A forum for the Port Luskan role play

Lacy helps Alyra put the last bits back in place at the book shop, and as they finish, she turns to Alyra, nodding as she says, "Yes, I'd love that. I've missed it so much, and it would be so...well, comforting in a way, to see it all again. And hopefully, we'll see Glenn. I just know I heard his voice earlier, and maybe he'll join us. Who knows who all is here and who may still be coming?"

Pulling her shawl a little tighter around her arms, Lacy starts for the door. With her hand on the handle, she turns to Alyra, almost bumping into her friend.

"But, Alyra, was it Cel that called us all? Why?"

Alyra nods as she follows her friend out the door. "Yes, Lacy, it was Cel. I don't know why yet, but for now, it's enough that he called. And I trust that if he needs something from us, he will tell us, if we aren't quick enough to figure it out for ourselves."

The night is brisk, but it always is in Port Luskan, at least when it's not busy being bitter. Outside the shop, they look around, taking in familiar scenery - trees with a delicate feather-dusting of snow, the stone walls of the shop, the looming mountains to the south, and above, the deep, fathomless depths of the night sky. Alyra's eyes linger on the slim crescent moon just rising before them and frowns slightly. Did Port Luskan's moon have phases? She can't remember.

They turn north, away from the mountains and towards the cliffside community. The white castle sits atop the ridge, but from this distance its features are indistinct in the darkness. There is a building next to them, to their left, but it is also indistinct, and Alyra cannot tell if it is the inn she remembers, or a private home, or the mansion.... She strains to see in the dim light, but at last she realizes that there is no way for her to bring it into focus.

No, someone else will have to do that.

She turns to Lacy, wondering if she is having the same bewildering experience.

Lacy is looking past Alyra, her head tilted, frowning a bit, when she realizes Alyra is looking at her.

"Alyra," Lacy starts to speak quietly, hesitantly, "I'm having trouble seeing everything clearly. I mean, I don't remember having that trouble when I first got here, and then the book shop was certainly...well, really, it just seemed normal. But I'm having trouble..., " Lacy pauses for a moment to look again, just in case she can see it clearly now.

"There's something over there, a building of some kind, but I can't quite make it out. It's sort of blurry for me. Are you able to see it?"

Alyra nods, slowly, then turns to look at the building again. "It used to be an inn," she says, almost to herself. "But then Cel had it moved, and his home was there. I remember that so clearly, because my home moved... then..." She stops, trying to remember, but what she remembers most clearly is her home above the bookshop. She looks at the building again, opens her mouth to say, "You know, I don't think it really matters--" and in that moment, the building snaps clearly into focus.

"It's Cel's home, I think," she says, then shakes her head. "No, I'm not sure. I'm not sure at all. But it looks like Cel's home, and I remember he had one there. But I can't tell if this is his home, or if I just want it to be." She turns again to look at Lacy. "But one thing I noticed, when I stopped trying so hard to see it, it wasn't so hard to see."

They stand for a long, indecisive moment, and then Alyra squares her shoulders. "Right. So the way to see the island, is to not look so hard. Or at least, that seems to be working for me. Let's just walk, and maybe it will show itself to us."

Lacy listens carefully to Alyra, straining slightly to hear, and as they begin to walk again, she glances at Alyra, reassuring herself that she can really can see her friend clearly.

"That's interesting about it looking like Cel's home. It looked more like the inn to me, but maybe that's because I never saw it when the inn was gone and Cel's home was there? So much changed after I left, and there is so much I don't know. I'll have to spend some time in the book shop, catching up on what happened.

"It really does make me wonder what I will find for the Temple and where it will be," Lacy added, looking towards the north again, towards the castle.

"I remember it behind the castle, or maybe that was an arena then? But up that hill and sort of behind it."

Lacy's steps quicken, and as she thinks about the Temple, she begins to walk faster until she begins to run. Running toward the hill and then up the side path, just where it was when she was here, she unintentionally leaves Alyra behind.

Rounding the corner, she sees the Temple, just where it was when she was there....the area in front of it with the railing that overlooked the sea, the courtyard right in front of the temple, the carved posts that framed the door, the moon and stars symbol on the door, the windows with their decorated carvings.

She stops completely, draws in an excited breath, and turns to Alyra....

Realizing that Alyra isn't right behind her, Lacy turns back to find her, calling her, "Alyra! Alyra, I found it. The Temple is HERE!!"

