Dionysus In another chamber, the dragon priests close the door behind you as you enter with Hunny & Kansallus.

Dionysus Kansallus sits at one of the chairs in this chamber, around a small table.

• Aurelia remains standing just inside the door.

Dionysus "How is Valara? It's been a few months since her last letter to me."

Aurelia "She wouldn't... not to an ender..."

Aurelia Still the guilt and misery. Disbelief over that, and an echo of hate in the last word.

Dionysus "I knew her before... it happened. We were friends then. She... can handle it if I'm not /there/."

• Aurelia looks at him for a moment, searching stumblingly for a response.

Aurelia "I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."

Dionysus He shakes his head. "Shut up. Quit wallowing."

• Aurelia shuts up.

Dionysus "You throw like a girl, do you know that?"

Aurelia "I am..."

Dionysus "Be glad I'm not your father. If you tried this shit with Hornet, he'd have destroyed you."

Aurelia A little stubborn resentment.

Aurelia "I still would have tried."

Dionysus "That's stupid. He's chosen by the Champion of Darkness himself, dammit. He has a Gift-imbued Ender's sword--well, I have it now--& armor. He stands at 8 feet tall & has wounded the flesh off a man's back with a touch. He's the second most fearsome pirate I've ever seen. He. Would. Destroy. You."

Dionysus He stands & approaches you. Hunny growls, & he stops.

Dionysus "Look, I owe Valara a lot. She taught me... well, to play, for one thing."

Aurelia Did I know she played?

Dionysus Nope

• Aurelia looks up at that, surprise briefly overriding everything else.

Dionysus "That was back when she was still a reever, before she met Hornet... After she met him, well... She went back to the mainland."

Aurelia ...

Dionysus "He ruined her, really. He brutalized her. He was... I only stayed to try to kill him, you know. Well, that & the sea..."

Aurelia Somewhat angry disbelief, though somewhat buried in the returning guilt.

Dionysus He shakes his head, "Look, what I'm trying to say is, I want to help you."

Dionysus "For your mother's sake."

Aurelia "I need nothing..."

Dionysus He frowns, thne grins, "How about a new oboe, then?"

Aurelia "I tried to... have you killed."

Dionysus He reaches into his coat pocket, & pulls out a sheet of paper. "This is... I stole a sword from the second most evil pirate in the world, & something even bigger from the most evil one. I kept the first, & buried the latter."

Dionysus He hands the paper to you.

• Aurelia looks down at it.

Dionysus It's a map.

Dionysus A treasure map.

Aurelia Oh my.

Dionysus X marks the spot.

Dionysus It's a map of a chain of islands, a specific one.

Dionysus In the Island Bridge.

Aurelia Lovely.

• Aurelia looks up at him uncertainly.

Dionysus He grins, "You'll have to dig it up yourself, but I figure a Gifted Oboe is... enough, to make up for... Well, not to make up for, but at least, it's the least I can do for... for not being there for your mother.

Dionysus "

Aurelia "Thank you..."

• Aurelia clearly doesn't know what else to say.

Dionysus He shakes his head, "Do you still intend to find Hornet?"

• Aurelia shakes her own head and mumbles, "I never wanted to. I'm looking for the Song..."

Dionysus He sighs, "Good."

Dionysus "He's insane, Aurelia. He's what enders used to be. He's a monster."

• Aurelia nods silently.

Dionysus He slooksyou up & down, "You take after your mother."

• Aurelia is a little pleased by that.

Aurelia "Thank you..."

Dionysus He smiles, "Perk up. No harm done tonight, right?"

• Jack_C (~nwebb@adsl-70-238-203-168.dsl.lbcktx.sbcglobal.net) has joined #dunmanifestin

Jack_C here

Aurelia Hallo?

Dionysus Hi?

Dionysus Why are you here?

Jack_C hi?

Jack_C you told me to.

Dionysus That's the IM from earlier. I told you the man in robes sounds familiar.

Jack_C oh. sorry.

• Jack_C (~nwebb@adsl-70-238-203-168.dsl.lbcktx.sbcglobal.net) has left #dunmanifestin (Leaving)

Dionysus He smiles, "Perk up. No harm done tonight, right?"

• Aurelia feels some relief, but answers, "There was, even if no blood was spilled."

Dionysus He frowns, "None to me, & you--the boy?"

Aurelia "He was- is- was my friend."

Dionysus He nods, "Then he'll forgive you."

Aurelia "It was rape."

Dionysus He frowns, "Then I'll tell him it was my fault."

Aurelia "No."

Dionysus "But it was."

Dionysus "If I hadn't come up & launched into it in the middle of the street..."

Aurelia "Then what? I would not have done it until the next time I was afraid and angry?"

Dionysus He waves his hand dismissively, "You thought I was Hornet. It's understandable."

• Aurelia shakes her head a little.

Dionysus He sighs, "What can I do, then?"

• Aurelia looks at the paper in her hand. "You have already given me more than I deserve."

Dionysus He laughs, "Sending you into morag infested islands is not giving you much, believe me. I buried that the one place Christopher Laird is afraid to go."

• Aurelia murmurs, "Morags..." with a slightly wistful feeling as she recalls the terrible beauty of the one underwater.

Dionysus He looks at you as if you're mad, "No. Don't even think like that."

