"He's dead," Nebbin tells the children as he ascends to the upper floor. "His alligator ate him all up. It was pretty horrible.
"That's what the screaming was. But you shouldn't think about that. I mean, it was gross and I'm probably going to have nightmares about it, but it's all over now and I think everyone's safe. I hope!"
Emileva doesn't bother moving the two prisoners any closer to Kayleigh.
"There's nothing they can tell us now that matters. We have the books and Lamm is finished. We should get moving, it will only get more difficult after dark."
Are absolutely correct.
"Well...they could tell us how many Lambs are still out on the streets," Kayleigh counters Emileva. "And what are we going to do about them? Just leave them to their own devices, to survive or die out in the streets, alleys, and gutters? During a time of crisis and political upheaval like this? Can we really just turn our backs on the other Lambs we've just liberated?"
"We can ask the Lambs that are here who's still out. Less trouble, and they'll know just as well as those two. Let's drop the dancing around. Taking them to the watch is pointless, they have their hands full. Even if they did take them, these two would go free through bribery or lack of space. We know what they did, we know what the punishment is. I'm going to see that it happens."
Kayleigh's jaw drops at Emileva's pronouncement of doom upon the captives, belatedly covering Kevlin's ears. She doesn't have enough hands to block the ears of the other Lambs present, however.
"I actually know a fair bit of the basics already. But I would still appreciate the offer as I don't think I could learn the rest of what's needed by myself. I got a spellbook, but so far I haven't been able to put it to good use. Thank you so much." Neziana smiles brightly at the other girl. This is turning out to be the best day ever. Gaedren is dead, we found a fortune and I might just have gotten a tutor for magic.
A purring sound, like a cat, starts emanating from her throat as she takes a step closer to Tassira. She envelops the other girl in a hug. The catgirl continues acting like a cat though, after cozying up for a few seconds, she turns her head to lick along Tassira's cheek. It doesn't take long and Neziana quickly steps back afterwards. "Thank you." She says again.
Neziana makes wide eyes at Tassira's statement and she thinks quickly. "500 gold? It would be a huge waste to just burn the stuff. People are going to use that kind of thing regardless of what we do with this right? I say we keep it. We can simply sell it to those who would seek out and buy such things regardless. They can't be that hard to find..." Her words trail off as she waits for a response.
Suddenly she raises a finger as an idea occurs to her. "I got another idea for what we can use it for. The effects of shiver are rather immediate right? How about I just put a bit on my rapier. If I hit someone with it, it could go directly into their bloodstream and affect them at once. If I'm stabbing someone, hopefully they won't suffer any of the long term effects of it."
After they are done with their various discussion and activities Neziana gathers together all the stuff that seems remotely valuable that's not bolted down and brings it with her.
---------------------
Neziana comes in at the tail end of the conversation about how to deal with the prisoners. "I agree with Emileva. Delivering them to the guards is likely to be ineffective. We might end up even being put in ourselves." Neziana says bitterly.
"A friend of mine was killed, but even though I pretty much caught the murderer in the act, I ended up with more of the blame than him. I don't want to go through that again. Much better to not waste our time and do off with them at once." Neziana feels a mixture of emotions well up in her, sadness at what happened, disappointment and anger at her teachers for taking Rosti's side and repulsion at the actions of the gnome himself.
"I actually know a fair bit of the basics already. But I would still appreciate the offer as I don't think I could learn the rest of what's needed by myself. I got a spellbook, but so far I haven't been able to put it to good use. Thank you so much."
Tassira's eyebrows arch in surprise. "Really? Huh. In that case, that'll make my work considerably easier."
"And, you're welcome." She smiles at the catgirl.
A purring sound, like a cat, starts emanating from her throat as she takes a step closer to Tassira. She envelops the other girl in a hug. The catgirl continues acting like a cat though, after cozying up for a few seconds, she turns her head to lick along Tassira's cheek. It doesn't take long and Neziana quickly steps back afterwards. "Thank you." She says again.
