tomorrow, Fae tells them, they'll start crossing through the mountains. He suggests they make camp here tonight; there's a spring nearby with fish, and there's game they can hunt that might help spare their remaining rations. He thinks the area is mostly uninhabited. (Nature: 19)
He then asks Liviana if she might rest a while, then scout ahead and see if the pass is clear of danger.
If there's no objection to any of this, then the party is now waiting for Liviana's return.
Also if there's no objection, Fae would like to split into two groups and hunt for food: Rin and Sen between camp and the river so there's no losing them, and himself and Dima between camp and the spring.
<.>
One addition to the end of the first day: Dima messages his sister the following words via Sending: "Traveling to Mysos. Learned five druidic circles have been quietly destroyed. Loch Bien pinning borderlands raids on Morovsk and Striker's Bay mercenaries. Something is building."
Regarding the present situation, there are no objections from Dima, Rin, or Liv. Liviana does indeed rest, then scout ahead. Rin still thinks the bear was kind of rude but also they can't blame him because they would also probably have stolen food from a mysterious camp. Dima is pleased with and proud of how well Faolan leads them, and has said as much at least twice. And though he didn't join in with Sen's song the first day, he might have been caught smiling— At Fae, of course, and at Sen's successful attempt at raising the party's mood.
Rin would like to know what kind of game is best for catching, and promises solemnly that there will be no straying far from the river; they will in fact be careful to keep the river always within hearing, if not directly in view. This is a fixed plan in their mind!
About twenty feet out from the camp, between the camp and the river, Rin is going to cast Snare. They point out the location to the party, and warn everyone they can't be held responsible for anyone who steps into it!
After, they're going to wink at Sen and say, "Stealthing time," then head in the direction of the river.
Dima, while slightly wary of letting the thieves wander off alone, does like Faolan's plan, and figures that if Sen and Rin wander too far, Fae and Liv are well-equipped to find them. Before heading from camp, he'll take a moment to draw Fae into his arms and share a kiss undisturbed by the presence of thieves. After, he'll suggest that he follows Faolan's lead - a plan he assumes Fae would have counted on - and will admit that his own experience in hunting isn't extensive, adding, "Lead us to the hunt, my Puppy."
no subject
Dima loves him. He's sure of it.) (The more he says he's sure of Dima's love, the more he wavers, wondering if he isn't fooling himself. Somehow.)
His thoughts turn to Rin and what kind of life they lived before that clearing. They talk like they lived in less than ideal conditions - an orphan? A runaway?
He'll ask...sometime. Not today. Today's been colored darkly enough by the long-reaching shadows of Vytantus Rein.
"Elucidating as this is - and I can promise you both, I'll be cornering you to learn your variations," Sen interjects, "Vytantus isn't the only person in the wide world who's been known to spirit away children. Are we decided that this is his work?"
Faolan considers a moment, then exchanges a glance with Dima. "If the children from all five circles were taken in the same way, it's a high number. High enough to attribute to him, or else he has competition, and if that's so, it's safe to assume he knows who's taking business from him."
<.>
[q: would any of this recounting have brought up further info in dima's mind that he might have heard wrt rein?
ARC: 26
a: Listening to this, Dima remembers somewhat vaguely that Vytantus was described by those who saw him as having "strange eyes" and odd patches of scales on the skin they could see. Dima probably dismissed those claims as overwrought imagination (or embellishing). On hearing the rhymes about abduction and control of shadows and darkness, Dima begins to wonder if Vytantus isn't a Yuan-ti pureblood.]
Dima returns Faolan's glance with a nod. "That's so. I wouldn't rule out coincidence entirely - as Sen's said, abduction on its own isn't uncommon - but the signals are too many too ignore. The scale of the disappearance, for one, and there's the potential presence of a tidal force.
"There's the capacity for taking an entire druidic circle - one, if not five - by surprise; there's the self-certainty required to storm the home of seasoned practitioners of magic. And there's the fact that this devastation has been held in relative secret. It's strange, isn't it, that someone or some force should wreck such devastation without announcing itself to the territories. Most attacks of this scale are leveled with the intention of making a resounding point, or building toward cultivation of formless fear— Or else wiping a field clean of enemies." A cant of his head, a click of his tongue, and he looks to Faolan. "Did your circle know themselves to be in the sights of a particular nemesis?"
