Arreyis

Devouring Light

Ayrie smiled at him, "It has been interesting, to say the least, but I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. Large events have a way of attracting fiascos. I hope it wasn't too troublesome."

She snagged another piece of bread from the plate in front of her and tore off a bite. She looked again at Markus who seemed to now be deep in thought, and then back at the lord Gluttony, a mischievous idea forming in her mind. She wouldn't oust him, but she could make him work for it if he was lying.

"Thank you again, my Lord, for the water handle. It will make life so much easier." She said, smiling brightly. "I see now why you have so many who adore and protect you. You give so easily and generously."

From the corner of her eye she could see Markus's brow furrow slightly. If it was an illusion, it took concentration to make it move naturally, and she had just challenged whoever might be casting it to make it acknowledge her praise.

Devouring Light

Ayrie walked back to the table and took her seat, barely noticing at first that the mayor had arrived at the table.

'Wait... Didn't I just decide that the mayor is Gluttony?' she thought to herself, looking at the mayor and at the form of Gluttony. The mayor looked like a human designed to match the lord. She looked at Markus, who seemed preoccupied but was eating as if everything was normal.

"Mayor." she said sweetly, "It's good to finally see you. I hope everything went the way you planned." Something was amiss, but she couldn't pinpoint it. All she knew for certain was that this man was somehow tied to Lord Gluttony. 'It could be an illusion, a trick to get me off his scent if he thought I figured it out.'

Ayrie was naieve, but she wasn't ignorant and knew about illusions from her Church's teachings. They had said that illusions were the work of evil people, and that those who were good would not lie in that way. She knew of course that an illusion was not always meant to harm or to lie, sometimes it was meant to protect. She didn't know how to find out the truth other than trying to reach out and touch Gluttony, and she was not about to do that as it would reveal her suspicions.

Devouring Light

Ayrie managed to find a washroom on the bottom floor of the building, and took advantage of a sink and mirror to wash her face. She was beginning to feel the effects of the training she had done with Markus, but she was still wired with energy despite the weariness of her muscles. She wiped her face and smoothed her dress, still smelling the lily soap she had used earlier despite it having been several hours now.

She fixed a few wisps of hair that had come loose from her braid, and retied the ribbon. Happy again with her appearance, and now composed after so many shocks in one night, she started to head back to the table to finish her food. She noticed a group of children dancing with each other and stopped for a moment to watch them.

'Everyone here is so happy, it can't be all that bad to have a leader who eats criminals...' she thought to herself.

Devouring Light

Ayrie looked over at Gluttony, again wondering about his appearance. He handed her a handle he created out of thin air and was pointing at the symbols on it, she supposed trying to tell her without speaking what it did.

"He means to tell you it will provide water when you need it, just attach it to the pump you have now and then press here.." Markus indicated a symbol on one end, "and it will bring up water without any extra effort from you. It will also allow you to fill a bath without needing to trek back and forth from the pump."

Ayrie nodded her understanding, "Thank you, Lord Gluttony." she said. She wondered why he hadn't spoken, as he clearly could speak, he had done so before. The similarity in the markings on his hand, the clear blue eyes, and white hair, along with the absence of the mayor was beginning to nag at her, and now he wouldn't speak.

She nearly gasped aloud, but instead kept quiet as it all clicked into place. 'He doesn't want me to know that he is Gluttony, and he thinks that I've not yet figured it out or doesn't want me to know.' she thought. 'Well, I'll just keep it to myself for now, especially in case it's for my saftey.'

"Excuse me for a moment, my lord. I'm going to go find the ladies room." she stood and made her way to a building to find a place to freshen up.

Devouring Light

Someone placed a plate of food and a wine glass in front of Ayrie as she watched the dancers, and she happily started eating. The bread was soft and buttery, and the wine they brought her was sweet rather than bitter. This was a pleasant surprise as she disliked bitter wine.

"Why is the food here so delicious? I should never return home if I keep being fed like this!" Ayrie exclaimed, taking another bite of food.

"The Lord's power keeps our feilds and animals healthy, and the fish in our rivers and lakes plantiful. We want for nothing here." When she looked at him quizzically he added, "Not that we do not work, that is. The Lord doesn't allow us to have what we do not work for, and true laziness is not rewarded. I would not be surprised if he finds something for you to do other than trying to advocate for your...ahem, friends." He stopped himself from saying Church and she caught on.

"Well, I'm not averse to work. I tried to fix my water pump this morning, but I need a new handle." She said. "I can do all sorts of things without tutelage, for some reason things just come naturally to me in that way."

Fantasy RP - For those that want to 'Jump - In '

Derra thought about the woman's offer for a moment. "I suppose, if we're already travelling in the same direction, that I can take you up on your offer. I'm not beholden to anyone at the moment, except for my word to my clan to return."

She was still unsure what she herself wanted, selfishly, as the woman had suggested. She had never thought much of what she would want for herself, having always been determined to become a healer after her pox had scarred her. Derra did also enjoy some metal working and wood carving, but those were not her greatest talents. Of course, her greatest talent was learning ways of healing the mind and body, but these were not likely to earn her a great deal of fame or fortune either. 'Travelling with a group of traders wouldn't get me fame, but it could earn me fortune, and while with them I could still learn healing to take back to the clan.'

