"I go by Shenuska now." She smiles to Theo and Nime. "It just seemed right, and less of a mouthful than 'Not-Ieldana'!"
--------------------
At the smoke house Sheldana hangs back, willing to let those who know the area better do the investigating.
"I suppose we'd best try and find this Kynae fellow then?"
As they travel through the town she walks with Theo, smiling and occasionally running a finger down his arms. "You have good muscles, do you work hard to take care of yourself? I feel its really important to look after one's body as well as you can!"
"Hard enough," he replied, smiling, "I hardly see why I should skimp on my physical health just because of my magic. Besides; ruffians never expect the one who looks like they can do a few pull-ups to be capable of throwing them out a window from across the room. Granted; that particular magical feat is not quite part of my repertoire, but the mental image certainly gets the point across."
"And what about you? You certainly don't seem to be slacking on that front either."
Nime listens to the exchange between Theodric and Shenuska, her eyes travelling back and forth between the two. Her everpresent smile growing wider.
"Definitely not Not-Ieldana," she says with a nod of satisfaction.
"I hope they have hazelnut muffins."
She tears off a piece of salmon and puts it in her mouth.
"I should have passed on lunch."
"And what about you? You certainly don't seem to be slacking on that front either."
"Well getting this body was something of a second chance for me, so yes - I'm making sure I take care of myself. Formerly... I was very much 'mind over matter' and I didn't pay much attention to my body. My new body though, there's something about the synthesis between body and mind that helps me know - makes me, not stronger, but more capable. So yes, I work out."
She shoots him a glance under lowered-lashes. "Perhaps we could go for a run together sometime."
She seems to catch Nime's murmur and turns sideways to wink at her friend.
Taking its namesake from the halfling woman who runs it, Blackberry's Bakery specializes in the plentiful blackberries in around Roderic's Cove. The proprietor uses the tart berry in breads, confections, jams, jellies, muffins, pastries, and, if you ask nicely, a fine blackberry brandy.
As Blackberry busies herself with her confections, you spot Kynae Frumperton sitting on the floor under a window, thumbing through a book. He is a rail-thin boy with dirty smudges on his face and ragged hand-me-down clothes.
Calendula stomps in and crosses her arms, more upset with her new companion than anything else.
"Kynae Frumperton," she says, as if scolding a child (and she was), "We need to have to words with you. Hello, Blackberry, darling." She cordially nods to the halfling woman, offering a sort of half a bow in greeting.
Kynae winces at Calendula's tone. "Wotever it were, I didn't do it!" he says defensively.
"Sounds quite agreeable - I've always found exercise more enjoyable with a partner."
After a moment, what Shenuska said seemed to finally register. "Hold on; 'getting this body'?"
"Don't worry; we're not accusing you of anything," Theo said with a smile, trying and calm Kynae, "we're just trying to find out what happened in the Circle last week."
"I dunno, I weren't there. Some blokes got dead, right?" Kynae's eyes shift back and forth and he clutches his book close to his chest.
Shenuska glides through the group and folds herself down next to the boy. "You're reading? I love books!" She exclaims, all genuine delight. "Reading is a wonderful habit, are you reading anything in particular? I always like stories about detectives. Have you read 'The Demon Detective of Oppara?' It's about a tiefling detective called Maria who solves crimes and topples a conspiracy against the first Queen of Taldor - it's really good!"
"So, what do you do when you're not reading?" She asks brightly. "Have you ever thought of being a detective yourself? Ever seen a crime that might need solving?"
Kynae tries to maintain his defensive facade, but he can't help but smile when Shenuska shows an interest in his book. "It's 'The Adventures of Cosmo.' He's the greatest bard in Varisia, and he goes around fighting bad guys and kissing pretty girls. But detective books are good, too. I haven't read that one, but there's this one by Ailson Kindler about a vampire detective in Ustalav!"
The boy chats with the psychic about books for a few minutes, gradually warming up to her.
"What do I do? Oh, y'know. This and that. Could be fun to be a detective yeah, but, uh, I ain't never seen no crimes," he says, his voice uncertain.
Calendula gulped. She was not very good with kids, nor for that matter, with people either. Kneeling down beside Kynae she looks him sharply in the eye.
"Come on, Kynae. We're adults and adults know everything, so's there's no use hiding anything from us. What did you see?"
Kynae glances around, as if afraid somebody might come along to punish him. Finally, he sighs. "Awright, fine. Yeah, I saw some of what went down that night. I was out late to, um, get some night fishing done. I heard talking coming from the Circle. I sneaked over there and hid behind a rain barrel. There was two groups of people arguing. One group were those gangers, the Horned Fangs. The other were them hoity-toity know-it-alls what live in the Peacock Manor. One of those lot, a woman, was accusing the Horned Fangs of 'properating a runelord's rune, or something like that. She was pretty pissed off. The Horned Fang said something naughty back to her, and she sputtered, and then, all the sudden, things went real weird.
