Cats breathes heavily as he reacts from the fight, staring at the Mariner's bloody rage-filled mayhem.
"Those cats were nasty, weren't they? Who woulda thunk that the old lady was one of them, eh?" Cats looks around for any more foes...or interesting loot.
Cats frisks the bodies of the dead, then looks around more thoroughly.
Perception
"That's two heads, plus the one downstairs...and that's three, right?"
The Mariner drops from exhaustion, careening into the operating table and tumbling off the side, the polearm flying in the other direction. Laying face flat to the floor, "....ooowwww........"
The imaginary cockroach a few inches away from his nose, doing a slow clap.
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I am glad to see you healthy and whole Cats. I was worried about your safety when things got out of hand and Dr. Oathsday made an appearance.
You are right, we have three heads should we want to go back to the barricade.
BB takes the Haunt necklace out of his backpack and places it on one of the tables that doesn't have bodyparts on it.
This necklace may still be needed to handle a future hurdle, but it belongs to each of The Watchmen. I think it is valuable and should be split evenly.
BB gives Campre a bit of a long "guilting" look to see if he also empties his pockets of anything that he found.
........
after a pause, BB goes to The Mariner and says,
Big man, you just saves our asses a few minutes ago. You were ferocious and amazing to see. I am glad to call you friend, and want you to know how much we all appreciate having your fighting skill now that the world has gone insane. I will ask Desna to heal your grievous wounds.
As soon as is appropriate, BB also casts detect magic and announces the results publicly.
Responding to Brother Butterfly's look, Campre crosses his arms. "What're you lookin at?"
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Pinkie quietly pokes around the grisly scene loking to see if anyone missed anything
"Yea i think he ment cut you not cat you .....so what they seem to know what they are doing.....yea Watchmen remind me of the city watch also.....no i don't.....Hey Brother Butterfly Kate and Evan want to know if your set on that watchmen name?
Cats looks at Pinkie.
"Who the cat are Evan and Kate?" Cats looks at Mariner and The Twin.
Which one is Evan and which is Kate?
Cats continues to look through the bodies of the deceased.
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"What're you lookin at?
to which BB responds,
Hmmm Campre?Oh, I was just thinking inside by head. Since I'm a preacher, I was thinking of choosing between two future sermon topics.
Which do you like best?
"Mutually Beneficial Survival"
or
" Turn out your pockets Campre because at the least I have a good skill at evaluating the worth of valuable items."
Which of those sermon topics seem to be most "current events" worthy?
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Turning to Pinkie
There's more than one of you in there?
realizing he said that a bit out loud.
Oh, I am sorry. That was very rude of me.
It is very good to meet you Evan and Kate. I appreciate the fact that your friend Pinkie jumped in - during the chaos of the melee to help protect me from the Facestealers.
And to answer your question, I do like the name. it has a "nobody dies on my watch" feel to it. But I'm open to other names - like the Asylum Boys or Briarwood Boys. But then Kate would feel left out.
Pinkie laughs "You a little late they already dead. They just wont leave."
"Why do we need a name", the Mariner says, using the speech more as a motivation to get off the floor than to debate. Hand over hand, he claws his way up the leg of the table to the top, then finally throwing his forearm over and heaving himself up.
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Cats looks at Pinkie. "Who the cat are Evan and Kate?"
Cats repeats his question to Pinkie even as he continues to rifle through the pockets of the dead.
Fearless stands speechless at the whole spectacle as he helps the Mariner to his feet.
The little halfling swats his open hand angrily into the air. "Evan and Kate are probably against us too. We don't need anymore looney's around here!"
"Now someone grab those heads and let's go talk to York before he skewers us with his twitchy crossbow! Which he will probably do anyways."
The little man is hardly intimidating as he bounces up in down giving out vague orders.
"Oh and Juglan is free if you haven't noticed!" He points back to the shackled bar.
Pinkie pats Cats on the back "You don't have ta worry about them they my aunt and uncle. They only here to make sure I get things right or so they say."
"Uh huh, aunt and uncle," Cats says warily. Cats looks around, trying to see the Aunt and Uncle. Cats looks behind him. "Are they behind me? Where the cat are they?"
Oh man, this guy is catting crazy. Unlike me.
