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"We can't carry him all the way back there. What do we do?"
Cats looks at the halfling. Maybe *you* can't carry him, noodlearms. He smiles as he sets Mariner against the wall, shaking his head at all the bad luck.
"No, don't worry, I can carry him..."
"...but maybe we should dump the bones inside first. We gotta do something right tonight. Seems...like...we're catting cursed..." Cats' eyes slowly travel down to the bones. "Catless? Doesn't it seem like nothing has gone right since we got them bones? Maybe...maybe...they are cursed?"
Cats moves away from the bones that Fearless carries.
"Maybe you should put those inside...and then let's get out of here." Cats opens the door for Fearless to toss the bones in, then he'll close the door (with Fearless on the outside).
"We'll come back in the morning to check on things. Let's get the cat out of here!" Cats will fireman's carry Mariner as best he can...very, very slowly back to the Sleepless Agency.
"*Oof*! For cats sake, Catiner, *strain* we need to put you on a diet! Are you all muscle? *Oof*!"
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If Cats is able to get the door Fearless will loosely toss the haunted bones through the door. If the doors remain locked the Fearless will instead toss the bones among the stairs leading to the door.
Wiping his hands free of the cursed bone dust he looks to Cats. "Let's get outta here and quick. Before that ghost comes back. Well that and we just inadvertently haunted this Chapel I think."
He moves away from the Chapel and helps get Mariner back onto Cat's shoulders as they head back to the Agency.
"You know we can just tell the others we dropped them off safe and sound. Never bring this up again."
Cats spins with his heavy load, 'accidentally' bonking Mariner's head into a wall.
"Did you say something, Catless? I thought I heard something," Cats says, still straining with the load walking back to the Agency. Cats spins again and this time definitely does bonk Mariner's head against a wall, trying to keep his feet until the man's girth.
He continues to make slow progress back to someone who might be able to fix Mariner.
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Dumping the remains of Clymes Prett inside the door of the New Chapel, Cats and Fearless haul the Mariner back through the dark streets of Thrushmoor.
Close by, unnoticed in the night, two pairs of eyes peer after them through curtains in the window of the chapel’s boarding house.
”Should we have helped them?” A young man asks.
”After what happened to Tolman?” A gap-toothed man retorts. ”F@#% no. It’s not safe out there at night. They could have been shapeshifters, kidnappers, murderers, rapists.. maybe even the lake folk.”
”Lake folk?”
”Like merfolk, but scaly and green, with claws and sharp teeth.”
”You’re making that up.”
”Hmm..”
”Ok... I’ll just, uhh, go inform the Captain.”
”Nah. If we did that every time a shadow moved in town he’d never sleep. And they’re gone now anyway.”
***
Fearless and Cats eventually return to the Sleepless Agency where Allard helps them lay the Mariner into a bed in a side room normally reserved for resident agents, but currently empty. Cesadia produces blankets and suggests rest while she and Allard burn the midnight oil. The night passes, and dreams haunt the Watchmen. Morning cannot come soon enough, and yet it comes too soon for proper rest. Brother Butterfly manages to drag himself out of his chair and perform his morning prayers, but can barely keep his baggy eyes open. Fearless and Cats are in better shape, but The Mariner remains catatonic until almost noon.
Not since waking in Briarstone have the Watchmen felt so threadbare and psychically battered, but they have faced the Terror of Thrushmoor and lived to tell the tale.
Status
Cats (37/38) -2 Charisma damage
Fearless (33/34)
Butterfly (46/46) -3 Charisma damage
Mariner (55/71) -7 Charisma damage
Pinkie -8 Charisma damage
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Cats rolls awake with different pains than the ones he went to sleep with. The night of carrying Mariner back to the Agency hurts his back, but that's not what is bothering him. It's something else.
He has regrets. And he feels something wrong inside and feels the need to fix it. He doesn't like it either, but he has guilt and needs to fix it. It's what Sarenrae would want, probably. He rises from bed and takes a few moments to clean himself (and shave) before coming down to find breakfast and confess his many crimes.
