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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Jul 23, 2022 20:39:10 GMT -5
Talisien found himself split from the group and from Mirrai when it came to the communal dinner. He scanned the hall for a place to sit and stew in his thoughts. Returning took longer than it should have, returning had taken a larger toll than it should have, and by now it was hard for him not to notice that Sae was nowhere to be seen along with Ve'ra.
He silently moved towards a far table after spotting Ta'ro there with his ... friends. He could rely on Ta'ro for companionable silence if needed and he wasn't terrible to talk to. "This seat taken?" He asked as he stood across the table from Ta'ro.
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Post by Ancelas on Jul 24, 2022 17:14:18 GMT -5
Upon arriving in the Refuge, the orcs took their prisoners to an open square in the lower city while the returned travelers led the way up to the town center to be reunited with friends and families under the watchful gaze of Ferrovax. He had gathered chunks of stone and had harvested materials from an unused house somewhere in the city to create a nest for himself, though at the moment he lay with his upper body draped over one of the walls encircling the town center so that he could watch Telemon, who was settling in one of the lower squares of the city.
Ta'ro's guards were keeping watch outside of town center, which was a clear enough indication of his presence in the community hall. While the Travellers were greeting the former slaves and preparing warm food for them, a table in the back corner of the cafeteria had been claimed by a drow scholar who had marked his territory with several books and carved bits of wood. Ta'ro had one book open before him and was perusing it with a surprisingly relaxed expression on his face.
He looked up as Taliesin approached and flashed a brief, small smile. "Taliesin... I should have guessed that the commotion had something to do with Valor Company. By all means." He held a hand out to an open chair.
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Jul 24, 2022 18:06:35 GMT -5
Taliesin sat down across from Ta'ro. "Yeah. For some odd reason a commotion always seems to surround our arrival anywhere." He let out a sigh as he looked at the material strewn on the table.
"What is all this? Looks like what would happen if I were to try my hand at research."
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Post by Ancelas on Jul 24, 2022 18:19:29 GMT -5
"It is indeed research. After speaking with Shepherd Drummond, I learned the Refuge has quite a library. The topics are excessively varied with little focus, but there were a few books on history that I thought would be beneficial to explore. Early post-calamity works, but scholars invested in preserving lost knowledge, and myths of the Second Age. You never know what you might find in such things."
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Jul 24, 2022 18:31:13 GMT -5
Taliesin pursed his lips in thought and looked across the books again. "Ah ... interesting. Post-calamity ..."
There was a pause. "This actually tangentially connects to a line of questions I had that I thought you might have more insight on." He looked up from the different books to Ta'ro.
"With you being the Sage of Hectapol ... I was wondering if perhaps you knew the year reckoning for the age just preceding the Days of Fury." He looked down to the side and back up. "Well, actually, that and how long it has been from the start of the Days of Fury to now. There is ... someone we've met that doesn't quite belong. And if the information I've gleaned is accurate they are ... very displaced."
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Post by Ancelas on Jul 24, 2022 19:04:32 GMT -5
Ta'ro blinked and leaned back in his seat, giving Taliesin his full attention. "That is a very odd inquiry... and a difficult one to answer."
Ta'ro paused, ordering his thoughts before speaking again. "We are in the Third Age of the world. The first ran from the creation of Mobius up until the gods waged war During the Days of Fury. Then came the Second Age, from the end of the war to the Imprisoning War, in which the Calamity That Fell From the Sky was battled. The Third Age began at the end of the Imprisoning War and continues on today.
"The problem with our understanding of history is that, between the Days of Fury and the Imprisoning War, much of our history was lost. We don't even have an understanding of how long the Second Age lasted - we assume no less than three hundred years, but some scholars believe it was a thousand, perhaps more. The Calamity's impact on Mobius twisted the minds of Mobians and spread a kind of madness across the globe... It's nearly impossible for us to tell how long that war lasted.
"All that to say, I don't have a good answer for you. Conservatively, we could estimate that at least three thousand years have passed since the Days of Fury, but honestly, it could be four, even five thousand years."
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Jul 24, 2022 19:19:13 GMT -5
Taliesin hands were clasped in front of him as he listened intently to Ta'ro's answer. There was a long silence as all the information settled. "So, at least three thousand years if not longer." He was frowning some as thoughts coalesced into more questions. "Were Hectapol's chosen originally named differently? Those who became known as the Betrayer gods."
He touched one of the books and looked at the words on the page, but made no attempt to really read it yet. "Kilamo for instance - or is she just the newest among her chosen?"
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Post by Ancelas on Jul 24, 2022 19:30:25 GMT -5
"That's more along the lines of something I know," Ta'ro said with another flicker of a smile. "Hectapol's pantheon, as the world knows it, reflects her chosen at the end of the Days of Fury, but not all stood with her at the beginning. Our religious states that Matzos saw the truth of the war and turned his back on the god he served so that he might rise to be the first among Hectapol's generals. Kilamo and Velkyn rose to power during the war. Zyrlas and Zychni are her oldest servants, while Slythax and Tyrix were the youngest, before the Days of Fury.
