Solo Warrior 33: Salve Sebastio

[Bungleau]

The late morning sun rose high in the wizard-created sky as Missy Hissy left the temple, turning west toward the wizard's guild. Checking her pockets for Strumbold's earplugs, Missy decided to stop in to let Sebastio know she had managed to open Anephas' shrine.

The bell jingled on the shop door as Missy walked through, the smell of burnt potion mixes assaulting her senses. Sebastio straightened as she approached. "Greetings. I sense there is news in you."

"I opened that shrine you were looking for," she said. "The ward resembled this staff I found, and the touch of the staff broke the seal."

"An amazing staff, then," said Sebastio. "You would do well to keep it with you. The thanks and appreciation of the guild go with you, noble one."

"Yeah, yeah," said Missy. "That and a couple of gold will get me a cup of nymph coffee... if they haven't raised the prices. Anything else you need done?"

Sebastio shook his head. "Silence... there is only silence..."

Missy's blood began to boil. She'd had enough of his long-windedness. Who knew you needed words to say nothing? "Are you sure there's nothing else? If you recall, I do have a rendezvous scheduled with a living tree shortly... with a seed or with your head. Makes no difference to me."

Sebastio seemed to shake his head mentally. "The living tree - of course! The seed - it should be done by now, if my calculations were correct."

"Can the calculations," snapped Missy. "Is the seed ready to go back?"

"Yes... and no," replied Sebastio with a grin. He bade her to come to the back of the guild store, and she followed him, suppressing an urge to rip out his devil-spawned tongue.

Brushing aside the heavy curtains, she was amazed at the collection of tubes, burners, tubing, and beakers that were set up. Last time she was here, there was naught but a small collection of potion bottles. "What's all this?" she asked.

"Many years ago," began Sebastio, "I studied the time of bloodshed, and the rise and fall of Oakenmir, the greatest of the living trees. He was betrayed by a goddess, and fought valiantly to defend his charge as keeper of the Mavin, falling only when his children were all slaughtered and he himself heavily wounded, burnt scarcely beyond recognition."

Missy put her hand in her tunic pocket, rolling Strumbold's beeswax cylinders between her fingers to warm them up. "He told me about that. What's the point?"

Sebastio continued. "The sacrifice he gave, the challenges he went through, have always been an inspiration to me. Selflessly giving one's present and future to defend one's oath... that has always been the hallmark of the champions, but seldom the guardians. I have often thought that were Oakenmir able to actually move, he would have been the greatest champion ever."

Missy slipped one of the warmed wax cylinders into her ear. "But he can't, so he didn't. So what?"

Sebastio's eyes caught fire. "I also said 'so what'. So what, for this noble creature who gave all. But then... then... I heard of something. A sorcerer in the south, near Valeia, was working on bringing things back from the dead."

Missy nodded. "Scabban. Yeah, he was... but not any more. He went a little too far with it."

Sebastio smiled sadly. "Poor Scabban," he said. "He learned a great truth, but applied it foolishly. Trying to bring dead humans to life again... that is something for the gods and the temples to do. But bringing other things to life... that is something else indeed."

Missy's hand stopped short of her other ear, the wax cylinder slightly expanding. "Bringing what to life?"

Sebastio smiled. "Scabban's mistake was in trying to bring it all back to life. Had he looked deeper, he would have seen that life requires life to exist. If life has left, there is little to keep the ghost here. But if there is even a brief flicker of life remaining, then... oh, then the flicker of life can be nurtured to a flame, to a roaring bonfire of the joyous celebration of existence, to -"

"Cork it, Sebastio," Missy said. "I know life is good. What are you trying to say?"

Sebastio's grin stretched across his face, and indeed, seemed to spread across another one yet. "With the seed of the living tree, and with the knowledge of Scabban's experiments, properly applied... I have been able to create a second seed, fertile and vibrant, full of life. Look there!"

Missy turned. There, in the corner of the room, was a good-sized pot, filled with soil and with shoots of green poking up from the rich earth. "What is that?"

Sebastio practically glowed. "That, my dear child, is the seed of the living tree... culled to maturity and fruition, and growing... oh, growing, yes, yes, yes... Oakenmir gave up his future to protect us, and nine hundred years later, I have found the secrets to give his future back to him. In another two weeks, these will be old enough to travel, to move back to the darkened glen where Oakenmir lies in despair. Then they will grow, yes, yes, grow and become strong, bringing comfort to the sacred tree that his sacrifice was not in vain, and that his race will continue, yes, yes, yes...

Missy eyed the wizard carefully. Last time someone had babbled like this, steel was stained with blood. Yet today, Sebastio seemed much calmer than Scabban had appeared. And there were indeed small plants growing, and she could see them moving, and waving. And unless her ears were playing tricks on her, some tiny voice was calling out for its mommy.

"You're serious, Sebastio? You've managed to split that seed without destroying it, and soon, there will be more seedling to take back to Oakenmir?"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes," cried Sebastio. "In my most glorious hour, this has happened. And you thought I'd never amount to anything, Mommy... you always liked him best. Well it didn't do him much good, did it, now? Yes, yes, yes!"

Missy backed out of the guild area slowly. She'd head back in a week or two, pick up the seedlings, and take them back to Oakenmir, to give him the good news. Still, she wondered... Scabban had gone too far with his experiments and paid the ultimate price. Perhaps Sebastio was not quite the same, but what would be the ultimate price for his experiments?

Settling her gear, she left the mossy gates of Brimloch Roon once again, and prepared to teleport to Kerah's undersea temple.

[Bungleau]

Chapter 26, Elder Alder, contains Missy's original discussions with Oakenmir. That may explain more of what's in this chapter... it felt important to have a conclusion to this.

[Wyvern]

HURRAH!!!!!!!!

I actually ENJOYED listening (reading) Sebastio in this chapter - something I never thought possible! But he's saving the "ENTS" and trees of any kind are close to my heart! Oakenmir will be pleased!!!

Great one, Bungleau!!!

Wyv

[bsftcs]

Ah, the plot develops. Marvellous. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] It seems that in the Gael Serran all meglomaniacs develop a habbit of saying "yes, yes, yes". I wish it were so in real life. They would be much easier to spot earlier.

Am I right? Yes I am, yes, yes, yes.

Great chapter.

[ZaRos]

Weeeeeee I didn't have to wait long [img]smile.gif[/img]