He loads his plate with guilt bacon and the eggs of regret. Plopping himself down at the table, he offers a quick prayer before admitting to something that troubled his sleep.
"So...Brother?" Cats asks while eating some guilt bacon. "Remember when I cat last night that we 'handled the bones appropriately'?" Cats asks.
"Well, what I really meant to cat is that we tossed the bones in the front door of the chapel then ran for our lives from the accursed bones. We slammed the door as we left."
Cats waits for that to sink in before continuing.
"And remember when I said that Fearless and I were pretty respectful? Well, uh...maybe the bones got tossed in with enough cat to make a big mess."
Cats stuffs his face with the eggs of regret while waiting for that to sink in.
"And remember cat I said [i]'we had a meaningful dialogue with the priest and left a tithe'[i]? Well...we saw no one and pretty much the only screaming we did was yelling about curses and screaming about 'giving the church the bone'," Cats says, looking ashamed.
He sighs.
"We should probably cat back there this morning and clean things up. I hope...I hope the priest isn't too mad at us. We..." Cats looks at Fearless. "We...kind of lost our cat last night. We freaked out. I was sure those bones were cursed."
”You should probably confess to stealing Allard’s eggs too.” Shevan says over a cup of coffee. ”He should be back from the privy any minute and is going to blame me.”
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Fearless stretches as he wakes up. Yawning he looks around at the rest. Their faces beaten, bruised and overall most shades of black and blues. "You guys look worse than you did in the Asylum." He grabs a chair and hops up into it. Hearing Cats quickly confess first thing in the morning he groans. "Couldn't even make it a couple hours! I knew you were with the SHapeshifter and out to get me." The halfling's paranoia continues to take root. "We did just fine. We said we were taking the bones to the Chapel. Well, the bones are in the Chapel. They will know what to do."
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When he gets done with his prayers, he uses the first prayer on himself.
. He doesn't want to be at anything less than his full charasmatic self.
The large cleric hears the "events of last night" and slaps his palm into his forehead. Thinking just the words " DOH .
Well, we do need to visit the Chapel. We have probably gained enough "social credit" to bypass this faux paux.
But, we do need to address and thank the Sleepless Agency for their sanctuary and protection last night.
He gives them a hearty Thank You to Cessedia and discusses strategy. Opening up the talk to suggestions from The Watchmen.
..... except one has gelatenouscube brain. Which he tries to fix.
He casts lesser restoration on Mariner Desna, return the greatness, royalty and splendor back to Mariner.
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”You should probably confess to stealing Allard’s eggs too.” Shevan says over a cup of coffee.
"What?" Cats looks up from where we was scarfing eggs, a few egg crumbs falling from his mouth. "You mean these eggs were for everyone? Oh, why didn't you cat something?"
Cats looks down at the eggs of regret and pushes the plate away.
"Uh, sorry!" Cats yells out to Allard. "I catted all the eggs...uhm, there are some left."
Cats shakes his head, but agrees with Brother Butterfly.
"Yeah, we gotta get back to that Chapel. We catted things up good last night." Cats looks bummed that he needs to find redemption again, but he does.
When others are ready, he will lead the party back to the Chapel. He notes how short the walks seems compared to last night when he was carrying a wide load.
"Sorry, Catless. Gotta do what's right if we're going to be redeemed. No more mistakes."
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A fly lands on the pupil of an eye though it does not blink. The Mariner had laid like a butchered slab of meat for a long time before dawn. Eyes staring straight through the wooden ceiling, breath barely drawing, heart hesitantly beating, body numb. The sunlight breaks the slats of the window painting his face in jagged streaks like claw marks.
Joining the others downstairs, he thanks Cats and Fearless for whatever they did you get him back to the Agency, although there were two tender lumps on his skull that he figured it was from the fight against the Thing. He looks down with pity at Brother's boots, and nudges, "Let's get you some new boots. I also need to gear up before any more sieges."
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Brother Butterfly sees the clean shaven Cats and thinks that is the best idea EVER.
