Rennik vs. The World
Subject: Re: where do we go now
OOC: Freaky death-mage wants to be a bard now?
Mission nods to Garyth gratefully, and out of the corner of his eye, sees Rennick continuing to move off toward the direction of the obelisk. Sand. The halfling was striking out on his own again. It wasn't enough that he'd been swatted around the last time, he had to go and do it again.
How does Rennick intend to read the map without Farron or Sa'id to throw their magery at the marker, anyway? Neither of the mages were moving, except to throw exacerbated looks around at everyone.
Desperate to keep them all together, he calls to Farron, "Farron, do you remember seeing any alternate entrances to the sewers the last time you read the obelisk?"
OOC: Ty, how far away is Mission from everyone else?
From: Karl
Subject: Re: where do we go now
[ooc-ty, Farron has a pretty good memory. Does he remember anything else that might be useful in getting this party headed in *some* direction?]
From: Matt
Subject: Re: where do we go now
(OOC: Good point, Scott. Rennik would have thought about the mages... d'oh)
Rennik glances back over his shoulder and realizes that no one is following. Cursed fools. He has half a mind to let them follow the priest blindly into the forest.
Their chances of survival are close to nothing without his ranger skills. Could he leave them to that fate? Could he let them stand around in indecision, wondering if they should follow a mad priest of a deluded god? Could he let the forest claim them for their foolishness?
He could, he feels. Certainly the priest and the monk. But the others relied on him to keep them alive in the jungle. He turns, and takes the few steps back toward the group.
"I question my place here. Am I the guide, or is the deluded madman who turned on us? If you are unclear, let me explain it in easier terms."
"You will DIE if you follow the PRIEST. You will DIE if you strike out on your OWN. The PRIEST is a MADMAN who feels he is immune to the horrors of the jungle."
"Now, he may well be. And that is great for him, that the gods feel like protecting their pawn. But YOU are not protected by his gods. Let him go! Let him go and see if his gods protect him! You cannot walk his path!"
He contains his anger, but stares in wonder at the fools.
"I know this land better than ANY of you, and I have no sense of how to proceed without a better look at the map. What chance do you stand?"
He sits on a nearby rock, and stares at them.
"Decide your path, and your guide, and rein in your priest if you choose. If not, feel free to stumble through these trees to your deaths."
From: Scott
Subject: Re: where do we go now
If Rennick truly knew this land better than anyone else, he would have certainly known about a dead halfling city on the outskirts of the jungle.
If he was truly familiar with his own land, he would have known that not even a day's walk down a clearly marked path, were the ruins of a civilization his ancestors built.
Were he truly half as competant as his pride led him to believe, he would acknowledge his shortcomings and work with them instead of biting at them whenever opportunity presented itself.
How much protection or guidance could such a fickle character as Rennick offer? At the slightest provocation, he is up and stamping off like a spoiled child, willful and angry. How different was he from Cadfael's god?
But Mission says nothing of that. Instead, he says, "Rennick, I have faith in Cadfael, if not Pelor. I believe that he knows where Promise is. I hope he does. For almost nine months, I have had no hope at all. I have walked the Path of Blood and Stone with _nothing_. No sense of my son, no hope of ever finding him. Not even dreams.
"Cadfael, for all his strangeness, offers me what I cannot refuse-- a path to my boy. In three days, he says, Promise will be born. I believe him, because I have started dreaming of him. I saw with Promise's eyes. I am closer now than ever before to Promise. And so I will follow Cadfael, no matter how insane the path.
"Because otherwise, there is no hope at all, that I can see. And I have walked that road long enough."
From: Karl
Subject: Re: where do we go now
"I did not see any other entrances to the sewers specifically marked. However, I did see that the sewer runs largely in the direction of the mountain." Farron replies. "But I'm not a guide and in the jungle it all looks the same to me. If one of you has a better sense of direction, perhaps working together we could stay on or at least near the sewer path as we head toward the mountain. If we come upon another entrance, all the better."
Saying this already makes him feel better. Less confused and directionless. And he remembers the promise he made to Mission just before all hell broke loose below. I will help him find his child, he thinks to himself. And with that heads over toward the monk and priest without looking back.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: where do we go now
Rennik looks at Mission with a mixture of pity and condescension.
"He attacks you. You subdue him, and threaten him. He tells you what you want to hear, and like a H'rugda to a pit trap, you're willing to jump at the bait..."
He shakes his head.
"I apologize for having once assumed you an intelligent human, as rare as that trait is in your kind."
Then, looking to Farron, he simply laughs silently and shakes his head.
Fools. Mission, raised in a monestary. Farron, a university. Sa'id, the same. Cadfael, a temple. Garyth, safe within the walls of his town. What are they to know about the dangers of the jungle? Halfling tribes who live in the wilds, whose entire world revolves around the threats and dangers of the deep woods - they avoid the jungle. Elven rangers hundreds of years old, wise in ways no human would ever understand - they avoid the jungle. The other inhabitants of the island avoid even the forest, let alone the jungle.
And five humans raised and trained behind the security of walls and roof think to walk across it as if they were headed to their local tavern. They are ignorant of its dangers, not having seen them. They do not have memories of gorings, maulings and death by poison, tooth and fang. They do not have images of beasts killing the unwary with lightning speed, without even the opportunity to yell for help. They have no knowledge, and refuse to listen when they are told of their peril.
No matter. It matters little to him whether the monk or priest die grisly deaths - it would be for the best, in the long run, for the world. The weasel-mage chose his fate willingly, having been warned. But what of the others?
"What say you, Sa'id? And you, friend Garyth? Would you follow the madman through the woods as though he were a rabid dog, blindly blundering in a straight path toward some destination known only to his warped mind? If you choose that path, I fear for your lives, but I will not join you."
He pauses.
"The priest and the monk may be the death of you both, and that will weigh on my heart. But don't say you were not warned. They are headstrong and feel themselves unconquerable, more powerful than the jungle. They are fools. I will not travel with them unless they are willing to abide by my decisions in the wilds - which they have proven they will not. That refusal, or even hesitation, could mean the death of us all - and I will not die because of their stupidity."
"Make your choice. If you follow the madman, it will be the end of our travels together. I will return to my people and warn them of the growing threat in the mountain, and I will mourn for the loss of your lives."
From: Mike
Subject: Re: where do we go now
Garyth steps in front of Cadfael and plants his feet. He speaks to the priest, but is loud enough that he obviously wants Rennik to hear as well.
"Listen! If we have learned nothing else in the past few days we should still know that we have strength and hope only together! We must ALL stick together or our enemies will surely pick us off one by one. Think! If we split up we are doomed to failure and death!"
From: Scott
Subject: Re: where do we go now
Mission chokes down his anger, and simply nods at the halfling. "I will not abide by any decision that will keep me from my son, Rennick. As you say, I am stupid and arrogant."
But I will find Promise.
"If our ways split here, than I am sorry, Rennick," Mission says, not insincerely. Because of all of them, Rennick probably _was_ the most capable in this wilderness. It _was_ foolishness to try this jungle without him. But foolish or not, Mission knew the Path.
And perhaps they would survive longer without the little savage snapping at them every moment.
He had been tolerable only once-- after his axe was broken. Mission bites his lip. He had retrieved the pike that Rennick carried in its place. Maybe if he hadn't brought such a poisoned weapon, Rennick's temperment would be more. . . tempered.
"Farron's advice is sound," Mission offers. "I trust the mage's memory of the map, just as I would trust the counsel you would give on this jungle, Rennick."