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It takes Esrisi a moment to recognize that the Venture Captain has entered the dining hall. When she does take in this fact, she tries her best puss-in-boots and looks over at the VC pleading for help.
Sheila stands there still waiting for an explanation as she watches Sapher begin to untie Esrisi and cover her.
Veltariel stands and picks up her pack. ”Your pupil attempted to get revenge for our altercation last night, and failed. I make no excuse for defending myself while trying NOT to harm her this time,” she replies to the Venture Captain stoically.
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Once untied, Esrisi scrambles off the table as quickly as she can. She yanks the apple out of her mouth and pulls her arm back to throw it at Veltariel, but glances over at Sheila and drops it to the ground. She intends to speak first, but Veltariel beats her to the punch.
Her breathing is ragged, tears streaming down her face that is as red as the broken apple beside her foot. She clenches the robe tight around her body, unable to meet Sheila's gaze. Perhaps the only figure in Magnimar that could humble Esrisi so quickly was now standing before her, judging.
She can't meet the Venture Captain's eyes and instead stares at her feet while Vel talks.
Sheila lets out a brief sigh and then nods to Vel's explanation. She turns her attention to Es with a calm tone and notes "Esrisi, please get dressed and meet me in my study." She turns her attention to the others "After I have spoken with Esrisi, we all need to talk."
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Mokhasi, frowning, descends the stairs. He assists Esrisi to get untied, but with a look of barely contained disgust on his face.
There is anger in his voice that you have not heard before.
He turns to Veltariel, શું તમે તેને ફક્ત પાઠ શીખવ્યો ન હોત? શું તમારે ફરીથી તેને શરમજનક બનાવવું પડ્યું? તને શેનુ ખરાબ લાગ્યુ!? તમે મનુષ્યો કરતા ઘણું વિકસિત હોવાનો દાવો કરો છો, પરંતુ તમે જેમ વર્તન કરો છો ... એક ડ્રો. અસંસ્કૃત અને મૂર્ખાઈ. તમે તેજ શોધનારાઓના પાઠ ભૂલી ગયા છો. તમે વડીલોની અવિરત શાણપણ ભૂલી ગયા છો. તમે ક્રૂરતાને તમારા હૃદયને આગળ ધપાવ્યા છે ... હું ... આને ચાલુ રાખી શકતો નથી. તે અનિશ્ચિત છે.
Mokhasi raises his voice, full of venom, pointing his finger. Mokhasi returns to his seat and holds his coffee in both hands staring at the wall blankly. He appears to be doing some sort of breathing exercise.
When Heidmarch speaks again, he nods, shaking his head almost imperceptibly.
Veltariel continues staring straight ahead, pack in hand. ”એડૉરલન સાથે શરૂ થવા માટે તેણી સશસ્ત્ર નહોતી. હું ફક્ત તેને અટકાવવા માંગતો હતો અને તેણીને છૂટથી છૂટા કર્યા વિના દોરડું ન હતું, જેનાથી વધુ લડાઈ થઈ હતી.”
As he continues berating her, she stands there at almost military-like attention, eyes forward. However, at his disappointment, her lips and chin quivers, and tears begin tracing down her cheeks, but she doesn’t dare make an audible sob.
Sheila places a hand on Mokashi's shoulder, not knowing the words he speaks but understanding the intention behind them. Then looks to Vel, starring a moment as if thinking. "Veltariel, would you join me in my office as well? Perhaps we can talk while Esrisi gets dressed?"
Veltariel gives the owner of this overly expensive mansion a look, before taking up her pack and following along in silence, head held high. She gives Drask a nod of appreciation as she continues on to Sheila’s office, her tears ceasing before she arrives.
Sheila takes a seat, not behind her desk but in a chair in front of it and offers Vel to take a seat next to her "Mokhasi told me of the events from yesterday, though he could only provide second hand accounts of what transpired between you and Esrisi. I was hoping you could give me further insight."
Veltariel looks continues to look straight ahead. ”I will say that she and I did not begin things amicably, and the fault lies with both equally. However, during the venture, either her enmity or her ineptitude with her weapon resulted in her shooting me in the back. Later, she proceeded to order me around as if I was her servant,” she turns her eyes slightly to Sheila and adds ”a tendency common in your kind,” before turning her eyes forward once again. ”I retaliated with physical violence, ending with her unconscious and me leaving her a reminder to never order me around again,” she says as she taps the band of golden hair entwined around her belt.
