It is a time of omens and portents. A time of change, and more than a dab of chaos.
When the Blessed--those four Champions of the gods, immune to all darkspawn--arrived in Hearth and upturned the Inquisition, it was considered the greatest social upheaval in centuries. The Temple Council now rules the city, and priests are all that remain in the Great Temple itself.
In the confusion, many minor inquisitors were sacrificed to a profane symbol - a Smiling crescent of filth and blood upon the Temple walls. The Smiler.
And now just in the last few weeks, the famous steams of Hearth have disappeared, a Quiet Elder has sprung up in the middle of town, and...
a Moon has appeared in the dead Sky. Some call it Smiling Sky. Some wonder if it is a new kind of Volcano.
Among the thousands that call Hearth a home, there are those who call Moon their master...
Samen awakens contentedly. The unnatural acrid warmth from his bedmate is the day's pleasant greeting. "Mmm. Good morning. I'd ask you how you slept, but I know you don't."
he stretches out his rocky limbs, feeling alien and rigid in his own body. Is this stiffness from awakening Oread or from getting older? I never used to notice it.
Regardless, he concentrates on his normal morning meditations despite Abby's coquettish flirtations. Finished, he grabs his new staff and weighs its heft in his hands. While certainly an upgrade from the one he'd carved himself back home, it felt as unfamiliar as his flesh.
Time to get dressed, I suppose. He taps into the well of planar energy and seizes Moon's aspects into himself. He takes a deep breath in the new form, ready for the trials of the day. His sickly pocked skin disgusted him at first, but over the weeks, he's become accustomed to it.
Iniga insisted the mercenaries would be able to help, but what good can sellswords do against a new elemental 'god'? Even more confusing, why would she want to bring Samen to the meeting? If I need to be there, maybe my grotesqueness can at least motivate someone
"Could you please not kill anyone while I'm out, sweetie? Iniga wouldn't approve, and where would that leave us?"
He heads down to meet up with his cousin when she's ready. "Shall we go?"
Wamblee is chewing breakfast rocks with deliberate, slow patience as Samen comes down the stairs. He is dressed is his usual ascetic style, his rocky skin all the shelter and clothing he truly needs. A hint of wry humor shows on his features now and then, but otherwise he is calm, contemplative.
"I see you have put on your very best face for our meeting, brother."
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The “Happy Swords” camp was located outside the city, but Osna had used his old hideout in the city to spend the night. He had invited Phon to accompany him so they could be in the city without having to wait for the city doors to open in the morning.
”I’ll want to scout out our meeting place first. Not that I distrust Iniga. But with all the upheaval and the… well, you know…”, he said looking up to the Moon in the sky. ”I’ll wake up early and wait for you in the Inn. I’ll message you before you enter the Inn if there’s any issue. No point in risking both of us needlessly.”
At two in the morning, Osna had woken up from the makeshift bed and sat cross-legged on the floor of the small space between the top floor and the roof of the building. There, he had and spent an hour reading and choosing his spells for the day, absentmindedly chewing on a piece of hardtack, topped with dried nuts.
Satisfied with his preparations, he oiled his weapons, stretched one joint after another, and packed his bag. With a last glance at the room, he slid through the narrow opening onto the roof of the building. Glancing up the Moon in the sky, Osna shivered but set his shoulders straight, passed his hand on the transparent sleeves he wore on his arms, instantly turning his clothes’ color to a gray and black pattern and proceeded across the roofs towards the “Duke’s Inn”.
He stayed there, lying flat on the rooftop opposite the Inn’s entrance, looking at any suspicious coming and going, the events of the past months at the front of his mind.
”I wonder what’s going on with the City Council. I’m fine with the removal of most of the inquisitors but I started to like v’Ardente. I sure hope she didn’t leave anything that would lead them to me and that they do not extend the purge too far. But I fear more for the people down there. It’s always the poorer who have most too loose when power changes hands.”