Tassira's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates and she holds perfectly still as Neziana embraces her and... licks her cheek. Her cheeks begin to burn.
"...er... no problem." She stammers out before turning back to the shiver stash.
"I got another idea for what we can use it for. The effects of shiver are rather immediate right? How about I just put a bit on my rapier. If I hit someone with it, it could go directly into their bloodstream and affect them at once. If I'm stabbing someone, hopefully they won't suffer any of the long term effects of it."
Tassira flinches when Neziana suggests weaponizing the drug that nearly killed her in the first place. "...Neziana, do you know what shiver does to a person?" She asks, her tone turning flat. "It can cause a person to waste away as they wallow in their vivid dreams. Overdosing on it will result in the victim having seizures and lapsing into a nigh-comatose state until it leaves their body. All the while, they're being tormented by visions of horrible, horrible things." From the tone of her voice, she's speaking from experience. "It's a decidedly hellish experience, one that I wouldn't wish upon anyone."
"Right now, it's taking all of my willpower not to just snatch up a dose and inject myself with it. That's how addictive it is, and I haven't been clean that long. I'd rather we get rid of it as soon as possible."
Tassira returns with Neziana & Ravnos in tow in time to hear Emileva's & Kayleigh's argument. "I'd rather we just take the kids and get somewhere safe as soon as we can."
"But for what it's worth, I'm not comfortable with executing these men. You do with them as you wish."
Disturbing the paper stirs the bitter aroma of the drug, causing Tassira's mouth to water. Most of the dreams she's had on the drug weren't nightmares at all. They were revelatory - showing her the places in her life where fear and hesitation had held her back from her true potential. There were waking moments where she felt so filled with power that she probably could fly...
Emileva sighs, then continues speaking. She doesn't raise her voice or speak passionately, instead her voice is even and calm, matter of fact.
"This is nothing more than the resolution we came here for. Were any of you expecting to talk anyone here into giving themselves over to the authorities? Did you ask before drawing weapons? Do any of you believe the half-orc laying over in the corner is more guilty because he was conscious and with a weapon in hand? Was Lamm more culpable because he had a crossbow in hand at the moment? We converged on an old man as a group, leaving him no real chance to survive. And it was exactly what he deserved. Why was that alright but this is not? If these two had killed us instead, would they not be guilty? "
"I didn't come here looking for fair fights or trials by combat. I came to put a stop to what they were doing, and to see justice done. I am going to finish what I started. How long are you planning to keep looking over your shoulder for these two otherwise? How long do you expect the kids to? They gave the gnome up to us. Do you think he'll forget?"
"If you want to save these two from me, kill me. I won't stop you. If you think I'm criminal, turn me over to the authorities when we leave. I'll go peacefully. I'll tell them you brought me to them accusing me of murder because I owe you money I can't pay. I'll pay the bribe and be free in a day or two. If I'm wrong about that and they execute me, fine you were right in the end. But you know that won't happen"
Looking at Tassira Emi says "This is entirely on me. Help move everyone into the other room and get ready to travel. I'll join you shortly."
Emi draws her falchion and waits for the others to move on.
Then her expression turns sad and her ears droop. "Though I don't want you to lapse back into addiction. Maybe it's best that we sell it all off as fast as possible instead."
The cat girl steps in between Tassira and the stash, both to prevent her from taking and using it and to prevent it being destroyed. "I don't want to simply burn that much money however. Think about all that money can buy. Not simply rent for your room, but also tools and other useful items that we can use to accomplish the things we want."
Suddenly the tiefling get the great idea that the best way to prevent Tassira from having to deal with the drug would be to hide it completely. Using her body to block sight momentarily, her deft fingers move swiftly to pick up the packages and stuff them into various hidden pockets in her short cloak.
"Anyway, let's gather up the rest of the stuff here and rejoin the others." She says as she moves to gather the last remaining things.
"Fine--whatever. Let's-let's-let's just get out of here. I don't want to see it again." She turns on her heel and walks away as quickly as she can from the cabinet, scooping up her cat and stuffing her into her backpack before making the trek back topside.
