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Post by Minister Cillian O'Donnel on Oct 14, 2014 20:26:36 GMT -6
The Minister rushed back and forth in the church's aisles, making sure that no dust was gathering. If there was one thing that the Minister hated, it was dust. All his life in Briton, his church had been a dusty old place that made him sneeze, sniffle, and hack. Moving across the sea to this new place was a long and hard journey, but he'd made it and his new church had been made for his arrival.
The dust was settling in, so he had to act fast to stop it from doing so.
He never knew when a visitor would drop by, so he always paid attention to the door, where if someone came in to see him, he wouldn't be surprised and jump out of his robes. He was a vigilant man, but even he could be taken by surprise, if someone was fast enough.
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Post by Ilea McKinley on Oct 14, 2014 21:28:39 GMT -6
Ilea stood tall, albeit the fact she didn't quite reach 5 feet tall, and prepared herself to enter the church. She didn't quite consider herself the religious kind, however this ring needed to be returned. She looked down at it in the palm of her hand, her wife, Aurelia, had taken it from The Minister here, before falling ill. The couple believed the ring to be the source of Aurelia's sickness, therefore Ilea was to return it (without wearing it) quite calmly and peacefully, and to not make a scene nor confront The Minister about it.
After her recent departure from Wildgard, Ilea had been venturing through some of the wood and working as a mercenary for hire. This was due to Aurelia's beliefs that the two were running poor. (They were not, considering Aurelia's lineage and the fact that her dress still had all, if not, most of the cold coins sewn upon it.) Aurelia had been offering her medical aid on the side, but according to her, that wasn't enough income, and Ilea decided to head out before she upset her wife, or worse, her wife setting out to go work as a healer perhaps in a different town.
Ilea entered quickly, trying to not disturb anyone who may be praying, and walked forward. She saw him, standing there in his robes. He looked just as Aurelia, and some of her other friends, had described. Ilea bit her bottom lip before speaking. "Um, e-excuse me! I have something that I wish to return to you,"
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Post by Minister Cillian O'Donnel on Oct 16, 2014 20:56:52 GMT -6
The door creaked open, but the Minister had already known that someone was sure to drop by. He'd anticipated a visit from Ashen, the kinto who'd suspected him of being in league with demonic wraiths upon his arrival...and who'd nearly killed him far too many times. He'd perhaps anticipated one from the bear who followed her, if only to try and eat him again. Maybe the merchants, so desperate for money yet so picky with their customers. Even the flourist Idina Doc that Sarea had told him much about wouldn't be a surprise.
The deer kinto with the sheepish expression was.
With a befuddled look, the Minister removed his wiping cloth from the chairs that he was dusting and put it on his thin black belt of rope. He advanced towards her, at first confused, then welcoming, then once more confused when he saw the ring--one of his rings--in her hand. Strangely enough, he hadn't remembered giving one out to her.
"Hello, m'lady," he greeted warmly, placing his hand upon the young woman's forehead as if blessing her, "and to what do I owe this pleasure...I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name."
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Post by Ilea McKinley on Oct 16, 2014 21:14:06 GMT -6
Ilea brushed his hand away quickly. She did not like to be touched by people she did not know. And this man was no exception. She tried to do so with a small, gentle movement, but she feared that it may have been more hostile like after she had done so. She cursed at herself within her own mind before continuing on.
"As I said b-before," She stuttered, her feet taking control of themselves and beginning to stop irrationally like that of a deer would. "I am just here to return this ring. It belonged to my wife, she had received it from a friend, I believe. She no longer wishes to have it in her possession; therefore, I returned it for her."
She jutted out her hand once more, opening her hand to prominently display the ring.
"There is also, no need for names. As I am nothing but a simple passer-by. You won't be seeing much more of me." She tried to calm herself down by making her sound somewhat tough. Her legs obeyed now, refraining from stomping as often as they used to. This was also partly true, because she had no intention to speak to this man ever again. He gave her the heebie jeebies, and Ilea wasn't the biggest fan of that.
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Post by Minister Cillian O'Donnel on Oct 18, 2014 20:45:08 GMT -6
Wide-eyed, the Minister looked down at the small silver band in the girl's hand, the shine of the blue strip as clear as water. Why anyone would ever want to return such a bounty, he had no idea. In fact, why anyone would want to deny opening their life to Her, he had no idea. Still, this girl was here and willing to, and so he wouldn't refuse..although he'd definitely display his displeasure.
