"We are not completely sure" - Garrosh pipes in - "We intend to return there once more, and confirm"
Rose adds, “We will need one who can expertly disable magical traps. I will assist to the best of my ability.”
"That would be me, then." Cessadia sighs. "What kind of trap is it - besides it being magical?"Cessadia asks.
"Do you know anything's about the 2 star-shaped barrels with tentacles that apparently by my sources found floating into the sky from Iris Hill?"
"An explosive letter." Piotr answers
"Rune" Ann corrects "And yes, those things were nonviolent, or at least wanted to be left alone. They didn't attack us so we didn't attack them." the raven-haired young woman says with a firm nod, while her brother hopes beyond hope that they didn't hurt anyone.
Rose notes, “It is for the best they are not a threat. As you say, they have floated into the sky.”
Gesturing in the general direction of Iris Hill, she says, “Do you prefer to walk there, or ride?”
Violet says, “Oh… I’m sure walking might be the preferred option, heh heh?”
Rose’s hand is in her spell pouch as Violet interrupts. “Ah, ma petite amie is right as usual. I should save my magic in case the premises is not clear and we are forced to make haste.”
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"So you're saying Thrushmoor has two more Unidentified Flying Objects?" Cessadia shakes her head. "I sure hope they aren't violent or we have enough trouble on our hands as it is without our Magistrate."
Cessadia follows the party back to Iris Hill then motions to the party to stay back while she starts disabling the runes.
Unfortunately Cessadia fumbles for a moment and the runes glow yellow and explode, but she manages to throw herself out of the way.
"Hmm, there's quite a collection here.." Cessadia says as she takes out a sack and looks at the pile of notes and books on the desk and prepares to swipe them into the sack.
Rose says to the detective, “I expect you will treat yourself to some of that, but we did clear this place of several dangerous creatures. Your esteemed colleague, Mademoiselle Winter, can attest.”
"Fair enough, but I nearly got myself blown up in the process too." Cessadia replies grumpily. "Anyway... anything you don't see the value off, I'm collecting. Might give us some insight to what happened here..."
The party finds a notebook holds an account of Lowls’s interviews with Ulver Zandalus, which took place in Briarstone Asylum. Though Zandalus was mute, Lowls would interview him while he drew his charcoal drawings of the mysterious city, and during the process details would emerge which Lowls would interpret. In later interviews, Count Lowls made use of magic to read the man’s thoughts. Through this process, Lowls was able to learn about a distant lost city in some nameless desert that reportedly featured three Star Stelae, identical in shape and arrangement to those in Thrushmoor. In the last pages of the notebook, Lowls stops relating what he learned from his interviews, a draft of the equipment, supplies, and number of slaves the count plans to purchase for the final leg of the expedition is scribbled on a piece of parchment, a spellbook containing the following spells: blindness/deafness, dancing lights, detect thoughts, eagle’s splendor, expeditious retreat, gust of wind, hypnotism, illusory wall, mirror image, owl’s wisdom, protection from good, and shield, a large collection of books including a magical book, two scrolls of psychic surgery. It also holds the following books: Atop the Valley’s Soul, The Codex of Three Prescriptions, Curses of the Black Lake, Dichotomous Translations of Aklo Syntax, Elements Through the Spirals of Time, Emotions of the Past, The Falling Silk, Festival of the Snake, The Forgotten Servants, The Illusion of the Weeping Ones, In Admiration of Keeping Pacts, Manual of Silence, Men and Vultures: Denizens of the Darkened Depths and Dead Skies, Monuments of the Forest, The Shadow’s Ship, Shards of Sight, Spiders of Sin and Sky, Theological Agreements of the Kingdom, Tigers and Flies, The Unified Manual of Understanding, Voyage of the Rainbow Servant, and The Wise Harmony.
No one can tell what the magical book is.
Violet holds up her healing wand, “Oh, I would’ve patched you up, Miss Werntz!” She smiles when she says this, but adds, “I’m sorry you almost got hurt. We cleared the place before asking for assistance so you’d bear less risk.”
"I don't care if you keep that stuff. You helped us out." Piotr offers, which gets a stinging look from his sister. "If we are going after Lowls, which I assume we are so we can get our memories back, we'll need to study the same things he did." she obviously wants the books. Which makes his brother groans since HE is the one that will have to carry them all.
"My sources indicate that Lowls is no longer in Thrushmoor,and has mounted a secret expedition to Katheer. If you wish to follow his trail, I have a contact for one halfling Captain Skywind, who's barge - the Sellen Starling, is leaving for Katheer tomorrow." Cessadia offers.
Meanwhile, at another pier on Thrushmoor docks, Hanako, followed by Naysa and Maeve board another barge headed down the Sellen river to Oparra, with geese flying overhead....