Tassira sighs in resignation. "...very well." She begins motioning for the children to leave the room. "Just... please make it quick."
Kayleigh stands steadfastly between Emileva and the two prisoners, listening to the young woman's words, sometimes in horror, sometimes with understanding. When Em finishes, Kayleigh just stands there, glaring...and thinking. Finally, she speaks.
"You have some valid concerns and make some good points. The gnome is likely set in his ways and is evil to his core. Are you able to say the same about the other one? Are you comfortable in dealing out your 'justice' to a boy still in his teens? We make stupid mistakes when we're young...don't we, Emileva? You got a second chance. Doesn't this boy deserve one as well?"
The boy cannot be older than 14 years. As witnesses drift away from the scene he grows more desperate. He shifts from his ass to his knees, wrists still bound behind him. His mouth opens and closes silently, his head swivels back and forth as the two women debate his fate.
"Please don't kill me, misses!" he begs piteously, his gnome ally forgotten. "My ma never loved me none either! I never knew that kid was important!"
On his cheek, his tears mix with Kevlin's blood, smeared there when he rubbed his stunned eyes before his hands were bound.
Tassira comes back after herding the other kids into another room in time to hear the boy beg.
She feels her fingertips tingle with magic again. She silently curses herself for not paying more attention. Damned shiver distracted me.
"Emi, you're better than this. The boy made mistakes, and I was able to stop him before he hurt anyone else." She clenches a fist, letting her magic settle into it before continuing.
"If you were to go through with killing him, I imagine Gaedren would just about give you a round of applause."
"Yeah, I'm comfortable with it. I'm a teen myself. I've also paid, very dearly, for mistakes I've made. I've paid dearly for the mistakes the people around me have made. They were too important to do it themselves you see. I know all about consequences. I daresay I know much more about it than you do. But I'm so glad to hear I've been given some second chance. I hadn't noticed any such thing."
Emileva circles around Kayleigh as she talks, walking to stand over the gnome. Her voice is still the same, even, calm, almost bored. Until her last sentence where the sarcasm is clear.
She rests her falchion point on the floor on the other side of the gnome from herself, almost as if to cage him in.
"If you actually think that Tassira, you don't understand either Gaedren Lamm or me at all."
Looking back to Kayleigh she concludes.
"Fine. If you want to save him that sincerely. Even though he gutted the kid you came looking for because he wasn't important enough not to gut, fine. He's your responsibility now. The gnome is not negotiable."
Emileva raises her weapon and drives the blade down through the gnome's chest.
Kayleigh tried to look brve and resolute as Emileva circled her like a cat who'd decided it was done playing with the mouse and was ready to go for the kill. The lack of emotion in the young woman's voice sent a chill down Kayleigh's spine.
By the gods--she sounds like a soulless killer! A moment later, that assessment seemed to be vindicated as Emileva dispatched the gnome with extreme...efficiency.
Kayleigh didn't look at Em as the deed was done; instead, she looked long and hard into the eyes of the captured Lamb. She saw horror and fear reflected there, but not much in terms of remorse...at least not yet. Perhaps he'd learn from this near-death experience or, as Em seemed to believe, he was already beyond redemption.
Kayleigh didn't release the older Lamb from his bonds until Emileva had finished with Hookshanks .
"Hope you make good use of this second chance, this mercy we've shown you," she says flatly as she unties the knots. "Expect no mercy if you ever cross her again...or me...or any of the other Lambs, understood?"
Tassira follows Kayleigh over to the boy and waits until she's untied his knots.
"Look at me, young man." She directs the boy's eyes to her own. "Please, learn from this. People who wantonly make life hell for others, out of fear or malice, die badly in the end. I hope you're a smart enough boy to understand that. Don't be like them." She points at the dead gnome's corpse. "You're young. You have a whole lifetime ahead of you, and you nearly lost it all. Please, don't make the same mistakes in the future."
Nebbin looks back and forth as the women argue, a growing look of horror in his eyes as Emileva pronounces judgment on the gnome. He flinches, blood running from his face, as she executes that judgment.
