Alaric gives her a comforting smile.
Mel looks at Alaric, aghast.
Mel looks at Alaric, aghast.
Alaric nods sadly.
She moves to fast she is a blur. Within an instant, she is kissing Myriana full on the lips. Rather deeply.
"I wanted to let you know that you needn't refer to me as Auntie," she says when she pulls back. "I'm not that old." She grins, and in a flash she is on the other side of the room, apparently deeply intrigued by some of the books that remain in the bookcases.
Myri remains staring at the space immediately in front of her, completely surprised and red faced. Her mouth closes slowly, "That...I was not expecting." She says softly to herself. She does not seem...entirely displeased, but she also seems to be trying to determine for herself how she actually feels about what just happened.
Zaiobe take her hand off Melinda's shoulder, and holds her hand instead.
Mel looks at Zaiobe, a question in her eyes, "So when you touch someone can you read their thoughts or only project your own?"
Alaric nods sadly.
Mel looks like she is arguing with herself or maybe Alaric, since that is who she is speaking with.
Mel looks like she is arguing with herself or maybe Alaric, since that is who she is speaking with.
Alaric is either agreeing with something Melinda said or suffering a nervous tic.
** spoiler omitted **
It takes Mel a minute, but when she understands what Zaiobe says, her eyes go wide and she blushes mint.
Alaric is either agreeing with something Melinda said or suffering a nervous tic.
Mel looks conflicted, but she nods. And then shrugs.
Mel looks conflicted, but she nods. And then shrugs.
Alaric appears to be making a point.
Zaiobe smiles slightly.
Alaric appears to be making a point.
Mel smiles up at Alaric. She obviously heard what he was saying... But that doesn't always calm the mind.
Zaiobe smiles slightly.
Mel looks over at Alaric, her blush growing deeper.
Myri remains staring at the space immediately in front of her, completely surprised and red faced. Her mouth closes slowly, "That...I was not expecting." She says softly to herself. She does not seem...entirely displeased, but she also seems to be trying to determine for herself how she actually feels about what just happened.She moves to fast she is a blur. Within an instant, she is kissing Myriana full on the lips. Rather deeply.
"I wanted to let you know that you needn't refer to me as Auntie," she says when she pulls back. "I'm not that old." She grins, and in a flash she is on the other side of the room, apparently deeply intrigued by some of the books that remain in the bookcases.
Myri continues to sit where she is until the others are ready to move on, when Buttersnips turns or glances in her direction, she flashes a small smile, raises her eyebrows and motions with her eyes in the same direction as she begins to get up.
"Um...Buttersnips? Um...can you tell me more about my mother?"
"Um...Buttersnips? Um...can you tell me more about my mother?"
Buttersnips laughs as she falls into step beside Myri. "Well. I cannot say that is one of the possible reactions that I was expecting, either. So at least it's all fair. What did you want to know about her?"
|
The ghost's hand authoritatively reaches into Hrithik's forehead. Hrithik's pupils flare blindingly white, and then the emanation overtakes his eyes entirely. For a fraction of a second, the spirit is brilliantly illuminated before him. Then the radiance begins to slip out around the root of each hair on Hrithik's head, and the entire room swiftly goes up in light.
In that endless instant, everything that Hrithik has ever seen, known, or experienced goes rushing past all at once. There is too much of it to retain more than a tiny fraction of it, but as the light fades, many memories linger, as if you had been there, experiencing them yourself.
With the light gone, Hrithik appears completely spent. He stares forward lifelessly through the spirit of Rokuro Kaijitsu, his eyes darting from one memory to another over and over and over. He accepts physical guidance and can be coaxed to walk, but he is otherwise completely unresponsive.
The one child who does not is never seen after today. From now ever onward, "please" means "obey, or else".
They treat you respectfully and carefully, for they know you are more valuable to Mistress than they are, and they will regret it if harm befalls you. They quietly observe you, as they quietly observe everything, and move to anticipate your needs as a good servant should, politely offering their assistance before you are even aware you had a need.
