A Servant Returns

[Tori Shiroishi]

Tori entered the chapel, her mind on the events past. She was disgusted with the mages, disgusted with those who went against her god, and with the new ruler of Avaren. She left the castle, no longer finding it pleasant to reside within those walls, the ruler-ship of Avaren was no longer fit for one such as herself to make clean the halls of the once great castle. She stood at the center of the chapel, waiting for a sign. She carefully unwrapped an oddly-shaped bundle that she had been carrying, revealing beneath the wrap a scythe. This scythe was hers, plain and metallic, yet well kept nonetheless. In her blade, she saw a reflection of her tortured face, doubting and wondering. She looked as though ready to give up, yet in her hands was her scythe. She held it up, turning it over in her hands, as if examining it. Yet, she was not looking at the scythe, but instead into her heart. Why? How? What could cause her to feel so... defeated?

Even as she thought this, though, she felt a renewing optimism. After all, she was loyal, and she was faithful. What could cause her to lose, so long as her spirit remained pure? What force could corrupt her soul, as to render her impious? So long as even one still fought for righteousness, the cause was not lost. She struck the ground firmly with the bottom of the handle, steeling her face, and regaining her posture. She stood proud and tall before her god. She had overcome this test known as doubt, and would continue her great cause...

[Sir Creil Bevier]

"Doth I, Sir, appear to thee to be a man of the cloth?"

"Well, actually. . ."

"Mayhap I am mistaken priest, but mine robe is white - not brown. I am his servant and God's will is mine command. Thou art but a lowly mortal, and thy gold shall not buy mine sword."

"Perhaps you don't fully understand who I am Sir Knight, I can seek to have you excommunicated from th-"

A resounding crash echoed around the great chapel, followed shortly by a meek whimper and a dull thud as the priest fell to the floor, unconscious. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth and his jaw was swollen and bruised where the Paladin had struck him with the back of his armored hand.
A small leather pouch was clutched in the priests hand. The ties had come loose and slackened, and several gold coins had spilled out onto the floor.

Though this was not an hour of prayer there were few gathered within the walls of this holy place, and the shocked citizens and clergy stared - some in disgust or confusion and a few in fear.

The Paladin Knight was clad in full armor save for his helmet, which he cradled in the crook of his arm. The glimmering steel was mostly covered by a long white surcoat that bore the coat of arms of a Paladin Chapterhouse on the chest - one that did not belong to Avaren, and the mark of a chapter master was sewn into the fabric on the shoulder.

Upon his back he wore a massive broadsword, almost as tall as he, though the Paladin was no small man. Thickly built and heavy set, he was an imposing figure even without the impressive looking blade.

"Seek to besmirch mine honor. . ." Creil half muttered to himself, turning away from the limp form of the brown robed priest to face the people who looked on. He regarded them each in turn with deep blue eyes, before speaking again.

"Pick him up." The Paladin didn't appear to be addressing anyone in particular, although some of the clergy nearest to the unconscious man scurried over and lifted him between them, taking the priest from the room, but not before pocketing the fallen coins.

Without another word, Creil strode calmly over to stand before the altar, rustling and clinking as he knelt.

"Forgive me Lord, for mine sins art many. . ." He began in a low voice, steel-gloved hands clasped in front of him.

[Tori Shiroishi]

Hearing a sound, Tori turned around, looking to see who would defile the chapel so. Her face still as it was, she saw upon the ground a priest of Avaren. She turned to the only man she could find with blood upon his gauntlet, and, waving a few lower priests toward the fallen one, asked him, "Was it you who struck a priest of our noble chapel, leaving him upon the ground?" She placed her left hand upon his armored shoulder, her scythe held firmly in her right. "May I ask what offense he hath committed that caused him to be struck?" She noted a crest upon his armor. She was aware of these paladins, yet she had not dealt with them before. After the war, she had received a position in the church, yet there was still so much she felt she must learn. She decided that, were she to learn anything, it had better be now than later. "What say you, my fellow holy warrior?"

[Sir Creil Bevier]

Creil heard light footfalls approach him from behind, and felt a small hand rest on his shoulder. From the sound and feel of the person approaching him, Creil was almost sure it was a woman, but was intrigued at the sound of wood striking the stone floor of the chapel as the stopped behind him.

"Thy wish is mine command, oh Lord" Creil finished his almost silent prayer, before standing and turning to face the woman who had accosted him.

She was young but was no child, and was seemingly new to church politics. At this point the Paladin had two options, ignore the girl and continue on with his day's business, or explain things to her and educate her on the difference between the way things worked - and the way they were supposed to work.

