Nasrudin's Blessing (M)

[kestrel]

Not sure if anyone's played Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. I found a copy in the bargain bin last week, got addicted, and had a sudden urge to torture Virgil. I haven't written anything for over a year, fetish or non-fetish, having had a few personal difficulties, so I apologise if this sucks as badly as I think it does.

This takes place very early on in the story. For anyone not familiar with the story, the characters:

Virgil: A monk of the Panarii religion, trying to move on from a tragic past. He's still new to his religion, and has no idea what he's been flung into.

Dulcie: My player character, a shy girl fresh from charm school, and the sole survivor of a blimp crash. Virgil believes her to be the reincarnated spirit of Nasrudin, the elf whose teachings form the basis of the Panarii religion.

On with the (lack of) plot

It can't be much further to Tarant...

Dulcie debated whether or not she should once again try to engage Virgil in conversation in an attempt to take her mind off her discomfort. They had been walking since dawn, and Dulcie had barely slept. Each time she closed her eyes, there it was again... The bullets, the screams, the fire... Perhaps Virgil was right. Maybe there had been a touch of the divine in her survival of the crash.

Virgil walked slightly ahead of her, his eyes (such pained eyes, Dulcie mused, clashing with his awkward good humour) scanning the landscape for wolves and other dangers. With his hooded robes and stout staff, he made an intimidating figure. Not that it took much to intimidate Dulcie.

Clearing her throat, the young lady reached out, tapping the monk's shoulder. At once, he swung around, alert and attentive.

"What is it, Madam? How can I help?" he asked.

"Might... might we rest a while?" Dulcie asked quietly. "I know we need to hurry and find Elder Joachim... but... we've been walking so long..."

Virgil gave her a kind smile.

"As you wish, Madam." he shrugged off his robe and laid it carefully on the ground, motioning for her to sit. "Joachim know's what he's doing. I daresay he can take care of things until we get to Tarant. Besides, I doubt he'd thank me for letting the Living One collapse from exhaustion." he gave an awkward chuckle as he sat next to her. To his surprise, Dulcie slumped against his shoulder, her eyes fluttering shut.

"Just Dulcie," she murmured sleepily, recent events taking their toll.

"Madam?"

"Not the Living One. Not Nasrudin. No one's saviour." Propriety forgotten, Dulcie snuggled against Virgil's shoulder. "Just Dulcie."

Virgil smiled a little, feeling a strange sense of protectiveness towards his charge. To be trusted by someone so gentle and delicate, after all he had done... Living One or not, she had given him a chance to atone. As her breathing deepened, he leaned down and pressed a light, chaste kiss against her brow. As he did so, her soft, feathery hair tickled his nose. He grimaced, his nostrils quivering as he took an involuntry breath. Of all the times to sneeze! Trying not to disturb the dozing girl, he scrubbed a fist againt his nose, but to no avail.

Hhh..hhah... HHURRUSSSSH!! HURUSSHHUH!!

Dulcie jerked awake at the sudden roar, eyes wide with alarm like a frightened deer. Virgil blushed, stammering out an apology.

"I'm sorry, O Living One... I mean, Madam... I mean... I didn't mean to..." he sighed, annoyed at himself. "I'm sorry, Madam. I'm being a blithering idiot again, aren't I? Go back to sleep, if you like."

Rather than being annoyed by his babbling, Dulcie gave a sleepy smile, leaning back against his arm.

"Just Dulcie," she yawned. "And bless you, Virgil."

Virgil looked down at her with an embarrassed smile. A blessing from the Living One... Well, that wasn't something he'd ever hoped to receive. Sniffling back another tickle, he settled back to keep watch.

Sorry it's short and kind of bland. Night all, I'm off to bed

[murphy dee]

Oh I love how flustered he was! Poor guuuuuy. I adore priest-like characters, so this dude was right up my alley. And it was really well-written, so don't fret!

[kestrel]

Thanks Murphy! I really appreciate the comment. And yeah, priests, monks and the like are the best fun to torture, aren't they?

[kestrel]

Part two! Didn't expect to write this, but Virgil's too much fun to torture. May even manage a part 3, if anyone's interested. And to anyone who hasn't played Arcanum, I definitely recommend it

Dulcie snapped shut the book she had been reading and peered eagerly out the train window as the conductor passed through the carriage.

“Next and final stop, Ashbury! Please take all belongings with you when leaving the train! Next stop, Ashbury!”