Even before getting much needed food into his body, he spends 2 hours grooming. Shaving the entire length of his body. Going over every square inch meticulously as he looks to see if the cursing horror had left any lasting effects.
He is very glad they survived the night. It was more eventful and harrowing than even his time on the island and inside the asylum. A dangerous evil -that centers around the Lowels family – has taken root. Taking an analogy from farmers , the only way to kill a wicked weed is to grab it as close to it’s base as possible and YANK.
When he emerges from the tubroom, he looks like a new person. Then while eating what is left over from the Marauder breakfast. While eating some of the spangleberries, he outlines some of his next steps.
The First stop can be to the Temple. Hopefully we are there for only a short time, as we sort out the ghostly bones mess and maybe other help.
As a side note, Desna gave me a dream last night – a way to possibly hurt that Terror. She said she will bless me with a boon to make Mariner’s sword Holy and magical.
Next, we should investigate the building where the statues point toward. They intersect at an interesting point on the map. We will check out that building and see if there’s anything to glean.
While heading there, we will stop off and hand Sholm to his sister.
Lastly, after a few hours – visit the Count’s compound and apprehend the necromancer that murdered the guards at the Fort.
Any added thoughts from the Watchmen or Sleepless Agency?
The Mariner raises a cup to Brother's idea, adding "And on the safe side let's get each one of us some cold iron. The smithy should be up by now."
Cats seems quite happy to leave before he screws something else up. He really thinks he's trying to be good, but seems to be stepping on people's heads and bonking heads by accident a bit too often for his liking.
"It's good that we're going to cat shopping before the Chapel. I might need some extra money to tithe and make amends. And I can buy some things to help with that monster that ate most of my face last night."
Restored somewhat by Brother Butterfly’s faith in Desna, the Watchmen head out from the Sleepless Agency to handle business in the light of day. One of them, however, is unable to join the group. Sitting in a corner in one of the offices of the Agency, knees pulled up to his chin and rocking like Cats on his first day in Briarstone, Pinkie has withdrawn in a state of shock from he cannot be roused. Cesadia promises to tend to him until a time when he recovers, and eventually the group departs without him.
After a brief discussion of prioroties, Brother Butterfly leads the way to deal with the abandoned remains of Clymes’ Prett.
Arriving around noon at the New Chapel, the Watchmen find the place just as they left it, with the door slightly ajar and Clymes’ remains dumped just inside.
”Hey there!” A voice calls from across the road. A few survivors from Briarstone loiter at the door to the chapel’s boarding house. Among them is the bard Wren. Waving to the Watchmen, he calls again. ”Hallo! If you are looking for the priestess, she’s not there. Hasn’t been in a couple days.”
Crossing the road, Wren says, ”Where have you all been? Lady Winter sent a message to the Silver Wagon a couple days ago. The doppelgänger we had locked up.. the one that was pretending to be Brin back in the asylum? Well, it escaped. Killed Tolman, and probably Brenton’s dog too. Or scared it off. It was barking that night, but we haven’t seen it since. Poor kid is not taking it well and has gone mute again.”
STATUS
Cats (37/38) -2 Charisma damage
Fearless (33/34)
Butterfly (46/46)
Mariner (55/71) -4 Charisma damage
Fearless stays unusually silent on the way to the Chapel as he feels he has no apologies to make. On the way there he picks up a few items as well.
As the others purchase weapons and blanches Fearless works on attaching a cord to his hand crossbow and loads the returning dagger into a hidden spring loaded weapon sheathe.
Giving it a couple of quick tests he seems content, tough in essence he is really trying to drag out heading back to the Chapel. Though he is a bit surprised as Wren and appears with word from Lady Winter. "Of course we would toss the s#&& in an empty Chapel. Well." He claps his hands together as if the task is dealt with. "No one to apologize to then. We just haunted an empty room. Good to go."
His mood turns back to dour as he hears of the doppleganger escaping, let along killing one of their own group. "Don't worry Wren, it couldn't have gotten far. We will find it and deal with it. You work on talking to Brin." He sighs. "One step forward, two steps back..."
