"I guess the Pharasmins make sense," Nebbin says. "Or maybe some Calistrians? Should we go to the shrine that Kayleigh mentioned?"
The clerk at the desk of the library peers at Tassira and Emi over her eyeglasses.
"Tassira Ventyev, yes here you are," fixing your name on a list with her finger. "It's been some time, yes? You don't owe any fines or overdue volumes, do you?"
She looks over some other scrolls, then waves the two into the stacks.
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Regeris, Kayleigh, Nebbin
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Back down the far side of the hill you go, intending to go by the castle and down to the Pillar Wall beyond. You pass a troop of Korvosan Guardsmen, miserable and soaked as yourselves as they stomp their weary beat through the muddy streets. The plaza before the castle is filled with trash left behind by the crowds of petitioners and protesters. At least the rains have cleared the crowds out of your way.
Some time later the three find themselves dripping in the foyer of the Pharasman's Cathedral. A salty-haired priest looks mournfully on the messy marble behind you as he asks how he may serve.
Regeris pulls down his hood, ignoring the rain pelting him in the face as he approaches the priest along with Kayleigh and Nebbin. He then leans over to Kayleigh. "You're more charming than I am. Pharasmans like people to be stoic and well-mannered. They also hate the undead and may help us if we're just honest."
Kayleigh nods at Regeris and gives and offers the priest a weak smile. After introducing herself, she tells the man about the vile symbol found in the lost crypt and mentions that it may be responsible for a lingering undead haunting. If possible, she tries to leave out Calistria's name and the location of the haunting.
Nebbin nods and lets the better equipped folks do the speaking.
Emi helps Tassira with her research as best she can.
Tassira nods at the librarian. "I don't think I have any outstanding library books or fines."
Then she delves into the library...
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Theumanexus College
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Tassira goes into the search with a couple of threads to follow. Two hours into the hunt she stumbles upon her only real finding. On a scroll listing symbols of ancient Vudrani evils she finds the same glyph. There's no name, no story. No further association.
There aren't alot of students here. In Tassira's experience there should be more groups of students staked out in the nooks and crannies socializing and studying.
"...huh..."
Tassira holds up the scroll of Vudrani evils. "Strange. Whatever was responsible for this came all the way from Vudra?"
She looks around at the other students before wandering back to the librarian. "Excuse me, but do you know why there aren't as many students here today? Did something happen at the college?"
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Cathedral of Pharasma
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The group finds the catalog in the Pharasmin library to be horribly out of date. The priesthood works hard in this church but you find they are horribly overworked for so small a cadre. Between gathering and interring the dead of the city, providing security for the entirety of the Grey, caring for their own substantial cathedral and providing numerous other services to the masses, the sisters and brothers of the Grey are too busy to help you in your search. A young woman wearing an adept's robe leads you to the dusty chamber of records, Unlocks the door and pulls back curtains to admit some light.
"Mistress D'Bear sends her regards, and her regrets that she cannot meet you in person. She's permitted your access to our library room, where perhaps you may find some answers. The only part of the records collection that remains active is the Book of Years, now in its six-hundred and fifty-eighth chapter. The scribes still record every birth and death in the city."
There are hundreds of dusty tomes on the floor-to-ceiling shelves in the room, all covered in a substantial layer of neglect.
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Theumanexus College
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"No, not here. The fools are preparing for another protest up at the castle. Even in this wet! There's a rumor the Queen might say something more about the King's death."
"Please convey our thanks to the High Priestess," Kayleigh replies with a polite smile. When she sees the size of the library and the number of books held therein, she lets out a sigh of resignation.
Nebbin's jaw drops open at the sight of all the books.
"Where should be start?" he asks, speaking in a hushed whisper.
Don't be loud in the library, don't be loud in the library, don't be loud in the library...
"Is this one useful?" he asks in a whisper. "How about this one? This one has a pretty cover!"
Emi waits for Tassira to finish up at the library. When she has done so Emi suggests another stop.
"Do you know of any place close by to get a couple of drinks? I'd like to get fortified before fighting the downpour again."
