A tale of love, loss, murder, and vengeance.
Dramatis Personae:
Jaed Tenassa, female catperson healer; also DM
Tennibrook Balmossie, female vulpine paladin/cleric
Richard NIghthawke, male human warlord
Jaed Tenassa and Tennibrook Balmossie were sitting in a soft meadow, a stream gurgling unseen but nearby. There were little wildflowers all around--yellow, pink, purple, and blue. This meadow was overlooking a beautiful mountain range in the northern reaches of Virelith. It was still summer, of course, but here was much tamer than they had endured down south, especially in Dethsiris. Spread before them was a large blanket, a heavy basket, full of food from a nearby town which lay at the foot of the mountains. Tenni had wanted a change of pace, and Jaed had wanted to see her home village again, even if only from afar. Well, the village she lived in with Garen anyway.
Tenni had once spent a summer in Virelith, when she'd worked for the House of Winds last year, but had spent a lot of that time working, and hadn't really been able to appreciate the land's beauty the way she wishes she could. Tenni is enjoying these moments of relaxation with her ya'towa but, recognizing that Virelith is a very dangerous place, had come fully armed and armored.
Jaed was oblivious to the danger, thinking that only Dethsiris had such dangerous creatures. She bit into her salami sandwich and grinned at her armed-to-the-teeth friend. "Relax, Tenni. We're fine," she said. It had been a day since that fateful prayer time when she had emptied her thoughts and emotions to her ya'towa--how her father had died, how she blamed herself, how her mother hated her. She didn't want to think about that anymore, especially right now in this beautiful paradise of flowers and butterflies.
Tennibrook smiles, seated on the blanket cross-legged and barefoot, with a spiced bologna and Lingorian keeza sandwich. "I'm relaxed," she says. "Just... vigilant. I've never been here before, and I'm responsible for your safety. Anyway, I'm grateful to be here. I know how important a place this is for you."
"I understand," Jaed said with a nod. She took another bite and spoke around it. "You know, we are maybe about five miles away from Arkala." She pointed to a mountain ahead and to their left. "That is the basic direction of my hometown," she said. "Of course, taking the mountain roads it ends up being a lot longer than five miles."
"Well, we've got Jilbo," Tenni says. "We can get there in no time, going as the crow flies. If you'd like to visit, that is." She wonders if Jaed's master, Garen, is still there with his slaves, and what kind of reunion might be awaiting her if she returns there.
"Yes, we have Jilbo." Jaed smiled at the rook, who was happily preening in the shade of an oak tree about a dozen yards away. There was no fear that he would run off. He was fiercely loyal to Tenni. "If we can go back to Arkala.... I might get to see... Well, I would find Garen, I imagine." She suppressed a shudder, instead rubbing one arm before forcing the thought out of her head. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to see her old master again, if she were to be honest with herself.
Tenni can detect her ya'towa's reticence, and she doesn't blame her for it. "Do you think he'd be happy to see that you've been able to get on with your life?" she asks. "I know he cared about you."
Jaed bit her lower lip. "He really did," she muttered, staring blankly at the beautiful scene before her. "It would be really nice to see his reaction to me now. Would he still call me lovely? Would he call me a slut?" She winced at that. "No, I do not believe he would. I think... I hope he misses me, at least a little." Sitting up straighter, she said, "Yes, let us go visit him, as soon as our meal is done."
Tenni feels glad, now more than ever, that she'd come fully armed, in case there *is* a confrontation with Garen and she may have to evacuate Jaed out of there quickly. "Okay," she says. "But try to keep your expectations neutral. We've absolutely no idea how he'll react to you."
Jaed nodded. She hurried through her food, and waited impatiently for Tenni to finish her meal. Maybe she wanted to meet Garen after all. When they were done eating, Jaed helped clean up and carried her share of the load to Jilbo, who greeted them with a fluttering of wings and a "MAMA! JAED!"
Tenni wraps her arms around Jilbo and says, "We're going to the city, Jilbo. *That* way. Northwest." She points, and Jilbo obligingly positions his head facing northwest before slumping down to the ground to allow Tenni and Jaed to mount him. Tenni re-casts Feather Fall on both of them. "Are you ready, ya'towa?" she asks.
"As ready as I will ever be," Jaed replied, shaking a little as she mounted Jilbo behind Tenni. She gripped the vulpine's waist as they flew. She was shaking because of the heights, of course, but she was terribly nervous about meeting Garen as well. The flight was exciting, however, with wind in their hair and the blue sky closer than usual. She found herself grinning, in spite of her fears.
Tenni, Jaed, and Jilbo fly into the wind at an unhurried pace, Tennibrook not wanting to overwhelm her ya'towa with speed. They find a good place above the treeline near the village to perch Jilbo, and from there, they go down on foot, taking about 40 minutes to reach Arkala. Tenni, a veteran climber and excellent athlete, has little trouble keeping her footing.
