Three Sister, One Mortalborn Take 2

[Azrael]

1 Zi'da 720 | Azrael Blackfire | Raelia, Abandoned Tavern

Azrael had waited all season for the singular moment that he would return to the abandoned tavern in Raelia and continue his quest. That was probably his greatest flaw. He'd become so enamored with one quest that he let the rest of his life fall to the wayside... or perhaps it was that quest that caused his life to deteriorate. He could not tell Tali or Thorn the truth. He could not tell Adrian. He could not tell Yanish. He had to keep secrets and he hated lying. Acting was one thing, but outright lying had never sat well with him. His father told him it would be necessary. To be a killer of men you needed to lie. He didn't want to be a killer of men... or he hadn't. There were far more pleasurable things to enjoy in life than murder. Regardless of what he wanted, he was thrust into a situation where the truth would do all but set him free...

But it was finally the first of Zi'da and Azrael had returned to the abandoned tavern just like Yanish told him. Just like the spirit had told him. He didn't remember the significance of the trial until he heard Tali mention it's name again. Valhalea. It was a celebration for the first of Zi'da and it was the trial that the spirit had said he needed to go to the tavern on. Somehow the connection had slipped past him all this time but he knew now. Azrael arrived outside the abandoned tavern alone, carrying nothing with him other than his sword and hidden blade like usual. Yanish was waiting for him outside the door. "It's good to see you heard me through all that alcohol."

"I do my best listening when I'm drunk." Azrael countered with a gesture to the door. "Shall we?" And the two went inside.

[Pig Boy]

!

Message from: Pig Boy

The tavern, despite appearances to the contrary outside, Azrael finds to be full and bustling once he swings through the doors. There are a number of patrons there, all of them mostly minding to their own business and chatting with each other, who fail to acknowledge Azrael as and if he enters. Should he try to talk to any of them, they will not respond or even seem to know he's there. However, if he goes to the bar, he will find the spitting image of the River's Daughters tending it, albeit without the snake-like appearances. They appear to be normal human beings as if the forms they'd taken on that night had been mere costumes. That is to say, if these were the same ones. Unlike the rest of the patrons, these three would recognize and respond to his presence, if he presented himself to them. Please post again, and I will respond with a mod post. I will control the three sisters, what they say and do. You can get up to the point where you confront them.

[Azrael]

1 Zi'da 720 | Azrael Blackfire | Raelia, Abandoned Tavern

Passing through the threshold of the tavern for probably the hundredth time, Azrael came into a building unlike it had ever been before. It was actually populated! Not even just a little populated, it looked busier than some of the other taverns he'd drank his nights away in. If the Three Sister's Tavern had been this busy all the time, Azrael might have never left! But it wasn't. It was abandoned and so seeing this plethora of people gathered inside, drinking and doing whatever other people in taverns did, struck Azrael as a little strange for a few trills before the fun side of his mind reminded him there was no clear danger here- just friends. However there was also something incredibly strange about the tavern that only seemed to grow stranger as he slowly walked from the entrance to the bar he was familiar with. Actually, there were two strange things. The first was that when he passed through the doorway into the tavern, it seemed as if Yanish had disappeared.

Maybe Yanish had doubled back or maybe he got distracted, but he wasn't beside Azrael anymore and the mortalborn didn't think much of it. What did bother him was that as he walked through the tavern, not a single person looked at him or seemed to notice him. People always noticed him when he entered a tavern. There were always a few eyes attracted to him... but not here. He didn't feel particularly inclined to butt into any conversations so he made his way to the bar and took a seat on a stool. His eyes wandered the room slowly while he thought about what was going on. Where had all these people come from? Why didn't he hear the noise outside? So many strange things, so little time to work through them all.

