Carina hangs her head, her appetite totally gone now.
She bites her lip and closes her eyes, her throat tightening.
"Wait, what... this can't be the first time we... oh, I guess... yeah." Eben goes from incredulous to sheepish in about three seconds flat. "But... in all fairness, you were dead when we found out. And that was less than a day ago. And then you've only been back alive a few hours so... it's just... bad timing..." A pause. "Our condolences."
"I uh, I could have sworn we mentioned it at some point."
"There were so many corpses though..."
The priestess slams the table, sending a couple rings bouncing over the other side. Her voice raises, and her face contorts in anger. "Your condolences? This is a sick joke!"
She stands, and seems about ready to storm off when Farrukh speaks. Her demeanor softens slightly. "His body? God, then there's a chance . . ."
The priestess slams the table, sending a couple rings bouncing over the other side. Her voice raises, and her face contorts in anger. "Your condolences? This is a sick joke!"
She stands, and seems about ready to storm off when Farrukh speaks. Her demeanor softens slightly. "His body? God, then there's a chance . . ."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to mislead you." he seems at a loss for how to break the news gently, so he goes for the direct approach.
"Telakin...ate him. And copied his body and powers somehow to use against all of us. So I don't think there's a body left."
Carina winces and braces herself. She looks like she's trying to sink even deeper into her chair.
"Augh!" Astraden picks up the rapier, huge knuckles white on the hilt. She draws it halfway, looking around the group with a burning gaze. She stops when she sees Carina, and looks down at the carving on the pommel.
After a second, she slides the blade back in its sheath and quickly moves to the stairs. "This is too much," she can be heard muttering as she climbs.
"Well. I feel like an ass. How about you guys?"
Tanith puts a hand over Carina's to comfort her.
"Let her have some time. The poor girl returned from death only to come back and find out her family's gone for good. Give her space and let her be angry. She's earned that much."
"Plus at least she doesn't know the only reason they found her godfather was because they followed her to him..." Eben says, completely failing to make the conversation more cheerful.
Tanith puts a hand over Carina's to comfort her.
"Let her have some time. The poor girl returned from death only to come back and find out her family's gone for good. Give her space and let her be angry. She's earned that much."
Carina sniffs and nods, blinking several times.
"Mmm-hmm."
She stands up from the table, taking her half-eaten steak and cup of wine. "I'll... be up in my room." She mumbles before walking upstairs.
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Eben pokes at the last of the duck on his plate. It stopped tasting good a few bites ago. "Dammit, this was supposed to be the cap of a good day. It was a good day. We witnessed not one, but two miracles and brought multiple friends back to life. The one that we couldn't bring back, we had it on one hundred percent good authority that he's happier where he is, which is what everyone always says when someone dies, but we know it's true. And on top of that, we managed to get a ton of useful information without having to break out a torture kit, or even pretend we were going to. And the day still ends on a downer? No, I say. Not on my watch!" he gestures around everyone left seated. "Nobody else leaves this table feeling sad!" A cloud of artificial happiness descends on the dining room.
The rest of his duck tastes great.
Farrukh feels happy despite himself. Then again, he wasn't that down to begin with, just a bit annoyed with himself.
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"Whoo. Better than half a bottle of Nyr Dyv Reserve!" Eben says, pushing his plate away and refilling his glass with a little more of the aforementioned wine. "Though maybe not a whole bottle, guess there's only one way to find out. Scientific experimentation." He looks around at the pile of loot Astraden left behind when she stormed upstairs. "At least we got all this squared away. Though... I dunno. This mirror, I feel like she was just guessing. I swear, I used to know people who'd love this thing..."
Eben's eyebrow quirks up. "Wait, wait, wait, I feel like I'm on to something..." His finger beats a quick rhythm against his temple...
Eben has never seen anything quite like the mirror, so it's difficult to be sure, but he approximates it at about 8,000 gold orbs if sold to the right collector.
During the week, the party goes around gathering information for where to shop and sell. Johysis sticks around for a day, allowing her wounds to fully heal, but she goes missing after that (around the same time, a visitor is heard complaining about his crossbow going missing).
On the sixth day, Carina goes to Ph'rexis's to get her firebrand enchanted.
Interesting!" Ph'rexis remarks, looking the device over. "Very distinctive. I haven't seen one of these in years. Okay, I'll have this done for you two the day after tomorrow, morning."
