Volcano's Land - A New Beginning

Game Master Miner Cotren

The ifrit's smell as he approaches and holds out his hand is almost overpowering. Assuming you pay He chuckles as he slides the coins around in his hand, almost caressing them. "Bring it back by nightfall or I'll report ya to the Watch. Pleasant day!" He sits down in the dirt and goes back to staring at the ground.

You can just manage to pull the cart yourself. It is slow going, and the ifrit is certainly not volunteering to help. You eventually make it back to the arena. You can bring the cart to the seating and walkways above the field, but there's no easy way to get it down onto the field itself.

Eyeing the bird, a bit puzzled, she asks "Good words...but how's it pertain to our current situation?"

Picking up the booklet, she skims the rest of the page. 'I suppose it is good to keep in mind for when we get old...'

Turning to watch Ibinu investigating the mayhem, she smiles. 'Wonder if he's found anything yet...where's that hardened woman of ours? Surely it wouldn't take this long for her to find a cart...The longer we lord over these bodies, the more suspicious we seem...especially being of the sky...'

It is fifteenth candle.

Biting the inside of her cheek to refocus away from the vile smell and the foul ifrit has to get closer to take the coins. Throwing is rude. Throwing is rude.

Slowly bringing herself and the damn cart along the road back to the arena. Setting the cart down and slowly striding back to the two sylphs. "I have the cart."

Moving to begin collecting the bodies, "I hate this vile city."

Hefting the dead oread and looking at the other two, "We need something to cover the bodies. I doubt my cloak alone will work."

Ibinu looks up as he hears Kallik speak. "Oh, that was quick. Well done." He strides over quickly and lifts a Sylph body, carrying it up to the cart. He heads back down the steps, thinking about the problem.

"Well, it would be a lot more work but would also provide a really good cover story." As he realizes his allies can't read his thoughts he adds, "we could cover the bodies with rubble. It would both hide them and give us an answer to what we are doing if we get stopped."

Confusion showing on the sylph's face, she turns to her companions, head cocked to one side. "Cover story? Rubble? What?"

After a moment passes, she shakes her head violently. "Are you intending to lie?! Surely not! If someone asks, we are servants of the Temple seeing the fallen receive proper rights."

'Why would they...Really?! First So Khong...then my friends...'

Releasing a long sigh, a smile returns to her face. "OH! You jokers! You had me for a moment there."

Giggling to herself, she lifts one of the corpse and heads towards the cart with it. "Hide the bodies...wow. I'm too gullible." mumbles Inam under her breath.

As the smaller Sylph responds incredulously to the plan, Ibinu just looks at her shocked. Responses running through his brain, each one worse then the one before.

As he is about to spit out something dumb Inam seems to convince herself the plan was just a joke and Ibinu stammers out a response, "Uh yeah, um... let's not do that plan. Ha ha, how silly of me. Of course we will be taking them to receive proper rights. That makes the most sense."

He continues to help load the bodies, thoughts bouncing through his head. So she is either crazy or incredibly naive... either way it seems her heart is in the right place and the god-given powers are useful. Plus, her plan is quite likely to be much better than hiding the bodies. We aren't exactly discreet.

When the bodies are loaded he takes his shirt and Kallik's cloak, using them to cover up parts of the bodies to preserve some of their dignity.

Shifting the weight of the dead oread in her arms and glaring at Inam then Ibinu without moving, "No that is exactly what we are doing. Considering the bigoted behavior of the locals concerning sylphs I do not feel like dealing with another riot when they see us hauling bodies."Saying her peace Kallik resuming moving the bodies.

Allowing this interesting conversation to continue!

Ibinu looks at Kallik. Looks at Inam. Looks back at Kallik. Looks like he is about to say something, but does not. Instead he goes down, sits on a pile of rubble and waits for Inam or Etrah to respond.

Taking a deep breath, Inam turns to Kallik. Gently, setting down the corpse, she looks the oread dead in the eyes. "My dear, I will NOT lie. Regardless of the circumstances and I will not stand by while others do so with my knowledge."

"It's wrong. How can we expect others to be ethical whilst we choose not to under the service of the Warrior? Be the change you wish to see!" she states plainly, immediately muttering a page number under her breath.

"We hope to prove our worth to the other elen. In your very statement, we are no worse than the ifrit...should we not strive to prove ourselves better? Should we stoop to the suspicious actions of So Khong?!" continues the divine servant, becoming more excited with each word. "I was chosen! As to why, I don’t know yet...but I do know it was NOT to be a hypocrit!"

Shaking her head, the woman visibly calms herself. "I know you are a good elen and your heart is right. This I've seen. But such things start one on a slippery slope I cannot abide. A lie here leads to another and another...eventually we become the very thing we are fighting against."

