"He's obviously good with that blade. More than any of us, for sure. He'd make a better ally than enemy."
Rexus' eyes were fixed on the leg, frozen solid and stuck fast to the dock still in a standing position. "R-right... Erm, we should get moving to er... The uh... L-long..."
"The coffeehouse?" supplied Gremlin.
Rexus gulped and steeled himself. "Quite. Come along, friends."
The trip to the coffee house was easy enough. Some guards were hustling about but between the knowledge of Mira and Gremlin there always seemed to be somewhere to hide close at hand. The Longroads coffee shop was warm and cozy, it's owner already awake and firing up the ovens for the breakfast bread and pastries. The busy little Halfling ushered you in, introduced herself as Laria Longroads, and hustled you all toward the bunkroom in one breath, with promise to make proper introductions after the breakfast rush.
The bunkroom was pleasant if a little utilitarian. Each bed had a soft matress, blankets, and a footlocker. Two full size tubs were in the adjacent washroom already filled with piping hot water. Shortly a hulking, dark skinned man knocks on the door. He brings an offering of breakfast, including fresh cinnamon buns the size of dinner plates and warm tea.
"Ah Amara, it would seem someone heard your prayers. I'll let you and Mira get baths first. I need to begin my....work."Alexis yawns a bit and begins to set up some books and such for the transcribing, before she is interrupted by the knocks. Once she sees the food she makes a soft coo of a noise.
"This.....Is this free? How much does this cost?"Alexis asks nervously, her hunger defiantly getting to her but her lack of funds (at least until we sell stuff) are keeping her from scarfing this down immediately.
"Miss Laria said you was her guests and to treat you nice. Food's on the house." The big man's speech was simple and slow, but the huge smile that alighted his ebony face was as gregarious and endearing as anything one could have said. "Just give a shout if I can help ya. Most folks jus call me big fella, BiF for short." And with that he turned to head back downstairs.
Alexis watches as she man leaves and fills a bit.
"What a saint........" Alexis says that as she raises the giant cinnamon bun to her mouth and takes an unreasonably large bite.
Sore.
Mira's sore all over and it's harshing her more than anything else, even as she stares at the ugly-arse raven that she got from down below. It's a tchotchke, sure, but it's hers and she likes it. The bun earlier was good eats, though, and a bath felt wonderful after all the ick, and to be completely honest none of them had even been hit the entire time, but... still.
She's sore, and paranoid, and this is not a good day to be Mira because of it. Her niggling doubts are being niggled at now that she has time to properly ruminate about the weirdness of it all.
Lemures at the bottom of an area where the Silver Ravens stayed, with chains charged with ether up there that dealt them damage... something tried summoning them recently enough that the Lemures weren't sent back due to the spell ending, but it wasn't one of Thrune's guys since there had been things still to find. A freelance diabolist? That didn't make sense, there would have been signs of a spellcaster or something down there.
Come to think of it, there was the one nest that seemed to be for a creature, off the beaten path and away from the communal hive the rest of them stayed in. Maybe that thing was sentient, and tried summoning devils itself?
But then, where did it go? They hadn't actually fought anything that could talk back. That's why killing them wasn't a big deal. It couldn't have escaped, there weren't signs of a struggle before they got there...
Something wasn't adding up, and anyone standing outside Mira's door get to hear her sudden "AAAAARGH, WHO CARES?!" before the door slams open and she storms out of the room. "I'm going to wander around Jarvis End! I need to clear my head or listen to some pretty girl talk about stuff nobody understands or... or somethin', geez."
She doesn't feel like shelling out for a ferry... but her feet wind up leading her to a familiar pile of ashes.
It wasn't her favorite bar. Her favorite bar's now serving as the vault for the church of Abodar and their little bank. But it was a moderately distant second. Ah--that reminded her. She needed to do the accounting and figure out who had what, who wanted what, and where everything would go.
Another time. She was busy.
