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The Supplicant (Quiz 222)


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#1 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 28 June 2011 - 03:26 PM

Notemeal:

I could've sworn I posted this way back when I originally wrote it, but I've been informed that I... didn't. So, since it fits the quiz and all... here it is.

-----

The young acolyte knelt in supplication in the temple’s main hall, dutifully saying his evening prayers before he turned in for the night. But then a faint rattling from the door caused him to look up. He stood and turned, just as the door opened to admit a slight figure in a simple gray cloak.

“Greetings, traveler, I bid you welcome. Is there something I may help you with?” Though the hour was late, the temple often ministered to wayfarers, and the acolyte spread his hands peaceably as the stranger shut the door against the rain outside, then shed her cloak, revealing a head of short-cropped, copper-colored hair.

The stranger smiled and nodded her head. “Sure can. I need to speak to your boss.”

A small frown crossed the acolyte’s features as he bowed his head respectfully but regretfully. “I’m sorry, my lady,” he began, clasping his hands together in front of him, “but the High Priest has already bedded down for the night. However, if you’d care to come back in the morning, I’m sure he’d be happy to see you-“

She shook her head. “No, not him, your -boss.-“

“I… I beg your pardon?” The confusion was evident on the young man’s face. “His Grace is the most senior priest stationed at this temple. I’m not sure who else you could-“

The traveler tilted her chin at the bronze statue that stood behind the altar in the temple’s main room. The statue depicted a young woman, clearly the temple’s patron, dressed in simple robes, carrying a quarterstaff in one hand, the other hand raised as if to cast some manner of spell. “Her. I need to speak to -her.- Now if you don’t mind-“ The redheaded woman began to shoulder her way past the young acolyte – not rudely, per se, but clearly she wasn’t inclined to wait for him to step out of her path.

And, just as clearly, he wasn’t inclined to simply let her pass. While he had no desire to be crass or uncouth, whoever this woman was, she seemed determined to brush past him as if she owned the place, and while it was his duty to be accommodating, to offer her the temple’s hospitality, she was quickly wearing out her welcome.

She managed to sidestep him quite easily, however, crossing the remaining distance to the altar and the statue behind it. Balling her hand into a fist, she reached up and rapped her knuckles against the forehead of the statue, and the acolyte felt his jaw drop at the woman’s utter gall. She had seemed nice enough at the start, but this was bordering on sacrilege if it hadn’t already crossed that boundary, and he was just about to demand she leave when she raised her voice.

“Hey! Hey, I’m here!”

“All right! That is enough!” He hissed, seizing her arm by the elbow and beginning to pull her brusquely towards the door. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave! The rest of the temple clergy are already abed at this hour, and your shouting is disturbing them! Not to mention-“ Words failed him at that point, and he could only make vague waving motions towards the statue that the woman had… molested. It was one thing to ignore his protests, another to start shouting randomly in the middle of the night when good people were trying to sleep just down the hall, but to insult his faith and the symbols that represented it was another matter entirely. His cheeks were red with anger and frustration as this uninvited guest stubbornly continued to refuse to allow herself to be evicted. Somehow, she slipped her arm from his grasp and once again moved to stand in front of the bronze statue behind the altar. She raised her hand for another strike-

And that was when the statue in question suddenly came to life. A faint sheen of magical energy appeared in the air around it, visible even to the naked eye, and the metal began to warp slightly, its colors changing as the air around the statue shimmered. Some of the dark browns of the bronze paled into the softer pink of skin while others turned into the darker blues of cloth.

“He’s right, little sis.” A third voice, this one from the suddenly animated statue, entered the conversation. Said statue looked completely human by this point – a young woman of perfectly average height and weight, with plain brown hair cut to about shoulder length, wearing a set of simple, but well-tailored robes. Her staff had disappeared, leaving her arms free to fold themselves across her chest, and her mouth was set into a scowl – a scowl that looked almost amused, if such a thing were possible, but a scowl nonetheless. “That whole thing with the knocking on my forehead? Better ways to get my attention. Also? My faithful tend to get cranky when they don’t get enough sleep. You should know that by now. -You’re- one of my faithful. Technically.” She rolled her eyes.

“Your people complain too much. Myself excluded, of course.” The redhead hitched a thumb at the sputtering acolyte who was still trying, futilely, to seize her arm and haul her bodily from the temple premises. It was more a pro forma gesture than anything else by this time. His eyes were locked on the, to put not too fine a point on it, the vision of his goddess come to life right before him.

“And you need to stop abusing them,” replied the brunette with infinite patience. “Like poor Kestran over here. He’s just doing his job, and you come in here and start wrecking up the place.” She punctuated her sentence with an easy shrug of the shoulders.

“I didn’t break anything.” The redhead’s response was laden with childish petulance as she protested her “innocence.”

“Figure of speech,” the brunette said with a roll of her eyes that suggested she’d heard similar arguments many times before. “Look, point is, you can’t just mess with the staff, ok? Remember what you did to High Priest Barenthis the last time you visited one of my temples? He thought you were some raving lunatic the way you just walked in and demanded to talk to me.”

“What was I supposed to do, Lynn? Burn some incense? Sacrifice a chicken to you?”

“Immy.”

“C’mon, seriously. You want a dead chicken? I’ll get you a dead chicken.”

“Imoen.”

“Well, what, then, Falynn?” Imoen said, folding her arms across her chest. “Hmm? Pray tell, enlighten me.”

The brunette rolled her eyes yet again. “You know… you could show me a little more respect. This… this -is- one of -my- temples. It has my name on the front and everything.”

Imoen waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve seen your bum.”

“What?” Falynn blinked.

“I’m just saying. When we were kids. I’ve seen you naked. It’s very hard for me to respect you as a goddess and all when I’ve seen you running through a stream, butt-naked and giggling like a wood nymph.”