"Aye young mistress of the cloth, t'was I who struck the foul priest in sights of the Lord's sacred altar." He looked down at her, regarding her with deep blue eyes, set into a face framed by brilliant blond hair - a face that could have said to have been beautiful.
She looked almost comical with her hand still on the Paladin's shoulder, as he stood over a head taller than she.

She was carrying a weapon within the chapel, and only holy warriors had the right to bear arms in this most sacred of places. That placed her outside the clergy, but she was certainly no Paladin. After all, who ever heard of a Paladin dressed as a maid?

"I hath forever been a man of principle and honor Lady, and to offer a true man coin to betray his oath is but an insult to mine honor - an insult I shall not stand idly by and take." Creil smiled wanly, "Art thou aware of the intricacies of Church politics little one? The clergy are not so free of corruption as they mayhap suggest"

[Tori Shiroishi]

"And for his poor thinking of Paladins, he shall be reprimanded. Yet, as I understand it, we have need of all able men and women to protect those within our kingdom, be it for pay or for glory, or even for righteousness's sake. I would ask you, do you come here to help us? I would be most honored to fight alongside you and your paladins, be it for the honor that yet remains within the church. Were one to insult me with an offer of coin for service, I would not have stood idly, myself. As for this chapel, I am Tori Shiroishi, attendant to the head priest, Lord Vidar, and holy warrior of this chapel. I should think he will hear of this insult soon enough, but for now, I should like to have your name, oh holy one."

She removed her hand from his shoulder, placing it back upon her scythe's handle. The cold metal felt refreshing, as she knew she once again held a weapon for the Church of Avaren. She stood there, feet at shoulder's width, looking almost blankly into the eyes of the paladin before her. Her face was young, and yet not childish. Her face held a wisdom of sorts, but it was only of the battlefield. The semantics of politics were lost upon her. She looked upon him once more, as if to decide what to do with him, and finally decided to speak up, "See to it that Lord Vidar hears of this grievous insult to a holy warrior and paladin. He knows well enough to decide upon a fitting punishment. As for you, it would do you well to not insult those who do the work of the holy."

She turned back to the paladin, eyes meeting his. She nodded silently, and her eyes once more moved to the blade of her scythe, as she looked not for the answer of what to do, but instead how...

[Sir Creil Bevier]

"There is little need for further reprimands, as I doth think justice hath well been meted out by the back of mine hand. Mine honor is intact and the issues that hath brought about this occurrence hath been reconciled." Creil smiled warmly, beaming down at her.

This young woman was all fire and fury, seemingly full of brimstone and righteous purpose. It was easily taken too far. A Priest of the Lord is just that after all, and a servant of the Almighty, even if he is a fool. Surely the priest had been trying to secure his station within the church with the purchase of a Paladin's loyalty and services, but he had been doing no evil. Threatening the Paladin had probably been his greatest mistake and crime, but he had seen his just reward for such behavior.

"As to thy question Lady, I am here to observe and to judge. During mine time in Avaren I shall surely mete out justice and deliver aid to the needy where I can, alas I shall be leading no crusades." Creil rubbed his chin with an armored hand, the chainmail on his fingers clinking against the metal plates of the gauntlet as he did.

"However, I doth harbor a true calling and urge for to rid the world of the servants and denizens of the dark. Perhaps just one crusade. . ." Creil smiled again, his deep blue eyes shining.

[Sarathai]

"Justice by the back of a hand, is it?" came an inquisitive voice from a nearby pew. Sarathai had been sitting within the church in contemplation for some time, paying little heed to those around him until this point. After all, though this church had committed great misdeeds, they clearly had Avaren's best intentions in mind and even now did all they could to help with the cities reconstruction. It was the brief scuffle that the paladin had initiated that had brought him from his inner thoughts to those of the present, paying particular attention to what he was saying and doing.

"Is that not a rather barbaric way of dealing with problems? Is not the better path in life to be the one who stands above striking out at others for whatever perceived slights they might commit?”

Still, Sarathai did have his own purpose, a mission granted to him by his god that was to be for the benefit of many should it be successful. “You should mete out justice where justice is due, and always in a fitting manner. This does not include striking unarmed priests. Though if you truly wish to bring some light to this world, there is a task I might beg your aid in accomplishing.”

“There is a place,” he continued, hoping that he could rope these two in before they decided against helping him, “On the very borders of the lands of Avaren about which dark rumors are plentiful. It is the place where the warriors of Avaren were met with betrayal and loss at the hands of those they trusted and those whom they decreed as their enemies. Now, while it is supposedly uninhabited, I know it to be a site of great evil, where evil deeds have been both committed in the past and will be committed in the future unless this place is reclaimed, purified and sanctified in the name of god.”

Of course, Sarathai may have believed in a different god than them, so it didn’t settle completely avoiding this point. It felt almost like he was attempting to deceive them. Yet, he assured himself inwardly, no matter what god, so long as the deed was just and made the world that much of a better place, this was perfectly justified.

