Inheritor's Envoy {Wynne-Cliftlock-Open}

Wynne stepped off of the river barge “Lelia” and waved goodbye to the owner's young son who was standing on top of the cabin waving energetically as his mother tried to drag him down and out of the rain. The boy had reminded her of Jac and Siani with his endless questions and boundless energy. It made her a bit homesick, her younger siblings hadn't even recognized her when she last went to visit, but by the end of the two weeks they'd fallen in love with their big sister and sent her away with several little gifts and drawings. Iomedea willing she'd see them again soon.

The docks were a hectic place with heavy rain streaming down, barges being loaded and unloaded, and people shouting back and forth. Wynne was instantly soaked, the damp seeping in under her armor. She needed a warm bath and a still rest, the Lelia was a lovely vessel but the motion of the boat made it difficult for her to sleep. Wiping her wet hair out of her face, Wynne squared her shoulders and strode purposefully through the crowd headed towards Iomedao's temple. Though she had never been to Cliftlock before she could feel the pull of the temple, and soon she saw it, a white star among the other buildings, pillars reaching towards the sky. When she walked into the sanctuary she smiled, releasing the tension in her shoulders, as peace settled upon her. A few others were scattered about the sanctuary, some seemed to be worshipers but others seemed to just be staying out of the rain. Approaching the statue of Iomedae she knelt, giving thanks to the goddess for a safe trip and requesting guidance for the next step of her journey.

After prayer Wynne made her way to the barracks and approached the quartermaster arranging her lodging for while she was in Cliftlock. The quartermaster was an older cleric, he seemed to be half blind, but he got her squared away and after a war bath, polishing her armor, and tending to her sword and shield she was able to finally get a decent nights rest.

Early the next morning Wynne was awake, running through some training exercises with two of the other paladins staying at the temple. As the sun rose the three made their way inside the sanctuary and knelt before the main statue of Iomedae, their swords in front of them, they prayed for guidance and protection and vowed to follow her teachings.

As Wynne stood to follow the other paladins for breakfast she felt and odd weight to her sword, almost like a magnetic pull out of the temple. She waved the other two paladins on before stepping outside and into the streets. Most of the clouds from the day before had cleared off and though there were still puddles in the street it seemed like it would be a beautiful day as the city was waking up around her.

The weight of the sword seemed to be trying to pull Wynne down towards more of the city's center. She slid her sword back in it's sheath but kept her hand on the pommel for guidance. She looked around the street a bit warily before squaring her shoulders and striding into the street following wherever Iomedae was trying to take her.

As she got closer to the city more and more people seemed to come from every direction. Travelers and traders had come from all over the region, Wynne saw some creatures the likes of which she had only heard of. The smells of food cooking began to permeate the air, music came from multiple directions, the cries of merchants drawing attention to their wares sounded across the market.

Wynne gripped her sword tighter silently praying to Iomedae she continued following the pull around the perimeter of the market. Suddenly, it stopped. The pull was gone and Wynne was left standing in the market. She looked around wondering what she was supposed to be here for.

Miselda poked her head out of her tent, "It's finally through raining...", she mumbled quietly to herself with a half asleep smile. She went back into her tent and put on her clothes. She fixed her hair as well as she could, it was starting to get pretty long and unruly. She tucked a few of the silk flowers her mother had given her into her hair and grabbed her tarot deck and began to head out for the day.
    It was a bright and sunny day today, thought the ground was still a little damp in places. The street Miselda's tent was on seemed to be starting to fill with people. "I've made enough over the past few days to hold me over just fine a while at least, maybe today I can make enough to go back to that trinket merchant down the way?", she thought to herself, overjoyed. She looked to the sun and smiled, letting it shine onto her face, and began laughing and dancing to herself. She received a few strange glances, but people mostly payed her no mind.
    As she finished her short dance, she noticed a few of the people watching her had stopped to continue watching, and the streets were really beginning to fill up now. She smiled at her small audience and resumed her dance, now more focused and less crazy. She let a small amount of magic into her scarf, casting a prestidigitation spell through it to make it appear to change colors, among other small effects. As her dance drew to a close, the people watching her laid coins at her feet. Some of the more courageous men attempted to draw closer to her, but were deterred by her instant change from sweet smile to malicious glare. After the crowd cleared, she counted her earnings. She cheered out loud, counting out a total of 32 gold pieces. "I have enough for that gold chain circlet! May as well go and get it now!", she thought to herself excitedly. The merchant selling jewelry told her he'd cut her a deal of 30 gold pieces if she could draw a crowd to the front of his stall, and she'd done that and much more. He told her it was his best day of business in moons, and held the circlet in a chest in his stall for her.
    As Miselda ran through the streets, she danced and dodged through the many people. The streets were really filling up now, and the merchant's stall was in the middle of the market square, but she wasn't really all that far off. As she approached the square, she fell into a man. He belonged to a group of three men she'd spurned a few days before, and he caught her, smiling and holding her, turning her to his two other friends. "Well boys, look what we got 'ere? That dancin' bird what told me ta go an' feck off!", he told the other two, holding her tightly. She swore under her breath, now a bit worried. She was good at escaping, but now that he had hold of her, she was finding it difficult to get away from him. She had her ways she could use to escape, but she didn't want to be thrown out of another city, though those other men had deserved exactly what they got... "Oh Jackson, you and your friends truly do have a way with girls, don't you?", she replied scathingly. She was trying to act confident, but knew she truly was in a pinch now and was on the verge of tears. People seemed to be walking right by the men holding her, paying them no mind. "Why does this world have to be cruel?", she thought to herself, starting to decide which spell to invoke first.

