Needs some editing

Mike Holmes Isadora stands in the circle of the elders. Dhazari nods to her to indicate that it's time for her to speak. He set this meet up with the old men, and stands to the side helping Isadora with the ettiquete. On the other side of the ring from Dhazari the new leader of the Rhiani warriors stands where his predescesor would have, trying to look intimidating. Okhfels Okhfels stands on the edge of the circle, arms crossed over his chest, a quirked grin on his face.

• Isadora is dressed in the best of her remaining city finery, all silk and tooled leather and hair-braided precision. She begins, "Our people have lived side by side for some time now, with some uneasiness. I think we are at a crossroads, and that we must move forward together or both groups will suffer."

Mike Holmes One of the elders who seems to be taking the lead in the listening department adjusts his akimbo frame and grunts a bit as if to say, "Ok, and?" Isadora "I know that some of you wish to return to the desert," Isadora continues, "to keep the honor of your ways. Others have found friends or prosperity among us." She looks around the circle evenly, not singling anyone out with her stare. "I come before you because I wish to go forward with the Rhiani, but I cannot do so as a child among you--and I believe it is possible to also honor your traditions." Mike Holmes Even as the elder makes another encouraging grunt, the leader of the warriors makes a grunt of his own indicating disagreement. Okhfels Okhfels makes an interrogative grunt in the warrior's direction.

• Isadora keeps speaking for the whole audience, but her eyes are now fixed on the warrior. "But isn't keeping to the rites of purification while Sherezak lies in ruin like tending the cut on your finger when your heart has been cut out? Returning to the desert will not bring the tribes together again, but we could make a new place for them." Now she looks back to the elder.

Mike Holmes Isadora remembers that the new head warrior is named Aranpatok. Not nearly as impressive as the man who'd lead the charge at the rock beast, he is nonetheless still a Rhiani warrior of some stature. All the more impressive, therefore that he backs down before Okhfels' masculine signalling. Mike Holmes The elder seems to simply sit stock still for a few moments, ignoring the interplay between Okhfels and Aranpatok. Then he says, "You have more to say. We would hear it." Mike Holmes Isadora can't see any magic going on, but it does seem that either the other elders are not involved, or they're all communicating telepathically. Isadora Isadora says, "The tribes need a new place to meet. If not here--where we have already half-begun the work--then where? Why waste the blood that has already poured into this earth?" She lifts her chin, then, and says, "But we are not your children--I will not bind my men to this place if they will be treated without honor." Okhfels Okhfels smiles wider. Mike Holmes "And how do we retain our purity and honor here?" The question is not a challenge from Elder Moorak, but a simple query.

• Isadora laughs. "After my time here, if there is anything on this earth that I believe in, it's the stubbornness and clarity of the Rhiani. If you see a vision in Green Lake at all, it will be pure."

Mike Holmes Moorak purses his lips and tilts his head. Almost a diatribe in his terms. One can see plain on his face that he's pondering whether or not this is flattery, or truth. Isadora Looking around at everyone, Isadora says, "Some of you may doubt my sincerity. Ask Egani, ask Okhfels, ask Dhazari or Fahd--I have made sacrifices for this place, already, that I would not have made for a dishonorable people." Her chin lifts. "Anyone who doubts me should stand forward and say it." Mike Holmes Dhazari makes a nearly imperceptible gesture of approval at this tactic. Very Rhiani. Okhfels Okhfels steps forward, and puts his hand on Isadora's shoulder. "Your folk and mine both came from this place. Ages ago, our fathers lived here, together, one people. Now, we are coming back. Something very special is happening here. What was broken, is slowly being made whole. Okhfels ... Okhfels "You can see it happening. The men who follow me have shown that men of different folk can unite. Now, it can happen for all of us. Stay. Riani are a fair people, proud, pure, and prudent. It is right that the Riani should stay and help build." Okhfels Okhfels smiles and opens his arms. Mike Holmes Murmurs circulate all around the ring in which the pair stand. After a bit, Moorak holds his hand high. "The elders will consider this tonight." Mike Holmes Slowly the old men get up and retreat into the largest of tents behind them. As they go, Isadora gets a feeling from Moorak's retreat that somehow he has taken to her and Okhfels, and that the decision will be positive. Mike Holmes However...on the other side of the circle, the warriors seem to still be quite in opposition. They hold their tongues for now, respecting the right of the elders to decide this particular matter of tribe policy.

