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criticalkinkThe rules are under the cut for you to read if you haven't already checked out the profile!
Welcome to the kink meme for Critical Role!
This community is open to all fans of Critical Role no matter what your preference for pairing may be. You do not have to join the community: you can either watch it or just track the post. Anon commenting will always be on, and IP tracking will be off. So feel free to stay anon if it makes you more comfortable.
What is a Kink Meme?
It's pretty simple. You post a prompt and your fellow fans get inspired and write fic based on that prompt. As it is a "kink" meme, a great deal of fic will be of the smutty variety, so if you aren't into that or not of a porn-reading age, this place won't be for you. Not all fic has to be smutty, but it does have to be kinky.
Clarification: This is a kink meme, therefore prompts must be kink-based. It is not a general prompting/headcanons meme. There have been a couple of people confused by that, so we're just making it extra clear.
Please only post one prompt per comment so to avoid any confusion.
How do I prompt?
Post each prompt as a new comment to the main post. Include pairing (or threesome or more if that's your thing) and anything else you want to add. You should put, at the very least, the pairing in the subject line along with a specific kink if it applies. You can put the whole prompt in the subject if it will fit, but if it doesn't, use the comments. For example:
Subject line: Beauregard/Jester, friends to lovers
Body of comment: Jester's been letting Beau use her for sparring practice. That kind of proximity does things to a tiefling.
I see a prompt I want to write! What now?
Go for it! You don't have to claim it, and fills can be written by more than one person. Once you've finished you must post it as a response to the original comment. Responses should use a subject line that includes the pairing, rating & any necessary warnings (i.e. incest, non-con, etc.). If you have titled your fic you can also include that. Also, as LJ limits the size of comments, if your fic goes into multiple comments, please note that your comment is part 1/5, part 2/5 and so on. Using the prompt above, the subject line could read:
"Punches and Pastries, Jester/Beauregard, M, 1/3"
And now some rules...
While we want this to be a relaxed and cool place, we also don't want people to feel uncomfortable being here. If you have suggestions or comments on how this community can improve please address to them tocriticalkink in a PM or drop a comment on this post.
The most important rule of all? HAVE FUN.
Now go forth and prompt!
Welcome to the kink meme for Critical Role!
This community is open to all fans of Critical Role no matter what your preference for pairing may be. You do not have to join the community: you can either watch it or just track the post. Anon commenting will always be on, and IP tracking will be off. So feel free to stay anon if it makes you more comfortable.
What is a Kink Meme?
It's pretty simple. You post a prompt and your fellow fans get inspired and write fic based on that prompt. As it is a "kink" meme, a great deal of fic will be of the smutty variety, so if you aren't into that or not of a porn-reading age, this place won't be for you. Not all fic has to be smutty, but it does have to be kinky.
Clarification: This is a kink meme, therefore prompts must be kink-based. It is not a general prompting/headcanons meme. There have been a couple of people confused by that, so we're just making it extra clear.
Please only post one prompt per comment so to avoid any confusion.
How do I prompt?
Post each prompt as a new comment to the main post. Include pairing (or threesome or more if that's your thing) and anything else you want to add. You should put, at the very least, the pairing in the subject line along with a specific kink if it applies. You can put the whole prompt in the subject if it will fit, but if it doesn't, use the comments. For example:
Subject line: Beauregard/Jester, friends to lovers
Body of comment: Jester's been letting Beau use her for sparring practice. That kind of proximity does things to a tiefling.
I see a prompt I want to write! What now?
Go for it! You don't have to claim it, and fills can be written by more than one person. Once you've finished you must post it as a response to the original comment. Responses should use a subject line that includes the pairing, rating & any necessary warnings (i.e. incest, non-con, etc.). If you have titled your fic you can also include that. Also, as LJ limits the size of comments, if your fic goes into multiple comments, please note that your comment is part 1/5, part 2/5 and so on. Using the prompt above, the subject line could read:
"Punches and Pastries, Jester/Beauregard, M, 1/3"
And now some rules...
