Callum and Sadachbia
"Why are you helping me?" Sadachbia posed as they made their way toward the library.
Nomad wasn't sure how far Arkan's note might get them, but he was confident it would at least extend to some of the more prominent libraries with broader resources. He just hoped they'd be able find the knowledge Sadachbia was after. If they could, Nomad could address some of the more troubling issues lingering in the shadows of his mind. As such, using his name, the one Arkan had recommended, seemed the best approach to bring the shaman into the right position to learn as much as he could.
He turned back to his counterpart. "You've helped me. Or volunteered to, at least. Even from the start. But...I think there's more to it than just paying back a favor."
"Care to expand on that?" the druid pressed as they made their way along the Waterhavian streets.
They approached a grove maintained outside the library. Knowing that within the building an atmosphere of silence was almost always maintained, perhaps now was the best time. He didn't need any prying or curious ears eavesdropping on his conversation anyway. Spotting a corner away from the crowd, he waved for Sadachbia to follow him. They reached a willow tree, and beneath its obscuring boughs, Nomad lifted his visor.
"I think you and I both believe there's more to our meeting than coincidence," the fallen angel started. "Something tells me you're far more than you want people to believe, or maybe, are confident people would believe. I think we have that in common."
The druid paused for a moment, then grinned. A simple nod was his answer, though he'd conveyed far more than that. Nomad hadn't missed it either.
"What we were doesn't matter so much anymore," he continued. "Not in light of what we might become or what we might do. I used to be a soldier in an ongoing war between Heaven and Hell. My part was significant, and remnants of that part still follow me. They make me wonder if there's another role for me to assume in a grander scheme than a heist. I'm guessing you feel the same, right? Especially given the dream?"
Sadachbia considered his words for a moment. "Yes to the last part. Not so much to the first, but my history isn't as...polarized, as yours."
Nomad offered a nod, grasping his meaning. "You're attuned to the Heavens-the cosmos themselves even. I knew beings like you once in a former life. We called you prophets."
"And what would you call me now?" Sadachbia asked next, thinking he knew where Nomad was leading the conversation.
"For now, ally. Maybe even friend. But in the broader scope? I think you're a conduit, and I think you might be able to glimpse more of the greater workings of this situation we find ourselves in. I'm telling you as much because I'm not willing to take chances on something like this. Any time devils, demons, and angels, even fallen ones meet in contest, fate is involved. The extent of that involvement is something I'm hoping we can help each other with."
Sadachbia continued to hold his silence, recalling his interactions with Nomad since the forest. Eventually, he found his mind centered on a question. "What's your hope for all of this, Nomad? Large or small, whatever will be will be, but how does that knowledge guide your moves from here, regardless of what I say?"
"I have someone I care very much for," the paladin answered without hesitation. "Safeguarding her future is my hope. Safeguarding the friends I have comes next. I know what it is to have my purpose corrupted. Stolen, even. If there's a way to stop that from happening to anyone, I'd stand with you if I knew that would thwart such a fate."
Sadachbia grinned, then nodded again. Nomad repeated both gestures.
"Do you know what that dream meant?" the fallen angel asked. "And does it have anything to do with what's happening now?"
“I figured you were driving at something.” Sadachbia said, a slight grimace forming on his face. “I’m not entirely sure if it has to do with our current circumstances with the…heist, as you put it, but I think it might have to deal with all of us. I had never met most of our party before that…” he paused.
“...dream?” Nomad finished.
“To you and the others, maybe, but not to me.” Sadachbia said,
“How so?” Nomad asked.
“Well, you see, I haven’t actually had a dream in over a year.” Sadachbia said. Nomad titled his head. Sadachbia took that as a questioning look, since he could actually see Nomad’s face. “Yes, sounds far fetched, I know. I hadn’t noticed the lack of them for a while, but then it hit me that I hadn’t had one since before I was in the Feywild.”
“Do you know why?” Nomad questioned.
“Honestly, I have no idea. There was…something I had experienced the night I was sent to the Feywild that I haven’t told anyone before. Not even Regulus.” Sadachbia said, becoming more sheepish than his normal self.
“If you don’t wish to tell me, I under…”
“No, I need to tell someone.” Sadachbia interrupted. “It’s been eating away at me for a while. I haven’t mentioned it because of the repercussions it could have on one’s psyche.”
“Do I want to hear this?” Nomad asked, taking a half step away from Sadachbia.
“Well, I think it may be connected to what we were talking about. If I’ve never had a dream since that night and then we all shared that same…dream, then it must be related. I wouldn’t call myself a prophet, as you mentioned earlier, but I took this dream as a vision.” Sadachbia said, “Before I tell you, we should maybe take a seat.” he said, motioning toward a bench nearby.
“It takes a lot to frighten me, Sadachbia. You’re starting to do a good job of it.” Nomad said, the concern in his voice growing as he sat.
