Lady's Grace, cutters!

 

“Good must triumph over evil and villainy.

That is the will of the multiverse.”

Benhorven, ursinal sage

 

 

Second Void Day of Savorus, 126 HR

A few hours later, they had all gathered again in the Great Gymnasium. Lereia, Naghûl and Kiyoshi had informed their factols about what had happened in Ferrug and had obtained permission to take the deva Ybdiel to Elysium, to the realm of his goddess Mishakal. Sarin as well as Ambar and Erin had agreed to this, on the one hand, because none of the three would have refused to help an angel, and on the other, because the whole thing seemed to be quite a coincidence and this mission might well intersect with the search for the Keeper and the Proclaimer. Meanwhile, Rhys had sent a messenger to Jana's house to inform the sorceress that, contrary to the agreement, the other Chosen would not be picking her up at home. Instead, she was to come to the Great Gymnasium as quickly as possible. Jana complied with this request and arrived at the Ciphers’ faction headquarters almost at the same time as the rest of the group. Thanks to a letter written by Rhys, she was already aware of the events in the Abyss and had also informed her factol Terrance accordingly. But it wasn't just the others who had experienced something rather disturbing, Jana also came with unpleasant news. While she had been waiting for the rest of the group, she had had another vision - or rather, five short visions in direct succession. She had seen the five factols of the Chosen, all in situations that were partly unusual and partly very worrying. As Jana was good at drawing, she had sketched the visions immediately afterwards and brought these drawings with her to show them to the others. The first picture depicted Factol Ambar in an unrecognizable dark room. He was obviously injured and in pain, and his posture suggested that he was tied up. However, this could not be clearly seen due to the darkness. A hooded figure stood in front of him and bent down, something flashed briefly. A thin knife or a needle? According to Jana, she hadn't been able to recognize it more precisely. The next drawing showed Factol Erin, on a balcony in front of an open door. It was a clear night, stars twinkling and a light breeze moving the curtains. Erin was wearing a white dress, but something was wrong. The dress was stained, with a dark liquid. Blood? Wine? Erin looked up at the sky with a strange expression, almost relieved - or regretful? Filled with pain? The last thing to notice was the bloody dagger in her hand. The third vision showed Factol Rhys, scantily clad with tattered cloths over her chest and hips. She was obviously standing in knee-deep snow, submerged up to her hooves. Her eyes were blindfolded, but she appeared highly focused. Something dark was around her, attacking her. Rhys had dodged, according to Jana, again and again, but then a claw had ripped open her shoulder. The fourth picture showed Factol Sarin, in front of an older woman in expensive white and silver robes. He had drawn his two scimitars and laid them down at her feet, kneeling before her and kissing the hem of her dress. Finally, the fifth vision showed Factol Terrance, with blood on his face, lips and temples, seemingly his own. His robe torn, he was on his hands and knees. He was bound to the ground with chains on his wrists and ankles, in front of what appeared to be a dark altar. Morânia had to swallow hard when she saw Jana's drawings. Some of the visions - those of Ambar, Terrance and her own factol - were difficult to interpret in any other way than that danger, pain and humiliation lay ahead for the three of them. But the situations Sarin and Erin were in might be just as dangerous and terrifying, only the coercion or violence involved were not as directly perceptible. The bal'aasi realized that even her ever-so-calm factol was troubled by the visions. She explained that the situation Jana had seen her in had not yet happened, so it was probably at least a possible future for the other factols as well. The group briefly discussed whether they should send someone else to take Ybdiel to Elysium. Naturally, they were agitated and Lereia and Kiyoshi in particular would have liked to tell their factols immediately and personally about the disturbing news. However, Naghûl pointed out that they also should go to Elysium in search of the Keeper and the Proclaimer, which was directly related to the prophecy. If the Chosen brought the deva to Mishakal alive, they reasoned, they might gain the favor of the goddess and she might help them find the two they sought. Rhys also noted that what Jana's visions showed could happen the next day as well as ten years from now. In the end, they agreed that the Chosen would travel to Elysium as planned and that Factol Rhys would show Jana's drawings to her colleagues to warn them. Only Terrance already knew, as Jana had shown him the sketches when she had informed him about the deva and the new mission. So the Chosen checked their baggage once more and then turned to the factol of the Ciphers to receive the still unconscious Ybdiel - in a greatly altered shape. Rhys, a talented wizard, had temporarily given the deva the form of a small animal, a snow fox. This fox now lay in deep slumber in a basket lined with soft cloths and cushions with a lockable lid. This made it easier for the Chosen to transport Ybdiel. Had the circumstances not been so serious due to the angel's condition and Jana's visions, Morânia would have laughed at their situation. But at that moment, even her enthusiastic husband Naghûl was content to grin at the deva in the basket. Just as they were about to make their way to the portal, the door to the bathing room where Rhys had been tending to the angel was wrenched open. A fire genasi, whom Morânia recognized as one of the Gymnasium's refreshment vendors, rushed in in panic.

