Around the World

Having given the choices before you some considerable thought, you returned to the Bard’s College the following morning. Having a decent memory of where you found Professor Tharwin’s classroom before, you were able to navigate the campus much faster this time.

“Ahh,” He proclaimed loudly as you entered his classroom, empty of any students “Miss Margot Mannekin, marvelous to see you. How goes the adventure?”

“I found some help from Xandravash, and met with a Pathfinder who had an idea that sounded appropriate, and I wanted to obtain your approval.”

The professor smiled, holding back a laugh “I applaud your eagerness. Xandravash is a good individual. He has high standards and doesn’t suffer fools. Now, tell me more.”

“I met a cleric of Mastro and Ihstar, who wanted to travel from the furthest eastern point of T’sara to the furthest western point in the span of a year, seeing the first light of day on new year’s day, and the last light of day on the last day of the year.”

“Wow” His arms crossed, sitting on his desk “That does sound like quite a journey. Depending on the path you take, you could end up seeing some of the most wonderful places in T’sara. It’s a very tempting idea. Why, I’d come with you if I was invited.”

“Than I have your approval?” You asked with a smile

Tharwin’s amusement couldn’t be contained any further, laughing gently, that made you slightly embarrassed at first. “you still have some of your old culture about you. I didn’t need to approve anything. You just need to go off and have your adventure, and tell us about it when you return. I can’t wait to hear the story.”

“Speaking of, Xandravash mentioned something about Fellana, a Drow who went on a similar journey. What can you tell me about her?”

“It’s smut” Tharwin’s blunt reply surprised you “Well written, but the intentions of Fellana’s anonymous author are unmistakable. The amount of pages spent on the daring wizard’s acts of intimacy compared to the pages on her actual adventures, performing acts of heroism and the like, it all makes it pretty clear. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you himself. Xandravash is well acquainted with those books.”

Your face felt flush, wondering what it was that the Elf may have thought about you through the day, having made that comparison. “I didn’t think he’d be the type to be into such things, or that he would find someone like me…attractive. He never displayed it.”

“He’s an elf of great discipline, I wouldn’t be surprised that he kept those thoughts in check. Still, in my experience, an almost universal rule of mortals is that they desire most what they cannot have. From what I’ve been told by a few collectors and book sellers over the years, the places where the Fellana books are most in demand are all predominantly or exclusively Elvish lands.”

“Have you read any of them?” You asked, feeling slightly embarrassed to do so “You said they were well-written…”

“I’ve read the collection we have in our Library here, yes, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. You shouldn’t feel any shame for reading them either. Being a Bard now, you’re more than free to do so.”

Though you wouldn’t admit it, you were morbidly curious. Such things were explicitly forbidden back home. “I’ll think about it,” You gave a neutral answer “In the meantime, is there anything that I should know, or do to be ready?”

“I’d start by training your tongue” Tharwin’s answer was immediate and without his characteristic sense of humor, making it all the more unusual.

“For what?” You asked, flabbergasted. Even knowing what you had just spoken about, and what you and him had already done together, it seemed bold to make such a suggestion.

“Learning languages, Margot” He replied in a neutral, calming tone “though, that other aspect is never a bad idea, particularly not as a Soul. You’ll be traveling through very diverse areas with many strange customs and personalities. Being able to communicate with each other is absolutely paramount. Someone who can speak multiple languages fluently is often said to be ‘speaking in tongues’.”

“That could prove difficult, with so little time. I still struggle with the languages here” Trained to be a scout and spy, you were trained in _____, the local language by your trainers in the UnderDark, albeit in a very broken state.

“You should reach out to the College of Spells” Tharwin advised “They can provide a means to address that problem.” Adding on “You’d also want to take whatever time you have to earn coin here where it’s easy to do so. Making money on the road is unpredictable, to say the least. You also don’t want to be beholden to this benefactor you’re traveling with for any spending you may want to do for yourself.”

“Anything else?” You asked

“You may want to lean into the story of Fellana, actually. There are folks who are naturally going to make that connection learning about you. Use that to your advantage, if you can. Among other things, that would mean dressing to impress. The Spells can help you with that part too, so you’re not carrying around a wardrobe that would rival most royalty.”

You remained uncertain how much you wanted to mirror a character from such lurid tales, but you were becoming increasingly drawn to at least read these books. The rest of the advice was certainly worthwhile “Thank you, Professor. I still haven’t told ____ that I’d like to travel with him, so I should go and speak with him soon.”

“Before you go, I’d like to impart a lesson to you. Something that I’m sure you’ll need to use extensively.”

“Thank you, I’m all ears”

“Oh, not like that” He motioned his fingers in a circle towards himself, “Come here, we’re going to go over one of the most important tools of a Bard who belongs to the College of Souls, the Goodbye Kiss.”

