Tassira looks over at the blind Emi and walks over to her.
"Emi?" She gently tries to take her hand. "I'm still here."
The pit holding the Munge is swimming in evil. To Regeris's eyes, its aura trails him like a red fog. When the creature sees Regeris staring down fixedly upon him he stares back with his ugly red-rimmed eyes and hisses.
Lured by Tiora's familiar face, the three family members climb the ladder to be received by the party. They huddle together at the top of the ladder as you look them over, compliant to any request. None of the three says anything. There's an ugly red scar running from the base of the father's neck, behind his ear and up across the back of his skull.
"They were dosed by the green men just hours before you came. They'll be better later if you give them some time. At least a little bit... probably."
Kayleigh has no knowledge or experience with the derro juice. From Tiora's description it clearly has mental effects. Given that Tiora's been under its influence, questioning her may be the group's best avenue to learning its properties.
Kayleigh seems at a loss as to how to proceed. "They seem to be--well, almost zombified--by whatever those little creeps pumped into these poor people," she whispers to Tiora. "Do you think they'll recover enough to testify against Munge and the professor?"
The hiss from the pit catches the priestess's curiosity. She moves next to Regeris and peers down at the horrid beast-man. "What should we do with him?" she asks the inquisitor in a horrified whisper.
Emi takes Tassira's hand. Are we close to finished? I'd like to leave this place."
"So would I, Emi. So would I."
Tassira looks down at Emi's hand. "...did I tell you I'm sorry for yelling at you yet? Because I am. I..."
Her throat tightens and she stops speaking.
Regeris keeps his eyes fixed on the Munge while Kayleigh helps the rest of the family get out of the pit. He tries to quell his own fears about the blue juice and fate of the people they've rescued. "Tiora, get ready to leave. We need to speak briefly."
He looks to his companions and the Pharasmans grimly. "This Munge creature reeks of evil beyond redemption. It is surrounded by the bones of humans. I have no faith in a trial system in this city, not while people are being slaughtered indiscriminately by Gray Maidens in the streets. It would be cruel to force Tiora to relive this as well. I would sooner put an arrow in this Munge to rid the world of its evil and be done with this."
Regeris lets out a breath. "But I'll acquiesce to the rest of you. What do you say? If we are bringing this thing to the Field Marshal for trial it will be -after- we escort the others out of here."
Nebbin looks miserable, glancing at Kayleigh for some guidance on what they should all do here.
"I mean, we can't just kill people, but he doesn't even really seem to be a person anymore. If it were a rabid dog, we'd put it down, but can a person be a rabid dog? I'm pretty sure he'll attack us if we bring him out of there, and then we're just having to hurt him more..."
The big man shakes his head.
"But we can't just murder him, right? I mean, could we leave him down there for a bit and maybe see what the priests say, at least? Or see what the field marshal thinks?"
"Bygones." Emi replies to Tassira. "I can be stiff-necked sometimes."
A wave of relief hits the mageling like a soothing rain. "...thanks, Emi."
...wow. Her hands are kinda soft...
If you folks are truly Kayleigh's friends, you'll never let her play poker. The priestess wears her warring emotions on her sleeve, flashing her petulant pout of disapproval when Regeris says he has no faith in Korvosa's trial system, averting her eyes in acknowledgement of the bitter truth in most of the other points the inquisitor makes, almost tearing up in solidarity with the misery Nebbin's experiencing at this quandary, and flashing a look of resolution when the big man says the friends can't become murderers themselves. In the end, she leads Regeris out of earshot of the Munge (though not necessarily beyond where other party members might overhear).
"I think Nebbin's right--we can't take the law into our own hands. Besides, that Munge creature is our only link to whomever killed Olaf and Neziana...and stitched poor Amistan's head on that golem. We need to get answers...if that thing can give them."
"I suggest we check the other fork and try to find and capture the 'professor' Tiora mentioned, or maybe his elf lady. He sounds like the mastermind of this...horror...and likely has the answers we seek. Perhaps Nebbin, Tassira, Samuel, and I could explore the next area while you, Emi, and Shayla keep an eye on the Munge to make sure he doesn't escape. Well, maybe not Emi; she obviously can't watch, but she can still fight if the Munge tries anything."
"And if you decide the Munge cannot be redeemed...at least Nebbin won't witness to his death."
After her conference with Regeris, Kayleigh draws her morningstar and walks over to the edge of the Munge's prisoner pit. "You stand accused of heinous crimes. What say you in your defense?"