"Factol!" he shouted loudly. "A monster!"

Everyone present flinched in shock and Sgillin immediately took the bow from his shoulder.

Rhys quickly stepped towards the frightened man. "Where, Kalo?" she wanted to know.

"It ... it ..." The fire genasi visibly struggled to compose himself. "It was a terrible, demonic spider ... a huge one!"

"The bebilith ..." Lereia whispered.

"Where is it?" Rhys asked the man calmly but insistently. "Speak."

"It ... it came through a portal in the Guildhall Ward," Kalo explained frantically. "It entered Iarmid's spa ... by the Lady!"

Rhys grabbed him gently by the arms to calm him down a little. "Is it still there?"

"No ..." The fire genasi shook his head breathlessly. "No, it came here after that, to the Great Gymnasium! It impaled poor Jalkim ... He had a key with him. And with his corpse, the monster went through the next portal."

Jalkim ... Morânia knew him, if only briefly. He was not a factotum, but a simple namer who had helped quite a lot in the Great Gymnasium for years. A quiet and kind man of around fifty years, married to an aasimar who was a member of the Signers. The bal'aasi bowed her head sadly when Kalo broke the news of his violent death. The fire genasi was still shaking all over - not surprising, given that he had just witnessed not only a monster rare even in Sigil, but also the murder of a fellow faction member.

"Which portal did the bebilith use?" Rhys asked, calm despite the terrible news, concerned but composed.

"The one to Amoria, to the Star Isles," Kalo answered.

The factol sighed almost tonelessly. "I don't call that a coincidence."

Sgillin lowered the bow and put the arrow he had already put on the string back into the quiver. "Great. All the more reason to hurry."

Naghûl squeezed Morânia's hand comfortingly, nodding at Sgillin's words. "Let’s go then. Two birds with one stone! Let's take advantage of the moment."

As terrible and sad as the news of Jalkim's death were, Naghûl was right. The deva was growing weaker by the hour, and now there was a bebilith on the loose in the Elysium to cause even more damage. They had to go after it and stop it. So Morânia and Kiyoshi put on their armor, which had originally had a place in their packs. The two sorcerers cast some protective spells and Jana carefully picked up the basket with the transformed Ybdiel. Lereia stayed behind the others in the bathing room with Sgillin, leaving the door ajar ... and came out as a large, white tigress. The half-elf had strapped the backpack with her luggage and discarded clothes to her back; it had obviously been specially made to be carried by a big cat. Morânia nodded gently. Because of the danger posed by the bebilith, it was certainly a good idea to start the journey transformed. So they made their way to the portal in question: it was located in one of the archways of the café near the entrance to the main hall. Morânia knew it well, as she used it often and regularly to travel to her second home. Her father, a half-deva, came from there, and the bal'aasi herself had spent her childhood and youth almost equally in Sigil and the Elysium. She usually looked forward to visits there, but today her heart was heavy as they approached the portal. The tables and chairs of the café under the archways had been overturned and the shards of broken glasses, plates and carafes lay everywhere on the ground. Trampled flowers and food scraps littered the pale marble floor, where the bebilith had wreaked havoc. But the worst part was the trail of blood. It stretched from the entrance of the Great Gymnasium to the archway where the portal was located. Some of it was stains and large puddles, some of it was a broad drag mark where the monster had obviously pulled poor Jalkim across the floor. No, he hadn't stood a chance ... Partly frightened, partly shaken, partly angry Ciphers stood around the scene, some in smaller groups, others on their own. Some were crying, others were trying to offer comfort, still others were picking up shards from the ground in a helpless attempt to do at least something in a situation where there was nothing to save. Rhys nodded to Morânia and the others, a mixture of encouragement and farewell, then turned to her people. After this terrible incident, she had to take care of her faction members, they all knew that. So they just nodded back silently and then stepped up to the archway where the fresh trail of blood ended abruptly.

"Jalkim ..." Morânia murmured sadly. But she knew that the best thing she could do for him now was to find the bebilith and stop it from committing further atrocities. So she took out the key she always carried with her: a piece of a white stag's antler wrapped in gold and silver wire. She held it up near the arch and the familiar portal opened immediately. A brief pull and a slight rustling in her ears - and she found herself on the beach of a small island in the warm sunshine.