His gaze settled on a puddle, with the reflect of the Moon wavering under a soft breeze. He shuddered once more. ”And what could I do about that, now. A new God? A servant of the Sky turned rogue? Or something completely new. If it has some power over us Sylphs, I definitely want to learn how to protect us from that. No way I’m turning raving mad as it happened to those in Light.”
The growling of his stomach and the sound of the streets informed him it was close to the 7th candle.
Satisfied that no obvious trap has been set, he crawled to the side of the building, uttered a few arcane words, summoning the force shield that protected him and deftly climbed down. In the narrow street between buildings, he turned his clothes back to those of an ordinary worker and joined the flow of early workers.
Waiting for someone to open the door of the Inn, he entered on her heels and made a beeline for a table with a good view on door and on the stairs coming down. Raising his hands, he called for a waitress and ordered a light breakfast and a large cup of tea and settled to wait for his fellow mercenary, feigning indolence but ready to move at the first sign of trouble.
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The undine went to bed not knowing what the future would hold. In fact as of late it had become harder and harder for her to consider what she might encounter. With the chaos and all the change that had suddenly upturned the lives of all el, she slept close to her holy symbols and relics.
The dreams, or more accurately nightmares, had started again no doubt triggered by sleeping outside in the open the night prior. She thought herself past the situation. There was only one thing that could assuage her fears and grant her peace, and maybe today would be that day.
Staggering out of the portable roll, and nearly tripping on her leg, Phon began to put her meditations to practice. There was much to pray for despite the nightmares, and she knew that her faith in everything that made the world right would stave off what was inside her that was wrong. Clasping the ring around her neck, the chain felt heavier every day but part of that was her inability to let go.
It's probably for the best that this weighs us down. It will keep me on the task at hand.
Taking her weapon she gave a few swift strikes with it before taking her time to put her armor on. Proficient in it, when it was finally donned, she felt protected as if it's fortress was more than physical.
I’ll wake up early and wait for you in the Inn. I’ll message you before you enter the Inn if there’s any issue. No point in risking both of us needlessly
She nodded and smiled. Despite everything, Osna had become a friend to the undine and she would hate to see him fall under Moon and whatever evils lurked. He was a capable sylph though, thoughtful and clever so her concerns vanished as easily as the wind that followed him.
Taking some trail rations, the undine decided to get on the move. The feeling from the sky removed any appetite she had however necessity drove her.
Eventually making it to the Duke's Inn, Phon gave a cursory glance around, her senses sharp to any magical currents around her. She had to learn quickly how to tell when someone was admiring plate versus sizing her up, and in the large cities it was a massive boon. With authority, the pariah undine opened the door and was quick to spot Osna in his usual type of spot; somewhere where there was a quick exit and good views. Lifting up a gauntleted hand, she doffed her helm and moved in before taking a seat, hoping that the chair was built well enough to support the plate.
"Osna. And how is it today? Have you any sign of our friends?" She let the sylph set the pace, he would surely have information that she would need to know.
1st (5/day) - Divine Favor, Know the Enemy, Unbreakable Heart, Shield of Faith, Bless
2nd (4/day) - Ironskin, Lesser Restoration, Tears to Wine, Silent Table
3rd (2/day) - Aura Sight, Prayer
Her Ring of Counterspells holds Dispel Magic in case someone tries to Dispel her.
"Well met, Phon. I didn’t see anything suspect up to now. It’s been a long time since I spent half a night on a roof keeping watch. Let me tell you I don’t miss that.”
He winces as the Phon’s chain squeaks under the weight of her armor. ”Let’s hope the chair lasts until our contacts arrive. I’m not sure what will come out of the meeting, but from what I heard of Iniga, interesting things tend to happen around her. I wonder if they know more about the last events in Light and what’s happening with this Moon.”
"No I don't envy your position, but I thank you for making the sacrifice." The undine was thoughtful, "I suspect we will find out in due time, like a current there's no need to rush what will be."
