Summary 09: Betrayal on Parrot Island

It is very cold, in space. I found myself foaling as if weightless within a void of emptiness. Never in my very life have I experienced such a place. At that moment, it had become quite clear that death has taken me, prematurely I may add. As I awaited my final judgment, a light, a very feint one, could be seen in the far off distance. A sign perhaps, there was nothing else to attract my attention. With a mere thought, I propelled myself towards the anomaly at great speed. In a matter of seconds, the light became far too bright for my eyes to endure, forcing them to shut. Shortly thereafter, my entire body began to quiver in pain, but only for a mere second or two. All of a sudden, the chill had left my body. I opened my eyes and there she was, standing over me within the light. I turned my head to face her and smiled. I reached out, placing my hand upon her face. So soft, warm and yet, it felt so very real. I softly stroked her cheek from side to side with my thumb and spoke out to her…

Gustave (smiling): Am I in the presence of an angel? Yes… this must be heaven. It is exactly as I had imagined it, Lavinia.

Lavinia replied with a smile of her own, placing her hand atop of mine and closed her eyes while shedding several tears. She paused a few seconds in order to savor our little passionate moment, and then, spoke out to me…

Lavinia (smiling): Gustave, this is not heaven. You… died; I had you brought back to life. You were so brave; you gave us all a chance to… I couldn’t just let you… I need you… by my side.

I slowly assumed the sitting position in order to assess the situation I found myself in. The light fooling my eyes had faded away, revealing a familiar chamber within the Fharlanghn temple. I began to feel great pain with my neck and left arm, both of them strapped in bandages. The cleric there then proceeded to heal my wounds and insisted that I lay back down to get some rest. I complied and shitted my attention to Lavinia. There she stood, still smiling, still crying, this was indeed no dream. I sensed much regret and sadness within her, but also relief and… great joy. It then came to my attention that she sacrificed her father’s sword in order to grant me a second chance. She made it quite clear that she wouldn’t have it any other way.

I grew tired of the temple’s scenery and insisted upon taking my leave. The young cleric reluctantly agreed and granted me her blessing. After a few words with the one who performed the service, Lavinia and I made our way to the Vanderboren Estate. Lavinia ordered me to my assigned bedchambers in order to get some rest. She pulled up a chair and remained by my side; well, at least until I no longer had the strength to remain awake that is. Until then, we talked about many things. We began by discussing the events that took place before my untimely demise.

Where to begin. Lavinia was cooped up in her room in deep study and I was in the next room sampling some of Vanthus’ literature; a book about the art of lock picking I believe. I then received message that Crimson was down below, requesting an audience with yours truly. It would seem that she had made significant progress in infiltrating the Lotus Dragons through this Max fellow, Gildenstern’s best friend. She informed me of a plan that she had concocted. Max and Crimson, Lavinia and myself, a double date, at Parrot Island, in one hour, to shoot some birds. And apparently during the shooting of these… birds, the seamen would be in charge of gathering evidence at Max’s dwelling. The plan had potential, but I was under the impression that Crimson wasn’t being totally honest with me. My fears were confirmed shortly thereafter as she freely admitted that she had an ace up her sleeve. “Trust me” she said, lovely. I informed Lavinia of the scheme, and we both reluctantly agreed. This was hardly the kind of date I’d treat a lady to, but it was our best lead to get closer to Vanthus. Again, as a precaution, I was handed Verik’s Rapier and a Short Bow.

