Death Rescinded

While the others wait and pace, Doctor Waring treats Gilthain for the poison and then examines closely the throwing daggers used to deliver it.

"It's a powerful spider poison," he declares. "You're very lucky."

Eabha reaches for one of the daggers and grips it. It feels comfortable in her hand and she admires the work that went into making it. It was crafted in the Elven style and features a groove along one side of the blade for holding poison. The handle appears to be bronze.

"Does anyone object if I hang on to these?" she asks.

No one does. She puts both daggers into her belt.

They all look to A'mal's body, lying on the examination table. Having momentarily awoken, Twitch sticks his head out of Morihana's shirt and chatters disconsolately.

"Can anything be done for him?" Thrysp asks the doctor. "Can he be brought back?"

"Well," the doctor considers. "Perhaps."

A knock at the door startles an already anxious group. The doctor answers and lets the visitor in. Thrysp and Gilthain recognize the woman as Asa, one of the priestesses of Freya from the temple.

"We have heard that A'mal was murdered. Will you bring his body to the temple?" she asks.

The companions agree. Asa departs and Doctor Waring has his carriage prepared and brought around so that they don't have to carry the Sorcerer through open streets already filled with rumours and speculation.

They pull up to the rear entrance of the temple, and take A'mal through the back door where they are joined by Asa again.

"Upstairs," she says, and so Wassup and Gilthain carry A'mal past libraries and halls, to the sanctuary and up a long, winding staircase into one of the rooms off the second floor balcony.

It is Freya's sanctum. Eabha realizes that she has been in town four days now and not bothered to visit the temple yet, not even to thank Freya for a safe trip. And now, with all that has happened, particularly by the riverside with the Tolgarian Knights, she wonders if she deserves to be here at all.

Another priestess is in the sanctum. She introduces herself as Glamvor, though again, Thrysp and Gilthain seem to know her already.

"What has happened to A'mal?" she asks, as the Sorcerer's body is laid out before her.

Thrysp explains the events leading up to the assassination, and asks if he can be brought back.

Glamvor examines the body.

"Yes," she tells them at last. "But it is not inexpensive. The materials needed are precious and rare. We require diamonds worth 10,000 gold pieces."

"We don't have the diamonds. Or the gold to buy them," Gilthain admits.

Glamvor nods her head and looks down at A'mal. She takes hold of the silver symbol of Freya that hangs around her neck, waves her other hand over the body, and speaks a few words in a language none of them knows.

"That will ensure that his body does not become corrupted while you decide what is to be done," she tells them.

"Can we leave him here in the meantime?" asks Morihana. "Is this a secure location?"

"Yes."

The companions look at each other, wondering what to do next. They know they cannot get the gold together at this hour in the evening. With A'mal protected, should they just go after the murderers and hope to find 10,000 gold pieces worth of diamonds along the way?

They are ready to leave, perhaps to head back to The Green Dragon to make plans, when a woman of extraordinary beauty appears suddenly, as if from nowhere, filling the room with warm light.

"I am Constance, Avatar of Freya, Goddess of Love and Fertility."

The companions stare open-mouthed in wonder, unable for the moment to say a thing. Even Asa and Glamvor are caught off guard by the unexpected appearance of the bodily manifestation of their deity and are unable to anything but watch.

Only Morihana is unimpressed, stepping away cautiously with her hands firm on her staff.

Constance moves forward as though gliding, her immaculate gown swirling about her, and greets each of the companions by name. Her voice is low and resonates slightly throughout the chamber.

"I have been sent to reunite this," she says, holding up a tiny bead of light between her thumb and forefinger, "with that."

She indicates A'mal's body.

"Why?" asks Morihana, her eyes narrowing. "What do the gods want with him?"

"We have our reasons," she replies. "We wish A'mal to undertake a quest for us. We are tempted to give him some companions, but perhaps We should offer you the choice."

Morihana tries to step towards the closed door but finds that an invisible force prevents her from reaching it.

"Why have you trapped us?" she asks.

Mori, Eabha thinks desperately. Just listen. Now is not the time for your paranoia.

