Not Tonight
Telamon had left Aragos a message to meet him outside of the city with Bela in tow, but unfortunately, the weather has become a bitter thing this evening. It's snowing in the excess, with winds throwing around snowflakes that whip across the face and the hair indiscriminately. The cold is chilling down to the bone if one is not wearing the appropriate clothing for it.
Bela's golden eyes, however, peer out at the landscape as she holds onto Aragos's hand. Her own hands are bundled up in mittens, and she's wearing a heavy fur cloak on top of a woolen dress, winter-appropriate walking boots, and thick socks. A knitted cowl is wrapped around her neck for good measure, trapping her warm breath and keeping her face comfortable in the wake of the fierce cold.
"Aragos?" she asks. "When is that man going to get here?"
The paladin stands at Bela's side, holding her hand gently, his handsome face set into lines of displeasure as the cold becomes increasingly unpleasant. Though, he doesn't himself allow something as small as the weather to bother him. He carefully pulls her cowl a little more firmly around her, to shield her from the weather and sighs. "I do not know, but if he makes us wait much longer..."
Aragos looks at the girl and his lip curls into the merest beginning of a smile. "I will take you to get something warm to drink instead." He wonders if the girl has ever had hot chocolate. It's not an unfamiliar thing to him that such a thought is accompanied by painful memories, but he doesn't allow them to overtake him any more than he allows the weather to do so.
The sound of footfalls can be heard even over the wind, and suddenly a robed form looms out of the darkness. Well, as much as one can 'loom' when you're only five and a half feet tall. "Blast it. A thousand apologies to both of you. The wind is so bad I almost piled into the Tornmawr when I took off from my house." The hood of the heavy fur cloak is pushed back to reveal Telamon's face, his expression annoyed. "Hopefully it'll be calmer at the town."
The half-elf kneels down so he can look at Bela. "Are you ready? We're going to travel by magic -- if you're nervous, just hold onto Aragos and close your eyes, and he'll tell you when it's okay to open them."
Bela's golden eyes flash a little (in what little light there is in the winter night) at the idea of Aragos taking her to go drink something warm instead, but she catches the telltale crunch of shoes on snow before most other people would. She looks up at Telamon, a brow raised.
"What do you mean, 'took off'?" she asks, in that incredulous way that only a somewhat older child can manage. And then she adds, "Does that have to do with traveling by magic?" So curious.
Aragos shifts uncomfortably at the mention of 'traveling by magic', but he shrugs slightly. "Here Bela, take my hand." He pulls off his gauntlet from his left hand and offers the limb to the child at his side. "That way if you get dizzy; you won't fall."
Telamon's eyes sparkle, a reflection of the nighttime skies above. "I was flying. Or, well, trying to. It's very windy tonight, though, and it's easy to get blown around if you're not careful." He grins. "But we won't be flying there tonight. We're stepping through the between spaces, to borrow a phrase I heard once. Teleportation."
He straightens up, and nods to Aragos. "The weather's getting nasty here, but I think things should be calmer in town. If not, well..." Tel's eyes glint. "I'll cheat. Oh, just in case..." He opens his haversack, and passes a bottle to Aragos. "Soothe syrup."
Bela blinks at the idea of Telamon flying despite the fact it is snowing and blowing wind about everywhere. "Birds know better than to fly in this kind of weather," she says, taking Aragos's hand. He's rubbing off on her if this snark is how she's talking these days.
She looks up at Telamon expectantly. "Aragos said it's not polite to cheat." There's a story there. "Except for if you really don't like the guy you're playing against."
And then she looks up at the soothe syrup. "For you, or for him?"
Aragos looks at the bottle, taking it from Telamon with an arched eyebrow. "It is unlikely that it is for me, so he must mean it for you." The paladin explains to Bela. He glances toward her and his lips do that thing again where he doesn't quite smile, but his lips curl at the edges. "Do you want me to make sure it's not poison?"
Telamon chuckles. "Actually, it's for both of you. I know a couple people who get queasy on teleports, so I always carry a little just in case." He claps his hands together. "In any case, let's get moving, shall we?"
He stands with Aragos and Bela, and touches them gently on the shoulders. His voice takes on a strange reverb, as he chants. "Anungal, kaskal nu siten, ula'ulla." A swirl of multicolored light wraps around the three of them, and suddenly in a flash they are not outside Alexandria any more -- but someplace else entirely. Just outside of a small town, it seems.