Hearing about Moon, Phon's demeanor changes, "Yes we will. I can't imagine being led on a wildfire chase for no reason."
Samen nods at his brother. "If I'm to be regarded as a monster, should I not at least look the part? Will you be joining us?"
Not rising to Samen's first question, Wamblee instead answers the second. "Of course I will join you and our cousin. Another pair of eyes and arms can always be useful. Speaking of which, have you seen Iniga this morning?"
Samen cocks his head like a confused puppy. It makes his alien appearance less sinister and more comical. "She hasn't come down yet? Shall I go check on her?"
Osna and Phon Vos: Captain Margherita of the Happy Swords greets you tersely, as is her wont in the morning. A few of her Bloodied Swords follow her as always--you recognize Gimlet, Half-Blind, and a few others--as she takes in the main room of Duke's. She listens to Osna's report, nodding.
You feel a strange current of magic, like rotten cheese, in the room. Turning around, you see a sickly-yellow elen with a staff. He has transfomattive magic practically exuding from his pores.
Samen, you see an undine peering at you curiously, obviously using her Sight to discern the enchantments tangled about you.
Samen gazes back at her, eyes narrowed suspiciously, and slowly approaches. "Fine morning, isn't it? Did your mother never teach you it's rude to stare? Is there something I can help you with?"
The undine eyes the oread, "I learned much from my mother, but I also learned to be wary of strangers, especially in difficult times such as these." Pushing the chair back and standing up she offers an armored fin, "Take a seat if you'd like. I am Phon Vos, I have a feeling we might have some business together."
If there was an issue, there were two of them and only one oread, so she figured it was a safe risk.
Read Magic, Detect Magic, Guidance, Detect Poison, Purify Food and Drink
Lore Keeper (minor): At 1st level, you can touch a creature to learn about its abilities and weaknesses. With a successful touch attack, you gain information as if your result on the appropriate Knowledge skill check were equal to 15 + your warpriest level + your Wisdom modifier.
He shakes her hand politely and takes a seat as requested. "Ah, so you're the mercenary here to meet Iniga? Tell me, what do you make of this form? Do you fear it?"
Wamblee, a muscular, boulderous oread, rolls his granite-gray eyes at Samen's remarks. "My brother takes a certain joy in saying offensive-sounding things. I find it helps to remember he is simply curious and lacking in certain manners. I am Wamblee of the Tribe of Peace."
Speaking to Margherita, "It is good to see you again, Captain."
Not sure if I can "shake hands" to learn information with Lore Keeper, but if so she will expend a blessing here. With it being (Su) there shouldn't even be anything recognizable about it.
This elen is healed by ice energy, like an undine.
This elen...creature has some kind of illusory or disguising magic, but you are unsure the exact nature of it.
And finally, you are almost positive that this is somehow a creature of Moon, in the same way an ifrit is a creature of Volcano and an undine is a creature of River.
Osna raises an eyebrow at the Captain as the two strangers make a beeline for Phon but relaxes as the Captain looks like she knows them.
He leans back in his chair and raises a hand, touching two fingers to the side of his head in a lazy salute.
"And I'm Osna. Pleasure to meet y'all."
He grins at Samen: "If I may answer you question as well, you should put a little less yellow in your disguise, it makes you stand out like a sore thumb. And you look sick more than anything else, that's bound to draw stares, whether you like it or not."
Iniga wakes, making herself look presentable via her Prestidigitation spell, before dressing for the mornings activities. She delays heading down for a full 30 minutes, and busies herself with morning exercises.
The exercises were not something she normally found the time to do - a relic of her pre-army days, but they kept her fit and healthy, and Iniga decided that routine was worth considering. She had had reason to draw her weapon often enough in the past weeks and with Moon in the sky - there was potentially more of a reason to continue to do so.
