Zamanda casts a spell on herself, healing herself a little bit more.
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Yeah, I can see the door back there under all the junk. I think moving the blockage would make less noise than trying to hack through the wall though. Do we want to risk that? If so, I'm good, but moving the stuff would leave us more options.
... I was also thinking, if we are planning on sticking around here longer, maybe we should spend the night in Sabina's room. We probably have enough invisibility to get everyone there, with one of us pretending to be Sabina, and being seen publicly. That would delay the worry about Sabina being outed as a traitor. Obviously some of our work is going to be discovered at some point, but that might give us more space to work without being up against the deadline of her discovery... and it just might open up an opportunity for us to strike at the queen, from that secret entrance?
"Moving things would certainly be quieter, but would take a long time. If they start looking for who caused the trouble downstairs, we'll be left a little exposed. Magic protections might have faded, and they might have a chance to prepare themselves." Bashiel shrugs. "But, if we've got a spare dimension door or two, or Laori, if you have the ability to shift a bunch of stone, then we could get through quickly."
"As for staying around here... hiding in Sabina's room would give me a heart attack. I get that it would be a good way to cover for her, but if someone pierces the ruse, we'll be in some serious trouble." He grins behind his mask "Its gutsy, that's for sure."
”Whats life without a bit of danger? I say we teleport in. Because it will cover our tracks perfectly. If the guards come looking for us, they won’t think to go past this obstacle.”
Zamanda makes sure she is close enough to be teleported, wondering what they will find on the other side.
The group realizes no one would look for them behind the pile of junk and dimension doors to the other side!
The ceiling here is just five feet tall, and the room is full of cobwebs and dusty, blackened beams that jut here and there from the walls.
This room is dusty and has been abandoned for a while, but it shows an unexpected level of comfort. A large bed sits in a corner, and there are a nice table with two chairs, a desk with a stuffed armchair, a lamp, and a stove. On the northwest wall is a glass showcase full of rare decks of cards. Within the showcase are at least fifty different decks, all displayed with care and competence, usually with several pieces laid face up and with a matching leather, ivory, or wooden case. What looks like a partially melted stone trap door sits in the floor in the northern corner, and a chamber pot sits behind a partially folded screen to the south.
Only a few moments after you arrive here, a furtive scratching sound comes from the wall to the east.
In the wall where you heard the scratching you find a secret door leading very cleverly hidden.
The card collection in the showcase is worth 2,000 gp.
Zamanda cleans the cobwebs out of her hair with a prestidigitation spell, offering the same to everyone else as well.
She examines the card decks, admiring them. She puts all of the diplayed ones back in their cases so they are ready to take with them.
(pass)
Zamanda finds a secret door where the scratching is coming from.
(fail)
She looks around at everyone to make sure they are paying attention, just in case, then opens the secret door.
Before even Zamanda has a chance to open the secret door, there is a sudden push and the door opens a crack. Dust raises from the sudden move but a clear frame is drawn into the stone wall. Zamanda easily pulls open the stone door.
This dusty room contains a bed, a large armchair, a one-legged table, and a silver lantern. On the table, near the lantern, sits a dusty harrow deck in an elegant redwood case.
As you enter this cleverly hidden room, the temperature drops by several degrees. A few moments later, a strange, roiling mist rises from the cards in the case, causing them to flutter and dance on the table as if in a small breeze. The mist takes on a vaguely humanoid form—that of an older man with horns on his brow.
An eerie whisper in a gravelly voice raises in the room "Bring me my bones.. they rot so far below... bring me my bones... I can help you if
you bring me my bones..."
The strain of speaking and opening the secret door to this room swiftly causes the manifestation to fade away.
From Zellara's harrow deck empathic link, you feel a sudden urge to seek out for those bones. The feeling points clearly below the fortress.
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Zamanda cleans the dust off the harrow deck after the cards settle down, places them in their case, and adds the deck to the other one she took.
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After carefully stepping through the Harrow-themed room to be careful not to disturb anything, Bashiel comes to a stop in front of the roiling mist. He takes a seat on the ground.
"Bring you your bones? Ah." In that moment, everything clicks for Bashiel. "I promise you, we will."
