As the situation threatens to spiral out of control, Tupp and Sori attempt to cow Red into backing down and calling off his men - presumably they wouldn't want to go to prison either, right? And it seems to have an effect, as Red's face pales when he realizes that he and his men are outnumbered.
Added to Tupp's words are Sylvak's as he begins calling for the local watch - who shouldn't take long to arrive, given that this is the Coins District! As he does, he fixes Red with a baleful glare...
...which causes beads of sweat to begin dripping down his face! Theodric continues the intimidation tactics, conjuring sparks from his fingertips as he threatens to reduce them all to smoldering cinders.
"Ah...p-perhaps we should just be on our way??? There is nothing that we need to prove that they do not already know," one of the others calls out nervously.
Kiango, Zithembe, Hepsubia, and Ylva all ready themselves, adopting defensive poses, drawing wands, clenching fists, but make no other moves - yet. J, still pale, swallows hard as she stares down the five men. "Y-you...don't scare me. You should've j-just...left me alone!"
As she speaks, a small pot sitting on a nearby windowsill suddenly comes flying toward Red!
The work of a Telekinetic Projectile spell!
The pot shatters against Red's head, leaving shards embedded in his cheek and blood flowing freely down his face; he staggers but doesn't flee. "N-No! I will not bow down to cowards and mongrels!" he cries as he and the rest of the men draw saps and move to attack. As Ylva's readied swing at Red misses, he attempts to strike back as do Purple and Orange...
...and Ylva once more suffers the brunt of the painful blows, leaving her dizzy and weak but still on her feet and not seriously hurt. Red then attempts to duck back behind Yellow, leaving himself open to a strike from Ylva as well as Theodric he does. Yellow and Green aren't able to do much more than try and look threatening due to the cramped alleyway but more and more they look as if they don't really want to be there.
As her 'sister' Ylva takes a beating that was likely meant for her, J's face twists with anger and rage. "You're the cowards! If you want to face me, then your wish has been granted!" An old, discarded boot lying nearby rises into the air as she speaks and zips towards Purple this time...
...but Purple ducks and the boot shatters a nearby window, instead. But then, something far stranger occurs - a strangely, ghostly shape emerges from J and races around the alley and the attacking nobles. It's hard to tell just what exactly it is, but all of you do catch a fleeting glimpse of a blue-tinged, ephemeral outline of what might be a child with large, hollow eyes!
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Round 2
Ylva
Zithembe
J
Theodric
Sylvak
Kiango
Tupp
Hepsubia
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Noblemen (Red -3; EE, Shaken)
Active Conditions: None
Everyone is UP!
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Even as she's battered nearly senseless, Ylva delivers a potentially brutal left to the leader of this pack of curs.
"Mongrel? Do you not know a wolf when you see one," she asks, sneering even as the world spins. She steps up and throws a right cross as a feint before trying to slug the leader she'd tried to pants in the belly.
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Zithembe frowns and glances over his shoulder, unable to confirm his suspicion, when the pot flies off of the windowsill and commits them to battle.
"Curious," he says as the specter pulls itself from Jay and runs down the alley.
The shabti turns the blade in his hand around and strikes out with the heavy metal ring at the nearest foe.
As he turns to duck behind his companion Ylva rewards Red with a knockout punch for his trouble, sending him to the ground in a crumpled heap. She follows through with another punch, this time aimed at Purple, that sends teeth flying in all directions! As Hepsubia steps up and slams the pummel of her dagger into Yellow's face, the nobles' morale finally breaks.
"Enough! Leave these freaks to their own devices!" Green cries and the men that are still standing flee, scattering into the crowd.
Looking rather shaken, J slowly exhales and then leans against a nearby stall for support. "Um...sorry, I think I need a moment..." she mutters, staring down at the one unconscious nobleman. "He's not actually dead, is he? I...I don't know what his trouble is with the Eagle Knights but I didn't want to kill anyone - just scare them away!"
