4. Silvershield Estate

Koveras sighs and nods. "Impulse oaths are probably not the way to go about becoming a paladin. Or solving one's problems." He pinches the bridge of his nose. "But it's tempting to think you could be given a bunch of power just by swearing away your soul. If I could have sworn a paladin oath as a child to get out from under Rieltar's thumb, I would have done it."

He holds up a hand to forestall arguments. "At such times I had nothing to live for except revenge. When he disowned me, however, I truly had freedom to begin thinking of other things to do with my life. In between being imprisoned alongside Aldous and fighting bandits and wizards, that is. I..." He looks ashamed of himself. "...sometimes still have trouble breaking that old mindset, particularly when under stress."

"Get a bunch of power by swearing away your soul?" Aiwë shakes her head with a wry smile. "That's a devil deal or a warlock pact, not paladin oaths."

She runs her fingertips across the surface of the table, making quiet rhythms against the wood. "Why did Rieltar disown you? What happened?"

Koveras winces and nods in agreement. "I know little about devils other than what I read in your uncle's book. Which, I suppose, is actually a fair amount. They sound like an entire plane full of Rieltars; cruel and tyrannical. And I know considerably less about warlocks. Magic's not really my thing, not after what I've seen Rieltar do with it."

He leans back in his seat, lounging comfortably. He looks so much more at ease now than a few minutes ago. "Actually, I was hoping it could be my turn to ask a question." He rests his head on his hand. "Have you ever courted before?"

Aiwë's brushing rhythm stops and she clears her throat. "No. I guess I was always more interested in reading and singing about romance than pursuing it." She begins tapping softly on the table leg, listening to the different pitches made at different heights. "Chaide has never been shy in reminding me that she has a few options picked out for me. Khanna tells her off, but I don't mind. I figured that when it was time, I'd let her arrange it."

"Really!" Koveras' grin returns. "Were you never approached? Or you were just never interested? I can easily imagine a horde of heartbroken orclings."

He raps his fingers on the tabletop, trying it out. "But fair enough! Back to your question. I was snooping on Rieltar, naturally. He keeps a journal, probably because he has no true friends. I read that he's planning beyond what he's told his Sembian superiors. The war with Amn. Sure, war is profitable for arms-dealers, but the gold is just an excuse. He wants the bloodbath, a 'great offering to Bhaal'."

Koveras gives a small shake of his head. "I challenged him on it. He threw me out. I should have been more careful. I should have planned. But I wasn't in a good state of mind at the time, and shocked at the truth of his machinations. And so, I ended up in that tent shackled to Aldous. I'm surprised he didn't just kill me."

Quote:

"Were you never approached?"

She shrugs. "As the Chieftess' daughter I'm important to the tribe, and when my drum guides them through a battle and my magic heals their wounds, it's natural to feel something. I don't think any of them were heartbroken long."

Quote:

"I challenged him on it."

Aiwë leans back. "Was that the first time you ever challenged him? Or just the worst time?"

The half-orc's gaze goes distant, humor gone. "No. Not the first time. Not the worst time." He picks at a groove on the table. "But there's only so much a child can do to challenge a wizard. I assume he just finally grew bored of me."

Koveras swallows and nods his head, then forces himself to look up. "I don't want to ask you another question that will make you uncomfortable. How about... What was your first musical instrument?"

"Besides Khanna's ribs and my voice, it was the drum." Aiwë grins cheerfully. "Grandpa carved the wood and had one of the tribe hunters show him how to stretch and tie the skin. A perfect gift for a baby! When I got older, he taught me how to do it." Her face becomes more solemn.

"I got the feeling you are an asset to Rieltar. Are you sure he'd just throw you away without a plan? I trust you, but I don't trust him."

"Well, that makes sense!" Koveras nods, smiling at her grin. "Your grandpa... Human, right? Keggruk's book was pretty sparse on how your parents met. Is it a good story?"

He shrugs. "Rieltar probably had a plan for me. Fortunately I was spared whatever it was. Maybe Tazok would have actually skinned me and eaten my liver, or whatever gruesome threats he made."

Aiwë smacks the table. "The best story! I wrote a song about it. It was one of the ones I sang to Aldous when we met." Aiwë searches the half-orc's eyes, the fantastic story of her parents' meeting lost in a nagging concern.