Asking a five-year old to raise an animal is, of course, setting them up to fail. While you housetrain your first puppy quickly, you don't train it to be silent swiftly enough, and are made to watch its discipline. As requested, you must bury it afterward.
"Please be more diligent with your next pup," Mistress requests. You are.
One day, you rudely order a slip to interrupt their work to help you with something you don't truly need their help with. Mistress calmly explains that such behavior is unacceptable, and will not be tolerated. As Mistress is fond of you, you will not be lashed nor otherwise disciplined. Your ward will be. As requested, you must bury it afterward.
"Please be more diligent with your next pup," Mistress requests. You are.
[...]
"Hold it to the correct height, nod to the assistant, bow to the Father." Mistress is entertaining visitors once more, and the castellan's butler is drilling you. This will be your first banquet as a full servant. No one trains younger waitstaff than Mistress, and you are the youngest she has ever honed. You execute the banquet flawlessly. In reward, you are permitted one afternoon in the Library.
[...]
"Please recite the Lord's Prayer for grace, Upen Patel." Mistress suffers no permanent priests nor deacons of Asmodeus in the Outpost. No one here will be permitted to claim a closer connection to the Lord than her. Participating in the Faith is the greatest honor she can bestow to a servant.
[...]
The accident distracted you briefly, and you substituted "sins" for "trespasses" in the Prayer this morning. Mistress said nothing, and smiled and thanked you as she always does, but you know you will be asking the slips to help you train a new pup tomorrow.
Our Father
Who art in Nessus
Unhallowed be Thy Name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy Will be done
Each day as It is in Nessus
Give us this Day
Our toil-earned bread
And remember our Trespasses
As we remember Those
Who Trespass Against Us
And lead us Aright
Through each Temptation
And Deliver Us from Chaos
For Thine is the Kingdom
And the Power
And the Glory
Forever and Ever
Amen
You are issued a slip, whom you are responsible for. She is training to be a Foreslip just as you are training to be a Head Servant. You are responsible for her training, lodging, and upkeep. It is a lot to ask of a twelve-year-old.
Your foreslip is sold downriver on the next departing ship. You never hear from her again. You are more diligent with your next trainee.
[...]
"Lady Asmodea!" the Ambassador cries. "I simply cannot thank you enough for the little servant you sold to us last year. She was simply delectable. Skin to die for! As a connoisseur of the most exclusive auctions, I must say she was of unparalleled quality. I cannot imagine what would have brought you to part with so exquisite a sample at such an affordable price. And who might this intoxicating youth be?"
Mistress responds lightly with a smile and a nod, "My apologies, Ambassador, but young Master Ranbhir is not for sale at this time."
The local Father is a priest of Torag. As the Outpost lacks any Asmodean clergy by design, Mistress has arranged for the local high priest to be a minor cleric from a minor faith tending a minor shrine. Mistress' authority is consequently beyond dispute.
Father is dutiful, generous, and caring, which is to say he is completely powerless and ineffectual. He runs a good forge and maintains a sacred library. Mistress likes her servants to have tasks to keep them occupied.
Mistress explained the matter personally. "Your duties will one day require diplomatic intercourse at all possible levels, without attachment or commitment to anyone but your Master. You will practice and hone the requisite techniques on one another, under my direct observation. Please do not betray any sign of personal engagement, or I will have to end the Training of one of you and sell that one at current value."
Instead, they stand up to the most scathing courtesy Mistress can deploy, and remain engaged. And then, Somehow, they discover Something, and share It with Father. One day later, you and Kyriya and the other children and the slips are all signing Contracts before Father, with the castellan signing on Mistress' behalf that your sale price is to be calculated based on your age, not your Training; that you are not to be sold to any other Masters for ten years; and that a share of your work is to be paid to you in wages immediately, toward your purchase price.