A glint of light flashed in Wynne's eyes causing her to turn.  She saw a girl about her age with three older men, it was the girl's bracelet flashing in the sun that had caught Wynne's attention. One of the men had a hold of the girl, and though the girl was holding herself confidently Wynne could tell by the way the girl's eyes were searching the crowd that she wanted help.

Drawing herself up to her full height, which was still about a head shorter than the shortest man, Wynne strode towards them with a confident smile.  "Cousin there you are! I've been waiting for like ten minutes we're going to be late!" Wynne said excitedly smiling at the girl, reaching to take the girl's hand.  "Sorry gentlemen, we've got to get going."  Wynne kept the smile on her face and her hand on her sword.  She hoped the girl would go along with her and that the men wouldn't question her story.  Getting into a fight in the middle of the marketplace didn't seem like the greatest idea and she hoped the men were smarter than they looked.

Before Miselda could answer, the man holding her scoffed, "Cousin, eh... Why'd she never mention no cousin? And judgin' by your looks doll, you don't seem what could be related to 'er in the least. Why don' you jus run along now, 'fore the boys get the idea we might need another?" Miselda felt the man's grip lighten just enough for her to maneuver out of his arms, which she took. "Now what do you mean Jackson? I've told you about her before, I'm sure. Since she's here now though, why don't you introduce yourself?", she replied. She looked the girl up and down for a hint as to her identity and saw the holy symbols on her. "She's a protector for the temple of Iomedae, and you're making us late! If you wanted to join me for a date, you should've asked beforehand!", she added with a wink. Jackson stood dumbfounded for a moment, not sure how to respond. He finally shook his head, "Whatever you say girl, jus' know you'd still be lyin' in a ditch outside of town if it weren't for my boys and I. You still owe us." He waved the other two men and they disappeared back into the crowd of people.
   As soon as she was sure the men had left, Miselda took a step back from and smiled again. "Thank you by the way. I'm not sure what would've happened if you hadn't come along. I'm Miselda!"

Wynne exhaled deeply releasing the tension that had built up during the conversation and taking her hand from her sword. When the man Jackson had mentioned needing another Wynne almost took his head of right then regardless of the consequences but this girl was clever and seemed use to the way people could be, which was still a bit of a foreign concept to Wynne.

"My name's Wynne," she said with a smile. I'm glad I was here, those men seemed...unsavory to say the least. Are you okay? Is there anything I can do for you? I, well, I know it sounds odd but, I feel like Iomedae led me here, to you, so if there's anything I can do for you don't be afraid to ask, even if it's just escorting you around so those men don't get anymore ideas. I really don't have much going on today anyway so it's no bother."

Miselda laughed when Wynne said the word 'unsavory'. "Ha! Oh to say the least would be an understatement... I really only came to the market today to visit the jewelry stall. The merchant there and I have a deal to seal up, and I was clearly a little distracted and didn't notice Jackson there... I don't know how he keeps finding me like this. I don't mean to bore you with the details, but when I first arrived to this city, those men found me outside. I'd apparently exhausted myself and collapsed, and they carried me back and helped me, but I had nothing for them in return. I didn't like what they had in mind, and I managed to escape, but now they won't stop trying to track me down..." She added the last part in a tone that wasn't necessarily sad, but more frustrated. She shook her head and smiled, "I thank you for your help though! If Iomedae truly did send you to me, I should thank her as well! I don't know if I'm the type that your temple normally allows in though, so it's ok if not as well." She'd never really been specifically 'barred' from a temple, but she also didn't spend a whole lot of time in them. The priestesses at the temple to Desna seemed almost outraged when she offered to tell one of them their fortunes, so she usually kept away from them. "We're actually not far from the jeweler at all! His stall is just right over there!", she shouted excitedly as she jumped, trying to point above the heads of the crowd.

