She smiled widely, clearly aroused with the entire thing, maybe the danger only made things more interesting.
She whispers to Rose ”Thank you.” as she waits what Nahia has to say.
Nahia is surprised at the flaring argument and each time she begins to say something, one woman or the other starts her next argument. And Nahia does her best to hide her surprise at the statement that she is the ‘leader’. But finally, when it seems to have simmered down, Nahia finds the opportunity to speak.
Nahia thinks for a moment about what she could say to diffuse any lasting feelings of the situation, but she quickly decides that it isn’t going to happen now, in the heat of things. Deciding that a bit of humor and some distance are the best remedies right now, Nahia takes the manacles and looks at Elise a moment, before turning to Rose with a grin and saying ”Oh, these will be handy, but for right now, I have better uses for her hands.”
Nahia wraps an arm around Elise and pulls her into another passionate kiss while sliding the woman's hand down her body and to her rump, before turning to Rose and adding ”I did my shopping yesterday before our meeting, but I appreciate the offer of help. I’ll meet back up with everyone tomorrow. While all of you are out gathering things today, think about anything you want me to make, alchemical or otherwise, while we have time to gather the materials.”
Nahia turns back to Elise with a smile and whispers ”Come now, it’s been so long, and we’ve both had a rough last few months.” Before turning to walk away with her.
"I'm sure you'll find a use for them at some point." Rose says with a wink. She watches them go. After they are out of earshot she turns to the others looking equal parts amused and concerned
"Oops." she said dryly. "I think I gave them the wrong key."
Seren chuckles to herself as she watches Elise jump into Nahia's arms. Well, yep, should have seen that coming. She listens with passive disinterest as Rose and Elise go about their power play, exhaustion leaving her little energy to deal with their fighting.
"This is exhausting to listen too and I'm just not in the mood, Nahia have fun with Elise, maybe try and not put Trak in a murdering mood tonight, but I'll see you later." Seren sighs, turning and walking away from the group, her head shaking in hopelessness as the conversation between Rose and Eliza reaches a boiling point.
Wondering away from the group, Seren is caught unprepared and stumbles down an alley, a piercing headache developing suddenly as her long forgotten memories resurface. Ummm. No. No. No. Wrong life.
Her eyes flicker behind closed lashes as she memories flood her mind:
a stunning girl so different yet with striking similarity to her current depraved state but dressed in flowing Mitran robes, laughing and giggling as she departs a Chapel, off to continue her studies with one of the local Cardinals. She stops suddenly at a well manicured garden, flowers blooming in every colour she could imagine, and reaches down to collect some as a gift for her teacher.
The images fade rapidly, blurring into another image:
Now a young girl, golden locks cascading down her back in perfect curls. Her parents, standing behind the grand piano, chatting with the local lord as Seren sings a captivating lullaby, dressed in an adorable nightgown of flowing pink.
The memories come faster and in random order as Seren is overtaken by them and crumples to the ground. Curious. And with that final thought it's over. The headache gone, the only indication that it wasn't all a dream being her location on her back, staring up at the sky. What in the hells was that?
She slowly collects herself, brushing the dirt off her dress, and heading out of the alley and back into the town. Nahia just what kind of power did we play with?
Shaking the foreign thoughts, and some tears away, Seren heads towards the market. Black gems. Black gems, and maybe some raw onyx will make everything better.
Hound watches the others leave and looks at Rose. We should find out more about the woods, such as if we can take mounts into them and the wildlife. Trappers and hunters would be the best bet.
"I agree. You're probably best suited to talking to them. Seren has other things to work on, and Mysty might not be taken seriously, and I would probably draw too much of the wrong attention." Rose said, her expression thoughtful. "Let's do our shopping and ask a few merchants. The local leatherworkers and carpenters will probably know where we can find some skilled woodsy folk."
Hound does his best to be friendly and to talk with the locals about the Briar.