"I think the woman drew a rapier, but it looked broken. There were no blade, just a fancy hilt, yeah? But she jabbed it toward the Horned Fang, and suddenly his throat opened up, and blood went everywhere!" Kynae's eyes grow big. "But that weren't the worst of it. Things came out of the fog. Ghosts. Monsters. Worse. They all started swirling through the air, and one after the other the Horned Fangs just dropped dead! One of those ghosts turned my way, and I thought that maybe it looked a bit too much like me old man, so, well, I took off.
"Please don't tell him!" he adds nervously.
"It sounds like an illusion to me." Shenuska says confidently, giving the boy a gentle hug. "Don't worry Kynae, we'll sort it all out. Thank you for telling us what you now, that was very brave of you!"
She rises easily from sitting to standing in one smooth move and goes over to the baker, offering her a gold coin. "Whatever he wants is on me."
She waves to Kynae. "Have fun, if you find any other good books remember them and tell me later!"
Outside her smile drops away and she looks much more serious. "That was powerful magic. A weird spell I think. Illusion magic on a massive scale. I know of it, but I couldn't cast such a spell... the power required would be vast!"
"A sword without a blade; that sounds mysterious," Nime says around a mouthful of blackberry muffin.
"Are we going to the Peacock Manor next? I've so wanted to visit there. It looks like such a interesting house."
Her expression turns to one of concern.
"I hope they don't have anything really good to eat. I don't think I could manage anything more. Maybe we should visit Roderick's Wreck instead. There shouldn't be anything to eat there."
"I get the feeling that they can't cast it either, at least not directly. Why bother killing someone with this bladeless sword first when whatever illusion the spell conjures will be just as lethal? Can't be a message; the spell was meant to kill anyone who witnessed it and I doubt the details have spread all that far out of town."
"Besides which; a sword without a blade that can still cut throats so cleanly sounds like either a powerful piece of enchanted gear or the result of an illusionist with too much time on their hands. Mind you; I don't think those are mutually-exclusive. Especially if Thassilon is involved - can't think of any other reason why these Peacock fellows would be annoyed at them using the Rune of Wrath for their gang's emblem."
As you are debating your next course of action, Rudrik notices the air is beginning to get significantly colder. Before he can react, you all suddenly feel as if you have been plunged into freezing waters! The cold bites into your bones, leaving you shivering, though you are not actually wet.
"Oh my!" Nime exclaims. "That's refreshing."
She looks around attempting to see the source of the cold air.
Calendula begins to shake and shiver, having to sit down as her breathing gets faster and tighter. She doesn't think anything of it, however, just believing it to be a natural part of her sickness. She's always very cold, anyhow.
As Calendula sits down shaking, Nime steps closer. She looks concerned.
"Calendula, are you ok?"
She awkwardly lowers herself to the ground and wraps her arms around the scarred woman in an attempt to warm her up.
Shenuska shivers for a few seconds and stands completely still. The goosebumps on her skin actually decrease as the others watch until her skin is completely smooth and unaffected by the cold.
"What was that?" She asks, before picking up the thread of the previous conversation with Theo.
"There was a runelord of Illusion wasn't there?" She asks, "And I'm sure we've all heard about the Sihedron Heroes and the heroes who defeated Karzog years ago. Could there be a runelord here? It seems a bit unlikely..."
Nime looks up from where she sits next to Calendula.
"It wouldn't surprise me," Nime says matter-of-factly. "We are supposed to save the world after all."
She chews on her lip for a moment.
"With a ghost showing up and cold like that, maybe we should visit Roderick's Wreck first? Perhaps we can talk to him and find out what we should do to put him at ease."
Calendula grumbles but assents as Nime offers her warmth. She was so starved for touch. Other people were so warm it was almost stifling.
She blinks away the tears in her eyes and shakes her head. "The ghost ain't killin nobody; my thinkin is he's much less a threat than what the boy saw. I say we find the man with no sword first, but of course," she shrugs Nime's hand off of her, and makes to stand, "I'm open to persuasion. A good soldier's gotta know how ta listen."
"Yes, but if Roderick's ghost is causing things like that cold spell," Nime says, leveraging herself to her feet with her spear. "Then it would seem that we need to deal with that first before someone gets hurt."
She looks around at everyone else.
"And besides, I couldn't eat another bite."
"Gah! That weren't no natural cold," says Rudrik. "Was that magic? Or the ghost again? If'n it were the ghost, how come we don't see 'im?"
The cold hit Theo like a ton of bricks, and was answered with a string of Draconic that one would not want to translate in polite company.
"Wwwwho said a ghost nnneeded to mmmmmmanifest to do that?" he said, shivering. Desperate to warm up, Theo started to use a cantrip meant just for food to try and warm his shirt instead.
