Kayleigh takes in the situation with a brief frown before introducing herself to Ishani as a fellow healer. Then she launches into a barrage of questions: "Any idea what sort of illness we're dealing with here? Do you suspect it to be contagious? How's our patient doing?"
After learning what she can, Kayleigh gives Grau a few minutes with his sister-in-law before heading upstairs to take a look at Brienna.
Brig's ears catch the muffled argument, making her frown, both in guilt for eavesdropping on a family and for the contents of the conversation.
After a moment, she moves with Kayleigh to the other healer to check on what he is making.
While also trying to remember anything she has heard about this man, Ishani Dhatri. Especially any stories about if he is any good.
Ariadne takes in the condition of things, noting little details about the house, and wincing inwardly at the sound of what had to be painful coughing.
As he mentioned before, Zahur was no healer, so he had no business even inside the house. If you can't help, least you can do is not make it worse. So Zahur flips an old bucket and sits outside, enjoying the wonderful stench of night pots.
"You lot are city girls or also fancy some wilderness?" He says, starting some small talk with Ariadne and Vedika. "Have you ever been to the mountains around here? Well, not around, but within a reasonable distance, like... Fenwall, Mindspin?"
"Definitely a city girl," says Vedika. Leaning against a wall in her short-short skirt with exotic makeup highlighting the sparkling scales around her eyes, she looks like an evening streetwalker.
"Not that I've never been out of the city, but my life has been decidedly urban."
”Born and raised in the slums of this city,” Ariadne replies, rolling her shoulders as she looks around. Given the nature of this part of town, she noted how well Vedika’s current look fit in, with Zahur looking every bit the part of hired protection. With her own build, armor, and weapons, not to mention the scar, she likely did as well, though the red hair betraying some Ulfen in her blood did stand out.
”I’ve been running through these streets since I was 7. This city is more than home to me, it’s alive, and despite everything that’s tried to kill me, it’s been there for me time and time again, and I mean to return the favor.”
"Figured." He says to Vedika. "Can't picture you hiking in those skirts." He actually could, but shouldn't. Definitely shouldn't. It wasn't proper, for she wasn't a girl for him.
"Hey, take a breath, Ariadne... I'm also born and raised here and it also means a lot to me." He shrugs. "But try to think about something else. It might take a while to bring things back as how they were and if you do not take care, when you do you'll be changed to the point of not being able to enjoy it any longer."
"Does it make sense?"
"I think the boots are probably more of a problem than the skirt," quips Vedika. She lifts one of her legs and twists to look back at her raised foot. At least they aren't ridiculously high-heeled shoes, but the soft soles (for moving quietly through the streets) and thigh height (for, frankly, aesthetics) aren't of a kind that lend themselves well to hiking. She puts her foot back down and leans once more against the convenient wall.
"This city is a home for many of us, whether transitory or permanent, and who doesn't want to live in a safe and pleasant place?" she says. "Even if there is maybe a little crime. Just not, y'know, kidnapping and violent oppression."
Ishani Dhatri is attending the kettle while Grau & Tayce are up stairs, he sighs at Kayleigh's questions.
His greatest concern about the girl isn’t that she’s ill, but that he doesn’t recognize the exact combination of her symptoms. He fears this might be a harbinger of a new disease. "“If I had been sent for earlier, perhaps I could have healed her, but I’m afraid my duties at the Golden One’s Vault required me to entreat him for similar miracles already this day. Even if I could heal her, the tenets of my church force me to request a donation for Abadar’s power, which I suspect these simple folk could scarcely afford.”
He knows he can’t offer actual healing without seeking payment, and the use of herbal remedies and other methods of fighting illness are his way of skirting the system for folk who need his aid yet cannot afford the church’s rates.
Ishani is losing faith with Adabar and will probably covert to a more merciful god. He seems to be a caring man who just wants to help the ill.