Well, since she's here anyways... Time to root through the remains of a building to see if there's anything useable left over...
Clues. She means clues. She's searching for clues to who burned it down. Not loot. Clues. But if she finds loot by accident...
Amara graciously accepts the bun and tea as she sets about removing her armor. As tired and sore as she is, she makes sure to clean the accumulated gunk out of the joints and recesses. It's part practicality (nobody wants their armor to fail at a critical moment) and part reverence. She may no longer be a member of House Cassano, but she damn sure isn't going to disrespect her ancestral relics.
As she finishes, she neatly stows the armor in the footlocker by her chosen bed. As she stands up, she looks down at her clothes.
"It'd be easier just to burn the damn things and be done with it."
She sighs heavily and wanders out in search of Biff. She spots him from across the room and waves him over, not wishing to disturb the other patrons.
As he approaches, she leans in.
"Any chance that there's a spare set of clothing about my size lying around? I fear these ones have seen their last days."
"I don't think you could squeeze into somethin' of miss Laria's and that just leaves mines." Biff looks at his own size in comparison to Amara's. She is by no means a small woman, but still, Biff's tunic would be the size of a party dress on her. The man looked close to seven feet tall.
Amara nods and smiles weakly.
"It was worth a shot. Thanks anyway, Biff."
She pats him on the shoulder and returns to the bunkroom. She removes a bundle of cloth carefully wrapped in oiled leather from her pack and steps into the washroom.
She sighs and stretches as she strips off her disgusting clothing, piling them as carefully as possible so as not to make a huge mess of their benefactor's establishment. She eases into the tub and sets about scrubbing away the grime of the last few days. By the time she finishes, the water is a cloudy brown-grey color.
She drains the tub, making certain that the walls aren't covered in a film of what's going down the drain, and then refills it with clean hot water. She settles into the tub again, this time more slowly as the water hasn't yet had the opportunity to cool like it had before, and leans her head back. She closes her eyes and breathes deeply, recounting the events since the protest.
Things have gotten a lot more complicated than I thought. I wonder how the Flames are doing. I'll have to make contact once I get back on my feet with these girls here. Which, by the way, was an unexpected thing to happen. I mean, Mira has a knack for getting into trouble and I have a knack for getting out of it, but I don't think either of us have ever gotten others caught up in whatever was going down. I don't want to be responsible for upsetting the apple cart in their lives...
She sighs heavily again.
"Shit."
She shakes her head and gets out of the tub, draining it again. She does her best to dry off, shaking the water out of her short hair and running her fingers through it to make it at least lie flat. She eyes the bundle of cloth indecisively before shrugging and opening it up.
Inside is a soft velvet dress in a dark purple color. Delicate black lace decorates sleeves with an accompanying black lace gorget and it cinches with a corset lacing at the back. Tied to one of the laces is a silver ring bearing the imprint of a poppy cradled in the soft curve of a crescent moon.
She carefully unties the signet and slips it on her finger. It fits as well as it ever did. She raises her eyebrows and offers silent thanks that she hadn't grown enough body mass to outsize it. She holds out her hand to admire the signet. Now that she really examines it, she sees that it's a bit tarnished. She feels a pang of guilt before closing her eyes and shaking her head.
It isn't you anymore. Amaranta Fortunata Cassano no longer exists. Just Amara.
She tries and fails to hold back the few tears that have risen unbidden to her eyes. She wipes them away with the back of her hand and sniffles, softly laughing at her girlish sentimentality. She takes a deep breath and begins to pull on the dress. It fits a bit more snugly than it did when she was younger, but it only serves to accentuate her musculature.
Gods, I was a big child. It's hard to believe that I was about this size five years ago.
She settles the dress on her shoulders and flattens the lace against her skin before realizing that there's no way she can cinch the corset lacing by herself. She puts her head in her palm briefly before calling into the bunkroom.
"Could one of you come in here and help me with something? It won't take long."
