Felitcia realized quickly she likely couldn't hurt this tattoo with her magic since she was fairly sure it didn't have a mind of it's own. Instead she simply stayed back and tried to figure out what the hell it even was while readying her fan to defend herself.
Alice hurls fire!
It is quite the pyrotechnique display, comparable to most fireworks shows in many ways, harmlessness included.
Richard takes a breath and lets the mystic knowledge flow through him.
As he moves in, Richard produces an eraser from his pack and says a few arcane words as he rubs it along his blade.
His strike hits home and hits hard, the occult dissonance crashing into the tattoo guardian!
While Alice and Jed miss, Siobhan lands another hit on the tattoo. Richard scores a critical hit, drawing the nation's ire! It attacks the orc but fails to hit.
Jed is very good at hiding himself but pretty poor at actually landing a hit.
Again, Alice watches Siobhan fend off every attack.
“Now that will be enough of that, you animated paisley. She does not want your mark on her skin! Either recognize you’re soundly rejected and be off, or make like a chestnut—“
“—and roast by the fire!” She bellows confidently.
…before missing again.
Siobhan swings her axe some more!
Richard swings three twice and despite the odds, on his last swing his blade crashes into the tattoo with ferocious strength!
Alice's flames scorch the tattoo, then Richard cleaves it in two with a mighty chop of his sword! The two halves of the tattoo writhe in the air for a few moments before settling onto both Richard and Siobhan, one half each. The ink slides over their skin before settling into a new configuration on their bodies. Both warriors can feel the magic inherent in their new tattoos.
The tattoo slides up Richard's arm before wrapping around his bicep, taking the form of an ornate bronze gate, a memory of the world and the place he once loved.
Alice feels stronger after helping take down the tattoo.
“I am… stronger!” she exclaims as she doubles in size, doubles again, and grows another foot. She is so large, she can almost see eye-to-eye with…
…Jed.
“Oh, hello there, Jed. Seems I am not quite my old self again. But I will get the hang of this size-changing business.”
She looks up at Siobhan, and at Jed as well. “Either of you care for your wounds treated while I’m… sort of big?”
Alice’s big (toddler-sized) hands do the trick and heal you up, but as she’s finishing up, Alice suddenly shrinks back to fairy size.
“Oh, it was pleasant while it lasted.”
Siobhan's new tattoo winds its way underneath her skin, the woad flowing across her and settling in as if it was always meant to be a part of her. The woad settles on her left shoulder, forming into a pair of concentric circles with three knives sticking out of its 2 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 10 o'clock positions--and a crow's head in its middle.
"...well, that was strange." Siobhan flexes her shoulder and looks at her new tattoo. "But I'm apparently not the only one the Morrígan sent here..."
When Alice grows into a taller size, the painted Celt can't help but snicker. "I'd appreciate it--still got some lingering pain from the raid."
She tactfully refrains from commenting on Alice's sudden shrinkage once her injuries are tended to.
It is early afternoon when you return to Old Sehir. Rachel turns to address the group. "I don't think there's a whole lot more for us to do here. Shall we return to Oppara, or is there something else you all wanted to do next?"
Alice is so flooded with the knowledge of new magic, she can barely contain herself.
“I want to prepare a meal for you all—magically!” She wears an eager grin, and is likely not taking things into consideration such as lack of silverware or chairs. “We can have a picnic!”
Siobhan looks down at her newest tattoo.
"...I feel like I need to know more of this... Calistria. From what I've gathered, it seems that she and the Morrígan are related somehow."
"Not right now, but when we have a chance... maybe?"
Alice calms her urge to try another new spell (for now). She casually chucks a ball of healing light over her shoulder…
…and considers Siobhan’s words. “Are you going to visit that temple again?” Not actually trying to press for details, she quickly adds, “—in which case, Oparra would be the way to go.”
"...the thought had occurred to me." The painted warrior confirms.
The next morning, you climb aboard your rented horses and ponies and ride back southeast to Oppara. After three days, you arrive back at the Gilded City. You've certainly earned some downtime to rest, relax, and prepare for the adventures yet to come!
Siobhan doesn't spend much time taking in Oppara's many sights; there's only one place she has in mind for a visit, and that's Calistria's temple.
Her left shoulder itches as she makes her way through the streets.
Why am I here? What purpose does the Morrígan wish me to serve?
Siobhan soon arrives at The Silken Palace. The elven priest Amendiel approaches to greet her in the temple's foyer. "Welcome back. What pleasures do you seek tonight, my fair lady?"
"At the moment?" Siobhan pauses, then turns her shoulder towards Amendiel to show him her warding tattoo. "Knowledge of your Calistria."
