In a meadow by the shore of a gleaming, peaceful lake sat a gnoll. This gnoll, Rrehn, took a few moments to simply breathe in the scene around her; the calming fragrance of the meadow's flowers, the gentle babbling of the stream that fed the lake, and the feeling of the sun on her fur as it set in the distance. She absentmindedly fiddled with the hem of her gown, the only possession she had with her. It wasn't typical of her to be without her weapons or armor (or to wear a gown, for that matter), but that was okay. Here in Elysium, there was no need to fight. One could just sit back and enjoy the smell of… smoke? Rrehn opened her eyes. The warm glow wasn't from a sunset as she thought. The sky was pitch black, illuminated only by the orange light of burning flowers around her. The flowers that weren't burning were changing, transforming into horrible, shuddering plants with buds that opened into gaping maws, lined with teeth and thorns. The lake drained into a massive ravine, threatening to swallow the gnoll as she tried to run from the thrashing plants. Though she couldn't understand why, a single phrase ran through her mind: this is my fault. It had distracted her just enough that one of the swiping tendrils of the plants caught her leg and sent her into the air, And for one of the first times in her life, Rrehn felt truly afraid. Of course she'd felt nervous and uneasy before (though she'd never admit it), such as when a raid wasn't going particularly well or the target of an ambush somehow knew they were coming, but this? This primal terror, the kind that pulls at your very soul? There had never been anything like this. And as Rrehn fell into that abyss, into the Death Dells, that fear was the last thing she felt before everything went black.
And then Rrehn woke up.
Rrehn didn't have nightmares. Nightmares were for whelps and cowards, of course. This was obviously a vision. But Rrehn didn't have visions either. It wasn't unheard of for some of the Fangs of the pack to have visions given to them by Yeenoghu, typically of great raids and their subsequent feasts. But none of them ever had had visions that involved feeling peaceful, at least not that Rrehn had heard of. She couldn't quite place why, but she knew this wasn't something she could just ignore. But such a vision wasn't something she could just talk over with the priests. Admitting something like that? She may as well be announcing to the camp: "Hey everyone, I'm weak! I'd probably be more useful as a corpse than as some cry-baby coward!". No, this was something she'd have to deal with on her own. She just needed some time away from the camp. "Nobody's allowed in, Urdal's orders." growled the gnoll outside the loot tent. Rrehn recognized the guard as one of the youngest gnolls, probably hadn't even made his first kill yet. She stepped forward and stared down at him; she was at least a full foot taller than this "guard". She'd definitely be able to take him down in a fight, but she'd prefer to leave quietly. It'd be easier that way. "Listen, runt," said Rrehn. "Is this really the hill you want to die on?" She gave a toothy, malicious grin. There were a few moments of silence between them, everything still except the dancing firelight of the nearby torches. "Urdal's not gonna be happy about this," grumbled the guard as he moved out of the way. "Tell Urdal he can suck my dick. If he got off his lazy ass and went on some raids now and then, maybe I'd let him tell me where I can and can't go." The guard muttered something about a "stupid bitch" but Rrehn was already gone.
The loot tent, as it was so eloquently called, wasn't exactly organized. Everything was in piles on the ground, roughly sorted by purpose. Rrehn grabbed a backpack and started filling it with whatever she thought would help. Some rusty chainmail, a dented shield, a worn longsword. Nothing too valuable, nothing that the camp would miss enough to make them send people after her. As she was packing up a couple coins from the pile of valuables, a gleam of silver caught her eye. Buried in the pile was a small amulet, with an image of the sun embossed on it. Like so many other feelings that night, Rrehn couldn't explain why she felt this piece of jewelry was so important, but she always trusted her gut. Hurriedly, she pocketed the amulet and slung the bag over her shoulder. The sun would be up soon, and she didn't want to stick around any longer than she had to.
With the camp behind her, Rrehn set off down the eastern road into the rising sun. She didn't know where exactly she was headed, other than that it wasn't camp. Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a man standing in the middle of the road, about a hundred feet away. He was dressed in simple traveller's clothes and had short white hair, but he didn't appear to be elderly. Curiously, he didn't appear to have any sort of supplies or weapons, as if he hadn't been planning on travelling very far. "Well," said the stranger. "I was wondering how long it would take you to sh-" "Move," Rrehn interrupted. The man remained still. "I understand that you must be very confused but-" "Listen, it's been a shitty night. I'm pissed off, and you're in my way. I don't think I need to tell you that's a dangerous place for you to be. Just... get out of my sight and I'll let you live." "I'm afraid I won't be going anywhere, my friend. I've been waiting for you, we have much to discuss." "Whatever the hell you're talking about, I don't have time for it." Rrehn drew her sword. "I'm not going to tell you again." The white-haired man sighed. "This is a very bad idea, friend." "SHUT UP!" roared Rrehn as she charged forward and swung her blade in a powerful overhand slash. The man pulled a gleaming silver sword out of nowhere and effortlessly parried the blow. Unfazed, Rrehn struck at him again and again, but every single strike was deflected without the man so much as breaking a sweat. His movements were elegant, as if part of a practiced dance rather than a life-or-death battle. Rrehn was a fierce fighter, but this stranger could take her on with his eyes closed. He caught her blade with the crossguard of his, locking them together. In a single fluid motion, Rrehn's legs are swept out from under her as her weapon is flung from her hands, landing in the grass nearby. Before she can think, the gnoll is on her back with the tip of this stranger's blade at her throat. "I told you that was a bad idea. Now," he said. "Are you ready to listen?"