“I’m sorry, but I think if I know anyone that could handle it, it would be the person that’s been through Heaven and Hell.” Sadachbia said, a nervous smile touching his face. “I’m not actually from this time. I mean to say that I’ve lived in Faerun my entire life, with the exception of the year I spent in the Feywild, but I was born over a hundred and twenty years ago.”
“I know I’m not human, but you don’t look to be a hundred and twenty years old. A hundred and ten, max.” Nomad said, releasing a slight chuckle.
“Well, thank you for that,” Sadachbia said his smile taking over the entirety of his face now, “but I have only experienced twenty four years of life. Twenty three in Faerun and one in the Feywild. I was part of a group called the Stargazers. We are…were a group that studied the stars and other celestial bodies, if you pardon the term.” Sadachbia said. Nomad shrugged in acquiescence. “Many of my order studied the stars within the mindset of foretelling the future and interpreting signs. I had a different approach to them, despite my upbringing.”
“What do you mean?” Nomad asked.
“Well, my parents were followers of Savras and they passed that to me. I grew up following the liturgy and tradition because it was what they wanted, but I always thought it was a bit too…fanciful of thinking for my taste. I am much more logical in my nature. So I took that approach when it came to the stars as well.”
“Explains why you seem to be fate-touched, but still a bit removed. Most of the prophets are followers of the All-Seeing god, but like you said, you are no prophet.” Nomad added.
“Yes, well, it all comes to one night when I was doing some research. We had a castle, north of Waterdeep, far from any light pollution of the city. We had a very powerful telescope there, powered with arcane magics. I was using it when it stopped working. I requested help from the head of our order, Pavrin, in repairing the device. She was using a focus to help fine tune the telescope and I was looking through it to make sure it was in focus. As it was being adjusted, it began to focus and I…saw something. Something I had never seen before.” Sadachbia said, taking a pause.
“What did you see?” Nomad asked, slowly sitting closer to the edge of his seat.
“A face. Not a reflection of mine or any of my fellow colleagues, but a face…out there. The size of an entire moon.”
“Surely it was just the lighting playing with the shadows of mountains or valleys on the surface.” Nomad added, but sounding more like a question than a statement.
“I had a sense of dread wash over me when I saw it and then a bright light flashed…and then I was in the Feywild.” Sadachbia said, putting his hands in his lap.
“What happened?” Nomad asked, concerned for his ally.
“I’m assuming the staff of power that Pavrin was using was overloaded somehow and it opened up a portal, sending me to the wilderness in the Feywild. After you and I met, Regulus and I had checked back at the castle and it looked to have been an explosion in the observatory that would fit my theory.”
“And your colleagues? What happened to them?” Nomad asked, adjusting himself in his seat.
“Gone. I’m not sure if it was the explosion, old-age, or if they were transported somewhere like me. But that happened over one hundred years ago. My time in the Feywild was only the one year, but a hundred passed in the material realm. I’ve been doing research since I’ve arrived, even joined the Harpers in hopes that some knowledge would have been gained on what it is that I saw. Whatever it is, it's had one hundred years to advance it's goals. So far…I haven’t found anything.” Sadachbia said, his eyes downcast.
“And that’s what we’re here to do?” Nomad asked, gesturing toward the library.
“That’s what I’m hoping for, yes.”
“And you think this is connected to us somehow?”
“And that vision, yes. If that event took my dreams away, then me having a dream must be related to it. That sense of dread I felt…I felt it in the dream too. I’m not sure where we were, but it didn’t feel right. Very scientific, I know.” Sadachbia said, laughing, trying not to let his nerves show.
“Well, I’ll help in any way I can. I’m not much of a scholar, but if you tell me what to look for…” Nomad said, trailing off.
“Yes, of course.” Sadachbia said, “I just hope we can find something. To protect the people we love, right?”
“Right.” Nomad said, drifting somewhere else for a moment.
“Speaking of, if you’re helping me, I have someone to introduce you to.” Sadachbia said, slapping his knees and standing.
“Speaking of…love?” Nomad asked.
“RESEARCH…speaking of research…” Sadachbia said, abruptly.
Callum finished his incantation, handing the druid the wards and hexes he'd need to help Kal craft him a staff worthy of his prowess.
"Many thanks, my friend," Sadachbia told him.
Callum waved him off. "Think nothing of it. I owe you far more than that."
"Ha! Are we really going to do this? Go back and forth? I told you we were even."
Callum laughed. "You did, and I still insist. There are few who have truly helped me in this life as you have, and you've done so in more ways than you realize. And I almost made you make good on taking care of Zora if I was gone. We both know she would have made that very difficult for you."
"Maybe," Sadachbia conceded with a laugh. "But family does that for each other."
Callum found himself at a loss for words momentarily. His smile was genuine and grateful. "Think we can call ourselves that at this point, yeah. Thank you, Sadachbia."