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Esmeralda hears the woman out before sighing. "As much as I'd love to go on a shopping spree, this thing takes up most of my current funds. Fortunately I've got all I need at the moment." she says as she touches the small pouch on her hip. "In regards to your favored of the folk, however, I focus more on dealing out damage, rather than heal it. Honestly Penance does most of the work, but... that's a fun bit of show and tell for later." she says, letting go of his arm.
Despite Dareon holding the woman down, the others are hard-pressed to be able to find a good place to strike. Only Fade is able to land a well-timed blow, but it isn't quite enough to stop the woman. She continues to try and do what she can to escape. She manages to slip out of his grip, and being surrounded can only try to get past the big man and continue her way out of the building. She starts to move, and missteps on the blood of her fallen allies, causing to only bump into Dareon's overlarge form.
Uriah jabs at the girl with his spear, but even a hit with the unsilvered weapon could do little. It matters none, though, as he is completely off the mark with his jab.
Faedrin swings as the girl scrambles, but it's obvious his heart's not in it as his strike falls far short of the tower girl.
Tanjvats felt increasingly frantic as they failed to subdue the struggling woman and she broke free.
As the wererat escapes from his grasp, Dareon roars. Loudly. Then he lunges forward, attempting once again to wrap the woman in his grasp. "INCOMPETENCE!" he shouts as he tries to grapple her again.
With nowhere to go, completely surrounded and having just failed to slip past, the Tower Girl is once again grabbed up by an angry Dareon. It's all she can do to try and lash out at him as he reaches for her. Lucky for him, or unlucky for her, she is unsuccessful.
Once Dareon has her again, Uriah tries again to spear her with the end of his weapon. For some odd reason, he just can't seem to hit the broad side of a barn at the moment.
"Says the man who nearly walked to his death a few minutes ago." Faedrin lashes out again, his growing frustration showing in his face.
HP: 12/12
AC: 19 (15 T / 14 FF) (+2 more vs AoOs provoked from movement)
CMD: 17
F/R/W: +3/+4/+4 (+2 vs enchantment, immune sleep)
Arcane Pool used: 3/5
Harrow Points remaining: 2
Spells Prepared:
Cantrips (4) - dancing lights, daze, ghost sound, read magic
Level 1 (2+1) - jump [ ], obscuring mist [ ], silent image [X]
Ongoing Effects
Tanjvats took Dareon's angry shout personally, and his eyes began to water with shame.
This did nothing to improve his ability to stab the struggling wererat, and he failed again to land his blade.
Tanjvats is so put upon by the accepted blame, he not only hit the girl, but did so without realizing that she had already stopped moving after Faedrin's stab. She finally lies still, briefly bleeding for a bit on the stairs with the other two that were dispatched much faster. Uriah, as before makes to finish the job as he had done earlier with the other girls upstairs.
"There. It's done." Disappointment is plain in Faedrin's tone as he cleans the blade of the kukri before slipping back into its sheath at his wrist. He looks back up at Dareon and his visage softens, the tightness around his eyes loosens and he adds, "But I'm glad you're ok. I don't know how you're ok, but it's good you made it." His gaze drifts over to Tanjvats then, "And I take it you saved him?" Faedrin claps the half-orc on the shoulder and nods solemnly, "Well done, my friend. You've a gift for saving lives it seems and I'm glad you're with us."
Barring any restraint, Uriah casually finalizes the deaths of the three girls on the stairs before wiping off his weapon and looking expectantly at the others.
Tanjvats nodded nervously to Faedrin's compliment as he wiped away the tears from his eyes.
"Thank you, Faedrin. I do not, however, think I can save much more today. I feel we need to return to safety for the time being. I'd very much like to give Oz a proper funeral."
"No measly fall is going to kill me" Dareon says roughly, his skin still ruddy and thick, but his expanded form slowly shrinking now. "And no amount of these cowardly "Tower Girls" either."
He growls a bit and spits on one of their corpses. "But Half-Holy is right. As much as we have these girls on the ropes, my resources are expended and we've lost a member. The Lady Heidmarch will want to know about it."
He sheathes his swords, asking Tanjvats for the silver one back. "Now, let's see if any of these girls have anything we can...rediscover."
Much like the rest of the women you have fought within the piling, these three each have what appears to be the Tower Girl standard issue equipment.
After taking the useful and less bulky items from the tower girls, Faedrin points back down the stairs the way Dareon and Tanjvats had come up, "Let's head back to the boat then and make for the manor."