Brigita can easily see Ishani is mixing up a common herbal infusion that adds someone in resisting illnesses. He's known locally as a kind man who tries to help people, and isn't as strict with Adabar's need for payment as many Adabarian clerics are.
Tayce Soldado comes downstairs as looks at you curiously. Nearing 40, Tayce possesses a simple beauty, scarcely hidden by her disheveled appearance and wan features. She hasn’t slept in more than a day, but her concern for her daughter drives her on and she welcomes
you sincerely, especially if since one of you has the look of a priest.
What are you doing?
"Don't get me wrong, I live here and I enjoy it. It could stink less for sure, but you probably only realize it once you've spent some time outside the walls."
"So, assuming Korvosa turns back as it was, what you planning on doing afterwards?"
"Well...I can cast remove disease once each day, and I won't charge them a copper!" Kayleigh tells Ishani with a friendly smile. Eventually, she checks on Brienna and then casts her lone cure disease domain spell on the girl.
Brig leaves her hammer leaning against a wall downstairs and follows Kaleigh to the girl's sickbed. Before heading up she stops at the mother "We'll help as we can, Mam, no cost promise." her tone is respectful in every way. Being an orphan, a mother is the most precise thing in the world, especially one who so clearly loves their little one.
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The creaky steps open up into a bedroom loft above the main room of the Soldado home. A young girl lies in one of the beds, her slight frame dwarfed by the bed’s size and the pile of pillows, afghans, and quilts surrounding her.
Splotches of an angry red rash cover her face and arms, appearing in irregular shapes and sizes. Suddenly, her restlessness is interrupted by a violent fit of hacking coughs that jerk her entire frame, lifting her well off her pillows. The spasm passes after a moment, dropping her back to the bed, but seemingly having done little to ease her breathing.
Despite her best efforts and wracking her brain Kayleigh cannot identify this illness. It seems to be as Ishani fears, a completely new disease of some form.
The effect of the Remove disease spell is quick, the rash fades away and the girls breathing steadies.
Brienna wakes almost immediately. Slightly befuddled by the crowd of strangers in the house and all the fuss, she asks her mother if lunch is ready yet.
After Brienna is nearly crushed by Tayce's tearful hug it is the parties turn, they have immediately become Tayce’s personal heroes, and she proves very animated and affectionate in her thanks—few can hope to escape the relieved mother’s hugs.
Brienna is awake and cured. What are you doing now?
Brig is a strong woman, with a broken battered heart, so much so she backs away from the approaching mother. To no avail, the large woman is caught squeezed, trapped in the warm relieved love.
Afterward, she asks "Um... mam, where has Brienna been lately, who might she have been around? We... we should check on them too."
Kayleigh seemingly was made for such moments: she melts into Tayce's hug, returning it as much as she's able. Still, being unable to diagnose the disease worries her.
"How long has Brienna been sick?" she asks Tayce when the woman's bearhug ends. "It was very smart of you to keep your other children downstairs: Better safe than sorry."
Kayleigh also asks Tayce and Grau if any of Brienna's friends has fallen ill or if either has heard of anyone else in Trail's End becoming sick. Since Brienna looks so small and frail (and because she's unlikely to need the spell later that day), the Milanite healer pumps a lesser restoration spell into Brienna, both to offset any damage the sickness may have already done to her body and to hopefully help the kiddo from coming down with the mystery illness (or any other sickness) in the coming days.
Still outside, Vedika says to Zahur, "So, got any family in the city?"
At thge sound of what must be relived and joyful commotion by the sounds of it, Ariadne looks back into the house, a smile coming to her lips. Between Kayleigh and Brig, she knew they'd be able to cure the girl.
Distracted from the current conversation she turns back to the others. "Sounds like it's going well inside. I'll go check on them." she says before striding back into the house.
Still outside, Vedika says to Zahur, "So, got any family in the city?"
"Yes, my mother Dishra. No siblings." There is a sudden urge to scratch the inside of his ear and for that he uses pinky, shaking it furiously.