Once reassured that the man will live to see another day, J glances nervously at Kiango and Sylvak. "You called it 'telekinetic'? Heh...I'd always just figured it was plain old 'throwing things'," she laughs weakly. But then she sighs with resignation and looks around at everyone.
"I guess I should tell you, considering who you are and where we're going. I’ve been keeping him a secret for far too long in any case," J begins. "Grishan...? Can you come out, please? These people would like to meet you."
For a moment, nothing happens. But then you see a faint outline of a person suddenly step out of J's space, revealing itself to be a green-tinted apparition that resembles an emaciated 14-year-old boy with sunken cheeks and hollow eyes. The apparition is wearing a school uniform consisting of a blouse covered by a vest. His legs end just below the knees, trailing off into nothingness and he actually appears to be floating just slightly off of the ground.
"I'm Grishan," the apparition introduces himself as he hovers next to J, speaking in a calm voice that sounds as though it's traveling from some distance away. "Nice to meet you."
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Observing the flying objects, Theo thinks, Wait...that was a tekekinetic effect! There's more to J than meets the eye!
As the leader moves past, he snaps shut his hand and the flames extinguish. He raises his mace defensively, but doesn't strike, as Ylva knocks out the ruffian. As the rest scatter, Theo kneels beside the fallen noble, checking to make sure he's alive.
"He'll have a nasty headache when he wakes up, but no permanent damage, I think!"
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Tupp slowly resheathes his sword, having drawn it the moment pots and boots started flying. "Woah!" Is all he can manage to articulate as Grishan steps out of J. He had tried to track the ghost's movements during the fight, fearing him to be malevolent and a much greater threat than the men Ylva relieved of their teeth, but just couldn't get a bead on him. Now that the green apparition is just floating there, Tupp can't help but stare for a moment. Eventually he manages to pick his jaw off the ground and steps forward to shake his hand. "And I'm Tupp. It's nice to meet you too... But, umm... Why are you unliving inside J?" He looks up at the young noble woman. "He's not possessing you is he?"
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Ylva, slightly dazed from the beating she took only stares at Grishan for a moment, then faints dead away.
Kiango brings her back to the realm of the waking with a couple of jabs with his wand. Realizing what had happened she looks away from J with a blush.
"Sorry, Tyri, I just... I..." Her voice trials off as she looks off to the side with a mixture of fear, embarrassment, and something like doubt in her expression. She takes in a deep breath and stands before facing the ghostly apparition.
"W-well met," she says haltingly, still trying to work through her rather complex feelings on this revelation. "I guess you know who we all are. Thank you for your help in dealing with those curs," she adds stiffly.
Almost immediately Grishan and J both begin speaking in response to Zithembe's question.
"W-well, I think so-"
"Actually it's-"
But that's as far as they get before Ylva suddenly faints, distracting them both from answering. "Oh! Ylva!" J gasps, rushing over to the unconscious woman's side and then looking up anxiously at everyone. "Help her, please! She'll be okay, won't she?"
For his part, Grishan maintains a respectable distance though he too looks concerned...but also a little resigned. "I was afraid this would happen...this is why J's kept me a secret, even from her mother."
While Kiango sees to Ylva's wounds, Theodric and Hepsubia turn their attention to the unconscious nobleman, making sure that he won't bleed out...and checking his pockets for anything of interest. On his unconscious form Hepsubia finds a Potion of Cure Light Wounds, a dagger, a sap, a suit of leather armor, and 10 gold pieces.
As Ylva finally begins to come around, Grishan turns his attention to Tupp as the little halfling approaches and offers his hand for a shake. "Well...it's a bit of a story sir," Grishan confesses, reaching out to shake Tupp's hand...but his hand simply passes through the halfling's. "Oh...ah, sorry about that. I keep forgetting that I can't really...affect the living like that."
You don't detect any evil coming from Grishan :)
"Ylva, are you okay? I-" J begins once Ylva comes to, only to stop as Ylva waves her off to stare at Grishan, a wide array of emotions playing briefly across her face. J stares awkwardly down at the ground. "Now you know why I was curious about spirits...and the Wise One's seance," she mumbles.