Falynn smacked the heel of her hand against her forehead and groaned. “I… don’t think this is a conversation we should be having in front of my clergy.”

Imoen grinned. “Figured that out just now, did you?”

The acolyte blinked, his eyes swiveling back and forth between the two sisters. His jaw hung open, and he looked as if he were attempting to form words with his mouth, but nothing vaguely resembling coherent speech actually emerged from between his lips.

The young man’s stunned response drew a chuckle from Imoen who waved a hand in front of the poor fellow’s face. When that failed to draw anything more substantial from him other than a few more babbling noises, she snapped her fingers. That, too, proved ineffective. “I think something’s wrong with him. You should take him back to whatever shop you purchased him at. Get one that works.”

Falynn glared at her smart-mouthed sister – not that such a gesture would do much good, but it was the principle of the thing. “He’s fine. He’s probably just a little shocked at seeing me in the… um… flesh.” Approaching the young man carefully, she gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. “Kestran? You, uh… you’re dismissed, son. I’ll take it from here. Um. Hello?”

Though he was being directly spoken to this time, the acolyte was still having trouble processing the situation. He simply hadn’t been adequately prepared for this sort of thing. None of the other priests had ever told him to expect anything like this to happen. Likewise, nobody had ever told him what to -do- if anything like this should ever occur. He was lost, he was confused, he was up the proverbial creek without a paddle, he was-

“Oi!”

He was being scolded by an incensed woman with red hair.

He jumped.

“Did I not just say you should stop abusing the staff?”

“I wasn’t abusing him.”

Falynn ignored Imoen’s protestations of innocence and nodded patiently towards the door. “You can go, all right?”

“I… of course.” The acolyte bowed low, finally recognizing he was being asked to leave, and hurried out of the chamber as quickly as he could, his head still spinning from the unexpected nature of the whole encounter. Normally, he would have said a few prayers after making it back to his room, but he wasn’t sure if… that was appropriate for circumstances such as these… given that the… person… he would normally say such prayers -to- was only a few feet away in the next room. There had to be a proper protocol for such matters, but damned – not literally, he hoped – if he knew what it was.

“Nice kid,” The redheaded woman said after young Kestran had left the room.

“You seemed really quick to give him a hard time.”

“I’m really quick to give everyone a hard time, Lynn. That shouldn’t be seen as an indicator of whether or not I genuinely dislike someone.”

“Good point. Anyway, he actually is a good kid. Comes from a solid, really dependable family. Very dedicated. Works hard, studies harder. Sometimes a little slow on the uptake, though, unfortunately.”

“Why’d you take him on, then?” Imoen asked. She sat down in a reasonably comfortable looking chair, leaned back, and put her feet up on a pew.

The other woman shrugged, then reached over and slapped Imoen’s booted feet off said pew. “Eh, you know how it is. Hard to find good worshippers. Had to steal him from Mystra. She’s not happy about that, by the way.”

“You two not getting along again?”

“No, we get along fine. Well, except when I beat her at chess, -then- she gets pissy, stops talking to me for a week. There’s hair-pulling. It… never mind.”

Imoen chuckled. It always amused her to hear about how petty the day to day politics of the “gods” could be. Until she remembered just how much power and influence they wielded and how irresponsible they could be about it. Then she started getting a little angry about it. Best to change the topic right away. “So you’re really fond of that whole statue thing…”

Falynn shrugged. “It’s just easier to take one of the statues and hop into it than it is to, you know, poof a body from scratch.”

“Not to mention, the statues tend to be on the flattering side?” The redhead’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she pointed a finger “accusingly” at her sister’s “attributes.” While Falynn’s current endowment was perfectly ordinary, that in and of itself was a little -extraordinary-… for Falynn herself, when she’d been amongst the living, had been more than a bit unimpressive in that regard.

“Oh, please. I’m not -that- much of a narcissist. “

“Uh huh,” Imoen replied with a smirk, not choosing to press the point. For now. “So… why am I here?”

“What, no ‘Hi, Lynn, good to see you?’ No hug?”

“You have enough power to level an entire continent with just a thought and all you want is a hug? This divinity crap’s gotten to you. You’ve gone soft!”

“Are you serious, or are you just messing with me?” Falynn asked her sister over an arched eyebrow.

Imoen smiled, her bluish-gray eyes laughing as well, and opened her arms wide. “I’m just messing with you. Hug me, damn it!”

Falynn grinned, stepping forwards to meet her sibling. Her arms looped themselves around the other woman’s waist, pulling her in close and squeezing her tightly. She rested her chin on Imoen’s shoulder, whispering hoarsely into her ear. “You have… no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve got some,” Imoen replied with a sniffle. “But uh… I know you had other reasons for asking me to stop by. What did you need?”

“Heh. Yeah. I’ve uh… been having some problems with Cyric lately.”

“Oh, great,” Imoen said with a roll of her eyes. “He and his cronies are always fun.”

Falynn nodded. “When I first took the job after all that fuss and bother at the Throne, he gave me some trouble, but that was just him feeling his way around, trying to see how well I adjusted to things. When he figured out I wasn’t going to be an easy mark, he backed off, left me alone. I guess he got bored waiting for something else to happen, though, figured he’d start something with someone and thought I’d make a fun target. Doesn’t help that he tried to grab my ass a couple of weeks ago and I ended up putting him on -his- ass.”

“Ha!”

“Yeah. That was a barrel of laughs. Anyway, he’s been causing some problems out around Waterdeep. I was hoping to send my best and brightest to look into it. And sending you to tell -them- where to look.” She winked.

“Ha ha ha,” Imoen deadpanned.

Falynn laughed and gave her younger sister an affectionate kiss on the cheek. “I know you’re busy, Im, but… if you could-“

“I’ll take care of it, Lynn. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks, Im.”