Jaed looked around once they had perched, and leading Tenni down, she grinned at her surroundings. She recognized this forest, called the Obran Forest by the locals. They carefully made their way down the steep slope, often using footholds, rocks and branches, to get down to the plateau where a sizable village had been set up years ago. It was green, everywhere. Outside the place were small gardens growing beets and squash and soy. A goat wandered, bleating, through the lone thoroughfare. Catfolk lived among elven kind, and high humans. For a tiny town, this place was quite integrated. There were maybe seventy-five people in the whole village. "Tennibrook," Jaed said with a smile on her face, "Welcome to Arkala."
Tenni curtseys. "Charmed," she says. "Where do you think we might find Garen? Does he live in town, or on the outskirts?" She wonders for the first time how he'll react to *Tennibrook's* presence, and whether he'll consider her a threat.
Jaed was about to answer when she caught sight of her bond-sister. Running to the catgirl she called, "Miri, wait! It is me!" The catgirl stopped walking, her shoulders hunched somewhat, and looked over at Jaed, at first annoyed, but then thunderstruck. "Jaed," she said, speaking catfolk, "why are you here?" Jaed smiled and gestured for Tenni to join them. In common tongue, she said, "This is my good friend, Tennibrook; everyone calls her Tenni. We are here to visit my old friends." She grinned at her former fellow slave. Miri frowned back, a little irritated, but also... scared? Why? Jaed said solemnly, "What is the matter, my sister?" Looking first at Jaed then at Tenni, Miri replied in common tongue, "It Master. He... not well." Jaed frowned then as well. "Take me to him please?" Nodding, the catgirl directed them to follow her.
Tenni's heart sinks in her chest when she's told that Jaed's former master isn't feeling like himself. That he's sick. She says a silent prayer that she'll be able to help him. Tenni *is* a master of mundane First Aid and Triage. She follows close behind Miri and Jaed.
Miri leads them to the house Jaed remembered--the largest in the town. Sitting just outside the confines of the village, it was a two-story made of stone with a tiled roof. Garen was the richest and most powerful man in Arkala, a detail Jaed had kept hidden from pretty much everyone, even her current master. She followed the catgirl into the house, glancing back at Tenni to gauge her reaction. Probably not too impressed. Much nicer buildings sat in Nanthalion, including Tenni's many properties.
Tenni has been carefully observing the town even as she prepares herself for a situation in which she may be called upon to heal someone that used to be very close to Jaed. Most of the village properties are one-story buildings, made of timber, with thatched roofs, and smoke-holes instead of full-on brick chimneys. Garen's property is the largest house they've seen in the village thus far, even larger than the tavern they'd passed a short time ago. He must be a very important person to live in a place like this. The building is relatively modest by the standards of the empire; Tenni has at least two houses that are this size or larger. But compared to the other buildings in town, Garen's house is ostentatious. Tennibrook follows Miri and Jaed inside.
As soon as they stepped inside, they were met by a catboy named Fren. With big eyes he greeted Jaed, as if he had not seen her in years. It had only been months. They were in the front room, a beautiful setup--oak walls, an oak staircase leading to a balcony overlooking the large room, a candle chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The room was covered with hunting trophies. Garen was certainly a man who loved showing off his greatest skill--hunting big game. Jaed hardly noticed, she had seen it so many times. Fren muttered to Miri in catfolk, and Jaed cringed at the things he said about Tenni. Narrowing her eyes she said in catfolk, "Mind your tongue, kitten. She is the most powerful vulpine in her region. She could cut you as soon as look at you." None of it was true of course, but it was the only way to shut the catboy up. Squeaking a little, he stood at attention and announced in common tongue, "You... wish to see Master, do you not?"
Tenni has the Tongues spell, and she *could* magically translate all this Catfolk being said in front of her if she wanted to, but she'd always been taught that doing so is rude. Of course, it's also rude for Fren to use Tennibrook's non-fluency in Catfolk to speak secretly to the other servant, but the paladin cleric tries not to take it personally. Tenni stands there with her hands clasped behind her back, awaiting Garen's pleasure.
"Yes, we wish to see M-... Garen," Jaed said. The high elf was no longer her master. Unconsciously, Jaed touched the collar around her neck. She followed Fren and Miri up the stairs, followed herself closely by Tenni. The hall was narrow and a bit dark, made of the same oak as the front room. At the very end of the hall on the right hand, Miri knocked lightly on the door. "Master, a friend is here to see you," she announced. There came a loud groan and, "Send them in. Who is it, Miri?"
Tenni winces at the pained groan she hears coming from Jaed's beloved former master. Clearly, he has to put a lot of effort into maintaining decorum right now. She leans in towards Jaed, speaking sotto voce. "Do you want me to wait outside?" she asks.