Tanjvats grabbed a length of silk rope and one of the harnesses and helped secure Oz's body in the boat.
Faedrin's mood turns somber as he helps Tanjvat's with Oz's body, the sight reminding him of Dareon pulling his sister's limp body from the sludge barely more than a week prior. He then looks up at the Crow as Uriah and Dareon join them in the boat and the elf can't help but imagine all the other bodies they left strewn through its halls. He shakes his head, a sorrowful gesture, and then wordlessly helps Dareon row the boat back to shore.
---
Faedrin leads the group through the door into the Heidmarch's estate, Dareon and Tanjvats bearing Oz's body between them. He shakes his head wordlessly at the seneschal and steps aside, showing the mournful and minimal procession of three men and a corpse behind him. He notes the presence of people he'd not seen during his previous visits to the manor, but is too overcome by all that happened in the Crow to investigate. Instead, he heads straight for his bed, and spends a long hour staring at the scroll Oz had given him earlier as a peace offering. He puffs out the weak candle beside his bed and lays down. His last thoughts before sleep are of his sister and whether or not he'll survive long enough to ever see her again.
As the group finally makes it back to the manor, Lady Heidmarch heads out from the back to discuss their findings, speaking as she comes, "Ah, you all have returned. I am eager to hear what you have... What happened? Is he in need of healing?" She turns to the majordomo as if to send him off to gather something.
Kascio, a dusky skinned half-elf covered with knives, peers at the body. "He's beyond healing. He needs a priest." He stares hard at the returning, living members of the party. "My name is Kascio. Grand Lodge sent me here along with Esme there to help out. What happened to the poor fellow?"
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Esmeralda takes the death with a bit of surprise but makes it a point to stir the conversation away from the body. She knew a sour moment when she saw one, and the 3 remaining folks were obviously unsettled. Most likely, her Eidolon wasn't helping, but she wasn't about to "Sheathe" it either. Standing up alongside Kascio, she maintains a neutral expression as the hulking figure looms behind her.
"Seems as though they've hit a snag... Indeed. My apologies for the loss, but I didn't know him whatsoever. My name is Esmeralda, and the thing behind me is my Eidolon, known as Penance. A pleasure to finally meet you." she says.
Tanjvats did his best to describe the events around Oz's death faithfully to those assembled, but his own voice sounded odd and distant. Was he making sense?
He did his best to be polite to Kasio and Esmeralda as they were introduced, but he kept looking at his feet. Was he mumbling?
The only thing that seemed clear and focused were the eyes of the golden-plated eidolon. "Penance", he whispered, as if trying to tie meaning to the word.
All of it was too much...the explanations and introductions and new expectations seemed to stagger about the room and then fall, piling up around his feet like so many more corpses.
Rubbing his eyes, he announced, politely, "I think I need to lie down." With that, he left the room.
Shiela merely purses her lips in what appears to be frustration at the mention of needing a priest. "Well, that is disappointing. The lodge does not confer those types of services until a member has been with us long enough to have contributed notably enough to warrant such a great expense or set aside contingencies of their own for the lodge to facilitate the act to be performed." The response comes out in such a precise and formal way, she may have very well been citing a bylaw associated with being a lodge.
To Kascio and Esmeralda, she speaks plainly almost absently "It is beneficial that I had asked the two of you to join us, as I was only planning on picking whichever one of you had shown to be most useful for the task based on what they had reported from their trip. It seems I will be requiring that both of you accompany them on their trip back in."
Turning to the others, she quickly tells Uriah that he has been pulled from the team due to his being assigned to initial mission he had been assigned with her husband. She also makes a point of telling at least one of the other three, likely Dareon for his penchant for following the rules, "Don't forget, that the lodge will want a full written account of what happened, both in what was discovered and what happened to a mamber."
Stepping off of their little rowboat and back onto the pier, Dareon quickly takes his leave from the others, stating "I have a fast errand to attend to." and takes off at a jog towards the Arvensoar, composing a brief message in his head to the secretary that he remembered was there, gatekeeping for the guardsmen.
When he arrives (it was nothing more than a few minutes' jog) he takes a scrap of paper from his pack, an ink pen, and finds a writing surface. On the scrap, he writes, 'The Tower Girls' gang is currently holed up in one of the intact pillars of the Irespan - they may try to escape and hide out in the city tonight. A simple guard or two on watch can provide you with an advance warning system, and a courier sent to the "Boar's Applejack Inn" when you see something can provide you with the mercenaries that you need to take care of them without any guard involvement. Ask for Dareon Lebeda.'