”I do not apologize for my actions then or now. I am my own master. However,” her stoic facade cracks a bit. ”I do not wish for my actions to reflect on Mokhasi. He is not my master, nor my keeper. As such my actions should not result in punishment from your organization. I know you have an organization to run, and I have disrupted those operations. If you ask me to leave, I will. I just ask you make sure to assign someone to adequately protect Mokhasi,” she says, her words cracking a bit at the end as a tear again escapes her eye.
She listens to Vel and considers her words for a moment before speaking then asks her another question "Mokhasi is a good frined of yours yes? Would you prefer to leave his protection to someone else or see to it yourself?"
Veltariel appraises the human wearily. ”He is my only friend. I would give what little my life is worth to keep him safe.”
Sheila nods to Vel's answer "Well, Mokashi spoke very highly of you deeds. From the sounds of it, things may have turned out much worse had you not been there. With all things considered, if you wish to stay then you are welcome to do so. Perhaps you could do me a favor though?"
She pauses a moment before continuing "It sounds as though you and Esrisi do not get along, from what I gather it is because of your general dislike of humans. Of course, Esrisi shares some blame in this from what I hear and I will speak with her in regards to that. I don't know your history or what could have made you feel that way, but we aren't all bad. Esrisi, I can say for certain is not bad, but..." She points toward the shard on her desk "That artifact you found brought out the worst in her and it made the situation worse than it should have been."
She smiles earnestly as she finally gets around to asking her favor "Perhaps, you can give Esrisi the benefit of the doubt moving forward and have a conversation before coming to blows first? On my end, I can at least give you all the tools to avoid being compromised by any of these shards again. So, if not for me, then for the safety of the whole group, Mokhasi as well. He is intent to continue his work with the Pathfinders and that means working with this team. If your goal is to keep him safe, it will be important for you to work with the team, all of the team." she emphasis the last part.
Veltariel listens to her words, and after thinking on them a moment, she asks ”So, you are wishing me to join your organization then?”
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Esrisi ascends the stairs quickly, ignorant of the world around her, trudging back to her room. She ponders over actions these last twenty-four hours, wondering how it is that she has gotten to this place of no control. Constantly giving in to her raw emotions has embarrassed her twice now, making her look like a fool.
You are so naive to think you could lead anyone Esrisi! You have embarrassed not only yourself, but Sheila Heidmarch who gave you a roof and a purpose. You’ve lost your way and let your darkness guide you into the depths of the abyss!
She slowly pulls on her clothes, her eyes finally drained dry of tears. The scorn of her mother and sisters screaming in her head You are a fool! Can’t even be a Pathfinder for one day without bringing disgrace to the Derexhi name! Nothing more than a bastard who isn’t even worthy of pretending to be a human!
She berates herself for ten minutes while she dresses and prepared for her berating from Sheila. She leaves her room and descends the steps for a second time today, though this time her steps are silent and slow as she returns to the ground floor. She passes the dining hall and looks away from her team, too embarrassed to look any of them in the eye.
She reaches Sheila’s office and sees the door is closed with voices inside. Probably discussing your dismissal. Your father is going to be furious for once more tarnishing the Derexhi name. Think of the beatings he will have done to you this time!
Esrisi puts her back to the wall outside the office and slowly slides to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest and letting her face flop down on top of them. She quietly reflects upon where she went wrong with Veltariel while waiting for Sheila.
She quirks her brow at Vel's question and thinks on it for a moment "That is up to you. I can say that from what I know of this shard, there are others and we will need to track them down. I imagine there will be great dangers involved. You've proven your skill and it would make things more straight forward all around. However, it's not a requirement, though if you decide to set yourself apart from the Pathfinders then your actions would be Mokhasi's responsibility since he has vouched for you."
Veltariel sits silently for a few minutes in thought. ”Very well. My actions should not reflect on him. However, you should understand by now I do not do well with orders from human-kind. However, so long as you do not treat myself, or those of us with Elven heritage with disrespect, I shall try to...cooperate.”
Sheila nods and lets out a breath of relief "Well, perhaps you would like to tell Mokhasi the good news then? It sounded as though there may be some bridges to mend there as well. I will leave you to it, as I believe I have someone else waiting outside."
Sheila stands and goes to open the door, seeing Es sitting against the wall next to the door as she opens it, she motions 'after you' to Vel before asking Es to come inside.
Veltariel makes her way out, not making eye contact with Esrisi before returning to the dinner hall and the others.
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Esrisi watches Vel go, wondering what they could have possibly been talking about. Did she get in trouble?