But maybe because of his silent and hulking demeanor, everyone he stops to talk, is quick to, conveniently find himself with another urgent task at hand. Some hours he spend in this endeavor, only to at each hour, get more and more pissed, for not being able to get any result.
Hound returns to Rose. I am very much not qualified to 'chat people up.' It seems that while surviving in the wilderness would be possible for me, asking someone about it is not. Perhaps you could cloak yourself as a hunter and ask for me?
"Yeah... not my best plan." Rose agreed. "I'll see what I can do."
Going somewhere away from prying eyes, Rose spent a while with a mirror and the circlet disguising herself as a woodsy looking half elf of indeterminate age. Once her disguise was set she picked up where Hound left off and tried to get some information.
That sounds like a good idea. Rose could do the chatting with the woodspeople and we go look for where they might have gone. We should start with the baron since no doubt they stopped by him.
"Good idea. The leatherworkers we talked to didn't respond very well to Hound though. I'm going to try them again tomorrow. Hopefully you'll have luck with the innkeeps."
The night passes, for some sleep, for others, anything but sleep. It’s a bright and clear day, and even in the morning, it promises to be a hot one.
As usual, you eat breakfast, talk about future plans and strategy. Rose want to pursuit the woodsman avenue, to find more information about the Briar, while Mysty and Hound wants to track down the Fourth. Nahia is probably too tired because of her night activities, but that may not be enough to stop Elise, who knows?
@Rose
Your disguise as always is perfect. The Iron Circlet let you change your appearance as you see fit, while you clever words may be able to bluff you out of any situation. And when lies do not work, you can always be sincere about it or just frighten someone else into obedience. The beauty as always is to know when to use each approach. Up until now your sweet words and clever disguises served you well, and there’s no reason it should not continue to do so in this little town.
So when a woodsy looking half elf of indeterminate age starts talking about the Briar, is not everyone spend time to talk with her. Many are just too busy to stop their work, others too distracted. Her efforts however are not in vain. It take some hours, the best part of the morning but he is able to learn several interesting facts about the Briar. From legendary treasure hoard, to talking trees, everyone has a different opinion and belief about the forest.
For some, on the northern edge of the Caer Bryr are those strange hills called the Karst. They say somewhere in those hills is lost a great treasure.
Others say the Caer Bryr is full of living trees – and that everyone knows that, but it’s rare to see them so far north. Still, some heard tell that one dwells not a day’s ride from this very town.
Some others says that a devil lives in that forest, old One-Eye’s back, they say. He’s half-tiger, half-devil that old cat! Big as a house, they say.
@Mysty and Hound
After breakfast, you ask to speak with the Baron. The major-domo, an old man by name of Rikert, informs you ”The master is currently paying a visit to the orphanage, he’ll be back for lunch, I can inform him if you wish to speak with him.”
After requesting to talk with the Baron or simply ignoring the man, Mysty and Hound starts the old information hunting. Best ways to do that, and everyone knows, are inn and taverns.
It does not take much time and in a couple of hours, the Duo already knows something about the missing elf.
The first rumor they heard, said about the elf staying at the Wandering Friar Inn that disappeared now three weeks back. Went into the Briar and were never seen again, the rumor said.
From there, the next logical step as to track down the said inn, and see what could be found there. It’s not hard to find the inn in the Newchurch, the place seems good enough, not cheap and not expensive.
At mention of Kael, the innkeeper becomes livid! ”That dammed elf!” he cursed ”Got himself missing in the Briar and now I have to cope with his debt!” says the fat man ”I’ll give it only more week, before turning his room open again.”
Hound looks down at Mysty at the innkeeper's words and nods. Perhaps we can help you with that. Perhaps we can have a look at his room and thus find out where he might of been headed. Then we can go out and find out which hole he dived into.
Seren awakes in the morning, feeling slightly more refreshed. what to do today.... I should be able to procure access to a forge perhaps.
She walks out of the manor, searching the city for a place out of prying eyes where she can ply her craft.