The manifestation fades and Bashiel looks over his shoulder at the rest of the group. "Well that confirms the sad story. A misbegotten son, a tiefling I'd guess, trapped in this tower to avoid bringing shame to the royal family. So narrow minded they were..." He shakes his head "And all that time growing up surrounded by all this!" He waves a hand at the Harrow decks across the two chambers "Clearly he had some magical talent with them too. Maybe like Zellara, or even more skilled. Maybe the king grew to rely on his isolated brother? Who knows. In any case, once the king died, someone - probably the Queen - made sure to finish off the brother too."
"And maybe he can help clarify that for us if we return the bones and settle his spirit?"
"Far below? Might be the basement of the castle."
From Zellara's harrow deck empathic link, you feel a sudden urge to seek out for those bones. The feeling points clearly below the fortress.
I'm all for going after the bones, but are we doing that now? I mean, I'm as flexible as they come, but it could help with disguises and bluffing to know whether we are trying to conceal ourselves, or turn different groups against each other, causing castle in-fighting... or whatever. Are we staying and clearing out the whole place now, trying to take down the queen and all, or are we going to leave at some point to let Cressida know she can proceed, etc.? If we stay, we can still confuse things a lot with disguises... maybe make the Gray Maidens think that the assassins are after the queen, or... you know, whatever comes up in the moment, but we're definitely going to have a huge fight on our hands if we are going to try to take out the whole place. Are we ready for that? I'm still willing to sleep in Sabina's room disguised as her as well. It doesn't have to be an intricate plan or anything... we just need to have some sort of overall goal, so I know how to play it.
”I think that if we are to rest it should be here. It seems like nobody ever comes here, and if we can find the bones, then we won’t have anything to worry about from the spirit.” Kalem said. ”The room? Can’t imagine actually sleeping. Seems like a good way to get trapped with no way out.”
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Ilsa feels a shudder go down her spine as they examine the harrow decks and the spirit manifests itself.
"We need to get those bones," she says. "I think--Zellara wants us to."
As they discuss options, Ilsa says "I could probably use a rest soon. I had that duel with the charlatan and used a lot of my mental strength on that. I may be able to go a little further, but not much. To Zamanda's point about the assassins turning on the queen, I could send this one to sneak in and try to kill her," she adds, gesturing at the thrall mantis.
She plops down the dusty bed.
"What do you mean you couldn't rest here, Kalem? This looks absolutely cozy!"
She sits up after a moment. "So--do we think someone trapped him in here to die sealing that stone up?"
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Well, not if his bones are in the basement or dungeon or whatever... he probably died down there. Maybe the queen sent him to the dungeon after she killed the king?
"Since the bones aren't here, he was either sealed in here and then his bones were separated from his place of death afterward... or the sealing happened afterward because he was haunting the area after his death. Maybe." Bashiel shrugs.
"He doesn't seem particularly malevolent, so we could rest in the adjacent room, then once we're fully prepared tomorrow morning we can hit the basement to find the bones. Once we learn whatever the spirit has for us, we'll be better equipped to handle the Queen." He nods to Zamanda "Creating some widespread confusion between the Queen's followers could give us the opening the strike at her."
He raises his fist and starts counting off on his fingers. "Of the tasks and allies Cressida identified, we've downed the black dragon, killed Togomor, took out the leaders of the Red Mantis contingent in the castle, and defeated one of the Queen's major devil allies. The Queen's certainly got the Grey Maidens and their leaders, but we've dealt her defenses a hefty blow. There'll probably be more devils as well."
He rummages through his pack and picks out a wand of sending "We can get a message to Cressida or Sabina this way, so they know our progress."
Zamanda looks at the wand gratefully. Oh, excellent idea. I think we should probably let them both know what is up. I was a little worried about that.
The group sends a couple of messages to let Cressida know about the situation of your strike on Castle Korvosa. A couple of hours pass, you have dinner and entertain yourselves, or discuss the politics of the city and the way forward.
"This is so great, adventuring with you makes me feel so alive!!!" Laori sits in a corner next to Kalem and checks the drawings in one of the harrowdecks until her eyes start to close due to fatigue.