Three women worked behind the bar with appearances strikingly similar to those of the three sisters from the river. Everyone who'd been with him on that trial had responded to the sisters in some negative form but not him. He was blissfully ignorant to any danger and dove in head first, as he would this time. These women looked more human than the ones that had been at the river. No snakes, no crow-like feathers, just decently attractive human faces. He waved towards the one who looked the most like Svellhulda first- remembering her to be his favorite of the three sisters... well favorite was unfair. She'd spoken to him the most, been the closest, and gotten oddly 'friendly' with him so he preferred her. Svellhulda had a snark to her that her sister Framilia didn't but Vitria might have had that same level of snark if he'd spoken to her more.

So he waved to Svellhulda and after a few trills, the other two sisters as well. After all, what did it hurt to have all three of them focused on him? "What do you think would be a good drink for the proclaimed son of Sight and Beauty?" Azrael asked whoever arrived first, subtly nudging to see if they remembered him or if they just happened to look very similar to the spirits.

[Pig Boy]

The River's Daughter

"Something that will knock you blind enough so that beauty doesn't matter." Svelhulda responded to his query. "I recommend a strong spirit, for that purpose."

Svelhulda stood by, and whistled for Vitria, shouting out to her, "I think this guy wants some red absinthe."

As Vitria nodded, and went about mixing the drink for the Mortalborn, Svelhulda turned her attention back toward him. "You know, you're the first one to ask for a proper drink tonight." She muttered. "Everyone else ordered the ale. Might as not order gutter water." She spat to the side, and then readied herself to receive the drink from Vitria. Vitria looked askance at Azrael for a moment before leaving the drink with her sister, and then departing.

Svelhulda placed the red-tinted strong liquor before Azrael. "So, you want this or not?"

While waiting for him to take a drink, she asked him, "So what brings you to the Three Sisters. Most wouldn't come to proclaim their Immortal affiliation, much less relation, in the middle of a crowded tavern full of Spirit-fearing Melrathi."

She waited for him to reply. Azrael meanwhile noticed Framilia in the back, cooking up a storm and looking as shy and stand-offish as she had during the incident at the River.

The crowd noise seemed to die down, as the drank sat in front of Azrael, waiting to be drunk.

Would he, or not take the drink?

[Azrael]

1 Zi'da 720 | Azrael Blackfire | Raelia, Abandoned Tavern

Azrael laughed at the response that Svelhulda gave him about the drink choice because of how perfectly she'd played off the words he said. Yet again she proved to be his favorite of the three thus far but the others would have their chance to shine if they were bold enough to address him. Svelhulda called for her sister Vitra to bring over some red absinthe and while he'd never tried it before, Azrael was all too willing to try it now. Should he maybe have been more focused on the task they'd given him? Maybe. Did he think that things would go smoothly because they seemed to remember him a little? Maybe. Did he just really, really want to try the new drink? Yes. However while Svelhulda addressed the mortalborn, he watched Vitra preparing the drink so that he was sure she didn't put anything outlandish in it. Then again he wasn't a bartender, how was he to know what was outlandish? He was mostly concerned with her putting powders into it.

Svelhulda said he was the only one who'd asked for a proper drink that night and Azrael gave her a small shrug. Given how busy it had been the other nights he'd come by, he was surprised that anyone was there other than them tonight. Svelhulda said that everyone else had ordered ale which might as well have been gutter water. Alright they have bad ale, noted. He smiled and looked out at the crowd for just a trill before going back to watching the sisters. "Cowards, the lot of them. Why go to a bar if not for interesting conversation and good drinks?" Azrael mused, "Drink ale at home." Vitra brought the drink over to Svelhulda and gave Azrael a look he was not used to. He expected people to give him the once over, maybe a second glance when they saw something they liked. Most people saw something. However the look Vitra was giving him was not exactly... friendly.