He approaches the secretary, handing them the note. "Please give this to your captain. I promise it's not a threat or criminal or a magical trap. I have to go."
He takes off at a jog again, heading back to the Lodge, arriving just a few minutes after his compatriots. Just in time to miss introductions, and to catch Ms. Heidmarchs' warning. "Of course, Madam," he responds, "I was about to get to work on an account of today's doings." He nods respectfully at Ms. Heidmarch, and at Tanjvats, notes Faedrin's absence, and shoulders his way past the newcomers. He goes up the steps to his room, gathers together a large rucksack full of his alchemical gear, and a couple of the books that he'd borrowed from the library, and goes back downstairs.
"If you need me," he says, going past his compatriots again and out the door, "You can find me in the Boar's Applejack. I intend to spend the balance of the night there."
Kascio nods, still watching the dead Pathfinder. "Very well. I assume you will all leave in the morning? In the meantime, I shall rest and be ready to depart."
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She somewhat stares coldly at the head-lady as she realizes that the woman is rather cold. Esmeralda understood that she, herself, was cold but, at the same time a funeral pyre didn't really cost much. Especially not in adventurer wages... Shrugging it off, however, she wasn't about to go out adventuring with folks that she didn't know at least a bit about, and the only one that didn't seem completely in shock about losing the black-draped corpse was the person ending his day in the Boar's Applejack.
With that thought, she smiled and said. "I believe I'll get to know our new friends, Kascio." she said as she and her lumbering eidolon walked with her. Walking up to Dareon she astutely asked; "Need some company?"
Dareon's eyes flick to Esmerelda when he realizes that she's following him. "Need? No." he says grumpily. "You can come with me if you'd like, of course, and if I can help you with something. If you're going to want to chat about inane, pointless matters with me you should stay at the Lodge."
Shiela is a little put off by them returning and leaving the body there, as they all hare off to their own ends. Nonetheless, she makes arrangements for the majordomo to deliver the body to the Pharasmins for preparation and interment.
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She smiles. She knew the type. All business, and no play. Couldn't blame him, though. Taking death in stride wasn't something most people in the business were used to, usually. "Something wrong with wanting to get to know a future ally? Nevermind. You've had a hard day, judging from the looks of things." she says as she glances back towards the lodge. "What happened?"
Faedrin tosses uneasily as the day's events push their way into his mind as he sleeps.
Blood pools on the floor of the Crow.
Girls' eyes, rats' eyes, his sister's eyes all stare up at him. Twisted, grotesque faces leer at him accusingly from the floor.
Dareon laughs as Uriah plunges a spear into the heart of a wounded girl.
Dareon is falling. Tanjvats and Oz are falling too. The wind whistles loudly, but soon their screams drown out the wind. The water erupts and blood rains down in the spray.
The shard hangs ominously in the air overhead, bigger than the moon. Bigger than the sun. Its shadow falls on Dareon.
Faedrin sits up, shaking the dream from his mind. He sweeps his hair back out of his face with both hands, it must have come untied while he slept. Tying his hair back in a pony tail once more, he falls back to his pillow and stares sightlessly at the ceiling in the dark.
What am I doing? What are any of us doing?
Eventually, sleep takes him again and then, all too soon, the morning comes. Without a care for yesterday or any of the days before, a new day dawns and the world and everyone in it marches inexoribly onward toward whatever death awaits them. Faedrin wondered at the point of it all as he got dressed, a dark and listless look clouding his face.
Dareon's equipment and full, heavy bags clank as he walks through the town, and he doesn't bother to turn and look at Esmerelda when he answers. "There's nothing wrong with it. I just don't have any particular interest in being your friend. And let me be very clear about something."
He pivots on a foot-ball to face her, crossing his arms and inflating his chest. "I do not need your sympathy. Neither does Faedrin - he's capable of processing this by himself. And your sympathy will only confuse Tanjvats. You are here to work with us, and that, I expect, is all I'll want from you."
He turns away again and begins to walk. "But to answer you: I fell out of a wall and that idiot jumped out to save me without any safety gear or a reason. He broke his neck and Tanjvats did just fine to save me by himself."
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She laughs aloud at the thought of her giving sympathy. "Well, I see where this stands. The good news is I've no sympathy to give, well, about as much as my Eidolon." she says as she gestures to the cloaked figure. "Figures, really." she says as she stops walking. "I've a feeling the lady thinks you're all broken somehow." she says as she rolls her eyes.