It will take a decade to complete, but the Adventurers effectively emancipate everyone on the plantation in one day. Years later, as a Head Servant, you are able to establish correspondence with one of them: Lady Ameiko Kaijitsu of Sandpoint.
Your alchemical Mentor was young, beautiful even. She was blonde of hair, blue of eye, and thin of stature. Cold and regal. Where Mistress was always polite, your Mentor was endlessly condescending and never satisfied. “No, wrong again! You are so hopelessly stupid, Upen Patel [...] These formulae you submitted will never work. Your ineptitude is only matched by your gracelessness [...] You are aware, I presume, that you only have ten years to earn your sale price before you get sold to the highest bidder? At this rate, I'll get you for silver pieces, you sad little boy.”
You and Kyriya are the only children worried about the slips. Everyone else is too desperate to free themselves and themselves only. Over two years of investigation, you both reach the conclusion that there is no way for the slips to earn the money they will need in the jobs Mistress will permit them to take. The only solution is for someone else to get them the money they needed to buy themselves.
Kyriya makes Caravan investments in Egorian, but you have access to no significant assets to attempt similar. If anything, your apprenticeship is putting you deeper into debt. You should be able to earn your debt and cost back, but not with enough to spare to buy a plantation worth of halflings.
When the Hellknight Reserve recruiter shows up on your eighteenth birthday, you do not hesitate to sign the Contract.
For six years, you are one of them, confined to the lowest rung by your refusal to adopt Asmodeus as your declared Faith. Your salary goes to the slips of the Outpost and to Kyriya to invest on your behalf. Mistress passes away, but her estate is unable to be liquidated until the Ten Year Contract with the shrine of Torag runs its course. Your years are one long, patient toil.
”No, Lictrix,” you reply, ”there never was need for such a clause. No one ever left the way I have. I would prefer to remain unmolested.”
The head of the Order looks you over, slowly, with savor, appraising you as a piece of meat. She concludes, ”Lack noted. Preference noted. Be in my tent at 1900 hours.”
Kyriya buckles and collapses under the lash of her executioner, her body a river of gore. This spectacle is also your Court Trial. If Kyriya cries out in the course of her slow dying, you are to be executed as well by the same method. If she does not cry out before dying, her executioner will be flogged, but you will be allowed to go free.
Her Majestrix's Court mostly pays no attention to the spectacle. The silence and disdain for her and for you reinforce the utter inferiority of those being stripped of their life and livelihood. At one point, the Ambassador from Geb's gaze focuses upon and recognizes you. He smiles hungrily.
Mel stands stock still as the memory barrage washes through her it's obvious that some of them cut more deeply than others. She looks over at Hrithik, clearly insensate, and does the only thing that she can to keep from lashing out. She carefully reaches down to the take the hand of the man next to her, and kisses the scar at his wrist, whispering,
Mel stands stock still as the memory barrage washes through her it's obvious that some of them cut more deeply than others. She looks over at Hrithik, clearly insensate, and does the only thing that she can to keep from lashing out. She carefully reaches down to the take the hand of the man next to her, and kisses the scar at his wrist, whispering,
Alaric gently draws Mel into an embrace.
Mel nods, then pulls away just enough to turn to the ghostly figure, "You aren't going to do that to all of us, are you?" She really does not seem enthused about the idea.
Buttersnips laughs as she falls into step beside Myri. "Well. I cannot say that is one of the possible reactions that I was expecting, either. So at least it's all fair. What did you want to know about her?"
"I'm sorry, I...just don't feel like I know you...um, well enough yet. I mean...we kinda did just meet and all. I mean, I want to get to know you better...but I..I'm not even sure how I f..feel about some of the people I've been travelling with for like..2 weeks now. I..I think that takes time, you know?..or maybe I'm just slow...but, um, if..if we can talk. I..I'd like that." She pauses, realizing that looking down does not have the same effect...since she's still looking pretty much at the quickling. "Um..and regarding my Mother" Myri's eyes begin to sparkle again and her voice quickens a bit more, "absolutely everything! How did you and my mother, first meet?... what are some of your best or worst memories? Anything you can remember...I mean it, really." Myri appears to be a bit nervous.