“DING!” Baldhart agrees. The fairy covers her mouth, remembering she is not supposed to flash very, very bright green or do things that draw attention. She turns to Maeve, a sheepish grin on her face.
Hanako proceeds to play a tune. Why wait for Oparra. The world is my stage!
“Katheer… what is it like in Katheer? Are they as strange to magic as Thrushmoor, where one must brush hair over shoulder to hide her petite amie? Can she not bear her claws?”
Rose holds her palms upward, curls her fingers, and her nails become footlong claws! A crown of thorns shoots out from her scalp! (…and ruins her hat again.) Rose grins devilishly… then sheepishly. She retracts the claws. And the head-spikes. The holes in her hat mend per morphing ability.
“Well, I can see how my appearance might be upsetting to some. It is Violet and Ann I am truly asking about. Must they remain hidden, or might Katheer accept them as they are?”
Regardless of the answer, Rose is interested in meeting Captain Skyler!
"Tomorrow?" the big man grumbles. A faint dream of sleeping in after a huge dinner, or maybe resting for one single moment, is dashed like a melon with a hammer. He wasn't the fondest of boats either. Lastly, he looks briefly over at Winter almost unconsciously before looking away. A heavy sigh is all he has left.
Ann gives Piotr a sympathetic look and says "We'll be there. Thank you for the information Cessadia"
Rose sees the look Piotr gives Winter. “Leaving tomorrow means you are free, tonight, does it not?”
"What? Oh yeah, we can head back to the inn. Get some of that stew." Piotr's stomach rumbles at the thought, obscuring any ability to catch Rose's inflection.
“If that stew’s served with a side of berries, you can count me in!”
Violet messages Rose, please mind your business.
"Katheer is much more cosmopolitan."Cessadia replies matter of factly."There are many renowned colleges for magic down there and are even some who combine martial prowess with arcane arts. I've heard four-armed gargoyles are one of their favorite forms. I do not think you should get into any trouble, appearance wise."
"Look on the bright side, the boat leaves tomorrow. We still have the rest of today to put our affairs in order."Winter grimaces. "That didn't come out too well, did it?"Winter says to no one in particular.
As the river breeze blows through her hair, Naysa tentatively begins to sing.
"Many nights we prayed
With no proof, anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understood
Now, we are not afraid
Although we know there's much to fear
We were moving mountains
Long before we knew we could, whoa, yes"
Maeve not knowing the lyrics, taps her foot to the sound of the song."I've never heard this song before. Hanako, can you teach me how to sing it?"
Hanako says yes, and later escorts Maeve to the cabin where Baldhart can grow to six feet tall without drawing attention. Baldhart cannot sing, but she CAN play the viol. Hanako summons a viola, and she and Baldy play the melodies. Baldhart plays the notes that Naysa sang, while Hanako plays what she sang earlier.
“The beauty of harmony is that it works because each singer follows a different melody. If you are interested, I can teach you not only this song, but the principles that make it so beautiful. We can harmonize together!”
Already, Hanako envisions a day when she and Maeve are both in their twenties, putting on a sister act in Oparra!
Rose is relieved at Ms. Werntz’s assurance. “I cannot make four arms for myself… yet.”
When Winter says her words did not come out right, Rose disagrees. “Seize the day. You have risked too much to deny yourself the pleasures life has to offer.”
Violet hovers next to Ann. “Sorry, she’s kind of into romance and not into minding her own business. She means well.”
"Yes I suppose I can spend the afternoon settling stuff at the temple of Pharasma then later, for dinner, join the rest of you at the Silver Wagon?" Winter offers, while looking at Piotr briefly, before turning her gaze back to the party.
Rose quietly awaits Piotr’s response to Winter. If there is none, Rose will offer some unsolicited advice.
“Feminine intuition tells me Winter could really use a hand. But as a priestess, she is forbidden to ask of things that are to her own benefit. This is why she does not ask what she wants of you.
“She was mustering the nerve to ask for help in the temple, but alas, she cannot. You must offer.” Rose pauses, wondering how accurate her assumption is. But if Piotr is listening, she will go on:
“My heart breaks for her. So alone, longing for romance, but unable to voice her feelings to you. Surely you see it in her eyes. She wants you to follow her, Piotr. And she does not give a damn about aligning pencils and wiping the shelves with her feather duster. She wants you.
“Go to her. Whatever you two do is not my business, but I warn you: do not return to the Silver Wagon with regrets of words unsaid or actions not taken.”
