"Are you going back to the caravan, or do you, have other plans this afternoon?" Lio tries to think of something to say to spend a little more time with Shalelu, after lunch.
"I had made no particular plans," Shalelu replies.
Hrithik pulls out one of his vest flasks. "The only craft at which I truly excel is alchemy, most of which is not particularly pretty to look at, regardless of how beautiful the process of creation might be. The only products where some of the beauty can shine forth are beverages."
Hrithik pours a small amount of the flask's alcohol into the flask cap, and offers the cap to Spivey as a diminutive cup. He hoists his flask to toast. "To new friends."
there is a kindofbeauty in any taskwelldone, though, Spivey says. If mixingpotions is yourskill, perhaps i couldwatch sometime.
She clinks the cap against the flask -- cheers. -- and drinks.
"And, no, I can't leave you asleep on the floor of the wagon. Reta would be quite upset if I left her father in such an uncomfortable place. She might... chose to perpetuate the cycle of violence." She pauses, "Which means if you're going to fall asleep on me, we should move this conversation to your bunk." If he looks up at that moment, he could swear that she is almost glowing green. "We could talk about goals... Or lists..."
Continuing in a more conversational volume, Kalimac reads: "Bilba oli väga rikas ja väga omapärane ja oli ime Maakond kuuekümne aasta jooksul, ajast tema tähelepanuväärne kadumine ja ootamatu tagasi."
"Er," Ameiko says quickly and quietly at some point when Kalimac comes to a natural pause. "I don't mean to interrupt, and I know it's better in the original, but could you maybe provide a translation for those of us still learning the language?"
"I had made no particular plans," Shalelu replies.
"I was thinking of going to a scribe shop, if there is one. I am running low on supplies to make scrolls with. I've got a few healing scrolls done, and want to make more, in case someone gets hurt, that way Alaric and Koya do not deplete their resources. And maybe a book store. You are welcome to come along if you wish, though I do not want to bore you with shopping, if you are not interested." She says softly. Her tone indicates she would like Shalelu's company, but does not want to force herself on Shalelu if she'd rather do something else.
Alaric very purposefully removes the token from his belt and puts it very deep in his backpack. In a measured tone: "Now, I understand that the gift came from a good place. I started wearing it because the bad blood between us has been put aside, and I thought that since you were kind enough to give it, I should display it. However..." He rolls up his sleeves, displaying the ugly scars on his wrists. "I have been a part of several revolutions. It's very nearly compulsive. I get somewhere new, and invariably they're doing something that has to stop. These I got after being nailed to a tree. My stance on slavery wasn't met with widespread agreement. Anyway, the thing of it is, Myriana, I am a revolutionary. Heretic. Anarchist. And while I don't hide it, or anything else for that matter, very well, I don't think that owning a badge declaring it is conducive to my long term survival."
"I know." She says in a rather small voice, "that's why I...uh, grabbed you. ... ...I mean, it's not widely known, probably never become a problem, but..." her voice trails off and she ends with a shrug. "I...if you decide not to like me again, well, so be it...but...you follow the precepts of Milani, the Everbloom better than anyone I ever met." Her expression has changed to an impish smile, followed by a bit of worry.
bluff: +1 optional
"We were supposed to have this conversation after a discussion on religion." She sighs, "so much for any minor advantage I thought I might have had on that avenue." she rolls her eyes and grins at Alaric again She shifts in the seat a little nervously, "Anyway, forgive me?"
She does however, genuinely seem to think of Alaric as a friend.
Hrithik smiles back at the Caravan Master. "Well, the last real opportunity we might have had, there was this riveting discussion of the joys of feral, animalistic sex between sinewy, muscular men and passionate, hirsute bears. Didn't leave much space to discuss politics or the weather."
Sandru does a double take, his eyebrows rising up into his hairline.
Hrithik continues, clearly wanting to get "business" done today. "You had mentioned the idea of me moving in with Mr. Tollin at one point, sir. Now that there is room in both the men's and the women's wagons, could I take Kelda's place in the Lab and let her choose which of the open wagons she wished to bed down in?"
Sandru nods. "I'll talk to Kelda. Don't think she much wants to move, so it'll take a little diplomacy there ..."