The Mariner's guilt lays at a balance point somewhere between Fearless and Cats, though completely overweighed by the fear that the undead banshee would return even if they didn't have the bones. He casually puts the bits and bones into a sack and heads out to what garden may be outside. "Come on Brother, let's finish this. Desna's eulogy will have to do." He digs a small deep hole with the same stout shovel that he buried Klynn with, certain it'll be used again in the near future. A couple of rocks as a markers finishes the grave.
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schmetterling...... Schmetterling...Schmetterling... Dang thing is running out of blessings, the wand is spitting out terrible healing... Schmetterling.... OH! That last one was much better- though I may have to switch to the Kerfuffle Wand soon.
Brother Butterfly uses the wand of Cure Light Wounds on Mariner. Still seeing that he is injured from the fight against the Skum. He must have been turned off by his hideous complexion that he didn't notice the residual injuries until they got to the Chapel.
While shopping, he purchases a few things.
At the Chapel to Pharasma, Brother will try to close his eyes and sense for any hallowed ground. Ground that might hold Clyme's bones and allow the bones and his spirit to find some reasonable peace. If there's no real place that he can detect, he finds a spot that is far enough away to not actually haunt the Chapel and declares it appropriate.
He uses his powerful voice to rabblerouse volunteers to help dig the hole for Clymes. He also asks for a round cylinder (like a stovetop pipe) to use near the bones.
Clymes Prett, you have chosen paths that have led you away from the grace of the Gods of good. You willfully took steps to curse/poison and you eventually killed another out of covetous desires. Your sins and the repreccusions weighed heavily on your soul- thus you spent a decade in torment and torture. A spirit in a state of unrest.
Your punishment-on this Golarian plane- can end today. The Gods have other tasks for your soul. Go - advance onto your next journey. Know, that you need to depart this plane. As Holy messenger of Desna, I both command and promise you this... Leave this world in peace and as I draw breath, I shall place an item of value from your beloved to be next to you. I will seek a piece of her/value and place it in this pipe and bury next to you. If you honor this exchange, I will honor my oath as long as I have breath. You were an evil and murderous cultist, this bargain is the best you shall get. Accept it and depart.
His bold and truthful eulogy over, he throws the first sacred dirt atop Clymes's bones.
******
He gives 50 GP to The Captain and tells him to use it to purchase security guards to help protect the refugees. Just in case the Dopppleganger comes back.
******
He tells The Watchmen that it's now time to drop off Sholm to his sister. (and pick up the reward).
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Cats tags along, quite relieved that no one had been hurt or touched the bones...in fact, it looks like it was a victimless crime, like Fearless says.
He is quick to clean up his mess while Brother chats up Wren. In other words, he works while others smooth over the mistakes that might have been made last night. He helps Mariner dig the hole.
"Wait...the dog is gone?! But that was a good dog! That's cat news," Cats seems more annoyed by that news than the news of the doppelganger escaping.
* * *
Cats bows his head and serves as witness to the rites that Brother lays out.
Clymes Prett, you have chosen paths that have led you away from the grace of the Gods of good. You willfully took steps to curse/poison and you eventually killed another out of covetous desires....
And Cats will help bury the bones as if burying up his own guilt for the small transgression of the last night.
"Yeah, let's cat off Sholm," Cats says, feeling *much* better about things.
The Watchmen find a small area on a bluff behind the chapel that has a handful of graves, a couple seeming fresh. As the Mariner digs a plot for Clymes a small crowd, mostly survivors from Briarstone, come to witness the burial. After Brother Butterfly’s eulogy Lady Winter offers a few words as well.
”Great Pharasma, Lady of Graves and Mother of Souls, may you find this lost child upon the River of Souls and guide him to the afterlife in peace.”
As dirt fills fills the grave Loic plays a dirge upon the fine violin given him back in Briarstone. Despite some practice his skill has not improved. The effect is sad and haunting, and he abandons the attempt half-hearted.