Ann stays quiet during the back and forth, arms crossed, and her dark eyes taking in more than she's saying. She does see Rose moving toward her brother though and decides his brain cannot handle whatever she's about to tell him, so she offers. "I'm tired so I'm going to take a nap in that brain of yours. You go lug all the stuff around for Winter, okay?"
Piotr's own dark eyes flash to Winter then to all that STUFF, "Sorry, Winter, I should have offered already. My head is... muddled a bit right now." he shakes it for effect, rattling out the beans, then lifts the mess "Where to?"
Piotr and Winter return to the temple of Pharasma, where Winter is greeted by the temple acolytes. "Please bring lunch for two to my quarters," she bids the temple acolytes before she makes her way back to her room with Piotr carrying her baggage.
Winter's room is austere and utilitarian, with white washed walls, rosewood cupboards and a desk and a bed, with a joining toilet cubicle. After Piotr puts down her luggage, she sits down on the floor, pulls off her gloves and shoes, and sits on the floor, leaning her back against the bed. "Take a seat." Winter gestures at the desk chair.
"It's like I'm never here for long before I'm off again."Winter looks around the room slightly wistfully. "I know you can't remember things, but what would YOU do once you got your memories back?"
Piotr breaths in "Smells like you." he says with a smile, then quickly reddens and stammers about "It's nice, I mean, that's it's yours, even if you aren't here much." might be that he's avoiding answering.
He sits then, on the floor though across from her. Running his hand through his short hair, he thinks, looking away cause thinking is easier when he's not looking at her, especially her eyes, way way way too easy to get lost in those.
Sighing, he finally say "I don't know. Depends on what the memories tell me... us. I don't care much that I have a hole up here" he thunks the side of his head "I'd be able to move past that to whatever's next already, but... I got to know what happened to Ann. Her being dead, but not dead, and definitely not Undead. And how we can fix it all."
"I don't know if you're going to like finding out what's in that hole..."Winter replies soberly. "But the truth is the truth, and I've always preferred knowing the truth."
"Because you have to face up to it, even if it hurts,"Winter looks at her claws.
"But you should not let your past define you. Live too much in it and you lose track of the present, and the future."Winter says seriously. "You can't change the past - it's already there. What you can do is change what you choose to do now."
"About Ann...my judgement is that she's a spirit tied to this world, unable to move on. Maybe because of her ties to you."Winter tells Piotr. Winter furrows her eyebrows,"It may be possible to bring her back, if you have some part of her body, but I don't have the ability to do so, yet."
Piotr watched Winter talk, easier to do than when he was talking. Especially when her own eyes are wandering about. The words are wise, he finds himself nodding. Then the last bit "You Can?!? Bring her Back. I do... um..." he reaches into his shirt, pulling out the silver locket, and scooting close to Winter to show her. "We found a cache of stuff the old me had left at the docks." he opens the locket to show her a lock of black hair. "It's Ann's. Is... It... enough?" his voice caught, hope wanting to burst free but he was too afraid to let it.
Winter takes the lock of black hair,"This belongs to Ann, right?"Winter muses. "Not that simple. Matters would be a lot easier if we had her whole body. Perhaps someone more well-versed in Pharasmas mysteries could, but I cannot, yet."
"I was thinking about that on Accuser Omari as well, my mentor," Winter sighs, "But I know that would be a selfish decision of mine and it would fail. We talked about these matters before, and she let it be known that if it was her time, we should not interfere."
"Maybe she was too good for this world...that's why Pharasma called her home,"A single tear streaks down Winter's cheek.
Rose feels triumphant that Piotr followed Winter. “You see, ma petite amie, sometimes it takes a prick of the thorn to find the sweet blossom of romance.”
“Or… he’s helping her move stuff.”
“Oh, ho… stuff is being moved. That I can assure you.”
Violet just stares for a moment, then decides to change the topic.
“I like this wand.” She holds up the healing wand. “Think we got enough valuables to buy a new one?”
"We do" - Garrosh replied to Violet in his usually dour mood, staring as Piotr left with Winter.
"Hrumpf" - he shrugged - "Whatever. The Silver Wagon then it is I guess" - and moved off, intent on returning to the inn. And drinking.
"And where in the Nine Hells is Kilarra?" - the half-orc grumbled as he went.
Rose offers, “Garrosh, how about I purchase the wand for my little friend, then we would be delighted to join you for drinks.”
Of course, she is not entirely certain Garrosh will trust her with such a sum of money. What better way to find out?
Winter leans into Piotr's hug, and returns one back, resting her chin on his broad shoulders."Yes, she was one of the few less provincial people who could look past my heritage,"Winter taps Piotr with her claws. "She believed that not all non humans were monsters. She believed in me. When no one else would."
