After a short breakfast Delendir helps Elisai to the Desna cathedral. As the Father works for the woman's sight, the half-elf raises his own prayers to save her.
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"No worries, I am going to start with studying the spellbook we found. I'm sure I will learn some useful things from it. I'll sneak in later when I am done."
When Jessica is fast asleep and Tal wakes up after his usual few hours of sleep he turns to the spellbook and can be seens scratching away in the night without a candle in the library. Later at night he joins Jessica for the bed and tries to sneak in without a sound.
Delendir leads the still pissed-off and still upset Elisai to Father Zantus. After a bit of carrying on and priestly formality, thanking Desna and all that fluff, the Father calls upon Desna's divine gifts, and Elisai's sight is restored!
Observing Elisai recovers her sight Delendir grins full of happiness "You thought I would never again punish your eyes with my ugly face, did you?" says the half-elf laughing.
He then turns to Zantus and adds "Thank you Father. If you tell us how much will be a fair donation to Desna for her blessings we will gladly pay. And... what has been of Grayst? Can you help him as well?"
The kind man waves away any thought of payment. "You have done our town many kindnesses these past many days, Delendir. It is the least I could do for this brave young woman." He smiles warmly at Delendir, then Elisai, before continuing.
"To be honest, I've been a bit anxious and haven't checked on him yet, fearing the worst might have happened and knowing that Jessica kept a vigil on him.. Would you care to accompany me to his room?"
Jessica awakens the next morning, early as usual, slips out of bed trying not to wake Tal, and performs her prayers, then goes to check on Grayst. She steps out the door and across to Grayst's room and looks in carefully, praying the man made it through the night.
Delendir nods in agreement "Sure Father, I think Elisai will probably also want to accompany us. And thanks for your understanding and your cares"
That said, the ranger follows Zantus to Grayst cell, where they will most probably find Jessica and Tal.
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"I CAN SEE I CAN SEE I CAN SEE" Elisai cries out in happiness, rapidly doing a circuit of the room.
Jessica opens the door to Grayst's room, Father Zantus, Elisai, and Delendir not far behind. The man is not dead, though he looks even worse, if such a thing was possible. His cheeks are sunk in, his complexion pale and splotchy, and his tongue appears to be far too long. He surely can't survive another day like this.
Delendir laughs at Elisai renewed enthusiasm and follows Zantus to the dying man.
When the room opens and the sight of the decaying man appears Delendir cannot other but feel real pity for the assassin "It was not him who killed all those people. Is that evil fever which is becoming stronger inside him" Delendir approaches Jessica and holds her from an arm "Be strong. There is still an opportunity. You and Zantus can save him. I am sure" and turning to the Father "If there is anything I can do to help you heal him, just let me know"
The ranger stays apart from then on watching the intervention, but ready to stop Grayst in case he revolts against the clerics.
Kiley awakes the next morning to find Sunday still holding her and awake. She gives the man a hug before getting up and getting ready to leave. After putting everything back, she and Sunday make for Sandpoint.
"Hey, Sunday," she asks a few minutes into their journey, "why do you always belittle yourself? You've proven yourself more capable than you give yourself credit for, so why do you bat yourself up over your mistakes?"
Somberly walking back with the fighter his movements are very languid even as she speaks to him. "Because mistakes are all I make. I spent yesterday asleep while you and Jessica and Elisai fought for your lives. I'm not capable, I'm a burden." he responds in a serene, half-asleep voice.
Grayst thrashes about, then, knocking Zantus back as he howls in pain, falling over and off of the bed, spasming on the floor. Then, suddenly, he is still. While still weak-looking, the splotchiness is no longer evident, and his tongue appears to be of a normal size once again. Zantus smiles, nodding to you all.
"He will live."
"You got decked pretty damn hard. I'd probably be the one who took a dirt-nap if I'd been the one standing where you were," Kiley says before looking down at her feet, "I saw the bruises. They... They were pretty bad."
Kiley goes silent for a moment before talking again.
"And mistakes can't be all you make, can they? Don't you consider me a friend, or Jessica, or Tal, or Delendir, or Elisai friends," she asks earnestly, "Sunday, there's... there's a lot of pain inside, but holding it in isn't helping. Talk to me. What happened in the past that scarred you so badly on your heart?"