Afterwards Loic approaches Brother Butterfly and offers the instrument to him. ”I thought I might be able to help soothe the others with this, but it’s sort of having the opposite effect.” He chuckles sadly. ”Stories are my talent, not music. Find a merchant that can tend to it better than I, and use whatever you get for it to help the other survivors.”
As the last of the mourners depart Lady Winter and York address the Watchmen.
”We had hoped Thrushmoor might be a safe haven, or at least a rest stop for the survivors of Briarstone, but it would seem that isn’t the case. Have you learned anything from the Sleepless Agency of the whereabouts of Accuser Omari?”
Fearless is quiet throughout most of the eulogy, as he feels their part has been completed, though in truth he is glad Clymes is getting a small bit of closure.
AS Lady Winter begins to as about the Sleepless Agency he curses. He had all but forgotten about the Accuser. "Not yet, sorry. We kind of had a lot going on. We just came from there last night but we can stop back and find out. We have to drop this boy off as well as he was locked in a dungeon below the Keep for whatever reason." Fearless nods his head in Sholm's direction.
”We had hoped Thrushmoor might be a safe haven, or at least a rest stop for the survivors of Briarstone, but it would seem that isn’t the case. Have you learned anything from the Sleepless Agency of the whereabouts of Accuser Omari?”
Cats sighs deeply at the question. He's in pain (mostly in his legs and back from carrying Mariner all over town, from running away from the Terror and just general abuse) and doesn't take Lady's nagging well.
"Look, we've been in town, what, two days? Three? We're doing the best we can. That catting fort was loaded with undead, there was a witch and a terror running about...we're doing what we can!" Cats grouses back. "Man, we're doing what we can. Let along things I need to cat...like my redemption or whatever."
Cats walks away and takes a seat, shaking his uncharismatically healthy head and waits for others to be ready to go.
Ain't nothing good enough.
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Brother B realizes the importance of allies in this town, and the sizable credence and weight that Lady Winter gives to the group just from her endorsement. In fact, some people view us as loonies from a looneybin. So, he gives a bit of a rebuke to Cats Now Cats you go a bit too far. Lady Winter has been in the dark for those two or three days and people have died. The Safe(r) haven she was anticipating has not been there. On top of that her boss, a ranking member of the Royal Accusers, isn't here and she should be. Imagine being a military man, at war, and trying to report to your C.O.
BB lets Cats walk away shaking his head. understanding that the Cats does have a point too.
So, he tries and answers Lady Winter's questions -
To Lady Winter and York. The Watchmen just came from clearing out the Keep. Just like Fearless mentioned. That place was a trap for exactly a person like An Accuser. I would imagine that she is dead. The Keep had a SoulSliver, this summoned being that could imitate the appearance of people that it killed or saw.
You can go there, the Soulsilver is still in a cell in the lower Keep.BUT, it is VERY dangerous and you should only go with a full and armed contingent. Maybe members of the Sleepless Agency.
Her name was Melissina. Maybe you can even take Pinkie. He is recovering from last night at The Sleepless.
BUT, be prepared. I am 90% certain she is dead. We only found Sholm as a survivor.
Lastly, know that we are going to the Count's compound very soon. It may be a bad idea, but all the troubles of this town can be found within the walls of his family home.
******
BB goes shopping again. This time for boots. He goes shopping at the Magic shop. Putting on various boots, the ones that have a Magic Tag really catch his eye. He likes this pair that is Royal Blue with gold trim. The soles are thick, and fit his feet nice and snug. When he walks around in them, he just FEELS the craftsmanship. He buys the boots, and when pulling out the insane amount of gold that is required, he finally asks, So if they are magical - what do they actually do?
Cats huffs and fumes and eventually lets go of his snit...and it was a snit. Though not feeling better, Cats is ready to take Sholm home.
what do they actually do?
"Probably the same thing the other pair did", the Mariner nods at the slippers, -Make you look like a wee fairy. After a few minutes of sniffing at perfumes and rummaging through the one copper basket of crap, he heads outside and waits.
