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It had been twelve years. Twelve years since a tyrant of the ancient world awoke from millenia of slumber and threatened all of Varisia. Twelve years since a band of heroes defeated Karzoug and brought knowledge of long-lost Thassilon to the modern world. Few realized that this was just the beginning of Varisia's troubles. And fewer still could guess that a humble group of small-town companions were destined to play a pivotal role in the world-changing events to come...
DM Brainiac Presents...
3 Rova, 4718 AR
It is a tumultuous time in Roderic's Cove. The normal peace of the small town has been disrupted by what can only be called gang violence. Just a few days ago, six men were found dead in the Circle, the town's central meeting point. Everybody knows that the victims were members of the Horned Fangs, a gang that formed about a year ago and whose numbers have slowly swelled during that time. While the older generation of Roderic's Cove cluck their tongues and mutter, "That's what you get for being uppity," no one in town really thinks of the Horned Fangs as particularly violent. The common belief is that a group of murderers from Riddleport ambushed the Horned Fangs, and many are calling for port-governor Thort to confront Riddleport and demand the names of those responsible for the atrocity.
Others believe something a bit more supernatural is going on—that the ghost of "Old Sir Roderic" has risen from his grave once again and he's displeased with the town for some reason. These people point to the rumor that the Horned Fang victims supposedly died of fright as proof that a ghost killed them, and wonder if perhaps members of the gang may have desecrated Roderic's Wreck in some way.
Whatever the case may be, there's an air of tension at the weekly Circle Market, where numerous locals gather in the heart of town to display surplus food and supplies for sale and barter. Despite the unease at being at the scene of the grisly slaughter, it's still the best place to find a deal on various goods. And of course, local codger Bimmer "Possum" Coots has set up his wooden cart not far from the old well at the circle's eastern side as he does every week, selling cups of "possum punch."
Sure murders were a terrible thing, but that wasn't really on her mind at the moment. She had bigger problems then some strangers getting killed by some other strangers.
Walking through Circle Market, the taller, wiser, older and more attractive identical twin nudges her sister as they walk. "I want an apple, Elly. Can you "get" me one please?" she says, motioning to a fruit stand nearby.
The 5'7", twenty-ish woman with a very athletic build swings her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder with practiced elegance that attracts more than a few eyes. "I mean. If you still have it, that is."
As they search the Circle she changes course and nudges her sister again, "Oh, look. Fortunes. Do you think we should find out if we're going to be released from these ridiculous charges? What does it cost anyway? Let's take a closer look?"
Hope was afraid, she was always afraid, but now more than normal. The murders were a bad sign, the death of the gang members didn't bother her much but where they were found and how many were killed did. She hadn't heard anything last night but then she'd been sleeping in her preferred spot, curled up in her bedroll in the hollow between two tree roots of the tree just south of the graveyard. When she'd woken that morning she'd packed her meager possessions away, and wandered into town to look for work and food and it was then she had heard of the deaths.
Hope found a rather shaded spot, one she could hide in easily, and stayed out of sight for the moment. She was out of money again and listening for either mention of work to be had or for a good mark to try and appropriate some alms from.
Eyeing the hustle and bustle closely, Elanna sashays down the street alongside her taller, older and more arrogant sister.
"You know, one of these days sis, you are going to have to fend for yourself." Elanna suggests with amusement, casually swiping the largest apple she can see from the cart as they go and tossing it to Fioralba. "Without charming someone first I mean."
Some of the onlookers' who have not yet met the twins, do a double-take as they observe the two young ladies walking through the market, side by side with the same overly-confident gait.
Turning her attention to the drow fortune teller, a smile creeps at the edges of her lips.
"I already know what our fortune has in store for us tonight at least, that fortune teller looks like she might be interested in a little excitement don't you say? Let's go provide it for her."
Giddy with the prospect of pulling one over on this poor fortune-teller, Fioralba grabs her sister's arm and hustles forward towards the fortune teller. Knocking loudly, she adopts a terrified expression and stutters a bit in feigned fear "E-excuse me? Can we get a r-reading? Are you t-terribly busy?"
Six people dead in a gang attack? Sounds like a Zirnakaynin Moonday.