Then, you go to sleep.
The night passes without incident and you wake up the next morning fully refreshed and ready to have breakfast, prepare spells and other tools, and engage into a new day of sneaking.
While having breakfast, Laori listens your discussion with interest "So what now?! We teleport to the dungeon?! Where exactly?!!"
That's a good question, Laori. I think Ilsa might know, or even be able to teleport us directly to the spot... Ilsa you were feeling guided, right? Can you get us there?
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Ilsa nods at Zamanda. "I--I'm getting a pretty clear vision of a place beneath the fortress, or at least can sense where it is. I think," she says.
"Before we go, I guess we should get a message out. I'm sure they're worried about us. Second, what should we do with my friend the assassin? Though we could use him in combat, he could also scout around for us pretty easily, or spy for us, or even make an assassination attempt as a distraction. Any thoughts on that?"
Zamanda responds to the idea of what to do with Kalathuro.
Interesting. We don't know how the situation has changed overnight, so I'm not sure. Last night I would have said to send him on a rampage against the Gray Maidens or something, to make it all look like infighting. But things could have changed now, so... I think we teleport down with him and have him keep watch for us?
Then, remembering Cinnabar, she says
Well, also maybe ask him... would he rather go on a suicide mission, or would he rather live? He doesn't get a lot of choice here, but we could give him that one.
"Not sure about your assassin... friend... Ilsa. Like Cinnabar, if they were substantially repentant, we could eventually free them. But I expect anyone so close to the core of their organization would not be so easily shaken from their course." Bashiel sighs as he adjusts his gauntlets and puts his mask back on "Keeping him as a watch, as Zamanda describes, may be a good role. Starting an assassination seems like it could backfire if the foe fought could dispel your mental grip."
Bashiel mulls it over a bit more "For now it may be best to teleport below the fortress, find these bones, and learn a bit more. Then formulate the full plan."
You take a time to decide about Kalathuro. Whatever Ilsa commands him to do, you cast spells and then she uses Zellara's empathic direction to dimension door the group to the bones in the dungeon.
A thick stench of decay quickly overtakes you as you appear in this room.
A partially decomposed corpse, mouth agape in a painful death scream, lies slumped against the wall at the entrance to this otherwise empty room. The corpse, which is clad in a rich, dark purple outfit, is that of a thin, bearded humanoid with pointed ears and a pair of vestigial horns sprouting from his brow.
You determine this person has died of thirst.
The entrance to this repository has been sealed shut by a brand new brick wall.
Breaking down the brick wall is possible with a little work (hardness 8, hp 60, break DC 30).
Laori kneels by the body, opens the eyes and checks the nails and neck "This person has died of thirst"
Zamanda gets out one of her waterproof bags, makes sure it doesn't have any blood left over in it from past escapades, and starts loading the bones from the body into it... respectfully so she doesn't offend any people or ghosts.
While she is working she glances around, seeing the brick wall, and says
Okay, same issue as yesterday. I am sure that we can get through that wall if we need to, but do we want to exit more quietly than that?
What else do we have to do in the castle? Do we want to teleport back up to give the ghost his bones, or go assassinate someone else, or just knock down the wall, announce our presence, and kill and loot our way through?
It does strike her as a somewhat funny idea to bust down the wall, since guards that would possibly be on the other side would likely be frightened out of their wits by someone breaking out of this particular situation. However, likely not funny enough to do, since any guards were just minions of the true evil, so she doesn't mention it.
Also, that reminds me. Thinking about the list Cressida gave us, we still have no idea what happened to Ishani. Do you think Kalathuro knows, or maybe where we should look for proof about the queen being involved in all of this?
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Ilsa looks at the bones with some pity. When Zamanda speaks of breaking through the wall, she says "I think this ghost just wants us to go back with his body. If we can put him to rest, let's do it."
After Zamanda speaks of Ishani, Ilsa turns her gaze to her dominated assassin.
"Kalathuro, do you know what happened to Ishani? If so, what?"
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Bashiel presses his lips together as Laori announces the cause of death. "Quite the agony he went through before death... The Queen's doing no doubt."
