In reply to Maeve Hassan (msg # 35):

Koffee? Keef snaps out of... wherever his head was.  He tucks away what look to be drawings of some sort of strange dwelling that he was showing a cloth merchant (you'd swear you overheard him asking about "matching pillows").

Are we getting Koffee?

So it was technically supposed to be a girls' shopping trip.  But Keef has been through enough shit over the past couple of weeks.

"Yes Keef, we are getting coffee," Maeve says, looping an arm around the boy's shoulders.  "What's more, we are getting the biggest, creamiest, most chocolate-y mocha that they can conceivably prepare.  Hell, maybe we'll even order two."

She fixes each of the women with a golden stare, daring them to gainsay her.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:35, Thu 20 Nov 2014.

Lyriel gives Keef a smile and gestures for him to come along before continuing her animated discussion with Rachel and Faye.

Yes, I think we could all use some mochas, she agrees. As long as you keep the lion bag sealed, Keef, she says meaningfully.

Seeing Keef could use some cheering up, Lyriel didn't have the heart to exclude him from outing, self-invited though he was. Her biggest concern was that Alanna would coerce him into carrying her bags...

In reply to Lyriel Vesper (msg # 38):

Keef nods vigorously.

No lions right now, gotcha.  I'm working on a pen for them to play in!

Keef tags along with his usual energy and enthusiasm.  He gladly offers the assistance of the invisible Barnaby to help with Alanna's bags.

As promised, Maeve orders Keef the largest mocha confection that Lyriel's chosen coffeehouse can fix on short notice.  It's practically obscene.  Chubbs positions himself dead center in the middle of the table on a plate of tea sandwiches.

When the Vesper sisters' talk takes the inevitable turn to boyfriends, Maeve--decidedly lacking in this area--feels her normally keen eyes begin to glaze over.  So she engages Keef in conversation about his upcoming exam, delighted to hear him sound enthusiastic about something.

"A playpen for lions?  Sounds fascinating.  Is it designed just for cubs or is it going to be structurally sound enough to contain adults lions also. . . "

And so on.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:09, Fri 21 Nov 2014.

In reply to Maeve Hassan (msg # 40):

Keef goes on for great lengths about the lion cage.  How strong it is, how happy the lions will be and a lot of other trans-dimensional stuff that either doesn't make sense or goes over Maeve's head.

He does, however, offer to show Maeve the cage if she wants.

In reply to Keef (msg # 41):

The shopping trip goes perfectly well, with many dresses, blouses, boots, hats, and accessories in the latest fashion being perused, tried on, and -- less frequently -- purchased. Keef proves instrumental in keeping Maeve from murdering anyone, in part because his general lack of an attention span keeps her busy chasing after him long after Maeve herself had lost interest in the mannequins being scrutinized by the more serious shoppers.

Truth be told, even Rachel and Lt. Faye have trouble keeping up with Lyriel and Alanna, and by the end of the day, everyone is quite exhausted -- in a good way, of course.

The group reconvenes over breakfast one last time the next morning, solidifying their plans for the coming months, sharing their more interesting purchases, and saying their farewells.

OOC: If you wanted to spend any money on items and such in Tris, now's a good time."

The Plan

• Maeve and Cassie will return the menagerie of animals to Boreas's sister in the Krall lands to the north, then head to Ikuabai.

• Boreas will remain in Tris for long enough to establish the Slyvan as a legitimate race and organization, and accepts the designation of Sylvan ambassador to the Empire. With the Marquise's help, he plans to return the army to Fey'driel and ultimately reunite with Maeve and Cassie in Ikuabai.

• Keef will accompany the Marquise to Astria for his entrance exams, after which he will head to Ikuabai to meet up with Maeve and Boreas -- the goal being for the three to then set sail for Gaelia.

• Zuriel will head to Lo'driel to oversee the transition of power from Choso to the Heartseekers

• Lyriel will continue her search for information about her brother, Eldric. Wherever that may lead her.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:32, Fri 21 Nov 2014.