"I know." She says in a rather small voice, "that's why I...uh, grabbed you. ... ...I mean, it's not widely known, probably never become a problem, but..." her voice trails off and she ends with a shrug. "I...if you decide not to like me again, well, so be it...but...you follow the precepts of Milani, the Everbloom better than anyone I ever met." Her expression has changed to an impish smile, followed by a bit of worry.
bluff: 1d20+3 +1 optional
"We were supposed to have this conversation after a discussion on religion." She sighs, "so much for any minor advantage I thought I might have had on that avenue." she rolls her eyes and grins at Alaric again
Alaric sighs, expression softening almost instantly to one of amused annoyance. Finally, he opens his arms. Beckons. "Come on. It'll make you feel better."
"I was thinking of going to a scribe shop, if there is one. I am running low on supplies to make scrolls with. I've got a few healing scrolls done, and want to make more, in case someone gets hurt, that way Alaric and Koya do not deplete their resources. And maybe a book store. You are welcome to come along if you wish, though I do not want to bore you with shopping, if you are not interested." She says softly. Her tone indicates she would like Shalelu's company, but does not want to force herself on Shalelu if she'd rather do something else.
"I will come with you, then," she answers.
"I will come with you, then," she answers.
Liothonae smiles, her whole face lighting up with the expression. "Is there anything you'd like to get, while we're in town?" She asks, as they go outside of the dim restaurant, blinking in the brightness
Alaric sighs, expression softening almost instantly to one of amused annoyance. Finally, he opens his arms. Beckons. "Come on. It'll make you feel better."
Myri squeezes him tightly with a very happy expression on her face...and probably just a little bit longer than she should, before releasing him and getting ready to drive. "I am really glad you don't hate me anymore. Please give Mel a hug for me, 'kay?" She seems to have regained a little of the energy she seemed to always have back when the group first met in Sandpoint. At least for the time being.
This day of the journey takes you into the Grungir forest. The road is broad, but the endless, dark expanse of evergreens stretch off to either side of you.
About midday, it becomes clear that no matter how well the road is kept up, sometimes the North has its say. While your maps clearly show a bridge across a small river here, all that’s visible now is a raging torrent and a few wooden posts. No doubt engineers from Karlsgard or Kopparberget will repair it ... sometime. But at the moment, there’s no better ford within a week’s travel, so if the caravan doesn’t want to turn back, it must try to cross here.
In the very first attempt at crossing, the new covered wagon is struck by a rushing log and overset. It is righted and gotten across, but not without taking some damage and losing some imperfectly-secured cargo.
All of you having learned from this incident, the rest of the wagons are gotten across with much less difficulty.
Miles of travel lost today:
Damage taken:
Cargo lost: = one unit of Repair Materials
Examination determines it to be a set of neatly scribed songs, unfamiliar to either of you, arranged for flute. There is also a note which says, in Taldane, “Because I have no idea how to say it with flowers anyway. Hope you two enjoy these. – Z.”
They prove to be a set of Captivating Harpy Songs arranged for flute.
"So... do you have a question, want me to ask about your list, or should I be quiet so that you can sleep?"
In the very first attempt at crossing, the 1d6 new covered wagon is struck by a rushing log and overset. It is righted and gotten across, but not without taking some damage and losing some imperfectly-secured cargo.
It doesn't help to fix the structural damage, but Mel uses her minor magics to dry and mend the new wagon. Also, to dry and clean the other wagons after their own, less harrowing crossing.
Liothonae smiles, her whole face lighting up with the expression. "Is there anything you'd like to get, while we're in town?" She asks, as they go outside of the dim restaurant, blinking in the brightness
"My needs are few," Shalelu replies, "But perhaps we will come across something."
On the early evening of day three, once your wagon is dried and everything has been straightened out, the two of you together find a small packet of papers placed near your things, with your names written on it.
Examination determines it to be a set of neatly scribed songs, unfamiliar to either of you, arranged for flute. There is also a note which says, in Taldane, “Because I have no idea how to say it with flowers anyway. Hope you two enjoy these. – Z.”
They prove to be a set of Captivating Harpy Songs arranged for flute.
Mel looks through the papers, the notes and tones jumping in her mind. She looks up at Alaric, her eyes happy and excited. "I think this is like Aunt Sasha's music, where either it is beautiful, or goes horribly, horribly wrong."
Having looked up the effects of the kind of plants IRL that act in the way Night Tea does, I am ruling that a woman taking it regularly would not be menstruating anyway. So that cannot currently be taken as a reliable sign either way. Melinda would be aware of this effect.