The cloaked woman sat in the back of the small red tent, her gloved hands clasped before her white hawk's mask. She rests her elbows on the table in front of her, psyching herself up for another day of reading palms. The young man outside--a ginger lad of perhaps nineteen winters--looks inside the tent's flap with a nervous expression.
...right. Just treat this as another day, don't panic.
The woman's lips move underneath her mask as she looks the young man in the eye.
"Send the first one in."
The message leaves her lips in a whisper, but reaches the boy's ears with perfect clarity. He hesitates before nodding in acknowledgement and turning to the assembled crowd.
"Come one, come all! What does Madame Hawk's eyes see in your future? Glory? Passion? Misfortune? You can't afford NOT to know! Come one, come all! One silver per reading!" He calls out, starting to do his job.
The boy's eyes fall on the twin golden-haired women wandering through the market and taking an interest in the tent. "You two! You look like someone who'd love to know what future awaits you! Why not stop in with Madame Hawk? Only a silver per person!"
Elanna places a silver coin firmly in the fortune teller's palm as they enter and take a seat.
"Why yes please Madame Hawk. My sister and I are two young ladies, hard down on our luck and very much need to know our fortune, that silver penny was the last one we had! We are nervous as to what this day may bring and hope that you can provide much-needed reassurance."
Losing her terrified shtick, she crosses her arms on her chest as she let's go of Elanna's arm. "WHAT!?" she says loudly, "A silver! Do you know how hard it is to earn a silver in a dump like this town? Look lady, we need to negotiate first."
Slamming her hands down on the table, she stands up and towers over the cloaked woman. She raises her voice and says loudly, full of exasperation "How about two coppers instead? One a piece? A woman needs to eat, you know."
Elanna turns to her sister with a disdainful look but realises that she is probably right and that the silver really is one of their last pennies.
"Change is what she means to say. Please can we have some change from our silver?" She says, trying a different approach. "At least until we can prove that your fortune is true? Imagine the money we could help make you if we could prove that our fortune did come true?" She says, with a wink.
"Yes. Change. Please may we have - change." she says, amending her statement and retaking her seat alongside her sister. She forces a smile that might have been charming under different circumstances, the unspoken threat of OR ELSE almost visible behind it.
She straightens her dress, ensuring to sit properly in the chair like a Lady would. Not that she was a Lady or anything even remotely close, but one has to be presentable.
Clearing her throat, she snaps her fingers twice and asks "Change?"
The masked woman takes in the two twins. "Ah. The Thehm twins. I was wondering when you'd come visit. Nasty bit of business with the Port-Governor--I can understand why you'd be... irritable."
She takes the silver piece and exchanges it for five coppers before turning to the finger-snapping twin. "Now, I understand you may be under a lot of stress, but I would ask you to refrain from snapping your fingers at me. I am not a pet." She curtly replies. "If you want a pet, there's a stall three places down where you can get one--Percival's Pets, I think it was."
"So, which of you would like to go first?"
"Well that's rude." Fioralba says, folding her arms across her chest. "It's not nice to lure us in here like this and try to extort money from us. What type of game are you running here anyway?"
A quick glance at her sister and she sighs, holding her hands up. "Alright, alright. I apologize for snapping my fingers and being rude. I thought we were going to come in here and have some fun with some rookie who didn't know what they were doing, not someone who already had the lowdown on us."
Shifting her weight in the chair she says, "That business, our business, is stressful. We were just having some fun afterall. How were we to know that he would lie and set us up like that. I mean, the nerve."
"Oh, I'm not judging you." The masked woman shrugs. "Not for that, at least."
...wait, people outside mentioned a ghost, yes? One that could have been responsible for the killings... that at least is new. Perhaps...
"Though I am feeling charitable today, Ms. Thehm." She slides her hand into her money pouch and produces the silver she was given. "If you'd rather, I can accept an alternative form of payment."
Elanna sits down on the stall next to her sister and breathes deeply, taking in all the scents that accompany the tent. She looks intently at the cards, trying to watch out for the inevitable tricks that Mistress Hawk performs.
"We are the experts of alternative payments" Elanna replies, and leans in slightly, gazing at the woman, reaching out to gently trace her finger down the woman's cheek.
As the Mistress and Fioralba engage in their fortune-telling, Elanna stretches back with her left hand and surreptitiously slides her hand forward to the woman coin pouch aiming to pick up a loose coin.
