"My question here is. When was this Lin last here? For all we know he has been caught by that rumble. No food no water. Terrible thing to die of hunger and loneliness." Jin made himself sad with his own comment. He knew the difficulties of being alone, not something he wanted on anyone.
Conflicted and more than willing to let the woman die if she refused their help, he gave in to his companions. He gave Meilin a look and said nothing more, focusing as he dropped into a stance. His arm was drawn back in preparation of an unarmed strike. He then let out a shout and hammered the door with a forward rush of his fist.
"We'll deal with Lin later". "Right now we've got to find safety, and you're coming with us whether you like it or not". "According to my friends their is a wave of mud coming, and if we don't get out of the way there will be nothing for Lin to come home to". "Perhaps this is the punishment of the gods for not providing shelter to innocent travellers".
Bluff
Perception:
There are, but they are covered from the inside.
Once Asura gets the door opened, and you can see inside, it becomes a little more apparent why Lin might want to keep visitors out, the inside of the house is a macabre nightmare. Around the ceiling where the wall would meet the roof, are various faces, seemingly skinned off of their original owners. Out of reach for the woman living there. In her reach and in the rest of the house that you can see is a very domesticated residence, tea pots, mugs, very casual items.
PLEASE DON'T STEAL MY THINGS! YOU HAVE TO GO NOW! YOU'VE ALREADY BROKEN MY DOOR. LIN WILL BE VERY UPSET!
Meilin gasps, falling back a step. Then, steeling herself, she steps inside and takes the woman's elbow, saying "Please, Honored Mother, we must flee this place or you will die horribly in a mudslide. Come with us, Honored Mother. We mean you no harm."
The grotesque scene revealed by the open door causes the monk to stop after he shatters the door, eyes looking slowly through the interior. His expression is impassive, simply drawing up his hood to hide his features. He steps inside soundlessly, saying then, "Burn it to the ground."
WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO BURN MY HOUSE! LIN WAS RIGHT, YOU ARE TRYING TO HURT ME!
The back of the house rapidly starts to burn, filling with smoke as the rain from outside sizzles on the flames.
"Oh no. Honored Mother, please, come with me. I will see that you are unharmed." Meilin shoots Asura a dirty look, then firmly takes the woman's arm and begins to drag her outside, looking toward Jin or Chan for help.
The woman starts crying uncontrollably and is thus almost impossible to understand, she grabs on to Meilin out of self preservation more than anything.
The monk is unphased by the look, looking around to grab blankets from her sleeping area. Asura always did lack the ability to be capable in social situations. He rolled his shoulder and seeing the hut burn soundly, stepped outside. If she were not blind, it would have been much easier... Unorthodox, but he felt he could still do right by the old woman.
" I think i'm going to be sick." Jin spoke after seeing the inside of the house. " What kind of monster is this Lin? Ugh, that is just disgusting!" Jin shook as a chill went up his spine thinking about the faces on the wall. He decided not to look back on the house, that was one memory he wished he could keep out of his mind.
Well, you've got her crying/screaming out in the cold rain, where are you going, what are you going to do?
Meilin will lead the woman away from the mudslide, toward any sort of high or rocky ground.
Asura's expression is unmoving as the fire grows, consuming the interior and growing. He steps back as Meilin guides the woman away, coming up to drape the blankets over her shoulders. The truth will set you free, he contemplated, wondering if the blind would believe the truth. He didn't put much faith in it and scowled. "Where did Lin last go?" He asked as they moved to the high ground.
Meilin's face softens when Asura covers the woman with the blanket. "We can seek out Lin later, but we must find shelter first. Can you see anyplace where we would be safe from the mudslide?"
"The sky is angry," he spoke, his tone low. "I do not know..."
The rain makes it hard to see very far, but you know the mud will slide down from the hill behind the house, perhaps you could go to another side of it, or try to out run it by just going away from it.
The woman, (who will eventually be introduced as Kaylin) screams and continues to cry...
Why do you want to know where Lin went? You want to hurt him! You are thieves and arsonists!
"Shh, shh, there, there. Everything will be alright, Honored Mother. We must reach shelter to avoid the mudslide. In the meantime, please, tell me of Lin. How long have you and he been together? What does he do for a livelihood?" Barring anyone spotting shelter, Meilin will guide the woman away from the mudslide while trying to calm her.
He rolled his wrists, keeping an eye on the mudslide. "We need to hurry, the earth will swallow us up," he warned. They were moving far too slowly and soon the land would be racing towards them all. He looked to Meilin before approaching the woman. He swept her up in arm, telling her. "If we don't hurry, we'll die. Hang on." He then began to pick up the pace carrying the woman, trying to move to the side of the mudslide rather than run away from it. He signaled fro everyone to follow.