• Isadora squeezes Okhfels' hand and says to him and Dhazari, "Thank you."

Mike Holmes As the ring breaks up, Dhazari approaches, and says, "No, no, thank you." Mike Holmes He smiles broadly. Okhfels Okhfels nods, satisfied.

Haikain sits with Suteh beside the lake. The waterfinder mystic, as usual, seems to not have many words. Haikain has come to understand that this is an effect of the lake. Mike Holmes After a long while, Suteh looks at Haikain and say slowly, "Is this water, to your knowledge, good water, oh speaker with spirits?" Haikain "Good? I don't know if I would use that word. What do you mean by good?" Mike Holmes "Water is life," he says enigmatically. "As it passes through us, it purifies us, or poisons us. Bodies, yes. But also the spirit." Mike Holmes "What does this water do to the spirit?" Haikain "I feel that that would depend on your spirit." Haikain winks. "With me, it was...patient. Gentle, but not loving." Haikain "It is very different from the waters of my home." Mike Holmes Suteh nods and goes back to contemplating the water some more. Mike Holmes The sun glints off his bald pate, ritually shaven as all of his cult do. Haikain "What is the water like from your home? Where is your home, if you don't mind me asking?"

• Haikain shuffles through his sachel of maps as he awaits an answer

Mike Holmes "Well, this has been home many times. Yet I still do not know this water as well as I'd like. The water I find in the desert is the water I know best," he replies. Mike Holmes "The water of the desert makes one whole." Haikain "Which desert...?" Haikain pulls out a large sheet of vellum and peers at it, listening intently Mike Holmes "Well, the Rhiani Plain, to be precise," Suteh says. "To the south and east of here."

• Haikain beams. "Excellent! Tell me, know you anything of this region here, just north of where the desert ends? I have been unable to travel there as of yet."
• Haikain jabs at a blank spot on the map