The Twin watches from the doorway as the group eviscerates the two shapeshifters, sheathing his dagger before the bodies even hit the floor. "Really? You needed me to abandon my post for this?" he asks as the Snake coils near his feet.
"Either way, that's two heads. We need to find a third." he says as he expects someone else to deal with the severing of the corpses. "There were two doors by the barricade that we haven't tried or we have the blocked door."
The Twin moves back into the hallway and yells down to the scared orderlies. "Oi! Are you whelps gonna shoot us if we come try those doors near you?" he calls to York and his flunkies.
"You don't always see them more like hear them.....what do you mean they can't hear you......bloody hell they gonna think I'm crazy.....they say the gods only allow me to hear them.....well can they at least SEE you......WHATEVER.....They say I'm suppose to tell you what they say if needed." he shrugs "They say they are a gift from the gods"
"Uh huh," Cats replies dryly to Pinkie and makes a mental note to worry more about it later.
"We need to find a third."
"I thought I said we had another catting head downstairs," Cats remarks. "These two and the one below, cat's three."
The Twin thinks over the interaction with the evil York and cannot see why the shapeshifter they killed below cannot be beheaded and counted.
"You make a fair point, Cat." the Twin offers as he moves back out into the hallway and moves down towards York with the Snake at his side. "Oi! We've killed three now, whelps. The others are gathering the heads." he yells to the orderlies as he keeps a hand on one of his sheathed daggers, expecting trouble.
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You a little late they already dead. They just wont leave.
Brother Butterfly’s eyebrows raise a bit at Pinkie’s affirmation that the two people he “speaks with” are dead and that they are divinely sent Paternal messengers. Well, his eyebrows would raise if they weren’t shaved off. So, it’s the areas above his eyes that raises in muscle surprise. He can believe in The God’s sending guidance, he is a cleric after all and has heard of stories like that…. Well, he thinks he’s heard that kind of stuff if only he could remember his life past last week.
But, there’s something rather INSANE about Pinkie….. really about all of them. He’s the only one that’s doesn’t have anything mentally wrong with him. One thing that he’s happy about. They all did a great job in the face of unearthly adversity. They may be crazy, but they are his kind of crazy.
Looking down at his blood splattered clothes, BB is quite happy he’s ACTUALLY IN a laundry. He goes over to one of the deep wash basins and turns a spigot to get some water running (if it doesn’t work, he uses Create Water) , he grabs a bit of the soap and takes off his travel shirt – dunking it and starting to clean his clothes to get the stench of death and body odor off his garb. Quickly , he becomes uncomfortable with the grime and gore that’s around him. Grabbing a towel or other cleaning item and creating another wash basin for the gunk around his immediate area. He first cleans a 5 foot circle around his “clothes washing area”, but has to expand as he needs places to hang dry his stuff, and he needs a clean table to sit on. This process takes a while. BB seems to get winded from the exertion and discouraged by the sheer magnitude of this room. Saying things like,
Where’s the GOOD soaps?
Blood…. Blood is the worst to get out of clothes.
These shoes are garbage! They are dissolving right in my hands.
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Which do you like best?
"Mutually Beneficial Survival" or " Turn out your pockets Campre because at the least I have a good skill at evaluating the worth of valuable items."
At Brother Butterfly's no-so-subtle urging, Campre reaches into his pocket and pulls out a dirty handkerchief. Grumbling, he starts to unwrap it. "Look, I'm pretty sure I'm out of a job, and after this I think I'm gonna retire. Go someplace far away from this godsforsaken f@&in madhouse. And I'm gonna need some goOaaEEiii!"
Campre tosses the handkerchief like a man developing some new kind of hankiphobia.
The piece of cloth lands on the table and out rolls a disembodied, glass eye with an X-shaped pupil.
"I swear it just blinked at me!" Campre exclaims.
Going through the room and its occupants, you find a few other items of interest. Doctor Oathsday has keys to the manacles used on her victims, a potion marked cure light wounds, and a pouch with 48gp.
With Desna's magic spell of detection Brother Butterfly discovers that the fine dagger Oathsday carried radiates magic, as do a few other items in the area.
On a nearby table, along with a set of reasonably well-kept surgeon’s tools , is a magical haversack, a magical pearl, and a magical phylactery.
A 6-foot-tall standing mirror also leans against the wall (it weighs about 8 pounds, but is relatively easy to move), and six 10-foot poles sit propped in the washtubs, two in each.