There's almost nothing left of the Thrashing Badger. The back half of the building fell entirely through the boardwalk. The scorch marks abruptly stop a few feet from where the building once was. Hey... Fire doesn't just stop in a line like that. someone specifically doused the fire before it got to the next building...
Speaking of the next building, there is a girl standing next to the door, a barmaid, by her looks, and a large part of the reason you ever went to the raucous Thrashing Badger by her... other looks. "M-Mira?"
Mira quickly turns her head when she hears her name.
"Oh, hey there..."
"Oh, me? My name is..." 'Wow those are some thighs. And the way she carries those cups is something worthy of admiration. If she's not careful they'd spill out all over her...'
Damn you, past Mira. Damn you and your stupid, stupid obsession with cute girls and the part where you can't even remember their names. Oh well, it's fine. Just play it cool. You got this.
"...you! It's been a while! Just figured I'd take a look around and see what was going on since the place got torched. How's it been in... you-land?" She asks with an awkward chuckle, grinning a bit too wide for it to seem natural.
The girl steps toward her, then abruptly dashes forward to hug Mira. "omygodsmiraIthoughtyouwereintherethenightitburneddownImsogladyoureokay!"
Now able to see the rather unique features adorning the stawberry blonde hair, Mira is more sure of the barmaid's name.
"Woah woah woa--" She's being hugged.
"Felicia?" THAT'S IT. That's her name! The cat ears reminded her. "I wasn't even there! You were worried? Really? Seriously, you were worried about me?"
Her tone changed drastically, as did the nature of the embrace, though it didn't relax at all. "I thought we were going to meet there that night, it's why I took the night off. I guess I owe you a thanks for that, even if you didn't show..." Felicia winks.
A thousand thoughts screech through Alexis's head as she glances through her stuff. What where the baddies summononing? How did they know of the location? Did they eliminate the silver ravens? WAS it the silver ravens? If so why? and many other such thoughts.
Well that is until her thoughts where interrupted by the sounds of Mira's shout that is. She flinches as she hears Mira storm off, peeking her head out just in time to catch her back go out the door.
"Wait where is she going? Is she alright?Did anyone else hear....that?"Alexis glances around and notices no one else seemed to react. She taps the frame of the room door on silence before huffing a bit.
"Can't let her just wander off, what if something happens!"Alexis turns heel and hides the important papers and such in the room, neatly anf inconspicuasly,before casting presdigitation on herself to get the rotten smell off.
Hmmm Cherries? I can never understand why I smell like different fruit when I do that.....wait who cares after her!"
After de-stinkifying herself Alexis gathers her bag with her spellbook and Runs outside.....only to realize that her faffing about has caused her to loose Mira. Alexis glances around and THINKS she catches Mira in the crowd and begins to head in that direction.
"Ah! Yes. Well. Thanks received." Bright red, Mira looks over at the ashes of the building. "It'd be really bad if someone as cute as you wound up, y'know. Extra crispy."
"The next time I feel the need to yell into the cold uncaring void of existence, I'll ask ya' to listen again."
Was I drunk? I was probably drunk. And I stood her up, great job Mira, totally smooth. This is why you shouldn't drink! DAMN YOU, PAST MIRA.
Gremlin sneezes at the casting of Alexis's spell, and promptly returns to sleep in his sunbeam.
The Mira that Alexis was following walks west, towards the Alabaster Academy. She turns to enter a shop near Villegre park and Alexis catches just enough of her face to realize that it's the wrong girl before following her inside. She looks up at the sign and, with a queasy shudder, realizes what shop it is. Luvidicus Akros, Humble merchant of fine books and scrolls the sign reads in ostentatious gold leaf.
Alexis's face churnes into a grimace as she rubs her eyes
Curse you Fake Mira.....Okay I walked pretty far in here without noticing....I don't think I see Akros anywhere... time to escape before I see that wretched man! Alexis sighs and turns, attempting to head to the door without getting noticed.
