Mikail's fiery alchemy splashes over the swarm, burning away a number of the tiny spiders! Zora's wind wall scours the swarms, destroying both swarms with a roar of air. As the tiny spiders launch into the air, both the webs and the spiders suddenly disappear, and the alley goes quiet. A few people poke their heads out of windows and doors along the alley, looking curious and frightened, but not terribly surprised.
The door to the south opens and the two addicts peer out, then cry out and rush over to the prone addict on the ground. The man begins to sob as he kneels over the now dead form of his friend and the girl, tears still streaming down her face, tries to comfort him.
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As a fierce wind kicks up, Ferabras mutters, "What madness is this? Spiders and wind and walking dreams of undead horrors?" He braces himself for whatever the wind portends, but soon realizes that it has in fact scoured the spiders from the alley and scattered them far and wide! Looking around, he sees Zora's arms raised high, and understands she has summoned the wind.
"Well done, Zora, well done indeed!" he calls out, a fierce grin showing his obsidian teeth. His demeanor darkening, he sheaths his blade and walks over to the mourning addicts, saying, "I hope it is clear, we mean no harm to you and yours. Please, help us to prevent more needless death."
The man sobs, but the woman clears her throat and though she glares at Mikail, she speaks to Ferabras. "My name is Nomi. This is Reynaldo. That... was Langston. Why? Why are you here?"
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Ferabras looks down and sees that he is, in fact, a bit singed. "Yes, it appears you did singe me a bit, Karnhia, and I was too distracted to get out of your way. Still, I am not bothered a great deal by fire, I'll be okay."
"Nomi, pleased to meet you," he says, turning to the girl. "I had a neighbor by that name once. And Reynaldo, also good to meet you. I am sorry about the circumstances of our meeting, and about your friend. We are trying to learn about where this particularly awful form of Shiver comes from, and where we can find the Spider, who seems to be the source of it - and who is ultimately responsible for Langston's death. Can you help us?"
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Zora inclines her head slightly to acknowledge Ferabras's compliment, then walks to the dead man to check his form, though obviously he has passed on to the next world. Still, the strange spider-hosting boils may be of interest....
"Your friend joins the souls waiting to see the goddess, now," she says, with noticeably more compassion in her tone than the blunt way she usually speaks. "I can ask only that he reaches her throne safely, but this I shall do." Zora closes the man's sightless eyes and gently traces a spiral on his forehead.
Kharnia's words do draw her gaze, though. "Are you injured? I shall assist us all; if you still feel weakened, please, do let me know."
The man still sobs, his head bowed over his friend's body and you can see a family resemblance there - perhaps a cousin or a brother?
Nomi nods. "Frell always buys our Shiver, when we have the money. He got the last bit from the Night Market. He used to live here with us, but I haven't seen him in a week. He got some sort of job, something with a gang that looted an old temple or something. Frell took some of his gain and we went to the Night Market and he traded some odd stuff for the Shiver. I mean, odd stuff: a set of fine silverware engraved with the initials “J.W.,” a fancy gold brooch like a butterfly, a mummified imp corpse, a weird silver key, and a blue parakeet in a bronze cage—that one he nicked from someone’s porch.” She sniffs and smiles, fondly remembering a friend.
Reynaldo clears his throat and wipes at his eyes. "Not that big book, though. He thought he could get more from the book dealers or that lady who interprets dreams.” He laughs and wipes at his eyes again. "Frell's a real dealer. He can get a deal for a dead dog, y'know? I guess he finally hit it big, though. He used to say he was going to, and I believe him." They talk about Frell Tann in the present tense - you don't think they know he's dead.
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Mikail steps up to the woman. "If you will accept my deepest apologies for my joke.. and my condolences for your friend. I am sorry." Mikail does indeed look suitably chastened.. and looks to Ferabras with a crushed expression as the woman talks of Frell.