"Father want back to the plateau. My folks could not stand each other and honestly I can't blame neither of them... mother is a good soul but, for the Gods, she has a knack of complaining about everything. Meanwhile, father isn't the most faithful fellow."
Since it was clear both could be related, he adds. "Can't say which led to the other. Both are very possible."
"And you?" Seeing Ariadne entering the room and the commotion inside, he gets up, figuring they might be on their way out.
"Yeah. My folks moved here many years ago. Got a younger sister, Sita. I spend some time helping to take care of her when I'm not jobbing," says Vedika. "Grew up in Korvosa. Lived here all my life."
Brienna looks much better after Kayleigh casts Lesser Restoration. Clearly the disease has been draining her constitution.
When asked about how long Brienna has been sick Tayce tells you she's fell ill several days ago.
.
Brienna looks guilty for a second before schooling her features. Saying she had been out at North point for the day, but had been by herself.
Brienna is clearly hiding something from her mother as children do.
What now?
Kayleigh turns her eyes toward Tayce to see if Brienna's mom is aware that her daughter is not being truthful.
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Tayce decides that as she can't afford to pay for the Remove disease spell she will cook up a feast for you. Judging by the way Brienna & her two sons immediately perk up Tayce is a good cook.
Grau does insist on giving you the 100gp he had raised to get Brienna cured.
.
You are now alone upstairs with Brieena if you wish to speak quietly to her now is the time.
What now?
Kayleigh approaches Brienna alone when she gets the opportunity. "Hey there--feeling better?"
Once the girl has responded, Kayleigh sits down somewhere (a chair, the bed, whatever) so her face will be on more of an even level with Brienna's. "Listen Brienna.... I'm happy to have healed you of whatever disease you caught, but...I'm not really convinced you were telling the whole truth about being out in North Point alone. Maybe you weren't in North Point, or maybe you weren't alone...or both those things. It's important that you tell me the truth; I won't squeal on you to your mom. But if whatever you caught is infectious--and I have no reason to believe so for certain, as your mom and siblings seem fine--then I need to check on whoever was with you, in case they got sick as well. You were in pretty rough shape, and I'm sure that you wouldn't want a friend to be suffering from that illness, right? Better safe than sorry. I'll just go to their homes and ask if they are feeling well and, if not, I'll get to work healing them as well. OK?"
Brienna listens to Kayleigh with a worried look, but remains evasive on exactly what she was doing the day she caught this new disease.
.
When talking to Brienna like an adult fails, Kayleigh grows despondent and gives up.
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Zahur offers to help with the so called feast, being careful not to intrude too much in Tayce's recipes. He knew too well how cranky he got when people tried to point out how he should use his spices, so he returns the favor.
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Brig had listened while standing cross-armed against the wall. Seeing the upbeat Kayleigh growing despondent suddenly made her move quickly forward. "Um..." the big woman seems at a loss at what to say to the little girl. "You love your mom." she says finally "She loves you." she adds with a touch of envy "And she could have lost you today. It would have hurt her. To lose you." that was a truth she understood. "What this lady here is saying is there could be other little girls or boys sick right now, that could die, and break their mothers." Brig was blunt, in most things "You can help stop that, Brienna. You can save them and their mothers. Just tell us where you've been."
Brienna almost tells you something, but shuts her mouth stubbornly.
.
Tayce prepares a wonderful meal for the group, aided by Zahur. A fusion of Chelaxian and Varisian cuisine.
Ishani seems to be impressed with the party and suggests that some of his more charitable work sometimes requires the aid of those outside his church’s rigid hierarchies and asks whether you might be amenable to him contacting you in the future.
He also invites you to return with him to the Grand Vault of Abadar. He’s seen similar signs of sickness in the city and worries that Korvosa may be on the edge of a full-on outbreak.
What are you doing now?