To Zamanda's questions, he shrugs "I'm inclined to go back up and settle this unquiet spirit as soon as we can, but I know it drains you two quite a bit to keep teleporting us. If Kalem feels up to it, we can break through the wall and fight our way through the dungeon. If there's any place they'd keep Ishani, it'd be here - given the good he did for the town without being on the side of the Queen, I can see her wanting to imprison him."
He nods to Ilsa as she questions Kalathuro. Seems like a good resource.
”If I feel up to it?” Kalem chuckled. ”And here I thought that we were just here as tourists! Of course I’m up for it.” He grinned. ”We just fought a dragon. How hard can a wall be?”
The group collects the bones in one of Zamanda's bags.
Kalathuro does not know about Ishani, but once he is explained who the man is, he says "There was a commotion in the castle some days ago when a cleric of Abadar as the one you describe came to save her sister from the 'misleading lure' of the Queen. Togomor gave him for torture to the hands of his hateful construct pet, Akaruzug. I later heard the man was Davana Dhatri's brother"
Answering absentmindedly while staring at the wall he adds "I doubt he is in the dungeon, no one is permitted access to that level. I have been not long in the castle but I heard the torture chamber is in the first floor"
Given the new information, will the group carry on with the teleportation to Vesten's room or bash the brick wall down?
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Let's not bash the wall down. We don't know exactly where the torture room or the construct are to be able to teleport there, do we? If he might be on the first floor, then let's go take care of the bones first, and then go after Davana. She'll likely know about her brother, and if she doesn't, then we can go further.
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Ilsa listens to the others, then says "I don't like breaking this wall down blindly, and it seems like we should put this soul to rest first. Perhaps something good will come of it, and it won't tax my mind too much to take us back up there."
To Kalathuro, she asks "What else will we find on this level? What is beyond this wall?"
Bashiel nods, satisfied that the rest of the group is willing to prioritize the spirit. "First floor? An odd place for a torture chamber. That only makes the dungeons more ominous... If you're not even willing to put a torture chamber down here, it must house something or someone truly inhospitable. We'll want to come down and explore the rest of this eventually."
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Kalathuro, despite his statement before about the forbidden access to that level, does not even know about the dungeon existence as anyone aside the royal family, the seneschal and the higher military ranks. He answers Ilsa "I do not know where have you brought me. I do not know what is beyond that wall"
Ilsa casts another dimension door and the group teleports back to the attic.
Ilsa and Bashiel start a spiritual seance using Venster’s remains as a source of power, and the ghost manifests again, but this time not as a vague misty outline. Venster manifests this time as a full ghost, appearing as a translucent elderly tiefling man with a deck of harrow cards that periodically flies out of his hands to spiral around him before returning to his clutches.
He regards you with kind but sorrowful eyes before he speaks "Thanks for taking my bones out of that dreadful dark room below."
"The way Ileosa murdered my half-brother Eodred with poison..., and my own shameful role in that act... I am imprisoned here by my own shame and guilt..." Venster's ghost wails but further explains himself when asked "I will admit it. I had long nurtured a deep streak of hidden jealousy for the successes of my younger brother Eodred II. I know Eodred allowed me to remain in Castle Korvosa only for fear that I could not survive on my own. Now and then, when he was seized with pity or boredom, he visited me to play cards, even though the visits generally ended in arguments and insults..."
"The king’s deformed tiefling stepbrother... such an opportunity Ileosa found... She played upon my hidden envy and convinced me to take part in Eodred's murder. She gave me a vial of fool’s leprosy, an ingenious venom invented by the Red Mantis. The poison mimics the effects of a rapid form of leprosy, but as a poison, it resists treatments that cure diseases... Ileosa coated the upper half of my playing cards with the poison, so when my compulsive nail-biter stepbrother played, he unknowingly coated his fingers and nails in the stuff, ensuring a slow but steady exposure to the poison." Venster mourns with distress "With my usefulness nearing an end, Ileosa refused my further requests for companionship. When I threatened to reveal to the seneschal the true nature of the king’s 'illness' she abused my feebleness, and trapped me here until I slowly died of thirst. She hide the crime by walling up my corpse in the castle dungeon. My disappearance was noticed only by Neolandus Kalepopolis, the castle seneschal. But I fear that made him only into further trouble..."