Idly twisting her finger over the golden wasp that hangs on a chain around her neck, Fioralba smiles for the first time. "Well then. I think something could be arranged."
Standing from her chair, she half sits on the desk to provide ample ... distraction from her sister's attempted recovery of their money. She tilts her body to the left and lifts the top strap of her dress so it falls halfway down her arm. "What would we be negotiating for, exactly? What do we get out of this reading? You're not simply going to tell us what you already know, are you?"
She bats her eyelashes innocently, accidently letting the strap slide down a little more and reveal her soft-and-enticing skin.
The masked woman catches Elanna's hand in hers and politely (but firmly) pushes it aside.
The masked one leans forward as Fioralba's dress strap slips off of her shoulder... then takes it in hand and tersely guides it back up to her shoulder.
"As charming as you both are, I'm afraid that isn't the payment I had in mind." She says, completely missing Elanna's sleight of hand as she shuffles the cards. "I believe that business and pleasure should be kept strictly separate."
"What I'm offering is this--you seek to be free of the allegations the Port-Governor's son has brought against you. I know a possible means of doing so." She starts dealing the cards.
"You heard of the 'gang violence' that claimed six lives, yes? Some say that a ghost is responsible for it, some say a rival gang of murderers is responsible. Either way, the public are clearly frightened." She looks over Fioralba's shoulder at the market outside. "They need someone to investigate these happenings, if only for their own peace of mind."
"I plan to conduct my own investigation, if only to see if a ghost is truly responsible for this affair. If you would accompany me, I believe all three of us would stand to benefit."
She starts laying the cards out...
The Shoanti man strolls into the Circle Market and breathes in the scents. A small fox darts around his feet, yipping excitedly and all but pulling at the man's pant leg in an effort to speed him up.
"Yes, yes, Tsu-la. I know." the man says begrudgingly "You always want to visit Percival's Pets. We'll go, but I'm telling you for the last time, I'm not buying you a weasel. You can hunt for your food tonight like any other fox."
Making his way past the red tent where the Hawk Lady told his fortune last time he was in town, he pauses and looks around, lifting his nose as if he were actually detecting a curious smell. "Something feels... off today, don't you think? The town seems ... subdued?"
Tsu-la yips louder, accidentally bumping into the man's leg. Shrugging, he continues walking. "Maybe this is one of their holidays. Well, let's get your visit over with and then we can go find Audrahni."
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Once the cards have been laid in a spread, Madame Hawk cracks her knuckles. "Now, let's start with the past..."
She flips over the topmost left card. It depicts a hapless man strapped to a plank of wood, suspended over a boiling vat of wax. "The Waxworks. A card that usually speaks of helplessness. In this instance, it speaks of someone who has an abundance of energy, always ready to strike forth and make the most of even the most impossible situations." She glances up at Fioralba. "I suspect that was evident even before you arrived."
She flips over the card beneath it. This one depicts what looks like a puppet dressed up to look like a knight battling an equally puppet-like dragon. "The Theatre. A card of prophecy. Sometimes it's true, sometimes it's only for show. In this case, it implies that fate had a hand in bringing you here." She shrugs. "Or it could be lying through its little painted teeth."
She turns over the bottom card in the column. This card depicts a curled up blue dragon digging its claws into a blue sphere, causing it to bleed. "The Tyrant. A card that describes a ruler or other authority whose influence has brought others nothing but pain." She glances up at Fioralba again, but doesn't say much else. "It could refer to a parent, a mentor, or someone else. I'll leave who it could possibly be up to you."
"But what of the present?"
She moves her hand to the top middle card and flips it over. It depicts a dwarven man feverishly hammering away at a length of heated metal upon an anvil. "The Forge. A card that speaks of strength through diversity. This problem that lies before you--Galius trying to turn the town against you--is not one that you can face alone... but with others, you can resolve it."
Her hand flips over the middle card. This one bears an image of a black-clad figure spreading a green fluid on his unsheathed blade. "The Snakebite... a card that speaks of poisonous ideas taking root. It must be referring to Galius' efforts to turn you into Roderic's Cove's newest pariahs. For what it's worth, his efforts could go either way--but they must be attended to if you want them to go the way you wish."
