A Stitch in Souragne - La Danse de Mort

[steveflam]

Chondonthan "Well, I certainly have much to think about, madam. Thank you very much for this reading. May we meet again under the same circumstances, less your cards. I might add you are quite an eyeful and leave you on this note, madam."

Goren rises and bows, before heading back to the table and sitting down, in thought about what the woman had revealed through the cards.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Goren, Vincent and Zumba:

Goren rejoins Vincent and Zumba at the table while they are still talking.

Lucien:

Souragnien: "Something out of the ordinary that the Voodan were doing, is it?" the Bard repeats. "Hmmm..."
The pretty performer strikes a few notes on her harp that sound a little foolish, a little immature. "Most were just about their usual shenanigans, as far as I know. Sacrifice some fruits and flowers, sacrifice some small and defenceless animals... Honour all the little Loah and keep the whole business running smoothly. Except for Chicken Bone. Yes, the High Voodan of the Lord of the Dead, they say he stopped accepting customers recently. Some big, important business, he had to take care of. A little suspicious in light of recent events, wouldn't you say? But who would dare question the man who has the Lord of the Dead's highest favour?"

[Ail]

Zumba replies to Vincent, saying

"It shouldn't be too hard. Almost anyone in here should be able to tell us how to find one."

Then turning to Goren

"So, did you find anything interesting from the Vistana, Goren? I may go there ask her something myself."

[steveflam]

Souragnien "I, well, I learned much, if you thinking cards can tell truths, yes. I not sure yet, but maybe what she telling is truth, maybe not. Remaining to be seen. This is what she telled me. Oh, Vincent, my thanks you's for the gold coin. Appreciation from me."

Goren goes on to relate what the Vistani told him, then corrects Zumba. Souragnien "Oh, she is half Vistana, not Vistani. Very beautiful, however." The priest glances over at her, then back to the two men.

[Ail]

Zumba smiles at Goren's last comment.

"Well, I have a question to ask myself."

He gets up and approaches the Vistana girl.

"Good evening, miss. I don't need a reading, but can I ask you a question?"

[Guzrath]

Vincent nods to Goren in reply to his 'thanks'.
As Zumba walks up to the half-vistani to ask a question, Vincent remarks "She is popular tonight, isn't she."

"Goren?" he asks "where exactly do you come from? You've mentioned several names of places over the past few days, but no one seems to know them." he says.

[steveflam]

The priest replies Souragnien "I from Waterdeep. Big big city. In summers it can holding hundreds of thousands of peoples. Biggest port in all the land. This Souragne, never hear of. I knows of jungles of Chult by reading, or even desert land of Calimshan. There is Dalelands, Cormyr and many other countries. Waterdeep ruled by the lords but noone know who is them." Goren stops so Vincent can assess and reply.

[Guzrath]

Vincent's face shows clearly no recognise with any of the names. "Never heard of any of those I admit". He pauses.
"You said that you were on land, before you 'suddenly' arrived on the ship. What were you doing? Running from something?" he asks

[steveflam]

Souragnien "I um, I walking at night, in Berdusk. I go there help. See, I travel my lands to help peoples in need. Berdusk many moons from Waterdeep. I walking and big thickness fog. I walk, walk.... long time. Hear odd noises..... seemsing I walk forever and soon I hear different sound.... so I run to get there. I thinkking I run and in fog long time, you see. I, I come out on vessel on water. How, I wondering can I move from land to water vessel just like that? Is very strong magic, Vincent.

Listen, I hope you understanding my vows. In past I find magical items or coins, I give to poor, no can keep. So, yes I rely on the kindness of strangers at times, but mostly I living in Temples of Lathander, the Morniglord. If we as group finding any coins for instance, my share I give to peoples here. They needing it more than I. I feel funny. I no hungry or thirsty since this evening. Just like I feel no heat here."

[Ken of Ghastria]

The pretty performer strikes a few notes on her harp that sound a little foolish, a little immature. "Most were just about their usual shenanigans, as far as I know. Sacrifice some fruits and flowers, sacrifice some small and defenceless animals... Honour all the little Loah and keep the whole business running smoothly. Except for Chicken Bone. Yes, the High Voodan of the Lord of the Dead, they say he stopped accepting customers recently. Some big, important business, he had to take care of. A little suspicious in light of recent events, wouldn't you say? But who would dare question the man who has the Lord of the Dead's highest favour?"

"Yes, who would be foolish enough to do so?" Lucien asks playfully, although his eyes stray from the performer to seek out the candle-lighting girl wearing the thin, woollen shawl. Turning his attention back to the bard, he lightly places an additional two golden coins into her tip basket. "My gratitude will grow as the information is borne out, Mademoiselle... what is your name, if I may be so bold?"

After he gets her name, he bows politely, turns, and returns to the table. "Ah, I see it's Zumba's turn with the Tarokka. Hmm. How did you fare, Goren?" he asks, seating himself and drinking more wine. "I found information that may or may not be useful," he continues in a soft voice, "involving a powerful Voodan practitioner named Chicken Bone." Then, in a very casual manner, he licks his thumb and index finger and reaches out to snuff the candle on their table. "But we'll need Zumba to give us perspective. Ah, the candle..." he says, noting the quizzical looks from his companions. "That shy girl who has been lighting the candles... she's frightened. I'd like to know why." With that, he leans back to continue conversing while waiting for the girl to come over to relight their table's candle.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lucien:

Souragnien: "It's Azeetha, milord. Azeetha Mellabee."
The Bard grins widely at the gift of gold, and gives Lucien a happy little salute as he departs.