Halting Penance, she turns on her own heel, changing her mind about following Dareon. "Generally speaking, by the way, I'd no particular interest in being your friend either. If Kascio, the fool, ever tried to save my neck in a pinch like that and ended up getting killed, why, I'd feel remorse, if only for a little while." she points out.
"I'll make sure not to make the same mistake your friend did." With that, she tightens her fur cloak and begins to walk back towards the lodge.
Regardless of how long Dareon waits at the bar, there is no call for his assistance. There was one moment where it looked like the call came in, but it was just a passing patrol that had stopped with word from Officer Kasadei, thanking him for the information.
After a long night's sleep, Tanjvats awoke feeling significantly less fragile and upset. While his mind was still a mix of sadness and shame, his morning prayers settled him enough to rejoin the others.
Faedrin rises in the morning and frowns as the reality of yesterday settles into his mind. Still, he washes and gets dressed despite the grim look on his face and prepares for a return to the Crow.
He joins the group after he finishes dressing, a humourless expression clouding his face. "Sorry for abrupt departure after our return yesterday." He turns to the two newcomers, "I'm Faedrin, though most settle for just calling me 'Fade'. Am I right to presume our benefactors have arranged for you to join us? If our cargo last night wasn't enough indication, this hasn't been a proverbial walk-in-the-park." He extends his hand to the two strangers and nods as they offer their names in return.
---
After the introductions are done and the topic turns to the day's plans, Faedrin speaks up again, "From what Natalya shared with us, it seems like we've thinned out all the Tower Girls in the Crow except for maybe Ayala herself. I think returning to the Crow as quickly as we can will serve us best in this respect. While I think it's unlikely Ayala to be unaware of the gutting of her hideout and supporters, the sooner we return means the less time she'll have had in recruiting new members and spreading her lycanthropy to them."
"Lycanthropy? Gangs in Magnimar have branched out, clearly." Kascio smiles. "I'm ready to go whenever you are, mate. Lead on!"
"We dealt with a number of wererats in the Crow, yeah. According to Natalya, Ayala is the leader of the gang and the one who spread it amongst her followers. If you don't have something silvered," Faedrin slips his kukri free from his wrist sheath as an example, "you'll want to acquire something that is before we go."
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Esmeralda smiles. "Is their resistance to non-silver a potent one? If not, then I've no worry, given the fact that Penance is far strong enough to deal with them, should the need arise. I would prefer to save his most potent abilities for this "Ayala" however..." she points out. "Kascio is well aware of my eidolon's strength, to say the least. I myself rely almost entirely on him, and as such I'll avoid combat as best I can, but I'm completely capable of bolstering others." she points out.
Stopping to think a moment, Esmeralda inquires; "What if they're not there anymore?"
"By my count, Ayala should be the only one left, but that assumes she hasn't had any luck finding replacement members of her gang. Some of her crew were left in a bad state, but I can't imagine they'd be patched up enough to do more than just groan unless Ayala got her hands on some considerable healing magics. And if she's not there, that just means there'll be no one there to bother us while we explore and search the rest of the Crow."
Tromping in through the door, almost on queue, Dareon growls, "They are, whoever is left." He holds a notebook in his hand and his fingers are dark with ink. "I got in touch with the guard, told them to watch the Tower and that there were criminals hiding out there - nobody came to fetch me, so I'll assume that this Ayala is either stealthier than we're able to catch or they she's still in the Crow."
He then leaves without ceremony, heading to his room to dump a few things on his bed before heading back to the group.
"I might remind you that we're not actually there to kill the wererat. Only Natalya tasked us with that - we're there for the Shard." he says upon his return, sheathing his blades and stowing his notebook.
"I'll be back shortly then. I will need something silvered."
Tanjvats gave small, polite smiles of greeting to everyone in the morning, but did his best to keep out of extended conversation.
He mainly asked how each was feeling, and if they needed any additional healing before the group left together.
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Esmeralda spends her morning lounging on the couch as her Eidolon leans carefully against the central pillar. She doesn't bother purchasing anything for the morning and awaits everyone to finish their errands. Her magic recharges innately overnight, and as a result she'd no need to study. Her original personality comes off as somewhat lazy, although, at the same time she seemed Stern when talked to.
In response to Tanjvats, she grinned and after a sip of water she turned down the healing. "I am rather well, Cleric. Though, I do feel the need to ask. Provided I am to bolster anyone's offenses, who would I most likely do that to? Kascio is effective, though he prefers subtlety." she says with a half-smile looking out of a window.