Master of Strings Ch35: Gloom Storm

Zilo, Leo, and Jin walked back to the ship with a scroll and two new companions, Falx and his Eidolon, Xlaf. The scroll was written in Abyssal, a tongue that none in the group knew, but they knew that the scroll was a written agreement of servitude by the Fetchling Shadow Caller to serve in return for his life.

The scroll was signed with his last words while alive, 'And you're sure this is okay?' Jin looked to their new traveling mate and asked, "Out of curiosity, what were you asking about?"

"Your birth-giver." Responded the summoner with a clever smile. Leo snatched the scroll from Zilo, who barely even responded. With the scroll in hand Leo said, "What do your last words mean?" and the scroll burned the lettering in fire.

Falx grimaced and said," I was asking my compatriot if his blood was safe to drink, little did I know that he had been struck with vampirism. It didn't meld well with my lycanthropic body, and I expired."

Jin and Leo both let loose a snicker while Zilo opened the door back to the foot of the mountain. The ship was there waiting for the group to return. Falx and Xlaf walk past the bard and Falx claps his hands twice.

"This dinky little vessel will have to do, now I'll need you three to fetch me a comb, some tooth powder, and a halfway decent meal, chop chop."

Leo, Jin, and Zilo look at him confused, before Leo turns to his two friends and says, "go tell the captain about the dwarves and to make sail, I'll help our friend."

Jin Nods and he heads up the gangplank, Zilo follows wordless. Falx looks over the ship as Leo approaches and asks, "Tell me, in your state of half life, why would you need a meal?"

"While true, I have no need of food, I still feel the pains of hunger, and it is not pleasant."

"I'm sure you'll manage." Says Leo as he places a hand to Falx's shoulder. Falx looked to Leo questioningly, to see a devious smile and the contract blazing.

On board a few minutes later the ship Falx and Xlaf oddly enough couldn't be seen. Jin informs the captain of the loss of the dwarves and the captain responds with, "Darnit! We were depending on them for supplies. We'll need to go round to the elves then."

"But cap'n! Word is that there's a storm that way!"

"It's a storm or starvation, I'll take a chance on the storm."

Zilo lean on the railing of the ship as it made its way away from the mountain port. The crew anticipated that the bard could raise their spirits with a jaunty tune, but Zilo's mood just wasn't in a playful mood.

Leo and Jin both observed the bard from the upper deck. Leo turned to the monkey and said, "Lucky us Zilo had a trick like dwarven spirit raising up his sleeve, or we'd be dead men."

Jin took a swing and said, "True nuff. Hey that reminds me, where is our prize?"

"Taken care of, he won't bug us during the voyage."

"Then tell me."

"No way, you aren't the best at secret keeping my friend."

Jin raised a finger to argue, but conceded the point before looking back to Zilo, "Think he's okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look at the guy, he looks like Sparky just immolated his grandma."

Leo shrugs and says, "Who cares, So long as we find the last three items, he can wallow all he likes."

"Fat chance of that. We need to catch lightning, and get parts of two extremely dangerous creatures. Here I thought the Lich would be the hard part."

"Well didn't you say we're sailing into a storm?" To that Jin nods at Leo, who stares up at the crow's nest.

"I got an idea, you go make sure Zilo don't jump over board, I guess. I got something to look into."

Leo scampered up the main mast to the top of the crow's nest where he met a member of the crew looking out to the coming storm. The crewman looked to the new arrival and said, " You're mister Leo right? Can I help you?"

"Just checking out the view, do you mind?"

"Go right ahead, just head back down after, any metal in the crow's nest is likely to cause some trouble"

"I'm counting on it." Thinks the magus as he jams the first of a bunch of copper pieces in between two pieces of loose wood. As Leo plants the seeds of trouble above their head, Jin waltzes over to Zilo and asks, "Why so glum cum?"

Zilo looks up from the ocean and says, "Huh, oh hey Jin, what's happening?"

Jin squints at the sad Fetchling and offers him a bit of the ale slung on his tail. Along with the offer he states, "Ever since you bested that there demon you been sadder than I am drunk... well, almost, so what's eatin ya?"

Zilo looks back out to the sea and says, "I'm fine, it's just... That's the first time I had to play that song since I cam e to this plane. I hate that song."

"Why do you hate it?"

"I came to this plane because I had heard that they had happy songs here, ones that when played would be joyous and wrap people into a festive frenzy when played. That made me very hopeful. Where I come from songs are stern, and ceremonial, only being played at sobering or sad events."

Zilo turns back to Jin and says, "For years I perfected and rehearsed the exact notes of those songs, and was punished if I played a note out of tune. I became skilled, no doubt, but the constricting, suffocating nature of that teaching was... agony. I wished to play music that I like, not the music I was forced to play."

Zilo grips Harmony, staring at it, and grumbling, "I had hopes that I'd learned enough to beat Grozzit on the merits of the music I feel in my heart, but only with songs learnt from the shadows could I win."

Zilo takes out his violin in his other hand, and continues, "I'm no different from Falx, my true power is from darkness, as with all of my race. The only way I could save us was to destroy my own code. I... I don't know what to do."

Jin takes this all in and pats Zilo on the shoulder, "And here I thought you're just sea-sick. Well let me ask Zilo, why would you voluntarily cripple yourself like that? With such power you could do a lot of good, you saw what you did for those dwarves, you saved their souls."

Zilo looks back at Jin looking legitimately confused and says, "I did what?" Jin says back, "You saved the dwarves' souls."

"I did?"

"Yeah, didn't you see the spirits?"

Zilo points to his face and says, "My eyes were closed, I didn't see crap.  What happened?" Jin's jaw drops for a moment before he explains the results of his song. Zilo nods excitedly before finally responding.

"That makes sense, the song I played is meant to be played at funerals, and it is customary to bow your head out of respect for the dead."

"So your people just... ignore the souls passing on?"

"huh, I guess we do. good to know I did some good with some bad, thanks for telling me Jin."

"No problem, I think."

Jin walks away from the newly smiling bard. Jin's face is a little more confused that when he started, but nothing a bit more drinking couldn't solve. Leo returns from the top of the mast just as night falls and the ship begins to enter the storm.

Zilo looks up to the sky and says, "A shame, I was hoping to write a new sonnet before the sky got covered up."

Leo looks to his friend and says, "Oh yeah? What's got you inspired."

"Take a look." Says Zilo pointing up at the full moon starting to get covered by the clouds. Leo freezes as he looks at the moon, then he looks to the front of the ship. Leo begins running to the front and looks over the front of the ship.

Suddenly Leo reaches into his bag to get something, but he is suddenly forced back off the bow and falls over the protective railing, and a piece of paper flies through the air and down bellow deck. Zilo and Jin look to their friend, then turn their gaze back to the thing that attacked him.

Before them stood a grey werewolf in Falx's robe. He looked like he had the remnants of some rope restraints and a gag. The wolf howled as a crack of lightning silhouetted his large muscular frame. Leo stood, sword ready as Jin and Zilo formed up to help him with the coming fight.

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