A handy haversack.
A pearl of power (1st level).
A phylactery of faithfulness.
"Oh and Juglan is free if you haven't noticed!" He points back to the shackled bar.
Juglan has pressed himself into a corner and gone nearly catatonic. Clutching his hands he mutters the same thing over and over. "Zandalus sees... Zandalus sees... Zandalus sees... "
...moves down towards York with the Snake at his side. "Oi! We've killed three now, whelps. The others are gathering the heads."
Stepping into the hall The Twin delivers the news of your doppelgänger bounties to the guards at the barricade. They call back. "Well, not that we don't trust your word... actually we don't, so how about you bring them to us!"
As someone recovers a third head, Brother Butterfly attempts to take advantage of the laundry room, but preparing the place to clean anything is a almost monumental task in itself. Doctor Oathsday left blood and gore are everywhere, including the washing bins. Butterfly discovers the plumbing still works, though water is chilly since the furnace has not yet been relit. Filling one washbin he recovers some soap from the storage room down the hall and works up some foam, but when he moves to a second washbin and begins pulling out soiled linens to set up a clean rinse he encounters a nasty surprise.
Floating among the linens is a ghoul! Horribly crippled with broken bones and surgical knife cuts, the creature is too weak to pull itself from the washbin, and only manages one feeble attempt to bite Brother Butterfly before sliding back into the water.
Some form of knowledge cracks open in Fearless' mind as he sees the equipment. A sharp pain runs quickly through as he remembers the tiniest bit without realizing it.
Tossing the Sack he calls it out for what it is. "Handy Haversack. Should carry all we need no problems and this Phylactery is a Phylactery of Faithfulness." He says as he hands the wooden box tied to a cord to Brother Butterfly.
Picking up the dagger he examines it for a couple of minutes while Brother Butterfly cleans himself again.
Seemingly distracted by all of the interesting items Fearless forgets all about the catatonic Juglan for a bit. That is until the man begins his rants about Zandalus all over again causing fearless to nearly jump out of his skin.
"Don't sneak up on me!" Looking around Fearless sees noone else moving to go back down for the third head. "Don't all move at once!" He says as he throws his arms into the air. "I'll go get it. It's what you all want anyways. Fearless run into the trap we have set for you. I got you though. I am well aware of your trap! I AM WATCHING YOU ALL..." His voice trails off back down the hall way as Fearless makes his was back down the furnace to collect Doctor Lovelan's head to complete their task.
The Mariner moves over to Campre. Lacking any social skills, he stands just near enough to the orderly for him to recoil from awkwardness, then asks, "What are those long poles for?"
Displaying a surprising amount of expertise, Fearless is able to identify most of the magical objects found in the area.
The dagger has a basic enchantment, and though the strange glass eye is magical, he cannot identify anything else about it. One thing he does notice is that it seems to have some sort of internal membrane that causes it to "blink" occasionally, and if held in one's hand it will orient itself to face the person holding it.
Campre edges away from the Mariner. "The poles? I've heard people used to use them for all sorts is things, but I honestly can't remember what."
Cats (10/10)
The Twin (10/10)
Eidolon (6/6) mage armor
The Mariner (12/16)
Fearless (9/9)
Pinkie (10/10) shield of faith
Brother Butterfly (10/10)
Campre (12/?)
The Mariner grabs a sunrod and a bottle of the curing medicine.
"Do you want me to cat with you, Fearless?"
Cats doesn't claim any of the loot as he is way to polite to do anything like that (yet). Instead, he offers to help Fearless get the final head. He will climb down the shaft again and even help slice off the head and help carry it back.
He hopes that BroButterfly is ready to go when he gets back.
Finding the skulls difficult to manage, Cats cuts one of the 10' poles into 3 3' poles and sharpens the end of one side of each. He can then stick the skulls on for easy display and handling.
When he finishes, he steps back to admire his work.
"Ah yeah, that's good catting work."
Pinkie looks over everything and picks up the Glass eye "Anyone mind if I take the marble"
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First, I wish to humbly thank you for this headband.It is religious in nature and it is one more sign of my destiny here at Briarstone. I am humbled - this item has decent financial worth and I will use it - pardon the pun again -- Faithfully.
Pinkie - I don't mind you taking the marble/eyeball. May I try on those boots that you have there? If they fit, they'd be an upgrade over the shoddy shoes Briarstone gave me.