"...fine." "Excellent!" The man released his grip and the sword disappeared in a small blink of light. He held out his outstretched hand to help his opponent back up. She stood up on her own. "What's this about?" Rrehn pulled her sword out of the dirt and returned it to the sheath on her back. "Well," said the man. "As I said, I've been waiting for you. We have much to discuss." "Discuss? What the hell are you talking about? Who even are you?" "Ah, my apologies, I haven't even introduced myself. Please, call me Aedrian. I am a Deva, an emissary of the god Lathander, lord of birth and renewal, though I'm not here on any ‘official' business. Of course, I already know all about you, Rrehn. You've got quite the violent record, I'm afraid. A great deal of pillaging, murder, some, uh, particular eating habits. If you keep that up, then when you finally pass from this world…" Aedrian sighed. "Well, I'm sure your vision last night showed you how that would end. But that's why I'm here: I believe you can still be redeemed." "My vision? How the hell did you know about that?" Rrehn was nervous now. She hadn't mentioned her vision to anyone, much less someone from outside the camp. There was no way he could have known about that, unless... "It's simple: I was the one who showed you that vision. Oh come now, don't give me that look. This wasn't some kind of possession or mind control. All I did was show you what could be. The decision to act on that information, that was all your choice," said Aedrian. He paused for a moment and looked up at the sky. "Ah, I'm afraid I'll have to cut our meeting a bit short. It seems I'm needed elsewhere. I'll be in contact again soo, but until then I have a job for you. A few miles east of here is a small farming village. I want you to go there and help someone, not steal or murder or anything. I heard they were having some trouble with wolves attacking their sheep, you might start there." Aedrian rolled his eyes and said to nobody in particular "Yes, I know, I'll be there in a moment!" He turned his attention back to the confused-looking gnoll. "I'm sorry, I really must be going. Until we meet again!" With a quick blink of light, Aedrian had vanished into thin air. Rrehn stood still for a moment, still a little bit dumbstruck by the strange encounter. But now, she had a plan. She had a goal, she had her weapons, and she'd be damned (literally, perhaps) if she didn't follow through. With renewed purpose, Rrehn headed east.
…mostly."
"Well now, someone seems a bit blue," said the squirrel, making his way out of the branches of the oak and into the gnoll's massive, fuzzy arm. "Hey, Aedrian," Rrehn sighed. It was dry under the tree, but the rain just a few feet away was coming down in sheets. Aedrian shook off some of the rain from his silver fur. "You look weary, my child. I assume there's more at play here than just the weather." "Yeah, I haven't been sleeping well," said Rrehn. "I've… nevermind." "Please, Rrehn. I do care about your wellbeing. If there's anything I can do to help, I need to know what the problem is first." "Fine, just don't, like, tell anyone." Aedrian pulled a paw across his mouth in a zipper motion. "I've been having… nightmares." She whispered. "I see. And you haven't had nightmares before?" "Nothing like this. Obviously I've had bad dreams, but those are just my imagination. These are… memories." "Of what?" Aedrian asked. "As long as you're comfortable sharing, of course. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." "No, it's fine," Rrehn waved him off. "It's… two years ago. I'm on the raid at Chance's Hollow. The whole village is on fire, and there's a man sitting on the floor of his house. He's sobbing, holding something-- someone wrapped in a blanket. It's a little girl, her throat torn out. I hear the sound of a child crying, calling for her father, but it's coming out of my mouth. I'm copying her voice, and I'm mocking him. He looks up at me and says… something, but I can't understand it. I feel myself lick the blood off my teeth, I swing my flail, and it's over. That's where I wake up," she takes a shaky breath. "Fuck, man, she was just a kid. She didn't deserve that. Neither did he." The area is silent, except for the falling of the rain. After a moment, Aedrian decided to speak. "This is good." Rrehn stood up in shock. "How the FUCK is that good?!" Aedrian raised two paws. "Please, wait! I didn't mean it like that. I am, of course, upset that you're suffering. But the fact that you're suffering mean that our efforts are working. You've been ignoring your conscience for so long that it's built up a sort of… backlog. There's a lot to go through, after all." "I… guess that makes sense," Rrehn said, calming slightly. "How do I stop the dreams, then?" Aedrian sighed. "Unfortunately, that will just take time. You never really stopped yourself from feeling the guilt of your sins, you only pushed it until later. And ‘later' is, well, now. It's like the rain, I suppose. It's not fun to be in, but it's necessary for you to grow. I promise you, though, the nightmares will go away eventually. But you'll have to feel them first." "Shit, all of them?" Aedrian smiled. "I never said this would be easy. But I did say it will be worth it." Rrehn sat back down, leaning against the tree. Aedrian climbed on top of her lap. "It better be."