Tassira's expression darkens and she looks over at where Kayleigh is whispering to Regeris.
She clears her throat.
Regeris listens intently, and nods once. "I am unhappy as anyone to kill an unarmed prisoner, no matter his crimes. We'll do it your way and I'll explain why I think the way I do once we're back at the Temple. We get Tiora and the family out of here, and then Munge separately."
He looks over his shoulder at the pitiful creature. "I can guard this thing and stay with Emi but call if you need my assistance. Do not engage with any foes unless we're all there."
Regeris walks back as Kayleigh tries to tell Munge what he's accused of. "It is not our place to execute an unarmed prisoner, and there may be information in that shattered mind. I will remain here to guard the prisoner with Emi and Shayla while the rest of you finish exploring. If this professor and elf are still to be found in the warren, do not engage if you can avoid it. The halls will echo and I should be able to hear you. Are we agreed?"
"Oh, I understand where you're coming from," the priestess whispers to Regeris. "It's not that I think you're wrong...it's more that I think Nebbin's right. If that makes any sense."
"I thought Tiora said there was just a laboratory down the other passageway...but come to think of it, I believe she also said she'd never actually been down that way. If there's more than a room or two, we'll come back here and hunt down the professor another day. Oh--and I'll certainly yell if we run into any foes."
NPC Portraits, including Tiora.
The Munge stares at Kayleigh grinning through broken teeth. Either one of his eyes is swollen or matted shut, or he's had an eye put out. He wipes his grimy mouth on the back of his grimy hand and replies.
"Munge."
Tiora glares at Regeris as she leads Nebbin out of the room. "Don't let him out of that pit!" she says.
She leads the party back out of the prison pits. Immediately to the left is the tunnel you passed before, which leads off into the darkness beyond any casual exploration. Tiora whispers that she's never seen anyone use that passage
She leads you back past the intersection where you killed Cabbage Head, up a short set of steps and down another long tunnel to a door that stands part-way open. She carefully slides through the open door into the room beyond, beckoning you to follow.
The stench of death lingers in this chamber that was used as a library and a study. There's shelves with several books, specimens of various organisms and parts of organisms in jars. A deeply stained writing desk with paper and ink stands in a nook.
There are two tunnels exiting on the left side of the room. The nearer of the two seems like the source of the stench. Tiora says she's never been down that passage, and asks to hang back in the library while the rest of the group explores.
The passage ends in a door that stands open. The cloying stench of fresh grave lies heavy on the chamber and those who brave the place have to bite back a rising gorge. The room is a butchery to rival the real one you found in Old Dock. The workbench on the wall is covered in surgical instruments. There are two tables in the room and each bears body.
On one is what can only be an incomplete flesh golem. Parts of several bodies are sewn together to form one composite monstrosity. The head of this monstrosity is Olaf's head. The rest is made of unidentified parts, though one arm bears a deep blue patterned tattooing that links it to the remains on the other table.
The second table bears the corpse of a man that has been thoroughly dissected. It's limbs have been removed and systematically flensed. Its organs flayed and arranged in a pattern. There's lettering in ink and blood on the table surrounding the body. Candles, now burned out are heaped on parts of the table. All the body parts of this heavily tattooed corpse are laid out here except its arms. One is accounted for, but the other remains a mystery as you explore this room.
From the library, the second passage leads past a set of drapes and into a bedroom. The bed in the room is little more than a box and a mattress with some stained pillows tossed about. There's a bureau and chest-of-drawers both of which hang open and empty. There's also two racks in this room and lots of curious, specific elements of carnal torment hanging from the walls. Tiora's reaction to this room is hard to watch. She won't look at the racks, but focuses instead on the state of the furniture.
"He's gone. Long gone. All his stuff is gone," she stares at Nebbin as she speaks and shakes her head sadly. "He's out in the city somewhere. Free to run, and free to be found!"
At the far end of the bedroom is another drape curtain which conceals another room. This is also a bedroom of sorts, though the bed in this case is a poor cot. There's a little sitting space with some books lying on a table and a small box in the corner. In the center of the floor is the cold severed arm of a human covered in blue tattoos. As the party stands there looking, the hand suddenly flexes, grabs at the air, clenches for a moment, then falls back lifeless and inert.
Emi takes a careful couple of steps backward until her back touches the wall, then she leans.