The Star Isles, to which the portal led, were a beautiful atoll of small but connected islands in the celestial river Oceanus. Bright, almost white sand was washed over by clear, warm water and wonderful shells and even pearls could be found here. Palms and feather trees dotted the line where the sand faded inland into fresh grass. Behind it, Morânia knew, lay a lovely landscape without any large settlements. Only here and there one could meet isolated inhabitants of Elysium, who lived off the fruit of the palms and berry bushes and the fish that the Oceanus offered them. In more carefree times, she had often spent a few hours or even days here, simply to relax and escape the hustle and bustle of the Cage. Unfortunately, in their particular situation, they had neither the time nor the frame of mind to take a closer look at the wonderful surroundings, let alone enjoy them. They looked around vigilantly.

"It’s quiet here ..." Jana stated, but didn't sound reassured at all.

Sgillin immediately looked around for tracks in the light-colored sand of the beach, but in this case, the ranger's trained eye was not needed: Several spots were still clearly visible where Jalkim's spilled blood had caked the fine sand. They followed the trail along the shore for a while, but then the stains became smaller and the gaps between them larger and larger. Sgillin found a few more clues, imprints of the spider-like bebilith legs, where the others would have discovered nothing. But then they came to a place where the waves had washed away all traces. They looked around helplessly, but Lereia raised her head and sniffed.

"I can still smell the bebilith," she explained. "It has a pretty strong scent and can't be far away yet." She sniffed again, got the wind of the fiend and then followed the scent, the others close on her heels. Lereia led them along the beach for a while, then stopped short. "I think we have to go over there," she said.

She looked towards a nearby island, separated from the one they were on by a strip of water several dozen feet wide. Fortunately, it was a very shallow ford, so they could wade across without any problems. Even at the deepest point, the water was only up to their waists, so Kiyoshi and Morânia didn't have to take off their armor. Jana still held the basket with the transformed Ybdiel in her arms and carefully carried it across the river like a precious treasure. When they reached the other side, Lereia raised her head to pick up the bebilith's scent again ... at the same moment they heard a clatter behind them. Startled, they all spun around and saw that Kiyoshi had collapsed in the sand. They immediately rushed to him, anxiously trying to determine whether he was injured, what might have happened. But nothing could be seen. However, when Morânia placed her hand on his forehead, she noticed that his skin was very hot, even glowing. How could he suddenly have such a high temperature? Or no ... not a fever, it dawned on the bal'aasi. The dragon blood. Kiyoshi himself had only recently realized that he was dragon-blooded and had developed the first signs of his heritage, brass-colored scales on the back of his hands and forearms. This sudden qualm might have been due to another surge of dragon blood bursting forth. As much as Morânia welcomed Kiyoshi becoming one with his heritage, this was the worst possible time for it.

"Oh dear me," murmured Jana. "What's going on?"

"I suspect it's a surge of his dragon blood," Morânia explained. "Not dangerous in itself, but I think we'd better not wake him - if we even could at the moment."

"But we can't wait here until he wakes up," Jana objected unhappily. "Otherwise the monster could be miles away."

Actually, due to the special nature of movement in Elysium, it couldn't, but Morânia decided to put that off until later. Nevertheless, they had to keep going, because the bebilith could cause damage even within a small radius, so Jana was still right.

"I can carry Kiyoshi on my back," Lereia offered. "If you can fasten him so that he doesn't slide off, I'll transport him."

This indeed sounded like the best plan, and so Morânia and Sgillin carefully placed Kiyoshi on Lereia's back while Naghûl strapped him down with a rope and the belts of a sleeping roll. Morânia sighed softly. Now they already had two unconscious traveling companions with them. This journey didn’t start all too smoothly ...

As the young soldier lay safely on Lereia’s back, the white tigress looked around vigilantly. "Isn't there anyone here who would notice something like a bebilith?" she asked.

"This is a pretty deserted area," Morânia explained. "Where there's no one, no one can notice anything ... Can you still pick up the scent of the fiend?"

Lereia raised her head, sucked in the air and perked up her ears a little. Then she nodded and moved purposefully along the shore. Here, fresh grass reached within a few feet of the beach, reeds and flowering bushes grew more densely and more frequently than on the shore of the other island. A few palm trees could be seen a short distance away, providing shade and bearing coconuts and ripe dates. A small house was nestled between the trunks and a small boat was moored on the shore. They also recognized two people and decided to ask them about the monster. They deliberately approached in such a way that they were visible from a distance so as not to frighten the two. As they got closer, Morânia recognized a man and a woman. He had short, black hair and was dressed in a blue vest over a white shirt and wide, gray pants. She wore a simple green dress and her deep red hair fell long and curly over her shoulders. When they were only a few paces away, Morânia noticed two more things: Firstly, the woman appeared to be about six months pregnant. Secondly, both of them were obviously aasimar. They had very pale, almost milk-white skin and - more striking and unusual - two furry, round ears like those of a bear. Their noses also had slightly animal-like features. The bal'aasi nodded to herself. They were certainly descendants of the bear-like ursinal guardinals. Despite their very obvious approaching, the young couple had not yet noticed the new arrivals, as they were too engrossed in what was obviously an intense conversation.