"I must ask--what is she like?"
"Ah! Such joy!" Amendiel says, gently running his finger over the tatoo. "The Savored Sting has blessed you with her favor! You are lucky, indeed.
"Calistria has three aspects: lust, revenge, and trickery. Silver-tongued and charming, she is a master of weaving insults into compliments and laying intricate groundwork for retribution at its finest. She is a goddess of vengeance, but it would be a mistake to assume that means she pursues justice. Calistria is fickle, shifting her loyalties and interests as her whims take her—though she never forgets a slight, and any who think she has forgiven will surely find it is only a matter of time before they are targeted by a long-term plot of revenge to lay them thoroughly low."
Siobhan listens to Amendiel's explanation before nodding.
"She sounds much like one of the goddesses of my own people..." She looks down at the large knot-crow tattoo running the length of her sword-arm. "Has she any other names? Titles?"
"The goddess takes on many faces and guises. The Savored Sting. The Lady in the Room. The Unquenchable Fire. It is very likely that you know her by yet another name."
Alice uses her Create Food spell to keep the party fed! She is very excited the first time, and creates six sets of musical-instrument-themed cookies!
• Trumpet Crumpets
• Cinnamon Drum Rolls
• Baguette Pipes
Jed finds he’s had his fill for the day from whichever he tries first. If the baguette, he can only finish half. Alice can only eat half a cinnamon drum stick. Everyone else is filled only by eating the full set. The snacks all taste like a water-flavored cookie.
On the second day, Alice grows to her human-sized self so she can eat her full meal… but fears what might happen should she shrink while eating. Each fruit in the rainbow fruit basket tastes like an edible sponge anyway, so she’s content to have a single blueberry.
On the third day, Alice understands if the party would prefer good old fashioned hunting and gathering.
After bidding Siobhan a good-luck, Alice asks the others, ”Who’s up for shopping!”
Clearly, Alice is.
Rachel makes a face as she bites into another bland biscuit. "It's not that it's bad, per se. It's just...not very good," she says to Alice apologetically. "Filling, though. It's good for long journeys."
***
"Sure, let's see what the markets have to offer." The oracle offers Alice a hand up as they head towards the bazaar.
"...it would make sense, yes." Siobhan nods. "The goddess my clan revered is known as the Morrígan--it translates to 'The Phantom Queen' in your tongue."
"She is a goddess of war and death--known for being a tricky sort, and very prone to..." She clears her throat, her eyes flicking to a shadow nearby before settling on the priest again. "...taking offence at the slightest thing. Asking her questions about the omen she sends you, not paying her the reverence she is due, rejecting her offer of a tryst in favour of throwing yourself headlong into battle..."
Amendiel chuckles. "Yes, that sounds like Calistria, alright. You have come seeking knowledge of her, but it seems you already are quite familiar with the goddess."
A pained expression flits across Siobhan's face before she touches her warding tattoo.
"Aye, I suppose I am at that... though why She has sent me to this place, I do not know."
"The Savored Sting is not one to reveal her hand until the time is right," Amendiel says with a smile. "Do not fret over the machinations of the divine. You will know when the goddess desires you to know. Until then, you should enjoy yourself."
He gestures to the silk-curtained alcoves. "Do you want to spend the night with Beorn again? Or perhaps another member of our clergy?"
"I..." Siobhan blinks and thinks for a moment.
"...I suppose I've got no real preference, really." She shrugs.
Amendiel nods. He murmurs the words of a spell and whispers quietly, and a few moments later, the dark-haired elf Lanliss that Felitcia trysted with previously emerges from one of the alcoves. "This one is chosen of the goddess, so treat her well," Amendiel says.
Lanliss nods and smiles broadly. "Of course. Come along, Chosen One. Let us give praise." He offers a hand to Siobhan.
'Chosen One'?
The words cause the Celt's heart to skip a beat. "...aye. Let's."
She takes Lanliss' hand and follows him onward.
""Calistria has three aspects: lust, revenge, and trickery. Silver-tongued and charming, she is a master of weaving insults into compliments and laying intricate groundwork for retribution at its finest. She is a goddess of vengeance, but it would be a mistake to assume that means she pursues justice. Calistria is fickle, shifting her loyalties and interests as her whims take her—though she never forgets a slight, and any who think she has forgiven will surely find it is only a matter of time before they are targeted by a long-term plot of revenge to lay them thoroughly low."
"Urrggh, sounds like a goddess I've been on the wrong side of more than a few times..." Jed says, tugging on his collar.
Once Siobhan disappears into the alcove, Amendiel turns to Jed, who has apparently followed the tattooed warrior into the temple. "And you, my friend? Will you be seeking the company of one our concubines this evening?"