GAME: Telamon casts Greater Teleport. Caster Level: 20 DC: 26
Any of the snark that Bela had is gone when they teleport. Once they're outside of the town and Bela's senses catch up with her--
Hrrk. Her mittens go up to her face and she looks up at Aragos with panic in her golden eyes. That's the look of a girl who's going to need the soothe syrup about as immediately as it can get.
Thankfully, Aragos doesn't seem the least little bit affected by Telamon's spell. It's almost an oddity really, how unaffected he is. Perhaps he has experience with such things? Either way, he kneels immediately, uncorking the bottle and lifting it to Bela's hands. "Here. Move your hands and in it goes." His voice is full of soft sympathy, a kindness that might be hard to imagine he is capable of. Once he's able, he helps her drink the potion, so that she no longer feels sick.
"And that's why I brought it." Telamon's eyes and voice are sympathetic as well. "It's all right, dear. I know this strapping lass who has the same problem. She can't -stand- it. And my friend Simony has similar issues."
He waits, letting Aragos tend to Bela, as he scans the area with his dark eyes. The evening is no impediment to his gaze, as he checks for any movement or surprises.
Bela lifts up her hands and... in goes the soothe syrup, which Bela manages to get down. She makes a rather disgusted sound, but it's better than losing her lunch with Aragos from earlier. Instead, she looks up at Aragos, and then Telamon. "Do you see anyone?"
As a matter of fact, there's a couple of people who are walking out of the town, a man and a woman. They're dressed quite well and comfortably, suggesting that they're well-off in terms of material wealth. Like Bela, their eyes are golden. The woman even has a similar shade of brown to Bela's hair, and she smiles at the little bundle of heavy cloak and cowl. "Hello," she greets, "are you Bela?"
The man nods in greeting to Telamon and Aragos. "Name's Finley Sternwood," he says to Aragos. "My wife Anaia and I will be taking in little Bela--if she says yes to our guardianship, that is."
Aragos is still kneeling in front of Bela as the others approach, and he allows himself to be somewhat overlooked so that he can gauge Bela's response to the two people who approach. Still... He pats the girl on her head once with his freed hand and frowns at the pair with a distinct lack of trust in his gaze. His purple eyes which a moment ago held warmth for the girl slightly behind him is gone utterly now. Leaving his gaze cold and heartless seeming. "Forward, aren't you?"
"Easy there, Aragos," Telamon says, his posture relaxing. "I met with the Sternwoods the other day. I can vouch for them." He offers a bow to the couple. "Bela has had a hard road, sir and madam. Aragos and I would give her hope, and the prospect of a better tomorrow."
He looks at Bela with a smile. "But as Finley says... it's in Bela's hands."
Bela looks a little hesitant, but Anaia, the woman, doesn't prod her into responding to her. Bela looks up at her and...
"Would you expect me to call you Mother and Father?" she asks.
Anaia shakes her head. She's dressed quite nicely, her wool skirt embroidered with little ornaments of gold thread here and there to suggest that she and Finley are comfortably wealthy, although what professions they are engaged in are not immediately obvious. "Not unless it is your choice to do so, Bela," she says. "Finley and I have wanted a child of our own for so very long, but that does not mean we want one at the expense of your comfort."
Bela looks up from Anaia at Aragos, as though to get his assessment on the matter of this couple who want to adopt Bela.
GAME: Aragos rolls Sense Motive: (1)+1: 2 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Telamon rolls detectBS: aliased to sense motive: (17)+29: 46
Aragos's eyes glow softly as he stares at first the man and then the woman. His frown settled deeply onto his features. In spite of Telamon's offer of caution, he seems to ignore it. If anything, he seems to take the words as some kind of insult. "It is my occupation to be cautious Lord." He says sternly to Telamon. "The child's care is in my hands after all, and I take that very seriously."
Telamon nods slowly, his expression serene. "Aragos is of course correct. Bela is his ward, and he takes his responsibilities seriously." There's a tone of approval in Telamon's voice.
"Master and Missus Sternwood, you had mentioned you were lured in by Seraquoix's false promises. I won't belabor that, but I would ask what you do now? Both Aragos and I desire for Bela's life to not be marred by poverty and privation."
Finley frowns at first, but it's Anaia who nods at Aragos. "I understand completely," she says, before giving Finley a smile. "Don't worry, dear--it's only natural for them to be a little protective, isn't it?"