She tells Regeris "Sorry you got stuck guarding the baggage."
Since all about listening lately Emi had caught enough of the conversation between Kayleigh and him to understand what was going on. But she says nothing on the subject.
You're better conversation than most baggage I've met."
Regeris clenches and unclenches his hand around his bow, eyeing Munge. "Milani is a goddess of two... shall we say modes. She is a protector and nurturer, respects legitimate authority, and is a caretaker to the weak. However, she is also a bloody revolutionary driven to remove illegitimate authority. I'm sure you can spot from which direction we've both entered the faith."
He glances down the hallway. "And now we have this horrific prisoner to deal with that we will hope can get executed by the hanging judge while Gray Maidens slaughter children outside. Well, perhaps there's information to be gotten."
Regeris moves over to the pit, looking down at Munge with an expression of cold contempt. He grasps his holy symbol, chanting a spell.
"Do you know where Rolth is?"
Nebbin doesn't bother to try to overhear the conversation; his mother taught him better than that.
He looks as angry as any have seen him as he explores the far part of the complex, his usual genial smile replaced with a look that speaks more of violence and anger.
"We'll find him, Tiora," Nebbin assures her. "He's bad, and we're going to make sure he doesn't do this to anyone else!"
Urging her to go back to join the others to let them know what's happening, he searches, trying to alternate between haste and thoroughness.
Once he's finished, he returns himself to tell him what they've found, bringing back as many of the books, writing and the little box as he can carry.
"Then there's just one more tunnel we need to go through, and then we can go help Emi," he says with more authority than usual.
Kayleigh helps Nebbin as he searches the various chambers, saying next to nothing when she notices how angry he is. She pauses as she looks upon the horror on the table, briefly raising her morningstar before again lowering it. When the group reaches the back bedroom and can go no further, the priestess casts detect magic and slowly moves back to where the others await, concentrating on the spell while scanning each chamber for any emanations.
In the library, one heavily handled book stands out in that its pages, though printed in common scientific jargon, are annotated and marked up in a language that none of you recognizes. At the end of the book is the signature of the author. Randolphus Penderghast, Anatomist.
Between two other manuals are found two magical scrolls: identify & command undead.
Nebbin's intuitive link to the Shoanti seems right. The dissected body on the table is a shoanti tribesman. Perhaps even the one who died on the scene when the party stopped that mob. As Nebbin looks around the scene he spies something lying under one of the tables. It's a plague-doctor's mask with one of the lenses cracked. The beak of the mask is stuffed with a bag of dried herbs.
The deserted bedroom hasn't been used in days, and is swept relatively clean. The one exception is found when Kayleigh nudges the bed in looking around. She bends over to examine the cuffs bolted to the bed frame when a tiny tip of metal left in the footprint of the bedpost catches her eye. Something that snapped off somehow. The peculiar contour of the tip matches the key-shaped blade you've been tracking.
The most significant thing you find in the final bedroom is the
Inside the box you find: two silver rings, a gold and pearl bracelet, a metal hipflask and a curious metal rod about 1 foot long with spikes and plates on it that radiates strong magic.
"Well...Tassira might get some comfort from these scrolls we found," Kayleigh tells Nebbin. With a slight smile, she adds, "I think she's morally strong enough that we can give her the necromancer's spellbook and let her pick through it for any spells she might be able to use."
The knife-tip actually causes her to gasp and whisper that maybe the 'professor' was the killer of Olaf and Neziana, and that perhaps he has some sort of link to the killer of old who used the same style of weapon.
Nebbin nods.
"And we found Olaf's head, too," he says sadly. "I guess now he'll be able to rest in peace."
The small passage twists on and on into the darkness. Leading the way with his pebble aloft, the smell of death is gradually replaced by the smell of rot and defecation. The earth passage bores directly into a branch of the city sewer system. The water is low enough that you can walk along the shoulder of the sewer line without walking in waste-water.
Back in the prisoner pits, the Munge walks his circle and whispers to himself. He acts oblivious to Regeris's question. Shayla and Brother Samuel come up behind Regeris and peer over his shoulder, down into the Munge's pit.
Shayla speaks, "Should the fate of such a creature fall to us, I can assure you of his execution. His crimes are bound up in a case of vile necromancy, and his soul will be sped on its way to the Boneyard for judgement."