- Since we're all supposed to be adults here, let's act like it. Be respectful to your fellow posters.
- Your kink is not someone else's and their kink may not be yours. If you don't like it, don't read it. It's really that simple.
- Please no bashing of other pairings. Just like with kinks, everyone has their own flavors, and this is neither the time nor place for ship wars. This meme is meant to include the entire fandom.
- Crossover prompts are allowed, but they must include a Critical Role character as a main part of the prompt.
- RPF is also allowed, but please prompt it over here!
- Het, slash, femmeslash? You're all welcome here. The more the merrier!
- It's not a requirement by any means, but writers love feedback, so if you read something you enjoy, take a second to tell the writer. Whether it's a one word response or something longer, it's always appreciated.
- Please follow basic kink meme etiquette by not linking the cast or crew to this meme.
While we want this to be a relaxed and cool place, we also don't want people to feel uncomfortable being here. If you have suggestions or comments on how this community can improve please address to them to
criticalkink in a PM or drop a comment on this post.The most important rule of all? HAVE FUN.
Now go forth and prompt!
Re: FILL Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part 3/?)
Date: 2021-01-11 02:36 am (UTC)Essek lifted his head from Caleb’s neck and looked over to Jester. When he saw her face, he smiled and lifted a hand to wave. When she took his hand in hers, his smile became a beaming grin that flushed his cheeks a faint purple in the glow of Dancing Lights.
Jester’s eyes glistened with tears as she pulled Essek’s hand to her chest. “Oh Essek,” she whispered. “We’ll get you better, okay? We’ll help you.”
“Of course we will,” Caduceus said gently, reaching out and ruffling Essek’s hair earning him a sound that Caleb would swear was a giggle. Surprise flashed across the firbolg’s face before he smiled like a parent to a beloved young child.
“This is so weird,” Beau murmured. “But I have to admit,” she added with a crooked grin, “that smile looks good on him.”
“Now I suppose our next order of business is getting those diamonds,” Veth said, her voice drawing Essek’s gaze.
Slowly, Essek slipped from Caleb’s arms to kneel on the floor so he was eye level with the Halfling. Veth stood still, her eyes wide as Essek smiled and held out his arms to her. She glanced around at her friends before offering an unsteady smile in return and stepped carefully into Essek’s reach. His smile grew and he gathered her into a hug.
“Oh,” she breathed, too stunned to do or say much else.
“Essek?” The quiet, hopeful call came a moment before Verin’s hand rested gently on his brother’s shoulder. “Essek, can you hear me?”
Essek lifted his head and turned to the speaker. However the moment he laid eyes on Verin, his smile vanished. Golden eyes widened in fear and he skittered back across the floor until his back struck something solid.
“Woah, woah, easy there,” Yasha murmured softly, placing a steadying hand on Essek’s shoulder to keep him from backing further into her legs. He was practically sitting on her feet as it was.
While he may not have understood her words, Essek must have recognized her voice because some of the tension seeped out of his form. He covered her steading hand with his own as if it was his only anchor in the world.
But when Verin crouched and tried to reach out to his brother again, Essek flinched away. Golden eyes squeezed shut and he curled into a fetal position at Yasha’s feet, clutching her hand as tightly as he could.
Hurt, Verin retreated and got back to his feet. His gaze never leaving his brother’s quivering form. “He must… truly trust you,” he whispered, sadness and wonder coloring his words. “He flees whenever any of us try to approach him, even mother and I. Even the Bright Queen herself isn’t enough to calm him. He ran from her when she tried to help after the spell hit him.He’s afraid of everyone.”
The Drow shook his head and ran a hand through his long hair. “We had to lock him in here,” he said, turning to Beau, “because he kept hiding throughout the house and getting hurt when he did so. He’s good at hiding. The only blessing from this curse is that he can’t cast any spells. Otherwise, he would have crushed us all by now.”
He shrugged awkwardly and admitted, “It also makes it slightly easier to find him. Since he can’t levitate, he can’t go very far. But he can still find the damndest places to hide.”
