Open A Cursed Tenday Indeed (Open)

[Naadiya]

It hadn’t taken Naadiya very long to find herself the largest cup she could manage and filled it to the brim with whatever ale Stu had brought out in barrels. It tasted of wheat and something else she couldn’t place but Naadiya drank it heartily. Before her cup was empty, she refilled it and brought it back to her lips. The fire dancer, Rainmere, was close by and gave Naadiya a weird look, which was returned with an equally unattractive glare. Mind your own business, she thought without much patience. Naadiya found a place to sit on the outskirts of the hubbub. Though she sometimes had to strain her neck to get a good view of who was speaking, she could hear their voices just fine. A woman spoke, whose voice was just at the edge of her memory. If what this innkeeper was true, Naadiya had likely known her at some point considering she was still living in the woman’s establishment. But her voice tickled at the ear almost dreamlike in its ethereal nature. How long would it take for her to forget it? How many times had she already forgotten it? Then, the attention was on a man Naadiya had not met yet, and a small girl… with too many arms for Naadiya’s liking. Having grown up in the desert, Naadiya’s people were plagued with tales of the many-armed people dragging off innocent Benshira to be tossed into slave pits or used as they wished. The girl probably was too small to make any real trouble just yet, Naadiya guessed. But all the same, Naadiya sipped her drink bitterly and made a point to keep her eye on each of those arms. When the two left the spotlight, Naadiya realized she did recognize the next speaker. She’d met Moritz in the later half of winter but before she could even think of their meeting, Naadiya’s ear started feeling hot and she heard a buzzing that was so distracting and wouldn’t stop until suddenly it did. The kelvic had stopped talking and Naadiya reached up to rub her ear, knowing she would find the mysterious earring that alerted her to lies, hanging from her lobe. “He’s lyinggggg” she said a little too loudly and took another sip. Rainmere made a disapproving sound and went away, trying to put distance between herself and the Benshira. Naadiya had never found out what the dancer’s problem with her had been, but she was sure there had been something. She shrugged at the woman walking away and turned to whoever was close by, gesturing to the Okomo kelvic, “I don’t know why he is lying but he is, I just know it.” Crylon was another face that Naadiya had not yet been introduced to, but of all the other people there, it seemed he was the only one who had a similar experience to her own. He had attributed his troubles to Leth. Naadiya herself, from a very young age, and like most of her kinsmen, had worshiped the sun goddess and as such were familiar with their goddess' lover and counterpart. Could he be the cause of this? Everyone was experiencing a ‘change’ of some sort, and that was his dominion, after all. She was contemplating how she would try to appease the moon god when a woman not far from her started speaking. The description of her curse turned Naadiya’s stomach. Evidently, it had a similar effect on the woman herself, for she threw up after speaking. Unfortunately, Naadiya was close enough to smell the sour smell and moved a little up wind try to avoid bringing up her own breakfast. So it all started when the ship docked. Or when it was de-boarded. she gathered her thoughts. It certainly is divine intervention, such a powerful mage doesn’t come along that often if ever and they’d need some kind motive. Why cursed random people they’d never met? What gain is there in that? That would be insane, and you’d need some level of sanity to orchestrate such a wide scale operation. Unless, of course, it’s a god and not a mage. There’s never any accounting for the divine... Once more, Naadiya refilled her cup, she had just heard she would probably be doing most, if not all, of the weaving in town for a while to come, between Dawn and Tony’s afflictions and Gracelin also being taken out of commission. Another trick of the gods….this is starting to feel personal... Naadiya had still been reeling from the workload of the last season, despite being grateful for the weight it had added to her coin purse. Maybe even this horrible dark cloud will a hidden blessing…[I] she tried to convince herself, but it would likely take a few more pitcher of the beer. [I] Damn it, I think I’m getting used to Stu's rum. This almost tastes like juice in comparison. She was about to move off in search of something stronger when Cleon caught up to her. With a mock-bow, Naadiya thanked him and happily accepted the filled pipe and beckoned him to walk with her as she made her way to the bonfire. It didn’t take long for her to find a twig in the sand, dried and narrow. Before she dipped the wood in the fire, Naadiya looked around for Sorian, making sure he was well and far from where they were standing. Her younger sister had once accidentally rolled too close to a campfire and her hair had lit up in an instant. We are not trying to check that box off the bucket-list, thank you. But the fire was as stable as a fire could be and soon enough Naadiya lit the twig and slipped the tip of pipe in between her lips. The smoke-filled inhale was exactly what Naadiya needed but didn’t know she had needed. A belated exhale finally came, begrudgingly but inevitable. Nodding with raised eyebrows, she gave silent thanks to Cleon and emptied the smoking device before handing it back. They had a couple of bowls of whatever herb Cleon had on hand and watched the fire. Naadiya shared her ale when they needed to cool their burning throats, and for a short while there was stillness. The fuzzy feeling caressed Naadiya’s mind and she let herself relax a little more. They were still standing by the fire when a figure approached off from the direction of the inn. Distress clearly dripped from all over the person’s face but the flames were between where Naadiya stood and where the person came from. It took Naadiya a minute to realize it was woman and soon saw that it was Shiress who came their way. She might have been dirtied with blood, sweat and tears, even sand added for good measure and the pale woman seemed to be moved forward by force of will and nothing else. Reaching the fire, she tossed what looked like a doll into the fire and walked back the way she came and for a while Naadiya stood there speechless unsure of what she’d just seen or if anyone else had seen it for no one seemed to have reacted! “What in the world did I just smoke?!” She turned on Cleon, “did you see her too? I think… I might have just had a hallucination…” The next pipeful, Naadiya turned down. No more visions for today, there are enough problems to deal with. “If you are going to the Outpost, you might try to see if your curse is nulled once you leave Syka." she finally said to Cleon, "Maybe we are only affected when we are here. That man, Reve, he seemed to know a good deal of magic, he mentioned the curses potentially being linked to our souls... but I suppose he only meant as opposed to our physical bodies. He might not have tried leaving the area to test out that theory. I’m still not sure how mine is triggered though, I don’t want to take the risk of leaving Syka like this and being stuck as a man. I will have to join you another time. I think I’m going to Stu’s. I’m not sure what good praying to the god of summer will do right now, but I bet Stu is keeping the stronger stuff at the bar anyway.” 1402

