"If I had to guess, most of my animals come from Nirvana or Elysium; there's definitely something celestial about them. The Hounds and their kin are obviously from Heaven, and in particular, our family's been working with Elvis, Presley, and Rover for centuries. Meeting them back at Hook Mountain certainly helped me recover after all that slaughter at the Fort. In theory, I have other creatures from other planes, but I never really bother."
Setsuna sits down next to Rilee.
"So how do you personally keep it open so consistently? I thought the secret was stress, but I've since learned that stress can both hamper or help my focus. For example, when I fought Lamatar, my ace-in-the-hole was Lantern Archons, but I was so worried about losing that I choked the one time I tried summoning them in bulk. However, against Jaagarth, when I was barely functional, I was able to call in Eagles by the cart load with minimal effort."
"...Hi," the Oracle says awkwardly when she finds him in an at least somewhat private setting. "So... are you feeling better? Rilee tells me that you were hurt very badly. I'm sorry I wasn't over sooner, but Father Zantus insisted that he could heal you himself."
The Oracle shifts her lips around awkwardly.
"...Healing you in a pinch is difficult, isn't it?"
Rilee's mouth twists as she considers. "Well, what works for me is to try and grab mated pairs. I don't know if that'll help your dilemma, but anytime there's a connection between the creatures it makes the summoning easier."
The giant captive is summarily executed for his crimes against the town, for once Mayor Deverin not batting an eye at agreeing with the punishment. Rumors spread that this is because the giants had captured her cousin as one of their prisoners, prior to his rescue by the Rangers.
As you approach the building itself, it appears to be empty. A wooden placard hangs from the door that reads "Closed Until Furthur Notis," and the door and windows are boarded up from the inside.
Having a sudden hunch about what is probably awaiting her inside, Setsuna decides to just avoid any the nonsense; she quickly tracks down the entire party to tell them what she found and then heads back to City Hall and reports her findings.
"Everyone missing is in the Fatman's Feedbag. I have no idea why, but this spell rarely lies. It's boarded up from the inside, so I figured that it'd be best if I gathered the whole band and informed the proper authorities before doing something silly like sneaking in myself."
After getting nowhere with her tracking, Rilee was glad for the news, although it didn't exactly make her feel better. "How do you think we should proceed? Sneak in, or just smash our way in? I can get pretty small as an animal nowadays. I don't think they'll notice another mouse. Well, in a suspicious sense."
"...That's a good idea," says Setsuna. "As much as I feel like smashing down the door, it would probably be better for us to have an idea of why so many seemingly random people ended up in one seemingly random spot."
Zoli's heart starts racing at Setsuna's news. "And...does your spell tell you if they're still alive?
"I think a little mousy reconnaissance is a great idea. Otherwise, from the sound of Setsu's report, I doubt there's any exterior lock to pick so we may well need to batter our way in. The thought makes me nervous though. I don't know why someone would keep Xamarath and Ameiko and the rest captive--or who's tough enough to do so--but I worry what happens in there once they start hearing us battering outside.
"Either way though, let's go!"
Setsuna nods at Zoli's remarks.
"Locate Creature specifically targets the living. While searching for... the deceased, I used Locate Object. The fact that I was able to detect every missing person means that they were all alive. As for picking a lock, that probably won't work. The place was boarded up from the inside."
Rilee presses her lips tightly and gives a tight nod. "All right. I'm sure I can find a way in being that small. Olympus will stay with you and I'll come out before I do anything. I know how to create a stir, so if something happens, you'll know."
She gives Setsuna and Zoli a quick hug, administering a slight static shock in the process, then jogs to the store. She shrinks down into the form of a mouse just before she gets within eyesight and scurries up to the building's foundation. She works her way into the structure and begins exploring.
Zoli stands outside, as close as she thinks she can without attracting attention (ideally on a side where all windows are boarded up so where visibility looks minimal).
She offers suggestions to the others on where to stand unobtrusively as well.
Morythine feels a little confused to find Setsuna seeking him out. On first meeting, the half-elf had intrigued the dhampir, and if he was honest with himself, he’d been attracted to the beautiful woman. But in Magnimar and at Turtle Ferry she’d seemed cold and suspicious, and the monk had chosen to cleave to Eugeni and Zoli, whose companionship he trusted without reservation.
Swallowing his misgivings, Morythine shrugs and answers Setsuna’s question:
"...Healing you in a pinch is difficult, isn't it?"