"Why, of course, forgive me." He grabbed the ring from her hand and examined it, hoping that it wasn't defective in any way (defective meaning cursed). Nothing wrong with it, it seemed; how could it cause this girl troubles?
He placed the ring in one of his belts pouches. "But it saddens me that you don't wish to stay..." His eyes widened and his thin lips stretched into an excited, almost child-like smirk. "It seems you've travelled a fair ways to get here. Why don't you stay for a minute, and I'll prepare some tea. As I am, clearly, new in this shire, it'd be a pity to not get to make the acquaintances of the people. Please, make yourself at home."
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Post by Ilea McKinley on Oct 18, 2014 20:57:00 GMT -6
Ilea found that he snatched the ring quickly, and without warning. She also found this quite rude. However, when he offered her tea, it didn't seem like such a bad idea. Ilea enjoyed tea, and he was right, she had travelled some ways, although not much, here, and it was starting to get cold and dark.
Not only that, but it seemed as though The Minister had already told her, not offered her, to stay.
"Alright," She nodded, her hands drifting up to her headscarf, pulling it down. "Tea sounds lovely."
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Post by Minister Cillian O'Donnel on Oct 18, 2014 21:48:38 GMT -6
The Minister resumed his running about madly, although this time it was to prepare tea for him and his guest rather than making his church look pretty and dust-free. Yes, tea with a stranger was certainly a great way to build friendships and trust.
He retrieved his kettle and poured some of his kitchen water into it before placing it over the fireplace just behind the great hall. The fires seemed to bring an amazingly warm light, reflecting beautifully off of the Minister's pale skin and the stained glass windows above them. Sure, it was a beautiful sight--so different from the regularly cold image of frozen stone, chilling shade, and deep blue like the night sky. Indeed, these were the sights we felt so comforting.
Gesturing for the girl to sit beside him, he smiled and readied two clay cups. "My, my. It really has gotten dark, hasn't it? I assume that's what happens when the summer passes and autumn dawns."
Fiddling with the girl's ring in his hand, it let out small tinks as it tapped the side of the cup. This ring...this small, silver ring...it was just so mesmerising to know it existed. To know that, through it, She was watching him.
"I've got many herbs for tea. Name one, I'm sure I have it."
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Post by Ilea McKinley on Oct 18, 2014 21:57:11 GMT -6
Sitting, Ilea pondered the thought for a second, before shaking her head. "I do not know, I'm quite the indecisive type. Choose whatever you like best,"
His smile made Ilea nervous. Ilea did not like to be nervous. She could feel her feet already wanting to dance a little bit, but she had to keep them calm. Appearing calm was the best way to get to know your enemy. And as for what she'd heard so far, she was quite sure that The Minister was her enemy.
Except there was an odd... aura to him. Ilea couldn't quite put her finger on it. He seemed like a good man, but at the same time she did not like this man one bit. Hell, she'd quite like to pull her sword out and slay him right this instant if she had the morale to do so. Unfortunately, all of Ilea's morale had been spent these past two weeks away from WIldgard, and she was to be leaving once again soon. She wasn't sure how long she'd be away this time, but she was sure to always make it back to Aurelia.
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Post by Minister Cillian O'Donnel on Oct 18, 2014 22:20:34 GMT -6
"Ah, I see," he said as he reached forwards to retrieve the hot water from the iron kettle. "In that case, I'll surprise you. Perhaps something with mint...oh, how I enjoy mint!"
He let out a soft hiss from his mouth as he held the scolding kettle with his robe's sleeve. He then began pouring the boiling water into his own cup, letting the thin steam rise up into his face. He breathed in the fumes and grinned; such a warm feeling on a cold night was always welcome!
"Hold out your hand," he said as he turned to the girl, "I don't want to burn you."
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Post by Ilea McKinley on Oct 19, 2014 21:01:18 GMT -6
"Sorry," Ilea apologized quickly. She then realized she knew nothing of this man, and decided to begin an inquisition.
"So, who are you really? I mean, sorry, that's rude. What's your name?" She paused, before continuing. "Where do you come from, and why set up a church here in Wildgard. Why barge in like it's your business when it's clearly not? You show up, give people rings and make them sick! It's rude and how dare you!" She was standing, shouting at The Minister by the time she finished her sentence. She looked him in his eyes, of which her mind was going off the rails too much for her to understand his emotions.
Quickly, she looked away and took off, pulling her headscarf back up. "I'm sorry, that was wrong of me, I should go." She began walking towards the door, head down.
