Gabriella turns a questioning gaze towards her sister as they both hear a slight commotion behind them. Her nature being what it is, she can't help but draw her sister back to investigate, readying her crossbow in the process.
At the sight of the young woman on the ground, she looks around, eyeing the terrain for the current threat. When she sees none she looks again at the girl and it finally dawns on her that there is no outside threat. She takes a deep breath and looks to Alessandra. She raises an eyebrow slightly, clearly unsure as to whether they should offer aid or leave the girl be.
Indeed! Simply convince them to accept their untimely demiserires! Elká is the type of person who has troubles to convince herself to get out of bed in the morning and replies as one might expect when she hears the deal the two deadsistants have for them. She squints and pulls a 'you-what-now?!' face at both her companions and the bird and his boney friend. "Really?! REALLY?! So the first thing we get to do after dying-not-dying is to convince the actually-dead that they are actually dead so that we, the not-dead-yet-deads, get to go back to where we belong?! Your Lady's system is broken! Ah, fine! Us mortals will fix it! It's not like we got anything better to do, like, oh you know, being alive!"
Oh. Oh. Elká blinks and has something akin to an epiphany. No wonder they want us to help them - just like us, those poor people can scarcely believe they're dead.
Gabriella turns a questioning gaze towards her sister as they both hear a slight commotion behind them. Her nature being what it is, she can't help but draw her sister back to investigate, readying her crossbow in the process.
At the sight of the young woman on the ground, she looks around, eyeing the terrain for the current threat. When she sees none she looks again at the girl and it finally dawns on her that there is no outside threat. She takes a deep breath and looks to Alessandra. She raises an eyebrow slightly, clearly unsure as to whether they should offer aid or leave the girl be.
It takes a moment for Alessandra to realise what's going on. Her face is turned upwards to the moon and she seems to be listening to something intently.
Once Gabbi has her attention Alessandra focuses, follows Gabbi and then hurries over to offer Ellie a strong hug. "There there Ellie. It's going to be ok, it's going to be ok." She crouches there, rocking Ellie slightly back and forth until she calms down.
Gabriella watches, not intervening. Her eyes continue to flick back and forth between the young Lore Warden and her sister.
Alessandra looks up to her sister and offers her a smile. Then her eyes slid away from her sister to gaze at the moon looming over her sister's shoulder.
Do you hear it? She mouths to her sister, pausing briefly in her murmured comfort to Ellie.
Ellie gulps out something between a sob and a laugh: "N-no, it's not, he's gone, he's g-g-gone and he's n-never coming back! He said - he said - he - he'd come back and he p-p-promised!!"
She clings to the other woman, burying her face in Alessandra's cloak. "Laz - my bro - my brother - I knew it, but I didn't know it, not until th-they told me..."
"It's not your fault sweetie." Alessandra replies, one hand moving up to stroke Ellie's blonde hair. "He tried, he did his best to protect you. It wasn't his fault either. He loved you and he wanted you to be safe. You have to do what he wanted, you have to live, live the life he wanted you to."
Gabriella shakes her head just a little and frowns indicating that she doesn't hear anything. She turns away as the Lore Warden explains her loss. She doesn't feel that she would be the right person to console her.
Ellie sobs some more, but she's over the worst of it and eventually she just sniffs, wiping her eyes on her sleeve as her shoulders stop shaking.
"I - I know that, but I just... I spent so much time training, learning to fight, and, and, I'd always allowed myself to hope that, that one day he'd turn up and I'd be able to fight by his side..."
She takes a deep, shuddering breath, and mumbles: "Sounds pretty stupid, I know."
And then, even quieter: "guess I really am alone, now..."
"You're not alone sweetie. You have us." Alessandra assures her with a smile. "I know Gabbi isn't the world's most cuddly person, but I am and if one of us is on your side then we both are. Ulrich and Elka seem like good people too - we're all in this together anyway so no, you're absolutely not alone."
She glance up and then stands fluidly, reaching down to offer Ellie her hand. "If we stay here though we might end up alone! Come on sweetie, let's go and save the world! Or us... whichever comes first!"
Ellie gives another choked laugh/sob: "I don't think your sister likes me very much..." but she allows herself to be comforted. What's the alternative? No knight in shining armour is coming to her rescue, after all. No matter how much she sobs.