"Greetings," Jana called out from a few paces away. "We're looking for a spider."

Morânia sighed softly at this greeting, while Sgillin specified: "A very large spider."

"Oops!" The red-haired woman stumbled back, startled.

The man also seemed quite frightened by the group, but immediately stood protectively in front of his wife.

"We won't hurt you," Morânia explained reassuringly. "Please bear with us for our belligerent appearance." She spread out her hands to show that she was not carrying any weapons. "The tigress there is one of us and not a danger. The man on her back is one of our companions who has suffered a sudden feeling of faintness. But nothing to worry you."

She was aware that this was a rather strange greeting, and the young aasimar promptly frowned at her husband. "More strange visitors ... But they're obviously not in league with the monster."

The man nodded, albeit hesitantly, and now bowed slightly towards the group. "My name is Romar," he said. "And this is my wife Kria. We are simple fishers."

Jana smiled kindly at him. "We're hunting that monster you mentioned. Can you tell us where it is?"

"It came by here," Kria explained, still visibly shaken. "But it disappeared again very quickly. It dropped this poor fellow here and then made off."

She pointed to a spot not far from the shore, and only now did Morânia notice the body lying there. A human man with short, graying hair ... and a terrible wound in his abdomen, where a huge claw had apparently just pierced him.

"Jalkim ..." Morânia whispered sadly. "That's him."

When the two fishers realized that she had known the deceased, they bowed their heads in silent condolence and stepped back a little. With a deep sigh, Morânia went to Jalkim's corpse, knelt down at his side and let her gaze wander over him. He must have lost a lot of blood, the terrible wound and the aggressive poison of the bebilith ... No, there was no hope for him, even on this heavenly plane, where hope was practically at home. He was dead, and it would have taken a very powerful priest to bring him back in time. But there was none within reach, and so all that remained was to wish his soul the best for its further journey, wherever it would lead to now.

The bal'aasi looked at Kria and Romar. "What happened?"

"That was a terrible ... but also very strange encounter," the fisherman replied thoughtfully, obviously somewhat reassured.

"Strange in what way?" Sgillin wanted to know.

"Well ..." Romar rubbed the back of his neck. "This monster came charging towards us ... We thought it was going to tear us apart. But then ..."

He fell silent, shaking his head, clearly still in disbelief, but Kria continued the story. "It put down the body and looked at us," she reported. "I plucked up all my courage and told it that evil only leads to more suffering. That only good brings redemption. Then it bowed its head as if ashamed and slipped away. It walked along the beach for a while, then simply disappeared. It must have teleported."

"The spark of the deva ..." Naghûl whispered so quietly that only his friends could hear it.

Morânia nodded thoughtfully, while Sgillin's eyes widened in disbelief. "And what did you do?"

Romar raised his shoulders. "We were relieved to be alive. We were going to bury this poor man when you came."

"Where could it be now?" the half-elf wondered. "Damn, if it teleported, its scent is gone."

"Unfortunately, we have no idea where it could be now either," replied the fisherman. "But it won't get far."

"Why not?" Jana asked in amazement.

Kria smiled. "Well, because of the travelers' way."

"The way of the traveler?" The sorceress frowned. "What is that and why would it stop the monster?"

The aasimar looked at her in disbelief and Morânia had to grin. "They are not from here," she said. "But I will explain to them how the travelers' way works."

"Doesn't that take time?" Sgillin interjected doubtfully. "We should move on as quickly as possible."

"Quick means good here," the bal'aasi replied.

"Then as good as possible."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Morânia had to laugh a little. "We'll have to wait. Until the opportunity arises to do something good. Only then will we really get anywhere."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Romar's and Kria's astonished looks at the visitors' ignorance, while Naghûl grinned a little to himself. Yes, the travelers' way was not easy to explain when someone knew nothing about it.

"That we are helping Ybdiel is not enough?" Lereia asked. "I mean, our minds and wills are well-intentioned right now, even if we do not act on it physically."

Since Morânia had introduced her as a friend, the two fishers were obviously not too surprised that the tigress had command of the spoken language. Whether they took her for the were-creature she was, an awakened animal or something else - in any case, they were not very astonished. After her extended travels on the Prime, Morânia frequently realized that the wider horizons of planars simplified some aspects.