“I’m a dhampir, as you know. That means I’m cursed, and the gods refuse to bless me with their healing touch. I stand with one foot in the land of the living, and the other in the realm of the dead. Though recent events might suggest the former foot wants to follow the latter.”
As their conversation rolls on a little, Morythine’s recent confrontation with Father Zantus compels him to ask, “I don’t really understand your faith Setsuna. From whence does your power come?”
At Fatman’s Feedbag
“So bring me up to speed here,” Morythine asks to no-one in particular. “Some of those we thought captured in the raid appear to be being held here, according to our divinations? And there might be some connection to whoever caught and slew the red dragon?”
Once he’s gotten an answer, Morythine does a circuit of Fatman’s Feedbag. When out of view of the others, he casts detect undead and directs the spell towards the building.
Ki points: 6 remaining
Channel energy: 3 remaining
Spells:
2nd Blindness (domain), Hold Person, Lesser Restoration
1st Detect Undead, Magic Stone, Obscuring Mist (domain), Sanctuary
Orisons Bleed, Guidance, Mending, Stabilize
Rilee pauses before she goes mousy and stares at Morythine with wide eyes. "I didn't voice that thought, but yes, I had considered there might be a connection. Five missing townsfolk; five sets of prints around the dragon's picked-over carcass that came from town. But I couldn't follow the tracks in the streets."
She furrows her brow as she looks at Mory for a minute more, then shakes her head, clearing it of whatever confusion was there. Focused again on the seemingly abandoned store, she shapes into a mouse and scurries off.
The Fatman's Feedbag isn't much more than a large shack located along the docks at Sandpoint Harbor. Even through the snow you can all see that the building is in need of attention and repair.
Outside the Feedbag, Rilee returns to her aasimar form, rubbing her tailbone and wincing. She looks at Morythine, Zoli and Setuna with a serious expression. "Four men have them prisoner. They're all in the basement. The captives, behind a hidden wall. The men spoke of having a boss, and plans for the women. Something about changing them." She frowns. "One of the men was big. Well, they all were in retrospect, because I was a mouse."
After a pause, she sniffs the air. "Oh, and I smelled dragon blood there, so we've also possibly found the missing pieces of the dragon."
"...Two entities. I openly worship Desna; she directly provides me with at least half of my powers and a lucky streak so amazing that I should be dead a hundred times over by now. I feel like I've... spoken to her in my dreams, but I really can't confirm that for certain.
"In private (though I admittedly slip up sometimes), I worship a being known as Azathoth. He is an entity of the Dark Tapestry. He sleeps eternally, and his dreams influence reality and existence. His might is near... or perhaps truly absolute. Some say that his dreams are in fact reality. However, unlike most other deities, he lacks a central philosophy or ideology. He just exists. For comparison, I'd say he's very similar to Neyths, except much older, immensely more powerful, and a bit harder to truly grasp. I would say that my... meaner abilities come from him.
"Ironically, I don't need actually praise them or anything. I was born with my power. It's in my bones. I could swear my loyalties to Shelyn and Asmodeus tomorrow, and I'd still keep all my gifts and curses."
Setsuna looks away sheepishly.
"...I'm sorry for all those times I tried to heal you. It took a while until someone explained why belting you with positive energy was bad idea. As for a healing touch, I... can't argue with you there. I do know that some deities offer both negative and positive energy to their followers, and these deities aren't exactly 'evil' either. Off the top of my head, Abadar, maybe Pharasma, Irori, Nethys. If you became a holy man of any of them, you could probably start healing yourself with their power, and very few people would care. Alternatively, since it is sorcerer magic like what you wield, you could start carrying around a wand of Infernal Healing. It'd be much more cost effective in those potions of Inflict Light Wounds."
Setsuna looks away sheepishly.
"...Sorry for being preachy. It's just... after seeing you have so many brushes with death in the last month, I guess I finally realized that... I've been needlessly cold toward you. And I regret that! You've been with Zoli and Eugeni through so much, so... I should have been nicer to you from the start."
The Oracle pauses.
"...And for that, I apologize."
Zoli sighs with relief as Rilee reemerges and turns back into her angelic form. "Well it's good to get confirmation that they're alive. Koya is one of the sweetest, most grandmotherly people you'll ever meet. And of course Hannah and Rynshinn are good people too.