Jaed blinked when Tenni asked her that. "Why would I want you to do that?" she whispered back, in vulpani so her old friends couldn't understand them. It had once been a habit for her to slip into catfolk when she was around non-catfolk. "Come with me." Jaed stepped into the room and bit hard on her lower lip to keep from crying out. Garen lay on a soft bed, his body thin and frail. She could see most of the bones in his face. "Master," she breathed, hurrying to him. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she took his bony hand and squeezed it. "Master, I am here." Garen turned his head and looked at her, his hooded eyes widening under the brow ridge that had become prominent in his sickness. "J-Jaed," he panted, staring wide-eyed at her. "What are you doing here?" Jaed kissed the back of his hand. "I came to see you, to see how you are doing." He chuckled. "I am fine," he lied with a smile, "now that you are here." His eyes catching something, he lifted his hand and touched the collar around her neck with the back of his fingers. "It's beautiful. Are you a slave again?" "A concubine," she corrected. Looking back at her friend, Jaed announced, "This is Tennibrook, my best friend."
Tenni hides her surprise a little better than Jaed at seeing Garen's decrepit state. In the stories she'd been told by her ya'towa, Garen had always been a strong and vital man. What had happened to him? She's glad to see that Garen is treating his former slave with love, however. He obviously remembers her fondly.
"Tennibrook," the man rasped, trying to raise his head to look at her. But he was too weak. Jaed moved aside so he could look at the vulpine. Garen smiled warmly. "Vizhra, Tennibrook," he greeted. "It has been some time since I've seen a vulpine. Are you taking care of your... what do you say? ya'towa?" He winked at Jaed, as if he had anticipated that she would call Tenni that. Jaed said, "How did you know, Master?" "The way you look at her," he said simply. "You are either bond-sisters or lovers, and I doubt she is the one who has collared you." Speaking for so long made him begin to wrack with coughing, his frail body hunching and jerking involuntarily. "Master!" Jaed cried, putting her hands on his shoulders to support him. "Tenni, can you do anything?" She didn't want to be mean, she was just desperate. Miri winced and hurried to her master's side, holding a thick cloth already covered with the brown spots of dried blood.
Tennibrook stays out of Miri's way, but places a hand on one of Garen's hands and speaks a word of Ancient Vulpani, casting the Discern Ailment spell that she has enchanted on one of her rings. The results come back immediately, and they're not encouraging. Tennibrook's eyes widen, and her lips narrow. She looks back at Jaed. Yesterday had been a very painful experience for her dear friend as she'd been wracked with guilt over her father. Today would be even worse. "Jaed," she says, "it's cancer. Advanced. It's metastasized to many of the important organs in his body."
Jaed burst into tears at the news. Miri reluctantly nodded her head. But Garen says, "Yes, yes. Don't worry the poor girl. I'll be up in a few days, get back to running the village. Jaed, don't listen to her. I'm fine, just a little..." He meant to say cough, but he showed it instead, his body wracking again. Miri quickly caught the blood coming out of his mouth. Jaed wailed, covering her face with both hands.
Tenni moves behind Jaed, hugging her and placing her head on the woman's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, ya'towa," she says. "I can make him comfortable and keep him reasonably free of pain, but at this point it's just a matter of time. I don't think even a fully trained magical healer could do more." Because of the very nature of cancer-- the body's own cells fighting against itself-- it's one of the diseases that still evades being defeated by magical or nonmagical means.
Tears streaming down her face, Jaed kissed Garen's cheek and forehead. "I missed you, Master," she whispered. "Jaed," he breathed, "don't call me that. I'm not your master anymore. And no tears, my love." He wiped her eyes with his fingers. He took several more labored, wheezing breaths before he continued, "Tell me about your current master." Nodding, keeping her eyes to the side rather than looking at his face, Jaed said, "His name is Nighthawke. He is the Warmaster for House Dethsiris down in Nanthalion area. He is very kind, but a little moody at times." Garen chuckled. He asked Jaed's friend, "Are you taking care of my little catgirl, Tennibrook?"
Tennibrook takes hold of one of Jaed's hands. She knows she has to be strong for her ya'towa. "I think Jaed is one of the most wonderful people in the world," she says sincerely. "We take good care of *each other*. We've been in a couple of battles together. I've taught her about the vulpine religion, which she's going to convert to-- I'm the High Priestess of the Dethsiris Vulpine Temple. And I've suggested that she turn her energy towards becoming a healer, which she's done. She's always seeking self-improvement, and looking for answers to life's little questions. I couldn't be any prouder of her if she was my own flesh and blood."
Garen showed a weak grin. "My beloved," he muttered in catfolk, looking up toward her with glassy blue eyes. Switching back to common, he said, "You fought battles? And you are going to heal? I'm so happy to hear that, child. You will make an excellent..." Another wracking of coughing prevented him from continuing. Jaed burst into tears. When he had finally stopped, she hugged his neck and cried into his hair. Miri for her part, stood by the bed and grimaced. She never had cared much for Jaed or her relationship with Garen.