“What do you mean he can’t go very far?” Fjord asked. “Does he not recognize this place or-”
“Oh no, I’m absolutely sure he still recognizes this place,” Verin said enthusiastically. “He remembers all the nooks and crannies he used to hide in when we were kids.”
“I doubt that,” Caleb said, kneeling beside Essek and placing a hand on the quaking Drow’s hair. “Feeblemind doesn’t work like that. I doubt he’s remembering those places so much as seeing them and using them. Like prey looking for a place to hide from a predator.”
Verin looked stricken. “You think he… He thinks I’m going to hurt him?”
“Have you?” Fjord’s question was deceptively neutral and non-accusing.
“No!” Verin cried in offense. “I would never hurt him. We may not get along all the time, but he’s a mage. I’m a soldier. We’re on opposite ends of the spectrum. Besides, we’re siblings. It’s only natural that we don’t always get along.”
“And yet,” Caleb said slowly, “he does not trust you.”
“I don’t…” Verin’s voice trailed away into silence as he stared at his frightened brother in sad understanding. “I don’t…”
“We’ve got incoming,” Beau said suddenly.
A second later, footsteps could be heard moving through the hall. Then the lock turned and the door opened revealing a beautiful Drow woman. Her long, thick, white hair hung loose over her shoulders with only a black and gold headband keeping it from her face. Her gray eyes were sharp and cold as she stepped into the room and beheld the tableau. Her gaze moved from Essek still shaking in a ball at Yasha’s feet, to the Mighty Nein, and finally to Verin. She said nothing. She merely lifted an eyebrow.
Verin shifted from foot to foot. “I invited them, mother.”
Again, she said nothing. But the other eyebrow lifted to join the first and she crossed her long, elegant arms over her chest. Verin wilted under her gaze, but stood his ground. The woman’s eyebrows drew low over her eyes in displeasure before she turned to the Mighty Nein.
“You have overstayed what little welcome you were given,” she said. “Leave.”
“What about Essek, mother?” Verin asked.
Her burning gaze flashed back to him and he immediately fell silent.
“Yes, what about Essek?” Veth demanded, stepping up so her small body stood firmly between Essek and the Denmother of Den Thelyss.
Unimpressed, the Denmother merely hummed. “You should tread carefully, Halfling,” she said, her voice soft but sharp as shards of glass. “You and your compatriots live in Xhorhaus by the grace of the Bright Queen and the blessing of myself, Umavi Deirta Thelyss, Denmother of Den Thelyss. That blessing can be retracted whenever I see fit.”
“Mother, ple-”
“Stand aside,” the Umavi commanded. “I would see my son.”
Reluctantly, Veth stepped aside. After waiting just long enough to be rude, the Umavi finally stepped forward. Her long fingers found Essek’s chin and lifted his head, ignoring his whimper of fear. She gazed directly into his wide golden eyes, her grip holding him in place when he tried to pull away.
She said one word in a language Caleb didn’t understand, then she released Essek’s chin and straightened. Her eyes followed her wayward son as Essek scrambled to hide behind Caleb, Verin spoke softly in what Caleb assumed to be Undercommon and the Umavi listened, but did not reply.
“He stays here,” she declared in a tone that would accept no argument. “If you truly believe you can heal him, then you are welcome to try. But he will remain here where I can keep an eye on him until you are ready to do so. You have three days.”
“I understand your… desire to protect your family,” Caleb said, choosing his words with care. “But it will be easier to heal him if he stays with us. I give you my word, no one will find him, no one will learn of what happened to him, and he will be healed in three days.”
“No.”
The word rang through the room loud and final. Caleb could feel Essek flinch, his fingernails digging into his shoulders.
“He will remain here,” the Umavi said. “Leave. When you are ready to heal him, I will inform the Bright Queen.”
It was a clear dismissal. Without any valid reason that the Umavi would accept, short of grabbing Essek and just teleporting out of there, the Mighty Nein would have to leave alone. The thought of leaving Essek behind in a place he feared, with no one he trusted, and no way to communicate or protect himself burned Caleb.