He couldn't help but look at the drink she'd made him a little more suspiciously after that. Still, what was he going to do, not drink it? Svelhulda asked if he wanted it or not and he'd nodded in approval before her question was done. They didn't seem to remember him exactly the way he remembered them. It was strange. A lot of things in Melrath were strange but he had found a treasure hunt unlike any other here and he did not want to abandon it. He took the drink in his hand while Svelhulda asked her question about his immortal affiliations. Azrael gave a sly grin, "I didn't make any claims, I'm just very aware of how good I look." Azrael eyed the drink for a moment and took a sip. It had a strange taste and was too unknown for him to just shoot it. He set it back down after a sip and his tongue seemed to wiggle uncomfortably in his mouth. There was a strange aftertaste like black licorice that he wasn't the biggest fan of. "Besides, I didn't come up with that. A woman I met, who didn't look bad herself, called me that. I just like the way it sounds. Do you drink while you work or is there a rule against that?" Azrael asked, gesturing to the absinthe to see if she wanted any.

She'd asked another question, one that was a little harder to answer, while Azrael noticed Framilia in the back cooking. It was strange to see them all here in more normal forms, walking around, running a tavern like they'd never met before. "I came for a drink and little help making new friends. Apparently people here aren't fond of outlanders." Azrael decided that was a good way to put it. "Busy night tonight? There are more people in here than normal, what are we celebrating?"

[Pig Boy]

The Provider of Shade

"Does this spirit agree with you?" Svellhulda asked him, as he tried the red absinthe. He would feel very different on drinking it, and it did sting on the way down. The proof tasted like it was well above what one would expect. And while his Sesser endurance allowed him to maintain appearances and speak straight, he was definitely feeling the effects of the drink.

"Perhaps it's cowardice. Or perhaps they're just on to maintain appearances. Maybe they have a haggard barbaric brute waiting at home for them, and wish to linger in the company of other miserables." Svellhulda shrugged lightly. As she did so, Azrael could've sworn he saw the slightest hint of a crow-like aspect to her, but it was gone almost as swiftly as it arrived.

"I know who you're looking for, by the way." She whispered, leaning over the bar. "And you don't have to ask, she doesn't come into Raelia except to feed her 'little foxes'. If you want to find the Dark Lady's chosen, you need to find her foxes."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "But now I'm speaking riddles, and you wouldn't like that." She smirked at him, and withdrew a small piece of parchment from beneath her blouse. She laid it out on the bar for him to look at. On it, he'd find a list of names, residences, and businesses. "Here are the foxholes. But beware, they get skiddish when strange outlanders come after them... You'll need to blend in."

"I can vouch for you, and I'd like to. It's nice having eye candy around these hairy, sweaty idiots. A real man of refinement." So saying, she produced a needle from beneath the bar, and set a pot of ink next to it. "I can give you an Embla to fool anyone into thinking you're a native. But once you mention a name, any name even those not your own, the effect will no longer work. So don't go blabbing and naming names."

She picked up the tattoo needle, and dipped it in the darkest ink on the table. Then she quirked an eyebrow at him, "This will go on your face. Any particular design you prefer? That is, if you aren't afraid to get a little mark on your face?"

[Azrael]

1 Zi'da 720 | Azrael Blackfire | Raelia, Abandoned Tavern

Azrael turned his hand over a few times, watching as he flexed one finger after the other while he considered the question the woman had asked him. Did the spirit agree with him? Well he was certainly feeling it and it hadn't come back up and out so he had to think it was. Azrael gave her a small nod and listened more closely to the things she said after. He could feel a familiar warmth spreading over him almost as soon as he'd consumed the red absinthe and it made him smile a little. Svellhulda continued and agreed that it might have been cowardice or a desire to maintain appearance that might have caused them (the other customers) to order simple, disappointing drinks. Maybe they did have a brute at home and Svellhulda was right, but it didn't really matter in the end. What mattered was what he had come there for and with the red absinthe he was beginning to forget. Fortunately the woman/spirit did not.