Felicia releases her grasp and smiles. "You're smoother when you drink. Speaking of, can you help me with something? I was out here with my father last night trying to recover some of the liquor that he smug- er... sold the owner. We got a few casks and such that weren't burned, but today I saw one that we missed. If you could fasten this rope down there, I have a donkey to help pull it up. I'll buy you a drink at Clenchjaw's for your trouble." She leans over the edge of the boardwalk, a distracting action in itself, and indicates a charred barrel thunking against a support beam in the water.
Note to self: always drink. ...Wait, no, that seems wrong.
She claps her hands together, nodding. "I'll go ahead and get on that, then. Anything for a free drink, right?"
Yes. Drinks. That is what she is after and she is definitely absolutely not staring at anything incriminating.
Taking the rope, she hops her way down to the barrel and goes ahead and binds it up. She's very quick to do it, making sure the thing is secure enough to be unlikely to slip out.
"Alright! Hit it!"
With a creak of the rope, the donkey hauls the barrel up and over the dock. By the time you get up there Felicia is inspecting the barrel, brushing past the char and checking for leaks. The donkey let out an impatient bray at Mira, and the catgirl looked up at her. "Hey don't stare at my ass" she says with a cheeky grin. "This is great, Irreseni Whiskey, still in the cask. I hope Baba hasn't left yet." At a look from Mira, she clarifies, "Father. Baba is the old Catfolk word for it." She smiles and sets to retying the donkey to its little cart and getting the cask on it.
The second she turns, Mira looks away with her hands in her pockets. "What? How dare you. I wasn't looking. I'd never dream of looking!"
...yeah even she can tell that one was obvious, time to change the subject immediately.
"Anyways, I believe someone owes someone else a drink, and I know you guys have some excellent taste in booze."
"Unfortunately I need to get this to the dock before my father sets off, I'll meet you at Clenchjaw's tomorrow night, okay?" she drops into a low, sultry whisper as she nears Mira's ear, "Don't stand me up this time, cutie..." And she kisses the stunned girl on the cheek before turning to leave. "I was talking about the donkey by the way, watch me leave all you like."
"I... er... yes. Right. I will do precisely that thing. Probably. Definitely. Maybe. For sure."
She has no idea if she is going to do that thing or not (for a variety of incredibly complicated reasons that basically boil down to 'something is going to go hideously wrong'), but she's sure as heck watching her leave with rapt attention.
Septima had already cleaned herself by the time, thoroughly enough to leave a soft red mark on her forearms from the force of her scrubbing. Her hair was still damp, rings of curls only just regaining their shape. She was out of her comfort zone by miles, but at least being clean in the bunkhouse felt better than the muck she had been covered in before.
She had been watching Alexis before, pointedly ignoring Mira's voice and staying right where she was at least warm(ish) and fed. Besides, her head was full enough with the events previous already, the last she needed was to wander into trouble yet again. She had barely finished mourning her parents, for gods' sake, and now she was already evading the law.
'Well. At least Mother would be proud of that much.'
Her thoughts paused at the sound of another voice. Amara. "Mmm?" She responded, shaking her damp head before standing and going over to her. What in the world did Amara need help with? Blade sharpening, or...?
"Oh, Hello Alexis!" the voice was deep and commanding. Much to Alexis's relief, however, it did not belong to Akros. The Middle Aged gentleman wore a fine suit and top hat. Ozymandias Magnus. A condescending old bastard to be sure, but he had taken a shining to Alexis a few years back, teaching her a thing or two about spell slinging (as he haughtily termed lower level magic). "What are you doing in Villegre?" he asked as he unlocked the front door to his own magic oddities shop.
Alexis jolts up like a deer spotting a lantern. Of all the people she could have run into, this was not the person she expected.