[Sir Creil Bevier]

Creil turned slowly to face the man who had addressed him, seeing what appeared to be a monk sat amongst the pews of the chapel. There was something about him that struck Creil as unusual, though he couldn't place the feeling his intuition had served him well in the past.

"Prithee pardon Holy One, though I wouldst ask thee to remember thine own station in life. I am a man of honor and a soldier of the Almighty. Those whose tongues betray them and question mine honor shalt expect a challenge in return. I shalt not be belittled by attempts at bribery, nor insults veiled behind silver speech." Creil walked over the the monk, excusing himself from his conversation with the young woman with a polite wave of the hand.

"Thou wouldst do well to watch thy words Holy one." Creil's heavy footsteps ceased as he stopped beside the monk, set down his helmet on the floor and took a seat by the cowled man.

"Explain thy meaning man. Why wouldst thou place such significance on a lost land - a realm of the long dead?"

[Sarathai]

Paying heed to the paladin’s words, Sarathai gauged it would be a waste of time to try and explain his own views regarding his actions, for this man seemed clearly full of personal zeal and pressing personal opinions on him would most likely do little more than cause him to take offense. After all, Sarathai was here to gain aid, not to make enemies with those who had ideals not too terribly different from his own.

“Very well then,” he said, hoping to get to the important topic, “There are several reasons why I believe this mission to be of importance. Firstly, it would greatly make my sleep that much better at night if I knew there were once less place of evil in this world in need of cleansing. Yet, to some, the prospect of simply cleansing evil is not enough incentive; in that case, I would state that this location, this abandoned citadel, lies along the borders of Avaren. It is in the perfect location for some dark power to take up residence and begin plotting the downfall of the kingdom, which would not be possible should it be instead made into a holy site and cleansed of any remaining evil.”

“She might be able to help too,” he stated somewhat louder, gesturing at the girl whom the paladin had been previously speaking too, “She bears a weapon in the name of the church, so I don’t suppose there would be any problem if she helped. Of course, supposing this is what she desires to do.”

[Sir Creil Bevier]

"So," Creil began, glancing back over his shoulder to the young woman he had been speaking with moments ago, "Thou wouldst have we three stand against many in a foreign land, in a city of the dead and a place of great evil? Such is surely suicide, even in the name of the Almighty."

Creil was actually giving careful consideration to the monk's words, yet there was likely to be little value in the three of them getting themselves killed.
He didn't know or trust the monk - something about him still seemed wrong somehow. Creil looked the man over, taking note of the symbol around his neck - one he did not recognize.

"Prove to me that thou speakest words of truth and assemble a greater force than we three an thou mayest count upon mine sword Holy One." Creil spoke deeply and forcefully, as he often did, attempting to hide his misgivings about the cowled monk.

He may be a servant of the dark himself, or in thrall to them. Did he seek to claim their souls, power or simply their lives? Perhaps he spoke the truth, yet there was little evidence either way. For now, the overlarge Paladin reserved judgment. He would see soon enough.

[Tori Shiroishi]

Tori looked at the monk, and took note of the words he spoke. He talked of cleansing evil, and of that she knew well. The way he spoke, though, gave her misgivings about this man. If she could trust him, there was a power of evil residing in the abandoned citadel nearly outside of Avaren. She could not see a reason not to trust this man, as he seemed worthy enough, but she spent her time wondering. Perhaps it was her woman's intuition, but she could not seem to bring herself to trust him, entirely. Yet, she could not bring herself to mistrust him, either. Perhaps... Perhaps he used the powers of the dark, thinking to overcome the dark? It was but a foolish notion to her, yet it seemed that, nonetheless, she could trust the man insofar as his words. She continued to listen, deciding that, even if it were a trap, she must learn more from him. As much as he was willing to tell her, at least. "And the name of this evil, good sir?"

She could not bring herself to avoid questions, and she knew that learning what he would tell sooner than later would be best. "How many are there, and what sort of cleansing do you propose?" She brought her scythe to the ground, as she moved to stand beside the paladin in audience. She would find out about this man, as well, to see if his words were trustworthy...

[Sarathai]

“As much as I would love to assemble a mighty army and rise off into the sunset,” Sarathai said, a small note of impatience now in his voice, “Not only does Avaren scant have enough warriors to spare to go on a mission such as this, even if it did there is no true sizable threat at this moment to warrant more than an investigation team at best.”

“Residing on the very fringe of Avaren territory it is not truly in a foreign land, more than it is simply in a spot of rather untamed wilderness. It may be an evil location, yet that does not mean it is horribly dangerous if it is indeed still abandoned, thus it is hardly suicide to investigate.”