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Stopping and staring at Inam. Remaining silent though the slyphs rant. "You would rather cart those poor souls though the city and chance a riot? The cart being overturning and us being attacked?"

Stepping arms length from Inam, "You are perfectly willing to stand by and let your Warrior crush others beneath him so you will have to stand by this one too. I will not carry the dead though a city in riot. Just" jabbing a finger at Inam, "you being here started a riot and us doing this openly would do the same."

Stepping closer so that she is in Inam's personal space. "I would rather not have to hid them. The dead deserve more respect than that. They deserve more than to be hidden but without the temple carrying them then this is the best they will get. " Gesturing to the pile of corpses but not stopping, "But this city is full of elen looking for blood and you are setting yourself up for [b]slaughter."

Sucking in a breath and taking a single step backwards. Staring just over Inam's shoulder, willing the red tint of her vision to fade, "You might not be able to abide a lie but I cannot abide your pride leading you to a possible riot and all the pain that will come from it."

Crossing her arms and looking Inam in the eyes again, "This world is cruel and if I must wait here for you two to go get someone from the temple I can. Or I can take that cart myself."

Shaking her head as Kallik speaks, she somehow manages to hold her tongue till the end. "The Warrior does crush others beneath his feet! That's the blasphemous parts of Volcano!" she screams. Slapping her hand over her mouth, she looks around fearful.

Etrah stops suddenly, beak wide as he stares at Inam.

Much quieter, she continues, averting her eyes. "I'm not opposed to covering them with sheets. That would be respectful...but I can not handle burying them in rubble. I can not deal with a lie. I would risk death to save my integrity."

Glancing to the fowl she found herself relying on more and more in the search of a righteous path, she kneels. "I will say a prayer before we leave. You may travel seperate if you wish...but if it's my time to bask in Volcanos glory, I'll not shy from ot."

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Nodding her understanding, "The rubble was only brought up when I said my cloak might not cover them."

Walking over to Inam and crouching down, "And I will not walk apart from the you. I never want to do that."

Standing up and walking over to the cart and trying to arrange her cloak in the most covering manner, "Ibinu do you have a cloak?"

A shirtless Ibinu shrugs and says, "it's warm here and I didn't wake up with one. That shirt up there is about all I can spare without removing armor or going nude." With that he comes back up the steps and prepares to help push the cart.

As you make your ponderous way back to the Temple, Kallik notices...

As for the rest of you...are you planning on going to Bian first? I doubt any of you know where her mentor's quarters are (which is where she spends most of her time now), so are you one of you going to ask someone around the Temple where to go? Who will stay with the cart, and who will go looking/asking?

Ibinu will cede decisions as to whom to ask or where to go to the others in the group that have their memories. If he sees Elisa and Gianna he will point them out as the two friendly Ifrit ladies he spoke about earlier. Unless asked to speak to those two ladies he would be staying with the cart, preferably in a discreet location.

He will also point out the Undine Người kỳ lạ (aka Kee-La) if he sees him, but would suggest they avoid contact at this point.

Barely spotting the ifrit out of the comer of her eyes and mumbling, "The ifirt I rented this cart from is trailing us. But leave it alone unless he starts something."

Nodding to Kallik in understanding, she begins to consider their options.

'I'm probably the most familiar with the layout of the Temple...' she realizes suddenly.

Stopping, she looks to her companions. "When we arrive, why don't you stay with the cart and I'll see if I can locate Biann?"

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Inam - depending on how you are looking...Diplomacy if you are asking around, Perception if you are searching by yourself, or mayeb Sense Motive if you are trying to 'feel out' where different elens are going within the Temple, then give me a little RP

Upon arrival, Inam takes her leave and heads towards the temple.

'Hmm...last I saw her was in the Library...but that's been hours ago. She's officially a servant of the temple, so I imagine her quarters wouldn't be 'guest' ones like ours... OH!'

Smiling at her own genius, Inam turns sharply and heads for the massive steps to the top of the construct, Etrah flittering along in tow. Pausing as she reaches to the top of the steps, the sylph doubles over for a moment to catch her breath. While collecting her thoughts, she takes full advantage of the sight before her.

Turning back to the guards, she flashes them a smile, though her eyes are averted. "Good servants of the High One, blessed protectors in the name of Volcano. I am here to formally request an audience with Bian. Do you happen to know if she's here.?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

The guards turn and look at each other. You hear some mutterings and a snicker from a few of them. A different guard takes two steps forward. You recognize the young ifrit from your tour of the Temple with Eo a few days ago, the first time you ascended to this lofty height. With blood-red skin and resplendent shining armor, he looks every inch a soldier.