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Post by Minister Cillian O'Donnel on Oct 20, 2014 20:34:31 GMT -6
The Minister hung his head shamefully, upset that this girl had gone through this torture with her wife. He never intended for anyone to fall ill; in fact, ill actions were always what he steered away from. Still, if this was a problem, he'd certainly try his best to mend it.
Looking up at the kinto, he raised his eyebrows. "I am truly sorry for what has befallen your wife, Miss. But if there's anything I can do to help, I will do whatever I can."
His eyes lit up suddenly as a thought crossed his mind. He indeed could help with more than just Skullest's Wildgard Fog tea. He'd spoken to Stellio about it, but perhaps he could convince this girl to let him use it; after all, he would certainly like to use it for good.
"If you'd excuse me," the Minister said as he stood up and placed his clay cup down before heading over to a small wooden chest by the altar. He dusted the top off with his cloth, coughing and sneering as he did so. The lid opened with an awful creak and he reached his hand in, shuffled it around a bit, and then finally removed it, along with a small ivory cloth wrapped around something.
"This," he said as he lifted the item, "is not something many people see--rather, not if I can help it. But for your wife, I will allow its use." He unwrapped it, revealing a blood red stone, jagged and shimmering against the fire so that its shell looked to be made of wax. Even his eyes lit up when he looked at his treasure.
"In the alchemical world, it is called the Lapis Philosophorum. In your tongue, the Philosopher's Stone. The ability to turn coal into gold, heal any ailment...and bring back lost loved ones from beyond." The words seemed to echo in the church's halls, but the effect was taken away by him smiling and offering his prize. "Shall we give it a try?"
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Post by Ilea McKinley on Oct 20, 2014 20:42:43 GMT -6
Ilea looked at the gem. Oh how pretty it was! How pretty and luring. It was most likely a trap once again, just like the rings. Ilea did not trust this man at all.
Wait a second, she never told him it was her wife that was sick. She looked down to the wedding ring she bore. Maybe he had guessed since she was wearing a wedding ring... but at that how would he know she had a wife?
Only, it was the final segment that had really caught her attention for the gem. "Bring back loved ones from beyond..." She felt dizzy. Her mind immediately flitted to her mother, but she would most likely scold Ilea for bringing her back. She had claimed in her final moments about how noble she was.
Her second thought was her first love, Jaika. The boy she had lived with for years after the death of her mother and the exile from her village. He had died gruesomely, caught in a bear trap while the two were running from demons. Demons Ilea herself ended up killing, beheading even. If her love had to die a painful death, those demons deserved one too.
"J a i k a...." The boy's name slipped her mouth softly without Ilea noticing.
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Post by Minister Cillian O'Donnel on Oct 20, 2014 20:51:57 GMT -6
Jaika...
That was the only word that came out of the girl's mouth when she noticed the stone. Perhaps the illness of her wife? Or maybe something in another tongue that he knew not, which wouldn't be too insane, as he only knew one language.
It definitely had to be a name of sorts. Her wife's maybe? He shook his head; far too masculine a name.
He eventually shrugged and leaned forwards, his eyes wide and curious. "I'm sorry, I'm rather old and hard-of-hearing. Could you repeat that?"
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Post by Ilea McKinley on Oct 20, 2014 20:58:46 GMT -6
Ilea jumped at this. "Oh! Um... it's the name of an... a uh... um a uh.... an old friend of mine." She tried to smile but nothing came instead of a soft blush spreading across her cheeks.
She looked to the ground only to see her knees wobbling. Maybe she should sit...
That's exactly what she did, take a seat. In front of her still was the tea she had initially promptly refused, but now she found herself pouring a rather large cup. She loved tea. She didn't notice she was still staring at the gem, however.
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Post by Minister Cillian O'Donnel on Oct 22, 2014 20:27:00 GMT -6
"An old friend, eh?" He lifted his clay cup to his mouth and took a sip. "You two must have been very close for you to remember the name. Either that, or you've got a fantastic mind. Either is fine."
The Minister knew what was going on. Clearly, this Jaika was one she truly and honestly cared for at one point. Either he'd gotten sick and died from his illness or he'd been killed horribly. Either way, he'd died, and that was the reason his name was brought to her mouth when she saw the stone. Only an item as powerful as that could find the hidden truths in people's souls, and knowing what one truly thought was always an advantage.
"How's your tea?" he asked her nonchalantly, noticing that he'd been far too silent for her to think his mind to be clear.
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