Maeve and Cassie show up a bit late to breakfast, having spent the morning wrangling manticores and griffons into some semblance of marching/flying order.  They bear assorted scrapes from their more enthusiastic charges, but are in good spirits and eager to hit the road.  Soon enough, they are mounted up and ready to go.

"Oh!  I almost forgot," Maeve says, doling out the mysterious packages to the P.A.R.T.Y.  "Consider them early [not-Christmas] presents."

The packages contain the following:

• Zuriel: a small burlap sack filled with the very-best quality roasted Gaelian coffee beans.
• Lyriel: a delicate porcelain teacup beautifully painted with amethyst Gaelian designs, to replace the priestess' wooden traveling mug.
• Boreas: a wooden bird whistle for summoning avian friends.
• Keef: a small carved wooden lion, purchased from a vendor who specializes in exquisitely carved animal figurines
• Cassie: a leather herb bag with many clever pouches for storing dried plants.

"See you in Ikuabai!" she calls to Boreas and Keef before winging into the sky.

In reply to Maeve Hassan (msg # 43):

This... is.... THE BEST THING EVER! Keef loudly proclaims before nearly knocking the larger woman over in an all-limb-encompassing death hug.

I'm going to... no, I'm going to put it in a special place, and I'll clean it every day!

Boreas simply smiles and gives a chirp on the bird whistle.  He blows a couple of sharp, staccato notes, and shortly after, two cardinals - one male and one female - fly up and land on his outstretched arm.  They begin to eat the seeds he holds in his hand.

So nice to meet you two... yes, I agree, it's a lovely whistle.  He gestures to Maeve.  That human gave it to me.  Her name is Maeve.  And yours?

Mr. and Mrs. Blade - lovely.  Hope you enjoyed your meal... I most certainly will call you again if I'm back in the area... and to you as well.

He looks back to Maeve with a truly happy look on his face.  Thank you.

"Maeve, this is fantastic!" Zuriel exclaims, grinning broadly. "I have some ideas I've been meaning to try with the chalice, but I need the drink to exist first before I can recreate it magically. This will be perfect. The next time we meet, I'll have some new drinks to show you!"

The paladin beams at the Eastern woman. "Thank you, Maeve!"

Oh, this is beautiful! Lyriel gushes as she examines the porcelain cup. It will make tea ever so much nicer to have an actual proper tea cup. The wooden mug always tastes like last batch. Thanks you, Maeve!

Lyriel catches a surprised Maeve in an unexpected hug. When the priestess disengages, she is wiping away a tear.

It's just...we only just all got back together, and now we're heading off in different directions again... Lyriel looks down at her feet, and not just to admire her trendy new green leather traveling boots. I'm going to miss you. All three of you. She extends her affections to the others, hugging Keef and even Boreas as well.

Stay safe, and be careful. We'd be fools to think this is the end of our troubles.

Maeve smiles fondly at her friends from the air, raises her hand in a military salute and with one last flirtatious wink at Zuriel--from Cassie, naturally--the two young women are gone in a flurry of feathers and fur.  A bay horse and an oversized panther race along the turf under them as they depart.

"So it's a quick jaunt over to the Krall family's lands, then back to Ikuabai, no sweat," Maeve says to Cassie, who is mounted on the back of a chestnut-colored manticore.

"What could possibly go wrong?"

Boreas deigns to accept Lyriel's hug, wishing her good fortune until the group reunites.  He shares similar valedictions with the other members of the PARTY, each in their own way.  As Maeve and Cassie race off, the Marquise finishes her incantation and a shimmering portal appears in front of Boreas.  He raises his hand and steps through into Fey'driel.  The rest of the Sylvan Army follows, save Ambassador Adaon and his attendants.

In reply to Boreas Highwind (msg # 49):

The P.A.R.T.Y. shares fond farewells with one another and with the various other people they've come to call friends and compatriots over the last few weeks and months and years.

