Dark Alliance: A Kirin's Tale

by Blackdrag-rose


Interlude: Unexpected Arrival

Rain found that the people of Baldur's Gate, true to form, took to celebrating their victory over Mordoc almost as soon as the words left her mouth, because it showed the rest of the world that the city wouldn't fall to darkness and that it didn't matter what was thrown at them. She knew that part of their newfound confidence came from the fact that came from the fact that they now had a guardian creature watching over them, her dragon form to be exact, and she knew it was only a matter of time until someone, somewhere, came up with a name for her. That was the interesting thing about the bards of this world, they were quick to gather information, separate truth from fantasy, and weave together tales that excited people in the span of hours, maybe a day or two at the most, so she wouldn't be surprised if they were already working on a name for her more powerful form. During the preparations for the feast she even caught a few bards talking about her tale and she found that they were likely the ones deciding on a name, as they had come up with 'Rastreth', 'Sariam', and 'Pharas', causing her to walk over and chat with them for a while, since their topic interested her greatly.

In the end they agreed on 'Sarigoza, the Ivory Guardian', giving her both an alternate name and even a title, to go with the fact that she controlled the Ivory Tower and fought against the forces of darkness, something that caused the bards to nod before getting to work crafting tales about her various adventures.

Randalla and those who had been forcefully linked to Mordoc and the corrupted Tower were overjoyed to be freed of the state they had found themselves in shortly after it appeared in Baldur's Gate, even though a few of them would need to talk about what each of them had done after being turned. Randalla herself was still coming to terms with the fact that she had been twisted into a vampire, had actually drank someone's blood after her awakening, and had forced herself to fight the thirst that had nearly consumed her entire being, but, thanks to the vampires having been slain so soon after her turning, she didn't have to worry about it too much. Of course there were still people who had fought off the hoards that Mordoc had summoned to take over the city, in an attempt to add it's undead to his growing power, as Allessia's paladin friend used the church to house people while he fought the zombies, which was echoed by the others that Rain had seen during her time with her new friends. That was part of the reason why they were able to save so many people from what had happened to the city, pockets of safety for the citizens to use, and if they were worried about turning they found an area to be held in until something had been done, though thankfully Rain had saved the day before anything drastic had to be done.

In addition to all of that Rain spent some time chatting with her friends, filling Adrianna, Kromlech, and Vahn in on what they had missed since being imprisoned by Mordoc after leaving through the last Onyx Gate, though with everything she had shown them recently, thanks to her empowerment, none of them were surprised by the tales that she told. They were just happy to see that she was just fine, that she had found some new friends to travel with, even if each one knew she would have continued to search for them until Rain ran out of options, and that she had stayed true to herself, her morals really, during her entire quest. Of course they were also happy to have some actual food, since Mordoc's followers brought them nothing more than basic food to ensure their survival, causing Dorn to ask how they had kept their bodies in peak form for all the time they had been in the prison, causing the trio to chuckle as Kromlech told him that they had exercised to the best of their ability. It made sense that Mordoc would seek to keep them weak so he could either drain them or turn them into his loyal soldiers, but appeared to have misjudged how much food he would have to take away from the trio to use starvation, though he was a poor planner, in Rain's eyes, and she was glad to have her friends back.

While they talked, however, Rain told the others about what she had discovered before they headed into the four Elemental Planes, as Omduil had unlocked her memories and such a thing allowed her to understand who she was, where she had come from, and answered so many questions, while leaving a few more for her to ask.

"So you aren't from the Feywild, like many of us assumed... but an entirely different world." Adrianna said, which made so much more sense now that she thought about it, because while the Feywild had been an excellent candidate, back during Rain's first adventure, everything that had happened after that told her that Rain was definitely from another world, only it would take a while to wrap her head around that, "Which reminds me: what are you going to do with Lyran?"

"I will be traveling with Rain to her home planet, as I wish to see it with my own eyes," a voice said, where they found that the phantom of Lyran appeared near them, though at this point everyone was used to Rain doing unexplainable things, so being able to make friends with a lich was well within the realms of possibility for her, "however, once we return I will move onto being the Steward of the Ivory Tower, keeping watch over the world, continuing my studies, and help Rain with whatever she needs... though with her being the goddess to a faction of kuo-tao, and having put her Tower on the isle that their temple is located on, I'm sure her power will continue to grow, without an end in sight."

"You know I didn't do it for power... it's just a good place for it to rest and remind people of the bright future that everyone is hoping for." Rain remarked, as power had always been the furthest thing in her mind, she didn't desire it and didn't chase it, rather it found ways to enhance her existing skills and abilities, coming at either the right time to ensure her safety or in the time before a major event so she'd be ready for whatever she would be fighting, "Now that the world is safe, for the time being, I think it's time that I find a way back home and see what sort of trouble the Kirins have gotten into while I've been gone... and if they've found our missing member."

"Perhaps I can help with that?" a new voice inquired, where Rain focused on a spot that no one was standing in as a tear in reality, an oval of energy, opened before their eyes and a strange chimera creature stepped out of it, though he, as Rain was sure it was male, had to pause for a moment to be sure he hadn't fallen on the ground, as if that had happened once in the past, before he focused on them, "You must be Rain Shine... you certainly seem stronger than what I'm seeing right now, meaning your true power must be sealed away right now, if what the other Displaced have done is any indication."

"I am Rain Shine... and, if I'm not mistaken, you must be Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony." Rain replied, though she only knew of him thanks to some of the tales that Autumn had told everyone about when she returned from spending time with the ponies, before she noticed something interesting, the spirit was glancing around the area, as if worried that there might be someone else out there, "Is something wrong?"

"You, um, haven't seen figures wearing black robes who come and go using dark oval portals... have you?" Discord asked, informing Rain that someone else had to be traveling the stars, going from world to world, and that the creature had seen one or two of them over the course of his own journeys, meaning he was looking to confirm if they had been to this world or not.

"I haven't seen anyone who fits that description." Rain stated, which only interested her even more, because it sounded like there might be another dark force out there that she and her friends had to be watchful for, least they swoop down and attack them while their defenses were lowered.

"Good... good. Now then, I believe it's time that we head back home." Discord said, changing course with ease, as if Rain's statement allowed him to relax within a matter of seconds, something that just made her interested in figuring out who he was talking about, before the creature raised his hands as the others reached for their weapons, "I only mean that we'll be heading back for some time and that you're free to return whenever you want... I'm not forcing Rain to return with me and then keep her there. If you want to stay here, and not head back to Equus, then I'll leave and you'll never see me again."

Rain chuckled for a moment as she told Discord that she wanted to head home for a time, as she was eager to see what had happened during her absence, and all of her friends were eager to join her, something that made her interested in seeing what they might discover once they were brought to her home planet.