“There’s just one thing before I go.”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t mind doing you a favor every now and again, but I can’t do this for free. If I help you out, you owe me something in return.” She put her hands on her hips and put on her most adamant expression.

Falynn blinked. Sisters or no, it was still even beyond Imoen’s usual audacity level to make demands of… well… a goddess. Still, there was little use in arguing. She’d seen that look too many times before to believe that belaboring the point would do any good. “All right, fine. I’ll owe you one. Verbal promise ok, or do I have to write you an I.O.U. in blood?”

“Actually, I’ll take my payment now, if you don’t mind.”

That raised an eyebrow. She sighed. “Ok, ok, fine. But make it quick. I’m kinda busy.”

“That’s why I want this now. You’re -always- busy,” Imoen replied with more than just a touch of sadness in her voice. “I… look, we both knew this would happen when you went off to go be a power. But it still sucks sometimes, especially now with you being all… ‘busy.’ So what I want… I want you to drop everything. Just for a little while, and I want you…” She paused and took a deep breath. “I want you to stay here and talk to me. Just for a little bit. Please.”

It was difficult to surprise a power. Difficult, but not impossible. But if anyone could surprise this particular divinity, it was Imoen of Candlekeep, and she’d managed it. The corners of Falynn’s mouth twitched, slowly quirking themselves into a sad smile – a sad smile that quickly turned into a much more genuine one as she nodded and put a hand on her sister’s shoulder and gently nudged her into a seat before taking one of her own. “Think I can handle that. Won’t even need any fancy magic for it, either. Been a while since one of my supplicants came to me with an -easy- request.”

-----

Time passed quickly, the two of them doing their best to get caught up with each other since it’d been so long since they’d just sat together and talked the way they’d used to when… well, when things had been different.

Imoen laughed, leaning back in her seat as Falynn finished her story. She quickly popped back up, pointing a finger at her sister. “Oh, hey, that reminds me. How’s Dad?”

“Oh, he’s doing great. He’s been seeing this lady scribe.”

“Nice!”

“Yeah. They’re really happy.” Falynn frowned suddenly and sighed. “I don’t think she likes me, though.”

“Really? You sure?”

“No, I’m omniscient, but it doesn’t tell me when the woman my foster father is seeing thinks I’m an annoying god-brat of a daughter.”

“Ewww. That’s not very nice. You tell him that’s what she thinks of you?”

“No. I don’t want to wreck things for him. Like I said, they seem happy.”

“He’d want to know, Lynn.”

“Maybe. But… I mean…”

“You should tell him.”

“And what am I gonna say? ‘Father, your girlfriend hates me. Please dump her or I’ll smite someone?’ Then I really -will- be a petulant god-brat of a daughter.”

“I’d do it.”

“Yeah, but you’re totally addicted to the idea of abusing whatever power anyone is foolish enough to give you.”

Imoen didn’t even bother to deny it. “This is true.”

The two sisters shared a chuckle over that, but Falynn’s cut off about halfway through.

“Lynn? Everything ok?”

Falynn’s expression had gone somewhat blank, and she looked to be staring off into the distance, her eyes not clearly focused, or, perhaps more accurately, focused on something very very far away. “Yeah, sorry about that, I was doing that communing thing. It’s a little distracting sometimes. Um, the folks I was going to have you meet? I just got word from them. They’re just about ready to go; they’ll meet you at a small wayshrine a few miles outside Waterdeep. I can blip you there, no problem, but is there anything you need to take care of first?”

“Not really, no. I’ve been traveling fairly light lately, so I’m pretty much all set.”

“All right, then… well… hang on to your knickers, because here we go.”

-----

Imoen had never liked teleportation magic. She agreed it was extremely useful, and she’d used it many times. But she’d never liked it. It always left her with a queasy feeling that seemed to last the rest of the day. Sometimes even longer if it was a particularly lengthy trip. But given the kinds of things she was doing these days, not to mention the sort of… illustrious company she was keeping, magical conveyance was the norm and conventional travel the luxury. Still, that was small comfort to her stomach, which refused to stop doing little somersaults. Her head wasn’t in much of a mood to cooperate, either. It and the room continued to spin a few minutes after her arrival, but thankfully the clergy at her destination had been notified of her impending arrival and had a chair ready for her. She collapsed gratefully into it, putting a hand to her forehead as she tried to physically push back the dizziness. “Ugh. Hate that spell.”

Though there were several priests and priestesses in the room with her, as well as a small party of well-equipped people who almost certainly were the adventurers she was supposed to meet, no one spoke – not even to offer a simple greeting. If she hadn’t been so dizzy and slightly nauseated from her trip, she would have given them a piece of her mind for their rudeness. As it was, she was far too busy concentrating on keeping her lunch from vacating her belly to spare a thought for anything else.

Thus she didn’t notice the impertinent stare from the adventuring party’s wizardess, a young woman with fiery red hair, nor the solid cuff to the back of the head said wizardess received from the leader of the group, a tall - one might say, statuesque - brunette woman, with almost severe facial features and the symbol of Tyr emblazoned upon her armor.

Further, she didn’t notice as the head priestess of the shrine’s small contingent quickly spurred her coterie into action with a sharp clap of her hands and some fiercely whispered words.

The worst of the dizziness had just passed when one of the shrine’s priests returned with a thick, woolen blanket that he handed to his superior. He made sure his eyes stayed locked on hers as he handed the item over, even though she was considerably shorter than he was. He wanted to be absolutely sure there was no question at all of where his gaze had been the entire time.

Smirking, she took the blanket and walked over to Imoen’s chair, wrapping the thick covering around the woman’s shoulders.

She shivered.

And realized she was naked.

