Chapter 29 - Lady Vinaraeya

Lady Hilda seemed to pull her to another part of Raeyn’s mind, a place that appeared as a cluttered throne room with stacks of rusted bits of trash. Damaged and rusted swords rotted wooden shields, a broken chair with its high back lined with spear tips. This place was devoid of any smell, warmth or light, yet it existed in this odd monotone gray all on its own. Little more than a memory from long ago, this was unmistakably the warren’s throne room which Raeyn recalled. A squalid hole in the ground where even the trash was worthy of being a symbol of power and pride. The depressing reality was summed up for her in the lack of care, they could not even maintain weapons they had amassed in this throne room and resorted to ambushing at night with rocks to score a victory over Stirge. It reminded her of a band of orphan children running through the old trenches, playing in the muddy graveyards scattered across the wastes of Menna.

“This is the place she believes is the seat of power, the place that you will give to her.” Lady Hilda’s voice was filled with the same sadness, “She believes this treasure belongs to everyone and to hoard it here is wrong.”

“It is all garbage.” She protested, “All of it!”

“She only had it for a short while, but a simple knit tunic was her greatest treasure. A scrap of cloth. They really have nothing. Even though Belos’ has given her a mission to deceive you. I think she knows just being around you will be a better life than she will ever know. It is almost like that her reward to return to this place will be a punishment for what she has been ordered to do.”

“Is she really aware of such things?” She asked.

“It would strain the imagination. She does not have any plans for the future. She lives in the moment and struggles to forget the past. Belos’ must be desperate to even speak to one such as this. Truly, the hold of Belos on this land must be weak to even consider using her. Yet, she carries the mark and has endured the flame. With time she will grow into a powerful priestess. If given guidance and reason, she could become an actual threat.”

“A mere Gobbo? A threat to the expedition and settlement itself?”

“Yes. She carries the power of Maelyn, but I know not how she acquired this mark. She does not seem to be aware of it herself…”

“I bestowed it upon her while wearing the Saint’s Robe.” She explained, “I healed her, and our two marks touched… she became blessed.”

“You allowed the two divines to communicate using your bodies!? Did you not realize the two of you could have died for such heresy!? So frail of body and mind, how do you manage to make it through each passing day?” Lady Hilda chided her.

“That is why I need to see her abilities for myself. To see what she is capable of and whether or not I can use her.”

“To find Magnesia.” Lady Hilda flatly said, “Such a simple plan. It is true she meets the requirements. Fortune does favor the bold. Let me bring this up in a way you’ll appreciate.”

A scroll materialized in the throne room and hung in the air before the two of them, but Lady Hilda’s direction by hand and voice caused the written word to appear on the scroll.

Name: Vinaraeya of Hawkeyes and Biergenn
Station: Princess of Karkaran Warren
Age: 130 Years
Species: Gobbi - Mikarya Ancestry

Physical Assessment:

Strength: Level 73
Dexterity: Level 85
Constitution: 75
Intelligence: 100
Wisdom: 83
Charisma: 71

Skills: Comprehension of Mahn’s {Wawayas} Language - Sage {Blessed of Belos}

Traits and Magic:
Divine Healing - {{Savior of Maelyn}}
Divine Guidance - {{Savior of Maelyn}}
Level 1 Divine Healing Spell - {Granted by Violetta Secola of Menna}

Level 1 Burning Hand Spell - {Blessed of Belos}
Banes:

Curse of Tribal Enmity - {Cursed by Mudohoon}

Curse of Soulbound - {Cursed by the Light of Lynaria - Goddess Maelyn}

Curse of Haze - {Cursed by the Light of Lynaria - Goddess Maelyn}

Curse of Form and Fate - Gobbo {Cursed by Goddess Rynathialia}
Curse of Dreams - {Killing Maelyn} - {{Cursed by Goddess Rynathialia}}
Curse of Godslaying {Killer of Maelyn} - {{Cursed by Goddess Rynathialia}}

As the scroll ended with Lady Hilda’s voice finally going silent, the most terrifying entry on the list had been the last two.

“Killer of Maeyln” she asked Lady Hilda, “She killed the Goddess?”

“Yes, in another life.” Lady Hilda nodded, “I am not even sure who the Goddess Rynathialia is, but clearly, she has run afoul of two Goddesses. I have never seen any discernment between the Goddess Maelyn in this fashion before. The Light of Lynaria. Do you know of any such epithet of the Goddess?”

“She needs no distinction, but Lynaria is not a name I recognize either.” She watched as the world fell away and she was pulled back out through the void and back to the bedside. The sun had already set, and the tent was dark.

“She stirs.” Lady Hilda said as she pulled her hand away and looked to Violetta, “She has not rested much, but you should take her to your quarters and let her rest until the morning. You should rest as well. You owe her your life so protect her.”

Taking her hand off Raeyn’s forehead, she saw those yellow eyes open and look at her, “Are you feeling well?”

“Everything hurts. Violetta… I… hurt…” Raeyn turned as her eyes rolled back into her head.

“She slipped into sleep.” Lady Hilda whispered, “Moving her should be fine, but I guess I can call for the tailor. Might be able to fix something up for her. I doubt we have anything in her size.”

“Please.” She said at first, and then added as Lady Hilda and started to take her leave, “Will she recover?”

“With rest.” Was the simple response.

The two were exhausted, that must have been it. She looked at Raeyn and smiled as she crouched down and pulled a crate over. It was heavy with supplies of some sort, but it was sturdy enough to support her weight. Sitting on it, she leaned over Raeyn and used her arms as a pillow to take a short rest.