Team Menagerie
Accompanied by Cassie, Maeve and the various and sundry animals make their way northward toward the other edge of the continent. It's a long journey made slower at times by the weather, by the beasts' collective temperament, and by the periodic encounters faced along the way.

All told, it takes them three months to reach the Krall Territories and return all but one of the beasts. At Cassie's behest, they double back slightly in order to drop the druid and her feline companion off at the edge of the wilderness. They thank Maeve for her company and promise to meet up again in the near future.

By the time Maeve finally rides into Ikaubai, four months have passed -- and a steady stream of stories seem to be going around about the aerial Gaelian's exploits in helping the Empire's commoners with their troubles with the help of her griffon, panther, and druidess.

These stories give her fellows plenty to rib her about (good-naturedly, of course) back at the officer's barracks. Before long, she has chartered passage back East aboard a Gaelian naval vessel scheduled to head back with a crew of green recruits looking to join the Sultan's service.

The vessel, entitled the SFS Cashmere, will be ready to depart by the end of the fifth month.

Team Fairtheora

Boreas returns the Sylvan Remnant to Fey'driel and spends a few months helping to lay the groundwork for a successful civilization. The Primal Voice helps in this regard, and by the time Boreas is ready to leave, the Sylvan Remnant is in possession of a respectable swathe of territory, a handful of smaller villages, and one larger town, which has been dubbed their capital. It's no city, but it's a start.

Promising to return when the world is less in peril, Boreas makes his way toward Ikuabai, rendezvousing with Maeve just a week or so after her arrival.

Team Lions

Keef travels to Astria and tours the amazing Observatory that houses the Order and its various sects. The Marquise manages to keep him more on task that would otherwise be possible, but still the boy is sorely tempted and distracted by the various magical oddities that abound in the structure.

Several sectors are declared out-of-bounds to Initiates [Private to Keef: (let me know if you break that rule)], but the things that aren't are still enough to boggle the mind.

Keef finds himself a far more experienced and accomplished mage than any of his fellow initiates, few of whom have much experience with magics beyond the 4th level, and easily aces the tests. He is given a choice between the Inquisitors and the Pellinore [Private to Keef: (tell me your choice)] and offered full admission into the Order, should he want it.

His decision made, he is teleported to Ikuabai, where he arrives about three weeks into the fourth month.

[Private to Keef: Once you decide to join or not join, we'll teleport you to Ikuabai.]

Team Highborn

Lyriel and Zuriel do things. I will elaborate in a future post :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:19, Tue 25 Nov 2014.

Maeve is easy enough to find in Ikuabai.  Even if she weren't something of a local celebrity now, the slumbering griffon parked outside of Yuri's coffee establishment is something of a dead giveaway.  Sekhmet blinks one golden eye lazily at Boreas in greeting as he enters to find Maeve thoroughly at ease with a cup of something steaming and delicious, reading a book.

"Welcome stranger," Maeve says with a smile.  "You'll be pleased to know that the animals were delivered without a hitch and are now safe home. Your sister sends her regards.  Your father sends. . . .basically the opposite."

The duo spends the couple of weeks prior to Keef's arrival doing. . . . .stuff, I guess.  While not carousing, Maeve will find out what her dad's up to now that he's presumably long since quashed that gnomish uprising.  Also she'll try and glean any intel about the Ghosts that might be of use.

[OOC: Boreas, what do *you* want to do?]

When Keef arrives in the city, the news that he passed his entrance exam with flying colors is cause for celebration.  Maeve orders him a mocha that is approximately the same size as the young mage and promises to take him to see the lions at the arena prior to their departure for Gaelia.

In reply to Maeve Hassan (msg # 51):

Team Lo'driel

Zuriel accomplishes much in his three-month window, but since part of that time is spent in the Celestial Heavens -- where time slows to a crawl -- it's not really a fair comparison.