“As you wish, Umavi Thelyss,” Fjord said, taking the lead.
He bowed politely to her before moving to the door. Beau, Yasha, Veth, Caduceus, and Jester slowly followed until it was just Caleb left in the room. The Umavi raised a single eyebrow and Caleb bit back the angry retort that begged to be let loose. Instead, he steeled himself and reached up to work himself free of Essek’s panicked grasp.
When he turned to face his friend, he was met by soulful gold eyes that had nothing but trust and adoration in them. He clasped Essek’s hands in his own and kissed them.
“I will be back,” he said, knowing Essek wouldn’t understand him but hoping in his heart that Essek would remember this. “I will be back for you. I promise.” He placed a single kiss on Essek’s forehead just as he had that night on the boat when their trust was broken.
Then he did one of the hardest things he ever had to do. He let go of Essek and left.
The distressed gasp of his enfeebled friend tore at him as he walked into the hallway followed closely by Verin and the Umavi. He paused to look over his shoulder just in time to see Essek stumble after him, only for the door to close and lock. On the other side, Caleb could hear Essek pounding on the door and crying, distressed calls wafting through the solid Vermaloc wood.
The Umavi seemed unaffected by the noise as she pocketed the key and turned to the Mighty Nein. Her silence was loud and clear. They were no longer welcome.
As Caleb trudged through the home of Den Thelyss, he swore to himself that when he did return, it would be to do more than just heal his friend Essek. He refused to turn his back on his friend again.
Essek’s weeping still haunted his dreams that night.
Re: FILL Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part 3/?)
Date: 2021-01-11 03:07 am (UTC)Re: FILL Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part 3/?)
Date: 2021-01-11 03:10 am (UTC)Re: FILL Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part 3/?)
Date: 2021-01-12 01:18 am (UTC)Re: FILL Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part 4/?)
Date: 2021-01-13 10:28 pm (UTC)He felt rested, but not in a good way. He dreamed all night and now he was sitting on the edge of his bed at the Xhorhouse contemplating what to do next. He couldn’t fix Essek. Only Jester or Caduceus could do that. That rankled him in a way he couldn’t quite describe. He was proud of his friends and hopeful for Essek. But deep down, he knew he couldn’t do anything but wait.
It was driving him insane.
There was a soft knock on his bedroom door a moment before it clicked open revealing Veth’s concerned face.
“Caleb?” she called quietly. “Are you awake?”
“Yes, yes, I am, Veth,” he said, waving her inside. “Come in.”
Slowly, Veth closed the door behind her and made her way over to sit on the bed next to the wizard. She didn’t say anything at first, just looked at him with her bright, observant eyes. Eventually, she sighed and placed a motherly hand on Caleb’s thigh.
“We’re all worried about him, Caleb,” she said gently. “We’ll fix him, don’t worry.”
Caleb sighed heavily, allowing his shoulders to droop knowing his old friend would not hold it against him. “Oh, I have no doubt of that,” he said, smiling wanly in her direction. “It is not us I doubt.”
Shifting so she sat cross-legged on his bed, Veth leaned down and looked at Caleb’s face. “Then what is it that’s bothering you?” she asked.
How to put it to words. Biting his lip, Caleb shook his head slightly. “It is… nothing specific,” he admitted. “More nebulous, I suppose. It just…. Doesn’t make sense to me.”
“What doesn’t?”
He gestured vaguely. “This whole thing. It doesn’t…” With a sigh, he tried again. “Why would someone try to kill the Bright Queen so soon after the treaty was signed? What could they gain from that?” he asked. “And why would the Bright Queen and Den Thelyss keep the details of what happened a secret? Feeblemind is a powerful spell, but Essek is… There has to be something more to this. Something we’re missing.”
“Not necessarily,” Veth said, mildly scolding. “You and I both know that sometimes even the best of us make mistakes. No one is perfect or infallible. We know what Essek did. I’d hardly say he was anywhere near infallible.”
“That is true,” Calen admitted with a sigh. “I suppose there are just questions surrounding this mess that I feel need to be answered before we go through with this.”
