Abstract Proxy

Shadows of the Forgotten Realm

Cora shrugged, offering a disarming smile, as she rose to her feet, "Your fire was most pleasant, Master Edrion, but to sleep beneath a roof with four walls would be wonderful indeed. I will happily, and gratefully accept your kind offer!"

She trusted herself. She trusted her knowledge. She trusted her well-earned experience. There was something reassuring about the old man. A quiet strength that filled her not with dread, but a calm feeling that she was safe.

Listening to introductions that the other travelers had offered, her fellow seekers, Cora’s mind buzzed with new curiosity. They were a strange gathering indeed. But oh! Such an interesting one. She wondered what secrets they had all collected. She had her own, of course, simple as they might be when measured against those of the others. The joy to her lips. There was always more to learn. There was always more to discover. There was light, in the end, even in the darkness.

And she would find it. Or try. She had to.

Planescape: Search for Tir na Og

Mariel

With a frown firmly formed on her lips, Mariel studied the goblin with growing concern. It was clear the small creature had stolen the compass, her fellow Plane Tender had caught on, and further trouble seemed to be avoided only through the social graces of the merchant cartographer. However, the goblin was not her problem. She had more pressing concerns. Tir Na Og. That was all that she cared about.

Coughing softly, as she had learned people did when they wished to avoid an impolite interruption, she addressed the map maker, "Master Manyroads, how much would you charge for this map?"

She shot a cold gaze towards the mischievous goblin, a measured look that seemed free of judgment, but full of warning, "And a compass suitable for traversing such a place? I could perhaps, provide you with a more recent perspective of the altered lands once my task here is done?"

Planescape: Search for Tir na Og

Party gotta save the goblin, story old as time. :D

Planescape: Search for Tir na Og

He's a man of focus.

---

I can't decide if Mariel would have a secret Instagram/Tik Tok account. :D

I suspect most of her time would online would be spent liking pictures of cute baby animals.

And reporting a number of Garnet's posts.

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

Lovely, back again after being busy, mulling over what Changer does atm. :D

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

Did Changer of Forms get her own tent? :D

Shadows of the Forgotten Realm

The smile and cheerful continence that Cora held dimmed as her new companions shared their tales of loss. She was pleased that the serene swordswoman had accepted her gift. The finer things in life, the small pleasures such as rare spices, brought far greater joy when shared well with others. She had not lost her home. She had not lost her family. But she had seen enough in her travels. She had heard the mourning cries. The growing darkness was unmistakable. And suffering was never far away.

"Verđandi", Cora said, testing the name judiciously with her tongue. She had always had a gift for languages. For maps and names. The northern tongues had always been of great interest to her. "Your words are wise…and good! I am no fighter, this all can plainly see, but I seek to preserve this world. I save what was, not mere words or writings, but knowledge, so that someone can perhaps live to see what will be. What can be."

Harmless as he was, as she spoke about her lofty ambitions, of the knowledge she sought to recover, Cora seemed suddenly shrouded in flames. A roaring conflagration fueled by her fervor, that burned brighter than the modest fire in front of her. For a moment, she seemed to tower far above her modest form. And then she laughed, at herself more than any other, dispelling the illusion…leaving only a young woman huddling in the cold.

Putting down her now empty bowl of soup, Cora nodded to the fearsome mercenary with a gracious look of amusement that betrayed no notice of the amorous marks adorning his neck, "And your words, Bane, your words are wise as well. Forgive me for my lack of caution. My teachers always said that the passions of my heart too often outpaced the deliberations of my mind. Unfortunately, it would seem that I have not yet managed to break this unwelcome habit."

"I am brought here, to this place and this moment, by my own rashness, perhaps," Cora said, a flush of embarrassment, subtle red, apparent on her cheeks. "I came searching for an old ruin, a famed monastery, rich in history, and once a place of great learning. I found it, of course, but my escorts proved to be the unreliable sort, and abandoned me early in our explorations muttering something about curses. Having no wish to depart empty handed I delayed my departure for some days until my work could be completed. Unprepared as I was for this sudden spell of cold weather, I was most grateful to stumble upon all of you and this most welcome fire!"

Pausing to draw a deep breath, Cora buried a nervous laugh in her hands, shifting uncomfortably to readjust her traveling pack with sudden urgency, Forgive me...I fear I have may have said too much...

Finding her own nervousness impossible to avoid and wishing for no awkward silence, Cora desperately searched to shift the conversation. Unconvinced on the merits of pestering a masked man with pointed questions, she turned instead to their host, the old grizzled man who had doled out soup with endless generosity.

"Who are you kind, sir? To greet strangers with such kindness on a chill night such as this? Surely, you too must have a name and a story of your own?" Cora said, a charitable smile playing over her lips.

Planescape: Search for Tir na Og

Some of these felt alarmingly accurate.

Garnet: Tired of just deserving better. Gonna start taking it by force.

Garnet: Don’t worry, I know exactly what I’m doing. Everything is going to be fine!
Aaliyah: How can you still say that?
Garnet: Because sometimes, when things get tough, denial is all we have.

Mariel: I prevented a murder today.
Zaraknyvr: Really? That’s amazing! How did you do that?
Mariel: Self-control.

Raella: I typed "bitch" into my GPS and guess what? I'm in your driveway.
Mariel:
Raella: Vroom vroom, come out already.

Planescape: Search for Tir na Og

What could possibly go wrong with Garnet having some ancient or powerful arcane artifact???

Planescape: Search for Tir na Og

Mariel

Body tense and limbs ready, Mariel reluctantly shook the hand of the many titled gnomish cartographer. Handshakes with strangers never had grown on her. She preferred polite nods. At a distance.

Dimensional travel suited her. With her stomach unburdened by arcane ice cream, Mariel suffered no discomfort stepping from here to there in the blink of an eye.

Melvin’s mention of Tir na Og had thrown her off. An unwelcome feeling that left her fighting the lump in her throat. The glint in the uninvited goblin's eyes had faded from her watchful gaze. She was up to something. Likely something mischievous. Possibly something criminal. Mariel did not judge. The cartographer was not part of her pack. Nor the goblin. They would have to stand for themselves. Such was the way of the wilderness.

Caught in the swirling waters of sorrow and worry, she did not care much either way. They were close. They were closer at the very least. There was no time to waste. There was no time for caution.

Gesturing towards the arrayed maps, Mariel spoke with a sharp blade of unwavering focus,“Do you have a recent map of these lands? From before and after Tir na Og… vanished?”