"But, I thought we were supposed to be saving people," he says with a whisper to no one in particular. "None of this makes sense. Madame Zellara sent us, but she's also dead. We're saving people, but also killing them..."
Then, louder, he says, "We should leave. This place is bad, and I think it makes the people here bad."
"Agreed," Kayleigh says to the big man. "The less we understand exactly what's going on, the more likely we are to make bad decisions. Someone or something sent us against Gaedren Lamm with vengeance in our hearts and now, for better or for worse, Gaedren's dead. We rescued those poor children, though, and that's a good thing. And Korvosa is a better place without Gaedren. Let's get out of here, regroup, try to figure things out, and get these kids to safety."
The young miscreant nods vigorously at his admonishments. It's hard to judge the sincerity of his repentance through the obvious sincerity of his fear. At his first practical chance, he bolts.
Outside, the air of West Dock never smelled so sweet. The buildings down here by the riverside are still relatively quiet, but the din of riot and chaos a block over has grown.
As you shepherd the orphans through backstreets, picking your way back to Zellara's you see undeniable signs of civic breakdown. Looters have broken into more than one of the doors you pass. One building, thankfully free-standing, belches black smoke from a fire that smolders somewhere inside. A crowd of people stands vigil outside shouting something uncoordinated and unintelligible.
Zellara's street is active now. People are traveling in knots. Everywhere you look torches and improvised weaponry are in evidence, and the guard are largely not.
Zellara's door is as deserted now as it was earlier today. More-so, in fact, as the faded lettering over the door seems much more faded now. The outside door that admits you to the steps is locked.
Before Emileva vacates the room she drags the gnome, half-orc, and dog to the hole in the floor and drops them in.
Best to be careful about what we leave behind. As they all said, "when somebody goes down the hole they never come back".
----------------
While Emi waits for Zellara's door to be opened by Neziana or perhaps Nebbin she considers their immediate needs.
"Once we're inside we'll probably need to find some food. Enough for about 10 people, hopefully to last at least a day. Are you up for coming with me to find some Neziana?"
Nebbin walks up to the door and knocks and then waits expectantly.
No amount of knocking brings a response. Neziana is easily able to defeat the lock, leading you to the interior stairs and the door to the flat-proper, which you also find to be locked. Again there is no response.
The orphans look around nervously, feeding off your own mounting frustrations.
"Do these locked doors officially rule out a ghost?" Kayleigh asks the others. "Because if meeting you all and breaking bread with you inside this place earlier was some sort of delusion...well, it sure seemed real to me!"
Kayleigh then gives a slightly nervous nod at Emileva's suggestion about getting food. "If you can't find anything fresh, bring back whatever you can find and I'll use magic to purify it and make it edible."
Tassira purses her lips and starts to think. "Hmm... Kayleigh, do you think your church will be able to help us with these kids?"
Noticing how nervous the ex-Lambs look, Tassira turns to them with a little smile. "Don't worry--we've got this under control. We'll get some food for you and make sure everything will be alright."
"We know it will." Hal replies for the lot. "Don't we guys? Gaedran's dead! Giggles is dead! Hookshanks is a goner! But it don't seem this lady's home. Maybe she's out in the street with the crowd?"
"No she ain't," says Kevlin to the other Lambs. "She ain't home cause she's dead too. Her head was in a box."
Kayleigh heard Tassira's words and they shook her from the mental paralysis of indecision that gripped her. "Well, they've certainly got enough room in the temple to house our new friends in the short term at least. I have to return Kevlin there at the very least--I wasn't told where his true home is. I imagine I can sweet-talk the priests into sharing their roof with the Lambs for a while."
Kayleigh frowned, annoyed with herself. She'd thought of this potential answer to the problem herself but had allowed other concerns to chase it from her thoughts. Even now, other considerations began to nudge toward the forefront of her mind...her own behavior during the rescue the most troubling.