Later, she and Tanith head to the local tattoo parlor. Meanwhile, Eben, Farrukh, Rodrigo and Astraden head to purchase their scrolls.
Jharan Hubris, also known as the Painted Man, has a fearsome countenance: Standing over six feet tall, the man is covered in tattoos of writhing worm-like dragons. Two wyrms stand out: One an enormous red dragon, the other a great grayish dragon covered in spurs and spikes, its tail forked with scythe-like tips. Jharan has sharp teeth, batlike ears, and is extremely hairy—to the point that he might have some bugbear heritage. He walks around half-naked to better show off his wares.
Despite his fierce looks, Jharan is quite friendly. "What can I do you for? Something small? Something ?" He points first to a little coin-sized dragon on his wrist, then to the sinuous dragon that coils around his shoulders and down his right arm. "Or maybe something with a little kick to it?"
On the way back through the Midnight's Muddle, the group is approached by a strange man. The handsome brown-haired, fair-skinned man has clothes spattered in colorful paints. It's Yalexex, an eccentric artist who lives in Midnight's Muddle for the cheap rent.
"I say! Excuse me! Hello," the man says, cutting the group off. "I was only wondering—seeing as you don't seem busy, though if you are, that's well—you see, I was just walking by, and I have—it's an offer. I have an offer for you."
Tanith finds himself admiring Jharan, both for his impressive body hair and extensive tattoos.
”I’d say we came to the right place”, the big man says with a grin at Carina. ”Red and I are looking to get some ink done. We heard you were the best in Midnight’s Muddle and that you specialize in enchanted tattoo work. Is it true? The priest that taught me the basics of proper worship of the Brawler had this big bear tattooed across his chest that would move across his skin. Can you do something like that?”
Carina's face is an unhealthy pale blue when she leaves Ph'rexis' parlour. Her eyes are wide.
Well, I hope he knows what he's doing with my gun... and, by Fharlanghn's boots, I think I've gotten myself a newfound appreciation for how Tanith stays in shape. Good heavens.
--------------
Her face returns to its healthy blue colour by the time she and Tanith find Jharan's tattoo studio. She opens her mouth to speak, but Tanith speaks what she was about to ask first.
"Could you design a tattoo for me that can help me resist enchantment magics?"
The gray dragon takes her a bit longer. She barely recognizes the variety, let along the creature. Finally, it comes to her—this is Xyzanth, a younger dragon than Brazzemal, but of a particularly rare and fearsome breed called a "fang dragon". Denizens of the most remote mountain ranges, fang dragons lack the distinctive breath weapon of mot true dragons, yet their bite can drain away life at a horrific rate.
Xyzanth dwells in the depths of the Griff Mountains, where he wars endlessly with the orcs and dwarves that live there.
"Does that bear shit in the woods?" Jharan cackles. "That'll be three hundred orbs if you want it moving just whenever, two hundred if you just want it moving whenever you 'tell' it to. I also have a 'totem' tattoo, but that may be a bit rich for your fiery blood, Kordite."
He turns to Carina. "I think I could manage something like that. One thousand orbs, and half a day's work."
”I might pay extra for that!” Tanith laughs in response. "What's a 'totem' do? Sounds like a Ket thing."
”Or maybe some kind of big snake like a python wrapped around my arm”, the big Kordite muses while slapping one huge bicep. ”Could you make it like… strike when I’m in brawl?”
"I'd appreciate it, sir." Carina nods. "By the way--nice tattoos of Brazzemal and Xyzanth."
I really hope we don't have to fight them--if the Ebon Triad's secured their allegiance, things might just get really REALLY dicey...
”I might pay extra for that!” Tanith laughs in response. "What's a 'totem' do? Sounds like a Ket thing."
”Or maybe some kind of big snake like a python wrapped around my arm”, the big Kordite muses while slapping one huge bicep. ”Could you make it like… strike when I’m in brawl?”
"The animal totem tattoo allows you to shift forms—so, a bear would let you turn into any type of bear. Not a panda. It's twelve thousand gold, though. Been a while since anyone's asked for one of those.
"The snake thing I think I could do." Jharan seems to think about it. "Yeah, I could try that out. I'd charge two thousand orbs for something like that."He glances at Carina, grinning toothily. "Ah, someone's familiar with her wyrms! Back when I lived down by Cauldron, my town had a little tradition—every year, we'd try and harvest our corn, and every year Brazzy would show up and set us on fire." He puts a finger to his chin, thinking. "Oh, wait, that only happened one year. Then everyone died." He bursts out laughing. "But it would've been a great tradition!"
