A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 60: Aasimar

A glance back out the window told her that Bard was pacing worriedly at the base of the building. "Off with you!" She whispered. The young wolf looked concerned, but did as he was asked. Ashyr turned back, then shook her head with an amused smirk. Bard must have immediately found some small rodent to chase, because she felt puppy excitement from him only moments after she told him to leave.

She didn't want to focus on her animal companion, however. Instead, she carefully laid across the wooden floor, and put her ear to a crack. Another grin, this time triumphant. This was a perfect place to listen in to whatever this meeting was about. Hopefully something interesting.

As it turned out, the meeting was that of a number of the merchants around here worrying about the druidic and orcish army gathering to the north. Some of them seemed to want to sell the invaders supplies, while others thought that doing so would be extremely dangerous and they should keep any of them from contacting the attackers out of fears both of the druids and orcs turning on them and of reprisal from Faust if he found out they were helping his attackers. The discussion went back and forth for quite some time until a new voice interjected in.

It was that of a woman, and the moment that her clear soprano voice rang out, Ashyr instantly knew that she was a paladin of some power, similar in many respects to Althaia, though almost certainly not a nymph. The paladin woman calmed the arguing, reminding them that they were in a church dedicated to the Eternal One, Creator of the Gods, and gave her own advice on the situation.

Predictably enough for a paladin, she mostly seemed interested in protecting the people of the small settlement, and of freeing the city from Faust's tyranny. With that in mind, she suggested that they approach the druids and offer them some free supplies and hire a number of the orcish bands (who she knew to be mercenaries) to protect the town from the rest of the army, then try to sell anything past the initial gift that they could to fully supply the army. She reminded them that as long as the 'sadly returned to his heritage demonspawn' was still in power, they could not actually do business with Port Afron at all, and even their smuggling businesses (which they really should stop doing, she did not condone breaking the law) would suffer as long as the city was blockaded.

In the end, the paladin was as overwhelmingly persuasive as one would expect, and the meeting ended with several of the merchants offering to go and talk to the army. They decided that the paladin, who they identified as Gailwen Goldstar, should not go with them, as they feared that the druids and orcs would not be happy to see a Light-Elf like her, as back before the Byzromines withdrew their legions from the region they had driven the orcish tribes into the deep wilderness and their Church had outlawed a number of druidic practices, so there was likely to be too much residual anger at her kind. Gailwen assented, and the meeting was adjourned, though not before the Paladin asked the Priest (who had been quiet up until that point) to lead the group in prayer.

Ashyr grew bored of the prayer, and thoughtfully sat up. That meeting seemed to have gone quite well for her faction. She grinned. It was a really good thing that she had decided to wander down there. Now she could open up a path for these merchants to speak to the right people! Except... well, she could hear Selene's admonishments already: she should not just talk to people about this sort of thing without considering all the details and talking it over with some advisors (on of which being Selene herself, of course.) Ashyr had never been good a diplomacy.

Eh, it was probably going to be fine. People up here were nothing like the drow.

So, carefully, Ashyr made her way back out of the window and down the side of the building. (Thankfully, there was still no one there to witness her weird and suspicious behavior.) She had to talk to that 'Gailwen' character. She may not be the best to talk to wither the druids or the orcish mercenaries, but if Ashyr could get her nymph paladin to talk to the elf paladin, then surly things would go in the best direction possible.

Hiding in the shadows, Ashyr watched the people filter out. She had no idea what the paladin looked like, but she had a feeling that she would just Know. But, when it seemed that everyone had left, Ashyr hadn't picked out anyone from the group. She frowned and made to get up; she must have been mistaken about her insticts. But then, finally, out walked a gorgeous pink-haired, pointed-eared woman. Of course the Paladin would stay longest. She was probably saying her extra prayers.

"Pst! Gailwen Goldstar?" Ashyr called out in a soft voice. She may have been feeling bold, but she wasn't quite bold enough to just walk out and announce herself to the whole settlement. They might take offence to her drowish looks.

