Red Stars Fall

[Perdita Westcott]

Red Stars Fall

21st Cylus, 720

E

li said that she should lay on the charm and a number of things happened simultaneously. Perdita's eyebrows shot up in an apparent attempt to meet her hairline - whilst the attempt was unsuccessful, kudos to them for trying so hard. At the same moment, she made a small squeak which might have been words, if only she'd been able to form them, and - of course - she blushed deep red. "What? Me? No." Perdita squeaked, aware that the words were not really understandable. She clamped her jaw shut and pressed her teeth together.

He couldn't make her talk.

He was not the boss of her.

Her cheeks flamed and Perdita was moderately sure that even the tips of her ears were hot. This was not right. Not fair. Better at small talk? Small talk!? Her? He knew better and he was just.... how could he do this to her? Perdita did not speak to people. Especially not strangers. Not strangers, and not with him there, looking at her and seeing her make a complete fool of herself. The thought of doing so at any point was bad, but in front of Eli? The thought of it made her want to cringe. Or to run away and hide.

Thankfully, though, as they made their way in, Eli started talking. However, then he stopped and both the woman and Eli looked at her. Perdita considered that the ground opening up and swallowing her was unlikely, so she spoke. Or, more precisely, she stuttered. "The iyo," she said, fairly sure that they could fry an egg on her cheeks, "there's a man." She stuttered and tumbled over the words. "He thinks ... he says... he thinks." Perdita turned and glared at Eli, her eyebrows knotted together. "He says, they are cursed, the iyo," Perdita had rarely spoken so many words strung together. "But we think he's wrong." She turned back and said, because she was saying things... talking ... explaining. He wanted her to explain?

"He thinks the iyo are cursed, that Moseke has abandoned Desnind because the iyo turned red. I think he's wrong. Stirring trouble. Turning the people, or trying to. We need to ... we want to help. Investigate. Prove him wrong. The red iyo might mean lots of things, and he's scaring people. It isn't right and we want to stop him," she said. Perdita suddenly realised that now that she'd started, she wasn't entirely sure how to stop talking.

"So, while he's talking, we came here. To ask you. Do you have any iyo? Do you know things? Is it possible that you will help us? I don't speak much, often, and now, I'm not entirely sure how to stop." Perdita looked at Eli and her expression was accusatory. "I should not be talking." Then, she gulped in air and she fell into silence.

Hopefully, the woman behind the counter wouldn't think they were mad. Or, she would - and help them anyway.

[Tempest]

A Storm is Coming...

Nuvasi listened with a stone face as the younger of the pair began to talk. It was clear she was nervous as a honeybee. The older woman tried to put on a comforting smile to show there was no hostility towards them. Nodding as the girl continued, the businesswoman looked out the window as Gladysic was busy trying to get the little man off his hat. It would present the perfect opportunity to move the iyo before something were to happen.

“Close the door quickly, I want no prying eyes,” Nuvasi stated and motioned for them to follow her.

She went into the back room and pulled down a case from the top shelf putting it carefully on a table. The woman was determined to make sure her poor little iyo were protected. That included bringing the ones from home with her. A part of her wanted to just keep them close to her. But that was becoming less and less of an option. The sudden shouting of Gladysic made her blood run cold.

“Hide them quickly,” Nuvasi exclaimed handing the pair the two jars of iyo, “there is a nest hidden in the forest that no one knows of. It must remain that way so that the iyo of the city will survive. Go! The fire pit may hold more answers to the questions you have.”

Each contained four little cocoons inside it. Moving quickly, the woman ushered them out the back as her front door swung open. Once the couple was outside again, Nuvasi closed the door and could be heard distracting none other than Gladysic himself. The pair were caught in a critical position of deciding whether to hide the iyo or go to the fire pit.

Gladysic had managed to finally get the small man off his hat before turning to the crowd. He would have the city of Desnind one way or another. With Moseke gone and the iyo’s strange color, the man truly believed it was his time to move. No longer would his followers have to hide where no one else in the area dare to tread. Boots pounded against the floor of the shop when Nuvasi came out of the store room to great him.

“Give them to me, Nuvasi. I know you are hiding your business and personal iyo. They will be destroyed,” Gladysic growled.

“I do not know what you mean. I have no iyo here Gladysic. Even if I did I would never give them to you. Now buy something or get out,” Nuvasi said in a strong commanding tone.

She was not one to be trifled with as many had learned. Gladysic glared as a sneer appeared on his face. He did not like to be outsmarted by anyone let alone a woman. However he had no evidence that she was indeed harboring the tiny bugs. With a grunt, the man turned on his heels and stormed off furious. It was clear the longer it went on the more crazed he might become.

[Elijah Lamoreaux]

...And then, right there in that store under the direst of circumstances; or at least some measurably dire ones; Perdie uttered more words than she had since he'd known her, had they all been bundled up into one.

Comparatively speaking, Eli thought as he stood back and listened, it was alike to word soup. A whole cauldron of them. He'd have teased her to that end, had they not been caught up in their current fix. Any bit now, a handful of those cultists could slink in and realize what the two of them and doing; and they could make all sorts of unwanted mischief for him, for Perdie and the shopkeeper too. Eli would rather not. Neither he nor Perdie were seasoned fighters by any stretch of the imagination.

He hadn't been sure that the woman would hand over her iyo, no matter which one of them did the talking. They were relatively new to Desnind and Eli wondered if she'd have any reason to trust them. On the other hand, it appeared that from Nuvasi's perspective, her choices were limited ones. "Of course," he said when she told him to shut the door and hurry along, and he made quick work of it while trailing her into the storeroom. He'd figured that as long as Gladysic was busy shouting outdoors, they'd have a little time to spare. Nuvasi interpreted things differently apparently, and he'd follow her lead on that one.