"Well lets go then, I've never really been in a market like this. I grew up near Vardisetr but we never really went there much and then during training I was so busy I never got around to actually exploring the cities. Maybe I'll find a gift for mom or Siani a the jewlers." Wynne said with a bright smile. "As for Iomedae, though some may disagree with me, I think, if you're trying to live a good, honorable life who are we to judge based on how one might seem at first." Wynne said as she absentmindedly reached up and stroked her left cheek. "I know how people can be though, judging based on appearance and such. Iomedae doesn't just exist in the temples. She exists in the sun, in good deeds, in justice...at least, that's how I feel. I'm not a priestess though so I could be wrong. Let's go!" She laughed heading towards the jeweler's stall.

"I know some about the gods, but what I know mostly comes from the telling of fortunes, so it's a bit limited honestly.", she replied. She had nothing against people following their own gods, if it's something that helped them, and she'd seen the powers the gods could give people in the forms of clerics and paladins. Miselda just mostly believed in the power of one's self with maybe a little shifting from the stars at times. She knew she probably had some trust issues, but it'd worked to keep her alive so far. As they approached the Jeweler's stall, a small gnomish man with strange glasses was tapping at a watch at his table. Miselda waited until he stopped for a break before knocking on the stall counter with a smile. She liked the gnome man, he was always polite to her and was a genuinely kind man. He jumped down from his table and happily shouted to her, "Miselda! I was wondering when you'd be back! Have you finally come to collect that piece you wanted? I still have it in the back for you of course, let me just go get it for you." He was a very exciteable man, and was almost skipping on his way to the back to collect the chest. He came back with a small wooden chest and opened it on the counter to show the golden chain circlet. "I added something to it since I got a little bored yesterday that I think you'll enjoy! There are small bells in the front, you probably can't see them, but they're actually quite pleasant to hear and almost invisibly small." Miselda picked the circlet up and could hear them. They were louder than expected, but still actually very nice. She smiled widely to the man, and he was glad to see her happy, helping her put it on. "It's still the same amount, right? I have a little more if you need, because of the bells.", she replied to him. He shook his head laughing, "Dear, I wouldn't have added them to ask more gold from you! I'm glad that you like my work, and you helped me out tremendously!" Miselda thanked him and counted out her 30 gold pieces, laying them in a small pile for him. Now that she'd paid him, she realized how truly great a deal he'd made with her. The small pile of gold was maybe recompense for the materials alone, but he truly didn't mind and would have given it to her for free if she'd have taken it. She remembered suddenly that she hadn't introduced Wynne yet, "Oh, I nearly forgot! This is Wynne, and Wynne, this is Glorim! Wynne here helped me out earlier, Jackson found me again...", she said, turning to Glorim. His face went a bit sour, and he reached his hand out to greet/thank Wynne. "Well then Wynne, a friend of Miselda's is a friend of mine! And thank you for helping her out. Jackson... That man is trouble, and the kind no one seems to want to deal with."

Wynne smiled and shook the man's hand. "Pleasure to meet you glorim, I'm glad I was here to help," she said with a smile. "Perhaps if I end up here for a while I can see what can be done about men like Jackson, perhaps changing the laws, or working with the guard to add more patrols," she trailed off in thought for a moment before giving her head a slight shake. "You're work is incredible sir, I've never seen such delicate work before. You are truly a master of your craft."

Wynne looked at Miselda quizzically for a moment. "I don't mean to seem rude so feel free to ignore me if I am but...do you really tell fortunes? Like it's not just some trick where you say vague words that can apply to anyone, but actual divination. There was an old woman who would travel with a group of tinkers to our village and she was a bit of a charlatan, she'd say she could speak with peoples dead relatives and such but it was all trickery. Like I said if I'm being rude please ignore me," she said fidgeting nervously with her hands.

Miselda laughed lightly, "Well, I will admit, the cards can be a little vague at times. The results can tend to vary quite a bit between different people, and I can't really tell many specifics. I will say that I believe every fortune I give someone will come to pass, but it's often not in the way they'd expect. I find that the most kindhearted people get the happier fortunes, while my darker patrons receive more grim ones. It's a strange pattern really..." It was a question she received often, 'Are your fortunes real?', and she always answered it truthfully. She believed in the cards wholly, as they'd never led her astray, but she admittedly placed more belief in her own abilities over faith. The woman like the one Wynne spoke of was something she'd encountered before. There were truthfully those who could speak with the dead, but not without the aid of magic, and it wasn't usually the case... "To answer your question plainly, I would place much more faith in my cards than the tales of a rambling gold-seeker."