Fortunately, moving away from the cold spot is sufficient to start getting warm again. With a few hours' rest, you'll recover from the hypothermia, or magical healing can speed the process along.
"Let's get outta here and warm up a bit," suggests Rudrik. "I dunno what that was, but it was cold!"
"Nime is right, we should push on." Shenuska opinions. "Let's head to this 'Roderick's Wreck' and see if we can deal with the source of these problems."
The sun has fully set by this point, night falling over the land. As you prepare to depart for Roderic's Wreck, the looming figure of Audrahni approaches you. "Hello again. I spoke with Desil at the chapel and told him you were going to investigate the appearance of Roderic's ghost. He bade me deliver these items to you to help in your task." The elf hands you a silk pouch containing a wand and six vials of holy water.
"If Roderic is indeed haunting his house, he may be very dangerous. The wand can harm his undead spirit as surely as you can use it to heal yourselves. You should focus on exploring and looking for clues on how to put the ghost to rest, rather than directly confronting him. Don't hesitate to flee if things get too dicey--better to regroup and try again than to die."
She blinks and looks at Shenuska, seeming to notice her for the first time. "Oh, hello."
"Hello Audrahni." Shenuska replies, seemingly suddenly shy. "Do you recognise me?"
"No," Audrahni says. "Should I?"
"I'm Ieldana. From Magnimar. We were friends about forty years ago?" Shenuska says, sounding unsure of herself. "I've changed a lot, I know... I was hoping to ask for your help about that actually..."
"Ieldana?" Audrahni peers at the beautiful woman closely. "Yes, you have changed. But I have to. I'm... I'm not the same person I was when we knew each other. I don't know if I can help you."
She looks down at her feet, then looks back up. "But if you help with the troubles here in town, I'll try my best."
"If Roderic is indeed haunting his house, he may be very dangerous. The wand can harm his undead spirit as surely as you can use it to heal yourselves. You should focus on exploring and looking for clues on how to put the ghost to rest, rather than directly confronting him. Don't hesitate to flee if things get too dicey--better to regroup and try again than to die."
Nime takes the offered bag.
"Please thank Desil for us," Nime says.
Calendula takes one of the vials, ready for anything. She nods her thanks at Audrahni.
Audrahni returns the nod before heading back to the Lady's Chapel.
You head to the south end of town, preparing to head west towards Roderic's Wreck. Fog rises from the river, shrouding the buildings in a damp haze. As you round the Rampant Reefclaw, a snarling creature lunges out of the fog! Composed of half-formed body parts, this creature stands on two monstrous legs. A mouth full of jagged teeth dominates the creature’s bulbous head. Its veins pulse just beneath transparent flesh.
Nime stumbles back catching her balance with her spear at the last minute.
"Oh my!" she exclaims.
Calendula swears loudly, one hand outstretched in front of her, the other on her old sword, a sword she has not swung in nearly twenty years. Her reactions are slow, not half as fast as they once were. This place was supposed to be safe.
"Cayden's sainted liver, what the hell is that?!" Theo exclaimed, managing to chatter out the incantation for a protective field around himself while readying his spear.
The monster seems to sniff the air, then hobbles over to Calendula. Fire burns in its gaping maw as it snaps at her! Its teeth gnash against her armor.
As Calendula draws her weapon, the blackblood within her simmers and grows warm for the first time she can remember. Eyes glowing with a deeply seated anger, she plunges her family sword into the creature's strange, stilted body, remembering battles of the past all too well.
Rudrik is startled by the appearance of this blobby monstrosity, and he draws his worn shortsword and angles for a position where he can help fell this surprise foe quickly.
Shenuska snaps her fingers and a piece of wood, lying on the ground nearby, rises from the floor like a javelin. She makes a hurling motion and it flies at the creature like a spear! Unfortunately the mist makes aiming difficult!
"Of course we'd have to fight right after that bloody ghost thing," Theo complained as he lobbed a beam of acid at the malformed creature.
"Oh Eternal Maiden, protect this one," Nime intones as she steps up and touches Calendula with an outstretched hand.
Rudrik draws his sword and circles around to flank the creature with Calendula. The bloodrager draws her own blade and slices into the thing's rubbery body.
Shenuska's and Theodric's projectiles sail past the monster as Nime wards Calendula from evil.
The creature tries to bite Calendula again, but the oracle's blessing keeps its chomping teeth at bay.
The unearthly chill still upon her, the bald woman raises her shield and thrusts her sword forward once more.
Calendula feeds the monster several inches of her sword, driving it into its mouth and out the back of its head. The thing drops limply to the ground, the fire in its mouth sputtering out.
"Disgusting," she mutters, sheathing the weapon without regard for its condition or cleanliness. "Anyone know what that was? I've seen many a foul creature in my time, and never a thing like that."