"As for these," she says, turning to the human sheep family, "We provide many services to the population, but succor for the mad is not one of those that we offer in Korvosa. Who knows what they may remember of their ordeal when they come out of this state. We can say certain prayers to cure disease, but we have no idea what are the long term effects of surgeries and unorthodoxed medecines practiced here."
Regeris purses his lips as he looks to Shayla, looking away from Munge. "These are your warrens, and I'm sure you understand my trepidation about trusting the trial process at this time in the city. We shall see if my companions are amenable to entrusting the fate of this Munge with you."
He sadly looks over the mindless victims of Rolth. "Perhaps there can be lives for them after this, even with what's been done to them. I suppose we shall see. Thank you for the offer."
Emi chuckles at Regeris's reply in a way that conveys "I don't believe you, but don't worry about it". Then she waits quietly.
Nebbin returns, shaking his head.
"That last tunnel went to the sewers," he says, wrinkling his nose a bit that adds a bit of levity despite the unusually serious mien on his face. "Maybe that's how they escaped?"
He heaves a heavy sigh.
"Let's get out of here. I don't like this place."
Kayleigh's eyes dart briefly to Regeris and then to Tassira and her crossbow. In the next instant, however, she turns to Nebbin, managing a grim smile.
"I agree," she says softly to the big warrior. "Why don't you take the lead with some light to scout a bit in case we missed any of those little green meanies. I'll be behind you, leading Emi. The others can take rearguard. Sound like a plan?"
"It does. Let's begone from this miserable place."
As the others return and fill in Regeris and Emi on the status of everything he nods, getting ready to go. "Shayla has offered to have the Pharsman clergy render judgement unto Munge. I place far, far more faith in them as a legitimate authority than I do the trial system in this city." He looks to Nebbin. "Pharasma is the Goddess who judges our souls when we die, her clergy are the best judges in my opinion. The most fair."
Nebbin nods, satisfied with that solution.
"I guess that makes sense. I mean, he is in their tomb, right?"
New day (top of p42) after losing Trinia to the Gray Maidens
leveled up
cast cure disease on Carawyn
went to Bank of Abadar - talked to Tallisan Wyndser - Inquisitor of Abadar
picked up key-stain clue
investigated the university crime scene
met Olaf's friend Macklin - learned about a party
questioned the gardners
met the party host - dead end
crossed the city through Gold Market to Gray
Go to Hall of First Repose - meet Shayla - go to Vantyev family tomb
investigate disappearance of corpse - track to Shoanti Mausoleum
derro-necro-reanimopolooza
The sun is setting over the water as your dirty group makes their way back up out of the ground. A breeze blowing in off the bay and the famous evening weather helps banish some of the gloom of that place. The windows of the cathedral sparkle in reflection and priests come running out to help when they see the party coming.
A few brothers come over and help Samuel escort the Munge to a cell 'below'. Another leads the family to their infirmary and then to quiet cells where they might snap out of their current state.
The party is surrounded by well-meaning channelers and you receive blessings from all quarters as you're taken into the House of Pharasma. Shayla rushes ahead and soon returns with the leaders of the House of Pharasma. Keppira D'Bear Seat of Birth and senior of the two is the elder priestess you met and talked with last time you were here.
The second man is as tall as Nebbin, though not quite as broad. Handsome and lean, his name is Uli Trainer and he's been elected the new Seat of Death. He comes in with a magical scroll and as the party sits there, he completes the spell that restores Emileva's sight. As she recovers he walks back over to stand behind Keppira.
"Shayla tells us we owe you a great debt of gratitude, as well as an apology for not guarding the sanctity of your dead as closely as we ought. You Milanites are active, I'll give you that. And you keep popping up on the right side, which I like."
Regeris is exhausted, and keeps stealing glances at the group. Despite the exhaustion of the day, the mental wear and tear on his companions is a constant source of worry for him - and not something he's particularly adept at responding to. The Pharasmans' promise to deal with Munge is also a source of incredible relief. Wartime executions were never a happy thing, but were nevertheless done during his time amongst the Cheliaxian Milanites.
The healing magic provides a lot of relief to him, and he pats Emi's shoulder. "They will grant you back your sight. This will be just a bad memory."
----
After the scroll is completed to restore Emi's eyes and the group has a little bit to recover, Regeris greets the Seat of Death. He actually manages a chuckle before speaking in his hoarse voice. "Thank you, sincerely. I'm glad we can work together. The city is sick. We all need to do our part to help it heal. This Rolth fellow is still at large and will move onto something else now that we've scoured his lair."