She turns to Telamon and gives him a winning smile. "I'm an accountant," she says. "I've been hired to take care of balancing the ledgers for many individuals in the community. Finley had been my assistant--it's actually how we met--back in Alexandria. As of late, he's been the homemaker for us--but he's talked about, perhaps, becoming a cook of some sort professionally."
Bela looks at the woman who would become her guardian for a moment, and then she nods. "She's in charge," she says, looking at Aragos. "I like her."
Aragos looks at the woman, blinking. There's a rather distinct lack of expression on his face, but he nods to Bela's words. "If you both intend to work, who will raise Bela?" He inquires tonelessly. "Money is one thing, but care is quite another."
"A fair question. I had expected you both had some money to start with, and helping keep a new settlement on an even keel is a full time job." Telamon hmms. "Though I expect Bela will be schooled, she would want someone to come home to. I presume Finley will be spending some time at home, practicing his cooking at first?"
Finley raises his hand as though to swear an oath, which he proves by saying, "I, Finley Sternwood, solemnly swear that I will not dream of professional employment until Bela becomes an adult, should we be deemed fit guardians," he says. And here he looks at Bela with eyes like that of a man who's just absolutely taken with something precious. "I'd love to bake all of the cookies and cakes in the world for you, Bela."
Anaia rolls her eyes affectionately and grins at Telamon. "This is the man I married in the Temple of Althea," she says. "We'd agreed--before Marsward, of course--if I were to become with child, he would have stayed home with the baby once a few months had passed and I could return to work. He's happiest taking care of people."
Bela, of course, is completely enthralled by the promise of cookies and cakes, and is already vigorously nodding. "When can I go home with them?" she asks of Telamon and Aragos.
Aragos stares at Finley, his eyes still glowing faintly in the dim light. "You make an oath to a paladin of Vardama. Know that your word is a binding one, and that should you fail to keep your oath... There will be a price to pay." His words are an ominous thing, but when he turns those same eyes on Bela they soften and he pats her on the head gently. "You can go with them now Bela."
He steps aside, allowing the child to do as she will.
Telamon simply nods. "Aragos and I are of one mind on this, though we may approach it in different ways." Once more, the sorcerer kneels down to put his eyes on a level with Bela's. "No goodbyes," he reminds her. "Only 'until next time'. Be a good girl." Tel offers her a gentle smile. "Well... as good as you can be."
A twinkle in those starry eyes, as he straightens up, and bows to the Sternwoods. "Thank you, for giving Bela hope. And a brighter future."
Finley stands up a little straighter for Aragos's reminder, but both he and Anaia seem relieved when Aragos relinquishes Bela. She nods, and then...
She takes one step, stops, and then looks back up at Aragos. She frowns. "Promise you'll come and visit?" she asks. "Please? I'll miss you an awful lot, Aragos."
The paladin looks at Bela, his eyes dark. "I do not make promises that I can not be certain that I can not keep." He says slowly. "So I can not say if it will be possible that I will be able to visit you so easily. However."
He meets her eyes. "We will meet again. Of that you can be assured."
The half-elf smiles broadly. "I'm sure I can help if he needs to visit. And if something important comes up, Anne Rowntree and William Keenseeker can get a message to me -- and to him, by extension." Telamon gives Bela a grin. "You can practice your letters that way too."
Bela nods just a little at Aragos's words and Telamon's... Before she goes to hug Aragos. Just for a moment, before she releases him and walks over to Anaia, taking her hand.
"Thank you for taking care of me for a while, Aragos," Bela says with a smile, and tears that are welling up in her eyes. "I won't ever forget you."
Anaia squeezes Bela's hand affectionately and nods to the two men. "I'll make sure any letters she wants to send gets sent," she says. "Don't you worry. She'll have plenty of love and support here."
After the hug, Aragos merely stands at Telamon's side, watching the girl. "I will not forget you either Bela." He offers softly then turns to Telamon, his expression muted and tense. "We should go Lord. Let them be."
Telamon offers Bela and her new family a smile and a wave, before turning with Aragos. Gently, he places a hand on the taller man's shoulder, as the two walk a few paces away. Then the half-elf's voice begins to chant again, rising and falling, and Bela gets to see what it looks like when she's not the one being teleported. A shimmering sphere of multicolored light that wraps around Telamon and Aragos, like a star come to earth that suddenly shrinks and vanishes. Leaving behind only a few sparkles of mana that dissipate, and the footprints of two men who cared enough about Bela to find her a new home.