"See the d-dog… run… ran?" Rrehn threw the book at the opposite side of the tent. "This is stupid! All the other kids are learning how to fight, why do I have to stay in here with these dumb books?" Gorah sighed and rose from her seat next to Rrehn. She moved to the other end of the shelter and picked up the book, as she had for the third time that day. "Because," she said, brushing the dirt off of its cardboard pages. "You need to learn how to read. You need to learn how to think." Gorah placed the book back into her child's hands. "Besides, I'm sure you could already win against any one of those cowards out there." The pair smiled at each other, but Rrehn quickly caught herself and began pouting. "Why do I have to learn how to read? Why doesn't anyone else?" "Because, songbird, if I tried to teach twenty-plus cubs how to read at the same time, I'd go insane. You're trouble enough as it is! Maybe once you're reading on your own, we'll teach everyone else too." "But why do any of us have to learn? It's dumb and frustrating and a waste of time, and I hate it! Why can't I just go outside with everyone else?" "Rrehn." Gorah leaned in close, coming eye to eye with her daughter. "You might be strong, but in this world pure strength isn't enough. To be able to learn from the past, to understand the teachings of those who came before you, will be the difference between our pack simply surviving as a group of raiders and living in a land of our own. Do you understand?" "I guess…" The young gnoll curled up with her knees against her chest, the children's book beside her. "Good." Gorah put her arm around Rrehn and pulled her into a hug. "You're going to be something great one day, you know that? But until then…" The matriarch picked up the discarded book and set it in her lap. "Let's try this again. Now, from the beginning, ‘Look at the dog. See the dog run…'"
"Take it straight to Will, got it." said Fizz, grabbing the wrapped plate off of Caecil's table. "Out of curiosity, did you count how many cookies were in this?" "There are four of them, Fizz." Caecilius gave her a look. "You know you could just like, ask for another one, right? There's plenty of ‘em left over," said Rrehn moving a couple empty cups to the sink. "Yeah," whined the goblin. "But where's the fun in that?" Rrehn rolled her eyes as Libé and Fizz opened the door to a dark and cloudy Raventide. "See you guys later!" waved Fizz, heading off toward the Indigo. "Don't get caught in the rain!
It had been a pretty successful dinner all around. Will couldn't make it because of work, but the other four had certainly enjoyed themselves. Rrehn had prepared a lovely roast ham with garlic mushrooms, while Caecil baked some astonishingly-sweet-smelling bread and cookies. Fizz rarely ate much, but Caecil's baking was always an exception. Libé was just happy to be there. But of course, every dinner comes to an end. And with that end comes dishes.
Caecil, of course, had told Rrehn not to worry about it. Rrehn, of course, told her she'd do no such thing. Fortunately, between the two of them the dishes went quickly. Unfortunately, the rain came even more quickly, and it wasn't long before there was a veritable downpour just outside the door.
"Well, uh, I guess I'll see you around. I had fun tonight," said Rrehn. She grabbed her massive cloak from the hook on the wall, and began to fasten it around her shoulders. Thunder cracked as lighting lit up the sky outside, showing the nearly-flooded streets of the town. The gnoll paused for a moment.
"You're not serious, right?" said Caecil. "You're not actually going to go outside in this weather?"
"I mean, unless you can teach me how to teleport, I'm not seeing another option."
"Well, you could…" Caecil thought for a moment. "You could just stay here tonight."
"Here? I mean, I appreciate the offer but it doesn't exactly look like you've got space for a guest room here."
"Oh, uh, don't worry, I'll take the couch." Caecil waved it off, but she realized she hadn't thought that far ahead when she offered.
Rrehn sighed. "You sure? It's not like I've got anywhere to be, but I don't want to impose or whatever."
"It's fine!" said Caecil, perhaps a bit louder than she intended. "But, I can't imagine you have any of your overnight supplies with you. I've got some spare toiletries, and I might have some extra pajamas that… well, I don't think they're your size, but they'll be as close as we can get."
"Pajamas?" Rrehn scoffed. "I mean, if you're offering, sure."
For one person, Caecil certainly had a stocked closet. She moved around several hangers of shirts and dresses (and more than a couple of lacy underclothes, which she hurriedly pushed aside) and pulled out a sheer pink nightgown.
"Here it is," she said, handing the hanger and gown to her friend. "I'm afraid I don't have a lot of clothes for someone of your… frame, but hopefully this should fit."
Rrehn looked it over. It's not what she would normally wear to bed, but it would work. "Alright, I'll give it a shot."
As Rrehn stepped out of the bathroom, Caecil was quickly tidying up various books and pieces of laundry from the bedroom floor.
"Sorry about the mess," she said, picking up a half-finished piece of paperwork. "I wasn't really expecting anyone to-" She turned around and stopped dead in her tracks.
"So, how do I look?" said the re-dressed gnoll, leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on her face. "Stunning, right?"
"I- uh-" stammered Caecil, her face growing violet. "You look… great."
"Knew it. Hell, I might just have to keep this. Bit on the shorter side though, don't you think?"
"...You look great," said Caecil, staring.
"Stunning indeed."
The pair stood there looking at each other for what certainly felt a lot longer than it was.
"Well, uh, good night I guess," said Rrehn.