She did like travelling, especially with Jester being such an easy pony to ride.

@Ryonara

Devouring Light

“With me having your sacrifices it is now time to imbibe in fine food, drink, music, and dancing.” they heard Gluttony say.

"That's our que." Markus said, standing. "Come, watch the dancers with me. They are truly beautiful to watch, and will take your mind off of what you saw." He extended a hand out to her, smiling.

"Okay." Ayrie said, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her to a table near the dais. She supposed as a high priest he was able to sit wherever he wanted, but he chose to seat them on the opposite side from Gluttony. She didn't see the mayor anywhere, but she supposed he might be busy with other things. Or at least, that's what she chose to believe. She did spot Nadia seated near Gluttony, and waved at her with a smile. 'If she's okay with things here, maybe there's hope for me yet.'

She turned her gaze to the dancers, and watched them with amazement. Their movements were breathtaking, and she couldn't help but feel a surge of jealousy at their skill.

"It must take years for them to learn to do that..." Ayrie said breathlessly as she watched them.

"Years, and a lot of dedication. Many of them have less time for family and lives outside of dancing." Markus said to her, nodding. He was watching the lord, wary of the mistake he had made in allowing Ayrie to come to the festival alone and unhindered.

Devouring Light

As Ayrie watched, the monster devoured beasts and spoke to people, presumably granting them permissions or powers for their sacrifices. Things were somewhat easy for her to understand until the man brought the elf. 'He's not going to...' She breathed a sigh a relief when the monster didn't eat the woman, but he had a saddened look on his face as the man was lead into the temple. Next, a woman brought a dwarf up.

This time, Ayrie had to fight the urge to vomit as the monster grabbed the dwarf and ate it, messily tearing into it as it screamed. She began to silently pray for her own safety and resilience, hoping she wouldn't betray her true feelings. She felt a kind hand touch her shoulder and looked up to see Markus behind her, his kind eyes offering her a retreat without shame.

"Come with me my dear, lets get you some water and air that isn't so crowded." He grabbed her hand and lead her back towards the back of the temple, where there were refreshments for sale and fewer people milling around.

"What is going on up there?" Ayrie asked after they got some drinks and sat down. She was taking deep breaths and trying to calm her nerves. "Why is it eating people? Why not just stick to the animals?"

"They are criminals, one and all, and Gluttony does not abide the crimes they have commited. It doesn't pay for them to rot in jail forever either, so he instead uses them as sacrifices, allowing their victims to ask for small favors in return." Markus looked at her, carefully measuring her response.

"I see... It's just... Frightening to see." She said, trying to come to grips with it.

"It's hard for many the first time they see the festival, but once you come to terms with the reason for it it becomes easier to witness." He said. "I'm surprised you didn't vomit right then and there, as many have been known to do."

Devouring Light

Ayrie walked with a swing to her step as she headed for the temple, hearing oohs and ahhs and applause as something began to happen. She couldn't quite see what was going on yet, being low on the street behind a large crowd of people. She made her way quietly through the crowd, and reached the front in time to see a giant monster with white hair and blue eyes, black scaly skin that had markings over it walking out of the temple.

'My god...' She thought, unable to make a sound. She looked around her at the surrounding crowd, seeing that everyone here was happy, joyous, praising this thing. 'What is happening here? It looks like... It can't be him though... Maybe he is bound to that thing? The markings and eyes are so similar.'

She could only watch, knowing that if she so much as gasped she could be in danger from the people around her. She had to maintain a passive face no matter what, and keep her thoughts to herself.

Devouring Light

Ayrie headed outside and back down to the temple where she had left Markus, and saw him still in the courtyard.

"Hello Markus!" She said as she approached. "Sorry it took me so long, the mayor wanted to apologize to me and bought me lunch to do it."

"That's very like him. Food is as good a way to say sorry as any." He montioned to a bench and the two sat down. "So. Show me what you remember, we'll go from there."

He watched her carefully, and guided her in some exercises to improve her sheilds and her use. Then showed her a few basic defenses. The work was tiring on the mind, but Ayrie enjoyed herself. She was thankful she had eaten before hand, and by the time they were done a couple of hours later she was famished again. They finished up by shoring up her sheilds, and when he touched her with his dark talisman she didn't spark.

"Thank you, Markus." She said as they finished for the day. "I feel a great deal better with my sheilds grounded properly. I had no idea they could cause so much tension."

"Aye, it's like a man who needs glasses not wearing them for a day. It may not be noticeable at first, but eventually the strain on his eyes will cause a headache." Markus put away his talisman. "Take tomorrow off, and visit me the next day. We'll go over more of those defensive magics."

"Okay. Are you going to the festival?" Ayrie was tired but energized now that she felt better. "I was planning to go after we finished."

"I am. I'll be heading over shortly, just need to finish some things here."

"Okay, I'll see you there." She smiled brightly and left, heading in the direction of the largest crowd of people near the main temple.