She wanders the city hopelessly for most of the day, frustration and anger building as she can't seem to find any location that is quite right.
After a full day of searching she finally gives in and heads back towards the manor, to give in and ask the Baron if he knows of a location where she could begin to craft her armor.
Nahia awakens a little after noon with a stretch and a soft yawn. Glancing around without sitting up, she finds herself alone in the room.
Hmm… Elise must have left to do some real work.
She shifts around in the blankets, thinking about the night before, feeling so relaxed and not wanting to disturb this comfort.
Oh, why couldn’t be something like that?
Squirming some more, Nahia lets out a long sigh.
Oh, the bed feels so good… but my bladder feels like it’s going to burst… and I should probably get a bath...
Nahia stands, feeling an ache in muscles that haven’t been getting enough exercise, in her opinion, and freshens herself up. The bath provides her ample opportunity for thought.
Hmm, I wonder if a guardsman will show up? Our display yesterday was a little… forward, considering our relationship is a crime here… Or is this one of those ‘gypsy girl’ situations, where the people decry them in public, but the men still show up at night with plenty of coin...
But enough idle thoughts, I have work to do. Here I am relaxing sore muscles in a nice, hot bath while Elise and the others are out working. Not that that is necessarily a … But the last thing I need is the get the rest of the Ninth thinking I’m as lazy as I am… And I promised to make Hound some potions too… Jeeze, I could just make them here if I had my things with me… but lugging that cauldron around is annoying… Not to mention all of the other supplies in my chest… I should really do something about that.
Nahia smiles as Andros floats in the bathwater, having gathered several rose petals together to lay his head on.
This has been really nice though. We’ve all been working hard and deserve a little release and relaxation now and then. It kind of makes me feel bad for the others, honestly. I wonder why they don’t indulge themselves more? Maybe the ‘joy of battle’ is what they thrive on instead? Hmm… seems like a poor substitute to me...
Well, I guess I should gather my things and prepare for some work.
Nahia leaves the bath, gathers her things, and gets dressed. Donning her disguise again, she jots a quick note, dabs just a bit of rose oil on it, and leaves it on Elise’s pillow.
Greetings Darling,
Last night was wonderful, and I have sorely missed your company. It is with a heavy heart that I leave to attend to some work that must get done to prepare us for the mission, just as I am sure that you have things to attend to.
However, at least for now, my tasks are fairly trivial and will leave me with some free time. If you have time as well, I’d love to spend some more together. Both in a personal and a professional sense. I’ve learned much since we parted at the manor, and I’m excited to have the chance to discuss technique with one of my sisters.
Either way, you know where I will be. Feel free to drop by, I’ll tell the servants to direct you to me.
Providence be with you!
As she turns to leave, Nahia hears a whisper in her ear again. There… a memento… the window... Nahia feels her eyes drawn to the window where she barely sees something white swaying gently in the breeze. She walks over to the window and find that a single long, white feather is trapped in the window frame.
This must be from Winter when he was preening at some point…
Nahia plucks the feather from the frame and gently runs it down her cheek, smiling, before placing it in her satchel, and taking her leave and heading towards the market.
- - - - -
After purchasing some ingredients, Nahia heads back to her room and pulls out her new cauldron. First she warms up with some simple creations, testing the magic of the iron pot. But once she is used to it, she begins working in earnest, making the first of the potions that Hound requested.
We would like to have a look at his room, he might have left some information behind. AT the very leasts, if the worst has happened, we can make sure his possessions are returned to his family.
Rose was satisfied at the information she'd picked up. She wasn't sure how much of it was reliable, but it was good to know as much as possible about the local legends. There might be grains of truth in them.
She headed back to the Baron's manor to regroup with the others.
”Pay up, it’s 25 gold pieces.” says the innkeeper. He don’t ask questions or your motives, and don’t seem to care what happens to the room, all he wants is his money.
