RP:Recruiting the Paladin

Kelay Tavern

The paladin came to the old Kelay Tavern once again on her journeys. She'd been coming to town once a week, at least, for some time now. Stopping by the trading post and then the tavern. The latest paper and a glass of orange juice held her seat nearby. Ralinde was looking over the board again, her arms crossed, deep in thought

Just as well she wasn't holding that orange juice... Mac isn't naturally clumsy, but this gangly human frame... A head taller than most folks and with its inflexible bony limbs only half in number of what Mac was used to,  well... he is at times kind of a klutz and in trying to check his post on the board might've totally accidentally elbowed Ralinde in the back of the head.  Immediately, the Seaborn's strange sea-hued gaze will be seeking hers while he makes quick apology. "I... uh. M'Lady, I beg thy pardon!" He talks funny. And looks a lot like a hobo, wearing nothing but a sailors' longcoat and shabby breeches. He's not even wearing shoes. It seems Mesthak lets just anyone into his tavern, these days.

"Ah!" The paladin swung about with a grimace. "Eh? Oh, my pardon is yours." An easygoing smile took over as she rubbed the back of her head. Tall for a half-elf, Ralinde had even less than a head of height under Mcracken. Her own once lanky frame had been filled with hard won muscle though. She had downturned eyes like pools of silver, and the face of a woman who had known much sacrifice. Dressed all the part of a paladin, in half plate and a travelers cloak. Symbols of the far off queendom of Frostmaw and an ancient elven god proclaimed her rank.

"Would you happen to be Mcracken, by chance?" Mesthak had not been kind in his description. He had instead settled for being accurate. "Ralinde Garecht, I hope to be at your service." She gave him a polite and well practiced bow, "come then - would you join me at my table? I am not in town often, and I'd like to discuss our business."

M'Cracken has several methods other than sight alone with which to gather information on someone at first glance, but it would be plain enough that the woman he'd so lackadaisically assaulted is the staunch, no-nonsense type, and fuelled by faith, almost as much was he, himself. He catches and holds her eyes with his own, which shift hue to a less stormy blue as he speaks, a crooked smile on his lips, "Aye, Lady Ralinde. Well  met, indeed, I was just the now looking to see if any had replied to my note." He nods toward to her table and will draw up a seat there, opposite her own.

"A seaborn creature  of great power has been corrupted, either sought out or made slave to a pervasive evil in the caverns below the drow lands," he launches into the matter at hand, presuming  however rightly that the paladin wasn't partial to needless chitchat. "I must either retrieve or kill it, along with those innocents it has lured, as is my sworn duty." He pauses only to accept the glass of salted water brought to him by the tavern's serving-girl, who' s accustomed to the odd man's habits now. He thanks the girl and continues, "It is also my geas to remain an outsider to the happenstance of surface-dweller life, so needs be I must seek aid among their own. I have prayed for those who value life and liberty to respond." So far, so good. Mac gulps a mouthful of liquid and doesn't wipe remnant droplets from mustache above his dark beard.  "The situation, I fear, is complex -- for the drow city through which we must to some extent pass has all but fallen to the ravages of some black art even beyond their own capacity to manipulate, and the peril is very great." M'Cracken pauses there, swirling gaze set upon Ralinde, long fingers of one hand spidering on the table. This is the Seaborn looking very. very perturbed as he awaits her response.

"A corrupted sea creature beneath the drow lands. That's a tall order." The longer she listened the more complex it seemed. "And there is an ever greater evil that corrupted it? Enough to fell a city..." she tried to put it all into perspective in her head. "Forgive me for asking, but are you offering for this task? Normally I would lend my aid without expecting reward, but, the temple requires donations. We suffered a hard few years, as the whole of sage forest has."

The Seaborn's smile was both gentle and understanding, "The sea is abundant, Lady, in riches... of many kinds." Somewhat enigmatically, he leaves it there, preferring to clarify the proposed task. "As to the drow lands, my understanding is their people recently suffered a war and, though victory was theirs, nevertheless a dire fate hath befallen them, and the dead rose to plague their streets and the tunnels and caverns surrounding. This is not my own affair, " he asserts, shaking his head on which dreadlocks sway, "Merely an obstacle to traverse, making a path to the deep caves. What exactly awaits us there is less clear." And here, he frowns briefly, for it's a sore subject. "What I know is, our quarry is ensconced there, by self-will or slavery -- it matters not which. He must be stopped. And as well, the creatures capable of so manipulating a creature so powerful as a kraken, which could in time bring doom upon us all. Time, as thou may surmise, is of the essence."

"Hm. I must admit, it is difficult for me to sympathize with the drow." She had the distinct countenance of a half elf, though it was difficult to tell which kind. A race so long at war with the drow themselves, and this one a paladin of a God of light.

"However, if they are plagued by the undead, then perhaps Arkhen has placed you on my path for this reason." No prejudice could outweigh her duties. And she had learned long ago that assumptions were more often wrong than not.

"If I knew more of this Kraken's malady, I could be more sure of a cure. I am no priest, so I can only pray my gift of healing will be enough. My knowledge in medicine mostly covers the bipedal, and less rare beasts. As it is, I can only prepare for what I know is ahead. So what is the plan?"

M'Cracken doesn't speak right away, his gaze is momentarily distant as though the unkempt man-apparent stares into some vast distance only he can perceive. At length he breaks this reverie with the countenance of someone waking from accidental slumber, makes a gruff noise in his throat and turns his attention to Ralinde, "Thy healing gift is perhaps best reserved for our companions, for many a danger will confront us. It is thy sword and thy staunch faith on which I will most depend, for thou art a warrior sworn to Light. And Light must defeat Darkness, this is holy Selene's express desire. " Long fingers comb at his beard, "As for healing the youngling, though I cannot grasp the entirety of his doom, I do sense the depth of his infection..." his features betray disgust, "...the extent of the foulness gripping him. His malady, Milady, is perhaps best left to me."  The paladin might discern here the terrible weight this duty bears upon Mac. He swallows some water, gathers himself and continues, "We shall gather quite soon, in Vailkrrin, where the forest cavern leads down to the drowish city."

Ralinde had finished her drink in the time Mcracken took before speaking. "It is as you say. Though I would not take a life I have some chance to save. If there comes a moment, I would prefer to try my hand at purifying the kraken. I will do my best to meet you in Vailkrin, and I will notify you if I am unable. May your path lead you to victory, good Mcracken."

As Ralinde speaks, Mac's dark expression lifts like the threat of rain breaking to reveal blue sky. Her words carry a power she may not realise wholly --  the words of the truly faithful speaking their will are so much more than merely words. There may be hope yet for the errant youngling, but M'Cracken hardly dares entertain it. "if it is not thy fate to fight the Darkness in its home, then perhaps thou may yet do so in a kraken's triple heart. I will leave word here, when time comes for us to gather. " He draws his long frame out of the chair,  "It hath truly been my honour,  Lady Ralinde."

Part of the No Seaborn Left Behind Arc