[Cleon]

Cleon chewed on what Matthias and Stu had said, carefully considering their point as his scratched at his own mark absent mindedly which was currently swirling about the left side of his neck. It wasn’t just that the had a gnosis mark but that they had a close relationship with their gods that protected them. Why though, unless perhaps the source of these curses was also divine. He really hoped that was not the case, that this was just the efforts of a powerful mage and yet the thought that a god or goddess was behind it all stuck in his mind like quicksand. That or their representative, the latter making the most sense when he came to think about it after several moments.

“Perhaps there is something we can do to protect ourselves then, and at the very least it couldn’t hurt to make offerings to those gods or goddesses you might hold dear.” Cleon mused, and then smiled gingerly at Stu’s offer. “Now that is a form of worship I can get behind.” Cleon remarked to Naadiya as they puffed away at the Syliran tobacco which filled him quickly with a pleasant buzz. Perhaps that was why he almost felt detached from the situation as the woman walked up to the fire, with a broken look Cleon recognized all to well.

Suddenly Cleon didn’t feel like smoking anymore, or had much of an appetite for that matter as he watched the woman drift away before Naadiya said something. “No, that was no hallucination I’m afraid, unless it is a group one caused by these curses. I think I’ve seen that woman on the ship I took over here, although its hard to think back that far at this very moment.” Cleon admitted, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes briefly shut before focusing on the bonfire.

“I’m afraid there is no such luck in such regards. My curse was just as potent there as it is here so maybe there is something to what that Reve fellow was saying. Stu’s on the other hand doesn’t sound half bad, and perhaps it will do us some good to pay our respects.” Cleon agreed, and offered to walk with Naaidya over to the Tidepool if she wanted. Otherwise he would happy enough to go by himself, where he would shortly find a seat for himself. After asking about a Blue Whirlpool, he placed his hands flat on the bar and tilted his head down before closing his eyes.

“Sivah, I don’t know you real well, and I might not be the kind of follower your after, but I’d like to ask that you watch over this gathering, and in return I shall try to learn what I can about you so that I may properly pay you homage on future occasions.” Cleon prayed quietly, then looked up with a grin to see his drink had been fixed. After taking a gulp, he tried to relax a bit as he looked around to see who all had taken Stu up on his offer before he tried to catch the bartenders eye.

“So how’d I do? Do you think he heard?” Cleon asked then a few ticks later continued on a more serious note. “I’m kind of relieved to know that at least two people are immune. It gives me hope that there is a solution for the rest of us.”

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