"Only deeds count here," Romar explained kindly in response to Lereia's question. "In the multiverse, it's action that counts, not motivation."

Lereia shook her head in confusion and Jana pointed to Jalkim's corpse. "We could bury him. I mean ... you can even pray for all I care."

Morânia meaningfully raised an eyebrow at this addition and preferred to leave the answer to Naghûl.

"In most cultures, that has something to do with respect and decency," the tiefling said. "But it is not a good deed in itself."

"Oh." Jana nodded in resignation. "I should have guessed that doing good deeds up here wouldn't be so easy."

Morânia looked at Kria and Romar. "Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"To my regret, there is nothing we need at the moment." Kria raised her hands almost apologetically. "And unfortunately, not many people live in this area. Perhaps you could take the ship anchored a little way down the coast, then you might find someone who needs help."

The bal'aasi nodded her thanks, but Sgillin was obviously not about to give up just yet. "And you wouldn't like to hear a nice song, would you?" he asked hopefully.

Morânia grinned. "That's not how it works, my friends. Opportunity seeks you out. And then you act. And so you can travel."

She could see all too clearly from the half-elf's expression that he didn't like it, nor did he really understand it.

Lereia's facial expressions were harder to read thanks to her tiger form, but she was obviously also confused. She twitched her ears. "That can be very hypocritical, can't it? I'm sorry, I don't quite understand."

"I think good and evil depend very much on your point of view," Jana noted. "Or on where you come from."

Morânia sighed. It was something that many, many primes didn't understand. For individuals, good and evil might depend on their personal point of view. But the multiverse had clear standards for this, incontrovertible definitions of what was good and evil. Neither heavens nor hells could exist otherwise.

Lereia seemed to have just realized this too, as she shook her head gently at Jana's words. "But I thought it was clearly good deeds that count here. That's not a point of view."

"That's right," Morânia agreed with the tigress. "Good and evil are absolute principles."

"At least something I understand," Lereia said with relief.

Jana sighed. "All right, then. But there's no opportunity here at the moment, am I right? Then we should look for one somewhere else."

"Yes." Morânia nodded. "We should go further and take the ship to wait for an opportunity there. Maybe then I can explain the travelers' way in more detail. I don't think the principle is clear yet."

She noticed that Kria and Romar smirked at this remark. Their astonishment at the strangers' ignorance had obviously subsided by now.

"Hm." Jana frowned. "But the bebilith teleported, didn't it? Does this way of the traveler not apply to it? Or why is it no longer here?"

"It is somewhere nearby, but it can't really get any further," Naghûl explained. "Even if it teleports, it will never really reach a destination."

The confusion of her prime traveling companions was palpable and Morânia realized that she would have to elaborate a little for a more detailed explanation. It was unfamiliar to be here with someone who didn't know travelers' way. "Let's go to the ship," she offered. "Then I'll explain it to you."

"Yes, do that," Romar agreed. "You look for the monster. We'll take care of this poor man's burial."

Morânia nodded and then went to her dead faction companion once more, bending down to him. "We only knew each other briefly, brother. May your gods accept you into their realm." She said a silent prayer in Celestial and then looked to the fishers. "Thank you for burying him."

"Of course," Kria replied warmly. "It seems you have the more dangerous task."

They nodded goodbye to the two, then headed in the direction where Kria said a ship should be anchored. The path led them once more along the coast of the island, under shady palm trees and lined with berrying bushes. They picked some of the sweet fruit and ate as they walked. Then, after about an hour, they actually spotted the ship: a small two-master made of light, almost white wood with azure blue sails. As they approached, they recognized three crew members who were obviously getting the ship ready to cast off. Up on the bridge stood the captain: an avariel, a winged elf, with long, dark hair. There was no one else to be seen, so there were obviously no passengers on the small ship.

"Lathander’s blessings," Morânia called up to the elf. "Tell me, captain, are you taking travelers with you?"

"Of course," the avariel replied, unsurprisingly. "Just come on board, we leave in about an hour."

"Thank you!" answered the bal'aasi. "Do you have a specific destination?"

"Khechara, the Pure Land of the Dakini," the captain called out with a laugh, obviously sensing what her question was aimed at. "But if you also have a destination and are in a hurry, I will gladly leave the first good deed to you."

Morânia grinned as he immediately saw through her intention and bowed thankfully. "That's very kind of you, captain. We are indeed in a hurry, so we gratefully accept the kind offer."

