Posted by Irzen, Willow and Sor'n
on 5/12/2009, 7:49 pm, in reply to "Re: A Merciless Ending To The Mercy Family"
“You ain’t gonna’ send us nowhere!” snapped Waylon Mercy defiantly at Tommy, “But I’ll tell ya’ dis, give me ma’ weapons back an’ cut me loose, I’ll personally send ya’ straight to da’ darkest hell of Gorrius, fright face! Yep! I’ll send ya’ thar’ on a shudder!”
Tommy ignored Waylon. There were computer programs that provided better conversation…and were more likely to pass a Turing test, to boot.
After Alyson departed, The Ranger without a word to anyone followed the Elementalist.
Irzen turned to Tommy, “Love dies hard, aye, my friend?”
"I'm sure I wouldn't know," Tommy replied noncommittally.
“You loved Bubbles didn’t you?” inquired The Swordsman with a raised eyebrow, “After all, that is part of the reason why we are heading back to Yarfell, to catch up with her. Or was your relationship with our favorite Cambion a bit simpler than that?”
"Eh? I prefer to stick with my own kind when it comes to love or similar matters of the heart," Seriah shook her head.
"Where's the fun in that, Seriah?" smiled The Dark Elf, "Some of the best romantic stories in The Realm revolve around the undying love of inter-racial couples. Where is your spirit of adventure?"
Tommy laughed. “Look at me, Seriah, and tell me what my own kind is. ((OOC reminder: He looks more like an Earth Elemental than a Human, with fractured stone for skin and glowing gems for eyes.)) To your own question, Sterling, I remind you of the passage of time, or rather, the lack of it. We haven't been in the Realm very long at all, and I've spent more of that time locked up in assorted prisons than I've spent with her. Hardly time for love to truly blossom, let alone die.” He laughed again. “Tangentially, I notice that we aren't exactly taking the most direct route back to Yarfell. One of the more annoying aspects of being Adventurers. Remind me to mention that to Neven.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” nodded The Swordsman in agreement as he pointed towards the north, “But to be honest with you, Tommy, I am trying my best to get us back to Yarfell. Technically, we are just three days from The Black Hills, the southern march of Yarfell, and from there two days from the capital itself. Once we are finished with this Eleventh Talisman business, I’m going to see if War Scribe can’t teleport us to Yarfell so we can hook up with whomever else may be there. The last time I checked Kryschenn was still there, other than her, I don’t know.”
"Are we really in that much of a hurry?" the Gamer asked. "You do recall that her screwed-up concept of neutrality requires her to perform some act of evil every time she helps us, right? I don't think that's worth saving us the inconvenience of a few days travel."
"I forgot about that," The Swordsman groaned reluctantly, "You're absolutely right. Maybe it would be best if we continued to take the scenic route to Yarfell after all. After all she has done for us this time around, God only knows what kind of deviltry War Scribe is going to pull elsewhere to balance off her actions with us. I shudder to think about it."
+++++
There was no evidence of any shadow creature, or spy. Shadow Demon made a bad move, or his master did by threatening to destroy Quake. Once a creature of that particular was created it can only be undone by the creator. In this case it was Alyson.
She stretched after she 'relieved' herself and walked right into the ranger, "Oof!"
“Easy, Alyson,” Willow Bark forced a smile as he held up his hands, “It is just me.”
Looking at the area where Shadow Demon had previously hovered, The Ranger added, “I see you have dispatched Venger’s toadie once more. It is a good habit to have if there ever was one.”
The elementalist brushed her hair back over her shoulders, "Uh-huh. And how would you dispose of Venger's spy? You are no wielder of light magic or at least none that I have not seen yet."
Turning back to the Elementalist, the Ranger added, “But that is not why I wish to talk to you now. Please walk with me as we make our way back to the others and I will explain myself as we go along.”
Walking side by side with The High Lady of Storm Haven, Willow Bark began, “Alyson, I shall cut straight to the heart of the matter, let it go! Let go of your anger and your rage and your hatred before it consumes you. When I look at you, I see little of the woman that I have come to love and adore above all other women.”
"Obviously you didn't listen to Seriah, did you? The less you pester me, the sooner I will revert to my old self." She sighed kicking at the dirt, "In other words, you wouldn't grab a bull by the horns after it was all rialled up would you? No, you give it LOTS of space and leave it alone to COOL off."
