Rayenoir: Introspectives and Ventures

[Rayenoir]

//Character Bio Found here: http://www.layonaraonline.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=13987&posts=4 //

The teal-eyed tiefling often considers things that happen in her life as she strides on to her destinations.  One such internal monologue involved her skills.
"...Interesting how well that worked.  I really do prefer to get the drop on others in the midst of battle, but summoning that darkness overtop the battlefield after having alerted everyone to regroup to my voice was a delight, particularly since we triumphed.  It really looked as though we were about to fall.  I believe I should practice this more, perhaps try to expand upon it."

[Rayenoir]

Having returned to Hlint after accompanying the young Alex Williams and Jacchri Abianca on a trip into the red light caves and then into sielwood, she reflects upon the events in the latter.  The lad had stepped too close into the range of a Gnoll Shaman's color spray, while Jacchri and his pets worked on the rest of the pack.  Watching with urgency, the first thing that came to her mind was to make use of her fiend blood to drop the area of darkness over Alex' prone, sleep-stricken form, and then likewise dive into the cloud.  Readying her crossbow, she stealthily snuck out from it, around to flank the gnoll shaman, just as Jacchri had dispatched the creature.  While she didn't make the killing blow, she was glad to know that all was well.

[Rayenoir]

"Jacchri is an okay guy.  Crosses the line between charming and a little too flirtatious sometimes, but I like the attention nonetheless.  I'm glad I decided to follow him to Krandor today, questing into the mountains with Borris and a large group that I hadn't met before.  We found that the lodge that was built there recently had been overtaken by, get this, vampires.  I ended up drugged and passing out on the floor with a handful of others.. I knew something was going wrong when the half-giant collapsed backwards onto the tile.. while those who hadn't partaken of the proffered food and drink did battle with undead.  We gave chase down into the depths of a catacomb-type area.  I swung at a couple of the doom knights we came across, but saw that my sword was doing little damage, if any at all.  That was when I decided it was probably best to avoid notice.  I tried to stay out of view or in the shadows when possible; it felt strangely comforting to be unseen as I watched the battle rage on around me.  I recalled my mother's ability to cast a spell to etherealize when things were going wrong, and wondered if I could somehow do something similar myself.  I realize that I don't have the same magical talents that she did, but perhaps the fiendish blood that runs in my veins will be of some use in these endeavors.  At any rate, though we didn't find the boy we were looking for, we made it through without losing anyone for good."

[Rayenoir]

So upon strolling into town today, I immediately ran into none other than Jacchri, Jeran, and Owen about to voyage across the seas.  Seeing as how I'd a letter to deliver for the postmaster, and nothing better to do,  I said yes when they asked me to come along.  We wandered through the woods, I found a couple of new places to go fishing, and we were very careful to avoid being eaten along with a cow by a very antagonistic and pudgy griffin.  After we obtained some panther skins for Owen, he led us up to a place near Bone Hill.  There were statues of the deities there, and though he didn't know what some of them were, he's very knowledgeable about the gods and goddesses.  We found a giant chessboard, with two little ones beside it; I wondered if those were how the larger pieces were moved, but I didn't want to disturb anything so I didn't touch them.  While Owen was telling us of deities, the conversation turned to Blood's generals, and then to those powerful individuals standing against him.  Plen came up as one, and I mentioned that I thought he was an aasimar, because of the wings.  Nobody really knew, I guess none of them has ever bothered to ask.  I wonder sometimes, how many people have the blood of fiends or celestials in their veins and never know it?  We returned over the ocean, and went our separate ways once we got back to Hlint.

[Rayenoir]

"I almost was killed by spiders today.  A small one bit my foot just as I was drawing the last of the silk from a cocoon in Sielwood, slowed me down.  The ettercap that makes its lair there spotted me then, alerting its other pets to my presence.  They were on me immediately, my instinct to spread out darkness to hide in firing as my eyes closed, my body sapped of vitality.  When I came to, the cloud had already dissipated, I didn't know what to do.. so I froze.  When I looked around, hesitantly at first, moving nothing more than my eyes, what I saw puzzled me.  The spiders were still there.  But it was as if they didn't notice me at all.  Putting everything I had left into not being noticed, I crept silently around a nearby stone and rested up, waiting for the last of the poison's effects to leave me.  From there, I ran flat out back to Hlint.  I don't know why the spiders weren't aware I was still there..  this may take some consideration."

[Rayenoir]

"Something occurred to me:  I call upon my ancestry to cast darkness about.  Why not draw it back in?  I often find myself sticking to the shadows when I run into an adversary that I can't handle on my own.  The cloud is like a blunt object, I need something more precise.  If I could pull it around myself, be wrapped in it.. it sounds so strange, but I'm almost sure I've heard of something like it being done, Sigil has a lot of weird tales that turn out to be real.  Not all of the stories could have been about tieflings.  Maybe some use magical assistance, rather than natural ability.  This seems like the most obvious way to do it, but maybe it's only one of a few.  Without assistance from someone that knows it's real, knows how to do it, it's like I'm walking into it blind, though.  A shot in the dark, even?  It should be easy enough to reverse things; maybe if I can master that, I'll be able to manipulate them as well."