Veth considered his words quietly for a moment. “You want to wait to heal him then?” she asked, her voice low and non-judgmental.
“No. Yes. Ack, I don’t know.” He dropped his head into his hands and groaned in frustration. Her felt Veth rub his back comfortingly and let himself breathe and think. “I cannot get him out of my head, Veth,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “The look in his eyes when he saw us and knew us to be friends, the fear of his own family, his cries when we left him there alone…”
The comforting hand squeezed his shoulder. “I think we both know why he was afraid of his family-”
“Do we though?” Caleb asked, lifting his head to look at her. “Do we really know? Or are we assuming we know? It wasn’t just his family, either. He ran from the Bright Queen-”
“If I knew I was a-” She darted her eyes around the room before leaning close and whispering, “-a traitor, I’d run away too.”
“And yet he trusted us,” Caleb countered. “No one else knows what he’s done.”
“Do we know that for sure?” Veth pressed. “Do we? You have to admit, it would make sense why Essek has been locked away and none of the Luxon clerics have been told or allowed to heal him. As long as he’s Feebleminded, Essek is kept under lock and key and incapable of even thinking of escaping. It’s…” She pursed her lips in reluctant praise. “It’s certainly effective for keeping a traitor from escaping.”
“Then why not just lock him in the Dungeon of Penance?” Caleb asked, spreading his hands in exasperation. “If they know, then why not treat him like a traitor?”
“Do you think Essek would understand why he was imprisoned in the state he’s in?” Veth asked, lifting an eyebrow.
Caleb’s mouth worked for a moment before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “No. No, he wouldn’t.”
“Then perhaps this is the fate they’ve chosen for him,” Veth said. “As long as he’s cursed like this, they can brush it all under the rug and avoid the embarrassment of admitting the third most powerful person in the Dynasty betrayed them. It’s convenient if nothing else.”
It may be convenient, but it didn’t sit right with Caleb. Aside from the fact they were only guessing here. Be that as it may, this was not a fate Caleb would have ever wished to befall Essek.
“He’s a member of the Mighty Nein, Veth,” Caleb whispered. “We don’t leave our own behind.”
She opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it. Instead, she just nodded silently. Caleb knew Veth wasn’t overly fond of Essek after his betrayal. But he also remembered Veth offering Essek a place in the Mighty Nein. That offer was never given lightly, nor was it retracted. Essek may not go adventuring with the Mighty Nein, but he was just as much a member of this family as Veth and Caleb were.
The Mighty Nein never gave up and never left their friends behind.
Essek made a mistake. A big one. But he was hardly the only one of the Mighty Nein to do so. He without sin, cast the first stone. That basically ruled out the entirety of the Mighty Nein.
Besides, Caleb now knew without a shadow of a doubt how much Essek truly cared for the Mighty Nein. He wished it hadn’t happened this way, but it did. He couldn’t change it. But he and his friends could fix it.
And a good way to start was to get Essek out of that place, even if it was just for a little while. It was early yet and Caleb still had some tricks up his sleeve. He could teleport to Essek, but he wouldn’t be able to teleport back. It would be a one-way trip. He’d have to sneak the rest of the way. The fact remained, he had to get Essek out of there. Even if it was just for the day while Jester and Caduceus got the materials for-
Jester.
“Jester!” he cried, bolting from his bed and racing out of his room. “Jester!”
“Down here!” came the reply from downstairs.
Caleb nearly tripped over his own feet as he ran down the hall and down the stairs to the kitchen where Jester and Caduceus were cooking breakfast.
“Jester, I need you to send a message to the Bright Queen,” he said, his words tumbling over each other in his rush. “Tell her we know about Essek and we can heal him, but that it would be easier if we kept him here with us in the Xhorhouse. It would keep him out of sight, out of trouble, and we can heal him.”
The blue Tiefling blinked, then she burst into a smile, her tail swishing side-to-side excitedly. “I can do that. Oh, but we have to get the diamonds, though,” she realized, her tail slowing its excited movement.