Campre wants some gold in his pocket, do you guys want to give him my share and his share so he feels more at ease (12 GP).
Also, the pearl necklace is worth TWO HUNDRED gold pieces.... so Campre it's in your best interest to stay near us until we get to civilization enough to split that also. That's 33 gold per share!
Waiting impatiently near the barricade, the Twin's anger grows with each passing minute as the 'Watchmen' prattle on about trinkets. "Oi! Hurry up! I'm not looking to spend any more time here than necessary, you lunatics!" he yells to those still standing around in the laundry room.
"At least that silly halfling and his pet cat are gathering the heads." he mutters before looking at York and forcing a smile. "Shouldn't be too much longer." he says through gritted teeth.
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While never know for his speed before, BB luckily is faster than the lame Ghoul in the washwater. Moving his hand out of harms reach, his lip curls in disgust.
Just like this room, there's even Urgathoa's filth infecting each inch! BEGONE!
Channel positive Energy.
This place is beyond my skill to get clean! Maybe if I had some hot water, and got the boilers working. But that is a task for another time. I think everyone's ready to move on, and this place is just beyond hopeless.
Just one last thing.
When given the shoes, he sits down on the table so he's a little elevated and examines the nice and almost gaudy shoes. His face lights up.
Looking for defects but not finding any. He thinks to himself: These ARE pretty expensive shoes. He prizes the craftsmanship and the high resale value-- especially for shoes. Brother Butterfly has a smile on his face as he moves his hand along the inner fur lining. Enjoying the soft feeling. He takes an extra long time evaluating and inspecting . Even going so far as to use his thumb and index finger to flick and tap the bottom soles. Probing for crumbing arches.
With them on. He looks ready.
And he KICKS the dead and decapitated body of the Doppleganger.
That's for killing all those innocent people you f+~$ing bastards.
Walking towards the Barricade line - joining the rest of the party - he .......hands the +1 magic dagger to The Twins.
Unless someone else has a problem with it, you left this on the table in the laundry room. It's extra sharp.
The Mariner jolts in surprise to turn and see Cat's happy headsicles next to him, "...You're a sick little bastard..."
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Fearless shrugs his shoulders at Cats. "Would be hard to spring an attack on me if you didn't come now wouldn't it?" He says as he drops a few feet down the furnace chute back down below. Taking a moment he looks around for something to tear the facestealer's head off with and ultimately decides an just smashing its neck in the cell gate repeatedly.
TWANG!!!! SLAM! CRUNCH!!!
Finally the head tears free with grotesque tears and shreds of flesh still attached. Fearless cringes in disgust, but its not like anyone else was doing it. Heading back to the furnace he tosses it back up to Cat's so the sane man can affix it to his spear as some sort of noble trophy.
The Twin takes the dagger and flips it around a few times in his hands before tossing it wildly in the air, deftly catching it by the hilt a few times. "Hmm... I guess that can work, Brother." he says as he moves his old favorite into a lesser sheath, putting the new blade in his preferred spot.
"I see the feline is playing with his toys." Twin comments as the pair of Cats and Fearless arrive at the barricade with a spear laden with three shapeshifter heads. "We should just be glad that he hasn't hidden his 'treasures' behind the couch or under the Chest of the Icy Plane."
Fearless's frantic ravings seems par for the course, so the Twin decides to deal with the issue at hand. "Oi! York. Three heads." he says with a nod of his own head towards the gruesome trophy spike. "Now we want our three weapons and free passage out of here." the Twin says with steely resolve.
The Snake opens its eyes from its coiled body at the Twin's feet and its eyes lock on the disorderly orderly. The tongue of the snake flicks out occasionally as the creature never lets its eyes wander from the portly man with the crossbow.
York awaits your return at the barricade when approach it with fresh doppelgängers-on-a-stick. The guards wince at the display, one gagging on a little vomit.
"Well now," York mutters, examining one of the heads, "I guess this is the point where I should apologize." Stepping to a door on his side of the barricade, he says, "Let them in."
There is the sound of a lock turning in a door just north of the barricade, and a moment later a guard opens it from within and ushers you through a side room that once served as an office of some kind, but the desk and papers once tended to here have been pushed aside to allow the room to act as a sort of gatehouse that leads around the barricade.