However, your character is not at the moment experiencing any of the traditional early signs of pregnancy. Again, this is not a certainty, as many women feel no effects early on, but Melinda would not have any particular reason to assume that she is pregnant.
"Er," Ameiko says quickly and quietly at some point when Kalimac comes to a natural pause. "I don't mean to interrupt, and I know it's better in the original, but could you maybe provide a translation for those of us still learning the language?"
"Oops," Kalimac says, a little sheepishly. "Of course."
Kalimac re-reads the parts he has been through, this time translating it into Taldane. He then proceeds to alternate between the original Halfling and going back to translate it for his audience.
Rhost takes the opportunity to strip off, put on his swim fins, and jump back in the river to look for the missing materials. To no avail.
"Long gone," he says. And the scent of Stale Barbarian is replaced by the scent of Wet Barbarian.
"There was no place for chattel to sleep. Either you had a customer, and satisfied them, or you waited in the selection in room. There were changing rooms and bathing rooms, an infirmary, and a kitchen too, of course. But the only way you got to sleep was by staying in the room, after..." She swallows, sits down on the crate, elbows on knees, her head bent, fingers rub her eyes for a moment, before she looks up and continues, still seated. "Of course, usually, after, I wasn't in any shape to sleep. And I was far from the only one. They had dungeon rooms, in the basement, below the area they kept the undead. Those rooms were they primary reasons business was so good." She doesn't look up, rather, continues to talk, looking at the floor so she doesn't have to meet anyone's eyes. If she had to look at either Hrithik or Shalelu, she might not be able to go on.
"I think my most vivid memory of that time is what Mel saw, when she touched me and somehow experienced several moments of my life. There was one man, a Gault, I think. He had dark hair, and friendly light brown eyes. He liked to to bring his friends, sometimes to watch, sometimes to participate. He liked girls who would weep and struggle vainly. He picked me because I looked fragile. I didn't have all the lash scars then." She pulls her feet up on the crate, hugs her knees to her chest. "I got those that night."
"I don't know why he picked me that night. He liked his girls a lot younger. The other girls, they thought he wasn't so bad. He didn't hurt them too much, as long as they did what he wanted. There were worse men who called on us. At least he and his friends left the girls on one piece, still breathing. He hadn't killed anyone. There was one man, a bloat mage, who thought it was fun to strangle little boys while he rode them, at his special moment of release. He had a lot of money, so the dominatrix always had a fresh supply for him to choose from. She sold the bodies to the necromancers, so she always made a profit, even when we died."
"The dungeon room I was taken too, it was outfitted with a very large bed on one end, these beautiful white marble floors, interrupted only by very small drains inset in several key locations, and of course, beams rigged for suspension, a wall full of torture implements, shackles, and the like. Slaves tethered me to the bed. He liked his girls restrained. He came in, with self importance, two friends trailing him in a rough V formation... strange, the things that stick out... he started right away, slapped me around to ensure I knew he was in charge, his friends held me up while he tried to make me cry. Shouted at me, shoved his neither region into my face, or rather, his friends pushed me down. But what neither he, nor the dominatrix who thought she broke me understood, was that I was broken long before I got to Maracuja. I have cried once in the last hundred years. And I assure you, it did not happen there."
"His fantasy unfulfilled, he and his friends took their frustration out on my body. First by making use of all of it, in every way they could imagine. Then, hours later, by stringing me up along the beam erected for that purpose. The dominatrix agreed to a new, higher price, and sent in one of the infirmary staff for damage control. They wanted to make sure I still lived. But short of that..." Unsure of at which point she had put the bottle down, she picks it back up, studies it for a long moment in silence. "They used a lash made of skin, woven over metal wire. I have glimpses of memory... slowly spinning around, the world was pink though the blood and semen in my eyes, even though it stung I was unable to even produce the tears necessary to clear them. Shoulders burning from being suspended for hours, without being able to touch the ground with my feet. If I reached out with all my might, my toes could sort of make swirls in the fleshy mush clogging the drains."
She looks up, though neither at Shalelu or Hrithik. "It took me a while to realize that it was my skin and muscle, and blood clogging those drains. Far more than I should have been able to survive. The whole area around me was clotted with brown drying blood. There was not an inch of me left, except for my tattoos. I guess that's why the healer was there. To keep me from the brink so that the Gault could continue until he grew too tired, or I screamed myself hoarse. But I was broken there too. I couldn't scream. After a time, I wanted to. I willed my body to produce a single tear, or a shriek. But I could not."