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Leaving the survivors of Briarstone with unanswered questions, but promises to resolve them, the Watchmen head out shopping.
Sholn looks a little confused, but continues to tag along.
***
While searching for footwear, Brother Butterfly comes across a pair of blue boots that arrests his attention. High-soled, they provide a great deal of comfort and arch support while also making him appear a little bit taller.
”These boots are perfect for a nobleman on the move. Never fear a clumsy step or skittish steed again!”
The cobbler attempts to explain the magic enchantment contained in the footwear, but Brother Butterfly knows all that he needs to. For the price of 750gold they increase his stature and fit even better than Angier’s boots did!
"So drop of Sholm first, then head back to the Agency to search for answers to the missing Accuser?" Fearless looks for the layout for the day. As each one of their plans gets disassembled with the first person they meet.
Cats keeps an eye out for trouble outside the shop, waiting around for Brother to finish his shoe shopping so they can do more fun things.
He tosses pebbles and picks grass and hangs out, waiting.
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The Mariner says to Fearless and Cats waiting outside with them, "I bet you those new boots won't be his last."
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Brother really likes his new boots . His mood is far more upbeat and jovial.
The puppies are now comfortable and content.
But then he realizes that his comment about his feet might bring up some lost dog trauma from Cats... so he changes the subject - quickly.
What else I need is newer and better armor!
It's like a hole is acid burned into his beltpouch as he just quickly and jubilantly dropped 750 GP on a pair of shoes. He does the exact same thing on armor (600 gp). just depositing the Scale mail (broken) on the armorers workfloor. He points towards the premier item that is on display. The Armorer's pride and joy of his (nonmagical) stores. BB points to a masterwork Agile breastplate.
He asks the armorer to add an engraving of a Desna Butterfly in the upper left corner of the breastplate -spending an extra 50 GP to get it done fast and first.
With new armor and new, comfortable boots that he doesn't really know what they do-- he is ready to smile to the whole town and charm them as he saves them from terrors and doom. Dropping off Sholm as the first sign of Watchmen prowess.
"C'mon, let's get the cat out of here," Cats jumps excitedly to his feet. He had been bored waiting for BB to try on shoes...but will admit the ones he did get were pretty keen.
"I don't know why we couldn't do this after we took Sholm home, but whatever..." Cats wonders what Sholm was doing inside while waiting to be reunited with his family.
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"I don't know why we couldn't do this after we took Sholm home, but whatever.
Brother rolls his eyes once again. there must be a list of things Kast is not good at, and a few of them run through his head - in no particular order - #1: He doesn't understand the importance of appearance and the dramatic. #2: He picks animal companions that are not very loyal, #3: He gets freaked out by things he shoots with arrows and they don't die. #4: He is terrible at cleaning up the dishes from the table after a meal. He always leaves his scraps and dirty utensils. #5: Any word that has over 3 syllables just HAS to have the word cat in it. I wonder how he'd say, Onomatopoeia - which is the naming of a thing by a vocal imitation.
He has many more irksome deficiencies that pop into his brain....
I will use an parallel - in making juice (for drinking) it is important to fully extract the juice and squeeze the pulp a bit. You can always be lazy and quickly juice to get your drink, but there's always waste -residual juice left over in the fruit - unless you take the time to squeeze the pulp.
He then makes his way to the tavern, placing a comforting hand on Sholn's shoulder directing him.
*********
When they get to the tavern door, where he just knows that Holissa will be inside, he looks over to Kast and winks at the same time he says,
Watch, listen, learn my good friend. We are working on the pulp.
********
We are working diligently and will find your brother. We will free him from the bonds they have him in. I ask that you hold onto your faith for another day. Maybe a day and a half. Can you do that for me? BE HOPEFUL and make others hopeful in the abilities of The Watchmen. Tell me what he looks like. I will make it my personal mission
He sees Holissa and says, Hail Holissa! The Watchmen bring home your brother and restore your families primogeniture!
It is with great satisfaction to declare that the day is won.
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Fearless snickers as Brother Butterfly stumbles on his own words. "Someone is catching up on their word a day calendar."