"As long as Ileosa continues to live, I fear I remain bound here, incapable of emerging from this room. Unable to directly move against her."
Zamanda looks worried all of a sudden... was that the deck of cards that she picked up? Surely the poison was not still active? And she let Ilsa examine them as well... wait, which deck was it? The one downstairs, or the one they had found up here... she had touched that one, but Ilsa hadn't. That might be better... but...
Which deck was it that was poisoned?
She gets out the two decks she thinks it could be, the one from downstairs and the one from up here, and shows them to the ghost.
One of these?
"Oh, what?" Venster looks confused at the decks "What is this? Why is this important?" the ghost's troubled mind seems frustrated and not remind anything about the deck he just told you about.
"Only you can be my salvation... Although I am imprisoned here, I could sometimes sense the queen’s thoughts and desires when she was in the castle. The knowledge tormented me, but now I do realize that it was all simply preparing me for this day, for my chance at redemption. If what I can tell you can undo what I helped set into motion, I feel that I can move on to face Pharasma in the afterlife and accept my fate." Venster wails again but continues to respond Ilsa "I know that Ileosa plans on using potent magic found in a place called the Sunken Queen to achieve eternal youth."
"I do not know exactly what this entails, but I know that the ritual is based on ancient magic that requires the lifeblood of an army of unknowing sacrifices. I fear that Ileosa has been grooming the citizens of Korvosa to be those sacrifices she needs to achieve immortality." he tells in short.
"You must seek her out at the Sunken Queen and stop her before she can complete the ritual" he urges you and warns you "Even now I can feel strange and potent forces gathering in the spirit world as she makes ready to take the final step."
Since the ghost is confused and clearly isn't going to answer, Zamanda walks away from the group so that she won't interfere with the conversation or burn anything else, and she proceeds to burn both of the decks and their cases to ash with her burning hands spell.
She then cleans her hands thoroughly with prestidigitation, hoping that what the ghost said earlier about repeated exposure to the contact poison means that she and Ilsa are both okay, with no repeat exposure or habit of putting their hands in their mouths.
When she is done, she comes back and says
You said before that you could sense the queen's thoughts "when she was in the castle."
So, she's not here? She's at this Sunken Queen place? Do you know where that is?
Bashiel offers prayers to Pharasma and Osiris as the group reunites the bones with the ghost. The story Venster tells is an unpleasant one - the tiefling had his own villainous part to play - but getting it out in the open is still important. When Venster moves on to his knowledge of the Queen's intentions, Bashiel begins to grit his teeth. "Eternal youth? After all this, that's what she wants? To fulfil her vanity?"
He nods along with Zamanda's questions. "Agreed, you make it sound like she's not here right now." He clenches his gauntleted fist "Then maybe we're losing precious time here... Or maybe not. If she's not here, then maybe this is exactly the right time to overthrow her servitors and retake the Castle."
"Do you know how long there is until this ritual is complete? We need to pursue her quickly if its a matter of days or less. No telling what she might have at this Sunken Queen."
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Eternal youth? A worthy goal. Kalem couldn’t see how anyone could deny that. Even if it didn’t mean extending one’s life, it would certainly make it better. Not that he wasn’t ready to cut her head off and use it to make a puppet show, of course. It was just nice to know that while criminally insane, at least the Queen had an understandable reason.
You see Zamanda takes a couple decks and seems determined to put them to fire if no one stops her.
The name of the Sunken Queen strikes familiar into your heads.