The very same instant, she stood up from her chair, her mouth opening to call down some manner of fury upon… something, but before she could do so, her clothes appeared on the chair she had just left, folded into a neat, tidy pile. Atop the clothes was a simple, handwritten note. Even after only a quick glance at it, Imoen could tell it had been written in Falynn’s hand.

Eyes narrowing, she picked up the note and read it, murmuring the words half under her breath.

Figured it’d been a while since you’d done laundry. So I washed your clothes for you. Wasn’t that nice of me? – Love, F

Imoen crumpled the piece of parchment into a little ball and pitched it into the nearby fireplace. “I’m going to kill her,” she grumbled.

The redheaded wizardess piped up. “Um. Time of Troubles aside, isn’t it impossible to slay a god or goddess?”

The paladin cuffed her again for her impertinence.

“Ow!”

“Trust me. I’ll find a way.”

Edited by VigaHrolf, 28 June 2011 - 03:54 PM.


#2 Guest_Clight_*

Posted 28 June 2011 - 03:54 PM

Well, this was certainly an interesting situation to look at, and fittingly amusing.

#3 Guest_grayswandir_*

Posted 30 June 2011 - 06:12 AM

This was an entertaining read. Am looking forward to more adventures of Imoen, sort-of-paladin!

#4 Guest_Coutelier_*

Posted 02 July 2011 - 03:42 PM

The young acolyte knelt in supplication in the temple’s main hall, dutifully saying his evening prayers before he turned in for the night. But then a faint rattling from the door caused him to look up. He stood and turned, just as the door opened to admit a slight figure in a simple gray cloak.

“Greetings, traveler, I bid you welcome. Is there something I may help you with?” Though the hour was late, the temple often ministered to wayfarers, and the acolyte spread his hands peaceably as the stranger shut the door against the rain outside, then shed her cloak, revealing a head of short-cropped, copper-colored hair.


Not pink. Red or orange, maybe, but not pink. I've searched and searched and the only NPC I've found who's hair can really be described as pink is Alora; I guess at some point, someone's got those two confused and for some reason it's stuck with some people.

A small frown crossed the acolyte’s features as he bowed his head respectfully but regretfully. “I’m sorry, my lady,” he began, clasping his hands together in front of him, “but the High Priest has already bedded down for the night. However, if you’d care to come back in the morning, I’m sure he’d be happy to see you-“

She shook her head. “No, not him, your -boss.-“

“I… I beg your pardon?” The confusion was evident on the young man’s face. “His Grace is the most senior priest stationed at this temple. I’m not sure who else you could-“


She doesn't want the middle man; she wants the direct line.

And that was when the statue in question suddenly came to life. A faint sheen of magical energy appeared in the air around it, visible even to the naked eye, and the metal began to warp slightly, its colors changing as the air around the statue shimmered. Some of the dark browns of the bronze paled into the softer pink of skin while others turned into the darker blues of cloth.


And she's got it.

“Your people complain too much. Myself excluded, of course.” The redhead hitched a thumb at the sputtering acolyte who was still trying, futilely, to seize her arm and haul her bodily from the temple premises. It was more a pro forma gesture than anything else by this time. His eyes were locked on the, to put not too fine a point on it, the vision of his goddess come to life right before him.


Better than her face appearing in a bun, isn't it? It's amazing religious people get to eat with visions appearing in food items all the time.

“What was I supposed to do, Lynn? Burn some incense? Sacrifice a chicken to you?”

“Immy.”

“C’mon, seriously. You want a dead chicken? I’ll get you a dead chicken.”

“Imoen.”

“Well, what, then, Falynn?” Imoen said, folding her arms across her chest. “Hmm? Pray tell, enlighten me.”


Well, you should be able to afford a Bull, at least.

The brunette rolled her eyes yet again. “You know… you could show me a little more respect. This… this -is- one of -my- temples. It has my name on the front and everything.”

Imoen waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve seen your bum.”

“What?” Falynn blinked.

“I’m just saying. When we were kids. I’ve seen you naked. It’s very hard for me to respect you as a goddess and all when I’ve seen you running through a stream, butt-naked and giggling like a wood nymph.”


So? Lots of people saw Artemis naked, and not one of them ever complained. Of course, she would render them mute or turn them into Stags...

“Nice kid,” The redheaded woman said after young Kestran had left the room.

“You seemed really quick to give him a hard time.”

“I’m really quick to give everyone a hard time, Lynn. That shouldn’t be seen as an indicator of whether or not I genuinely dislike someone.”


That's true; she only really winds up people she really likes.

Imoen chuckled. It always amused her to hear about how petty the day to day politics of the “gods” could be. Until she remembered just how much power and influence they wielded and how irresponsible they could be about it. Then she started getting a little angry about it. Best to change the topic right away. “So you’re really fond of that whole statue thing…”

Falynn shrugged. “It’s just easier to take one of the statues and hop into it than it is to, you know, poof a body from scratch.”

“Not to mention, the statues tend to be on the flattering side?” The redhead’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she pointed a finger “accusingly” at her sister’s “attributes.” While Falynn’s current endowment was perfectly ordinary, that in and of itself was a little -extraordinary-… for Falynn herself, when she’d been amongst the living, had been more than a bit unimpressive in that regard.


Who needs huge temples and statues anyway? What's wrong with being a nice Gnomish god, or a god of nature, and all you need is a few acorns and maybe the odd sacred tree or stream. How much did all that stuff cost, anyway?

Falynn nodded. “When I first took the job after all that fuss and bother at the Throne, he gave me some trouble, but that was just him feeling his way around, trying to see how well I adjusted to things. When he figured out I wasn’t going to be an easy mark, he backed off, left me alone. I guess he got bored waiting for something else to happen, though, figured he’d start something with someone and thought I’d make a fun target. Doesn’t help that he tried to grab my ass a couple of weeks ago and I ended up putting him on -his- ass.”