He looks to Holissa. "What he is trying to say is we found your brother locked up in a dungeon cell and now your family can continue on it's name."
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"Cats right," Cats says affirmatively behind Brother to help the man's attempts at diplomacy. He's trying to smile, but the attack leaves his head a bit loopy to the left and the effect isn't quite right.
Diplo vs. DC10 to aid (-cha damage)
Primogeniture? What does that even mean? Is it some sort of monster?
Cats looks around for any dangerous primogenitures about to attack the party.
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The Mariner lost Brother at 'residual juice' and just brows flatly at the whole introduction . He quietly says out the side of his mouth, "Which one of these dames is the one he's in love with? I'm losing track. Aside from himself ofcourse."
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The afternoon sun is starting to descend as the Watchmen make their way to the Silver Wagon. As they arrive they can’t help but notice the Doomsayer has returned to his corner opposite the Inn, his sign now reading ”Despair, for none shall escape the Thrushmoor Terror!”
Inside the Silver Wagon the Sholn is reunited with his sister Holissa.
”Sholn, you’re alive! I was so worried. Are you ok? You look so thin. Have you been eating?”
”Well, I could use some juice.”
After a brief reunion Holissa goes to recover a pack from under a table where she had been waiting. Taking out a gleaming shield, she offers it to the Watchmen in thanks.
***
Having done their good deed for the day (finally), the Watchmen turn to find the proprietor of the inn, Dena Gallegos, standing with her fists planted on her hips and a stern look upon her face.
”I’m not sure what you’ve been up to, but that wretched lunatic Elgrior is back with his doom and gloom. Something happened in the streets of Thrushmoor last night that has folk really scared and he’s claiming it’s another sign of the last days of Golarion. And if that wasn’t enough someone kicked in a couple doors and tossed your rooms.”
Seeing the Doomsayer off in the distance Fearless smiles and waves as he holds two gold pieces in the air this time. Though he quickly pockets them as he promptly remembers the deranged man following him for some time, spouting all the heretic extremist talk of the end of the world.
He is happy once Sholn and Holissa reunite and they begin to head back towards the Inn. "Second breakfast. That is what I am talking about Shapeshifter." Though as Dena begins talking of their rooms getting tossed his paranoia kicks into high gear as he doesn't quite know the woman. "How do we know you didn't toss it looking for a bit of extra coin. Or the city folk in their panic of scary stuff in the city leading them to looting." His mind instantly leaps to conspiracy theories as he shoves blame. "We know the city is after us. You're in on it aren't you!" He points his finger.
"Well all that noise throwing the room apart, did anyone see who did it? Or did ya all hide in your beds." the Mariner asks Dena with equal annoyance as he checks the mess. "Somebody must have asked for us."
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and now your family can continue on it's name.
Thank You Fearless. That is exactly what I meant.
*********So, When Fearless starts accusing Dena of intentional counter-intelligence - Brother decides to support his Second breakfast eating friend. While it's probably not wise to put Dena in a bad spot -- she needs a bit of an attitude correction. She can't just "hands on her hips" and grouse at The Watchmen.
Yeah, Fearless is right. It's a bit sad that you couldn't have just been happy with how we fronted 80 GP to attract customers to you for Lunch-dinner/Linner. It's entirely possible that the noise Mariner is asking about didn't happen because they had a KEY to the ROOM.
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”Despair, for none shall escape the Thrushmoor Terror!”
Cats, seeing someone is wrong, goes to argue.
"Uh, that sign is wrong. You cattily *can* escape from the Terror. We did last night. I saw shot it full of arrows, too. True story," Cats explains how things are wrong and urges the man to update his sign correctly.
"That sign should read 'Only some can escape...' or 'Just run fast if you want to escape...' or something like cat to be more accurate. But you shouldn't be lying to people. It ruins your credibility as an unhinged lunatic preacher."
Diplomacy
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"How do we know you didn't toss it looking for a bit of extra coin. Or the city folk in their panic of scary stuff in the city leading them to looting."