"I very much like you and Jessica being my friends," he starts to respond to her before stopping. In his aloof half-asleep state he seemed more unfocused rather than introspective. Finally he responds. "You and Nualia aren't the only ones who lost parents to the flame. When I heard what happened to your mother I thought we might have something in common... but as it turns out I'm closer to Nualia in that regard."
"What do you mean by that," Kiley asks, "Sunday, I want to help you. I want to show you that you've done good things for others, that you should be proud you helped stop a massacre and saved a young woman from being damned to be a demon's plaything. I want you to see that, but I have to know why you always feel that you should have done more."
Kiley comes to a stop, her hands on Sunday's arms.
"I promise, I'm your friend, and whatever you've done in the past, I won't hate you. I never could hate someone who has helped me and the rest of Sandpoint."
Looking at her there's some sort of smile on his sleepy face. Pained but grateful at the same time as he thinks over whether to tell her those next words. "When I was a kid, I think four or five, can't really remember exactly how old I was, I woke up in the middle of the night. I might have had to use to the bathroom or get something to drink, whatever the reason it's not important. I got up and made my way through the hallway to the kitchen, the nursery where my brother and sister were sleeping was along the way. And the door was open.
I heard something, something wet, something tearing... and some giggling. So I peeked inside. Our parents were perched on the cradles... but they were... different. They didn't have any hair, and their ears were longer, and the way they were moving their heads about and laughing and biting and chewing...
They were so caught up in what they were doing they didn't see me look into the room and watch. They didn't see me leave. They didn't see me come back with a lamp. They didn't see me pour the oil on the floor. They didn't see me toss the lit part of the lamp. They didn't see the Fire. They didn't see me. Not until the flames were eating at their bodies.
So caught up in their feast it was only when they were completely engulfed they noticed me... or at least my mother did. She cried. She screamed at me. Why? How could you do this to your own mother? I watched her flail about in the flames, saw her dead skin burn away. Then she fell, and tried to crawl towards me. Still cyring and begging me to make it stop."
"A true mother wouldn't have devoured her children," Kiley says darkly, "you shouldn't feel guilty or worthless because of that, Sunday. I would have done the same in your shoes, and what Nualia did was out of spite. From what you've told me, you were scared. You scared of the monsters pretending to be your parents, and there's no shame in being scared. There's no reason to keep holding on to that and cutting yourself up inside," she says as she looks at the taller man, brown eyes soft and her voice gentle.
"Let it go. Live each day with no regrets, because it might be the last one we have here. Your road's been harder than most, but the journey we take through life is what defines us. You went with us into a goblin warren, and that takes courage. You stood against a necromancer and his minions, and that is not something that someone who is useless and only makes mistakes does," she tells Sunday earnestly, "so what if you didn't do what you thought you should have. Everything's alright, and none of us are any worse than when we started. I'd say that's a victory."
"B-besides," she begins before looking away, but not before Sunday can see her blushing, "You're more handsome when you smile."
Although he didn't know what to tell her, truthfully. He held on to that story for the longest time, but it didn't really bother him. He just couldn't bring himself to tell her the real reason he felt the way he did. He didn't want to make her not like him... but a tiny part of him wanted her to get angry with him... it would have made telling the next one easier he thought to himself.
Instead he just contented himself with how cute she was when her face was red.
Clearly relieved about Grayst, the half-elf thanks again Father Zantu "I don't know what Jessica thinks about it, but could you take care of him while we end our research?"
The ranger then proposes to the others "We might sell all the equipment we got and update the Sheriff while we wait for Kiley and Sunday to continue our research." he looks then at Tal "I think your manor check is probably the only clear hint we have remaining"
Kiley giggles, then laughs, when Sunday calls her "milady."
"Sunday, you're not trying to charm me are you? You've known me long enough to know that I am no lady," Kiley chuckles as the light in her eyes dances.
She spends the rest of the trip how he came to Sandpoint and what their interests are.
Shortly after noon, Kiley and Sunday arrive in Sandpoint. Their first order of business was checking in with Sheriff Hemlock. He'd likely want to know about some of the methods Habe was using on his patients and that he had let one of them out to cover his own retreat.
