Azmaria pulls out her journal book and makes some notes on it.
she then shows it to Gina, can you read and write yet?
"Some..."
Poterol listens to the goings on of the morning, but the destroyed town still unnerves him enough that he would be out of it. He decides to go with Nata and Marius in checking around the camp.
sitting with Gina, Azmaria hold her book open and shares with her what she wrote.
This here is my report back to my boss. i added this part here naming you an official Exorcist Trainee. all I need for you to do is write your name right here. and if you can't write your name, then i will help.
she gives Gina her inkpen. then holds the book open for her to write her name. Azmaria points to the spot to make her mark.
In the morning Chap awakens aware of the lone survivor and the current debate on what to do next. After some mead and bread and watching the others, Chap packs up her tent, and other gear before returning to the where the majority of the others are gathered.
We need to return to Vigilant and spread the word of what has happened here and return the girl to her family. There is nothing more here to do. The dead are dead, gathering their lifeless bones only gives evil more opportunity to put time and distance between us. Pursuing the enemy puts the unknowing Vigilant at risk, and recklessly endangers the life of an orphan. Unless someone knows for a fact as to why we should do anything else we will be heading back towards Vigilant as soon as we gather. We feel we can not be divided on this decision, but we can not idle in hopes of more visions or a stroke of luck; we hope you all agree.
At the report of Sister Azmaria's weapon Arabeth will halt what she is doing to come and investigate. Upon seeing the tableau and learning the details Arabteh will offer an encouraging smile, kneeling and offering to plait a large, glossy black feather into Gina's hair as her own, small gift/blessing to the child.
There she will disrobe and spend time getting her clothes as clean as she can before moving into the waters to do the same for herself.
Disrobed... Arabeth's majestic pinions rise free as she goes about the long task of washing, cleaning, straightening and other sorts of such maintenance to keep them bright, shiny, glossy and flight worth.
Aeryth mechanically walks around Endurant. If asked he doesn't know why, but he does keep a lookout around the town for any signs of intruders.
When offered the feather and the hair-braiding, Gina would smile at Arabeth, and accept.
"You're very pretty. Thank you."
|
Shyness is confused by the act of gathering the bodies, but she will help with any searching to be done. "The bodies no longer house the soul," she mutters as she searches for useful items among the wreckage, constructing small pyramids of rubble to mark places where she finds bodies of people.
A loud bang rings out and she dives behind some rubble. No one calls out, so she waits. After a few moments, she turns her back to the rubble so that the echoes will disguise her location. And then begins running towards the sound, keeping herself low to the ground.
-------------------
Marius hears a blast resound across the town, and he instinctively looks to his side for Rex.
"Right..." Whatever it was, he hoped the others were alright. He was trusting his best friend - his pack, as Shyness had put it - with them.
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Vincent is shocked when a girl is found under a bed. He will allow the others to tend to her wounds.
Vincent wakes, and again lets the more skilled people at herbs and remedies take care of her. He could do more harm than good right at this moment.
When asked about to stay here and search for clues or head on or back, he simply shrugs.
Go or staying matters not to me. I will do whatever the group decides
Vincent will search the rubble for anything of use for the journey ahead: tools, money, weapons, trinkets
The gun scare is explained to anyone (like Shyness) who comes running, and people generally return to their tasks, relieved that no one is hurt and no new threat has arrived.
From the sidelines, Gina sits chatting with Sister Azmaria and watches those searching.
After a while, Gina suggests to Azmaria,
"Why don't we help, too?"
Gina heads over to near where Vincent is collecting tools and trinkets from the rubble, and begins to do the same.
Once Gina gets close to the actual charred bodies, however, she freezes and stares, horrified, but curious... shocked, but mesmerized.
"Oh. Those ... those were the people here, and they got burned up in the fire?"
Azmaria agrees to help. but quickly realizes a bit more what is going on.
She smiles and starts to help Vincent as well. and every so often she starts to intervene herself keeping Gina centered more on the task. yet does so as comforting and reassuring as possible.
Gina, why not come over here, you can show me where some of the other people may have been, maybe even help with names. Azmaria tries to steer Gina a little away from Vincent.
Cernan is definitely willing to search the rubble and gathering bodies. If he's looking for anything, it will be signs of struggle or attack, perhaps a reason why nobody was able to escape their houses.
Lesith tries to convince the others to go towards Vigilant.
"Chap is right! We must warn Vigilant! If we linger too long here the same thing that happened here can happen there! At least some of us must go ahead and warn them!"