Iniga finishes up, and then heads down the stairs, spotting everyone grouped and huddled on conversation. "Good Morning Cousins" she remarks to both Samen and Wamblee before warmly embracing Margherita "And you as well bellissima, its nice to see you again." she smiles before spotting Osna and nodding formally. "Osna, its been a while since we last met - I didn't realise you knew Margherita as well. I'm very glad you were able to join us here" she continues, her gaze flicking toward Phon curiously.
The warrior-priest recoils back after the information floods into her. Something is wrong. She is about to grab her spiked hammer before the sounds of a friendly ifrit sing-songs down the stairs.
Trying her best to hide her reaction, she feigns having to adjust her plate. Letting Osna take the brunt of the strange el's aura. She takes a moment to refocus herself, between the nightmares and this her resolve was shaken.
"It seems that our mutual friend here has a lot of mutual friends among herself." Straightening out, the undine lets her unusual size set the pace, hoping it would let her dispel the influence the strange el had on her and putting up her metaphysical armor. "Phon Vos, I don't think we've had the pleasure to meet but a friend of the Margherita and Osna is always welcome with me." At the moment she says that, her eyes wander over to Saman, though they have a different feel to them.
Eying the scene she was thankful that she was able to recognize an ifrit. Something normal to offset the strange meeting. She breathed easy knowing that while she would have to be the one to show restraint, she knew how to handle their zeal and flames.
Osna's grin turns to a smile as he spots Iniga. "Ah, the last piece of the puzzle has decided to join us! Maybe we'll be able to start now."
He stands up, swings his chair around and sits back astride it with trepidation, arms crossed on top of the back of the chair.
"As for your question, you should know Captain Crociuolo only hires the best. And in my field of work, you either get very good or very dead.", he winks.
Samen chuckles quietly to himself at Osna's remark, though his face is eerily similar to the smiler in the sky. "Disguise? Am I not the face of the future? The face of our foe?"
He turns his rictus on Phon Vos once again. "You get it, don't you? You see the danger?"
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, as if preparing a heroic feat. "I apologize for the shock, but you needed to see a moon elen to understand and believe?" The sentence doesn't sound right. While a declarative statement, it comes out sounding like a question.
"What kept you, Iniga?"
Osna focuses back on Samen, looking more intently at his form.
"If I may ? Just a simple spell of magical detection, by curiosity?", he asks.
Waving a had in the air, he casts a simple Detect magic spell.
"Interesting...Transmutation school...", he mutters.
Then he smiles back at Samen, putting two and two together: "That's clever. You've found a spell to transform into a different elen! A Moonling or whatever they should be called! Are you doing that to learn about them? Have you actually met one of them?"
Osna catches himself and stops his line of questions but his eyes are still glistening with excitement as he starts planning for interesting uses of this transformation.
Samen's eyebrows go up in excitement. "You, too, know the arcane arts? Would you believe I misjudged you as a common ruffian? How did you learn, and what is your specialty? Would you like to learn this trick?"
"What would you like to know of moonkind? We met, and flayed, one of them before Moon claimed Light, did we not? They can hide amongst other elens, so who knows how many we've truly met?"
Phon raises an eyebrow and listens to Samen, "You've yet to give us your name, and I would like to know it before we decide to work together. Deception does not make for a good first impression."
Phon tries to hide her emotions regarding the apparent moonlings, while Osna had some excitement, all she wanted to know was how best to stop them and whatever taint they were bringing into the world.
"Despite this rough start, I am more than willing to let it be a river under the bridge."
It suddenly hits her about the implication, what they could be capable of... So... It seems that whatever magics they have will be making my studies more relevant. It seems to have been providence by one of You.
He spreads his hands innocently. "Is this... deception? Why not think of it more as demonstration? Were you not informed my name is Samen, and I am cousin to the illustrious Iniga?"