Kayleigh gives Regeris the briefest nod of acknowledgment when the Pharasmans take the Munge away. She also has a short, polite chat with Keppira when the Seat of Birth arrives, but otherwise seems distracted and perhaps a bit down. She lowers her eyes when the Pharasmans cure Emileva's blindness and averts them nervously when the Seat of Death apologizes for "not guarding the sanctity of your dead as closely as we ought."
She also grimaces a bit when the Pharasmans heal up the party and former prisoners; perhaps the cleric had wanted to do so herself to better their attitude (and deepen their gratitude) toward her, her goddess, and the adventuring party.
Eventually, she makes her way over to Tassira. "Starting tomorrow I can try to help out with your mother's problem," she says quietly. Then she turns her attention to Tiora. "How are you feeling? Can we do anything more to help you? How about an escort home...assuming you have a place to stay? We won't just abandon you on the streets."
Tassira feels too drained to chastise the Pharasmins for neglecting their duties to the dead, and only offers a sigh as acknowledgement.
"Starting tomorrow I can try to help out with your mother's problem."
"...thank you."
Nebbin keeps quiet around the priests, as otherwise he'd surely say something wrong. If Kayleigh doesn't want to talk here, there's no way he should. He gives her a smile, to let her know he understands and won't mess anything up.
Still, he doesn't want to be rude.
"Thank you," he says as they fix Emileva's sight. "I guess we should go know. We need to try to find Rolth and make sure he doesn't do anything else like this."
When her eyesight is restored Emi is overjoyed, thanking the Pharasman priests profusely. The relief of being made whole again also makes her aware of how weary she is. Hours of walking, pumping adrenaline, physical exertion, and the stress of trying to be alert in the crypt without her sight have left her exhausted.
During the walk back to their own temple residence she is anxious to hear about everything she missed. It will have to wait until tomorrow though, her mind is too dulled to think about it all carefully at the moment.
"Tomorrow first thing we need to have a sit down and lay out what we know now. All the details. Some of the things you all said about what you saw later on down there makes me think this "professor" has taken aim at us."
When you start to make your excuses, Keppira leads you slowly back through the Cathedral and to the front doors. Uli trails dutifully behind her the entire way, listening and nodding his head, but not speaking.
"Shayla told me some of what happened in the mausoleum, and has given me a notion of what remains down there. We're arming a band of men now to secure the tunnels you found - particularly one that connects the gray to the city's sewers! An investigation will be made of the place before it's resealed, of that I can assure you."
"I would imagine you've taken evidence for your own investigation, and we'll undoubtedly find other things as we take our time reconsecrating once-hallowed ground. The queen may find it distasteful, but I intend to consult the authorities of the nearest tribes to allow them the proper rituals for quieting the offended spirits of their ancient dead. Shayla told of the ritualized dissection of a shoanti corpse. In fact, a corpse from a recent mob killing went missing and caused some embarrassment with the tribes. I'm optimistic that you've solved that mystery for us, though opened a whole new line of inquiry by finding him in such a state."
You reach the doors and she turns to face you as acolytes rush to pull them open.
"I'd like to meet with you again to compare what we've found, and perhaps lay the groundwork for further cooperation between our houses."
Kayleigh bows in respect to the older, wiser, and more powerful Pharasmin priestess. "As you wish. We may be back as soon as tomorrow."
Hey! Made 'em all!
Nebbin nods. He's also ready to return home and rest, though tomorrow he hopes someone has some idea what to do to start finding Rolth.
Regeris nods in the affirmative. "I think we have like goals here. The situation with the Shoanti is horrific - it is possible we drove off the mob that killed the one we found in the warrens. Unfortunately too late. Thank you for your help. We will let you know if we find anything new about this body-snatcher."
Exhausted and more than concerned for his companions, Regeris bids the Pharasmans farewell and very, very gratefully heads back to the temple.
Throughout the time in the House of Pharasma Tiora is quiet and stands closest to Kayleigh. In the light it's obvious that she's been malnourished and misused and no amount of simple blessings will restore her like a couple nights of sleep in a secure place. She can't tell you how long she's been down in that hole, but long enough to have had the 'blue juice' mixture herself.
"It stuns you. Some people more than others. Sometime for days, but everyone I saw came back from it. I did. They probably will. But sometimes when you do, you remember terrible things... or think you remember terrible things, and that can drive you mad."