Mel nods, then pulls away just enough to turn to the ghostly figure, "You aren't going to do that to all of us, are you?" She really does not seem enthused about the idea.
The ghost withdraws his hand from Hrithik's head, seeming satisfied by something he finds there. He turns to look at the group as a whole.
"Ah ... you are friends of my family, then ..."
He begins to fade from sight. Tears of dust start to run down his incorporeal cheeks. “Take the Seal away from here," he says. "Take it to my grandchild ... it is no longer safe .. and I am no longer worthy of guarding it ...”
Just before he fades from view entirely, he points to a particular spot on the wall.
And then he is gone from the world.
Mel looks at the group, shrugs at goes over to the wall, squeezing Alaric's hand as she leaves his embrace. Looks at the wall, and then looks at the party knowing that secret passageways aren't her forte.
perception
Zaiobe smiles slightly. Mel looks over at Alaric, her blush growing deeper.
"Ah," says Zaiobe. She looks very thoughtful.
"At least I never have a problem with eavesdroppers," she adds.
With a face of stone from Hrithik's memory deluge, Kalimac joins Mel at the indicated wall. He may not have training with finding concealed passages and doors, but he does have the keen senses of a halfling. He examines the wall.
Perception:
On the stairway, Buttersnips drops back a little to talk with Myriana.
She considers your question. ”Your mother and I ... oh, I don’t know when I first met her, it was when I was a child. She was significantly older than I was, but we were both natives of the Shimmerglens, and must have been introduced at some fey ... event, if that’s the word. Happening, perhaps is more accurate. Memories ... She was a beautiful dancer. I think my favorite memory of her may be watching her dance under the stars. She had a grace that is almost indescribable, she looked like she was floating in the air. And she could do a high kick above her head.”
”A kick that I also once watched her use to destroy a Dark Naga that was threatening the swamp once, utterly destroy it, I swear the thing’s head literally disintegrated ... as I said, she could be quite fierce when anything she loved was threatened ... but you have to understand that she was also in favor of peace among the inhabitants of the swamp, fanatical about the subject, even ...”
”We ... quarreled frequently, your mother and I. I’m not sure I should bore you with the details of a very old, very well worn argument over certain aspects of evolutionary biology, but perhaps it’s enough to say that it’s a matter of great importance to the fey, even though most other species find it baffling as to why, in my experience. But great and terrible wars among the fey have been fought over this issue, and they may erupt again in the future. Your mother and I ... found ourselves on different sides of the argument. And that seemed to become more and more important over the years, somehow. We said some very harsh words to each other the last time I saw her. It was one of the reasons I left the swamp. That may be my worst memory, because I admired your mother greatly, even admired her dedication to her side of the issue, even though I disagreed with it, and I always regretted that in the end, we couldn’t get past our differences.”
Rhost also examines the wall.
Perception:
Mel smiles over at Zaiobe.
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It is Rhost who finds the hidden latch that opens the secret door. Without knowing exactly where it was, you think it might have been completely impossible to discover, so well hidden it was. After determining it is not trapped, you open it to discover a third, unplundered vault -- packed with chests, boxes and treasures.
None of the chests and boxes detect as magic or seem to be trapped.
As you search, Hrunndalf finds a polearm of Ulfen design, and a wand.
Rhost finds a sturdy-looking Earth Breaker and a worn but well-made vest.
Melinda finds a belt and an amulet, both inscribed with the image of a flayed figure hung upside down on a wheel. They appear to be extremely old, although they are in excellent condition.
”And I can tell you I went to a GREAT deal of trouble to get these here for you,” says the voice in your head in Orc.