Caecil snapped out of her daze and replied. "Right! Yeah, good night. I'll… see you tomorrow I guess."
They both paused awkwardly for a moment, until Caecil picked up a set of nightclothes from a small pile on the floor and excused herself to the living room.
A few hours later, Caecil awoke bleary-eyed and confused to a strange noise coming from her bedroom. Movement against fabric, and… muffled speech. Loud enough to be heard over the rain outside. Was it Fizz? Sometimes she showed up unannounced. No, Fizz wouldn't make that much noise. Stray animals? Burglars? Whatever it was, it might be dangerous. She quietly picked up her weapon from its hanger by the front door, and crept over to the bedroom's entrance.
"Raventide guard, put your hands up!" shouted Caecil, opening up the door and pointing her blade at whoever was in the room. She froze when she saw the scene inside.
At Caecil's shout, Rrehn sat up straight on the bed. She was breathing heavily, and had a panicked expression on her face. Her hair was wild and she was half wrapped in the blanket, as if she'd been wrestling with it. One pillow was on the other side of the room and was torn open, spilling cotton filling on the floor.
"...Rrehn?" said Caecil, lowering her weapon. "Are you okay?"
The gnoll's breath became shaky, and put her head in her hands. "Oh, gods," she muttered.
Caecil set down her scimitar and moved over to the bed, sitting beside her friend. "What… happened?"
Rrehn took a moment to catch her breath and fix her gown. "It's… It's nothing. I just..." She paused, not sure what she wanted to say.
Caecil carefully put her hand on top of Rrehn's. Rrehn didn't pull away. "If you don't feel comfortable telling me, that's okay. You don't have to."
Rrehn shook her head and took a deep breath. She looked at the drow, but then closed her eyes. "Sometimes I get… nightmares. Not super often, and they always go away, but… this was one of the worst ones I've had in a while."
"Nightmares? About what?" asked Caecil. "Er, I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"
Rrehn waved her hand. "No, it's fine. Usually just… things I've done. Bad things. People in pain, pain that I caused. But not always. Sometimes they're scary, like in sort of an existential way. Sometimes, though, they're just… weird. Hell, there was one where I was… fighting myself on a boat? Except the me that I was fighting was kind of just a horse with my face, then it bit me and all my fur fell out." Though still a bit shaky, she gave a slight smile. "Yeah, I kind of gave up on trying to interpret that one."
"I see," said Caecil, obviously a bit taken aback. "Is there… anything I can do to help?"
"Nah," said Rrehn. "It usually goes away when I go back to sleep. Just, uh…" Rrehn's voice went quiet. "Don't tell everyone else, okay? It's not really something I want to be common knowledge, y'know?"
"I understand," said Caecil, giving the gnoll's had a squeeze. "my lips are sealed."
The two sat quietly on the bed for a couple minutes, until Caecil broke the silence.
"Well, it's late. I should probably get back to bed. Are you going to be okay?"
Rrehn nodded. "Should be. Uh, thanks… For all of this, I mean."
Caecil smiled. "Any time." She rose from the bed and moved to the door.
"Wait," called out Rrehn's voice from behind her. Caecil turned around, but Rrehn was avoiding her gaze. "This is probably gonna sound weird, but can you… stay here? At least for a bit. I dunno, I just think I'd feel better knowing… y'know, that someone's there. I can make some space on the bed, or you could pull up a chair, or-" Rrehn took a breath. "...please?"
Caecil grabbed the chair from her desk and sat it against the wall next to the bed. She smiled at Rrehn. "Don't worry. I'll be right here, no matter what."
Rrehn awoke to sunlight on her face and the sound of quiet music coming from the living room. Through the open door, she saw the light of Caecil's Sending Stone as its morning alarm went off. She heard a muffled groan from beside her as Caecil herself woke up, and Rrehn noticed something strange. Caecil wasn't in her chair. Rather, she was in the bed beside Rrehn, with her arms around the gnoll. It was a peculiar but not unpleasant sight. As Caecil awoke, Rrehn thought of feigning sleep to give the guard captain a chance to save face. But where's the fun in that? "Couldn't stay away, could you?" Rrehn quipped to Caecil. "I don't blame you, of course. I mean, I gave you the choice to sleep in the same bed as this," Rrehn gestured to herself. "You'd have to be insane not to take it!" Caecil immediately sat up and stared wide-eyed at Rrehn. "I- the- I don't remember-" Caecil's face was quickly changing color to a violet blush, a sight that Rrehn was beginning to enjoy very much. "Work! I have to go to work, I'm going to be late!" The elf scrambled out of the bed and to her closet, pulling out a new uniform and frantically throwing it on. She rushed into the living room and grabbed her Stone, before rushing out the door. "What," Rrehn called out from the bed. "No kiss ‘goodbye'?" It was too late though, and the elf was already out of sight. Rrehn laughed as she pulled off the covers and stretched. She was going to have to come over for dinner more often.
Rrehn sat her journal down beside her as she stood up and stretched in the dying firelight. Just one more hour, she thought. One more hour until my shift is over and I can finally get some godsdamned sleep. She looked at the sleeping forms of her friends, almost jealous.