Mike Holmes "Ah," says Suteh. "I am not well learned in these things, but I know this...the mountains you see to the northwest here? These become low to the north there..." Mike Holmes Suteh points. Mike Holmes "Those are goblin lands." Mike Holmes "Then to the east of that, another range of mountains begins, which are the end of the world," he continues. Mike Holmes "They are said to be a rampart to the sky." Haikain "Low, you say? Would you say that they..." on 'end of the world' he blinks. "End of the world? Impossible. Have you been there?" Mike Holmes "No," says Suteh. But the waters come from there down into the earth. With no water beyond, what can exist there?" Haikain "Water comes from many places. Have you ever been to the sea?" Mike Holmes "I have been to the river where it passes through Sherezak, and understand that the sea was not far from there," he says. He thinks and then after a bit, "All water is involved with earth. Some do not see that. It is the earth of the plain that purifies the waters. We have to look hard to find it, but when we do, it is good water." Haikain "In the islands of my home, it is the water that gives birth to the earth. The water is bitter and does not give life, but it envelopes the islands like a mother her children, keeping them safe and healthy." Mike Holmes "Island," says Suteh trying out the word. "Like the earth on which temple stands out there?" Mike Holmes Suteh points to the small island in doubt. Haikain "In essence." Haikain looks around. "Imagine that this entire lake was like that earth, and the earth we were sitting on now was water. That is what my home is like." Mike Holmes Suteh's eyes go wide slowly. He turns to Haikain trying to consider whether or not this non-Rhiani might be telling a non-truth to him. Haikain "Here, I'll show you..." Haikain finds a map that shows the Shiin Archipelago Haikain "See, the forms here are the islands...the blank vellum is the sea." He takes the earlier map that they were looking at. "Now, these are in different scales...but this mountain range, here? This is the same length as this series of islands..." Mike Holmes Suteh tries to follow. After a while, "But that is just markings on something, not the real thing. It proves nothing." Mike Holmes He shakes his head. Haikain "Nothing!" Haikain has to take a moment to calm down. Mike Holmes Suteh's eyes are wide again at Haikain's state. "I'm sorry, did I say something to disturb you? Are these holy writings or...?" Haikain "These markings, they are the shape of land and sea as seen by the gods themselves! But I understand your reluctance - I am also not fond of beleiving that which I cannot see. Some day, if the spirits will it, I will journey with you to the sea, and you may see with your own eyes the water that goes past the limits of mortal vision!" Mike Holmes Now it's Suteh's turn to seem disturbed. "What...what would be the point of that much water?" Mike Holmes After a moment, he remebers something, "And I've heard, too, that one cannot drink of this water at all. So what use? It is a desert worse than any other, no?" Haikain Haikain has settled now, and recovers his earlier amiability. "No, you cannot. But...oh, it a beautiful thing. Have you seen great beasts, in your travels? Those that fly, or that stand taller than the trees?" Mike Holmes "I have seen the rock beast that attacked us not long ago. I don't know that I need to see a beast larger and more fearsome than that one," says Suteh. Haikain "The waters of the sea, they are so vast that they contain innumerable creatures far larger than that, supported only by the grace of the waves." His tone indicates a deep reverance. "I myself have seen a leviathan of the deeps, so large that one cannot stand at its head and see its tail, break the waters with its banded back." He is not boasting. "The sea is an entire world, allowed only by the water, that those who dwell on Haikain land can never see or taste or touch." Mike Holmes Suteh can see Haikain's sincerity, and simply nods. After another long pause he says, "But this place is not that world, and yet there is a world in this water, too, is there not? I've sensed it. But you've been to it. Only you have been to it. Only you can tell, then, whether or not these waters are good. Do I make mistake in my reasoning?" Haikain "No, you make no mistake." Haikain stares out over the lake, eyes twinkling, as he considers how to explain... Haikain "My time in the lake...my memories are confused, disjointed. I have many impressions, but few answers for your questions. Is it good? Perhaps. But it is good like the sun that can both give life and scorch the skin, or like the plant that can poison the untutored but provide life for the starving adept." Haikain "I beleive, but I do not know, that it is only my bond with the spirits of my homeland that enticed the spirits of the lake to accept me. I have returned from the lake, but with little more knowledge than when I entered." Mike Holmes "Hmmm...like the desert," says Suteh. "I understand this. But the pain of the sun teaches us to be strong. Are the pains of this lake ones of purification, or ones of temptation? Is the ease of the water, and of the fish of the lake, and of the easy hunting here a lure into weakness and unhappiness? Or can the lake waters make us whole as do looking deep for those of the desert?" Haikain "I do not know. I feel that it will be some time before the lake is done with me."

• Haikain stretches "But, until they are, I am enjoying my time of rest here, broken though it has been."

Mike Holmes Suteh frowns, wanting to know more. "I suppose that I should be glad that these waters make you think deeply. But I have to worry. How can water next to that..." Mike Holmes He points across the water to the White Wood. Mike Holmes "...how can such water be good?"

• Haikain frowns. "When you have a cut on one finger, does that mean you must apply maggots to the next one over?"

Haikain "I share your unease about the strange wood. But I have no such feeling from the lake. And, until I do, I have no reason to distrust it." Mike Holmes Suteh takes a moment to absorb this new information, and then silently nods, going back to looking at the lake.

• Haikain mutters, to himself just loudly enough to be audible "But I have no reason to trust it, either."

Mike Holmes Suteh continues nodding, but the content look is replaced with a furled brow. Mike Holmes "Haikain?" Suteh says

• Haikain shakes his head and turns away from the lake to face Suteh. "Yes, Suteh?"

Mike Holmes "There's somebody in the brush to our right," he says. How he can tell such a thing without looking is a mystery. Haikain "Oh?" Haikain accepts this without question. "Is he dangerous?" Mike Holmes "I don't know..." Suteh says. "But I think it's a she, not a he." Haikain For the first time all night, Haikain looks nervous. "Oh...."

• Orca peers through the leaves at the two men, trying to be quiet, but it's difficult to move quickly or easily with all the extra weight she's carrying.

Orca She reaches up to clutch her necklace of seal molars and asks the animal's ghost to carry a message to the gods, that these people be friends.

• Haikain whispers "Perhaps you should say something."