York waits on the other side with his arms crossed. A weariness is plain to see in his eyes. "I don't know what you've done to survive, or how crazy you are, but if you aren't trying to attack or eat us then I have to assume you are still human. If you want to remain so, then I think you should talk to Lady Winter. She is the one that organized this sanctuary."
As he talks, York's leads you down the hall and through the double doors into the Briarstone Chapel. Though consecrated to Pharasma, as suggested by a prominent statue of the goddess standing before the sanctuary’s westernmost wall and depicted on the spiral stained glass windows, there are smaller, candlelit shrines to other deities.
The chapel’s role as a place of reflection and consolation, however, has largely been pushed aside for more pragmatic uses. Improvised pallets are clustered beneath sculpted divinities, and cooking fires burn beneath cracked windows. Panes of violet and blue stained glass form spiraling patterns between prisonlike bars, while dozens of candles flicker from modest alcove shrines.
A couple dozen survivors are here. Most are patients and staff members of the asylum, some of whom you recognize. Brin, Mura, and Bates are seated near the windows. Baisily is at a small cooking pot, working on some kind of stew. A young man sits by himself, rocking gently, but desperately clutching a shadow lantern to his chest.
Also here, tending to a wounded nurse laying on a pallet, is a beautiful young woman with black hair, dressed for travel in black and brown and armored in light chain and leather. Noticing York escorting you through the room she stands and looks you over. With such dark shades in her clothes and hair it is hard to miss the fact that her eyes are two different colors - one amber and one green.
You recognize the black haired woman as the Royal Accuser you saw in the halls of Briarstone a few days ago.
Before she can speak a voice cries out.
"You're alive!!" Loic calls as he weaves his way across the chapel and grabs Brother Butterfly's arm as if to see if he's real. "By the gods I thought they had eaten you Brother! And Fearless! And the Cat too!"
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Brothers Butterflies first focus is the survivors. Specifically -- Upon seeing the little boy and his mute mother alive, he is thankful that Desna has graced them with protection and answered his prayers. But, he has the realization that their survival is only halfway assured. Desna is showing him that She requires him to make certain that they survive.
And what that boils down to is fact that he can't just go to the kitchen/pantry, get some food, take his people, and leave the island. He's going to have to CLEAR OUT a pathway of safety.
The Brother is surprised that Captain York is not in charge. It has double emphasis that a person named Winter, who is obviously an outsider to this Asylum, is the one that York defers to. The Royal Accuser has to hold some sway or have amazing charisma to be the head honcho.
Well, let's see how she handles us.
Speaking to the new trio of people – Loic, Winter and York.
Can we speak over here?
Brother Butterfly moves to one of the tables in the description. One that has a chair. he positions himself and sits down in the chair so that there is a table in between Winter and Loic. A position that subtly has him sitting and them standing -- so that it appears that they are reporting to him.
While moving there -he prays to Desna to let his words,
“Build Bridges and find the truth of this calamity.
luck
Rumor has it that you are a Royal Accuser. I do not know what a Royal Accuser is; or does; but I am happy to introduce our band of brothers.
We are The Watchmen.
We've band together to survive this chaos, and we thank you for allowing us into this sanctuary.
I need to pause and get out in front of one thing.
I want to get this out in the open quickly,
pointing to The Twins
This gentleman will probably insult you. I'm forewarning you that it’s just in his nature. Don’t take it personal.
I mention it, so you can treat whatever he says like water off a leviathans back.
Turning to Loic
Loic, I am glad that you are alive also. I am very interested in hearing how you escaped, but Royal Accuser Winter is in charge here and we need to first make certain that we properly bridge our relationships and answer each other's questions.
If I still get the luck roll. But this talking seems like more than a round.
Cats leaves his nice head spikes outside, seeing no need for them now, but is still really proud of his work.
Cats takes a moment to look around, trying to get a feel for the place and setting and people. His attention is drawn when someone almost says his name.
"And the Cat too!"
Cats bristles, feeling something just isn't right. Something is just a bit off, but nothing that he can put his finger on.
"My name isn't 'the Cat' or 'Cats', like I said. It's 'Cats',' Cats says, thinking he said his name completely right and everyone might be hearing it wrong.
"Anyhoot, good to see you too, Loic," Cats replies. "What happened? How did you survive?"