Well, that's grounds for holy war if ever there were any.

“That’s why I want this now. You’re -always- busy,” Imoen replied with more than just a touch of sadness in her voice. “I… look, we both knew this would happen when you went off to go be a power. But it still sucks sometimes, especially now with you being all… ‘busy.’ So what I want… I want you to drop everything. Just for a little while, and I want you…” She paused and took a deep breath. “I want you to stay here and talk to me. Just for a little bit. Please.”

It was difficult to surprise a power. Difficult, but not impossible. But if anyone could surprise this particular divinity, it was Imoen of Candlekeep, and she’d managed it. The corners of Falynn’s mouth twitched, slowly quirking themselves into a sad smile – a sad smile that quickly turned into a much more genuine one as she nodded and put a hand on her sister’s shoulder and gently nudged her into a seat before taking one of her own. “Think I can handle that. Won’t even need any fancy magic for it, either. Been a while since one of my supplicants came to me with an -easy- request.”


Imoen's not a complicated person, really; her wants are usually quite simple. Just fun and cuddles, really.

“And what am I gonna say? ‘Father, your girlfriend hates me. Please dump her or I’ll smite someone?’ Then I really -will- be a petulant god-brat of a daughter.”

“I’d do it.”

“Yeah, but you’re totally addicted to the idea of abusing whatever power anyone is foolish enough to give you.”

Imoen didn’t even bother to deny it. “This is true.”


Maybe she'll come round if you talk to her woman to woman. Or you could just turn into a mare and pretend not to know anything about it; there's a lot to be learnt from how those old gods used to do things.

Thus she didn’t notice the impertinent stare from the adventuring party’s wizardess, a young woman with fiery red hair, nor the solid cuff to the back of the head said wizardess received from the leader of the group, a tall - one might say, statuesque - brunette woman, with almost severe facial features and the symbol of Tyr emblazoned upon her armor.


Those two look like trouble to me.

The worst of the dizziness had just passed when one of the shrine’s priests returned with a thick, woolen blanket that he handed to his superior. He made sure his eyes stayed locked on hers as he handed the item over, even though she was considerably shorter than he was. He wanted to be absolutely sure there was no question at all of where his gaze had been the entire time.

Smirking, she took the blanket and walked over to Imoen’s chair, wrapping the thick covering around the woman’s shoulders.

She shivered.

And realized she was naked.


I wonder if the curtains match the drapes? I mean... in the temple... obviously...

Figured it’d been a while since you’d done laundry. So I washed your clothes for you. Wasn’t that nice of me? – Love, F


Very nice. :D

Imoen crumpled the piece of parchment into a little ball and pitched it into the nearby fireplace. “I’m going to kill her,” she grumbled.

The redheaded wizardess piped up. “Um. Time of Troubles aside, isn’t it impossible to slay a god or goddess?”

The paladin cuffed her again for her impertinence.

“Ow!”

“Trust me. I’ll find a way.”


Well, it's a bit time consuming, but you could slay all her worshippers, I suppose.

Edited by Coutelier, 05 July 2011 - 02:10 AM.


#5 Guest_Blue-Inked_Frost_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 02:10 AM

Fun story! Very on topic, and it made me laugh. :)

#6 Guest_Clight_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 09:44 AM

Not pink. Red or orange, maybe, but not pink. I've searched and searched and the only NPC I've found who's hair can really be described as pink is Alora; I guess at some point, someone's got those two confused and for some reason it's stuck with some people.

No way. You can argue it's some trick of the light, and you may even be right, but it definitely and on its own looks like that - the hair of Imoen's BG2 portrait screams pinkness right from the first glance. Not orange, and red only in the sense that pink is light red (red colour, not the colour of 'red' hair).

Pictures:
Pink: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink
Imoen: http://forgottenreal....com/wiki/Imoen

Edited by Clight, 05 July 2011 - 09:45 AM.


#7 Guest_Coutelier_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 10:51 AM

No way. You can argue it's some trick of the light, and you may even be right, but it definitely and on its own looks like that - the hair of Imoen's BG2 portrait screams pinkness right from the first glance. Not orange, and red only in the sense that pink is light red (red colour, not the colour of 'red' hair).


Maybe because it seems a lot darker in game when I play it, and on her avatar is definitely orange. Alora though... well, there's no ambiguity there. That hair definitely is pink.

#8 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 05:23 PM

Well, this was certainly an interesting situation to look at, and fittingly amusing.


Eh, you know Imoen. She never does anything the "regular" way. The fact that she's talking to a goddess who just happens to be her own sister? Forget decorum.

#9 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 05:24 PM

This was an entertaining read. Am looking forward to more adventures of Imoen, sort-of-paladin!


I think Falynn's decided (Smart of her) that it's best to leave Immy to her own devices for the most part and rely on people who are... less likely to detonate half of the continent in an attempt to get that one bad guy. :)

#10 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 05:39 PM

Not pink. Red or orange, maybe, but not pink. I've searched and searched and the only NPC I've found who's hair can really be described as pink is Alora; I guess at some point, someone's got those two confused and for some reason it's stuck with some people.


It's pink. I've heard people arguing this one for ages, and it all seems to boil down to "My monitor makes it look different in-game" or some such. It's pink in that portrait. Maybe not quite neon-flamingo-pink, but... still pink.

She doesn't want the middle man; she wants the direct line.


And unlike a lot of folks, she can actually get the direct line. How convenient. :)

Better than her face appearing in a bun, isn't it? It's amazing religious people get to eat with visions appearing in food items all the time.


Not to mention their walls and their draperies and... yeah.

Well, you should be able to afford a Bull, at least.


Well, maybe not. They're a rather new church. They're not rich yet. :P

Well, that's grounds for holy war if ever there were any.