When she handed over the jars, Eli slipped one into the inside pocket of his cloak, and handed the other to Perdie in case they became separated for some reason or other. That way, if only one of them got where they were going, the other would still have a chance. "Thank you ma'am. We'll keep them safe." So far as where they'd take the iyo for safekeeping, it seemed to him that either they could take them to the nest in the forest, or find another location to hide them. But it was an awfully large forest around Desnind, and a lot of ground to cover. Before he could ask her for directions however, Nuvasi was hustling them out the back door.

Apparently, they'd gotten out just in time and Eli glanced at Perdie as the sounds of a confrontation drifted through the closed door. They needed to move quickly. Any trill now those cultists would crawling all over the place. "Whatever we do we've got to do it quickly," he whispered to Perdita while looking around them, then moving quickly away from the back of the shop. "So do we find out where that nest is and take them there? Once we've gotten out in the wilds we're less likely to get caught out." But then they'd need to find out where that nest was, or choose to hide them elsewhere in the forest. Or... "We find another place to hide them?"

[Perdita Westcott]

Red Stars Fall

21st Cylus, 720

T

alking so much had left her quite exhausted, Perdita considered. Looking at Eli she wondered how he managed to keep up talking so often - and using so many words - for so much of each day. He must have, she concluded, a very good constitution. But, the woman who owned, or perhaps worked, in the shop, thrust the iyo towards them and then ushered them out. Eli hid one, Perdita the other jar and they were outside the shop in an instant. There quickly came sounds from inside of some sort of confrontation and Perdita glanced at Eli with fear on her face. She'd had quite enough excitement for one trial as it was, and then there had been all the talking, too.

Eli whispered to her, his voice taking on an urgent tone, as he ushered them away. Perdita knew that he was concerned too and she wondered if he was about to suggest something she really didn't want to do. Her hand reached out and grabbed his, and she looked at him almost sternly. "No splitting up," she whispered, with as much fierceness as Perdita could muster. That fierce determination, though, was rather scuppered by the added, "please?" Still. She'd tried.

Then there was the question of where they should go. She wanted to go to the forest, but the nest there was hidden. Perdita didn't really know what was best but she knew - and certainly agreed with Eli - that they needed to move now, and think as they did. So, her feet moved as she walked alongside him. Perdita's brain was working overtime and she came to a few conclusions. "They're safest with us," she said. They didn't know, after all, who they could trust and who they couldn't, so with them but hidden away was the best bet.

The issue they faced, of course, was exactly that. They didn't know who they could trust. But there might be more answers at the fire pit? Perdita looked at him and she felt the flush on her cheeks burn once more as she spoke. "We can ask at the Fire Pit?"

Although, there was something that she was very clear on. She would not be speaking to anyone again any time soon. Nope. No siree.

So, they made their way to the Fire Pit, to try and find out what they could, the iyo safely hidden in their cloaks.

[Tempest]

A Storm is Coming...

The people around the city were moving around in fear and paranoia. Most stayed huddled together with their friends or family. It was clear the citizens were trying to decide on whether to believe in Moseke returning or believing what Gladysic was saying. The fire pit was a good distance away from where they had acquired the first two glasses of iyo. It was now in the pairs hands to keep them safe from anyone that could be targeting the poor little bugs. Hunters were coming and going from the fire pit as the two arrived.

People were whispered about their iyo and about the nest. It was clear that everyone was trying to figure out where it was. Only a handful of people had ever gone to the nest. Most of which had passed on already due to their age. As the pair moved through the crowds of people a younger boy walked over and pulled on Elijah’s sleeve staring up at him.

“Follow me please,” the boy hurriedly took the pair to a hut on the out skirts of the fire pit area, “inside please.”

If the two chose to go in, they would see an older man sitting in the middle of the room. The gentleman was old wrinkles clear on his face as he stared off into the fire before him. There was a hole in the ground that held the fire, but it was the white of his eyes that told them both quite a lot. He was blind yet it did not seem to bother him as he did things.

“Enter please and make sure the door is closed behind you,” the man stated, “I know of your task. You must not go to the nest. Gladysic has people watching anyone who opposes him. The iyo would be in even more danger. The forest is able to hide them. I will keep the iyo that you have been able to find. The cultists will not bother me, in the chest across the room is two items. One for each of you as a thank you from not only the elders but from the city of Desnind. We may not always show it but everyone is grateful to you for helping.”

[Tempest]

Name: Elijah Lamoreaux

Knowledge:

• Gladysic: leader of the cultists in Desnind
• Kisaik: a Tunawa
• Rhetoric: agreeing to help the elders
• Tactics: 2
  
  Loot: Hourglass with green liquid
  Injuries: none
  Renown: +5
  Magic XP:none
  
  Points: 15
  
  - - -
  Comments: It has been so amazing to have Eli helping Desnind. Im sorry we got cut a little short I hope you will enjoy the gift from the elders.
  
  
  Name: Perdita Westcott
  
  Knowledge:
  • Gladysic: leader of the cultists in Desnind
  • Rhetoric: 1
  • Research: 1
  • Tactics: 3
  Loot: a beautiful hair accessory
  Injuries: none
  Renown: +5
  Magic XP: none
  
  Points: 15
  
  - - -
  Comments: Perdita is absolutely fabulous. I hate everything got a little cute short. I hope she will be glad with her gift from the elders
  
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