“He’ll be here when you get back,” Caleb said. “I promise.”
Her smile immediately returned and she gave Caleb a thumbs-up. “Could you-”
“Ja, I’ll count for you,” the wizard said, a smile working its way onto his face.
He held up all ten fingers and waited while Jester thought through her message before activating her Sending. Jester licked her lips for a moment, before nodding and starting to speak.
“Good morning,” she trilled happily, watching Caleb lower two fingers accordingly. “We heard about Essek.” Three more fingers went down. “We can fix him.” Four fingers. “Could he stay at the Xhorhouse with us? He’ll be hidden that way.” Caleb waggled the last two fingers and Jester thought quickly, tail swishing. “That okay?” she asked.
Caleb flashed her a smile and two thumbs up encouragingly.
Jester grinned as her eyes focused on the middle space and she tilted her head, no doubt listening to the Bright Queen’s reply.
“Thank you!” Jester said suddenly, clasping her hands together gratefully.
Startled at the second message, Caleb hastily raised eight fingers to help her keep track once more.
“But I thought the assassin was dead,” she continued. “Is he not?”
What? Caleb blinked, lowering ten fingers. Listening to one-sided conversations was odd.
“Are you okay? Can we talk to him too?” Jester asked. When she hesitated, Caleb waggled his four remaining fingers. Her eyes flickered as she thought quickly. “We’ll be very discrete.”
“What’s this about being discrete?” Beau asked, strolling into the kitchen with a staggering Fjord at her heels.
Caleb pressed a finger to his lips and pointed to Jester. Beau nodded in understanding, crossed her arms, and waited. Veth slipped in beside Caleb and helped Caduceus set the table with plates of food for when they were ready. Fjord immediately sat down and served himself much to Caduceus’ amusement.
Jester giggled at Fjord, before her smile suddenly slipped and her tail slowed to a stop. Her brows furrowed in consternation as she listened to the Bright Queen’s reply. Whatever it was, it didn’t look pleasant.
“What?” Jester gasped, looking up at Caleb in surprise. The wizard hesitantly lifted nine fingers, his blue eyes studying his friend’s expression in concern. “Why would they target Essek?”
Caleb swallowed thickly, lowering five fingers as he did so.
“Do we need to watch out for something? Is there-” She paused, her mouth forming a perfect ‘oh’ as her eyes grew large and round, no longer paying attention to Caleb’s fingers. “That’s why you’re hiding him. You’re protecting him.”
Jester did not speak for several moments so Caleb lowered his hands and waited patiently. Jester’s tail had stopped moving entirely and lay limply on the floor, curled protectively around her feet. After a minute, she looked up at Caleb and her eyes sparkled with worry.
“It was the Cerberus Assembly,” she said. “They weren’t after the Bright Queen. They were after Essek. The Scourger’s dead but they couldn’t get enough information out of them so they don’t know why Essek was targeted. But…” Her tail tucked closer to her ankles and she fiddled with her dress. “Well,” she added softly, “we know.”
Yes. They did know. And it was exactly what Caleb feared. Essek was a loose end and the Cerberus Assembly abhorred loose ends. They wouldn’t bat an eye over eliminating an ally, former or current, if it served their purposes. Masking the attack as a public assault on the Bright Queen would have diverted attention away from the true target. Essek was the Shadowhand of Xhorhaus, one of the most powerful people in the Kryn Dynasty and the person in charge of the secretive Lens spy network. Even if the Dynasty did discover he was the target, which they apparently did, it would still seem like an attempt to eliminate a significant threat to the Empire and nothing else.
Except the Cerberus Assembly was mentioned.
“They moved sooner than I thought they would,” Beau muttered, taking her seat at the table.
“Ja,” Caleb murmured, “they did.”
Worse, they succeeded.
Or, mostly succeeded. Essek wasn’t dead, just Enfeebled. Granted, this made the powerful mage much easier to kill, but it also gave the Mighty Nein a chance to fix him before the next attempt could take place.