Maybe, maybe not. I get the feeling that Forgotten Realms gods (or really, any kind of gods in general) get really bored really easily and need to find all kinds of ridiculous ways to keep themselves entertained. Playing grab-ass with each other and crap like that is probably pretty much par for the course.

Maybe she'll come round if you talk to her woman to woman. Or you could just turn into a mare and pretend not to know anything about it; there's a lot to be learnt from how those old gods used to do things.


Gorion would know, and... well, she wouldn't want him to feel bad.

Those two look like trouble to me.


They are. :D

Cameos from another series. ;)

I wonder if the curtains match the drapes? I mean... in the temple... obviously...


I don't think she'd have bothered to dye the... carpet. :o

#11 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 05:41 PM

Fun story! Very on topic, and it made me laugh. :)


Well, mission accomplished then. That's always my goal. I like me some low comedy.

#12 Guest_VigaHrolf_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 06:31 PM

Notemeal:

I could've sworn I posted this way back when I originally wrote it, but I've been informed that I... didn't. So, since it fits the quiz and all... here it is.


Definitely fits.

“Greetings, traveler, I bid you welcome. Is there something I may help you with?” Though the hour was late, the temple often ministered to wayfarers, and the acolyte spread his hands peaceably as the stranger shut the door against the rain outside, then shed her cloak, revealing a head of short-cropped, copper-colored hair.

The stranger smiled and nodded her head. “Sure can. I need to speak to your boss.”

A small frown crossed the acolyte’s features as he bowed his head respectfully but regretfully. “I’m sorry, my lady,” he began, clasping his hands together in front of him, “but the High Priest has already bedded down for the night. However, if you’d care to come back in the morning, I’m sure he’d be happy to see you-“

She shook her head. “No, not him, your -boss.-“

“I… I beg your pardon?” The confusion was evident on the young man’s face. “His Grace is the most senior priest stationed at this temple. I’m not sure who else you could-“

The traveler tilted her chin at the bronze statue that stood behind the altar in the temple’s main room. The statue depicted a young woman, clearly the temple’s patron, dressed in simple robes, carrying a quarterstaff in one hand, the other hand raised as if to cast some manner of spell. “Her. I need to speak to -her.- Now if you don’t mind-“ The redheaded woman began to shoulder her way past the young acolyte – not rudely, per se, but clearly she wasn’t inclined to wait for him to step out of her path.


Hmm... slightly flippant, red hair... impatient... could it be ... Imoen?

She managed to sidestep him quite easily, however, crossing the remaining distance to the altar and the statue behind it. Balling her hand into a fist, she reached up and rapped her knuckles against the forehead of the statue, and the acolyte felt his jaw drop at the woman’s utter gall. She had seemed nice enough at the start, but this was bordering on sacrilege if it hadn’t already crossed that boundary, and he was just about to demand she leave when she raised her voice.

“Hey! Hey, I’m here!”


DONG. And yeah, that's definitely Immy.

“He’s right, little sis.” A third voice, this one from the suddenly animated statue, entered the conversation. Said statue looked completely human by this point – a young woman of perfectly average height and weight, with plain brown hair cut to about shoulder length, wearing a set of simple, but well-tailored robes. Her staff had disappeared, leaving her arms free to fold themselves across her chest, and her mouth was set into a scowl – a scowl that looked almost amused, if such a thing were possible, but a scowl nonetheless. “That whole thing with the knocking on my forehead? Better ways to get my attention. Also? My faithful tend to get cranky when they don’t get enough sleep. You should know that by now. -You’re- one of my faithful. Technically.” She rolled her eyes.

“Your people complain too much. Myself excluded, of course.” The redhead hitched a thumb at the sputtering acolyte who was still trying, futilely, to seize her arm and haul her bodily from the temple premises. It was more a pro forma gesture than anything else by this time. His eyes were locked on the, to put not too fine a point on it, the vision of his goddess come to life right before him.

“And you need to stop abusing them,” replied the brunette with infinite patience. “Like poor Kestran over here. He’s just doing his job, and you come in here and start wrecking up the place.” She punctuated her sentence with an easy shrug of the shoulders.


Hee. Always sass, those two.

“Well, what, then, Falynn?” Imoen said, folding her arms across her chest. “Hmm? Pray tell, enlighten me.”

The brunette rolled her eyes yet again. “You know… you could show me a little more respect. This… this -is- one of -my- temples. It has my name on the front and everything.”

Imoen waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve seen your bum.”

“What?” Falynn blinked.

“I’m just saying. When we were kids. I’ve seen you naked. It’s very hard for me to respect you as a goddess and all when I’ve seen you running through a stream, butt-naked and giggling like a wood nymph.”


That would kind of reduce the amount of respect that could possibly be achieved. Unless of course the goddess in question is Sharess, in which case, if you hadn't seen her bum you were held in low regard.

“You seemed really quick to give him a hard time.”

“I’m really quick to give everyone a hard time, Lynn. That shouldn’t be seen as an indicator of whether or not I genuinely dislike someone.”


Truefax. :D

The other woman shrugged, then reached over and slapped Imoen’s booted feet off said pew. “Eh, you know how it is. Hard to find good worshippers. Had to steal him from Mystra. She’s not happy about that, by the way.”

“You two not getting along again?”

“No, we get along fine. Well, except when I beat her at chess, -then- she gets pissy, stops talking to me for a week. There’s hair-pulling. It… never mind.”

Imoen chuckled. It always amused her to hear about how petty the day to day politics of the “gods” could be. Until she remembered just how much power and influence they wielded and how irresponsible they could be about it. Then she started getting a little angry about it. Best to change the topic right away. “So you’re really fond of that whole statue thing…”


Aleria: "Yet another reason not to become one of the divine. The silliness is already excessive, but I do not believe I wish to engage in any of their divine... hijinks."