Pinkie moves into a corner and sits on his haunches trying to make himself as small as possible watching everything take place while playing with his new marble.
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Fearless' shoulder shoot right up to his ears as he cringes at Loic's voice.
He screams out as he mutters "Great.... the loud dreamer and sleep walker that nearly got us killed survived....." He says behind gritted teeth.
Changing his attitude as Loic draws near. "Loic! Buddy! Good to see you. Where the heck do you have your cot set up to sleep around here?" Fearless looks around hoping he points it outs so he can choose his spot well, well away from the insane man.
"Any midnight snacks lately?" He jabs at him trying to be helpful. "Bah! Nevermind bout that." He waves his hand in the air as if shooing away some sort of fly and walks away to checck the place out and speak with a few other survivors to try and figure out what happened to them.
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Seeing that Brother Butterfly is trying to act as some sort of guidance counselor, the Twin scowls when he is mentioned by the portly fellow. "Mind your own business, Brother. This lass likely knows of the problem with the undead and I'll wager that she was sent to cover up this 'tragedy'." he says with a snarl.
Without another word or waiting to listen for a response, the Twin moves to York, keeping his distance as the Snake slithers alongside him. "Oi! York! You said that we are allowed to leave, right?" he asks, inferring this from his comment about if we wish to stay. "I'm free to leave all you whelps behind?"
As Brother Butterfly sets up an audience, Loic tells his story. "When those creatures attacked us I thought we were all goners. I was so scared that I couldn't move. The ones that looked like York and Doc Lovelan dragged you off, but Losandro stayed with me, showing me this nice dagger and telling me how nicely it would cut through flesh. Said she could do the same to Lucy! I know Lucy isn't real, well... most of the time. Others can't hear or see her. I don't know how, but it was like Losandro, or whatever that creature was, could hear Lucy. She even made a joke about poking through my brain until she could find the part where Lucy lives. She was still toying with us when Winter's guards arrived outside the door. Seems they had heard the fight and had come to investigate. Losandro hit me so hard then that the lights went out for a while, and when I awoke I was here in the Chapel with Winter and some of the other survivors."
Taking her cue, Winter says, "We found Doctor Losandro with Loic. She was pretending they were both victims of a ghoul attack. We brought them back to the Chapel, and Losandro soon betrayed us. I lost half of my guards to her knife before she escaped with the asylum's chaplain, Avros Setrakian at knifepoint. I don't suppose he survived? We could use more healers here, especially after the riots and earthquake."
Though Winter seems hesitant to fully trust your group, Brother Butterfly's eloquent words draw more from the young woman.
"You said you had heard I was a Royal Accuser, but I must admit that I am not. Assistant, or deputy, would be more accurate. I am a sister of Maiden’s Choir Cathedral in Caliphas, and I was helping a Royal Accuser investigate strangeness in Thrushmoor. She sent me to Briarstone with a few guards to make some inquiries, but trouble had already begun to fester here. Ghouls, doppelgängers, cults..." She casts a glance at Juglan, who stands muttering to himself, clutching a blanket that someone has given him. "And now it's as if the outside world has turned against us. I don’t know if it’s just Briarstone Isle, but the hospice is surrounded by some repulsive vapor. Worse, the weather beyond is like nothing I’ve ever seen—thunder like laughter, rain like blood. And that’s to say nothing of the shapes that scamper and flap within, vague forms that know when we sleep. Things are terrible, but at least here in the Chapel our dreams seem to be our own, and with the barricade we can see the horror coming."
With a sigh of fatigue, Winter seems to have reached her limit for conversation. "We can talk more, but I need to see to the needs of the survivors here. If you want to help out, I would be grateful."
While the group talks to Loic and Winter, Campre takes York aside and gives him an earful for abandoning him "with the f@&ing Madmen." The two of them seem to work out their differences with an agreement to scowl at each other as the Twin approaches with his questions.
York shifts his scowl to The Twin and makes a dismissive sound in his throat. "You're free to try. Door is that way." He points down the eastern hall toward a makeshift dingy curtain that seems recently hung there. "Mind the eye."
Juglan, meanwhile, has found a desk to crawl under with his blanket.
Fearless' attempts to work the crowd are not very successful. Most of the survivors in the chapel are suspicious of newcomers, and the few that aren't seem suspicious to Fearless.
