Thoughts of a Redeemed Soul

[Wildfire]

[Griznuq]

Belwar sat beside Zurn at the fire. It seemed that every night, something happened that was stranger than whatever had happened the night before...

Sol, the newcomer sat at their fire, sharing in their company. His arrival was certainly out of the ordinary. Perhaps the strangest thing Belwar had heard since he came to the surface in fact. It was because of these things that he had absolutely no trust in magic.

As soon as he thought that, his hand went instinctually to the dragon scale around his neck. Then he remembered the ring he had in his pocket... Truth be told, he could care less for the ring. He was certain that it would come in handy at some point, but Belwar would just assume someone else use it.

A thought crossed his mind, the magical staff the Bugbear had changed sizes depending on who was wielding it. He wondered if the bugbear's armor would have done the same? He shrugged...

Belwar absently polished the last bit of [ichor of Undeath] off of his boots, and he mulled the thoughts in his head, only half listening to Sol's stories. Quiet Contemplation seemed the activity of choice.

[Griznuq]

[Wildfire]

[Griznuq]

"Faith," echoed Belwar. A decent answer, he supposed. Still though, how can one put so much faith into something they didn't know for fact? It was Foolish!

"I tell ye Zurn, I do not think I've faith in anythin but me axe. I go inta battle, an I know it's in me hand, an I know it swings, and I know it kills." Belwar's tone shifted from one of certainty to one not so sure. "An until the cave, I knew nothin else. But, this... Ehlonna... Or, whatever happened... Tha wasn't small, was it..." It wasn't really a question.

"Ye don't see things like this in every day, do ye. What I do know, is I coulda chopped at tha shade of Dannobar til anvils rain from the sky, and nothin woulda happened."

Belwar looked about the campsite. Mirri sat and calmy... bathed? cleaned? perhaps "groomed" was the word... while Sol talked, not even noticing the Dwarves had engaged in a side conversation.

"Zurn, Um startin to think there may be... eh... somthin else... somethin..." Belwar's frustration was begining to wear on him. "Ach, I dunno. Ferget I said anythin."

Me an me axe, that's all there be! he said to himself.

[Wildfire]

[Griznuq]

The question took Belwar by complete surprse. "I, ah uh I wha?" It was clear that the conversation had spun Belwar into a completely different direction than he had expected.

"Well, sure! of course!"

[Wildfire]

Zurn hoped his point would make sense to Belwar without making any offense.

"That be a good thing, Belwar. It's important to be having something valued like that in yer life. Now, lemme ask you another question...that regard that ye be hav'n fer ye Dad...can you touch that? Can you hold it in yer hands and proove that it's there? Or do you just know tha' it is there?"

[Griznuq]

"Well of course not," Belwar said. "But has Ehlonna ever held yer hand? Has she ever thumped ye on the head? Has she ever shared a mug o ale with ye?"

Belwar paused and added "Have ye ever even seen er?"

He shook his head. "Now, I understand what feelins are, and I know what faith is... I just have trouble imaginin walkin inta battle in a house-coat with no metal tween me an my enemies. I mean, how do ye know, ye havent made her mad? How do ya know she's gonna answer yer prayers? What if she's busy... doin... goddess... things?"

Belwar's questions almost fell all over themselves. It was clear he had been thinking alot about it.

[Wildfire]

[Griznuq]

Belwar took the words in, and was surprised to find that he DIDN'T think them loony. A month ago he'd have scoffed at them, and patted the axe at his side, but he'd seen things since then that can only be explained as divine.

Something was tugging at him, something he couldn't quite put a finger on. He'd always tried to do what he thought was right, but never really stopped to consider why. Doing things because they were right had never exactly worked out for him in the past.

He'd been a guard of his stronghold, because he felt that it was the right thing to do. His father had always told him the saftey of others was more important than his own. That same city had killed his father, and exiled Belwar, and they'd both only ever done the right thing.

It still felt right though. As gruff and angry as Belwar seemed on the outside, he knew he would always do what was good and just. Though his methods were very different from Zurn's and Vallen's, the goal was always the same.

Until this night, Belward had never stopped to consider that a god or goddess would ever hear him pray. He always figured it was a priest's job to pray to his god, while Belwar's job was to send wrong doers to meet thiers.

"No Zurn, it makes no less sense than the existance of a wendigo, or the sudden appearance of our new friend over there," Belwar shifted his eyes to Sol.

A thought then occured to Belwar. "Do ye think yer Ehlonna had anythin to do with this fella? Or with Vallen suddenly vanishin?"

[Dray]

Saul had been listening to the entire conversation of the Dwarves Above. He had feigned as much enthusiasm for the telling of his story, as the cat lady had feigned in actually listening to it.

"Well of course not," Belwar said. "But has Ehlonna ever held yer hand? Has she ever thumped ye on the head? Has she ever shared a mug o ale with ye?"

Belwar paused and added "Have ye ever even seen er?"

He shook his head. "Now, I understand what feelins are, and I know what faith is... I just have trouble imaginin walkin inta battle in a house-coat with no metal tween me an my enemies. I mean, how do ye know, ye havent made her mad? How do ya know she's gonna answer yer prayers? What if she's busy... doin... goddess... things?"

"....and that was when, right in the middle of the throes of passion, I vanished." Saul finished in the same quiet tone. Judging by the lack of response from all attending the fire, none had heard his purposely lackluster finish.

'All the better.' Saul said to himself, 'I grow tired of the charade'.

He listened to the dwarves and became quiet. So as not to be included in their conversation, but to remain within earshot of it, he got up and added some wood to the fire. He kept busy by prodding and teasing it to grow higher and warm his chilled skin.

[Wildfire]

[Griznuq]

Belwar could only nod in agreement. It all made at least a little bit of sense to him. Certainly did explain a few things.

All along he had just figured he was there by chance. Now though, he was not so sure. If Urgoth was really trying to get hill giants to work with the gargon, then perhaps he was a follower of this Vorntoque too. Belwar considered the fact that maybe Ehlonna had allowed Urgoth to kill Belwar's father in an effort to get Belwar to fight, and to help her followers at the keep?

It seemed a little silly a thought at first, but it certainly was something to consider.

[Griznuq]

Wow, this thread is completely fucked. Got all jumbled. seems to be a bit out of order... could also be tht it's 1:32am and I'm a little off...

I'll be fixing all of this. I want it all to be readable again.