A Long-Overdue Return

[spsblue]

Derwent walks in the direction the man indicates,

"My full name is Derwent Thurza. I left a man called Neelaw in charge here, is he well?"

[dainul]

The man doesn't respond, but walks behind as Derwent heads into the village. It is much as he'd left it. As they approach the village hall, Derwent can see a few figures standing outside. One female Larkant he dimly recognises and two other humans he does not. An older woman stands a little way back, watching with n interested expression. As she spots Derwent's approach, she turns and starts to walk over. The other figure is a man in his twenties or so. Derwent sees him throw something at the Larkant woman, and a moment later, there is a blinding flash of light followed immediately by a thunderous rumble.

[spsblue]

Derwent blinks from the unexpected light.

[dainul]

As his vision clears, Derwent can see that the older woman has not even broken stride. Behind her the Larkant woman is standing in a small crater looking somewhat dazed, mildly singed but otherwise unharmed. The man hurries over to her, and examines her with an obvious degree of excitement.

[spsblue]

Derwent is mildly surprised, but pleased that no one is hurt.

[dainul]

The woman reaches Derwent. "So you're the man claiming to be Derwent. Follow me." She turns and heads into the village hall. Inside, Derwent spots Neelaw standing inside talking to a small group of the Larkant. He sees the group enter and smiles in obvious relief at Derwent before walking over. "It's been too long."

[spsblue]

Derwent clasps arms with Neelaw in greeting.
" Good to see you again my friend. "

" What with the Avian-Rodera war and getting stuck in Gweria, I couldn't find anyone I could trust to get a message back to you. Has Este made it back here? We got separated. "

[dainul]

"No... we've not heard anything from her." Neelaw looks worridley at Derwent then glances up at the woman. "Oh, this is Philosopher Landell. She arrived with her companions a little while after you left, and they offered their efforts to free those under the Harran's influence here."

[spsblue]

Derwent bows in the direction of the Philosopher.
"Pleased to meet you, and thank you for your help here."
Turning back to Neelaw,
"We should catch up, I have much news and I would like to hear what you've done with the place."

[dainul]

The Philosopher inclines her head in return, but doesn't immediately respond. Neelaw says "Of course, let's talk in the office." He glances briefly to the Philosopher before leading the way through while she follows behind Derwent. They go through into what was Derwent's office, though it's clearly been used while he's been away. There is paperwork on the desk written in an unfamiliar hand, and a few potion bottles, some full some empty all labelled with numbers and nothing more. Neelaw pulls the chair round from behind the desk to infront and gestures to two other seats in the room. "So, what has kept you away so long?"

[dainul]

((Joint Post with Andy))

Derwent takes one of the chairs and sits down, slightly uncomfortable as a guest in what used to be his office.
"Mostly I was looking for the Traveller, and trying to recruit people to resist the Haran. I got caught up in the struggle against the undead on the border of Gweria, a battle that took months before I was recovered enough to attempt the journey back. I also spent a couple of weeks searching for Este around the surviving fort in Gweria before returning. I had believed that she had made it to Pathway, but no one I spoke to there seemed to know where she was."

Derwent pauses, and Neelaw nods. "You got a long way from home. About the only thing of note that's happened here is the Philosopher and her friends arriving. Apparently they're friends of James, the guy we caught. They've proved quite skilled at alleviating the effects of the Haran's magic."

"That's excellent news. I've also been successful in acquiring allies, I've made a couple of contacts in the Free Larkants faction of the Council of Pathway, they may send representatives soon. They should know a Lieutenant Dacks or a Captain Lulea. Unfortunately I only managed to catch up with the Traveller the once and he was badly injured and in need of rest, other than that I only ever saw him at a distance or deep in discussion of other more urgent matters."

Neelaw nods, solemnly "Still, allies are always welcome."

Derwent goes even more solemn
"Although, I fear I never will get to find if his wisdom could have revealed anything about our path here, he was killed in the bright flash of light at the beginning of Decus."

Neelaw places his fist over his heart and bows his head. There is a long silence before he speaks. "A great loss." For her part, the Philosopher remains impassive, and keeps her face expressionless.

Derwent gives the philosopher a puzzled glance, recalling James' reaction to the Traveller when he mentioned him earlier. Turning back to Neelaw,
"I am really impressed with how you have managed the place in our absence, and I would like to make the position permanent, don't let my return upset the procedures you have in place here."

Neelaw seems surprised "If you think that's best." He glances to the Philosopher. "Philosopher Landell has been helping a lot with the organisation."

"Thank you for your help Philosopher. Could you tell me a little more about yourself?"

[dainul]

The Philosopher inclines her head to Derwent. "The aid we offer here is not at the cost of our own interests. We... are a large part of a group who seek to combat the evil that magic too often brings to the world. We have learned a lot while we have been here, and obviously your success is something we would be keen to bring about."

[dainul]

(joint post again)

Derwent considers this, "Magic is all to often the easy way out, and hardly ever the best, but sometimes it is the only action available and used it is a powerful method of healing - like any healing or other tool, it can be indiscriminate depending on the user."

The Philosopher looks thoughtful for a long while, apparently weighing her words before speaking. "The danger from magic comes not so much from its use, its versatility or its power, but its swiftness and ease of use. Any tool can be used for great destructive force, but magic is so powerful and so swift in its use that a moment's lapse on the part of its wielder can cause tremendous damage before they have chance to realise their actions are unwise. And in the case of one such as the Haran... well, power will always change the way anyone thinks."

"I can agree on the dangers of too much power in one person, magic or otherwise. I have seen this both with the Haran, but also amongst those who oppose him at Pathway. However with the foundation of the council there, the power is shared and hopefully the potential for disaster is lessened."

"Simply nodding a head to other people does not spread the power. Does not reduce the risk of rash action by someone who believes they somehow have the right or wisdom to make rash decisions. And with the prevalence of magical healing and the like, lessons are too rarely learned until someone is beyond the reach of any healer."

"But the healer should not have the power to decide who lives and who dies. That is my main objection to the Haran's rule, that he decides weighty matters on a whim and has the ability to enforce his decision immediately. How does refusing to heal if the ability is there help the dying person in front of you, and what if you know nothing of their past decisions?"

Though she projects and intensity that tells of the importance the subject has to her, the Philosopher's words tone remains calm and her words measured. "The point is that if there is not an expectation of swift and unquestioning healing, if there is the expectation of consequences matching the actions, the actions will be slower in coming. If one knows that getting hit with an axe will at best leave you recovering for days if not months, one is much less likely to pick a fight with the person wielding it."

"You have given me much to think about Philosopher. I am tired from my journey and would like to retire early. I look forward to discussing this with you further."

[spsblue]

Derwent has been spending the last month and a bit working in the village, setting things to rights as much as he can.
His heart still aches for Este, but he has learnt to deal with it and to get on with the work that needs doing. With no leads to follow up he can only hope she returns home eventually.

He has been writing to as many of his contacts in Ingolé and the other Telefret held terratories that he can get in contact with again, informing them of Traveller's death and asking them to make their contacts in the Free Telerfret aware that the organisation still exists and not to give up hope. In addition to this he has been going through the aspects of his job here with Neelaw such that if anything happened to him, or he needed to leave again, Neelaw could take over the running of the village in his place (again). He aims for Neelaw to take that responsiblity perminently as he tries fill what he can of Traveller's role in the Free Telerfret.

In discussions with the Philosophers he begins to understand more of their convictions and to put as much as possible into practice. He asks the village doctor to teach him some of his non-magical healing techniques.