Asura's plan works perfectly! And shortly after reaching the safe place, you hear whoosh and slush, some creaking wood, see bits of the house drift past in the stream of mud. Aside from some muddy clothes, everyone is ok, just wet and dirty.
WHAT WAS THAT NOISE? Where have you taken me!?! I am so confused and frightened, please take me back home...
Fortunately not long after the mud slide, the rain starts to let up slowly, it's gonna be wet, and it's gonna rain for a bit longer, but at least things are looking up.
"That was the earth swallowing your home," he spoke solemnly. He frowned and set the woman down on her two legs and remained there to support her. "Do you have any family? Friends? We need to find a place for you to stay. I have no reason to lie to you, there is nothing to return to."
Meilin holds the woman's hand, talking in a calm voice to her. "Honored Mother, the mudslide has destroyed your house. If you had been inside, you would be dead now. Please, once the danger has passed, we will see you to safety. But now, please tell me of Lin. How did you meet him? What does Lin do?"
Diplomacy:
Chan is not used to dealing with strangers, but tries to put his natural charm to use in calming the frantic woman.
"You are save and among good people". "We wish you no harm".
Diplomacy
Talking and calming people down was never Jin's forte, so he let Meilin and Asura take care of the woman. "Glad this storm is finally passing by. That mud slide sure must have been a nasty one that's for certain. Listen lady, I know you may have thought Lin was a nice guy, but if you had stayed there you would have died in that house. Granted I don't know this Lin," As Jin said that a chill went up his spine remembering all of the faces on the wall. "But believe me. If you could have seen the ceiling walls or just touched them. Uff, would have given you the willies that's for certain."
Diplomacy:
The woman seems very confused and reluctant to want to open up much information, she asks if you have something to drink and if you can start a fire to keep warm, she seems cold, scared, and confused.
Asura looks for a place to get away from the weather, start a fire, and build a shelter for the night.
You find a small area in some trees that should block some of the weather, and might have some rabbits or something living near by to find for food if you wanted.
Asura tries his best to create some sort of shelter, a fire and tries to hunt some game for their evening meal... He vanishes without a word, dutifully doing his part to contribute without complaint.
Meilin leads the woman into the shelter and sits her down as comfortably as she can. Once done, she goes into the forest to find some greens and berries or root vegetables for dinner; she does not eat the animals of the forest.
Survival:
"Hey, old lady. When did you last see your friend, dude, guy thingy?" Jin was curious about this guy that collected faces. Surely he most have had some motive. He couldn't be all bad right? She is still alive.
Meilin finds a nice growth of nuts and berries, and even some clean water if waterskins need filled.
Lin went hunting... to find us dinner... he always warned me... Kaylin mutters between sobs, but seeming to calm down if ever so slowly.
"How long has he been gone...?" He sat there by the fire listening to the woman as she cried, her speech broken up.
Maybe a couple of hours... Sometimes his hunting can take a very long time, sometimes it doesn't take long at all. But when he returns, we always have plenty to eat for several days.
She seems to be collecting herself, albeit a little slower than would be desired.
Who are you? Why did you take me from my house to be so nice to me in the wild? I am so confused...
"We are but travelers, honored Mother. It was fate that lead us to your home in time to save you. Now, tell us of Lin. How did you meet him?"
"My name is Asura, I am a monk. We found your home when we were searching for shelter... But though you cannot see it, a mud slide hit your house... And though you may not believe it, we saw things inside your house that were depraved."
He dared breach what everyone else would not dare say.
"The faces of people were hanging inside your home. I think your husband is not the good man you think he is. I think he has taken advantage of your blindness to hide to his wicked deeds."
"Wow, you guys ate people? That's pretty nasty. Well if what you ate was indeed people. I cant really say since you didn't know what you were eating. So I cant really blame you. I've lived on the streets my entire life, and I have been desperate for food granted. but never enough to kill anyone. Oh yes! The name is Jin by the way." Not subtle at all is this little monkey.
With all this information and startling revelations, the woman seems to revert back to a state of confusion and fear.
Sighing at the futility of pressing the confused woman for any more information, Meilin stands and stretches. She walks over to where she can see the open sky and whistles, trying to attract a nearby bird. Once there, she asks it if it has seen any other two-legs around recently.
"It's bad to bottle things up you know. Me on my defense. I've been holding this in too long. If you excuse me." Jim walks off to go and find a tree to use.