Unfortunately, he was beset with another sort of problem. On the one hand, he had a paladin who thought that hey combined were not nearly strong enough for this expedition. On the other hand, there was the maid-priestess who seemed, if anything, doubtful that this was even a mission worth sending a small group to investigate.

“Very well,” Sarathai stated, repressing the urge to let out a small sigh, “Then, out of fearful reservation towards investigating that of which the danger is unknown at best, you don’t want to come. I can understand this.” He said to the paladin, rising from his seat. Turning towards the priestess, he addressed her now, “If you want to accompany me, you are welcome. All I want to do is investigate this site that is tainted by some evil or another and claim it in the name of god, so that it might be cleansed of the taint of evil. “

“I am departing now, whether or not I can garner any aid for this just cause was an uncertain factor from the beginning. After all, I have little in monetary wealth, so I’ve come to have to rely purely on those who will work for the only price of furthering a good cause. In this city, such people are harder and harder to find.” he finished, turning as though to leave.

[Sir Creil Bevier]

((OOC: You appear to have read my character quite well. Damn.))

"Fearful reservations!" It was more an exclamation than a question, and Creil almost yelled out the words, breaking the near-silence of the chapel.

He stood quickly, his armor clicking as he picked up his helm and placed one hand on the Monk's shoulder. The Paladin pulled the Monk back, bodily turning the man on his heels.

"Thou art pert to accuse me of cowardice Sir! I wouldst ride into the very gates of hell itself could I find them. No man, beast nor foul creature of the dark could give me cause to falter!" The overlarge Paladin continued to bellow, apparently addressing the ceiling as well as the Monk.

"Thy challenge is accepted! A holy expedition awaits! A crusade of the righteous!"

Creil immediately and forcefully donned his helm and drew his massive broadsword, looking around expectantly for someone to fight.
He was no idiot, and far from stupid. However, the huge man was a little more than brash and headstrong, and easily got carried away with himself, seeing challenges and quests almost everywhere, and fair maidens to rescue where there was no or little danger.
He meant well, but often blundered into situations without thinking through the consequences of his actions. Fortunately for him there were few things he couldn't simply fight, hack, slash and break his way out of.

Creil paused for a brief time, looked around once more and seeing no enemies to slay, sheathed his broadsword and removed his helm.

"Yes, well. . ." He muttered

"However, Holy One," Creil went on, unashamed or unaware of his actions, "Thou wouldst do well to speak true from this moment hence." He moved slightly closer to the Monk, towering over him like a vast column of muscle, sinew, bone and steel.

"Who art thou truly, and prithee tell the origins of the symbol adorning thy neck."

[Tori Shiroishi]

Tori listened to the words of the monk. It seemed as if he was telling the truth, insofar as he had lost patience with them. Truly there was no reason for him to do so if he were lying. She had trust in his words. Even if it was for some other god, at least he worked for the sake of the people of Avaren. She may have to fight him later, but for now, there was no reason to start yet another war, simply for her own pride and honor. Truly it could not be the will of the god of Avaren. Surely, through this man's belief in some other god, the god of Avaren hoped to work justice and peace for Avaren. "The symbol around his neck is of no consequence, or so the new royalty would have us believe. Either way, should we be working to cleanse a place from evil, I have no argument with his method. His folly is his own, and I am no part of it, so long as he makes it not a part of me. Shall we work to cleanse, or sit here debating as cowards? I am with the bald one. Let us move."

[Sarathai]

OOC: I gave it about a 50-50 chance that you’d either react just like that…..or punch me in the face. About the best odds you can get at any given time while RP-ing.


Sarathai inwardly smiled at the paladin’s reaction. The complete fanatical fervor he had reacted with was almost… comical. Still, it seemed there was no more doubting his willingness to aid Sarathai in the mission charged to him by his god. It would be rather detrimental at best if he showed the overly-serious man that he found his reaction the least bit amused.

“This?” Sarathai said, holding up the holy symbol of Pelor that he carried strung around his neck. He had not expected his faith to be questioned, especially from a knight who clearly did not wear the livery of any paladin order Sarathai had ever seen in Avaren. As such Sarathai has simply assumed he was not a member or follower of the Avaren faith, still, there was no point in lying to the man. “Who am I? I am a simple cleric of a god that values healing, strength and goodness above other qualities. My holy symbol’s origin is in representing those who do the best that a good person can do and who help others according to their needs without bias for or against order.”

“Thank you.” He said simple, nodding at the warrior/maid who supported him. “Now, if it’s all the same to you, I would greatly like to set out immediately, though not before you could grant me the single favor of letting me know your names. It wouldn’t do to beg help from perfect strangers and not at least make an attempt to get to know them.”