Tanith checks the sack of gems and coins he'd been carting around ever since they finished selling off the treasures from the doppleganger's lair. It was a great deal emptier than when he started - especially after buying the big enchanted wrestling belt from Eben's insane, and naked, wizard friend. The notion of rampaging around as a giant beast did appeal to him but it would have to wait.
"Hrm. I can't quite afford that. How about just the snake one for now."
"What do you think Red, from about here to here?" the Kordite asks drawing a swirling pattern from across one bulging pectoral, up his shoulder, ending at an elbow.
Carina's eyes follow the path Tanith's finger traces across his chiseled body.
"Uh--" She briefly shakes her head. "That'd look quite nice, I think."
"Now, for my tattoo..." She starts pondering where she'd like it to be put. "Maybe on my belly?" She traces a pattern above her navel, wavering in the general direction of her belly button.
”I like it”, Tanith agrees with a smirk.
Carina shrugs and looks for a place to have a seat. "You want to get your tattoo first, Tanith?"
"The man said yours would only take half a day", he says with the nod at the bugbearish tattoo artist. "So ladies first."
"You ever done this before?" Tanith asks while he finds a place to put their things during the wait. "I got this one done in Diamond Lake when I decided I was done working for Smenk and was ready to start turning my life around. The day after hurts like Hell, then you're sore for a few days, but after that it's nothing", the big man explains while tapping the other pectoral where the six-pointed star of Kord was brightly tattooed under his own healthy growth of chest hair. "They told me your first one's always the worst. Do you want me to get you a drink or something?"
Carina pales a little and shifts from foot to foot. "I haven't done this sort of thing before, no."
"They told me your first one's always the worst. Do you want me to get you a drink or something?"
"If you'd like." She shrugs and starts taking off her chain shirt. "I think I might be able to accelerate the healing process with an extract, though."
"Hey, Yalaxex. Let me guess: You want to paint us or something?"
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"Uh..." Yalaxex coughs, rubbing the back of his head. "Um. Well, sort of. I was more...if you want to watch—it would be fine if you want, but I was more looking to paint one or two of the—I want to paint one of the others." He gestures to Astraden, Rodrigo and Eben. "No offense. It's just that...I don't really want to paint you. No offense. You just—I'm looking for interesting and attractive subjects, and three out of four is really very good, so you shouldn't be offen—that is to say...no offense."
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"Oh, I see how it is. You like the scrawny looking pretty boys instead of a real man, eh?"
"Uh, no offense guys."
Once the tattoos are selected, Jharan gets to work. The first day, he plans out all three tattoos (doing some new artwork to determine how to make Tanith's work) and completes Tanith's simple bear one. It takes about an hour.
The second day, he handles Tanith's serpentine tattoo. This takes considerably longer—eight hours, to be precise.
The third day, at the same time as the other group is finishing their shopping and returning with the scrolls, he does Carina's. It takes four hours, two of which are consumed with pricking and poking with his many needles.
By the end of the last of these sessions, Carina and Tanith have determined that while Jharan isn't necessarily a mean person, he finds pain a little bit more hilarious than he really should.
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"Oh, I see how it is. You like the scrawny looking pretty boys instead of a real man, eh?"
"Uh, no offense guys."
"Um, no offense taken, but I like people who—it is more conducive to a painting to have someone who does not blend in with the canvas. Also, you are not very pleasant—it is not a pleasant experience for me to look directly at you. Frankly, you look frightening."
Between being in some debt to the group funds to begin with, as well as a doing a careful count of purse and seeing exactly how much free spending Ixiaxian did with his money, Eben is a bit sullen on the shopping trip. "People going and getting tattoos, well, phooey, i wouldn't want ink anyhow. Makes you too easy to identify," he spends the morning muttering assorted sour grape-ish comments. Nevertheless, he's as helpful as he can be during the shopping itself, happy to step up and do some haggling when needed. If we're spending a week recovering and licking our wounds, maybe I should do some street performing, just for pocket change...