Kayleigh lets out a sigh as Nebbin gallantly tries to help with the research.
"No...no...no.... Hey, wait a minute! Let me take a closer look at that last one!"
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Cathedral of Pharasma
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The relevant entry that Kayleigh and Regeris find has a brightly colored rendering of a bestial creature with a boar's head and a man's muscular body. Outsized weapons are clutched in each of it's four clawed hands. Its red eyes convey rage, even madness. Black tusks capped in gold protrude from its lower jaw. Flowing script at the bottom of the page reads "Dradjit the Godslayer, Earthbound Evil of Vudra". Next to the script is the symbol they seek.
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Theumanexus College
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"Well, there's the Shoreline Drinkhall, assuming you're fine with drinking with rough types. Only visited the place once, but we could swing by for a drink or two."
Regeris blinks as Kayleigh and Nebbin manage to find what they're looking for without too much difficulty. "Well, colour me impressed..."
He takes a good look at the creature, pursing his lips curiously. "A demon lord perhaps? Regardless, we have a name. And Vudran too. What are Vudran cultists doing in Korvosa?"
He shakes his head. "Utterly unfamiliar. However, perhaps there are some Vudran enclaves or notable merchants who may help us out. This is still useful information. Good job."
Emileva smiles wryly at Tassira. "You did see where I'd been living until just recently right? I'm not bothered, the Shoreline sounds fine."
When the pair arrives Emi rounds up a couple of warming brandies and a small table for their use. Once they're settled, she takes a long draw from her glass and says "it's been one hell of a strange week huh?"
"I'm so confused. Why is there a Vudran symbol in a secret shrine to Callistria underground?" Nebbin says.
He looks to the others to explain what's going on.
"Maybe we should go try to find Emileva and Tassira? Or go back to the church now?"
Kayleigh beams at Nebbin's skill (luck?) at quickly finding the right tome for their research. She gives some thought to any Vudran culture she's noticed in Old Korvosa and to the frightful monstrosity that is Dradjit the Godslayer. She seems to draw a blank in both instances, however.
Tassira sighs and sips her brandy, wincing a bit as the taste of alcohol burns across her tongue. "Indeed."
She looks down at her glass, in thought. "Emi, do you think Helvara actually likes me?" She looks up to meet the mercenary's eyes.
Emi's eyes might have widened a little at Tassira's question, but otherwise she masks her surprise. She hadn't expected things to take this direction.
She takes another swallow of her brandy, then calls for a couple of whiskeys and a pitcher of water. It's already clear that she will quickly lap Tassira's drinking.
"Well... Let's take up another question first. It might save us from having to do much guesswork. What do you think of her?"
Emi leans back and looks back at Tassira carefully.
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Shoreline Drinkhall
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The drinkhall sits within the confluence of Theumanexus campus culture and the culture of the trade roads. Scholars rub elbows with gypsys, students with caravan guards. This afternoon it's mostly the last. Out-of-towners looking for a place to shelter between jobs. Neither Emi nor Tassira recognize anyone in the joint.
"Well..." Tassira takes another draft of her brandy. "...I don't know what to think. I mean, she DID spend a healing potion on me, and seemed to like me the most out of all of us while we were down there."
She shrugs. "Of course, that could be because I was the only one who seemed inclined to be polite to her... or perhaps it'd be because she sussed out that I'm that awkward around women like her immediately."
"On the one hand, she's a devilishly--" The mageling clears her throat. "--excuse me, that word shouldn't be used to describe anyone, no matter how well it fits--charming lady. On the other hand, there's the whole matter of Carawyn... and the other girls and boys under her."
She blinks. "...under her employ, I mean. I shouldn't have ended that sentence so ambiguously."
She's never had this sort of problem around men...
Emi finishes off her brandy and takes one of the whiskies on the table. She takes a couple of sips and considers before answering.
"My sense of it was similar to yours. Either she is interested in you, but how deeply I can't guess without knowing her better. Or she read your discomfort and decided it would be amusing to push against it to see what happened."
Emi thinks a bit more, finishing off the drink she holds then reaching for the other.