"It's okay J," Grishan reassures his companion before turning to Ylva. "You're scared of me...I understand. It's why J's kept me a secret for so long. Normally I just stay inside of her mind and don't come out, but..." he glances down at the unconscious man, "...J's my friend and I won't let anyone hurt her. This cur deserved a good scare...and the work you did on his teeth," Grishan chuckles softly.
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"Grishan," Zithembe says, still maintaining a gentle tone, "Ylva suffered because you wanted to give the men a good scare. They would have left us alone--even after Ylva's brash assault on the man's pants--but for the pot flying off of the sill and striking him. You have been on your own or with Jay for a very long time. When working with others, it is important to coordinate."
The shabti turns his solid copper eyes towards Ylva briefly but poignantly as he finishes.
"Hepsubia, did you really just rob that man?" he says with a sigh.
"But..." Grishan starts to protest, but then stops as J gives him a look that seems to say: Just let it go. "I'm sorry Ylva," the ghostly boy sighs. "But she started it with the pants-stealing..." he adds under his breath.
"Grishan! It's okay, really," J scolds. "He's right...I shouldn't have let him make me so angry in the first place. He wasn't worth our time. I shouldn't have asked you to throw that pot at him."
At this, Grishan gives J a strange look but seems resigned to not arguing any points further and remains silent - and perhaps a little sulky.
The more you think about what you witnessed during the fight and now that Grishan has revealed himself...it suddenly falls into place. You're positive that the pair are well and truly bonded together, young noblewoman and phantom boy. In fact, the pot-throwing almost certainly came from J herself, calling upon magics that she doesn't seem to be consciously aware of possessing.
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Hepsubia pockets the gold-for now, of course!-and brings the curative potion to Yvla
Here's your favorite drink. You will need it, sooner or later.
Ylva fixes Hepsubia with a glare that's only a little flawed by the twinkling in her eyes.
"Ware your words, elf," she growls, but can't quiet keep the hint fo smile from her face as she snatches the vial.
She then turns her attention to J and Grishan.
"I am sorry for worrying you," she apologies, seeming to be more of her normal self, "I was shocked to see one such as Grishan and fear that I succumbed to the battering. It is hard for me to trust spirits. The history of my clan is not overflowing with pleasant and friendly encounters with those from the beyond and the realms of ice."
"As for this one," she says in a much lighter tone, "perhaps he will think twice before insulting the Eagle Knights. That or learn to accept defrockings more graciously. I had heard the men of the golden sands of the east were more clever with tongues. Pity to see it is not so with them. More so that their other blades are so small."
With that, she gives J a grin and resumes their trek towards the sunken districts of Absolom.
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"Ideally, then, please return what you have taken," Zithembe replies in a tone that asserts that although his eyes are copper metal, he is not blind. "And before I revive him, for leaving a man unconscious in an alley in Absalom is likely to result in him waking in the Slave Pits or, worse, on a vivisectionists table. No one deserves either."
He speaks the last sentence as a man speaking from experience. He removes an elk antler wand and bends near the unconscious roughian. He holds the wand over him and concentrates once Hepsubia returns what she will return.
+ 5 vs. DC 20.
"I apologize for the consequences of your actions," he says as the man rouses.
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"I say we leave him to the pits," Ylva says, raw fury seething in her tone as Zithembe rouses him with magic, "a few scars on his back may teach him not to be so quick to call those who stand up for the weak cowards!"
Seeing that he's already brought the man back, she turns and storms off. Her cursing carries for several moments before fading into the background to city.
"Dumme, selvretfærdige hores søn af en sår! Jeg skulle tage hans 'Åh så guddommelige' visdom og skubbe den op i røvet. Han burde være endnu mindre sympatisk over for denne tralltagende, gutterfødte, lille bladede tandsøn, hærge end jeg er..."
"Stupid, self-righteous whore's son of a sow! I should take his 'Oh so divine' wisdom and shove it up his ass. He should be even less sympathetic to this thrall-taking, gutter-born, small bladed, son of a b~#$~ cur in heat than I am!"
