The Shell Game (Open)

by **Avari** on February 27th, 2012, 9:00 pm

Avari sucked in her breath as she bent forward and peered at the small, delicate statuette more closely. Though not an artist herself -- unless working as a confidence artist counted -- she had grown up within a community teeming with artists, and she could recognize fine craftsmanship when she saw it. Every detail of the woman's sleek dark clothing, her simple domino mask, and the secretive smile that curved her full lips was beautifully and realistically rendered. Even without knowing what materials comprised it, she could tell it must be valuable, from its loveliness alone. She wondered why this Lion fellow would hide such a thing inside a desk drawer when it should have been displayed and admired.

As well as examining the statue, she also watched the reverent way that Lion handled the statuette. She reviewed his words inside her head and noticed the subtle emphasis that he placed on the words "Lady" and "Her" when describing Yshul. She was no common lady, Avari slowly deduced. Yshul was something more, something greater and more powerful than she had guessed.

"You are doing this because of Her," she echoed uncertainly. "Does that mean that you serve Yshul, both of you? You're searching for young thieves on her...excuse me, Her behalf?"

She pressed her lips together and tried to force her mind to work properly. Her eyes kept wandering back to the statuette on the desk between them, though, like a pale moth drawn irresistibly to a bright flame. The statuette was exquisite indeed, like a figurine kept lovingly polished and exhibited in a place of honor in an artist's studio or a beloved shrine. The soft candlelight flickered across the woman's face, lending a deceptive sense of life and movement to her smirking, sly features.

The word "shrine" in her thoughts brought her up short. Yes, it was not too different from a statute in a small shrine that worshippers might kneel to in supplication. And if he and Philippe served her...

"Yshul is a goddess, isn't she?" Avari blurted out. "Your goddess. And if she is interested in thieves, then she must be a very...a very interesting goddess, indeed. Not a goddess in favor of setting down laws and following them, I would say."

As a many-times-removed grandchild of a god and goddess herself, the thought that she had attracted the attention of divinity wasn't quite as earth-shaking as it might have been to a mere human. Still, the revelation took Avari's breath away. She looked to one side and saw Philippe's wide grin, matching that on Lion's face. As maddening and provoking as those grins were, she was sure they confirmed the truth of her guess. Yshul was the goddess of these thieves, these men who acquired things from warehouses and worked fancy tricks with sleight of hand. That statuette was no less than a depiction of her and, from the look of the mask she wore, the goddess was no stranger to deception, secrecy, and trickery herself.

Avari let out a long breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Tell me," she said, her words tumbling out faster and faster in her growing excitement. "Am I right? Is Yshul your goddess? Do you serve her? And if she bears an interest in me, will I be able to meet her? Will I too be able to serve her someday?"

by **Paragon** on February 29th, 2012, 11:08 am

"Questions, questions," the man called Lion laughed, "Yshul is our most esteemed Goddess, yes. We serve her in a way... we are her senses in Zeltiva. But yes, I think you will meet Yshul one day."

He lowered his head and eyed Avari carefully.

"But not yet. We are her eyes and ears for now, and we have told you of your potential. You can choose your road from here on out, and perhaps it will end in ruin, and Yshul may abandon you. But perhaps you will draw her attention more and she will mark you as her own."

Phillipe turned to her.

"There are others like us," he broke into a grin, "though dare I say it, none as beautiful as you."

"Quit the small talk," Lion growled.

"FIne, fine. Will you join us Avari? Will you walk our path?"

"And please the Lady," Lion added with a smile and a soft nod, eyes falling on the statuette, "she has taken a special interest in you, Konti."

OOCAs we discussed earlier, Avari probably won't join them, and that's fine! But perhaps she can come in contact with this secretive group again in future.

by **Avari** on March 2nd, 2012, 7:48 pm

Avari's eyes widened as she finally took in the full significance of this peculiar and roundabout meeting with Philippe and Lion. She had taken them at first for some sort of local crime family or organization, but now it turned out that they were part of something grander and more mysterious. Unsurprisingly, no one had ever taught her before about Yshul, the goddess of thieves and brigands, and the revelation that such a goddess existed took her breath away for a moment. As a daughter of Avalis and Laviku, she had always loved and worshiped her divine ancestors with all her heart, but she had never felt she truly belonged amid their worshipers.

Among Yshul's followers, though, Avari knew she would belong. If there were any doubts of what her answer to Lion's question would be, they were dispelled by the sly smile that blossomed across her thin, sharp features.

"It seems to me that I have already been walking your path for a while," she replied, inclining her head. "It would be an honor to continue to walk it in Lady Yshul's name. I am flattered beyond words that she has taken a special interest in me, and I am...well."

She laughed nervously, and her hands fluttered briefly in the candlelight like pale moths. "Well, there just aren't words for it, are there? I want to join you. I want to please Lady Yshul. I'd like it more than anything. Is that enough?"

Her eyes went back to the masked statuette and then to the genial Lion. He would never have struck her as the priestly sort, but then, a priest of a goddess of thieves probably wouldn't garb himself in elegant finery or symbolic accoutrements; he'd look like a thief or a trickster himself. His low voice, though, had a priest's conviction, a priest's certainty and faith in his chosen deity. She had seen that sort of certainty in the faces of Opal Order healers and in the eyes of the most devout Konti seers. Under Avari's steady scrutiny, he looked more and more self-possessed, more and more like a man who knew his place in the world and in the heart of his goddess.

Another nervous laugh escaped her. "This is not what I expected this morning, when I set up my shell game," she admitted, "but I am glad that my humble game of deception made you call me here. Only let me know what you need me to do, what Yshul wishes me to do, and I will do it."

OOCShall we wrap it up? I think this post, or one more post from you, will make a good ending. Thank you so much for picking up this thread and running it for me!

by **Paragon** on March 4th, 2012, 1:48 am

Adventurer's Loot

Avari's Loot :

I hope the grading was ok, I really enjoyed this thread even if it was initially hard taking on a plot I knew nothing about. Thanks for working with me on it to make it something worthwhile. There are plenty of threading opportunities for the future now - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, don't hesitate to PM me.