Conversation 6: Daisy and Ardith/Serena

Green: Daisy

GM: Black

 

As you walk out of the dungeon where your grandparents lay, you run into Xander on the way up. "Hey there, Daisy. Have a minute?"

Daisy scratched her head and shook out her shaggy hair, putting the encounter with her grandparents out of her mind. "Sure thing, Xander. What's up? Please don't tell me you dug up some of my cousins or something, because I've had enough 'touching' family reunions for one day."

"Actually, I have done just that, and found out a bit about your Ardith guy, too. But if you don't want to hear about some of your not so crazy relative, it's your call..." he trails off, letting you decide.

"Eh... sure, tell me what you know about my relatives, but looking for Ardith comes first," she said after a moment. "All right, lay it on me."

"Alright, here it is. First off, your Ardith guy? Got a tip from a friend of mine, and it seems he's working for the government of Falena now as some high ranking official. "Official envoy to the Queen" as it's called, which basically means he's a royal adviser with the queen's personnel backing. From what I can gather, he's spending a lot of time in the palace, and researching the Sindar, and the abundance of Sindar ruins in the Falena area. To what end, I don't know. It might be a royal job, as they do a lot of that, or it could be personal."

He takes a breath.

"As for your uncle, his name was Simon, and yeah, from what I can tell, your grandparents ate the poor bastard. Found some human bones with bite marks the kind I've never seen... so yea, he's a goner. Still, you do have an aunt, technically. A woman named Fiona. Simon married her in secret behind his parents' back, and from what I can gather they didn't approve when they found out. You may have actually already met her, as she runs the Rune shop in Delon. Quite the pretty lady, but not high enough on the social standing list for your parents' taste. They had two kids too, a daughter named Penelope, and a son named Paul. Penelope's about 18, and Paul's 16. None of them know what happened to Simon yet, and I didn't know if you'd want me to break the news to them, or if you'd like to do the deed yourself."

"Crap... Nah, I might as well tell them," Daisy sighed. "How long ago was Simon killed? Maybe I should have some good news to give them when I deliver the bad..." She glanced back down the stairs and flexed her fingers. 

"I wonder why Ardith is studying the Sindar. I'll have to ask him myself. You do good work, Xander."

"I do what I can. It's not easy getting sources all the way from Falena, or finding a single family in a war zone. But once I take a case, I always finish it. Well, see ya round, Daisy," he says, and walks off.

Daisy waved goodbye as the detective walked away, and shook her head. "Falena, huh? This is gonna be a long trip."

"A long trip, my child?" You will hear the voice of Leknaat, and realize that you have walked straight to her without planning it. "I will be more than happy to assist you, of course. Where do you need to go? I shall guide you."

"Oh, hi Leknaat," Daisy said, glad that she had chosen this particular route. "I need to go to Falena for a bit. Right to the royal palace, I guess. I'll have to take the Blinking Mirror to get back, too. Would you mind? Please?"

"Not at all. I shall teleport you outside the gates. Teleporting into the building might surprise the guards, and we couldn't stand to lose one of our shining stars."

She smiles, and then teleports you. You arrive in Falena at the capitol, and find it to be a huge city, worthy of being a capitol. The palace looms before you...

Daisy looked around curiously, this being her first time in Falena, but she didn't want to waste too much time. She strolled up to the gates of the palace and addressed one of the guards. 

"Hi! I wonder if you could help me," she said in a friendly tone. "I heard my friend Ardith works here, as a royal advisor? I'd really like to speak with him."

"Hm?" "You're that Eresh woman he was expecting? Not quite what I was expecting, but I was told to let you through. Master Ardith is on the third floor, fifth room on the right. Don't get lost now." The guard says, and waves you through.

"Thanks very much," Daisy said with a jaunty wave, and followed his directions inside. She counted off the doors and knocked, wondering what sort of person she was about to find. She had to remember that he had a True Rune as well...

"Is that you, Eresh? Come on in," You hear a voice say. He sounds young, but firm. As you enter you see a young man, mid twenties, dressed in black and white robes, the colors of the royal Falena family. 

"Who are you? You're not Eresh. How did you get in here?" the man asks.

Daisy shrugged and closed the door behind her. "I walked. Your guards were really helpful when I asked to speak with you. Your castle seems almost as friendly as mine! So you're Ardith, right? I've been looking for you for a while, but I'm not trying to fight you or anything, no worries. I'm a friend of Serena's."

As you start talking, Ardith looks like he might be ready to defend himself, or possibly attack. When you mention the name 'Serena' he drops his guard, and you can see you've caught him off guard.

"Serena? You know Serena? I haven't heard of her since... I mean... is she... ok?" he asks.

Daisy blinked, not expecting such a reaction. "Is she all right? She's had a pretty miserable time of it with only one leg, you know. She's got a job now with us, but it's not easy for an adventurer who can barely walk. I came here to hear about you, though. What happened to you after you got the True Rune? Why would you run off like that?"

"If you've truly seen Serena, you know what happened. I lost control of the Rune, and it cost her a leg. I...I couldn't stand to be around Serena anymore. Seeing that hurt betrayal in her eyes...knowing I had hurt the woman I loved... I couldn't bear it. I left her in the care of a skilled doctor, and took my leave. Now answer me this. Who are you? What do you mean she has a job with you? What has happened to her?" Ardith asks.