And quickly goes unprintable from there.
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"Ghosts can't shake hands and Grishan is forgetful..." Tupp whispers, recounting everything he has learned so far to Kiango, "He seems nice though." He smiles as Hepsubia returns all the gold she hadn't really stolen and as the unconscious men are taken care of by some of the others. "We really should get moving, J. I don't think that-" He says just as Ylva storms off. "Wha... Ylva?"
As Ylva storms off in a flurry of cursing, J looks around a little uncertainly. "Um...well then, I guess we should head on...I'm sorry for all the trouble," she adds again. But then she scowls down at the now-conscious and fearful-looking nobleman. "But I'm not sorry about you. Next time think twice people you start picking on people! Come on, Grishan."
With that, Grishan swiftly disappears back into the recesses of J's mind as she hurries off after Ylva. "Tyri, wait! You don't know the way and I'm not so sure of it myself!"
Trusting that the man won't be causing any further trouble, the rest of you leave him to slink off into the crowd as you move to catch up with Ylva and J.
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Once the group finishes their trek to the dreaded Precipice Quarter, J beckons everyone to stop as she ducks into a secluded alley. "Sorry, Grishan um...well, Grishan wants to talk with you all a bit more before we go much further. It won't take long, I promise."
"She's right, it'll only take a minute," Grishan agrees as he seems to sort of...flow...back out from J's person. "I just didn't want to talk about it earlier there so close to the market. But, I need to tell you, um...well, I'm partly why J's been wanting to return here," the phantom begins, diving right into his explanation with all the subtlety of youth - which is none at all.
"He's not forcing me, Tyri, don't worry," J quickly interjects.
Grishan nods earnestly. "No, it's...it's hard to explain, but I think we both have unfinished business here. There's something here that J needs to see or do...neither of us know what, exactly."
"I wasn't lying earlier," J chimes in again, looking at Ylva and Sylvak as though referencing something shared between the three. "I need to face my fears and conquer my past. If nothing else, I think...hope...that it'll help me understand myself better. And this bond I have with Grishan."
"Um...but I've got my own reasons for wanting to come back too and I think it's...magnified?...J's desire to come here," Grishan admits guiltily. "So we're hoping that maybe you can help the both of us, while we're here?"
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"I will do my best to keep you both safe," Zithembe says to the phantom. "However, you both need to understand something: you must not rush off on your own. You need to control your impulses and think things through before you act and, because we are responsible for your safety, tell us what you are thinking or wanting to do before acting. You may have a good reason for wanting to do what you want to do, but we need to be prepared. Do not start fights because you are scared or angry or insulted or break away from us because you noticed something that you feel you must investigate.
"Even the spiritual world can be negotiated with," the shabti says, gesturing toward Grishan in emphasis of his point. "A fist or a flower pot is not always the best response to a problem."
"But, if you cannot respect the counsel of those who risked their lives to save you from a minotaur, whose advise can you trust?" he says in an apparent, to the pair, non-sequitor.
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Ylva's fuming last all the way to the bluff, but between J and Grishan's explanations, she calms down considerably.
She's about to apologize for her behavior and tell them that it's alright and she understands when Zithembe's remark causes her to flinch as if she'd been slapped. Ylva's cheeks redden as she looks away.
I deserved that, didn't I?
After a moment, she turns back to the others, her face still darkened by shame and embarrassment.
"I will be right beside you, Tyri, and you Grishan. It's the least I can do after..." her voice trails off into an uncomfortable silence as she looks away again.
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Sylvak follows along in silence after the revelation of Grishan. He makes no protest to helping the pair, but his total lack of any affirmations since the specter first appeared is growing conspicuous.
teammates that consort with spirits... a ward that plays hiding place to a phantom... I thought I left Irrisen to get away from crap like this... at least it's warm down here, and there are no daughters of Baba Yaga trying to enslave or eat me... and at least the phantom kid seems relatively pleasant right now, unlike this shabti- what a d!ck, talking to Ylva like that... I wonder if the lodge knows what kind of agent they sent us out with...