Margherita returns the embrace with equal strength, happy to see Iniga. The captain speaks, just loudly enough to stop any further side discussion. "Ah, so you finally came down from making up your face, eh bel tatuaggia?" The jest is light, obviously meant as nothing.
"So sit down. I have two pieces of good news." She waits for you to take your seat. She then pauses, a hint of fritan theatricality unlike her normal demeanor, obviously pleased about something. "You don't get to pick which comes first. My favorite first: Sagezza Grico is dead."
And in the space of silence that follows this, she immediately says, "I killed him because he finally betrayed us to the Tango. We saw him, out of the blue, walk past a dead-drop that some of the old Temple groups use sometimes. So, haha, the stupid figlio di porco, Grico is caught with a coded letter to the Tango in his hands." She laughs a bit more, enjoying the story.
"So I cut out his lying tongue, and my witch says she can track others of his kind. The ones that dance with the devils, eh?" There is a gleam in her eye, a hint of battle fever.
Listening to everything, Phon immediately senses that the meeting would begin in earnest and channels her protective skills to weave a shield of sound around them.
Samen's eyebrows go up in excitement. "You, too, know the arcane arts? Would you believe I misjudged you as a common ruffian? How did you learn, and what is your specialty? Would you like to learn this trick?"
"What would you like to know of moonkind? We met, and flayed, one of them before Moon claimed Light, did we not? They can hide amongst other elens, so who knows how many we've truly met?"
"So many questions.... Let's say I skipped school and went about learning on my own.", replies Osna with a mischievous grin.
"And it seems there's a lot more we need to talk about. But that will have to wait.", he adds before the Captain starts the meeting.
As Phon Vos casts her usual spy-proofing spell, he mutters a thanks you to the Undine. Then he pulls out a small notebook and a charcoal pen and starts taking notes as the Captain speaks.
For those who take a casual glance, he writes with both hands alternatively, sometimes from left to right, sometimes from right to left or bottom to top. The characters are a mix of High Ifrit and Maker Script with a few unknown symbols added to the mix.
There's a small wince at the mention of the Tango as Osna recognizes the name and his Captain's reaction to them.
"Surely there was no reason to kill him for delivering a letter, even if it was to an enemy. If he was not a physical danger, it seems that you indulged in bloodthirst rather than reason. The same, I might add, I routinely counsel one of my own party against as well. With respect, I will not have it in my presence." Wamblee speaks not an offensive manner; rather, he simply drops his opinion, like a stone into a garden.
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Iniga smiles at Margherita's jest. "Ah of course, its always important for me to look my best as I punch someone" she smiles. Her expression darkens though at Margherita's news.
"You do realize that we knew he was serving the Tango before correct? I asked him to sell me out to the Tango so that they would continue to think him loyal, and so they would remain focused on me. The idea was that I would hold their attention, and that he would continue to pass information on them back to me. We had already identified two or three Tango, and a few more sympathizes. Thats why I asked you to return to the city yes? To keep an eye on him. I believe I paid one hundred shields as part of this deal?" she remarks, folding her arms and looking sternly at Margherita.
A glint of something unnatural in her eyes. Now Captain Margherita is on her feet, running for the door.
Iniga reacts lighting fast. She doesn't want to strike out at Margherita - not at least until she had figured out what was going on, but she didn't want her escaping. She swiftly moves to block the Captains route to the exit, drawing her blade as she does so.
"No, I don't think you should leave. Take a seat and explain to me what happened. The Margherita I know doesn't flee at the first sign of trouble."
Samen rolls his eyes and enters a combative stance. He keeps an eye of the other two mercenaries, unsure if they are planning anything.
"What the volc? Are we fighting now? Don't negotiations usually take longer to descend into violence?"
Osna reacts a few moments after the flame-fast Iniga.
"Captain! What the...."
He mutters a few words, pointing at the Inn door. The door moves on its own and closes with a loud thud.
"Can everyone stand down, please, and come back around the table ?"