The paladin spun around, her golden eyes narrowing at the drow. Her eyes seemed even better than those of the average Light Elf, which was saying quite something. Her eyes glowed blue for a moment, then she relaxed. "I suppose that one would expect to mostly see non-evil drow on the surface." She noted. "But it never hurts to make certain. What does one of my dark cousins want with me?" The paladin was dressed in a modest tradeswoman's outfit, and while not quite at the level of Althaia in her aura of beauty, she was eerily gorgeous all the same.

In fact, her pink hair, golden eyes, and the slightly metallic silvered tinge to her skin indicated that this particular Light Elf was an Aasimar: one possessing celestial heritage. "You have me at a disadvantage." She continued. "You call me by name, but have not given yours."

Ashyr recognised that blue glow; Althaia had one inspected her in much the same way. "I am not evil." She confirmed with a grin. "Even though I am a Duskhaven. Ashyr of House Duskhaven, Rebel Matron." She gave Gailwen a bow reminiscent of something Caleldir would do. This was intentional; this was a light elf she was talking to. If she wanted to talk to a light elf, then she needed to act like a light elf. Caleldir was the only sort of light-elf she knew so...

A look of surprise passed over Gailwen's face, and she promptly curtsied. She chuckled slightly. "I see you have some knowledge of Byzromine manners, though you have adopted the male greeting rather than the female one."

Ashyr shrugged. She hadn't known that there was a female version of 'Byzromine' manners. And even if she did, her sex was the dominant one, so it only made sense that she act as their dominant sex. She grinned, then finished her introduction. "Technically, I am the reason why there's two forces breathing down the city's throat. Three, if you count my party. Which you really should; we're practically an army ourselves."

She cleared her throat. It wasn't really the time for too much boasting. She needed to get to the point. "I overheard that meeting. I can get you in touch with our own Paladin. I think the two of you would be able to coordinate something mutually beneficial."

The paladin pursed her lips, considering Ashyr's words. "You have a paladin with you? The merchants believed that one of my training would be unwelcome with your army. To say nothing of my race. By your mannerisms and implications, it seemed they were mistaken. But I am tasked with protected the assets of this community, and not empowered to negotiate on their behalf with the druids or the orcs. There was nothing said about a powerful adventuring party, however. As long as your paladin friend does not mind meeting me here where my duties lie, I would be happy to do so. After all, I am also a merchant, and pleased to make some profit doing good deeds." She smiled.

"What, you don't do all the tricky talking?" Ashyr asked. This part she was a little confused about. "Our Paladin is really the best at that sort of thing - well, assuming that she isn't talking to the orcs, then it's Zarag or Orag. But she is good with talking to both of them, and they can talk to... er, that's not important. Althaia's very young and is already an excellent negotiator, so I just assumed that all Paladins did that sort of thing. Maybe it's just Paladin nymphs." Another shrug.

"A nymph paladin?" Gailwen said with obvious surprise. "That is a new one. I had read tales of a succubus paladin, and valkyrie paladins are extremely common in the north, but a nymph..." she clapped her hands together. "Probably a follower of Aesuna. Honestly, I am surprised that she had not recruited paladins from her nymphen followers before. But that is good news. A nymph paladin will be a powerful force for good. Anyway, the Eternal One and his servant Aukeena have blessed me with some small skill in my tongue, but the others in this settlement felt that my presence would be a hindrance rather than a help due to my status as an Light-Elven Aasimar Byzromine merchant paladin," - indeed, her accent was lightly seasoned with the cultured flair of the distant, shrunken Imperial Power - "and though I am very pleased to know that is not the case, I will not overrule them unilaterally."

"Aesuna, yeah, I think that's the one." Ashyr nodded. Though Gailwen could have guessed totally wrong and Ashyr wouldn't have known the difference. She didn't really pay attention to that sort of things. As a drow, gods and goddesses were to be appeased or avoided at all costs.

"As for people's opinion of you... I really don't know, actually. I don't know much about your culture. Althaia will be able to tell. Probably. Anyway... I think Althaia might be really excited to meet a fellow paladin. We already have a plan to overthrow Faust (no spoilers) but I am certain there are other things that we'll need."

"Then I look forward to talking to her." Gailwen said.

"I'll run and get Althaia. Where can we meet you?"