"Koveras, Rieltar knew we were in Nashkell and he knew we took a job escorting Aldous. Aldous' body guard was working for him, and he knew that Stella and Aldous were already fond of each other. The signs of his kidnapping were obvious, left right in the road. We never found out exactly why they kidnapped Aldous to begin with. I wouldn't be surprised if there were layers to his schemes but I think one of them was that Rieltar planned on us coming for Aldous. Is it possible that, if Tazok didn't kill us," she delivers her point gently, "another layer was that you would be there for us to find?"

Stella furrows her brow. "I have a scimitar?" She said. "But yes, swordplay is certainly not my strong suit. I don't imagine I'll be using it again..." She trails off uncertainly. It seemed Dieter had something else in mind...and this would be a good opportunity to spend more time focused on what he was interested in. "...but it could come in handy," she finishes.

Give me some time to prepare my spells for the rest of the day, though. And to reflect and spot any gaps in my own memory. You should do the same, she recommends to Aldous.

Stella retrieves her tomes, put back together fairly well by Aiwë, and lightly studies her star charts—making sure to do it around Dieter or Aldous, meditates, and ponders, calling upon the Sleepless Knights to help her.

"what? Oh OH I’m so sorry I‘ve been so preoccupied, we can do some scimitar practice. I’ve seen some practice ones by the outdoor courts" Dieter apologizes

After preparing her spells, Stella follows Dieter, although a bit nervously. She would much rather practice her strengths than her weaknesses. But this was opportunity to work on two of her weaknesses at once.

Koveras' frown slips into place like it had never left. "You mean... No." He shakes his head. "Even he can't anticipate every move on the board." His hands clench. "Why would he put me in front of the group that's been causing him so much trouble? I'm the one who told you the Iron Throne's behind everything! I'm-"

He forcibly calms himself. "I'm sorry, I just... This has been my life truly out from under his thumb for the first time! I chose this. He can't take this away from me."

His pleading eyes drift to Aiwe's. "He can't know everything. Can he?"

Aldous' eyes widen as he considers the implications of memory loss and enchantment magic.

"You said Viconia 'did a number' on your head. What did you mean by that?"

Aldous smiles at the touch of Stella's hand, but his expression grows upset when she brings up Viconia. "She cast some charm spells on me, made me trust her like a friend, so I'd cooperate better. Be a willing captive. My memory's a bit fuzzy starting from the night she took me until she dumped me into Tazok's hands."

"Oh crap." Aldous starts feeling his head and poking at his temples. "She might have done that to me! Viconia might have taken my memories while I was her captive. And I wouldn't even know... I don't know."

He shivers.

Dieter leads her out to the field he had witnessed Aiwë and Koveras fight. He pulls out two practice sabers.

"The saber and the Scimitar are actually the same thing they just hail from different pasts" Dieter explains. He passes one to Stella and hold his in his dominant hand. He takes a wide stance holding his hand high at a two o’clock position with the leather blade held loosely pointing at the 10 o’clock position guarding his head and upper body.

"you’ve already received training, why don’t you show me what you know" Dieter extends his saber forward then brings it back parallel to his face in a salute then returns to his guard.

Aiwë frowns empathetically. "I don't know, Blood, I don't know. But you're right. You did choose this, and it matters." She starts a brushing rhythm against the table again, soft and soothing. "The gaps in my mind feel like gaping holes, sucking at the edges like they might take more memories with them. Do you have any like that?"

Koveras sits back and closes his eyes, heavy brow furrowed in concentration. "I don't know. Nothing so obvious. I remember traveling with your group. Being imprisoned with Aldous. Arguing with Rieltar. I remember lots of tedious, boring things before that. I remember Candlekeep, and reporting on your group. Speed-reading your uncle's book. Before that, gibberlings on the road. Beregost, where I first hired Dieter..."

He opens his eyes and shrugs. "Everything seems accounted for, at least since I met any of you. And before that..." He face falls. "There are lots of things I don't wish to remember. But I don't think any of it has been... tampered with."

Looking exhausted, the half-orc mutters, "Maybe Dieter's right to be so paranoid all the time."

"Thanks for looking. This whole thing must be very overwhelming. Let's stop worrying about it for now." She smiles and stands from the table.

"My parents met in an inn they were both travelling through. Khanna used to do flashy forms with her glaive and spar for tips. She sparred with my father, and she impressed him so much he asked her to meet him for a rematch and breakfast in the snow. They never ate that breakfast, because with her first blow she broke his ribs and sealed his love for her forever."