"Signora...Inam, is it not? The Ember has no guests within his Apartments at this time. However, the name you mentioned, Bian, is known to me." He gestures down the stairs with a burly arm. "May I escort you to her? I am sure my companions can safely guard the Ember as he makes his prayers to Volcano, si?"

While they wait Ibinu looks at Kallik hesitantly, then speaks, "Kallik, you seem to hate this city. This place also makes me wary. I do not know who to trust, everyone seems to be hiding something. Tell me of your homeland. Explain to me that there are in fact wonderful places in this world."

Blushing at the sudden realization of her error, she nods. "Yes, if it's not too much trouble, of course. I would appreciate your escort."

Turning to head back down the stairs, the sylph makes a bigger effort to avoid his gaze, though her reasons differ this time than normal.

"Uh, thank you. I hope this isn't too big an inconvenience." she mutters to her guide.

Etrah meanwhile seems quite happy fluttering down the steps a few at a time. Obviously enjoying the combination of the steep angle and the light breeze; not caring of Inam's plight in the least. A few high pitched chirps escape the creature as they descend.

'Is..Is Etrah laughing at me?!' she wonders, her face burning ever more.

Crossing her arms and leaning against the cart. Bracing for a long and quiet wait but Ibinu is changed. Glancing over at him, "I do hate this place. It smells bad and the elen here are miserable. There is only choked life here."

Shifting on her feet and repositioning how she is leaning on the cart before continuing, "My answer is a little mixed. My tribe was a very strict clan. Tradition and faith in the Great Forest mattered deeply to them." Gesturing towards the dark temple of Volcano with her head, "A lot like them actually, just different rules. Rules that I knew."

Glancing down at the ground, "I do not fit anywhere, I have learned this and it is fine know that I know. Oread are supposed to be like the ground. Calm and rigid. My temper alone kept me at a distance from my tribe. Makes me more like the ground that is shaking."

Lifting her head and looking Ibinu in the eyes, "But it.. It was not all bad. The forest, when you are alone, is so quiet unlike this city that never stops. The air is clear and clean. I do not remember as much fear as I have seen in this city and there was certainly less hunger. The only fire that is used is to cook with or a wildfire." Tilting her head to the side, "Did you know that here are seed that will only grow after they have passed though fire? If the undine's, slyph's, oread's and ifrit's could have worked together the world we live in would be a very different place."

Glancing back at the covered bodies, "She was odd like me, or perhaps it is a symptom of living here, but most female oread's of my tribe naturally grow flowers in there hair." Her green tinted lips pull into a smile, "Mine does not. My grand father taught me to carve, to try and temper my demeanor. He taught me to take the find the things that I found in the world and weave a story of my life into my hair."

Shaking her head, "Yeah that sounds weird. What I know of the other tribes is better. I think when you find the culture of elen who respect the Gods but do not obsess over them, that is when you would find the ideal place. Singular faith, like Inam's is safe, but you put those elen together and something strange seems to happen."

Inam, the ifrit guard smoothly takes your arm halfway down the stairs. "Scusi, signora, but this step is so often slippery in the fall and winter." He leads you to the sixth tier, to the back of the Temple. "My name is Edoardo. May I call you Inam, signora?" He has not let go of your arm, but it is a gentle hold.

After you respond, one way or another

Nearly adjacent to the back entrance of the sixth tier, Edoardo stops in front of an unadorned wooden door. "Here is Inquisitor Bian's quarters - shared with one or two others, if memory serves. Volcano's blessing to you." He smiles, then turns back. "May I dine with you this evening? You are new to town, and I would be remiss if I did not show you the delights of true fritan cuisine."

Either way, after you knock...

Bian opens the door just enough to show her face. Her smile is warm, but the door remains only half-open. "Inam, a pleasure to see you. What brings you to my quarters this day?"

"Huh? Oh, thanks." she mumbles, her scarlet cheeks betraying her. "Y-Yeah. If you wish, Inam is fine."

Silently allowing the man to lead her to the quarters, her mind wanders 'What is going on here? Is he interested in me? Or in information? I'm just a sylph though...'

Upon reaching the quarters, the man's questions startles the paladin. Etrah, just grins up at her when she looks for advice. "Sure, that...that would be nice...Edoardo, sir." she replies in a polite manner.

Glancing at his back as he walks away, she stands there dumbfounded. Not even realizing the door had opened.

Looking from the sylph to the undine, Etrah sighs. "Bawk bUckAW. Cluck, Caw." he says to the inquisitor, trying to help. Seeing a severe lack of understanding in the womans eyes, he turns and sharply pecks his charge in the ankle.

