The boy that is condemned to die... do you know where his mother lives? I'd like to pay my respects privately, without drawing attention, if possible.
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She gives Zendara a shrewd look before sighing, "All right, something tells me you'll probably find out regardless, but you didn't hear it from me OK? Mrs Harris lives at Rose Cottage which is just out of town, I met her when she first came here a few years back, fleeing from persecution in The Kez. She was looking for work and helped us with the accounts. Anyway it would take a miracle to save Eliott and even if that happened it'd never be safe for him to live here anymore. Anyway I'm heading home now, take care on the way back, it's not safe to go alone after dark."
She gives you directions and you realise you probably walked past her house on the way into town.
The town didn't feel so bad during the day but at night the streets are eerily quiet with a sense of brooding watchfulness. Every window is shuttered with iron bars and there's no lights, not even from the cracks under the doors. The moonlight was bright enough for you to pick your way back but without it you where sure that you'd have got lost in the maze of winding streets.
It seemed that they might be intervening in the young man's fate and Yukarii could not accept what was happening tot he young man. Maybe it was her own tenancy towards hedonism that made her think he was getting a bum deal. At the very least, if they could get him free, they could take him with them and he would be safe from pursuit.
The town was now dark and though the moonlight provided a means for most of them to see Yukarii was not bothered by the darkness. She felt the brooding watchfulness that everyone else flet and Yukarii had them wait a moment so she could pull Yukaari from her mind. The phantom stayed within Yuarii's form and she gestured that she was ready to continue.
Zendara's darkvision makes it easy to see the eyes and the possible body behind a cart they are passing.
Wait. she murmurs quietly, so as not to attract extra attention.
I think that might be a body... but let me check and see if it is someone hurt. Be aware, and watch my back.
She moves softly towards the body to render assistance if possible.
When she gets to the body, if she senses any life left at all, she casts Cure Light Wounds.
Edwin reassured Clara, "You can count on my discretion. See you tomorrow afternoon."
He heeded her warning about danger on the streets after dark, and cast a spell for magical protection.
When Zendara said something about a body he said, "Be careful!", and followed after her.
Xindyra follows Zandara's head movement, likewise, but only just, noticing the prone form of someone.
As Zandara goes ahead, Xindyra drinks an extract of shield.
,
"Until tomorrow!" echoed Clara to Edwin as she and Alara walked away towards the place they where staying.
With the announcement of the body they found Yukarii went to go see it. She knew she might be able to learn something if they needed to and, if it happened to have an angry spirit attached, well, that was kind of her area of expertise.
Yukarii examined the body as a feeling of something as she did she noticed both the fact the person had no coin pouch on him and she spotted something under his left sleeve. She pulled the sleeve up and saw the tatoo on his arm and wondered what it meant.
During her examination Yukarii began to sense...something... There was something lingering but she wasn't entirely sure what it was. She began to look around closely using her spirit sense to try and figure out what it was that she felt.
(fail)
(fail)
(pass)
(pass)
She sketches it in her journal, then says
Well, we should move on. Whatever, or whoever killed him could still be around.
"There's bloddy paw prints!", Edwin declared, following them to the wall.
"They end here!"
"The victim has been robbed. He has a tattoo; I wonder if it's gang related?"
Now that Edwin points out the tracks, Zendara focuses on them.
Quietly, Zendara says
I don't know, but maybe you should keep your voice down. I can't track whatever creature it is, so unless someone else can, there isn't anything we can do.
...Maybe we should just get back to the ship and get some sleep. With the reputation of this place they are going to see the body, think we're the murderers and we'll be thrown in the dungeon. ... Or else they'll add us to the body count.
Spotting the odd reflective eyes, Xindyra quietly joins her comrades.
"There was something lurking up on the roofs, with light reflecting eyes, like a cat would at night. The moment it noticed i saw it, it went away."
Giving the scene a quick glance over, she notices a bloody print near the top of the wall.
"Huh...then perhaps the thing on the roof was the predator."
She thinks on what animal leaves the claw marks.
Should it not match animal, she would try going through other categories.