Tollin finds a pistol of strange design, with intricate motifs of birds etched onto it. This is particularly puzzling since as far as any of you know, pistols were invented less than 30 years ago.
Kalimac finds a set of four strange, fuzzy bands, and a shining breastplate and lance, both sized for a small humanoid. The breastplate and lance are inscribed with the motto: “Hapukurgid, Lusikad, Tuli!"
Liothonae finds a box of sparkling dust, a silver amulet in the shape of an apple, and a brown and green cloak and suit of leather armor, both dappled with a faint apple design.
Myriana finds a longbow and quiver which seem to have the design characteristic of those used by the fey.
Alaric finds two small beads etched with the imprint of a broken chain link. Like Melinda’s find, these appear to be extremely old.
Hrithik, as if in a trance, mechanically picks up a tome of Chelish history., simply entitled Cheliax in the lower center, but with a gold-metal partial frame on the front cover and a top-center gold symbol of Cheliax That Was. The book is bound and locked (a gold key with a Cheliax-symbol head on a gold chain is draped over it).
Instead of bomber’s eye it contains Adjuring Step
Instead of comprehend languages it contains Ant Haul
Instead of crafter’s fortune it contains Enlarge Person
Instead of endure elements it contains Illusion of Calm
Instead of shield it contains Jump
Instead of touch of the sea it contains Shock Shield
The book will also provide a +4 competence bonus to Knowledge History rolls relating to Pre-Age of Lost Prophecy Cheliax.
And the final box is opened by ...
Liothonae. And ...
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Something that had been ... inhabiting Ameiko connects back with the strange item in this box, like an electrical current being completed.
And every one between Ameiko and the box ... everyone in the caravan ... Spivey in the graveyard ... all of you in the vault ...
SEES
In the ancient past
the five founding families of Minkai
were granted five Seals
(who granted them the Seals? None now know.)
and a mandate
to protect Minkai
from an unknown but relentless foe.
In return for this service
the rulers of Minkai
would always be chosen
from among these five families
for as long as their lines persisted in the world.
Under their rule
Minkai flourished
and became an Empire –
never perfect,
but for the most part,
good to its people.
You see an army of terrible fiends — with burning skin, glaring eyes, and sharp tusks, wearing strange armor and wielding exotic weapons — emerge in a storm from a vast forest, then descend upon a nation populated by Tian people.
At one time
there were literally hundreds in line for the throne.
Then they began to die.
By illness. By apparent accident. By magic. By murder.
People began to joke about
the Five Families curse.
Later, they stopped joking.
When Amatatsu Tsutoku
of the founding family Amatatsu
was born
he was 129th in line
for the throne of Minkai.
When he reach adolescence
He was 58th.
By the time he was a young man,
he was 3rd.
Amatatsu Tsutoku saw the writing on the wall.
In the night
he and his young wife
gathered together what goods they could.
He placed the Seal of the Amatatsu family
into another great treasure of his house –
a Warding Box so powerful
that no mortal being could determine what was inside it
or even that the Box itself was magical at all.
He fled.
But as he expected
even with his precautions
he was pursued.
You see a young Tian man handing a beautiful sword to a richly dressed Ulfen man in exchange for a bag of gold.
He fled all the way over
the Wall of the World
and changed his name
to Rokuro Kaijitsu.
When he reached Kalsgard, he ran out of funds
and was forced to sell the mighty sword Suishen
to the merchant Fynn Snaevald.
Suishen was a weapon which had a mind,
a mind possessed of many secrets of the Amatatsus.
He had to trust the sword would keep them.
Rokuro evaded his pursuers
and set up a new life for himself
in Varisia.
You see a young man dressed in royal robes stands over a simple well, a friend at his side. Suddenly, the friend grows nearly three times in size and is sheathed in a frightening suit of jade armor. The jade warrior draws a sword and strikes down his royal friend, then holds the bloody sword aloft in triumph.