“Okay,” You went along, getting close enough to touch the Professor “This doesn’t seem particularly important, or difficult. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were getting up to shenanigans again,”

“I do enjoy my work sometimes, Margot, but don’t let that make you doubt my intentions. This seems simple and negligible because of the culture you’re from. You want to understand love, desire, this is a good start.”

He was right, there was not a lot of expressed affection among Drow, but it felt wrong coming out of his mouth, that he was passing judgement. You stood, quiet and impatient, waiting to proceed.

“Just, trust me” Tharwin pleaded, as he pulled you closer, wrapping his arms around you. Following his lead, you put your arms around him, holding against his slender back.

“Are we going to start dancing?” You asked

“We can if you want, but it’s not necessary. The point is to be in close, vulnerable, just like this,” His voice dimmed, the time between his words dragged on “Just you and the person you’re with” You felt your eyes draw to connect with his “nothing else is out there, which is why you can’t leave their eyes.”

There was a long, quiet pause “Memory is a funny thing, we often remember the final moments with someone the best, so make it the best memory you can. That whenever someone remembers you, thinks back to your time, the first thing they think about is that last kiss you shared.

You leaned forwards towards him, open mouth, tongue lifted in the air and at the ready, which he pulled back from “Not quite. You’re not trying to seduce them. Well, not typically. It’s about remembering the emotion, creating a moment of longing. Like this”

Professor Tharwin moved in slow, deliberate motion towards you. Despite only having known him for a day, and your moment of passion, there was a surprising raw emotion you could feel as his lips softly brushed yours. Having parted, there was a strong ache inside, wanting more, just another taste.

“Wow” you said softly, “I think I get it. I don’t know where you get that from, but I’ve never felt like that before.”

“And that’s why you’re here, and why you’re on your mission. You will, in time. With the kind of adventure you’ll be having, there me be little I can teach you by the time you return.”

“You really think so?” You asked “It hardly seems like an adventure to learn much about romance and the true self, and everything you said about what Souls are supposed to be ab out.”

“Oh trust me,” Tharwin insisted. “You’ll be seeing all manner of people, from all Children of the Six Sisters, across all manner of cultures, lifestyles, and views. You’ll understand what it the mortal experience is better than most.” He briefly looked outside of his classrom “Now, if you you’ll forgive me, I do have some work to tend to before my other students come in.”

Having adjourned your meeting with Tharwin, you journeyed next to the Pathfinder Guild Hall. With the considerable distance between the two locations, you had much time to think as you strolled the streets of Paude. You were increasingly sure this was the right choice for you. You knew Dugan hardly at all, but that would be said for the others as well. It was, in theory, the least likely to be involved in violence, which mattered an awful amount to you. The only real issue was something that Tharwin had cautioned you of before you knew of this journey; the possibility of never returning.

There was a concern that for any number of reasons, the two of you would be unable to progress in your journey to completion. The greater possibility is that upon completion, you’d no longer want to come back. You only settled in Paude because it was the first large settlement you found after you fled your homeland. That, and the hospitality of the residents for not immediately throwing or kicking you out. While it was a perfectly decent city, you had to admit it was a fortuitous circumstance of coincidence, and given the choice, you’d have wanted to see what the rest of the world offered before making your temporary refuge your permanent home.

Upon your arrival, you walked into the Guild Hall without reservation. Knowing your business, and the word of both Xandravash and Dugan, you were sure you would have no problem upon entering. The confused state of the Hall’s organization still left you a little confused. You eventually stumbled upon the study area, where Dugan was once again with his books. He was looking strangely disheveled.

“Do you sleep in here?” You asked as you walked in, making a kind hearted remark.

“Oh, Miss Margot” he seemed unusually surprised and even slightly nervous to see you, adjusting himself to be slightly more presentable “A pleasant surprise, to be sure. I didn’t imagine to see you so early. Forgive me, I’m normally more put together.”

“Didn’t sleep well? Rough morning?” You asked kindly “I can come back if there would be a better time”

There was a slight nervous laugh “a rough morning would be one way to think of it. It’s not worth getting into right now. Are you here regarding what we talked about yesterday?”

“I am, yes, and although the other ideas certainly had a lot of promise. Being able to journey across so much of the world seemed like something I would be loathe to miss. A chance few ever get. I’d gladly accompany you, if you’ll have me. I do have some questions though about our journey and how we plan on going about things.”

“Of course,” He rose, his arms extended “The only thing greater than taking such a journey is a partner to share it with.” Following the gesture, you closed the distance for a short, comforting hug. “Now,” He asked as the contact broke “What would you like to know?”