"I want you to do whatever it is that'll keep you here."
"Harpy music, huh?" He considers the gift. "That's a new one."
Flayed Corpse, on a wheel. -on bottom of both feet, and around left ankle
Swirly Inky Dark Shadowee pattern - just above #1
A feathered quill -along upper calf
A single wing with feathers, made to resemble the quill - looks like it's coming from her shoulder blade
A scale (as in weights and measures) - top of shoulder near neck
A stylized squid, the outline only - on the neck
A Koi fish, with water around it - behind her left ear, to the left beginning of her jaw line
A ladder - goes up across the left side of her face, looks like it leans a bit towards the eye to lean against...
A quarter moon and stars - the moon curves around the left eye, the tiny stars begin near her hair line, along her forehead, but were never finished. Perhaps the moon was supposed to be full.
9 humanoid, with large lower canines, bite scars along her shoulders, collarbones, and at the base of her neck.
countless long thins lash scars along her arms and over the top of her shoulders
a series of small circular round burn scars, perhaps from a cigar being put out on her arms.
other random scars over her arms.
Her hands are relatively scar free.
She looks at him completely ready to dive into the trills and opposed crosses of the music, pauses. "I'll have to play it for us, so you can hear what I think it should be."
She smiles as she snuggles, "Well, when you fall asleep, I'll need to go. So... List?"
"List then. Now you're going to have to remind me which off-handed remark you're referring to."
Alaric, excited: "I love this plan."
She turns her head to hide her face against his chest, a sure sign that she is turning colors. "After the first time you healed me directly... I think, and from the way that she is speaking it's perfectly clear that this is more a know than a think, so she must cherish the memory, "The first request on this list was to see my birthmark better..." Her voice trails away, the blush having spread to the arm that is around his chest.
She smiles at him, then her eys return to the music, the fingers of her right hand moving as if already considering the actions needed to play the melody. "Need a while, don't want to risk playing something like this without study. Wish I could hear it first."
She looks up at him, "Plus, privacy. I don't know what reaction..." She blushes.
As the wagons are being shaken down from their trip across the water, Rhost wanders over to Zaiobe. "What happened with..." Rhost again makes the sign to ward off the evil eye "...the bird?"
As the wagons are being shaken down from their trip across the water, Rhost wanders over to Zaiobe. "What happened with..." Rhost again makes the sign to ward off the evil eye "...the bird?"
Zaiobe lays a hand on Rhost's arm.
|
Hrithik looks thoughtful, and touches Liothonae's hand. "Part of making relationships last is deference, but ideally the deference is mutual and reciprocal. Today, I defer to you to have dinner, you defer to me to order. I requested the lager, shrimp to start, and the three local specialties I showed you. Therefore, it is now my turn to defer again. How would you like us to know one another after dinner? Reading? Hiking? Resting? Touring? Something else?"
Sense Motive (Liothonae - why the suppressed anger?):
Diplomacy (convey respect):
** spoiler omitted **
"Oh yeah," he says, the sunny smile in his voice, cherishing the same memory. "That was... quite a night. Wouldn't mind a look at that birthmark again."
A gentle hand through her hair: "We've actually been marking things off that list at quite a pace. Before your third test, Reta gave me a list of things that I could request, the bulk of which was, frankly terrifying. I went with what I did because of a comment you made about not being feminine and pretty. So I wanted to make you feel like that. And I wanted to see you in lingerie."
"Right! Of course. I'll leave you to it." Alaric is half out of the wagon before turning, kisses her deeply, and finally scampering out to give her time to rehearse.
Zaiobe lays a hand on Rhost's arm.
"Okay," Rhost says. "This forest?"
"Okay," Rhost says. "This forest?"
She pulls up slightly so that she can look down with a happy smile, "We have?" And then, because curiosity is the bane of cats, "Reta has a list?"
"I thought you might find these useful," she says.
The package contains 5 thistle arrows and 5 flight arrows.
Pause. "Reta's list. Oh boy. Reta's list..." Alaric has to muster up some courage. "She either has an incredible working knowledge of what's out there or she has more experience than a lot of working girls. Not all of it was frightening, but it's a little troubling when you realize that someone like Reta is so much more... worldly than you thought she could be."