Accepting the Call

After a discussion with Skamos, we returned from the bathhouse and visited the library. There, Skamos showed me the memorial wall of texts recording the deeds of those who readily opposed Paracelsus, including my parents. I was able to read my parents' book and asked Tiamos to make a copy of it for me. After that, Skamos and I parted ways as I commissioned Floran to remake my armor; I didn’t want to lose the attributes of my dragonhide armor, but I also did not want to upset Faustina through lack of representation. During a quiet moment, I also spoke with Nasamos to discuss my formal invitation to the Oasis. I was able to ask of him three favors upon my acceptance, to which he agreed. After that, I met with Kaden and encouraged him to try again at being an acolyte. I understand why he would want to be left alone in the moat, and twenty years ago I would have joined him (the best an air-breathing child could), but I worry for him. I was at least able to convince him to join us for dinner in exchange for swimming together the next day. He did ask if the “mean lady” was going to be there, who I assumed was Silver. I see that he remembers at least some of what had happened, but I assured him that she would cause him no trouble and would keep a great distance.
 
After dinner I tried to reconvene with Skamos regarding our training, but saw that he was engaged with Silver. I mentioned to him that I would be waiting with Nasamos. For our training, I was able to meditate with Skamos and focus on the veil between life and death before relieving Skamos from his poisoned state. A considerable amount of time had passed, but I was not exactly sure how much. Still reeling from keeping Skamos with us, Nasamos spotted that Silver had been watching and eavesdropping the whole time. Given Skamos’s state, I found it best to remove him from the situation and return him to his room, leaving Silver to the Grey wolf. As we sat together, I could only imagine the toll the experience took on Skamos, considering his weakened state. He wasn’t delusional per se, but he definitely was not with me in the present moment most of the time. Most utterances were mere grunts of assent or questions that would seem highly illogical if I hadn’t known better. Despite his need for rest, Skamos’s room seemed to be lit with activity.
 
Nasamos entered first, acknowledging that I was to stay at Skamos’s side and protect him at all times, while I was also (and Floran by proxy) charged with detaining Silver in the Oasis. Soon after his leaving, Silver barged in in her usual huff, demanding to see Skamos. Given her temperament I was not keen on leaving Skamos alone with her, orders or no. I did my best to bite my tongue, but she was putting him in an impossible position with her line of questioning. She also revealed that she had mentioned what she had seen to Cri, one of Skamos’s sisters. After some tense negotiations, Skamos was able to retrieve the sending stone from Silver so he was able to talk to his sister himself. She accused him of betrayal and left in a huff. Skamos then asked me to return the stone to her, to which I acknowledged my disagreement but obliged him all the same.
 
After what seemed like moments Nasamos was again at our door, mentioning his alarm about Silver. He called me to him, and together we went to investigate. I managed to give Skamos my sister’s ring for a short time, just in case he fell unwell or was attacked in my absence. Upon reaching Silver’s room, were were met with Nakama making halted statements about Silver’s decency as an excuse not to enter. It turns out that Silver was not in the room at all, and Nakama began to block me from leaving the area. Nasamos found Alma’s room empty as well, and together we ran across the Oasis looking for them. I was able to track them as far as a stable where they had acquired mounts for the desert. In defeat, we returned to the Oasis, and Nasamos seemed to try to console me after my first failure to task.
When I returned to Skamos, he warned me about the “mean lady” in the ring. I assured him that I would be okay and that I was sorry for any harm caused. Upon putting the ring back on I felt a ringing, searing pain in my skull. Cecily chewed my ass out for what I did, but luckily her anger abated quickly. I requested that Tyrion (or as Anglor refers to him, Tetch) and Kobalt to track down Silver and Alma. Cecily also informed me of how she had finally made contact with my sister Kaelyn, and how she would send all three to fetch our fugitives. She also informed me that I would soon be hearing from Kaelyn myself, which put at least part of my mind at ease.
 
The next day, us remaining met with Nasamos for a briefing regarding last night’s failure. I informed them of how I had rallied a small group to retrieve Silver, but Skamos was adamant about going to catch her himself, and Floran and I wouldn’t stand to let Skamos go alone. In this instance, Nasamos gave Skamos full authority over our group and decision. Despite our disagreement, I still performed favors as tasked by our leader Skamos, and managed to slip in time to keep my promise with Kaden and pop out for a small errand or two, including moving my things from the inn to the temple. When I returned from my personal errand, I found Floran running out of the temple in what I can only assume was a panic. Their hammer radiated with a sickly green light and before I could react they smashed it into the nearest palm tree. There was a flash of light and energy burst out from the impact, and four people collapsed to the ground.
 
I was in shock. I went to check one of the civilians, but found they were not breathing. I tried to ask Floran what happened, but I was more focused on what they had done. What had been done to these poor people. Instead of trying to piece the puzzle together, I sent Floran in to get Nasamos and the acolytes.
Skamos came out with everyone else, and I admit I expressed my anger about Floran’s actions. While Nasamos and I started coordinating the bodies and contacting the families, Skamos interjected to keep my anger from rising in public, saying how “this wasn’t the right time or place” for my commentary. Given the markings on the body and how they looked unlike themselves, almost taken over with a necrotic visage, I wasn’t going to let this incident sail into the night like many others, but I made my peace with his plea for the moment.
 
Immediately after, I had the four bodies ushered into the temple to perform rites on them. Given the ritual process, it took roughly five hours to complete, the sun beginning to dip lower into the changing sky. At this point, Nasamos gently commanded that I take a break from the bodies, and so I went to find Skamos first. I realized that in performing my duties as a Paladin, I had neglected my (relevant) directives from Nasamos. Finding Skamos in his father’s study, I offered to bring him tea. Given his distress and his affinity for tea, it seemed like the right thing to do. Over our drinks, he actually apologized to me about not just the incident, but for enabling Floran with the scalpel. It was not an unwelcome change of pace. After, I checked in with Floran at the inn, and they seemed out of sorts. We had a conversation about what happened, and I admitted to them that I believed it was their fault, but that they could redeem themselves by doing their best to amend the situation, take accountability, and learn from this horrible incident. I’m pretty sure Skamos would disagree, but Floran took it in their usual Floran stride. Given their shock, it felt cruel and unwise to leave them alone, so I invited Floran to stay with me at the temple, and to help with funeral preparations for the victims. They accepted my offer and agreed to meet me there later, as they had to gather their things and I had to report back for my duties.
 
Upon returning to the temple again, Nasamos and Skamos were having a discussion about the scalpel. I was ordered by Nasamos to take the artifact from the temple so as to stop the disturbance it was creating in the sanctity of the temple walls. As I walked away with the scalpel in my pack, having to remove my things to the inn again and mindful not to grab the scalpel itself, Eric and Kaden seemed to fall ill in front of me. First I encountered Eric in the temple and as soon as I came near him, his face fell from it’s smile and he mentioned how he felt sick again before ducking back into the infirmary. I used Skamos’s sending stone to ask Nasamos to keep an eye on Eric; his history and his condition did not bode well with me. With Kaden, again his smile fell and he looked nauseated as he fled into the moat, causing me to reconsider my hunch. I stayed at the inn for the night, and through the scalpel Paracelsus taunted me, both about the families affected by Floran’s actions and about my own family. I’m not sure if it’s for better or worse, but may Faustina guide me to mercy and peace before I lose my mind.