"I'm Daisy, and what happened to her was that she was left alone to deal with a disability and abandoned by her dearest friend," Daisy said severely. "That hurt in her eyes you thought you saw? What happened with the Rune was an accident that could be forgiven. But you chose to leave without a word and let her face a dangerous new world alone. When my friends and I found her, she was being tormented by thugs who saw only a helpless victim."

Ardith nearly jumps out of his skin. "What did you say? She was attacked?! Why wasn't she armed?! Is she alright?!? Answer me!" he yells, nearly panicking.

Daisy folded her arms, watching him critically. "She was attacked, but we drove them off. She's fine now, or as well as someone in her condition can be. She's working in our castle now as an appraiser since adventuring is out of her reach now. Do you really care?" she said bluntly. "Does she still matter to you?"

"Of course she matters to me! Who the hell do you think you are, coming in here and asking if I still care? It's why I'm doing everything I can to seal this cursed rune, so I can be free of this power that hurt her!"

"Cursed rune?" Daisy echoed in surprise. "That thing's not cursed. Luc might've gone a little off the deep end before he died, but I hope Leknaat would have let me know before I came here if the Wind Rune had some kind of Soul Eater thing going on.

"It's a curse that you left your good friend for the sake of it, though. When she told me about you, I know Serena just wanted to see you again, even just once." Daisy moved a little closer towards him. "I still think you're kind of a jerk, but she obviously still cares about you too. Why don't you put everything on hold here for a little bit and come to the castle with me?"

Ardith goes a little pale, and the anger drains out of him. "She wants to see me? Impossible. Not after what I did. She couldn't possibly want to see me..." he says, looking quite shocked.

Daisy took another step closer and folded her arms. "Well, she does. She cares about you, and she wants things sorted out between you. It's one of the worst things in the world to be stuck in uncertainty; until I tracked you down all the way out here, no one even knew if you were dead or alive. I promised her I would find you and bring you back."

"I see," he says simply. "Well then, which way do we go? Which 'castle' did you come from, exactly?" Ardith asks, as he scribbles a note down on his desk.

"Liberty Castle, in what used to be called Harmonia," Daisy answered, holding out a hand to him. "I don't know what kind of news you get out here, but our army has had a pretty interesting time of it lately. I can take you there fast."

"Harmonia? I doubt it will be that fast, as that's quite the long way. I've heard of the wars up there, but I've not paid close attention to the full details. How long will this trip take? I will need to leave notice of my absence, is all."

Daisy said, a tad impatiently, "Just tell them you'll be back tomorrow. Let's not waste time; there are wars to fight. Just take my hand before I decide to tell Serena I never found you, okay?"

Ardith will quickly follow after you. "Tomorrow? And how do you propose we travel thousands of miles and back by tomorrow?"

"Like this," Daisy said simply, and she took him by the arm before activating the blinking mirror.

You appear by the shops, and Ardith looks around, amazed. "Incredible! Such skill with teleportation magic... you don't seem like a mage, and yet you have such an artifact? That's not normal. Just who are you, really now?" he asks, wondering how you have such power and connections.

Daisy started for Serena's shop. "I told you, I'm Daisy. What more do you want? Daisy Saint-Anicet, daughter of Viktor, chief ass-kicker of the Union Army. When you're ready to go, I'll introduce you to Leknaat, and she can send you anywhere you'd like to go; I don't know a thing about rune magic stuff. Hey, Serena!" she called out without pause.

Ardith follows you as you talk, not wanting to get left behind. When you call out for Serena, you hear him gasp as he sees her. Serena looks up from the counter, and her jaw nearly drops when shes sees him.

"Ardith?"

"Serena?" The two ask, nearly in unison.

They stare at each other, neither sure what to say, the tension being thick enough you could cut it with your sword.

Daisy grinned. "Don't you both get so shy that you clam up, now. Serena, I kept my promise. I found him in Falena. Ardith, you were chatty enough just a minute ago -- why don't you start with an apology?"

"Ardith... it's really you," Serena says, trying to break the ice.

"Yeah... Serena, I'm so sorry. I can never apologize enough for what I did. I couldn't control the rune and..."

"Oh hush, I know what happened. I was there, remember? I'm not so mad about that as you leaving. How could you do that to me, Ardith?"

"I'm sorry," he says. "I didn't think you'd want me around, since I cost you your leg."

"Now if that's not the stupidest thing I've ever heard, I don't know what is," Serena says. "I needed your help so much then, and you weren't there. Where have you been?"

"Falena," he says. "I've been looking for a way to destroy these true runes like the past owner of this rune, but everything I find leads to mass death. That's not a price I'm willing to pay."

"You want to destroy them...?"

"Yes, but that's another story. We have so much catching up to do, thanks to your friend here," he points to you.

"Yes, I can't thank you enough Daisy. I don't know how you did but, but you kept your promise. Thank you."

Daisy gave a little salute and headed for the door. "You got it, Serena. This guy's got a lot to answer for, if you ask me. If you need any help dealing with him, just say the word," she added, glaring meaningfully at Ardith. "And Ardith, there are plenty of people here who knew Luc before he died -- you have a chat with them before you do anything drastic with that rune, ok? Catch you two later."