User:Lhynard/Projects/In Absentia Lucis/Recaps/Chapter 4

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"I am Cruiniel of the Seven Shards," said the pale-skinned, blue-haired woman, "but I am content if you wish to call me Crescent."

"I am Khamael Firehair," replied the half-celestial, "though I am not certain that I need to introduce myself, since your greeting implies that you already know who we are."

"I know of you, but there is power in one's name, and they are not always shared with messengers such as I."

"What message do you bring?"

"In regards to my message, I will tell you all that you wish to know, but let us make our conversation more pleasant. Come, sit with me there among the trees, away from these mindless, clicking modrons." She pointed to an area where some fallen trees made a suitable place to sit.

As she walked, she bore herself with an air of nobility and power. Khamael, however, was cautious. "Sune, open my eyes," he prayed under his breath.

Cruiniel, or Crescent, sat down on one of the fallen logs and beckoned to them. "Come, or do you prefer the company of the Modron Procession?"

Khamael's divine sight showed him not the slightest sign of any evil, so he led the way over to her, and he and Throthar sat on either side of her.

The woman prayed in the Celestial tongue. Though both men could speak and understand something in that beautiful language, from her lips, the words sounded infused with power, the very sound of which made them feel goosebumps on their skin. With a wave of her hand, freshly baked loaves of bread appeared on each of their laps and hers. Without any hesitation, she stuffed some of the bread into her mouth and began talking while still chewing, which immediately negated the awe that they had felt in her presence substantially and set them more at ease. "Please. Eat breakfast with me," she mumbled.

So they joined her.

"You have beautiful wings, by the way," she said between bites. "It is rare to see a pair so well-preened."

"The magic item that you carry with you has been noticed by Mystra, Goddess of Magic of your world. She can sense all magic items, of course, but this one in particular caught her attention, because she sensed it within the city of Sigil. Such is not a thing that is supposed to be possible. The power of the Lady of Pain prevents Mystra from knowing what takes place within its confines." She turned her attention to Throthar. "May I see it?"

Throthar looked at Khamael.

"I detect no evil from this messenger," said Khamael.

Crescent laughed pleasantly. "Nor do I detect evil in either of you."

Throthar slipped the needle-like item from the back of his pack, and handed it carefully to her. She offered another prayer, once again making them shiver from the holiness of the words. Then, she examined the needle closely for several moments before speaking again. "This item has a conjuration aura, which I am sure a wizard such as yourself would already have noticed. It appears to my eyes like the exit of a portal, but it does not have a conduit through the Astral Plane. It seems to bypass that plane altogether. Strange. Did you come through this portal?"

"Presumably," said Khamael. "To be honest, we are not entirely certain."

"It is still active," she said. She poked her long, white finger through the eye. "It must be a one-way portal."

"We are not from this plane nor even from this time," said Khamael. "We were pulled here not of our own will. I was pursuing a criminal on Toril, near the city of Silverymoon."

"Yes, a city treasured by my mistress," said Crescent.

"As I fought him," continued Khamael, "he touched an amulet, and I was pulled to the Cage. We have learned that Throthar and I are not from the same times. There are hundreds of years between us. We have only become companions since Sigil."

She dangled her feet from the log and nodded as if she already understood all that he was telling her. "In some manner of thinking, yes, you time-traveled, but do not all creatures travel forward in time every moment of their mortal lives? Such is not the same as traveling backwards in time." She paused to eat more bread. "I am not tasked with the knowledge of the magical creations of mortals, but I suspect that you were trapped in a demiplane, and it is because of this that the Lady of Pain did not or could not block the magic. Her power prevents any rift in the Astral, but this item has created a connection to a demiplane directly with no connection to the Astral Plane at all."

She handed the needle back to them. "I urge you, as mortals who follow the path of goodness, see to it that this item fall not into the hands of evil, lest they devise a way to upset the fragile balance that the City of Doors now holds."

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