Kayleigh enjoys the meal and seems amenable to working with Ishani in the future. After compliment the chef(s), the cleric asks the others if any of them are interested in a quick trip to the Grand Vault of Abadar.
Brig is frustrated, but nods at the little girl's stubbornness. Respecting her strength if not her sense. She goes down stairs and joins the meal, quiet as normal and agrees to the trip to the great vault.
"I think we would definitely be open to that.?" Ariadne replies to Ishani's suggestion of working with them in the future. "Anything that helps the people."
In a city as steeped in political scheming, decisive justice, and trade as Korvosa, it should be no surprise that the city’s largest and most influential faith is the congregation of Abadar.
Presided over by Archbanker Darb Tuttle, the Bank of Abadar is one of the more potent moderating factors in the city, ever eager to remind the government and nobility of their responsibilities to their citizens.
Although its acts might sometimes seem charitable, the church of Abadar is more concerned with the just enactment of the law and the continued flow of trade.
The Grand Vault of Abadar, a meticulously well kept structure of white marble and gleaming bronze friezes, stands in the North Point district of Korvosa.
While the first floor holds a few small side shrines and counseling
chambers, the majority of its airy halls are given over to the business of banking, with acolytes of Abadar eager to serve any who have coin they would entrust to the temple’s care, while armored clerics keep watch for ne’er-do-wells.
The floor above holds the god’s sanctuary and the quarters of a small number of resident priests, although most are encouraged to maintain their own addresses away from the temple.
Finally, beneath the temple lies the physical vault, a heavily guarded storehouse where the clergy’s considerable fortune, as well as the investments of thousands of citizens, are safely stored. The priests are so trusted and respected that for decades these lower levels have also housed the presses that mint Korvosan coins.
===================================================================
Towering over the surrounding buildings, the Grand Vault of Abadar offers a radiant vision of divine luxuriance amid a sea of mortal troubles. As its gray-veined white marble reflects the midday sun, there’s little question that this place is the house of a god.
Yet for a deity of law, the steep stairs and ramps leading up to the temple’s great bronze doors offer a strangely discordant scene. Dozens of citizens—mostly of the working class, although the silks of a few merchants show through the crowd—throng the entry, scarcely being held back by a group of gold-armored Abadaran clerics.
All seem intent on gaining entry to the temple, but the clerics turn away nearly all comers. The clerics’ reasoning becomes clear as one desperate believer is turned away, his pitiful countenance mottled with
violent red sores.
=====================================================================
The clergy has been inundated with pock-marked patients, healing those with the gold to pay and recommending local herbalists for those without.
The priests might have been able to help more, but they have their own troubles—several of their acolytes, guards, and vaultkeepers have developed symptoms of the same mysterious disease.
What little magic was left among the clergy was quickly sold to a few wealthy and lucky worshipers, but in all, fewer than two dozen citizens were healed.
Upon arriving, yous witness the temple guards turning away all comers who show signs of blood veil. Others who have less urgent business in the temple must fight through the disease-ridden crowd and undergo
the guards’ brief questioning as to their purpose—twin gauntlets few healthy visitors dare to run.
While the crowd remains relatively orderly in its pleading, the temple’s
protectors and a few Korvosan Guards gathered nearby eye the situation with unease.
Desperate mob outside the temple. To enter you must pass through the mob. What are you doing?
"We need to get through this to get inside." Ariadne says, resolutely, as she studies the scenario, acutely aware of how easily it could devolve into chaos. "I guess we stick together, act as official and focused as possible and forge a path through the crowd."
"If we say we're still special operatives, who's going to check? The city's in turmoil," points out Vedika.
"Yeah, and because none of us is sick, saying that should give our words extra weight," Kayleigh points out with a nod in Vedika's direction.
"It could get ugly." Brig had seen mobs before, and they could get bad in a heart beat. She tightens her hand around the shaft of the hammer. "I could bellow, like a guard does when they want past?" she is unsure if it is wise though.