When she shrugged and he thought he might have briefly seen some familiar echo of his more aviary form, he wrote it off as the influence of the drink she'd given him. Svellhulda leaned over the bar to whisper something to Azrael and he found himself instinctively leaning over with her, drawing a little closer to make it easier on her. She said she knew who he was looking for and at that point he wasn't sure he wasn't just looking for her. Svellhulda told him of the Dark Lady's chosen and the foxes she came to Raelia to feed. With the drink his system, it took him a few trills to realize Svellhulda did not mean literal foxes. He had constructed quite the adorable image of foxes running around Raelia and it was shattered by his realization of the impracticality. These foxes were spies.

Svellhulda doubled back, addressing the somewhat riddle-like nature of what she'd said and Azrael shook his head slightly. "Riddles are fine in our free time, just not if you want a job done right." He said in a quiet voice, not really looking to interrupt her but also unable to keep the thought to himself once it emerged in his head. She produced a small parchment from beneath her blouse and set it out in front of Azrael who slid it a little closer to himself so he could read over them. The words danced a little but he was able to make them all out with some focus. The woman/spirit continued, offering more guidance and assistance to the mortalborn who had followed her string so far. She said he'd need to blend in which he didn't find particularly challenging. He'd just have to shape his face like someone they knew and- oh no that would be far too much work and he liked the way his face looked.

Svellhulda presented a different option. She would vouch for him, she even said she would like to because he was 'eye candy' which made him smile a little. She produced a needle and a pot of ink which drew the mortalborn's surprise before she explained what she could do. An Embla? His eyes lingered on the ink pot while the woman behind the bar explained how it would work. Anyone who saw it would believe him a native until he began naming names? An Embla that worked so long as he was as vague as the spirits... he could enjoy that. Probably make a game of it too. She picked up the needle and dipped it in the darkest ink before asking him if he had any particular designs in mind. It would go on his face... he wasn't sure how he felt about face tattoos but he'd worn makeup before so it couldn't be all that different. Permanent makeup right? Ah, why not, it was only one face.

"I would think something angular," he assumed an angular tattoo would look better on his face but he really did not know, "but I'm open to suggestions if you have a design you think will look... positively stunning." He had to think about how he wanted to describe the Embla but decided to leave it ultimately to Svellhulda. She hadn't disappointed him with the drink choice, how could she disappoint him now?

[Pig Boy]

The Provider of Shade

Svellhulda smiled at him, as he accepted. Then she called for Vitria to bring her the kit for crafting the permanent Embla. Vitria brought it out, and so Svellhulda began the work.

It wasn't as painful as he might've expected. There was a feeling of moisture and a bit of pricking here or there, but Svellhulda was good at this. He barely felt it after a while of getting accustomed to her touch. In the end, though, he had a Embla, forming a crow's wing from the center of his brow, all along the right side of his temple. The crow's head peeked out from behind the wing at the center of the Embla, and seemed to wink at anyone looking at it.

"Now, we'll meet again in Summer, at the Circle. Things are moving slowly, I know, but it's needed in order to crawl our way to where we need to be." She smiled, leaning into the bar. "But the foxes will be positively jumping by Summer, or so I hear. Things are coming that will make the Children of Mykrvior desperate, quite possibly jump at the opportunity to get a talented charmer like yourself."

She winked at him one last time, and assured him that he would pass unnoticed among the Melrathi, and seem as one of them until at least Summer came along. Then, in Ymiden of 721, their true work would begin.

Azrael

EXPerience: 15
Magic: None

Knowledge:

Deception: x 4
Socialization: x 5

Loot: Ability The Crow's Embla: So long as he doesn't mention proper names of people, either his own or that of others, he will be able to fit into any setting that he visits in Melrath. Once he uses a proper name of any person (even if it's made up) within another's hearing range, the effect is null until the next trial.

Notes: Well it was a long time coming, but this chapter of the River's Daughters is closed and so a new one will soon begin. I'm going to visit your tracker sometime soon in order to issue a new set of goals/directives to accomplish in the Summer season. I'm gonna try and ramp up a bit with the next phase, and hopefully things will start to come to a head finally!

Thanks for the thread, will keep you posted!