Tennibrook stands stoically at a respectful distance from Garen, but stays right there to support her ya'towa. "Yes, she will," Tenni says. "She pours her heart and soul into everything she does. She works intensely, she worships intensely, she loves intensely. She doesn't do anything by half-measures. And I'll be with her, helping guide and advise her every step of the way." She places a comforting hand on the high elf's brow. His fever is burning through him. "Do you have any requests for me? Anything I can do to put your mind at ease? Maybe something regarding the disposition of your current family?"
Garen chuckled. "I have never known Jaed to do anything half-assed. I know exactly what you mean. As for my estate, and my slaves... all that is taken care of. Right, Miri?" The catgirl bowed and said, "Yes, Master." "So don't worry about me," he continued with a thin smile. Closing his eyes he said, "Oh, Jaed, if I had known you were coming, I would have had your favorite meal provided." Blushing, Jaed shook her head, "It is okay, Master. I just ate." He nodded, not bothering to correct her on the title again. He did have something important to tell her. "Miri, go find something to do, yes? I will have Jaed send for you once we are finished." She bowed again with another "Yes, Master," and scurried out of the room. Garen muttered, "Come here, Tennibrook. You can hear this too."
Tenni nods and leans in, placing a comforting hand in Jaed's hand. She gets the feeling that Garen doesn't have much time left-- he could go at any moment, in fact-- and that the next few minutes would be among the most difficult of Jaed's life. She's going to need Tenni's help to get through them.
Jaed grabbed Tenni's hand in a tight grip. She knew it was not for much longer. Garen would soon join his ancestors. Gods! He was only about 225 years old! Garen gazed lovingly into Jaed's emerald eyes, and his hand reached for her cheek, resting against it, keeping it warm. "Jaed," he whispered, blinking slowly, "I'm so sorry I let you go. I never should have done that." Leaning into him, Jaed pressed her forehead against his. His face was oven-hot, but at the moment she didn't care. "Do not say that, Master. I am happy with Nighthawke and my friend, Tenni." "I know," he said with a smile. "You seem to be doing well." He coughed some more, and Jaed held him, grabbing the cloth in his lap and wiping the blood from his mouth. Once he had calmed down, he continued to talk. "Jaed, I had to let you go, or at least I *thought* I did, because..." He took a long, wheezing breath. "Because I fell in love with you, kitten. I couldn't... I would have held you back. You are a beautiful woman, Jaed. You deserve someone who can give you everything you need." He started to cough, but he desperately grabbed the reins and forced it back, long enough to say, "I hope this Nighthawke is treating you well, and giving you the kind of love that I cannot." Then he allowed himself to cough, painfully.
"She is well-loved with Nighthawke, and beloved of me as well," Tennibrook assures Garen. The vixen's eyes expertly scan the high elf's bookshelves, and come upon a litany of prayers to the high elven god Eldon, mate of Alarea, father of Elvenkind, and the master of diplomacy and tact. Tenni quickly crosses the room to get it, knowing exactly what section she's looking for. She may be well-versed in triestan, but it's not to the exclusion of all other religions. She turns the book to a prayer for the dying. "Great Eldon, I, Tennibrook Balmossie, Paladin of The Lady and High Priestess of the Dethsiris Vulpine Temple, commend Garen to your care. Comfort him in his final moments in Belariath, and let his name be remembered as a great man who always put his love of the community over his love of self. Be with his family and friends in the difficult days ahead. Be with my ya'towa, Jaed, beloved of Garen, and help those who love her be a comfort to her."
Jaed wailed during Tenni's prayer. Her heart was not just broken, it shattered! Garen had been in love with her this whole time! And now he was dying from a disease that wasted him away! Crying so loudly got her much attention, for the other slaves tumbled into Garen's bedroom to see what was the matter. Garen gripped Jaed's arm and grunted, "I am not gone yet, child. Quiet yourself!" With a hiccup, Jaed immediately clammed up. Garen waved a hand at Tenni once her prayer was done. "Thank you, Tennibrook. That was very kind of you." Wheezing again, he shooed the slaves away. "I did not tell you that you could come in here. Out with you." He was stern sometimes, Jaed remembered, but not without kindness. Tears streaming down her face, Jaed kissed his cheek and whispered in catfolk, "I still love you, too."
Tennibrook closes the prayer book and murmurs to Garen, "I have the Sweet Bliss spell. I can make it so you don't feel any pain, for the time you have left." Tenni had been at both her father and her mother's sides when they'd died, and knows that Garen could go at any moment.