The two happy couples met an hour later in front of the manor and we slowly made our way north towards Parrot Island. All was going well until Crimson unleashed what I suspected to be the whole “Trust me” thing. Crimson had forgotten her shurikens, at Max’s, the place where the seamen were undoubtedly prying though his unmentionables, or perhaps setting an ambush. Crimson convinced us all that we make our way to the Shadowshore district in order to fetch them. Upon arrival, an unexpected turn of events. Immerging from the building was a familiar face, hoisted upon his shoulder, another familiar face in a comatose state. Upon spotting us, Garland quickly made haste to the nearest temple, no doubt. Max and Crimson took the opportunity to give chase, but to no avail. In the mean time, Lavinia and I made our way to the building’s entrance to see what we’ve gotten ourselves into. As we feared, the entrance was stained in the blood of what looked to be four very dead Lotus Dragons. Lavinia nearly collapsed then and there. I quickly closed the door to conceal the horrific image and rushed Lavinia to a nearby bench. Off in the distance, Max and Crimson could be seen, slowly making there way back, with rage in their eyes. I was not at all looking forward to… “Phase Two”. Max opened the door only to find several of his good friends… slaughtered. You could say that I sensed much anger from the young lad as he entered the building. At that moment, Crimson signaled that I follow her in. I told Lavinia that I’d be back shortly. “Please be careful… Gustave”, she whispered. I made a promise to honor that request and was rewarded with a smile. Upon entering the establishment, Max began to curse the Dawn Council and their actions. Crimson aided in authenticating the later and added that the Lotus Dragons should not tolerate such hostility. “Thankfully, we have Gustave by our side, that is, if you’ll have him”, she said. That statement startled Max and nearly startled me as well. Fortunately for you, my dear… Crimson, I AM A VERY… DIFFICULT… MAN… TO READ. Even though I was consumed in fear, anger and betrayal, I was still able to put on quite a performance. Max was quite impressed with my ability to manipulate the Vanderboren wench. The perfect ploy. The Dragons wanted her dead and what better way to prove myself to them by performing the deed. Max handed me a contraption that would render Lavinia unconscious. “One blow to the head ought to do…”, he said. “Once the deed is done, we shall bring her to Vanthus on Parrot Island. There you shall be rewarded and with any luck, you shall be given your first assignment”. We shook hands on the matter, both with a sinister grin. Upon a quick evaluation, a confrontation would clearly result in my death. If it were up to me, I’d have that vile hand severed, along with his head. I slowly made my way back to Lavinia and took position behind her. In order to soften the blow, I initiated a soothing backrub while quietly relaying the course of action that had to be taken. I delayed as long as could for I couldn’t bring myself to do it. After a moment Crimson exited the building, gave me a look and prepared herself to do the deed in my place. Lavinia spoke out to me, “Gustave, I need YOU to do this, please, make it swift…”. Not one but two strikes were required as I brought her to the very edge of unconsciousness. Never in my life have I ever had to hide so much pain.

The story came to a sudden pause as my emotions had gotten the best of me. I shifted my gaze towards Lavinia as she sat there, still smiling. I reached out to the wound I had given her only to still feel its presence. Unable to hide my pain to the one I cherished most in this world, I failed to contain several tears.

Gustave (ashamed): Lavinia… I…

Lavinia (smiling): Please, say no more, it had to be done, they… I left you no choice. I’m just glad the deed came at your own hand. You were… so gentle. It looks like your memory is well intact, this makes me… happy, please continue.

I watched over Lavinia while the other two cleaned up the mess down below. Later that eve, the time came to make our way to Parrot Island. I insisted that I carry the limp body. We managed to arrive at our destination unnoticed. Max led us to bush, a bush concealing a hidden passage way. He disabled several locks, opened the hatch and began to make his way down. Upon his arrival, he illuminated the room down below and signaled us to follow. Just as I was contemplating how I was going to get down a sixty foot ladder without falling or dropping my dearly beloved, the tree next to me was the target of a vicious magical attack. Off in the distance, I had spotted the tree’s aggressor; it was Glaive waiving a flag of truce. Crimson informed Max that her assailants had arrived while signaling the two to storm the hatch. They gave me quite the look upon their arrival as I directed a similar look at Crimson. She replied with an innocent smile upon her face. “Don’t you two start with me…”, I said. I then shifted my gaze towards Garland and convinced him to take Lavinia down safely. I followed closely and Glaive was the last one to make the decent. Little did we know, we had just walked into a trap. A voice could be heard from above as two figures made themselves noticed.

Vanthus: Well done Max, well done indeed. You were a good man, tis a shame to have to let you go.

Anzak: Hey, Gustave, no hard feelings eh.

Gustave: GUILDENSTERN…

Again the story came to a pause as Lavinia began to stir ever so slightly, she then urged me to continue.