Zumba:

Souragnien: "Are you so sure you do not need a reading, brother?" the giomorgo girl asks. She smiles, but there is something in her eyes, something penetrating and dangerous. "Are you very sure?"

The half-Vistana starts to shuffle the cards, slowly at first but soon faster and faster. And when she pulls her hands back, the cards continue to shuffle themselves without any visible support.

"The price for a question is the same as the price for a reading, brother. But are you very sure? It seems to me that you may not want a reading, but someone thinks you need it."

[Ail]

Zumba stands perplexed for an instant, frozen in place. Suddenly, he feels he needs to know more. That voice... it did not evoke any familiarity, but it expressed itself in the exact same creole (tone, language and inflexion) that he used, and all the slaves, in the plantation where he was born.

He paled slightly, although his skin tone effectively camouflaged that effect.

"I just wanted to ask..." he stammered "... if you are a Voodan. Your necklace... it seemed familiar, as does your speech".

He lays two coins on the table and says:
"for the question... and for a reading".

[Guzrath]

"Chicken Bone?" Vincent asks surprised and amused.

When Lucien explains about the candle he looks at the little girl then back at Lucien. He then stares at his glass of wine thinking about how he seems to be missing some things this evening. Several answers come to mind.
"Whaveter the case" he says "I hope they will be nice enough to bring us our meal. I am in need of something to digest." he says

[Ken of Ghastria]

"Yes," says Lucien. "Not a name guaranteed to strike fear in the hearts of most city dwellers like you and me. But as we've seen, the rules are different here, and we'd be foolish to judge things by name alone. His title, such as it is, is 'the High Voodan of the Lord of the Dead,' and around or shortly after the time that the trouble started here, he stopped making time for the perpetual line of ... believers, I suppose, who came to make sacrifices to appease the Loa. And there seem to a lot of Loa to appease. Something more important needed his attention. We should talk to him, but he may not be easy to find and he may not want to talk to us. And so..." he glances toward the table with Zumba and the half-Vistani, "...we need Zumba's local knowledge.

"But it's evening, there's no rush, and this is excellent wine. Now, if that girl and our dinner were to come, I could sate my curiosity and my hunger. So, Vincent, Goren, you have no ties to this region? Vincent, you were hired to help, and you, Monsieur Goren, you came here from where?" After Goren gives Lucien the same information he gave Vincent, he shares a look with Vincent, and then says, "Fascinating. Well, there are tales of undiscovered or unmapped 'islands' within the Mists. Souragne was one of them, once upon a time. But from you describe, Goren, it sounds more like a continent than an island. Still, your manner of 'arrival' sounds ... um, unorthodox, to say the least." He swirls the wine in his glass and softly repeats, "Fascinating." Pause. "Perhaps if a proper route is ever navigated between our lands, I could assist in negotiating some trade agreements with whoever's in charge...? I'm quite good at it."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Zumba:

Souragnien: "This is you," the giomorgo says as she takes control of her deck of cards once more, and places one face-up on the table. On the picture, a figure stands within a wire framework crackling with energy. Six glyphs shine on the wires.
"Anarchist; you have broken free from the hand that fate first dealt you. You have made a great change in your life."

The girl turns a second card. On this one, a man lies pinned beneath heavy chains, his face twisted by anguish. Eight swords pin those chains to barren earth, and the sky above is full of storm clouds. "This is what was. You were the victim of tyranny. You were tormented. You were a victim. But things changed. You changed."

She draws another card, and another, and places them side by side. On the right, a Broken One huddles in the Mists, its lopsided face hidden, its uneven shoulders hunched. On the left, a werewolf crouches over the freshly slain carcass of a deer in a forest clearing, its bloodied muzzle raised to the full moon.
"Here we should see something that influenced your freedom. But the image is unclear. I sense that someone is injured. Someone has become a victim of a dark taint. But I can not yet see who it is."

The giomorgo turns over the fourth and final card. On this card, an old man kneels before a Souragnien mausoleum. A young warrior's body is lying in state on the bier, and his spirit is rising from the corpse. A ghostly hand is outstretched to the old man, whether to bless or to harm, you cannot tell.
"There is someone to whom you owe a debt, brother. It is a debt of the spirit, of the soul. Someone helped you in some way, favoured you in some way, but they are now lost to themselves. Lost... and waiting for you to help them rediscover or heal themselves. This is what the cards have to say to you.

And to answer your question" - the giomorgo holds up the second coin, closes her hand and opens it again to show the coin is gone - "I am also Voodan. But then I grew up in Souragne. You may go now, our meeting is done."

Everyone:
By the time Zumba returns to the table, a serving girl is just bringing you the first course; a delightful soup made with preserved herbs and greens from the swamp. While the taste is unfamiliar to everyone but Zumba, you all find it most agreeable.

You are a few spoons into your first course when the candle girl starts to approach, a worried look on her face when she lifts it high enough for you to see it past her long hair, and a lit taper in her hand.