Garen nodded and whispered, "Thank you, I would love a little respite from my pain." He chuckled lightly. "Jaed, my love, go tell Miri to get Lauder. He will need to be here very soon." Jaed burst into fresh tears, and he said a bit firmly, "I am not gone yet. Do not worry about that. Now, go." Bowing her head, Jaed ran to obey him, closing the door on her way out. Garen turned back to Tenni. His voice was thin and wan, but he kept the coughing at bay so that he could say, "Miss Tennibrook, you need to promise me something. No matter what happens, no matter where you are, you need to take care of my Jaed. She is so innocent and frail. I love her with all my heart, but she can make some bad decisions. I do not know Nighthawke, but..." Garen closed his eyes and cleared his throat. "He had better not hurt her, I swear by Eldon's name..." Jaed came back into the room just as Garen said "Eldon's name." He fell silent after that, and smiled at her, weakly lifting his hands and beckoning her to join him again.
"I promise," Tennibrook says. "I will do my best to honor and protect her, and she will know every day how loved she is." When Jaed returns to the room, Tenni looks up as she rejoins them.
Jaed walked slowly into the room. She knew something was up. Both Garen and Tenni were looking at her as if expecting her to say or do something. "What is the matter?" she asked, looking from one to the other. Garen smiled and shook his head. "It is alright, Jaed. Come here." He patted the bed. Jaed sat down beside him and stroked his hair. Garen put his hand on her knee and stroked it with his thumb. Jaed admitted, "Master, I missed you so much when you made me leave. Even now, I am terrified to lose you." Garen reached up and stroked her cheek. "Do not be afraid. I will join with Eldon soon," he muttered. At that, Jaed burst into fresh tears and hugged his neck.
Tenni stands stoically near Jaed at Garen's bedside as she hugs her dying former master, and it's then that she realizes she hadn't yet cast the Sweet Bliss spell to give him relief from his pain like she'd offered to. But the problem is, it would engulf the High Elf's mind in a haze of euphoria rendering him almost incapable of rational thought and coherent action. And there are still things that may have been left unsaid.
Jaed looked to Tenni, finding her at war with herself about something. "What is the matter, Tenni?" she asked quietly, squeezing the vulpine's forearm. Garen, for his part, said nothing, but watched them with that spark of intuition Jaed knew him well for. It seemed he was more aware of Tenni's predicament than Jaed, which didn't surprise the kitty girl.
Tenni gives Jaed a gentle smile. Her friend reads her very well. Vulpines' tail-language gives away their emotions more than they realize. "I can take away his pain," she tells them, "but... it would also take away his awareness for the duration of the spell. He wouldn't have to suffer anymore, though."
Garen smiled knowingly. "What do you think, my beloved?" he asked Jaed. "I think you should get it," she said tearfully. "I do not want you to suffer." But Garen waved at her and shook his head. "No, I would rather have my wits about me. I have already dealt with the pain, I can deal with it a little longer." Taking Jaed's hand he kissed it and said, again, "Do not cry, love. It is almost over." Just then, Miri came in with Lauder, a high human with short gray hair combed over the top of his head. He was holding a ledger, or something official looking. He approached Garen on the other side of the bed, and said, "Everything is in order, Mr. Garen. I will see to your final affairs." Jaed was nervous to ask but she knew she had to. "What will happen to Miri and Fren, the other slaves?" Lauder looked at her as if she shouldn't have spoken. But Garen said, patient as always, "They will go to my cousin a few miles north of here. Do not worry, Jaed. Your friends are well taken care of." Jaed showed him a small smile, but inside she was fighting even more tears.
Tennibrook holds Jaed's other hand and runs her thumb across her knuckles. She can't help but admire Garen's courage in facing the pain without complaint, in preparing to meet his ancestors and his god with his eyes wide open. "You did a good job taking care of Jaed," she assures Garen. "Rest now in the assurance that she'll *continue* to be taken care of. Your duty to her, to your other slaves, and to your village is performed. And I know that Eldon smiles upon you."
Garen smiled at the vulpine. "Thank you, Tennibrook. I have done my best with these loves of mine"--He gazed lovingly at Jaed--"and I am glad I get to leave this world surrounded by those I love--and Lauder." He winked at the lawyer, who did not react in any way. Jaed put the back of Garen's hand against her forehead and wept.
Tenni speaks not another word, but simply holds Jaed's hand, letting her ya'towa know she's not alone in her time of grief. As she watches Garen on his deathbed, Tenni finally leans in and says to Jaed, "E chamat tilzha ni kun." ["I will mourn with you."] Indeed, there will be a new name on Jaed's boz'na scroll very soon.
Jaed hiccuped and a knot caught in her throat. "Ze sin mishna gra vu." ["I will mourn also with you," said in catfolk] "Now, now," said Garen, before a burst of coughing over took him. Blood splattered all over the bed, Jaed, Tenni and Lauder. They could not help but wince against the splash of the red liquid onto them. Then Garen fell back and sighed, a long outpouring of breath. "Master?" Jaed said, shaking him. "Master?" she cried louder. She shook him more vigorously, but he did not respond. "Master! Wake up!" she cried. "You have to wake up!" Turning to the vulpine she snapped, "Tenni, you have to do something! He's not saying anything!" She was beside herself with grief and despair.