(Not that his armour was very shiny; she realises now with the benefit of hindsight and experience that the militia uniform was little more than studded leather - she's worn better than that for years, now. But memory is fickle, and in her eyes he'll always be the hero that her eight-year-old self saw him as.)
Still with a shoulder wrapped around the dhampir, she stands up. "Alright. Let's go and see what needs doing. And... and, thank you." The words are inadequate, but heart-felt.
The rabid changeling was about to start frothing at the teeth, but something in her demeanor changes when she sees the state in which her companions return to her and the good doctor. It's namely Eldarel who manages to worry Elká, and that worry comes down like a lid to stop her anger from boiling over into rage. "Good, glad you're all back. I take it that whatever the cadaverous and the palaverous - yeah, I know some words too", Elká says with what is best described as something in between a scowl and a playful smile. "Anyways, whatever the misters cadaverous and palaverous had to tell you wasn't anything good, but hey, now it's up to us to make things right again, so let's not be a bunch of suckers like the two of them!"
A small valley stretches out beyond the rocky pass. Winding stands of gray trees and tumbledown walls mirror the layout of Roslar’s Coffer, with simple trails in place of roads. Softly glowing figures—some of them with familiar faces—wander about, apparently practicing their daily routines.
Thoot shifts impatiently, looking around the horizon. "Well, go on, then. Make with the convinceration," Umble says encouragingly.
Ulrich still isn't quite out of his daze when the group reaches the softly glowing figures.
Gabriella continues to look on as her sister comforts the Lore Warden. Once they rise and make their way to return to the group, the inquisitor gives Allie a knowing look and bites her bottom lip just a bit.
~~~~
"So how do we do this? I can't imagine how long it will take us to find and convince ... every ... single ... person ... in town, that they're dead." She looks around at the others. "How many people live ... lived ... in Rosler's Coffer, anyways?"
Her gaze travels back to look over the village. "Do we just invite everyone to a town meeting and give a speech?"
"How about a kiss for your rescuer?" Alessandra says with a smile, briefly turning her cheek towards Ellie in invitation. "Don't worry about Gabbi, this situation is difficult for all of us in different ways. She deals with it by being extra paranoid, and I probably talk too much. She's always been the pessimistic one - looking for knives in the dark. I get too distracted by things like books, stories and pretty girls."
As they return she take Ellie's hand in one of her own and holds her other out to her sister in invitation.
-----------------------------------
"I almost thought you were talking about us Elka!" She responds to the changeling with a smile. "I've never heard of palaverous before either!"
The sight of Roslar's Coffer dampens her exuberance. The sight of an entire town all dropped in the Boneyard at once is a chilling one, even for the demi-dead.
"That might be a good idea." She responds to her sister. "Who's in charge? We probably need their help the most."
Several hundred people lived in Roslar's Coffer. The town was lead by a council, the head of which was the mayor, Lady Mullana Grive.
Ellie blinks in surprise, but...what's the harm? "Uh, OK..." She hesitates uncertainly, before leaning forward; and places her lips on Alessandra's cheek. Her skin is cool to the touch, but it's not unpleasant. She's aware that she herself is blushing vividly.
She covers her embarrassment by wiping her sleeve across her eyes one final time, although she's aware that her face is a mess: some people can cry without losing their composure, but she isn't one of them. She flashes Alessandra a weak smile. "I'll, uh, try not to be a distraction. This looks like the sort of place where distractions could be unfortunate." Picking up her flail and giving it a quick, reassuring shake, she walks alongside the dhampir as they head towards town.
=====
Ellie contemplates the town in silence. Now that her own misery is reduced to a dull ache, she has room for other people's - and room for questions. Like: what could possibly have sent an entire town to the Boneyard in a single night - without even waking anyone up?! And what's wrong (or right!) with their hearts, that they were spared? What did the psychopomp mean by "a certain longitudinousness of your makeup?"
Gabriella's question mirrors her own thoughts: how to tell an entire town that, oops, sorry, you're dead?
"I, uh, don't think we should try to convince everyone at once. If we fail that could get... really bad. Let's start at the top with Lady Grive, the mayor. If we can convince her then the rest of the townsfolk might listen."
You make your way down into the town. The glowing citizens greet you as you pass, and you hear snippets of conversation:
"Hello! Strange weather we're having, eh?"
"I've been feeling a bit odd since I woke up. Must've been something I ate last night."
"Didja see that skeleton monster that came down from the hills? That thing looked nasty--good thing we were able to scare it away!"
