The Sacrifice

Aralynn smiled. "I see. This forest is where you came from? Tell me more."

Darrien looked irritated at how interested the priestess was in his old life.

"What is there to tell? I came looking for any remnants of my old life, before the cataclysm, before Chroma. I have no reason to tell you about my life." He would look down with a somewhat shameful look on his face. He thought to himself about how he was unworthy of the life he still had, He had been unable to help his family, unable to save them. In his mind they were all dead, his wife and his two daughters. This is what haunted his soul, his family was gone and he blamed himself for their deaths.

"Easy, child. No one is here to judge you.

Aralynn recognized the man's shame and grief. She gestured for one of the Acolytes to bring her something, and in a few moments, the Acolyte returned with a large leather satchel and a glass of water. He handed the Priestess the pouch and offered the water to Darrien before stepping out into the hallway again. Aralynn set the satchel down on a wooden nightstand next to the bed Darrien was resting in, and she opened it to take some things out. There were some common medical supplies, as well as a few strange items that Darrien wouldn't recognize - salves, powders, and ointments. Aralynn removed the cork from one of the glass vials that was filled with a light blue liquid, and dabbed it onto a small white cloth.

"This may sting a bit for a moment, but it will help to speed your healing process."

She reached forward with the dampened cloth, ready to apply the salve to Darrien's wounds.

Darrien stayed silent without flinching as she treated his wounds.

Aralynn would finish treating Darrien's wounds, using a variety of strange compounds and ingredients. Eventually, Darrien might feel less pain, his major wounds were tended, and the bruising might be stopped or at least its spreading would be slowed significantly, depending on the severity of his injuries. She helped to make sure that he was comfortable, but realized that he obviously didn't want to tell her anything else about himself.

"Very well...there you are. I see that you don't want me to bother you. You are welcome to stay for the night to rest, or leave whenever you are ready. Now, is there anything else that you need my help with?"

"There is nothing."

Aralynn nodded. "Tell the Acolytes if you need anything during the night. They will be here. Goodbye." She left the room, taking her healing supplies with her and closing the door behind her. She would leave the outpost again, and a group of Acolytes would remain on guard in the outpost and in the cabin during the night.

The rest of the night was uneventful, and the Acolytes allowed everyone to get their rest. So far, nearly everyone that had been in contact with the outsiders could hardly wait for them to leave and let the forest return to its peaceful state - but the Warden found them interesting, and wanted to help them...it would give him an opportunity to learn why they were here and what they wanted, at least.

Armando would wake up the next morning and yawn kind of loud then remember Lilith was there to and then quiet down quickly and say to himself "I hope she doesnt wake up...i would feel kinda bad" He would get up and stretch looking for some sort of breakfast "Hmmm i wonder what around here....and...im talking to myself again..." He would shut up.

Lilith awoke and heard Armando speaking with himself and would smile a bit.

"Having a nice conversation are we?" she said jokingly. She got up and stretched a bit then reach into her pockets to retrieve some preserved meat. "You want some of this? It's kind of like jerky I guess. I have some crackers too if you'd like."

He would be holding something and when she spoke he almost dropped it and turned around quick and quickly putting it down. Making a kind of embarrassed face " hehe...yea i talk to myself a bit...sorry." He would smile and walk over sitting down "Yea thatd be great, thank you."

Some Acolytes were still in the cabin. It seemed that none of them had even stopped to sleep, and they were waiting for their 'guests' to wake up. Quietly, one of the Acolytes stepped into the hallway and spoke softly for anyone that was awake.

"The sun is nearly risen. If you would like something to eat, we have something prepared for you in the main room."

It was still dark outside - almost pitch black, with only a few rays of sunlight penetrating the thick, black forest canopy. The windows and the cracks in the walls of the cabin that weren't boarded up would barely let any light in, and most of the cabin would still be illuminated by torchlight.

He would nod and look at lilith "U wanna go with them to eat? I really don't care" he would whisper so the acolytes wouldn't here him "They kinda creep me out so ill let you decide."

She would stay quiet for a moment before deciding what they should do.

"I would rather not but I think it would be rude for us to ignore our hosts. Especially after what Darrien did yesterday."

Meanwhile

The room where Darrien was stationed seemed utterly quiet. Not even the sound of breathing filled the air. The dark room was completely empty, as if no one had even been there. There was no blood from his wounds to be found in the early morning. He and all that had been with him had disappeared.