***
As a community, the survivors have managed to pilfer enough food, linen, scrap wood, and other supplies to establish a modest refugee camp, but the situation isn’t tenable. Food is already dwindling, the water they collect through the broken windows isn’t reliably potable, and the privy situation grows worse daily. All told, the community has about 7 days of healthy living left, barring deadly outside interference.
If you want to help Winter and the survivors there are three concerns that need attention, along with the endless work of breaking up furniture for the fires. Each chore takes roughly 1 hour to perform, though if you have a spell or other special ability that immediately solves the problem (in a legitimately helpful fashion), you can finish them quicker.
Attend Wounded: Two survivors, Airwynn Savoia and Bates Yopchick, are suffering from wounds Winter hasn’t been able to fully heal yet. They are both currently resting on pallets near the altar. Airwynn suffered a broken arm and several broken ribs when she was almost crushed by a falling wall. Bates was set upon by dangerous patients.
Calm and Medicate: A young female patient named Maeve is near panic. A nurse named Naysa is trying to help her, but it is taking all her attention to keep her from bolting from the safety of the Chapel.
Prepare Firewood: Splintered furniture and fallen support beams lay heaped in one corner of the chapel. A crowbar and a handaxe are all the survivors have to break the scrap wood apart, though.
Prepare Food: There are several small res set up about the chapel with cooking implements, collected water, and basic foodstu s. Some of the survivors are trying to prepare meals, but their methods are amateurish and wasteful.
"Oh yeah, Loic," Cats says, "that's a catting good tale. We put down them bad cattors, don't you worry. We catted them good."
* * *
Cats looks over the refugees (he one of them), and the rest. He doesn't like what he sees. Something within him knows he's seen this before, but he can't place it, let alone name it.
However, he's just not too worried. He feels like if he can help, if he can do some good, then maybe everything will be just fine. So...he tries to help.
Looking around, he feels like he knows firewood...and that's what he tends to: gathering things and smashing them so they can be burnt.
Str - firewood
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Brother Butterfly looks around and notices the significant need of the gathering in the Chapel. He has a couple things - divine things that he needs to do first.
He visits the Shrine to Pharasma. He drops off the wooden holy symbol that was found near the Dopplegangers. Delivering it, and apologizing to the God of death for not having been better or faster to have saved her chaplain.
He then makes his way to see if there's a shrine to Desna. If there is, he leaves a 3 GP donation and spends some time in prayer. It is not a focused prayer though, he needs the "pause". He uses the time to carefully watch the others in his group. Looking at who is doing things out of the goodness of their heart. Trying to notice skills and intent.
BB will help by creating water into the "collected water" basins. He will also visit the injured. Summoning The Mariner and Campre to "check their wounds" and offer two more channel energies.
and
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Looking around fearless sighs at all of the chaotic mess. Always the helpful we he quickly dives right in to help out where he can.
Seeing someone preparing a meal of some assortment of meat and vegetables Fearless saunters over to offer his aid and knowledge of such fine delicacies.
"More salt......more.....more....nor more.....here just give it to me." He reaches for the salt bag and hurls two heaping handfuls onto the meat. Clapping the remaining salt free from his hands he smiles.
"That should do it!"
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The Mariner had been squatting next to Baisily boiling stew, "Mmm,..smells good....could smell better." He adds a few sausages he was saving to the concoction and grabs the ladle, almost forcefully from the young woman's hand. When Fearless suddenly starts flinging cups of salt towards the pot, the Mariner quickly covers the top with his meaty hands. "Needs salt, not seawater..."
Pinkie approaches Maeve carefully so as not to spook her and sit down in front of her
"hey would you like to see something cool?
Holding his hands up and pushing up his sleeves he starts preforming some slight of hand tricks to help get her mind off everything thats going on eventually trying to teach her some minor tricks.
"Can you figure out how I'm doing it?
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The group divides themselves to take care of the four chores and they seem adequate enough at the menial tasks, leaving the mysterious dingy curtain. "I might just do that, York. I might just..." he says, his bright green eyes focused on the curtain as he trails off in his speech.
"Let's, uh..." he says, enraptured by the possibility of freedom. "Let's try out door number one, Mr. Snake."
The half elf and his companion make their way to the curtain as they cautiously look around, expecting this to be a trick and the dreaded Straightjacket of Feeblemind to make its appearance, however nothing will stop the half elf from pushing open the portal to the outside world to see what lay in store for him and his no-legged friend.