"Ugh... I've got a killer headache..."
A few citizens show obvious signs of stress.
You head to the town hall, where you find the mayor of Roslar's Coffer, Lady Mullana Grive. "Good day to you. How may I be of service?"
Ellie gives the mayor a respectful nod. "Good day to you, Madam Mayor. Have you, uh, noticed that things haven't been... quite right today? We were wondering if we could possibly offer some help."
Mayor Grive frowns. "Yes, something strange has definitely occurred. Do you have any insights regarding this situation?"
Elká grinds her teeth and lets Ellie do the talking. Yeah, you're dead, done for, gonezo, as the Chelish would say: morte. She tries hard to resist the urge to pace about, finding it difficult to have a conversation with so many layers of make-believe. Would the truth really be that ineffective? The animals she hunts always know when the end is near and when Pharasma comes. Why wouldn't sentient mortals?
"I'm afraid madam Mayor there is bad news. There has been a disaster of some sort, perhaps a new orc weapon. Everyone in Roslar's Coffer... has been killed." Alessandra says, applying the logic that a bandage ripped off hurts less than one peeled off slowly. "You may have seen skeletal creatures? Or be feeling somewhat unwell? We're in the Boneyard and unfortunately most of the town is now dead. I'm truly sorry."
"I see," Grive says, taking the news stoically. "Yes, being dead seems the most likely explanation. I thought as much when we first woke up in this strange realm. It's a terrible tragedy, to be sure... But I suppose there's nothing to be done for it. I've already come to terms with my fate, but the rest of the townsfolk have proven to be more resistant to the idea. I tried to explain it to the others, but that only led to horrifying reactions and panic, which hasn't helped anyone.
"I'm willing to call a town meeting to inform everybody of what's happened, but I'll need your help. I'd like you to convince the rest of the town council of their fates, so that I'll have their support. The council leader is Arbella Tharmethion, one of Roslar's Coffer's most influential residents. And... I'd like you to broach the issue quietly and carefully to the town's children. I've never been good with kids myself, and I'm terrified that telling them that they are dead might warp their young souls."
"We can do that." Alessandra agrees, trying for sombre but oddly excited about being able to go and find the children."Where would we find them?"
"The town's not that large. They shouldn't be too hard to find," Grive says.
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Alessandra nods and takes her leave of the mayor, dragging the rest of the group along with her. She wanders around the streets for a while until they find a group of children and she walks over to sit in their midst.
"Hey kids! I've got something really cool to show you, it's a secret, but I can't give it away to just anybody. I need to find the smartest person under the age of twelve in the entire town! That's the only person I can tell this secret to!" She pauses and looks the kids up and down. "Hmm, you lot don't look quite right. Maybe there are some smarter kids over there..."
When the children clamour that no they are smart, really smart, she sits down with feigned reluctance. "Ok then. But I'll have to test you." She picks out one of the most confident looking children. "Can you tell me what species the woman over there is?" She asks, pointing to Ellie. She repeats this for Elka, adding "Not quite human, look at her eyes..." and for Gabriella "If you could look at her teeth you'd see that hers are a bit longer than yours..."
Finally, once the children have successfully deduced the races of her companions she smiles. "You are a clever bunch! Well then, I'd better tell you all the secret then!" She leans in closer. "I'm a dhampir too and I have a problem. You see, I'm half-dead. But only half! It's really annoying. You see I want to be completely dead. That way I don't have to get stuck around being hungry, having to go to school and be all responsible. If I'm fully dead I get to have lots of fun and play with my friends all the time. But I don't know how to be dead. I was hoping you could help me. You see, when someone's dead they get this lovely glow, like you have. It means you get to be dead and have fun all the time. I don't glow properly. Can you help me? Maybe if we play the right kind of dead games then I can be dead too?" She makes big pleading eyes. "Please?!?"
Most of the children of Roslar's Coffer are all playing together in and around a massive, dead oak tree tied with ribbons and unusually vibrant flowers. Recognizing the dhampir twins, they quickly crowd around Alessandra and Gabriella. They laugh and play along with Alessandra's game.
"I don't know how to make you be dead, Miss Aless, but we're all already dead!" the lead child cheeerfully exclaims. "The beautiful skeleton lady told us. She told us to be good and brave and that she would soon make everything right."