Upon every one else waking Arabeth helps prepare and distribute breakfast. Though, again, showing no real kill or aptitude, never the less she happily helps with plates, utensils, serving and such.
As people move to finish the business of seeing to bodies or looking for other things/evidence about the ruins,
Arabeth moves to help Azmaria keep young Gina a little more preoccupied with other things.
"Indeed... Can you tell us a little about which buildings were for which job? Where was the general store...?" And such she asks the girl, though doing her best to not steer the girl towards ideas and areas which might be too troubling.
Someone maybe want to explain in greater detail why we are staying here another day? If the girl Gina hasn't been through enough why are we forcing her nose in it? And what of Vigilant?
Eli looks at Chap. "She seems to be handling it surprisingly well. Additionally, at present, we have nothing solid to prove anything. We cannot truly do anything at present because we lack information. Thus we are looking for information. By all counts, Vigilant is and was much larger than Endurant. What was done here, by all we can ascertain at present, cannot be done there with the same efficiency. The fact that the imps were eager to keep us away for a time longer is proof of that."
Eli looks around. "We are looking for anything at all. We need to warn Vigilant, and soon. But we also need to honor the slain. Spirits have great use for un-honored corpses, and can turn them into great puppets for evil. If you are eager to be quit of this place, may I recommend assisting in speeding the process along by assisting. It will be accomplished and we can return to Vigilant, unhaunted by the disquieted dead and possibly with more evidence to prove our claims or evidence of methods used here."
Eli looks at the ground. "Currently, all signs point to these people being alive but unable to move. I, myself, am finding it more difficult to move or react than normal from the stings acquired from the malicious little spirits from the road. Gina indicates she saw them stab her parents until they stopped moving. Presuming this is true, than this would explain why none escaped. But we need to find out why, or else this will happen again. Vigilant may be a target, or it may not. Without the answer to why, we could well be going to the wrong place and accomplishing the wrong thing, only helping the foe."
Eli looks across the field. "In this case, I would say that a strong day of patience should be used to ensure that haste and presumption did not undo what we sought to accomplish before we could accomplish it. We definitively reduced their numbers, and even if they gather more, there is little that could be done today instead of tomorrow. That is why, Chap."
Arabeth straightens and wipes a stray lock of hair behind one ear as she walks a little closer to Chap.
"Because this time, looking after the fallen is the right and better thing to do. We don't want anything coming and having an easy..." She glances back towards Gina. "..Time of things here when we move back to Vigilant. Plus, with this much trauma? Seeing to some sort of 'Setting things right' by so many people will hopefully settle any spirits which might other wise happen about." She moves even closer to Chap and
And Arabeth grins ruefully and takes Chap's hand into her own,
And some slight, errant breeze rustles Arabeth's great, sable feathered cloak.
I strongly disagree with you Eli. She, Gina, is a child that just lost her family and home. The fact that she is 'taking it well' is proof that she doesn't need to be here.
As far as evidence, we have imp corpses, a witness, and a scorched mile of earth. The size of Endurant and the size of Vigilant have nothing to do with anything. We know next to nothing of the enemy numbers, power, and abilities. Stating this can not happen in Vigilant with efficiency is naive.
What is it you actually know Eli? What else are you hiding behind that facade of yours? What are we waiting for?
Arabeth continues to hold one of Chap's hands lightly, though she moves to stand besides the other woman and calmly awaits Eli's response.
Eli cocks his head to the side. "Do you disagree with conjecture based on all we know by way of conjecture based off of personal guesswork. You state it is naive. You state what we do not know. That is curious that you use our ignorance as an excuse to rush into action." he states, in his monotone.
Eli look aside for a moment, before returning to Chap. Without a trace of his emotions, he continues, "That you would ask what I know is puzzling, at best. I do not know of anything that I am hiding from you, down to embarrassing personal history. You ask what I am hiding, and the only honest that response I can give is nothing. I am hiding nothing. The accusation in your tone is not unnoticed."
Eli breaths a long breath. "It is peculiar. You have seen my face. I introduced myself by including a list of failures and accomplishments, my name, where I am from, and what I believe of this situation. I have explained my family and done all that I do openly. I have never once given you any cause to doubt such, and all is easily verifiable, should anyone be willing - my nephew yet lives in my home village. While I have disagreed with many, I have yet to impose my own views on any either."
Eli looks away again, thoughtfully, before returning his masked visage to Chap. "On the other hand, you have intruded yourself by nothing but your title and a nickname derived from such. You have been quick to speak, and ready with fury and derision. You now accuse me of hiding something. A curious response to directly and honestly answering the question you specifically asked someone to answer. You are suspicious of me apropos of nothing, and I have openly accepted you despite being not only military - the same military I should remind, that, through no provocation, entered the lands of my people and slaughtered my family as I was an infant - but giving us no information about yourself whatsoever." his voice lacks any hint of anger or malice - any hint of emotion at all.