"Did you see a way in? Or could you go back in all mousy and then open one of the doors for us?"
"I did manage to unlatch the trap door when I squeezed out. It's behind the bar. The upstairs is empty."
She whistles a couple times and Olympus hops closer to her. She nuzzles him for a moment. "You're going to have to stay outside, big guy. You can watch the door."
She then turns to the others. "If you want, I can get back in easily enough, and probably without them seeing me. But I don't know. Something about them makes me want them to know we're coming. Though I don't know for certain what they're doing, I have the feeling I won't like it."
Setsuna grits her teeth.
Enough is enough!
"Rilee, how do we get to the basement?"
Upon getting the answer, the Oracle conjures her Shadow Armor and then casts Ironskin on all her allies . She casts Abundant Ammunition on one of Eugeni's quivers and then Blesses her team.
"I'm going to destroy the door with a spell. It won't make any noise. As for a plan... Rilee, sneak in first as a mouse again, and distract them with tigers. Those things can kill stone giants, so they can probably handle these bastards. Everyone else, lock and load. When we hear the tigers roar, we storm down there and finish this."
Unless someone strongly objects to her plan, knowing that the enemies are in the basement, Setsuna casts Paragon Surge to grab Sands of Time and decays the wooden door. After also neutralizing enough boards to make a hole for the party to crawl through, she then uses her Ring to vanish from sight and heads inside.
5th - 0/4
4th - 1/6
3rd - 6/8
2nd - 5/8
1st - 3/8
Rilee nods at Setsuna's determination, but then frowns in thought. "Tigers may not leave much left of them. If we're to figure out who their boss is, then maybe I should try a different tact. What do you think of me summoning an orgy of satyrs?"
Despite being obviously angry, Setsuna pauses for a long few seconds. She lets out a sigh and then looks at the ground before closing her sea blue eyes in resignation.
"...That sounds like a better idea. Fine. Try Satyrs first. Part of me still want the tigers, though."
Rilee smiles brightly at Setsuna. "Right. Satyrs first, then tigers."
She turns to face the Feedbag, but before she shifts again into a mouse, Rilee pauses and turns back around. She gives Setsuna a firm embrace and looks her in the eyes. "A bheith ar a suaimhneas, gariníon," she says in a voice that sounds as if echoing from a distant time.
"Be at ease, Granddaughter"
She quickly releases the oracle and shrinks down to become a mouse once more. She scurries off back into the decrepit bar and finds the small gap in the floorboards. Dropping down once again into the basement, she begins the complex ritual of squeaks and paw gestures to open the portal into the First World, bringing about satyrs into this plane.
When she finishes, she immediately resumes her aasimar form, saying in a hushed whisper, "Yn gyflym, rydym yn Angen swyn y dynion yn yr ystafell nesaf. Defnyddiwch eich pibellau!"
"Quickly, we need to charm the men in the next room. Use your pipes!"[/b]
As the satyrs ready their pipes, Rilee moves to the door and throws it open. She steels her mind against the music of the fey, initially concerned that the tunes would similarly affect her. But even though the music caresses her and entices, something in her new nature keeps her from succumbing.
Setsuna begins to work her magic on the door and boards as Rilee returns to the form of a mouse and scampers off through the tavern once more. The wooden planks dissolve away into piles of rot and mulch before your eyes.
Rilee scurries back into the basement and completes her summoning, and as she whispers her instructions to the momentarily disoriented satyrs, the creaking of footsteps on the wooden floor above brings the conversation of the men in the next room to a hurried end.
The plan settling into their heads, the satyrs take the cue and quickly begin playing their haunting melodies as the step into the main chamber of the basement.
The men all begin to rise and grab their weapons, but soon enough their initial hostility melts away to smiles and tapping feet to the tune the fey are playing. The large man seemed the most resistant to the magics at work, but falls sway only moments behind the rest.
As the rest of the group make their way down the ladder into the basement, the satyrs all move up and join their new "friends" at the table, patting them on the back and initiating some friendly banter. Morythine, Setsuna, Eugeni, and Zoli each make their way into the room to the unorthodox scene.
The satyr beside the big man laughs at something before turning his head back to the group and asks, "So, my lovely friends, what would you like to do with these good men, eh?"
"How about you have one of them open the secret door to fetch the ladies, while the rest pass their weapons to you. Then they can explain their actions," Rilee says. "I'm very interested in learning who their boss is."