The avariel nodded and beckoned them aboard. As they walked up the gangplank to the deck, Morânia recognized the glances Sgillin, Lereia and Jana gave each other out of the corner of her eye. Yes, this brief conversation must have seemed strange to visitors who didn't know how traveling in Elysium worked. They walked towards the bow, where there lay several carpets and cushions near the railing - obviously the crew often took passengers with them and were prepared for them. They carefully undid the rope and straps holding Kiyoshi on Lereia's back and placed the unconscious young soldier on one of the rugs. He still felt very hot, but was breathing calmly and showed no further visible signs of his draconic transformation. They tried gently to wake him, but when he didn't respond, they laid him down in the shade of the sails and decided to wait. Jana placed the basket with the sleeping snow fox next to him. It was a somewhat bizarre sight, but the crew, friendly and discreet, asked no questions and calmly continued to prepare the ship for departure. Naghûl now made himself comfortable on the cushions and the others did the same, with Lereia taking up an entire carpet by herself. Morânia remembered her promise to explain traveling in Elysium to the others in more detail.

"I know the travelers' way is hard to understand if you're not from here," she said. "It's like this: In Elysium, you can only travel if you do good. You can move around a bit without doing good. But you'll never arrive at a specific destination."

"But you do arrive somewhere , don't you?" Jana objected.

Morânia swayed her head. "You move through a certain area, yes. But you return to the starting point at some point, as if walking in circles. It's difficult, you mustn’t think of it in spatial terms. It's more like jumping back and forth on a map. For example: I want to go from here to the City of the Star. I know my destination in concrete terms and do good deeds. Depending on how many and how grave, I will reach my destination in four days or four hours."

Naghûl nodded. "Exactly. So if we wait here for a good deed, all in all we will reach our destination faster than if we just run. Because then we'll probably never get there."

Sgillin leaned back against the railing. "I've always had a hard time with this planar logic. It'll be fine the way you describe it."

Jana, on the other hand, was not so easily satisfied. "And if you don't do good deeds, you always end up back at the starting point?"

Morânia nodded. "If I don't do anything good, I move on for a while, but I never get out of a certain area, for example this atoll. At some point, I'll be back here on the beach. I can then go to another place a few miles further on. But then I will come back to the beach again . But I'll never get to the City of the Star."

"Hm." Now Sgillin was obviously starting to think. "And if you have no opportunities for good deeds? Like we haven’t right now?"

"There are always opportunities for good deeds," Morânia explained reassuringly. "Sometimes after five minutes, sometimes after a few hours. But they always come, these opportunities. The plane itself provides them."

Lereia rested her head on her front paws. "That means that if someone is evil but does good deeds out of self-interest, they progress just as quickly?"

"Is it even possible to do good deeds out of self-interest?" Jana interjected.

"Why not?" replied the tigress. "The fisherman, Romar, said that what counts here is the deed, not the motivation."

"That's true," Morânia confirmed. "But you know: If you do a lot of good deeds, you will eventually become good. Just as you become evil when you do evil, even if it's for noble reasons. That's the point."

Jana frowned skeptically. "That's ... at least a bit weird, you have to admit that."

"Why weird?" Morânia replied. Sometimes, as a planar, it was hard for her to understand the confusion over this fact, despite her stays on the Prime. "That's how the multiverse works: If you do something good, it's a good deed. And if you do something bad, it's an evil deed. If you want what is good but constantly do evil to achieve it, you will eventually become evil. Does that sound illogical? But on the counterside this is also true."

Jana didn't seem particularly enthusiastic about this explanation, but didn't say anything else. Sgillin, on the other hand, took out the guitar he was carrying in his magic backpack and began to play it a little.

Lereia nodded gently. "I think I'll have to think about that in more detail. But for now, I understand what it's all about."

At that moment, the captain called out a greeting to the beach - apparently more passengers had arrived after all. Morânia stood up to look over the railing and spotted a blond man in armor and a guardinal lady of the lupinal species.

"Nobanion’s blessings," the man called up to the captain. "Are we still allowed on board?"

"Certainly," replied the avariel. "We'll be leaving shortly. Come aboard."

The two thanked him kindly and walked up the gangplank, the man in armor gallantly offering his arm to the lupinal. Once on deck, they took a quick look around and discovered the Chosen already resting on the cushions. As they approached them, Morânia recognized that the man was a human of around thirty, with light blond hair and blue eyes. His armor was decorated with golden ornaments and the shoulder plates were adorned with lion heads. The symbol of the lion god Nobanion was clearly visible on a chain around his neck. The lupinal had the wolf-like appearance of all guardinals of her kind and wore a dress of flowing blue and green fabric. A golden tiara adorned her forehead and the gray fur faded into pure white on her muzzle and hands. When the two new passengers spotted the Chosen, they came over to them.