The bottom card in the column is turned over next. It shows the image of a leering green devil face swallowing a terrified man whole. "The Fiend... a card that symbolizes many losses from a calamity. No doubt it refers to the six who were slain only yesterday. But it also seems to say that a dark and intelligent creature is responsible for it... and it could endanger many more if not confronted."
"And now... the future."
She moves her hand to the final column and flips over the top-right card. It shows a lightning-wreathed hand reaching down to touch a man on the head. "The Vision--a card that speaks of arcane knowledge. In this instance, it speaks of arcane knowledge that will prove beneficial to you, so long as you are bold enough to seek it out."
The rightmost card is flipped over next. It depicts a red-eyed peacock with a draconic visage. "The Peacock--a card that speaks of a sudden personal change. What you find in the future will change you irrevocably--whether for good or ill, I cannot yet say."
The bottom-left card is then turned over, revealing the whole spread. It depicts a female figure in blue armor, kneeling before a burning incense offering beneath a ghostly bearded man. "The Empty Throne." Madame Hawk sighs. "A card that speaks of loss--and here, it speaks of a loss that brings ill tidings. Here, it speaks of a ghost from the past that must be put to rest, lest calamity strikes."
Madame Hawk clears her throat. "Well. Not exactly the most inspiring of readings, but there you have it."
When she says this wasn't the payment she had in mind, she lets a minor frown play across her lips in a pout before getting lost in the second half of her statement. "I am quite interested in what you speak. My sister and I desperately want to be free of this ridiculous charges. If you think this investigation will bear fruit, then you have piqued my interest."
She doesn't look at her sisters hand, knowing that she likely had reclaimed her coin by now. "Very well, let us have our reading then? Hmmm?"
Sitting down for the reading, she adjusts her dress again as the harrow cards start to come out. When she mentions brought them here, she shoots a sidelong glance at her sister.
When she works through the present, she's not impressed. Clearly this Madame already knew who they were and thus had the scoop on them. She could make up whatever she wanted to fit their history. The future however..
At the mention of arcane knowledge, Fioralba is hooked. She leans forward and rests her chi in her palms, elbow on her knees. Transfixed by the table, she says gives the reader her full attention. Study of the arcane and is a passion of Fi's and she's incredibly taken by such topics. There is no way that this woman could have known that, so she suddenly starts believing.
When it's over, she reaches out and points to the lightning-wreathed hand. "That one. With the hand. Tell me more about it. I want to know more about that one." She looks up from the card and stares into the Madame's eyes, eagerly awaiting to hear more. All manner of games and seduction forgotten, the magus hopes to learn something here of her future.
"Now, that would be an interesting proposal Mistress Hawk. If you know as much as you do, this might certainly be something that we would join you in investigating. You seem to have a measure of our unique situation. We will discuss this later today." She pulls out a small hipflask from her pocket and toasts to the room, as if the new partnership is a foregone conclusion.
Elanna quickly loses interest as the Harrowing begins and upon retrieving their money spent with an extra coin for good measure her eyes wonder around the tent, taking in the rest of the scene. [i]Clearly this woman is a charlatan, she knew about us already![/ooc]
At the end of the fortune, Elanna goes to get up from her chair until her sister takes a sudden unexpected interest. Rolling her eyes, she slumps back down, knowing they are not going anywhere soon. "Oh, you do know that this is all a load of b*****ks don't you Fee?"
Jessica:
There doesn't seem to be much work to be had in the Market today. However, as you look around for potential marks, you can't help but notice an odd Shoanti man with a little fox walking by his side. Perhaps he might make a good mark...
Hope felt her chances for finding some work fade, everyone was too busy talking about the gang deaths and not about what was really important. Hope vaguely remembered a time when she would have been scared of the deaths but that was a long time ago. Spending time in service to the Void had changed her in many ways and one of those was to see death not as a bad thing but a release from suffering. Now she just thought the gangers were lucky to have gotten off so easily.
With no chance for a job today Hope resigned herself to stealing to eat. She could try to steal some food from a vendor but that wasn't something she liked to do since they would, sometimes, take pity on her and simply give her some to make themselves feel good. If that was their reasoning it didn't bother Hope but she would rather not depend on their charity. Fortunately Hope saw an obvious out-of-towner, a Shoanti man accompanied by a fox. Maybe that should have cautioned her that the man was more than what he seemed but he was far too tempting a mark.