And it would. Caleb knew it would. He had enough experience to know that not only would the next attempt happen again, it would be a permanent fix. He could only imagine the reason it hadn’t happened yet, was because of the Bright Queen and Den Thelyss’ protective measures.
Lady Deirta’s cold attitude made so much sense now. She didn’t know who had harmed her son and didn’t trust anyone to not harm Essek again. She was a mother. Cruel as it may appear, locking Essek away in Den Thelyss and controlling access to him made it more difficult to hurt him.
It was effective, but it couldn’t work forever. Essek needed to be healed and get back to his duties as the Shadowhand. Whoever the Bright Queen had as Essek’s replacement was undoubtedly good, but nowhere near as good as Essek had been. They needed to get this done quickly.
“I’ll go to Den Thelyss and get Essek,” he said. “I can teleport him back here to be sure we aren’t followed. Fjord, could you keep an eye out for any attempts at Scrying?”
The half-orc nodded seriously. “You didn’t need to ask,” he said.
“Jester and I will split up and get as many diamonds as we can,” Caduceus said, his serene smile dampened at the grim news. “Between the two of us, I think we can find what we need. If we’re lucky, we could have the spell ready to cast by tonight.”
“We will be lucky,” Jester said fiercely. “The Traveler loves us.”
Despite his dark thoughts, a smile still wormed its way onto Caleb’s face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bright Queen's three Sending replies in order:
1) “I see. That can be arranged. His expertise is sorely missed. The assassin has been… less than forthcoming. I will speak to Den Thelyss.”
2) “I’m afraid that’s not possible. The Scourger is beyond our reach now. The Lens believes the true target may’ve been the Shadowhand and not myself.”
3) “Correct. Until we know more about this ‘Cerberus Assembly’ and why they targeted Essek, we don’t know who to trust or if they’ll try again.”
Re: FILL Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part 5/?)
Date: 2021-01-13 10:34 pm (UTC)“You okay?”
Shaking himself out of his dark thoughts, Caleb patted Beau’s shoulder briefly in reply and approached the front door. Before he could knock, however, the door opened revealing Verin Thelyss.
“Good, you’re here,” Verin said, glancing around nervously. “We were expecting you.”
Stepping aside, Verin gestured for Beau and Caleb to enter, quickly closing the door behind them.
“I, um, I’m sorry about the welcome you received yesterday,” the Drow said as he guided the two friends towards Essek’s room. “She’s normally not so-”
“Rude?” Beau offered, seemingly unaware of how brash her simple statement had been.
Verin grimaced but nodded. “Yes,” he admitted. “It has been hard on her, seeing Essek in such a state. He’s the youngest and, despite his prestigious position as a power mage and the Bright Queen’s own Shadowhand, he is still her baby.”
Caleb allowed himself a soft smile. “A mother’s love is something to be feared and respected,” he said simply, drawing a relieved smile from Verin.
Beau snickered. “Essek’s the baby?” she slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her glee. “I’m going to hold that over him for life.”
“If you really can heal him like you say,” Verin said, giving her a crooked grin, “then as the older brother, I hereby give you permission to do just that.”
“Yes! Endorsement,” Beau cheered.
Caleb waved weakly at her to quiet down but she seemed not to notice. He really wished she had because when they rounded the corner, the Denmother herself was waiting her them. Her gaze was warmer than it was yesterday, but still had the edge of wariness to it. She trusted the Bright Queen, that didn’t mean she trusted the Mighty Nein. Caleb could understand that.
“If this is how you act when secrecy is tantamount, then I hardly see how you could keep my son’s location safe.” Her tone wasn’t exactly insulting, but it certainly wasn’t complimentary either.
“Sorry, sorry. You’re right,” Beau said, waving her hand in a vague motion. “Let’s get this over with.”
Deirta Thelyss studied the two of them, stripping them bare with her eyes, before closing them and sighing. Caleb felt the stirrings of sympathy in his chest. No one wanted a hurt and endangered loved one out of their sight and protection. He could only imagine how he would react if he’d been in her place.