Few in Minkai know that the Emperor Shigure
is actually dead.
He is said to be “hidden away for his own protection”
while the Jade Regent rules in his stead
crushing the people of Minkai
under oppression and cruelty
with no member of the Five Families
now left in that land to oppose him.
You see a different man enter a hidden vault below a castle, and open a box he finds there.
Rokuro Kaijitsu
was never completely sure he was safe
and he never told his secret to his son, Lonjiku.
But Lonjiku knew something was being hidden from him
and one day, in a vault below Castle Brinewall,
he found his father’s Warding Box
and opened it.
Rokuro, in terror, sent his son away immediately
and then waited,
hoping his foes had long forgotten him.
He took the time to write a letter to his son
promising an explanation, if he survived.
You see an army of fiends – ogre-like creatures and bird-headed, Tengu-like men – descend on Castle Brinewall from the air.
Rokuro did not survive.
His foes had never
given up their pursuit
and when the Warding Box was opened
they detected the Seal immediately
and as soon as they could gather their forces
they descended upon Brinewall Castle
and slew all within it.
(When they were done,
the Corbies, oldest natives of that place,
who had been huddled in the caverns below during the slaughter,
emerged blinking into the light.
One of the murderers, mad beyond measure,
was delighted by the irony of
flightless birds,
and stayed behind, declaring himself their king.)
But the murderers
never found the Seal
and never knew for certain
whether or not they had slain the last
of the Amatatsu.
Somewhere, they wait and watch still
for signs of their existence.
And well they should watch
for one Amatatsu, Lonjiko, survived.
And before he died, he sired a daughter.
But now
the Warding Box has been opened once again
and her enemies have surely sensed it
and wonder if the Amatatsu
stir again.
And who knows if they will discover
that Ameiko Kaijitsu
is now the last surviving scion
of any of the Five Families of Minkai
and the rightful Empress
of that land.
You see Ameiko waking from her deep sleep, but she is dressed in the finery of an empress. She rises from sleep not in a humble Varisian caravan, but from a resting spot within the arms of a jade throne.
But in the Caravan as well, you sense Ameiko’s eyes fly open.
“Holy crap,” she says.
After the revelation of Ameiko's heritage, Alaric falls into dark contemplation.
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Melinda finds a belt and an amulet, both inscribed with the image of a flayed figure hung upside down on a wheel. They appear to be extremely old, although they are in excellent condition.
Mel's fingers touch the flayed image gingerly, then looks momentarily as if someone is speaking to her. She smiles for a moment, until she looks over at Lio, which kills the smile.
The second barrage of information leaves Mel silent. She looks over at the group, sadness at her thoughts clear.
Rhost has nothing to say about either revelation, but he has a certain unsettled look about him, even as he slips into the worn leather vest.
The second barrage of information leaves Mel silent. She looks over at the group, sadness at her thoughts clear.
Mel looks at Zaiobe, taking her hand if they aren't currently touching.
Kalimac looks at the inscription on the breastplate and lance in disbelief. He looks at his companions. He looks at the breastplate and lance. Then back up to his companions.
He looks back down at the lance and breastplate with their frankly ludicrous inscription. Finally Kalimac croaks out, "I made up that silly battle cry in the heat of the moment a week ago. What gives?"
Kalimac looks at the inscription on the breastplate and lance in disbelief. He looks at his companions. He looks at the breastplate and lance. Then back up to his companions.
He looks back down at the lance and breastplate with their frankly ludicrous inscription. Finally Kalimac croaks out, "I made up that silly battle cry in the heat of the moment a week ago. What gives?"
Mel looks over at Kalimac, a sad smile on her face, "A man who died 9,000 years ago ensured that these were here." Indicating the belt and amulet that she still hasn't picked up, "Apparently it's fate?"
|
|
Mechanically, slowly, Hrithik shuffles to the Warding Box and hoists the Amatatsu Seal. He turns to Alaric, and touches the Seal to him. "No need for public performance" he says, quietly, staring forward into another world.