Suddenly, her stomach growled loudly. Rrehn dug around in her pack and pulled out her last ration, though it was little more than a half-stale piece of hardtack. They'd be coming up on the next town by midday tomorrow, so she'd probably be fine with no breakfast. She ate it in one bite, but it did little to quell her hunger. Alright, sleeping can wait. Once Libé's shift comes up, I'll go hunt down a rabbit or something. But the growling continued. Rrehn crept over to Caecil's bag. She always kept extra snacks, and Rrehn could just pay her back tomorrow. She began shoveling pawfuls of trail mix, dried fruits, and brownies into her mouth. But the growling continued. It was so loud now, that Rrehn was surprised it hadn't woken up the others. As the growling grew louder, Rrehn became even hungrier, and felt as though she hadn't eaten in weeks. She had to get something substantial. She had to get meat. The rest of the group would be fine if she left for a minute or two, right? Just long enough to chase down a rabbit or a deer. But then she realized the growling had changed. It had moved. In the back of her head, she felt it. A powerful, bestial growling. Like a starved wolf at the first sign of dinner. There was no time to hunt something. She knew that if she didn't eat right now, she was going to die. The growling changed again, now loud enough to drain out all other noise. It changed into a deep, demonic voice, which spoke from inside her head. "Pitiful creatures. Look at them. Thin hides, teeth made for chewing fruits and leaves. Not like you. You are strong. Stronger than them. In this world, the weak serve only one purpose to the strong." In understanding, the gnoll drew her axe.
She started with the noisy one. It would be easier without having to worry about him waking the others. With one swing, it was over, and his bells jingled one last time. But the gnoll was still hungry. The monk was next. A tricky one to pin down, but he slept right here. Unprotected. His flesh tasted of lies. But the gnoll was still hungry. After that was the drow. The strongest of the weaklings, the queen of the peasants. And she tasted even sweeter than she did in life. But the gnoll was still hungry. As the gnoll crept to the sleeping shape of the goblin, it got an idea. "Fizz, wake up!" it shouted. The goblin sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Rrehn? What's going o-" The goblin froze as she saw the gnoll's cruel grin, dripping with viscera. She scrambled to run, but she wasn't quick enough. Not this time. And the gnoll was sated.
Rrehn blinked a couple times, trying to regain her faculties. "Ugh, my head," she groaned. As her vision returned, Rrehn saw the most horrific sight she had ever thought imaginable. Piles of gore that used to be her friends, her own hands and mouth slick with blood. Rrehn collapsed and was immediately sick in the grass. From behind her, a familiar voice rang out. "Rrehn, is everything alright?" said Aedrian, stepping out of the woods. "I felt something strange, so I came as quick as I cou- oh." His expression was not one of horror or shock, as Rrehn had expected, but one of disappointment. He sighed. "I should've known it was a waste of time. Foolish of me to expect that I could ever turn something like you good." Aedrian drew his silver sword and approached the kneeling creature. Between sobs, Rrehn pleaded with him. "W-wait, stop! It wasn't my fault, I swear!" but the angel continued towards her. "Rrehn, Rrehn, Rrehn…" muttered Aedrian, shaking his head. He raised his sword and swung. And as the blade connected with her neck, Rrehn heard the growling voice laugh.
"...Rrehn, Rrehn!" The cleric flinched and opened her eyes, to see Fizz and Caecil above her, shaking her awake. "Are you okay?" said Fizz. "You were freaking out, you almost punched Caecil in your sleep!" Rrehn took a second to gather her wits, and she saw her four friends there. Alive. Libé was still asleep and Leon was a healthy distance away, but they were all breathing. She pulled Fizz and Caecil into a tight hug and mumbled what was likely the strangest thing either of them had heard her say.
"I promise I'll never eat you guys."
"This one?" asked Rrehn, selecting a key at random from the jingling keyring.
"No, it's the- the gray one right there," slurred Caecil. Even with one arm wrapped around the gnoll, she was still unsteady. "This one?" "The other gray one, with the shiny thing on it." "Why the hell d'you have so many keys anyways?" Rrehn slid the worn key into the front door. "What do they even go to?" "No id-hic," hiccupped Caecil. "No idea. Most of them are ones I had to confic- conscif- take from Fizz." "Figures." Rrehn opened the door to Caecil's darkened apartment. The sun had set many hours ago, and the glow of the streetlamps outside did little to light up the room. Fortunately, Rrehn more or less knew her way around the apartment, even in the darkness. She guided the unsteady drow towards the bed and sat her down on the edge. "Hold on, I'm gonna get some light." Rrehn lit a couple lamps around the room, filling it with a pleasant warm glow. Now able to see more clearly, she took stock of the scene.
Right where she'd set her on the bed, Caecil was swaying in place. Violet blush covered her face, and her mouth was almost stuck in a blissful (if chemically induced) smile. The front of her shirt was almost entirely covered in a large wet spot that stank of ale, thanks to a patron of the Indigo with particularly poor balance. A shame, really. It was a nice shirt. Caecil kicked off her one shoe (the other of which Rrehn had stashed in her bag after nearly losing it on the walk over) as she sat back on the bed. Clearly, she'd had a good night. Honestly, Rrehn was surprised that she was still this well put together. Caecil had been matching her drink for drink the entire night, which is much more impressive when your partner is immune to alcohol.