"Ma'am, sit down, we have some more bad news.. It is actually because of Frell that we ended up down here. You see, he fell prey to this new shiver too. We have been trying to follow his steps to find out where this stuff is coming from and stop it from hurting anyone else."
"He's dead? But... Oh gods. Poor Frell. He... he never got to see his father again, make up for the argument..." She sits down next to the dead man and looks in shock.
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Fera gives Mika a smile, knowing the kitsune merely let his mischievous streak get the better of him, and that he meant no real harm. The tiefling then tentatively lays a hand on the woman's shoulder, consoling her in his kindest tone, "Nomi, I am so sorry. I know this is very hard, but we hope to prevent such suffering for others, and you can help us. You've mentioned some things that may be important. What can you tell us about the Night Market and this gang, and the strange items he used to pay for Shiver? And this big book, can we see it? And finally, we know a little of Frell's father, but what was the nature of their argument?"
She shakes her head. "The Night Market is where you can get anything. Anything. It's around the Night Market fountain and merchants set up there, but you can get anything. The Dream Lady, I think her name is Madame Carring-something. She tells the future. But the book? I don't know what Frell did with it. He took it with him when he left. But that was a week ago." She can tell you how to find the Night Market and Madame Carring-something's shop. "As for his dad, he didn't like to talk about it, but I guess they fought over something. It wasn't a big thing, but he always felt bad that they weren't talking. Now they never will." She begins to sob quietly.
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Mikail lays a comforting hand on the womans shoulder. "We cannot change the past, but we can try and bring closure to Frell's father. I will pass your words on to him, that Frell's soul may lie at rest."
Looking up, he assesses his team. "Off to the Nightmarket then? We should be getting close now.."
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"Yes vulpa, the nightmarket is where the path takes us. But if we could take a detour? I overestimated my ability to cast spells. If Zora ghidul celor morți did not disperse the swarms, I was going to have to use something far more deadly than mere flames" agrees Karnhia, looking healthy but not as strong as she was, as she struggles to get back up. "I think scrolls would help me pull my weight."
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Scroll of Create Pit x4
Scroll of Displacement x4
Scroll of Glitterdust x2
Scroll of Haste x1
Wand of Cure Light Wounds x50
Wand of Magic Missile x48
Mikail shrugs his shoulders. "I am fine with a trip to the Abadar Bank. But we need to make it quick.. we don't know how things are progressing, and I want to stop any more victims from dying.."
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[ooc]Okay, let me make sure I understand the order here: Church of Abadar, then Night Market?[/ooc
The Bank of Abadar lies southward across the bridges in Korvosa's North Point district. Though it is late, the Bank maintains a small staff to aid in commerce and spirituality. You are met by a tall Mwangi acolyte named M'Kana, who asks you what you need assistance with.
M'Kana nods. "The fee is 60 gp, payment required before prayers are offered. As soon as you have paid, I will fetch an acolyte who will pray over you."
The acolyte is fetched and the prayer answered! M'Kana bows and asks if there's anything else you require. If there is not, he bids you a safe evening.
The Bank of Abadar does not carry such arcanery, but the Night Market might!
The Night Market is based around a fountain, really a large well, near the Fever Dream Alley. Tents and low tables are set up pell-mell around the plaza, while more illicit deals take place near the well itself. Persons of all stripes and social classes barter and deal as you watch, for items ranging from weapons to stranger arcana.
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Ferabras hopes that with the great variety of visitors to the Night Market, he and his companions will stand out less than they did in the dens of sin they visited earlier. He does his best to look inconspicuous, though his frightful appearance and broad-shouldered height make this effort fruitless.
He studies the people around him, looking to spot the Shiver dealers they're after.
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Mikail moves into the Night market, trying to keep his eyes and ears open for the shiver dealers. Unfortunately, he is very distracted! The many people milling about, varied sights, sounds, and scents of the market all washing over him are a little much for his usually hsort attentions span to take in all at once.