Hrithik turns to Liothonae, and holds the Seal against her. "No need to be on Death's Doorstep," he mutters.
She pauses, picking her words. <I felt ... called here, in all honesty. I have always been a bit strange, for my kind, and a few years ago I started growing stranger and stranger, in my own mind. There was a compulsion to come here that in the end I could no longer deny. As you might imagine, I was at a nadir in my life at that point, rather convinced that I was going mad.>
<As far as I can recall, they eat them.>
”A vision of this day, and how to play my part in it, was vouchsafed to me by Curchanus in the years before his death and mine. You are a child of Destiny, young shaman, and if you overcome the great trials in your future, you will achieve accomplishments greater yet, this I was told by my God!”
”Er ... aren’t you going to pick those up?”
The ghost's hand authoritatively reaches into Hrithik's forehead. Hrithik's pupils flare blindingly white, and then the emanation overtakes his eyes entirely. For a fraction of a second, the spirit is brilliantly illuminated before him. Then the radiance begins to slip out around the root of each hair on Hrithik's head, and the entire room swiftly goes up in light.
In that endless instant, everything that Hrithik has ever seen, known, or experienced goes rushing past all at once. There is too much of it to retain more than a tiny fraction of it, but as the light fades, many memories linger, as if you had been there, experiencing them yourself.
With the light gone, Hrithik appears completely spent. He stares forward lifelessly through the spirit of Rokuro Kaijitsu, his eyes darting from one memory to another over and over and over. He accepts physical guidance and can be coaxed to walk, but he is otherwise completely unresponsive.
Liothonae looks like she was about to get between the ghost and Hrithik when his eyes flash white, and his memories wash over the group. She nearly physically staggers when they do so, as she if was struck some kind of blow. A barely audible exhalation is her only concession to emotion. A few of his memories result in a grimmer expression: displeasing captain patel, apprenticeship, lictrix odessa, imperial court.
She movies to Hrithik, putting herself firmly between him and the ghost. She looks angry, an anger which does not fade with the ghost.
Mel looks over at Kalimac, a sad smile on her face, "A man who died 9,000 years ago ensured that these were here." Indicating the belt and amulet that she still hasn't picked up, "Apparently it's fate?"
Mel chuckle is haunted by grief, and when she speaks she doesn't seem to be addressing anyone in this room, "Yes," her hand reaching down to the medallion. She picks it up, looking at the graphic tableau on the front, "I guess it's more me than I like to admit." She puts the amulet on slipping it beneath her shirt. She slowly picks up belt, fingers tracing the same emblem, "Here's hoping that if my death is as horrific, it will at least accomplish something good." And she puts the belt on, the design covered by her shirt when she is done.
Mel smiles at the woman, "I know that feeling..." A pause, "And it still may well be true." The smile turns sad and triumphant in the same instant, "Happily, everyone who I care about has, thus far, accepted me, insane or not."
"Were you happy here before..." motioning to Zaiobe's throat.
"Okay, that is off the table... Do you think burning them along with Ningadezo's remains would be an acceptable substitute?"
Melinda finds a belt and an amulet, both inscribed with the image of a flayed figure hung upside down on a wheel. They appear to be extremely old, although they are in excellent condition.Mel's fingers touch the flayed image gingerly, then looks momentarily as if someone is speaking to her. She smiles for a moment, until she looks over at Lio, which kills the smile.** spoiler omitted **
The second barrage of information leaves Mel silent. She looks over at the group, sadness at her thoughts clear.
Lio, who did not notice the inscription of the belt and amulet until Mel draws attention to it by touching it as she looks over and down at her, meets the girl's gaze. Her tone is gentle, "Nelze vinu za všechno. I když jste odešel vypořádat s důsledky, nejste odpovědný za činy těch, kteří byli před vámi." A hint of a smile, though the anger she's still fighting off from the earlier vision. "Teď jsme zápas."