Armando would nod "Yea...yea i guess so. So we should probably go with them." He would sigh and lift his visor again rubbing his eyes.

One of the Acolytes quietly stepped into Darrien's room to check on him. After finding no sign of Darrien, the Acolytes assumed that he left, and made his way out of the forest - but they would still be on guard, watching for him. By morning, Zaiyah's wound had mostly healed, but she had been scorned by Priestess Aralynn for her unruly behavior towards the outsiders. Aralynn, meanwhile, was informed that some of the survivors were awake, and she made her way towards the cabin. After all, it was part of her job to...accomodate them. A few more Acolytes had accompanied her, as well as some cultists who were acting as her servants.

The Acolytes led Lilith, Armando, and any other guests who were awake into the main room of the cabin, where a long wooden dining table set with plenty of chairs was prepared with food. It looked like someone had prepared a decent-sized breakfast for the group of guests. Aralynn greeted them, and the Acolytes in the room bowed respectfully while she spoke.

"Greetings. I am Aralynn, the Tribune Priestess."

Armando would follow and when he met the priestess nod "Good to meet you Priestess, My name is Armando Dracul. Conduit of the Sa'kage."

"Armando Dracul, Conduit of the Sa'Kage - you are a welcome guest of the Obsidian Forest. Come, have a seat so we may talk. And, of course, the Sa'Kage dustmen, you are welcome to come and have a seat as well."

Aralynn gracefully gestured toward the dining table. The table was set as elaborately as a fine restaraunt, even though the dishes and silverware were old and plain and it seemed that the main courses were simple, if not slightly questionable - a few suspicious (but nonetheless, apparently edible) cooked meats and a kettle of dark, thick soup that looked as if it was bubbling slightly, but it was impossible to tell exactly what it was. Aside from that, there were a variety of basic food items - different types of bread and simple condiments, some cooked rice and vegetables with salad, and even a few frosted, creamy pastries. Several of the Acolytes that had prepared the food and set the table stood silently around the room, with their hands clasped in front of them and their heads bowed sagely, not making any sort of movement or noise - they seemed like the shadows of statues, standing perfectly still in the presence of Aralynn and her new 'guests.'

The Priestess nodded politely at Lilith while she waited for everyone to take a seat at the table. "Please, make yourself at home. You must be...Lilith?"

Lilith seemed rather disgusted at the priestess's lack of knowledge.

"Yes, Lilith Locke, as I told your friend the acolyte. Do you not have a hive mind, should you not know that already? What business do you have with me? If there is non then let me join the others."

Despite Lilith's response, Aralynn remained calm, polite, and graceful.

"My apologies, Miss Locke. You are quite perceptive in knowing that the Acolytes have heightened empathy and perception of each others' thoughts, but that is only amongst them. I am not directly connected to them in that way, so I only know what they have told me. Perhaps you misunderstood me, I would love for you to join the others and have a seat here..."

Aralynn nodded, and one of the Acolytes approached to pull out a chair for Lilith. Aralynn continued.

"As for what business I have with you, I am here in the Warden's place to ensure your comfort while he is away to arrange for you to see what you asked about. He is going to great efforts to answer your questions for you. I hope that I can make you comfortable while you are here, so you will be well rested when we prepare to leave soon. You have quite the journey ahead of you, if you still wish to see what you asked about, of course."

The Priestess smiled sweetly at Lilith and waited for her to take a seat.

Armando and his dustmen would sit down and Armando would look at the priestess and smile "So, your here to help her with her requests? Or both of us because im rather anxious to hear the answer to my proposal."

"Your proposal - yes, you wished to come along, am I correct? I believe that it would be allowed, under certain circumstances. You two know each other, yes?"

He would nod "Yes that is correct but i also wanted t know if my request of a trade agreement and perhaps an alliance was decided upon yet? The Warden said he would need to discuss other high ranking members of..."The Order." "

Aralynn smiled sweetly. "I believe that I am one of the 'high ranking members' that he spoke of. Yes, I have discussed it with my brethren, and it appears that a limited trade agreement would be in our best interests for now. Perhaps an alliance in the future, but you must understand, my peers and I must learn more about your people first so we could make the best decisions to benefit everyone equally."

Armando would nod and smile "That's great! and yes i completely understand, its shows very good judgement on your part not rushing into an alliance."

Lilith seemed very uneasy around this, overly kind, priestess of the forest. She bluntly interrupted Aralynn.

"When are you going to act on my request? I grow weary of this place."