After paying up, Mysty and Hound walks to Kael room and opens it, the first thing they notices is a map laying out on a table weighed down by a common dagger, with instructions on how to find the horn.
Complete searches in the room reveals besides a few worthless personal effects, Kael’s emergency funds are also hidden under the mattress in a sackcloth bag (containing 132 gp in mixed coinage).
Well this most certainly helps cut down on scouting. Hound takes the map and tosses the coins to Mysty. Let us get back to Rose.
|
Mysty looks at hound, keep an eye on the corridor, we don't want spectators.
After searching she smiles.
well well, profit and a map. And the map the most valuable of all. We better take that back.
Mysty takes the dagger and stows the map carefully. The coinage she pouches. we'll put this towards party petty change. Less my 25gp of course
Mysty then gathers the other gear. don't want someone maybe finding out about this...fool thinking about the dead owner of the possesions. imagine leaving the map. Hope he's burning
After that cheerful thought, and a last look around, Mysty looks at hound. do you think the innkeeper knows too much? He seems not to care, but he could tell someone we were here. Inns are so...susceptible to fire after all. Probably should ask the others. We can always come back tonight. Better time really.
With that they leave, returning to report.
Hmm....Ask them at least. Better we be long gone from the city before ahem...burning bridges.
Hound leaves with her.
After finding the map, Hound and Mysty return the manor. Nahia and Seren, busy with their craft don’t really make up much for conversation, and Rose spends the day collecting rumors about the place.
It’s night already, at dinner, when everyone is reunited, ready to tell their findings and make up future plans. Once again the Baron is not preset at the table. Rikert the major-domo informs you the man had an invitation for a dinner this night.
"A map?" Rose said excitedly when Mysty and Hound announced their findings. "That's fantastic! I'm kinda glad this Kael was dumb enough not to take it with him. Can I see it?"
She spread the map out on the table and took a long look at it to figure out the scale and the landmarks.
"My day wasn't quite as productive as yours. I learned a lot of local legends though. There's supposedly a moving tree about a day's ride north, somewhere around here." She drew a circle with her finger a bit above where the town was marked on the map "Maybe some kind of Treant or forest spirit. If its real it might be a good source of information about the forest."
"Up north in these hills- the Karst- there's supposed to be a lost treasure of some kind."
"And somewhere in between there's a giant tiger with one eyeone-eyed tiger the size of a house."
"That's what the locals say at any rate. Tomorrow I'm going to dive into the Baron's library to see if I can learn more about any of this."
Nahia, disguised in the same grand form Tiadora had pushed on her, moves over to examine the map as well. Geography was never her thing, but knowing what the lay of the land might look like could very much help them when going for the horn. Smiling at Mysty and Hound, Nahia says "This... this is a great find. Good job you two."
Nahia turns to Rose and says "I'd be wary about the moving tree. This forest has been untamed for a reason, and any spirit may be mad, or at least holding a grudge."
Turning to the rest, Nahia adds "Mind if I investigate the orphanage with you? And afterwards I might carouse through the town and see if I can learn anything else."
Finally, she asks "And do we have some time frame for when we might want to go searching? I probably need another three or four days for enchanting things, plus the time for make anything else the rest of you might require."
"We'll all go when you and Seren are done with all these projects. The new equipment will be a big help. Just let us know when you will be ready. The rest of us will try to stay productive while you two work."
The day passes as the crafting takes places inside the manor.
Rose delves inside the library and it’s surprised by the amount of subjects it seems to cover from poetry to war strategy, outer planes to sex. Of course she knows that deeper would probably be unavailable, since the owner appeared to care more about quantity than quality of the knowledge in his library.
Mysty , Nahia and Hound then leave to gather more information about the baron and this ‘orphanage’.
There’s not much talk about the baron, other than he had recently, barely left his manor.
About the orphanage, there are conflicted opinions. Some praise the baron for his generosity, since he is the one that maintains the orphanage, while others condemn the place saying the kids are little more than thugs, and that the baron use then for dirty work.