Later in the night, she awoke to the sound of movement and saw a small lantern and two figures in robes appear. Lady Hilda returned with a tailor in the middle of the night. A small impish man, likely a Dark Elf, approached with his features hidden by the darkness. Lady Hilda who carried the light was tall enough that it could be no other woman in the whole of the settlement.

“Sorry to wake you,” The man said as he approached Raeyn with a length of marked cordage and swatches of cloth, “I have not yet had the pleasure of dressing a Gobbo.”

She sat upright and looked at the strange man who wore a purple and white triple vest with an array of pockets full of various things that she recognized as being that of a tailor. Fine needles, chalk and pieces of cloth with various buttons on hand. The sewing kit which overflowed from his pockets on one side were matched by the various squares of leather on the right.

The tailor smelt of a heady perfume and had the distinctive ears of a Dark Elf. Yes, he was a manservant of some officer it seemed. Lady Hilda must have roused him and pressed him into doing this in the dead of night.

Rousing Raeyn took a little work, as she was still pressed beyond her limits. Lady Hilda took a plain apron and draped it over the front of the Gobbo. It was far too large, but the strings itself were able to tie it into an almost workable shift. He would not even consider looking at the Gobbo until she was made decent but still seemed to be regretting coming here. Yet, when they were able to finally get underway and Raeyn was awake enough to follow simple instructions they could actually get to the act of measuring her for an outfit.

He worked efficiently but seemed to be afraid of touching his hand to even the apron itself, resorting to wiping the cordage on a scrap of leather as if to clean it between measurements. He treated her body like it was a festering corpse being prepared for a noble's burial. He found her revolting and it showed too obviously. It quickly became as irritating as it was insulting.

Lady Hilda started to loom over all of them as he continued his work. She made sure to keep the modesty of Raeyn, but if only to mask the obvious disgust. It seemed that Raeyn did not understand she was physically repulsive to him or that the little retching noises were not coughs. His experienced hand had obviously been set to the female form before, but Lady Hilda still seemed apprehensive. The man was quick to notice and dismissively flailed his left hand, and continued to work, “Hold the light properly or set it aside, my eyes need no adjusting to the darkness.”

“Mind your hands,” she said on Lady Hilda’s behalf, but it was just as much for Raeyn’s honor.

“Oh, excuse me, but I have no interest in muckwalkers besides being able to find a fitting suitable to bring some civility to these beasts. The fact you would even spare such costs outfitting one shows your magnanimity. The purse is never wrong.” He cracked a creepy smile, “Gold is never wrong.”

Gold? She looked at Lady Hilda. So, she had bribed him? Was that necessary? The man did not even want to have his precious tools soiled by anything even touching Raeyn’s body. The only perverse interest he had was in fitting a novelty and being paid an obviously large sum for such a task. He worked quickly and performed his task while maintaining his revulsion mostly in check at having to even be in the presence of a Gobbo. When time came for the measurement of her hips, thighs and legs and he would go no further on his own. He was at the limit of moral decency and not even gold would matter. He had his scruples. Which was more than she could say about Wilde.

“You… You must thread the loop through or else I’ll never get a proper measurement.” He offered the loop up, “The seamstresses should have done this…”

“Thank you, Gwin for enduring this, but I did try.” Lady Hilda said, “Please have Violetta handle this. I cannot sully my hands.”

“Apologies! How…. How careless of me to even suggest.” He passed the loop to her, “Let’s hurry this up. This green skin makes me want to retch.”

Raeyn did not seem to react with outrage. Had she become used to such insults that they washed over her? No. She refused to believe that anyone could ever be beaten down that far. It must be that Raeyn did not want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her get upset.

“With pleasure.” She mocked him as she held the loop and watched Gwin sweat as she had no issue letting the loop rest against her skin for the measurements, “Is this right?”

Gwin simply nodded and said the numbers to himself, “Twenty-six hip, twenty waist, twenty inseam… She’s half-starved. If you feed her properly, she’ll fill out again. I’ll adjust the fit for that.”

“How bad do you think it is, Gwin?” Lady Hilda asked.

“Gobbos, adult ones such as her, are still sized much like our children, but the measurements are different even if they are healthy. Due to their elongated chests and deeper hips… She is down perhaps three or four dou. She is an adult, but her waist is far too thin to make her have any stamina. She needs meat and I doubt she’s ever known a full belly. Being a muckwalker and all.”

He was pressing his luck now, but Lady Hilda’s looming figure was enough to silence him and make the last of the measurements much simpler. Gwin took his last measurements of her feet, but the tailor was quick to depart and without his loop, suggesting only that it should be “Burned in a fire pit.” before slipping away into the night with the promise of going to make outfits suitable for Lady Hilda’s generosity.

“Did he have to look at her with such disgust?” She asked.

“That is why I hired him. My charm has no effect on him, and Dark Elves naturally hate Gobbos. He will not be speaking of this to anyone.”

“Still did not have to treat her like a rotting corpse.”

“Lady Raeyn’s still has her honor, and she’ll have a proper wardrobe in short order.”

“Wardrobe?” She asked.

“A Lady needs to be prepared for all manner of events. Did you think I was going to let her go out with but a single outfit like some sellsword?” Lady Hilda gave a coy smirk, “She’ll have proper dresses, robes and sleepwear to contrast your wilderness apparel.”

“I don’t know what to say…”

“A thank you would suffice.”

“Thank you, Lady Hilda. Thank you.” And she meant it.