”I wouldn’t have tossed the room for a little extra coin.” Dena retorts, then rounds on Brother Butterfly. ”And if they had a key, why would they have broken the lock? The damage is going to set me back a few dozen gold.”
”Well all that noise throwing the room apart, did anyone see who did it? Or did ya all hide in your beds.”
”Are you kidding? People are going missing around town and the city watch is nowhere to be found. I’m no hero. I thought that was your job!”
***
Meanwhile, outside...
Cats tries speaking to the Doomsayer in the local dialect of crazy, and seems to almost win him over with correct grammar.
”Wait, wait.. you got away, but didn’t defeat it? Obviously it was just toying with you! Savoring the fear!”
Taking out a grease pen he makes a small edit at the end, making it now read:
”Despair, for none shall escape the Thrushmoor Terror forever!”
”Better?”
Cats suddenly notices movement from near some crates behind the Doomsayer and looks over to find the dog Salvation huddled behind them.
"Has the City Watch been around at all or have they recently vanished." Fearless asks, still a bit skeptical. He doesn't even notice as Cat's walks off with their friendly Doomsayer.
He begins to scoff. "A few dozen gold. For a lock? You are the one being robbed it seems."
Cats feels slightly less aggrieved after the lunatic preacher fixes his sign.
"Well, that's somecat better," Cats says, reading the sign. "Well, not that I need to ask, but why are you back here and complaining about the Terror that people can escape? I thought you had moved on? What brought you back?" Cats asks.
"By the cat, did I tell you that we kilt the Briarstone Witch? Yeah, we tangled with her a few days ago in that cave off the pier. Nasty catter she was. Liked plants," Cats explains. "And we're gunna get that Terr--" Cats' attention is drawn away by a noise. He peers into the bushes.
"SALVATION!? SALVATION!? IS THAT YOU!? C'MERE BOY! C'MERE!!" Cats beckons to the dog, unwilling to chase the animal lest it flee.
Handle Animal (untrained)
"You see, Preacher? There is always hope. Like this catty here! It got separated from his boy, but maybe, just maybe, we'll get him back home. C'mon, boy, c'mere, that's a good cat..." Cats coos.
Dena shakes a finger at Fearless. ”Good doors are expensive and locks cost even more. Valen the Locksmith gives me a good deal, but if you think you can do better, then you can replace them yourselves!”
***
Outside...
Cats tries to beckon Salvation, but the dog turns and hightails it down the street.
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*****
I can fix the door and lock- for free. Correction, Desna is the one that performs the miracles. I can not take credit for such grace and divine abundance - it is Desna that will intercede for the good of your establishment. If the damage is too severe, this might need to wait until tomorrow - but I am certain that the delay in time will have a cost that is less than what Valen will charge.
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Cats frowns as his salvation, Salvation, runs away.
"No! Come back! Don't cat!" Cats kneels for a few moments, watching the dog run, escape, and flee potential rescue into the arms of someone that would love and care for them.
* * *
With heavy heart, Cats slowly gets up to re-engage with Preacher, his Salvation lost.
"So...Preacher? Any more questions about Terror? We're going to cat it down like we did the Witch. You hear me, we kilt the Witch too."
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Fearless points to Brother Butterfly. "See, you were being robbed. He can do it for free." He tries to interject his point by showing the innkeeper she was wrong and an idiot, which probably doesn't help his cause, whatever that is.
He leaves Brother Butterfly to his own devices as he notices Cats crawling around on the ground near some barrels. "Oh great. He finally lost it and thinks he actually is a cat now."
"Come here you little turd!" the Mariner makes a grab for the dog's tail. This mutt shows up aft the strangest of places and events.
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Trying to fix the door upstairs, just to make the conversation go back to neutral. A nice state of equilibrium that would allow The Watchmen to finally progress to Iris Hill and the Old Manor.
Ms.Dena Gallegos, your door is fixed. Now we shall be gone for a few hours. But hopefully returning with proof that the Terrors and Horrors that beset this inlet paradise has been vanquished.
******