"They chose their names upon ascending into Hectapol's service. It's long been a tradition among the drow to do the same when they rise high enough in the priesthood - shedding the person you used to be and choosing the person you were meant to be."
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Jul 24, 2022 20:02:49 GMT -5
Taliesin smiled warmly at Ta'ro's confidence in supplying an answer. The answer of course did draw some interesting information out and confirm suspicions. He let out a long sigh. "So she is from before the Days of Fury." He said just loud enough for Ta'ro to hear.
His hand that had touched one of the books now had his index finger lightly tapping the book with some nervous energy. Still in a lower voice. "If I get her memories back ... her clarified knowledge of the Pantheons might better place her in time." He shook his head, moving away the thought.
"Drow and Duergar were not a thing until the Days of Fury, right? The Change was a ... gift ... from Hectapol?" He was trying to verify some things. He thought he remembered talk of Duergar and Drow being stained by their siding with Hectapol to show their true nature. But taking into account what little they learned through Ve'ra in the First City it seemed like that change only made sense in the context of Change herself bestowing her nature onto those that allied with her. This would also make the betrayal of the Drow sting that much greater. It would cover quite a bit.
He didn't really need this answer, but it made things much easier in the long run if he could properly parse history for what was surely to come.
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Post by Ancelas on Jul 25, 2022 8:01:02 GMT -5
Ta'ro frowned faintly. "Indeed. I imagine her gift may have manifested a little differently back then, but it created a notable divide between duergar and dwarf, drow and elf. But what's this talk about 'her,' and lost memories? What's this about, Taliesin?"
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Jul 25, 2022 8:23:27 GMT -5
Taliesin nodded again and again. He was in his own head when the question made him shake his head and come to. "Oh ... I- We..." His cheeks lightly reddened as he backtracked.
With a deep breath and exhale he focused. "One of the people we rescued from the Mines was a young half-elf named Mirrai. She had ... walked through a door and ended up in a Cloud Giants home shortly before it had to be grounded to prevent Hectapol's forces from taking it." He gave the room a quick scan and continued speaking more softly.
"Based on discussion with Alain and what she does and does not remember it seems she walked through a door that transported her between planes. She was supposed to be returning to get her mother." He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "She didn't know what Duergar are and was absolutely shocked to hear about the events of the Days of Fury to explain the Duergar."
He placed his right hand flat on the table. "I am going to try and clear the fog over her memories. And all of these questions were to try and figure out whether if we were given a year if we could properly place her in time."
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Post by Ancelas on Jul 25, 2022 8:54:50 GMT -5
Ta'ro leaned forward and folded his arms on the table. "Fascinating... I've heard of such things in stories. Mostly overland stories... underdark stories of such occurrences seldom have happy endings. And you're certain that she's sharing the truth with you? That it isn't a ruse?"
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Jul 25, 2022 9:13:21 GMT -5
Taliesin met Ta'ro's gaze and simply shrugged. "I'm not certain. I have a feeling." He knocked his knuckles on the table three times.
"I could be cynical and untrusting, but that has really helped ruin things for me recently." There was a pause as he tried to assemble a reason for lying. "The story is a bit far fetched to be plausible for someone to convincingly give. But if she were lying, then the only thing I see for it is to get the trust of the Giant and figure out how his castle flies in order to hand it over."
There was another shrug. "Of course I could just be blinding myself to other possibilities. Caithe did get away and she got a pretty good read on me in Thornwall. She could have concocted a plan, but knowing we would get to the Vale and rescue those in the mine ... that is a long shot."
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Post by Ancelas on Jul 25, 2022 9:26:09 GMT -5
"Mm... I agree. We don't want to confuse caution with paranoia. And I believe you... if she were lying, there are far more reasonable lies to tell. So... assuming she is a planar traveler, then by the way you describe her symptoms, she could not have come from the elemental planes, or the plane of negative energy - the effects they have on people tend to be physical, rather than mental.
"The Feywild is certainly a viable possibility... the... 'rules' of planar travel tend to be rather uneven when dealing with that realm. There could be other possibilities, but I'm afraid planar magic is not my area of expertise.
"You mentioned using a spell to restore her memory..." Ta'ro rubbed his chin. "That may help... but I would also urge caution. You never know what such magic may trigger."
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Jul 25, 2022 9:35:24 GMT -5
Taliesin nodded along. "The Feywild would make sense since she doesn't speak a lick of Elvish but she knows Sylvan well."
Ta'ro's cautionary words on restoring Mirrai's memories via spell were strange. "I was only going to attempt a restorative spell. I don't know all the ins and outs of magic, but I would normally assume that a restorative that had nothing to reverse would simply have no effect."
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