Suffering from massive sensory overload, the young boy is lost in the sea of scum!
The Night Market is a confusing mass of people and commerce and deals taking place in the shadowy night. You see a couple deals go down, but they're quick and as soon as you spot them, they're already moving apart. A few hours of this leaves you frustrated and annoyed as the sky begins to lighten overhead.
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Ferabras rubs one of his yellow-tinged eyes, trying to scrub the exhaustion away, but is unsuccessful. "Friends," he says, "I imagine the rest of you are just fine, but I must rest if I'm going to be of any use. I say we find an inn, a place to base ourselves while we are here, and recover from our labors. The Night Market will be here come tomorrow night...or tonight, I guess it is."
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Kharnia frowns, pocketing her newfound aquisition.
"Maybe we should. But the traveler knows that even in his rulotă that safety exists only when an eye is open. Ferabras, Dragul ker, if we rest it best be in a safe place." She reaches out to play with Riddywhipples' scaled tail before adding: "Failing that, the King's Harvest will suffice. But I would take watches, even if we must sleep longer."
You can certainly find an inn, though the Harvest is probably among the nicer of choices.
You head to the King's Harvest and purchase rooms. They're clean, if not particularly extravagant, just a few beds in the room with a locking door. Taking Karnhia's suggestion, you set watches, but it's while you sleep that the strangeness occurs. Your dreams are dark and haunted, and you toss and turn and gain no rest, until in each of your dreams, a strange glowing woman, clad in blue and silver, appears accompanied by a snuffling doglike creature with a long almost elephantine snout. As soon as they appear, your dreams calm and you are able to get rest. When you wake, you find that each of you can recall the woman and the creature, though the nightmare memories have faded.
It's nearly 2 pm in the afternoon when you head down to the common room and take a late lunch.
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Kharnia steps down into the common room of the King's Harvest, looking extravagant in the usual Varisian fashion, but her eyelids betray a bad night's rest. "Cârciumar! What do you have for your guests to eat?" She takes a seat with the others, Riddywhipple landing besides her on the table. "Whatever it is, bring bread and meat as well. My Balaur hungers for flesh" she continues with a wink, before asking to her Pathfinder companions: "So how was your rest?"
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Zora is slow to join the others at the very, very late breakfast. Lunch. Whichever it is. She descends, rubbing at her face, drawing the gray robe of her order tightly around her as if to ward off a chill.
"My rest was.... poor," she says in answer to the question of Karnhia's she has just caught the tail end of. "Broken by ill dreams. A woman in silver and blue... a strange creature... Ah, well, no matter."
Zora waves a hand as if to try and shake the cobwebs of her dreams. She sits at the table next to Karnhia and requests fried bread and cheese from the innkeeper.
"Perhaps we might have more luck at the market if we bought some knowledge. I have coin to spare. There are also some prayers I could perhaps invoke... communions with entities beyond our own plane... but I am hesitant to try these until we know that simpler methods have utterly failed us."
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Fera joins the others in the common room, and his eyes widen as Zora describes her dreams. "Why, I saw the same woman!" he exclaims. "And the creature, like a dog, with a long snout! What can it mean, that we've dreamed the same thing?" He waves to the serving girl and gestures to indicate he'd like the same thing Zora is eating, baring his black teeth in a kindly smile as he does so. Returning to the conversation, he says, "Yes, we certainly need to try something different at the Night Market, perhaps spreading some coin would help."
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Karnhia looks to the others gravely. "That creature. I saw it too. Along with her mistress. A dreamwalker. Feeding on the dreams or nightmares of those who rest is Desna's embrace. Dangerous creature indeed. But consuming nightmares isn't bad in of itself."
She pauses to think. "Dreams... Didn't Tann seek out a clarvăzător to help soothe his soul? Madame Carrington. A giorgo name if I've heard any. But maybe she is of the people. We should seek her out while the sun is high. And then be careful about our dreams when the moon shines down."