Moving from her shadowed niche after he'd walked by Hope moved out into the crowd and began to follow Screaming Moon. She made sure to keep the crowd between herself and the man as much as she could until until she saw the chance to try and swipe his belt pouch.
Without looking at her sister, Fioralba takes her left hand and swats ineffectively near Elanna and tells her to hush with a "SSst!
She picks up The Vision, the card she was pointing at and pinches it between her pointer finger and her thumb, she says "I want this. I am bold enough. Tell me where I get this power, Madame Hawk?"
Tsu-la bristled and started growling just before Screaming Moon noticed the half elf approaching. It was obvious what the woman intended, but he also noticed that she seemed to be down trodden.
Quickly scanning the crowd to see if she had a supporting cast of thieves, he waited for the woman's hand to come up, then pivoted and reached out to clasp her raised arm.
"Good morning! Thank you for the greeting. I was beginning to wonder if I had come to town on some feast day, the market is so quiet."
Without letting go of her hand, he continued to scan the crowd, while shifting his pouch underneath the thick hides that serve as his protection.
Satisfied that she was alone, he returned his attention to the half elf, while Tsu-la's growls continued. Giving the woman an earnest smile, he introduced himself. "I am Screaming Moon. This is Tsu-la."
Hope was caught completely off guard by the Shoanti man's sudden movement and was unable to resist when he grasped her arm. She bit back a curse at getting caught but what happened next was as unexpected as suddenly finding her arm in the man's grasp. Hope may have been brighter than average but she was a bit slow at adapting to changed circumstances as the man greeted her enthusiastically.
Hope noted how the man moved his pouch around to a more secure place as she tried to formulate a response to the situation. She looked around at the people passing and noted the strange looks they wore after hearing the greeting. They, at least, knew exactly what had happened even if they didn't report her for it. She saw the smug looks they wore, laughing at her failure, and she heard the whispers.
They laugh at you, they want you to starve, they want you to die, you should make them suffer, you should erase them all.
Hope did her best to ignore the voice in her head and finally managed a response to the Shoanti man. It was halting, unsure, and confused, but Hope said, "Ummm...I'm, uh," she looked around for an escape and, seeing none, resigned herself to giving her name, "I'm called Hope."
The voices whispered again in her mind, He knows, he's come for you. He'll turn you in, he'll hurt you, killkillkiLLKILL!!!!
Hope raised a hand to her head and pressed it against her temple as she said, "No, I won't! Shut up damnit!." The crowd didn't seem shocked by her actions though they did edge away from her.
Confused by the outburst, Screaming Moon softens his grip before stepping back and spreading his hands unthreateningly.
"I apologize if I startled you, Hope. I enjoy conversation and thought you might know some of what is going on in town. If I offended, it was not my intent."
Tsu-la, sensing that the situation is not dangerous moves in to sniff at Hope.
Hope nearly ran when Screaming Moon released her but his calm words and the fact that his fox Tsu-la came up and began sniffing at her caused her to hesitate. Hope looked down at the little fox and carefully knelt before she reached out a tentative hand towards the fox's ears. One woman and her little girl were walking by and the girl saw what Hope was doing and asked her mother loudly, "Hey Mama, is the Crazy Lady going to hurt that foxy"
The woman looked at Hope for a moment and then covered her daughter’s eyes and placed herself between the girl and Hope to block her view as she said, "Ignore her honey, let's go get something to eat."
The little girl cried out, "Yay food," as they walked away.
Hope had hunched a bit during the whole exchange as she tried to forget what the girl had just said. It was hard though, children often spoke the truth without thought for how it might be taken, and she wasn't entirely wrong about Hope being crazy. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I don't know if I can help much but if you’ll buy me something to eat I'll do what I can."
Madame Hawk looks at The Vision, then at Fioralba. "Depending on its place in the spread, the Vision can speak of arcane knowledge that will be used for your benefit or to impede you. In this case, the knowledge you seek will be of particular interest to you--if anything, it will be tailored to your specific skills."
"If I were to make a prediction, said magic will provide a means for you to enhance your body, at the very least."