"Awww" 'Aless' acts disappointed. "You don't know how? But I want a pretty glow like you!" Her sad face soon dissolves into one of interest! "Aha! I've got it! I should talk to the beautiful skeleton lady! Can you help me with that? Where should I go to ask her? I bet you guys know where everyone important is!"
As if in response to Alessandra's questions, the air ripples as a creature appears among the children. With lengthy curling hair, a dancer's dress, and a bouquet of flowers, this woman remains beautiful, despite having no flesh. She speaks in a lyrical voice with a curious, lilting accent.
"Ah, newcomers, you must be the curiosities I heard tell of. I am Mictena, and I cordially welcome you to the Boneyard and eternity. Do not fret about your unusual condition; I shall be with you shortly to correct this horrible error and help you on your way to the final rest you have earned!"
The woman plucks a few flowers and hands them to the children nearby, who giggle happily and run off with their prizes.
Elká scratches the top of her head and with mixed curiosity and the feeling she should never ever have kids watches Alessandra work her magic on the kids. "I guess this beats calling them a bunch of babies for not accepting the fact they're dead ... "
Ellie watches with amazement, and a certain amount of admiration, as Alessandra works some sort of non-magical (but utterly effective) enchantment on the children: that was not a side that she was expecting to see from either of the twins. Realising that she's staring, she quickly moves her glance away.
When the skeleton appears, she is startled, but the friendly voice means that she doesn't raise her flail. But she's not exactly at ease, either... especially when - "Wait up." Ellie has a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach: there's something about the friendly offer of 'being helped on the way to a final rest' that sounds rather too... final for her liking.
"By correct this error, you don't mean sending us back to Golarion... do you?"
Elká snarls and bites out some choice words under her breath. "She better not mean it like that or else I swear I'm going to redecorate her skull."
Ellie recognizes Mictena as a psychopomp called a catrina. Catrinas welcome the dead into the afterlife, doing what they can to lessen the shock and terror experienced by mortals who haven’t accepted their own deaths or who still grieve for themselves. A catrina’s motivation for easing the transition from life to death has more to do with making the soul’s progression calm than compassion for the soul—after all, screaming and outrage disrupts the processing of the dead.
"¡Dios mío, no! Something sent you to the land of the dead, yes, and so you need to be properly dead before you can move on. You must accept your fate and find your peace. Traipsing back and forth would disrupt the entire system. Just relax, find a happy memory, and I will help you shed that fear soon."
Ellie's face creases into a frown of disbelief: "B-but what, what about other means of travel? Surely you get visitors here who aren't dead, right? I mean, what about those mites in the tomb? Okay, yes, they're dead now because they attacked us, but they got here alive didn't they?"
"Look, we're clearly not dead, so all we need is some sort of planar magic to get us back and then nobody's worse off, right? Are you, are you really allowed to make living people dead? I thought you had to wait for them to die of other causes. You can't seriously be planning to kill us just because it's more convenient for your system."
"Claro, sometimes the living visit the Boneyard, but yours is a special case. You're not dead... But you're not fully alive, either. Your souls are anomalies in the cycle of life and death, and the cycle must not be interrupted. I know you are scared, mi hermanita. Change is always frightening, but I will make it soft and swift, like a mother's kiss. You'll feel only love."
As the creepy woman appears Alessandra studies her carefully, but as she begins to speak and makes it clear that they are condemned to die she can't help but step backwards.
I can help. The voice from the moon calls to her Power, power to escape. For a price.
She looks up to the moon, hanging luminous in the sky above. I accept. I'll pay the price. Help me get my sister home.
To Alessandra's eyes, the moon seems to suddenly swell in size, and its grinning skull maw opens wide to devour her whole! Power flows through her body, into and out, causing the ground beneath her feet to crack and buckle. The children nearby shy away, and Mictena regards her with a curious look. "¡Ay, mi hermanita! We are all responsible for the consequences of the choices we make. I fear that was a poor one."
The psychopomp shakes her head sadly, then looks off in the middle distance. "There's been a terrible mudslide. A whole camp of people has arrived, and now I must tend to them. I can see that you are not ready to accept your fate. Once I've finished my other tasks, I'll return to help you with your transition. In the meantime, keep calm. All of this will be made right soon."
The air shimmers around her and she vanishes once more.
Once she's gone, one of the children creeps closer to you. "I, uh, 'found' this on the ground. The skeleton lady must have dropped it. Maybe it can help you." The round-faced boy presents you with a gleaming deep red gemstone carved into a sphere shape.