"OW! VOLCAN... Oh, dear Bian. Sorry...I was....ummm... Anyway. If you're not too busy, I have something I could use your help with outside. We found some...poor poor elen that surpass our abilities to help. Any chance you've dealt with sigels before? Please, follow me."

Turning and heading deeper into the temple, she stops. "Uh...which way is out again? Once we're out of here, I can take you to my friends."

Bian leads Inam outside, her demeanor still distant from the unexpected company. When she comes upon Ibinu and Kallik, she says, "Volcano's blessing to both of you." She looks at the three of you, then the cart with its lumpy cargo covered by cloaks. "You mentioned sigils, Inam?"

Prior to Inam/Bian returning, this occurs.

Ibinu considers Kallik's words for a moment, listening intently to her story.

"I don't know a lot about my own life, but I do get a general sense that I hated the gods to... possibly an extreme level. At this point, I really don't know how I feel about them. It seems our ally Inam is trying so hard to be accepted yet doesn't even accept herself as a being of worth. She seems to look to her scriptures and interpret them in the best possible light. Others, I think do the opposite. It appears that they might be the ones leading this city into ruin."

He looks around at the noticeable difference in upkeep between the temple and the surrounding area. "The gods have such power to keep existence going, I have to believe that our fellow elen are just squandering their gifts either intentionally or ignorantly to allow such suffering to occur. Because, if that isn't the case and the gods simply don't have enough power then I don't think much of what we do really matters as we will all be dying horrifically soon."

He ponders that last bit, "but I am hopeful. Maybe delusional, but still hopeful. I believe that Sky could return and the errors of the past could be corrected. I have no clue how or when that could occur, but I'm going to keep a darn close eye out in case I ever get a chance to help that happen. I also think that the gods waste too much energy fighting among themselves and keeping us limping along in this... existence. If we could take over some of their burden in fighting the darkspawn and set the example by helping each other, maybe they could focus their attention on issues of more importance. That is why I love alchemy. Not because it is going to replace the gods, but because of all the good it can do with or without them."

This occurs when Bian arrives.

"Hello!"

Traveling back to Ibinu/Kallik

Thankful for the silence, Inam follows her guide. Her mind wandering back to the strange encounter with the guard. 'What was his name? Edo...EEdo...Edoardo. That was it... Dinner with me? Why? He's plenty of choices if his desires are companionship. Must be trying to get information. There's no other explanation...right? Well, I suppose we'll find out. This may be awkward.'

At the wagon

Upon arrival, her thoughts snap back to the present. "Oh, Biann. I probably should have mentioned this...but Ibinu has undergone some...changes."

"That aside, we've been to the arena. I gave the ifrits we found proper rights. However, these..." Stopping, she looks around to ensure none are eavesdropping.

Perception: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (5) - 2 = 3

Confident the coast is clear, she continues. "These poor souls were desecrated with some kind of...writing carved into their flesh. Brace yourself, it's not a pretty sight. We fear whatever is going on here, may be an omen for whats to come."

Quickly stepping in front of Inam, Bian says, "I do not believe a public street is the proper place for this, Inam!"

She takes a deep breath, and sighs. In a quieter voice, she continues, "I have a key to a nearby building - one used for preparing bodies and final rites and so forth. I'll show you the way. Give me a moment to collect my thoughts as we walk."

After you have readied the cart to move again, she walks away from the Temple, to one of the many single-story obsidian blocks that surround it.

"Oh, of course Bian. That makes sense." grumbles the sylph.

'Well...I'm just having a stellar day. Keep this up and I may as well return to sky.'

Mustering up a slight smile, she follows the inquisitor.

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It is sixteenth candle.

Bian leads you to a solid-looking cube of obsidian, seemingly indistinguishable from the dozens of other such cubes littered throughout the enormous courtyard of the Temple. Volcano's mid-afternoon shades of tangerine and tomato reflect weirdly on the black surface.

Mumbling to herself, Bian sorts through the dozen or so keys on her key-ring, coming at last to a double-pronged brass device.

She pushes hard against the heavy door. Before stepping inside, she turns and says, somewhat sternly, "Where did you find these elens? You mentioned the arena, but where in the land would you find rune-covered bodies in a brutbreve arena of all places?"

"It was in a secret room below the arena. Some kind of lab was attached to it." she replies.

Thinking a moment, she adds "Seemed a couple of statues were guarding it. Some strange language...'Sphinx?' I think that's what Eo said it was..."

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Thinking to himself, it seems this person is discreet and my companions trust her...