"If that doesn't work, we just push through. It sucks, but I see no other way."
"Sounds like as good a plan as any." Ariadne says with a grim nod as she looks at the crowd. "I'll draw attention, Brig, give it your best commanding roar and we'll push forward!"
Once her companions are ready, she utters an arcane syllable focusing on a point 15ft above them that erupts into a burst of light.
Ariadne casts Flare and there are panicked sounds from the crowd, which swirls around looking for the threat.
Everyone is now looking your way.
What are you doing?
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Just as Brig is about to bark with her loud voice and imposing stance to GET OUT OF THE WAY, all the eyes turn on her and a panic of performing strikes her.
As a child she had been a wallflower, and it had taken a lot in her life to get past the quailing fragile thing she had been. At times, like now, she reverts, and nothing Not a thing comes out.
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Kayleigh sees Brigita falter unexpectedly and tries to step up...but she only knows how to be polite and nice.
"Please! Listen! We're here to discuss ways of better dealing with this outbreak with the priests of Abadar. Taking a few moments to let us through might save many lives in the long run!"
It takes a few moments but the crowd slowly parts to allow you to reach the entrance of the Grand Vault. The guards recognize Ishani and let you enter without questions.
Ishani escorts you to one of the temple’s western meeting rooms before revealing his concerns. “Thank you for your aid. I assume you already suspect my reasons for calling, having seen the crowd outside.”
He shakes his head sadly. “Poor lot. You recognize the symptoms
too, I’m sure. I had hoped that the Soldado case was isolated, but apparently we have a bigger problem on our hands than I’d feared.
“I’m concerned for the city, but also for my brethren here. The morning after my first visit to the Soldado home, I came to the temple to hear that three of my brothers awoke with similar symptoms, although they had already been healed. I spoke to each, and aside from their usual duties in the temple, none have had any dealings with any who are ill. Later in the day, more of my fellow priests—acolytes, guards, vaultkeepers—developed symptoms, and folk from throughout the city
began arriving in search of healing. It’s been more than a little bit frightening. They’re calling the sickness ‘blood veil’—an apt enough name, I suppose."
“Most of the patients we’re treating have come from North Point and Old Korvosa. The disease seems to spread fastest through the lower classes. Although we here at the temple can heal some of the ill, I dread that the transmission of the disease will soon outpace our resources. The only way to stem the growing infection is to involve the entire city. We need to organize. We need to call upon the faiths
of Sarenrae, Pharasma, and even Asmodeus to face this attack. Archbanker Tuttle and several of his assistants are out pursuing alliances with these other faiths, but even that won’t be enough. We need to involve the Korvosan Guard and the queen’s new agents, the Gray Maidens, at
the very least. That’s where you come in. With the number of desperate souls growing, it’s not particularly safe for a priest to walk the streets of Korvosa. I hear you have a good relationship with Field Marshal Cressida Kroft. Perhaps you would be willing to escort me to Citadel Volshyenek for an introduction?”
Ishani doesn’t expect the party’s involvement to be charity and has already cleared a generous payment of 200gp for each of you involved in the errand. He is a Cleric of Adabar after all. :)
What are you doing now. Any questions for Ishani?
Zahur was already preparing himself to mention a fee for escorting the priest but he is beaten to it. Not that he is greedy, far from it, but just out of principle since the clerics were charging for the cure when it was clear not doing so would have horrible consequences.
"I have no problems escorting you around, though the last time I've talked to the Field Marshal, she basically kicked me out of there. The girls have more... way with words I'm sure."
"Sure--we'd be glad to introduce you to the field marshal!" Kayleigh exclaims before realizing that she doesn't have the authority to speak for the others. "It might not hurt to get her take on this growing epidemic...or how the queen intends to deal with the problem," she adds somewhat sheepishly.
...or how the queen intends to deal with the problem," she adds somewhat sheepishly.
"Or how she does not."