"Thank you! That was very clever of you. You must be a great finder!" Alessandra replies, taking the stone gently and tossing it up and down in her palm. "You lot go and have fun being dead! And remember to tell your parents!" She adds as an after-thought as the kids run off.
Alessandra stares at the stone for a few seconds.
"Gabbi? What do you see in this when you do that detecting magic spell?" She asks. It sounds like a casual question but Gabriella can tell it's anything but.
The stone cracks in Alessandra's hands, losing some of its luster.
Ulrich stands there still staring at the moon. "Maybe being dead isn't so bad. It's so... quiet, and peaceful... beautiful."
"Death is judgement," Gabriella says curtly to the Doctor as she takes the stone from her sister's hand to look it over. When it returns to normal in her possession, she looks up at her sister with a questioning gaze.
What did you do, Allie?
She casts her detection cantrip over it examine its aura. She also checks for any moral leaning in the magic.
"Claro, sometimes the living visit the Boneyard, but yours is a special case. You're not dead... But you're not fully alive, either. Your souls are anomalies in the cycle of life and death, and the cycle must not be interrupted. I know you are scared, mi hermanita. Change is always frightening, but I will make it soft and swift, like a mother's kiss. You'll feel only love."
Ellie shudders at the psychopomp's strange mixture of threat and charm, and is about to retort I don't want you killing me, softly or otherwise - when it vanishes.
"Oh-kay... that was - creepy. And I really, really think we don't, uh, want to be here when she gets back. Let's go find Arbella Tharmethion. Hopefully she's as easy to persuade as the children were."
She gives Alessandra a glowing smile: "That was - impressive. Really. I was dreading how badly wrong it could have gone, and you just won them over like that."
"She has a knack for winning people over," Gabriella says with a smile for her sister. She looks Eldarel up and down. "She's also got good taste." Her tongue traces her lips before returning her attention to the stone in her hand. Unsure as to what it does, she drops it into her pouch.
"Let's go see what we can do with Ms. Tharmethion."
"Wait. Gabbi. What did you see under the spell?" Alessandra asks, urgent now. "Did it have a sort of brown aura, like its got changing magic in it? Because if it does... then I think I just did magic..."
She gives Alessandra a glowing smile: "That was - impressive. Really. I was dreading how badly wrong it could have gone, and you just won them over like that."
"Thanks." Alessandra seems shaken out of her confusion by the compliment. "I like kids. They're easy to talk to and don't care what you are, just who you are. That can be refreshing with the way most people are. Its really nice to have people who don't mind." She grabs Ellie's hand and gives it a quick squeeze, "Thank you."
"Don't put it away yet Gabbi." She adds. "Try holding it about head height and letting it go. I think its an Ioun Stone, although I'm not sure what it does..."
Gabbi narrows her eyes as she looks at her sister. "Since when do you do magic?"
She reaches into her pouch and pulls out the magical stone. She looks from it to her sister and back. Without saying anything, she holds the stone up near her head and lets it go.
The inquisitor doesn't even acknowledge the stone orbiting her. Her attention is completely on the dhampir in front of her. She gives voice to the unspoken question from earlier.
"What did you do, Allie? Power doesn't exist in a vacuum. It comes from somewhere."
Alessandra grabs her sisters hand and pulls her off to one side, away from ghosts and living alike.
"I... you remember when I asked about the moon? If you could hear it? The moon was speaking to me - it offered me power. Then that woman... thing... turned up. She's going to kill us Gabbi! I couldn't let that happen to you! I said yes. I said I'd pay the price so I can get you out of here, and then... I could do magic... and I think other things happened too."
She pulls the mace out of her belt and shows it to her sister. There is a significant crack down the centre of the handle and the flanges of the head are bent and twisted. Then she takes her hand off it, leaving the weapon in her sister's grasp. Suddenly its completely whole again.
"Is this really happening Gabbi?" She asks, sounding scared.
Ellie returns Gabbi's smile, and Alessandra's squeeze of her hand, pleased to find herself in their company. There's been very little in the way of friendship or affection in her life for some years, and it is food for her soul. But then-
Uh. Oh
What did you do, Allie?"
She recognises the 'Sibling Voice' - the tone of voice that says, this is private, and any bystander who intervenes will get shredded. It's been a long time since she heard it, but you know it when it sounds.
Wisely, she steps to one side and just lets them get on with it.