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He was nervous.
He was overjoyed.
He was distracted by a particularly beautiful druid in a white dress.
Osclow Wiltenholm was certainly many things at that moment. A cacophony of various voices ran through his mind. Some seemed to possess the tone of many members of his family who did not disapprove of the near-silent wedding taking place on a ship in port between him and the druidess Annie, but screamed at the bard for not being invited.
"We bought you gifts you ingrate!" one yelled.
"First jail, then forced service to those damned Legion, and now THIS?!" that voice sounded similar to Fenton, but for some reason it sounded as though it possibly could have belonged to Esmee.
"I wanted to see mommy in her dress." That was the voice that caused the bard to lose his normally calm demeanor, which often managed to at least partially maintain itself no matter how frightened, sad, or stressed he was.
He had heard tales of men often getting spooked upon reaching the altar, or ship's steering wheel in this case. He could not help but feel if perhaps this was merely normal what he was going through or perhaps the end result of a man who had simply gone through too much altogether as of late. Though Annie's gifts for natural magicks managed to keep the rain off of them, the occasional cold breeze reminded the bard of the cell he had escaped only by negotiation with the Legion merely a few days ago.
Four years of service was the deal. Four bloody years serving an organizaton the bard could see the good works of at times but often disagreed with and often found himself disgusted with. Fenton's idea of fleeing the valley was tempting. They did not have to go far. Navil provided a place of peace as well as a whole town's worth of people that would defend Osclow and Annie. Weis and Professor Teion were powerful enough to deal with a small army of Legion or Red Wizards. Add the facts that the town was under the protection of the Shaundakul clergy and officially the property of one of Lord Nasher's most noble and powerful knights, and Navil was not the kind of place you could just march into and start making orders without getting certain parts of you handed to certain other parts of you.
However, at what price did such safety come? The safety itself was not guaranteed, as politics and laws were often stronger than any form of blade or spell. The bard could be surrendered to avoid international incidents. He may have been well known by Navil, but the town was still a small fish in the vast pond that was Neverwinter territory. People could be hurt and peace may have been impossible for both him and his beloved Annie.
The smile Annie held upon her face was one Osclow could never forcably take away. She was tied to this place, this valley. Truth be known, the bard himself had come to call this land his second home and found it extremely difficult to see it as anything else, despite all that had occured and all that many occur from here on. In many ways, the bard was as tied to this land as Annie and to run now would just bring both of them to suffer.
It was then the bard realized that the captain stopped talking and was looking expectantly at him. Bloody hell!! When did he stop?! How long had he stopped?! The bard responded with the first truthful instinct that rushed to his mind; a nod and gentle, warm, though slightly nervous words.
"I do.. "
It seemed like it was the right thing to say, for Annie seemed pleased, as did the captain, though in his case it was most likely because now he could move on toward the end of this ceremony.
"Now we truly walk together as one my love."
Everything felt so much better. The voices, first harsh, now seemed joyous. The bard felt in his mind what seemed to be his whole family cheering in celebration and joy, even if they could not be there to witness it. His heart felt lighter and with the warm kiss between him and his beloved, he was truly ready to face whatever life had in store. Never had he felt lonely, even when imprisioned, but now he felt as though he truly did not walk this journey in the valley and the journey of his life altogether alone.
Annie had truly completed him.
He was overjoyed.
He was distracted by a particularly beautiful druid in a white dress.
Osclow Wiltenholm was certainly many things at that moment. A cacophony of various voices ran through his mind. Some seemed to possess the tone of many members of his family who did not disapprove of the near-silent wedding taking place on a ship in port between him and the druidess Annie, but screamed at the bard for not being invited.
"We bought you gifts you ingrate!" one yelled.
"First jail, then forced service to those damned Legion, and now THIS?!" that voice sounded similar to Fenton, but for some reason it sounded as though it possibly could have belonged to Esmee.
"I wanted to see mommy in her dress." That was the voice that caused the bard to lose his normally calm demeanor, which often managed to at least partially maintain itself no matter how frightened, sad, or stressed he was.
He had heard tales of men often getting spooked upon reaching the altar, or ship's steering wheel in this case. He could not help but feel if perhaps this was merely normal what he was going through or perhaps the end result of a man who had simply gone through too much altogether as of late. Though Annie's gifts for natural magicks managed to keep the rain off of them, the occasional cold breeze reminded the bard of the cell he had escaped only by negotiation with the Legion merely a few days ago.
Four years of service was the deal. Four bloody years serving an organizaton the bard could see the good works of at times but often disagreed with and often found himself disgusted with. Fenton's idea of fleeing the valley was tempting. They did not have to go far. Navil provided a place of peace as well as a whole town's worth of people that would defend Osclow and Annie. Weis and Professor Teion were powerful enough to deal with a small army of Legion or Red Wizards. Add the facts that the town was under the protection of the Shaundakul clergy and officially the property of one of Lord Nasher's most noble and powerful knights, and Navil was not the kind of place you could just march into and start making orders without getting certain parts of you handed to certain other parts of you.
However, at what price did such safety come? The safety itself was not guaranteed, as politics and laws were often stronger than any form of blade or spell. The bard could be surrendered to avoid international incidents. He may have been well known by Navil, but the town was still a small fish in the vast pond that was Neverwinter territory. People could be hurt and peace may have been impossible for both him and his beloved Annie.
The smile Annie held upon her face was one Osclow could never forcably take away. She was tied to this place, this valley. Truth be known, the bard himself had come to call this land his second home and found it extremely difficult to see it as anything else, despite all that had occured and all that many occur from here on. In many ways, the bard was as tied to this land as Annie and to run now would just bring both of them to suffer.
It was then the bard realized that the captain stopped talking and was looking expectantly at him. Bloody hell!! When did he stop?! How long had he stopped?! The bard responded with the first truthful instinct that rushed to his mind; a nod and gentle, warm, though slightly nervous words.
"I do.. "
It seemed like it was the right thing to say, for Annie seemed pleased, as did the captain, though in his case it was most likely because now he could move on toward the end of this ceremony.
"Now we truly walk together as one my love."
Everything felt so much better. The voices, first harsh, now seemed joyous. The bard felt in his mind what seemed to be his whole family cheering in celebration and joy, even if they could not be there to witness it. His heart felt lighter and with the warm kiss between him and his beloved, he was truly ready to face whatever life had in store. Never had he felt lonely, even when imprisioned, but now he felt as though he truly did not walk this journey in the valley and the journey of his life altogether alone.
Annie had truly completed him.