Where I Belong|Athrug

[Kender Bard]

Thessa was home.

She had decided, once their presence in Maelstrom was no longer needed, that she wanted nothing to do with the people she had been forced to work with and so decided to walk the whole way to Athrug. It was a mercifully uneventful trip, if rather long. The climb up the steps had been especially tiring. She assumed herself alone, as she always had been the last few years.

Approaching the altar, she dropped her spear and wearily bent down into a kneel, clasping her hands piously. And, thinking she was alone, she muttered at the altar, "Lord, you try me so sometimes. I hope you got a good chuckle out of watching me cavort with fools in the court of morons."

[Devon]

Christian walks into the area and stands nearby. He had just finished his daily prayer and meditation and had only come back when he heard Thessa's voice. "Oh, so you're back. Your departure was very sudden, what were you doing all that time?"

[Kender Bard]

Thessa started at his voice and rose hastily, sending her spear clattering down the long steps. She managed - somehow - to not scream in frustration and instead replied calmly, "Lord Thelon of the Minds snatched me up without notice, my lord. I was summoned to a conclave of priests in Maelstrom, where we had to perform a ritual to seal a breach between here and Hell."

[Devon]

Christian looks at her oddly for a moment before taking a step closer to her. Not looking at her in particular he mutters coldly. "M'lady you have traveled far and you seem stressed. Get settled in, I'll prepare a meal for you." Turning around without waiting for a yes or a no Christian goes off to start cooking.

[Kender Bard]

Thessa blinks in startlement; she hadn't expected that. If anything, she ought to be making him a meal as thanks for tending to the temple in her absence. Still. One does not look a gift horse in the mouth. She goes and fetches her spear, cursing at it on the way back up, then goes to her personal chambers and changes into a fresh set of robes. That done, she goes wandering towards the priestly 'home' areas - the dining and kitchen room. "I thank you... er.... Forgive me, it's been a long while. What was your name again?"

[Devon]

Christian doesn't look away from the meal he is busy working on but he still replies to her question. "My name is Christian and if I remember correctly you are Thessa, right?" Christian finishes with his cooking and moves over to the table setting it down. "It isn't anything special, just a stew with venison and a few vegetables."

[Kender Bard]

"That's correct," Thessa said, taking a seat and sniffing at the stew. "I must confess, you took me by surprise. I did leave the temple in your hands and you've taken utmost care of it. Is there anyway that I can repay you?"

[Devon]

Christian looks over to Thessa and replies. "Don't worry about repaying me for now, I'll let you know sometime later on." In all honesty Christian hadn't thought of anything yet, so he went with what he thought to be the most cryptic answer.

[Kender Bard]

Not exactly satisfied, but unable to protest, Thessa gave her assent and enjoyed her meal. Between bites, she inquired as to anything of interest - or disturbance - had occurred while she was gone.

[Devon]

Christian watched her eat and talked with her when spoken to. Since nothing interesting or out of the ordinary had happened here he was more interested in what kept her away for so long. "Tell me more about that ritual you had to perform."

[Kender Bard]

"I didn't really want to perform it," Thessa confided. "But I couldn't take the risk that Lord Taed would be, inexplicably, harmed by the breech to Hell. We all had to stand at specific points in this elaborate circle design and go through very set chants and whatnot. It was a little invigorating to actually go through a real ritual on such a large scale. Though, honestly, I just wish I could have seen what other interesting horrors the realm below had to offer."

[Devon]

Christian leans forward resting his chin in his hands. Nodding at every word he was really interested in the ritual. "Well who knows maybe you'll get the chance to one day. I wish I could have been there to see it."

[Kender Bard]

"Ha," Thessa snorted. "That was the highlight of the trip. I did not tell you that I had to sit through two days of pointless bickering and bandying of words. They had an unfailingly incompetent Priest of Soahc there, who left halfway and was replaced by an even bigger fool. The Priest of Worg was a bloody fight-hungering crazy man, though that was entertaining to watch at least. The only one with any sense was the Priestess of Etaf, and she was an old woman who should have been at home reading or knitting."

[Devon]

Christian laughs at her description of the other priests. "Well at least they had a sensible priestess of Taed there."

[Kender Bard]

A mere hint of a blush touched Thessa's cheeks. It almost looked outrageous; she hadn't blushed since she was a child, and it stood out against the pale pallor of her cheeks. "Would that they had only priests of Taed there. Still. There were terrible Winds at Maelstrom. The commoners, being ignorant folk, were wont to claim that the Queen was angry with the King." She rolled her eyes. "And speaking of them, they seemed politically polite, as I expect of any politician." She was running out of things to say, though, and so asked politely, "From whence did you come from prior to arriving at the Temple, Christian?"