Hours later...

"I gave it my best shot.  I decided to use the campfire outside Hlint as my training grounds.  I ran into Sand Krows there, he helped me out.  Gave me more time to experiment using magic, and was reassuring, though it's possible he's heard the same stories and was just humoring me.  I'm not getting anywhere, I don't know if I will, but I'm going to keep trying.  I just hope it's not all just a fantasy."

[Rayenoir]

Today was... earth-shaking.  I spent some time tailoring, using the skins I'd collected to make armor.  I already have much better than I can make yet, but I'm working my way up.  I went down near Fort Velensk to get some cougar skins (they seem to be the best that I can use at the moment), and something big was happening.  Something about dwarves being attacked by big, white, hairy giants called Yetis.  That, and a mysterious blue fog.  There were a number of people around when the news broke out; someone suggested that we form two groups.  Dwarves and hairy giants?  Nah, I went for investigating the fog.  I feel behind for a little while, but managed to catch up just as the party ran into a second patch of it.  A yeti ambushed us and slew Klugger.  Sin summoned an Astral Deva who shared some advice: the fog seemed to have healing properties of a sort.. healing my arse.. I went to try to gather some in one of my canteens and my nails grew two inches!  A little bizarre.  Luna and a couple of others kept insisting it was "unnatural," and though I tend to agree, I don't see why they were holding the statement out like a banner.  I've heard people rebuke necromancy with the same attitude, though I more side with the people that it's a part of the Weave of magic, and has just as much place as any other school, even though I'd rather not my neighbors be walking skeletons.  So Klugger was revived and we continued up the mountain.
I'd never seen a mind flayer before.  Heard a few stories, but never experienced.  They were there, in a cave, at the top of the mountain.  A hallway led to a chamber, which led into another chamber.. which contained the biggest, slimiest looking brain you wouldn't ever want to see.. and Sin climbed up next to it and tried to communicate with it.
The part that bothers me is that after a while, Sin came out of that room and "explained" to us what happened to cause the blue fog.  I'm very suspicious.  Mind flayers turn my stomach, but Sin was telling this tale about how Celgar was trying to free a halfling from the brain's control, and the fog is an effect of residual magic from the weave.  But then he just wanted to leave, said that none of it was the brain's fault.  Sin is a pretty good guy.. why would he just leave something as evil as a mindflayer brain to do its thing?  I'm afraid it might've gotten at him, made him tell the story slightly differently than it really was.  At any rate, as Luna pointed out: at least we know where it is now.. maybe we can deal with it another time.

When we got back, I paid Klugger to go mining copper for me.  I'm starting on becoming a blacksmith.  Not so good yet, but I can make a mean dagger.  He came back with such a huge load that I couldn't fit it all in my ox, and had to drag at least half of it.  It was great.  It took me quite some time to refine it all, and I gained valuable insights into the smelting process while I did.
When I finished and was running my products to the pawn shop, Sand stopped me, had me try my idea again.  I think I may be getting somewhere with this.. mostly due to a little piece of information that he threw my way.  I was right!  I had heard stories, they were of Shadowdancers.  He told me to get in contact with someone named Lalaith.  It seems that I may have been going about things the hard way after all.  If I have someone already experienced to show me the way, it may be a lot simpler.  I thanked him profusely, and was on my way again.

[Rayenoir]

I was able to get in touch with Lalaith briefly.  At first, she was preoccupied with something and claimed not to be, and though I was suspicious, I let it go.  As Sin and I were heading toward the Wild Surge to play creatures, he stopped outside to speak with Talan, who happens to be Lalaith's brother.  She was there with him, and we spoke on the subject.  It wasn't the best time though, but she agreed to contact me later.  I may have just found a potential guide for the path I seek.

Hours after this encounter, I followed Sin and a few others north to Leilon.  We ventured across the sea to Hurm, where all the hells broke loose.  Some huge plot between gods and goddesses, it was way over my head at first, but then I started to piece it together.  It seems that in order to seal an alliance between Pyrtechon and Mist to provide a safe haven for the rapidly diminishing dragon population on this world, the sea elf who was emotionally bound to the Shark Lord (Carocsa) was abducted and sacrificed.  I imagine there are a number of other factors involved that I missed as well, I more or less came in during the middle of the ordeal.  As far as I'm concerned, saving the dragons is, I'm pretty sure, a good idea.  But there were other ways to do it.  There always are.  It was said that at the very end of her life, Carocsa understood what was happening and conceded to the reason behind her murder.  If that was the case, okay.. but it still bothers me that it all happened the way it did.
Along the way, though I think I've grown rather adept with a sword and can hold my own, I found myself slain in battle... and experienced firsthand what the inhabitants of this land call the "Soul Mother"'s touch.  The last thing I remember before that first death was being struck by the rapidly-expanding burst of flame from a fireball.  Then a wretched sensation as it was like a piece of my soul was pulled away from me.  I was later informed that this is the action of the Soul Mother.  Apparently, she wants me badly because the very next time I was killed, by the flame breath of a Balor Prince, I felt it again.  With being burned to death as a point of comparison, this was not a pleasant experience.  I think that with this kind of attention, I'm going to put a lot of effort into not dying...