Grishan looks largely relieved as the group reaffirms their commitment to helping J and himself, but still shuffles his feet - or rather, he'd be shuffling them if they still existed - a bit guiltily.
"Thank you. I promise it won't come before helping J and it shouldn't, but...well, you see, when I was still alive, my older brother Colson asked me to...spy on the other students and their families and report back what I learned," he finally says, looking down at the ground. "I can't remember where I hid the packet with my reports, exactly - only that it's somewhere inside the Arboretum Arcanis."
He raises his head, a desperate look in his hollow eyes. "Please, help me recover the packet and fulfill my mission! I died before I could place it in the secret dead drop that my brother and I agreed on, but if we can find it now...well, I'm sure it would make Colson very happy. Even if the information inside it might be a little, um, outdated."
"Just a bit," J remarks dryly, though her gaze shifts uneasily between Zithembe and Ylva. "But...thank you from me, too. In a lot of ways, Grishan and I are the same person now. When he's happy, I'm happy. And when he's annoyed about something, um...keeping my own frustrations in check becomes a lot harder. It's probably the same for him, too. So please, even if you don't want to help Grishan for his own sake...do it for mine. And we promise that we'll listen to what you say and do what you tell us while we're here. Right, Grishan?"
The phantom nods enthusiastically. "Yes! You can count on it."
Hey, wait a moment...Colson? Does Grishan mean Colson Maldris, current leader of Liberty's Edge?
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"My sword is yours J. I promised to help you and protect you, and that isn't going to change because there's more of you than we originally thought." Tupp smiles and turns to Grishan, "It would be an honour to help you with your unfinished business. I mean, if it helps a restless spirit move on, I'm all for it."
"Yes! Colson Maldis, my brother," Grishan responds as the group gets underway once more. "Wait...he's a Pathfinder leader now? Huh..." the phantom's voice trails off as he loses himself in thought.
"I...to be honest, I don't really know yet," J replies quietly. "Maybe I'll be able to tell you once we get there. But thank you all again for agreeing to help us."
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Resolved to see to J's business first - and with Grishan's blessing - the group picks their way through the eerily quiet streets of the Precipice Quarter until they reach their destination - the Tri-Towers Yard. Though surrounded by a tall, wrought-iron fence, the key given to you by Drandle Dreng unlocks the front gate with ease and the group is able to step inside.
The grounds of the old Tri-Towers Yard have been cleaned up in the last several years, and several old ruined school buildings that stood too close to the cliff’s edge were demolished. All of the gnarled old trees were removed and new flowering bushes and trees have been planted in their place. Despite these efforts, the few ruined classrooms that remain look sad and forgotten. Just inside the gate sits a small, locked storage shed marked with the Pathfinder’s Glyph of the Open Road.
J falls silent as the group crosses onto the abandoned school grounds. She looks around, sadness in her eyes. "I haven't been here since I was rescued seven years ago," she whispers. "I...we...we should have a moment of silence before we go anywhere else. For all the people who died here," she adds, before closing her eyes and bowing her head.
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Ylva does as J asks, but she'd never liked silence. To her, silence was death and defeat. To be alive was to sing, to laugh, to cry, and to shout. Even if you said nothing, there was always the beating of your heart. Only the dead were truly silent.
After a few dozen heartbeats, Ylva begins to sing an old song of lament for the fallen.
J jumps, startled when Ylva begin singing and for a moment her face darkens with anger...but then slowly softens as she seems to realize that it's simply the young woman's way of expressing sorrow. And in spite of the sounds of Ylva's singing, nothing seems to stir within the ruins or outside on the grounds.
Once the last strains of the song have died away, J nods to herself.
"Thank you, everyone. I'm ready to go now," she announces. "There's something...something in one of the classrooms over there. I can sense it. Whatever it is, I feel like I need to see what it is...learn whatever it might be able to teach me."
She stands resolute. "I'm going - and that's all there is to it. But..." she glances over at Zithembe, "I know I promised to listen to you. If there's anything you think we need to do before we go inside, say it and we'll do it."
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