Triel's words are music to Fi's ears. She leans back in her chair with the biggest shit-eating grin she's put on in weeks. Rubbing her hands together she says "Whoo-Hoo-HOO!" did you hear THAT Els?"[/b] she says all giddy, nearly bouncing in her chair.
Turning back to Triel, says eyes-wide "Tell me, oh wise Madame, what path must I follow for this to benefit me? I must know!"
"I thought your body didn't need enhancing Fee. You always say just how perfect you are." Elanna says with a slightly annoyed flick of her hair, clearly a little frustrated at the constant comparisons.
picking up on the annoying flick, Fioralba relents. "Oh Ella." she says, turning to scoot her chair closer to her sister. She softly traces the pointer finger of her right hand down the rogue's cheek. "You know you are the beautiful one and I can never compare to your grace. I'm simply jealous, that's all."
With her finger she turn's Elanna's chin towards her and leans forward and plants a soft kiss on her lips.
Afterwards, she stands and offers her hand to her sister. "Shall we take our leave then?"
With a reluctant kiss, Elanna pouts, clearly still smarting from the impression that she was not the most stunning of the two.
"Yes, let's get outta here. Mistress Hawk, we need to meet further shortly to discuss this idea to get ourselves out of trouble. Perhaps we could discuss it over lunch or dinner? It depends if you think you're going to get much more custom today." She says with a cynical tone.
Leaving the Fortune-Teller's perfumed tent, Elanna loosens up, realising she has been a little uptight and playfully bumps her hip into her sisters' as they walk along. "You can be so ridiculous sometimes you know."
Madame Hawk tilts her head at Elanna. "Lunch it is then."
Tsu-la does not flinch back from the hand. In fact, he rolls his eyes at being treated like a pet, but pushes his head into the scratching all the same and beams with pleasure.
Screaming Moon notes the interaction with the townswoman, and frowns a little before shrugging. "So, Hope, you are an outsider as well. We should stick together then. I had just about to suggest that we discuss the town further over tea, but your suggestion of lunch sounds fine.
I do not have much, but what I have, I will share. Later on, if my company is not disagreeable, I can prepare a more wholesome feast. Gozreh provides.
For now, though, let us find some place for a small bite."
Breaking off from the scratching, Tsu-la yips imperatively. "I haven't forgotten, Tsu-la."
Shaking his head abashedly, he apologizes. "First, however, we need to visit Percival's Pets, just over there. He always wants to drool over the animals he thinks I will buy for him."
Scooping up Tsu-la, he heads for the stand. Tsu-la nips at his hand but accepts the treatment with little complaint.
"Lunch sounds fantastic. Let's go!" she says with enthusiasm, leaping out the door with her sister's hand in her own.
Taking the hip bump in stride, she swings around behind her sister and slides her hands onto her shoulders and begins to use her thumbs to massage Elanna's lower neck as they walk. "I know. I get carried away sometimes is all. You know I don't mean any of that stuff I say out loud."
She leans in to her sister's ear and whispers "I promise to make it up to you later, okay?" before nibbling and tugging on it playfully with a quick bite before letting go.
Pulling back, she says loudly to their harrow reader, "We're not from around here, where is good, Madame Hawk? Lead onward."
"You better mean that" Elanna says with a slight smile, her sulk lifting at the reassurance.
She rolls her shoulders as her sister kneads them, tension dissipating within seconds. Fioralba clearly knows all the right spots.
"You will absolutely make it up to me with that thing last week. That would make it all better." She replies to her sister, with a purr in her voice, not bothering to keep the volume down.
"We're not fussy Mistress Hawk, show us something scrumptious, and we will partake of it!"
The people of Roderic's Cove come and go from the Circle Market, shopping for bargains or just enjoying the cool, late summer day. As the afternoon winds on and you start to look for a place to get lunch, a group of five men and women converge on Possum's stand to drink punch and talk with each other.
So engrossed in massaging her sister's shoulders, she's completely oblivious to what else is going on around her.
The masked fortune-teller is... quite distracted by the spectacle of the two blonde women before her.
...oh.
"...right. Follow me, please." She gets up from her seat at the tent's table and leaves.
