Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- voyagersecret39 [2007/01/06 22:34] – jims
+++ voyagersecret39 [2007/01/06 22:39] (current) – removed jims
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[voyager39|Back to the session description]]
-==== Voyager39 - Roget goes home ====
-[[Roget]],
-You feel it the instant you arrive.  In your chest.  In your belly.
-Deeper.  Lower.  It has been so long, and their renewal by teleport so
-sudden, that the emotions nearly overwhelm you.
-She is here.
-You scan the sky without hesitation.  The clouds are too light for
-rain, but within seconds of your arrival, you see them begin to shift
-and darken.  The rest of the party is oblivious.  They are greeting the
-[[resort]] guests, making happy introductions, and eagerly spewing the
-patchwork quilt of the story.  You hear snippets.  "Chaos"  [["Rain King"]]
-[["Lake of Serpents"]]  "Elemental"
-[["Matchitisiw"]]
-The name creates a fog in your mind - dense, aching.  Once again,
-the question emerges.  Is this you or her?
-The people around you blur into a sea of murmurs, their voices
-dulled by the fog.  You realize your eyes are fixated on the clouds
-above, and with an embarrassed glance around, you feign interest in the
-people bumping up against you.
-Across the sea of faces, you catch [[Roderick]]'s eye.  He glances up at
-the clouds for an instant as if to say he knows she is here.  His face
-does not seem to hold the joy (fear?) you hold.  It is stern.  Defiant.
-And then, the rain begins.  It arrives in an instant, without the
-usual warning drops.  The crowd gasps in surprise and people begin to
-jog toward the long house.  They do not understand.  They never understand.
-Soon, the crowd has thinned.  A young [[resort]] woman tugs your hand to
-guide you toward cover.  You resist without thinking.  She laughs it off
-and runs ahead to avoid the rain.  A native girl then approaches from
-behind and takes your hand, her fingers interlocking yours.
-In her perfect, musical voice, she says, "Welcome back, husband."
-She is smaller than usual - though not as small as when you last saw
-her in [[Shiriki]].  Her black hair is dripping wet and her golden skin
-clings enticingly to her sheer dress.  Her breasts, as always, are
-perfect.  They call to you and your body reacts.
-"You have never seen [[Ranita]]," she says quietly, her eyes watching
-the thinning crowd around you.
-"The city is a wonder to these people.  Perhaps it does not compare
-to your great cities, but it has the finest the [[Dyanai]] can offer, and
-its rulers share a luxury that some kings only dream about."
-She looks up at you, locking her gaze on you.  "You cannot be the [[Rain King]],
-[[Roget]].  The [[Lomasi]] would never accept you.  The priests will crown their
-new king under the harvest moon.  I want you there to see it."
-She looks away toward the long house.  Curiosity pulls your eyes to
-follow. In the doorway, [[Roderick]] is looking back at you.  Can he see
-her?  Does he know?
-You glance back and she is gone.
-Time drifts forward.  Seconds.  Minutes.  You are frozen in a dream.
-You can still feel her hand holding yours, and you know deep down that
-if you move even an inch, the feeling will fade.
-[[Roderick]] is standing next to you.  "Come on, Roget.  The villagers
-all want to hear the great tale.  Dhersion has already started."
-Reality fades back in.  The fog in your mind begins to dissipate.
-You have a job to do.  One more bout of public relations to wrap this
-whole affair up. But then what?  [[Spindrift]]?  [[Rota]]?  [[Ranita]]?
-"By the way," [[Roderick]] continues, as you walk toward the long house.
-"Who was that young woman holding your hand?  She seemed a little out
-of place.  I mean, I know some cultures don't have a stigma about
-childbearing out of wedlock, but I didn't see a husband and I've not
-seen a pregnant native woman in these parts without a husband hovering
-nearby."
-The fog in your mind clears with a snap.  Your memory fills in the
-details obscured.  Below the perfect breasts.  The small bulge under the
-clinging dress.
-The rain falling around you makes a music that only you can hear.
-"Our son," it says, "will rule this coast from north to south.  With
-your help, he will be a king greater than any this land has seen for a
-thousand years."
-\\
-----
-\\
-Later, inside the long house, Dhersion tells the //Grand Tale// to an enraptured
-audience.  After his story (which, you note, differs significantly from reality)
-concludes, you catch his eye and call him over.
-He finishes his polite schmoozing and crosses the room to you.
-You look at him silently for a few seconds.  He seems to understand the gravity
-of the coming conversation -- which is probably a good thing -- so you just
-start in.
-"Hrm.  I'm not good at this.  Orders, I understand.  But this...this is a
-request.  They need the Staff, Dhersion.  It's the center of their culture,
-their way of life, and it is, quite literally, central to their survival.  I
-know it's immensely powerful, and I know how much you've learned with it.  But
-they crown a new Rain King at the Harvest Moon, and he should have it.  I
-haven't met him yet, but I'm fairly certain I can keep him in line...but I'm
-getting ahead of myself.
-"I don't have anything of value to exchange for it, obviously.  All I have to
-offer is three parts of the same arc:  a story, a secret, and a prophesy.
-"And....even harder for me to say, but it seems to be in place:
-Please."
-\\
-----
-\\
-Dhersion smiles for an instant.  Behind his eyes, you see the wheels turning as
-he forms his story.  He has always been //so// good at this...
-"While this may come as a suprise," he begins, "I generally strive for the
-greater good in all that I do, even though it may seldom seem so. I originally
-accepted the burden of the staff at significant peril to myself and our party
-only under the burdening realization that left behind, it would almost certainly
-prove our undoing. Having undergone the trials we have faced and come out
-blessed and triumphant, I must admit, I was sorely tempted to retain the staff
-for my own uses. In my chosen trade, however, it is hard to avoid the manifold
-accounts of virtuous souls brought to ruin by the seemingly innocuous  union of
-their own good intentions and powerful magics. Even so, it was not a simple
-decision to make. Nevertheless, the decision was made, dreams of laurels and
-power cast aside, and contentment found in the release of a decision well made.
-"Having cast the staff from //my// future, however, it became my burden to find
-//your// standing in this plot, which, to my thinking, would be told in full in
-the manner you chose to make your request, when the time came. And here you
-stand before me, bristling with virtue and humility, as I knew you would.
-"The staff is in your charge now, my friend, and I hope you find it a lighter
-burden in your custody than it proved in mine. Take it to the Dyanai, crown
-their King, and make amends with your wife! For my part, my chapter in the tale
-of the Rain King is now closed, and I do not regret my part in it, from the
-raising of the curtain to this, our quiet denouement.
-"But come now! Drink a fine draft with me to our continued good fortunes, and
-think not of the perils we have left in our wake! Our ways will be parting soon,
-and only the Gods know if they shall cross again!"
-( much drinking ensues )
-[[voyager39|Back to the session description]]