"One thing I'll tell you for sure. Don't consider her so much before you work out what you're feeling. It can be easy to fall into the trap of 'they like me and so I like them too'. I've done it a couple of times in the past myself, and it only brought me trouble."
Tassira finishes off her brandy and takes the other whiskey glass.
"...yeah..." She swirls the whiskey around for a bit. "...I've never had a relationship of that sort before. Almost all of my time was spent studying magic, and what time left over was used to get along with my fellow students."
"Magic seemed so much easier."
Emi chuckles. "Yeah, I'd imagine so. Do it correctly and you get the desired, predictable result right?"
More seriously Emi continues talking. "Look, I don't mean to discourage you. You should decide for yourself what you want. I just think that with Helvara in particular there's a certain... asymmetry... in your experience with such things. Act for yourself in it, if you decide you're interested. Don't just react while she steers."
Emi smiles again, this time slyly. "It might also be she's simply looking to take the first bite of the first apple from the tree. If you're alright with that, it could be a very good beginning. No doubt Helvara is a skilled instructor, and you've always been an excellent student right?"
Emileva takes another swallow of her drink and calls for a couple more.
"She's charming for sure. I don't even want to cut her throat anymore."
"How old do you think she is? Half elf you know.."
"It might also be she's simply looking to take the first bite of the first apple from the tree. If you're alright with that, it could be a very good beginning. No doubt Helvara is a skilled instructor, and you've always been an excellent student right?"
Tassira's ears turn a reddish colour that neatly matches her cheeks.
"...um... uh..." She starts twiddling her fingers and looking into her whiskey glass. "...yeah."
There's a slight smile trying to appear on her lips.
"She's charming for sure. I don't even want to cut her throat anymore. How old do you think she is? Half elf you know.."
"I dunno... maybe thirty? Forty? If I had to guess, it'd be somewhere in that range."
As the drinks keep coming, Emi seems to warm more and more to this whole chatting thing. If she notices that Tassira's contributions to the conversation are a smaller and smaller portion of the talking done, she doesn't show it.
"Hm, I would have guessed older, but you can't really tell with half elves so easily I guess."
Emi takes a couple more sips from her glass.
"What do you think about it? How much of an age difference is too much?"
"I don't know if that's a question that can accurately be answered." The mageling finishes off her glass. "Each of the humanoid races has their own age thresholds for determining when someone is considered an adult. If we're going by straight-up age comparisons, then dating elven, dwarven or gnomish women would be out of the question."
"But personally, when it comes to half-elves, I think a thirty-year age difference is the absolute upper limit."
Emi thinks on Tassira's answer for a minute.
"Maybe the better way to think about it is by finding a common scale. Like when two maps of the same thing use different distance scales, you can convert the scales to a common one. So, let's start with humans. What would who say is an okay age difference for you with a human?"
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Tassira shrugs. "Oh... maybe five years? Ten at a stretch."
"Just so long as neither party is underage. Then it just gets very uncomfortably weird."
Regeris thinks a little on if he knows any Vudran groups or personalities in Korvosa who may be able to help out. "Either way we should leave the Pharasmans be. Perhaps head back to the church unless we can think of somewhere to stop on the way."
"Ah... So similarly young as you."
Emi mulls Tassira's answer with a slight frown and takes another drink.
"I'd imagine somewhere in that library there's a book or two on the life cycles of elves, and others too. You'd just need to find when a particular race reaches the beginnings of middle age and you'd have the answer for any of them."
When she notices Tassira's glass is empty, Emi calls for another round.
"It didn't seem you'd been at the college for a while. At least since we all met up? How long can you stay away? Do they kick you out at some point or what?"
Tassira blinks and straightens up in her chair. "I can stay away as long as I wish--I graduated. I got myself clean and graduated."
"It was during my fourth year that I started taking shiver. And it was my fifth year there that I graduated."
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Temple of Aroden
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Outside the cathedral the storm has mostly spent its fury. Dark grey clouds race by overhead, their bottoms just touching the tallest spires of Pharasma's house. Though the breeze blows cool and wet off the bay, the rain stays away and the three adventurers manage to stay dry as they work their way back down the long blocks. The sun is setting over the town as they arrive.