The Church of Ma'or takes root within Lo'driel, and the Knight-Captain-turned-Protector-General Edrahil is tasked with the establishment of a proper (and non-choking) bureaucracy along with making the necessary appointments to allow for smooth administration. Missionary work begins in earnest, as there is much to be done in terms of healing the hearts, minds, and bodies across the continent.

Advised by his father that saving the world was more important than being bogged down in the minutia of church administration, Zuriel then heads to the Celestial Heavens with Lyriel, who hopes to find some record of her brother's divine mirror there and perhaps learn through that whether he is well and truly dead.

As she is not a citizen, Lyriel is forced to remain outside the gates of the Celestial Heavens while Zuriel enters the city to obtain a visa for her. En route to the proper facility -- he'd done this before for Sazed, so the way was familiar -- Zuriel was stopped by armed Celestials and escorted without delay to the Celestial Council.

All the burning questions and desires Zuriel had for the Council were forced to be swallowed, as the illustrious gathering did not allow him to speak.

"You have resurrected the lost church of Ma'or."

A statement, not a question.

"When Tassada first rose to power, it became clear that the presence of two Lawful Good churches was too much for mortal minds to handle. They succumbed to in-fighting and to petty vanity, and weakened the cause of both in the process. The more militant of the two ultimately prevailed, and Ma'or entered a dormant state after ceding her territory to the younger church."

"Thanks to you, Ma'or stirs once again. We do not believe this to be a problem, as the power of the Hells has grown such that even the might of Tassada may not be enough to contain them."

"Therefore, this Council has seen fit to assign you a Celestial Duty: Restore Ma'or to full consciousness, and help her return fully to the pantheon of light. You are dismissed, Celestial. May the Heavens ease your travels."

Zuriel returns to the gates, so bewildered that he had forgotten entirely about the visa, to find Lyriel chatting with Liora outside.

"I can't stay, but it's great to see you both," the celestial researcher smiles, hugging each in turn before heading back toward the city. "We'll catch up properly later, but right now I am very, very pressed for time. Take care!"

Lyriel clutches to her chest the scroll Liora had brought to her (presumably in response to a Sending while she waited for Zuriel), upon which is etched the title: An Archive of the Mirrored Spells Provided to Eldric Vesper -- (P) Tassada.

A plane shift later sends the pair miraculously onto the deck of a Gaelian vessel, upon which Maeve, Keef, and Boreas have just set foot in the expectation of setting sail to the East.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:34, Mon 01 Dec 2014.

Lyriel cranes her neck as the deck of the ship materializes around her. A split-second later, as she stumbles to regain her footing on the gently swaying ship, Zuriel, Shahara, and Stony pop into existence around her.

Well that worked better than expected,Lyriel remarks as she sees Boreas, Maeve, and Keef looking at the new arrivals with suprise. I was expecting to have to walk.

Without any further ado, Lyriel collects her traveling pack and - clutching the scroll tightly to her - descends belowdecks to claim a cabin and begin studying the archive that would hopefully shed light on her brother's fate.

In reply to DM (msg # 52):

The SFS Cashmere is a beauty to behold, with immaculate rails, decks, sails and rigging despite seeing more than a decade of heavy use. Clearly, the cabin boys of the Sultanate do their work well.

The sky is blue, with nary a cloud in sight, and the seasoned sailors among you feel confident that you will avoid a springtime squall for at least the next week. The voyage is long, however, on the order of several months, and everyone will be expected to pull their own weight should extra hands be required.

As such, the P.A.R.T.Y. is assigned to certain roles on the ship:

• Maeve: Quartermaster
• Boreas: Lookout
• Keef: Cabin boy
• Zuriel: Medic
• Lyriel: Medic

Captain Caleb Tariq stands on the foredeck, his back to Ikuabai and his face toward the rising sun as it sends ripples of light dancing across the rolling expanse of water before him.

Presently, he turns to the assembled crew and barks out a short speech.