"Oh sir, I was just attempting to find a friend of mine. It seems I have lost her in the crowds. Um but that's neither here nor there at this point, how have you been! Last I saw you where attempting to show me the art of using....what was It? 'Using the mathematics of magic to fully utilize a spell?' Stuff that went over my head at the time unfortunately"
Alexis puts on a wide smile, though she can't say this meeting is happy. The last time she saw this man her father was alive, and she still had some control of her life. Now seeing him only reminds her of how much has changed, and how much is gone.
"Ah yes. Funny how the geometry of a circle can go over one's head." he says, using a gross oversimplification. "Still, going over the rudiments with you did help me regain some pieces of my own dimensional theory. Perhaps sometime you'll desire to pick up where we left off." Ah, now you remember. Part of the reason he's so hard to follow is that he lost most of his magical ability in a huge dimensional mishap some time ago attempting his Magnum Opus. Now his thoughts are a little... Broken.
As Septima rounds the corner, Amara quickly turns around in an attempt to not make eye contact. She reaches behind and holds up the laces of her dress.
"Could you...I can't do it myself, otherwise...please."
She squeezes her eyes closed and grimaces.
You could try completing a sentence, Amara.
"Ah....Well I will say the interest is there, however I have been busy as of late...Maybe I will just browse the store today?" She had always had trouble dealing with this man and his......mentality. After all dad used to say he was "All the intelligence, wrapped up in all kinds of crazy." He may have been rude to say it but Alexis has a hard time denying it at times.
Septima froze.
"Oh."
She tried to school her face into something more polite than the slackjawed expression her reaction wanted from her. 'This is not what I expected. This is definitely not what I expected to see today.'
"I see, of course." She reaches for the laces and starts to tie them neatly.
"Amara... Have you been carrying this with you the whole time?"
Amara swallows and sighs.
"For the last five years, yeah. When I first...left home...I sold off my jewelry to survive. I couldn't let go of this, though. It was a gift. From my grandmother. She died shortly after the ball it was for."
She breathes deeply.
"Anyway, not much use for a pretty dress when your day is mostly cracking skulls."
Ozzy nods and promptly buries his nose in a book. His shop has several different varieties of any kind of affordable magic item you could want, as well as a few more expensive ones in glass display cases. On a table near the door is a pamphlet detailing his signature glamouring process, the only one around that can be done without the expensive process of first enhancing the item. "Please come prepared with the cost in hand and a CONCISE description of the item and what you wish it to appear as. read the print at the bottom.
Alexis seems intruiged by most of the supplies and items on display, however she finds that her lack of funds makes the prospect of shopping impossible at this time.
"Would you mind if I grabbed a pamphlet to show my friends? I don't have much as of now but I know we would like to use the services in the future."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Septima says tactfully, though her eyes widen in surprise. A question frees itself from her lips before she can politely wrangle it back. So, you're a noble? I didn't even realize, you don't-"
Red consumes Septima's face. "Su-Sorry. I shouldn't pry into your life." She gulps, a vivd image of Ramon in her mindseye. What a great way to get to know a party member, Septima!
Amara exhales sharply.
"No, it's okay. It's not like it's a secret or anything. There's a reason people call me 'The Baroness'. I'm not actually a baroness, by the way."
As Septima finishes the tie, Amara turns around and smiles weakly at Septima.
"My full name is Amaranta Fortunata Cassano. I don't know whether they're still important, but the Cassanos have been in charge of cultivating and maintaining Lantana Park for generations."
She sits on the stool and reaches down for the velvet slippers that were meant to accompany the dress. She attempts to slip them on, but it seems at least some part of her has outgrown her former life. She shrugs her shoulders and tosses the slipper down.
"What about you? I remember the name Gallus is a highborn one, but I don't remember anything about them."
"You clean up well. Who knew?"
Septima stepped back from Amara's personal space, nodding as she moved. She bit her lip, should she say anything? No, no. Let's not throw the news of her destitute family in the face of someone who could cleave you in half with a table.
"They're...not very liked, honestly. Especially now." she smiled tightly, rocking on her heels. "My mother was a painter, professionally. You may have seen some of her portraits. ...or heard some of her impassioned speeches, maybe."