The temple is glad to have them home. The orphans swarm around Nebbin as he comes in, asking him what he found behind the 'madame's door' and grinning at one another through his explanation. Thankfully Carawyn is not around to hear their idiocy but is instead working with Crayden in the kitchen.
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Shoreline Drinkhall
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By the time the ladies collect themselves and start the long walk back, the sun has set and the rain has stopped. Beyond the river bridge Endrin's square is filled with a big angry crowd. There are protesters and counter-protesters shouting at one another making it hard to tell one side from another. The more numerous and louder side is outraged over the latest of the Queen's announcements. It seems her investigator, the Bloodmage Togomor, has concluded that the king was murdered by a young local artist who'd been hired to paint his portrait. The Queen has demanded the artist's arrest.
The crowd in the square calls the accusation a lie. They demand the Queen's own arrest, and call for a meeting of the city Arbiters to choose a new noble to sit the Crimson Throne. They call her a Diabolist and much worse.
Another crowd that seems to have come down from the castle bearing the Queen's standard and chanting about 'anarchists' and 'cosmopolitans'. They're carrying torches and clubs among the signs and banners
Tassira's feeling rather wobbly as she and Emi finally leave the tavern. Evidently, shiver and other such drugs were ones she could hold. Alcohol, on the other hand?
"...oooooh, boy." She blinks in despondency. "I'd hate to be the poor sap the Queen's angry at now."
Emi's thinking she's more or less okay. Yes, that's what I'm thinking. I'm pretty okay. Fairly sure of that.
Looking at Tassira on the other hand. Maybe she's in some trouble.
"You alright for walking? You can lean on me if you need to. Just put your arm over my shoulder. If you puke on me I'll completely and totally kill you on the spot though."
Emi giggles at her own joke. "Yeah, I think we should steer clear of all them over there. It looks like it could be trouble. Stay out of the square!"
"Some artist murdered the king? Sounds like horse s~*& to me."
"Yeah." Tassira leans on Emi's shoulder. "What'd she do? Stab him in the eye with her paintbrush?"
"Or maybe she rode him to death. Better than the Queen could." She snickers and giggles.
She's evidently had a few too many.
Emi guffaws. "Ha! I didn't think of that angle. Maybe the artist did kill the old man. If so I feel sorry for her. He wasn't much to look at from what I hear."
Regeris very gratefully gets into the cathedral, stepping aside as the children swarm Nebbin. He chuckles a little, but keeps his distance as he's never quite sure what to do with them. After securing a change out of his wet clothes and some care and maintenance of his equipment to prevent rust and rot from the weather, he settles in for some food.
"I'm not much of an expert on Arkona, but they're one of the most important houses in Korvosa and certainly not a group to be trifled with. Although it'd be a stretch to associate them with whatever that symbol is we found. Perhaps we'll be lucky and Tassira and Emi will have found something."
Tassira starts dragging Emi away from the square. "C'mon--we oughta get back. My place or the temple?"
Not having slept for a couple of days, Kayleigh hits the sack as soon as supper's concluded. She considers telling Nebbin--the other party member badly stung by the summoned wasps--to get his rest as well but lets him be, deciding he's not some child who needs to be told what to do. Before turning in, however, she visits Carawyn to report that the girl's now officially free from Helvara...and to promise that she'll cast another cure disease spell on the morrow to try to treat her addiction.
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Temple of Aroden
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Carawyn gives Kayleigh a genuine smile and hug when the cleric comes to her.
"There's no way to thank you enough for the help you've given me. All of you. I promise not to let you down. If you'll have me here at the temple, I'll help keep this place. Crayden and Garlan are hopeless by themselves."
"Your choice. The temple's farther away, but it's not raining anymore. Wait, does your place mean the one that included your parents?"
"No, I mean my apart-ment." Tassira's trying to enunciate through her alcoholic haze. "Y'know, the one down in South Shore?"
"It's reeeeeal nice. Nice an' comfy couch. An' bed. Probably not as comfy as Helvara's though."