Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Hakaar - Chronicle 28.2 - The Beginning of Lán-Mara

Bromm and Sig had a plan, which including visiting the great wine barrel and having a conversation with whoever was running the regatta event. The others had said that Tagaern had gone in search of new clothes early in the morning to fit his thinning figure. This had, apparently, been as challenging as I expected. He still hadn't returned and it was mid-day.

Silah had taken her usual place by my side, entwined around my arm and whispering in my thoughts as we took in the sights, sounds, and smells of the festival. I felt my worries slip further away as we moved through these familiar streets together.

I was able to show off the front of the apartments as we approached the temple of Acionna. I explained to the others about the shoddy locks and some of the rough edged furniture therein. Bromm nodded at the descriptions with a smile, but said nothing. Floki seemed to get a twinkle in his eye at the mention of the locks.

Sig pointed out an older couple to Bromm. They were standing in front of a booth draped with the whites and blues of Acionna where the wine had been pre-poured in wooden cups. The girl who had sought out Amalia for Tagaern and I was talking animatedly with the dignified couple. She waved to Sig who suddenly looked like he wanted to bolt from the scene.

Bromm waved easily and Sig turned awkwardly and also waved. The man narrowed his eyes, but his wife gave a weak smile and an equally weak wave. Floki seemed to have avoided being spotted by standing behind me while this all went on.

As soon as the couple left, we approached the booth. The woman, not exactly beautiful, but formidable was looking between Danin, Sig, Bromm, and Floki. I recognized now that she had engaged us just a week earlier while we were in Dowry. This was the sister or Raenir, their friend who had followed a different path. She was wearing a much more elaborate outfit than when they had seen her just before.

"Greetings! Good Lán-Mara!" She said with exuberance. "I would tell you what there is to do, but I know you are all well aware."

"Aye, Elena. I think we're set." Bromm said, taking wine from the table and motioning to her with it. "You look different?"

The attention elicited a bashful look from the girl.

"They promoted me just before the event. They said that I showed initiative." She said, seeming to have a hard time recounting, let alone accepting, the praise.

"Seems like you're doing very well." Bromm sipped and lifted the glass toward her.

I daintily picked up one of the small wooden cups, I was having trouble navigating the densely filled table avoiding knocking anything others over in the process. The others also stepped forward and picked up cups.

"Rana? I was having trouble recognizing you." Elena smiled broadly at her, "You look very well and stunning in that dress! Lán-Mara truly does bring the best out in people."

Now it was Rana's turn to feel sheepish with the compliment. She simpered and bobbed her head, the redness flushing her skin yet again.

"Have you heard from my brother?" Elena asked, her face curious, "We received that letter, but I'd have assumed that he talked with you as well?"

Bromm shook his head and Floki shrugged.

"Not a word." Sig said.

"I know my parents aren't all that happy with you," she gestured to the group, "but it seems that his start with you has taken him interesting places. I hope to hear more from him soon."

Sig nodded, sipping his wine, and Floki looked off, avoiding the topic.

"We'll let you know how he is when we see him. We might be going that way sometime, Hanover you said?" Bromm said with a nod, taking the uncomfortable topic on himself.

She nodded with a wide smile.

"Oh, I noticed you haven't spent any time at the offering?" She motioned her hand toward the tall wicker figure.

There was a line of citizens penning, folding, and stuffing slips of parchment in between the branches.

"Is this for wishes?" I said, my brow furrowed at the line.

"Hah!" Elena voice burst, then she caught herself and spoke more quietly. "Quite the opposite. Well, it may depend on the wish. This is for those things you wish to unburden yourself of. Any misdeeds or travails you wish to let go of."

I nodded, wondering why I would do such a thing.

Silah curled around my arm.

"You would never truly forget, but this is a ritual that makes some pains easier to bear." She whispered closely, "While you are a stoic sort, it may put your mind at ease?"

I shrugged unconsciously in response to Silah's whispers which prompted a somewhat annoyed look from Elena. I immediately felt the need to explain myself.

"I feel like those things give me purpose." I said, frankly, "These things are my responsibility to correct or to overcome. Releasing them, in a way, feels like giving up."

Her head tilted as she listened. Elena seemed to be mustering a response, but simply nodded.

"Quite poetic when you're on the spot." Silah whispered with a sensation of a nod.

Oh, I've been thinking on this for a while. I thought in response.

"Yes. I know." She replied with some solemnness.