Yukarii saw what she had feared she sensed, at least as well as she could sense disembodied spirits, and she knew they couldn't just leave the spirit to suffer. She spoke softly to her friends and said, "We cannot leave, his sipirit is still here and suffering. If we do it will be a problem for people later on."
Yukarii looked back at eh spirit and her otherhalf slipped free from her outline. Yukaari seemed more serious than her usual suggestive as she looked at the disembodied spirit. Yukarii spoke and the lust spirit spoke the same words as they said tgether, "We can see you there spirit and we are sorry for what you have suffered. Speak with us and we will see fi we can help you."
Shaking her head and worrying that this is a bad idea, Zendara nevertheless accepts the statement, draws her bow, and takes up a guard position, scanning the area in case the predators, animal or humanoid, came back.
Xindyra looks a moment back upwards.
"These claw marks match a big cat. Such as a tiger.
But one that climbs walls and chooses the roofs?"
Her imagination starts running wild.
Were-tiger?
Uh, so, a rakshasa or some sort of thing like that? I thought those were just tales.
"That also matches criteria, aside from were-creatures, perhaps."
I didn't think of that... don't those just change at the full moon though? Or so the stories say, right?
Edwin studied the tracks, trying to figure out the nature of the creature that made them.
Edwin conferred with Yukarii, "Where is the spirit? I can't see it."
Yukarii gestured to where the spirit was and she and Yukaari both replied in unison, "We have a special sense for spirits that let us sometimes see them Edwin-san. We do not really see them physically but we can sense their energy sometimes and our mind interprets this as seeing them."
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The spirit didn't react to Yukarii at first and Edwin could neither see nor sense anything where Yukarii pointed, it just seemed like an otherwise unremarkable section of the alley wall.
To Yukarii however she saw the spirit transfixed staring at his corpse.
Sounding gobsmacked he complained, "I've always been loyal there's been some awful mistake and now I'm late, Yula will never forgive me it's Tasha's birthday and I promised I'd be back in time for dinner. I need to get home and make it up to her somehow... I've worked with the firm for years, as loyal as the best of them this doesn't seem right. I tried to tell her it was a mistake that it's not fair, that they got the wrong guy. Now anyway I'm late, if you'll excuse me..."
He got up to leave, started walking and abruptly appeared back next to his corpse which he stared at slackjawed.
When the spirit began to speak Yukarii listened intently through what Yukaari heard. Not all of it made sense to her but Yukarii memorized the words so she could repeat them to her friends and ask for their thoughts on them. When it was finished she watched as it tried to leave the area and go home only to suddenly be pulled back to his remains.
Regardless of her full understanding of the words Yukarii could understand the emotions involved and knew this would turn ugly if it weren't dealt with. Continuing to watch the spirit Yukarii spoke once more in the dual voice with Yukaari, "We know you do not accept what has happened, it is hard to understand, and we can tell you feel greatly wronged. We will find Yula and Tasha and make sure you are given a proper burial. You have our word of honor Spirit-san."
Yukarii almost ceased conversing with the spirit but she suspected she might get a bit more from it yet. They looked at the spirit and asked, "You remember you asked us to get Tasha's present for you and bring it by your home so Yula could keep it safe for you. We forgot what it was you wanted us to get her and where to take it." Yukarii looked at the spirit pleadingly and asked, "Would you remind us again what to get and where to take it please Spirit-san?"
Everyone else sees Yukarii seemingly talking to a wall...
You're words about Tasha's present must have had some effect because the spirit started raving, "And they laughed when they saw what I was carrying and threw it in the midden heap! That hurt inside, almost as much as when they... Oh god's Yulia how can you ever forgive me? I'm so late. So so late... I'm always late. She's going to leave me for good this time I know it. Taken away from Tasha I can't bear it!"
The spirit started sobbing.
Yukarii knew she would get little more from the spirit and could only hope that burying him and giving the present to his daughter would be enough to let him rest. She looked towards the midden and spotted the doll. Her clothes had been ripped and there was a ribbon on her. Yukarii picked up the doll and then looked to the spirit once more.