He pauses, squeezes Faolan's hand. Offers a steady and steadying brush of his thumb, a sign that Dima is observing his Fae closely, ready to cease speaking at any sign that his Puppy may be crumbling inward. "There are other questions I'd ask, my Fae. Don't feel you must answer. Only speak if you feel able." A moment to let his meaning settle, and then, "Do you know whether the adult victims discovered were— Mm. You said that they were brutalized. It might be useful to know whether many were, for lack of a better phrase, missing pieces of themselves.
"Or whether there is anyone you know who we might ask."
Another squeeze to Fae's hand before he continues, words now addressed to the group as a whole—
"For our own purposes, it would be worth knowing whether abduction has been a commonality among other—" His brow furrows slightly, and he shakes his head sharply, frustrated. "Skirmishes; raids. Whatever it is we're calling these attacks. I'd like to know how many of them are related. I'd like to know whether other broad attacks have been committed and kept quiet.
"And whether the circle or circles were targeted in order to—" There's a slight catch in his throat, a look to Faolan, and, "—in order to take the children, or if the children were a manner of afterthought. Or, I suppose, incentive.
"A 'bonus' promised to Rein, if someone brought him in to execute their work." Again Dmitri shakes his head, then runs a hand back through his hair, exhaling a sharp breath. "This is all supposition, of course; half-educated guesses, at best. For all we can tell, there isn't a single shred of connective tissue between the raids and the ruin brought upon these circles, the poisoning in Loch Bien, the infiltration of the Nightmare Market—"
Another click of his tongue; a storm passes across his brow. "And the matter of Payl Gower's daughter. Most likely that's a separate affair entirely— But I can't quite trust to hope on this account, and I'd caution against overlooking the potential of connection."
<.>
Faolan listens, clearly deep in thought when Dima finishes speaking. It's Sen who pipes up first, quietly, as though he senses Faolan's wheels are still turning. "The thing about Vytantus, though - he doesn't like to draw attention. If he's involved, he's not masterminding it; it's too inflammatory, for lack of a better descriptor. If people even suspected he's to blame for the slaughter of that many people in one sweep, he'd go underground for a bit and pop right back up when some new devastation occurs."
He shakes his head. "He might be profiting off it, certainly. Fucking vulture, him."
Faolan nods agreement to this statement and contributes, "If pieces were missing, I'd believe that's where they went. But - Dima, I couldn't tell. Between their killers and the animals - the wild ones and their own, they -"
He takes a sharp breath and clears his throat before he continues.
"The other thing. I wasn't one of them, exactly, so I wasn't party to much. I -" He feels a sudden flash of breathless loss, a swift blow when the thought rises that he never will be, because they're gone, the entire Circle of Wildfire, and there's no one but him, and he's no archdruid. He's barely a druid.
(He'll never sit with them again. He'll never indulge their children with games of chase again, or listen to the elders' stories, or feel the budding camaraderie that comes with slow acceptance -)
It takes him a moment. It takes another firm squeeze of Dima's hand to remind himself there's still good ahead.
"I don't know who might have been a nemesis, particularly. If it'd been only the one circle, I'd blame orcs or lizardfolk, but it's more widespread than that. And the raids at the borders makes me wonder if it isn't the same folk doing it. Mercenaries from Striker's Bay or someone looking to throw the whole continent into upheaval, which and whatever -
"That's connected, if nothing else."
<.>
The hand at Faolan's arm caresses steady, steady, and the squeeze is returned with redoubled pressure. He thinks again that this man - this man who is, really, very young in the world - is brave; he knows he himself is fortunate to have Fae's trust.
And no one ought to witness the devastation, the physical rending of a community that took them in, even if at the outskirts.
Just as no one ought to have been sold to the keeping of pirates, or come upon the corpses of mangled compatriots.
There's pain in the air, suffusive, today. There's likely more to come— But perhaps they can stem some measure of it.
Perhaps they can search down the bastards responsible, and light havoc to their being.
"It'd say so, yes. And the choice to target the druidic circles first - to, mm, speaking indelicately, remove their force from the field - seems a pernicious strategy, and long-planned.
"If the endeavor is progressive upheaval - as looks to be the case - there must be some force or some being capable of profiting from widespread chaos.