"Talisid and the Five’s blessings," the Lupinal greeted kindly.

While Morânia, Naghûl and Sgillin stood up politely, Jana literally jumped up and beamed at them. "Ah, you've come just in time," she started immediately. "Why don't you sit down? I'm Jana, and this is Morânia, Naghûl, Lereia and Sgillin. Back there, that's Kiyoshi, he just ... well, not that important. We're waiting for a good deed."

Morânia had to bite back a grin at the obvious and somewhat over-enthusiastic way in which Jana hoped to enlist the two new passengers to her cause.

The man also laughed a little. "Ah, you have a destination? Very pleasant. I am Sir Lorias. This is my lovely companion, Lady Elyria."

He bowed and the lupinal curtsied slightly. While Naghûl and Morânia returned the polite greeting in equal measure, Sgillin contented himself with a friendly nod. Lereia had also stood up, but did not reveal that she was able to speak and was therefore no ordinary tigress.

"Does that mean you have no goal?" Jana probed.

Lorias smiled. "None in particular at the moment."

"Because you're just ... wandering?" the sorceress continued. "Or because your destination is still hidden from you?"

The lupinal, introduced as Elyria, scrutinized Jana kindly with her sapphire eyes. "Hidden goals? Who knows ... maybe."

The sorceress calmed down a little. "Forgive my curiosity, I ... We're waiting here for a good deed and ... I think I already said that and ... I just sensed an opportunity."

Morânia sighed slightly as Jana began to get tangled up in her own words as she so often did, but Elyria smiled gently. "You're in a hurry, huh?"

Jana nodded decisively. "Yes, very much so."

Meanwhile, Lereia had stepped between Morânia and Naghûl and now whispered so quietly that even the bal'aasi could barely understand: "The two of them ... no signature ..."

"Oh ..." Naghûl gasped. He looked enthusiastically at the tigress. "Ohhh ..." Lorias promptly gave him an irritated look and Naghûl now turned to the two new passengers, beaming. "We have many reasons for being here," he explained. "A mission ... a bebilith who has no business here ... and, from the looks of it, you two as well."

"Us?" Lorias asked in astonishment. "But we don't even know each other."

"Not yet," Sgillin replied with a smile.

Jana frowned in confusion, but then seemed to understand. Lorias, on the other hand, looked at Elyria and seemed a little worried. Morânia wasn't quite sure whether it was a good idea to approach the two of them so openly, but it was too late now anyway.

"Don't worry," Naghûl said kindly. "You don't have to be afraid of us. It looks like you are part of a prophecy concerning Sigil, just like us."

Now Elyria's look could clearly be described as alarmed. Reassuringly, Lorias reached for her hand. "It could be them," he said, to which the lupinal nodded gravely.

"What do you mean?" Morânia asked cautiously.

"We may have been looking for you too," Elyria replied. "But can you give us the certainty that you are who you say you are?"

"Yes, we can," replied Sgillin without hesitation.

"How?" Lorias wanted to know.

Jana measured the half-elf with a skeptical look. "Yes, how?"

Morânia shared her concerns. Right off the bat, she wouldn't have known how to show them one of their gifts. "We can tell you about it," she said. "But showing it might be difficult."

"Sgillin could actually try," Naghûl interjected. "Hey, Sgillin, why don't you swap?"

"Buffoon," the half-elf grumbled. "I don't know how to trigger it, remember?"

Naghûl smacked his forehead. "Oh yes, that's right. Hm, hard luck ..."

"I can swap bodies with others," Sgillin turned to Elyria and Lorias. "But I don't know how to trigger it. It just happens."

Morânia sighed. Lereia and Naghûl's gifts referred to things that only the two of them could see and that they could not show to anyone else. She herself, Sgillin and Jana could have shown something, but did not know how to consciously trigger their gifts. And the only one who could actually have shown something, Kiyoshi, was unconscious.

"We would love to prove ourselves to you," said the bal'aasi. "But I don't know if we can ..."

Sgillin slumped his shoulders a little. "Yes. Your gift is just as erratic as mine. And Jana's too."

Elyria looked at her companion and it was clear that she was not really convinced by the words of the Chosen.

"My gift is simple," Naghûl explained. "I see numbers that others cannot."

This remark didn't really make it any better and Lorias frowned doubtfully. "Well, I don't know... Forgive my words, but that doesn't seem very... tangible to me."

"Yes, that's the nature of prophecies," Sgillin replied with a sigh.

Morânia couldn't blame them for their skepticism. They all claimed to have gifts that they could neither show nor demonstrate.

Then Jana seemed to have an idea. She pulled an amulet with the symbol of her faction out from underneath her robe. "I'm here on behalf of Factol Terrance," she explained. "You're welcome to reach out to my faction in Sigil about this. Jana Wetter is my name."