She slowly stands and waits until Veltariel is well out of range before walking into the open doorway and taking a seat. As the door clicks shut, she starts strong but quickly loses steam, unsure what to say. "Venture Captain. I-"
She holds her hands out on the desk in front of her, looking at a dim scaly reflection of herself back in her hands. In a drab, flat tones she states "Against my will I stand beside my own reflection." Lowering her hands she softly "It's haunting how I can't seem to find myself anymore."
She pulls her knees up to her chest, holding them tight against her body. "I'm sorry. I tried, I did. I really tried."
She rocks back and forth slightly on the chair as she stars at the empty desk in front of her as she talks, staring forward with an empty gaze.
After Vel leaves and Esrisi enters Shiela closes the door and goes to take a seat behind her desk, letting Esrisi take a seat in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk.
As Esrisi attempts to start and struggles, Sheila stands and comes to sit next to Esrisi. She places a hand on the young woman's shoulder.
"My dear Esrisi, from what Mokhasi has reported you had a horrible day yesterday. Let me start by first apologizing." She pauses and moves her hand to Esrisi's chin so that their eyes meet "I'm sorry you had to face the effects of the shards power. I didn't know that is what Natalya had discovered. All things considered you and the team actually did a very good job."
She smiles and sits back into her seat next to Esrisi. "Not only did you recover an invaluable artifact, you captured and returned Natalya safely as well as another member of her gang and your companions captured a vile man attempting to capture Pathfinders. From what I have heard there were some difficulties between you and Veltariel, but a large part of that was due to the ill effects of the shard."
She looks down at Esrisi's newly scaled hands and continues "Obviously, the shard has left its mark, but you mustn't blame yourself. In the field, things happen and almost always, things don't go according to plan. The important thing is to find the win where you can, do your best to recover, learn from your mistakes and do better next time."
She looks toward the door for a moment before she continues "Now as to you and Veltariel, I know you expressed concerns before. It sounds like things got way out of hand, but what happened this morning was definitely not the best way to handle things. While you were both in the wrong to some degree, letting your temper flare and resorting to violence will only continue to make matters worse. If you hope to be a successful Pathfinder you will need to make every effort to talk things out before pursuing violence, specifically with your allies."
She pauses a moment to let her words sink in then continues "I know you will accomplish great things and you have a bright future ahead of yourself. Just be sure you exercise patience, and try to use your words instead of your fists when you can."
She looks back to the shard on her desk then notes "Unless you having anything you would like to say, I think it is about time I explained to everyone what is so special about this shard."
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Patience again Ez. Maybe you should start paying attention to whate everyone is telling you.
She nods along with the kind words from the Venture Captain, clearly not what she had expected at all. Confused, she looks up at Sheila and asks "You. Aren't upset at me? I acted like a fool and poorly represented the Pathfinders. My conduct has been unbecoming. I also spoke out of turn to you yesterday."
When Sheila addresses those questions, she raises her hands to the Venture Captain. She looks up and pleads "Take them away please? Tell me you can fix it?"
Finally she touches her lack of hair absently and says "I saw you dismissed Veltariel. For the record, I thoroughly agree with this approach. I don't know if you saw, but she did this to me -" she touches her hair again "and wears it like a symbol of pride on her belt. It's infuriating for me to look at and I'd like to request her share of the treasure yesterday as reparations for permanent damage."
Moving right along she continues. "Will her replacement be joining us for this mission? I trained with several good archers and I believe I know of several scouts who would prove to be a valuable asset to whatever we need to accomplish next."
When Esrisi asks about fixing her hands Sheila sighs "Perhaps we can speak to some of the local clergy and see if there is anything to be done. I do not know what has afflicted you, but I am sure we can find answers."
As Esrisi goes on under the assumption that Vel was dismissed Sheila holds up her hands in a 'hold on a minute' gesture "You seem to have the wrong idea... I did not dismiss Veltariel. I offered her a field commission to join the Pathfinders. From the report I received she was an invaluable asset in the mission. As to the incident between the two of you, you have to remember that the shard made the whole thing worse. If it weren't for the effects of the shard, I doubt that would have even occurred. I understand about the hair, but you should know well enough that is easily fixable. Perhaps it would be a good opportunity to make amends with on another by calmly explaining your feelings about the hair and asking for her to return it, so that you can get it fixed? If nothing else think of it as a training exercise in being diplomatic. You will have to find some common ground with her, or at the very least a way to work together without hostilities, as it is likely you will both be working together for some time."
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Esrisi's jaw fall open slightly at the unexpected news. She bolts up from her position on the chair, placing her feet on the ground and looking down at Sheila, almost pleading.
Ask for MY HAIR back nicely?!
"But...But...But..."