A studious looking man approached Bromm with a greeting. A welcome interruption for the others. Elena turned to greet the other festival patrons.

"Bridger. How goes the dealings with the temple." Bromm responded with a handshake and a quick nod.

He also looked different from when I'd last seen him. He wasn't exactly in robes, but a brown and black long coat. It wasn't as fine as those soldiers Robyn had outfitted, but it still had a certain class to it. It hung heavily on his thin frame.

"Very well! I've been researching how the Temple of Kols did its business and found many places where we could do much better." Bridger smiled widely as he proudly rocked on his heels. "Robyn has shaped things up efficiently. She may have a hard edge, but it certainly brings things to order very quickly. She's a wonder with some of those unruly sorts, bound to make men out of the lot of them."

I smiled. I didn't expect Bridger to do as well with Robyn, since she can be harder than nails at times. However, his delight in the order she brought would likely put them well into the same track. This was very good news for Bromm and even more so for the Priory itself.

Bromm nodded at his report and things fell silent for a moment.

"So, I've heard some rumors that you were involved in the goings on around Kellas House and these giants that invaded." He looked on Bromm with worry tracing his features, "Are we still in danger?"

"From that? No. It has been taken care of." Bromm responded simply.

"That seems… cryptic?" Bridger responded with a wary look.

"This is for posterity, Bromm." Sig said with a smile. "Might as well make it count."

Sig turned to Brider, "You might want to take notes, my man. He'll expect this to be penned into whatever edicts you plan to be writing."

Bromm sighed and looked at the eyes on him. He took a deep breath and proceeded to elaborate on all that had happened. Bridger Dampfyre produced a series of parchments and a pen and watertight inkwell from his coat. He scribbled furiously with Bromm's recounting of events. We'd chime in here and there to help even out the story, but Bromm would strike anything he felt was superfluous or embellished.

Bridger's eyes widened as the story went on and he looked to each one of us. Bromm even mentioned that Qinnah, Derrum Ebbar, and Kols participated to make the situation whole again.

"We want to commission an artist who can work with stained glass to replace the ones that had been broken." Sig said, his lips curled at the edges as he suppressed a grin.

Bridger obliged, sketching some of the events from memory. He came away with an incredible likeness of the scene with Danin planting the banner and the others supporting him.

"While this may have saved us for the time being, it doesn't change the fact that Kols is still in danger." Bromm said, after watching Bridger sketch for a moment. "Robyn is aware, but she may not realize how much danger there is. You should always travel in twos and keep the doors and shutters secured."

Bridger furrowed his brow and then looked to Bromm.

"But the threat was clearly dealt with?" The wonder in his voice had evaporated and was replaced by concern.

"We are dealing with enemies on multiple fronts." Bromm said quietly, "We have dealt with one that was more about seizing opportunity. The other—more sinister—threat of the Formless is still out there."

He nodded slowly, patting around his waist absently, as it looking for a weapon.

"Keep Robyn close and she will keep you safe, but you should also find ways to defend yourself as well." Bromm nodded.

Bridger wrote some additional notes in the small docket he had created and nodded.

"I'll make sure we act on these immediately." He said to Bromm, then turned and faded into the growing crowd.

Another woman had taken over handing out the wine and a wide-eyed Elena was standing just within earshot, her mouth agape. Bromm saw this, closed his eyes, and uttered a curse under his breath.

He approached her to say something, but the a stately woman dressed in impeccable garb with Acionna's colors emerged from the temple doors, straight backed and moving purposefully toward the wine stand. Elena went rigid and Bromm's look soured briefly, but he held his tongue.

Well wishes rolled from the crowd as she waved. She was a stately older woman had a small, yet kind, smile. She was taller, with proud, angular features. Her demeanor was something of a mother hen watching over her chicks as the people bustled about. Even being significantly taller than her, her gaze made me feel like something of a child.

I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

"Elena." The woman spoke softly, acknowledged the wide-eyed girl with a subtle bow. "Do you know these men?"

"Yes, High Priestess." Elena said, the strain in her voice was quite apparent. "They're friends of my brother's. We grew up together."

"Ah, yes." The woman then turned to us, "I am Avorra Dulak. High Priestess of Acionna. And this is my life's work."

She motioned behind her to the temple and the many acolytes that bustled about. It was an impressive introduction, yet her delivery seemed to be mainly for appearance.

"These men. I've heard good things about them." The stately woman said evenly, the slight smile persisting as she looked over our faces.