Amara drops her head a bit, barely perceptible.
"I'm not much for art. No talent and no eye for critique. I do like to listen to passionate speakers, though. It's what drew me to..."
She pauses uncomfortably.
Not the time to bring up your dead lover, Amara.
"Anyway, what kind of speeches does your mother give?"
Ozzy waves a hand as if to say "go ahead" and moves immediately into a dismissive gesture. Out of the shop and still wary of running into that snake Akros, you feel you should head back for dinner, and find no trouble doing so.
Flustered and a little stunned, Mira finds her way back from whence she came, trying desperately to figure out whether she was more excited or terrified of the potential encounter.
Rexus taps on the door. "Ahem, may I come in? Miss Longroads is just closing up and preparing supper. We shou- oh my, you look absolutely Ravishing my dear. I knew I had recognized you from somewhere. You wore a very similar dress to a ball some five years ago, yes? Erm... Lady Cassano's daughter?" His face shows pure astonishment as he enters the room.
Amara gapes briefly before regaining her composure.
"I'm surprised you recognized me. My hair was much longer then. Anyway, I left that life long ago."
Septima raises an eyebrow at Amara, a smile just barely showing on her face.
She coughs and turns to Rexus. "I'm sorry to interrupt but, you were saying, sir?"
The answer is terrified, she's going to ruin it, she ruins everything, and come on barmaids only ask people out to get drinks because they get a cut or get more tips anyways, selling booze is part of her job.
Yeah, Mira knows this one. She buys the first round, then the rest come right out of Mira's wallet. Also the food. And the entertainment. And probably a thank you, maybe a smooch...
Cute girls can't be trusted, why is she so damn bad at saying no.
By the time she gets back to the coffee shop she's muttering under her breath in an incoherent manner. The word 'doomed' keeps coming up.
Alexis sighs as she approaches the coffee shop. She lost Mira, went to her old rivals shop by mistake, for a tounge lashing from an old teacher....and only has a pamphlet to show for it....Today doesn't seem to be Alexis's dat. She enters in the coffee stop, only to see Mira grumbling to herself.
"Ah! There you are. I tried to catch up to you when you left but....lost you in the crowd. Is everything alright?"Alexis cocks her neck as she notices Mira seems quite agitated.
Her shell-shocked demeanor manages to make the phrase sound ominous.
When Laria Longroads decides to take care of someone, not many can match her in hospitality. The spread is as intimidating as it is tantalizing. Pit smoked boar and turkey, fresh veggies, baked potatoes, magically chilled drinks, and exotic tasting sweets with Katapeshi and Taldoran spices with the fine Longroads coffee for dessert. Say what you will about halflings, they know how to eat.
Laria herself is a gregarious host. She's rather normal for a hobbit, somewhat rotund, round three feet and some change, short blonde hair atop her head and feet. Through conversation you learn that she, like many halflings in Cheliax, was a slave at one point, but was freed when her master died some years ago. She confided in you that she uses the coffee shop as a front to help smuggle other people and some goods to freedom and such. Such trade brought her into contact with the sacred order of Archivists and Rexus's parents, among others.
Alexis is nodding along, taking mental notes to use this later for a memoir. After they settle this issue of course, don't need to draw attention to this establishment.
"I am sorry to hear about your unfortunate circumstances. I'm glad you were able to be free, though I wonder the circumstances of your...."masters" death....was it murder? A dramatic Rescue? Or something more mundane, like falling down the stairs......" Alexis sniffs the air as she speaks and drools a bit. After whiping the side of her lol she sheepishly asks.
"Also Is there any way I could have some of that Turkey?"
With a pained smile, Laria answers, "It was... natural causes. He was rather old." To the other request, she beams and passes a heaping pile of turkey towards Alexis.
You're suddenly quite wary of her pants, lest they spontaneously combust. And many other euphemisms relating to the fact that that was one hell of a lie.