The satyr looks back to the big guy and says, "Whatcha think, big guy? Think one of these fellas could go and open the door and show us all what is back there?"
The big man nods and looks to the guy beside him and slaps him on the arm with a backhand, "Go get the girls, let 'em see the merchandise."
The man to his left stands and walks over to the row of kegs along the south wall near the torch. He reaches behind them and works some sort of lever, and then easily rolls the kegs away. Then he walks over and twists the torch in its sconce, causing the secret door to open with a puff of air enough for a man to open it normally.
As they walk, the satyr adds "Mind if we see those swords? They look very well made!"
The men braggingly remove their swordbelts and hand them to the fey. "My my. Yes indeed, some of the finest blades I've ever laid eyes on, wouldn't you say, darling?" the satyr adds as he hands them over to Rilee.
As the men's weapons are collected, the one who went into the secret chamber comes back, preceded by Hannah, Rynshinn, and Koya, the three missing women. Each are bound and gagged, their faces stained with tears.
"So, my friend, who runs this fine operation you have going for yourselves here?" the satyr asks.
"We...we work for the Sczarni. They the ones who give us our pay through their field man here," the big man says, obviously somewhat reluctant to talk about it, but compelled by the magic at work.
"Ah, a professional organization it is? And who is their field man you report to?" the satyr pushes.
The man shakes his head. "Can't say, or else we won't get paid."
Rilee has a pleasant if saccharine smile on her face while her satyrs manipulate the men. She accepts the swords with wide-eyed approval, then passes them along to Mory and Setsuna.
Rilee's heart freezes when she sees the state of the women who are brought out. A sick feeling crawls across her flesh, as her skin gives off tiny sparks. She glances quickly to the others and gives a quick nod.
Her smile returns, this time cruel and menacing rather than sweet and fake, as the men talk about their business.
"Suggest this to them: that they let these ladies go," she instructs the satyrs. Then she begins chanting and gesturing softly to bring about more allies to replace her satyrs who are about to fade.
The satyr nods with a sly grin and a wink, and relays the command and suggestion on to Gressel. He agrees and turns to his men and gives the order, who get up and move to help unbind the women.
The one who went to retrieve the women sets to unshackling their hands, releasing Rynshinn and Koya. However, as the magic that summoned the satyrs fade, sending them back from whence they came, so too does the enchantments they had woven with their pipes.
The tigers appear before the enchantments fade, and their lips curl back in snarls at the men as the magic ensorcelling them wears away. Three of them drop immediately to their knees in surrender, Gressel included. The man who had retrieved the prisoners, however, snatches Hannah by the head and neck and calls out, "No no no! I won't be goin' ta jail! You or your damned cats make so much as a move and I snap her neck!"
Thanking Desna for the foresight to use her Ring ahead of time, the invisible Setsuna rapidly spawns her inky wings, closes the distance between herself and the hostage situation, and casts a protective spell on Hannah.
Suddenly, the random thug finds himself unable to hurt the poor woman.
Setsuna then calls out in Thassilonian for someone to quickly neutralize the random thug.
Suddenly losing his last line of defense, with tigers glaring at him ready to pounce, and the renowned heroes of Sandpoint staring him down, he throws up his hands and joins his comrades on his knees.
__________
Now that the men are subdued and sufficiently cowed, Rilee steps up to one, leaning in close. "Now that you needn't concern yourself about getting paid, you can tell us who your boss is. What were his plans with these women? How was he planning to change them?"
She smiles. "Yes, I overheard your conversation. Although I'm still thinking too much like a man to find anything flattering in your comments about me." She furrows her brow. "Or am I thinking like a woman in being disgusted?"
Shaking her head to clear the confusion, Rilee continues. "Anyway, you clearly are aware of me, so you know what sort of company I keep. If you wish to take a ride in my roc's talons, remain silent. Or, you can talk and remain safely on the ground."
Setsuna decloaks and escorts Hannah to safety. Afterward, she floats over to Gressel and says one word.
"Talk."
Gressel grits his teeth as the, compared to him, minuscule woman threatens him. However, their reputation does in fact precede them, and he sighs and hangs his head. "Jubrayl. Jubrayl Vhiski. He's the head of this gang."
Eugeni walks over and kicks Gressel once in the jaw. "Trash..." he mutters angrily.
"Answer the questions! What were his plans with these women? How was he planning to change them?"