“Virgil? We’re almost there,” Dulcie reached out and tapped her travelling companion on the shoulder. Virgil, who had been dozing lightly, looked up and glanced around the carriage before turning his attention to Dulcie. He smiled slightly. Travel and adventure had done wonders for the girl. Her eyes were bright, there was a healthy tinge of pink in her cheeks, and her shy demeanour had all but vanished. He remembered where they were heading, and wished he felt as carefree. Ashbury didn’t agree with him.

“Let’s be off, then,” Virgil remarked as the train drew to a stop. He could already see the carefully tended garden beds that lined Ashbury’s streets, bursting with flowers. He felt his nose begin to itch at the mere thought of them. “No more than a five minute walk to the docks, if I remember rightly. Let’s hurry and find whichever ship it is we need to catch.”

Dulcie barely seemed to hear him. Stepping lightly onto the platform, she gazed in wonder at the neat little town, idyllic in comparison to the heavily polluted, crime-riddled Tarant. Sure enough, she moved directly towards the flower beds. Virgil followed grudgingly, scrubbing at his nose with one sleeve, wincing at the course fabric. The pollen-filled blooms swayed gently in the breeze, mocking him.

“We don’t really need to hurry, do we?” Dulcie asked, oblivious to her companion’s suffering. “I mean, it isn’t as if the ship’s running to a schedule, and it’s been so long since we’ve seen somewhere this nice, and…. Oh! Look! Kadura stems!”

As Dulcie knelt to examine the red blossoms, Virgil gave in to the inevitable and hastily clamped a hand over his nose.

“Hh… Hnxxt! Ugh…”

“Bless you,” Dulcie turned to give him a worried look. “Are you quite well, Virgil?”

“I’m fine,” Virgil gasped, fighting back another sneeze, embarrassed. Thankfully, Dulcie seemed to believe him, and turned back to the gardens. The last thing he wanted was for her to see her protector undone by an attack of hay fever.

“Ooh, look, they’ve got ginka root as well! Do you think anyone would mind if I took just a few stems to make some healing salves? Honestly, this place is a herbalist’s dream! Virgil?”

Dulcie turned to find her companion absent from his usual position at her side.

“Virgil? Virgil, where have gone? Virgil?”

“HURRUSHUUH!!!”

Dulcie frowned slightly as a roar of a sneeze echoed from behind a nearby building. She followed the sound and found Virgil leaning against a wall, hands to his face, in the grips of a sneezing fit of alarming intensity.

“HAARSCHUU! HURRUSHUUH! Hhh… Hahh… HAHRRUSHH!! Ugh…”

“Bless you! Virgil, are you sure you…”

“HASCHUUH! Hhh… Hah… HAH-Nghxt! Oww…”

The monk slumped back against the wall, exhausted. He blushed as a small, cool hand came to rest on his forehead, and looked down to see Dulcie at his side, eyes wide with concern.

“Madam! I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have left you, only…”

“Never mind me; I can survive on my own for five minutes. What brought that on? Are you ill? You don’t feel warm, but perhaps…”

“It’s nothing, madam. Please, don’t concern yourself. Ashbury’s al… ah… hah-nxxxt!... always done this to me.”

“Bless you. Ashbury makes you sneeze?” Dulcie tilted her head, puzzled.

“Not Ashbury itself. Something in the gardens. I came here as a child with… uh… with my… my family…” a hint of sadness flickered in his eyes, and he carried on before Dulcie could question him about it. “It had the same effect on me then. I was hoping I… ih… IHHESHUUH! Hh-nghxxt! Ow… I’d grown out of it. Apparently not.”

“No wonder you wanted to leave so quickly. And I suppose I’ve made things worse by dragging you around to look at flower beds. Here,” she fished a handkerchief from her sleeve and pressed it into his hand. “Please, take this, and my apologies.”

“No apologies necessary, madam.” Virgil replied, stifling another sneeze and wincing. “I’m sorry for leaving you. Hay fever or not, it’s my job to protect you.”

Dulcie rolled her eyes.

“As I said, I can take care of myself for five minutes. Which is more than can be said for you, apparently. If you don’t stop stifling those sneezes you’ll do yourself an injury. Now, come along,” she tugged lightly at his sleeve. “Five minutes to the docks, you said? Come along, then, we’ve a quest to complete!”

“As you wish, madam,” Virgil replied, and began following his charge to the dock, which, according to his memory, were mercifully free of flower beds.

[Tassielli]

Omg! yup. I lurvle this. Thts not a word oh well.