Imoen smiled, her bluish-gray eyes laughing as well, and opened her arms wide. “I’m just messing with you. Hug me, damn it!”


Definitely Imoen. :D

Falynn nodded. “When I first took the job after all that fuss and bother at the Throne, he gave me some trouble, but that was just him feeling his way around, trying to see how well I adjusted to things. When he figured out I wasn’t going to be an easy mark, he backed off, left me alone. I guess he got bored waiting for something else to happen, though, figured he’d start something with someone and thought I’d make a fun target. Doesn’t help that he tried to grab my ass a couple of weeks ago and I ended up putting him on -his- ass.”

“Ha!”

“Yeah. That was a barrel of laughs. Anyway, he’s been causing some problems out around Waterdeep. I was hoping to send my best and brightest to look into it. And sending you to tell -them- where to look.” She winked.


Nothing like a good holy war to send Immy into. She's sure to defuse it with diplomacy and tact.

“That’s why I want this now. You’re -always- busy,” Imoen replied with more than just a touch of sadness in her voice. “I… look, we both knew this would happen when you went off to go be a power. But it still sucks sometimes, especially now with you being all… ‘busy.’ So what I want… I want you to drop everything. Just for a little while, and I want you…” She paused and took a deep breath. “I want you to stay here and talk to me. Just for a little bit. Please.”

It was difficult to surprise a power. Difficult, but not impossible. But if anyone could surprise this particular divinity, it was Imoen of Candlekeep, and she’d managed it. The corners of Falynn’s mouth twitched, slowly quirking themselves into a sad smile – a sad smile that quickly turned into a much more genuine one as she nodded and put a hand on her sister’s shoulder and gently nudged her into a seat before taking one of her own. “Think I can handle that. Won’t even need any fancy magic for it, either. Been a while since one of my supplicants came to me with an -easy- request.”


Cute.

“No, I’m omniscient, but it doesn’t tell me when the woman my foster father is seeing thinks I’m an annoying god-brat of a daughter.”

“Ewww. That’s not very nice. You tell him that’s what she thinks of you?”

“No. I don’t want to wreck things for him. Like I said, they seem happy.”

“He’d want to know, Lynn.”

“Maybe. But… I mean…”

“You should tell him.”

“And what am I gonna say? ‘Father, your girlfriend hates me. Please dump her or I’ll smite someone?’ Then I really -will- be a petulant god-brat of a daughter.”

“I’d do it.”

“Yeah, but you’re totally addicted to the idea of abusing whatever power anyone is foolish enough to give you.”


I think this sums their relationship up perfectly. :D

“All right, then… well… hang on to your knickers, because here we go.”


Foreshadowing much? :devil:

Though there were several priests and priestesses in the room with her, as well as a small party of well-equipped people who almost certainly were the adventurers she was supposed to meet, no one spoke – not even to offer a simple greeting. If she hadn’t been so dizzy and slightly nauseated from her trip, she would have given them a piece of her mind for their rudeness. As it was, she was far too busy concentrating on keeping her lunch from vacating her belly to spare a thought for anything else.

Thus she didn’t notice the impertinent stare from the adventuring party’s wizardess, a young woman with fiery red hair, nor the solid cuff to the back of the head said wizardess received from the leader of the group, a tall - one might say, statuesque - brunette woman, with almost severe facial features and the symbol of Tyr emblazoned upon her armor.


*snickers* Head-thwap *snickers*

The worst of the dizziness had just passed when one of the shrine’s priests returned with a thick, woolen blanket that he handed to his superior. He made sure his eyes stayed locked on hers as he handed the item over, even though she was considerably shorter than he was. He wanted to be absolutely sure there was no question at all of where his gaze had been the entire time.


Wonder why? HEH HEH HEH

Smirking, she took the blanket and walked over to Imoen’s chair, wrapping the thick covering around the woman’s shoulders.

She shivered.

And realized she was naked.


Falynn DID warn you Immy. Just saying.

Figured it’d been a while since you’d done laundry. So I washed your clothes for you. Wasn’t that nice of me? – Love, F


HAH

Imoen crumpled the piece of parchment into a little ball and pitched it into the nearby fireplace. “I’m going to kill her,” she grumbled.

The redheaded wizardess piped up. “Um. Time of Troubles aside, isn’t it impossible to slay a god or goddess?”

The paladin cuffed her again for her impertinence.

“Ow!”

“Trust me. I’ll find a way.”


And so begins a New War With the Gods. :D

Great bit Alpha. Great bit. :D

#13 Guest_Coutelier_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 06:54 PM

Not pink. Red or orange, maybe, but not pink. I've searched and searched and the only NPC I've found who's hair can really be described as pink is Alora; I guess at some point, someone's got those two confused and for some reason it's stuck with some people.


It's pink. I've heard people arguing this one for ages, and it all seems to boil down to "My monitor makes it look different in-game" or some such. It's pink in that portrait. Maybe not quite neon-flamingo-pink, but... still pink.


It does look a bit pink in her BG2 portrait admittedly. But, I 'see' the 2000W light bulb being shone on it, and so, it's red. But its not a big deal to me; not like people quoting 'I pity the fool' from the A-Team... which it isn't. It was Clubber Lang in Rocky 3. But, you know us nerds; we don't fuss over tiny details like that.

#14 Guest_VigaHrolf_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 07:20 PM


Not pink. Red or orange, maybe, but not pink. I've searched and searched and the only NPC I've found who's hair can really be described as pink is Alora; I guess at some point, someone's got those two confused and for some reason it's stuck with some people.


It's pink. I've heard people arguing this one for ages, and it all seems to boil down to "My monitor makes it look different in-game" or some such. It's pink in that portrait. Maybe not quite neon-flamingo-pink, but... still pink.