"Only if they follow mostly the first part of the good goddess's portfolio." Jed says with a mischievous grin, immediately setting himself up for the other two.
"They will, so long as you don't mistreat them," Amendiel says. "What is your pleasure? We do have a sole female goblin in our employ, as well as several halflings and gnomes. Or perhaps taller partners are your thing?"
Upon his return to Oppara, Richard sets to work on two things. First, he tries to find a vendor who could replicate the magic runes they had found and to get some on his sword. Secondly, he wants to find some orcs. While Jed and Alice’s transformations had suited their true selves quite well, Richard was still ill at ease with quite why he had ended up an orc. Perhaps finding some others could help him, or at least give him insight on how he could treat his new body the best way he could.
While Richard is able to easily find an artisan to enchant his sword, he finds it difficult to find out about any orcs living in Oppara. He does learn, though, that a few tribes of orcs live in the World's Edge Mountains to the northeast and occasionally launch attacks on the Taldan towns that lie in the mountains' foothills. If he wants to learn more about them, he'll likely have to travel to the mountains to seek them out.
Jed rolls his neck and cracks his knuckles. "Yes. Yes that all sounds just fine."
"So long as you have the coin, my friend. I'll start a tab for you."
Amendiel whispers a spell, and a scantily-clad female goblin wearing too much makeup emerges from a curtained alcove. She crooks a finger and beckons Jed over...
Richard has the smith inscribe his blade with orcish runes for Kultainen Karhu, meaning Golden Bear in Common.
Though disappointed by his lack of success in finding orcs in Oppara, he settled on the next best thing. He heads back to the library to find Copernica, the woman who’d helped him earlier.
Alice walks tall and proud at five-foot-four.
Five – foot – four
On my way to the store!
Walking tall
Got a smile on my face
Got money
Won’t spend it all in one place!
Six—ty – four
Inches tall through the door!
Alice still passes for human when she enters the door of the store.
She steps up to the counter, smiling sweetly at the clerk.
“Pleased to meet you, I am Alice Pleasance Liddell, and I am here to spend a bit of my earnings.” She glances about the shelves. “Might I inquire what one might purchase, if one were an adventure of sorts, relying more on magic than might, shall we say? Of particular interehh??”
Not half a minute after Alice’s entry, she finds herself quite suddenly dwindling in size.
“Oh rubbish! Why nowwww……”
Her child-sized hands grab the counter. Her baby-sized legs dangle over the floor as it drops from under her! She pulls her foot-tall body onto the counter, and as she rises from on-hands-and-knees to standing-upright, her eye-level hardly changes. She stands only a few inches tall. Her gold coins are awkward to carry, like three pizzas.
Richard finds Copernica at the library where he first met her. She smiles and adjusts her spectacles. "Oh, hello, Doctor Farthington! It is good to see you again. How have you been?"
***
The shopkeeper gasps as Alice suddenly shrinks from human to fairy size! "Oh, my! Are you alright, madam?" she inquires, peering down at the miniature woman on the counter. "Are you the victim of a curse or other malady? We sell elixirs that might help to counteract such adverse effects!"
Once Felitcia and Rachel have finished their shopping, the oracle turns to the actress. "Would you like to get dinner with me, Felitcia? I've heard of a great Thuvian restaurant nearby that's supposed to be really tasty. It's kind of like Moroccan cuisine, if you've ever had it. I'd like to take you on a proper date instead of just getting drunk and making out... Though I did enjoy that, as well." Rachel laughs.
Alice laughs. “Oh, I am fine. I had just figured out how to make myself human on the way here, but the magic only lasts a few minutes. I am apparently a Wingless.” She ponders, “I have yet to meet a person with wings.
“No matter.” Getting to business, “Do you sell things in fairy size? Else, I could become human in order to purchase that which is to be worn.”
"We don't usually carry much for individuals of such a diminutive stature," the shopkeep says, "but I would be happy to accept commissions if you don't mind waiting a few days. What did you have in mind?"
They made it back to Oppara and while the others mostly went shopping or take care of other matters Felitcia elected to move about the city on her own. Felitcia had an appointment to keep tonight at Midnight and she wanted to find her way there now so she knew how to get there. Depending on how long it took to find the right area she might have food down that way and simply wait until it was time.
Richard smiles a rather tusky grin, ”I’ve been quite well! Busy dealing with a fey infestation in the countryside. If only I were joking. Would’ve hurt quite a bit less. Any case, I’ve got another request to make of the library. I need information on orcs, more specifically cultural values and mystic traditions. I’m working on a theory for, well, why I’ve ended up looking like this.”