Ibinu speaks quietly, "I think I can fill in some of the details about the rooms once we are in a less public location."

He will help carry the bodies inside if the cart won't fit and then fills in the details about the alchemical equipment that was the cause of the volatile explosion in the arena. He also explains his suspicions that it was being used for harvesting and distilling volatile drugs.

Bian narrows her eyes at Ibinu. "Ibinu are you...drunk? I spent the better part of a day with you and the most I got out of you was mutterings like 'damn priests' and 'you seem alright for an inquisitor'. You are acting like a completely different elen." She takes a step back from you, as if expecting a violent or angry reaction.

Ibinu replies in the same quiet voice, "I've... well, been getting that same reaction recently. It is sortove a complicated story, one probably saved for a little later."

He pleads earnestly, "I mean you no harm."

She gives you a flat smile that shows she is not entirely convinced, but she lets the matter drop.

Looking over the bodies, she exclaims, "Ôi trơi! These runes are in Geni, the language of genies! (essentially devils to us) I cannot read the language, but whoever carved these had foul intentions."

She turns away from the bodies, and covers her mouth, as if trying to block a rotten stench.

As Bian disseminates the information, the color drains from Inam's face. Turning away from the bodies, the sylph violently expels the day's ash bread from her bowels.

Wiping the slime from her mouth, she looks towards the inquisitor. "So...what should we do? Do you know...what was being planned?"

Quietly leaning against wall and watching Bian talk. Giving her a moment to compose herself before speaking up, "How do we figure out what those intentions are?"

Bian composes herself, then cups her hand in her chin for a moment. "Why did you come to me first? I appreciate the vote of confidence I suppose, but there are literally hundreds of inquisitors and priests more knowledgeable than I. Are you trying to hide something?" Her tone holds no accusation, just curiosity.

Looking sideways to her companions, Inam takes a breath, steadying herself. Still quite pale, she turns to Bian.

"My dear servant of Volcano, we weren't entirely sure who we could trust without boiling any pots. I hope you don't take this wrong, but So Khong wasn't our first choice as...some of his actions...have rusted the metals in our eyes."

Pausing to gauge how Bian was taking her words, she continues. "You've proven quite helpful and of true servitude. We will of course bring this to the High Inquisitors attention, but were desperate to understand what we are dealing with first."

Turning away, she mumbles "The severity and possible meaning of this discovery...well...I hope you understand."

Ibinu recounts what they found emphasizing the following. "We noticed that there were no tortured Ifrits in the hidden chamber. This made us wary of some form of organization that may be experimenting on the other elen. So we just weren't sure if news like this should be made public without proper investigation. Thus, we decided to try to be discrete."

He pauses, thinking. "Of course we were probably followed and maybe watched so... not sure how well that worked."

"I suppose, given recent events," she shudders briefly, "I can understand a distrust of So Khong."

The undine shrugs. "Based on the...flavor of some of these runes, the best I can guess is that these were dangerous individuals. I see marks of containment, imprisonment, and weakness. Beyond that, I cannot possibly guess exactly who did this, or why."

She wanders over to the female oread body. "Except..." Her eyes narrow. Suddenly, she runs from one body to the next, her gaze darting wildly from one to the other.

"Núi lửa cứu tôi! No! It cannot be!" Practically tripping over herself in her haste, she huddles in a corner, arms wrapped around her knees.

"Uh...I'm gonna assume that's not a good thing..." says the female sylph, eyeing their friend. A bit hushed, she presses "What is it you see?"

Crouching down next to the undine, Inam places a hand gently on her shoulder. "We're servants of Volcano too. We're her to help, but we can't stop what we don't know abou..."

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"So Khong told you there were others blessed by white obsidian, correct?"

After you answer 'yes'

"And he must have told you...as he told me...that they were murdered by assassins - worshipers of the Dark. And that their bodies were never found."

She points to the corpses. "Those were the Blessed. They have been desecrated using a language only a priest would know. And, if I am interpreting your earlier comment correctly Inam, they were guarded by statues only a powerful priest would know how to make."

"..." her mouth dropping to her knees and hanging open, Inam simply stare at the undine, dumbfounded.

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Ibinu's brow furrows as the exchange of information is made. Looking back and forth between the huddled Bian and unusually quiet Inam he considers his words.

After a few moments he speaks in a low voice as if concerned he will be overheard. "Okay, so that sounds really bad. Is this something that uh... we should turn over to the nearest whomever pretending we don't know anything and hope we don't get caught up in it or... follow up on it ourselves?"

Before an answer comes, he speaks his own opinion. "I, for one, would like to know more and any opportunity to stop the people who tortured these poor souls is something I would certainly pursue."