"The ruling class of Loch Bien has been wiped aside. ...As have a number of ranking dignitaries from adjoining territories. Morovsk is made to appear responsible. Every border seethes with hazard. The druidic circles have been ravaged.
"I'd like to know what damages Mysos has suffered.
"And what profits have come to the canals." He shakes his head. "There's something to those fucking things, as well.
"As for Striker's Bay—" He glances at the others. "We've had no luck with them in Morovsk. Those sent seeking council don't return, or are returned to us in inanimate form.
"What do any of you know of the place?"
Note also: Liv has been and will continue flying overhead while they travel, keeping an eye on the areas around.
<.>
[INT
r: 6
s: 2
f: 11
Rin probably doesn't know much at all about Striker's Bay, and probably never had any interest in learning. Sen and Fae don’t know much, either.]
There's a collective shaking of heads at the question, which isn't really surprising, given what Dima's encountered with regards to Striker's Bay. They continue on in silence, each of them left to their own respective musings about the thread of intrigue before them.
Eventually, Sen begins humming, then singing a song he may or may not have invented, the tune cheerful enough to stave off melancholy for them all. This song becomes another that Faolan knows, so he joins in gladly, obviously with lifting spirits.
Nothing transpires on the first day, and they make camp near, but not on the banks of, the river at Faolan's suggestion.
Two days pass like this, only once do they divert a mile or so off course at Liviana's warning of a large host of bipedal, frog-like creatures ahead. (But not frogs. She is clear in this assertion to Dima, or as clear as she can convey that they are not frogs.
They get lost in the process, though Faolan is able to get them back on course with only an hour wasted (despite Sen's best efforts to 'help'.)
Once, a hopeful bear attempts to get into their packs for food; twenty percent of the rations are gone before anyone wakes up, and Rin chases the beast off. (Rolls for perception, percentage lost, and who did the chasing.)
After a while, Sen offers or acquiesces to carrying Rin piggyback.
Faolan is indefatigable in leading them; it's obvious he knows the forests here quite well, though he admits they're reaching the boundaries of his familiarity, which ends at the mountains looming nearer and nearer.
They're entering the borderlands.
Tomorrow, Fae tells them, they'll start crossing through the mountains. He suggests they make camp here tonight; there's a spring nearby with fish, and there's game they can hunt that might help spare their remaining rations. He thinks the area is mostly uninhabited. (Nature: 19)
He then asks Liviana if she might rest a while, then scout ahead and see if the pass is clear of danger.
If there's no objection to any of this, then the party is now waiting for Liviana's return.
Also if there's no objection, Fae would like to split into two groups and hunt for food: Rin and Sen between camp and the river so there's no losing them, and himself and Dima between camp and the spring.
<.>
One addition to the end of the first day: Dima messages his sister the following words via Sending: "Traveling to Mysos. Learned five druidic circles have been quietly destroyed. Loch Bien pinning borderlands raids on Morovsk and Striker's Bay mercenaries. Something is building."
Regarding the present situation, there are no objections from Dima, Rin, or Liv. Liviana does indeed rest, then scout ahead. Rin still thinks the bear was kind of rude but also they can't blame him because they would also probably have stolen food from a mysterious camp. Dima is pleased with and proud of how well Faolan leads them, and has said as much at least twice. And though he didn't join in with Sen's song the first day, he might have been caught smiling— At Fae, of course, and at Sen's successful attempt at raising the party's mood.
Rin would like to know what kind of game is best for catching, and promises solemnly that there will be no straying far from the river; they will in fact be careful to keep the river always within hearing, if not directly in view. This is a fixed plan in their mind!
About twenty feet out from the camp, between the camp and the river, Rin is going to cast Snare. They point out the location to the party, and warn everyone they can't be held responsible for anyone who steps into it!
After, they're going to wink at Sen and say, "Stealthing time," then head in the direction of the river.
Dima, while slightly wary of letting the thieves wander off alone, does like Faolan's plan, and figures that if Sen and Rin wander too far, Fae and Liv are well-equipped to find them. Before heading from camp, he'll take a moment to draw Fae into his arms and share a kiss undisturbed by the presence of thieves. After, he'll suggest that he follows Faolan's lead - a plan he assumes Fae would have counted on - and will admit that his own experience in hunting isn't extensive, adding, "Lead us to the hunt, my Puppy."
<.>