Airwynn and Bates show remarkable improvement after Brother Butterfly's magical healing, as well as Campre, the Mariner, and a few other survivors suffering small scrapes and bruises. The display does not go unnoticed by Winter.
"That was very impressive." She says with an approving nod. "It will be good to have another healer. I have been hard pressed."
Having done a good deed, Brother Butterfly takes some time to seek out a shrine dedicated to Desna and finds that indeed one has been maintained among the others in the Chapel.
Cats soundly defeats the woodpile, making the Chapel safe from biting cold. For at least a couple days.
"Wow." The orderly Denman remarks as beholds the freshly cut and stacked wood. "It took me hours to do that much."
Fearless and the Mariner head over to the cookpot, and though neither is an expert cook they manage to put together something that will feed the survivors for the day. As food is being served Winter watches with a smile of relief and gratitude slowly forming on her face.
Pinkie tries to help with Maeve, but finds his sleight of hand not quite up to the task for a good enough show to distract the distraught woman. Something in the back of his mind tells him that any good trick requires a story to sell the misdirection.
Meanwhile...
The Twin discovers that the hall ends just beyond the dingy curtain, but the door there suffers some sort of otherworldly parasitism. A mass of stringy, yellow fungus stretches across the stone blocks. At its heart bulges and blinks a watery eye the size of a wagon wheel.
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Loic, I am glad that you were able to escape. I had been worried that you might have been a casualty. And you have seem to have found a good safe place here. During our captivity and escape, we found this (handing him the Masterwork Viol) and I think it might be useful in your hands.
I was hoping you could help liven the spirits of people around here with music. But right now I see Pinkie trying to help calm down Maude. Maybe you could assist him with an accompanying song or something?
After visiting with Loic, he sits back down at his “commanders” desk. Pulling out clean papers and trying to find and unstopper an inkpot. He mumbles a bit to himself. Takes a moment to twist his curling mustache with his right hand, smoothing the hairs on his upper lip and twisting the ends to their meticulous fine points.
With his other hand, he puts it to his forehead. Feeling the new “cord and box” that he has tied to it.
if I were to draw a picture of the "flame" symbol and give it to Juglan – intending to have it calm him down.
Would that be contrary to You? Would it possibly supporting another deity? Or false idol?
He asks this because something Lady Winter said about there being a cult – and looking specifically at the studdering Juglan who can’t stop speaking Zandalus’s name.
If it’s okay, BB will draw the flame symbol for Juglan. If not, he will draw a symbol of Desna as a Traveler through darkened woods with a trail of Butterflies
BB takes a moment to cast detect magic. Focusing on the chalk “flame symbol” marking in Juglan’s forehead.
Then I want to sweep around and inspect the sanctuary, other nearby rooms and maybe the newly found EYE.
After a bit, he draws and doodles on one of the papers. The pens and quills not working well to actual paint -only allowing him rough outlines. Not happy with his end work, but satisfied enough -- he gets up and says,
Divinum Arcanus
His forearm tattoo glows and the illuminescence travels up his arm and to his eyes. The glow nestles into the pupils and disappears once reaching it’s destination.
BB walks around looking at people, places and around desks and cabinets.
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Cats considers a catnap, but instead decides to explore the perimeter.
He examines all them but stops dead behind The Twin & serpent.
"What the cat is that?" Cats stares deadeye into the eye, agape. He stares for a few moments before moving or speaking.
"What the piddlespot is cat? Twin, what is it?"
Cats blinks back at the eye, then backs up and into the room.
"Hey Butterfly! Come see this!!" Cats yells.
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Pinkie continues talking girl as he preforms in low tones so she has to focus on the sound of his voice.
"I was once told that if you are fast enough with your hands you can catch coins that are hiding and trying to run away."
As he pulls a coin from behind her ear and drops it into her lap.
"But I learned you have to be very perceptive to find them in their little hiding places"
He pulls another coin from her hair and drop it into her lap also.
"One good place to always look is around pretty little girls. Coins seem to like to hide near them."
He pulls out 2 coins from seemingly out of her nose and places themm into her hand.
"And they always try and hide someplace they think is safe. That is why people call the thing they hide their money in a SAFE. So you see with so mmuch money hiding on you, you must be safe."