Tenni flinches at the blood getting onto her face, and her mithril chain mail and the gambeson beneath, but then, as Jaed desperately tries, and fails, to wake Garen up, the paladin cleric fears the worst. When she's called into action, Tenni takes Garen's hand and casts Discern Ailment again. It tells her all she needs to know. "I'm sorry," she says to her ya'towa. "He's gone."
"No!" Jaed screamed. Throwing herself onto her former master, she wailed, shaking and angry, in deep despair. Lauder carefully made note of the date and hour of Garen's death in his ledger. Miri and Fren approached the group and cried in their own ways.
As Jaed, Miri, and Fren cry over their loved one, Tennibrook casts Clean on herself, on Jaed, and on Lauder to get the blood off of them, and then opens the prayer book and begins chanting a requiem for Garen, seeing his spirit off to Eldon's Spirit Pool. She chants without stopping, for the full 15 minutes it's fabled that it would take him to arrive. What she's doing, according to High Elven tradition, is lending her own spirit to the journey. In her mind, she's standing alongside him, longsword and shield in hand, defending him against the demons that would dare try to impede his path.
For a long time, Jaed did not realize what her ya'towa was doing. She only saw that her loving master was dead. She lay on his chest, oblivious to everyone around her. She was exhausted from crying so much, and only lay there, numb. Miri took her arm and tried to pull her away. "He is gone, Jaed," she said. "Let him go." "No!" Jaed cried, yanking her arm back. "You mourn for him how you will, and I will mourn how I will! Now, leave me alone!" Affronted, Miri backed away and sneered at her. Fren frowned at Miri and muttered, "Leave her alone. You know she was the favorite." "That is the whole problem," Miri grunted, turning away and leaving the room. She slammed the door on her way out.
Tennibrook is in such a deep trance while she chants from the book that she's oblivious to the argument happening right in front of her. The slamming of the door causes her to hitch her chanting for just a moment, and then she resumes, finishing the last two lines. Closing the prayer book, she says to Jaed and Fren, "He's safe in the Spirit Pool now."
Fren immediately showed relief at Tenni's announcement. But Jaed only sat and stared at her dead master. The catboy gripped her shoulder and said quietly, "It is over, Jaed. He is free now." A burst of tears escaped her before they were quieted again. Fren asked Lauder, "When will the funeral take place?" The man said, "Arrangements have been made for Garen's funeral to take place the morning after his death at dawn, at which time he shall be cremated on a pyre. I expect the mourning period to last some time here in the village." Turning to Tenni, he explained, "Garen was well loved by everyone for miles around. He was truly a good man." He said all of this in a kind of self-important monotone, as if he didn't really care if Garen was dead or not, much less whether he would be mourned or not.
Tenni says to Jaed, "We'll stay here in town for the funeral, and take a room here for the night. I'll go back up to see Jilbo and find a place to lodge him overnight." She turns to Fren. "Is there a place Jaed and I can sleep?"
Jaed nodded her acceptance of what Tenni said. Fren replied to her, "There is a guest room for family, and since Jaed was one of us, you two can stay in there. Follow me." He led the two women to a spacious room in the rear of the house. There was only one, queen-sized bed, as well as a small couch and a chest of drawers. With a sympathetic noise, Fren left the two to their own devices.
Tenni sits down on the bed for now, smiling up at Jaed. "I'll rest for a little bit before going back to get Jilbo. I saw some rookeries for rent when we were passing the tavern. I just need to be off my feet for an hour or so."
With a nod, Jaed went to the other side of the bed and lay with her back to Tenni. She didn't *want* to shut the vulpine out, but she was in so much pain she didn't want to talk to anyone. Just let her alone to grieve, for a little while. As she lay there, she thought about Garen. He had given her so much more attention than he had given to the other slaves; it was no wonder they didn't really like her. At the time, it had not occurred to her that he might be in love with her. She thought she was the favorite because she was the most willing to obey him. She wiped her eyes with her hand, and her mind traveled over to Nighthawke. He seemed to be taking over where Garen left off, was doing things for her that Garen never could.
Tennibrook understands that Jaed doesn't want to talk right now, so she just rests for the time being, and after about 45 minutes lying down next to her, she says, "Ya'towa, I'm going to go get Jilbo. I'll be back as soon as I can. And I'll be here to be your shoulder, if you need one."
"Okay," Jaed muttered, not moving. Her heart was empty and any attempts to refill it with thoughts of her new master did not quite make it to the brim. She hugged herself and shivered. She wanted to go back home; she did not want to stay for the funeral, but she knew she must. It was her duty as his favorite slave.
Tenni steps out of the room, tells Garen's surviving slaves where she's going and when she would return, and leaves the house, casting the Fly spell and making her way back up into the mountains. Within 15 minutes, she's found Jilbo. 15 minutes after that, she's gotten him into the tavern's rookery and put down 10 mhl for his overnight stay. Then she returns to the house, and knocks on the door of the room she's sharing with Jaed before opening it.