Her shoulders slump in defeat, letting her head sag in defeat. "Not even garnishment for emotional damages?"
Sighing she breathes out a long breath and nods. "Yes Venture Captain."
Sheila stands and picks up the shard from her desk. She places a reassuring hand on Esrisi's shoulder and moves with her to open the door, letting her take the lead back to the dining room. After ensuring everyone else is there and she has their attention she speaks up "Thank you all for your patience. I wanted to let you know about this shard."
She holds up the shard from last night as she continues "“What you have found, my friends, is nothing short of a miracle. Varisia has seen its share of miracles of late, the discovery of Xin-Shalast and the defeat of Runelord Karzoug, or Korvosa’s release from mad Ileosa’s rule come to mind, but this discovery will soon be remembered as an equal to those events. This is a powerful Thassilonian artifact, a fragment of horacalcum and a portion of the Shattered Star of Xin: to be precise, the Shard of Pride. I suspect that the shard’s former carrier already knows more about it than I do, having experienced it's negative side effects. However, by adding the ioun stone to the shard it has nuetralized those ill effects and now can be used to our benefit. I'm sure you may have many questions, so I will open to floor to you before we continue.”
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Esrisi leads the Venture Captain back to the group, doing her best to hide her frustrations at the lack of Veltariel's dismissal. She finds Caroliss in the crowd and natural gravitates to where she is located, leaning her head down on top of the cleric's shoulder and making sure to avoid any eye contact with the female elf. She whispers "I didn't get in trouble. Can you believe it?"
When the VC speaks up about their amazing discovery, Esrisi recalls scooping the "fire wand" off the warehouse floor just so she could keep it away from the enemy. In fact, she's sure if she didn't scoop it up it may have just been forgotten as a piece of junk. At least you did one thing right yesterday.
She stands a little taller, her face finding her smile once again, a sense of accomplishment washing over her. She's about to speak up and start asking questions right up until the moment Sheila mentions the negative side of the shard.
"I suspect that the shard’s former carrier already knows more about it than I do, having experienced it's negative side effects."
Esrisi's smile fades, letting her shoulders slump again.
Caroliss is shocked as Veltariel returns to the group and drops her bag off to the side. Are you not leaving? What's going on? She glares at the elf who had embarrassed her friend so much. Especially because she still had the band of hair. Was this elf going to stay with the group? Was Esrisi going to get in trouble for attacking her?
It's a relief when Esrisi returns and confirms that she too, didn't get in trouble. "Next time you want to start a fight, don't do it at the Manor!" she chides. Perhaps that was the wrong lesson to take from this experience, but the way Vel had embarrassed Esrisi was galling. Even if Esrisi had started this latest fight. Caroliss was dreaming of how to take revenge, even though she's not the one who was wronged.
Soon though, her attentions return to the mission at hand, and the mystery of what they had found. She thinks about what she knows of the Horacalum or the Shattered Star of Xin.
"Headmistress Heidmarch, what possible benefit could come from the Shard of Pride? It seems to have caused those who possessed it all sorts of problems. Or do the benefits only come from taking the pieces of this "Shattered Star" and putting it back together?"
Drask stares blankly, as if by sheer willpower alone he can make any of the words she just said make any sense to him.
Sheila holds the shard out in her hand for you all to see and then turns her gaze to Caroliss "Well, as you can see the negative effects are no longer active. From my research, I hypothesized that the shards work similar to a wayfinder, and it appears I was correct. While each shard does create some minor benefits their true power only manifests when the shards are put together as one. Obviously, aside from the historical significance, something this powerful can't be out there for just anyone to weild. We must secure the other pieces and then I am certain we can use it as a defense against any future threats that may face Varisia."
The first questions of what all these things do, from Caroliss, is a great one. Sapher is pretty lost about all the great events the captain mentioned, being a foreigner, and about Thassilonians since she never had been too interested in history.
Those questions are better asked of the more informed members of her own group than wasting time of command.
"I never got to see this shard... what did it look like?"
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Esrisi lifts her head off Caroliss's shoulder when she asks questions. Quiet at first, her mind quickly begins racing on the possibilities of more shards that are out there to be found. By us!
She asks Sheila curiously "Venture Captain, where are the other shards located? We accidentally stumbled upon this one, do we have any guidance as to the location of the rest of them?"
Veltariel stands to the side, alone despite now being officially part of the team. Eventually, she asks ”So, what does this one do, and who will be keeping it safe?”
Sapher agrees with Ez being the caretaker, "You suffered for it and all." leaving the logical reason of already knowing what will be the result if it starts to affect her again. She definitely does not want to see Drask that way.