"It just felt, I don't know, natural to call you that... I won't if it makes you uncomfortable though."
Trailing along behind Kiley Sunday moves about with an unlevel serpentine movement pattern, though from lack of sleep rather then usual drunkenness.
"No! No, it's not that...it's," Kiley's voice trails off as she looks at the ground in front of her feet.
"No one's ever called me that. It's nice," she says her cheeks bright red, "it's nice that to you, I'm more than just a loud-mouthed, hot-headed tomboy."
She laughs and playfully pushes Sunday when he accidentally bumps into her.
"My, what are we going to do with you, milord? It's not even noon and you're already stumbling around," she says in a very bad upper-class accent before draping one of his arms over her shoulders and wrapping one of her arms across his back.
"I think one of those zombies knocked you cross-eyed, Sunday," she says more normally, but there's a brightness to her voice that wasn't there yesterday, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't run into a tree or anything."
Helping the sleep-deprived Sunday, Kiley makes her way to the Garrison and asks for the Sheriff.
"I'd appreciate that, Milady." he says perfectly content as she leads him about.
Sunday more or less lets Kiley lead the way.
Meeting up with Tall as he leaves their Room, Jessica leans against him as they walk to the barracks, "Thanks for staying with me last night Tal, I appreciate it."
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"No problem dear. I wanted to be around in case something went wrong like last time. We should definitely stick together from now on.
Someone should tell the two lovebirds over there not to take it too literally though." Tal says with a sheepish grin as he nods in the direction of Sunday and Kiley approaching them
The group approaches the Sandpoint Garrison, the trip becoming quite familiar lately. The companions are let in almost immediately, led to the meeting room that they have been in a few times before, now. Minutes later, Hemlock walks in, looking rather tired. His eyes grow attentive as he sees you, though.
"Well met, friends. What news do you have? I saw Habe in my dungeons this morning and was told you brought him in..."
Grinning at Tal, "I don't know, I think it's kinda cute actually."
"The doctor proved unable to provide proper patient care and safety, so we dropped him off in the local dungeons for a bit of R&R...on the plus side though, we discovered that some manor might hold the key to this nasty murderer."
Delendir nods reinforcing the explanations given by Elisai to Hemlock.
The ranger grins as he sees Kiley and Sunday to appear together.
"Well, if you have no news about the crimes I think we can proceed to the Misgivings manor. Have you heard any news about its occupants or its history? " asks Delendir before living.
"Tal, don't tease like us that. Sunday was up the entire night. I was just making sure that he didn't walk into a tree, or a building," she says, and while it is the truth, the blush in her cheeks makes it clear that Tal may be closer to the truth than Kiley's willing to admit to him at least.
[b]"There's more to it than that. Not only did he let out one of the patients to save his skin, he's been doing... doing awful things to those in his care. These journals should shed more light on that,"[b] Kiley adds before Delendir mentions the Misgivings. She hands over the journals that she and Sunday had found.
"Hmmmmm....so Habe was not providing proper care to his patients but was instead experimenting upon them? Diabolical!" The Sheriff shakes his head with what seems to be sadness. "I'll have to send him off to Magnimar for a proper trial. I suppose it's a blessing in disguise. It's an excuse to be rid of the payroll for a couple of our mercenaries." The Sheriff chuckles without humor.
"The Misgivings? That's the old Foxglove manor. I believe Aldern had expressed interest in renovating the place and residing there, but he made no more than inquiries into estimates for repairs before returning to Magnimar."
To tired to come up with a response beyond "Thank you, by the way." towards Kiley once the group is in the Garrison Sunday slumps against the wall to rest for a bit.
Delendir looks to one side and the other, checking for the mercenaries "Is everything going good with the men you brought?"
The half-elf is shocked by the revelation Aldern has left "Lord Aldern left to Magnimar without letting us know? How rude. Do you have any idea of the reason for such a sudden trip?"
Hemlock shrugs noncommittally. "Everything's going alright. With the lack of goblin activity, though, it seems we are paying for nothing."
Again Hemlock shrugs, looking a bit annoyed, "I wasn't under the impression he had to clear his travels with us, Delendir. I can only assume he traveled back because he lives there. Maybe he is gathering funds for the renovation?"