Jaed heard the knock and grunted a "Come in!" When Tenni came in, she nodded and turned back to staring at nothing. If the vulpine would get in bed and touch her shoulder, Jaed would roll onto her back and stare up at the ceiling while tears slid down her face. "He cannot be gone," she whispered. "It is too soon. He had told me, I would outlive him, but I did not want to believe it. Oh, Tenni, I miss him so much!" The last she sobbed, hugging herself and pulling into a fetal position, facing her friend.
Tenni places her forehead against Jaed's and her hand against the woman's shoulder. "It's okay to be sad," she says. "It's even okay to be angry. Angry at Garen for leaving. Or at cancer for taking him from you. Or at the universe, for its choice of his fate. If there's some good you can take out of it, though... he loved you, he was able to tell you, and you comforted him as he died. And I was here to safely guide him to the afterlife."
Breaking into tears, the first since she initially got to the room, Jaed grabbed her ya'towa in a hug. She sobbed into Tenni's shoulder, believing everything she had said. "He cannot be gone!" she wailed, repeating what she had said earlier. "Why did he die like this? He is supposed to live to be a thousand! Did he... did he not want to live anymore? I do not understand." She broke into body-wracking tears, holding her ya'towa tightly.
Tenni holds Jaed, allowing her bond-sister to cry in her arms. "I don't have an answer for you, ya'towa," she says. "I can only assume he saw it coming when he released you... how else would he know you'd outlive him?" That's not something that she would ever say to Jaed herself. She expects to outlive her ya'towa by many hundreds of years, along with almost everyone she cares about.
Jaed nodded and pulling away, wiped her eyes. "I am very hungry," she muttered. Getting up and out of bed, she asked Tenni to join her, and the two went in search of the ice box. A slave named Ari was in the kitchen checking the ovens for something she was cooking. She was a larger catperson, quite new to Garen's clowder (group of cats). Jaed greeted her quietly and numbly, asking if she could have something from the larder. "Help yourself, Miss," the woman replied, using a towel to pull out a sheet pan and set it on the wooden counter. Jaed led Tenni to the pantry, where she found some sausages and cheeses. She grabbed a few things and carried them with Tenni back to the guest room. They sat on the couch together and ate their meal. Jaed announced, "They will have a buffet of sorts tomorrow at Garen's funeral. I... do not know if I will attend, to be honest."
Tenni makes herself a few small sandwiches made entirely out of summer sausage, pepper jack, salami, and cheddar cheese, and as Jaed talks about what will happen after the funeral, she says, "If you want to take off right after the funeral, I understand. I think we should probably at least make an appearance tomorrow at the rite, but I know it'll be difficult for you."
"Yes, it will be very difficult," Jaed admitted, biting into a chunk of cheddar. "I will stay for the burning of the fire, but then I will need to leave." She looked at her slice of salami and set it back with the other food. She was not very hungry after all.
Tenni had been exercising recently and knows she needs to regain her energy, so even though she's not especially hungry either, she eats. The summer sausage is actually quite good. She understands that Jaed is probably too depressed to have much of an appetite, however.
Jaed|Hawke| got off the couch and went back to the bed. It was getting dark outside, and she didn't want to leave the room. When Tenni finally joined her, they would sleep through the night, to be awakened by Fren knocking on the door. The early light of sunrise could be seen from the window. Jaed groaned and rolled out of bed. She had to leave the room this morning; she had to see Garen cremated. Bursting into tears, she dropped onto the couch and wept.
Tenni awakens when she hears crying, and rises out of bed, spending some time holding her ya'towa before gently suggesting, "Would you like to pray for Garen and get some breakfast before we go to see him, one last time?"
"Yes, please," Jaed whispered, wiping her eyes, then her nose. Despite all her training in vulpani and triestan, in all her grief, she had forgotten everything that went into the boz'na service. "You start, I will follow," she suggested, scrubbing her eyes.
Tenni leads Jaed over to the bed, which they kneel down in front of, using the bed as a makeshift altar in the lack of a real one. "Our Lady, we pray for Garen, who has preceded us into the afterlife. Yesterday, he joined the Spirit Pool of Eldon, where he will be comforted by his god until it's time for him to be reborn into another High Elven life. I saw him through to the Spirit Pool as his melzo. Today, his body will be returned to the elements it came from. Our Lady, be with his family and friends, and with this community as they mourn his loss. Be with Jaed, and guide her through her mourning process. Help me to be a comfort to her. Keeshan."
Jaed|Hawke| prayed silently along with her friend, tears sliding down her cheeks, collecting at the base of her chin until she wiped it off. In her own mind, Jaed prayed that Garen was safe and thanked the Lady for giving her the chance to say goodbye to her beloved master. When Tenni had finished her part of the prayer, Jaed hugged her and cried on her shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered through her tears.