Alyra grins to herself as she sees Lacy's pace pick up. She would hurry to follow, but suddenly the way is not clear at all. Wasn't there an -- an aqueduct-looking thing there? She clearly remembers a channel they used to walk along to get to the dwellings on Cliffside, and for a moment she sees it, and can't figure out how Lacy is getting where she is getting. Then, almost without her realizing it, she sees the path that Lacy is following, the one that leads to the temple. This looks right. This feels right. As Lacy returns to her, Alyra grins again and runs with her friend to see the temple she knew and loved, on the side of the cliffs overlooking the sea.

Lacy pauses to catch her breath as the women reach the front of the Temple.

"It's been hard, Alyra, being a traveling healer, and missing having a permanent....or at least, sort of permanent....place to center myself, to pray, to listen, to meditate. I was still a priestess, but more focused on bringing healing and support to areas where there had been storms or earthquakes. I know that the Goddess is always with me, thankfully, but it just feels so right, so good to see the Temple again."

Pulling the door, Lacy steps into the Temple with a quiet reverence, then looking around, laughs out loud with joy. She walks slowly through the building, peeking into the area behind the curtains where they had the weekly gatherings, and then walks up to the table.

"Look, Alyra, I don't suppose you remember my crystal candlesticks and the crystal bowls that held the water, the salt, and the fire. But here they are…..”

Lacy looks at the temple, then glances around the Temple again, then looks back at Alyra.

“Alyra, I’m sorry, I know we started this walking tour of the island, but I would so much like to spend some time here. Would you mind much? You’re welcome to stay if you’d like. I’ve felt disoriented since I got here, and I think this would help to center me, even if we’re in Dream.

Lacy stops talking and looks around again, “Oh, but what about Kateefa? Is she still High Priestess? So much happened that I have missed. Have you seen her or heard from her since we got Cel’s call?”

Alyra feels the aura of the Temple as soon as she steps within, and it almost takes her breath away. She has always felt her own Lady Moon close to her, but in this place, the closeness is very pronounced. So many memories return, and whether they are from this temple or another does not really matter. This is Home in a very real way for her, even though she no longer calls herself a priestess. She shares Lacy's sense of excitement and joy to be back here; perhaps not to the same depth, but definitely with a sense of kinship.

"I understand completely," she replies, as she stands next to Lacy gazing at the sacred items. "I would love to stay a short while, but then I should probably return to my shop. Who knows," she adds with a chuckle, "I might have a customer.

"As for Kateefa, well, I have not seen her since we left the island, but if she heard Cel's call, hopefully she will join us. And I hope Elirien will, also; it has been too long since I have seen her. Then we will have three High Priestesses," she says, grinning, "and I think that three is a very good number."

Lacy grins back at Alyra, "Three would be a fabulous number!"

Time passes all too swiftly as the two women sit in silence in the temple, each reconnecting with her deity and her home in her own way. At last Alyra rises and bids Lacy a fond farewell, with a reminder to come see her soon at the bookshop. Then she slips out into the dark Port Luskan night.

Her intent is to return to the shop and see if she has had any callers, but she is too tempted to see what else is on the island. She thinks back over the places she used to go: the arena, the docks, taverns, the bardic circle, the Hollows -- the bardic circle. That's where she wants to go. She thinks a moment, uncertain of her directions, but she knows it will be across the island, overlooking the harbor. She debates a moment, wondering the quickest way to get there - on along the cliffs and then up the street between the houses, or behind the temple and down the lift from the castle, then over the docks and -- she stops her thoughts and grins.

I know this was to be a walking tour, she thinks to herself, but I just have to try this.

She focuses a moment, and then slowly rises into the air. About ten feet up, she gives a whoop of delight and shoots up into the heavens, then streaks across the island, heading for the place she knows the circle will be.

No one on the island can ignore what comes next, for the sound echoes from cliffs and mountains and reverberates across the valleys:

WOO HOO! WOO HOOOOOOOOO! WOO HOOOOOO--

*****

...

Alyra slowly picks herself up out of the snowbank, brushes herself off, and stares resentfully at the very large tree which seemed to appear out of nowhere just a moment ago. Then she sighs, straightens her crest, and goes the rest of the way up the hillside on foot.

"I knew I could do it all the time," she mumbles, a bit self-consciously, "but it's just not the same anywhere else." She grins. "Nope. Not the same anywhere else."