Wynne chuckled lightly at Miselda's answer, "I think I can understand that. Iomedae can be a bit vague too, and sometimes I wonder at her purpose, but I have faith that she will guide me on the right path even if I don't exactly understand it at the time. Like coming here for instance, I've never been this far from home, I'm nervous and worried that I'm going to screw everything up, but I trust that there is a reason for my being here." Wynne smiled and looked at Miselda, "Maybe even being here to help you was my purpose, who can say. Knowing where to place your faith is an important skill to have."

Miselda agreed, "When knowing where to place your faith is the difference in life or death, well... It would seem you and I have done well enough for ourselves! If it's alright to ask, what is it that you do?" Miselda had met paladins from temples before, but they didn't typically pay her any attention, so this was the first she'd actually spoken with. Being a traveler, she rarely met anyone more than twice. She had a way with people, being able to quickly become friends with them, but she never really saw it herself, as she never knew if she was actually missed when she left. It's not as though it troubled her, she just wondered what it must be like to know people well.

"What do I do?" Wynne repeted with a quizzical look on her face, "Well umm, I'm a paladin, I fight for good and justice and in defense of the light...honestly, this is my first time out of training. I trained in Vardisetr near my home, some of the other paladins got jobs as city and temple guards, a few even got jobs as personal guards for some nobles, some like me felt the call to travel, going out where Iomedae sends us. We're to check in at temples when we can and serve for a time if they need it. I'm not sure if that qualifies as what i do though. I just go where I'm called and do what I can for good, doesn't sound like much when you lay it out like that," she said with a chuckle.

"So, you travel? That must be exciting, seeing new people and places, I mean, I'm sure there's hardships and it's not as glamorous as the bards make it out to be but still." She began fidgeting with her hands again before looking shyly as Miselda, "Do...do you think perhaps, when you have a chance, if it's not to much of a bother or anything, well.. Do you think you could tell my fortune?" She asked the last question coming out in a bit of a rush as Wynne began to blush.

Miselda listened to Wynne speak of her duties as a paladin. She'd never really had a reason to travel herself, and wondered what traveling with a purpose would be like. As Wynne finished, Miselda replied, "You should be proud of what you do! If something is important to you, as it would seem Iomedae's will is, it's something to be passionate about! It beats traveling for the purpose of making the money needed to eat anyways?" She ended with a smile, and started laughing lightly, "Plus, bards embellish everything... But I guess I have met a lot of people in my travels. Some good, some bad, as to be expected. I like to think the majority of people aren't bad though." She noticed Wynne acting slightly nervous, and hoped she hadn't said anything rude. She listened to Wynne's question, and smiled again. "I can tell anyone's fortune, if they'd like. It doesn't take very long, and it's not a flashy seance or anything like that... I deal mostly in cards, but I'm working towards learning some of the more potent magicks. I've tried casting a few, but I don't think I'm quite skilled enough yet." She rubbed her forearm as she finished the last part, remembering she still had the spell inscribed in her arm. "Unfortunately, I don't have the means anymore to learn magic freely, but the cards have been enough for me at least."

Wynne chuckled a little and shook her head, "I'm a bit rubbish at magic honestly. I can do healing ok, and I can make people tell the truth which can be handy, I'm also pretty good at making light. I could never really get the combat magics to work in training though. Maybe someday I'll get the hang of it but until then a sword usually works just as well."

Suddenly Wynne's stomach let out a loud gurgle and laughing she looked as Miselda. "Would you like to get a bite to eat somewhere? My treat if you decide the place. I kinda skipped out on breakfast earlier and I might have forgotten to eat dinner the night before. I get distracted sometimes," she said with a laugh.

"Magic really isn't all too tough, depending all on how you learn anyways. When you teach yourself most of what you know, it tends to leave you a little less knowledgeable than the great wizards or sorcerers, but it's all about what you do know, and being great at that. I prefer mostly to disable people bigger than me, or escape if I know it's the best course. I've tried my hand in healing, and it doesn't seem to be my thing, but it's all fun to at least give a shot now and then!", Miselda replied. As she heard Wynne's stomach, she remembered that she too hadn't eaten much. "There's a little bakery down the way toward the road to the docks if you like? They have lots of different things, sweet or not, and it's where I've honestly regularly been going since coming here."

"Sounds brilliant," Wynne smiled as she walked with Miselda towards the bakery. Wynne was fascinated by the city, the people going about their business, the smells of different foods cooking, the sounds of different voices, and languages intermingling with the cries of the merchants, the sounds of musicians, the noise of children darting in and out of the crowds. This town was alive in a way Vardisetr never was. The city itself felt like a living entity pulsing along with the people inhabiting it.

Wynne glanced over at her companion and smiled. There was something about her, some light in Miselda that instantly made Wynne like her. "How long have you been in Cliftlock, how long do you plan to stay?" She asked as they walked.