"If I have accepted you so readily, Chap, why is it you now accuse me through your tone. Of the two of us, I have far more reason to distrust you. Let us not rest on paranoia and doubt, Chap. We were both called by Angelina before we knew what she was or this call was about. We are both cousins. Calm yourself." he asks, in his steady monotone.
He looks back at the wreckage. "You state this can happen again, and remind of our ignorance. I will once again tell you all we know. The imps stung Gina's parents into collapse. That my own body reacted similarly, and, still today, holds an unnatural sluggishness, suggests that one can eventually be paralyzed. Every corpse we've found has these stings all across their body. In the course of a night, it appears that an unknown amount of imps attacked Endurant, paralyzed all they found, and then burned the town once none could escape for reasons we don't yet know. We do know that, upon our arrival, they were not yet ready for people to learn of the destruction of Endurant - this is what they said to each other during the battle, as I've said. This speaks of not being ready to make their next move, yet. If their next move is anything similar to this one - the only move we know of - we have definitively reduced the number of imps that can participate in the attack by three. You hold the proof of this." he gestures to her pack.
Without a quaver, he continues, "Vigilant is, from what I recall, ten times the size of Endurant. It would require ten times as long or ten times as many imps. You are correct that we do not know their numbers, their plan, or why this occurred. We may find nothing. But if we don't look we will certainly find nothing. We may travel in the wrong direction. We may warn the wrong people. We may lose everything. And any clues that remain here, if any, may well vanish. Beyond that, we may cause the hatred of those dead here to well up, either of their own accord, or at the will of whatever man or spirit is behind this. We know there was someone behind this, because the imps spoke of warning him, and did not leave for the sake of guarding his plan, until it was too late for them. This is what we know, Chap. That and, despite our proof, no matter what we do, we may well look guilty. If we find nothing, at worst, we prevented the spirits of the slain from corruption. If we find something, perhaps we will gain information. I prefer to act on information we do have than information we do not."
"And, in addition to all this, our next action was put to a vote. This is what it seemed at the time more voted for." he shrugs. "Any outrage for that should be equally directed at all who participated rather than using the one who spoke as an outlet. We are here to learn and put the souls of the dead to rest. If we find nothing to tell us differently, we will return to Vigilant with all haste. If you wish us more haste, help your cousins finish this quickly." Eli explains, without emotion.
"I think we are sacrificing the living people in Vigilant for helping the dead people here. We must warn, and defend, the living! We should not sit idly by why a whole town is at risk! I vote with Chap, we need to move quickly!"
"Your assertion that we are sacrificing anyone is, again, apropos of nothing, save conjecture. I understand the desire for haste, as I share it. But acting on impulse, and lacking patience and calm necessary to make the correct decisions, and, say, putting us in the wrong location as another village suffers this fate instead is just as much us sacrificing them as helping the dead here is sacrificing Vigilant." Eli says without any hint of condescension.
He looks around. "As noted, the vote has already been established. If you wish to use the time we do have to people stop what they are doing long enough to acquiesce to another vote, that is certainly one option, though if we are truly in haste I would again suggest that working together and knowing what we are about may be the better course of action than making a presumption based off of no information whatsoever."
"The fact that Vigilant may be a target is not denied. All practical evidence indicates that if it is a target, it is not a target immediately. If it is not a target immediately, the wisest course of action is to attempt to find evidence. If no evidence is forthcoming, we have prevented evil spirits from using innocent corpses from doing ever more evil." he says, flatly.
With no trace of emotion, he continues. "No one denies that Vigilant must be warned. In fact, it must be. The only question is whether it is Vigilant, or something or someone else must be warned. If either of you have special insight to prove that Vigilant is next on the list, I, for one, would be most interested to hear it. While you argue with me, however, let us work on gathering to bodies, or the two of you should leave immediately, if you are good at tracking, and work at convincing our cousins who are not in town, but instead are searching for any hints or signs of activity beyond the borders of the town, and assist them. It will allow us to multitask and accomplish more than simple words. Perhaps your reasoning will be persuasive."
With that, Eli continues assisting those as outlined above, aiding any who need help with corpses, tending the animals, and working with his Cousins to ensure a speedy, thorough honoring of the innocent dead of Endurant, while searching for clues, hints, and information on why and any other evidence on what they plan next.