"We are committed to Stollhaaven," Constance says. "Anything that threatens Stollhaaven threatens Us. Something is threatening Stollhaaven and it is in the Wild Lands. But is the destiny of others to confront this Thing head on, and We need you to eliminate the spice and any of its derivatives."

"What derivatives?" asks Morihana, her voice growing more belligerent. She stays near the door, waiting for whatever force that holds them there to be dispelled.

"You are already familiar with the spice," Constance says. "We have no more information to share with you at this time. This is your quest: eliminate this substance, for We do not believe it is of this world and it must be stopped."

Thrysp and Gilthain are the first to step forward and commit to the quest. They do not even give it a second thought. Eabha and Wassup are next. They have not known A'mal for long, but recognize the importance of the task they have been asked to carry out. Eabha herself would not think of turning down her own goddess, not when she has gone to the trouble of visiting the lower realms of existence.

Morihana alone is unconvinced, but she reluctantly agrees to follow A'mal on the quest.

With everyone finally in agreement, Constance releases the bead of light she is holding. It floats, finding its way down to A'mal's body and entering it. The companions watch in awe as the bead suffuses his body with radiant light for a several moments before it fades. The Sorcerer's skin grows pink again, lax muscles tighten, and his chest moves suddenly with breath.

He opens his eyes and is pulled to his feet by Thrysp and Gilthain.

Twitch, who is still nestled inside Morihana's shirt, scampers out, and happily joins his master once again. A'mal gives him a quick pet, but his focus is on Constance. For several long moments they stare at each other and the others can only wonder what might be passing between them. At last A'mal nods and the contact between the two is broken.

The Sorcerer seems a bit surly but relatively unaffected by recent circumstances or the presence of Freya's avatar. He certainly isn't interested in discussing what he has just been through and no one is prepared to ask him about it. He stretches a bit and then demands to know what happened after his untimely death. Thrysp fills him in, trying not to make the group sound too incompetent for letting the assassins get away.

"Let's go then," he says. "We need to get on it as soon as possible."

"Tonight?" Gilthain asks. "It’s late, and I'm tired."

"We're all tired. But if there is a link between the assassins and the spice purveyors, we can't afford to let them go. It's too good a lead," A'mal reasons.

Thrysp, Wassup and Eabha agree. But Morihana sides with Gilthain.

"You want to go after them now? They'll be expecting us. We're tired. We're no match for them right now, and we'd be facing them on their territory. It's foolish."

"You just said you'd help," Eabha reminds her. "You said you'd follow A'mal."

Morihana glares at them. "That doesn't mean I have to risk my neck for these people. We can't win if we go after them now. They'll have prepared a trap. We'll go tomorrow."

A'mal does not back down and Gilthain, realizing that his friend is going to do this whether he goes with him or not, relents. Morihana does not.

"Tonight!" A'mal insists. "Come now or not, but we might never find them tomorrow."

Constance, who has been standing aside listening, suddenly speaks, directing her words to the Druid: "Morihana will assist these five tonight."

It is not a request. The way she says it seems to indicate that there can be no argument. But Morihana will not give in. Eabha knows her friend well and if she feels trapped, she will fight. It's what comes of living mostly in the wild, with few allegiances.

Constance, having said what she needed to, is not going to become involved in the petty arguments of mortals. She grants them some magical enhancements to assist in the chase, and promptly vanishes in a shimmer of light. The force keeping the companions in the room also vanishes.

For a moment, no one moves or says a thing. But they cannot linger long. The decision to enter the sewers has been made.

When they get to the street they are disappointed to find that it has rained, and quite heavily, while they were in the temple. There is still as fair amount of it coming down now.

"The sewers will be flooded," Eabha says. "Tracking is going to be harder."

She hopes that her friend will change her mind, but as the rest ponder traveling the flooded underground tunnels, Morihana says goodbye and walks off in the direction of The Green Dragon.

"What's wrong with your friend?" A'mal asks.

Eabha shrugs. "It's her way. She doesn't like it when others give her orders."

He's angry, but he's not going to linger over it when there is work to be done. They lead him through the wet streets to the manhole down which their quarry disappeared.