Rubbing his jaw, glaring angrily at the orc, he forces himself to avert his eyes back to Setsuna. "He wanted ta open his own brothel. Always wanted a piece o' Pixie's Pussy, but Kaye won't give him a cut. So he figured he could cut into the business his own way. I dunno what all he intended for these girls, but I know it involved magic and other means to keep me from talking or being recognized."
For a moment, Rilee stands shocked. "How-- how could you be okay with that? How could ANY of you go along with that?"
She fumes for a short time, mind whirling, remembering past lives, male, female, noting the acute absence of that former appendage. Suddenly, the eyes of the men on her becomes sickening. "I-- I have to go."
She rushes upstairs and outside the Feedbag into the night.
Clearly disgusted by what she just heard, Setsuna calls after Rilee, "Get Hemlock and the guards!"
Zoli feels sickened to see Sandpoint itself--her own neighbors--acting like this...and even so breathes a sigh of relief when the tigers fade out without harming anyone. No more bloodshed in Sandpoint today...especially not neighbors killing neighbors...
The thought of neighbors brings Xam back into her head with a flash. "And what about Xamarath. And Ameiko. Honest now, do you have any idea where they are?!?"
Rilee steps outside, deciding to take action and avoid her whirling, confused emotions for the time being. She whistles and clucks to Olympus, who spreads his great wings and gives his head a shake.
"Just a quick trip across town," she tells him as she climbs onto his back. They are soon aloft and in a matter of minutes they are at Sheriff Hemlock's quarters. Olympus screeches once as they land, and Rilee dismounts, rushes over to the door and pounds heavily.
"Sheriff!" she summons. "You and some guards are needed at the Feedbag. We've found the three missing women, and caught the men who had kidnapped them. Not giants at all, but worse. The rest of the Rangers are watching them."
She offers whatever other details Hemlock requires to convince him, to get him and his men on their way. As they are about to leave, she calls out to him. "Sheriff? Could you tell me where Jubrayl Vhiski would be this time of night?"
Eugeni turns to leave with Rilee, his face a mask of stony anger. He remembers his youth in the Varisian caravan. He remembers his father's Szcarni cousins and uncles coming around their wagon and laughing at him bound up with the hounds, taunting him, pelting him with stones. He remembers the pain, and thoughts of justice are replaced with a white hot thirst for revenge. Revenge for himself, and revenge for the girls who like he used to be were too weak to stick up for themselves. He sprints along the ground under Olympus, following his mistress. He stands silently behind Rilee as she makes her inquiry, a deadly shadow. For once his bow lies forgotten strapped to his back. His hands are too busy clenching into bone-creaking fists to reach for it.
Not wanting the thugs to get any ideas, Setsuna evacuates the women as soon as she gets the chance. Considering how Mory easily thrashed a presumably experienced Black Arrow officer and how Zoli has bested several foes much larger than her, the two of them are more than enough to hold down the fort until the authorities arrive. Relocating the woman to safety is probably the first step in a long road to recovery and a way to avoid another hostage situation.
Setsuna stays with them as long as she is needed and heals any injuries that the ladies might have.
Once she is relieved of her self-imposed duty, the Oracle sits down and begins to contemplate the status of her life.
Five Days Later...
Summoning training with Rilee does wonders emotionally for Setsuna. Being able to bond with an grandparent reminds her of much happier days back in Kyonin. It takes the better part of five days, but eventually, Setsuna finds herself able to consistently summon at least two critters per casting. At times, she even gets four creatures. As it would turn out, Elvis, Presley, and Rover have a fourth member of their little troop!
Meanwhile, things with Zoli have been... awkward at best. The former seems quite lost and uncertain. True, the same probably applies with Eugeni, but his mind seems more set on who he favors in their little... complicated relationship triangle, and Setsuna does not sleep in the same house as him each night.
Moreover, constantly training with the individual who also happens to be Zoli's former mother constantly reminds her of a certain Halfling.
Setsuna is surprised that Zoli is still functioning so well. Between two brutal attacks on her hometown, the horrors of Hook Mountain, the murder of her father, and her best friend ruining her relationship, life has not been kind to Zoli in the last few months. However, all of that is clearly starting to take its toll. The poor Halfling barely seemed willing to get out of bed some days.
...Meanwhile, objectively speaking, my life has only gotten better.