She gave Ashyr another dazzling smile. "You can meet me at my warehouse: 'Goldstar's Silks, Spices, and More'. I run an import business there." She gave another delicately feminine curtsey, then strode off in a distinctly martial fashion.

As the paladin left, Ashyr turned, activated her wolf figurine, and dashed off towards the Hall. They would have to hurry if they wanted to make it to Faust that night.

--

Back at the Hall, A female half-orc turned the corner and into sight of both Caleldir and Selene. She was fine-featured for an orc - at least when it came to her bone structure. A human might call her attractive. The rest of her seemed to try to aggressively make up for her less-than orcish appearance. She wore her black hair in thin dreadlocks, the front of which were just long enough to cover her eyes, while the back hung down just past her shoulders. Much like Ashyr, her dreads had various things tied into them, though her trinkets were decidedly more macabre. Despite the thick curtain of dreadlocks in front of her eyes, she seemed to navigate as if her sight was unimpeded. Her furs only wrapped around her breasts and hung at her hips, the rest of her very slightly greenish skin was covered in black tattoos with a clear necromantic motif.

Caleldir (and Selene) recognized her as Ungrai. He had felt her soul once before, after all, and now would now her no matter what body she chose to inhabit. Her soul's current housing was rather attractive though, he had to admit, and despite being used to the scandalous dressing habits of some of the females he tended to be around, he still had some trouble looking away from all the lovely green-tinged skin on display. But, tear his eyes from her legs and midriff he did (yeah, as much as he wanted to tell himself that he was only trying to guess at the functions of her tattoos, he knew that he was mostly appreciating her form), and focused on her face.

"Ungrai." He said in a flat, less-than-pleased voice. The orc male placed hands on either side of his plate and used the table to lift himself up. Zarag didn't seem quite as healthy as he did prior to drinking the night before. "You have been ordered not to come here, sister."

Caleldir's eyes darted to Zarag. It seemed that the rift between her and the druids was rather severe. Well, Caleldir intellectually understood why, but, unlike Althaia, he was not particularly opposed to the idea of undead armies. His nation had been one of 'mad mages' after all, and some of his best friends were tormented undead souls. As long as necromancers left out the 'tormented souls' bit and the people whose bodies were being used for undead armies either gave permission, or were enemies slain in battle, he would have been a happy to allow her to bolster their forces. Althaia, for all her diplomacy, viewed things very differently. So he had not pressed the issue.

"The druids told me not to come to the dinner talks." Ungrai corrected with a careless wave of her hand. She rasped slightly, and there was something... wrong about her voice - as if more than one speaker spoke through her mouth, but the second one was somehow off-key, and could only barely be heard. The necromancer was too busy paying attention to Caleldir to properly answer her brother. "You..." She said thoughtfully. Ungrai walked up very much into his personal space to inspect the slightly taller strange, pale, half-elf looking creature that was Caleldir. From such proximity, her void-black eyes were visible. Ah. Black eyes. A sure sign of some rather ethically questionable magical practices. But neither her eyes nor voice worried him that much. He had dealt with (heck he was) much creepier. It was Ungrai's sudden intrusion into his personal space that put Caleldir ill at ease. This was not flirtation, which he was at least slightly used to, this was... something else. The female half-orc raised her hand to touch him, but Selene's hand darted out to prevent her.

"Back off." Hissed drow to half-orc.

A quick glare was shot in the mage's direction before Ungrai turned her attention back to Caleldir. "What are you?" She asked in soft wonder. She didn't try to touch him again, but neither did she back up.

Selene apparently saw her as a threat, which was not all that surprising. "Good to see you inside your own flesh, Ungrai." He said with the casual flippancy of one who viewed death and resurrection/reanimation as a minor affair. "You are certainly healthier than the first time we met. Do you recall when I bound your ghost to settle a quarrel among your brothers whether or not to revive you? Good times."

Ungrai didn't respond to Caleldir's question. Of course she did. In death, she was much as she was in life.