Rrehn laughed. "Jeez, Thaig. You're a mess. Come on, it's bedtime." Rrehn walked back over to the bed. "Take that off or your whole bed's gonna smell like stale beer." "Wow," Caecil giggled. "Already trying to get me to take my shirt off? You don't waste time, do you?" "Wh- no, I didn't- that's not what I meant," stammered Rrehn. Caecil laughed again, undoing her buttons. "You know you're cute when you're embarrassed." She threw the shirt onto a pile of laundry nearby and laid back on the bed, her head on the pillow and her eyes closed. "R-right, I'll take your word for it."
There was a moment of awkward silence (at least for Rrehn). The gnoll cleared her throat. "Well, uh, unless there's anything you need, I should probably go make sure Leon and the others get home safe." Rrehn turned around towards the door. "Y'know, just to-" "Rrehnnnnnn," interrupted Caecil. "I want youuu." "You want me to stay here? Yeah, I guess Libé's probably got it handled, I could stay and make sure you're okay tonight." "Noooo," said Caecil. She grabbed Rrehn's arm and, with surprising strength, pulled her into the bed. The gnoll yelped as she unexpectedly found herself on top of Caecil, very close to her face. "I want youuuu." "Oh." Rrehn suddenly became very aware of how underdressed Caecil was, now that they were inches apart. "Wait, like ‘want me' want me? I don't- I mean, we've never-" Caecil replied with a particularly long wine-flavored kiss. She wrapped her arms around the gnoll's neck. Rrehn gave a nervous laugh. "Guess that answers that, huh?" "So? What do you say?"
Rrehn looked into Caecil's eyes, which stared back at her seductively. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and she was certain that her blush could be seen through her fur. "Gods above," muttered Rrehn weakly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she balled up some of the sheets in her fists. "You have absolutely no idea how much I want that." "Good, because I w-" "But," continued Rrehn. "I just…" She sighed again as she pulled her leg out from above Caecil and stood up beside the bed. "Tell you what." She planted a kiss on Caecil's forehead. "Ask me again tomorrow, once you're… feeling better, and I will absolutely rock your world. Until then, I'll wait here. Okay?" Caecil rolled over onto her side, facing Rrehn. "Tease," she mumbled, half-muffled by the pillow. Rrehn smiled as she put out the lights. She sat in Caecil's reading chair, making herself as comfortable as she could be. "Night, Caecil." The drow mumbled something unintelligible, and was snoring softly within a few minutes.
Rrehn awoke to the pleasant sounds of birds chirping outside and someone throwing up in the bathroom nearby. She stood up from the chair and stretched, a little stiff, and got two glasses of water from the kitchen.
"Good morning," she said, leaning against the doorway to the bathroom. "Doesn't feel like it," moaned the drow, her head in her hands. "Doesn't look like it either. Remember much from last night?" Rrehn handed one of the glasses to Caecil. "Just… bits and pieces. Most of it's blurry. There was that guy at the Indigo with the bird, and Fizz was trying to teach it swears, and you brought me back here…" Caecil groaned. "Gods, did I say anything stupid last night? I feel like I said something stupid." Rrehn grinned. "Oh yeah, you started reciting improv poetry to everyone in the Indigo, not your best work either." She took a moment to appreciate the look on Caecil's face. "Kidding. Don't worry, nothing worth mentioning." "Good, Good. I think I was supposed to ask you something today. Do you have any idea what that was?" Rrehn smiled back. "If you don't remember, I'm sure it wasn't important." "Yeah, you're probably right." Caecil sipped some of the water. The two sat there for a moment in silence, each glad to have the other there. "Hey Rrehn?" asked Caecil, a bit confused. "Hm?"
"...Did you say something about ‘rocking someone's world'?"
That laugh. That godsforsaken laugh. I hear it every night when I fall asleep. I close my eyes and I see my home, burning in the dark. I hear Saria screaming for me, surrounded by the corpses of our friends. I reach out to grab her, to save her from those monsters, these demons, but her hand turns to dust in mine. And then I run. I run away like a coward, leaving my wife and unborn child to fend for themselves. I run until my lungs feel like fire and my feet collapse under me. And then I wake up, but that laughter still rings in my ears.
Every night for the past three years, I've had that nightmare. I thought if I moved far away that I could outrun it, leave it behind in the ashes of my village. But it follows me. I've tried to drown it out with drink and work, but nothing helps. That's how I found myself here, at the bar of the Gnarled Branch, thinking that maybe this time it will work. I'll drink until the nightmares stop, or until I quit waking up. And then I heard that godsforsaken laugh. But it was different. For the first time in three years, it wasn't coming from inside my head.
I sat down my mug and stood up. It came from the side room. Hands shaking, I peered past the doorway, and I saw it. The demon that killed my wife. It was sitting at the table, surrounded by four people. A disgusting, hulking beast, covered in mangy brown fur. And the people were laughing with it, like it was one of them. Like it wasn't a murderer. Then I realized why I was there, why three years of wandering had led me to this specific tavern at this specific time. And I knew how to make the nightmares stop.