"If a decision has been made, cousin, I just hope it is the correct one. I will help, just so we can make haste to warn Vigilant. Why? Because the imps were going towards it. They were not static, as us, but moving, as we should be, as soon as we are able, or the "vote" allow us."
Arabeth gives Chap's shoulder a friendly, reassuring squeeze.
"Should you feel the need to talk? Perhaps between Natanja and myself? About that idea?" She remarks before moving off to help finish the tasks such that the group can be on the move soon.
Arabeth will spend more time around/near Gina and Azmaria (Young Vincent as well, should that be possible) and try and steer them away from the more grisly remains.
Although you might have expected more weeping or something from the girl, instead of fascination with the bodies, it does seem like she's still in shock, coping as best as she can with the loss of everything in her life, and genuinely curious about these strange sights she's never seen before... although perhaps not yet fully connecting the sight of these burned corpses with the loss of her loved ones. She seems to alternate between periods of dazed gazing off into the distance with tears in her eyes, and periods of being distracted by kind people (such as yourself) or strange curiosities. In other words, this might be a weird reaction or it might be normal reaction, but she doesn't seem to be hiding anything.
No one asks of my past Eli, because this isn't about me, and I lack the pride to assume anyone wants to know me. If your answer to the inquiry is you hide nothing, then being defensive and accusing me of intrusion does nothing but waste both our want to do good here. Practice virtue, build trust, and cast aside your mask so that we can speak to each other's souls. Even now I feel like I am talking to your mask and not a man. Chap pauses a moment, I hope the fear of making the wrong decision to justify this wait and see plan doesn't cost more lives.
Chap turns to Lesith, Let's go and help pick through the ashes, Eli labels me an intruder in this pact, I do more to hurt our cause then help it seems.
Chap follows after Arabeth, looking back at Eli with a moment of sadness, or perhaps regret.
Chap spends the remainder of the day using detect evil, chaos, and good to sweep the remains of Endurant and will include the girl Gina just in case.
"I hope Eli, and the rest, are doing the best they can, Chap. Let's pray we are taking the correct decision here. Don't be mad at them, we are all in this together."
Chap does not detect any evil, chaos, or good amidst the wreckage.
Neither does she detect any on the girl Gina.
(Which doesn't necessarily mean the girl's attitude is neither kind nor wicked, but may simply mean Gina isn't yet a strong enough person to detect, and likely means she is neither an outsider nor an undead, unless she's using a magic to hide her alignment that is strong enough that none of the other magic detectors could sense it.)
You do detect goodness on each of your thirteen allies, due in part, you might guess, to the celestial bloodline you are said to share.
Apologies if I appear to be angry or spiteful, but we've never been good at expressing concern. The situation here doesn't help any.
"You appear worried for the people on Vigilant, as I am."
When sought out for watch she accepts whatever shift she is given, but remains quiet and distant if addressed. Nods, head shakes and small shrugs serving as her only answers.
In the morning Kiwyn finds she has little in the way of an appetite and slips off to the water's edge to wash. The temptation to drop her disguise and thoroughly scrub her fur was, well, tempting. Settling for just washing her hair she found going through the simple motions soothing…
The kitsune’s head snaps around, wet hair flinging droplets around in it’s wake. The next moment she’s running back towards camp as quickly as she can. ”What, (huff-huff) what happened? (huff)” She asked quickly, nearly stumbling on to the gathering.
Hearing the explanation she lets out a deep breath and leans against a wall and whispers under her breath.Finding a seat Kiwyn relaxes and begins drying her hair as the others debate their next objective. Believing she would slow down the group returning to Vigilant she volunteers to stay and help the search through the ruins. ”I think I would be better suited here.” She admits.
Once again moving through the ruins Kiwyn carefully searches each ruined building for the remains of victims. If she finds anything that looks to be of personal importance she sets it aside with the remains she found it with.
As she finishes a building Kiwyn takes a few moment to clean the bodies. She sings to them the lullaby she sang the night before.
Gina wanders through the ruins with Sister Azmaria and Arabeth, occasionally picking up an item or trinket and saying whose it was.
At her own house (from which the corpses have already been collected), she manages to find a few small items to claim of her own or her parents.
At one points she wonders out loud, looking from Azmaria to Arabeth to the others searching nearby...
"So, where did you all come from? Why did you come here? Do you all fight evil?"
Without losing her focus on the task at hand, Chap answers "Clacton, you may have heard of it, the largest city in the world, or was back in my youth. As to why we are here, it is because we all fight evil, each in our own way. We dreamed there was need of us here, so we came on faith that we could accomplish some good, something meaningful. It is a miracle we found you when we did. Praise the saints."