It does look a bit pink in her BG2 portrait admittedly. But, I 'see' the 2000W light bulb being shone on it, and so, it's red. But its not a big deal to me; not like people quoting 'I pity the fool' from the A-Team... which it isn't. It was Clubber Lang in Rocky 3. But, you know us nerds; we don't fuss over tiny details like that.


I pity the fool that gets quotes wrong.

#15 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 08:47 PM

Hmm... slightly flippant, red hair... impatient... could it be ... Imoen?


It could also be a certain police officer residing in a currently zombie-infested city in Ohio, but... yes, in this case? Imoen. :D

Hee. Always sass, those two.


It's part of their appeal and charm.

Aleria: "Yet another reason not to become one of the divine. The silliness is already excessive, but I do not believe I wish to engage in any of their divine... hijinks."


But they throw such great "sexy parties."

*snickers* Head-thwap *snickers*


If said paladin were a Marine, she might make a decent Gibbs.

#16 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 05 July 2011 - 08:48 PM

It does look a bit pink in her BG2 portrait admittedly. But, I 'see' the 2000W light bulb being shone on it, and so, it's red. But its not a big deal to me; not like people quoting 'I pity the fool' from the A-Team... which it isn't. It was Clubber Lang in Rocky 3. But, you know us nerds; we don't fuss over tiny details like that.


My explanation?

Her hair in BG-1 is her natural hair color. It's... kinda auburn there.

She dyes it at some point between the two games. Dyes it pinkish. Why? Because she's silly and does things like that.

The various forms of torture and hard-living she endures in BG-2 lead to her hair looking... odd. Hence the "Is it pink? It kinda should be, but it's hard to tell."

Edited by AlphaMonkey, 05 July 2011 - 08:50 PM.


#17 Guest_Silrana_*

Posted 06 July 2011 - 01:17 AM


It does look a bit pink in her BG2 portrait admittedly. But, I 'see' the 2000W light bulb being shone on it, and so, it's red. But its not a big deal to me; not like people quoting 'I pity the fool' from the A-Team... which it isn't. It was Clubber Lang in Rocky 3. But, you know us nerds; we don't fuss over tiny details like that.


My explanation?

Her hair in BG-1 is her natural hair color. It's... kinda auburn there.

She dyes it at some point between the two games. Dyes it pinkish. Why? Because she's silly and does things like that.

The various forms of torture and hard-living she endures in BG-2 lead to her hair looking... odd. Hence the "Is it pink? It kinda should be, but it's hard to tell."



I partly agree with you. Yes, her BG1 portrait is her natural color. And I think her BG2 portrait is supposed to reflect the color changes that can happen to hair from bad diet, lack of sunlight, etc. that she experienced in Irenicus' dungeon. But the pink hair was technical rather than story related.

When I first installed the game on the computer I had at the time, her hair was pink. I thought it odd, but just that the devs were being quirky with a quirky character. Then, months later, I upgraded my video card... and her hair wasn't pink anymore. It was a perfectly normal shade of light red hair. Still different from her BG1 portrait, but a natural non-dye related color. Every computer I've installed it on since has had the normal color. So I think the pink color that a lot of people have seen is related to the way that the portrait code is being interpreted by some video cards.

Oh, and great story. :lol:

#18 Guest_Coutelier_*

Posted 06 July 2011 - 02:08 AM


My explanation?

Her hair in BG-1 is her natural hair color. It's... kinda auburn there.

She dyes it at some point between the two games. Dyes it pinkish. Why? Because she's silly and does things like that.

The various forms of torture and hard-living she endures in BG-2 lead to her hair looking... odd. Hence the "Is it pink? It kinda should be, but it's hard to tell."


I partly agree with you. Yes, her BG1 portrait is her natural color. And I think her BG2 portrait is supposed to reflect the color changes that can happen to hair from bad diet, lack of sunlight, etc. that she experienced in Irenicus' dungeon. But the pink hair was technical rather than story related.


There are of course stories of people's hair going so far as to turn white due to fright or some psychological stress, although I've not been able to find any evidence that this has ever actually happened (not from fright, anyway). Anything that causes changes in hormones can cause hair to change colour, like diet and maybe stress if its prolonged enough. I think her BG2 hair is a little bit lighter than her BG1 hair; but there does seem to be a bright light coming from her left (and another one in front and slightly to her right).

But really, why does this matter to people? What eediot even brought this pointless subject up in the first place? Huh?

Oh...

Edited by Coutelier, 06 July 2011 - 02:20 AM.


#19 Guest_VigaHrolf_*

Posted 06 July 2011 - 01:27 PM

But really, why does this matter to people? What eediot even brought this pointless subject up in the first place? Huh?

Oh...


It's going to be okay Coutelier. Would you like a spot of tea and a little lie down?

#20 Guest_AlphaMonkey_*

Posted 06 July 2011 - 04:52 PM

I partly agree with you. Yes, her BG1 portrait is her natural color. And I think her BG2 portrait is supposed to reflect the color changes that can happen to hair from bad diet, lack of sunlight, etc. that she experienced in Irenicus' dungeon. But the pink hair was technical rather than story related.

When I first installed the game on the computer I had at the time, her hair was pink. I thought it odd, but just that the devs were being quirky with a quirky character. Then, months later, I upgraded my video card... and her hair wasn't pink anymore. It was a perfectly normal shade of light red hair. Still different from her BG1 portrait, but a natural non-dye related color. Every computer I've installed it on since has had the normal color. So I think the pink color that a lot of people have seen is related to the way that the portrait code is being interpreted by some video cards.

Oh, and great story. :lol:


And every video card -I've- had it on has displayed it as the same shade of pink, so... the debate rages on. :D

But, you know, whatever. (Snerk.)




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