Eben, being well-familiar with Midnight's Muddle and the residents therof by now, of course recognizes the eccentric Yalexex. (Although the man's name brings doppelganger naming conventions to mind...) A pleased beaming crosses his face at knowing he's being sought out for a modeling session, when Farrukh manages to ruin even that. "Scrawny? I am not scrawny, just because I don't look like something's going to pop every time I flex, like you and Tanith... and besides, Astraden's not scrawny looking or a pretty boy. I think you're just jealous, Mr. Not Pleasant to Look at..." He smiles at Yalexex. "Can't speak for the other two, but I'd be happy to hear more about this."
After the tattoos are finished
Tanith watches while Carina talks to the machinist to order the needed parts for her small-exploding-stick-thing. The intricacies of the clockwork were lost on him but he admired the undine's passion and didn't mind tagging along while she picks up supplies. His eyes pass over the various tiny gears and springs mounted on the wall or on shelves, most of them meaningless to him, and settle on an intricate compass-like device hanging on a length of cord.
"What's that?" he asks after Carina's done picking out her 'hammer'. "Some kind of magic amulet?"
"Hm?" The dwarf running the shop glances over. "Uh, dunn...wait, I know that." He hops off his shaky, uneven ladder and takes down the item. "Huh. I thought this thing got thrown out. It's a wayfinder. You use it to keep from getting lost, and it can make some light, and...stuff. Some say it's handy if you have an ioun stone to put in there," he notes an indentation, "but I'm an alchemist, not a...whatever someone who makes ioun stones is. Stoner. I dunno. Look, if you want it, it's...two hu...uh, five hundred. Five hundred orbs."
Eben, not being a philistine, of course is familiar with Yalexex's work.
Tanith picks up the gadget and lets it turn on its cord. He frowns and considers the eccentric dwarven tinkerer's offer.
"Five hundred orbs? That sounds like a lot. It doesn't look like much."
***
Eben, not being a philistine, of course is familiar with Yalexex's work.
The dwarf shrugs. "Hey, that's the price. Right there in the price tag—oh, it slipped off? Damn. If there's anything overpriced, it's that damn pricetag adhesive I have to buy. Take it up with them. Five hundred gold orbs."
When it's Carina's turn to get her tattoo, she's understandably nervous at first. However, she takes her seat and lets Jharan get to work.
-------------
"Ow ow ow ow. Oh, don't worry about me--I've died, come back, got clawed up by harpies, puked on by worm-infested zombies, nearly eaten by a killer floor and took a lightning bolt to the face. I can handle this just fine."
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Carina is engrossed in making sure she has everything in order for her gun when Tanith and the proprietor start talking.
"Eh? What's that now?"
Tanith laughs and holds Carina's hand while Jharan works, pausing on occassion to gingerly touch at his own still-raw tattoo. "That's it Red. It'll be over before you know it."
***
Convinced that the dwarf's price was reasonable (a steal even!) Tanith fishes out a handful of shiny platinum pieces and starts counting. "Check it out Red. What do you think?"
"Where do I find some of these 'ioun' stones?" he asks the dwarf while he works (it's a slow process...). "You think Ph'rexis might have some? He seems to have just about everything else."
Carina scratches her head and shrugs. "Can't say I've ever seen something like that before--"
Then Tanith mentions going back to Ph'rexis. She bites her lip and her eyes widen. "Uh... I suppose he might, but..."
She sighs, her discomfort visible on her face. "...I really wish he'd at least put some smallclothes on. I keep feeling that I don't know where to look when dealing with him."
"I bet he makes the folks at the shrine look some kind of bronzed gods. Just try to keep your eyes on me."
Tanith laughs and holds Carina's hand while Jharan works, pausing on occassion to gingerly touch at his own still-raw tattoo. "That's it Red. It'll be over before you know it."
***
[dice=Appraise]1d20-2
Convinced that the dwarf's price was reasonable (a steal even!) Tanith fishes out a handful of shiny platinum pieces and starts counting. "Check it out Red. What do you think?"
"Where do I find some of these 'ioun' stones?" he asks the dwarf while he works (it's a slow process...). "You think Ph'rexis might have some? He seems to have just about everything else."
"Any magic shop would sell them. Not mine, though. Who's Ph'rexis?"
"Mad wizard. Runs a magic shop near here. Doesn't wear clothes."
Carina blushes slightly and nods at Tanith when the dwarven proprietor asks his question.
"A mad mage who is nonetheless very talented (or so I've heard) in crafting magical items and enchantments. Quite... interesting to talk to. Just so long as you don't mind the fact that he always walks around his shop naked."
She shudders.