Tassira looks back at the Lambs. "See? We've got everything covered. If this doesn't work out, we've got a backup plan."
"For now, let's at least get off the streets. In there is certainly better than out here."
"If I hadn't gotten up on the wrong side of Gadren and found a different path, I wonder if I could have ended up as that boy." Neziana whispers with a shudder as she looks after the young boy running off into the street.
"This isn't looking too promising." Neziana says as she fiddles with the locks. "I wonder what, if anything, we'll find inside."
"I have this odd sensation. Like the whole city is about to come crashing down upon us at any moment." Neziana fidgets a bit. "You mentioned temple of Aroden earlier, but given how far away it is... I'm not sure it's a good idea to go there. We don't want to be out on the open street with all the kids if riots erupt." Neziana is not worrying about keeping the kids calm as much as the others are.
"Anyway, let's see what's in here, before we decide what to do further." She opens the last lock and the door to see in to the room where they previously met Zellara.
Once inside Zellara's place Emileva begins putting together a mental list of things that must be done, and things that must be checked.
"If you all will remain in the front room and parlor few just a short while, the rest of the house should be checked to see if anyone else is here. I'm going to start with the kitchen and pantry. There may be food we can use there, and it seems to me one of the best rooms to look at for signs of recent activity. We were served tea... I guess, not too long ago."
Emi hastens to the kitchen, looking for food as well as anything that could indicate recent activity or its absence. Warm or recent coals from fires, dirty dishes (their tea cups?), settled dust, etc.
You open the door onto a totally deserted flat. Some dilapidated pieces of furniture still remain, pushed into the corner, but there's no sign of the table and chairs, no sign of the wall hangings. No indication that anyone's lived here in weeks. The hearth in the second room is cold. There's nothing in any of the cabinets to speak of, but a few scuttling bugs.
A careful examination of the floor reveals that the thick layer of dust was recently disturbed by feet - perhaps your own. But it is very hard to reconcile your earlier encounter with the Harrower to the evidence remaining in the room.
Nebbin looks around at Neziana's words, flinching a bit as if he expects the city to actually come crashing down. He casts a worried glance at the strange woman.
He seems more eager than last time for her to open the door, but more confusion crosses his face once she does.
"Huh? I don't understand," Nebbin says. "Where did everything go?"
Tassira blinks in surprise. "...huh..."
She reflexively utters a divining incantation, and starts looking around the flat, scanning for any lingering magical auras.
"We already knew it wasn't the real Zellara. That all the rest that was here wasn't real, shouldn't really come as a surprise. I hope there wasn't anything bad in the food I ate. Regardless, it looks like we won't have much luck finding food here. We should still look if we can find anything useful here, but I don't have high hopes." Neziana tries to feel if she's still hungry after all the food she ate when they visited here last time while looking around.
As the last of your large band steps into the front room the forgotten front door quietly closes behind you. The din of the crowds gathered in agitation outside fades into the background and the warm buzz of sunshine streaming through the flat's window takes over the room. A feeling of muted satisfaction pervades the space, infusing you with renewed energy. Motes dancing in the sun's rays resolve into the figure of a woman, the same who met you here before. Her voice is soft but audible, a whisper spoken directly into the ear.
"... beyond my hopes. My power to speak directly to you fades as the animus behind my unnatural persistence has passed. Only through the power of the Harrow can I speak with you now..."
Her form fades from the center of the room but re-manifests a moment later in the doorway between the flat's two rooms. She's younger and cradles an infant in her arms, a look of serenity on her face. Though her lips do not move, the voice returns to each of you.
"... no living heirs. The power of my mother's blood, written into the deck you possess, generation upon generation without pause since the long night..."
The apparition dissolves into a warm golden dust that swirls there in the doorway for a moment before flowing across the floor to reform in the center.
She sits at a table that isn't there, foretelling a doom to a ghostly version of yourselves. "...revealing keys to unlock the hidden potentials of your fate. As a sailor learns to dance with the tide rather than struggle against it, to move with that un-opposable force and thereby increase his craft. Fate is such a force; the harrow a scope to read its fickle design."