"We will do all that we can to get this to your daughter Spirit." Yukarii recalled Yukaari to her mind and looked to the others. "The man's soul is trapped here, it seems a group called 'The Firm' thought he betrayed them. They murdered him and left him in this alley. I think that would not have been enough to trap him here on it's own." Yukarii sighed and wobbled a bit before reaching out to place a hand on the wall to steady herself.
Once she was steadied Yukarii continued, "I am sorry, doing that is draining. The Spirit is late in getting home to his daughter Tasha. It is her birthday today and he was going to give her this," Yukarii held up the doll, "but was murdered before he could. His spirit is distressed that his wife Yulia will leave him and take their daughter far away so he will never see her again." She looked at where the spirit was and then back to her friends, "He does not understand or accept that he is dead."
Squaring her shoulder Yukarii said, "If we do not bury him and give this to his daughter this will, at best, become a haunted ally. At worst..." Yukarii shuddered at the thought of some of the things that could come from this, "His spirit could become a full blown ghost or poltergeist. It could even re-inhabit it's corpse and become something far more dangerous."
Zendara casts Prestidigitation and Mending, to clean up the doll and remove any trash or trash smell, and to fix the torn clothing so it looked like new.
(fail)
(fail)
Edwin considered the situation, "I agree that we should ensure that he gets a proper burial. And we should deliver the present to his daughter. Does anyone know the local burial customs?"
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Zendara's magic repaired and cleansed the doll which looks good as new.
Xindrya knew the dead man must have been working for the local thieves guild the Red Hand. Apparently he fell out of favour and paid the consequences. She suspects the man's family are Kez immigrants with name that are uncommon locally, so it should be possible to track them down and deliver the doll. This ought to appease the man's spirit and help him pass over as he must.
A curious though occurs to Xindrya, the boy condemned to die tomorrow is also of Kez extraction. Surely this is a coincidence, those of Kez ancestry are unpopular at best especially since the war started, nothing more to it than that right?
So, should we go back to the ship? We can find the girl and give her the doll tomorrow, right?
Edwin replied, [b]"Yes, it's late. Let's a get a good night's rest.[/ooc]
The rest of the journey was mostly uneventful. There were a few groups of drunks roaming around although it seemed they were after late night food and more alcohol. Nobody gave you any trouble but you felt like even in the deserted streets on the edgy of town you were being watched. It wasn't until the airships shilouette loomed ahead that you began to relax and by that stage it was well past midnight.
A strong watch had been posted, Dr Munroe was still up and was anxiously awaiting your return. "Thank heavens you're all right, we were starting to get worried. Miriam was planning on sending a search party but I wasn't sure that would be wise. Like Braenar is fond of saying, Carina by night has an ill reputation..." Seeing that you were all safe and sounds Dr Munroe lightened up and asked, "So anyway, did you find someplace good for dinner? Also any luck finding a food wholesaler?"
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Edwin greeted Dr. Munroe and told him about the meeting with the cousins, "We had dinner with members of a farming family at a place called the Cafe Ericola. We're going to drop by their farm tomorrow afternoon and finalize the details. How do you think Braenar will react to the idea of keeping some chickens on board?"
After filling him in on the discussion around food stores, he related the events in the alley, "We came upon the body of a member of the Red Hand thieves guild. Yukarii conversed with his ghost; it seems he was betrayed by someone else in the guild. We're going to try to contact his family and help his spirit move on."
After warning Doctor Munroe to not spread the information around, Zendara adds
We also might help some kid escape injustice, so after the food delivery, I need the ship to be ready to cast off. ... And we need that food delivery as soon as possible, just in case.
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When they reached the safety of their ship Yukarii returned Yukaari into her mind and felt completely exhausted. She kept the doll with her for safekeeping and said, "I am heading to bed, speaking to the spirit was exhausting." With that Yukarii headed to her cabin.
When she reached her cabin Yukarii quickly undressed and climbed beneath the covers. She was far too exhausted to do anything more. Even Yukaari was quiet and didn't complain about their lack of "fun". It was goign to be a long day tomorrow and she needed to be as rested as she could get.