Haikain (to Suteh) Mike Holmes Suteh sighs and turns to the brush and speaks in Rhiani, "Hello. Do not lurk, but come out and be friends."

• Orca freezes for a moment, realizing she has been discovered, but then slowly stands up.
• Haikain smiles uncertainly at her, and then his eyes travel down to her belly, and he freezes.

Orca She is wrapped completely, from head to toe, in corse white cloth that is rather muddy around the ankles. Her eyes peak through, a deep blue-grey, and her skin beneath it is pale grey, tough, chaffed, and old looking. Orca Her stomach clearly bulges greatly. She is hunched over and does not stand straight. Orca She leans against a long spear, a foot taller than herself, tipped with a flared bone point. Beneath the white over-cloth, you can hear bangles jingling when she takes a few slow steps towards you.

• Haikain clears his throat as his natural politeness reasserts itself. "Hello, lady. I am Haikain, a traveling cartographer, and this is Suteh..." His eyes plead for Suteh to take over as the sentence dangles.

Mike Holmes "May the water you find be sweet," Suteh says ritually, folding his hands and bowing slightly.,

• Orca reaches into her robes and pulls out a polished river stone, holding it out to the pair, looking for someone to take it.

Orca "I am Orca. From the north. I bring word to you." Haikain Haikain's eyebrows raise. "From...how far north?" He steps forward, hesitantly Mike Holmes Suteh looks at Haikain out of the corner of his eye, wondering if the other will make the first move with regards the stone.

• Orca frowns. "Very, very, very far."
• Orca looks at the stone.
• Orca looks at Haikain.
• Orca looks at Suteh.
• Haikain takes the stone.

Haikain "May I ask you some questions? About the north?"

• Orca sighs, relieved.
• Orca holds up a hand. "I bring word to you," she repeats.

Orca "They are coming." Mike Holmes Suteh cannot help but have a curious look on his face. Haikain "Who?"

• Orca frowns again. She didn't think it would be this difficult.
• Orca points north. "From the north. Not far. They are coming. Many, many of them."
• Orca spreads her arms wide to show how many.

Orca cool. that helps.

• Haikain looks at Suteh

Mike Holmes Suteh lowers his hand to about half his height, and says, "Goblins?"

• Orca nods. "Very, very many."

Haikain "Oh! Goblins?" Haikain looks nervous again. Orca i'm trying to figure out how Orca found out about them and how much she could figure out about what they're up to. Haikain "Milady, we are scholars, and know little of these matters. Please allow me to escort you to one who is more...militarily minded." Orca okay, that works.

• Orca squints one of her eyes at Haikain.
• Orca shakes her head to show she doesn't understand.
• Haikain spreads his hands, helplessly. He misunderstands her gesture to mean that she doesn't want to talk to a warrior. "Oh...well, milady, perhaps a soldier is not the optimum person to bring this too. With whom would you be comfortable speaking?"
• Orca looks back over her shoulder, as if checking to see if the goblins are here already.
• Orca considers the pair for a moment, before making a decision.

Orca "I will go with you," she declares. Mike Holmes As she takes a step, a sleeve of Orca's robes catch on a branch and ride up revealing a very hairy arm. Like that of a beast. Mike Holmes Suteh, already turned, doesn't note this, but it's quite plain to Haikain that Orca is not human.

• Haikain eyebrow's ride up, but he feels that the fact that she is obviously sentient and in need outweights his curiosity....for now
• Orca quickly pulls her arm back in her sleeve and glances up at Haikain.
• Haikain pretends that he didn't see.

Egani passes through the tents of the colony, and he flashes on the most recent conversation had by Archelaus and the new elven arrival. Something about a girl they both knew. Or that the elf that is now part of Archelaus had known. Complicated. Mike Holmes A sound comes from one of the tents, and Laura comes out from it, looking a bit flustered.

• Egani stops in his tracks and visibly transfers focus from the inner world of his thoughts to the sight of Laura. "Uh, hello. You OK? Say, where are you from?"