“Thank you,” he said, drawing her gaze, “for trusting us. I know it is not easily given. But I give my word, we will help your son.”
After a moment, she nodded. “I just hope my trust is not misplaced.”
“It isn’t,” Beau spoke up, earning her Umavi Thelyss’ attention. “We don’t make promises if we know we can’t keep them.”
“I trust you to try and keep your promises,” Deirta said, her tone serious and solemn. “But I have also lived long enough to know that fate and other outside forces have a way of undermining even the best of us.”
How true that was. There really was no reply to that.
Without another word, the Denmother turned and unlocked the door, pushing it open and waving for them to enter. “We will stay until you are gone,” she said as Caleb and Beau followed Verin inside. “Then I will lock this door and we will speak of this no more until my son is healed,” her eyes flashed, “or he is returned to me.”
Or if he is dead and they failed. It went unsaid, but not unheard.
Caleb cast Dancing Lights and waited for the orbs of green light to appear in the air, moving where he guided them. The first place he checked was the closet. He slowly slid the door open and peered inside.
There, sitting curled on the floor, a blanket wrapped around his quivering body so hardly anything was visible, was Essek. Kneeling by his friend, Caleb placed a gentle hand on what he believed to be Essek’s head. Instantly, the quaking stopped and he heard the sharp intake of breath.
“Essek,” he called softly, pitching his voice low to keep from frightening his Enfeebled friend, “it’s me, Caleb. Beau is here too. We’ve come to take you to Xhorhouse. Would you like to come with us?”
The Drow mage may not understand Caleb’s words right now, but he might one day. Caleb didn’t know enough about the Feeblemind spell to be sure if the victim remembered anything while under the enchantment after they were free. He wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or a curse in its own right.
Still, when the blanket shifted and Essek’s pale gold eyes appeared from the shadows under the blanket’s perceived protection, he couldn’t help but smile. “Hallo,” he said, holding out his free hand to his friend, “would you like to come with me?”
A shadow shifted and Beau was now squatting next to him, gazing at Essek with a thoughtful expression on her face. “Hey man,” she said, her lips quirking upwards. “You wanna come get a drink with us? Caduceus was brewing something else I think you might like. I promise it has a better name than last time.”
There was no comprehension in Essek’s eyes, but there was a blooming warmth that translated into a watery smile. Something glittered on Essek’s dark cheeks in the green glow of the Dancing Lights and Caleb felt his heart clench. Tear streaks, some fresh, some old, betrayed the fear and loneliness Essek had been suffering from since the Mighty Nein left last night.
Then both Caleb and Beau found themselves with an armful of Drow. Essek looped his arms around both of their necks, buried his face between them, and held on tight. Caleb couldn’t resist reaching up and burying his hand in Essek’s short white hair, tugging it gently before shifting Essek to Beau and getting to his feet. Golden eyes still followed Caleb’s movement and a gray hand still caught the corner of Caleb’s coat, preventing him from moving too far away.
“Umavi Thelyss,” Caleb said, bowing respectfully to the Drow woman. “We’re ready to leave. We’ll remain in contact with you regarding our progress.”
“I expect nothing less,” she said, tilting her head in acknowledgment. “Which is why I would like you to take Verin with you.”
Ah, yes. Caleb glanced at the older Thelyss brother. “That is fine,” he said. “Come.”
He waved Verin closer, waiting until the Drow was within touching distance.
“We will keep in touch, Umavi,” he said.
“Farewell for now then,” Deirta said.
Beau scooped Essek up in her arms bridal style, much to Essek’s vocal surprise, and stepped up so she stood between Caleb and Verin.
“And Caleb,” the Denmother called as the Human wizard prepared to cast Teleport. “If I find either of my sons have died under the Mighty Nein’s care,” her silver eyes gleamed, “then there will be nowhere in this world, or in any lifetime you experience, where you can hide from me.”
“I would expect nothing less,” he replied.
Truly, mothers were fearsome creatures.
Re: FILL Actions Speak Louder Than Words (Part 5/?)
Date: 2021-06-20 10:00 am (UTC)