Venster frowns when you start to ask him questions "She is not here? What? How? Yes. I just told she is gathering energies in the Sunken Queen. If she is there she cannot be here. Can she?" the ghost seems even more frustrated by Bashiel's questions "Vanity... selfishness... does it matter? Yes, that is what she wants as I already told you. Many have died to her plots and many more are to soon die, isn't that more important to focus on? Time? Soon. Days? Weeks? Hours? As soon as she can. That I am sure." whether it is his undead nature or lack of social skills, Venster does not sound naturally nice but easy to anger instead "All this I have learned by spying on the snatches of Ileosa’s desires and thoughts I have been able to 'overhear'"
"You should seek out my mother’s tower, a place where the monarchs of the Arabasti line could go for peace and solitude." she points to the central tower to the south where you had been but seen no entry to the top level despite finding a magical aura in the ceiling "I have sensed Ileosa in Domina’s Study several times, and often her most notable bursts of sudden inspiration and power occurred in that chamber"
Zamanda thinks that the Sunken Queen name sounds familiar, and she pulls out the map they had recently acquired.
Ah, here it is.
She shows the others.
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Many things seemed to be coming together all at once. The plans and plots that had unfolded over the many months suddenly revealed.
I'm glad we helped this--unfortunate soul. He has a lot of helpful information.
Ilsa looks at the map Zamanda unfolds.
"The Mushfens, huh?" she asks. "That's where this Sunken Queen will be? Sounds wet, regardless."
She folds her arms across her chest.
"Now seems like a good time to secure the castle. Without her leadership, I would imagine we could finish things up here fairly easily. On the other hand, it's true we don't know how much time we have. If she completes these plans--becomes immortal--well, she could come back and be unstoppable. Perhaps we should tie up loose ends here, then go confront her at once. If she is there without much help, perhaps we could defeat her more easily than here surrounded by her lackeys."
That Domina's study place sounds interesting as well, but we don't know how to get in, do we?
Bashiel shrugs at Ilsa's last comment "I doubt she'd go anywhere without plenty of protections, and with the crown she's probably more dangerous than any of her allies here could hope to become. All that said, it makes sense to me to do exactly what you suggest. Tie up loose ends. Then go to the Sunken Queen."
"We could definitely check Domina's study - it might have some knowledge or magic that could give us an edge against Ileosa. I'm also interested in checking Ileosa's quarters here. If she's away, there's no better time to get in and finally find some written evidence linking her to the Red Mantis and other unsavory groups. It'd be exactly what our friends need. We also can't leave without finding Ishani and helping him."
”Sounds line a plan. Plus, we get bragging rights for having conquered a castle. Not everyone gets to say that. I bet it’ll be worth a drink.”
That Domina's study place sounds interesting as well, but we don't know how to get in, do we?
"That is a secret reserved to the Arabasti's family..." Venster's Arabasti's ghost smiles for the first time since you met him "Of course, that is a family secret I can share with you if you promise to keep it secret and use it to expel Ileosa from my family's business"
"There is a passwall effect in the ceiling, you can activate by touching it with an Arabasti family symbol" he points to the harrowdeck box in Zamanda's hands.
"Many have died in Korvosa due to Ileosa’s whim and cruelties, and each death has bolstered my grief and desire to set things right" he explains coming back to his somber stance.
You suddenly feel an empathic burst of excitement and fear from Zellara, for she has suddenly realized her final role in the protection of Korvosa.
The ghost looks at Zellara’s harrow deck "You own a powerful focus to the world of spirits. Together, we both can harness the spiritual power and energy of those who have died at Ileosa’s hand or through her orchestration into that deck, transforming it into a powerful tool and method for the spirit world to grant you further insight and power."
"Be warned, if you decide to accept this spiritual ritual... not all of the spirits are kindly ones: many were insane or cruel in their own lives, and there is, unfortunately, no way to exclude them from this infusion of power. Me and your spiritual guide together can moderate their influence, though, by focusing them through the traditions and mysticism of the harrow."
In effect, Zellara and Venster can use their own undead natures and the psychic energy of all those dead who blame Ileosa for their fate to transform Zellara’s harrow deck into a powerful and unique harrow deck of many things.
Zamanda offers thanks to the ghost. The key to the passwall effect would be very useful.
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Ilsa feels her connection to Zellara intensify at the discussion.
"She's both excited and fearful of this possibility--if we do this, be prepared. There could be some repercussions," she muses.
She stares at the deck thoughtfully.
"But--I think we should do it. Perhaps this will help all the spirits be put to rest."
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"Well, if we were worried about risks, then we wouldn't have set off on this path. I'm game for this. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"