“How do we plan on making our journey, and how do we plan on funding it and subsisting ourselves?”

“That is the real question, isn’t it?” Dugan gently nudged his leg as he sat back down, bidding you to do the same “That’s part of the reason this hasn’t been done before. Folks who try something like it usually make it as large expeditions. Funds, logistics, and so on. It slows them down. By keeping it to just you and me, we should be able to move faster, and far cheaper. We’ll move from Guild Hall to Guild Hall, when we can, subsist on what local markets can provide us, and when we need to, survive off the land. Good will and trade will be able to keep us going, and performing the odd job or two, literally performing in your case, can help keep the proverbial coffers from running empty.”

“You don’t imagine me being with you could change that?” You asked “Not everyone is accommodating as the folks here.”

“We have to have hope that hatred doesn’t blind people to how beautiful and wonderful a person you are, and what any of us are capable of.”

“Dugan, please” You blushed at the sudden compliment “You haven’t even known me for a day.”

“I knew of you before we met. I’ve also seen you perform before,” he revealed calmly “Trust me, it doesn’t take much to see it. That aside, I wouldn’t deny you the opportunity based on the animosity or bigotry of others. That’s not fair to you. Faith will see us to the end.”

You had been surprised, Dugan made no gesture or mention yesterday when you’d met. It was hardly a dark secret of his, so you thought best to leave it be “How do you plan on getting to Imestire?” You asked next “And when do you plan to leave? With how far away it is, it would take a year or more just to get there.”

“Magic will help us get there, through a mutual friend of mine and Xandravash. Which also means we have time to make any additional preparations we want or need.”

“Good, cause I’ll want to learn some things from the College first”

“Prudent, Margot, but I think there’s something far more important than that, that we should do before anything else.”

“Yes?” You sat back in the chair, feeling that your impatient spirit was being checked.

“We need to get to know each other, obviously.” He smiled “A journey like this won’t succeed if we stay strangers to one another. I should like to get familiar with you before we leave”

“Just how familiar are you looking to become?” Though his words were kind and slightly forward, he hadn’t yet approached anything romantic or indulgent “I’ve been among humans long enough to understand what that often means.”

“I hadn’t meant to imply that, no.” He smirked slightly “Though, a year traveling together, long nights all alone in the wilderness, nothing else to do,” He let your imagination take the rest of the journey on its own “I hope you wouldn’t be so terribly offended by the idea. There’s no…Mister Margot, is there? I’d hate to make you challenge or sacrifice your loyalty.”

“No, there isn’t” You held back the full story. There had been a few of the locals that you’d fucked in the past year since you’ve been here. None of them lasted, nor were they meant to. There were all merely a means to cure an itch you couldn’t scratch yourself; one deep inside. They were satisfactory in the short term, but nothing to tie yourself too once the need was met. “I’m not opposed to the idea, no,” Your eyes shifted away from him slightly “I’m a little nervous about it though.”

“Why?” Dugan asked, his head tilted slightly, leaning his body slightly forward “Is it a matter of trust, or something else?”

“It’s a matter of…background, you could say” approaching the topic started to make you nervous, more so than you had been “My people have a lot of enemies, as I’m sure you know. Few have been more fearsome and persistent foes than the followers of Mastro.”

“Ahh, I see”, Dropping his body forward, Dugan leaned his hands on his knees “I’m terribly sorry you’ve had to deal with them. The Watch are an extremist group, more an army than a church. They have stopped a good amount of evil from spreading or taking root in this world. Unfortunately, their understanding of words like ‘evil’ and ‘justice’ stray much further than the rest of the world, even among us who are clerics of Mastro. You are no more an enemy to justice, or to me personally, than Linthalians are the immortal enemy of the Admiralty.” He eased back slowly “I hope that can put you at ease enough to join me”

“Yes, thank you Dugan. That was precisely what I needed to hear. I just have another question. What caused you to pursue this? What do you hope to get out of it?”

“That’s two questions” He smiled gently “But I’ll answer both. The first answer is less satisfying. I don’t know what caused me to think of it. The idea sprang in my mind, and once it was there, there was nothing else that I could think of until I started to put plans together. I know it sounds strange, but it was all consuming for a time. As to gain from it, much the same as you, I suppose. I want to see more of the world, I want to see life in all of it’s forms. Even after The Sundering in the Fey Crisis, the world the God’s have created is nothing short of wondrous. I love what they have done, and as I wish to show my love by witnessing it, as much as one possibly can in their life.”

“I’ve never heard of faith understood or demonstrated that way before.” You commented with a pleasant surprise “I like it. I’ve come to know the Gods a lot better than what I had been told as a child, and I’ve come to be very thankful as well.”

“Than it will be a pilgrimage for us both than, whenever we make our departure.”