The apparition fades, but the voice remains. A whisper for each of you alone.
"Keep it. It is a reward, of a sort, for bringing a true justice to the heartless men who took my love's life and ended my line. My rest begins now, but part of me remains attached to the deck of my mothers. Such is my own fate, now entwined with your own, whether we will it or no. The power of our Harrowing remains with you while your cause is just. The power of the cards will adapt somewhat to the hand of the wielder, but will only achieve its true potential in the hands of someone attuned to the flow of arcane divination.
The whisper grows fainter.
"Can you still hear me... ? My time passes quickly now. My own sight dims for the nonce..."
The warmth of the room passes with the strength of her voice. As the strength of the haunting passes, you find yourself suppressing a shiver, rubbing away the goose-flesh.
Emi was ready to check the house carefully to see if any suspicious differences between their last and current visits could be found. She wasn't prepared for the condition of the house they returned to though. It was deeply disturbing to think how completely they had been fooled.
The new apparition of Zellara unnerves her even more, leaving her paler than usual and shaken.
"Do we believe what we just saw?" she asks.
Tassira's face pales and she goes stock still as Zellara's... ghost? Memory? speaks with them.
"...arcane divination...?" She mumbles, remembering the Harrow deck that was stored with her head.
"Do we believe what we just saw?"
"That Zellara was a ghost the whole time and we might've eaten carrion and whatnot before taking on Lamm?"
Emi looks at Tassira with a stricken expression.
I meant the part about her being a real ghost instead of a powerful illusion. The eating part hadn't occurred to me..."
"...well, I looked around the room for any lingering magical auras, and I didn't find any..." Tassira mumbles, starting to look a bit nauseous.
Kayleigh is temporarily at a complete loss for words. "If she's a ghost, I have no power over her--I can only use my positive energy channeling to heal the wounded, not harm the undead."
After a few more moments of silence, the healer mutters, "Well, if we did eat carrion, we at least ate purified carrion--I cast a spell on the food before we consumed it."
Neziana smiles and throws back her hood. "I for one am happy, no excited. If this is the manner in which we were deceived, there is no ill will behind it! Zellara's magic is, was, is? So powerful that it was able to reach us even past her own death. There are so many corrupt and malignant people in this city, that I would much rather meet a powerful friendly ghost than a live person who might want us harm for their own amusement or benefit."
She reaches for her sack and gets out the deck. "And it sounds like she'll continue to aid us, at least in part. I wonder what this deck can do..."
Neziana stuffs the cards back unless someone stops her. Her face grows serious once again. "Regardless, we can figure that out later. For now lets deal with the situation at hand. This isn't a place to stay for long... So we got to get somewhere else. Though given what happened I'm more wary than ever. The warning that things were about to come crashing down might have been from Zellara's harrowing. Given how powerful we know her magic to be, that might hold more than a grain of truth. It might not be safe to travel all the way to the temple of Aroden at this time."
Suddenly the cat-girl raises a finger in the air triumphantly. "I got it. With Zellara gone. No one will be using this place. We can use it." She winks at Tassira. "No need to worry about rent if we got a place of our own. Who knows, maybe we'll get some arcane guidance from Zellara's ghost from time to time."
Tassira scratches her head and blushes a bit when Nezi winks at her. "...perhaps. If this building doesn't get condemned and marked for demolition in the meantime..."
"Still, my apartment suite suits me just fine. I'd be happy to show you around it." She gives the catgirl a smile.
"Well Neziana, my worry is that it's magic rather than truly a ghost. I don't know much about ghosts, but I've never heard of them being able to transform entire houses to look different than they are in reality."
"What if we're being manipulated by someone, say a competitor of Lamm's who could use that kind of magic. I'm not arguing with the outcome so far, Lamm is gone. But what about the future? I think we should look askance at any future requests we receive, through those cards or whatever. We don't want to be duped into becoming someone's thugs while we think we're doing the right thing."