The hatch slammed shut. By the time Garland reached the hatch, he had realized that the hatch had been sealed, probably with the aid of a large bolder of sorts. We were trapped and poor little Max was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. I had Lavinia brought back to full heath with the aid of a wand as now five sets of eyes shifted their gaze upon Max could do nothing but soil his undergarments. Luckily for him, we opted to keep him alive, for the moment. He knew the location to several Lotus Dragon safe houses and promised to spill a few beans if he left this place alive. Apparently, the next item on the agenda was the matter of reward. Glaive demanded that Garland, himself and Crimson be awarded an increase in pay for their troubles. “Pull it out of Gustave’s pay if you must, I’m sure he won’t mind”, he said. Lavinia would have none of it, she blatantly refused while feeding upon the anger she felt at the mention of Anzak’s recent betrayal. I took the opportunity to speak out “Why don’t we get you out of here alive before we discuss payment shall we”. A corridor stood before me as I made my approach. I scanned the area in an attempt to locate any traps. I shifted my gaze to the right only to find Garland standing next to me aiding me in my attempts. I replied with a nod as we ventured a little further. The others opted to stay behind until we deemed the room safe. Two doors within this room, one to the north and one to the west. Both emitting a fowl odor and haunted by voices of the dead. Scratching on the door could be heard soon thereafter as we all took a defensive stance. I stood in front of the door, Garland behind me reaching in with his harpoon, Glaive readying his magics, Crimson aiding in my defense, Max cowering in the corner and Lavinia out of harms way. My role was simple; keep the creatures from escaping so that the others may unleash their fury. I opened the door and was faced with two Zombielike monstrosities and another right behind them. I was quick to react and delivered a significant wound upon the one in front of me, only to watch the gash close up completely before my very eyes. The two in front of me desperately attempted to grab me but to no avail, the one on the left nearly got me but Crimson kept him at bay. Out of nowhere, a harpoon came to bear, just missing its target followed by a magic missile that seemed to have annoyed the creature. I called out to Max for aid but refused to perform an act of bravery. I swung again failing to pierce anything. The one on the left saw an opening and removed a small portion of my left shoulder, the pain was excruciating. Another missile and a lethal harpoon blow followed, putting an end to the one who injured me leaving two fresh to contend with. Lavinia quickly made her way behind in an attempt to aid in my defense, as did Crimson. Max tossed his sword for me to use. I had to act; my weapon was useless, the Long Sword was unreachable and Lavinia was right behind me. Retrieving the sword would have placed both Lavinia and Crimson in grave danger. I had decided to remain at my post and attempted to utilize the healing wand. Unfortunately, it failed to activate. All of a sudden, I felt a tug to the left, a tug to the right; I was lifted clear off the floor…

Gustave: …I… I’m sorry, that’s all I can remember.

Lavinia (crying softly): You… died… shortly thereafter…

Gustave (smiling): Well, I like to think that this particular story has a happy ending. Here I am sharing this moment with you. Please tell me, how did this miracle come to be?

Garland took Gustave’s place upon the battlefield and with Glaive’s help, one of the remaining creature sustained heavy damage. Gustave was still very much alive but was still occupying a threatened area, so Crimson and I began to aid in Garland’s defense. I could do nothing but watch Gustave slowly to bleed to death and then, the unthinkable. First, one of the creatures lashed out at Gustave’s left arm nearly killing him, and then… GARLAND… He carelessly swung his harpoon and lost his grip, it fell, and impaled Gustave in the chest. I screamed out to him, desperately trying to find a pulse, but there was none. He was so… cold.

Lavinia (crying softly): …I believe I passed out after that. When I awoke, I had opted to stay by your side. The others told me roughly what had happened after that, but I’m sure those facts are inaccurate, I… I’m sorry.

Gustave: I know what you are thinking. Please, do not blame Garland for what happened, I’m sure he feels bad enough already. I put myself in that position and I’d do it again, save the dying part of course. Yawn.

Lavinia (smiling): Oh Gustave, you look absolutely exhausted. Please try to get some sleep.

Gustave: Yawn, you may be right, but first, the conclusion.

Apparently there were a dozen more of these Zombielike creatures to be disposed of. And a half dozen man eating crabs, also easily disposed of and consumed for dinner. They were kind enough to offer me a bite to eat but I was not hungry. Gustave was no where in sight, but they generously told me where I could find him. “Just follow the stench”, Max said. I should have them all hung by the balls, pardon my language. I rested next to him and patiently awaited the others to find a way out; they found that quite convenient actually. If I were to die in this place, this is where I would want to be. They mentioned something about water filled tunnels, littered with thousands of poisonous sea urchins. Apparently they managed to reach the tunnel’s end with ease thanks to a couple make shift rafts (doors). Upon reaching land, they were attacked by a much larger, more ferocious, magic wielding Zombielike creature. Instilling fear in all who challenged him and dragging others into the depths of the sea urchin infested waters. Oh and get this, it had tentacles, and they were contaminated with a flesh eating disease. But worry not, the creature was disposed of just like the others, they simply fed Max to the creature as a distraction. They found a journal entry, it would seem that Anzak and my brother can be found somewhere in the Sunrise district. They also found three chests, one of them containing a gem with the power to summon a creature made of stone. One powerful enough to clear the path we came though in the first place. They say the other chests are empty, well, at this point, I couldn’t care less.

Lavinia (smiling): The only thing that matters right now is that we… Oh, fast asleep… Good night… Gustave.