Morânia winced a little. Identifying herself as an Athar to a man who was most likely a priest or paladin might not be such a good idea.

But surprisingly, he smiled and Elyria's eyes lit up. "Terrance? His flame burned bright as the sun. But then ... he turned away." Now she looked saddened. "A painful loss."

Lorias bowed his head at her words, as if someone had died.

"Your loss is our gain," Jana replied a little snidely.

Morânia gave her an annoyed look and Naghûl shook his head reprovingly. "Jana, please ..." he said in an admonishing tone.

"Forgive me," Jana replied immediately, obviously a little embarrassed. "I didn't mean to rub salt into painful wounds."

Elyria sighed. "He had the freedom to choose his own way. That's what the Blue Lady wants."

Lorias nodded sadly, and Jana briefly cleared her throat. "Yes ... Anyway ... is that enough for you to trust me?"

The lupinal looked at Jana inquiringly, but not unkindly. "I respect your factol deeply. Yes, truly, Lost One. But we have to be sure."

Naghûl nodded in understanding. "All right, perhaps we'll explain how we recognized you in the first place and ..."

"Wait," Lorias interrupted him. "Since it hasn't been proven yet, perhaps too much has already been said."

"That might be," Elyria agreed with him. "But it will certainly be proven, even if not immediately. You are on your path. Do not abandon it." Lorias took Elyria's hand, but she herself reached to her neck for an amulet. "Follow your path," she said kindly. "And we'll meet again."

"Wait!" Naghûl called out, but there was already a flash of blue light and then they had both disappeared.

"Oh dear!" Jana took a startled step back and Lereia hissed softly.

"They're definitely the right ones," said Sgillin.

"Honestly ..." Jana put her hands at her sides. "That's a bit impertinent. To just disappear like that."

Naghûl stamped his foot once. "Damn it!"

"The Keeper and the Proclaimer," Sgillin remarked with a wink. "They certainly don't have their lofty names for nothing."

“I agree with Sgillin," said Morânia. "I also think they are the people we are searching for. And they want to be sure of us."

The half-elf nodded. "Exactly ... If they weren't, they would have been much more open - or more surprised."

Lereia hissed once more. "Why does everyone seem to feel superior and wiser than us?" she asked, clearly annoyed. "Are we the only ones who know almost nothing?"

Naghûl placed a hand between her shoulder blades comfortingly. "Lereia, feeling stupid doesn't mean you actually are. In my opinion, what they did here was pretty unwise."

"Why?" asked Lereia, apparently a little reassured by his words.

"Firstly, they had the opportunity to get more information from us. Secondly, we couldn't even warn them that others are after them too. I can see it coming that we'll have to free them from some Sinker hole."

Morânia felt it was her duty to defend a guardinal and a cleric or paladin. "Then again, perhaps they already made experiences that just made them want to be completely sure of us."

Sgillin nodded at her words. "Good point. Besides, I don't think the Sinkers could hold them. You saw how the two of them have disappeared from here."

"Yes, and what are they doing without their amulet?" replied Naghûl.

The half-elf shrugged his shoulders. "They'll know what they're doing. There's nothing we can do about it at the moment anyway ..."

Lereia returned to the rugs, her ears slightly laid back. "But to be told so pompously what good children we are and that we should follow the path ... That kind of behavior just annoys me from time to time."

"I understand you all too well, Lereia." Naghûl took a seat next to her and leaned back against the railing. "I'd like to kick their pompous asses too - purely metaphorically, of course."

Morânia could sense how her husband's behavior was beginning to make her angry. "Please don't talk about a guardinal like that," she remarked reprovingly.

"Oh!" Naghûl waved his hand defiantly. "Lereia is absolutely right. It makes me grumpy too."

"She's a celestial," Morânia countered sourly. "She'll know what she's doing."

Of course, her husband promptly pointed to deva, who was lying in deep unconsciousness in fox form. "Yes, they know perfectly well, the celestials."

Sgillin laughed a bit and winked at his friend graciously, "Save your anger for the bebilith."

Morânia was glad that the half-elf's casual remark took a little pressure off the badly developing conversation. She took a deep breath to ground herself and then nudged her husband a little. "I'll throw you overboard if you don’t stop," she said, clearly joking.

"Then we can wait here for a long time."

Naghûl laughed good-humoredly and the little quarrel was forgotten. Then they felt a gust of wind billowing the azure sails and heard the captain shout a short command: The ship set sail.

 

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- played June 26, 2012

- Kiyoshi soon had a dragon blood surge because his player wasn't there that night.