He then raises up slowly, both hands open.
The "captain" looks around at each of you as Iniga bars her way. Margherita's eyes are not quite right among the features of her face. That same face, in fact, now looks to be more mask than truth. Ripping sounds from around her shoulders, more tears appearing in her skin.
The skin from her arms and shoulders rips completely free, then looks to ensnare Osna's spellcasting hands...
...while the skin of her legs move to trip up Samen...
...and freed from all that false skin, standing before Iniga is a leering being of bloody muscle and sinew. The gleaming, fanatic eyes are now at home among the raw red tissue. Glaring at Iniga, taking a few squelching steps forward, this creature says, "You will be my next." A wet red hand grabs your forearm...
"Well aren't you an ugly thing?" Iniga remarks conversationally as a red hand reaches out, trying to avoid any ill effects from the creature itself.
Samen acts nonplused by the extreme body horror. It gives the impression this is perhaps only the second grossest thing he's seen all week. "Is this what happens to Ifrits who don't have a proper skin care routine, Iniga?"
Samen strikes at the blob of flesh at his feet.
short answer = yes, this is definitely building of the basic work of Tango, but more advanced.
long answer - I'll give you more later (which hopefully I can do since this is a long weekend for me, I'll be working on this and the pending discussion questions)
Osna hands move even before he register the loose skin trying to ensnare him, easily escaping it.
"Phon, beware ! The Captain, she's... she's betrayed us!"
His stance move from hesitant to determined and he scans the room for other threats.
Seeing the situation quickly devolve into chaos, the undine prays to the pantheon under her breath and grips her weapon.
"Is this one of those moonlings?" Standing to attention, she sees it grip Iniga's arm and the warpriest channels some energy to remove anything that might envelop her.
Seeing Osna almost flow out of the creature, Phon tries to aim her disenchantment on the capricious Iniga. "Understood. Let us make short work of this and solve the mystery here."
Iniga, at first you feel your body move in ways you did not command, but
you feel the magical hold on your mind weaken for just a moment - long enough to gather your will and batter against the intruder again, this time pushing it out for good.
It is not a being of Moon - it seems a more "elen made" construct, like a normal elen with stitched-on skin, all covered in bloody sigils and rituals on the inside layer.
As the attacks of the desperate creature fail, the false captain is hit by Samen's brutish swing, which throws it off balance, and then impaled upon the spike of Phon Vos' polearm. The thing twitches and is still.
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Wind pick up around Osna and his hair crackles with static electricity.
"What is this ashing genie of a creature? This is not the Captain !"
He takes a deep breath and he turns his open palms towards Iniga, Samen and Wamblee. "I'm as puzzled as you by the apparition of this creature. I don't know how I did not figure out there was an impersonator. It means our meeting has been compromised and the Captain may have been taken or worse. Let's figure out everything we can form this body and the situation."
"First things first. All Happy Swords, stand down. This is not the Captain which means we got infiltrated." He picks up his notebook from the table and opens it at a new page. "And she may be in danger or already dead. So think hard and report. Gimlet and Half-Blind, where did you meet this Captain look alike to get here? Where you there when it killed Grico? And did it tell you anything on its way here ?"
Putting her weapon away, Phon checks the room to ensure no one was injured. "What was that? Some profane ritual created it but..." Hearing Osna take charge, the undine smiled and went towards Samen and Iniga. "Are you both okay? I can assist you if you have any wounds."
Osna, you get confused and contradictory answers from the els, not at all like their usual matter-of-fact manner.
Iniga waves Phon away with a simple gesture "I should be fine, I don't believe that I have suffered any injury"
Taking a brief moment to compose herself, Iniga rapidly pulls her brain into gear "We should search her. Its plausible that we might have asked for proof of Grico's treachery. Regardless, she had a plan to hoodwink us, possibly to lead us into a trap. We should probably try and find it what that is, and perhaps turn the situation to our advantage."