"Well, I wouldn't say good..." Sig gave a sharp cough and Elena stopped mid-sentence, looking cautiously at him.

I suppressed a grin with some difficulty.

"It's a shame what happened at Kellas House." She looked at the group sympathetically. "Amalia talked with me about what happened. She said that you dealt with the threat?"

Hearing Duncan's home mentioned brought back a little bitterness. I thought of what Amalia said about those dripping with sympathy around her and how it simply reminded her of things should would rather deal with in her own time.

"Yes, we shouldn't be bothered by the giants anymore." Floki said with a nod.

"And you're also responsible for restoring the Priory of Kols?" She said it as a question, but it seemed more of a statement.

This prompted looks around the group. The stunned look on Elena's face showed that this was the first she'd Elena had heard this. Bromm looked uncomfortably at the High Priestess and nodded. Elena's eyes grew wide and he mouth slacked slightly.

"It's good to see a new generation take up arms to help their fellows." Her simper pulled wider into a more natural looking appreciative smile. "I expect we'll hear more of you."

And probably sooner than you'd expect. I thought, knowing news of the Ether Tree would likely spread somewhat slowly.

"High Priestess? Are you from Akeron?" Bromm said, regaining his balance.

She looked nonplussed with the question.

"Yes, I did travel here as part of my service, but this is my home now." Her eyes alight with Bromm's inquisitiveness. "How did you know? Do I still have an accent?"

"Oh, no. I've just heard your name before. Probably a relative." Bromm shrugged with the question.

"Perhaps a cousin. I've been in the service of Acionna for a very long time. My name is the only thing I've kept from my previous life." She said this with a certain solidarity, a sort of confident sadness.

"I knew a man by that name. He visited The Sea Witch once, he hailed from Akeron." Bromm said somewhat directly.

"What was that man's first name?"

"DuVane Dulok?"

She leaned back and tapped her lips for a moment and shook her head.

"My memory is fuzzy. Perhaps related, but I don't recall that name." She said with a pensive look.

"Just as well, he wasn't all that memorable." Bromm said with a slight smile.

There was a lull as the press of the crowd moved toward the wine. Many fond words and well wishes were called out to the High Priestess as we had spoken. She acknowledged them in time between the our questions and her answers. She looked to turn away, but it was Sig who got her attention again.

"We would like to contribute to the festival in some way." Sig spoke fluidly, "We had barrels Shatterhammer ale from the go Brach's Brewery. It would be a way that Kols could participate in some way."

"That sounds like a marvelous idea." She said with a smile and a nod. "We'll need them delivered well before the race in the morning. Our doors will be open both night and day."

"Could we also peddle some of our own wares here? We had a new stout we would like to introduce at the festival."

"Both heroic and enterprising!" She said, her smiling widening again, "Do as you will. And may it bolster the faith of those who follow Kols."

"I must take my leave. I have to attend to other preparations." She said kindly then added, "May Acionna bless you."

There were bows around as she turned and moved back into the open doors of the temple.

Elena remained, looking on in wonder.

"I'm not sure what to say?" She said quietly. "Perhaps ma and pa weren't right about you boys after all?"

Her clipped speech seemed to slip away into something quite a bit less formal. She had spent a lot of time polishing her interactions for her position, but all of that training had suddenly slipped away.

"Well, not to say anything is probably the best approach." Bromm said, not exactly threatening, but not exactly friendly either.

She gave him a look of contempt and humphed.

"That's the boy I remember." Her expression darkened. "You better play nice."

"Sorry," Bromm immediately apologized, "I forget myself. A lot has happened."

"But that wouldn't have happened." She said with a satisfied smile at his apologized, "You've done well for yourself and, she was right, you are good."

Her speech had returned to its formal clip as she smiled handsomely and nodded at us.

"Acionna bless and guide you." She said as she returned to overseeing the other sisters manning the booths and gigantic wine barrel.

Walking away brought the fact that I had drunk a considerable amount of wine while standing there, listening to the others talk. I grabbed one more from the table and dropped a few silver into the hands of the accompanying acolyte, for good measure.

"So, what was that about with the High Priestess? Did you actually know of her name?" I asked Bromm.

"Remember the floppy hat man? The one Robyn drilled in the head at close range?" Bromm said, looking at me warily, "He had the same family name."

I looked on as we walked away, a lump forming in my throat.

(Get to know Akeron.)

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