Aurelia "From afar they are beautiful."

Dionysus "From /very/ afar."

• Aurelia nods. She's actually centering herself a bit around that thought, stabalizing somewhat.

Dionysus He laughs, "Are you going to be all right?"

• Aurelia nods. "Though I /am/ sorry." There's guilt behind that, but less wallowy.

Dionysus He nods, "Apology accepted. But do me a favor."

• Aurelia looks up at him.

Dionysus "Quit hating enders."

Aurelia "He... was the only kind I knew..."

Dionysus "You knew yourself."

Aurelia "I am no-!"

• Aurelia bites the habitual response back.

Dionysus He nods, "Accept it. Whether you like it or not, you are an ender, Aurelia."

Dionysus "If you wish to change it, fine, find a way."

Dionysus "But while you are one, accept it."

Aurelia "I am my mother's daughter."

Dionysus He nods, "That is also true."

Aurelia "Thank you."

Dionysus "Now, our hour's almost up." It's far from up. "So... is there anything else we should talk about?"

Aurelia "Tell me about her? Before?"

Dionysus He laughs, "Fiercely proud."

Dionysus "Kind to a fault, but also... vicious."

Dionysus "She was a fine sailor, a musician, & a healer."

Aurelia "I never knew that she played."

Dionysus "She was a little mad, even then, I guess, otherwise, how could she stand being a reever?"

Dionysus "Oh, yes. Most anything, too."

Dionysus "She had a knack."

Dionysus "We were reevers on the /Huntress/, see, & she was the musician & was just a grunt."

• Aurelia murmurs, "The /Huntress/..."

Dionysus "And I was enthralled of her. So I asked her to teach me to play."

Dionysus "And she, of course, knew how I felt, but taught me anyway. She was like that."

Dionysus "And it went from there."

Aurelia "You loved her?"

Dionysus "In a way, I suppose. It was... it wasn't storybook love. Mostly, we just sang songs, got drunk, & slept together. But then... Well, we were in Merukis, & the /Harbinger/ arrived with Laird & Hornet & the dark reevers."

Dionysus "And they claimed the island as their own... She was taken by Hornet while I was on the other side of the island, signing up with Laird."

Dionysus "I didn't know..."

• Aurelia nods faintly.

Dionysus He feels very sad, but he's not about to cry. He's fought off tears a lot in his life. "When I found out, it was too late. You don't quit Laird's crew & live... Not easily, anyway. I... I managed to sneak her out of Merukis, but I stayed."

• Aurelia murmurs, "Thank you. For helping her."

Dionysus "It wasn't enough."

Aurelia "She is alive. She is happy, sometimes."

Dionysus "Only sometimes? Ha." he laughs bitterly, "That is the most damning thing I've ever heard. Thank you, Aurelia." he says that last with conviction. "I think I know what I have to do now."

• Aurelia looks up at him. "Tell me?"

Dionysus "I have to make her happy," he whispers.

Aurelia "How?"

Dionysus He pauses, "Do you want this?" He holds up the sword.

Aurelia "I am no warrior..."

Dionysus He shrugs, "Neither am I. It does most of the work for you."

• Aurelia hesitates, then nods.

Dionysus He hands it over, "It is named Grimdancer."

• Aurelia holds it awkwardly by the scabbard.

Dionysus "Don't touch the blade to anyone you don't want Tainted."

• Aurelia looks at him in confusion.

Aurelia "Poison?"

Dionysus He shakes his head, "Kind of. It can cause death, but that's not what it really does. It marks someone, & any ender who sees them thereafter will knwo things. It's how you recoginzied the sword."

• Aurelia looks down at it again, then nods.

Aurelia "If you can make her happy... I will do anything for you."

Dionysus "Then I guess I have to make her happy, because I already asked a favor of you."

Aurelia "She is happy when I play or paint for her, but... it is fleeting..."

Dionysus He nods, "I think I can do better than that. I just have to think on our past together. Don't worry. I'll figure something out, & when I do... You've got a big task ahead of you."

• Aurelia looks up at him.
• Aurelia then nods.

Dionysus "Love above all, Aurelia."

Aurelia "I will try."

Dionysus He smiles. "Without love, beauty means nothing."

Aurelia "They are the same, or twins..."

Dionysus "Love will show you beauty where you never thought to find it."

• Aurelia nods again, not really understanding.

Dionysus He sighs, "I know we've only known each other for what? Maybe an hour? But you're your mother's daughter, & for that, I do love you, Aurelia."

Dionysus Kansallus leans in to kiss your cheek.

• Aurelia isn't sure how to respond, or what she's supposed to do, but after a moment says, "I would like it... if you had been my father..."

Dionysus He feels joy but tries to suppress it, "I would like that, too."

Dionysus "Thank you, Aurelia."

• Aurelia hugs him, tentatively and awkwardly, still holding the sword in one hand and the map in the other.

Dionysus He hugs back.

Dionysus "I... ought go, Aurelia. The sooner I can make your mother happy, the better."

• Aurelia nods. "Thank you..."

Dionysus He kisses your cheek, then starts away. "We'll meet again."

Aurelia "I would like that, too."

Dionysus He smiles, & feels joy, then steps out.

Dionysus Hunny rubs against you