Rose puts a bookmark in a book of legends she'd been perusing and sets it aside for later.
Have to keep on task
Rose slid a book over to Nahia. "I found this while I was in the library looking for information about our demon lord. Its a legend about some Mitran demonslayer. Very yawn-inspiring. The part that caught my attention was there, where the bookmark is. It talks about how his helm gave him luck in battle."
"Is that something that could actually work? If so, it could be pretty useful."
Hound escorts various members of the Knot around, practices with his weapons and if the party wants them, purchases horses for the trip into the forest.(If they are usable there as well.)
Nahia reads over the book, specifically the legend about the warriors helmet. She spends a while staring at it, thinking, before responding "This will not be a simple thing... easily the most difficult item I've tried to make..."
Though certainly not the most painful...
Smiling, she adds "But I think I can do it. I need to do a little planning tonight, see which spirits would be correct for supplication. And then in the morning I'll scope out the market for materials, but I think it'll be around 300 plat. Hound asked for potions first, and I'll finish those today. I can get started on it tomorrow, and it'll take about three days for everything."
This one... will certainly be interesting...
- - - - -
Later that evening, Hound receives a knock on his door. Nahia is standing there holding two vials, each containing a bubbling, golden liquid. Smiling she says "Your potions, as requested."
Hound nods and takes the potions Much obliged.
Rose was practically giddy. "Come to my room after dinner, I'll give you the money for the things you need. When you're ready to get started I'll give you my helm."
Nahia smiles at Rose and says "I can do that."
Besides, I have something else to return to you...
- - - - -
After dinner, Nahia stopped by her own room before going to Rose's. Knocking gently, she stands there, out of disguise and smiling, when Rose opens the door. "Evening!"
”Welcome.” said the grisly old human, leaning in his cane ”Bergill Mott is my name, I’m the Headmaster.”
----
It hadn’t taken long for Mysty and Nahia to find the orphanage. Relatively close from Calliver Green, the Orphanage itself an imposing structure teeming with children of all ages. The buildings are well maintained and the children certainly seem well taken care of.
After making introductions, the guard let you in, instructing where to find Master Mott. As you walk score of well-dressed and smiling children run along with you. Cleary excited in receiving visit from someone outside the town.
One of the older kids, a young girl probably entering her teens, dressing a simple brown dress, worn slippers, her hair done in a long braid, self-appointed guide, lead you through the place.
”Is so rare to have visits!” she confess ”They’ll be talking about you for months!” then she continues ”Is there anywhere else you want to go before meeting Master Mott?”
|
|
Mysty looks around as she and Nahia move through the orphanage. Nothing to attract much notice, thus far. She had seen these places before, many rogues and other shady types come from them. But...dressed a fair bit better than is usual. Orphanage residents usually wore cast off cloths, and were slightly underfed as well. Curious. In Talingarde orphans are said to be not favored by Mitra, and so were the last to be catered to.
Also these orphanages were quite often run by the church. Activities in these places were supposed to train the sprouts in a trade, but usually were used as cheap labor. Mysty looks around for signs of that and other hints.
To the girl she says so they treat you well here?
The girl makes a bad face when Mysty ask how well they are treated ”Master Mott is really severe. He doesn’t let us stay awake at night, he forces us to read and study. We can only play a few hours per day, and you get punished if you do something wrong…” she seems to be finished when she adds ”… and when we are older, we have to train and practice!”
You get the impression it’s just a child complaint about not being able to do as she pleases. Not really being mistreated or anything of sorts.
Nahia smiles at the girl and says "I remember that from when I was a kid. What kind of things do you train at? And what kind of things do you like to do?" Nahia says, taking a genuine interest in the child.
I wonder how things would have been different.. if I had been born somewhere like here... and if I hand't found my mother...