"Ship's secured and supplied, and we have fair skies and fair weather. Prepare to weigh anchor, with rudders aimed at the horizon -- and home, beyond it. Aye, lads?"

The response is resounding: "Aye!"

"Then let's get to it, before I keel-haul the lot of you," the Captain says, the good-natured grin on his face at odds with the harsh reality of his words. "Shove off. I want us at sea within the hour."

"Aye, Captain!"

The words are accompanied by a salvo of salutes, and followed by a flurry of activity. Without further delay, the SFS Cashmere begins its journey.

Once the Ikuabani coastline has receded into the distance, Boreas blows his bird whistle from atop the aptly named crow's nest.  Shortly thereafter, a trio of osprey arrive and are presented with strips of jerky for their trouble.

Friends, if you would be so kind, fly out from the ship and tell me what you see.

In reply to Boreas Highwind (msg # 55):

The birds soar out over the waters, and take their sweet time coming back. When they do, they have nothing unusual to report... this time.

Boreas continues the pattern of summoning birds and feeding them jerky (or other appropriate food) to do scouting.  Whenever the ship leaves the home range of one group of birds, he will summon another.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:20, Mon 01 Dec 2014.

In reply to DM (msg # 56):

Two weeks into your journey, Maeve and Zuriel find themselves unable to sleep and abovedecks, watching the moonlight slosh over the gently rolling waves. It is a tranquil scene that is ultimately interrupted by a flash of searing light from Zuriel's eyes -- and a harsh, grating voice you'd both done your best to forget.

"Well isn't this just perfect?!"

The stench of sulfur burns the air for a moment, and Gilbert materializes seconds afterward, dripping wet and wrapped with seaweed. A cord hangs from his neck adorned with shark's teeth, but otherwise the imp looks much the same as before.

"Go fetch the Ironwood Band, Gilbert," he says in a sarcastic, high-pitched voice meant to imitate Maeve's. "It'll be easy, Gilbert. It's on an abandoned sunken treasure ship, Gilbert."

He flaps over to Maeve and hovers in front of her face.

"Lies!"

The noise has drawn the attention of the lookout, who tonight is not Boreas, and then man looks questioningly down at Maeve.

"Let me tell you something, sister: There is no such thing as an abandoned treasure ship," he continues, ranting in an evergrowing voice that approaches a yell. "There were sharks. Mermen. Eels. Naga. The skeletal remains of Sid the Malfeasant and his ghostly first mate, Chumley. And for what?!"

Gilbert holds up a waterlogged, half-rotten wooden box about the size of a man's palm.

"For this?! All I got to say is that this thing better summon a giant blue genie or something, or so help me, I'm going to lose my mind!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:28, Mon 01 Dec 2014.

Maeve waves to the lookout on duty.  Don't worry, nothing wrong here.  We know him. . .unfortunately."

She accepts the small box from Gilbert, largely ignoring the imp's unlovely voice.

"Thank you Gilbert, I know that you went through much trouble to acquire this.  So, um. . . .consider your debt repaid."

Maeve waves her hand vaguely at the imp, unsure of the proper way to acknowledge a completed demonic pact.

In reply to Maeve Hassan (msg # 59):

Keef appears for the journey decked out in his brand-spanking new Order first-level attire:  a long flowing robe that is technically blue but so dark a shade as to appear black without very close inspection under harsh lighting.  Beneath this Keef now sports a bright red sash of a light, flowy material that catches the light and seems to almost glow as if each thread were on fire.  The sash is affixed to his belt and shoulder by heavy brass emblems of his station and branch.

In carrying out his normal manic cabin-boy related duties, Keef is uncharacteristically attentive to the maintenance of his new clothes.  Certainly he isn't careful about not getting his robes caught on planks or splotched with seawater and tar, but when it happens he is meticulous in the repair and cleaning.  These are... well the first NEW clothes I've had that I really EARNED, he will point out.