With Oko returned and sitting perched on her shoulder once more, Natanja turned her golden gaze to either side of her -- looking at Marius and Poterol busily scanning the surrounds.
"It is good to work beside trackers with skill equal to mine, although I can't bear admitting to such out aloud." There was amusement behind the golden-glowing eyes as if she was partly teasing her male cousins.
"All I have discovered are rabbit tracks, possibly some squirrel." Natanja ran a hand through her fiery-hued hair.
She sighed quietly and pushed her gaze around the town perimeter before her. When she spoke again, her voice was lower and huskier than usual,
"Mayhap they were clever and could remove traces of their movement or move about without leaving tracks. Or they could fly ... It seems strange, does it not that, even for a small town, that there are no signs of general foot travel around the perimeter ... "
"So, where did you all come from? Why did you come here? Do you all fight evil?"
Arabeth smiles, "The simple, yet deep, questions of youth." She waits a moment, sorting her thoughts.
"My self? I lived in a temple in . It was... providence... which saw myself join with every one else." Arabeth looks wistfully off in the direction of Vigilant and the lands far beyond.
"I was raised my whole life within the temple. Until joining with this group... serving others is really all I've ever known." She smiles kindly to Gina. "I don't think 'Fighting evil' was something I did every day at my temple..."
Marius nods. "It is strange. It's as though the entire town was trapped inside itself, and further trapped in their homes. It's amazing that not even a single soul managed to flee to so much as the treeline..."
He follow suits with Natanja's sigh. "For all our combined skill we're really not turning up much, eh? What do you two think is the best play if we really do find nothing?"
"What do you two think is the best play if we really do find nothing?"
Natanja silently pondered her cousin's question. Occasionally Oko would make a sound when sensing a fleeting mood or emotion but the spirit hawk kept her vigil on the Emberkin's shoulder.
"My mind aches at the thought of finding naught in our search. But if it were up to me, I'd go back to Vigilant, locate the uncle of the little girl, deliver her unto him, report to the city watch what we have discovered here and then I suppose we sleep and dream to hear instruction from the mysterious Angelina. She bids us go to some place and we go. It seems she is to set our course and we bide."
Natanja's hair lifted with the breeze and it moved ever so slowly as if it were flame against the sky.
"We are many cousins - strangers in main - with varied opinion. We can go in circles with talking. We should select a leader and entrust them with governing. I am not saying we are children in need of rules and instruction at every turn. Guidance and direction are key. We are a fire that requires tending, lest the breeze blows sparks in all direction and creates a wildfire."
Natanja's soft, throaty laughter broke the otherwise quiet of the village outskirts and lightened the earnestness of her words.
"I am not looking to be the only voice heard above all other. What would you see happen, Marius? Poterol?"
His eyes turn back to the village. "I would ask that child why none left the main area of the village. It is worrysome. Something kept them in their homes, even before whatever attack happened."
"I agree with you, cousin. The lack of tracks of any kind but those of small creatures is worrisome. I wish we had known more before coming to Endurant. If only Angelina had provided us with detail. I suppose that is not her way."
Natanja looked toward the sun in the sky, gauging the time that had lapsed since they first started out.
"When we return to the logging camp, we shall speak with the child. When we left, she was still sleeping and I did not want to disturb her rest and recovery. Gina knows me, and perhaps will answer our inquiries without fuss or suspicion." Eth, may it be so.
"I wonder what our cousins have accomplished since the morning. I heard some say they wanted to talk with the child. We need to come together and agree on the next course of action, not only for her sake, but for our own as well."
"Agreed," says Marius succinctly. The lack of direction in the group was unsettling, and he knew from experience that coordinating even the actions of three or four people could prove troublesome. Trying to direct a small army of half-celestials was only going to be that much harder.
"I'm not sure how much the girl will know. It sounded like pure happenstance she survived - and only just barely. I've got a couple more ideas on where we might find some information..." the hunter's words trail off, as though unsure of himself. He hated losing a trail - it was like an insult to his own skill. He could call upon his magical prowess, but he was hesitant to do so. Every time he tapped into its power, it bothered him. Like there was something unnatural about the whole thing. Perhaps it was a result of his great-great-great-great ancestor's blood. Didn't make it any less strange. "I'm just afraid we don't have much more time to chase ghosts."
Lesith give a gentle kiss in the forehead to Gina...
"We are family, all of us, and more than fighting we are trying to protect little beautiful girls like you..."
Then she uses her Ghost Sound cantrip to create sweet music for her.