"We're both similar... we've both known loss." Winter muses. "And we both don't have a place we can call home..."Winter's voice trails off. "Did you ever wonder what it would be like to...lead a normal life?"Winter asks Piotr, a note of wistfulness in her voice.
"All the time growing up. My mom... she was a bit strange, so everyone treated us a bit strange. Ann leaned into it, accepting but fighting everyone. I Tried to fit, but never got what I was looking for..." Piotr voice held plenty of wistfulness, his eyes closing to soak in the simple warmth of Winter in his arms.
Garrosh stops, and turns around to look at Rose and Violet for a few seconds, then chuckles and shakes his head - "And why the heck not? Do you know where to find one? I would expect Winter would be our best option in finding such item, don't you think?"
Rose considers Garrosh’s lightening mood. “Drinks first, then. Winter can recommend a shop when she is available.”
She adjusts her clothing, morphing a red hooded cloak in case Violet needs to hide herself.
Violet flies onto Rose’s shoulder. Should Rose put her hood up, the fairy can easily conceal herself.
"You said your mother was a bit strange - in what way strange? And what did Ann do? What did you do to try to fit in?" Winter asks.
"Mom could see what others were thinking." he sighs "Sounds great, but most people don't think such great things so... she couldn't turn it off, you see, and it hurt A Lot." he leaned back, his face a mask of pain remembering how much it hurt her. "I tried to keep things running, making sure we had food, could stay where we were living so on, but Ann was the one that managed to get the money for it. She didn't care what people said or thought she just... I don't know what she did most time." his guilt at that is plain. "I joined the guard when I could, but Mom had passed away at that point so it wasn't much help."
He is silent for a moment. "I don't know why I keep trying, nothing I do is helping at all. We just go from one slaughterhouse to the next, with decent people paying the price each and every time."
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"I think your mother needed to go to a mage school. One that specialized in mind magic as opposed to actual arcane arts."Winter replies. "But it seemed that she didn't get the help she needed..."Winter sighs.
"You don't know what your sister did except she just showed up with the money?"Winter asks, slightly incredulous. "I suppose at that time you were that desperate that you wouldn't look too closely, but I fear that her means of getting money were likely unlawful."
"When I hear about your upbringing, mine doesn't seem that bad. At least I had someone who believed in me, unlike you." Winter puts her arm around Piotr's shoulders.
"Unfortunately in Ustalav, that's the way of things - for each undead creature you put down, god knows how many are out there rampaging the countryside. I don't really have an answer for you, but we can only do our parts to the best of our ability." Winter says sadly.
The party heads back to the Silver Wagon, where the same pimply waitresses with curly black hair hands them the menu.
Appetizers
Greaves
Vegetable dip served with rye bread
Cabbage rolls
Deep fried breaded yellow cheese
Soups
Beef Tripe Soup
Beansoup with smoked ham hock
Meatball soup
Mains
Beer Sausages with sundried tomatoes potatoes
Smoked ham hock and Rustic Cabbage
Ground Pork and Rice wrapped and cooked in cabbage leaves
Bean and Pork Stew
Fish Stew with Vegetables
Deserts
Sweet Bread
Fried Donut stuffed with cheese
Fried dough with sweet cheese
Drinks
Apple Cider
Pear Cider
Oldlaw Whisper
Bourbon scotch
Feteasca Neagra
Cramposie Selectionata
*other drinks upon request - while stocks last
Rose looks at the menu. Meat, meat, and more meat. Is there no vegetarian option? She does not ask this aloud. Vegetables are her preference, not her way of life.
“A pear cider, dear,” she says to the pimply waitress. She asks Garrosh, “Do the detectives intend to provide a meal for us. Even if that is the case, perhaps some rye and vegetable dip might go well with a drink or two.”
She looks around the place, attempting to gauge reactions to her being seated with a half-orc.
Having already cast message on Violet before entering she whispers words of assurance, In Katheer, you need not be hidden from the public eye.
Garrosh orders some deep fried breaded yellow cheese, bean and pork stew, and a jug of ale if they have it - "I would rather not outlive our welcome at the Sleepless Detectives" - he shrugs at Rose - "Fact is they have been very helpful so far, but it is not their responsibility to feed us, or put a roof over our heads"
Rose places her order—the rye with veggie dip. She contemplates the beer sausage with sun dried tomatoes. “Would you care for an extra beer sausage or two?” Gesturing to Garrosh’s drink with her own glass of pear cider, she notes, “You have the proper drink for the meatier portions.”
It may be apparent that Rose’s choice of beverage has little or nothing to do with her disinterest in meat. If Garrosh does not want the sausages, Rose will ask the pimply waitress if she can simply have sun dried tomatoes with her appetizer, and the potatoes as well if they are ‘those little red’ ones.