"What in the Nine Hells was that thing." Bulvi sags against the wall. "Do we burn it?" He looks over at Carianna and her injuries before looking out of the hut at the others and raises his sword to signal victory to them and shouts out "Everyone is alive!"
|
Quasit edges forward and peeks between Bulvi and Ibona to look at the wrecked doll on the floor. She blinks a few times, then looks about the hut in some confusion. "The doll was haunted?" she asks. "It's an ugly little thing. What was it doing out here? Was it a spy or something?"
Then she notices the big sapphire on the floor. "Hey, look at that. That seems too good to be true. Is that jewel magical?"
|
|
"I don't want to know the details either," says Quasit. "I wasn't just being curious. What should we do with that thing? Is there still a soul in it? Do we need to destroy it? Or is it just a really valuable sapphire now that we can now safely sell for hundreds of gold? I don't know anything about soul focuses or how they work. If you guys don't either, that's ok, but then I guess we should bring it along until we can find someone who does who can tell us what to do with it. But that weird doll was casting weird illusions out here, and if this gem is gonna keep doing that to us, it could pick a really awkward time to act up again."
|
|
Quasit looks around helplessly at the group, then seems to just slouch down and give in. She stows her crossbow and leaves the hut ready to follow along. But she doesn't take the sapphire, and in fact doesn't even look at it closely enough to appraise its value. And her face is red and her lips are pinched tight.
Bulvi picks up the gem and gives Ibona a confused look. ,"Did Quasit steal something?"
|
|
Quasit stops dead in her tracks and turns around to face Ibona, fury in her dark brown eyes.
"Who are you calling a thief?" she says angrily. "I haven't stolen anything from any of you! I've been risking my life for people I don't even know for 2 days now! Where do you get off calling me names? Just 'cause I'm not a Pathfinder? Just 'cause I didn't go to any fancy schools? I'm not a bad person! I'm not just some worthless street rat! I'm just trying to get by on my own in this rotten world!"
"And for your information, I think that gem is dangerous, and that's why I don't want to take it. But what do I know? I'm just some miserable stupid criminal!"
|
|
Quasit's hands fly to her head and she grabs fistfuls of her own hair.
"Desna give me strength! There you go again! Are you trying to piss me off?"
She gets right up in Ibona's face, and pokes the half-elf in the breastbone.
"You don't know ANYTHING about me! And if you don't want to learn something real quick, you'd better watch your mouth, missy."
Small as she is, Quasit glares up at Ibona tense as a bowstring. She looks like she's ready to punch someone.
|
|
Quasit's eyes narrow as she keeps staring daggers up at Ibona. Then after a moment, she gives a mirthless sardonic chuckle.
"Yeah. Sure. All a big misunderstanding. My mistake. Just the thief getting violent and unreasonable. You know how we can be."
She continues to lock eyes with Ibona for a few more moments, then turns away and walks out of the hut. She circles around to the far side, leans against one of the stilts and pulls out the sippy flask of apple jack found on the dead weasel hunter and takes a good long pull, then closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
She wipes her eye and sniffles once. Then she pulls out her short sword and turns sideways and begins listlessly poking the point into the wood of the hut stilt. Not hard, but hard enough.
"Don't you con artists choose your words carefully Ibona? Or were you a cattle rustler. Honestly calling someone a thief for no reason. Quasit can move quietly so can many people. She can open a lock, so can a locksmith. And I took the gem because I feel we will need the funds later."
|
What did I do, or say, that was wrong? She's a Rogue. Doesn't that mean all she wants is the love of stealing and getting into places others can't get into?
Shocked, unable to give an answer that they seem to understand, Ibona stands there for a few moments. Then, in a flash of inspiration to deflect what has been said, she reaches into her backpack and digs out her well worn journal and begins to write...
Bulvi looks over at Quasit, "I get it at least. Give her some time to think about it..."[b] and continues in a stage whisper [b]"...and maybe she can ask me if she can't figure it out."
|
|
Bulvi looks over at Quasit, "I get it at least. Give her some time to think about it..." and continues in a stage whisper "...and maybe she can ask me if she can't figure it out."
Quasit continues to gouge the post on the far side of the hut.
"Forget it." she says in a quiet voice. "I've been called worse."
|
Sakitu approaches Quasit quietly and gently. "I'm sorry about what she said. I don't think that she meant it to be mean, but I think she just wasn't thinking." Sakitu puts a hand on Quasit's forearm. "You know. Someone once refused to serve me chicken at dinner. They said I was a 'fox' and was better suited to catch my own chickens in the hen house out back." She chuckles a little. "At first I was upset by it. But later I started to think about how funny it would have been if I had gotten up and crawled into the coop."
|
|
Quasit keeps looking down sullenly at the hole she's gouging in the wood with the point of her sword for a bit. Then she's pipes up.