Mike Holmes Laura's eyes betray her as they trail back to the tent, despite her trying to suddenly act nonchalantly, "Oh, um, yes, of course. I'm from Sel-Kai as well as yourself. We've never really talked, have we?" Egani "No...but I thought you came out with Sebastian. Right? Did you know any elves back home?" Mike Holmes "Well, I didn't exactly come out with Sebastian, but I knew him from before, which is what got me posted here," and trying to keep up with Egani's questions, "Actually I knew several elves from the Betaran house, yes." Egani "What're the chances?" -- Egani mutters to himself. To Laura, "Do you know elves named Altynaruk or Artanis?"

• Egani watches Laura's face for signs of insincerity.

Mike Holmes "Altynaruk...was the one who came in by navigator a while back?" she replies. "Or perhaps the new elf, the one who fought with us in the spirit world? I missed his name. And I haven't seen him since. I hope he's alright." Egani "Hmm...so I guess it's not you. They're looking for a woman that they both know. It occurred to me that it might be you. Do you think that's possible?" Mike Holmes Laura looks up and to the left as if the answer might be there, "I can't think that it's me...surely they'd be looking for another elf? No?" Egani "Have there been any elf ladies here? I hadn't heard such a thing." Mike Holmes Laura seems to a bit flustered, which increases as another noise comes from the tent. "Uh, oh, I don't know. The navigator?" Egani "Hmm, maybe." Oblivious to the noises. "Do you have a moment to come meet Artanis...just in case, dontchaknow?" Mike Holmes At another noise from the tent, Laura looks back at it, unable to feign that nothing is happening, "My...must be some animal or something. I'll have to look into this. Um, yes, yes, I'll come down to see the elf later. Um, in a bit." Mike Holmes After a few more prods, Egani sees that she's not going anywhere away from this tent. Egani "Well, they're near my house -- last I saw them. It'd be nice if you could talk to them at some point." Mike Holmes "Sure, sure," Laura says, pretending to be tentative about whatever is in the tent, and waiting for Egani to move on before entering it again.

• Egani heads off in the direction he was going, but circles around to approach the tent from behind.

Mike Holmes Looking in through the slit in the back wall of the tent, Egani sees Sebastian wrapped in some glowing force that makes him unable to move, and mostly unable to make sounds as well. The bonds are not of pure esssence, but look like the odd essence they call spirits here. Egani-{} Startled, Egani gasps and steps back. After a moment, he steps forward again, trying to determine whether Sebastian is involved in some consenting situation... Mike Holmes Laura looks frantic, not certain how to make Sebastian be quiet. "Shut up," she tells him. "This is for your own good!"

• Egani begins quietly muttering as he turns pages and rifles through his pockets for ritual items.

Mike Holmes After a few moments a light emerges in Laura's tent, one that seems to wrap the spirit, forcing it to become a dimmer reality. Seconds later, to Laura's dismay, all the magic is gone, leaving Sebastian free. Egani <Snap>, the sound of Egani's book closing is clearly audible from inside the tent. Sebastian Sebastian sits up stiffly, "Well, that was a less than pleasant experience." Mike Holmes Laura backs off of him, fondling a small bit of fluff, but finding it not to bring her help as it did last time. She looks to the back of the tent. "Egani, is that you? What did you do to Entarak?" Egani "What?"

• Egani rounds the tent to the front flap.

Mike Holmes "Get in here now!" she shouts. "You help me keep this idiot from going off with some half-baked idea he's saving us all."

• Egani pokes his head in. "Sebastian is going to save us all? What from?"