Tenni holds Jaed warmly and says, "We should get breakfast." She leads Jaed down to the kitchen, and makes them some food. Tenni eats everything on her plate.
Jaed ate more slowly, staring a thousand yards into nowhere. She didn't even taste the food. While they were eating, Miri came into the kitchen and grabbed some food of her own. "The funeral is in an hour," she announced looking Jaed up and down as if she did not approve of the catgirl being there, when she was no longer Garen's slave. But maybe there was a tinge of bitter jealousy as well. Miri had always had a thing for Garen. She left the kitchen, and Jaed looked to Tenni. "I am not sure I am ready," she said, "but we have to go, do we not?"
Tenni nods. "Yes, we do," she says. "He'd want you to be there. It's our final duty to him. And then we can go home." And Jaed can return to Nighthawke, who's still living and loves her dearly.
"Okay," Jaed muttered and stood up. With Tenni, she went to leave the house. There were a number of people inside, talking, making plans of some kind, possibly preparing to carry Garen's body on a stretcher. Jaed waved hello but did not speak to anyone, and she and Tenni went out to the Green, a large patch of grass--brown and green--in the middle of the village, where a group of men had already started setting up the pyre. Lauder was present, probably to delegate. The sun was peeking out from behind the thatched roofs of the village's small houses, casting heavy shadows onto the Green and everywhere else. Jaed spotted Miri talking to another young woman, and Fren helping to gather wood for the pyre. Jaed decided to follow suit, and looked around for any wood that could contribute.
While Jaed and Fren gather wood, Tenni makes herself useful by helping to arrange the incense that will burn with the wood, and make the cremation of Garen's body smell good and be pleasing to his god. Eldon has a particular incense, called pashal, which he prefers for funereal rites, and more than enough pashal is available for this purpose. Tenni can't help but wonder if news of Garen's terminal illness had been well-known to the village elders.
Once the wood had been placed and the incense set into the pyre's various crevices, the villagers gathered around it and started humming. Jaed gripped Tenni's hand as the humming grew into a fervor and the people began to sway. Out of the mayor's house came Garen on a stretcher, carried by the four burliest men that had helped to set up the pyre. They were followed by a priest of Eldon, who had been called three days ago in preparation for this funeral. He was dressed in blues and silvers with a tall, conical hat. Beside him, his acolyte carried a torch. The burly men lay the wooden stretcher on the pyre, and then poured an oil of some kind over everything, including Garen's body.
When directed by the priest, the crowd sits down cross-legged at a respectable distance from the funeral pyre. He begins to speak, as Tenni takes Jaed's hand. "Mayor Garen, beloved of us all, left us last night. We all know of the long illness he'd been suffering through. The battle is over, and he suffers no more. His spirit has taken its journey to Eldon's Spirit Pool, escorted by a vulpine paladin cleric. It serves as a reminder to all of us that death is not the end, but a necessary part of life, the step that we must all take, elves and non-elves alike, so that we'll one day be joined with our gods and our ancestors. Garen belongs to Eldon now. We miss him, but we would not force him back into this world of pain. And now we commend Garen's body to the nothingness from which it came."
Jaed grasped Tenni's hand with both of hers, holding onto it as if letting go would set her afloat, never to be found again. The priest spoke eloquently and respectfully of Garen's position; Jaed was quite proud of how everything had turned out, if not happy. She broke into tears, but this morning, she was not alone. Several people--men and women alike--wiped eyes or put kerchiefs to noses. When the priest said that they commend Garen's body, the acolyte placed the torch deep into the side of the pyre. Because of the oil, the wood caught fire easily and soon there was an inferno in the center of Arkala. Jaed stood up and backed away, and she was not the only one. Despite their relative distance from the pyre, they could still feel the heat like a giant oven. The incense did little more than attempt to mask the smell of burning flesh. Jaed leaned over and puked.
The smells coming off the funeral pyre are simultaneously pleasing and discomfiting to Tenni's nose, but she manages not to defile the holy place by following suit and vomiting as well. Instead, she puts herself into a state of deep meditation, reflecting on the never-ending cycle of life and death, and the rare final death of a High Elf. She thinks about the last moments of Garen's life, and his confession of his love for Jaed. There's still a lingering question that now they'd never know the answer to: If he'd fallen in love with her, why hadn't he freed her and asked her to marry him?
Jaed walked away from the pyre, away from the villagers. Under happier circumstances she would have loved to speak with the villagers, get reacquainted. But she was far too depressed. Standing outside the "boundary" of the village, she watched everyone and silently willed Tenni to meet her and take her home. Of course, they had to get Jilbo. Jaed groaned. She wanted to go home; she didn't want to deal with people today.
Tenni collects Jilbo from the rookery in short order, and finds Jaed. Their picnic basket is mounted in front of where Tenni will be. Jilbo lowers himself to the ground so that Jaed can mount up, and they take off, headed for the portal.