Stopping for a minute, The Ranger looked into The Elementalist’s eyes, “I cannot see your heart! It is as if you are possessed. As if a dark spirit is consuming everything that is good and noble and just within you. Alyson, you have vanquished your nemesis among the Mercy Clan, you have dispatched Shadow Demon, has there not been enough blood shed this day to sate your dark spirit? What more do you want?”
"Dark. Light. They balance each other. I am neutral when it comes to the nature of magic. My nemesis? Ha! Ha! Ha! You're funny, you know that. Granted if the Mercys were actually capable of showing mercy, things might have gone differently. But they didn't."
“I see,” Willow Bark deadpanned, “If you wish to be alone and if you wish for me to no longer ‘pester’ you, then I shall trouble you no more.”
With that said The Ranger continued to walk side-by-side with The Elementalist but did so in complete silence.
"A word, ranger?" Seriah cut in between Willow and Alyson before he could react.
Returning to Irzen and Tommy’s side, Willow Bark addressed them both, “We have returned, my friends, what shall we do now?”
"I, um, yeah…" The Gamer's voice trailed off as Seriah all but dragged Willow Bark away.
Irzen watched the whole scene and turned to Tommy, "What is it with him and women? Alyson is in love with him, War Scribe lusts after him, Serna fawns over him and now Seriah is counseling him. Willow's a common Wood Elf. He's a dime-a-dozen Ranger. Hell, he doesn't even have a Weapon of Power? How in The Realm does he get all of the babes and I can barely hold onto Diana?"
The assassin politely steered the elf off to one side leaving Alyson, Irzen, and Tommy together.
"Anyway," Tommy began again, "I think I've come up with a sufficiently inescapable prison for our merciless Mercys. With all of your help," he nodded to indicate Alyson, Irzen, Heidi, Kana and Serna, "I can banish them to what the Binders refer to as the Far Realm. It's a non-place that's essentially outside of Reality, from which even gods cannot recover them. Does everyone find that suitable?"
"Works for me!" chimed in The Swordsman, "Just so long as we never, EVER, see their ugly faces again."
"You know where I stand on the matter," added Sor'n with a nod, "Exile is too good for them. But I will stand with my love on this matter."
Seriah explained, "Seriously, ranger, you must give my former student space. Lots of space." She looked directly at Willow studying him for a moment and gave him his space a few feet away. "Do not be offended by her actions. I'm sure you've come close to having dark days at some point in your long life. Tell me, why is an elf of high status this far away from his homeland?"
Seriah was an excellent judge when it came to figuring out where someone hailed from. What type of clothing and embroidery was put into tailoring such fine outfits.
"I shall do as you request, Seriah," Willow Bark turned to face The Assassin, "And as Alyson has demanded. I shall give her space--and plenty of it. I cannot lie about my feelings, I AM offended by her actions but I realize that she is NOT herself and so I have forgiven her in my heart. And I have had more than my fair share of dark days in my past, but I have never, EVER, taken them out on anyone who did nothing to earn my wrath."
The Ranger drew closer to The Assassin whispering in The Elvish tongue, "I must compliment you, Seriah, you are very perceptive. Considering your occupation, I can understand why, but I will answer your question if you choose to answer one of mine. Deal?"
Willow Bark continued in Elvish with a sad smile, "I am far from my homeland and my people because I wanted to make my own way in The Realm. I wanted to discover who I was and who I could be absent my family's pushing me into a political marriage to shore up their alliance with another Elvish noble house. I chose to be a Ranger, I chose Storm Haven as my station and I chose to lead my life in this way because I wanted to discover myself both as a Wood Elf and as a person."
Turning in the direction of The Elementalist, Willow Bark added, "But that all changed the day she entered my forest. In my heart, I loved her from the very first moment I saw her and from every moment thereafter--including this one. But if I must bury my heart until the woman I loves returns to claim it again, so be it."
Returning his attention to Seriah, The Ranger asked in his native tongue, "Now you must answer a question of mine: Are you from Alyson's birthworld, Earth, or are you from The Realm of Dungeons and Dragons? And how did you cross the barrier between those worlds appearing as an old woman on one while appearing as a young woman on the other?"