Drask starts to piece together what's happening. So we're gonna be sent to collect the rest of these pieces? Didn't seem that bad. Wonder if they're all in the city.
When Es asks about the locations of the other shards and then Vel inquires about what it does and who will keep it safe Sheila replies "After examining the shard I've discovered that whomever carries it has the ability, once a day, to make a realistic illusion. . They are also more resistant to the effects of illusion spells themselves Finally, it grants them better insight into the tasks they pursue. "
She holds the shard out for Esrisi to take as she continues "As for the location... Esrisi if you would, take the shard, close your eyes and try to focus the Sihedron's shape, the seven pointed star."
As Esrisi focuses she continues to the others "Each fragment of the Shattered Star is linked to one more fragment in a set sequence, and by concentrating on the Sihedron while holding a shard that’s been “awakened” with the proper ioun stone, one can receive a vision of the
region in which the next shard in the sequence is located. Unfortunately, the location isn’t completely exact, but it should be enough to set you on the right course."
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Esrisi puts on a good show about how she should be the one to carry it, but she hesitates a brief second when Sheila holds it out in front of her. Terrified something bad is going to happen again, she cautiously extends her now gloved fingers to the shard and touches it gingerly at first, probing it with her finger. When nothing bad happens, she reaches for the shard and pulls it into her hand.
Stepping besides Sheila she closes her eyes and follows the directions provided to her, focusing her mind. When she sees an image of floating above her body and the lodge, a huge grin spreads on her face as here eyes widen even though they are closed and she clenches the shard in both hands as she exclaims excitedly "I'm flying! I'M FLYING!"
Always having been a dream of hers, she relishes in the vision as she begins to soar above the group and then out above the lodge into greater Magnimar. She moves her head slightly as she flies, completely caught up in the realistic vision.
"I'm above the Irespan!" she says excitedly. "I think it's somewhere in the Irespan? I'm looking at a piling near the water." She keeps her eyes closed, not wanting to release the feeling of flying.
"Incredible! So this really is a piece of Ancient Thassilon--and it's the key to reuniting the entire star!"
Caroliss studies the shard with fascination as Esrisi holds it. She waits for the vision to conclude, before asking. "Ez, can I have a look? I'd like to experience it for myself." Caroliss seems a little tense as she makes this request. She doesn't mention that this was a test--after all, the last time Caroliss asked for the shard, her friend threatened to morningstar her face.
If Esrisi hands over the shard, Caroliss smiles in relief, and then begins admiring the object, and then focuses on the Sihedron star herself.
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Esrisi doesn't want to leave the fantasy of flying, it was literally a dream come true for her. She doesn't immediately respond, moving her head around the room with the realization that she doesn't actually need to move. After a few seconds of this however, her eyes flutter open and she shivers with excitement.
Holding the shard out to Caroliss with both hands, she bounces in place as she waits for the cleric to take it from. "Oh Car! It's AMAZING! You're going to love it! I was FLYING! Can you believe it?"
Wide-eyed and giddy, she completely tunes out the fact that the rest of the group is still standing there and instead is only eager to let her best friend experience this thrilling moment for herself. When Caroliss takes it into her hands she asks excitedly, "Whaddya see, whaddya see?!"
"Woah." Caroliss takes a hold of the shard. And the vision takes hold of her. "I feel like I just left my body. I'm above the city! And I'm being taken to the harbor. The Irespan. Just like you said, Ez!"
Caroliss looks around to see anything she might recognize to pinpoint precisely where she is.
She is also curious if this vision represents this place as it looks right this moment. She looks around for signs of people or animals. She takes in the sun and clouds to see if it feels like the right time of day.
Eventually, she tries to focus back onto her body, to come back to reality. "That was really crazy. I wonder who else has these shards? And whether any of them know what it is? If they don't, it could be that every owner of a shard is crazy or delusional!"
She looks toward Sheila. "Lady Heidmarch, did Natalya tell us where she got this shard in the first place?"
Caroliss would hand the shard around so others could see the vision too.
Drask shakes his head when the shard is offered to him. "Pass. My life's complicated enough without all that nonsense. I'll take your word on it." He turns to look at the venture captain. "So. This isn't a little mission. This is going all over the place to find a bunch of these shards, hidden in places that only the gods know, guarded by whatever sorts of dangerous and deadly creatures. We'll be too far from the Pathfinders to get any support, and if we fail then they might get into the hands of somebody who can cause a lot of damage with 'em." And you're trusting the group that has people at each other's throats. He adds, only to himself.
Drask smirks.
"Can't wait."