GAME: Aragos rolls Bluff: (3)+6: 9 GAME: Telamon rolls detectbs: aliased to sense motive: (16)+29: 45
As the world resolves to the dreary exterior, Aragos steps back from Telamon, his face should be an unreadable mask, but it's not. Not to Telamon who has read men for so many years. A man who knows the feelings and emotions of others almost better than anyone. To Telamon's eyes, Aragos's purple eyes lose what little luster they'd ever contained. There's death in the paladin of Vardama's eyes. A gulf so wide and deep that there should be tears filling it up.
Yet Aragos is devoid of them. He has no tears to spend. The dark-mailed man turns away from Telamon without a word or explanation, his shoulders set in a line that one wears when walking toward a hangman's noose. He strides away wordlessly, offering nothing to the mage. Not a word.
"Ahem."
The voice isn't harsh, but it's not brooking any nonsense, either. Telamon saw that sadness in Aragos's eyes. That emptiness. And Tel just can't stand watching people hurt.
"She's going to be fine, Aragos," Telamon says gently. "People talk about grand deeds, like slaying evil dragons or undead monsters. But this... this is just as worthy. You rescued her, gave her a second chance. And now she'll have a home."
Annoyingly, the sorcerer is keeping pace with Aragos. "Why don't I walk you home? With any luck, the wind will finally die down and I'll be able to fly from there."
Aragos doesn't stop walking. "I am sure she will be well." His voice is hollow, lacking any emotion - or it tries to, but to Telamon the utter hopelessness in it is clear. "She deserves a good home. A loving family."
His voice certainly cracks at that, but he covers it with a cough and shakes his head. "I do not have a home for you to return me to Lord. I'm certain you have one however. You should return to it."
"So where are you walking to then? If you intend to throw yourself in the river, I recommend against it. It's terribly cold and it's probably starting to ice over as we speak." Telamon simply walks along next to Aragos, refusing to let the man sink into silent unhappiness.
"Do you need a family to go home to?" It's not meant as a barb -- merely a gentle question. "I don't know what roads brought you here, Aragos, but it's not in my nature to let anyone suffer."
The click-clack of the paladin's steps stop suddenly and those passionless purple eyes turn on Telamon. "Have you ever killed a man Lord?" There's a stillness about Aragos suddenly, a terrible stillness, like that of a viper waiting to strike. "Not a monster, but a man. Not one of those vile creatures that is merely a monster in the shape and form of a man, but an innocent."
Telamon doesn't flinch back. He absorbs the passionless violet gaze, his own starry eyes calm. "I've killed both men and monsters, but never an innocent. I've wreaked havoc and suffered nightmares for it, even when it was for a good cause."
"Mmmm." Aragos leans slightly toward Telamon, his gaze flat and lifeless. "What a about a woman? Have you ever killed one of those?" His voice is soft and yet harsh at the same time. "Or a child? Tell me Lord. Has someone you loved dearly ever died in your arms, slain by your own hands?" Emotion dark and full of loathing colors every word, hatred like a stain of promised violence.
Telamon refuses to give ground, refuses to back away. "I can't say I have. Is it your penance then, to carry the burden of an Absolution in the service of the Harpist?" He tilts his head. "She Who Judges is the ultimate arbiter of guilt, and it seems you remain in her service."
There's a low mocking noise from Aragos, but there's pain in his eyes like a flash of a knife stroke. "There is no penance for such things Lord. I do not serve Vardama out of some thought that I will be granted any favor when I reach the Gray Halls. I don't deserve it." He frowns at Telamon. "I serve her because death is the only true absolute in this world."
He turns away from Telamon then, and takes another step away. "Trouble me no further Lord, where I go from here is not for a man like you to follow."
"Or what?"
It's like a glove casually tossed. "Really, Aragos, you're going to throw that kind of line at me? You do know who I am, right? I could be anywhere, be anyONE, and you'd never know."
Suddenly it's Telamon leaning in. "If I could forgive Zalgiman Joaki, help him find grace, I doubt you're less worthy of it." The sorcerer smiles. "So I'll be seeing you around. Don't do anything that would make Bela cry."
And then suddenly, Telamon gestures, and disappears from sight.
Aragos doesn't stop walking, untroubled by the sorcerer's lingering words in the air. He's been granted the solitude that he requested, and that's enough. The truth is that he has no reason to worry that Telamon will find him again.
Once, his steps would have led him to a bar. One of many he frequents, to chase the visions of death that haunt his mind. To seek oblivion from memory. He knows that someone's there waiting for him, but not tonight.
Not tonight.