Heart pounding, I returned to my room. From my bag, I pulled out my dagger and unsheathed it. Seven inches long, dwarven steel. It was a wedding present, from Saria's father. I grimaced. It's poetic, I suppose. I sheathed the dagger again, attaching it to my belt. I needed to be careful. If I tried to attack with its "companions" around, I'd be struck down before I could fulfill my duty. I needed to be careful. It was just like hunting any other beast, just like Father taught me.
It took two days before I could get it alone. Two days of watching it pretend to be a person, mimicking humanity. Two days of it sleeping in the same building as me, just footsteps away. Every time I saw it, I could barely hold back my anger. I wanted to make it suffer, as it had made Saria suffer. But I steeled myself. I knew I would only get one shot, I couldn't afford to be reckless. It mentioned something about an "Aedrian", some kind of cohort it seemed. Apparently, the demon had expected to meet with them soon. That was my chance. I wrote a small note, and had the tavernkeep deliver it, with a small bonus for keeping quiet about who sent it. "Meet me at the ruins a mile south of town, alone. -A". I had no idea if it would work, but it was my only chance.
As the fog rolled in the next day, I waited at the ruins anxiously. It used to be an old watchtower, but was little more than a pile of rubble now. There was no sign of the demon for most of the morning, and I was ready to give up until I saw it approaching from the north road. Just as planned, it was alone. I ducked down behind the rocks as I waited for it to arrive. My heart raced as its shadow passed over me. Silently, I unsheathed my blade, and made one final prayer to Tyr, should his hand guide my justice. For Saria, I thought, as I leaped onto the demon's back, and plunged my dagger into its shoulder. It screamed as it spun around, and I felt its claws dig at my back. With immeasurable force, it flung me into the stones of the watchtower. My body collided into the wall with a sickening crack and my vision blurred. As everything went black, I saw the demon rip my knife out of its shoulder as it moved towards me, claws bloody. In the darkness, for just one moment, I saw Saria looking back at me from Elysium.
And then I woke up.
As my vision returned, the first thing I saw was the demon looking over me. My heart sank. I had failed. This was all for nothing, and now the demon was going to kill me too.
"...then she brought down her axe and wham!" Rrehn slammed her fist into the grass beside her for emphasis. "Three direwolves dead in twenty seconds! Four, if you count the one she bit through before the others showed up. Anyways, she brought me back to the camp and I swear I thought she was gonna kill me instead of the wolves. But nah, she just sat me down in our tent and told me to never leave camp without telling her again." Rrehn stretched out in the sun and tore off another chunk of bread from her bundled lunch. "To be honest? I think that's the only time I'd ever seen her scared." "I see," said Aedrian, taking a sip from his cup of coffee. He hadn't touched the lunch Rrehn had made since her story began. Aedrian thought she had a very… explicit way of telling these stories. "Your mother sounds like a remarkable woman." Rrehn laughed. "You can say that again. One hell of a leader, one hell of a fighter, and one hell of a parent. Where else on earth could you find a woman like that?"
"An excellent question, and I'm certain that plenty of people would want to know the answer. Speaking of, what about your father?" Rrehn sat up. "What about him?" "You've told me all about your mother, Gorah. But not a single word about her mate. Is there bad blood, perhaps?" "Bad blood?" Rrehn scoffed. "There's no blood. I haven't told you anything about him because I don't know anything about him. He wasn't around when I was growing up, and mom never said anything about him. Hell, I don't have so much as a name." "Hm. I imagine that would make finding him much harder." Rrehn shrugged. "Why bother? Either he's dead or he doesn't want anything to do with me, and I don't think I'm gonna change either of those any time soon." "I see." Aedrian sat his cup down in the grass. "I apologize for bringing it up." "Nah, you're fine," said Rrehn, waving her hand dismissively. "It's not a sore spot or anything, it's just… not a spot at all."
The two sat quietly in the shade for a moment, just enjoying the beautiful summer weather. Slowly, Rrehn sat up against the tree, pulling in her legs. "Hey, uh. You guys have some magic angel way to find people up there, right?" Aedrian pursed his lips in a polite smile. "I think I know what you're getting at. But I'm sorry, Rrehn. I'm afraid my work keeps me very busy. Even our meetings are ‘on the clock', so to speak, and I can't make any promises that I'll be able to help with this." "Right, yeah, of course," Rrehn waved him off. "It's just, if you hear anything…" The angel placed a gentle but firm hand on Rrehn's shoulder. His smile seemed more genuine now. "You'll be the first to know."
"Alright, what about you?" Rrehn asked, a little more relaxed.
"What do you mean?" Aedrian seemed confused by the question. "Do you know your parents? Actually, do you have parents? I don't really know how angels work." "Well, a deva like myself isn't born, per se. Angels are created from the astral essence of our deity. I suppose you could call Lathander my progenitor, but in a way, aren't all living things children of the Morninglord?" Rrehn rolled her eyes at that last sentence.
tagged: angst, light rrehncil, i wanted to include apollyon more but i don't know how to write him
"...and to a job well done!" Apollyon raised his mug in a toast. It was a job well done. Escorting lumber shipments wasn't flashy or exciting, but it certainly paid well. Well enough for a great meal at the [inn.name], with enough left over for everyone to have some spending money. Rrehn, Caecil, and Cecilia raised their mugs in response.