[Rayenoir]

It's been a while since I've had time to think about things just for the sake of doing so...

I've obtained the title of "shadowdancer."  It started as I found a small shadow wandering through the Sielwoods while gathering resources.  I didn't know where it had come from, or what it was doing there.  I thought it might be playing with me for some reason, but I couldn't place it.  I was observing it, puzzled, when I finally lost track of it.  A couple of days later I ran into a man that had emerged from a spontaneous cloud of darkness, on the road to Haven.  I chased him into Hlint eastside, finally catching up with him to ask some questions.  He wouldn't answer directly, kept 'dancing' around the point so to speak.  He finally told me that when I figured out who was sending the shadow (for indeed, he suggested that it was being sent by someone), that I was to find him and tell him.  
At this point, I was without a point to start.  I went back and forth between the sites I'd encountered the thing, and spotted it a couple more times, but it just wasn't coming to me.  I later spoke with Jacchri on the matter (I thought I'd mentioned it to him earlier, but it seems that it was just the experimenting I'd told him about), after asking a couple of other people in the town, and getting a good push in the right direction by talking to Geir.  He and Klugger and I went north to the High Forest, as Geir reported seeing the man that I described in amidst the Broken Halls.  We slew a few orcs while there, and paused at the stairs down for any clues.  A big one came up, the shadow that I'd been seeing ran through us and down the stairs.  As good a sign as any, I chased after it and almost ran headlong into a flesh golem.  We dispatched it easily enough, went down the hall, found another.  That was done okay too, but we saw a growing pack of them further on that we probably wouldn't have been able to handle.  Taking caution in my hands, I had the other two wait in a safe hall while I crept around to see if there was another way past.  I didn't find a way past, but I found that same tell-tale patch of darkness.  I'd found what I was looking for.
While we were talking, Jacchri regaled me with a story of a halfling that had been in town writing a poem about shadows.  The poem made it occur to me that perhaps no other person was sending the shadow at all, that maybe it was just attracted to or fascinated by my efforts.  I originally thought that the reason it had appeared was because another shadowdancer had seen or heard of what I was trying and he or she was in turn trying to contact me first, using the dark figure to direct me.  The thought that it was a product of my own hadn't even crossed my mind while I was still chasing it around...
At any rate, I advanced into the darkness, and spread out some of my own.  I found the unnamed dancer and he asked me who had sent the shadow.  After considering the events and insights, I knew that my answer could only be "Me," that it was my own work and will that had put me on this path.  He laughed, apparently glad that I'd reached this conclusion.  He wished me well, and offered some parting words.  I offered some parting wit, thanking him for the guidance that he offered and told him that next time he checked the shadows, it may well be me that he found there, or perhaps he wouldn't find me at all...  Perhaps we'll run into each other again, perhaps not, I didn't even get his name.  Nevertheless, I found what I'd been trying to accomplish, and it felt good.

[Rayenoir]

I'm starting to grow worried about the Soul Mother's attentions on my person... I died once since the last time in Sielwood, without ill effects beyond those of normal death.  But, well...

Malandaar Sagebrook and I decided to go through deeper Sielwood to pick up some boar skins.  I was glad to, to flex my new, improved skills of being unseen and unnoticed.  Everything was going well until his invisibility fell unexpectedly, and he didn't have another prepared.  He was immediately set upon by a cockatrice and an ogre, they were rapidly causing greivous wounds on his person, knocking little chips out of the statue he'd been rendered into left and right.  Realizing that I needed to do something to get them off him, I ran in to strike the ogre and then the cockatrice... my plan was to draw their attention and then fade from sight, but I wasn't fast enough.  The cockatrice immediately turned its eyes to me when I got close enough to strike the ogre, and its gaze immediately froze me in place, petrified, just as Malandaar was freed from the effects.  I watched him run to safety as the ogre shattered.. well, me.  Instantly, I felt the same soul-searing associated with the Soul Mother.  Mal felt terrible about the whole thing, but it really was just shortsighted on my part.  So eager was I to use my new skills that I neglected the old one, all I really needed to do was obscure him and his attackers with darkness.  That probably would've resulted better.

I went on a trip through the Haven mines without incident, and was far more successful with the group that had gathered.  More than a few killing blows were laid upon the ogres making lair in the mines by my sword, the ability to dive in and out of sight is quite an effective skill in battle.

However, I was on a routine loop through sielwood, gathering silk for use in tailoring, when the ettercap spotted me on my way out.  It spat at me, gluing me to the ground.  Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, I'd have just reappeared and faded out again to confuse it and distract its attention.  This time, however, I let myself be seen, but for some reason couldn't concentrate to fade out again immediately (//this isn't for story reasons, just lag).  A phase spider leapt at me and bit me, my limbs numbing up and making me easier prey for the other spiders that had collected.  With all of them so close, I had nowhere to turn to in order to hide, and immediately fell under, bleeding to death.  The Soul Mother's touch brushed across my person once more...

I must either be very special, or she thinks I may get away if she's trying to collect me in full so quickly.