There had been a thought lingering in the back of Setsuna's mind for a while. The more Zoli has spoken about her father, the more the Oracle realized that Mr. Tileani had been taken before his time. True, he had raised Zoli to adulthood, but he had never watched her live her life. He would never met his grandchildren. He would never have a chance to make it big in Theater. And perhaps most tragically, it would be a very long time before his wife joined him in the afterlife (if ever).
In a sense, similar logic probably applied a few dozen times over for the many deceased people of Sandpoint.
...If we had pressed forward to Sandpoint instead of Crying Leaf, Mom might have been able to save him. She can raise the dead. Wouldn't do much good now, though. He's been deceased for months.
Setsuna feels a ping of guilt.
...How many would still be alive if I had used my gold to hire some elite mercenaries? Or if I had encouraged to group to intercept the giants and whittle them down with skirmish tactics?
In the back of her mind, at the rate things were going, Setsuna knew that she was getting increasingly closer to her next power spurt. Not even six months ago, she was barely half of her mother's might. Nowadays, between everything she had drawn from the Dark Tapestry, the gap was nearly closed.
...Unlike Raise Dead, Resurrection covers multiple decades; it can be cast well over a century later, her mother's voice randomly echoes through her mind. One of her many lessons on the nature of divine magic. Unlike the former, all you need is a drop of blood or a single hair.
A thought dances around her mind.
The Oracle spawns her wings and tumbles off the roof she was perched on.
It takes her the better part of the day to track down Zoli.
Setsuna takes a deep breath.
"...From what you told me, it sounded like your father had a lot that he still wanted to accomplish. For instance, he never saw his plays published. More importantly, I feel like he was taken from you much too soon. We usually think otherwise, but... in our world, death isn't always final. It takes powerful, powerful magic, but if the soul is willing, it can sometimes be undone. I know that he went to a great place, but... you're still here, Zoli, and in a sense, your mother is too. Combined everything else he wanted to achieve, I think that he might want a second chance, if nothing else, to see you again."
Setsuna takes another deep breath.
"Even if give some of it to Sandpoint for rebuilding, when we defeated Mokurmian, we will probably have make a king's ransom. Additionally, my powers seem to grow stronger each week. It is only a matter of time before I pluck the secret of life and death from the Dark Tapestry. When that time comes, Zoli, would you... want me to... Would you like to see your father again?"
The thug shakes his head, "Dunno where the Red Wizard and his b*%*@ went."
Several minutes later, Hemlock and some guards arrive and take the men into custody. He had given Rilee and Eugeni directions to Jubrayl's house before leaving, and the pair quickly locate the humble abode. The place is in shambles, with several drawers emptied haphazardly, clothes strewn about, and a large pile of smoldering ash of burnt scrolls and documents in the fireplace...
Rilee takes a quick survey of the ransacked scene, then steps back outside. "Eugeni, you're welcome to ride," she says softly. Then she drops to all fours as her form enlarges and gray-black fur bursts forth. In the form of a dire wolf, Rilee puts her nose to the ground and begins to track for Jubrayl.
Morythine tags along with his companions, a little disappointed their investigation hasn’t led to finding his missing friend Xamaroth.
The dhampir was rather hoping Setsuna’s method of worship might be as questionable as his own, but by the end of her explanation he just feels confused.
. . . get a wand of infernal healing
“I would do, but I haven’t the coin. Besides, I don’t think I’d find such a thing here in Sandpoint; especially now.”
. . . apologise
“It’s good to feel we’re friends at last.”
Zoli goes looking for her companions and finds Setsuna just as the oracle decides she's confident that Hannah, Rynshinn, and Koya are going to be OK.
As they stand outside, Zoli mumbles a bit. "I, uh...Setsu, it's going to really weird for me for a while. You and Eugeni. The way that happens in the great plays...that's not the character I want to be. I'm...I think you two'll be happy, I just...I want things to be still the same only I'm not sure they can be. Not right now.
"And we can talk about it, but right now there's something way way more important. Your spell--that should've found Xamarath and Ameiko, right? I'd assumed it did but I misunderstood and now they're the only ones still missing. I wonder if there's something in those catacombs that captured them, and is shielding them from being discovered?
"I'm tempted to go down and look for clues down there but first I want to ask around to see if we can find any witnesses from the catacombs: who saw them last? Can you...you're so good at making folks feel at ease"--Zoli looks a bit pained, discussing Setsu's charms--"Could you help me ask around?"