----------------
Madame Hawk pauses and taps the women on the shoulder. "We should move. It looks like more trouble is heading Possum's way."
Elanna closes her eyes and enjoys the massage, sounding her pleasure out loud. "Oooh, that's right, just there!"
Swinging around to see what the fortune-teller is indicating, Elanna cranes her neck to see and asks "Trouble? What trouble?"
Madame Hawk nods in the direction of Possum's cart. "Five people--they don't look armed, but appearances can be deceiving. They might mean Possum harm--the old man at the cart."
Hope scratched Tsu-la's ears enthusiastically and smiled a bit at the sensation of the warmth and soft fur beneath her hand. When the Creaming Moon said he'd buy her lunch as long as they stopped at the pet store first Hope was rather surprised, she even giggled slightly at the thought of the fox wanting to have pets. It was a nice fiction, or maybe it wasn't? She'd heard of familiars before and wondered if that was what was going on here.
Hope rose and nodded in agreement as she said, "That would be fine Screaming Moon, I accept." As they headed to the pet store Hope spotted the group of men stopping at Possum's and ordering drinks...
…but it was of no interest to her when food was on the line!
The group of five toughs in the crowd Triel spotted confront the five by Possum's cart.
"So, looks like the mighty Horned Fangs ain't so tough!" one of the thugs says with a sneer. "They just drop dead at the slightest hint of danger."
The gang members by the cart bristle at the insult. "And who the hell do you think you lot are? This town is our turf!"
"Ha! That's a crock of s#!!! Us Roadkeepers were here first, and we'll be here last!"
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!"
Fists clenched, the man is just about to throw the first punch when a figure suddenly manifests in the middle of the impending melee. The man appears indistinct and hazy, a glowing and transparent humanoid form viewed as if through a haze of murky water. In a booming voice that sounds like it's gurgling out of the throat of a drowning man, the ghost cries out, "NO! MY COVE! NO!" Then he unleashes a terrifying howl, a sepulchral moan that chills you to your bones.
Screaming in terror, the thugs on both side of the conflict (along with most of the other bystanders) flee! "Run! It's the gh-gh-ghost of Sir Roderic!" they wail.
Madame Hawk gasps in surprise when the ghost manifests itself!
"...I KNEW IT!" She crows, pumping a fist.
"The Empty Throne!" Fioralba calls out, confirming what Triel had spoken of no less than fifteen minutes prior. Squeeze Elanna's shoulders, she says "It's all coming true!"
She let's go of her sister and pulls her rapier free as others begin to flee. Fioralba might be scared, but she was too full of pride to do something as foolish as run away.
"Sir Roderic!" she calls out, moving towards the drowning man.
Yes, now what smart-stuff. What are you going to tell the drowning ghost.
"I demand that you-Erm." she stutters, trying to buy time. "Stop the uhm, that." she says, pointing her blade at it.
Oh yes. Well done. Cowering in fear, this one.
Screaming Moon gasps as the spirit appears and everyone starts running, but he isn't immediately fearful, as the spirit has made no aggressive moves so far.
He is on the verge of attempting to talk to it, when his eyebrows knit.
More people being deceitful?
He glances around the circle to see if there is anyone NOT running away.
He also makes an effort to disbelieve the spirit.
When Fi steps forward to confront the ghost, Madame Hawk finds herself following behind her...
...and mumbling something under her breath at the same time.
Though Fioralba didn't see Sir Roderic the last time he appeared ten years ago, the ghost matches his description. The ghost gives her a pained look, then he fades away a moment later.
You can hear the whistles of the town guard as they approach the Circle, trying to sort out the chaos. Soon after they arrive, though, a tall woman approaches you. Many see elves as paragons of grace, but this woman's frame is looming and awkward. Her shoulders are slumped and her head hangs low. She wears several layers of clothes and a bladed scarf is wrapped around her neck. You recognize her as Audrahni, the groundskeeper for the cemetery at the Lady's Chapel.
"Hello, Screaming Moon,” she says to the Shoanti shaman. ”So, the ghost of Sir Roderic manifested here?" she asks, looking around the abandoned market with a dour expression. "Not so surprising, I suppose. And you five alone stood strong in his presence... I wonder if you'll allow me to buy you all lunch at Creekside? I think we have much to discuss.”