"And what they may remember is terrible." she shakes her head as her expression settles into a very angry one.
"But it wasn't accidental, what they were doing to people down there. They were following some kind of code. We were test subjects."
When the subject of her 'home' comes up, Tiora comes up blank. She shrugs in the rough-wool robe given her by the priests.
"If you didn't find any of my stuff in any of those rooms, and I didn't see any of it there... I guess I'm carrying what I own. When they took me, I was carrying everything I owned."
"If you have any spare place for a girl to crash..? Maybe clean up a little bit? Regeris told me you'd tell me more about your goddess once we left that tomb."
"Hmm...," Kayleigh ponders aloud. "I have to treat Tassira's mom in the Heights tomorrow anyways, so.... Maybe at least some of us could get accommodations there for tonight rather than travel back there tomorrow. Also, I think we should buy Tiora some proper clothes and find her some sort of permanent shelter solution. I'll pay for it out of my share of our treasure."
"Oh, yeah, that's a good idea," Nebbin agrees. "Should I stay there too, in case the Rolth comes looking? We probably shouldn't split up, because he doesn't like us for some reason."
Kayleigh's plan to go straight to Tassira's family home makes Emi a little anxious. Enough so that she decides to tell the others what she's thinking, even though she's not sure about it yet.
"If you're going to Tassira's house right now, how about Regeris and I take Tiora with us back to the temple? I can see to getting her some clothes and so forth on the way back."
"I think someone should be there to keep an eye on things. It's clear this "professor" has been targeting people close to us or connected to us. It feeds back to Gaedren Lamm in some way. But I don't think that's all. Most of what he's done only hurts us if we know about it. Olaf's murder was his scheme to make sure we did. It was far too easy to follow the breadcrumbs he dropped right back to his place. But you said he'd cleared out just recently. He knew we were coming. We were meant to find it."
"Now that we know, he's not going to just stop. He's going to play with us. If he wanted to come straight at us he wouldn't have gone to all this trouble. I think he's going to keep going after people connected to us, to keep us paranoid, always wondering who might be next."
"If he's not watching us closely, he's well informed by someone who is. The Shoanti man from that street fight? He knows what we've been doing in detail. If we're not at the temple, he'll likely be aware. It's just the kind of opening he will exploit."
"I also want to talk to the children, see if they remember anything about people to might have visited Lamm. If the two were associates or friends he may have been there. I'd also like to talk to Master Orisini about this. He may remember something about the original killings. In any case he should be warned. I've been to his academy a few times and it's probably not gone unnoticed."
Tassira swallows nervously. "...I'm rather worried that Mother will do something rash if I come home..."
With everything you've seen in the last few hours, the relative normalcy of Korvosa's street chaos is jarring. As you move along with light traffic parallel to the riverfront you slowly realize that you are the bad smell that all the other folks on the street are looking around and checking their shoes for.
You come to the point of decision: right to the Temple of Aroden via Northpoint and the bridge, left to climb the hill and either crash Tassira's family home in the Heights or find an Inn in the district. There are four and they are the priciest houses in the city.
"And that's another thing." Emi looks at Tassira with a rueful smile. "I don't think Tassira's mother liked me very much"
Nebbin looks alarmed at Emi's comments.
"Maybe we should take everyone to Tassira's place? Then we only have to watch out for one place, right? Instead of worrying that he'll hurt people we don't know?" he suggests.
"Or maybe she should come to the temple. It's nice there, and there's more room. Considering how we smell, we probably don't want to go to the manor right away, since that will upset her..."
He moves toward the temple, looking back to see if the others follow him. He also looks around, to see if anyone's watching them.
After the fourth funny look the party gets, Tassira clues in that perhaps she and her companions are filthier than usual. She casts prestidigitation a few times to clean the party up.
"Mother isn't... she isn't exactly in the best place right now." Tassira sighs. "I can honestly say I'm not looking forward to going home."
"But she needs my help. Father too."
She's visibly uncomfortable at the prospect of returning to the Heights.
Kayleigh nods sympathetically to Tassira. "She's got my help, too--whenever you think it's best for me to give it."
She smiles a bit when she sees Nebbin being more assertive...even if she doesn't immediately follow him to be supportive. Instead, she turns toward Regeris.
"I don't think there are any right or wrong ideas or suggestions here, but we need to choose one. Regeris--you have more wisdom and experience than the rest of us youngsters. What do you think?"