He sighed. "I am a complexity. A creature without a time. Child of a dead universe and an undead outcast from faerie, placed into history, and then plucked out of his time by a deific curse. I am a Titan, an Elf, a Nymph, and a Ghost. I am a monk, a librarian, an adventurer, and a guard. I have been killed a thousand times, and have not died once. I am neither properly alive nor properly dead, and yet undead only half explains me. I am Caleldir Goelon Hissael Duvainor, Master Librarian of Eternity and King of Ghosts." He gave her a lopsided smile. "Does that answer your question?"

Ungrai listened with rapt attention. "The events around your conception must have been peculiar. "Does your body have full functionality? How are you at once male and nymph? And Titan? Did your sire or dam purposefully engineer this?" Her head tilted to the side, and her hair fell to the side to fully reveal one eye. It seemed to actually draw light away from everything around it. This time, when her hand rose, she was able to touch Caleldir's face. He seemed solid enough.

Selene looked grumpy about it, but decided to let the half-orc satisfy her curiosity as long as it was merely academic. Besides, she, too was curious about some of Ungrai's questions.

It was just after Ungrai made contact with Caleldir's face when Zarag interjected. One broad hand closed over his sister's shoulder and pulled her back and away from the other male. "You may stay for food, sister. But do not be rude." He told her firmly. "Come, let's sit and finish eating." Zarag said. "I have plans to share with your party when the others get back. If my sister annoys you, you do not have to answer her questions."

The flurry of questions was somewhat overwhelming. Caleldir did not have time to properly answer, nor really react to her touch, before Zarag intervened. He gave the big orc a nod, and shrugged at Ungrai. "I do not mind answering questions." He said simply. "But let us sit first." Apparently, Selene only allowed other women permission to pay a lot of attention to him if they asked her permission. Or something. He was not always certain as to the logic she used. But Ungrai seemed to be interested in his existence as a point of arcana, not as someone to flirt with, so Selene's possessiveness was not all that justified.

He opened his mouth before realizing that the information that he wanted to share was not really something that the rest of the table had any business knowing. Well, he did not mind if Selene knew, but as for the rest, he preferred his past not to be that common of knowledge. So, he tried to initiate conversation with her in other tongues, skipping from one uncommon language to another until he found one that the two of them knew and the rest of the table probably did not. Apparently, that tongue was Abyssal, which Caleldir spoke fluently, but with a flat-intonation born of having learned it from books and not really heard it spoken aloud. "I have full functionality. Everything on my body works as intended. As for whether or not I was on purpose... I am not sure. I know that my father was a Titan, and my mother was an undead Nymph Archfey, but I know little about either of them. I know that I am a disappointment, power-wise. With my ancestry, I should have been a demigod of some kind. Instead, I am me."

The female half-orc's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Undead Nymph Archfey." Ungrai repeated, speaking in the guttural tones of Abyssal with as much ease as if it were her first language. Her voice actually sounded slightly more natural in this language. "And she was able to conceive in that state? Is she just that powerful, or did she discover a way to harbor life in death? I have not known of any risen dead who could function sexually. The small amounts of life magic usually necessary doesn't tend to mix well with death."

By the time Ungrai stopped talking, her brother had fetched her some food and set the well-laden plate in front of her. The orc female began to eat right away with enthusiasm.

Caleldir shrugged. Again. "Honestly, I am not entirely sure how it worked. I know of at least one other woman who is half-ghost, so it is not without precedent that a ghost could conceive. However, it was her father who was ghostly, and I am really, really not sure how a corporeal entity like myself was conceived and carried in an incorporeal woman. I am assuming that she was just that powerful, since Archfey are pretty much gods by the standards of this world." He sighed deeply, and stared off into space. "My own origin confuses me in many strange and unsettling ways. Mostly because the only reason I know any of this is because the two of them told me, and they were infuriatingly light on the details."

"You are not entirely a disappointment." Selene found herself reassuring Caleldir for some reason. Despite the chaotic origins of the language they chose to use, Selene managed to make it sound refined - much more dignified than the times she would speak abyssal when she was especially angry at something and was using it as profanity. "I do not know why your father would expect greatness from you when you're still so young. In the Underdark, you wouldn't have even been able to leave the house unsupervised until you reached your forties. You were, what, thirty when you died the first time? Given enough time, you might even surpass Goelon."