Rose had Nahia's money all ready when she arrived, and was holding her helm like a child's teddy bear. "Please be careful with it. It was a present from my father." She followed Nahia to watch how the whole enchanting thing worked, but stayed quiet and out of the way while she watched.
”I’m not sure.” says the girl to Nahia’s question. ”The older ones never tell us about training.” then she thinks a bit before answering ”Me? I like to play!”
You walk some more in corridors and hallways and finally she leads you into a double door.
Inside, an old man, dressed richly.
He smiles when you enter as he greets you ”Welcome.” said the grisly old human, leaning in his cane ”Bergill Mott is my name, I’m the Headmaster.”
A grin comes over her face, a little laugh escaping her throat, before Nahia adds "But speaking of being careful..." She pulls out a pair of thin shackles, a key in one of the locks. "...very amusing."
- - - - -
Nahia smiles at Rose's interest in the process and says "Well, unfortunately, tonight is going to be a little boring for you. No grand flashy effects, very little chanting, and probably not even much moving on my part. Still, you're welcome to watch, just don't interfere."
Playfully, she asks "Or are you just worried that I'll hurt your helmet?"
- - - - -
Nahia, as she had so many times in the past, laid out her red cloth and placed Rose’s helmet upon it. But there was no chalk array this time. No, Nahia was not going to add anything to this item, not yet at least. In fact, this first night was about pulling something out of it.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and quietly began to chant. ”Spirits of misfortune, heed my words and give me audience.” She takes out her sickle and slices open her palm, letting the blood gently drip onto the helm as she repeats her chant.
Slowly, little balls of shadow begin to rise from the spots of blood on the helmet, growing until their bodies are the size of a small cat. The spirits eyes and mouths are made of a glowing purple light, and they look up at the witch, seemingly annoyed. And when a multitude of them have appeared, she puts down the knife and instead picks up a long, thick needle, almost a nail, made of cold iron.
Nahia prostrates herself before the spirits, saying ”Thank you for granting me an audience. I come to make you an offer, a new home.” She places the needle in front of them, but the spirits seem to completely disregard the item, still looking at the witch with irritation. She continues ”And to make amends for the inconvenience, to show you this places worth, I offer you an evening of entertainment.”
Nahia rises and moves closer. Holding the needle in both hands, she offers it to one of the spirits. It takes it, looking it over, and stabs her deeply in the hand, the needle tip pushing through flesh and scraping over bone. Nahia’s eyes shut tight and she lets out a yelp of pain, concentrating hard on not pulling her hand away. The creature smiles a wicked smile and begins to wiggle the needle back and forth, the sounds of the witch’s pain causing the spirit to emit a hollow, echoing laughter. And after several minutes of pain, the spirit disappears. Nahia withdraws the needle, the previously pristine metal now looking more worn and pocked.
Nahia again takes the needle in both hands and offers it to another spirit, each of them now fighting to get their turn.
- - - - -
Nahia awakens the next morning with a groan. Her body hurts all over and there is a burning pain in her gut. Opening her eyes, she sees drops of dried blood everywhere and her skin is covered in little scabs. Reaching down to her stomach, she feels a length of the needle protruding from her skin. Slowly, she pulls it out, clenching her teeth as tears drip from the corners of her eyes and the wet sound of the needle pulling from flesh rings in her ears.
When the sliver of metal is removed, she looks it over. The needle is rusted, completely pocked, and covered in burs and sharp edges, like the thing had been corroded with acid and left in a field for a decade. She puts the needle down and moves over to the helmet, placing a hand on it and closing her eyes.
Nearly no misfortune spirits left… very good.
Standing up, a hand on her bleeding stomach, she makes her way to the bath.
Well, at least the easy part is done.
- - - - -
Nahia smiles at the girl and give a simple "Me too!"
And once they reach the headmaster Nahia curtsies and replies "Hello headmaster Mott! I'm Alina... pleased to meet you. And I must say, seeing how much work you put into taking care of this children is a lovely sight to see. This orphanage seems so much nicer than others I have been to."