As Liothonae is the one who opened the box, she will be the one to gently take the seal from Hrithik after he has touched her with it and restored her levels. She says, Implied. and use it to cure any wounds he might still have (if there are charges left) and then make sure the seal is inside the box as she closes it, so that it cannot be tracked any further by whomever is looking for it.
Lio, who did not notice the inscription of the belt and amulet until Mel draws attention to it by touching it as she looks over and down at her, meets the girl's gaze. Her tone is gentle, "Nelze vinu za všechno. I když jste odešel vypořádat s důsledky, nejste odpovědný za činy těch, kteří byli před vámi." A hint of a smile, though the anger she's still fighting off from the earlier vision. "Teď jsme zápas."
Mel walks over to the smaller elven woman, "No light without the darkness, right?" She smiles, but the sorrow wars with the happiness. "Není to zápas, ale jsem šťastný, že si uvědomit, že je to vaše značka I medvěd taky. Zaměřím se na vás a Makoa, a snaží se být lepší než můj dědeček a jeho otec."
She starts to turn away and adds, "Jsem rád, že ti, kterých si vážím, že se mnou mluvit, spíše než ostatní." She looks back at the woman, "A jsem rád, že jste našli někoho, kdo se otevřít, ani trochu. Jste dobrým vodítkem i pro něj."
To the group, "Unless someone needs me, I'm going to go..." She waves vaguely up. And then heads for the stairs.
I am glad that it is those that I respect that speak to me, rather than the others.
And I am glad that you have found someone to open to, even a little. You're a good guide for him as well.
Mel walks over to the smaller elven woman, "No light without the darkness, right?" She smiles, but the sorrow wars with the happiness. "Není to zápas, ale jsem šťastný, že si uvědomit, že je to vaše značka I medvěd taky. Zaměřím se na vás a Makoa, a snaží se být lepší než můj dědeček a jeho otec."
She starts to turn away and adds, "Jsem rád, že ti, kterých si vážím, že se mnou mluvit, spíše než ostatní." She looks back at the woman, "A jsem rád, že jste našli někoho, kdo se otevřít, ani trochu. Jste dobrým vodítkem i pro něj."
To the group, "Unless someone needs me, I'm going to go..." She waves vaguely up. And then heads for the stairs.
** spoiler omitted **
Lio shrugs at Mel's first comment in Orcish, then nods as she finishes the sentence. As Mel continues to talk, Lio looks a little... unsure? Her eyes look down, though her head does not move. After a moment her eyes go to Hrithik, and then back to Mel as she walks up the stairs.
Lio's eyes move over the titles of the books that Zaiobe has aquired. She only picks one out if it isn't in fact a romance novel, to borrow and read at a future time.
She also takes whatever paper Hrithik left behind from what he wrapped his flask in. She gathers up all the loose paper that has been written on, in fact.
On the stairway, Buttersnips drops back a little to talk with Myriana.
"First, I'm sorry for insisting, but what do you mean by certain aspects of 'evolutionary biology'? I don't even begin to understand what you mean. ...& second, assuming we um...do um...get involved...how could I even hope to compete with your memories of a nymph for Shelyn's sake? I mean, I can't hope to become as graceful, or beautiful, or strong...or any of the things that you seem to be professing to admire. Don't you think you'd...I dunno...like, get bored or something...or am I reading this wrong and you're just interested in a uh...little recreational fun...and if that's the case, how do I know you don't just feel like I'm a ..uh, conquest over a former rival or something? Dyou know what I'm saying?" Myri sighs expressively than continues, "By the way...this isn't what actually happened in the short follow-up to that first meeting with you and Mom, is it? We're not, like, playing out some sort of ritual that going to be passed on from generation to generation, are we?" She smiles a little ruefully, assuming of course that that would be an absolutely ridiculous assumption.