Except for the four, the inn was… surprisingly empty. There were a couple of regulars nursing drinks at the bar, but it seemed that everyone else was busy with preparations for the harvest festival.
The meal was excellent, and before long everyone had had their fill of food and drink. "Gods," said Rrehn, stretching out in her seat. "Any other secret five-star places around here? You're not holding out on me, are you Polly?"
Apollyon smiled and took another sip of his drink. "Well, I have to keep some secrets, don't I?"
Cecilia tugged on his sleeve. "Hey, we've still got those, uh, ‘reports' to fill out back at the guild hall. How about we go take care of those? I'm sure these two won't cause too much trouble unsupervised." She eyed Rrehn and Caecil in a not-so-subtle way.
"Reports? I didn't know we were supposed to-" Cecilia tugged his sleeve again and gave an even less subtle glance to the two across the table. "Oh, those reports! Yes, we should definitely go fill out those ‘reports'. That we have. And are supposed to do." Apollyon winked at them as he and Cecilia stood up. Caecil rolled her eyes at Cecilia's ruse, if it could even be called that. Rrehn didn't react.
"Bye, you two!" Cecilia waved from the door. Her and Apollyon left, and soon Rrehn and Caecil were alone at the table.
"Ugh, Cecilia's always got to play matchmaker," Caecil said, leaning in towards Rrehn. "Not that I'm complaining, of course."
"Yeah," said Rrehn. "She's uh, something else alright." There was a moment of quiet between them until Caecil spoke up again.
"Rrehn, are you feeling okay?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Maybe I'm making it up, but you've been… I don't know, kind of moody today? Is something wrong?"
Rrehn gave a smile. "No, uh, I'm fine."
Caecil's face fell and she stared at her friend. "You know you're a terrible liar."
Rrehn sighed and straightened up in her chair. "I just keep thinking… what if we never go back? What if we're just stuck here, forever?"
Caecil paused for a moment to think. "Is that so bad though? To be here, with me, Apollyon, and the rest of the Priory?"
"Of course not, it's great here, and… you know there's no one else I'd rather be here with. I just… I know it's been half a year and I thought I'd gotten used to it, but… Caecil, we don't belong here. And I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way."
Rrehn swirled around her drink absentmindedly. It felt like the world was silent except for them.
"That's not all, is it?" Caecil said quietly. "I know you, Rrehn. I know when you're hiding something from me."
Rrehn was silent. It was true. She responded with a whisper. "It's my fault."
"Your fault? What do you mean?"
"It's all ‘cause of that gods-damned urn." Rrehn clenched her hands. "If I hadn't brought it back, or hell, if I hadn't picked it up in the first place… Leon wouldn't've missed out on twenty years of being with his parents, you and Libé wouldn't've gotten stuck here, and Raventide… Gods, Fizz was right. We should've just stayed in Raventide. Maybe when the marauders came, we could've fought them off. Maybe we could've saved more people. Maybe we could've-"
Caecil grabbed Rrehn by the shoulders with surprising force. "Rrehn. Look at me. You had no possible way of knowing this would happen! You can't blame yourself for every bad thing that happened over two decades, just because you put some ashes back. And maybe you're right. Maybe we never will get back to our time. But… there are people out there now who need heroes." Caecil cracked a smile. "So while we're here, we may as well do what we do best."
Rrehn pulled her into a hug. "You're right. I just… I hate the waiting."
Caecil's eyes lit up. "Oh, speaking of waiting, we should probably go check on Cecilia and Apollyon. See how those ‘reports' are coming along." She grabbed Rrehn's hand and stood up, and the two walked out the door into the cool autumn night.
what matters most to your character? and what happens when that's violently ripped from them?
for some reason or another, rrehn hurts/kills caecil/another friend. why did it happen? was she possessed? surprised? deceived? if she isn't in her right mind when it happens, how does she find out? how does she react?
-rrehn wakes up in hospital -big ouchie in her torso -stab wound -wtf happened last night -magic wraithblade -normal healing magic don't work -doctor tells others shes awake -they come in -fizz accidentally steps on rrehn's wound -classic fizz -everyone is happy she's ok -except -caecil seems off -once others leave, caecil talks to rrehn -she feels guilty -she overextended -rrehn did a get down mrs president -and got hurt -they hug -"never do that again." or -remember when rrehn said she wasn't gonna overextend anymore because she almost died? -whoops -that's a lot of cultists -at least caecil's there -everyone else is lagging behind -get down mr president -oopsie doodle ritual knife to the gut -uh oh decision time -heal her or attack the baddies -its chill, says caecil -i got lay on hands -go get em tiger -libé and leon show up too for some support -cultists go down -heals up caecil afterwards -but -rrehn seems mad -y u mad -bcos u got hurt and it was my falt -pls -never do that again
The raids that Rrehn's old pack conducted were quite "thorough". But sometimes, people get away. What happens when a survivor sees Rrehn?