Emileva moves to the door. "Still, we're here for a short while at least, and we need food. I'm going to see what's open for business" she says with a mirthless smile at the probable futility of normal shopping.
"Anyone else want to come? Neziana? Nebbin?"
Neziana notices Tassira's blush. Why is she reacting like that? Did I say something odd? A tingling sensation starts in her tummy. Maybe she does want me to be alone with her, rather than all us cramped up here?
First she turns to Emileva to respond though. "Well, the origin of the ghost is likely Zellara's magic. I don't think the ghost is any more limited than her magic would be. Still you are right. We don't want to be tricked into doing anything heinous. Nethys knows there are enough awful people in the city. We should carefully consider our course of action before commiting to it."
She then looks to Tessira and smiles. "As for heading out. I think I would rather stay here with Tassira." She lets the word hang in the air for the moment. "She promised to show me some magic. Given the troubles in the city, I'll need whatever I can learn as fast as possible."
The cat-girl reaches for her pack to get out a couple raitions. "Besides, I already got a couple raitions here. Not sure they'll be enough for everyone though. You should take Nebbin with you though. In a pinch his strong arm will be useful."
Neziana looks around on the crowd and thinks for a moment. "Though before you go, we have to decide. Are we really going to stay here? It'll be mighty cramped with these many people. While that might be cosy." She tosses a long look at Tassira. "I don't think it'll be very nice for a permanent solution. It's not sure things will be any better out there tomorrow. For all we know, they could be worse. Perhaps it'll be better to take the kids to the temple of Aroden right away."
"Long term, if Tassira is going back to her suite, there won't be as much to learn for me by staying here, so I think I'll take you up on the offer to move in with you. The rest of you can have this flat." She smiles back at the arcanist yet again.
Tassira gives Neziana a warm little smile in return. "I'll be happy to teach you all I can, Neziana."
"But first... there's the matter of the kids." She turns to Emileva and nods. "I still have a spell or two left, and if all else fails, I can at least try to talk anyone who accosts us out of trying to do us harm."
Emileva gives Tassira a small nod and smile.
"That's perfect for what I have in mind Tassira. I want to keep this as quick and easy as possible. Out, get what we need from as close by as we can, straight back. If there's a problem we, that is you, talk first. Then we run, then we fight if there's no other option left. Hopefully there's a place around the corner open for business."
Emi turns for the door.
Nebbin, pale as the ghost flits around the room, lets out a sudden muffled cry as the ghost fades and starts turning around, reaching over his shoulder as he tries to check his back.
"Something bit me, I think!" he says.
"Oh," Nebbin replies as Neziana suggests he accompany Emileva. "I guess I can do, but we don't have to kill anyone, right? Then I guess we can stay here. I mean, it's haunted, but it seems like it's friendly haunted. She was nice to us.
"But I guess we do need food. And maybe some straw or something to sleep on? And definitely not killing anyone."
"Nope, no killing anyone Nebbin, unless they're trying to kill us. Just a supply run. Both Tassira and you with me then? We should get moving. The later it gets the less likely any shops will be open, and the closer to dark it will be. I really don't want to be out after dark."
Kayleigh's eyes briefly flit from Nebbin to Emileva as the big man twice mentions not wanting to kill anyone, but the young cleric's not brazen enough to confront Em.
It's not worth it, she thinks. Once I get Kevlin back to his mother, I may never see any of these people again. That thought hits her harder than expected. She genuinely likes Nebbin and Tassira, and seeing Neziana fully grown and apparently confident and thriving warms her heart. She finds she even has a begrudging admiration for Emileva, despite the woman's willingness to take lives coldly.
At least she didn't revel in the killing, Kayleigh reflects. And most of her reasoning was sound, if a bit cynical.
Zellara had thought the killings of Lamm and his minions 'true justice,' and the ghostly fortuneteller seemed to think the gathered individuals were joined by fate.
You could use some friends closer to your own age. Although the voice in her head is her own, the words smack of something that the old priest Garlan might say to her. For now she opts to watch over the liberated Lambs and let the others decide the group's next move.