Sebastian Sebastian shakes his head, "It is nothing worth discussing..." Egani "Come on Sebastian...spill it. If she bound you magically because of it, it must be juicy. And anyway, I let you out...I'm not going to mess with your plans." Sebastian Sebastian smiles oddly at Egani, "There is not much to tell: old enemies have caught up with me here. I must move on before they kill everyone near me..." Sebastian's eyes darken and a barely audible whisper escapes his lips, "...again." Egani Egani thinks for a bit. Now Sebastian, I have carefully assessed the magical capabilities of everyone in camp. I'm sure that you've not protected yourself thoroughly from detection and scrying. That said, as easy as it is to find missing persons, if they were truly so powerful, they must have known where you were all along. Why now? Or maybe their reach is not what you fear? Perhaps we can discuss the problem in search of solutions." Sebastian Sebastian shakes his head slowly, "Egani, strangely enough I value your counsel, but I chose this location for a reason. My research indicates that the White Wood generates a strange interference with long-range scrying. I was safe from detection until a more mundane agent picked up my trail." Egani "Ooh, fascinating. Very good. The agent has already departed then?" Sebastian Sebastian quirks an eyebrow, "That assassin the other day? He is the first of many resources that are almost certainly being mobilized." Egani "I suppose you already know that the people here are prepared to stand with you against whatever comes, right? That probably makes it worse..." Sebastian Sebastian nods, "Indeed. For what I bring in my wake, even the entirety of the both camps could not withstand. No, it is better if my wake travels a different path. One that does not destroy people I have, perhaps foolishly, allowed myself to come to care about." Mike Holmes "Don't help him Egani!" Laura protests. Egani "I do have a hard time believing these people are so driven and powerful. Why not take the fight to them?" Egani "For them to be so...upset with you, you must have hurt them mightily...that expoes a weakness." Mike Holmes Laura nods, thinking Egani back on her side. Sebastian Sebastian smiles sadly, "Weakness, yes, but insane paranoia is not enough of a weaknes... I do not yet have enough allies. One day, perhaps." Sebastian looks up, "I hope that if that day comes I may call upon you?" Egani "As circumstances permit, I am your friend." Egani "But you must tell us more about this threat. Even if you leave, more of them will come here. If you leave us in ignorance, we could all die because of you." Sebastian Sebastian smiles slyly, "Nice try, Egani, but you must know I will not fall for such a ploy. How could I think that leaving would solve the problem if I did not have a way to ensure that the danger left with me?" Egani "And how can you ensure that?" Egani "And...'ploy?' I have a wife and a child on the way. You have friends here. If this is not some farce, then it is deadly serious." Sebastian Sebastian smiles his familiar enigmatic smile, "Egani, I have never given you reason to doubt me before. The less anyone knows of that which follows me, the better. I have skated far closer to the edge of revealing too much already tonight. I will speak no more on the subject." Orca cool. that helps.

• Egani looks to Laura with a raised eyebrow that clearly asks if she knows more.

Mike Holmes Laura shrugs in frustrated response. Orca i'm trying to figure out how Orca found out about them and how much she could figure out about what they're up to. Egani "Sebastian, please know that there are ways...I don't want to...I'm not sure you understand." Egani twitches in frustration. Orca okay, that works. Sebastian Sebastian twitches an eyebrow, "Egani, I fear that I understand far more than you know, but please... feel free to enlighten me." Egani "We must know, if not the exact nature of your predicament, enough to trust that your departure will not condemn us." Sebastian Sebastian looks hurt for a moment, but quickly recovers, "That is to say that you do not trust me to be competent in this matter?" Egani Pausing to collect his thoughts, Egani sighs. "The only circumstances that I can envision that fit what you have told, leave us in substantial risk of peril. Have you been marked for death by a god? It's not that I don't trust you as much as that I must be sure. My wife is here, Sebastian. You understand this, don't you?" Sebastian Sebastian's control snaps momentarily, "Of course I understand! Why do you think I am leaving!? Do you think I want to abandon all those who mean anything to me!?" Sebastian takes a deep breath and seems to recover himself. Sebastian Sebastian sighs deeply, "Look, Egani, I like you, and I like your wife, and I like..." he carefully does not turn to look at Laura, "other people here at the colony." He looks up for a moment, "If you feel that my assurance is not enough for your peace of mind... I will be travelling to Kaitaine, they will know of my arrival there immediately. There is no need to fear them sending others here. It will take longer fo Sebastian It will take longer for them to mobilize their forces than for any amount of travel I may do, so please, do not worry for the safety of your wife. At least not in this matter." Mike Holmes Laura seeing that they're not getting anywhere turns to leave saying, "I'm going to Isadora. Maybe she can put some sense into his head." Egani "Perhaps we should go with you. This requires some thought. Thank you for explaining yourself, I know it was hard. Good night Laura." With that, Egani leaves, bound for a conversation with Isadora. Sebastian As Sebastian sits alone in Laura's tent he allows himself a rare moment of release, and silent tears stain the crimson sheet of paper that rests in his stilled hands.