"It's not even so much what she called me. It's the lack of respect, you know?"
She sighs and puts away her sword, then puts her back to the post and slumps down to a sitting position.
"It's hard to explain, Foxy. I mean... I'm no saint. I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of in my life. But I'm really trying to change all that. I don't want to just be some vagabond gypsy thief that no one can trust, and it..." Her voice catches, and she has to stop and gather herself before continuing in a voice strained with emotion. "...it's just hard for me to think that that's how any of you guys sees me. You know?"
She looks away, and her lips pinch tight, then she blurts out some more.
"I never stole anything for FUN! If I ever stole anything, it's because I had to. To keep from starving, or to do what I needed to do to help the people I cared about. When you grow up on the streets of Cassomir like I did, a dirty homeless girl only has so many options, and none of them are good."
"She has no right to judge me. And if she doesn't stop patronizing me, I'm gonna sock her in the jaw."
"I for one see a perhaps foolhardy but undeniably brave woman who has matched our idiocy in taking up this foolish quest to stop these vile fey with even less of a reason to take up the mantle of protector. People expect Pathfinders to run off foolishly into danger at times however you didn't have to do that Quasit."
|
|
Sakitu slides down next to Quasit. "If it matters, that's not how I see you. We only just met a few days ago but since then I've learned that you are a good person. I mean, I'm sure you've done some things you regret. I think we all have. But that's no reason to hold it against you." Sakitu sits quietly next to her friend hoping to offer comfort.
Bulvi continues to try his own unique combination of blunt and light hearted. "I do not think you could catch a chicken Sakitu, not without magic. Chickens can be very fast, not so easy to catch as many people think."
|
|
Bulvi continues to try his own unique combination of blunt and light hearted. "I do not think you could catch a chicken Sakitu, not without magic. Chickens can be very fast, not so easy to catch as many people think."
Quasi laugh-snorts at this, almost in spite of herself, given her determination to be mad.
“It’s actually easier than you might think, Bull. The thing is, most people try to get down to the chicken’s level to catch it. It’s hard to run and bend over and grab something all at once. The trick is to kick the chicken. It immediately goes up into the air and spends all its energy stabilizing itself. Then you just snatch it out of the air by the wing, and you’ve got it.”
She takes a moment and then smiles, giving up on being miserable. She grabs Sakitu’s arm and hugs it. She rests a cheek on the kitsune’s shoulder.
”Thanks guys. I really appreciate what you said. It means a lot to me. I know I over-reacted, but the T-word is just kind of a sore spot for me. I’m not surprised when someone thinks of me that way, but it still hurts. I’m glad you guys are willing to give me a chance.”
She releases Sakitu and stands, lending a hand to help her friend up.
”And for the record I still think that sapphire is dangerous. If that doll was meant to be a sentinel of some kind, and if that gem was its soul or whatever, then someone might still be using it to spy on us.”
She scans around and notices Findurel poking around the trail. ’Looks like Fin is getting impatient to go.”
|
Carianna seems distant and rather quiet as she stares back towards where you all have come, her voice cracking a bit as she sighs and starts to speak
"I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore, I wish you all the best in luck and hopefully with the divines grace you finish what you set out to do"
with a solemn bow she starts to head back to the town in which this all started
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The trail continues through a narrow pass, descending south and
east into an icy valley. An unusual pattern of lines is scratched
into the fresh snow covering the trail at the edge of the clearing
|
|
Carianna seems distant and rather quiet as she stares back towards where you all have come, her voice cracking a bit as she sighs and starts to speak
"I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore, I wish you all the best in luck and hopefully with the divines grace you finish what you set out to do"
with a solemn bow she starts to head back to the town in which this all started
"Wow. Didn't see that coming." says Quasit as she watches the disciple of justice and honor turn and walk off the mission. She seems tempted to say something else, but then just shakes her head and pulls her cloak closer and continues on down the path.
The trail continues through a narrow pass, descending south and
east into an icy valley. An unusual pattern of lines is scratched
into the fresh snow covering the trail at the edge of the clearing
"Well that doesn't look natural." says Quasit. She creeps closer. "Maybe it's a message, or a sign of some kind."
Selena approaches the strange lines, excitedly hoping to see a dancing hut as that would mean she is home, yet hoping if it does see her that it'll let her pass and not mistake her for a southerner.
Winter, her familiar, sniffed at the lines as Selena looked both directions for anything else that might clue her in to lines, or danger.
As she looks right, she notices the cabin with movement in one of the windows, and being cautious, she stands her ground near a tree and waits to see what they do.
Bulvi draws his sword just in case setting off the trap is when the ambushers jump out.